I found this recipe at The View from Great Island.  Super easy to make.  Super delicious. 

Go there.  Read her blog post.  Look at her yummy pictures.  Then go make them. =)

Notes:  I left the wax-paper wrapped log in the refrigerator overnight.  I cut them the next morning.  They are very crumbly, but I just mooshed them together in my hands and flattened them out a bit and baked them for 13 minutes.  Yum.  You will definitely want a cup of coffee or glass of milk with them though!

I was in the mood to bake, and had a eensy bit of a sweet tooth.  While perusing Pinterest I came across this recipe at Just a Pinch.   It sounded delicious, and after reading the comments other people had made about its deliciousness, and realizing I had some oranges in there that needed using... I made it. 

*I should note, in case you didn't read through the comments on the recipe there, that people say you should definitely let this cool completely before cutting into it.  Otherwise, it crumbles apart very easily, and while still tasty, is not like eating a piece of bread. 

*Another note:  The original recipe at "Just a Pinch" states to use two pans for this recipe.  I used just one, as we like nice, large loaves.   That said, we then had to cook it for about 15-20 minutes longer, which caused the edges to brown significantly.  While this did not affect the taste really (it was still delicious), you could tell it was cooked longer, and the aesthetic value is not nearly as appealing.  Next time, I will follow directions and split it between two loaf pans.  

Ingredients:

1 8-oz box of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1&2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2&1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/4 cup orange juice


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Grease and flour a bread pan. 

Mix together the cream cheese and shortening until creamy.  Add in the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, blending well between each addition. 

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture a little at a time, alternating with the milk.  Batter will be thick and creamy.   Mix in grated orange peel.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Let cool for ten minutes, then sprinkle the orange juice over top.  Let cool completely before serving.

   Yep, another bread recipe.  But this one actually rises enough to be an actual sandwich type bread.  Many of them are too short to make a really decent sandwich.  This one fixes that.  It's good, and we ate it all up right away.  I'm actually considering making another batch today.  This recipe was found via Pinterest  at Annie's Eats.

I didn't get a picture of it cut, and for that I apologize.  Maybe if I do wind up making more today, I'll get an updated picture of that part.  I may even make myself a sandwich!







Ingredients

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

1 cup warm milk

1/3 cup warm water

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp. honey

2 ¼ tsp instant yeast

Directions:

Put the rack in your oven at the lowest position, and preheat your oven to 200*F.  Once it's reached 200*, let it stay there for ten minutes, then turn it off.  Don't open the door.

Meanwhile, mix 3&1/2 cups of the flour with the salt in a large bowl of a mixer.  In another bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients (minus the remaining flour).  Start your mixer and slowly add in the wet ingredients.  Increase the speed to medium and let mix for about 10 minutes, adding a tablespoon of flour at a time as needed after five minutes to keep the mixture doughy and not sticky. 

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth ball.  Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and put in the warmed oven.  Let double in size; about 40-50 minutes. 

On a floured surface, work the dough into a rectangle, about 1 inch thick and no longer than the size of your bread pan.  With long side facing you, roll into a cylinder, pressing the edges together. Turn seam up and pinch closed.  Place seam side down into a bread pan and press gently to touch all sides.   Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to double in size; about 30 minutes. 

Keep one rack in the lowest position, and another in the middle, and preheat to 350*F.   Place a pan of boiling water on the lowest rack (at least 2 cups worth).  Uncover bread and place on middle rack and bake for about 45-50 minutes.  Remove and let cool.  



My younger brother has an obsession with Tootsie Rolls.  Well, I'm not sure if it's still as huge now as it was when we were younger, but every time I see one I think of him.  So, when I found This Recipe at Taste of Home a couple years ago, I had to try it.  It was Christmastime when I found it, while scouring for yummy treats I could take and give as little gifts.  It was delicious!  When my brother's birthday came around this year, I decided to make it again, sans the M&M candies, and was just as pleased as last time.  It is very sweet, so a little goes a long way! 

I highly recommend you gather all of your ingredients, and have them measured and beside you as you do this.  You don't want to stop stirring to measure out 3&3/4 cups of powdered sugar!  It's a pain!  

Ingredients: 

• 1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 cups Tootsie Rolls (about one bag's worth)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 3&3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil and grease with 1 teaspoon of butter.  Set aside.
2. In a heavy saucepan, melt remaining butter, Tootsie Rolls and peanut butter over low heat, stirring constantly.  
3. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.  Mixture will be very thick.
4. Spread into prepared pan.  Let cool for a minute, then score with a knife into squares.  If desired, top with an M&M candy (this is particularly festive for holidays).  Cool.
5. Using foil, remove from pan and break into pieces.  Store in an airtight container.

While I am a fan of lasagna, I rarely ever make it.  I know that my kids aren't too keen on the red sauced varieties, so I came up with this one.  None of the recipes I could find online matched the ingredients I had in my cupboards, so this one I just winged.  It's really the first recipe I've done all on my own.  I think it turned out pretty dang good.  I loved the crispy cheese on top.  My kids aren't too hip on spinach, though they liked the rest of it.  It made for wonderful leftovers for lunch the next day, too!

Ingredients:

• 8-10 ounces spinach, quickly cooked and wilted (I used frozen.  Fresh would be awesome.)
• 1 15-oz package of low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• about 3 cups alfredo sauce (The link is to my homemade sauce.  Jarred would be fine, too.)
• 12 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
• 2 cooked skinless chicken breasts (I broiled mine with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder.)
• extra shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F. 
Mix together spinach, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses in a medium bowl.
In a 9x9 pan, pour a very thin layer of Alfredo sauce.  Lay 4 noodles side by side on top, to cover pan.
Spread half of the spinach and cheese mix evenly over the noodles.
Pour about a third of the Alfredo sauce over top.
Lay another layer of noodles, then spinach/cheese mix, then sauce again.
Top with one more layer of noodles.  Pour the remainder of the sauce over top.  Sprinkle with extra mozzarella.
Bake for 45-60 minutes.

(left half are peanut butter cookies, right half has chocolate chip minis thrown in!)

I've had this recipe for years and years.  I must say, it is probably one of my favorite cookies to make.  Soft, chewy peanut butter cookies that I almost always have the ingredients for.  I mean, who doesn't usually have peanut butter, sugar, an egg and some vanilla laying around?   This time, I decided to mix it up and make another batch with some mini chocolate chips thrown in. So I guess those would be 5-ingredient cookies.    Super yum! 

They can come out a bit crumbly if you try to take them off the pan too soon.  But, that just means they are broken and must be eaten, right?!  That's my viewpoint, anyway.  =)

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (can use creamy or chunky, based on your preference)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
handful or two of mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.   Lightly spray a cookie pan with cooking spray.  
Mix all the ingredients together.  If using chocolate chips, mix the first 4 ingredients together, then stir in chocolate chips until you think you have enough (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup). 
Drop by rounded teaspoon onto prepared pan and lightly press down.
Bake for 5-7 minutes.  They will be super soft and puffy.  Let them sit for a few minutes and cool on the pan before trying to move.  I usually use 2 pans for these, and let one batch cool while the other cooks.

  Since the Rosemary Olive Oil Bread turned out so well, I was inspired to take a shot at another type of bread.  My boyfriend requested a Honey Oat bread, so I found a recipe at Epicurious that looked promising and decided to make a go of it. 

 Once again, it came out superb.  I'm so glad I finally got over my fear of bread!  It's my new found toy.  This one came out light, and delicious.  It's another one that the kids really enjoyed, as did my boyfriend and myself.  It makes great sandwich bread.  Or, it's delicious warm with melted butter and jam.  Or honey!  

I will definitely be making this bread again. 

Ingredients:

1&3/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3/4 cups quick cooking oats
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
2&1/2 teaspoons salt
about 5 cups flour

1 large egg, beaten
additional oats


Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.  Let stand for 10 minutes.
2.  Mix in remaining water, oats, honey, oil and salt. 
3.  Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough.  I used probably 4 cups, maybe a bit more. 
4.  Coat a large bowl with cooking spray.  Transfer dough to bowl, and turn to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap, then a towel, and let stand until doubled in size.  About 1 hour.
5.  Oil 2 bread pans.  Punch risen dough down, and, using remaining flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, form into 2 small loaves. 
6.  Place 1 loaf in each pan.  Cover again and let rise until doubled- about 20 minutes.
7.  Preheat oven to 350*F.   Brush the tops of risen loaves with the beaten egg, and then sprinkle additional oats over top. 
8.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until tops are golden and a tester comes out clean. Cool completely.