Cherry Pockets

I was thinking about you. Yes, you specifically. I just wanted to say thanks. Thank you for helping me see the bright side of things when all I wanted to see were the shadows. For helping me find my voice when I wanted to sink in the silence. For knowing me when I felt like a stranger to myself. For helping me realize that I am enough. Your encouraging words have helped me get through the past few weeks. From the roots of my soul...thank you <3

White Castle Burgers For a Crowd

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It's that time of year again. Football season. This signifies the return of "Pigskinus Gigantopithecus". The man caves of North America are once again filled with the sounds of cheering, clapping, fist pounding and, more commonly in this household, cursing the football gods for their team's poor performance.

Shhh...here are a couple of them in their natural environment. Notice the trophy proudly displayed on the bar of the man cave. Is he smiling? A rare sight! Either his team is winning or he discovered how to view 8 football games simultaneously.

If you recall, these bigfoot-like animals have the digestive systems of omnivores, but can adapt to a steady diet of beer, pizza and chicken wings, which make up the majority of their diets, during the 5 month football season.Today, I will tempt their tummies with White Castle-like sliders! This is a basic recipe that is fast, easy, and great if you need to feed a crowd.

Pecan Pie Cheesecake for Mr. Incredible's Birthday!

                                                        
This time last year I was putting the finishing touches on Mr. Incredible's X-Box 360 Halo Reach Edition birthday cake with matching cake controllers. (Read more about it here). With over 10,000 page views, it is still the most popular post on La Petit Brioche.

                                                          

As Mr. Incredible's birthday grew near, I stressed about making a birthday cake that topped last year's. How could I out do the Xbox cake? I couldn't. Instead, I focused on the flavors that he loved and decided to combine two of his favorite desserts...cheesecake and pecan pie. The sweet, sticky pecan topping complemented the smoothness of the cheesecake base. It has become Mr. Incredible's new favorite dessert :) Happy Birthday, Mr. I!!!

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

Don't you love the feeling you get when you realize you have everything you need in your refrigerator to make a specific recipe you've been wanting to make? Or even when you don't have all the ingredients you know you can substitute that ingredient for something else you have and that you don't need to go to the grocery store after all? ::Sigh:: I love not grocery shopping (refer to Graham Crackers post).

I made a few substitutions and used ingredients I had on hand. I used flour tortillas instead of corn and I also used a combination of cheddar cheese and mozzarella. The end result was a slightly sweet, spicy and cheesy dish that was incredibly addicting.

Texas Roadhouse Rolls with Cinnamon Butter

Confession # 73: I eat at Texas Roadhouse, not for the steak, but for the rolls and cinnamon butter.

Confession # 73b: I may have eaten four of these rolls smothered in cinnamon butter in one sitting. Mr. Incredible ate nine of them.

I found this copy cat recipe while Pinteresting the other day. I made a few changes, such as the addition of honey and using a combination of all purpose flour and bread flour. The taste and texture came out fairly close to the real thing. It is, of course, best served with lots of cinnamon butter :)

Graham Crackers

What's the name of that one disorder...you know, the one that fills you with dread every time you think about having to go grocery shopping. There is such a thing right? I'm fairly certain I have it. I can shop for HOURS for clothing, books, and purses. For groceries, however, I need to get in and get out of the store as quickly as possible, because I fear that my rising blood pressure would cause spontaneous human combustion. Yes, that is something that would logically happen. Duh. On second thought, maybe I just have a fear of spontaneously combusting.

Anyway, the whole point of this was that I had no graham crackers in my pantry. And no graham crackers in the pantry means I couldn't satisfy my cravings for s'mores! Ever had a craving left unsatisfied? Ever lived to tell about it? Exactly.

So I had two choices: suck it up and haul ass to the nearest grocery store for graham crackers OR ....

Crab Rangoons

I don't know what's come over me, but I'm in a frying kind of mood lately. First with the Fried Stuffed Mushrooms and now this. It's bad enough with the cream cheese fillings...but deep fried too? Aw, well. We're in this together, right? That's why we're friends :)

I hate ordering crab rangoon at a restaurant only to find that there is not enough or non existent filling or (I'm almost afraid to say it) imitation crab meat. Nothing makes me crabbier than a hollow crab rangoon. But I found that making them at home battles this crabby appleton behavior. Can I show you?