My Thanksgiving Dinner

I was brave this year and hosted Thanksgiving all on my own.  Unfortunately I was so busy I forgot to snap pictures of all the food!  Just know that it all looked amazing!  I posted some of the recipes I made below.  I also made the previously posted Perfect Dinner Rolls, Perfect Pumpkin Pie, and Ridiculously Easy Banana Cream Pie. I cooked my turkey in a turkey bag (no real recipe there, but it turned out so juicy!), and my mom made the stuffing and gravy.  For the mashed potatoes, I used the Pioneer Womans recipe...soooo good.  I always make my potatoes this way...always. Enjoy the recipes posted below!  You will want to make them for the rest of the holidays!

Apple Cake

This is one of the desserts I made for thanksgiving.  I found it by searching through Paula Dean's recipes.  I love her and her love of butter.  This was delicious and the first dessert to dissapear!  I also make Pumpkin Pie, and Banana Cream Pie.  Both are found in the dessert section of this blog.

Ingredients:

Cake:
Butter, for greasing pan
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and finely chopped apples

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease a tube pan.
For the cake: in a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, oil, orange juice, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract; and mix well. Fold apples, coconut, and pecans into batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours.
Shortly before the cake is done, make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda, and bring to a good rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the hot cake in the pan as soon as you remove it from the oven. Let stand 1 hour, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Servings: 16 to 20 servings
Prep Time:
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 min

Not your traditional Green Bean Casserole

....but it's from now on my tradition!  This was the first thing to be gobbled up at my thanksgiving, and I had NO leftovers! 

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup (I hate mushroom)
• 3 ounces processed cheese (i.e. Velveeta®), cubed
• 1 tablespoon real bacon bits
• 2 (15 ounce) cans cut green beans, drained
• 1 (2.8 ounce) can French-fried onions

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Heat the undiluted cream of chicken soup in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the processed cheese and bacon, and continue stirring until completely melted. Remove from the heat, then stir in the green beans until evenly coated. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, and top with the fried onions, leaving a 1 inch margin around the sides.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through and bubbly. Check near the end of cooking to make sure the onions aren't getting too brown.

Sweet Potatoes

These sweet potatoes were holy moly, oh so delicous!  They were so sweet and scrumptious, I feel like I should have served them with the desserts!

Ingredients

• 2 (15 ounce) cans sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place sweet potatoes in a 10x6 inch shallow baking dish and pour orange juice over.
3. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt; mix together and cut in margarine. Sprinkle over sweet potatoes.
4. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with marshmallows and broil until browned.

 --Also I totally spaced on the orange juice.  I bet it really adds to the flavor!

KFC Biscuits

Did you know that KFC posted their recipe to their biscuits right on their website?!?  I was so excited to find this yesterday that I tried to make them.  KFC's biscuits are my favorite, and there have been many times that I've considered buying them just to make biscuits and gravy with.  SO...I tried them.  They definitely don't look like KFC's!  haha.  I think I just need more practice.  I also think I patted the dough a little thin so I could get more biscuits out of it.  So definitely double the recipe so you don't have to worry about this.  Even with my biscuits being flat, they still tasted amazing!  I can't wait to try these again, I'll post another picture when they turn out right.  Here's the recipe:


INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Sift together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour mix and add the milk. Add shortening and begin kneading with hands (to cut in) the vegetable shortening and flour in the milk until thoroughly mixed. Add milk, if needed to form, and mix. Turn onto floured board, and knead gently 6 to 8 times. Pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into biscuits. Place on baking sheet and brown in oven 10-13 minutes. Makes about 9 biscuits.

Here the link as well. http://www.kfc.com/tips/ky_biscuits.asp

Perfect Dinner Rolls

I was in a baking mood today!  As you may be able to tell by all my posts today!  It's finally fall here in Arizona, which means I can bake without dying of heat.  I'm so excited to try out new recipes, and put on that winter weight!  haha.  I will be hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year.   Me.  I'm making Thanksgiving dinner all by my lonesome, so I am starting to try out my recipes now.  This is the first one I tried, and I have to say it's a winner! 

By the way, I'm searching for the perfect Thanksgiving recipes, so if you have any please send them my way.  I'm looking for delicious sweet potato, green bean casserole and stuffing recipes.

Yield:  36 rolls

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups warm milk

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons salt

7 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

	Pour milk into a large mixing bowl, and sprinkle yeast over the surface. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Beat in the sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup butter, and salt; blend thoroughly. Gradually stir in the flour to make a soft dough. Cover bowl, and set in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
	Punch down the dough, cover the bowl, and allow to rise again. Repeat this step two more times.
	Break off 2 to 3 inch size pieces of dough, roll lightly into round shape, and place in prepared baking dish, edges touching. Repeat to make 36 dough balls. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
	Bake rolls in preheated oven until tops turn golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. When rolls are finished baking, drizzle melted butter over the top, and serve warm.

This is a time consuming one, but it's worth it!!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Yield:  about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, 1/2 cup white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg, then stir in vanilla. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in remaining sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Criss-cross with fork tines.
Bake at for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool slightly, and remove from pan.


I baked my cookies for only 8 minutes. 10 just seemed like too long and I like my cookies chewy! And I was right! 8 minutes was the perfect amount of time.

Italian Sausage Grinders

This recipe comes from Taste of Home magazine.  These babies are so good, they've made it into our dinner rotation!  And best of all, they are so easy!  Try them out for yourself.

Yield 12 servings

12 Italian sausage links
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups water
2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp each dried parsley, basil and oregano
12 brat buns (I just bought regular hot dog buns, which I'm fairly sure are the same thing)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, brown sausages in oil; drain.  Stir in the water, tomato paste, tomato sauce, garlic, sugar and seasonings; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Serve sausages on buns with sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Apple Crisp

Here's another dessert I served last week.  Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Yummy!


Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 2 quarts peeled, cored and sliced apples

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Cut butter into mixture until crumbly.
3. Take half of the mixture and pat it into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. Cover crumb mixture with apple slices, then sprinkle apple slices with remaining crumb mixture.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes or until apples are tender.

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

I have been craving pumpkin pie lately.  It's my favorite thing about fall.  Last week I hosted a Scentsy party at my house, and I wanted all the food to be fall themed.  So, of course, pumpkin pie was high on the list on desserts to be served.  I did not anticipate the huge brick wall in my way.  NO ONE is selling pumpkin right now.  I guess the pumpkin crop got wiped out last year so there is only a little supply left, so the stores wont be putting them on their shelves until closer to Thanksgiving.  So...  I had two options.  I could not make it, or I could buy an actual pumpkin (why are there real pumpkins in the stores and not canned pumpkin?  Did the Fry's worker lie to me?) and make it from scratch.  Well, I didn't want to do any of those things, so through the magic of Facebook,  I tracked down a can.

So, here is the recipe for my delicious-almost-didnt-happen-pumpkin-pie.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 2/3 cups evaporated milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Combine the sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, pumpkin puree, evaporated milk and eggs; blending until smooth. Pour batter into the prepared unbaked pie shell.
3. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 minutes then lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue to bake for about another 40 minutes or until pie is firm. 

This pie was amazingly delicious and I hope you guys can track down some pumpkin so you can try it! The only thing I suggest is to cook the pie at LEAST 15 minutes longer than the recipe says. Enjoy!

Apple Dumplings

Well, it's finally September and that means fall is finally here!  That means cooler weather (finally!) and cooler weather means that I'll be more in the mood to cook!  I already have a bunch of new recipes to try, so check back often!  On Sunday I made these babies:

8 servings

2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and quartered 1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup white sugar 1 cup orange juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Wrap each apple piece in one crescent roll. Place seam side down in an 8x8 baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon.  In medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, and orange juice; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over rolls.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden and apples are tender. Spoon sauce over rolls when serving.

I made this recipe as written and I thought it was fantastic!  The only problem I had was that my crescent rolls were butter flavored.  I DO NOT recommend this.  It made the dish taste too buttery, which I didn't think was possible.  So buy original crescent rolls and you'll be golden!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Yield: 6 servings

MEATBALLS
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten

SAUCE
3/4 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled
tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 bay leaf
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.



Yummy. :)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve.

*This was amazing! I really loved it. My only suggestion on this one is to be sure to buy lean ground beef. Mine turned out a tad oilier than I would have liked. Also--this wouldn't be hard to make healthier either! Use ground turkey instead of ground beef, and use whole wheat pasta!*

Last Minute Garlic Bread

Whenever I'm making an italian meal, but am not in the mood to make breadsticks, I whip out a batch of these babies. Super simple, and super yummy.

You will need:

white bread
softened butter
mayonnaise
garlic powder


parmesaen cheese
italian seasonings
(both optional but good)

Mix equal parts softened butter and mayo until smooth. Add garlic powder a little bit at a time until it tastes the way you want it. I like mine really garlicky so I tend to add a lot. Generously spread onto bread. Broil in the oven until nice and toasty. (These are actually a tad toastier than I like, I forgot about them! Don't do that!) Sprinkle with parmesean cheese and italian seasoning. This is optional (I usually don't put it on) but it's good.

Graham Cracker Eclairs

I found this recipe on a craft blog the other day.  I just had to try it!


Makes 1 9x13 pan

2 small packages instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
1 package of chocolate frosting (or make your own)
8 oz. cool whip
1 box of graham crackers

--Stir pudding mix and milk together and let set for 5 minutes. Fold in cool whip. In a 9 x 13 pan layer graham crackers (I usually break some to get them to fit right). Then layer on 1/2 of the pudding mixture. Layer twice more and then spread frosting all over the top.

Let set overnight or at least 3 hours.

Serve and Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix together the shortening and 1 1/2 cups of white sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into the batter until blended. Roll the dough into balls. Roll in a mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and still soft.

Salsa Chicken

This recipe is delicious, versatile, and best of all- EASY!  It's another one of those I put into the "I can't screw it up" catergory.  Here's what you'll need.

Makes enough filling for 3 quesidillas/burritos.

2 chicken breasts
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup salsa
1/2 packet taco seasoning

Combine everything into a pan.  Cook until chicken shreds easily.  Shred chicken, stir and serve as a filling for burritos, tacos, quesidillas, or as a topping to your salad.


*A lot of times I'll cook this in the crockpot as well.  Just throw everything in (chicken is frozen) and cook on High for about 3 hours.*

Chicken Packets

Makes 8 packets

You will need:

2 cans cresent rolls
2 chicken breasts, shredded
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
dash garlic powder
ritz crackers, crumbled (or seasoned bread crumbs)

10 oz can cream of chicken soup

Mix cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter together.  Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chicken.  Open crescent rolls.  Keep rolls in squares (2 triangles squished together).  Place filling in the middle and fold and pinch closed (does that make sense?  I shoulda taken a picture.)  Melt the other 1/4 cup butter in a bowl, and place the crumbled ritz crackers in seperate bowl.  Roll each packet in the butter and then gently roll it around in the crumbs to cover.

Place on greased cookie sheet and cook for about 20 minutes.  (okay, I really don't know how long mine were actually in the oven.  Go by what the crescent roll canister says and then keep an eye on them)


Meanwhile prepare the cream of chicken soup.  Serve ladled over warm chicken packets!

Ridiculously Easy Banana Cream Pie

You will need:

1 pie crust (I used pre-made graham cracker)
1 package instant banana cream pudding
1 1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cup whipped topping
2 bananas
caramel
more whipped topping

Slice up one banana and place in pie shell.  Drizzle caramel over bananas.  Prepare pudding by mixing pudding mix, milk, and whipped topping for 2 minutes.  Pour into pie shell.  Cut up second banana and place on top.  Drizzle caramel again, and top with whipped topping.

Refridgerate for 2 hours or until ready to serve.

See?  So easy!  And everyone will love it!

Perfect Pancakes

I love breakfast food.  Every Sunday night I make breakfast food for dinner.  It's become a tradition in our house.  This pancake recipe is my favorite!  I'll never use another recipe or go back to bisquik.  Try it!  You'll love it!

1 egg
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup buttermilk*
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBS sugar

Whisk wet ingredients.  Combine dry ingredients- stir into wet.  If batter seems too thick add a little more milk.  I personally like my pancakes thin so I keep the batter pretty runny.  The pancakes will cook evenly this way too.

*If you don't have buttermilk (who does?) add a little vinegar to your milk and let it sit for a couple minutes.  Voila! Buttemilk.

This recipe makes plenty for me, my husband, and my one year old.  But as you can see, it can be easily doubled, tripled, quintupled...you get it.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork!

I was browsing the web the other day, and I stumbled upon this recipe.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I HAD to try it out.  I made it for FHE last night and it was a huge hit!  You must make this.  It will change your life. 


2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
12-16 oz can enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!


**I doubled this recipe and it was plenty of food for six adults.  I also forgot to double the green chiles and the enchilada sauce (I don't know WHERE my mind is lately) and it still turned out delicious.  So I don't think there's a way to mess this one up! I also made some re-fried beans and mexican rice to go along with it.  It was really good all rolled up in one burrito!**

Banana Muffins

I make these babies every time we have brown bananas in our house.  Which is weekly.

You will need:

 1 1/2 cups flour
 3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 bananas
1 egg
1/3 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350

Combine wet and dry ingredients together in seperate bowls.

Fold dry into wet.  Don't overmix!  That's the secret to good muffins.

Get out your muffins liners, or just plop them straight into your muffin tin like I did.

This recipe will make a dozen regular muffins, or six enormous muffins.

Bake regular muffins 10-15 minutes, or large for 25-30.

Top with butter and enjoy!

5 Minute Fried Ice Cream

One of the sisters in my ward brought this to Enrichment and I immediately fell in love with it and got the recipe. I made it for my FHE on monday. SOOO delicious. SOOO fast. Perfection. You must try this ASAP!

Yield: 1 9x13 pan of deliciousness

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. coconut
2 c. rice crispies
3/4 c. chopped pecans

1 cube melted butter
1/2 gallon softened ice cream

Mix first 4 ingredients together. Pour in melted butter. Stir until combined. Press half of mixture into 9x13 pan. Take ice cream and put on top of mixture then add the rest of the mixture on top.

You could serve with toppings, but it's yummy without. Enjoy!

Buttercream Icing- perfect for decorating!

I made this cake for my daughter's first birthday. It looked so cute, and best of all, it tasted delicious! I found this recipe in a Wilton cake decorating magazine. It was SO yummy, and it was perfect consistency to do what I needed.

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract (only if you need pure white frosting otherwise regular is fine)
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

food coloring

*makes about 3 cups*

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. For best results keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. If refrigerated in an airtight container, it can be stored for two weeks. Rewhip before using.

Crockpot Chicken Barbeque Sandwiches

Last night I hosted FHE at my house. I was in charge of dinner and I was struggling to figure out what to make. I wanted to make grilled chicken pasta in tomato cream sauce, but didn't have enough pasta. Then I wanted to make chili con carne, but didn't have enough ground beef. So finally I came upon this recipe and it was a WINNER!

These sandwiches were so delicious! Everyone loved them and we all gobbled them up (there were 6 adults) until there were no more left! They were so delicious, so yummy, and best of all they are EASY. That's my favorite part! Want to make these too? Well here is the recipe:

Yield: about 16 sandwiches

Ingredients:
6 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 12 oz bottle barbeque sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays and I am forever converted)
1/2 cup italian dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
hamburger buns, toasted

your choice of toppings, but these are good plain!

Directions:

Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix barbeque sauce, italian dressing, brown sugar, and wocestershire sauce together, pour over chicken. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 6 to 7 hours. I like to shred the chicken after 3 hours and let it cook for the last hour in all the juices. Serve on toasted hamburger buns. These will be messy! Make sure you have napkins on hand.

ENJOY!!

Modified Sugar Cake

I really had a craving for sugar cake this morning. I didn't have the patience to make the real thing, so this is what I did.

1 refrigerated pizza crust
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Roll out crust onto cookie sheet. I didn't roll it out all the way because I wanted my sugar cake to be pretty thick (and all I had was thin crust dough). Thinly slice the butter and distribute evenly over the crust. Sprinkle sugar on top. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Although not as good as the original, (you MUST try the original!) it was delicious and certainly hit the spot this morning!

Great Grandma Schmuhl's Sugar Cake

This recipe comes from Germany and has been passed down for generations in my family. It's the most delicious thing you will ever eat. We always serve it on Christmas morning with hot chocolate. It's perfect for a chilly morning. I know we don't have very many of those left, (those of us in the valley definitely don't) so here you go!

Grandma Schmuhl's Sugar Cake

1 recipe Refrigerator Butter Rolls (see below)
1 cube butter
1 cup sugar

Divide raised dough into two pieces. Knead into ball. Let rest while you grease two large cookie sheets. Put on cookie sheet (use a pastry roller or a glass to roll out). Dot (dime size chunk) each pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Let raise until double and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 min.

Refrigerator Butter Rolls

1 cup milk, scalded, poured over
1 cube (1/2 c.) butter or margarine
1 pkg. yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (it should bubble)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 cups flour

If you use powdered milk, you do not have to scald the milk. While waiting for the butter or margarine to soften or melt, you can add the sugar and the salt. Add yeast and eggs. Mix in 3 cups of flour and mix well. Add last cup of flour. You do not have to knead dough.

Cover and put in refrigerator over night, or cover and let raise until double in bulk.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These aren't just any chocolate chip cookies. These are THE cookies. The cookie recipe that I swore I would never part with. The recipe that was given to me as a wedding gift from my friend Alicia. The top secret recipe that I've held on to for many years.

Why am I sharing it now? Well, it turns out my top secret recipe isn't so top secret. It's the recipe on the back of the Nestle Tollhouse chips bag. Alicia first mentioned this on her blog, The Story Lady, but I didn't believe her. I didn't want to believe her.

Until today. Today I had a craving for cookies, so I started making the delicious recipe that I've had memorized for so long. I took out my bag of chocolate chips and unwillingly looked at the recipe. What I saw brought tears to my eyes. It is, in fact, the same recipe.

I feel like I just stepped off of the set of Friends Season 7 "The One with Phoebe's Cookies". When Phoebe realizes that her Grandmother's famous recipe is none other than Nestle Tollhouse's she curses, "it is stuff like this which is why you're BURNING IN [HECK]!" I, of course, don't want Alicia to go to heck, but somebody should!

Anyway- these are the best cookies ever, and now I'm going to share them with you.

Cream together:
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar

Add:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together

Add:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
2 1/4 cups flour

Mix well. Add 1/2 bag of chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 7-9 on an ungreased cookie sheet.

That's it my friends. This is the Nestle Tollhouse recipe. With ONE MAJOR difference.

Shortening.

You must use shortening instead of butter. It will change your life, and you'll never look back. I've made this recipe a couple times with butter, and then don't turn out nearly as good. Not even close.

Pizza Rolls

This recipe comes from one of my readers! Thanks Mike! These were delicious!


1 roll refrigerated pizza dough (or make mine!! recipe is below)
marinara/pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t dried Italian seasoning

Pizza toppings of your choice: ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400 degrees. If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after)

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese ( I bet that's good, but Dustin would kill me if I did that).

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Pizza Crust

Makes 2 delicious crusts:

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon yeast
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 olive oil (I've used vegetable oil before and this works too)

Directions:

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm water and let work. In a separate bowl combine the flour and the salt. With an electric mixer on low speed (or if you're poor like me you're using a man powered wooden spoon) drizzle in the oil until just incorporated. Then drizzle in the yeast/water mixture. Mix until the dough forms a ball. Drizzle a little oil into a clean bowl. Toss the ball of dough into the bowl and turn to coat. Cover and set in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours. Use your hands to stretch the dough on your pizza pan. Cover with toppings and bake for 8-10 minutes at 500 degrees.

**tip- I always pre-bake my crust for about 3-4 minutes before covering with toppings. This helps avoid a soggy crust.

The Easiest Doughnuts Ever.

Seriously.

You may not want to read this post.

I can't stop making these things! They've become a Sunday morning tradition. Or anytime it's rainy and cold. Or when we're hungry for a late night snack. My husband thinks this is the best thing I've ever learned how to do!

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated biscuit dough. Original flavor is best. I've played around with other flavors (because it's what I had in my fridge), and they still turn out yummy. The ones I use for this tutorial are homestyle butter tastin'. Not the best, but still good!


Oil for fryin'

That's it!

Let's get started.

Start by opening your biscuits. If all you have is Grands! then make sure you flatten them thin or else your doughnuts won't cook all the way through. Gross.
Then take a small circle shaped cutter to cut out the holes. I'm using a baby bottle! Clever right?


Then when your oil is good and hot, fry them up real nice.


Set doughnuts on a paper towel. Or a real towel if you're out like I was.


Meanwhile make a simple glaze. I don't have a specific recipe for this so here's what I do. I dump some powdered sugar in a bowl. I add a little bit of water at a time (I mean a little!) and whisk it until I feel it's about the right consistency. Then I add a little bit of vanilla, and taste test until it's satisfactory.

Then plate your doughnuts, and pour the glaze right over the top.

Serve warm! They are the BEST when they are warm/hot!

Easy Gumbo

I recently watched The Princess and the Frog. It was a very cute movie, and it put me in the mood for gumbo! Here is a super easy and delicious recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup brown rice
• 4 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas with liquid
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion, pepper, and celery until tender. Pour in the chicken broth, and mix in rice, black-eyed peas with liquid, diced tomatoes and green chiles, diced tomatoes, and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes, or until rice is tender. Add water if soup is too thick.

Comments:

This recipe makes a TON. So if it's just two of you, invite some friends over, or cut the recipe in half. I only used 2 cans of black eyed peas and added some smoked sausage. This really made the meal for me. You can't have gumbo without meat! I also forgot to buy a bell pepper, and I used garlic powder instead of garlic. It still turned out pretty good! Also, if you are a working mom, this recipe could easily be put into a crockpot!

Serve with cornbread and eat lots of beignets for dessert!

Boston Cream Pie

The title of this dessert makes it sound difficult, but it is actually very simple. I loved this! I almost ate the whole thing myself!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Ready in: 1 hr 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 (3.4 ounce) package JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
• 1 cup cold milk
• 1 1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
• 1 round yellow cake layer (8 or 9 inch)
• 1 (1 ounce) square BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons cold milk

Directions

1. Beat pudding mix and 1 cup milk with whisk 2 min. Stir in COOL WHIP. Let stand 5 min. Meanwhile, cut cake horizontally into 2 layers with serrated knife.
2. Stack cake layers on serving plate, spreading pudding mixture between layers.
3. Microwave chocolate and butter on HIGH 1 min.; stir until chocolate is melted. Add sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk; mix well. Spread over cake. Refrigerate 1 hour.

I made this recipe as written, and it was divine. The only suggestion I have is when making the chocolate frosting is to do everything SLOWLY. I made the mistake of dumping everything in the bowl at the same time and I ended up with a clumpy runny mess. So I remade it, but this time I added the sugar 1/4 cup at a time, and the milk 1 tbsp at a time--alternating. Does that make sense? I know you know what I mean.

To cut the cake in half, I used thread instead of a knife. It came out much cleaner and faster than it would if I used a knife.

Make this one! You'll love it! I guarantee it.