"Fruit Pizza"

I have been terrible on here lately.  I have so many pictures and recipes to share, I promise to catch-up eventually.  In honor of Valentine's Day, I will share the recipe for our dessert for tonight that is currently in my fridge waiting to be eaten.  It looks delicious and I have no doubt it will taste that way too.  I found the recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  Here's the link to the recipe.  I hope you enjoy it!  I used my Springform pan, which is one of my new favorite kitchen items.

ENJOY!

Blueberry Muffins

I have been in the mood for blueberry muffins lately, but have been too sick for the last week to get up the energy to make some.  Since I am finally starting to get my energy back, I got me some frozen blueberries and went on a search for the perfect recipe.  I have never made blueberry muffins before, but they are probably my favorite kind of muffin.  I love how the blueberries pop in your mouth and fill it with juiciness!  Well, this recipe which I found on allrecipes.com turned out well.  I made them as directed, but in the future will make two minor modifications...

1. Add at least 1/2 cup more blueberries (I love blueberries!)

2. Half the crumb topping.  It made way too much.  I don't like the top completely piled with the topping, just a light sprinkling is good for me.  

Try these out.  They are delicious!  Little B enjoyed helping with the making and eating of these.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

ENJOY!

Chicken Fried Rice with Vegetables

Seriously, who doesn't like chicken fried rice?  This was the perfect recipe.  The chicken marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil made it taste for moist and flavorful.  For the frozen vegetables, I used a bag of my home-frozen carrots and some corn, definitely more than 5 oz though.  Next time I might add some peas or broccoli.  I got the recipe off of myrecipes.com here.

CHICKEN FRIED RICE WITH VEGETABLES

ENJOY!

Salmon Chowder

This was such a good recipe and it is perfect for cold winter days (like we've been having a lot of lately).  It made plenty for our family and was good as leftovers the next day.  I found it here on allrecipes.com.  It reminded us a little of clam chowder, but I think I liked the salmon better than I would clams.  Try it and i hope you like it!

SALMON CHOWDER

Ingredients:

 

3 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups diced potatoes

2 carrots, diced (I had a bunch of carrots in my freezer that I had chopped and put in bags from the garden last Fall, and I thawed a sandwich bag full and they worked just fine)

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried dill weed (I accidentally doubled this and it tasted really good)

2 (16 ounce) cans salmon

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn

1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, and garlic powder until onions are tender. Stir in potatoes, carrots, broth, salt, pepper, and dill. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in salmon, evaporated milk, corn, and cheese. Cook until heated through.

ENJOY! 

Black Bean Tortilla Bake

This was a pretty good recipe.  Next time I make it, I'll probably top it with a little guacamole and sour cream.  This is packed full of goodness and Ben even ate it pretty well.  The recipe is from Food.com and I followed the recipe really closely, so I won't bother putting it below.  Just click on the link and it will take you to it.

BLACK BEAN TORTILLA BAKE

Turtle Cheesecake

I made this for my Hubby's birthday and it turned out rich and DELICIOUS!  I was looking for a cheesecake that was different that I hadn't tried before.  It was very rich.  I found it on allrecipes.com here.  I made some changes, so I'll make note of them below.  If you're looking for something for a special occasion this is perfect. 

TURTLE CHEESECAKE

 

Ingredients:

2 cups vanilla wafers crumbs (I used oreos, about 20 in a food processor worked) 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (I think this was a little too much for oreos, so I would cut it down by a couple of Tablespoons next time) 

14 ounces individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped (I used Hershey's Caramel Topping) 

1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk

1 cup chopped pecans

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips)  


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter one 9 inch springform pan. 

Toast the pecans at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 6 minutes. Remove pecans and set aside. Leave oven at 350 degrees C (175 degrees C). In a small saucepan, melt the unsalted butter. 

Combine vanilla wafer crumbs (or oreos) with the melted butter then press into the bottom of the prepared springform pan. Place the pan onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove and allow to cool. 

In a double boiler, or a bowl set over barely simmering water, melt the caramels in the evaporated milk. (** see note) Stir until smooth. Pour this over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the nuts over the top. 

In a bowl, combine the cheese, sugar, and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping down the bowl several times. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until smooth. Melt the chocolate chips in the double boiler and mix into the cheese mixture (Instead of mixing the chocolate in, I poured it over the top of the cheesecake mixture and swirled it in with a toothpick making designs.) Pour the batter over the caramel layer. 

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes or until barely set. (This took a lot longer on mine.  Just keep an eye on it.)  Chill over night in the refrigerator before serving. 

**if you use caramel ice cream topping, do not add in evaporated milk, unless you want it to turn out different.  I added the evaporated milk and the layer of caramel wasn’t really a layer at all and just came up around the cheesecake mixture.  It wasn’t bad, just messier.  Next time I will probably go with melting caramels.

 

ENJOY!

2 Hour Rolls

Last night I was looking for a quick roll recipe to go with the roast and veggies my Hubby had put in the crock pot.  It was only 2 hours before dinner, so I needed to find something quick.  I found this recipe and adapted it a little and they turned out great!  I love homemade rolls!

 2-HOUR ROLLS

Ingredients:

 

1 1/2 cups warm water

4 Tbsp. white sugar

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 egg

1/2 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. yeast

4 cups flour (I used 2 cups white and 2 cups wheat)

Directions:

Place all ingredients, except flour, in a large bowl in the order listed and let sit for a few minutes.  Mix in flour and knead until combine.  If too sticky, add a little more flour.  Cover with damp cloth and let rise 15 minutes.  Punch down then let rise another 15 minutes.  Punch down and make into balls (I did a little bigger than a golf ball) and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.  If you'd like, you can melt butter and lightly brush it over the top of them.  Cover with dry cloth and let rise for 1/2 hour.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Makes 24 rolls.

 ENJOY!