Christmas Must

What is your "must make" at Christmas time?

And are you willing to share the recipe?

Cinnamon Rolls in Carribean Blue

Eventually I'll get tired of this I suppose, but it's too fun right now. Here is my next dish in the dish.

Cinnamon Rolls

1 c. sugar
2 c. warm milk
2 c. mashed taters (reconstituted dry flakes work fine)
2 eggs
1/2 c. shortening
2 pkgs. yeast
2 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
7-8 c. flour

Beat sugar, milk, potatoes, eggs and shortening until smooth. Separately, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 c. warm water with 2 T. sugar. Then add it to mixture and mix. Add salt, flour and vanilla and mix like bread. Let rise and mix down. Let rise again. Then roll out on floured board and brush with softened butter, then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll up in long roll. Cut in 1 or 2 inch slices and place in greased pan. Let rise and bake at 350^ for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Frost with burnt butter glaze:

2 cubes of butter, melted
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. canned milk
powdered sugar

Heat until clear and dissolved. Add enough powdered sugar for a thin frosting (not glaze). Frost rolls while hot.

I used my leftover mashed potatoes that were seasoned with garlic, onion, etc. and it was just fine. Also, I made the dough the night before and let it rise all night. Then just let them rise in the pan in the am. I made two large cookie pans of these along with the special pan.

But really, this recipe is really all about the frosting.
mmmmmmm

Easy Lasagna in Carribean Blue

Just because no one else is really posting anything and I feel like being obnoxious, here's another recipe that I made in my new pan.

Easy Lasagna

1 lb. hamburger
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 c. water
3 c. mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
16 oz. cottage cheese
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. parsley
8 lasagna noodles

Brown hamburger. Drain oil and then add spaghetti sauce (I like the one with sausage flavoring) and water. Let simmer. Mix rest of ingredients together. (except noodles, duh) Put 1 c. sauce on bottom of special pan. Layer uncooked noodles (I hate cooking the noodles) 3 down 1 broken one across bottom. Then 1/2 of sauce on top. Then 1/2 of cheese mixture on top of that. Then layer the noodles again (just switch the bottom one to other side if you know what I mean). Sauce, then cheese. Cover with foil and cook at 350* for 1 hour. Remove foil and cook for another 10 minutes. And yeah, I know my pan looks used. Bummer. But I swear the lasagna tasted better this time - must have been the pan!

7 Layer Bars in Carribean Blue

I thought I would post a picture on our recipe site of my awesome new baking dish and the 7 Layer Bars we made. It arrived just in time for our ward talent show. We dutifully washed it and started cooking immediately.

1. 1 cube butter
2. 1 1/2-2 c. graham crackers, crushed
3. chocolate chips
4. butterscotch chips
5. coconut
6. 1 can sweetened condensed milk
7. chopped nuts

Melt butter in pan. Mix the graham crackers in to form crust. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, then butterscotch chips, then the coconut. Pour condensed milk over all. Top with chopped nuts (I used almonds, of course). Bake at 350^ for 30 minutes. Yummy. Thanks Julie.

St. Patrick's Day Recipes

Okay ladies, I need your help. My daughter is SUPER excited about St. Patrick's Day. I have never done much for this holiday, but this year I was thinking about making a special dinner. Does anyone have suggestions for Irish or green food? Thanks!

Blueberry Lemon Scones

I am in love with these scones! I got this recipe from here. My mother-in-law gave me some dried blueberries so I used those instead of cherries. Also, I do not have a zester in my life yet, so I just used a potato peeler to peel the lemon and then chopped it up really small. I love the glaze on it.

Preheat oven to 400. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together:
2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Cut in 1/2 c. butter to flour mixture until it looks crumbly. Then stir in:
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 c. (or more) of dried blueberries

Add 2/3 c. buttermilk (I just used 1 tbsp of lemon juice in 1 c. milk) and just stir till dough barely comes together. Don't overmix.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle about 7 inches round and 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut this circle into 3-6 pie shaped wedges (or more).

Place scones on the baking sheet and brush tops with an egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 Tbsp milk). Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Drizzle with glaze:
juice of one lemon and 1/2 - 1 c. of powdered sugar; should be kind of runny.

I made 12 scones but they weren't big. And next time I'm definitely doubling the recipe since it's just not enough for us.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting

One more recipe for Lorien...

3.5 ounces good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (chocolate chips are fine)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon light corn syrup (optional)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Microwave the chocolate until melted. (microwave in 1 minute increments and stir between - the chocolate won't look melted until you stir it, and it is easy to burn if you heat for more than 1 minute at a a time) Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir using a small rubber spatula or whisk, starting from the center of the bowl and working your way out till combined and smooth. Add the corn syrup (if using) and vanilla. Stir into the chocolate mixture well. Using a hand mixer, beat the chocolate mixture for 2-3 minutes until it becomes softer and light and fluffy.

You can also just allow the chocolate mixture to cool for a few minutes and then pour it over the cake as a glaze.

Sugar Cookie Bars

Lorien....this one is for you! Truthfully it's for anyone who wants to make sugar cookies but doesn't want all the work.

This cookie is spread out into a baking sheet to cook - so no rolling it our or cutting different shapes.

Sugar Cookie Bars

1 cup butter; room temp.
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla & mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. (or, if you are lazy, like me, just add the dry ingredients and sprinkle the soda and salt all around before mixing!) Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased 13 x 18 pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and then frost.

Frosting

1/2 cup butter; room temp
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
4 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
food coloring (if desired)

For frosting combine butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cookie.

Chicken and Dumplings

This is a recipe that I got from The Sisters Cafe. It is fast (if you have cooked chicken on hand) and fabulous. I have tried dumplings before and they are always a little too mushy for me. I liked the flavor of these and they were cooked all the way through. My kids commented that it was a little like chicken pot pie, only better.

Chicken and Dumplings

3 c. cooked chicken, cut into large pieces

½ c. butter

1/3 c. flour

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3 c. chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup (98% fat free variety works great)

Dumplings:

2 c. flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp celery seed

¼ c. oil

1 c. milk

Blend butter, flour, salt and pepper in saucepan. Add chicken broth and cook until thick. Stir in cream of chicken soup and add cooked chicken. Put in a 9x13 pan. To prepare dumplings, mix all ingredients together and stir until moistened. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto chicken and gravy. Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes.

Yesterday marked the 100th day of school, making the year about half way over. Sometimes in the doldrums of winter I will celebrate just about anything.
My eldest was a little sad that in fourth grade they weren't celebrating this milestone, while his younger sister's class was. So I promised to plan something. This is all I did, but it made him happy. After he guessed which one had 100, and how much was in the other containers, we had to do something with those chocolate chips; so I made some cookies. It's fun being the mom.

Menu Planning

Here is my new menu plan for the year. I asked the kids to create their "fantasy" menu. Then I averaged what they wanted and created what would work for us on our time schedule. (by the way mashed potatoes and gravy is apparently a meal by itself)

Sunday: Big Meat (usually with taters and good for leftovers all week)
Monday: Mom's choice (I want to try new stuff; at least they're warned)
Tuesday: Non-Meat/Soup (beans, lentils, food storage stuff)
Wednesday: Leftovers/Sandwiches (Dad is gone this night)
Thursday: Crockpot/Easy (scouts, activity days, etc.)
Friday: Pizza/Tacos (we have a child that was dismayed that we might eat the same thing every night!)
Saturday: Dad's Choice (we all know he's a better cook than me)

This makes my menu planning/grocery shopping so much easier now. Next, I'll have to post some of the yummy recipes I've been finding on-line.

Vegetarian Chili

(adapted from Rachel Ray)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic minced ( I just used minced garlic in the can. It's a different amount though so look on the can).
1 cup vegetable (chicken) broth
1 can (32 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 to 1 ½ Tbsp cumin
1 to 1 ½ Tbsp chili powder
6 dashes Tabasco sauce
Salt
1 cup spicy refried beans
Cheddar cheese
Chips

Heat oil over medium. Add onion and peppers, sauté 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add broth, reduce by half (2-3 minutes). Add tomatoes, beans, cumin, chili powder, Tabasco, and salt. Thicken with refried beans. Serve with cheese and chips. YUMMY!

Carrot Soup

I know! Another weird soup. But I really love this soup.

3 Tbs. olive oil
2 leeks, including tender green portions,
thinly sliced (or, if you are me, and you don't have leeks - just use one small onion, finely diced)
6 carrots, about 1 lb. total,
peeled and thinly sliced
1 red potato, about 1/2 lb., peeled and
coarsely diced (or a regular russet potatoe, if that's what you have in your pantry)
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper, to taste

You can add a little bit of orange juice or ginger to fancy this up, or not. It's up to you.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the leeks and sauté until just slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and potato and sauté until the vegetables are just softened, about 5 minutes more.

Add the stock, cover partially and simmer until the vegetables are completely softened, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches, leaving some texture, and return the soup to the pan. Alternatively, process with a stick blender in the pan until the desired consistency is reached. Set the pan over medium heat and stir in the orange juice (if you are doing that) Season with salt and white pepper.

Serves 4 to 6.

Tuscan Tomato Soup

Alright, I'm throwing out another favorite soup recipe for you. This one is from The Chef's Table in Orem, UT.

This soup is seriously....so.good. trust me!

- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Onion, Small dice
- 3 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes
- 2 Cups Chicken Stock
- 1.5 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Cup Basil Pesto (make your own - basil, EVOO, parmesan cheese, and pinenuts blended in a food processor) or buy some...
- Salt and Pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a medium large soup pot. Add onions and cook over moderately low heat until completely translucent. Add tomatoes and allow to warm to a simmer. Add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes to allow for interchange of flavors.

Add whipping cream. Add pesto.

Blend to desired consistency in a food processor or blender. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Soup Season

Anyone have a favorite soup recipe to share with me?

I love soup!

I found this recipe today and it just really made me in a mood for soup.
(Plus, I totally LOVE split pea soup)

Classic Split-Pea Soup
Adapted from Real Simple, best recipes

1 ham hock
2 32-ounce-containers chicken broth
1 pound green split peas
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Rinse the ham hock and place it in a large saucepan or Dutch oven along with the broth, split peas, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, 3 to 3-1/2 hours. (I would probably just put it in the crockpot all day...)

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Transfer the ham hock to a plate and let sit until cool enough to handle, at least 10 minutes. Shred the meat (there won't be a lot) and stir it into the soup.

Serve warm with crusty bread.