Confectionery Canary

What you'll Need:
Yields about 4-6 servings in a 9x9 pan
- About 10 lasagna sheets broken in half (depends on pan size and number of layers)
- 1 cup cooked ground chicken
- 1/4 onion or 2 Tbs finely diced
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbs parsley
- 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 Tbs tomato paste
- 1/4 cup cream
- Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 365.  Combine tomato sauce, paste, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning.  If you have the time, skip the garlic powder and saute some minced garlic and onion with a little olive oil until translucent, then add your tomato sauce etc.  Simmer sauce on low until ready to layer lasagna.  Boil water for noodles.  Brown ground chicken.  Salt boiling pasta water and add in lasagna sheets.  Season cooked chicken with diced onions, salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp paprika, and 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning, leave on heat for a couple more minutes until the onions become translucent.  I don't use nonstick pans, so I get good brown flavor on the bottom of my frying pan from cooking the chicken.  I like to add a couple tablespoons of water to the hot pan to loosen it up and mix that in with the chicken so no flavor gets lost!  Drain pasta sheets at al dente so you can still handle them without them breaking as easily as a fully cooked pasta sheet would.  Remove sauce from heat and add 1/4 cup cream to cut the acidity of the tomatoes and make it richer.  You can also add a little less cream and about a tablespoon of pasta water to make your sauce even smoother if you'd like.  Mix ricotta with egg, a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and the parsley.  Now it's time to layer!  I like to start with a little sauce in the bottom of my greased pan, then put down my first layer of lasagna sheets, followed by 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, a handful of the mozzarella, 1/3 of the cooked chicken, a ladle of sauce, then repeat until you get to the top layer.  I add a final layer of lasagna sheets, a ladle of sauce and tons of mozzarella to the top.  Then place into oven for about 35-45 minutes until it gets golden brown and bubbly.  We like this meal with garlic bread and a salad.

Finally! I've found the best chocolate chunk cookie recipe EVER! I have experimented with many different recipes over the years and have finally found the one that reaches the pinnacle of chocolate chip cookie perfection (in my opinion)!  We all have a different idea of our perfect cookie, mine has a nice rise and is crunchy on the outside and goooooooey in the middle with the perfect ratio of cookie to chocolate. For me, these cookies hit that mark!  Before I go any further, I must give credit to the source of these magnificent creations, YouTube personality, Tanya Burr. I've tweaked the recipe just a tad for my tastes but the inspiration came from her video "White and Milk Chocolate Cookies."  There's only one condition with these babies, you MUST use Cadbury Chocolate, it makes all the difference!  So without further adieu, let's get baking!

What You'll Need:
Yields: 14 large cookies or about 26 normal sized cookies

- 2 sticks of room temperature butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cup AP flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 or 2 tsp heavy cream
- 2 3.5 oz Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate Bars. (1 milk, 1 dark)

Directions:

Allow butter and egg to reach room temperature. Break chocolate bars into chunks however small or large you'd like.  Combine butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer, whip until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla, mix well.  Combine flour and baking powder and add to mixture, mix until just combined.  Mix in the heaving whipping cream until desired consistency is reached.  Fold in chocolate chunks.  Refrigerate for 1 to 48 hours for best results.  The longer you can resist baking them, the better they'll taste!  Preheat oven to 390 degrees F.  Lightly grease cookie sheet and scoop out dough with a standard ice cream scoop for large cookie or a smaller scoop for normal sized cookies.  Bake large cookies for 12 minutes and small cookies for 8 minutes until barely golden brown.  Baking times vary by oven.  They will appear under cooked but it's okay!  Take them from the oven and let them firm up on the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  If you like crunchy cookies, just bake them longer.  You can also freeze your cookie dough for later too.  I like to keep a couple different types in our freezer so when we want a freshly baked cookie, it's just a few minutes away!  I roll my dough into a log shape with plastic wrap and freeze.  When we want cookies, I just cut off as many as we want that night, shape them, let them warm up a bit for 5-10 minutes in the pan on the counter, then bake as usual!

I don't know about you, but I love a good Pineapple Upside Down Cake!  This delicious twist was inspired by autumn apple season and my Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe!  I hope you enjoy this cake as much as we do!

What You'll Need:
- 1 boxed yellow cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)
- 2 Golden Delicious Apples
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put butter and sugar in cake pan and place in the oven to melt the butter and sugar. In the meantime, peel, core, and slice apples.  Remove pan from oven and arrange apple slices on top of the melted sugar.  Prepare cake mix per box instructions, or make your own.  Add in cinnamon.  Pour batter into cake pan, over the apples.  Bake for about 40-45 minutes.  The top will get golden brown early, but this is normal.  The center will be liquid until full baking time is reached. As soon as you remove your cake from the oven, carefully invert it onto a cake plate. Tap the bottom of the pan and slowly remove the pan to reveal your beautiful cake!  If you let the cake cool down, even slightly, you risk the fruit or caramel sticking to the inside of the pan, ruining the look of your cake.  This cake is best served fresh and warm.  The topping tends to get soggy if leftover. Enjoy this with friends on a chilly fall evening!

If you're looking for the prefect autumn treat look no further! These delicious little cakes are sure to be a favorite at any holiday gathering you attend this season! I usually only make these once a year for Thanksgiving but they're so yummy I may have to half the recipe and make them again before next year! I've used this recipe to make a cake and to make cupcakes.  This recipe makes one 9 x 13 cake or about 30 cupcakes.  Whether you're making these cupcakes for Thanksgiving, Christmas or just a seasonal treat, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Ingredients:
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes
- 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups flour
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mash sweet potatoes. Beat egg and sugar until fluffy. Add cup of vegetable oil and sweet potatoes. Mix well. Sift together flour, baking power, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add into potato mixture. Mix until just combined.  Add vanilla. Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes.  Finish them off with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans if you wish!

Cream Cheese Frosting is one of the most simple, delicious and versatile frosting's you can make! It's great on cupcakes, cakes, cookies and spoons! ;) Add a dash of cinnamon and it makes cream cheese frosting the perfect accompaniment to seasonal desserts.

What you'll need:
-1 8oz block of cream cheese (room temperature)
-3 to 4 cups of confectioner's sugar -1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions: Let cream cheese reach room temperature. Place in bowl of electric mixer. Sift in confectioner's sugar cup by cup. Cream together on medium speed. Add in vanilla and cinnamon, scrape down bowl, mix thoroughly until thick and fluffy. Add more sugar for thicker frosting.  Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes if using a piping bag, (this helps stiffen the frosting to better show the design you pipe) otherwise, ice cooled cakes or cookies and enjoy!  For more frosting, simply double or triple all ingredients.

Red Velvet Cupcakes, the perfect Southern treat!  I've been on the lookout for a great red velvet cupcake recipe for a while. And this one is pretty tasty!  I adapted it from a Georgetown Cupcake recipe and here's what I came up with!  It's fluffy, moist and chocolaty delicious!

What You'll Need:
- 7 Tablespoons butter (room temp)
- 1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons red food color
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cup sifted flour
- 3/4 teaspoon vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy; about 3 to 5 minutes. Add egg, mix until combined.  In a separate bowl, mix cocoa powder, red food coloring and vanilla.  Add to butter mixture and mix well.  Add salt to milk. Alternate adding flour and milk, mixing on low until just combine. Scrape down sides as need. In a separate bowl mix vinegar and baking soda and quickly add to batter. Just combine, do not over mix.  Scoop batter into lined cupcake pan. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for about 20 minutes. Makes about 18 cupcakes. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting or my new favorite, White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting!

This frosting is...ahhhmazing!  If you're looking for something other than your typical buttercream or my personal favorite, cream cheese frosting, look no further! This white chocolate cream cheese frosting is so differently delicious, it will take good cupcakes and make them over the top great! And it's so tasty too! (I Love Lucy anyone?) ;) This frosting has such a silky smooth texture and it holds up well to piping. The tartness of the cream cheese cuts the richness of the white chocolate nicely, making for the perfect balance and the perfect frosting!

What You'll Need:
- 8 oz cream cheese (full fat)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate bits
- 3 cups confectioner's sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Allow cream cheese to reach room temperature. Whip cream cheese in mixer or by hand for a couple minutes. Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in 30 second intervals stirring between each increment. Repeat until chocolate is fully melted and smooth. Let cool completely.  Add melted white chocolate and vanilla extract to whipped cream cheese, mix thoroughly.  Slowly add in confectioner's sugar, incorporate until smooth. Use right away or refrigerate for 30 minutes for a stiffer frosting.  Enjoy atop red velvet cupcakes, cookies or anything your heart desires!