Strawberry Dump Cake

Repeat after me:

DUMP CAKES ARE EVERYTHING.

Now that we've got the basics down, let's get into the dirty details. Dump cakes are amazing because they're versatile, cheap, fast, and mouth-watering delicious. They can be as complicated or as easy as you want, and there are a few different methods for making them.

For this particular dump cake, I didn't use pie filling because I was craving fresh strawberries. But hear me…there is no shame in using pie filling. It will be just as tasty, and much less work. We're just over achievers here at my house {note the sarcasm}. Another beautiful thing about this dessert is it can easily be made to be gluten-free, for those of you who have dietary restrictions.

Let's get started!


Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix {we used a gluten-free cake mix, but regular is just fine}
•  1/2 cup of butter
• 1 can pie filling {21 oz.} OR a small container of fresh strawberries
• 2 tbsp sugar {but only if you're using fresh strawberries}

Directions:

If you're using pie filling, you can skip the next few steps and head right to assembly.

We're going to start by washing and de-stemming our strawberries. If you need a tip on how to do that quickly, just click here to see my tutorial.

Next we're going to make the strawberries nice and juicy. You can always go the old-fashioned route and mash them by hand, but this is 100x faster. If you don't have a manual food chopper, these are cheap and save tons of time. I highly recommend getting one similar to this.

I kid you not, making this juicy strawberry mix took less than 10 seconds. Buy the chopper, people!

Put your strawberry mix {or pie filling} in a bowl.

Add your sugar and mix {unless you use the pie filling. No sugar needed for that}.

Pour strawberries or pie filling into a baking pan. I think 13x9 is preferred, but I used my round pan.

Top with cake mix. Spread evenly over strawberries.

Slice butter into thin pieces and layer over the cake mix.

Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Enjoy warm with vanilla ice cream.

Love and dump cakes,

Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, and it's time to make plans. If you have no significant other, it's time to figure out what you will make to eat alone, in your sweats, while watching the latest Nicholas Sparks movie.

I was there for 18 Valentine's Days in a row, eating chocolate my dad gave me. There's no judgment here.

My idea of romance is to not have to cook. I can't remember the last time Valentine's Day cooperated and showed up on a weekend. It's always a Tuesday, or worse, a Wednesday. Nobody likes Wednesday. And nobody likes to cook on a Wednesday. I realize this is counterproductive to trying to get you to cook, but I don't blame you if you just wanna hit up Outback or Applebee's.

Like I said, no judgment. My standards have lowered with the years.

I do like to take care of mine and Tim's co-workers on holidays like this. Have you ever watched How I Met Your Mother (kids under 18, do not watch that show)? There's one episode where Barney convinces Marshall that he has to have some sort of title and/or presence in the office to keep his job. I adopted that policy long ago and unanimously have always been known as the food girl. I bake. I deep fry. I saute. And I share with my co-workers. They all voted that I make these brownies for Valentine's Day.

And in case you haven't heard it, or need to hear it again...

I LOVE YOU!

Yes, you.

BROWNIES
Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 
1 tbsp red food coloring
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) butter 
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 
1/4 tsp salt

FROSTING

Ingredients:

• 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Throw your butter into a stand mixer.

Add the sugar and beat together until creamy.

One-by-one, add the eggs, stirring until combined.

Mmmmmm.

Add the cocoa powder.

Throw in the vanilla.

Add the red food coloring and combine. You may need more or less to tint it the shade of red you'd like, but 1 tbsp. is enough for me.

Gradually add flour, continuing to combine.

Throw in the salt. Ignore my weird-looking hand. I think I'm retaining water.

This will be thicker than a normal brownie mix.

Butter pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly. Because this is a thicker mixture, be careful not to overcook or it will be crispy. We're looking for chewy. I'd even settle for slightly underdone.

I cooked mine a little too long. Still good, though. Let cool for about 20 minutes.

Cut into even pieces.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

I didn't take pictures of the steps for the frosting, but it's easy: just mix the ingredients together well, making sure the butter and cream cheese are smooth. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Spread frosting evenly on the brownies.

I used the crumbs from the cutting board (when the brownies were resting) to sprinkle on top of the brownies. I thought it was cute.

Love and brownies,

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No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies

We all have our days. I have more than most people. Or maybe I convince myself of that so I'm justified in baking creating these as often as possible. My mother actually introduced these to me, which is no surprise. She is the queen of effortless and fabulous, but I have to admit, I was skeptical. I'm one of those people who ashamedly believes that the harder you work and the more expensive the ingredients, the better the food will taste. While that's true in some cases, this is not one of them. So next time you have a day, forget baking. Just make these.

P.S. I've heard these can also be called cow patties, but I wouldn't advice googling that. It'll significantly decrease your appetite.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups oats, divided
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups of sugar
• 4 tablespoons of cocoa

Directions:

• Before starting, lay out a few pieces of wax paper on your counter. And ask God to forgive you for the calories you are about to consume. Maybe pray twice.
• In a large pan, melt butter slowly.
• Once the butter is melted (but not sizzling), add the milk, sugar and cocoa. Lightly stir.
• Turn up the heat and bring mixture to a rolling boil. 
• Remove from the heat once it's boiling and add the peanut butter and vanilla. Combine.
• Add the oats. Mix that in, too.
• P.S. Use a wooden spoon. You don't want to know the fate of my plastic spatula.
• Using a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls onto wax paper.
• Let cookies cool until they are set. To speed up the process, place cookies in the fridge or freezer.
• Side note: my mom dropped off some of these when she was in town and threw them in my freezer for an "emergency." I forgot about them, and about 6 weeks later had a minor chocolate-emergency. Guess what? They were still perfect.

In the words of Rachel Zoe, "These.are.everything."

Love and cheap thrills,

Rachael