This past weekend I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend my first food blog conference, Food Blog Forum. And Bonus, it was at Disney World, one of my favorite places ever!  Originally I went to sign up right when the tickets went on sale but they were sold out in like 5 minutes, literally! So I got put on the waiting list and Praise the Lord, a spot opened up! I was super pumped!! This conference was amazing! I was pretty nervous initially because I didn’t know anyone at all, well I knew some people from chatting online but had never met any of them in person. My nervousness quickly vanished because everyone was so friendly and engaging! This conference was especially great because it was a smaller amount of people so you really got to know a lot of the other bloggers attending.

We went down a couple days earlier and I’ll be sharing more about our actual Disney adventures this weekend, but here is a recap of the actual conference & the amazing food we partook of! The conference was held at The Grand Floridian and it was gorgeous!! They were super helpful and had great customer service, plus they had our room ready when we arrived at 9:00 am, that never happens!

We had an absolutely gorgeous view from our room and it even had a balcony to sit out on! The room was super spacious and they even had robes for you to wear! I love it when hotels have robes, do you? And they had a hamper to put your dirty clothes in, Disney is all about the details!

Friday night was the Welcome reception where we mingled and got to sample some amazing appetizers.  My favorite was the pork dish, the polenta with mushrooms and the lobster salad cones! Also pictured on the far left was the fruit display from our Saturday morning breakfast.  They had them in these fun cups with lit cubes underneath.

Saturday was the conference and we had some amazing speakers! Scott & Jaden of Steamy Kitchen started us off by talking about Redefining Success & Setting Goals.  Then Diane & Todd of White on Rice Couple spoke about photography & videography. We also heard from a Disney Imagineer about how they design their resorts, restaurants & attractions which was fascinating! They take about 5 to 7 years from idea to completion! They are always focused on telling the story.

The main thing I took away from the conference was to be real, be yourself, tell your story and focus on what’s really important.

Lunch was the main attraction of the day! Disney put on an amazing display for us! They themed everything around their new initiative to offer healthier and better options for kids dining in their parks & resorts.  My favorites were: (Pictured from top left)

Turkey Pot Pie served with a cheese biscuit from Cinderella’s Royal Table Restaurant

House made Meatballs with Orecchiette Pasta from the Yachstman Steakhouse

Multigrain Grilled Cheese Dipper with Tomato Soup from Whispering Canyon Cafe

Oven Roasted Altlantic Shrimp with Brown Basmati Rice from Narcoossee’s

And the piece de resistance were the desserts!! They had a fun and festive cupcake display with cupcakes decorated with different characters.  Loved the Monster’s Inc ones and the Minnie Mouse! And they had a cake pop station where they were dipping them on site. And they also had a chocolate mousse cake with different food coloring that they decorated the plates with.  A bunch of us got one of each dessert and then we all shared them, so much fun!

This was an amazing conference! Thanks so much to Julie at The Little Kitchen & Lindsay at Love & Olive Oil for putting this conference together! And we got an amazing “Swag” Bag full of all kinds of goodies from the amazing sponsors!

And I won a fun door prize from King Arthur Flour with cocoa powder, cinnamon and extracts plus an 8 x 8 baking pan.

 Disclaimer: I paid for this conference out of my own pocket, but some of the items (swag bag, food, etc) were provided by the conference sponsors.

I love pasta salad! It’s such a light, summery side dish and it goes perfectly with a good burger or some bbq! There are so many different ways to make it, but my favorite is the classic way with some fresh veggies thrown in tossed in Italian Dressing.  I just made this with what I had on hand, so feel free to throw in your favorite veggies. I bet it would be great with some red & yellow bell pepper and red onion! My grandmother said this was the best pasta salad she had ever eaten, and Adam & I couldn’t seem to get enough of it. It’s a great addition to your summer or Memorial Day cookouts!

Classic Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
1 box Tri Color Rotini Pasta
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside to cool slightly.

Transfer pasta to large bowl, add in the carrots, tomatoes, cucumber & Italian dressing.  Toss gently to coat pasta with the dressing and evenly distribute chopped veggies.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to marry.  Serve cold or at room temperature.   Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

*I made this for Mother’s Day and it fed 5 of us with lots left over and Adam & I got a couple more servings out of it each, so it would be great for a party.

There are so many recipes out there that utilize Italian Dressing. You can marinate your chicken in it, toss veggies in it and roast or grill them and so much more.  Well, I thought I would make my own at home instead of buying the bottled stuff.  This tasted so much like the store bought version, plus it used all pantry items that I keep on hand! I used it in pasta salad that I’ll be sharing with you next week, but it would be great on a regular tossed salad as well.

Homemade Zesty Italian Dressing
Source: Penniless Parenting
Makes approximately 2 1/4 cups dressing

Ingredients:
1 cup white wine vinegar*
1 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. water
1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 tbsp. onion powder
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning**
1 tbsp. salt

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, add garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, oregano, pepper, thyme, Italian Seasoning and salt. Whisk together to combine.  (At this point you can store dry mix and add wet ingredients when ready to make dressing).

Add in the vinegar, olive oil & water. Whisk together to combine.  Transfer dressing to a jar or container with a sealable lid that you can shake up.  Place lid on container and store in the refrigerator. Dressing should last for a while. Shake well before using over chicken, veggies or salad.

Notes:
*Can sub white wine vinegar with regular vinegar or rice vinegar
**Can sub dried parsley or dried basil for the Italian Seasoning

For Mother’s Day my mom asked me to make her a dessert with strawberries or some sort of fruit.  Immediately a crumb cake type dessert came to my mine.  This cake was moist and flavorful but not too rich and it really highlighted the strawberries.  Everyone but me topped it with whipped cream (I’m not a whipped cream fan) but I bet it would be great topped with powdered sugar too, though it was fabulous just on it’s own.  This was so good that last night right before Adam & I went to bed, we cracked it back open and ate it right out of the pan, haha! I’m sure this would be great with other summer fruits as well. I’m excited to try it with adding in peaches & blueberries.

Fresh Strawberry Cake
Source: Smitten Kitchen, originally Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar, divided
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. strawberries, hulled & halved

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9 inch spring form  pan (may also work in a 9 inch cake pan or deep dish pie pan), set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, add flour, baking powder & salt and whisk together, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter with 1 cup sugar until fully incorporated and light & fluffy. Add in the egg, milk & vanilla and beat on medium speed just until incorporated.

Reduce mixer to low and gradually add in the flour mixture, beat until just incorporated.  Remove bowl from stand and pour batter into prepared pan.

Place the halved strawberries cut side down on to the top of the batter. Arrange them in a single layer, you may not use quite all of the strawberries, but should use most of them. Sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp. of sugar evenly over top of the cake.

Bake cake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven to 325 degrees and continue baking for 50 more minutes, until cake is lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Keep cake in pan and place pan on cooling rack to cool completely.  Once cool, release outside of pan if using spring form pan.  Store cake in airtight container.  Serve topped with whipped cream &/or powdered sugar if desired.

Baby Macaroni & Cheesecake is….A GIRL!!!! Last weekend we had a gender reveal party and it was so much fun! I wanted it to be fun but low maintenance for me, so we actually had it catered and a friend made the cake so I could focus on the decorations. And most of these decor ideas I found on Pinterest. Adam’s mom made this pinata for us and it worked perfectly! She made trap doors at the bottom and Adam & I put the streamers in and then pulled the strings and all the streamers came falling out.

Adam & I both love football, so when I found an idea for a party that was football themed, I knew that was the route that we wanted to go.  So I found a few clip art helmets and created the invites & sign on Pic Monkey.

I got some precut cardboard triangles that had holes already punched in them and glued scrapbook paper to them and then got some chipboard letters and glued those on as well.  Then I punch holes in the scrapbook paper and ran the ribbon through. All the buckets that held the balloons I found at the Target Dollar Spot and placed tissue paper in them and taped the balloon strings to the inside of the buckets.

Our dog is named Hershey, so I had to do the Hershey bars! I colored in the HE & SHE using sharpies. I did make the punch, the red punch is this Luscious Slush Punch and the blue is just Hawaiian Punch mixed with Minute Maid Lemonade. And for the cups, I took this idea and I created an image in Pic Monkey, then uploaded it to Vista Print and ordered stickers and placed them on the cups.

The cake was amazing! My friend Jessica did an amazing job!!

We also had a station for everyone to pick their “team,” which gender they thought I was having.  I listed some of my symptoms/old wives tales and hung them to give hints to whether it was a boy or girl.  And there was a station for them to vote for their favorite baby names from our list of top choices.  Other than that, we didn’t play any games, just ate & mingled.

Inspiration for Ideas:
Invitations, Pinata, Cups, For the Team station I just googled my heart out to find the different old wives tales and picked my favorites. If you would like the original full size of the helmet poster, I’d be happy to send it to you, just email me at macaroniandcheesecake (at) gmail (dot) com

BBQ is one of my favorite things to eat or order at a restaurant.  I especially love the sweet yet spicy sauces, so I knew I wanted to try and make one from scratch at home.  You will not believe how easy it is to make BBQ sauce! Just throw everything in the pot, bring to a boil and let simmer and that’s it! This sauce is sweet yet tangy and has a slight kick to it.  The flavors marry together perfectly. If you are making this sauce for more than just a few people, I would suggest doubling it.  This is great for cookouts this summer (or anytime)!

Sweet Carolina BBQ Sauce
Source: Food.com

Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
Dash ground cayenne pepper

Directions:
Place all ingredients into a medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Stir mixture together until smooth.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.  Leave uncovered and simmer for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, until mixture has reduced and thickened slightly.

Remove from heat and let cool.  Mixture will thicken more as it cools.

Serve atop your favorite bbq meat or use as a dipping sauce.

Today we are celebrating Krystal of Mrs. Regueiro’s Plate and her new little boy coming soon! Krystal is a dear blogging friend of mine. We met about 5 years ago on a cooking message board on The Nest and became fast friends.  She is so sweet, thoughtful and always encouraging! I can’t wait until we get to meet face to face, hopefully one day very soon! I’m so excited for her new little arrival coming and know her daughter, Elena will make a wonderful big sister! She and her husband refer to the baby as “cupcake” so it was only fitting that we do a virtual baby shower full of cupcakes! Check out the round-up of all the other amazing cupcakes on Eva Bakes!

I eat PB&J almost every day or every other day for lunch, and I’ve been wanting to turn my sandwich love into a cupcake and I thought this was the perfect opportunity! I came across a recipe from The Cake Boss, and well I love that show so much so I knew I had to try them.  The cake is a vanilla cake, which had great texture and was moist but still sturdy enough to not fall apart.  The peanut butter frosting was Ah-Mazing!!! So silky smooth and fluffy. I could’ve literally eaten it by itself with a spoon.  The jelly in the middle gives a great addition of flavor and satisfies any pb&j craving in such a fun way! This vanilla cupcake was a great base cupcake for using your frosting/filling of choice as well.

Cake Boss Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes
Source: Buddy Valastro (The Cake Boss) featured on Rachael Ray Show
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups cake flour*
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. sea salt
4 eggs
1 cup milk

For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 to 2 cups heavy cream

For the Jelly Filling:
1 cup strawberry jelly

Directions:

For the Vanilla Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cupcake liners into a cupcake tin, spray each liner with cooking spray (this helps the cupcake to come out easily after baking so no crumbs are left behind), set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add flour, sugar, vegetable oil, baking powder, vanilla & salt.  Beat on low until just combined.  Increase speed to medium low and beat approximately 1 more minute.

With the mixer on medium low, add in eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until each is combined.  Pour in milk, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down the sides between each addition.  Beat until fully incorporated and mixture is smooth.

Using a large cookie scoop, scoop batter into the prepared cupcake tins, filling each cup 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for approximately 18 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for several minutes, then pop out and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and peanut butter until combined and smooth.  Add in confectioner’s sugar a little at a time, until it is a sandy consistency.  Pour in 1 cup of the cream and beat until incorporated.  Add in more cream if necessary.  You want it to be a smooth, fluffy consistency.

For the Jelly Filling:
Place jelly in a small bowl and stir together vigorously to break it down a bit and get it to a pipe-able consistency.

For Assembly:
Once the cupcakes have cooled, Cut an “X” into the top of each cupcake.

Place jelly into a squeeze bottle or a piping bag and place tip of bottle or bag into the “X” of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with approximately 1 tbsp. of jelly.

Place peanut butter frosting into a piping bag, fitted with your favorite piping tip and frost the top of each cupcake.

Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature.

Note: *For the cake flour: For each cup of Cake Flour you can place 2 tbsp. corn starch in a 1 cup measuring cup and fill the rest of the way full with all purpose flour. For the 1/2 cup, simply use 1/2 that amount.

I pretty much eat one of two options for breakfast every morning during the week.  It’s either cereal or a Clif bar. Occasionally I have to grab a handful of nuts and a Kashi cookie on my way out the door. I’m not a morning person at all and sleep until the last possible second with just enough time to get ready, so breakfast has to be quick and easy and sometimes portable for me.  I’m not a huge oatmeal lover, but I do like baked oatmeal so I thought I would try these baked oatmeal cups for a grab & go breakfast alternative.  These were fantastic! Moist and hearty and super easy to eat on the go.  What I love about them is that you can customize them to your taste.  I added in mini chocolate chips, but you could also do your favorite fruit: chopped peaches, strawberries, blueberries, etc.  Or you could even do dried cranberries and nuts, the possibilities are endless! Just make these over the weekend and you have breakfast ready to go Monday morning.  I bet these would freeze great too! What’s your go-to weekday breakfast?

Baked Oatmeal Cups
Source: Heavenly Homemakers
Makes 12 Oatmeal Cups

Ingredients:
2 cups quick cooking oats (rolled oats work as well)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
3/4 cup skim milk
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, plus more for topping (optional)

Other Topping Options:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Peaches
Apples

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a muffin tin liberally with cooking spray,* set aside.

In a large bowl, add the oats, baking powder and salt.  Stir together briefly.  Add honey and stir to combine. Add eggs and then pour in the milk and melted butter.  Mix together until fully incorporated.  Mixture will be quite runny.  Add in 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, if desired, and stir together to evenly distribute.

Using a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, scoop batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about 2/3 of the way full.  Sprinkle tops of each oatmeal cup with additional chocolate chips or desired toppings.

Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, until tops and edges are golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool in the tin for a few minutes.  Once oatmeal cups have cooled slightly, run a knife around the outside of each muffin and gently lift it out of the tin.  Serve warm or let cool.  Store in an airtight container.

Notes:
*You can also use muffin/cupcake wrappers.  Just be sure that you spray each wrapper with cooking spray before adding in the batter.
*I haven’t tried it myself, but I think these should freeze really well.
*Next time, to make them a tad healthier I am going to try and sub 1/2 of the butter with applesauce, I’ll report back with how that works, or let me know if you try it.

So in continuing with our Mexican fiesta we’ve been having here the past week, you can’t have a fiesta without finishing it with dessert, right?!? These bars couldn’t be easier to put together and they would be great for any party, Mexican themed or not.  They are sweet and flaky and the cinnamon sugar & butter form a nice crust on top that gives it a great crunch.  Make these for your next party or gathering and I bet everyone will be asking you for the recipe! I preferred these warm, but they do taste great cold too.

Easy Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
Source: Pillsbury

Ingredients:
2 canisters (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

For Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a glass 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Unroll one of the canisters of crescent rolls and spread dough in a single layer on the bottom of the prepared baking dish, ensuring that all triangles are pressed and sealed together.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and 1 cup sugar until fully incorporated and light and fluffy in texture.  Add in vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Gently spread the cream cheese mixture over top of the layer of crescent dough. Spread in an even layer.  Unroll remaining canister of crescent roll dough and lay over top of cream cheese mixture in a single layer, and press all triangles together to seal.

In a small bowl, stir together the 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tbsp. cinnamon until combined, set aside.

Melt butter and pour butter evenly over top of the crescent roll layered dish.  Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over top of the the melted butter in an even layer.  (It will seem like a lot but trust me it’s just right!)

Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, until top is browned and crunchy and center of dish has set.

Let cool slightly, and if desired place in the refrigerator to chill to make it easier to cut into squares.  You can reheat the individual squares prior to serving.  I prefer these warm, but they taste good cold too.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Several years ago I went to Don Pablo’s (LOVE!) with a few of my girl friends and saw they were featuring their carnitas. I had never even heard of that before, but I love pork and it had lots of fresh toppings (red onion, avocado, cilantro) so I rolled with it.  They were amazing!! To this day, if carnitas are on the menu I’m probably going to be ordering them.  They just have such a deep level of flavor.  So when I came across this at home recipe, I knew I had to try it.  Now, this isn’t really something you would cook on a weeknight as it’s a bit of a process, but it reheats really well so you could make it on the weekend and use it to make different meals during the week.

What I loved about this recipe, was that the pork gets a little crispy and it has such a wonderful flavor, which comes from the slow cooking in the juices & spices.  We ate this first on tacos and then the next night in quesadillas, which I loved even more! Check out Karly’s recipe for Carnitas Pizza for another great way to use this recipe.  Also, I halved the recipe, which I listed below, so easily double it, but made plenty for 3 meals for us.

Carnitas
Source: Buns in My Oven, originally Smitten Kitchen & Homesick Texan
Serves Approximately 6

Ingredients:
2 to 2 1/2 lbs. pork butt or shoulder, cut into approximately 2 inch cubes, fat left on
1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup orange juice
1/8 cup lime juice (juice from 1 to 1 1/2 limes)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. kosher salt

To serve:
Flour Tortillas
Avocado or Guacamole
Lettuce
Cilantro
Salsa
Cheese

Directions:
In a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, add the cubed pork.  Pour in the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin & salt. Add enough water to just cover the pork.

Bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and let mixture simmer uncovered for 2 hours. Do not stir during this time.

After 2 hours, increase the heat to medium high and stir occasionally.  As you stir, the meat will begin to shred and fall apart.

Cook meat for approximately 30 to 45 minutes, until water has evaporated and meat begins to become slightly crispy. Stir frequently during this period.  And it will probably have lots of steam and your pot will begin to turn black, this is normal. (Soak the pot overnight and it should clean up easily).

Once water has evaporated and meat is slightly crispy, remove from heat and transfer to serving platter.

Serve in tacos with desired toppings, or use meat in quesadillas with toppings or even on pizza! The meat is great by itself too with just rice & beans!

*I didn’t try this, but if you want it less crispy, just take it off a bit sooner.