Caprese Chicken

Caprese Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 thick slices buffalo mozzarella cheese
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar to taste
In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and turn to medium high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and add chicken to pan and cook about 10 minutes on each side until no longer pink and cooked through.  Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a medium saute pan. Cook garlic until tender. Add halved cherry tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes until they start to wrinkle and skin softens. Add chopped basil.  Top cooked chicken with mozzarella cheese and tomato mixture. Allow cheese to melt and splash with balsamic vinegar.

Banana Pudding Cake

Banana Pudding Cake
cooking spray
1 (15.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup water
3 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 cups milk
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant banana pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip®), thawed
20 vanilla wafers, crushed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Mix cake mix, water, eggs, and oil in a bowl until just moistened; pour cake batter into prepared baking dish.  Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 34 to 38 minutes. Cool in the baking dish for 2 to 3 minutes. Poke several holes into the cake using the handle of a wooden spoon. Be sure to poke all the way through to the bottom of the cake.  Stir milk and pudding mix together in another bowl until smooth. Let pudding rest until it begins to thicken slightly, but is not fully set, about 2 minutes. Pour pudding over cake and spread evenly, making sure to fill each hole completely. Chill cake in the refrigerator until cake is cooled and pudding is set, about 2 hours.  Spread whipped topping over cake and sprinkle with crushed vanilla wafers just before serving.

Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin

Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin
2 tablespoons steak seasoning rub
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
Dissolve steak seasoning in balsamic vinegar, then stir in olive oil. Place pork into a resealable plastic bag and pour marinade overtop. Squeeze out air and seal bag; marinate 2 hours to overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Place pork into a glass baking dish along with marinade. Bake in preheated oven, basting occasionally until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (65 degrees C), about 1 hour. Let the roast rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake

Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake
For the Cake:
red velvet cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
For the Filling:
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 - 16 ounce box confectioners' sugar
For the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the cake mix, egg, butter and mix well with an electric mixer.  Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking pan.
For the Filling:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla and butter and beat together.  Add the confectioners' sugar and mix well.  Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Philly Cheesesteak Stew

Philly Cheesesteak Stew
2 lbs very thinly sliced beef sirloin *
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
5 tablespoons all purpose flour, I used brown rice flour for a gluten free version
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced, about 2 cups worth
3 cups crimini or white button mushrooms, about 12 ounces worth, sliced or quartered if small
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups beef stock, hot
1/4 lb provolone cheese, thinly sliced
Place the sliced meat in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt, pepper and onion powder, toss to distribute. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of flour over the meat and toss well to coat all the pieces. Warm 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add half the meat to the hot oil and spread it across the pan. Let it sear for a minute or two and then toss with tongs or flip to cook on the other sides. Remove to a plate, repeat the steps with the remaining meat.
Add a tablespoon of oil to the pot, if needed, and add the onions along with a sprinkling more salt and pepper. Toss to coat the onions with oil and then allow them to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 6 minutes, until they have softened and turned golden brown. Add the mushrooms, the dried thyme and the garlic and continue sautéing for another 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour over the onion mixture and stir well to coat everything. Slowly add the HOT beef stock, stirring constantly, to avoid little lumps of flour from forming. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about ten minutes to thicken the broth.  Remove from the heat and add the cooked sirloin, along with any juices from the plate. Stir to combine, taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Just before serving, preheat the oven to broil. Ladle the soup into prepared bread bowls, top with thinly sliced provolone and place the bowls on a large foil lined baking sheet. Broil for about 90 seconds, just until the cheese has melted and lightly browned.

Banana Blondies

Banana Blondies
Blondies
1/2 cup butter, melted and if desired browned
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup mashed banana (1 medium banana)
Brown Sugar Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 cup powdered sugar
Blondies
Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8x8 baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.  In bowl of stand mixer combine melted (or browned) butter and sugar. Mix until combined. Add in egg and vanilla and continue mixing until incorporated. Stir in salt, flour and banana until batter is smooth and even. Spread in prepared pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until center is set.  Transfer pan to wire rack to cool.  Frost the blondies when they are mostly cooled.
Brown Sugar Frosting
In a medium saucepan melt butter. Add brown sugar and milk and stir until mixture comes to just a boil. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Stir in powdered sugar with a whisk.  Spread on top of blondies and allow frosting to set and blondies to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Butterfinger Pie

Butterfinger Pie
6 (2 1/8 ounce) Butterfinger candy bars, crushed *
1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 (12 ounce) cartons Cool Whip **
1 graham cracker crust
Mix first three ingredients together.  Put it in pie crust.  Chill.