Maple Monkey Bread

Hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas!  My friend, Carrie, recently introduced me to Pinterest.  It is an awesome website with a lot of recipes.  I have tried a couple from there and made this one this morning for breakfast.  It was really good and super easy!

1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits
3 Tbsp.. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 c. pancake syrup
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside.  In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts (if desired).  Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top.  Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges to form a ring.  Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool for one minute in the pan, then carefully invert onto a serving platter and enjoy.

Peanut Butter Toffee Cheesecake Brownies

I wasn't quite sure how my treat day was going to turn out at work today.  I was trying out two new recipes and that can be a little scary.  I brought a bunch of clementines as a back up in case something was a flop.  By the way, I think clementines must be in season right now because they are wonderful.  This was the desert I chose to make.

1 box brownie mix
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. water
2 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
8 oz. Heath toffee chips
1 c. milk chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. whipping cream

Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9x13 pan.  In a bowl combine brownie mix, oil. water and eggs and spread in pan.  Set aside pan.  In another bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Mix in milk and peanut butter, then stir in 1 cup of toffee chips.  Spoon this mixture over the brownie mix in pan and try to spread out as much as you can.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until cheesecake mixture is set.  Let cool and place in refrigerator.  After they have cooled some, combine chocolate chips and whipping cream and microwave for 40-60 seconds til smooth.  Spread over the brownies and sprinkle with remaining toffee bits.  Store in the refrigerator.

McDonald's Peppermint Hot Chocolate

So have you tried the new McDonald's peppermint hot chocolate?  I made the mistake and gave in and tried last week Friday, and only because I had a full punch card so I got it free (kind of).  It was very good!  Tonight I tried to replicate it and I must say I thought it turned out really good although I did not do a side by side taste test.

First, I want to say that I always use chocolate milk to make hot chocolate.  Growing up at the truck stop in town our favorite waitress (I think her name or nickname was Bee) would always make it for us this way instead of the powder.  We always felt special when she did that.

So, to start I heated some chocolate milk in a mug in the microwave until hot.  Then I added 1-2 Tbsp. peppermint flavoring syrup (the kind of stuff you add to your coffees) and stirred.  If you were going to do it up like McDonald's you would swirl some whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top.  Me, I opted for lots of mini marshmallows. 

Yum!!

"Shout From The Housetop" Apple Dumplings

I was really anxious to try this recipe and tonight was the night.  This recipe makes 16 little dumplings, more than a family of three really needs to eat.  So I thought I would share with my parents and sister.  Wasn't long after I dropped them off and I was getting a text looking for the recipe and telling me I should "shout it from the housetop".  Well, my mom is a good cook so these must be good.  I even got Tristan to try one after telling him about the "secret ingredient".

2 whole Granny Smith apples (I used Honeycrisp because that is what I had on hand)
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Cinnamon, to taste

And now for the "secret ingredient"...
6 oz. Mt. Dew

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Peel and core apples.  Cut each apple into 8 slices.  Roll each slice in a crescent roll and place in a greased 9x13 pan.  Melt butter and stir in sugar until just combined.  Add vanilla, stir and pour over the apples in the pan.  Pour the Mt.Dew around the edges of the pan and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake for 40-50 minutes and serve with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.

Mine seemed a little runny when I took them out of the oven.  I did drain some of the liquid and returned them to the oven for just a little bit longer.

Vicky's Jalapeno Wraps

Boy it has been a long time since I have posted a new recipe.  Here is a new one that we tried this week that was really good.  Depending on the pepper it can be a little spicy.  But if you are daring, give them a try.  I was talking to a gal, Vicky, that I know and she was the one that shared this recipe with me.  She said that her and her husband sometimes like to have them as a meal.  There is not a true recipe, just some steps to put them together.

Jalapenos, as many as needed, stems removed, cut in half the long way and seeded.
Cream cheese in the tub, she uses onion & chives, I used the garden vegetable which I thought was really good.
Pre-cooked bacon that you can buy at the grocery store.
One tube of refrigerated crescent roll dough, or as much as needed depending on the amount of jalapeno halves.

Once you have your jalapenos cleaned out, take the cream cheese and fill the inside of the jalapeno.  I had to microwave my cream cheese a little to soften.  Cut or tear one of the pieces of pre-cooked bacon in half and place one half on top of the cream cheese stuffed jalapeno mostly covering the cream cheese.  Now you will want to take off one crescent roll and cut it in half so you have two triangles.  Take one of the triangles and roll it around the stuffed jalapeno.  Please cheese side up on a cookie sheet and bake as directed on the crescent roll dough package.

Super Yummy Rhubarb Custard Cake

I know, I know I have not shared a recipe in a really long time.  This does not mean I have not been trying new ones; just haven't found one to share.
Rhubarb is in season still and this has to be one of my favorite rhubarb recipes.  Besides being super simple and quick it tastes delicious!!

Yellow cake mix, plus ingredients to make on box
4 c. rhubarb, chopped
1 c. sugar
1 pint heavy whipping cream.

First, make the cake according to the directions on the box.  Pour the cake batter into a 9x13 pan.  Directly on top of that spread out the chopped rhubarb, then the sugar and lastly pour over the heavy whipping cream.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

During the baking process those ingredients on the top will fall to the bottom and make a really yummy custard.  My family likes this served with a dollop of Cool Whip on top.

Nicole's Holiday Bars

So, I'm sitting here at a scrapbooking retreat.  Although I don't scrapbook, I'm spending the weekend working on crocheting a blanket that I have been working on for Tristan for a really long time.  Everyone brings along a snack to share.  Here are some really good bars that Nicole brought.

1 stick butter
1 bag mini marshmallows
4 c. Crispix
4 c. pretzels
1 c. M&M's

Melt butter and stir in the marshmallows until melted.  Pour over the Crispix and pretzels in a bowl. After that is combined, add M&M's. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan. Yum!  The prefect mix of sweet, salty and crunchy.

Missy's Hamburger Chow Mein

My sister shared this recipe with me and our family enjoyed it.  It is souper :o) easy!

2 lbs. hamburger, browned

2 cans chicken-rice soup

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 small can mushrooms

1 c. milk

1 bag chow mein noodles

Small amount of soy sauce

Onion to taste

Mix all together and heat at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until hot.

Goulash

Okay, so I'm the only one in my family that enjoys goulash.  Tonight I decided to make it for the first time.  In the past I have just gotten a bowl as my mom has made it and that is good, but thought it would be nice to have a big helping of it in the fridge to dig into for lunches all week.  Here is the recipe I used:

1 lb. hamburger
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
1 small can tomato sauce
1 1/2 c. elbow macaroni

Brown hamburger and drain.  Add soup, tomatoes and sauce.  Boil and cook macaroni according to directions on box and add to hamburger mixture.  Season and let simmer.

Easy Enchiladas

2 lbs. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 med. can chili no-beans
2 can cream of mushroom soup
2 T. chili powder
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. shredded mozzerella cheese
10-12 sm. flour tortillas

Brown hamburger and onion in large skillet, drain. Add chili, soup and chili powder. Simmer about 15 minutes. Grease 9x13 pan. Take a tortilla in yo0ur hand and put 2-3 spoonfuls of meat mixture into it. Roll the tortilla and put in pan. Lay the next one close to it and so on until you fill the pan. When all are filled, sprinkle with 1/3 of combined cheese. Cover with remaining meat mixture. Sprinkle with rest of cheeses. Bake uncovered 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cut into squares and serve with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives and sour cream.

Pannukakku (German pancake)

So I had some leftover fresh strawberries and some leftover freezer strawberries in syrup that I needed to use up.  So I decided to give this pannukakku recipe a try.  It must have been okay as the whole pan is gone.  It is a cross between a custard and a pancake, but with the strawberries over top you can't go wrong.  I just cut up the fresh strawberries and mixed them in with the frozen strawberries with syrup and served it along side the pancake.

1/4 c. butter
3 eggs
1/2 c. white sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put butter in 9x13 inch pan and put in oven while preheating.  In the meantime stir sugar, salt and flour together.  Add in the eggs, milk and vanilla with a blender.  Remove pan from oven and carefully move butter around pan covering the bottom and sides with butter.  Add extra butter in with the batter and mix again (batter will be very thin).  After you have batter mixed, pour it back into the cake pan and return to the oven.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until slightly browned around the edges.  Cut into squares and serve with strawberries.

Chicken Enchilada Dip

Tristan is a huge fan of chicken dips so I just had to try this Sunday.  He ate quite a bit of it, but still claims buffalo chicken dip is his favorite. 

2 c. shredded, cooked chicken
10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
5 oz. can evaporated milk
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
4 oz. can chopped green chilies
1 envelope taco seasoning

Mix all together in small slow cooker and warm.  Serve with tortilla chips.

French Onion Soup

So I had to have a try at French Onion Soup.  It is one of my favorite soups with the crusty bread and melted cheese, yum.  The boys in my house thought it was pretty good (Tristan had 3 bowls), but didn't really think a vegetable soup should be considered a meal.  They are really meat and potatoes guys. 

1/4 c. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cups sliced onions*
4-10.5 oz. cans beef broth
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
6 slices French bread
6 slices provolone cheese
Shredded Swiss cheese

Melt butter with olive oil in a dutch oven or stockpot on medium heat.  Add onions and stir often until tender and translucent (this took approx. 30 minutes).  After onions are done cooking, add broth, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper.  Simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

At this point the recipe calls for you to heat your oven boiler.  Ladle soup into 6 oven safe serving bowls and place one slice of bread on top of each bowl (I would suggest toasting the bread or using day old).  On top of bread place a slice of provolone and some shredded Swiss cheese.  Place bowls on cookie sheet and broil until cheese bubbles and browns.

Well, I did not have any fancy soup bowls.  So I just took out a cookie sheet lined with foil and placed my 6 slices of bread on it.  Then I put the cheese on the bread and cooked it in a 450 degree oven for approximately 5 minutes and served it along side of the soup. 

*I used 5 good sized onions.  There is definitely some play room in the amount of broth and onions used.  Onions when cooked shrink considerably.

Blueberry Sauce

So I picked up a big pack of blueberries at Sam's Club.  Got them home and was disappointed at how soft they were.  So much for snacking on them!  The only thing these blueberries will be good for is baking.  So I found this recipe and it is YUMMY!  I was hoping to use it on pancakes or french toast, but since I already had supper made they will become ice cream topping.

1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 c. water
2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch, gradually add water.  Add blueberries, bring to a boil over medium heat stirring frequently until thickend.  Serve warm over french toast, pancakes, waffles or ice cream.

Farmer's Delight

Thought I would share what we are having for supper tonight.  This is a recipe that my family really likes and it is super simple.  Hope your family will like it too.

7 oz. noodles, cooked

1 lb. hamburger, browned and drained

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 can creamed corn

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

Mix this all together and cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Jean's (Cindy's) Super Nacho Dip

I think everyone in the office looks forward to Thursday for "Treat Day", unless maybe it is your "Treat Day".  Today, Cindy, my co-worker brought in fresh out of the oven sticky rolls and this AWESOME Super Nacho Dip.  Although, she realized that this had been handed down from her mother, Jean Trotter.  I think we all enjoyed it, and I heard it was reheated in the afternoon and enjoyed again.  So here it is...

Brown 1 lb. of hamburger, 1 onion (finely chopped) and a 4 oz. can chopped green chiles (we both agreed it could maybe have used more).  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Drain.
In a 9x13 pan, arrange layers: first, a 1 lb. can of refried beans; then the hamburger mixture; next, 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese; next, 2 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese.  Pour over all 8 oz. mild taco sauce.  Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.  Serve warm with chips, sliced black olives and sour cream on the side.

No wonder it was so good, there is ONLY 4 c. of cheese on top!!! 

Baked Potato Skins

Well, I was all excited about the supper I was going to make tonight.  We were going to have our New Year's meal.  I had picked up a chunk of prime rib and was going to have baked potato skins with it instead of the traditional baked potatoes.  I mistakingly took the prime rib out of the oven too early.  It is now back in the oven.  So we had an appetizer of baked potato skins instead of a side dish.  Here is our favorite recipe for baked potato skins.  Decided to blog it while waiting on the main course

Bake as many potatoes as you want to use.  Let cool and half or quarter.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Scoop out the pulp, leaving ¼ inch of potato on the skin.  Brush both sides with melted butter and season with salt and pepper.  Place on pan skin side up and bake for 15 minutes.  Flip over and put cheese and bacon on and cook for 5 minutes more.  Serve with sour cream.

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year!