Rolo Brownie Bites with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

I swooned and thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I came across these tasty tasty two-bite treats at Cook Lisa Cook. 

What a brilliant combo of my favorite flavors...chocolate and caramel.

(I think I've always been partial to caramel because my dear mama was too!)

There isn't much more I can say...these adorable little bites of DE.LI.CIOUS speak for themselves!

A brownie mix and Rolo candies!  It just doesn't get much easier than that!!!

And the caramel cream cheese frosting puts them over the top!

Of course, they're great without the frosting, but what the heck...they're little, so you can make them prettier...and who could believe it....tastier too??? 

Unwrapping the rolos is a great job for kids...go borrow your neighbors if you don't have any others available...they would love to do that for a yummy 'fee' of enjoying a few candies...

ROLO BROWNIE BITES WITH CARAMEL CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 box fudge brownie mix, and ingredients called for per instructions (or your favorite homemade recipe)

24 Rolo candies (plus extra for snacking!=)

4 Tbs. butter, softened to room temperature

4 ozs. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

2 Tbs. caramel sauce (ice cream topping)

1 c. powdered sugar

Remove all the wrappers and refrigerate the Rolos. Preheat oven to 325. Prepare brownies according to package directions. 

Grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan with cooking spray and fill each cup 3/4 full with batter.  Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove from oven and immediately press a Rolo, smaller side down, into the center of each brownie bite until the top of the Rolo is even with the top of the brownie bite.

Cool for a couple of minutes then carefully remove the brownie bites from the pan to a cooking rack.  Allow to cool completely.

Frosting: Whip the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the caramel sauce and blend.  Add the powdered sugar and whip until creamy and smooth.  Using a pastry or plastic bag with a piping tip, pipe the frosting onto the top of each brownie bite.  Chill in the refrigerator to set the frosting a bit before serving.

Linked to Sweets for a Saturday

Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesday

Recipe of the Week

Weekend Potluck

Cow Pies

(Please check out this link to Grandma Loy's Kitchen - she featured a number of my recipes at her "Skipping Through Blogland"this week...I'm thrilled!)


Did I get your attention?

YES! This recipe is named Cow Pies!

It would be a fun thing to make for a kid's party...especially a party with a barnyard theme.

My granddaughters helped me (or maybe it's more like I helped them) when we spent a day together in the kitchen this summer.

These are easy peasy and delicious!  Even with a crazy name like Cow Pies!

A very delicious chocolatey treat. And even though the recipe calls for raisins and slivered almonds, just use what you have.... 

broken pretzels or your favorite nuts. We used rice krispies and peanuts.

COW PIES

2 cups (12 ozs) milk chocolate chips (or use semi sweet)

1 Tb. shortening

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. chopped slivered almonds

In a double boiler over simmering water (we used the microwave on low) melt the chocolate chips and shortening, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in raisins and almonds.  Drop by tablespoonsful onto waxed paper.  Chill until ready to serve. 

Yield: 2 dozen

Linked to Full Plate Thursday
         Sweets for a Saturday
Gooseberry Patch Roundup - Kid Friendly
Weekend Potluck

Chocolate Swirl Delight

It's CHOCOLATE WEEK at The Better Baker!

"There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles." - Anonymous

All 3 recipes I'm sharing this week have been in my drafts since the end of July when I enjoyed time with two of my granddaughters here for a fun Play Date at Nana's.  It's time to share!

My granddaughters, Charlie, 12, and Chloe, 10, made this lovely dessert and then they got to take it home so I didn't get to eat any of it, but it wasn't difficult to figure it was an amazing dessert.

It is a very simple 4-ingredient recipe, but let me tell you..it's also VERY elegant.

Swiss Cake roll slices line the springform pan and then it's filled with chocolate pudding, topped with whipped topping and chocolate bits!

HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY GO WRONG???

SEE WHAT I MEAN?????

This is all there is to it....

(What sweet girls too!)

CHOCOLATE SWIRL DELIGHT

(From The Better Baker and Taste of Home)

1 pkg. (13 ozs) Swiss Cake Rolls

2-3/4 c. cold milk

2 pkg. (3.9 ozs each) instant chocolate fudge pudding mix

2 c. whipped topping

Cut each cake roll into eight slices; set aside any chocolate coating that separates from rolls for garnish. Line a 9-in. springform pan with cake slices, completely covering the bottom and sides.

In a small bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.  Pour over cake.  Spread with whipped topping; sprinkle with any reserved chocolate coating.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. 

Yield: 12 servings

TIP:  I sprayed the springform pan with cooking spray, then lightly wiped it out with a paper towel before adding cake slices. They did not stick.

We also shaved (using a potato peeler) half a candy bar to add to the sprinkles on top.

Linked to Totally Tasty Tuesday

Oriental Cabbage Salad

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN! 

And WELCOME
to my new followers - I'm so glad you are here...

Here's another cabbage recipe to use up that yummy vegetable so readily available this time of year....

Isn't it fun to connect with other bloggers and your fans?

I LOVE IT!

This recipe came from one of my fans, Linda Silvernail, who lives

in my state.  We hope to meet face to face one day.

Since she follows my blog, she sweetly shared some of her

own favorite recipes with me. 

And I'm SO glad she did!

This recipe is delicious and I was amazed how well it kept in the fridge too!

Even though the cabbage I used was a little older, and lacked some color, it was very tasty just the same.

I've eaten varieties of oriental salad, but had never made it myself, and was very pleased when hubby wanted MORE. 

This is very yummy my friends - you'll want to try it. This version has apples in it too!

Oriental Cabbage Salad

1/2 head of medium size cabbage- chopped

1 package of CHICKEN Ramen Noodles- noodles broken, save seasoning packet

4 chopped green onions with tops

3 chopped apples (Linda suggests Granny apples, I used Gala)

1/3 cup slivered or diced almonds, optional

(Linda said she added some honey roasted peanuts when serving - MMM!)

Toss the above ingredients together.

Mix seasoning packet from the CHICKEN Ramen Noodles with

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp salt

3 T. sugar

1/2 cup oil

3 T. cider vinegar

Put these ingredients in a shaker. Mix well, pour over the salad. Makes a large amount and keeps well in the refrigerator.

Linked to Fit & Fabulous Friday
Eat at Home: Ingredient Spotlight

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Ya gotta love it!

Cook the sauce all day long and have a lovely meal at the end of the day! How wonderful to know dinner will be just about ready with little fuss, especially for busy moms.

I was so tickled to find this recipe at Cooking with Libby. Her blog was one of the first I began following and she keeps me interested with amazing and wonderful recipes like this one!

And her photos!  WOW!  Just mouth-watering!

I have so enjoyed getting to know her better as we are co-bloggers at Ccuntry Cooks Across America. We are definitely sisters of the heart...especially in the kitchen!

Spaghetti is definitely the most repeated dish in my kitchen. 

For my hubby, it is a beloved dish!

I make it for Sunday dinner, and he's happy to eat leftovers every day for the week ahead. 

Yep - He's a keeper for sure. *-* (I've kept him for nearly 44 years!)

 (I made breadsticks from hot dog buns to enjoy with this)

Libby even gives options for freezing the sauce.  I did freeze some because this recipe makes plenty to enjoy later on.

I tweaked it a tad, using what I had, so I'll share my substitutes..

SLOW COOKER SPAGHETTI SAUCE

5 links of mild, Italian sausage and/or 1# ground beef

(I used a little more beef)

1 med. onion, chopped

1 sm. green pepper, chopped (optional)

2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced

29 ozs. can crushed tomatoes OR whole tomatoes, chopped, drained (I used Italian seasoned tomatoes!)

1 -15 oz. can tomato sauce 

(I used a can of tomato soup)

1 -12 ozs. can tomato paste

1/3 c. sugar (I used splenda)

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. black pepper (I used more)

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, optional

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce or marinara (any kind, any flavor)

(I used garlic & herb and used the whole jar)

Brown sausage links and/or ground beef in frying pan over medium heat until brown. Using the same pan, add onions, peppers and garlic. Cook until onions are transparent and peppers are soft.

Place the meat/onion mixture into the slow cooker.  Combine the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker until well mixed.

Cook on low, 8 - 10 hours or on high 4 - 6 hours.

Serve over vermicelli or spaghetti noodles and top with parmesan cheese.

Linked to Whatcha Crockin' Wednesday