Gooey Goodness!

Ok, so you might as well just get on the treadmill NOW!!!!!!!!! I mean come on, these are just insane. Another warning is....these are FAR to EASY to make so be careful!!!! I refuse to make a whole batch of these yet! If they are made they will be eaten within  1.3 seconds of coming out of the oven! So if you dare to make the whole batch make sure you are NOT alone, or you may just stuff all of these in your belly without even knowing it, until you awake from your food coma with cinnamon sugar around your mouth! Just saying be CAUTIOUS..these are way to good for words!

My son loves to help me in the kitchen doing everything! One of his favorite things to do is sift....sift flour, or sugar or ANY dry ingredients for that matter. With that being said, take a moment to check out his help with the gooey goodness

IF you guessed that is BLACK PEPPER you are RIGHT!!!! He was helping, and playing with the sifter, and I turn around to see THIS!! Who says its not fun to cook with kids?! Thank gooooodness he only got pepper on one...still a sad loss=(((

 From the Pioneer Women's Monkey Muffins and Chef in Training!

Preheat oven to 375*

You need some dough, you can use bread dough, biscuit dough ( Recipe calls for 2 tubes of Grands Biscuits) cut the biscuits into quarters and  roll each piece into a loose ball.

Butter

cinnamon

sugar

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

In a muffin tin, place roughly 1/2 teaspoon of butter in each tin.

Top the butter with roughly 1 teaspoon on sugar

Top the sugar with 1/4 cinnamon

Then place 3 balls of dough in each tin

Top each dough with a slice of butter, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and a dash of cinnamon

Bake for 12-13 mins

Once baked, top each with a good amount of sweet condensed milk...dont be shy...about a TBS.. or so

Let them chill for as long as you can stand then twist them out of the tins=))))

Pierogies with Mushroom Goulash

I happen to LOVE pierogies! They remind me of growing up in Pennsylvania, not so much my childhood, but of the state, if that makes sense. My son loves them too, he just grabs them and eats them with his hands like a sandwich. I love to make them with over a bed of caramelized onions, but this time I mixed it up a little. This dish came out great, when it is all mixed together it is very flavorful and a great meat free dinner. I tried to make my own pierogies from scratch one time and it was very time consuming! I may try to do it again, with a different recipe and some extra hands, but until them Mrs.T's Potato,Sour Cream&Chive Pierogies are my best friend!

From Everyday with Rachael Ray

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 tablespoons EVOO
• 2 pkg cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh marjoram
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• A few dashes hot pepper sauce
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 pound frozen potato pierogi
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
• Sour cream, for serving
• 
  
• In a large skillet, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to a bowl. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, paprika, marjoram and coriander to the pan; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are softened, 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked mushrooms, the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and hot sauce for 1 minute. Add the vegetable stock and cook until thickened, about 5-10 minutes.
• 
  
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pierogi and boil until they float, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain.
• 
  
• Heat another large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter to melt, then add the pierogi and cook until lightly browned. Stir in the chives and dill; season with salt and pepper. Serve the goulash and pierogi in shallow bowls with a dollop of sour cream.

Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Bread

Here I go again, with my third installment of things of the blueberry lemon flavor. What can I say this house cant get enough of the combo, the boys keep eating it up! So I came to making this bread since I had some Fage Greek yogurt that I needed to use up, along with some fresh berries. The loaf came out amazingly moist and sooo delish. For sure a keeper in my book.

Just stuffed to the brim with plump blueberries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then look at the beautiful glazed top!!!

Recipe Adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

For the bread

1 1/2 cups for flour plus one Tbs. Divided

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup Plain 2% Fage Greek yogurt

1 cup sugar

Zest of 2 lemons

3 Large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries rinsed

For the syrup

1/3 fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup of sugar

For the glaze

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2-3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350*

Grease a loaf pan and then dust with a little flour

In a med bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil

Slowly whisk the dry into the wet

In a smal bowl toss the 1 TBS. of flour with the blueberries, then fold the berries into the mix.

Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50-55 mins until set in the middle and a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool for 10 mins in pan then put on a rack to cool more.

While the loaf is cooling make the lemon syrup in a small pan over med heat.

Stir together until dissolved and then cook for 2-3 mins, remove from heat

Brush the syrup on the loaf and let it soak in as it cools.

When the loaf is cooled make the glaze by whisking the sugar and juice together and pour that over the loaf and let it set for 10 mins...then dig in!!

Crazy Good Crescent Squares!

These puppies, are amazingly simple to whip up and work great for parties, pot lucks, or dinner! With the help of buttery ready made crescents you can pile on whatever toppings you love, and switch it up a number of ways. This is the way I made it this time, use things you have on hand or make it like mine. I loved the addition of some buttery avocados I needed to use up. Dig in to this crazy good dish!!

Adapted from a recipe by Sara Mayer

2 tubes Pillsbury crescent rolls
1- 1 1/2 cups bbq sauce ( I love to use Jack Daniel's Original No. 7 recipe)
1 pkg southwestern ready made refrigerated chicken strips
6 slices of cooked bacon or turkey bacon (crumbled)
2-3 cups of cheese, sharp cheddar or colby jack shredded
1/2 of good quality ranch dressing( I use Newman's)
1/2 teaspoon pico de gallo chile seasoning, or chili powder
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 roma tomato seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 ripe avocado chopped

Preheat oven to 375*
Roll the crescent rolls out and place them on a cookie sheet 17x11x1. Pinch 2 sheets together  to create 1 large dough. Bake 8-11 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and turn on broiler.


Spread the barbeque sauce over dough. Sprinkle the chicken, cheese and bacon over the top. Place the cookie sheet under the broiler until the cheese melts, about 3-5 minutes.


Combine the ranch dressing and spicy chili powder in a small bowl. Pour into re-sealable bag and cut off a small tip at the end of the bag to make a pastry bag. Drizzle the dressing over the top and garnish with avocado, green onions,tomato, cilantro. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Carrot Cake Pancakes

So I am still working on using up the garden fresh carrots that were given to use. Why not use them in breakfast? I found this recipe on $5 dinner mom ( i just love her). I would like to share a few little pointers about these scrumptious cuties. I found that they work best if you keep them on the small side.
Also you don't want to make them too thick or they wont cook in the middle. So, when you place the batter in the pan, spread it out some. Last but not least, stack the little pancakes up like the photo with "icing" in between so they look and taste like cake. What more can you ask for, cake for breakfast!

ARE YOUR DROOLING YET?????

From $5 Dinner Mom

1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of unbleached all purpose flour ( you can use all whole wheat or all reg flour or a combo)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 milk..remember you dont want the batter overly thick
1 egg
1/4 cup apple sauce
2 Tablespoons real maple syrup
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/4 cups grated carrots
For the syrup you want equal parts real maple syrup and cream cheese with a dash or two of cinnamon.
*You may want to slightly warm them together and then whisk together with a fork

In a large bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt with a whisk.
Whisk in the milk, egg, apple sauce, syrup and butter...then fold in the carrots.
You want the pan over med-low heat. You want to cook these kind of low and slow to make sure they cook all the way through. Don't rush it!

Mushroom Poblano Posole

I miss my camera! Our memory card got a little messed up and we need to get a new one. My last few post photos have been on our point and shoot, so I am not always thrilled with the outcome. Even though this is not the best photo, this is one amazing dish! The original recipe is for a type of soup, but I did not add the liquid to it and boy was that a GREAT idea! This stuff is awesome as is, as a side dish, or how we had it in a warm  tortilla with some grilled flank steak, guacamole and queso fresco! Also this is a meat free dish, and like the original recipe calls for you can add some broth and make this into an outstanding flavor packed soup ( which is what I may do with the small amount I have left over).

Adapted from the Rachael Ray recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 4 poblano chilies
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 medium portobello mushroom caps, cut into small cubes
• 1 pkg cremini mushroom, quartered
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• One 15.5-ounce can yellow hominy, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 
  
• 
  Grated mild cheese, such as chihuahua, monterey jack or queso fresco, for serving
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving
• 
  
• Soft flour tortillas, charred or warmed through, for serving
•  Fresh guacamole
• 
  
• Preheat the broiler and char the poblanos all over until the skin is blackened, 12 to 15 minutes. Place in a bowl and cover to steam for about 10 minutes. Peel, seed and chop the chiles.
• 
  
• In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons EVOO, 3 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the hominy, cumin and oregano and heat through; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute. Stir in the poblanos.

• 
  

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

I must really be on a blueberry lemon kick this week! If you love the combo check out Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars. So back to these lovely pancakes. Raise you hand if you love the Pioneer Women. I have to say I have followed her blog for quite some time, but had not tried a single recipe of hers until now. I am one of the many who watch her new tv series on the Food Network. She had made these pancakes for her sons birthday and after watching the episode I knew it was time to try her out. These came out great, but my few words of advice are, not to level off the flour...just heap it up and make sure you use evaporated milk! If you don't have cake flour use this simple at home recipe for it. Hope you enjoy this!

From Ree Drummond

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 heaping tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (more if needed)
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced (more juice if lemon isn't very juicy)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more softened for serving
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup blueberries
• Maple syrup warmed for serving

Heat a heavy skillet or grill over medium-low heat.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the evaporated milk, lemon zest and juice. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then add the egg and vanilla. Mix to combine.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine. Stir in the melted butter. Stir in the blueberries.

Melt a little of the softened butter in the heated skillet. Drop the batter and fry the pancakes on both sides for a couple of minutes until golden.

Serve with more softened butter and warm syrup.

Who buys cake flour?

I have never bought cake flour. First of all I have never seen it in the store, not that I was looking for it that hard. Second why do I want to buy a whole sack of flour I am not going to use that often. So when a recipe calls for cake flour I just make up a small batch of my own. It is easy and this is how I do it.

For every cup of flour you want to turn into cake flour...scoop out 2 TBS. of flour from each cup and replace that with 2 TBS. corn starch.

Then sift your little heart out. You want to sift your flour and corn starch 4-5 times.

Then use up your "homemade" cake flour right away or store it in a ziploc bag until you need it. Its as simple as that!

Frosted Banana Cookies

So as I walked into my kitchen yesterday, I noticed some bananas that were just screaming to me to be put in baked good! I almost always end up using over rip bananas in banana bread of course. Yesterday was different, I was not in the bread mood, more like a cookie mood! Which leads me to these cuties! They were a snap to make in the mixer. After baking them, I loved them as is (pre frosting). They were very moist with a bread like texture. With the added frosting it gives them a much more cookie taste with a kick from the sugar. Go bananas with me and bake up a batch next time your over ripe bananas start screaming "bake me" to you!

 Adapted From Land O'Lakes

For the cookie:

3/4 cup of softened butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup of mashed bananas
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups of flour
1/2  teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Frosting:

2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons half and half or milk
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Heat oven to 350°F. Combine 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add bananas, egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat until well mixed.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely. 

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and half & half. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil (1 to 2 minutes). Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; beat until well mixed; cool slightly. 

Frost cooled cookies. Enjoy!

Roasted Garden Carrots

Today I was given a big bag of garden fresh cute little carrots. So, what to do with them.....Well I have a few plans for them but to get us started I present to you..... Roasted Carrots. So pure and sweet! Roasted veggies have a whole different taste, it brings out the raw sweetness. They are easy to prepare, but take some time to cook up in the oven, so plan for close to an hour depending on the size of your carrots. The ones I used where pretty small so they took closer to 45 mins to roast up.

A bunch of carrots or a bag, how ever much you want to roast, cut into half or quarters
Cover them in EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste
Then I load them up with a healthy amount of fresh thyme leaves
Place on a baking sheet and pop in a pre heated 400* oven
Roast about 45 mins to an hour
Top them with chopped green onions

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

These are a beautiful, quick and easy, refreshing desert bars! They come out pretty full of lemon after the zest and juice of 2 lemons. So feel free to cut that in half, or if you are a lemon fan leave it as is. Also I used frozen blueberries, because they were out of fresh at the market, either way it turns out great! You can even mix it up and use raspberries in place of the blueberries. Have fun with this one, its a real show stopper!

From Tyler Florence

For the base:

• Butter, for greasing
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 9 graham crackers
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• About 1/2 cup sugar, eyeball it
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.


Grease the bottom of a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with butter. Then place parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the corners. In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon and graham crackers until you have the texture ofbread crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse a couple of times to fully incorporate. Pour into the lined baking pan and gently pat down with the base of a glass. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes until golden. When done set aside to cool.

Add cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar to the food processor and mix until well combined. It should have a smooth consistency. Pour onto the cooled base and then cover with blueberries. They will sink slightly but should still be half exposed -- as the cake bakes they will sink a little more and break down.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles. Remove from the oven and cool completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours. Once set, remove from pan using the parchment lining and slice into 10 rectangular bars. Dust with powdered sugar.

Marsala Casserole

In my house we are mad for shrooms, mushrooms that is! We tend to toss mushrooms in many dishes. So of course we love Marsala dishes. Mushrooms are Marsala are a match made in heaven. Some Marsala dishes tend to be a little time consuming. So when I am in the "dump and bake" kind of mood I always turn to this. You can use rotisserie chicken and have dinner on the table in no time. This is a family favorite in our home, try in tonight on your dinner table
From Silvana Nardone 

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 10 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup marsala wine or white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 2 packed cups coarsely chopped rotisserie chicken
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 
  
• 1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
      In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat until just melted.
      Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
      Sprinkle the flour on top and stir in for 1 minute.
      Stir in the marsala and cream and simmer, stirring occasionally,
      until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
      Stir in 2 cups water, the parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
  2. In a greased 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole, spread the rice in an even layer;
      top with the chicken.
      Pour the mushroom gravy on top.
      Cover snugly with foil and bake until bubbly, about 35 minutes.
      Discard the foil, sprinkle the parmesan on top and bake for 5 minutes more.