We are just loving these bread machine cinnamon rolls. I got this recipe from a dear family friend. So great to eat on these cold, snowy days. They are very easy to make and your family will love them! Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls

• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 egg
• 2 T melted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 t salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 t yeast

Layer ingredients into your bread machine, starting with all wet ingredients, then all dry ingredients. Make a small dip in flour and put yeast in dip. Don’t let the yeast get wet. Run your bread machine on the dough cycle. Once done, turn out dough onto a well floured surface and roll out into a rectangle. Spread 1/2 cup of melted butter over dough. Mix roughly 1 cup of brown sugar and 2 T cinnamon together. Sprinkle over the butter. Roll your dough the long way. Cut into even rolls and place in a 9×13 greased pan. Put in a warm spot and let rise for 2-3 hours. You can also put in a pan, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator and put in warm spot to rise for 3-4 hours. Cook at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until brown.

Frosting

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1-2 t vanilla
• 1-2 T milk

Mix all until smooth and creamy. Spread frosting over warm cinnamon rolls.

Enjoy!

  
This is a classic Dutch almond pound cake. I make these into mini loaves to give as Christmas gifts to teachers, bus drivers and co-workers. One batch makes four mini loaves. Otherwise you can use two 9×5 inch loaf pans. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Almond Pound Cake

3 sticks butter at room temperature 

3 cups sugar

5 large eggs

3 cups flour

1 t vanilla extract 

1 t almond extract 

7/8 cup ginger ale

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in extracts. Alternately beat in 1 cup flour, a third of the ginger ale, another 1 cup flour, another third of the ginger ale and finally the last 1 cup of flour and remaining ginger ale. Beat until smooth. Pour into greased and prepared pans. Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes, or when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in pan. Enjoy!

I just got done eating this chicken dish.  Oh. My. Word.  It is so good.  If you love peppers and onions, you will love this main dish.  Even my 12 year old son loved this.  It’s very easy and quick to put together.  Enjoy!

Smothered Chicken:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 yellow pepper

1/2 onion

fresh sliced mushrooms

olive oil

salt/pepper/seasonings

6 slices of pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice peppers and onions.  Pour small amount of olive oil into large pan.  Saute peppers, onion, mushrooms, salt, pepper and your choice of seasons over medium high heat until soft.  I used a mix of garlic pepper seasoning and a salt seasoning mix.  In a separate pan, cook chicken breasts in a small amount of olive oil over medium high heat until browned on both sides.  I also seasoned the chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste.  I cooked them for about 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Place chicken into a 9×13 greased pan.  Pour all cooked veggies over the chicken.  Top with the pepper jack cheese slices.  Cover pan with tin foil.  Bake for 30-40 minutes.  Enjoy!

Another great apple muffin recipe for a crisp fall day.  These are great and something yummy to add to your packed lunch.  Enjoy!

Chunky Apple Cinnamon Muffins

1 1/2 c. apple, diced small

2 T. flour

1 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray muffin tin or use paper liners. Peel and dice apples.  Add flour and cinnamon to apples and toss to coat.  Set aside.  Mix up batter:

1 large over ripe banana, mashed

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. milk

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 T. vanilla

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. ground nutmeg

2 t. baking powder

1 c. flour

pinch of salt

Mix banana, sugar, milk, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and beat until well combined.  Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined.  Fold in apples. Divide batter into muffin tins, about 3/4 full.  Bake for 17-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Enjoy!

I used to work with a woman named Jan. She is a wonderful woman, great co-worker, wife, mother and breast cancer survivor. I don’t get to see her often and I miss working with her.  She loves to celebrate birthdays; her own and every one else’s. She used to make these brownies for me every year during my birthday week.  They are the best brownies you will ever eat, because what’s better than chocolate, caramel and goo all rolled into one?  The best part, there are only 5 ingredients in these brownies, so easy to make!  Enjoy!

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

1 pkg German chocolate cake mix

2/3 c. evaporated milk, divided in half

1 pkg Kraft caramels

3/4 c. melted butter

1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 pan.  Mix cake mix, butter and 1/2 the evaporated milk.  Divide batter into two parts.  Pat one part into the greased 9×13 pan.  Bake for 6 minutes.  While that is baking, melt remaining evaporated milk and caramels.  Pour over batter. Sprinkle chocolate chips over caramel.  Crumble remaining batter mix over the top.  Bake for 15-20 minutes more.  MMMMM…..

I love fall.  I love squash.  I love to cook on cold, dreary days.  This soup sounded so good.  It was a little bit of work, but well worth it.  No one else in my house will eat this, but I am going to bring it into work this week and share with my co-workers.  I also bought a large baguette loaf of bread to dip into it.  Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup:

1 large buttenut squash, diced and roasted

1/2 onion, diced

1 large granny smith apple, peeled and diced

4 cups vegetable stock

1/2 cup milk

1 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 T olive oil

Peel and dice the squash.  Place on a roasting pan.  Sprinkle with salt and cinnamon.  Roast at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.  While roasting, pour olive oil into dutch oven.  Cook apple and onion until soft, about 15 minutes.  Pour vegetable stock and milk over apple mix.  Add roasted squash when done.  Bring to a boil.  Decrease temp and let simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.  Use an immersion blender to puree soup.  Enjoy!

I love shortbread cookies.  I especially love plain vanilla shortbread cookies.  I found this recipe online today and it was so easy!  Only a couple ingredients and took less than 30 minutes total to make. These will definitely be on the Christmas Gift Trays this year.  I cut these really small today so I could walk past every five minutes and pop one in my mouth.  Because, you know, you consume way less calories if you eat 50 bite size pieces than if you’d just eat 2 regular size cookies 🙂  Enjoy!

Shortbread Cookies:

2 cups flour

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup butter (room temp)

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. baking powder

Mix all ingredients by hand until mixed.  Press into a 9×13 ungreased pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Do not overcook.  Cool, cut and enjoy!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and knew as soon as I saw the coconut frosting that I had to make this.  I love coconut and I love oatmeal, what could be better than mixing the two?  Tonight I needed to de-stress and decided to do it in the kitchen.  By Sunday, I will have worked six 10 hour days in a row.  I have two days down, only four to go.  Even though it’s 90 degrees outside and I had to turn my oven on, I thought it would be worth it to try this out.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Caramel Frosting:

Batter:

1 cup uncooked oatmeal (instant or rolled)

1 1/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 t. vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

Topping:

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 T. milk

3/4 cup flaked coconut

1/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)

In a shallow bowl, soak oats in boiling water for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix butter and white sugar in a bowl, beating until light.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Add flour, soda, salt and spices.  Fold in oats.  Pour into a 9×9 buttered pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  Mix all topping ingredients.  Once cake comes out of the oven, spread topping on top and put cake under a broiler until bubbly and tinged with gold.  Watch carefully, as sugar will burn.  Remove and cool.  Enjoy!

I can’t remember where I found this recipe, I saw it somewhere online and quickly wrote down the ingredients and directions.  This is such an easy recipe and always a hit whenever I make it.  I try to make this for my dad a couple times a year, he has always loved Butterfinger candy bars.  He used to take one in his lunch every day and no one else was allowed to eat them.  Enjoy!

Butterfinger Caramel Poke Cake:

1 box of German chocolate cake mix

1 cup sour cream

1 jar caramel ice cream topping

4-5 regular size Butterfinger candy bars

1 – 8 oz whipped topping

Mix and bake cake according to the package directions, also adding in the 1 cup of sour cream.  Bake in a 9×13 inch pan.  While still warm, poke holes all over the cake using the end of a wooden spoon.  Pour caramel over entire cake so it can drizzle into the holes.  Cool in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  Spread whipped topping over cake.  Crush candy bars and sprinkle over cake.  Store in the refrigerator.  Enjoy!

A coworker brought this salsa in to work last week and I was hooked after one bite.  She gave me the recipe and I thought I would share it today, as picnic and potluck season is fast approaching.  You can throw this salsa together in less than 10 minutes.  I made a batch this week and my husband ate all of it in less than two sittings.  I like to add diced mango to my half.  But the basic recipe is below.  Enjoy!

Chili Bean Corn Salsa:

1 can chili beans, DO NOT drain

1 can mexicorn

1 small can sliced black olives, chopped

2 cans diced tomatoes with chopped jalapenos (Rotel)

1/2 onion, chopped

salt/pepper to taste

3 T. white sugar

Mix well and refrigerate.  Enjoy!