Donut Muffins

I would be a horrible person if I didn't share this recipe with you.

These are delicious. So much so that...well...

I. Have. No. Words.

Run, don't walk, to your kitchen and whip up a batch of these babies.

My husband and I *might* have just plowed through a dozen of them in the space of about 7 minutes.

(I've taken the recipe from this website. Bless this website for so many reasons. She has some typos in her recipe--I've fixed that).

Ingredients (muffins):

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 c. milk

1 t. baking powder

1 c. all-purpose flour

Ingredients (coating):

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/2 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a mini-muffin tin, set aside.

2. Mix up the 1/2 c. sugar, 1/4 c. melted butter and nutmeg in a large bowl.

3. Add flour, milk, and baking soda and mix together until just combined.

4. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full and bake for 15-17 minutes.

5. While muffins are baking, combine sugar and cinnamon into a bowl, set aside.

6. Melt 1/4 c. butter and place it in a bowl. (I just melted my butter in a skillet and left it there).

7. When muffins are done and cool enough to handle, remove them from the pan. Dip the tops of the muffins in butter and then roll the WHOLE muffin in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Let cool and then try not to pig out too badly!!

Side note: This recipe is egg-free...so my nephew can eat them. So for all of you who have adorable nephews with egg allergies, this one's a winner!

Molasses Cookies

This is my favorite recipe for these cookies. It might have something to do with the fact that the butter-to-sugar ratio is so deliciously close. =)

12T butter, melted

1 c. sugar

1//4 c. molasses

1 egg

1 3/4 c. flour

1/2 t. cloves

1/2 t. ginger

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

Heat oven to 350

Mix sugar, melted butter and molasses well. Add in beaten egg and mix well.

Mix dry ingredients separately and add to wet ingredients.

Drop by tablespoonful (I use a cookie scoop) onto a lined cookie sheet (with parchment or a silpat or whatever you like). Bake for 9-10 minutes.

**NOTE: these cookies will spread quite a bit and very flat once cooked. I only do 3-across on the pan and 4-down. **

Let sit on the pan for a few minutes while they cool, then transfer to wire rack when they're able to hold their shape.

Now if someone would tell me what to do with the 4 dozen of these that are sitting on my kitchen table, that would be great. Because so far, I've eaten four cookies and I can't afford ANY MORE. =)

Pie Pastry

I just wanted to share my favorite pie crust recipe. It actually comes from the mother of my husband's high school girlfriend. =) She (the mom) has since gone professional with her baking... She's a Southern cook, through and through, and everything she makes is AMAZING.

Ingredients:

3 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/4 - 1/3 c. sugar
1 c. fat (no really, that's what she wrote)
her preferred mixture is 2/3 c. shortening + 5 T. butter
About 10 T. ice water, more or less

The process is pretty standard from here--with a pastry blender, combine flour, salt, sugar and fat. Then gradually add water until it reaches the right consistency. I'd tell you what that's like, but I don't always get it right.

Lemon Curd

We love lemon curd in our family. If you haven't tried it, you're missing out. =) It's basically a condiment you can use on toast....or as a sauce on cake or ice cream. Basically, you can use it anywhere you can use jams or syrups. It's yum, yum, yummy--especially if you're a lemon fan. MMMMM. This is the best recipe I've found.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
6T. butter

Directions:

Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.

Strain lemon curd through a fine sieve into a container and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 1 hour.

Original recipe from Epicurious.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I've been meaning to post this on here for months, but just came across it again. I'm not the biggest fan of sweet potatoes cooked...well...sweetly. (I'm more of an oven-fries kind of girl).... So when I was assigned sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving, I panicked a little. Bless AllRecipes.com, though, where I found this recipe. It got lots of compliments, and even I enjoyed it! (That's saying a lot, for the record). =)

casserole
5 sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 2)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream

topping
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Boil or bake sweet potatoes until soft. In a large bowl, mash.
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. To the mashed sweet potatoes, add salt, butter, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream {I MIGHT have added an extra splash or two of cream...and it MIGHT have been mighty tasty to do so}. Mix together thoroughly.
4. Spread mixture in a lightly greased 9x13" pan
5. In medium bowl, combine butter, flour, brown sugar and pecans. Mix with a pastry blender to the consistency of coarse meal. Sprinkle over potato mixture.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken

I made this tonight....DELICIOUS. It comes from this month's Kraft Food & Family magazine. (It's free, which is always good...and always has a few good recipe nuggets in there).

Note: Their recipe is for 1/2 lb of pasta...but I cooked the whole box of fettucine (1lb), so I doubled the ingredients when I made it tonight.

For 1/2 lb of fettucine (uncooked):

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1 1/4 cup chicken broth

4 t flour

4 oz cream cheese

3 T parmasean cheese

1/4 t garlic powder

1/4 t pepper

1. Cook pasta as directed

2. cut chicken into chunks and cook in large, nonstick skillet.

3. Remove chicken from skillet.

4. In the same skillet, mix broth and flour, then add cream cheese, parmasean cheese, garlic powder and pepper. Stir constantly until thickened.

5. Stir in chicken.

6. Mix pasta and sauce mixture in large bowl....sprinkle with parmasean cheese.

Another note: I only used 1 chicken breast and it was PLENTY....even with doubling the recipe. I had some chicken already cooked that I just shredded and added at the end.

Yummy.

Zucchini Cakes

I am talking Zuchinni Cakes like crab cakes, not zuchinni cake like carrot cake. You know what I'm saying? I know a lot of us follow P-Dub's blog, so some of you maybe have already tried these...but, if you haven't, give them a try. This recipe is so easy to make and really good! There are step-by-step instructions and photos on P-Dub's blog, so I am going to have you click over there rather than type it out. Here's the link--try them out!

Chocolate Caramel Bars

I got this recipe from The Essential Mormon Cookbook, which is a veritable treasure trove of deliciousness. Truth be told, the next time I make this recipe, I might try cutting the sugar in half, but other than that, it's the perfect recipe for a sweets fix.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons melted butter

1 (14oz) bag of caramels (about 48)
1/2 cup whipping cream (I used half-and-half)
1 (12oz) pkg chocolate chips (I only used 1/3 bag, because we're not huge chocolate chip fans at our house)

In large bowl, combine first six ingredients to form a crumbly mixture. Unwrap caramels and put them in saucepan with whipping cream over low heat. Sprinkle half of crumbly mixture into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over baked mixture and top with melted caramel mixture. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Make a day ahead or several hours ahead to allow time for caramel to set. Makes 2 dozen bars. (I put mine in the fridge...I think they're best cold).

Goldfish Chicken

I am so embarrassed to post this. But I'm trying to empty our pantry and freezer, so this worked out nicely for our Costco box of goldfish that my son now refuses to eat. Also, Chris commented that it was "really good," and then I told him what it was made of. He still ate it, though.

Goldfish Chicken
1 lb of chicken tender cutlets
1 cup sour cream (fat-free yogurt works too)
3 cups of Goldfish, crushed
1 cup of margarine, melted

1. Dredge the chicken through the sour cream/yogurt.
2. Roll in crushed Goldfish.
3. Place in baking dish with melted margarine.
4. Turn over carefully so both side of chicken get coated with margarine.
5. Place in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 40 mins.
Makes 4 servings

Whipped Cream Frosting

I've never been a fan of traditional frosting...it's a bit too sugary for me. When I make a cake, I usually just whip up some heavy cream and sugar and use that as frosting. I found this new recipe from America's Test Kitchen a few weeks ago and just got around to trying it.

MMMMMMM.

Ingredients:
8oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 c. white sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/8 t. salt
2 c. heavy cream or heavy whipping cream

1. Combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat at medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy, pausing to scrape down bowl as needed.
2. Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more, scraping down bowl as needed.

yields 4 1/2 cups frosting.

So So yummy.

Garlic Chicken Sausage Pizza

Ingredients 3 Harmons Garlic Chicken Sausage links casings romved, crumbled, and cooked throughly 1/4 cup Butter 3 cloves Garlic minced 1 cup Parmessiano Reggiano Chesse grated 1/4 cup Heavy cream Sea salt Freshly ground pepper 1 bunch Green onion chopped 12 Cherry or grape tomatos chopped 1 package Kraft Italian Style Shredded Cheese 1 Baboli Pizza Crust McCormick Pizza Seasoning Grinder Instructions Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cheese and cream, salt and pepper and heat throught, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool until thickened about 10 minutes. When sauce has thickend pour on Boboli crust and spread evenly. Top sauce with cooked sausage, onion and then tomatoes. Cover with entire package of shredded cheese. Grind the pizza seasoning over hte top of the cheese to desired taste. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Harmon's Grocery Store

Cinamon Rolls

These are from the Pioneer Woman (www.thepioneerwomancooks.com). They make a ton, but are very, very yummy. I've had to restrain myself from making them often.

Yields: 7 8 inch cake pans Ingredients Rolls 1 quart whole milk (I've used skim and they turned out fine) 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup sugar 2 package Active Dry Yeast 8 Cups All-purpose flour 1 more cup flour 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon salt Frosting 1 bag (2 lb) powdered sugar 2 teaspoons maple flavoring 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup melted butter 1/8 teaspoon (a generous pinch) salt.

Instructions Mix 1 quart of whole milk, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and 1 cup of sugar in a pan. "Scald" the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point.) Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in 2 packages Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute so the yeast gets all warm and moist and happy. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let sit for at least an hour. Now add 1 more cup of flour. 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder. And 1 "scant" (less than a full) teaspoon baking soda and 1 heaping tablespoon of salt. Stir mixture together. At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it-overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to splurge out of the pan, just punch it down. Or, of course, you can just go ahead and make the rolls. Let's do that, shall we? Sprinkle surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Rectangle should increase in both width and length as you roll it out. Now drizzle 1 1/2 to 2 cups melted butter over the dough. Don't be shy; lay it on thick, baby. You know you want it. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter, followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Some of the butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture may ooze out toward the end, but that's no big deal. Next, pinch the seam to the roll to seal it. Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in seven round, foil cake or pie pans. Then begin cutting rolls approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. This recipe makes approximately seven pans of rolls. Let the rolls sit for 20 to 30 minutes to rise, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. While the rolls are in the oven, make the deliciously sinful maple frosting. To a mixing bowl, add 1 bag of powdered sugar. To this, add about 2 teaspoons maple flavoring, 1/2 cup milk... 1/4 cup melted butter Also add 1/8 teaspoon (a generous pinch) salt. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle frosting over warm rolls after you pull them out of the oven. The frosting will settle in and become one with the cinnamon rolls.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup Crisco OR 2 sticks of butter (must. use. butter). =)
3 cups white sugar
1 large can (29oz) pumpkin
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla

Dry Ingredients:
5 cups flour
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
2 t. salt
2 t. nutmeg
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. cloves
(instead of 2 t. of each of these spices, I just use 5 t. pumpkin pie spice...I like them a *tad* bland, hence leaving out the final teaspoon)
2-3 cups chocolate chips

1. Beat Crisco (or butter), Sugar and eggs until fluffy.
2. Add pumpkin and vanilla and blend until smooth.
3. Combine all dry ingredients and combine with the wet.
4. Drop by tablespoon-full onto cookie sheet (I fit 15/sheet)
5. Bake at 375 for 14 minutes.

Side note: I'm in the middle of making a batch right now, and so far, I've made 4 dozen cookies. I'd say I'm halfway through the batter....you might want to cut this recipe in half... =)

Elephant Stew

Ok, I lied. One more recipe.

1 medium elephant
2 rabbits
Brown gravy
Salt and Pepper

Cut elephant into bite sized pieces. Cook over kerosene fire at 460 degrees for 4 weeks. Add gravy, salt and pepper. Serves 5 -630. If more stew is needed add rabbits. However, this is an emergency measure only because most people don't like hare in their stew.