February 6, 2009

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

This is very simple and good. Another great way to use stove top stuffing. Not much else to say about it. Sorry the picture isn't that great.


Bruschetta Chicken Bake


1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water or chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Place tomatoes in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic; stir just until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside.
PLACE chicken (I brown my chicken first) in 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture.
BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Belgian Waffles


We had breakfast for dinner last night and everyone wanted waffles.  I'm not a huge fan of waffles, but everyone else thought they were great.  Crispy outside, light and fluffy inside.  They thought they were especially good with powdered sugar, strawberries and syrup. 

3 eggs, separated
1 C milk, or more for the right consistency
1/4 C melted butter or margarine (I used light)
1 Tbl vanilla
2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbl baking powder
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 C applesauce

beat egg yolks, milk, butter, vanilla, and applesauce in a bowl.  Mix dry ingr. separately and then add to egg mixture.  Mix well.  Whip egg whites until they are somewhat stiff in another bowl.  Gently fold egg whites into batter.  Cook according to your waffle iron directions.  

 

Aunt Sunny Cake


It was New Beginnings this week in YW and this is what we served for dessert.  I got the recipe from one of the counselors in the YW pres.  I thought it was pretty good, Shawn and everyone else there loved it.  The cake is named after the Aunt of the counselor I got the recipe from.

2/3 C butter
1 3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 C flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 C milk

topping-
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C powdered sugar
large cool whip
2 cans fruit pie fillings

1. cream butter and sugar
2. add remaining cake ingr. and mix
3. pour onto greased cookie sheet
4. bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 min.
5. cool completely
6. for topping: cream both sugars with cream cheese
7. Add cool whip and mix until thick and smooth with beaters.
8. spread evenly on top of cake.
9. top with fruit and refrigerate until ready to serve

February 3, 2009

Cinnamon Rolls



Rachel you beat me to it. I guess we are going to have to try both recipes and see which one is the best. They probably both are worth making! These were really good. I made these for Scott's birthday. He loves cinnamon rolls. I made them in the afternoon and let them raise all night. It made almost 3 dozen rolls, so plenty to share with family and friends!
Cinnamon Rolls

2 c. milk
2 cubes butter (1 cup)
2 pkg yeast (4 ½ tsp)
1/3 c. warm water
1 1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
4 beaten eggs
8 c. flour
Filling: 1 square softened butter & cinnamon(lots) & brown sugar

Heat milk and 2 squares of butter together until butter is melted. Cool and set aside. Mix yeast and warm water; let stand 5 minutes. Add cooled milk, 1 1/3 c. sugar, 1 tsp salt, 4 beaten eggs. Add 4 c. flour and mix and gradually add 4 additional cups flour. Dough should be firm but sticky. Cover with cloth and put in a warm place, and raise 1 ½ to 2 hours. Dough should nearly be doubled in size. Divide dough in half and empty onto floured surface and knead a little. Roll dough into rectangle, about ½ inch thick. To this half of dough, spread on ½ square of softened butter, completely covering dough. Then sprinkle a coating of brown sugar over entire piece of dough. Then a layer of cinnamon. Be generous with the cinnamon; this is what makes it tasty. Roll into long roll, pinch edges together and slice with dental floss. Place on a cookie sheet covered with a silpt or parchment paper. Do same thing to second half of dough. Cover with a clean dishtowel (or saran wrap sprayed with cooking spray) and put in warm place, free of drafts, for 2 to 5 hours to raise--just depends-but the should be double in size. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until barely browned. Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes. Drizzle with glaze while still warm. Makes 3-4 dozen.

Butter Cream Glaze:
1 cube softened butter (1/2 cup)
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
dash of cream of tarter
1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar
scalded milk or cream


Add all together...adding milk a little at a time, alternately with the powdered suagr until desired consistency is reached. For cinnamon rolls, it needs to be a little thinner than regualr icing.

Groundhog Day Dinner

We celebrated Groundhog Day yesterday with a fun dinner.  I thought I would post our menu and the recipes.  We had groundhog burgers, 6 weeks more winter fries, tossed green salad and groundhog cupcakes.  The family thought it was awesome, they especially loved decorating their groundhog cupcakes.  I got the recipes for the potato wedges and the cupcakes off of recipezaar.com.  The potato wedges were amazing.  Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside with just the right amount of spice.   The cupcakes were surprisingly simple and VERY cute!  

Baked Potato Wedges


6 medium potatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoon parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt


Wash potatoes, cut into wedges.

Mix the next 6 ingredients together in a gallon ziplock bag.  Add potatoes and toss to coat.  Put on greased baking sheet in a single layer

Bake at 350 for 40 min. and then increase heat to 450 degrees and bake an additional 20 min or until crispy and golden brown.


Groundhog Cupcakes


baked cupcakes

almond joy candy bars

brown and red miniature M&M's chocolate candies

chocolate cookie crumbs

white frosting

black decorating gel


Remove a piece of cake the width of an Almond Joy candy from the center of a baked cupcake


Set the candy upright in the hole, then spread a layer of white frosting on the cupcake


For the groundhog's eyes, use white frosting, then dot them with black decorators' gel


For the cheeks and ears use white frosting to place brown M&M minis and then use white frosting and red minis for the nose.  Use white frosting for teeth.


Sprinkle chocolate cookie crumbs around the partially emerged groundhog, and he's ready to greet his fans.



February 1, 2009

Cinnamon Rolls



These are the most amazing cinnamon rolls ever! I got this recipe from a lady in my ward who used to make and sell them. She did a mini enrichment about a year ago, and I went thinking, okay whatever, another cinnamon roll recipe but these are sooooooo good! I've made them a few times since then and they are easy and pretty quick to make.
(WARNING! This is NOT a low fat recipe. If your going to take the time to make and eat cinnamon rolls, it better be worth it! We usually make a batch, eat 1 or if we're really daring eat 2 and then share the rest with our neighbors.)

3/4 C very warm water
1 Tbl yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 C hot water
1/2 C sugar
1/2 Tbl salt
1/2 cube melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
approx. 7 C flour

-mix 3/4 C water, yeast and sugar and let sit until double or triple. Meanwhile mix together 2 C water, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs. Add yeast mixture and mix well. Add 6-7 C flour (dough will be really soft, but not too sticky) Knead for about 5 min. Grease a bowl and let dough rise covered until doubled.
-separate dough in half and roll first half into a rectangle. Melt a whole cube butter and spread half of it on the rectangle dough. Spread about 1 1/2 C brown sugar and 1-2 Tbl cinnamon on the rolled dough. Roll up jelly roll style and cut into 1 1/2 inch circles. Place on greased cookie sheet. Do the same thing with the other half of the dough. let rise in warm oven until double and then bake at 350 degrees for about 15 min. or until golden brown. Take off pan and cool on cooling rack.

Frosting:
1/2 C shortening
1/2 C butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt
milk to thin
-mix altogether until desired consistency.

(you can always do cream cheese frosting, orange glaze or whatever)