Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Frosting

You may have noticed that I have been MIA for a while.  I have taken on some other responsibilities that have not allowed me much time for blogging.  I thought things would get better when school was out and I stopped working, but I was wrong.  Sorry!

However, I made this cake this past weekend for my husband's birthday and he loved it so much that he said I had to blog about it.  So I am.  And he is correct that this should be shared.  It was too easy and too delicious not to share!

Cabbage Roll Casserole

Wow!  I have been quite the slacker lately.  At least when it comes to blogging.  I have been super busy working on some other projects, so blogging, and even cooking/baking, have been on the back burner.  No pun intended.  The drought has hit especially hard in trying new main dishes.  But fortunately, I did carve out some late recently to try out this yummy cabbage roll casserole.

I have never had a cabbage roll, but the idea of it, and pictures of it, seemed pretty good.  Then I started seeing recipes on Pinterest for cabbage roll casserole.  They were described as being similar to cabbage rolls, but without the work of rolling.  Bingo!  I love anything that involves less work, especially these days!

Chocolate Rolls with Peanut Butter Glaze

Cinnamon rolls have always been one of my favorite sweet treats.  I could eat them every day.  And as a bonus, I can eat them for breakfast, I can eat them as a side dish with a bowl of chili, and I can eat them as a dessert.  They are basically socially acceptable to eat anytime, anywhere!

I have a great standard cinnamon roll recipe that I love.  It is so good and really easy to make.  But I am never satisfied with making the same thing over and over.  So I have been experimenting with different fillings, different icings, etc.  And while I have been working on these cinnamon rolls, I had an amazing idea.  What if instead of using cinnamon in the filling, I used cocoa powder?  It seemed just crazy enough to be awesome.  So I whipped up a few more batches of cinnamon roll dough in the name of experimenting (shucks!) and tried my hand at making chocolate rolls.  And I have a winner!

Hot Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal

This post is going to be short and sweet.  That's because this is one of the easiest recipes I have ever, and will ever, post.  Oatmeal is one of my go-to breakfasts when I eat at home during the week.  Usually I make it with skim milk, ground flax seed, and cinnamon.  Sometimes I don't have milk around (gasp!).  In that case, I use powdered milk.  I have been drinking hot chocolate in the evenings lately.  That has powdered milk in it.  Last night, it occurred to me that it might be really awesome to use hot chocolate mix to make oatmeal.  

So this morning, I tried it out.  And it was every bit as awesome as I hoped it would be!  Yummy, chocolaty, easy, and nutritious!  As I was eating it, I was thinking that I was the most brilliant person to ever live.   I made oatmeal with hot chocolate.  Take that, Einstein. Then I realized that it would be even better with peanut butter.  What's not?  So I took a tablespoon of peanut butter, heated it up in the microwave to thin it out, and stirred in into my remaining oatmeal.  Jackpot!

If you thought you didn't like oatmeal because it is boring, you must try this hot chocolate peanut butter oatmeal.  It is amazing!  And, for chocolate and peanut butter, it is quite healthy.  I used a packet of no-sugar-added hot chocolate mix that had 50 calories.  Add that to 150 calories from oatmeal and 100 calories from peanut butter, and you get 300 calories.  And you get a delicious, satisfying, and filling way to start your day!

Hot Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal
Ingredients:
1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
8 oz (1 cup) water
1 packet no-sugar-added hot chocolate mix
1 Tbsp peanut butter
Directions:
Stir all ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave 1 minute and 30 seconds.  Stir.  Heat an additional 30 seconds if needed to achieve desired consistency.

Serves 1

Easy Swirled Sugar Cookie

In case you haven't noticed, Christmas is quickly approaching!  As in, it's already tomorrow!  Christmas sugar cookie making is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  I love making the dough.  I love cutting out fun shapes.  I love decorating cookies.  I love adoring my work when I'm done.  But mostly I love to eat cookies!

Unfortunately, I just haven't had the time this year that it takes to make my traditional, beloved Christmas cookies.  But there was no way I could totally abandon sugar cookies this season.  I have seen pins on Pinterest with colored sugar cookies instead of frosted sugar cookies.  That seems more manageable for someone who wants pretty Christmas cookies, but doesn't want to spend all day making them.  This seemed like the perfect time to try them!