Raspberry Sweet Rolls

 

Okay, this is the best new recipe I've tried in awhile!  The original recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction. Her pictures are beautiful so you should take a look! The recipe included below is pretty much the same as found there except I added a little flour and raspberries, and put some of my own baking advice in the instructions.

We're trying to lose weight around here so we only get to eat this kind of deliciousness on the weekend...but man was it worth the wait!!  They were also surprisingly easy to make!  The dough is similar to a traditional cinnamon roll recipe. (You can try my cinnamon roll recipe here) and the filling was simply raspberries tossed with cornstarch and sugar.  But the finished result will make people think you went to a lot more effort :)  We had them warm after dinner and they were great heated up the next day too.  They'd be perfect for a special breakfast or a brunch type baby/wedding shower!  So if I bring them to the next one try and act surprised!

Raspberry Sweet Rolls

Dough:

1 cup milk

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 T. yeast

1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

4- 5 cups flour

Filling:

1 (12 oz.) package frozen raspberries (do not thaw)

1/4 cup plus 2 T. granulated sugar

1 tsp. cornstarch

Glaze:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

3 T. milk (she suggests using heavy cream but I used skim milk and it came out just as delicious)

In a small saucepan heat milk to lukewarm.  (If milk begins to boil, turn off immediately and allow to cool before adding yeast.  In a kitchen aide (or the like) combine warm milk, sugar and yeast and allow yeast to bloom until frothy (about 5-10 min). Add softened butter, eggs and salt and mix on low for 2-3 minutes or until well combined.  Using your dough hook attachment, slowly beat in flour 1 cup at a time until soft dough forms.  Increase speed to medium and beat for 10 minutes until dough is soft and slightly elastic. 

Remove dough from mixer and knead with hands for 2-3 minutes until elastic.  Place dough in a slightly greased bowl and cover.  Allow to rise until doubled (1-2 hours).  (I put mine on the counter and boil water in a pan next to it since New Mexico isn't known for it's humidity.)  

Grease a 9x13 pan well and set aside.  On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 10x24 in. rectangle.  Toss frozen raspberries in sugar and cornstarch and spread evenly across the dough. Roll dough tightly to form a 24 in. log.  Using a serrated bread knife cut the log into 16 sweet rolls (about 1 1/2 in. thick)

Place rolls in 9x13 pan and allow to rise until doubled (another 1-2) hours.  The raspberries will release some of their juice in the bottom of the pan.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover rolls with foil and bake 15 minutes.  Remove foil and continue baking for 10 more minutes or until rolls are golden brown.  While rolls are cooling, mix together glaze ingredients.  Pour glaze evenly over warm rolls and enjoy!

Pasta e Fagioli (freezer friendly!)

Well, apparently it's almost February now and the last picture on my blog is of pilgrim hats, so I guess it's been a while!  But I promise this is an extra tasty recipe to make up for my absence!  

I made this soup back in December when I had all of my family visiting!  It was a big hit among kids and grown-ups alike!  I came across it in a church cookbook my Mom gave me a few years ago.  The recipe is from her friend Kay so I knew that it would be delicious!  It's very quick to make and super hearty.  Throw in some bread sticks and you've got a full meal.  Give it a try!

Pasta e Fagioli

1 lb. ground beef

olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz. can diced tomatoes (do not drain)

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

cayenne (to taste)

1/4 cup butter

2 cans beef stock

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp basil

2 T. Italian parsley

1 can white beans

1 can kidney beans

1/2 cup carrots (julienned)

1/2 cup celery (sliced)

1 zucchini (quartered and thinly sliced)

1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu...super vegetable)

1/2 cup uncooked pasta (I used curly macaroni)

Brown beef and onion in olive oil until beef is cooked through.  Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 min.  Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low and simmer until pasta is done and vegetables are tender.  Enjoy!

Freezer meal instructions:

Cook beef.  Combine beef with all other ingredients except for beef stock.  In place of the stock add 4 teaspoons beef bouillion. Freeze.

When ready to cook, add soup mix and 4 cups of water to the crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until soup is heated through and veggies are tender.

 

Pilgrim Hats

 So we made these last year and I forgot to post them on my blog.  So I thought I'd go ahead and post them before I forgot again this year.  My 3 yr. old and 5 yr. old put these together pretty much all by themselves and thought they were super fun! Buy the supplies and let your kiddos go nuts!

Pilgrim Hats
1 bag of the small Reese's Peanut Butter cups
1 box chocolate striped shortbread cookies
1 cup frosting (I used homemade buttercream)
decorative fall sprinkles (optional)

Place cookies upside down on a tray.  Using a small dollop of frosting glue the unwrapped peanut butter cups onto the cookies.  Pipe frosting around the bottom edge of the peanut butter cup and make a little square on the front for the buckle.  Add decorative sprinkles if desired.  Enjoy!

Apple Enchilada Dessert

I had seen a few pictures of these on facebook and pinterest and decided to give them a whirl!  I just kind of made up a recipe using my normal apple pie filling and here's what I came up with! It ended up making a 9x13 pan but you could definitely cut it in half and make an 8x8.  They are huge and we each only ate half of an enchilada (with some vanilla ice cream of course!) so there was a ton of leftovers. Give them a try!

Apple Enchilada Dessert
4 cups thinly sliced apples (peeled and sliced)
2 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 cups water
4 oz. fat free cream cheese
6 taco sized flour tortillas
2 T. butter (melted)
Cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling on top

In a large bowl mix apples and lemon juice and set aside.  In a large stock pot or dutch oven combine 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.  Add water and whisk together.  Cook over medium- high heat until thickened (about 2 minutes of boiling).  Melt in cream cheese.  Add apples and cover.  Simmer over medium heat until apples are tender.  Pour 1/6 of mixture into a tortilla and roll.  Continue with each of the tortillas placing each one in a 9x13 pan. Brush tops of enchiladas with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and tortillas are slightly crispy. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Fall Favorites

In honor of Halloween I thought I'd link back to some of my favorite fall recipes!  Give some of them a try!

Halloween Fun

Apple Nachos

Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Glaze

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Apple Snickers Salad

Looking for a new way to get rid of some of your kids Halloween candy? This is a quick and yummy dessert idea I got from my friend Elise a while back. Plus the apples and fat free whipped cream make it good for you...right? Right? (Just forget about those delicious little bits of Snickers!)  I put quantities for each of the ingredients but this isn't really a recipe where you need to measure things out.  You can easily make as much or as little as you want.  The recipe below filled my regular sized trifle bowl perfectly. Enjoy!

Apple Snickers Salad
4 large granny smith apples (chopped)
1 16 oz. container fat-free whipped topping
5-6 regular sized snicker bars (chopped)

Chop apples and snickers bars into bite sized pieces and mix with whipped topping. That's it!

Taco Soup

 I'm really surprised I haven't put this recipe on here before now seeing as I make it so much.  I got this recipe from one of my roommates aunts back in college.  It was a great meal for college because it was cheap and it lasted me all week.  Now that I'm cooking for six people it doesn't last quite as long but it's still cheap and easy to throw together.  It's made up of ingredients that you probably already have on hand!

Taco Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can stewed tomatoes (do not drain)
1 can corn (do not drain)
1 can olives (drained)
1 can kidney beans (do not drain)
1 can pinto beans (do not drain)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup salsa (I use Kroger chunky salsa)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 cup water (or more as needed)

Toppings (optional):
cheese
sour cream
crushed tortilla chips

Instructions:
Cook beef and onion together in a large stock pot.  Add all canned goods, salsa and taco seasoning.  Take note that only the olives are drained. Add water until soup is desired thickness.  (I usually just use one of the empty cans.  About 1 1/2 cans of water usually does the trick).  Let simmer about 10 min.  When serving, top with cheese, sour cream or chips if desired.

Or...
Freezer Meal Instructions:
Brown ground beef and onion together until meat is cooked through and onion is tender.  Cool slightly and place in a gallon sized freezer bag.  Add all remaining ingredients to bag.  Seal and label.

When ready to serve, place in crockpot with an additional cup of water and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until heated through. Or thaw, place in a stock pot with additional cup of water on the stove and cook until heated through.  Top with cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips if desired.