For today's post, I am going to share with you my most raved about recipe from Christmas dinner.  For those of you who have never watched South Park, you may not find the name nearly as humorous as some of us.  They are not at all what he describes, though one of these days I'll have to try those, too...

When I was making the colored ones, I did not have enough white chips, so I used a small handful of butterscotch chips, too.  It was awesome. 

The video, by the way, is not at all appropriate for work.  Or little ears.  Or around people who might be insulted or disgusted by it.  But it's funny, because he's talking about food... but he's not...

Chocolate Salty Balls

1 1/2 C pretzels

1/2 C creamy peanut butter  (I used about a large, heaping, humongous tablespoon more...)

1 Tbsp butter, softened

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

For this round, I also used

white chocolate chips

red and green food colorings

and

various sprinkles

·         Crush pretzels into small bits.  I did this by putting them into a ziploc baggy and then pounding the crap out of them with a mallet.  I imagine a chopper would work, too...

·         In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt. Stir until all ingredients are completely blended and smooth.

·         Add pretzel bits to peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly.  Add powdered sugar and mix again.

·         Prepare a chilling tray--a dinner plate covered with waxed paper works well.

·         Take about a teaspoon of the peanut butter pretzel mixture into your fingers and gently pat it into a ball with your fingertips.  If they start to stick to your fingers too much, run your hands under some cold water.  It helps.

·         Place the peanut butter balls onto the plate. When you have rolled all the balls, place the entire plate into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

·         After the peanut butter balls have chilled, prepare your chocolate. Pour the chocolate chips into a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If needed, microwave for another 10 seconds and stir again. Continue until the chips are completely melted, which means they stir easily into smooth, fluid chocolate with no lumps.  If wanting to do colored balls, do it the same way, but with the white chips.  Drop food coloring into it a little at a time until desired shade.   I did some of each.

·         Place one peanut butter ball into the melted chocolate and gently roll it around with a fork until completely coated. Remove from the bowl with the fork and place back on the waxed paper plate. Repeat for all other balls.

·         Once all the peanut butter balls are coated in chocolate, return the plate to the refrigerator and chill another 30 minutes.

  Tonight was one of those nights were I realized suddenly that nothing had been taken out for dinner, and I had a child coming home that needed to be fed before his karate class.  So, something quick and simple and light so as not to weigh him down too much before his class.  Chicken is always our standby for this.  Quickly defrosted and stir fried, it is all three of those qualities in one tasty package. 

  I decided to go with an orange teriyaki combination.  Actually, I let my son choose between that or honey-sesame and he chose the orange-teriyaki.  It was a bit much on the green beans, so next time I will either sans the sauce when cooking them, or cook them with less.  The chicken, however, was delicious.  So much so, that I decided to blog it, even though I have no picture to show it off to you. 

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved and diced
• 2 green onions, diced (both green and white parts)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, diced (or to taste.. I like a lot of garlic)
• about 2 cups green beans
• about 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
• about 1/4 cup orange juice

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together teriyaki sauce and orange juice.  Adjust quantities of each to your taste. 
2. Saute green beans and garlic over high heat (I used a wok- use what you have that will fit them) in a small amount of the sauce mix.  A little goes a long way in flavoring the beans. Saute until tender-crisp and warmed through.  Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Saute onion and green onion in sauce left in pan until onion is clear- a minute or two.  Add diced chicken and some more sauce.  Add sauce in small portions at a time.  The idea was a light coating- not a full on sauce.  This of course you can adjust to your liking.
4. Cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is cooked through.  It took me about ten minutes. 
5. Serve warm with green beans.  I think rice or noodles would go wonderfully with this.  I just didn't make them.

This served 3 of us.  =) 

  A while back I had bought a package of gyoza wrappers.  They had been sitting in my freezer, and I happened upon them while going through looking for something-or-other.   I decided it was high time to use them, since I was currently in supply-o-plenty of cream cheese and spinach.  I already knew what I wanted to do with them- which, if you hadn't guessed- was fill them with cream cheese and spinach.  But, I wanted to bake them instead of fry them.  I hate frying stuff.  It's too greasy for my tummy.

  They turned out fabulous, by the way.  I had actually originally planned to serve them as appetizers during Christmas, but they were so good that my boyfriend and I scarfed them down as our breakfast instead.  A new tradition, maybe?  


Ingredients:

• an 8-oz block of cream cheese
• about 8-oz of spinach (mine was a 10-oz box of frozen, but I didn't use all of it)
• a couple of bunches of green onions, the whole thing chopped
• olive oil
• gyoza wrappers (I'm sure you could easily use wonton wrappers, as well)

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 375*F.
2.   Coat a baking pan (like a cookie sheet) with a very thin layer of olive oil.
3.   Saute spinach over medium heat until just wilted and heated through. 
4.   Combine cream cheese, spinach and green onions in a medium bowl and beat until well-combined.
5.   Place about a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture in the center of gyoza wrapper.  Moisten edges and press together.  Place on oiled sheet.
6.   Once baking sheet is full of gyozas, brush them with another very thin coating of olive oil.   Bake for about 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake for about another 10 minutes.  They should be browned and slightly crisp.

 

I got about 20 or so gyozas from this.  They taste much better when they are still warm, though they are still good when cooled (but still warm.. I can't see them being as tasty cold) as well.  These are super easy to make, and I will definitely whip them up again (and again and again).   If you like to use dipping sauces, you can.  I don't prefer them, so I didn't make one to go with them, so use your best judgement as to what kind of sauce would work with them.  One site suggested rice vinegar and chili garlic sauce. 
 

   I think I've mentioned this before, but we eat a lot of chicken in our household.  My kids' favorite is just a basic poached chicken and rice or noodles.  However, you can only do that so many times before it starts to get boring.  I had forgotten to take anything out yesterday, so we knew it was going to be chicken and rice again, but I wanted something a bit different.  I didn't want to make the same 'ol same 'ol.   So I searched through some websites searching for something that was still quick and easy, but a bit different than normal.  I found this, and tried it.

  While making it, I didn't think it was going to turn out right.  It just didn't look appetizing.  I think that, since my chicken was still partly frozen, that it put too much moisture in the pan, so the cream sauce was much thinner than it should have been.   Also, I had covered it to cook, and I think I should have left the lid off at first.  However, despite all my mess-ups, it still turned out pretty good!  I can only imagine how tasty it will be when I do it right!   The kids both really liked it, and I now have another chicken-and-rice recipe to add to my repertoire. 

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 
• black pepper to taste (I used about a tablespoon)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes (mine were not crushed because I couldn't get them to crush)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• pinch of salt- to taste (optional)
• 1 can (4oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
• 3 tablespoons sour cream

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and chicken.  Season with bouillon, paprika, salt and pepper. 
2. When chicken is almost thoroughly cooked, add mushrooms. Cover and cook about 5 more minutes or until mushrooms are tender and chicken is cooked through.
3. Add sour cream and stir. 

Yesterday I got a baking bug and made another Caramel Apple Cheesecake and another Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie.   Our family is in nummy-love with those two desserts, I think.  And the kids just discovered how easy it is to make the homemade caramel.  I have a feeling I am going to have to stock up on sweetened condensed milk, butter, and brown sugar now!! 

The recipe for the gingersnap pumpkin pie calls for just one-half cup of canned pumpkin.  In my last stock-up of pumpkin, I had only bought the large 15-oz cans.  So, that left me with LOTS of pumpkin left-over.  I needed something to use up the rest of that.   Enter my daughter, who saw me baking and immediately wanted to bake, too.  I told her that we had all of this pumpkin left-over, so maybe we could find a pumpkin cookie recipe.  She eagerly agreed, so I hunted and found this one.

Well, my daughter wound up finding some unused clay while I was looking, so her baking bug left her for clay works.  I wound up making them myself.  But she thoroughly enjoyed them nonetheless- enough for me to go ahead and offer them up here!  They came out very cake-like, with a smooth pumpkin-pieish flavor to them. 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin (mine was missing 1/2 a cup, but it didn't affect it any)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups chocolate chips (I used about half that, since I don't like a lot of chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.  Lightly spray cookie sheet(s) with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips.  Beat on medium speed until well mixed.  Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by tablespoon onto prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for about 13-15 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  Cool for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. 

   It's not my own giveaway, but one I wanted to let you all know about anyway. Stephanie O'Dea is giving away 18 really neat looking books / dvds right before the holidays.  Many of them incorperate gluten-free, dairy-free, and / or sugar-free recipes.  Since I've been wanting to try some gluten free recipes, and am really thinking it's time to start cutting out refined sugars, this would be great.  Great gifts for the chefs in your circles, too! 

  So go check it out, and check out her blog, too! Slow cooker heaven!

 I decided to bring the desserts for Thanksgiving this year.  I was mostly inspired by some absolutely to-die-for sounding recipes that I wanted to try, and seemed perfect for the occasion.  This was one of them.

The list of ingredients and directions seems long and complicated.  It took me a bit to get to this one, because of that dauntingness.  However, once broken down into the steps, it really wasn't that big of a deal.  It might have helped that I had help (thank you, Boyfriend 'O Mine)!

Let me tell you, even with all of the work- it is so worth it!  Everyone raved over this.  It went so quick I barely was able to get a piece of my own.  Boyfriend O'Mine had to grab a piece and hide it away to ensure he got a slice.   And now he wants me to make another one, and I have to say I am completely okay with that!  It's delicious. 

Ingredients:

for the crust:
1&1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5&1/3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2-3/4 cup caramel

for the apple filling:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

for the cheesecake:
8oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice

for the topping:
3/4 cup heavy cream
3-4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 - 1/2 cup caramel


Directions:

To make the crust:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350*F. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.  Toss with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened and the ingredients are evenly mixed.
3. Transfer to a 9-inch round baking pan.  Press the crumbs in an even layer around the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
4. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden.  Let cool for about 10 minutes.
5. Pour a layer of caramel into the bottom and spread evenly.  Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

To make the apple filling:

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 
2. Mix in the brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Cook for about 1 minute, or until bubbling.
3. Mix in the apple slices and toss well to coat. 
4. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until tender and most of the liquid has been reduced- about 15 minutes.
5. Let cool for a few minutes, and then pour into the prepared pie pan.   Set aside.

To make the cheesecake layer:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. 
2. Combine cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth. 
3. Mix in the vanilla, egg and lemon juice and beat until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
4. Spread evenly over the apple filling in the pie pan.
5. Bake about 30 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
6. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
7. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I let mine refrigerate overnight and did the Thanksgiving morning.

To make the topping:

1. In an eclectic mixer with whisk attachment (or, with your hand holding a whisk...), beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  
2. Spread gently over top the cheesecake layer.
3. Drop dollops of caramel on top and swirl in.  My caramel was a little too thin, so I just drizzled it over the top, and the effect was just as pretty.

Slice and serve!


We had some of the apple filling leftover afterwards, so Boyfriend 'O Mine used them as toppings for his waffles Thanksgiving morning.  How yummy is that?!

  Another dessert item I decided to take with me for Thanksgiving were these little cookies.  Okay, they really aren't little, but they sounded interesting none-the-less.  I needed to use up that big ol' can of pumpkin I had opened, and who doesn't like snickerdoodles? 

Ingredients:

for cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1&1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2&3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons cinnamon and 3 teaspoons sugar (can be white or brown) mixed together for rolling.


for filling:
8oz cream cheese
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:

for cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F.
2. In a medium bowl cream sugar and butter together until fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
4. In a separate bowl stir together dry ingredients except cinnamon and extra sugar together.
5. Add to creamed mixture and combine well.
6. Chill dough for about 20-30 minutes.  (I chilled mine overnight and it was just fine)
7. Roll into tablespoon sized balls and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating evenly.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and soft. 

for filling:

1. Beat all ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth.  Adjust sugar to taste (I completely left out the white sugar). 
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  This I also refrigerated overnight with no negative consequences.

to assemble cookies:

1. Remove cream cheese mixture from refrigerator.
2. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of mixture onto the flat side of a cookie.
3. Press another cookie onto it to make a sandwich.
4. I then stored these in the fridge until we ate them!

  Pumpkin pie is a huge staple of Thanksgiving dinners.  Really- how often do you not see pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving?  It's blasphemous! 
 
  I, however, get tired of having the same thing over and over again.  It becomes mundane and boring.  When I signed up to bring a dessert, I knew that a pumpkin pie would not only be expected, but that I might very well get shot if I didn't!  Not wanting to do the same thing again though, I began searching for a twist on the traditional pie that would satisfy the family's desire for pumpkin pie, as well as my desire for something a bit out of the norm, without straying too far.

When I found this recipe, I knew it was the one.  It kept with the traditional pumpkin pie, but gave a bit more pizazz to it.  The addition of gingersnaps was just the kick I wanted.  It went over really well with everybody, and it has been requested that I make more! 

Ingredients:

1&1/2 cups finely crushed gingersnaps (about 32 cookies)
1/4 cup butter, melted
4oz cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1&1/2 cups whipped topping
1 cup cold milk
2 packages (3.4oz each) instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and butter.   Press into the bottom and up the edges of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate.  Bake at 375*F for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool.
2. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Fold in whipped topping.  Spread over crust.  The original recipe I had did not call for it, but I think at this point it needs to be refrigerated for a bit, otherwise the next step does not work very well.  Refrigerate at least until the cream cheese is somewhat set.
3. Beat milk and pudding mixes in a small bowl for 1 minute.  Stir in the pumpkin, pie spice, vanilla and cinnamon. Spread over cream cheese mixture.
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. Garnish with additional whipped topping.  I used a homemade whipped topping, and then sprinkled more crushed cookies on top.  I then evenly spaced whole cookies on top.

  A cheesecake I wanted to make for Thanksgiving called for caramel.  Well, I thought I would be snazzy and make my own at home.   When I got around to it, I realized I did not have enough of the heavy cream to make it.  Frantic, I searched for an alternative.  I knew you could make caramel using just a can of sweetened, condensed milk, however, I did not have the hours necessary to make it.   While scouring the Internet, I came across this recipe.  It still uses the sweetened condensed milk, but only takes a handful of minutes to prepare- not hours.   

It came out perfectly.  Just the right consistency and flavor.  We used what we needed for the cheesecake, and the rest we plan to use for a whole variety of things: on top of the waffles (using the leftover apple filling from said cheesecake), drizzled on top of ice cream, as dippers for apples, Boyfriend even dunked his string cheese into it to try and said it was pretty tasty! 

This recipe makes about 4 cups of sauce.

Ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk (more, if needed)


Directions:

Stir sugar and condensed milk together over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved..  
Add butter and vanilla.  Stir well.
Remove from heat and add milk.  Stir until well mixed and thickened.
Use immediately, or store in the fridge.

  I have always wanted to make fresh bread, but have always been highly daunted by it.  The thought of having to knead, punch and let it rise just right always scared me enough to keep me at bay.   It was one of those things I always told myself I would get to- one day. 
 
Then my boss brought in some fantastic homemade bread for Homemade Bread Day (which is November 17th, by the way).  I had expressed to her my desire and she shared with me this unbelievably easy recipe, which was the one she had used.  It uses just 4 ingredients that I always have on hand.  I cannot believe I have never made bread before!  We just pulled it out of the oven about 10 minutes ago, and it is already gone!  Granted, I started off making a small loaf, but it was devoured!   I cannot see myself NOT making this bread every day now!   

Now, the name is a bit misleading, as it does take more than 5 minutes.  Well, I guess it only takes a few minutes to mix everything together.  But, on baking day give yourself about an hour. 

To give credit where credit is due, this came from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.   There is a YouTube video here.

This recipe makes about 4 1-pound loaves.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups lukewarm (room temperature) water
• 1&1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1&1/2 packets)
• 1&1/2 tablespoons coarse kosher or sea salt
• 6&1/2 cups flour
• (cornmeal for the pizza peel)

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl mix water, salt and yeast.  Add flour. 
2. Stir until just mixed.  I used a KitchenAide mixer with the bread hook.  You can use just a wooden spoon.
3. Cover loosely and let sit for about 2 hours at room temperature.
4. You can use the dough at this point, or put in the fridge for up to two weeks. The longer you let it sit in the fridge, the more of a sourdough taste it takes on.

To Bake:

1. Prepare pizza peel (or the back of a cookie sheet, which is what I did, since I do not have a peel.  It has been added to my wish list, though!) by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent the loaf from sticking.
2. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour.  Cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit sized) piece.  Hold in your hands and sprinkle with more flour to keep from sticking to your hands.  Gently pull the sides down to the bottom.  You may want to view the video to see the way to do this, as it sounds much more complicated then it really is.
3. Place the ball on the pizza peel and let rest, uncovered, for about 40 minutes.
4. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450*F with a baking stone on the middle rack.  Place an empty broiler tray underneath to hold water.
5. Dust the top of the loaf with flour and slash with a serrated knife.
6. Slide loaf off the peel onto the baking stone.  Quickly pour about a cup of water into the broiler pan.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is browned and firm to the touch.
7. Refrigerate remaining dough in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next two weeks.  Dough can be frozen, just pull out the day before baking and defrost in the fridge.

  I have a love affair with banana bread.  It may not seem that way, because I do not make it often, and when I do, most of it is usually thrown away, uneaten.  Despite this, I do love banana bread.  However, I've also been searching for ways to use up those old, rotting bananas that my family will also enjoy.  Enough so that I am not throwing the majority of my work down the trash can's gullet at the end of a couple weeks.  You'd think I'd have grown more acquainted with my freezer, and I very well should, but at this point I have not. 

 I found this recipe today when looking for ideas on using the bananas that sat blackening in my fruit basket.  It sounded interesting, and I thought maybe the cake-like appearance would appeal to my children more.  So I gave it a shot.  It turned out pretty tasty.  Time will tell whether or not it is eaten up or left for the garbage man.  I am thinking it very well might get eaten, though!

Ingredients:
2 eggs, separated
2/3 cup shortening
1&1/2 cups sugar
1 cup mashed bananas (I used 5 small ones)
1&1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
slivered almonds (optional)

Directions:
In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Now, I have no idea what the heck this means, so I just beat the heck out of it for a couple minutes and called it good.  Set aside.
In a large bowl cream shortening and sugar.  Beat in egg yolks; mix well.   Mix in bananas.
Combine flour and baking soda.  Add to creamed mixture, alternating with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. 
Add vanilla and egg whites. 
Pour into a greased 13-in by 9-in baking dish.  Sprinkle with slivered almonds. 
Bake at 350*F for 45-50 minutes. 

Nutritional info: 
Cut cake into 12-16 servings.   1 piece equals 1 serving.  Nutritional info approximate.
Calories:  213
Fat: 8g (2g saturated)
Cholesterol: 27mg
Sodium:  89mg
Carbohydrates: 31g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 2g

  I recently joined a produce co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  It's one of those "pool your money and everyone gets some stuff" places.  This past Saturday was the first time I participated and picked up my bounty.   It was pretty awesome.  For $10, I got a laundry basket full of stuff.  
A bag of potatoes, a bag plus 2 loose onions, lettuce, kale, melon, bananas, beets, apples, kiwi, mushrooms, tomatoes, and strawberries.  Pretty good haul.

But then the question arose.  What do I do with it now?

Enter the Olive Garden.  They are one of my most favorite places to eat.  One of mine and my boyfriend's favorite things to order are the soup, salad and bread sticks.  And, one of the soups I often order is the Zuppa Toscana.

Lo' and behold-  I have most of those ingredients right there!   So, a homemade version was in order.  To be honest, I think it turned out better than the restaurant's!!  I served it with some Pillsbury crescent rolls.  Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey sausage (I used ground turkey and threw a bunch of garlic powder, basil, oregano and parsley in it), cooked and drained
• 2 potatoes, cut into very thin slices
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 6 slices bacon (I used turkey bacon)
• 1&1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 cups kale- washed, dried and shredded
• 1 15-ounce can of low-sodium chicken broth
• 2&1/4 cups water
• 1/3 cup fat-free half & half

Directions:

1. Cook bacon until crisp.  Crumble and set aside.
2. Place onion in a large saucepan and cook over medium high heat until almost clear.  Add garlic and cook for about a minute longer.
3. Add chicken broth, water and potatoes.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Add bacon crumbles, sausage, kale and half & half.   Simmer for about 4 more minutes. 
5. Serve hot with bread!

I am a fan of broccoli. I am in heart with broccoli. Pour some cheese on it, and it's mouth ecstasy. Imagine how excited I was to find this recipe!

I added cooked, diced chicken breast to it.  It was delish!  Even my boyfriend liked, it, and he hates cottage cheese.  Easy and tasty = a definite keeper!
Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• dash of pepper
• 2 packages (10-ounces each) frozen broccoli
• (I added 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts- grilled and diced)

Directions:

1. Beat eggs, then add cottage cheese, cheddar, flour, salt and pepper. Beat well together.
2. Cook broccoli as directed and drain well. Add to egg mixture.  Add chicken if using.
3. Pour into greased baking pan at 350*F for 30-35 minutes.

Serves 6-8

   Hmm..  This sounded good, in theory.  However, I am not sure I am pleased with the final product.  It may be that one hour is a bit too long for my oven.  It may just be the consistency of the bread.  Either way, it is a bit tough... not soft and chewy like I would expect a bread like this to be.   Also, the pineapple is a bit overwhelming to the other ingredients.  I could not taste the blueberrry at all.  For having so much pineapple and blueberries in it, I expected it to be much sweeter than it turned out to be.  Might have to try cutting down the pineapple and adding a bit of sugar to it next time, if there is a next time. 


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 3/4 cup pineapple juice
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup nuts (any kind)

Directions:

1. Combine sugr and egg; cream with butter.  Add pineapple juice.
2. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder and add to sugar mixture.
3. Stir in pineapple, blueberries and nuts. 
4. Pour into a greased 8"x4" loaf pan.  Bake at 350*F for 1 hour.

  I found an absolutely easy and fabulous sounding recipe online a few weeks back.   Two simple ingredients that many households already have on hand:

•   a box of yellow cake mix, and
•   a 15-ounce can of pumpkin.   

I had both.  :)
I only had one of the huge cans of pumpkin, so I guesstimated on half.

Combine.  

Bake at 350*F for about 20-25 minutes. 

The batter is super yummy.  I'm hoping the muffins are as well.  I'll let you know in about 30 minutes!

*Very cakey.  Yummy and squishy.  They are more of a dessert muffin than, say, a breakfast muffin.  Super tasty though!  I'll definitely make them again.   Great one for the kids to try their hand at baking!

    I had a lot left over after filling my muffin pan, so I used the rest to make a mini loaf.  We'll see how that turns out.  I'm betting pretty scrumptious.  I plan on taking it to work.

   A friend of mine's daughter had her birthday yesterday.  She requested a luau themed party.  Unfortunately, the 85 degree weather did not stick around, and the day was met with a 30 degree drop, along with wind and rain.  Regardless, we had a grand time, with fabulous food, good friends, and a nice warm fire to congregate around.

  The party was potluck style, and since the meat was all being provided, I was hard pressed to find something to bring that would fit in with a luau style.  Then I saw this recipe for Hawaiian sweet rolls.  These are my favorite type of roll.  I mean, who doesn't love these things?  Sweet, light and flaky...  what says luau better than these?

  Now, I had never attempted any kind of bread that required yeast.  Something about working with the yeast, the constant waiting and punching, is daunting to me.  However, I had been determined to try, and this seemed like a good reason and time!  This recipe does not require kneading or punching, but does require lots of time to let the dough rise. 

  I had to have my boyfriend do the rolling for me, because the dough is quite sticky, and I have some huge gross-out factor to that kind of stickiness.  His little trick of spraying his hands with cooking spray was a good idea, though, and that might help me for next time. 

  The smell of them baking was divine.  Many comments were made about "What smells so good?" as they were baking.  They came out delicious.  Everyone raved about them, and I was asked to pass the recipe along, so here it is!  They are a bit more subtle in the sweet department than the store bought kind, but I think that can be easily adapted to fit your specific tastes..  I forgot to brush the butter on before baking, and believe that if I had remembered to do that, they would have been even more fantastic.  Maybe mix a little honey into that butter for an even bigger sweet pop?


Hawaiian Sweet Rolls:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup melted butter, plus more for brushing
• 1 tablespoonful dry yeast
• Salt (the recipe I found did not specify.  I just did a couple of shakes into the bowl)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla
• 6 tablespoonsful sugar
• 3 cups flour

Directions:

1.  Combine water, juice and butter in a large bowl.  Sprinkle in yeast.   Add salt, egg, vanilla and sugar.   Stir to mix.  Add flour one cup at a time, stirring between each addition.  Mix with your hands if the dough becomes too stiff.  Luckily for me, I was able to completely mix with just a wooden spoon.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

2.  If baking later, place covered dough in the refrigerator.

3.   Spray baking pan(s) with cooking spray (I used a cake pan).  Roll dough into balls and place in pan.   Cover and let rise  until doubled, about another 2 hours.

4.  Preheat oven to 350*F.   Brush rolls with melted butter and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

  While perusing stuff to bake on Taste of Home's website (I use the crap out of that site!), I came across this recipe for a basic bread mix.   It is a base for making different types of non-yeast breads.   This particular recipe mentions blueberry, zucchini, and cinnamon breads.  It has a great base batter, and shows you how to divide it so as to make a mini-loaf of each type.  In my household, I've found that muffins go over better than breads, so I used a standard 12-cup muffin pan instead of the mini loaf pans.  I also used all of the batter to make one type of muffin.  The base mix made a full 12 muffins of perfect size.

  Let me start off by telling you that the base batter is delicious!  I think it would make a nice muffin or bread all on it's own!  I think I ate 2 muffins worth of just batter on my first try...

   Since I had a bunch of blueberries that had been sitting in my fridge for awhile, and were starting to get saggy (but still edible), I decided to start with the blueberry recipe.   It whips up very easy, and the resulting muffins were superb!  They were gone within 24 hours, and that's really saying something in this house.  They were sweet, and had a hint of a cornbread texture.   I would change absolutely nothing about this recipe.

  Next off I tried the zucchini recipe.  I had a big zucchini out of my garden that was begging to be turned into something scrumptious, so I figured to try this base with the zucchini.   Again, a delicious muffin.  Even my kids went back for more.  Same light cornbread texture, with a sweet nutty taste.




Basic Mix:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoonful baking powder
1/2 teaspoonful salt
1/4 teaspoonful baking soda
1 egg
2/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions:

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl.  In another, whisk together the egg, juice and butter. Pour into the flour mixture.   Mix well.


For blueberry muffins:

Mix one cup fresh or frozen blueberries into entire mix.  If dividing batter for multiple loaves or types, divide accordingly.  Bake at 325*F for about 30 minutes.  While baking, whip together 6 teaspoons honey with 6 teaspoons of orange juice.  Pour over muffins upon removing from oven (I did not do this part, because I forgot.  However, they still came out perfectly tasty.. I can only imagine that this step would transform them to heavenly.)

For zucchini muffins:

Mix 1 cup shredded zucchini,  3 teaspoons grated orange peel and 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon into the batter. Again, if dividing, divide accordingly.    Bake for 325*F for about 30 minutes.




I am not a fan of cinnamon, so have not made that kind.  However, I just may with fall coming upon us.  I think it sounds like it might be yummy to add some chopped apple to it.  If I do, I will let you know how that turns out.  If you make them, let me know!   (The recipe is in the link.. remember to multiply the amounts by 3 for the full pan if you are using the entire base for one recipe.)

   It's that time of year when zucchini is aplenty in our gardens.  That happened to be the case with a friend of mine, who handed over two huge zucchinis to me.  I knew right away I'd be making zucchini bread.  Since I suddenly had so much of it, though, I decided to experiment a little.  I found a few different recipes, and will be making a few different types, so I have a bit of variety! 

  This recipe for Apple Zucchini Loaf comes from Taste of Home's website.  I made a few changes which I will show below. 

Ingredients:

Bread:

• 1&1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoonful cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoonful baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoonful baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoonful salt
• 1 jar (4&1/2 ounces) diced apple baby food (I used a 4-oz applesauce cup that we use for lunches)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoonful canola oil
• 1 cup shredded zucchini

Topping:

• 1/4 cup quick-cooking oatmeal (I used a packet of instant cinnamon-apple)
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoonsful butter, melted
• dash of ground cinnamon

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  If using baby food, drain apples and reserve juice. 

2.  In another bowl whisk together egg, oil and applesauce or reserved juice.  Stir into dry ingredients until just blended.  Fold in zucchini and reserved apples.

3.  Pour into an 8x4in loaf pan coated with cooking spray. I used 4 small loaf pans, not sure of their size, but I filled them each about 2/3 full. 

4.  Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle overtop.

5.  Bake at 350*F for 50-55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cooling rack.

These actually came out pretty darn good.   I still had to bake them for the same amount of time as called for with the regular sized loaf pan.  They are a little chewy, but that's alright with me.  They smell divine!  My house smells all yummy now.   =)

 This morning I got a baking hair up my butt, so decided to make these.   The recipe has been taped up to my kitchen cabinet for a few months now.  I was looking at it while refilling my coffee cup, and realized I had all of the ingredients, especially that sour cream, which needed to be used before it went bad.  I grabbed all my little containers and began to make a mess.

 
  The recipe says it yields 6 muffins.  I used my standard 12-cup pan and had just enough batter to do so.  So, use whichever pan bakes the size muffins you like! 

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1&1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup flaked coconut (I used sweetened coconut)
1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips (I used regular sized)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
additional sugar (I forgot that)



Directions:


1.  In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2.  In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, butter and almond extract.

3.  Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until moistened.

4.  Fold in coconut and chocolate chips.  I also folded in about half of my almond slices, too.

5.  Fill prepared muffin cups two-thirds full.  Sprinkle with almonds and additional sugar.  Bake at 375* F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

  *Notes:
   The muffin is a bit pasty.  While I do like the almond and coconut together, I don't think I care for the chocolate chips.   Both my boyfriend and I agree that it would be a great lemon-blueberry batter.  Or even just add blueberries instead of the chocolate. 

Tonight's dinner was Sloppy Joes.  This is the first time I've ever made them from "scratch".   I got this recipe from Taste Of Home.   I didn't have any onion powder, so I just used a crapton of garlic powder.  The sauce came out very thick, so if you are a fan of that (I kind of am), then you will be pleased with this.  It was kind of sweet, but not too much.  I liked it.  My daughter (11) did not, but my son (14) did, although he didn't eat a bun.   My boyfriend really likes it.  

I apologize for the crappy pictures this time around.  My boyfriend wasn't here, so I took the photos, and I am not anywhere near as talented. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds hamburger
• 1 cup ketchup
• 8 tablespoons water
• 4 tablespoon brown sugar
• 4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 4 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
•  hamburger buns

Directions:

1.  In a saucepan, cook beef until no longer pink inside.  I let mine stay a little bit pink, so that the rest would cook out during the simmer process.  Do whichever makes you happy.

2.  Meanwhile, assemble the rest of the ingredients.  When finished, it should look something like this:

3.  Drain meat.  Add all the ingredients except the buns.  

4.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Doesn't it look delish?  (No, not really... it looks like what it might later, actually.  But trust me.  It came out tasting much better than it looks!)

5.  Spoon meat mixture over top of buns.  I prefer mine toasted, but forgot to do that, so I just used regular ol' buns.  Enjoy!

 

Is there really any better way to start off a food blog than with cheesecake?  How about Oreo cookie cheesecake?  How about Oreo cookie cheesecake cups?  Do I have your attention yet?  These little morsels are a cupcake-wrapper full of heavenly sin.  As a matter of fact, in the time it took my boyfriend to take these delicious pictures, I had devoured 3 of these bad-boys.  I will pay for that on the treadmill later, but my-oh-my are they worth it.  

  I guess this recipe is originally from one of Martha Stewart's cookbooks (go figure), but I found it here.   It is super easy to make, and absolutely divine.  I halved the recipe, and used a standard 12-cup muffin pan.  The halved recipe gave me 18 cheesecakes.  I think I may have found a new family-gathering dish.

Ingredients:

• 42 Oreo cookies (or any similar cream-filled cookie), 30 left whole and 12 crushed
• 2 pounds cream cheese (according to my math, that's 4 8-oz boxes), room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• pinch of salt

Directions:

  1.  Preheat the oven to 275*F.   Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners.  I don't know how well this would turn out without liners.  If you try that, let me know!  Place one whole cookie at the bottom of each liner.

2.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on high speed until creamy, scraping the edges as needed.  Add sugar, and beat until combined.  Add vanilla.

3.  Add eggs a bit at a time, and beat well, again scraping sides as you go.  Add in sour cream and salt and beat until mixed.  Stir in crushed cookies by hand (well, with a big spoon or something.. I wouldn't recommend using your hands, although you'd have lots of yummy gooeyness to lick off!)

4.  Spoon cheesecake batter over cookies in cupcake pan, filling cups until they are almost full.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until cheesecake is set (it doesn't wiggle when you jiggle it).  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Transfer to the fridge and let set for about 4 more hours or more.  I highly recommend you go find something outside to do during this time, since the anticipation can be insane!

5.  Devour.