Celebrate the Brickyard 400 with these semi-homemade ideas

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

As you all know, Speedway, Indiana is considered to be the racing capital of the world, and lots of Hoosiers are dedicated racing fans. With the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, I want to share some ideas for celebrating the big race that don't require a lot of work. All of these ideas would also work really well if you're throwing a race car birthday party for a child.

Chocolate "Tire" Cake

I love using stencils and powdered sugar to make designs on cakes. I've done this in the past with the IU sign and the pi sign for "Pi Day." So I thought it would be fun to use the same concept to make a tire out of chocolate cake. I just googled "hubcap," printed off an image, and cut it out. I placed the stencil on the finished cake, and shook powdered sugar on top. One of the trickiest parts is to carefully lift the stencil off the cake. You have to be very careful because because you don't want the excess powdered sugar on top of the stencil to mess up your design.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup Challenge butter, melted
• 3 eggs
• 1 chocolate box cake mix
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare cake pan with nonstick spray
2. Mix milk, butter, and eggs; slowly add cake mix and stir until combine
3. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Once toothpick comes out clean, remove from oven, wait 10 minutes, and invert onto plate.
5. After cake has cooled, place stencil on top and use sifter to even distribute powdered sugar over stencil.
6. Carefully lift stencil off cake and admire design

Traffic Light Brownies

Boxed brownie mixes are one of my favorite semi-homemade desserts because I love the convenience of it. But I never follow the ingredients on the back of the box. I consider oil and water to be flavorless ingredients. Instead I always swap them for an equal amount of melted butter and milk. So if the back of the box calls for 1/4 cup water and 1/3 cup oil, you should use 1/4 cup milk and 1/3 cup melted butter. I think it makes the brownies richer. I always use Challenge butter because it's free of additives and hormones, so you'll get the nest flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 box brownie mix
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup Challenge butter, melted
• 1 egg
• Icing (I used Betty Crocker Cookie Icing)
• Red, yellow, green chocolate candies

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare 8 x 8 pan with nonstick spray
2. Mix milk, butter, and eggs; slowly add brownie mix and stir until combine
3. Pour batter into pan and bake for approximately 35 to 40 minutes.
4. Once toothpick comes out clean, remove from oven
5. Once cool, cut into rectangles
6. Use icing to make three small dots on brownie
7. Place a red, yellow, and green candy on top of dots and let sit until icing hardens

Chocolate Covered Pretzel "Oil Dipsticks"

Everyone loves chocolate covered pretzels and I thought they looked close enough to oil dipsticks. Important tip: Before dipping pretzels melt you chocolate in tall jar instead of bowl. It will be easier to get more chocolate on the pretzel.

Ingredients

• Pretzel rods
• 2 cups milk chocolate or dark chocolate morsels
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable shortening (recommended but not necessary)

Directions

1. Microwave morsels and shortening in microwave-safe jar on medium-high power for 1 minute and stir
2. If morsels are not melted, continue to heat and stir in 15-second intervals until you reach desired consistency
3. Dip pretzel rods into morsels, tilting the jar to get more chocolate on the pretzels
4. Place pretzels on wax paper when done
5. Once chocolate sets, dip them a second time and return to wax paper
6. Store pretzels in airtight container until ready to serve

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Buffalo Chicken Campfire Fries

Anyone else go on a lot of camping trips as a kid? Every summer, my family would go camping in Mackinaw City, Michigan for a week. It was awesome! We would cook on a campfire and brush our teeth in the woods. But unfortunately, one night we got hit by some pretty bad storms, and our tent flooded and everything was ruined. So we went to a hotel, and I’ve actually never been camping since.

One of my favorite things about camping was cooking over a fire. We cooked a lot of hot dogs and s’mores. Then we discovered these cooking irons, and we made a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches. But one of the biggest problems is there just wasn’t a whole lot of variety. So I came up with a new creation that is sure to register Oooos and Ahhhs among your fellow campers.

Introducing… campfire fries! But not just any fries. Buffalo Chicken Campfire Fries!

I love french fries, and I love buffalo chicken dip. So I thought to myself, “Why the heck aren’t these co-existing already?”

The goal of this recipe was to make it as easy as possible because there’s not a whole lot to work with when you’re camping.

Before you start pigging out on the ultimate camping indulgence food, I just want to address a few things. The chicken I used in this recipe came from a can because like I said, the goal here is easy. But if you’re choosing to make this at home or if meat in a can is weird to you, use whatever chicken your heart desires.

Also, just to be clear, don’t cook this directly over the fire. Cook it on a flat surface of hot coals. Cooking times may vary but the good thing is nothing is raw here so you don’t have to worry about getting sick. You just want everything to be heated through so it tastes delicious.

P.S. If sleeping outdoors makes you want to run far away in the other direction, you can cook this on the grill or in the oven.

Buffalo Chicken Campfire Fries

Yield: Comfortably serves 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 pound frozen french fires
• 1 cup chicken, diced
• 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup blue cheese
• 2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Lay out two large sheets of aluminum foil and spray top layer with nonstick spray.
2. Dump frozen french fries onto aluminum foil and fold into a packet. The top can be open.
3. Cook over hot coals for about 15 minutes.
4. While fries are heating, combine chicken and buffalo sauce.
5. Carefully remove fries from coals and add 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, buffalo chicken mixture, the remaining cheddar cheese, and the blue cheese.
6. Return packet of french fries to hot coals and heat until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

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Chicken and Waffles Casserole

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Does anyone else ever think about how scary it is that we're all so dependent on technology? I've been thinking about it a lot this week as I deal with a broken laptop. Actually "broken" is a generous adjective for the condition my laptop is in -- it's dead.

I wasted hours of time on vacation time trying to fix it. Did you catch that? I wasted VACATION TIME because of a broken laptop. And I'm sure many of you would do the same thing. The unknown of whether it would work or not gave me extreme anxiety. 

I use my laptop to sort through emails, to study and read my textbook, to blog, to edit photos... It's my link to the outside world. Except, somewhere along the way I must have forgotten that I'm actually living in the "outside world," and I don't need a "link" to it because I'm in it!

I realize a lot of our dependence to technology is just a result of the direction the world is moving. And most people have obligations that require the use of technology. So my suggestion to you is that the next time you experience a laptop or computer problem, try to embrace it instead of becoming upset or anxious. Use it as an opportunity to disconnect and channel your energy toward more simple things in life. Learn from my mistakes!

Okay, now someone lend me a hand so I can get down from my soapbox.

I first learned about the "chicken and waffles" combination just a few years ago. Savory, sweet, and an incredible combination of textures. This is definitely a recipe I'd be interested in sharing with friends. But then I think about how I would be stuck in the kitchen serving up waffles while everyone else eats. No thank you. I am already the world's slowest eater. so you don't want me eating last.

That's why I like breakfast casseroles. Make them the night before, pop the whole thing in the oven, and everyone gets to eat at the same time! But wait, chicken and waffles can be turned into a casserole too! And that's exactly what I did.

Let's first talk about the waffles. I made cornbread maple waffles -- great texture and the perfect amount of sweetness. You could absolutely use freezer waffles if you prefer, but I feel like nothing compares to a homemade waffle.

For the fried chicken, I bought popcorn chicken from the freezer section of the grocery store. I chose the popcorn variety because it's already in bite-size pieces. But you can make you own fried chicken, oven fry your chicken, or buy it from your favorite restaurant.

I layered the waffles and the chicken in an 8 x 8 pan with cheese because why not cheese. And then I added a mixture of eggs, milk, maple syrup and spices to hold it together.

It was actually better than I imagined, and the pieces came out of the pan really well!

Chicken and Waffles Casserole

Yield: Serves about 8 people

Ingredients

For the waffles

• 2 (8.5 ounce) boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 2 eggs
• 4 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

For the egg mixture

• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Also...

• 2 pounds fried popcorn chicken
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

For the waffles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix Jiffy mix, eggs, butter, milk, maple syrup, and brown sugar until there are no lumps.
3. Use batter to make waffles; cube waffles and set aside.

For the egg mixture

1. Combine eggs, milk, maple syrup, chili powder, garlic powder, and dry mustard; set aside

Assembly

1. Spray 8 x 8-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray
2. Add 1/2 of cubed waffles to bottom of pan; layer with 1 pound of popcorn chicken and 1/2 of cup cheese.
3. Repeat adding the rest of the waffles, chicken, and cheese
4. Pour egg mixture on top.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with more maple syrup if desired.

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Grilled Fruit Pizza

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

There are few people who love a backyard BBQ quite like Kylee Wierks loves a BBQ. First of all, I love eating outside. In fact, I think we should all eat every meal outside. The ambiance significantly effects how much I enjoy the food, and there's just something about the fresh air that makes food taste better.

Secondly, BBQ food is probably my favorite food. I loved grilled meat, I love grilled sides, and I love grilled desserts! Yes, you read that correctly. I said I love GRILLED DESSERTS! Believe it or not, the grill is not just for burgers, steaks, and corn. You can (and you should) make desserts on the grill!

Using the grill does wonderful things for the texture and flavor of your desserts. Bonus: you don't need to turn on the oven, so you won't heat up your home!

Fruit desserts in particular are just magical, hot and sugary but not completely terrible for you. You can grill just about any fruit your heart desires. So I decided to grill all of my favorite fruits and make a fruit pizza!



Fruit pizza was always one of my favorite summer desserts when I was growing up. You know the kind with a sugar cookie crust and cream cheese frosting? My mom would always make it for the Fourth of July and other summer holiday parties.

I wanted to make a more savory version with actual pizza dough. Just use your favorite homemade or store-bought pizza dough or flat bread, it's completely up to you. Then top it with a sweet cream cheese spread and your favorite grilled fruit.

Grilling fruit is easy peasy, I promise! Just make sure to coat the grates or the grill pan well with oil or no-stick spray because the fruit is prone to sticking. Also, I recommend using fruit that is just barely ripe because you don't want it to get too mushy on the grill. One thing to keep in mind is sturdier fruits like pineapples and peaches take more time to grill (about 3 minutes each side) than something like strawberries or kiwis (2 minutes or less each side). My suggestion is to grill just a few pieces at a time until you get a feel for how long it will take.

The pizza is best served warm, and it still tastes great the second day!



Grilled Fruit Pizza
Yield: Serves about 10 people
Ingredients

• 8 ounces Challenge cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• Variety of sliced fresh fruits (I used 1 peach, 1 pineapple, 6 strawberries, handful of blackberries)
• Pizza dough (I used Wewalka bistro dough, but you can use any pizza dough or flat bread you like)
• Optional: Mint leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Use mixer to cream together cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy or about 1 minutes. Set aside.
2. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium heat. Lightly coat grill grates with non-stick spray or oil so fruit doesn't stick.
3. Add sliced fruit to grill and grill for about 2 to 3 minutes per side. More delicate fruits like strawberries will take less time than peaches and pineapple. Set grilled fruit on plate.
4. Place pizza dough on grill and cook for about 4 minutes or until bottom is browned. Flip and cook for an additional 4 minutes.
5. Spread grilled pizza dough with cream cheese mixtures and arrange fruit on top.
6. Garnish with mint leaves if desired and serve warm.

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Strawberry Shortcake Skillet

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Nothing says summer quite like strawberry shortcake, and the recipe I’m sharing today may be the easiest version yet!

At any given moment in your life, you are 20 minutes away from eating this delicious summer dessert. Reducing preparation time is the key.

As you already know, there are a variety of ways to make strawberry shortcake. And guess what – they’re all delicious. You can either make the shortcake by sifting together flour and other dry ingredients and cutting the butter into it with a pastry blender.

Or you can use biscuit mix and melted butter.

Like I said, both are delicious.

Also, you can form the dough into biscuits or just dump everything into a skillet.

Once again, both ways are delicious, but the latter is significantly easier. 

Even better, don’t bother to plate it. Just eat it straight out of the skillet.

Strawberry Shortcake Skillet

Ingredients

• 1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 cups biscuit mix
• 1 cup buttermilk*
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 Tablespoons Challenge butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Optional: More strawberries and whipped cream for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare cast iron skillet
2. Combine strawberries and sugar and set aside to macerate
3. Whisk together biscuit mix, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl until just combined
4. Spoon 1/2 of biscuit batter into bottom of skillet
5. Dump strawberries over batter and dollop remaining biscuit batter on top of strawberries
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until top turns golden brown and let cool
7. Serve with more strawberries and whipped cream if desired

*You can use any milk you have on hand, but I like the texture buttermilk creates. You can make buttermilk by combining 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar with 1 cup milk.

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Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Foil Packets

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I was at the grocery store with my mom recently to pick up ingredients for this amazing foil packet dinner when I noticed the shrimp was from Indiana.

Luckily for my mom (wink wink), I know a lot about Indiana shrimp, so of course, I was very eager to share that knowledge with her!

Did you know that Indiana produces some of the best shrimp in the world? I realize that sounds like a crazy claim to make about our landlocked state, but it’s true! Just like soybeans and corn, shrimp is produced in indoor shrimp farms throughout the state. The shrimp grow and develop in large above ground pools.

There are about a dozen shrimp farms in the state, and RDM Aquaculture is the largest. They sell about 250,000 shrimp each month! Farm-raised shrimp is supposed to be a good alternative to wild ocean shrimp because of the growing concern of water pollution.

I was feeling pretty proud about this spiel until I realized the sign said the shrimp was actually from India, not Indiana. Oh well. Onto the recipe!

These foil packet dinners with shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes are so tasty! And there are minimal ingredients – the flavor comes from just a little creole seasoning and butter.

I have a few tips before you try out this great recipe!

First of all, I recommend sticking each ear of corn in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Otherwise, the cob will be very hard to cut through.

Also, I recommend microwaving the potatoes for about 1 minute before you cut them and put them in the foil packets. This is because the potatoes will take longer to cook on the grill than everything else.

Also, my dad brought to my attention that apparently a new study shows cooking with aluminum foil can cause health issues. I’m not sure if there’s any merit to this, and it’s predominantly with acidic foods. But if you’re uncomfortable cooking your food straight on the aluminum foil, just lay a piece of parchment paper in the foil packet before adding your ingredients.

Also, just to clarify, everything goes into the foil packet raw and it cooks on the grill!

Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Foil Packets

Yield: Makes about 4 foil packets

Ingredients

• 4 ears of corn on the cob, shucked and cut into thirds
• 1 pound red potatoes, cut into fourths
• 1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 pound Andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch chunks (turkey sausage works well too)
• 4 Tablespoons Challengebutter
• 3 Tablespoons Cajun / creole seasoning (I use Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning)
• Parsley for garnish, if desired
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic

 Directions

1. Preheat grill to 400 degrees
2. Cut 4 sheets of 12-inch aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray
3. Evenly distribute corn, potatoes, shrimp and sausage into the center of each foil packet
4. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons creole seasoning evenly over ingredients in each foil packet and add 1 Tablespoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of minced garlic to each center
5. Seal foil packets by folding up the sides over the ingredients and sealing edges, allowing some room for heat circulation
6. Place foil packets on the grill and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes or until shrimp are no longer pink and veggies are cooked
7. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately

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Fruity Pebbles Doughnuts

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

My doughnut preference has always been sprinkles. Some people go for cream-filled, jam-filled, cinnamon sugar doughnuts, but not me. I always pick sprinkles. I realize that's not actually a doughnut flavor because sprinkles don't taste like anything. They just look pretty.

But you know what looks pretty and is tasty? Fruity Pebbles! I've been trying to think of ways to incorporate them in recipes ever since I made "Over the Rainbow" Krispie Treats for St. Patrick's Day. So when I was asked to create a fun doughnut recipe for National Doughnut Day, it was the first thing that came to my mind.



I love the idea of Fruity Pebbles doughnuts -- it's like a mash-up of two breakfast foods!

I studied a lot of different doughnut recipes before I developed this one. What makes this one particularly unique is the use of cereal milk in place of regular milk. Anyone who has enjoyed a bowl of Fruity Pebbles knows about the delicacy after the cereal is gone -- the milk at the bottom of the bowl. So in order to give these doughnuts the most authentic Fruity Pebbles taste, I thought it was only appropriate to use cereal milk.

I used a doughnut pan to create these doughnuts, but donut worry (trying to be funny) there are a couple options available if you don't own a doughnut pan. Firstly, you can roll up a small piece of parchment paper and stick it in the middle of a muffin tin cavity. The batter will bake around the parchment paper, and voila doughnuts! Secondly, you can just bake the batter in a mini muffin tin and call them doughnut holes!

Also, one more tip! If you use a doughnut pan, I recommend putting the batter into a plastic zip bag and piping it into the doughnut cavity much like you would pipe frosting. Otherwise, it's awfully hard to spread the batter around each doughnut pan cavity,



Fruity Pebbles Doughnuts
Yield: Makes about 9 doughnuts
Ingredients
For the cereal milk

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup Fruity Pebbles

For the doughnut batter

• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cereal milk 
• 4 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup Fruity Pebbles cereal

For the icing

• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons cereal milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup Fruity Pebbles cereal for sprinkling on top

Directions
For the cereal milk

1. Pour milk into bowl with Fruity Pebbles and let soak for about 10 minutes.
2. Pour milk and cereal through strainer, saving the cereal milk to use in the rest of the recipe.
3. Dump soggy Fruity Pebbles

For the batter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine egg, sugar, cereal milk, butter, and vanilla in medium-sized bowl until smooth.
3. Add flour and baking powder to bowl and stir until just combined. Fold in Fruity Pebbles cereal.
4. Spoon batter into a plastic zip top bag and cut off one of the corners. Pipe batter into each doughnut cavity.
5. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes and let cool.

For the icing

1. Whisk together powdered sugar, cereal milk, and vanilla; add more powdered sugar if icing is too thin, add more cereal milk if icing is too thick.
2. Dip each doughnut into icing and immediately sprinkle top with Fruity Pebbles.

Recipe adapted from A Southern Fairy Tale and BetterRecipes

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