Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats

Every now and then, my group of friends like to have a break from a bar night. This month, we decided to have a girls night in, just like a traditional lock-in from our college years. Instead of drinking games, we barbequed and watched movies. This time we rented Pirate Radio, which was a funny movie to watch while we ate our desserts. One of my friends brought brownies, while I made Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats. This is a recipe that I played around with from the side of the Rice Krispie box. The verdict: Everyone enjoyed these treats.

Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats
Adapted from the original rice krispie recipe on the side of the box

4 tablespoons of butter
1 package (10oz) of miniature marshmallows
4 ½ cups of Rice Krispies
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
25 Oreo cookies divided into cookie and cookie with cream
¼ cup of white chocolate chips


Before you start, divide the Oreo cookies into two piles, Cookie and Cookie with Cream. Place the Cookies into a quart freezer plastic bag. Use a rolling pin or another heavy object to make into crumbs. Make it as coarse or as fine as you like. I prefer mostly fine with a few coarse crumbs. With the other part of the cookie, cut into small pieces. I cut about 6 pieces from each part.


In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Add the vanilla and remove from heat. Add the Rice Krispies and stir until all is incorporated with the marshmallows. Add the cookies with cream into the mixture.


Using a buttered spatula or spatula sprayed with cooking spray, place the mixture into a 13”X9” pan that is lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Use another sheet to evenly smooth out the mixture. Place the cookie crumbs on top of the mixture while it is still sticky. Take a spoon and press the crumbs onto the top of the mixture.

When the treats are cooled, cut the treats into the size of your choice. Place the white chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and melt at 30 second intervals, stirring in-between until the chips are all melted. Put the melted chips into a freezer quart plastic bag. Snip off about 1/8 of an inch off the corner of the bag. Put a design of your choice onto each piece. I placed lines in each direction to see that pattern that you see here. Let the white chocolate harden before you eat. These treats will stay about 2-3 days in an airtight container.

Zucchini and Eggplant Pasta

I’m always looking for new and creative recipes for dinner, especially ones that are relatively healthy. In addition, I love the flavors of zucchini and eggplant together in a tomato sauce. It reminds me of ratatouille. The original recipe had goat cheese sprinkled on top of this wonderful creation, however, my favorite sous chef and I both agree that the flavors were perfect just the way they were. This dish will definitely be a household favorite.

Zucchini and Eggplant Noodles with Shrimp

Inspired by Cara's Cravings

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a small onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lb raw shrimp, thawed, peeled, deveined
Freshly ground salt & pepper
28 oz diced tomatoes
Pinch of crushed red pepper
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
About 2-3 zucchini (make into noodles with a vegetable peeler, will look like pappadelle )
½ of an eggplant (make into noodles using a vegetable peeler, will look like pappadelle)


Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the shrimp and garlic. Cook the shrimp for about 1 minute on each side, until just opaque. Remove the shrimp from the pan. Add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper, and basil. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and eggplant and saute over medium heat until slightly softened, about 3 minutes, then add the shrimp and heat through, about 1-2 minutes more.


***If you want to use a prepared sauce, remove the crushed tomatoes, crushed red pepper, and basil from the recipe. ***

Can you make hamburgers out of cupcakes?

I was always told, never go to a party empty-handed. My friend had a barbeque earlier in the summer. I wanted to bring something that was different; something that could be a conversation starter. After searching my document of recipes I wanted to try, I found these amazing hamburger cupcakes from Bakerella.  The attendees at the party described these as Café World Cheeseburgers. With little left to summer, feel free to make these hamburgers for your next barbeque. While I used mixes to save time, feel free to use a homemade recipe for the brownies, cupcakes, and vanilla/white frosting.


Hamburger Cupcakes

Your favorite yellow cake mix
Two of your favorite brownie mixes
Can of Vanilla Frosting
Food Coloring Gels


Prepare the cake and the brownie mixes as directed by the boxes. Bake the cake mix into cupcakes with liners. I yielded 22 cupcakes from the box. Prepare the brownie mixes into a 9” X 13” pans.

Let the baked goods cool.

Take a circle cookie cutter (approximately 2” the size of a cupcake) to cut out circles. I couldn’t find a cookie cutter this size, so I used the top of a double jigger. This worked out perfectly. These will be your hamburger patties.

Divide the frosting into three parts. Tint each third with food coloring gels into the following colors: green, yellow, and red. ***Note that the red takes a significant amount of gel to make the color. *** Place each of the colors into a large freezer bag. Set aside to allow the colors to darken.

Undo the wrappers of each of the cupcakes and cut into half. These are your buns. Place a hamburger patty (brownie) onto the bottom half of the bun.

Start to decorate the brownies by snipping off the bottom corner of each bag. Make circles or zig zags around the patties make lettuce, mustard (or cheese), and ketchup.

Finally, place the top part of the cupcake onto the rest of the hamburger. Enjoy!