Giant Oatmeal Cream Pie with Maple Cinnamon Cream

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Bigger isn’t always better, but it is in this case! As you’ve realized by now, this recipe is for a homemade oatmeal cream pie—but not just any oatmeal cream pie. We’re talking about a GIANT oatmeal cream pie with maple cinnamon cream filling. Seriously, it’s the size of the cake! 

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup quick oats
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Challenge butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the maple cinnamon cream filling

• 1/2 cup Challenge butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoons salt

Directions

For the oatmeal cookies

1. Preheat oven to 340 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine flour, quick oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl and set aside.
3. Mix together brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until dough forms.
4. Spray 2 8x8 round cake pans and evenly distribute the dough between the two pans.
5. Pat dough down in the center of the pan so it makes a circle shape. Don’t try to stretch the dough so it reaches the edges—just pat down in the center. It will spread as it bakes.
6. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until the center is mostly set. Let cool before frosting.

For the maple cinnamon cream filling

1. Using a mixer, beat butter on high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add the cream, vanilla extract, maple extract, cinnamon and salt.
2. To assemble, take one of the cookies and turn it upside down so the bottom is facing up. Spread buttercream on cookie. Carefully lay the second cookie on top.

Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Easter Garden Chocolate Cheesecake

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Easter dessert may be my favorite dessert. I love incorporating spring themes like eggs, pastels, and bunnies. I also love using Easter candy! It's one of the many great things about this no-bake cheesecake.

The chocolate cheesecake acts as the canvas for your Easter garden made with Oreo "dirt," shredded coconut "grass," and chocolate "bird nests." I love the idea of getting kids involved and seeing what design they create.

Easter Garden Chocolate Cheesecake
Yield: Serves about 6 people
Ingredients

• 2 (8-ounce) blocks Challenge cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 Oreo or chocolate graham cracker pie crust
• 12 Oreo cookies, crushed
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 3 drops green food coloring
• Other Easter candies like chocolate eggs and peeps for decoration

Directions

1. Use mixer to beat cream cheese several minutes or until smooth.
2. Add powdered sugar, sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
3. Stir in melted chocolate.
4. Add cheesecake mixture to pie crust and smooth top with spatula.
5. Sprinkle crushed Oreos on top of pie. This will be the "dirt."
6. Mix coconut with food coloring and sprinkle on top of pie. This will be the "grass."
7. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Once you're ready to serve, decorate with chocolate eggs, peeps, and other Easter candies.

7-layer basketball court dip

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Everyone's favorite 7-layer dip is getting a March Madness makeover. It will surely score big points with college basketball fans preparing to watch the Final Four this weekend!

7-layer basketball court dip
Ingredients

• 8 ounces Challenge cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sour cream + 1 extra cup to draw lines on court
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 16 ounces guacamole
• 32 ounces refried beans
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Additional toppings: black olives, green onions, cherry tomatoes, pico de gallo, etc.

Directions

1. Mix cream cheese until smooth. Add sour cream and taco seasoning and mix.
2. Spread onto the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
3. Dollop guacamole on top and gently spread over cream cheese layer being careful not to mix the layers.
4. Add refried beans on top and spread evenly.
5. Fill a pastry bag or Ziploc bag with sour cream and use it to create the key.
6. Sprinkle cheddar cheese in the paint and center circle.
7. Decorate with olives, salsa, cilantro, or anything you desire.

Idea for basketball court dip adapted from SheKnows

Encourage your family to eat more spinach with enchilada recipe

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Spinach is a superfood with a wide range of health benefits, including lowering blood pressure, bone health, and boosting memory.

But many people aren’t eating enough of it. The Richard Fairbanks Foundation study that was released earlier this month shows that only 8.6% of adults in Indiana consume the recommended number of greens.

I think a lot of time people don’t eat spinach because they either don’t know what to do with it or they think they don’t like it.

But really, spinach can be added to almost any dish without compromising flavor. That’s why I added it to enchiladas.

Picky eaters who don’t think they like spinach will hardly notice it because it’s “buried” inside the enchiladas with other ingredients!

Lime Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas
Ingredients

• 1 pound cooked chicken, shredded (I use rotisserie chicken)
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chiles
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice (about ½ lime)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chile powder
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, mince
• 6 cups baby spinach
• 2 (10 ounce) cans green enchilada sauce
• 1 cup pepper jack cheese
• 8 large tortillas
• 1 (8 ounce) package Challenge cream cheese
• Cilantro and avocado to garnish

Directions

1. Combine cooked chicken, green chiles, lime juice, cumin, and chile powder in airtight container or gallon-size Ziploc bag. Allow to marinate in refrigerator for at least an hour but preferably several hours.
2. Saute onion and garlic in large skillet for several minutes on low until onion becomes soft.
3. Add spinach leaves and saute until wilted, about 2 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and combine with chicken mixture.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Spread 1 can green enchilada sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan.
7. Fill 1 tortilla with 1 Tablespoon pepper jack cheese and 1/3 cup chicken mixture. Roll up tortilla and place into pan, seam side down.
8. Continue until pan is full. You should be able to fit about 8 enchiladas in pan.
9. Heat cream cheese and 1 can green enchilada sauce in skillet on low and mix until cream cheese is melted. Pour on top of enchiladas and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
10. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the sauce starts bubbling up from the bottom.
11. Garnish with cilantro and avocado and serve.

Dublin Coddle

I’m channeling my inner Irish for this St. Patrick’s Day recipe. And I can truly say that because I just recently found out I’m part Irish!

My aunt just did one of those mail-in DNA tests and found out that we’re 40% British and Irish. So I am embracing it and going all out this St. Patrick’s Day. And by “all out,” I mean eating potato-based dishes.

You know what’s funny though is so many people celebrate the Irish holiday with potatoes, but actually St. Patrick himself would have never experienced the joy of eating a spud because he was alive during the 5th century and potatoes weren’t introduced to Europe until the Spanish invaded South America in the mid-1500s.

But, as you’ve probably realized, it didn’t take long for it to become one of the Emerald Isle’s most prized crops. Mmmmm starch.

Obviously, potatoes are a big part of Irish dishes in present day, so I think celebrating with them is certainly appropriate. And they’re one of the main ingredients in the recipe I’m sharing today.

Dublin coddle is comparable to an Irish stew. It’s made with potatoes, onion, sausage, and bacon. Traditionally, it was a good way to use up any extra meat lying around on Thursdays—this was at a time when Catholics didn’t eat meat on Fridays. It’s still a mainstay on Irish menus  and is very popular in Irish pubs because it’s tasty, comforting, and very filling.

I added a few things to the traditional recipe to give it more flavor. The first thing I added was Guinness beer. Guinness, or stout beer, is an ingredient commonly used in Irish stews.

The alcohol in the Guinness is cooked off, so it doesn’t taste like beer soup. The Guinness just adds an extra depth of flavor. It’s dark, rich flavor is a nice complement to sweet foods, so I also added carrots to the dish to sweeten things up. The yellow onions helped sweeten things too, providing a nice contrast of flavors.

Also, I want to point out that browning the sausages is an extra step, but it makes a hug difference in flavor.

After you’ve cooked the coddle low and slow, serve it with a chunk of crusty Irish soda bread to sop up the broth!

Dublin Coddle

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 pound pork sausages (Irish bangers or brats work well)
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 cup Guinness beer (or other stout beer)
• 2 pounds red potatoes, cut in large chunks
• 1 pound carrots, cut in half-inch chunks
• 2 large yellow onions, cut in large chunks
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 Tablespoons parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Heat a large Dutch oven or other oven-proof pot on the stove over high heat.
3. Fry up the bacon in the Dutch oven until crisp; remove bacon and cut into half-inch pieces
4. Add sausages to Dutch oven and cook just to brown each side—you don’t want them to cook completely
5. Remove and cut into 1-inch pieces
6. Reduce heat to low and whisk flour into grease; slowly whisk in Guinness
7. Layer half the potatoes, carrots, onions, bacon, and sausages to the pot.
8. Sprinkle in half the garlic, parsley, 1 bay leaf, and half the pepper
9. Layer in the remaining potatoes, carrots, onions, bacon, and sausages, and sprinkle remaining garlic, parsley, bay leaf, and pepper.
10. Pour chicken broth over everything and heat on stove until broth comes to a boil.
11. Once broth boils, turn off stove, place lid on Dutch oven, and bake for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Recipe adapted from Wholefully

Make a bowl of cereal... literally!

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I love cereal so much! All types of cereal, too—not even necessarily the sugary stuff! It’s comfort food for me. I probably get it from my mom considering she has no fewer than 15 boxes of Cheerios in the house at all times. I’m telling ya, if the zombies attack and we need to bunker down somewhere safe, I’m for sure going to my parents’ house.

I thought it would be fun to take my love for cereal to the next level by making actual cereal bowls! I chose Fruity Pebbles because the cereal is very small so I thought milk would be less likely to leak though… Wrong! So if you plan to eat milk and cereal out of it, I recommend putting the bowl inside another bowl. Or just serve it with dry cereal or fruit! OR if you coat the inside in chocolate, I’m sure it will be less likely to leak. Regardless, I still think it’s a fun idea.

Plus, you can tell your friends you’re eating a bowl of cereal, cereal-ously!!!

Cereal Bowl
Yield: Makes about 1 medium-sized bowl
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Challenge butter
• 3 cups marshmallows
• 5 cups small grain cereal (like Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Pebbles)

Directions

1. Melt the butter in the microwave for about 1 minute, or until melted. Stir in the marshmallows and microwave 1 more minute. 
2. Stir until marshmallows are smooth. Add cereal and carefully stir until it’s coated with marshmallow mixture.
3. Line a medium-sized (about 1-quart) bowl with aluminum foil. Spray aluminum foil with nonstick spray. 
4. Press marshmallow cereal mix into bowl, bringing it up the sides.
5. Let the bowl harden for at least 2 hours, preferably longer, before using it to serve things.

Raspberry cheesecake for 2 people

I'm continuing my tradition of baking small(er) desserts for Valentine's Day once again! In years past, I made chocolate and peanut butter lava cakes and a red velvet cookie skillet. This year I'm serving up cheesecake!

Now, I'm not one to deny cheesecake--the more the merrier--but there's something special about sharing a smaller portion with your significant other.

If you prefer, you can always swap out the raspberry jam for another fruit, or go with chocolate or caramel instead!

Raspberry cheesecake for 2 people
Ingredients
For the crust

• 1 and 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 8 graham cracker sheets)
• 4 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the cheesecake

• 2 (8-ounce blocks) Challenge cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup  powdered sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Directions
For the crust

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper; set aside.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs with butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Press mixture into bottom of loaf pan so it's packed firmly. Bake for 15 minutes.

For the cheesecake

1. While crust is baking prepare cheesecake filling. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, egg, and vanilla extract, and beat again until completely smooth.
2. Remove crust from oven and pour cheesecake filling on top of crust.
3. Microwave raspberry jam and lemon juice together for about 30 to 45 seconds or until mixture is smooth when stirred together.
4. Use a teaspoon to dollop sauce onto surface of cheesecake batter. Swirl the sauce on the surface of the cheesecake batter with a toothpick or sharp knife so it looks marbled.
5. Bake cheesecake for about 40 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. 
6. Remove cheesecake from oven and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate cheesecake until ready to serve.