Funfetti Cake Mix Donuts

It's been too long since I've posted a recipe here on SMWL. Earlier this year, I went through rebranding with my personal blog and launched a website for my shop. That plus two little ones under three makes for busy days and not a lot of time for this recipe blog. 

Anyhow, today I'm sharing a quick and easy donut recipe. They're perfect for spring and are ready in under a half hour. Perfect for Sunday morning and sure to be enjoyed by the whole family! 

Ingredients

• 1 box cake mix I used funfetti spring 
• 1/4  cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray donut pan with non stick cooking spray. Make sure to spray it well. 
2. Mix the water, oil and egg together. 
3. Add the dry cake mix to the water, egg and oil mixture. Stir well or use a mixer to combine. 
4. Pour into donut pan. I found the best way it to scoop the mix into a gallon ziplock bag, cut a corner off and pipe it into the pan.
5. Bake 8-10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow them to cool for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing. 
6. For the glaze, I've used melted frosting before as well as a simple confectioner sugar/water mixture. For these donuts, I used sugar and milk. Just mix until you get the consistency you want. I use 1 TBS milk for every 3/4 cup sugar. I used a thin glaze for this donut. For a thicker white glaze, add less milk. 
7. After donuts were glazed, I added spring sprinkles to top them off! 
8. I hope you enjoy these funfetti cake mix donuts!

   
   

   

   Click HERE for the printable recipe! 

{Clean Eating} Pecan Crusted Chicken

Happy New Year! This blog of mine has definitely been neglected over the past year.
 I have close to 50 recipes to share with you and am determined to make that happen. 

Today, I'm sharing something I recently cooked for dinner. One thing I have accomplished this year is cooking more clean eating recipes. Last week I spent a good amount of time planning out a months worth of clean dinners, all of which require less than a half hour in the kitchen. Below, you'll find the recipe for pecan crusted chicken. It was a recipe delivered through my eMeals clean eating subscription. The meal took less than a half hour. The chicken had the right amount of flavor and I enjoyed the texture of the pecans with the panko crumbs. I paired it with steamed broccoli and brown rice. Enjoy! 

Pecan Crusted Chicken 

an eMeals recipe

Ingredients: 

3⁄4 cup pecan pieces (to get fine piece, I put the pieces in a bag and used the bottom of a cup to smash them, your could also use a food processor)
1⁄2 cup whole-wheat Panko breadcrumbs
1⁄4 tsp cayenne pepper
11⁄2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in
half lengthwise
3⁄4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites
3 Tbsp olive oil

Directions: 
1. Combine pecans, Panko crumbs and pepper in a bow. I used a lot bowl that would be good for dipping the chicken 
2. Sprinkle chicken with salt
3. Beat egg whites until foamy. 
4. Dip chicken in egg whites then cover with pecan mixture. 
5. Heat half of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 3 chicken breasts for 2-3 minutes per side or until done. Repeat with remaining oil and chicken. 

Almond Cherry Double Chip Cookies

Christmas time is here and I can be found n the kitchen baking away. This year I had a few new cookie creations on my list of things to bake. First up were these almond cherry double chip cookies. If you're a fan of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream, you must make these cookies. The flavor is similar with the mixture of the cherries and the chocolate.  These cookies have a little crisp on the outside and a sweet, soft center. They will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth and will be the perfect addition to your holiday cookie platters. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS: 

1 cup butter, softened 

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 package vanilla instant pudding mix (3.4 ounces)

2 lg. eggs

1/2 tablespoon almond extract

2 1/4 cups flour (all purpose)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup white chocolate chips 

1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

1  cup dried cherries, chopped

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda, then set aside. 

2. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Next, mix in pudding mix. 

3. Then add in the eggs, and almond extract. Mix well. 

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until dough is formed

5. Stir in the dried cherries, white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

6. Using a medium cookie scoop, drop dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown. Remove cookies from oven. Let them cool on baking sheet for one minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely and store in an air tight container. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brookies

Brookies. Have you heard of them before?  A brownie and a cookie mixed together. Yup. It's as amazing as it sounds. 

This past Thursday, I realized I hadn't crossed off many things from my fall baking list. Yes, I made a list of things I wanted to make. I do this a lot. It's the only way I get things done. I also realized that I had yet to send a fresh baked treat to work with hubs this fall. Since Halloween was the following day, I decided it was the perfect time to send some treats in with him. 

I used a boxed brownie mix for the brownie part of this deliciousness. I had a box in the pantry and went the easy route. If I had cookie dough in the fridge for the cookie part, I would have used that too. Unfortunately, I didn't. So I used the recipe below for the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie portion. 

Overall, it took me a little less than a half hour (with a little at my foot and one in the solly baby wrap on my chest.) Cook time was a half hour. Worth every minute. These babies were my kind of dessert. The best of both worlds all in one little square. I ate three right away and had to package the rest before I ate the entire pan. These are sure to be a hit at any gathering this season! 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brookies

Adapted from Something Swanky 

Ingredients

Brownie Mix with ingredients for brownies: eggs, oil water 

For the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie layer:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups flour 
• 1/2 cup pumpkin spice baking chips
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
2. Prepare brownie mix as directed on the package. Set aside. 


3. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla.
4. In another bowl, mix together the salt, baking soda, and flour. Add it to the butter/ sugar mixture little by little until the dough is formed. 
5. Fold in the pumpkin and chocolate chips. 
6. Pour half of the brownie mixture into the bottom of the baking dish. Just enough to cover the bottom of the dish in a thin layer. 
7. Next, drop tablespoon sized balls of dough on top of the brownie layer. I used a medium cookie scoop to do this. I tried to evenly place them on top of the batter. Spread lightly with a knife or spatula. 
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

You'll have half of the brownie mixture left over. You can make another batch of the brookies or make some brownies. I decided to make 24 mini brownies using a mini muffin pan with the leftover batter. I baked them for 10 minutes at 350.  

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin bread is a staple in my house during the fall months. If you come over for coffee, I'll most likely offer you a piece of pumpkin bread to enjoy with it. There is just something about pumpkin bread, coffee and the cool fall breeze that fits together. It's my idea of an ideal breakfast, or lately in my case, my mid morning snack. Here is a recipe for my favorite pumpkin bread. The combination of the sweet chocolate chips with moist pumpkin bread, topped off with spices is perfect for fall. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

Directions:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350. 
• 2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking side, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. 
• 2. In another bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and vegetable oil. 
• 3. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture about a cup at a time and continue to mix. 
• 4. Once batter is formed, fold in chocolate chips. 
• 5. Pour into a greased loaf pan (mine was 8x4.) 
• 6. Bake for 1 hour or until cooked through. 
• 7. Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a finish cooling on a wire rack. 
• 
  

One Pot Chicken Apple Sausage Pasta

One pot pasta dishes have been a recent favorite around here. I don't have as much time to cook with a toddler getting into everything and an infant who likes to be held a lot during dinner time. This particular dinner doesn't have much prep time, cooked in less than a half hour and was enjoyed by the entire family (including the toddler and my parents.) There wasn't any left over but if there was I'm sure it would have been just as good the next day for lunch. Enjoy! 

ONE PAN CHICKEN APPLE SAUSAGE PASTA

Adapted from Inspired by Charm 

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 package chicken apple sausage, sliced (about 1lb)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 apple, chopped

2 cups chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes 

1/2 cup heavy cream

10 ounces penne pasta 

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

sliced green onions for garnish 

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. In a large skilled cook the sausage on medium high heat, until brown. 
2. Add in garlic and apples, cook for another minute.  
3. Once apples and garlic are cooked, add in chicken broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Once it's at a boil, reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until pasta is cooked. 
4. Once pasta is cooked, add the cheese. Stir to combine. 
5. Once cheese is melted remove from heat and add the green onions.