Cinnamon Toast Grilled "Cream" Cheese Sandwiches.

Stop me now!  I don't know what I was thinking.  I am supposed to be eating healthy!  You see, I just got an idea.... that went something like, "instead of making grilled cheese sandwiches, I should make grilled "cream" cheese sandwiches".  My next thought was "on cinnamon toast....wouldn't that be good!"  So here it is: Cinnamon Toast Grilled "Cream" Cheese Sandwiches.  My young women loved them!

10 slices bread
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3 T. powdered sugar
*butter, cinnamon, sugar

Mix cream cheese and powered sugar. Make sandwiches by spreading cream cheese between two slices of bread and then lightly butter the top and bottom.  Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on each side as well.  Grill on both sides until gold brown.  Cut in triangles to serve.

Cheese Sticks Like Fat Jacks

Anyone who grew up in Payson knows about the goodness of Fat Jack's Cheese Sticks.  They were a Friday night staple at our house growing up.  I found a recipe on Pintrest that looked similar to the famous sticks and decided to try it out.  They turned out amazing!  Serve these with marinara or homemade ranch dressing.

 

Ingredients:
1 ball pre-made pizza dough *see below for options
1 16 oz. package mozzarella cheese
1 clove garlic, pressed
3-4 T. olive oil
Italian Seasonings (if desired)

Roll out pizza dough on to a large round pan or stone.  In a small prep bowl add the olive oil, pressed garlic, and a sprinkling of Italian seasonings.  Brush this mixture all over the top of the crust.  Spread mozzarella cheese all over the top.  Bake at 400 degrees until browned and bubbly - about 20-25 minutes. 

We also like to throw fresh sliced tomatoes and fresh basil on top sometimes.  It tastes like a Margarita pizza!

*I use to make all of my pizza dough homemade, but lately I've grown lazy and also LOVE some of the pre-made doughs that are available in my area better than my own homemade dough.  Here are some options:
1) Rigatti's Pizzeria inside Reams grocery store sells balls of dough
2) Papa Murphy's Pizza will sell you a ball of dough
3) Winco grocery store in Orem sells pizza dough in their refrigerated section by the cheese and lunch meats.

Brazillian Cheese Puffs

My friend Caroline eats gluten free and this is one of her favorite recipes.  It calls for tapioca flour which can be pricey at the grocery store. I found it in the bulk food section at Winco and bought just enough to whip up a batch of these bite-sized cheesy buns for our Cinco De Mayo feast last week.

 

Ingredients:
1 large egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. canola oil
1 c. tapioca flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
can sprinkle garlic salt or extra grated cheddar cheese on top as well

Place egg, milk, oil, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until well mixed.  Add both types of cheese and pulse the blender 2-3 more times.  Grease a mini muffin tin and preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Fill each mini muffin cup 2/3 full.  Sprinkle additional cheese and a light sprinkle of garlic salt on the top of each muffin if desired.  Bake 15-20 minutes.  Serve warm!

Zucchini Bread (Crunchy Crust)

---Pictures were too ugly to post -----

After the above statement you probably won't want to even try this recipe, but you should. It LOOKS ugly, but it TASTES delicious! Thanks to those at the mentor meeting who asked for the recipe. It made me feel less embarrassed about serving you ugly zucchini bread :0)


In a large bowl, mix together:


3 beaten eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini

1 tsp. vanilla

In a separate bowl, mix:

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Divide equally between two medium sized bread pans (grease pans well). Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Be sure to test for doneness by jiggling the pan or testing the middle with a fork. It's better to cook them a little longer than to have them turn out doughy. ***You can add chopped nuts to this recipe as an optional ingredient if desired.

Zucchini Muffins

The past few weeks I have been participating in the Bountiful Baskets program. If you don’t know what that is, you should click here and start participating. Last week, four zucchini were in the basket and I was delighted. I cut some up and threw in a pasta salad, made four loaves of zucchini bread, and finished out the week with these amazing muffins. They turn out perfectly moist and are just the right amount of sweet.

2 ¼ cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

3 eggs

½ c. canola oil

¾ c. sugar

½ c. brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

½ c. sour cream

3 cups shredded zucchini

Optional add ins: zest from an orange, chopped walnuts or pecans

In a small bowl mix the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder with a whisk, set aside. In another bowl, beat the eggs, oil, both sugars and vanilla until well mixed. Stir in the sour cream, the zucchini, and any mix-ins you like. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (don’t over mix!) Spray 2 (12 count) muffin tins with cooking spray or line with paper liners. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-18 minutes. Makes approximately 20 muffins.

Dinner Rolls

I made these rolls to use as buns for pulled pork sandwiches on Superbowl Sunday. They turned out so good, I'll definitely use this recipe again.

Recipe coming soon...

Easy Cheesy Breadsticks - FAVORITE!

My sister Mindi introduced me to these savory and SUPER easy bread sticks. We've made them four times already. Your kids can help and the recipe can be shared by word-of-mouth, it's THAT EASY!

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1 tube Grands biscuits (Flaky Layers work best)

6 pieces of string cheese

1 cup Kraft Zesty Italian dressing

1-2 cups powdery Parmesan cheese

Marinara

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Remove the biscuits from the tube, then split them in half to make 12. Cut each string cheese in half. Place the string cheese in the center of the biscuit. Then fold the dough up and over the string cheese, enclosing the cheese in the dough. Roll in the Italian dressing, then roll in Parmesan cheese. Place on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve immediately with warm marinara sauce.

Sunday Rolls

Is there anything better than the smell of hot rolls baking in the oven? This recipe came from a Lion House Cookbook I was given for my wedding almost 19 years ago.

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2 T. active dry yeast
2 c. warm water
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. shortening
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5-6 cups flour
1 egg

*

In the bowl of a mixer, combine yeast and water. Stir slightly and allow to stand for 5 minutes until bubbly. Add sugar, shortening, salt, dry milk, 2 cups of the flour and the egg. Beat until very smooth (I use my dough hook for this). Add 2 more cups of flour, one at a time and beat until smooth. Add about one more cup of flour and beat until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Beat for 1-2 more minutes. Remove dough from mixer and place in a greased bowl covered with a dish cloth. Allow to rise until about triple in size (1 hour or more). Punch down dough and shape dough into balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise again for about 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter.

Beth's Cinnamon Rolls

My good friend Kristie shared her family cinnamon roll recipe with me several years ago and it is the BEST! This recipe makes a HUGE batch. You'll need a good mixer and about 3 hours :0)

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2 c. boiling water

2 sq. butter

1 c. sugar

1 T. salt

2/3 c. powdered milk

*

1 c. warm water

1/2 tsp. sugar

3 T. yeast

*

6 beaten eggs

12 c. flour

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Mix in a large stand electric mixer with dough hook attachment.

Pour boiling water over sugar and butter in a large stand mixer bowl. Stir until butter is melted. Cool slightly, then add the salt and powdered milk. Meanwhile, mix the 1 c. water, 1/2 tsp. sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Allow yeast to bubble. Add the yeast mixture to the first mixture along with the eggs and 5 cups of the flour. Beat until very smooth. Continue adding the rest of the flour and beating until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and isn't sticky to touch. Remove dough, and place in a large greased bowl. Cover with a dish cloth and allow to rise for about 45 minutes.

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After dough has risen, pound down and place on a floured surface. Roll dough out in to a large rectangle. This makes a HUGE rectangle - you may want to divide dough in half and do it in two batches.

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Melt 1 1/2 cubes of butter and spread melted butter over the dough. Sprinkle granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon all over the top (probably about 1 1/2 cups of each kind of sugar and 2-3 T. cinnamon). Roll up and cut in to slices (I use a piece of thread to cut the slices). Place rolls on greased cookie sheets and rise another 30 minutes to an hour.

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Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until well browned. Then frost with homemade vanilla butter cream frosting.

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Make homemade frosting by combining 1 cup softened butter, 2-3 T. milk and about 3 cups powdered sugar. Thin by adding more milk, thicken by adding more powdered sugar.

Stuffed French Toast

We went to Mimi's the other day and my kids had stuffed French toast. I decided to try my own version at home. You know I'm all about easy, so I decided to use flavored cream cheese for the inside stuffing and it turned out AWESOME!The finished product!

You have to cook these on all sides, so you have to be creative. I propped them up on the skillet to cook the tops and bottoms.
This is the bread I used (I buy it at Costco or at the Sara Lee Bread Store). This flavored cream cheese is only $1.25 at Walmart.

thick, hearty French bread
eggs
milk
a little salt
flavored/sweetened cream cheese (I used strawberry)
powdered sugar
syrup

Break eggs in a bowl, pour in a little milk and whisk with wire whisk. Flavor with a dash of salt. Trim crusts off of bread so they are square. Take one slice of bread and spread flavored cream cheese in the middle. Top with another piece of bread. Dip the "sandwich" in the egg mixture and place on hot griddle. Bake on all sides until puffy and nicely browned. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with syrup. Could also top with berries and whipped cream.

Mock Magleby's Rolls

These Parmesan covered rolls are so easy to make and go great with almost any entree.

frozen roll dough (I use Terrell's Rolls in freezer section)
1 stick butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. garlic salt

Partially thaw dough. Melt butter in a small bowl. Mix Parmesan, parsley and garlic salt in another bowl. Roll dough in butter, then in cheese mixture. Place on greased cookie sheet and allow to raise the rest of the way. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Cinnamon Oat Pancakes

I'm trying to be more healthy in 2009 and these pancakes are the perfect place to start. The wheat flour and oats make the pancakes hearty and healthy. I cooked the batter plain for my kids, but added the oat & almond topping for the grown ups, which made them over-the-top good!

2 c. flour
1/3 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. quick cooking oats
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
2 1/4 c. buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
2 T. vegetable oil

Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk, eggs and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.
Drop batter on to hot skillet and fry pancakes on both sides.

***If desired, make topping mix (below) and sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of the topping mix onto the skillet, then pour batter on top of that and sprinkle 2-3 more tablespoons of the topping on each pancake. This bakes a sweet, nutty topping into both sides of the pancake. You can also sprinkle more topping mix on top after the pancakes have been cooked.

TOPPING:
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. chopped almonds or pecans

Swedish Rosettes

Shirlene made these and brought them over one morning. They look beautiful and taste delicious. My kids compared them to carnival funnel cakes.


Batter
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup unsifted flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine eggs and milk. With fork or wire whisk, mix well. Stir in flour, sugar and vanilla extract; blend until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate one hour or overnight.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven, heat 2 quarts vegetable oil to 365 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Attach selected iron to handle. Dip iron into hot oil for 15 seconds; drain slightly on paper towel. Dip lower part of hot iron into batter, letting excess drip back into bowl. (Do not get batter on top of iron.)

Dip iron into hot oil; as batter becomes cooked, it will loosen and drop into oil. Cook until golden on one side; turn and cook on other side. Repeat. As pastries turn golden, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Pastries may be sprinkled with confectioners' sugar or cinnamon-sugar. Tart shells may be filled with sweet or savory fillings.

Here is a picture of a Swedish Rosette Cooking Set. You can buy them on E-bay and Amazon.

Kami's Pumpkin Bread

This recipe was shared with me by my good friend Kami. She not only gave me a loaf of this perfectly moist bread, but also the darling dish to serve it on. Thanks Kami!

Glazed Pumpkin* Bread …(*apples, bananas or zucchini)

3 eggs
1 c. oil
1 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. soda
2 c. pumpkin
3 c. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. vanilla
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
(1 c. nuts-optional)

Mix well in order given and pour into greased and floured loaf pans. (2 regular or 6 mini)
Bake at 325-350 degrees for 1 hr….or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Glaze: mix 1 c. powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp. warm water. Spread over loaves while still warm.

Pumpkin Muffins w/Cinnamon Topping

These muffins are dense, moist and full of fall flavor. I love the healthy addition of applesauce and grated apple.

2 1/2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1/2 c. egg substitute (or 3 large eggs)
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and grated

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, soda, salt, cinnamon & nutmeg) in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, oil and grated apple. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Spoon into paper-lined muffin cups until 2/3 full. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes about 2 dozen.

Topping:

1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 t. cinnamon

Mix with fork or pastry blender until a crumbly mixture is formed. Sprinkle on top of muffins before baking.

Quick Praline Muffins

I found this great Gooseberry Patch cookbook at Cracker Barrel (40% off right now) and I'm LOVING the recipes! Here is an easy muffin recipe that Taylor and I whipped up last night for Kaycie and her friends to munch on while they watched movies.

3 T. brown sugar, packed
1 T. butter, softened
1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)
3 ripe bananas
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups pancake mix

Stir the brown sugar, butter and nuts together in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and set aside. Stir in egg, sugar and oil until well blended. Add pancake mix and stir until just moistened (don't over-stir). Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle 1 tsp. pecan mixture on top of each muffin. Bake at 35o degrees for 12-15 minutes until golden. Makes 1 dozen.

Jaymon's Cinni Minis

Jaymon and I made these mini cinnamon rolls on Saturday morning (Jaymon did most of the work). He was so excited to share his culinary masterpiece that he woke everyone up to come and eat.

1 tube crescent rolls

3-4 T. butter, melted

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-2 capfuls of milk

Open crescent rolls, but don't separate them. Flour your work surface and lay out the rolls in one big rectangle, pinching the seams to seal. Roll dough with a rolling pin until smooth. Brush with butter. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread all over the top. Roll up and cut into small rolls. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 5-8 mnutes or until lightly golden brown. Mix powdered sugar and milk and stir until glaze is formed. Start with 1 capful of milk, then add another if glaze is too thick. Drizzle glaze on rolls.

Half White/Half Wheat Bread - Anita's Recipe

I made 50% wheat bread tonight for the first time. Anita, the librarian from Park School gave me the recipe. It was surprisingly easy and I'm hoping delicious.

Mix 1/2 cup honey and 5 cups hot water in a bowl. Stir until honey dissolves
Add 2 T. active dry yeast and let stand for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix:
7 cups white flour
5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 T. salt

To the yeast mixture, add 2 beaten eggs and 1/2 c. canola oil. Begin adding the dry ingredients and mix in mixer (btw...you need a large mixer for this recipe). Knead until dough forms a ball and isn't sticky. If dough is sticky, add a little more flour (about 1/4 of a cup at a time).
Cover bowl and let rise 45 minutes.
Knead down the dough for about 10 minutes. Shape into 4 equal loaves. Place in greased bread pans. Cover and let rise 20 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then lower to 325 and bake 20 minutes more or until golden brown.

Sunday Rolls

Pour hot milk over the sugar, yeast and shortening.
After you mix in the eggs and flour, it will start to form a ball and won't stick to the sides of the bowl. If it is still sticky add more flour (1/4 cup at a time).
After the dough has been well kneaded, put it in a greased bowl. It won't be sticky.
After the first rise, punch down the dough, form into balls and let rise again.

I am often asked how I make my Sunday Rolls, so here goes. I've tried to take some pictures and explain as I go. I am a baker at heart and make Sunday rolls almost every week.

In a stand mixer or Bosch, place the following ingredients:

2 T. active dry yeast
1/2 c. sugar
6 T. shortening
2 tsp. salt

In a small saucepan, heat:

2 cups milk (remove from heat just before it begins to boil - when it is hot and steamy)

Pour milk over the yeast mixture, add:

2 eggs, beaten (mix well)

Gradually add in:

6 1/2 - 7 cups flour

Beat until the dough forms a ball that centers on the dough hook and doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5-6 minutes longer. Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise for 1 hour.
Roll dough into small golf-ball sized balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise about 1 - 1 1/2 hours more. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Makes one large cookie sheet full of rolls.

Homemade Pizza Dough

I grew up on a farm and we always had ground beef in our freezer. My mom would make homemade pizza and top it with browned hamburger. This is a serious comfort food for me. I've included several different variations for toppings. I've tried tons of different crust recipes, but I like this one best.

Dissolve 1 T. yeast in 1 cup warm water. Let set 5 minutes. When yeast starts to grow, add:
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 T. vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups flour

Knead until smooth (3-5 minutes) I use my food processor with the kneading attachment for this, but you can easily do it by hand or in your stand mixer. Let rise about 30 minutes. Roll our on pizza pan. Add toppings, sauce and cheese. Bake until browned and bubbly. 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.

Mom's Pizza: Pizza Sauce, browned hamburger, olives, mushrooms, cheddar & mozzarella
Chicken Pizza: Alfredo Sauce, chopped chicken, green onions, fresh tomatoes, pressed garlic, mozzarella
BBQ Chicken: BBQ sauce, chopped chicken, red onion, cilantro, mozzarella