Raspberry Rolls

Last year we went to Utah to see my family for Christmas.  While we were there I tried my first raspberry roll.  My sister bought them from...somewhere...not sure what the place is called.  I'll have to find that out.  I LOVE these!!  I made rolls the other night and had some dough leftover...so I decided to make a few of these....I cooked them individually in some oven safe coffee mugs.

Raspberry Rolls

So....you make these just as you do regular cinnamon rolls with only one simple change....instead of using cinnamon sugar you use raspberry jam.

To start, get your favorite dough for cinnamon rolls...bread dough, Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll dough, molly's roll dough(this is what I have been using lately) .  Roll your dough into a rectangle as you would for regular cinnamon rolls.  Spread a thin layer of butter on the dough(not too much), then spread a thin layer of seedless(you definitely want to use seedless) raspberry jelly.  You really don't want to put too much butter or jam...OR you will have jam squeezing out all over when you roll it up, a little goes a long way.  Next, roll up your rectangle and cut into rolls....3/4 to 1 inch thick.  place in your pan or coffee mug.  Let rise(20 to 30 minutes) and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes...Frost with cream cheese frosting...recipe below. 

If you would like better instructions on rolling the dough and all that...click on the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll recipe.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla
• pinch of salt

Directions:  With mixer, whip butter and cream cheese until soft and creamy.  Mix in powdered sugar and salt.  Add evaporated milk a little at a time so it doesn't get to thin.  If necessary, add a little more milk to thin or powdered sugar to thicken.  Add vanilla, mix well.

Oreo Truffles

Have you all tried these?  I have seen these everywhere.  I have been meaning to try them for years!  I think that I am one of only a few people that haven't made these or at least eaten one.  I'm telling you, IF you haven't tried these...you should.  They are SO good!!  I am not very good at the chocolate dipping part, so mine aren't nearly as pretty as others that I have seen, but they still tasted good:) 

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:

1 package oreo cookies

8 ounces softened cream cheese

chocolate for dipping...chocolate chips, melting candies...etc.

Directions:  Crush oreo cookies in the food processor until they are crumbs.  Mix the oreo crumbs with the softened cream cheese until combined.  Scoop a small amount of the oreo mixture and roll it into a ball.  I put mine on a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet.  Place the oreo balls in the freezer for an hour or so, so that they will be easier to handle when dipping.  Dip your oreo ball into melted chocolate to cover. (I melted chocolate chips in a double broiler.)  Place the oreo ball back onto the cookie sheet.  Freeze to set the chocolate.  Serve cold from the refridgerator or the freezer.

I hope this makes sense.....

Caramel Pecan Bread Pudding

I LOVE this bread pudding!  I had never tried or thought I would like bread pudding before I made this, but I am now a fan!  I found this recipe at cdkitchen. 

Caramel Pecan Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

12 caramel candies
1 can Sweetened condensed milk (14 oz size)
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
3 eggs
8 slices Bread; torn into 1-inch pieces (I used approx. 3/4 of a loaf of French Bread)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:  Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the caramels, sweetened condensed milk, butter, vanilla, and salt over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramels are melted. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside.

Place the water in a large bowl and beat the eggs into the water. Add the caramel mixture and mix well. Stir in the bread cubes and the pecans. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir again.

Pour into a greased 8-inch square baking pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

**I baked mine in oven-safe coffee mugs.

Crusty Rolls

I made these rolls to make bbq chicken sandwiches the other night.  Everyone LOVED them!!

Crusty Rolls

recipe from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
2 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
2 egg whites
Cornmeal

Directions:

In a bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add shortening, sugar, salt and 1 cup flour; beat until smooth. Add egg whites; mix well. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (dough will be stiff). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.

Punch dough down; divide into 24 pieces and shape into balls. Sprinkle greased baking sheets with cornmeal. Place rolls 2 in. apart on baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Place a large shallow pan filled with boiling water on lowest rack in oven. Bake rolls on middle rack at 425° for 10-11 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 2 dozen.

Paula Deen's Volcano Cake

I LOVE this cake!!  I first had it when my sister-in-law made it.  Hers looked prettier though.  She is REALLY good at making food look pretty.  This cake is rich and I think that next time I will make it in two square pans, so that I can give one away...it's really good and my will power is not that good!  I really like the pecan, coconut 'crust' ... mmmmm....really!  Thanks Paula Deen!

those holes left by the cream cheese....they soak up the glaze nicely.....

I split this piece open so that you could see the yummy insides:)

I used my small cookie scoop to distribute the cream cheese mixture. (I had a lot of the cream cheese mixture leftover, you could do your scoops closer together if you would like)

Paula Deen's Volcano Cake

Ingredients

Cream mixture:
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 cups 4X or 10X sugar(I don't know what 4X and 10X sugar is, I used powdered sugar)

Cake:
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup pecans
1 (18.25-ounce) box German chocolate cake mix, prepare by following directions on box
10 bite-sized almond and chocolate covered candy or candy of choice

Glaze:
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

For the cream mixture:
Beat ingredients together with an electric mixer. Set aside until ready to use.

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch cake pan.

Line bottom of greased pan with coconut flakes. Sprinkle pecans on top of coconut. Set aside.

Follow directions on back of box to prepare cake. Beat for approximately 2 minutes, using an electric mixer. Fold in bite-sized candy. Pour into cake pan. Evenly space dollops of cream mixture on top of the cake. When the cake cooks, the cream will sink down to the bottom. This will be your "volcano" of flavor. Place in oven for 40 to 45 minutes. While cake is still hot spread the glaze evenly over the cake.

For the glaze:

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in cocoa powder and add milk until you get a thin consistency. If glaze is too thick, add more milk. While bringing the butter and milk mixture to a boil, whisk in confectioners' sugar and almond extract. Glaze should be thin. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before using.

Hot Fudge Cake

MMMmmmmm.....I like cake that makes it's own sauce.  Serve this with some ice cream and you will be happy!

Hot Fudge Cake

Ingredients:

1 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. sugar

6 T. cocoa, divided

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. milk

2 T. vegetable oil (I actually use canola)

1 t. vanilla

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 3/4 c. hot water

Directions:  In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, 2 T. cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Stir in milk, oil and vanilla until smooth.  Spread into an ungreased 9 inch square baking pan.  Combine brown sugar and remaining cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Pour hot water over all; do not stir.  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Serve warm.  Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.  Yield:  9 servings.

Butter Cream Frosting

I LOVE butter cream frosting!  I posted this recipe...back when I posted the recipe for the BEST sugar cookies ever.  I decided that I would post it again....because it deserves it's own post. 

This frosting is SO good on sugar cookies and GREAT with cinnamon roles! 

One of my boys turned 6 a couple of weeks ago and asked for blue frosting for his chocolate cupcakes...so I tried the butter cream frosting and what do you know...it was also great with chocolate cupcakes.

I know that it looks like their is more frosting than cupcake...and maybe there is....

Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

1 lb. Powdered Sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cube(1/4 cup) butter (softened)

1/4 c. evaporated milk

1 1/2 t. vanilla

Directions:  With mixer, whip butter until soft and creamy.  Add powdered sugar and salt.  Add powdered sugar and mix.  Add milk a little at a time to desired consistency.  If necessary, add a little more milk to thin or powdered sugar to thicken.  Add vanilla and food coloring(if desired).  Mix well.  Spread on cake, cookies, or cinnamon rolls.

Green Chili Bean Dip

Remember when I said that I have A LOT of green chili?  We LOVE green chili and use it in SO many things...salsa, green chili burros, chicken sandwiches, Chicken Enchiladas Creamas Verde and now I will be adding this dip to our green chili line-up.

Try not to judge it by the looks of this picture -k-  I should really work on my food photography skills:)  If only my cousin Tracey lived closer, so that I could get some lessons!

Green Chili Bean Dip

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans 

1 can ro-tel tomatoes

12 ounces Velveeta cheese

1/2 cup chopped roasted green chilies

Directions:  Heat all ingredients in a saucepan, until warm and cheese has melted.

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal

We eat A LOT of oatmeal at our house...almost every morning.  Most of my kids(all but one) love it, the other one tolerates it.  I had some leftover maple cream sauce after making The Pioneer Woman's Peach Crisp the other day.  I decided to try it with my oatmeal and it was Yummy!! 

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal

This is another one of those 'not really a recipe' posts.  Just take some good old oatmeal(prepared and warm, of course) top it with some super sweet chopped peaches, sprinkle with brown sugar and add a generous amount of Maple Cream Sauce.

Enjoy!!  I can't wait to get my next box of peaches this weekend!

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman. I LOVE fresh peaches. We got a box of Utah peaches a couple of weeks ago and will be getting another one this week. We have been eating them fresh, making Peach Vanilla Syrup, and freezing them to use in our morning fruit shakes. I'm glad that we saved some to try this recipe! It is very good, but seriously I haven't made anything from The Pioneer Woman's website that is not delicious!!

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

5 whole To 6 Whole Fresh Peaches (best When Not Overly Ripe Or Soft)
1 cup Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 stick Butter (1/2 Cup)
1/2 whole Lemon
7 Tablespoons Real Maple Syrup, Divided
1-1/2 cup Whipping Cream
3 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup

Directions:  In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt using a fork or pastry cutter. Cut butter into small pieces and gradually add to flour mixture until evenly mixed.

Peel peaches into a bowl. Add the zest from half a lemon. Squeeze juice from lemon half and stir in with peaches and zest. Add 2 tablespoons real maple syrup to peaches, stir well.

Pour peach mixture into a small pan (8” or 9” square) and cover evenly with crumb topping. Cover with foil and bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until crisp and brown on top.

Maple Cream Sauce:

Pour whipping cream into a saucepan. Add 5 tablespoons real maple syrup, 3 tablespoons corn syrup and stir over moderate heat until thickened and reduced by about one-third, approximately 15 minutes. Refrigerate mixture until it is cold and thick, or set the saucepan into a small bowl of ice (the ice will melt and turn into ice water). Stirring your mixture, it will cool and thicken in about 15 minutes. Drizzle sauce over peach crisp. Serve warm.

Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls

I found this recipe here, from Real Mom Kitchen.  We loved this dish, even my picky 5 year old cleaned his plate.  This is quick and easy!  I made the sauce and cut up my chicken during the afternoon...and then cooked dinner in a matter of minutes after soccer practice the other day.  Delicious!!

Chicken Teriyaki Bowls

Ingredients:

Oil

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut up into bite sized pieces

3 cups frozen stir-fry vegetables

¼ cup teriyaki sauce (see recipe below)
3 cups of steamed rice
Additional teriyaki sauce, if desired

Directions:  Place a little oil in the bottom of a wok or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Give the oil and pan a minute or two to get hot.  Then add your chicken to the pan and cook for a few minutes.  Add 1-2 Tbsp of teriyaki sauce and for 3 minutes more until the chicken is fully cooked.  Add the frozen veggies to the pan. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minute more, stirring every couple of minutes, until veggies are heated through.  Add the remaining teriyaki sauce to the mixture and serve over the rice. Serve with additional teriyaki sauce if desired.


Teriyaki Sauce
 
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
black pepper to taste

Directions:  In a small saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch and cold water until smooth and no lumps. Then, whisk in the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and ground black pepper.  Bring to a boil over medium heat then reduce it and simmer until thickens. You will end up with about 1 cup of sauce.

Green Chili Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I ordered a 35 lb bag of roasted green chili a few weeks ago. We LOVE green chili at our house. I still have a little green chili in the freezer from last year that I need to get used up. The other night we were having tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner. I decided to spice up the grilled cheese with some green chili and we loved it!

I'm sure you've all had grilled cheese sandwiches before, so just make them as you would and throw some green chili in-between some cheese and cook these up. I used one slice of provolone and one slice of some cheddar/mozzarella mixed cheese that I had.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with a hint of coconut

So...the other day I started making my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I took out the shortening, and it was rancid...really....I just bought it a week or two earlier. ...and it didn't 'expire' until March 22 2013. I was MAD...I had only used it a couple of times and that stuff is not cheap.


....anyway, I had some coconut oil in the pantry that my Mother-in-law gave us. I decided to use that instead of the shortening. I don't know if I will ever go back to using shortening. These cookies are SO good!! Just a hint of the coconut taste. Even my 11 year old that hates coconut, LOVES these!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with a hint of coconut

(basically these cookies with coconut oil)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Cream together coconut oil, brown sugar and sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add salt, baking soda, and flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 9-10 minutes.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

This is a quick simple recipe. I found this recipe in the newspaper 'Star Watch'.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions: Prepare grill for direct grilling on medium-high. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with vegetable oil, cayenne and salt to coat. Place shrimp on hot grill. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque throughout, turning once. Transfer shrimp to plate and let cool 5 minutes. Serves 4.

Red Hot Cinnamon Candy Popcorn

My sister told me about this recipe. She found it here at cdkitchen. This popcorn is SO yummy!!

Red Hot Cinnamon Candy Popcorn

Ingredients:

6 quarts popped popcorn
12 oz red cinnamon candies (red hots)
sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions: Spread popcorn in a lightly buttered roasting pan; bake at 250 degrees while you prepare the syrup. Pour the cinnamon candies into a 2 cup measuring cup(I used my liquid measuring cup). Fill the remaining space up to two cups with sugar. Place in a heavy pan. Add butter, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil; boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat; carefully stir in baking soda. Pour over popcorn stirring to coat. Continue to bake at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven, stir one last time; let cool. Break into pieces; store in an airtight container.

Night Owl S'mores Treat

I found this recipe here at Real Mom Kitchen. We really enjoyed these.

The recipe says that these need to be made and eaten in the same day so that the cereal doesn't get soggy. We love dessert around here, but we don't eat a lot at one sitting(well...maybe I do, but we try not to let the kids). I didn't want to waste what we didn't eat, so I put the extra pieces in the freezer and we snacked on this all week long.

Night Owl S'mores Treat

Ingredients:
9 cups honey graham cereal (like Golden Grahams)
3/4 cup corn syrup
3 T butter
11-1/2 ounce package milk chocolate chips
1 t vanilla
3 cups mini marshmallows

Directions: Grease a cookie sheet butter. Measure 9 cups of honey graham cereal in a large mixing bowl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine corn syrup, butter and milk chocolate chips. Stir constantly until chocolate chips are melted and ingredients are combined. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal and stir quickly until cereal is coated with chocolate. Stir in the marshmallows. Pour mixture onto cookie sheet and using a slightly damp hand, press into pan.

This recipe needs to be made and eaten the same day. Otherwise the cereal gets soggy the next day.

Blackberry Cobbler Waffles

We LOVE breakfast food for dinner at my house!! This is really more like dessert! I did make some super healthy fruit shakes to go with this...so I think it all works itself out.

I found this recipe over at How Sweet It Is. I LOVE Jessica's blog. Seriously the yummiest recipes, best pictures and funniest posts you will ever see!!

Blackberry Cobbler Waffles

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cups rolled oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 pints fresh blackberries

vanilla ice cream + maple syrup for serving (I used buttermilk syrup)

Directions: Preheat your waffle iron and spray it with non-stick spray (I always spray again between each waffle.)

In a bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir in eggs, milk, vanilla and butter, mixing until combined and smooth. Fold in about 1 cup of black berries. Make waffles per your iron's directions.

Heat the remaining blackberries in a saucepan over low heat and mash with a fork until saucy. Serve waffles with warm mashed berries, syrup and vanilla ice cream.

quick and easy way to shred meat

Quick post today....just thought I would let you all know my favorite way to shred meat. The meat shreds SO quick and EASY.

Place your warm cooked meat in your KitchenAid with the cookie paddle and pulse until the meat is shredded to your desired consistency. It really doesn't take much, if you pulse it too much, it will end up looking like tuna fish. I only shred ~3 lbs. at a time. If I have more meat than that, I will shred part, empty the bowl and then shred more.

Orange Rolls

My sister-in-law made these for us and they are SO good! Thanks Rachele :)

Orange Rolls

Ingredients:
4 cans of biscuits (the type you pull paper off and they pop open - make sense?

Juice from one orange

1 orange rind - grated(small)

2 cubes(1 cup) butter or margarine

1 1/2 cup sugar

Directions: Open biscuits and place 2 stacks of biscuits from cans side by side in one loaf pan. Place the other two cans in another loaf pan. In a saucepan heat, but don't boil, the rest of the ingredients. Pour orange sauce over biscuits and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Dump out of loaf pans onto a cookies sheet and serve.

Granola

I really LOVE granola!! This recipe comes from my mother-in-law and is delicious!!

Granola

Mix together in a large bowl:

-14 c. rolled oats

-2 c. wheat germ

-2 c. coconut

-1/2 or more c. sesame seeds, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, wheat bran, etc.

Mix together in the blender:

-1 c. oil

-1/3 c. water

-1 1/2 c. honey

-3 t. vanilla

-2 t. salt

Pour the ingredients from the blender over dry ingredients & mix together thoroughly. Bake in cookie sheets or pan (approx. 4) for 30 minutes at 250-300 degrees.

A simple, favorite after-school snack

My kids LOVE strawberries. They will literally sit down and eat one or two pounds each, if I let them. They were SO happy to see these waiting for on the table for them after school the other day. So simple and delicious.

My local grocery store had reddi-wip(is that what it's called?) whip cream in the can, and strawberries on sale. I brought them home, sliced a small piece off the bottom of the strawberry(so that it would stand up on the plate). Then I cut the top of the strawberry off, leaving a v-shaped hole to fill with the whip cream. Fun and just sweet enough.

yum, yum...we will definitely be snacking on these all summer long.

Fluffernutter Cookies

I found this recipe at The Picky Palate. I LOVE these cookies. They are SO simple and SO yummy. I really like the fact that they are not too sweet.

Fluffernutter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup marshmallow creme

1 egg

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter and egg until well combined with a spoon. Slowly stir in marshmallow creme until just combined. You want to see the marshmallow creme not fully incorporated, almost like swirled through. With a small-medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until baked through. Let cool for 5 minutes on a cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes approx. 18 cookies.

Sweet and Sour Asian Wraps

My Sister found this recipe in her April Family Circle Magazine. When she told me about it, I told her to send me the recipe. I LOVE lettuce wraps and these are SO good!! I've made them twice, once with shredded chicken(that I had bottled) and ground turkey(didn't have ground chicken at my store). I really like them both ways! My husband really liked them with the ground turkey. The ones with the ground turkey were definitely juicier.

I also couldn't find the fish sauce at my grocery store so I left that out of the dipping sauce. The first time I made them with the shredded chicken, I also added some chopped almonds on top(SO GOOD). I also added about a teaspoon of crushed red peppers to my husbands dipping sauce. I made two bowls of dipping sauce and then we just added a spoonful or two to our wraps before we ate them.

Sweet and Sour Asian Wraps

Ingredients:

(Sauce)
2 T soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
2 T Sugar
1 t fish sauce
1/4 t. sriracha
1 T water (I didn't add the water)

(wraps)
1 T canola oil
1 lb. ground chicken
1 sm red sweet pepper (chopped)
1 t sugar
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 sriracha
2 scallions chopped
1 T soy sauce
16 lg. bibb lettuce leaves
sliced cucumbers, scallions, mint and limes for serving

Directions:
Dipping sauce: Stir together all ingredients in a small dish and set aside.

Wraps: Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in chicken and cook 2 minutes breaking up large pieces with a wooden spoon. Stir in red pepper, sugar, garlic powder, ginger and sriracha. Cook 3 minutes, until no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Take off heat and stir in scallions and soy sauce.

To serve, spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture into each lettuce leaf and top with cucumber, scallions, mint, and a squeeze of lime. Serve with dipping sauce and brown rice.

Crock pot Burritos

WELL....I'm not sure why this keeps posting with the format all messed up. I'm going to post it anyway. If you have any suggestions on how to fix it, let me know. I found this recipe over at Tried and True with Heidi. As soon as I saw this, I knew my family would LOVE it!! It is really easy too.

Crock pot Burritos

Ingredients:

• 
  
  1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained


• 
  
  1 envelope taco seasoning


• 
  
  2 cans refried beans


• 
  
  1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce


• 
  
  3/4 cup water


• 
  
  flour tortillas


• 
  
  toppings of choice (lettuce, cheese, sour cream, black olives)

Directions: Mix first 5 ingredients in a greased crock pot. Cover and cook on low 6-10 hours. Place in flour tortillas with your choice of toppings. Roll up and enjoy.

Recipe coming soon

I am trying to get a recipe posted today. For some reason it is not posting the way that it looks when I type it in. Blogger must be having some issues. I'll check back later and see if it will post correctly.

Valentines Cookies, Reece's Style

I found these cookies over at the blog, my name is snickerdoodle. She called them 'melt your heart cookies'. SO cute!

I just wanted to share these really quick and tell you to go check out my name is snickerdoodle (her picture is MUCH better than mine:)). I used a different peanut butter cookie recipe than she used for hers. These are basically the same as the Reece's mini-muffin cookies that I blogged about here.

Valentines Cookies, Reece's Style

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 2 T. milk
• 30-40 miniature Reece's Peanut Butter HEARTS

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda, set aside
3. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
4. Using approx. 1 T of dough, shape into a ball, roll in sugar and place on a baking sheet.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 2 minutes. Press Reece's heart into the center of the cookie and allow to finish cooling.

Edited:  I now let my cookies cool for 9-10 minutes before adding the Reece's heart.  The Reece's hearts will melt, if you add them too soon.  In the first picture above, I let the cookies cool ~10 minutes.  The second picture was cooling for ~2 minutes.

Paula Deen's Dreamy Creamy Hot Chocolate

There is nothing that reminds me of Grandma like Cinnamon Toast and Hot Chocolate. I tried this recipe from Food Network for Paula Deen's Hot Chocolate and it is really Yummy!

I am still planning to share the mixed berry syrup from the crepe post with you, I just can't find my recipe book. We have had a few things disappear lately...shoes, books, etc...guess it's time to go hunting for the 2 year old's hiding places:)

Paula Deen's Dreamy Creamy Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1/8 t. salt
• 6 1/2 cups hot water
• miniature marshmallows(optional-I used whipped cream)

Directions: In a large saucepan, combine sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, vanilla and salt; mix well. Over medium heat, slowly stir in water; heat through, stirring occasionally. DO NOT BOIL. Top with marshmallows if desired.

Tip: Chocolate can be stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Mix well and reheat before serving.

Crepes with Cheese Blintz Filling

My Sister sent me this recipe. Her husband made them for her(lucky). We had to try them and we LOVED them. My Sister served hers with pureed strawberries and pureed peaches mixed with a little Splenda, fresh berries and powdered sugar. I served mine topped with mixed berry sauce(I'll share that recipe soon), whipped cream and strawberries.

I loved these, the filling wasn't too sweet and mixed wonderfully with the fruit syrup and whipped cream. Thanks for the recipe, Heather!

Crepes with Cheese Blintz Filling

Ingredients:

Crepes:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 3 T butter, melted
• 2 T granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• additional butter (for pan)

Filling:

• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup softened cream cheese
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 t. vanilla

Directions:

1. Use an electric mixer to blend together all crepe ingredients(except the butter for the pan) in a large bowl. Blend just until smooth. The butter will be very thin.
2. Combine the filling ingredients in a medium bowl and mix by hand. Keep the filling nearby.
3. Preheat a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot add 1/2 t. butter.
4. When the butter has melted, pour 1/3 cup batter into the pan. Swirl the batter so that it entirely coats the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until golden brown on one side.
5. Use a spatula to lift an edge of the crepe, grab it with your finger, use the spatula to quickly flip over. Cook for another 1 1/2 or until a bit lighter shade of brown than the first side, then slide it out of the pan. Repeat with the rest of the batter and stack finished crepes on top of each other to keep them warm.
6. Heat the cheese filling in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes or until hot. When ready to fill the crepes, place each crepe, dark side down, on a plate. Pour 2 to 3 T of cheese filling across the center of the crepe. Fold the sides in and flip entire blintz over(to hide seam) onto a serving plate.
7. Top with desired toppings.

Chicken Enchiladas Creamas Verde

These are seriously some of the best enchiladas I have EVER tasted. I got this recipe from my super awesome cousin Tracey!


I wish I could have taken a better picture. I really don't know how to take a 'good' picture of enchiladas. Also, it seems like every time I try to photograph food, it is night(poor lighting), my family is STARVING(hands in pictures, shaking table)...the excuses could go on and on.

Anyway....you must try these...SO delish!!

Chicken Enchiladas Creamas Verde

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cooked chicken (a shredded rotisserie chicken would work well)
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 jar tomatillo salsa divided (my jar was 16 oz.)
• 1 small can diced green chilies
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 doz. small flour tortillas
• 1 cup half and half or heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; Saute onion 5 minutes. Add chicken, 1/2 jar salsa, cream cheese and chilies. Reduce heat to medium; stir, melt cheese and blend mixture well. Heat tortillas briefly, then fill each with about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture. Roll up tightly and place in baking dish, seam-sides down. Combine remaining tomatillo salsa with cream; pour over enchiladas and top with shredded cheese. Bake 30 minutes or until cheese melts.

Skillet Meaty Lasagna

I watched Chris Kimball make this on the Today Show last week. I had been trying to decide what to make for dinner that night and decided to try it. It was great!! My family loved it!! It was simple and easy clean up. I thought I had more lasagna noodles than I had, so I had to add some penne to it with the broken up lasagna noodles.

Skillet Meaty Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 3 (14.5-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion, minced
• salt
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 Tablespoon)
• 1/8 t red pepper flakes
• 1 pound meatloaf mix (I just used ground beef)
• 10 curly-edged lasagna noodles (about 8 1/2 ounces), broken into 2-inch lengths
• 2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
• ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 3 T chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1. Pulse the tomatoes with their juice in a food processor until coarsely groun and no large pieces reamin, about 12 pulses.
2. Heat teh oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 t salt and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking apart the meat, until lightly browned and no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Scatter the pasta over the meat, then pour the processed tomatoes over the pasta. Cover , increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer, until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Off teh heat, stir in half of the mozzerella and half of the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dot heaping tablespoons of the ricotta over the noodles, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzerella and Parmesan. Cover and let stand off the heat until the cheese melts, 2 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Tips:

Do not substitute no-boil lasagna noodles for the traditional, curly-edged lasagna noodles here. Meatloaf mix is a combination of ground beef, pork and veal.

White Chocolate Popcorn

Have you tried this before? A sister-in-law introduced this to us about a year ago. It is now my kids favorite popcorn. SO Yummy!! I usually like to stir in some M&Ms with it too.

This past week my kids planned a family party to watch the BYU/SDSU basketball game. They decorated with blue and white, made their Jimmer poster and asked if we could make their favorite popcorn and make it blue. While I was stirring in the food coloring, it made the chocolate set-up a little fast, so...it's not the prettiest popcorn, but it was very tasty!! The blue is a little on the light side too...oh well...the kids loved it.

The bowl of popcorn is sitting on an article about BYU in the Wall Street Journal.

White Chocolate Popcorn

Ingredients:

• 1-2 bags microwave popcorn (depending on how covered you like it)
• 1 bag white chocolate chips
• 1 bag M&Ms (optional)

Directions: Pop your corn. Put popcorn in a large bowl(pick out kernels). Melt chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl. Microwave on high for one minute. Continue to microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted and smooth. Pour over popcorn and stir.