Peanut Butter Oreo Cake Mix Cookies

These easy to make peanut butter cookies start with a cake mix and are loaded with chunks of chopped Oreos...

So, we are on like what? Day #1,525,123 of the stay at home/quarantine life now? And yes, like everyone else I am starting to feel a little restless and antsy & long for some of the normalcy from my life pre-virus...

For one, I miss my gym workouts something fierce, you all. Specifically, cardio machines like my beloved elliptical and stair climber. 

Yeah, I know I could go out and run, but A. I kind of hate running and B. Mother Nature hasn't really been cooperating weather-wise. I mean, one day it is sunny and in the 60's and the very next day it is flipping snow here. Or it is raining. Or just plain cold.

I also miss getting my hair cut. And since I went much shorter with my hair in the fall, I had been stopping in to see my stylist about once every 3 weeks before all of this went down. I made the decision a few weeks ago to just go with it and started growing it out. 

My hair is presently in that super awkward stage of having ducky feathers and sticking out in weird places, so I am super thankful for my stretchy, wide headbands right now. And baseball caps. 

And the fact that I can't go out socially (because no one wants to witness this, lol). But hey- what better time to decide to grow it out than now? 

Cookies & Cream Banana Birthday Shake

Celebrate that special day minus the guilt with this festive & fun Cookies & Cream Banana Birthday Shake...

Sponsored post by Mirum. All opinions are my own.

Soooooo.... today is my birthday, you all. But it just isn't any ole birthday for me. It just so happens to be my 40th birthday. Yep, the BIG 4-0. I have to admit that it is kind of weird to be saying goodbye to my thirties and officially entering a brand new decade of my life. But I am also excited for what the next 10 years will bring. :)

I have spent the last few months of my 39th year of life making some healthier lifestyle changes. I get to the gym at least 3-4 times a week now. I do yoga at home at least twice a week. I try to give myself mental health breaks more often when I start to feel like my work to life balance is getting a little off kilter. And I have been trying to make healthier choices as far as my diet goes. But when you happen to have a mean sweet tooth like I do, then that last part can be a little tricky at times.

My ultimate guilty pleasure happens to be ice cream. Like I could eat ice cream every single day. And now that I have discovered Breyers delights, I actually can enjoy my favorite frozen treat minus the guilt more often... ;)

Vampire Mickey Pudding Cups

These easy to make Vampire Mickey Pudding Cups would be perfect to hand out at trick-or-treat, for a classroom party, or a fun neighborhood Halloween get-together...

When you have a child under 3, everything seems to be "scary". My two and a half year old daughter is presently at a stage where spiders, skeletons, and occasionally zombies are on her "too scary" list.  

(Well, not always zombies. In fact, most of the time she loves them. My husband and I will take full responsibility for that since we have been watching The Walking Dead since she was in the womb. ;) ) 

This Halloween will be her first where she actually kind of gets what is going on. So this year I wanted to make a not-so-scary treat for her that would still be Halloween perfect. 

My inspiration for these Vampire Mickey Pudding Cups comes from her love of all things Disney... And of chocolate pudding and Oreo cookies, of course. ;) 

Mud Pie Oreo Stuffed Brownie Cupcakes

I will be honest.  I had been begging for a reason to make these Mud Pie Oreo Stuffed Brownie Cupcakes again.  I originally came up with this recipe towards the end of the summer, & I had kind of been hanging onto it... until today. ;)

I decided to jump back into the The Leftovers Club this month and was paired with the lovely Shaina from Take A Bite Out of Boca.  (By the way, she sent me an amazing homemade granola- be sure to pop on over to her blog in a bit to get the recipe!)

I knew this was the perfect excuse to whip up a batch of these brownie cupcakes again!

These stuffed brownie cupcakes are decadent and yummy and not so New Year's resolution-friendly. 

(Sorry! Sort of... ;)).

Mud Pie MoJoe Fudge

Rich chocolate, peanut butter, Oreos, toasted almonds, & a little Kahlua come together to make this Mud Pie MoJoe Fudge. It is sure to become a new holiday fudge favorite...

Fudge is just one of those goodies that is always associated with the holidays, right?  It is a staple on the holiday treat platters at family gatherings and office parties.  It is a sinful indulgence that we seem to let slide when the Christmas Carols start playing and the holiday lights begin twinkling. 

But fudge is also one of those very temperamental kinds of recipes.  Boil it too long and you get dry, flaky fudge.  Don't boil it long enough and it just never sets up quite right.

Fudge is one of my culinary nemeses.  

You may (or may not have) noticed that until this very day I have never posted a homemade fudge recipe to this blog. 

Oreo Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes {A Guest Recipe from Curves and a Camera}

Happy Friday Foodies. I'm so excited to be guest blogging for Carrie here at the Frugal Foodie Mama. I have been following her blog via Facebook and Twitter long enough and figured it was time to start joining in the fun. So here I am guest blogging and visiting over from Curves and a Camera; where I do food/recipe posts, but also blog about being a plus-size fashionista, my love for classic/vintage inspired items/life and my journeys as a 30-something woman.

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Recently I started having Friday's be my "Foodie Friday" weekly post so when I had the chance to guest blog (thanks to being a Frugal Foodie Mama sponsor this month) I knew right away I wanted to do a recipe.

Last Saturday, my Portland family got together to acknowledge and celebrate the six mothers and five May birthdays. Since I'm pretty much the "designer baker" in the family I volunteered to do the "cake". What I ended up doing instead was Oreo Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes. Because who doesn't love a cupcake?

The entire family loved them! Even my sister K who doesn't like cake said they were delicious.

I will be honest they took me three days to make....BUT only because I made the cupcakes one night after work, the mousse the next day after work and then Saturday morning made the whipped cream and assembled them. Because there are so many steps, if you decide to try making them, set aside the better part of the day.

However, I will be honest....they were simple to make. I used boxed cake mix (although I doctor it up as you'll see below) and the mousse and whipped cream go by pretty fast. They are worth the effort I will tell you that!

If you've never done a filled cupcake before, here's my trick: wait until the cupcakes are completely cooled and then using a measuring tablespoon, carve out about two tablespoons worth of cake. I don't try to put the top back on - it's just being covered in frosting anyway. Hollowing them out this way allows for more of the mousse to be put into the center and prevents the cupcakes from splitting our their sides when just piping the cream directly in.

I found that putting the mousse into a pastry bag and piping it in was the easiest - use your largest tip and make sure to fill them FULL!

A word of caution (learn from my mistakes) make sure if you are folding cookie crumbs into your whipped cream that they are completely broken apart and very fine (no chunks). I ended up having one piece that kept clogging my pastry bag and I had to attack with a chopstick. (Yes, you read that correct. Attacked. With. A. Chopstick.)

In the end the cakes were moist (that's the trick with baking them at a cooler temperature), the mousse smooth and rich,  and the chocolate whipped cream fluffy and light. My family fought over how many they each got to take home after the party.

That's my last tip: Make extra because you'll want left overs!

Want more Curves and a Camera? I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Bloglovin'. Hope on over to www.curvesandacamera.com to follow through multiple avenues.

Thanks, Carrie for letting me take over Frugal Foodie Mama today!

Mint Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

Okay, okay... I know.  It is January.  Why am I making ice cream, right?  Well, because I like ice cream.  Strike that... I love ice cream.  

And is there really any time of the year when it is inappropriate to churn homemade ice cream?  Let's be real here. ;)

After making what my son calls my "fancy" flavors (CLICK HERE to check out my recipe for a festive Cranberry Cheesecake Ice Cream), I decided to make a flavor that he could appreciate- Mint Cookies & Cream.  If you fancy the Mint Oreo Blizzard from the Dairy Queen, then you will LOVE this homemade ice cream recipe.

What you will need:

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups milk (I used 2% organic milk)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

A tad less than a 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract (Be cautious with the peppermint! It is strong. A little goes a long way.)

5-6 drops of green food coloring (optional)

1  cup, plus 1/2 cup of crushed chocolate cookie sandwiches (yeah, like Oreos ;) )

Crushed ice and rock salt for your ice cream maker

Before you get started with your ice cream mix, be sure you chill the container for your ice cream maker in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the condensed milk and the regular milk.  No kidding this is the base for almost all my homemade ice cream recipes.  I prefer using the sweetened condensed milk because there is no need to use sugar.  Typically if you use sugar in your ice cream base, you have to heat the liquids and then you have to wait for them to cool and then chill the mixture.  

Too. much. time.

Now whisk in your vanilla and peppermint extracts.  Add in green food coloring 2 drops at a time until you reach your desired tint of green.  You can, of course, just skip the food coloring altogether.  My son just prefers the mint ice cream to be well.... green.  ;)

Now you have your mint ice cream base.  Pour it into the chilled ice cream maker container.  Churn for about 25 minutes, then add the cup of crushed cookies and mix in the ice cream maker for another 3 minutes.  

Once your ice cream is done churning, scoop it all into a freezer safe container.  I added an additional 1/2 cup of crushed cookies and mixed them into the ice cream at this point.  This is also optional, but I like to have a few big chunks of cookies in my ice cream. :)

The ice cream needs to set up in the freezer for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.  When you are ready to serve, let it sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes.  Homemade ice cream freezes harder than store bought ice cream.

Just scoop and serve!  

Are you still churning homemade ice cream in the chill of winter?  What is your favorite flavor to make?