Rolo Cookies

If you haven't tried any recipes I've posted, now would be a good time to start. You won't regret it.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Cook Time: 7-10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Bag of Rolo candies, unwrapped
Sugar (for rolling the cookie dough balls in)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.
3. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Next, add in vanilla extract. Mix until blended.
4. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and blend well. Take a spoonful of chocolate cookie dough and wrap around one Rolo candy. Make sure Rolo is completely covered with cookie dough. Roll dough ball in sugar and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue until you run out of cookie dough.
5. Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.


I don't roll the cookies in sugar, but I thought I'd leave it in to let you know it's an option.


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After a week of the boys and I sharing/trading time being sick, I was feeling a little unmotivated to play a YW Activity I needed to take care of. Oh yeah, less than two weeks after we moved in, I got called to serve as the YW President for our ward. Makes things busy, but it's good. I love working with the youth.


So after mulling it over I decided to do something pretty basic and hopefully fun. My plan was for the girls to ice jack-o-lantern type faces on the cookies - orange frosting, chocolate cookies - plan works for me. Then I decided that even better would be Rolo Cookies - haven't had 'em since college. With much appreciation for the internet, I quickly found a recipe. The store didn't have orange frosting in those icing tubes (what lame store carries every frosting color but orange in October? The one on the way to the church, sigh). So one of my counselors found Peeps in the shape of pumpkins. Even easier. Yea.

After a lesson on stewardship we spend some time teaching the girls some culinary skills while making a yummy treat, then dropped some in the Bishop's office and sent the girls home with some of their own. Every girl that has eaten any has asked for the recipe, so I thought I'd share on here, too.

Unless you don't like chocolate and caramel, there's no reason you won't like these cookies. Next time I might have to try them with a peanut butter cookie dough - I'll let you know how that goes when I do. :)


Sorry no photo - they disappeared faster than I could take a photo every time they came out of the oven.

ENJOY! :)

OREO Frozen Peanut Butter Dessert

We like this dessert a lot. It's simple, and always a hit. I like to make it a day ahead so that it's one less thing to worry about at meal time. Last time I made it, it was Cooper's blessing day and it went well. I also made hummus from scratch that day and that was a hit as well. I'll share my recipe for that soon, too (I improvised on that one from a bunch of different recipes). And now back to the dessert.

total time: 4 hours 45 min
prep: 15 min
servings: 24 (so says the original recipe, but mine never goes that far) :)

ingredients:
30 OREO cookies finely crushed - WITH FILLING (another use for my food processor)
3 Tbsp Butter (that's what the original recipe called for, but I used about twice that to really make the crust stick together)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 3/4 qt. vanilla ice cream - softened
1 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip (DO NOT THAW)
6 Squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanuts

MIX

mix crushed cookies and the butter. press firmly into a 9x13 pan. stick the crust in the freezer until ready to use. microwave the peanut butter in a microwaveable bowl on HIGH for 1 minute, stir. Swirl peanut butter into ice cream; spread over crust. freeze for 30 min

microwave cool whip and chocolate on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 min. until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended (stirring after each minute)

spread cool whip mixture over ice cream. top with peanuts, if desired. freeze for 4 hours. let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before serving.

SUBSTITUTE one cup of caramel ice cream topping for chocolate/cool whip mixture if preferred.

Edible Play Dough

Reading through a cookbook (a hobby of mine), I found a recipe for edible play dough. I know Guy is too young to do play dough (the real stuff), but I decided to give this a shot. It's a simple recipe made up of creamy peanut butter, powdered milk, flour, and powdered sugar.

I made it while Guy was napping on Sunday. When he got up, we played. It's been a long time, and my creative juices weren't flowing. To start off, I gave Guy a ball I shaped (pretty decent sized), and he immediately ate about 1/2 of it. Yum.Then Dad came to help--making this little man.Obviously Guy had no problem pretending to be a dinosaur and eating a man. Dad then made this, and told him it was a horse. Remember how Guy loves horses? Well, he was done eating. Even after Dad told him it was a dinosaur, Guy still wouldn't eat it.

Next time I think I'll dye some/all of it.

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

3/4 c. dry nonfat milk

1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. powdered sugar

Mix peanut butter and dry milk together. Stir in flour and powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Best Apple Crisp Ever

I'm not a pie fan--I don't like pastry crusts. I know, I know, I'm weird. Rob reminds me of that every time he gets to eat pie somewhere else. Fortunately, he's even pleased when I do something with a graham cracker or Oreo crust.

My favorite fall dessert is apple crisp. I've enjoyed it for years, but it really became my favorite after my sister-in-law, Sara, introduced me to a new version. Hers calls for a little butterscotch pudding in the topping--that caramelizes into the apples. Yum!

I like mine extra "crispy," so I actually do 2 toppings for apple crisp now. I tried putting the 2 topping recipes together, but one calls for melted margarine/butter and the other calls for softened margarine/butter. After experimenting, I've decided it's best to do both separately.

In a 9x13 pan mix the following:
8 cups peeled, sliced apples (if you make lots of apple stuff, this is a must)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 T flour
1/2 cup milk
1 cup water

Topping 1:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 c margarine, melted
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 packages butterscotch pudding (cook 'n serve)

Topping 2:
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oats
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Bake at 350 for 45-50 min.

I know, it's a little bit labor intensive because of the 2 toppings, but it IS worth it. It's fabulous!

Notes:
I use a pastry blender to mix the toppings
Pudding topping goes on first, then the other crispy one on top
I actually never measure the apples, I just fill the pan up with apples and mix the other ingredients in
You're welcome to borrow my apple corer/slicer/peeler tool :)

Killer Salsa

I got a salsa recipe from my sister-in-law, Sara, when we were visiting her family. I've never made salsa before, but this gave me inspiration to try. Last night Rob and I had dinner with some friends, so I made it, and it was a huge hit. I could have eaten all of it myself, it really is fabulous. So, here goes, from Sara:

3 med sized tomatoes

2 scallions, finely minced

2 medium cloves garlic

handful of parsley

handful of cilantro

1 tsp lightly toasted cumin seeds (or I use 1/4 tsp cumin)

3/4 -1 tsp salt

1 T cider vinegar

1T lime juice

1 T olive oil

crushed red pepper, to taste

(I use the cuisinart and just throw it all in there)

What I learned: I don't have a big food processor so I used a smaller one in 2 batches, and the tomatoes probably got a little too small, but it was still okay. I used the minced garlic from a jar (Rob got fresh garlic from the store yesterday, but when I opened it up, it wasn't so fresh) and if I needed to do that again, I'd probably add a little more because I don't think it's as strong as fresh garlic. Also, I didn't have cilantro seeds, so I just threw in more fresh cilantro. Lastly, I used fresh squeezed lime and if I do that again, I'll probably use a little bit less than I did because that fresh lime was really strong (I love that flavor, but Rob--not so much).

Try it out, you'll LOVE it!

My favorite quick meal

First a winner recipe that takes a little more time, but is worth it sometimes, too.

Chicken Parmesan with a wonderful red sauce

Marinara Sauce:

1 T olive oil
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 14 oz can tomato sauce
1 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 t dried basil
½ t dried oregano
½ t salt
Pepper to taste
sugar (white or brown) to taste (neutralizes the acidic tomatoes)-works wonders!

Heat oil over low heat, add the garlic, saute for about a 30 seconds (don’t let the garlic brown). Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and spices. Simmer for 20-30 minutes while preparing the chicken.

8 or so chicken tenders
1 ½ T olive oil
1 t dried rosemary
1t dried thyme
½ t salt
¼ t pepper

½ c mozzarella cheese
¼ c parmesan cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Mix olive oil and seasonings. Brush one side of the tenders with the oil mixture. Place in hot pan, oil side down. Brush oil on the top of the tenders while they brown, then flip them. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on each side until done.

Heat the oven to 450. Pour the marinara sauce over the chicken . Top each tender with about a tablespoon of mozzarella and a teaspoon of parmesan cheese. Bake for 5-10 minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

I love this meal! We had this recipe for the first time the night we brought Guy home from the hospital thanks to my visiting teachers. Granted, everything tastes better than hospital food, but really, that meal was wonderful.

SIMPLIFIED

Now we always keep the canned tomatoes and sauce in the house, and I cook this meal sometimes as often as once a week. While simplifying, I made it healthier, too (cut out the chees). Usually now I just put the herbs that would go on the chicken (rosemary and thyme) in the red sauce. Then I grill the chicken, cut it up, and throw it into the sauce--used to top whole wheat pasta. It takes about 25 minutes to throw it all together (just about as long as it takes water to boil then cook the noodles). Enjoy!

I made my first pie!

I'm not a big pie fan, in fact, I really don't like pastry crust. I also don't like pie filling, either (the jelled stuff, from a can). I've eaten it before, but I really don't like it. For Thanksgiving, I always make apple crisp for me to eat while everybody else digs into the pie.

Last November I had to get the four hour blood test for gestational diabetes done at the hospital. It was brutal. Rob was kind enough to go with me to get it done. In the waiting area was a Martha Stewart magazine Rob looked through. He found a triple-chocolate pumpkin pie with a graham cracker crust. It looked promising, so we thought we'd try it. Didn't get to it last year, so two weekends ago we finally made it for the first time. It was pretty good. Not my favorite ever, but I do feel accomplished in that I made a pie.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/triple-chocolate-pumpkin-pie

The photo is courtesy of the above website since I forgot to take any.

Next we're going to try an apple pie. We're going to create the recipe by combining parts of other recipes. Of course it'll have a graham cracker crust and this time we'll do a "crisp" topping. I'll take photos for sure.

The Best Chocolate Cake EVER

Finally, the Cake Doctor recipe that I raved about in August.

Chocolate Bundt Cake
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 c. water
1/2 c. oil
8 oz. sour cream
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
3 eggs
1/2 bag milk chocolate chips

Chocolate Glaze
1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T butter
2 T light Karo syrup

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

I've used many different chocolate cake mixes for this recipe, and they are all great. I've also used different chocolate chips for the cake and the glaze. I've also used this recipe in round and square cake pans, too - I just change the bake time accordingly (using the back of the box as a beginning bake time), and check it with a toothpick.

Enjoy!

Calzone Recipe

Here's our recipe for calzones (or as much of one as we've got)

Pizza Dough (for 2-3 pizzas)

1 T yeast in 1/4 cup warm water (proof with a little bit of sugar, too)

Combine in your mixer:
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 T sugar
1 c. very warm water

Add one cup of flour to above and mix.

Add the bubbling yeast and mix.

Add 3 cups of flour to make a good STIFF dough.

Knead well. If by hand - for about 10 min; by machine - about 8 (and really, it does take that long to mix it well).

Let dough rise in a warm spot in a greased bowl for an hour to 1.5 hours (or until the dough is doubled).

For the calzones . . . this dough recipe makes four very good sized calzones. A tip about rolling out the dough - make sure it's pretty thin. We tried it thick the first time, and thin the second time - we both thought it tasted better the second time.

For calzone stuffing . . . Rob and I like doing them so much because we like very different stuff. It's kind of fun to build your own, and everyone can put whatever then want in it.

We put in:
Ricotta cheese
Mozarella cheese
pepperoni
sausage
green peppers
onions
mushrooms
minced garlic
salt and pepper

In a small bowl (on the side), beat 1 egg and 1 T water together

There are two ways of putting it all together - Rob layered his like a pizza, I mixed mine in a bowl (wanted to make sure the garlic was spread evenly).

After you put the toppings on - use the egg and water mix around the edges of the calzone. Then fold the dough over and pinch the edges together (to keep the moisture inside). If you want to mark them on top (to identify who they go to), do so now.

Brush the entire top of the calzone with the egg/water mixture, too.

Bake at 425 for 10-15 min (until golden brown)

After baking - We topped ours with spaghetti sauce from a bottle (yeah, we cheated), and some parmesan cheese)

A tip - while putting them together - we rolled the dough, then put it 1/2 on the pan it was cooked on (with the other 1/2 flowing off the side) - this was so we didn't have to transfer it to the pan after it was made. And you can use a pizza pan or a cookie sheet for baking.

Enjoy!!!

. . . so it seems many of my recipes come from my sister, Bethany (the pizza dough on this one comes from her, too). Thanks!

My favorite bread

Well, one of my favorites (I'm a bread lover!) . . . it's wonderful on it's own, or cut into squares then sliced through the middle for sandwiches - either a great vegetarian one with sprouts, tomatoes, avacado (for those of you who like it), cucumber, lettuce, etc. or with a little deli meat and cheese added to all that good stuff, too. Either way I make the sandwich, I top it off with Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinegar Dressing - my very favorite dressing.

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Rosemary Focaccia Bread

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2 c water

1 Tbsp yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

1/3 c freshly chopped rosemary

3 minced garlic cloves

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp freshly cracked pepper

5 cups flour

2 tsp salt

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For the top:

extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

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1 - In a large mixing bowl combine water, yeast, sugar, freshly chopped rosemary, garlic, olive oil, pepper, and 3 cups of flour. Mix together and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

2 - Add the salt and enough of the remaining flour to pull the mixture together into a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes.

3 - Spray a large bowl with olive oil

4 - Shape dough into a round and place in the bowl tha thas been sprayed with olive oil.

5 - Spray the top of the bread with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow bread to double in size (About 1.5 hrs).

6 - Once bread has doubled in size, remove from bowl and place on a counter top. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.

7 - Spread dough into a well-oiled cookie sheet - dimpling it with your fingers

8 - Brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt

9 - Allow bread dough to double in size again.

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Bake @ 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

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**This recipe actually came as a hearth bread recipe, if that's your preference, use steps 1-6 and follow these:

7 - Divide dough into 2 equal portions

8 - Shape each portion of dough into rounds and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.

9 - Brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle each top with kosher salt.

10 - Allow bread dough to double in size.

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Bake @ 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

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I could REALLY use a rosemary plant of my own.

Fabulous Food!

Last weekend a good friend, my sister, and my sister-in-law threw me a baby shower. They prepared wonderful food that was a great hit. I promised I'd get the recipes on the blog, so here they are:

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Willy Wonka Balls

(I think these might be my new favorite dessert - I loved them!)

2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter (@ room temp.)

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Mix together peanut butter & butter

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Add:

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 c. powdered sugar

3 c. Rice Krispies

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Roll into balls and freeze for 2 hours

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Dip in semi-sweet melted chocolate and let sit until hardened

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Spinach Artichoke Dip:

1 c. mayo (light)

1 brick cream cheese (light)

1 4 oz. can green chiles

1 can artichoke hearts (drained & quartered)

2 c. parmesan cheese

spinach as desired (Jen did a few handfuls)

Bake @ 350 for 15-20 min. (or until hot and bubbly)

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Almond Cake

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. melted butter (not marg.)

1 tsp. almond extract

1/2 tsp. salt

Blend sugar with melted butter. Beat in eggs. Add almond and vanilla extract. Add salt and flour. Spread batter into a greased 9-in round pan. Sprinkle with sugar and almonds (if desired).

Bake @ 350 for 30-35 min.

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I still need to get the salad & dressing recipe from Jen - when I do, I'll put that up, too. :)