Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I cut this recipe in half because I knew my family would not eat the whole thing and I didn't think it would be very good as left overs. I was so glad I did. I used one can of green enchilada sauce. I also had some chicken that I had cooked already, so I simmered it in the enchilada sauce for a few minutes. This came together very fast especially with the chicken already cooked. Seems like most of the ingredients are optional so play around with it. We really liked it as long as it had the sour cream on it. Without the sour cream it would just be okay.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

1-2 chicken breasts
1 28 oz can enchilada sauce (or 2 small cans or one small can and one can tomato sauce)
1/2 c corn (optional)
1/2 small onion (optional)
Tortilla Chips, crushed
1 c shredded cheese
sliced olives (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Put endhilada sauce into sauce pan. Add chicken breasts, corn and onions to sauce and boil. Once chicken is boiled and cooked through, shred.
While chicken is cooking, preheat oven to 350.
Take a 9x13 pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Line pan with crushed tortilla chips.
Pour chicken, corn, onion and sauce mixture over chips.
Top with cheese and olives.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.
Top with sour cream and serve.

Irish Soda Bread

This is the wheat soda bread. I didn't make it with any of the optional ingredients. The dough is very sticky and is more like biscuit dough. I made it in the kitchen aid and let it do the kneading. This is great with chicken soup. Grandma Swalberg really enjoyed it.

4 cups Flour

1 tsp. Salt

3 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/4 cup sugar (optional)

1/8 tsp. cardamom or coriander (optional)

1/4 cup butter

1 egg

1 3/4 cup buttermilk

Combine in a large bowl flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and spices. Add butter to flour mixture and cut with a pastry blender or 2 knives until crumbly. Beat egg slightly and mix with buttermilk. Add buttermilk mix to dry ingredients. Stir until blended. Turn out on floured board and knead for 2-3 minutes. Divide the dough in half. Shape into 2 round loaves and place each round in a pie pan. Press down until dough fills the pan. With a sharp knife cut crosses on top of the loaves about 1/2" deep through middle. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Substitutions: if you want a wheat bread swap 2 cups of wheat flour with the white. You may also add raisins for a sweet bread, just make sure to add the sugar.

Pizza Dough

I'm always up for trying new recipes and one night I was looking for a different pizza dough recipe.  I found this one on recipezaar.  It had over 200 5 star reviews.  We made it and it was awesome.  Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy inside. We assemble our pizza by first putting about 1/2 C sauce on pre-baked crust, then about 1 C mozzarella cheese, then toppings, then a sprinkling of mixed shredded cheese. We top it all off with a couple of shakes of parmesan cheese and bake it the rest of the time.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may substitute whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the all-purpose)
• 1 Tbl  active dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2-1 tablespoon olive oil
• cornmeal, for sprinkling

1. Mix a little sugar into the warm water.
2. Sprinkle yeast on top.
3. Wait for 10 minutes or until it gets all foamy.
4. Pour into a large bowl.
5. Add flour, salt, olive oil.
6. Combine.
7. Knead for 6-8 minutes until you have a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (add a bit more flour if you need to).
8. Cover and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
9. Lightly grease two 12-inch pizza pans.
10. Sprinkle with a little bit of cornmeal.
11. Divide dough in half.
12. Place each half on a pizza pan and pat it with your fingers until it stretches over the whole pan.
13. Try to make it thicker around the edge.
14. If desired, pre-bake at 425 F for 10 minutes (I don't always do this).
15. Then spread with pizza sauce and use the toppings of your choice.
16. Bake at 425 F for 10-20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot.
17. Makes 2 12-inch pizzas.
18. If you don't want to use all the dough, you can freeze it.
19. Take a portion of dough, form into a ball, rub olive oil over it and place it in a freezer bag (the oil makes it easier to take out of the bag).
20. When you want to make a pizza, take dough out of freezer and allow to thaw before using.

Smothered Chicken

I got this recipe from www.myfoodstoragedeals.com.  All the family thought it was really yummy.  The only thing different I will do next time, is not use the bacon.  I am just not a bacon fan.  I think it would taste just as good without it.  Sorry about the picture.  My kids said that it looked really gross, so on this one don't judge it by looks!  It is actually really good.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

garlic powder and seasoned salt to taste

1 Tbl oil

mushrooms, cut in quarters

1 C shredded cheese

1/2 C chopped green onions

1/2 C chopped cooked bacon

BBQ sauce, any type

-Sprinkle chicken with seasonings and brown in oil until almost cooked through.  In seperate pan saute mushrooms, bacon and onions.  Put chicken in baking dish and spread each piece with about 2 Tbl BBQ sauce.  Cover each piece with bacon, mushrooms and onion mixture and then cover with shredded cheese.  Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for approx. 15-20 min or until cheese melts and chicken is cooked through.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I made these for a YW activity last week.  Oatmeal raisin cookies are my absolute favorite cookie.  I don't make them very often because every recipe I have used turns out crispy and not the right flavor.  I love Great Harvests oatmeal raisin cookies.  They are soft and chewy and taste perfect.  I was looking around on recipezaar and found these amazing cookies.  They had 542 5 star reviews.  These are sooooooo good!!  I am not a big cookie freak, but I could have eaten the whole batch myself, I think.  I did do half raisins and half chocolate chips but I liked the raisin ones better!!  I also just used regular salt and regular brown sugar.  Enjoy!

Whisk together and set aside

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Cream wet ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Then stir in

• 3 cups oats (not instant)
• 1 1/2 cups raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Whisk dry ingredients; set aside.
3. Combine wet ingredients with a hand mixer on low.
4. To cream, increase speed to high and beat until fluffy and the color lightens.
5. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until no flour is visible.
6. (Over mixing develops the gluten, making a tough cookie.) Now add the oats and raisins; stir to incorporate.
7. Fill cookie scoop with dough.
8. (Use a #40 cookie scoop; it measures 2 tablespoon of dough) Press against side of bowl, pulling up to level dough.
9. Drop 2-inches apart onto baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.
10. Bake 11-13 minutes (on center rack), until golden, but still moist beneath cracks on top.
11. Remove from oven; let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Yummy Breadsticks

A friend in my ward brought these to a lunch we were having.  They were so yummy and she said they were really easy to make, so I had to have the recipe.  They are perfect for dunking in soup.  My friend said that the dough is actually a basic white bread dough, that you can use for cinnamon rolls, regular rolls etc.  One tip is that if you don't have instant yeast it would probably be best to soak it in a little water with sugar before adding.   I also did this all in my bosch and did not mix by hand or knead by hand.   So here you go...

3 - 3 1/2 cups white flour
1 Tab. dry yeast
1 tesp. salt
1/4 cup sugar (1/8 is fine)
1 cup milk or 1/3 cup powdered milk (church kind) and 1 cup water
3 Tab. butter or marg.
1 egg beaten

In large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour with dry yeast, salt and sugar.  In sauce pan, heat milk and butter until very warm (not hot)...or cook approx. 2 min. in microwave; add to flour mixture along with egg. With mixer beat two minutes.  By hand stir in remaining 2 to 2 1/4 cups flour to form a stiff dough.  Cover and let rise.  Turn out onto a floured surface.  Knead a few times or until no longer sticky.  Make into rolls, breadsticks or cinnamon rolls.  Let rise in greased pan.  Bake for 20 min. at 350 degrees.

For breadsticks, roll out until flat then cut into strips.  Dip into melted butter then twist and place in pan.  Once the pan is full, before baking, sprinkle with garlic powder and parm. cheese.

Sugar Cookies

Now that it's almost been a month since Valentines Day, I guess I better post these.  My sister brought these to us for Valentines Day.  She has the most awesome recipe for sugar cookies.  I have also made these several times and they are really pretty quick and easy.  The trick is to not roll them out too thin and to not over cook them.  They are so delicious, make them for a holiday and then find someone to give most of them to or you will end up eating the whole batch! So here is her recipe.   Enjoy!!

1 lb. margarine

3 eggs

2 C sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

6 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

-cream sugar, margarine, eggs and flavorings until very fluffy.  Mix in dry ingredients until well blended.  Chill and roll out to 1/4 in thick.  Cut out shapes and put on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 min.

frosting:

1 C shortening

1 C butter

dash salt

2 tsp vanilla

full 1 lb bag powdered sugar

milk- add to thin

- mix altogether and color if desired.  You can use this for spreading and decorating.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake (Texas Sheet Cake)

This is the same old Texas Sheet Cake we have all probably tasted before. I have not made it for years and this reminded me of how good it really is. I saw this recipe on www.thepioneerwoman.com.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake
Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.
While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.
Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

Amazing Buttermilk Rolls

These rolls are very good. I love that you can put the dough in the fridge for up to 7 days. They are so easy to pull out of the fridge and roll out before church and have fresh rolls for dinner. My husband almost ate the whole basket of rolls. I didn't have any buttermilk, so I just used 3 cups milk with 3 tablespoons vinegar. I am sure they would taste even better if I used real buttermilk. I will try that next time. www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Buttermilk Refigerator Rolls

3 cups Buttermilk (room temperature)
3 cups flour
1 T. yeast dissolved in ¼ cup warm water (first let rise a few minutes)
½ cup sugar
3 eggs, beaten with a fork
2 tsp salt
5 cups flour (sometimes you need a cup more--it should not be too sticky)
½ cup oil
1 tsp baking soda

Dissolve yeast in ¼ c. warm water and let proof a few minutes. Mix the buttermilk, flour and yeast together thoroughly in a large mixing bowl. Let this stand at room temperature until double in size, about 2 hours.
Add sugar, eggs, salt, flour, oil, and baking soda. Mix well and kneed for 7-10 minutes. Roll out what you want and place the rest in the refrigerator, covered. The next time you want some fresh baked rolls, take from the bowl what you want and again put the rest back in the refrigerator. It will keep for 7 days. (This is perfect for Sunday meals because you don’t have a lot of mess to clean up and it’s quick.)
Let rolls rise on baking sheets until double in size. Time depends on the room temperature, usually 1½ - 2 hours. Dough from the refrigerator will take longer because the dough is cold.
Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Brush with melted butter if you like.

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

I got this recipe from the sisters cafe blog.  I made them to serve with the chicken noodle soup I made this week.  They were super easy (20 min total prep and their on the table), and really tasty too.  Shawn and the kids all thought they were great for dunking in the soup.  I did adapt the recipe a bit to our tastes.

2 C bisquick mix (I used the heart healthy kind)

2/3 C milk

1/3 C shredded cheese

2 Tbl parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp parsley

2 Tbl butter (I used light margarine)

--mix together bisquick and milk just until moistened.  Fold in cheeses and drop by spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 min. or until lightly browned.  Melt butter and add salt and parsley.  Brush on cooked rolls and serve immediately.  You can also sprinkle a little more parmesan cheese on them if you want.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I needed to bring a pot of soup to a Stake Youth activity this week and this is what I brought.  I got the recipe from a dear friend I served with in the Relief Society Pres.  She is known as the soup lady in our ward.  My family loves this soup and whenever one of the kids is sick this is the first thing they ask for.  It just makes everything all better.  You can use homemade noodles if you would rather, but the Kluski ones are so much easier!

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

diced carrots, onions, celery, green pepper

1-2 garlic cloves, minced 

1 tbl parsley

1/2 tsp pepper

4-6 chicken bouillon cubes

2 can cream of chicken soup (I use light)

2 pkgs chicken gravy mix

1 pkg Kluski noodles (found with all the other pastas)

--Boil chicken in water with bouillon until cooked through.  Remove chicken and set aside to cool.  Strain liquid  and then add enough water to make 3-4 qts liquid total.    Add veggies, garlic, parsley and pepper and simmer until veggies are tender.  Chop chicken and add to pot with veggies.  Add soup and gravy mix and mix well (you may have to use a big wisk).  Bring soup to a boil and add noodles.  Continue to simmer until noodles are tender and soup is thickened.  Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter Fudge Cake

I got this off of The Sister's Cafe blog.  It was easy to make, moist and really yummy!  Everyone loved it.  I had a hard time keeping the kids fingers out of it until after dinner.  I did cheat and use canned chocolate frosting because I had some in my food storage that needed to be used.  I also did not have any buttermilk, so I just did the milk and vinegar thing.  I think this would also be great just as a regular chocolate cake without the peanut butter. 

2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 C sugar

1 C butter

1/4 C cocoa

1 C water

1/2 C buttermilk

2 lg eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

-Combine flour, soda and sugar in a mixing bowl.  In a saucepan, melt butter.  Add cocoa and stir to combine.  Add water, buttermilk, and eggs.  Cook, stirring well until mixture boils.  Remove from heat and add to flour mixture and mix until smooth.  Add vanilla and mix well.  Pour batter into greased and floured 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350 for about 25 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool for about 10 min and then spread with about 1 C peanut butter (softened in micro for a few seconds).  Let cool completely.  Spread with chocolate canned frosting or homemade. Enjoy!

-Chocolate frosting:

1 lb. pkg powdered sugar

1/4 C cocoa

1/2 C butter

1/3 C buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

-bring cocoa, butter and buttermilk to a boil in saucepan stirring constantly.  Pour hot mixture in a bowl with the sugar and stir until smooth.  Add vanilla.

Chicken Parmesan with Rigatoni Bake

This was easy to make. I have never cooked chicken this way but it turned out really moist and delicious. I will definetly be making it again. I didn't have rigatoni so I just used what ever pasta I had on hand. I also used all plain bread crumbs and added some italian seasoning. It turned out great. I got this recipe off of http://www.picky-palate.com/

Chicken Parmesan Rigatoni Bake

4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 Cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 large eggs plus 2 Tablespoons water
1/2 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs (Progresso)
1/2 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 lb dry rigatoni
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 26 oz jars of your favorite pasta sauce
6 slices of your favorite bread, toasted
Butter
Garlic Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pound chicken breasts to an even thinness with a meat mallet. Place flour, salt and pepper into a shallow dish. Place eggs and water into a separate shallow dish. Place bread crumbs and parmesan cheese into a 3rd shallow dish. Dip chicken into flour, then eggs then into bread crumb mixture pressing gently. Place coated chicken onto a baking rack placed over a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

2. Cook rigatoni according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Place olive oil into a large dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, sauté onion and bell pepper until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic for 1 minutes then add pasta sauce, reserving 1 Cup for later. Reduce heat to low and stir in cooked pasta. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Cut chicken into strips and place over dish. Drizzle with reserved pasta sauce and serve. Spread butter over warm toasted bread and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt. Cut into triangles if desired. Serve with each dish.

6 servings

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

This is a really great recipe.  Comfort food at its best.  I got the recipe from a Taste of Home cookbook.  It stays nice and creamy and doesn't dry out, even when re-heated the next day.  It's also super easy! I did change and lighten up the recipe a bit :)

3 C dry macaroni noodles or other pasta

2 Tbl light margarine or butter

2 Tbl flour

1 1/2 C milk

1/2 lb velveeta cheese(2%), cubed

-Cook pasta.  Meanwhile melt butter in saucepan.  Stir in flour until smooth.  Gradually add milk and bring to a boil.  Cook and stir until thickened.  Reduce heat and add cheese.  cook and stir until melted.  Drain the pasta and add to cheese mixture.  Stir until cooked through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

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

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.

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)