Thursday, August 30, 2012

Rolo Stuffed Sugar Cookies

I said in an earlier post that I only ever take one bite of my treats before I pack them up for my husband to take to work.  Well, I take it back I ate lots of these!!!  Luckily I ended up putting to many cookie balls on my cookie sheet so I had some ugly ones to eat for myself.  These are simply DELIGHTFUL.  I saw a picture of these on pinterest and I knew I had to make the ASAP.  I still haven't looked at the recipe online because I knew exactly how I was going to make them. 

Ingredients:
  • 1 package sugar cookie dough
  • 24 rolo candies
  • Cinnamon and sugar mix
Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Unwrap rolo candies and mold sugar cookie around the rolo into a ball.  Coat with cinnamon and sugar mix.  Repeat until finished.  Place on cookie sheet and bake for about 11 minutes or until edges are light brown.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Scents of Fall

My Nephew Enzo
 
Fall is right around the corner and I could not be more excited.  Don't get me wrong I love summer but something about fall just gets me so excited.  I love everything about fall and I mean everything.  I love the crisp chilly air, the changing leafs, the memories of piling up all of the fallen leaves to jump in them, the colors of fall, the thought of all the kids getting ready for Halloween, and so many other things.  When I think of fall the first thing that pops in my head are the scents of fall.  When I think of fall I think of four specific scents. 

The first scent I think of is apples.  I love apples and baking with apples is my all time favorite thing.  They are so delicious and they make everything better.

The second is cinnamon.  Obviously cinnamon compliments apples in everything I bake so its a no brainer.

The third is Satsumas.  The scent of a fresh peeled satsuma is to die for.  I think my love for these came from every Christmas my stocking always had two satsumas in the bottom!  Whenever I see and smell satsumas I think of Christmas and I am instantly filled with joy.

The fourth and final smell is worchestershire.  I know this was probably the last thing you were thinking but its true.  Every year my Mom and I make batches of chex mix and I love the smell of butter and worchestershire melting together.  No matter what time of the year whenever I cook with worchestershire I think of fall and all the wonderful memories of baking with my Mom. 

For all of you who read this post what are your favorite scents of fall???

Overnight Breakfast Eggs

 

This is another recipe my Aunt Kathy made while we were on vacation in Iowa.  My husband loved it as did he love all of her cooking!!  He has been asking me every week since we have returned to make this.  I love that you put it together the night before and all you have to do is preheat the oven in the morning.  I however made this for dinner so I made the sausage the night before and assembled in the morning letting it sit until dinner time.  The recipe I am going to post serves 12-15 so feel free to half the recipe.  The picture below is half the original recipe considering I cook for two!
 
Ingredients: (Servings 12-15 half recipe if needed)
  • 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
  • 2 lbs ground breakfast sausage (I substitute for ground breakfast chicken)
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 10 eggs
  • 2 3/4 cup milk
  • 3/4 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 package hash browns
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
 
Directions:  Prepare this the night before you serve this.  Put croutons in a 9 by 13 buttered baking dish.  Brown breakfast sausage and onion and drain fat.  Spread over croutons.  Sprinkle with 1 cup cheddar cheese.  Mix eggs, 2 1/4 of milk, dry mustard and salt.  Pour over cheese/sausage.  Then spread hash browns over top.  Mix cream of mushroom and remaining milk and pour over hash browns.  Top with remaining cheese.  Cover and refrigerate over night.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
 
 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Apple Pie Cake Glazed Muffins

 
THE BEST MUFFINS I HAVE EVER MADE!!!!! I love baking with cake mix because it eliminates so much time and I have had a can of apple pie filling in my pantry that has been screaming use me for many months now.  This is such a simple recipe and it makes your house smell so wonderful.  Fall is just around the corner and this is a must try recipe.
 
Ingredients for Muffins:
  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 can apple pie filling (1 pound)
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
 Ingredients for Glaze:
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons hot water
Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add apple pie filling to mixing bowl and beat until the apple pieces are broken up into diced pieces.  Add cake mix, yogurt, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat until everything is mixed though out.  The batter should only have the apple chunks left.  Pour into muffin tins and bake for 30 minutes.  In separate bowl whisk together melted butter sugar, vanilla, and hot water until smooth.  Dip muffin tops into glaze and let harden. 
     
 
 
 
 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Salsa Verde Pork Quesadillas


I have not mastered cooking for two so I always find myself with lots of leftovers.  Last nights dinner was Salsa Verde Pork Tacos so tonight we are having Salsa Verde Pork Quesadillas.  Whenever I make any kind of taco it never fails that my lunch or dinner the next day is a quesadilla.  This pork is so tasty and this go to meal is DELICIOUS.

Ingredients: ( I am not putting amounts for the ingredients because everyone seems to differ in the amounts of cheese and goodies they put inside.)
Directions:  Heat pan or griddle over medium heat.  On a seperate plate place all ingredients on top of 1 tortilla starting with cheese.  Once you have all the ingredients on the tortilla sprinkle with more cheese then add second tortilla.  I always add cheese to both sides so it melts on the tortilla holding it all together.  Spray pan/griddle with non stick spray and add quesadilla.  Brown on both sides until cheese is melted. 
Directions

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Crock Pot Salsa Verde Pork Tacos

This meal really made me wish I had invited someone over so I could show off my amazing cooking skills.  The pork is so tender and the flavor is amazing.  I love food blogs and I love the blog I found this recipe at.  Like I said before I am not really a big pork person and I always find myself at the grocery store wishing for great pork recipes because its always on sale.  This one is for sure a keeper and I will be making it many times to come!!

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb pork sirloin
  • 1/2  jar salsa Verde ( I used La Victoria 16oz jar)
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin
  • 1 can green chilies (I didn't have any on hand so I threw in 2 jalapenos from the garden)
  • Cilantro
  • 1 lime
  • salt
  • Tortillas
Directions:  Spray crock pot with non stick spray or olive oil.  Sprinkle pork with salt and place in the bottom of crock pot.  Pour salsa over pork and add chilies or jalapenos.  Sprinkle with cumin and cook on low for 8 hours.  Shred pork and let cook for an additional 15 minutes. Add meat to tortillas and serve with any additional toppings you prefer.

Zucchini Bake

I have so much Zucchini so I am trying lots of recipes to use it up.  This was easy and great.  The recipe I found online called for parmesan cheese however, I only had mozzarella so I changed it up.  I am going to post the original recipe because it would have been so much better with parmesan. 

Ingredients:
  • 2 large Zucchini cut
  • 1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions:  Spray baking dish with olive oil and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Layer zucchini, breadcrumbs, and cheese.  Repeat until all zucchini is gone.  Layer with cheese and bread crumbs.  Bake for 20 minutes uncovered.