5 Minute Cinnamon Scones

I love scones, but they take more time and effort than I currently have to give.  I found this cinnamon biscuit recipe from Mama Buzz and had to give it a try.  I decided to change it up a bit by adding cinnamon chips and shaping them like scones.  No, they're not exactly like a scone, but they definitely satisfy your scone cravings. 

One important note is that you really need to chop up the cinnamon chips or they will sink to the bottom and burn. 

You could also use mini chocolate chips, nuts, etc...  I am hoping to come up with a pumpkin spice version soon. 

Picture coming soon...

5 Minute Cinnamon Scones
Ingredients
Biscuits:
1 Bisquick Buttermilk Biscuit Mix
1/2 cup water
3-4 tsp cinnamon/sugar mixture
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. cinnamon chips, chopped

Frosting:
1-2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
Milk

Directions:
Mix biscuit mix, water, vanilla, cinnamon chips and cinnamon sugar mixture.  Dump mixture out onto lightly floured surface.  Pat into an 8-9 inch circle.  Cut into 6 wedges and place on baking sheet.  Bake according to package directions.  Remove from oven and drizzle with frosting while warm.  Add more drizzle once they are slightly cooled.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Since October is the month of all things pumpkin, I decided to try another take on my most pinned recipe, Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Casserole.  I added pumpkin butter, pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin spice coffee creamer.   The result was even better than the original. 

This casserole is special enough for Thanksgiving Day breakfast, but easy enough for any morning of the week.  The leftovers reheat wonderfully.

Ingredients
2 (12.4 oz) cans of refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing like Pillsbury (can use light cinnamon rolls)
1 3/4 c egg substitute like Egg Beaters (or 6 large eggs)
1/2 c pumpkin spice coffee creamer or half and half
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2/3 c pumpkin butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease an 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.
2. Cut each cinnamon roll into 8 pieces and place in dish.  
3. In a medium bowl whisk together egg substitute or eggs, coffee creamer, vanilla, pumpkin butter and pumpkin pie spice.  Pour over rolls.  Give the whole thing a good stir.  Sprinkle with pecans.
4. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 10-15 minutes (if you can wait that long!!)  Remove covers from icing and microwave 5-10 seconds or until it's the perfect consistency for drizzling.
5. Drizzle icing over top.   Serve with light syrup and powdered sugar.   

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Super Easy Monkey Bread

Making yummy, family friendly breakfasts doesn't mean you have to get up at the crack of dawn.  This simple Monkey Bread recipe takes about 10 minutes to assemble, giving you more time to hang out with the kiddos, take a hot shower or drink another cup of coffee.  It's also perfect for brunch. 

The first time I made this I used salted butter because I love sweet and salty, but it was too salty even for me.  There is plenty of salt in the biscuit to give you the perfect salt to sweet to ratio.  Stick with unsalted butter and yes, I mean butter, not margarine.  You could also use the light buttery baking sticks.

Serve it with fresh fruit and turkey sausage or turkey bacon to balance out your breakfast.  Reheat leftovers in the microwave.

Recipe
Adapted from:  AllRecipes.com
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 (16.3 ounce) cans Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1/2 chopped pecans or walnuts

1 c firmly packed brown sugar

2/3 c unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a bundt style pan with cooking spray.
2. In a zip top plastic bag combine sugar and cinnamon.  Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces and place in bag.  Shake bag to coat biscuits. 
3. Sprinkle half of nuts into pan.  Top with half of the biscuits.   Repeat.  
4. In a small saucepan melt butter.  Stir in brown sugar and vanilla.  Pour over biscuits.
5. Bake 28-32 minutes or until browned and no longer doughy.  If it starts to brown too soon, cover lightly with foil.  Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes and until turning onto serving dish. 

Pumpkin Walnut Bread

Recipe

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

1 c pumpkin puree

2 eggs
1/4 c unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 c canola or vegetable oil
1/3 c water
t tsp vanilla
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 1 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.  Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
3. Bake for an hour to a hour and 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaf is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal and Pecan Waffles

I woke up this morning craving something more than cold cereal and toast.  If only I weren't so lazy, I'd cook breakfast every morning.  Some day, maybe...  Anyway, this Oatmeal Waffles recipe is one of the first recipes that came up at AllRecipes.com when I did a quick search for waffles.  The kiddo loves anything he can dip in syrup and I felt good about serving him something with oats, whole wheat flour and pecans in it for breakfast. 

The original recipe doesn't have chocolate chips or pecans in it, but if you know anything about my family, you know the hubs needs his morning chocolate fix just like I need my morning coffee. So into the bowl they went.  Other yummy mixins to try would include pumpkin, cinnamon, apples, peanut butter, bananas, etc...

The batter was kind of thick, but resist the urge to add more liquid.  Instead, use a spatula or spoon to spread the batter into the waffle iron.  This made 6 large, Belgian style waffles.  Next time I'll make a big batch and freeze some for those lazier mornings when I don't want to cook. 

These waffles were moist and chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside.  The pecans added a little more texture and the chocolate was delicious.  We all enjoyed chowing down on these. =)

Recipe
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 c quick-cooking rolled oats
1Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 c milk
6 Tbsp butter, melted
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (I roughly chopped some regular chips.)
1/4 c chopped pecans

1. Heat waffle iron.
2. In a large bowl combine flours, oats, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, butter, brown sugar and vanilla.  Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined.  Fold in chocolate chips or pecans.
3. Spread onto waffle iron with spatula.  Cook according to your waffle iron's manufacturer's directions.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes
Printable Recipe

Pepperoni Rolls

Sometimes something as simple as food can transport you back to the comforts of home quicker than planes, trains or automobiles.  Pepperoni Rolls have always been a staple back home in WV.   They originated somewhere around Fairmont, I believe, and are as indigenous to WV as hot dog sauce (not to be confused with chilli) and ramps (you don't want to know.)  You can buy them there in restaurants, pizzerias, gas stations, grocery stores, etc... but they are super easy to whip up at home.  Their tiny size is perfect for packing in lunches or snacking on during the day. 

All that you need is a bag of frozen roll dough and a package of pepperoni slices.  Make as many as you want or as few as you want and have your extra dough on hand for the next time you get a craving.  You could be creative and add other fillings like cheese, ham or salami, but pepperoni alone is wonderful. 

All you have to do is thaw the number of rolls that you want according the packages directions.  I like to cover mine with plastic wrap while it rises.  They took about 4 hours. 

Then flatten out the dough and lay 4 pepperoni slices in the middle.  I used my silicone baking mat to pat out the dough so I didn't need to flour or grease my surface.  You may need to flour your counter top.

Fold 2 opposite sides to the middle and press to seal.  Sorry these pictures are a little wonky. Sometimes I get a little overzealous with Picnik!  I promise my dough wasn't radioactive.

Fold the other 2 sides over and seal again.  Place seam side down on the cookie sheet.  

You'll want to let them rest for 30 minutes or so until they puff back out and get a second rise.  That baking sheet is older than Moses well seasoned. 

Bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.  Remove from oven and brush with olive oil.  This keeps them nice and soft for a couple of days...if they last that long.  ;)

Enjoy!

Alton Brown's Southern Biscuits

OK, today is true confession day... if I had a celebrity crush, it would be Alton Brown.  How big of a foodie nerd does that make me?  :P   I have learned so much by watching him on Good Eats!  Alton makes cooking both fun and educational which I love!

 
Would you believe that this is the first time I've tried one of his recipes?  Tired of box mix biscuits and in a big hurry, I quickly scanned the first page of biscuit recipes that Chef Google dished up.  And there it was, like a cupcake in a refrigerator full of carrots... Alton Brown's Southern Biscuits.  I knew they would be perfect!

These were super fast to throw together and baked up in about 15 minutes.  Just follow the directions on the recipe here and they will turn out tender, fluffy and melt in your mouth amazing.  The best part is that I was able to wrap the leftovers in a damp paper towel and reheat them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  To my surprise they still tasted fresh!  To me that makes them worth adding to my collection of recipes.  =)

Recipe
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled (or regular milk + 1 Tbsp white vinegar)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Using fingers, work in butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Work quickly to keep fat from melting.  Make a well in the center and stir in the buttermilk until it is incorporated.  It will be really, really sticky.  It's OK, that's part of the fun.  ;)
3. Flour your work surface and turn out your dough.  Dust the top of the dough with more flour.  Kneed or fold the dough over 5-6 times.  Dust with flour as needed.  Pat dough to about a 1 inch thickness.  Use a 2 inch cookie cutter or a glass to cut out biscuits.  Place on a baking sheet with edges of biscuits touching.  Reform scraps to make more biscuits, making sure to manipulate dough as little as possible. 
4. Bake 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter if desired. 

Source: Food Network: Good Eats 
Printable Version
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Blueberry Lemon Muffins, Oh My!

I've always been a HUGE fan of blueberry muffins.  They are one of the top 10 foods that I would want to take with me to the desert island.  Chocolate would be the other 9.  Kidding, I think.

The last few weeks I've seen several lemon/blueberry recipes and I started craving lemon blueberry muffins.  So I did what any good cook does and googled/swagged a recipe.  The one I settled on was from Alexandra's Kitchen.  Her incredible pictures lured me in while her descriptions made me salivate.  You've got to check out her post to find out more about this recipe.

Anyway, these muffins were fabulous.  The texture from using cake flour, which I just happened to have on hand for once, was light and delicate, the blueberries were abundant and the lemony flavor was just right.  It was like eating a sweet treat from your favorite bakery except you made a dozen for the price of 2 bakery muffins. ;)

Blueberries are plentiful in our local grocery store so I used fresh, but I'll definitely be making these this winter with frozen berries.  This is one of those recipes that you could probably use as a base recipe to make all kinds of combinations.    

These were such a hit at our house that a sneaky little muffin thief crashed my photo shoot.  I like to take my pics on a wooden bench by our window to get the best light.  Little man snuck under the table to get to the muffins.  ;)  Yep, they're that good.

Recipe
½ c unsalted butter, room temperature (I used Best Life Buttery Baking Sticks and adjusted the salt in the recipe)
2 heaping tsp. lemon zest
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. kosher salt
2 c fresh blueberries
½ c milk

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners or spray well with cooking spray.
2. Cream butter, lemon zest and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
3. Toss blueberries with 1/4 cup of the flour.  This will help prevent them all from sinking to the bottom of the pan, so I wouldn't skip this step.  In another bowl whisk together remaining flour, baking powder and salt.  
4. Add flour mixture to butter mixture a little at a time, alternating with milk.  Scoop into 12 tins.  Bake approx. 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool for 7 minutes (why I don't know) and then remove to cool on a wire rack.

Source: Alexandra's Kitchen 
Printable Recipe

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Sweet Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Casserole

Who doesn't love cinnamon rolls?  Seriously, who?  Because there is something wrong if you don't enjoy the buttery, cinnamony sweet flavor of a rich cinnamon roll.  You *might* need to see a doctor about that.  :-P 

This recipe was is a version of the 2004 Pillsbury Bake-Off's Cinnamon French Toast Bake, and it's a one of my always reliable, no-fail breakfast casseroles.  It brings smiles to the faces of both kids and adults.  The best part is that it is super simple.  You can put it together in about 10-15 minutes.  Double yay!

I've lightened up the original recipe because I have a hard time eating just one serving of this casserole and wanted to feel less guilty about it.  ;-)   (Not that a little guilt would have stopped me.)  I left out the butter.  It's OK though, since I'm not "technically" a Southerner I can remove butter from recipes without losing my kitchen privileges.  =P  Just don't tell my Southern friends and family because they don't know it's gone. 

One splurge that I do use is cinnamon coffee creamer in place of the heavy cream from the original recipe.  It adds richness and I don't have to buy a container of whipping cream and let most of it go to waste.  You could use fat free half and half instead.  I also like to use coffee creamer in cake icing instead of milk.  Yum.

Serve this lovely Cinnamon Roll Casserole with turkey sausage and fresh fruit for a delightful brunch.  It reheats nicely to serve throughout the week as well.

Enjoy!

**I recently added a new version of this popular recipe that I like even more than the original- Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Casserole!  It has an amazing fall flavor.**

Recipe:
Casserole
2 (12.4 oz) refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing like Pillsbury (can use light cinnamon rolls)
1 3/4 c egg substitute like Egg Beaters (or 6 large eggs)
1/2 c cinnamon bun coffee creamer or half and half
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped pecans
1 cup light maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease an 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.
2. Cut each cinnamon roll into 8 pieces and place in dish.  
3. In a medium bowl whisk together egg substitute or eggs, coffee creamer, vanilla and cinnamon.  Pour over rolls.  Sprinkle with pecans and drizzle syrup over all.  
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 10-15 minutes (if you can wait that long!!)  Remove covers from icing and microwave 5-10 seconds or until it's the perfect consistency for drizzling.
5. Drizzle icing over top.   Serve with additional light syrup and powdered sugar.   

Source: Adapted from 2004 Pillsbury Bake-Off's Cinnamon French Toast Bake

Printable Recipe

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Chocolate Chip & Walnut Scones

Soooo.... if I call it a scone and eat it with my breakfast then I can pretend like I'm not eating chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, right?  Hehe... 

I made these for the hubs because he's a chocoholic and a fruitaphobic.  ;-)  We both love scones, but I've always been too intimidated to make them.  I found this recipe on All Recipes and thought it looked simple enough to try.  It had great reviews as well so what was there to lose?

No weird ingredients and no kitchen gadgets are required.  Given last nights terrifying encounter with the mixer (always make sure your mixer is in the off position before inserting the beaters), I was thrilled to make a recipe that didn't require any form of machinery.  So were my fingers...
: /

Anyhoo, these scones are moist, tender and lightly sweetened.  I changed this to a chocolate chip and walnut scone, but if you view the original recipe, you will find all kinds of fruity variations.  I can't wait to try the lemon-blueberry version! 

Enjoy these with a cup of coffee and fresh fruit!   

Recipe
2 c all purpose flour
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 c mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/3 c sour cream
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Grate butter into bowl.  Using hands, work butter into flour mixture.  It should look like coarse meal once combined.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
3. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, egg and vanilla.  With a fork mix wet ingredients into flour mixture until it is well incorporated and large chunks start to form.  Use your hands to work it into a ball.  
4. Lay ball on a lightly floured surface and pat into an 8 inch circle.  Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.  Cut into 8 wedges and put on cookie sheet.  Bake 15-17 minutes or until lightly browned.

Source: Adapted from AllRecipes

*Printable Version*

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Best Ever Zucchini Bread, I Promise. ;-)

Summer squash is one of my favorite garden veggies.  However, those of you who grow your own know that it seems to all come off of the plant at the same time.  I shared my Summer Squash Casserole Recipe a while back to help you use up the yellow squash, but now I'm going to give you my FAVORITE recipe for zucchini squash!

I love zucchini bread and I've tried a half dozen recipes, but I always end up going back to the recipe that I grew up eating as a kid.  It's sweet, moist and perfectly spiced. I like to make it in mini loaf pans, wrap the loaves in foil and freeze them.  They're also perfect for gifting! 

Enjoy!

Recipe
3 eggs
1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c applesauce
3 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c white sugar
3/4 c light brown sugar
3 c flour
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 c grated zucchini
1 c chopped nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 2 small loaf pans or 1 large.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla.  In a large bowl, combine sugars, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda and baking powder.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.  Mix in nuts and zucchini.  
3. Pour into pans and bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.

*Printable Version*

Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread Minus the Jiffy!

I'll be the first to admit that I have used a certain cornbread mix in a blue and white box for years because it only takes 30 seconds to assemble, is super cheap and it tastes alright.  Lately though, I've been searching for something better; a recipe for cornbread that was super easy, didn't have any special ingredients to buy and, most importantly, tasted better than the blue box version.

So....I found Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread on AllRecipes.com.   It had a bazillion great reviews and was named after somebody's grandma so I figured it worth a shot.  The hubs LOVED it.  Seriously, he doesn't often get this excited about food.  :P  Score one for grandma. 

However, I felt I needed to do my part to reduce some of the fat and calories.  To lighten it up a little, I used Best Life Buttery Baking Sticks.  You won't save a ton of calories with these, but they do cut back on the saturated fat by 50%.  Oh and most importantly, they taste good.  ;)

I also used 1% milk combined with vinegar (just enough to start curdling the milk) to make my buttermilk.  You can buy fat free buttermilk, but if you look at the ingredient list, there is a lot of  "stuff" in there that's not exactly milk.  Ewwww....

The final calorie saving trick was to sub Splenda for half of the sugar.  I don't like using all artificial sweetener because you get a weird aftertaste in your baked goods, but using it to replace half of the sugar turns out pretty well.

After all of the substitutions, the hubs still loved it.  =)

It only took about 8 minutes to put together so I will be making this from now on and saving the blue box for corn casseroles.  Score another point for grandma!

We like this cornbread with soup, but top it with butter and honey and you can eat it for dessert or a late night snack.  Mmmmm....

Enjoy!

Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 c butter (or reduced fat buttery baking sticks)
2/3 c sugar (or 1/3 c sugar and 1/3 c Splenda)
2 eggs
1 c buttermilk (or 2-3 Tbsp vinegar + enough regular milk to equal 1 cup)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Remove from heat and stir in sugar.  Quickly whisk in eggs one at a time until thoroughly combined.  combine buttermilk and baking soda.  Add to butter mixture.  Whisk in remaining ingredients.  I like to use a whisk because it makes sure that the egg is fully incorporated and there are no eggy lumps in the cornbread.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Serve with honey and butter for a special treat.

Source: Adapted from AllRecipes

*Printable Version* 

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Cheesy Chicken Empanadas!

I love chicken empanadas.  I can't get enough of them, but I know they aren't that good for me.  That is why I was thrilled when I found a less fattening recipe at the Short Stop blog complete with an awesome tutorial!!  Her pics are a lot better than mine and you'll love her story to go along with the recipe, so check it out!  I believe Paula Deen, the southern queen, has a recipe like this as well.

You'll get a lot of these little devils, but you can bake and freeze them.  They reheat easily in a 400 degree for 8-10 minutes.  I can make and freeze them a week or two ahead for a dinner party, freeing up a lot of time on the day of the party.  The other great thing is that you can use whatever kind of ingredients you can imagine.  Fill them with chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing mix , bacon, green onions and cheddar or use chicken, cream cheese, italian dressing mix, olives, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and mozarella or parmesan cheese...

It takes a little practice to get the knack of shaping the empanadas, but once you do, they're pretty simple.  You'll just have to eat the ugly ones yourself to hide the evidence.  ;)  The main trick is to roll them pretty thin so that you can taste more than just the pie crust.  Not that there's anything wrong with eating pie crust... hehehe, but you'll want to taste that filling you've spent all that time making!

Serve these as an appetizer with queso or with my Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup.


Recipe
2 cooked chicken breasts, finely chopped (2 1/2 - 3 cups)
8 oz Mexican blend cheese, shredded
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup bell pepper, finely diced
1/3 cup onion, finely diced or 1 tsp onion powder
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 (15 oz) pkgs refrigerated pie crusts

1. Mix all ingredients except pie crust in a medium bowl with hands or spatula.
2. Unroll pie crust and roll until it's about 14 inches in diameter. You need it to be thin so that you can taste the filling.  Otherwise, it will just taste like a mouthful of crust. 
3. Use a large round cookie cutter- at least 4 inches and make your cuts.  Fill with a heaping tablespoon of chicken mixture.  Be careful not to overfill or the filling will ooze out and stick to your pan.
4. Dip your fingertip in water and wet the edges of the dough.  Fold dough over and seal the edges with a fork.  Make sure you seal them tightly so they would come apart.  
5. Reroll your scraps of dough and start over.
6. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Cool on a wire rack.

Source:  Adapted from Short Stop's Chicken Empanadas Ole'

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Bread

Ummm...yeah.

Chocolate. Covered. Strawberry. Bread.

Enough said.

Ahhh...you should have known I'd have more to say.  : P

This recipe came about when I realized that I had yet another package of over ripened strawberries in my fridge.  I'm notorious for buying strawberries and never eating them.  Once said strawberries were discovered, the following conversation with the husband insued:

Me: How would some strawberry bread?

Husband: Ehhh...that'd be fine.

Me: How would you like it with chocolate chips?

Husband:  I'd like it better.  ;)

So, as I do with every other baked good in our home, I added chocolate chips.  For this batch I added 1 cup of chocolate chips, but it was a bit overpowering so I would scale it back to 1/2 or 3/4 c next time and possibly use the mini chips.

When I went to my pantry I only had 3/4 cup of oil, so I improvised by mixing in Ben's strawberry banana baby food to make up for the remaining 1/2 cup.  It's time the kiddo started contributing to things around here.  ;)  It turned out nice and moist with the baby food, so I will definitely use part oil/ part baby puree or apple sauce next time and save some calories.

I made mine in a bundt pan so that I could slice it and serve it for dessert.  If you want to up the strawberry flavor, try garnishing it with a fresh strawberry.  It really adds extra pop.

Recipe
3 c very ripe strawberries
3 1/8 c all purpose flour
2 c white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 vegetable oil (or a mix of oil and apple sauce)
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla or Princess Cake and Cookie Extract by L'orraine
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips or mini chips
1 c chopped pecans

1. Roughly chop strawberries, place in bowl and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of sugar.  Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, remaining sugar, salt and baking soda.  
3. To strawberries, add eggs, vanilla and oil (or oil/applesauce).  
4. Combine strawberry and flour mixtures.  Mix in chocolate chips and pecans.  
5. Flour and grease 2 loaf pans or 1 bundt pan.  Pour mixture into pan and bake 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees.
6. Cool 10 minutes and turn out onto wire rack. 
7. Garnish with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar.

Source: Adapted from AllRecipes

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Blueberry Waffles

Sharing our first Christmas with our little one this year got me excited about starting some family traditions.  One tradition I decided on was that each year we would have a "family" gift that would give us some kind of family time- like a game or a shared experience.  This year our gift was a waffle iron.  It may sound silly, but I thought it would be perfect for starting a Christmas morning tradition.

In between Christmases we are having lots of "practice" time coming up with Christmas worthy recipes.  ;)  This recipe for blueberry waffles is definitely my favorite with the crispy texture and sweet and tangy flavor.

If blueberries aren't your thang, try chopped strawberries or mini chocolate chips or better yet strawberries AND chocolate chips.  Since you sprinkle the blueberries onto the batter, you could have a build your own waffle brunch with assorted toppings, starting another fun family tradition!

This recipe yields 6 large waffles, but I could easily eat 2.  {She admits shamefully.} 

Recipe
2 eggs
2 c flour
1 3/4 c milk
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c blueberries

1. Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturers directions.
2. In a large bowl whisk eggs until fluffy.  Add all remaining ingredients except blueberries and mix until smooth.
3. Pour into waffle iron and sprinkle with a handful of blueberries.  Cook until nice and crispy, according to the manufacturer's direction. 
4. Allow extras to cool on a wire rack before refrigerating so they won't get soggy.  

Source: Adapted from AllRecipes 

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This Week's Cravings,

Building a Perfect Pie Starts with a Perfect Pizza Crust!

To say that my family loves pizza would be a vast understatement.  The hubs could eat pizza in some shape or form every night of the week.  His favorite is Canadian bacon which just so happens to be my LEAST favorite.

Ick.

We make pizza 2-3 times a month instead of ordering out.  I prefer it because then I can control the amount of salt and fat that goes into my pie.   While dh could eat the same pizza over and over, (again, Canadian bacon, ick...) I like to experiment with different flavor combos.  Some of the most successful combos so far have been Philly cheesesteak pizza, barbecue chicken pizza, taco pizza, bacon cheeseburger pizza, chicken cordon bleu pizza, and fajita pizza.

Unfortunately, one thing was always coming up short with my homemade pies, the crust.  It was always too dry, too thick, too chewy or just blech...  I've tried several different recipes but this last one was the keeper!  It is from the March 2010 Food Network Magazine and it makes enough for 2 pizzas or 1 pizza if you like a super thick crust.  You can also make it the night before, let it rise and then stick it in the fridge to use the next day.  This makes it a great option for working moms too.  ;)

One of the things that I liked most about it is that you can do it all in one bowl.  You don't have to activate your yeast in one bowl and mix your dry ingredients in the other.  You do it all together.  I was totally skeptical, but it worked quite well.

We're making this again tonight with a bacon cheese turkey burger pizza.  Mmmmm....  The recipe will follow soon.

Recipe
3 3/4 c flour + more for kneading
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 c warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 packet yeast (I like highly active yeast)
3 Tbsp olive oil

1. Whisk flour and salt in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center and add warm water.  
2. Mix yeast and sugar into the water, but NOT the flour.  Read the directions on your packet of yeast to make sure you get the right water temperature.  If it's too warm, it will kill the yeast.  If it's too cold, the yeast won't activate.  Don't leave out the sugar because the yeast needs it to work properly. 
3. When the yeast makes a foam on the top of the water, mix in olive oil and combine all of the ingredients.  Again, reference your packet of yeast for how long this should take.  If it doesn't make a foam, then your yeast has kicked the bucket and you'll have to bury that batch and start over.  It happens to the best of us. 
4. When the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, take it out and knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 5 minutes.  It will be sticky when you take it out.  Keep working with it. 
5. Brush with olive oil and put in a bowl covered with a cloth and let it sit in a warm spot for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled.  Divide into 2 balls.