Dulce de Leche Brownies

Anything caramel related is a hit in our house. Nate could just eat caramel by the spoonful. I saw the idea for these brownies over at Let's Dish, but I just simplified it by using a box brownie mix. This recipe is super simple and makes your kitchen smell divine. Fall is officially here and I feel like I should be baking almost daily! Now we just need some crisp cold weather!

Ingredients:
your favorite brownie box mix (plus the eggs, oil, water it requires) or you could use your favorite homemade brownie recipe
1 cup dulce de leche (usually found in the Latin aisle of the store)

Preparation:
Line an 8x8" baking dish with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Pour in half of your brownie mixture, and spread out evenly. Dollop half the dulce de leche on top of the brownie mixture in several small drops. Take a knife and swirl the dulce de leche. Pour on the other half of the brownie mix and smooth with a spatula. Put on the remaining dulce de leche in small dollops, and swirl again. Bake according to brownie mix directions. Mine called for a 350 degree oven and it took a little over 40 minutes to bake. Allow to cool a bit, slice and serve!

Stuffed Garlic Bread

This was such a hit! This may be the only way Nate wants garlic bread anymore. It is seriously so good. Total comfort food. You could totally add some diced pepperoni, green peppers, onions, or olives and make it a meal and just serve a green salad with it. I know we'll be making this time and time again.

Ingredients:
1 loaf of french bread
butter, melted
garlic bread seasoning
freshly shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:
Using a sharp bread knife cut diagonal slices into the bread. Don't cut all the way through. Once you've finished going one direction, cut diagonally the other direction. Again, don't cut all the way through the bread. Wrap bottom of the bread with tin foil and place on a baking dish. Use a pastry brush and brush butter in all the crevices of the bread. Then sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning, and finally with some cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted. Enjoy warm!

Picture Updated 01/03/13

I shared this recipe over at Six Sisters' Stuff, Weekend Potluck, and Farm Girl Friday.

Amazing Potato Rolls/Spudnuts

Here's a dough recipe from Katie that can be made either into rolls or into donuts. It's definitely a keeper recipe, she's been making it since Zak was a baby. Katie says the potatoes in the roll keep the rolls soft and moist so that left overs are nearly as yummy as hot out of the oven! I know bread is such comfort food and so I don't think there can ever be enough bread and roll recipes in your repertoire.


Dissolve in 1/2 c. lukewarm water... 3 pkg. yeast
In a separate bowl, mix 2 min..........1 c. hot water
1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 c. mashed potatoes (or instant reconstituted)
1 T. salt
Add....................................3 c. water (potato water is good)
yeast from above
6 eggs
1 1/2 c. dry milk
If you are making donuts then add....1 t. nutmeg
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. lemon rind
And finally add................................14 cups of flour (or enough flour until it cleans the sides of the bowl)

Knead 5 minutes until smooth. Place in lightly greased/oiled bowl and turn to grease top. Allow to raise until double in bulk. (About an hour)
Make sure to cover with damp towel. Punch dough down and roll out into desired shape. Bake at 350 for approx 10 minutes until golden brown.

If you are making spudnuts: Roll out to 1/2" thickness on lightly floured surface and cut with lightly floured doughnut cutter. Place on lightly
greased pan until double in bulk (approx. 30 minutes). Fry in 375 degree oil about 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towel. Glaze while still
warm. Drain on cooling racks with wax paper beneath. Makes approx. 120 spudnuts.

Frankly, I have never made these into doughnuts because the rolls are so delicious! I use this recipe for my ham and cheese roll ups. That is because the left overs are also very tasty the next day! It is also very excellent for cinnamon rolls. Enjoy!

Asian Marinated Steak

I love Asian food and my husband Nate loves steak and so this was a hit with both of us! It is definitely still warm enough to grill and we're taking full advantage! Everything tastes better on the grill. This marinade recipe is a combination of a lot of our favorite Asian flavors. We marinated the steaks for an hour and the flavor was just right. I also think this would taste great on some nice thick cut pork chops.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. steak
1/2 cup low-sodium soy
1/2 cup pear juice (I just simply buy one little 4 oz. bottle from the baby section of the store)
1 heaping tsp. sriracha hot sauce (more if you like lots of heat, you can find this in the Asian section of most any grocery store)
1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. granulated ginger
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. pepper (we love Lawry's seasoned pepper)
1/2 tsp. dried onion
2 cloves minced garlic

Preparation:
Whisk together all the marinade ingredients, making sure they are well combined. Pour over steaks. I like to use a gallon sized ziploc bag for my marinades. Fill 'em up and then set them in a dish or bowl in case of leaks, and you're set! Let marinate in the fridge for 1 hour and then grill to your desired doneness. Let steaks rest for 5 minutes then serve and enjoy! These would be great served with some fried rice and spicy broccoli, or sliced and serve over a salad. Enjoy!




This was recipe was part of a guest post I did over at Lovely Little Snippets.

Guest Posting

Hey, just wanted to let everyone know that we will be guest posting over at Lovely Little Snippets tomorrow. I'm sharing a super tasty recipe that you'll really enjoy. So be sure and stop by!

Pizza Bread

Sooo amazing! This was absolutely divine. I'm so glad I have another batch of pizza dough in the freezer. I'm definitely going to have to make this again soon. It's so easy to make too. I'll probably have this be one of the meals Nate makes for me after my foot surgery next week. You can use whatever fillings you'd like, and the dough get's this nice crust on the outside and is soft on the inside, so good! I tried grating my own whole milk mozzarella, and it was so good, I don't know if I can use the pre-shredded stuff again. Make this asap, you'll love it!

Ingredients:
1 ball amazing pizza dough
melted butter
garlic bread seasoning
freshly shredded whole milk mozzarella
pizza toppings of your choice (I added green pepper, onion, Hormel's turkey pepperoni our favorite!, and Canadian bacon)

Preparation:
Roll pizza dough out into a rectangle. You don't want it to be too thick or you'll have trouble getting the middle cooked. Brush a really light coat of melted butter over the dough and then sprinkle garlic bread seasoning over the top. Add your mozzarella cheese, then your pizza toppings. Carefully roll up the dough lengthwise, making sure your toppings stay inside. Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with non-stick spray. Transfer your pizza bread onto the middle of the cookie sheet. I find it's easiest to make the pizza bread on a cutting board and then I can easily roll it onto the cookie sheet. Brush a small amount of butter over the top of the bread and sprinkle with some garlic bread seasoning. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Slice and serve hot with our favorite pizza sauce for dipping!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

I'm sure you're all aware by now of my husband's love for all things cinnamon-sugar. Well, Nate also loves breakfast cereal. So this recipe was a fun combination of those two. I saw the idea over at Mormon Mavens in the Kitchen. These were easy to make and they made my kitchen smell heavenly while they cooked! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Cake-
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 box vanilla cake mix (not white cake mix)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I highly recommend McCormick's Saigon cinnamon)
1/3 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, crushed

Frosting-
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, crushed into a fine powder


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tins with liners. In a large bowl, gently combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix in sour cream. Add cake mix and cinnamon and mix until smooth. Stir in 1/3 cup crushed cereal. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with cupcake batter and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until edges are a light golden brown or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. For the frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Adjust the consistency using milk if it is too thick. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with a Cinnamon Toast Crunch square.

Hot Ham Dips

Nate says this is one of his new favorite sandwiches. I'd say it's a keeper recipe then! They were warm and comforting, and enjoyed while he watched the Green Bay vs. Bears game. I do think these make good football food. I saw this idea over at Plain Chicken, and I served them on homemade pretzel buns. You could easily serve these on some nice rolls or slider buns. Try these for your next football party. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
melted butter
pretzel buns, split (or you could use rolls)
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced ham
1 can (14.5 oz.) beef broth
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Preparation:
Place rolls on a baking sheet and brush cut sides with butter. Sprinkle with cheese. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted.
In a large saucepan, combine beef broth and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Place ham into broth. Heat ham for 30-60 seconds, until warm. Using tongs, place ham on rolls. Serve immediately with remaining broth for dipping.

Pretzel Rolls

I've been wanting to make these rolls forever! I love soft pretzels, love them! That was one of the conditions of us buying season tickets to BYU football. I told Nate that he would need to buy me a soft pretzel at every game. These rolls are so good. I really enjoyed them. I found the recipe at My Life as a Mrs. I followed the recipe exactly and had great success. I made mine bun size to use for sandwiches, but if you wanted to serve them as rolls, just shape them smaller. I hope you enjoy her recipe as much as I did!

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup warm water (110°F)
1 package active dry yeast (not instant rise yeast)
2 teaspoons sugar
4-½ cups unbleached all-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted Butter, melted
¼ cups baking soda
1 whole egg, lightly beaten
Pretzel Salt, for sprinkling (I only had kosher salt, but I'm definitely going to be buying some pretzel salt!)

Preparation:
In the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with the dough hook attachment), add the water, yeast, and sugar. Stir and let rest 5-10 minutes until foamy (mine didn't look all that foamy but still turned out).
Add the flour, salt, and melted butter and mix using the dough hook until combined well. Cover with a plastic wrap (or a towel) and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk (again, mine didn't look like it rose all that much, but turned out amazingly). Punch the dough down and turn it onto a lightly floured clean surface.
Line 1 large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Cut the dough into 8 pieces (4 1/2 - 5 ounces each). To shape the dough "take a piece of dough and start forming a round, smooth ball by pulling the sides to the center and pinching to seal. Place, pinched side down, on a counter and lightly cupping your hand around the dough ball, rotate your hand in small circles lightly rolling the ball around the palm of your hand."
Place the ball on the prepared baking sheet pinched seam side down, with at least 1” between each roll. I like to stagger mine: 2 rolls side by side, then one down one row but between the two in the top row... Then 2 more side by side, followed by one down a row but between the 2 in the top row... etc (this will fit all 8 on one cookie sheet). Cover with a towel and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes until they rise & double (mine didn't rise a whole lot).
Preheat oven to 425°F and place oven rack in the middle position. In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a low boil. Remove from heat and slowly add the baking soda (I dumped mine in and it boiled up and overflowed all over my stove - lesson learned! hah) place back on heat and lower to a simmer.
Place 2-3 of the rolls at a time into the poaching liquid, seam side down. Poach for 30 seconds and then carefully turn the roll over and poach for another 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon to the same prepared sheet pan, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
Using a pastry brush, brush each roll with the beaten egg, making sure to coat all sides completely & then prinkle each roll with a little pretzel salt. Using a sharp straight edged knife, cut a slash (or 2) -or- an “X” shape in the top of each roll. Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot!

Baked Tacos

Nate loved these! He was seriously complimenting me all throughout dinner. These instantly became a family favorite for us. Nate says he can't eat regular tacos ever again. I am so pleased these lived up to expectations. I've had this idea from Lynn's Kitchen saved for months. I honestly don't know why I didn't try them sooner! They were a hit for our family and I'm sure you'll enjoy them too.

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 can fat free refried beans
4 oz. tomato sauce
1 envelope + 1 Tbsp. taco seasoning (Nate likes the Taco Bell brand)
1/3 cup water
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
shredded cheese
taco shells (I used the stand and stuff kind)
toppings of your choice, salsa, shredded lettuce, sour cream, etc.

Preparation:
In a large skillet brown and crumble ground beef, halfway through cooking add the diced pepper and onion. Once beef is cooked add the envelope of taco seasoning and water. Reduce heat to medium and allow water to and seasoning to be absorbed. Then add the beans, tomato sauce, and 1 Tbsp. taco seasoning. Mix thoroughly. Once mixture is well combined and heated through, spoon into taco shells. I used 10 of the stand and stuff shells and had some beef mixture left over. Place filled taco shells in a 9x13" baking dish. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until shells are warm and cheese is melted. Serve immediately with toppings of your choice. Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Bites

Football season is here! That means it's time to break out the new appetizer and finger food recipes I've been wanting to try. My husband is a big fan of buffalo chicken and I've got lots of buffalo recipes saved for him. I saw this recipe over at Sweet Pea's Kitchen. Nate loved these! After his second bite he told me that it was a keeper recipe for sure! Love when I hit a home run! Enjoy.

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked and finely shredded chicken (I made it easy and used a rotisserie chicken from Costco)
1/4 - 1/2 cup hot sauce (to taste)
3 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used fat free)
1 3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3-4 cups corn flakes, crushed

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, combine chicken, cream cheese and hot sauce, cheddar cheese and green onions. Place flour in one bowl, eggs in another, and corn flakes in another. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out some chicken mixture, roll into a ball then dip in flour, then egg, and then corn flakes. Place the finished bites on a tin foil lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken mixture. My size cookie scoop made just over 35 buffalo chicken bites. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Serve with some extra hot sauce and ranch dressing. Enjoy!

Instructions for freezing:
If freezing place the dipped and uncooked chicken balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a freezer bag and store in the freezer until ready. When ready to bake, place the frozen chicken balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350˚F for 25 to 30 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.





I shared this over at The Chicken Chick.

Spaghetti Salad

Since I tried pasta salad for the first time this summer, I've made a couple different variations. I enjoy pasta salad as long as there isn't too much dressing on it. So if you need to, go ahead and add more Italian dressing to this dish, I won't be offended. Nate and I are headed to a family function and I thought this would be a good little dish to bring along. I am really pleased with the flavors. I first saw the idea over at Miss Information and just adapted it for our tastes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
16 oz. angel hair pasta
6 oz. fat free Italian dressing (again, add more if you like a really strong dressing taste)
McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning to taste (I think I added 1/2 Tbsp.)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 can of diced tomatoes (or you can use fresh, I just don't like raw tomatoes)
1 small can of sliced olives
olive oil

Preparation:
Boil pasta until al dente. Rinse noodles with cold water and drizzle with a tiny amount of olive oil, toss well. Your noodles should be cool. Mix pepper, onion, olives, noodles, Italian dressing, and salad seasoning. Taste as you go, and add more seasoning and dressing as needed. Add tomatoes in last and gently mix those in. Refrigerate salad until serving.

German Chocolate Cake Cookies

Sorry for being so absentee lately! I had foot surgery and then was out of town for a week. Things should be getting back to normal now though. I made these cookies for our trip with Nate's family. Several of them love German chocolate cake and so I figured these cookies would be a hit. Everyone really enjoyed them. I found this recipe over at Crumbs and Chaos. I used a cookie scoop to portion these out and I ended up with nearly 6 dozen small cookies.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until everything is fully incorporated. Mix in chocolate chips, pecans and coconut. Put tablespoon sized balls of dough on cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes.