Pigs in a Blanket 2.0

 I found a new favorite crescent roll recipe 2 years ago and it's now the roll recipe I use to make pigs in a blanket. The dough is SO easy to work with and rolls out really nicely. I make these a few times a year, and sometimes do a double batch which makes 72 pigs! My kids love them for lunches at home and at school. 

Pigs in a Blanket 2.0

1 TBSP instant yeast

¼ cup warm water

½ tsp sugar

1 cup warm milk

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup flour

2 eggs

3-4 cups flour

1 (14oz.) package Lit'l Smokies sausages

 

1. In a 1 cup glass measuring cup, mix yeast with warm water and ½ tsp sugar. Let stand until bubbly.

2. In a large bowl whisk together warm milk, oil, ½ cup sugar, and salt. Add 1 cup of flour to mixture, and mix well. Add 2 eggs and mix vigorously by hand. Add yeast mixture and mix vigorously until smooth (I like to use my whisk again here). With a wooden spoon, stir in 3-4 cups flour to the yeast mixture ( I usually end up doing 3 1/2 cups). Dough should be sticky.

3. Pour the dough into a large bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.

4. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide into thirds (each of my thirds weighs about 14.5 ounces). Roll 1/3 of dough on a floured surface making a circle about 12 inches round. Dough should be about ⅜" thick. Cut into 12 triangles (like a pizza). Place a sausage at the wide end of each triangle. Roll from the wide end to the point. Place rolls onto a lined or greased cookie sheet (I do 3 across and 6 rows down). Repeat with the other 2 thirds of dough. You should end up with 36 rolls, 2 pans with 18 on each. Cover rolls with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise for another hour at room temperature or until the rolls double in size. 

5. Bake at 375 degrees until light lightly browned, which is about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

No Bake Granola Bars

This is such a great recipe and changing things ups to make all flavors of granola bars is so fun! I've tried it with a few different kinds cereal. I especially like crushed Crispix. The PB and J version is pf course yummy. There are some ideas for add ins below, but really this is like a choose your own adventure recipe. You could even make a healthy option with some flax meal or wheat germ. Keep the add ins to 1 cup or less, but other than that go crazy. 

No Bake Granola Bars

adapted from biggerbolderbaking.com
1 1/2 cups oats, quick or rolled
1 cup rice crispy cereal or any other cereal crushed up a little bit
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add in suggestions:
Raisin Nut Granola Bar
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup chopped raisins
1/3 cup chopped nuts (toasted nuts are also great)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Granola Bar (see note at bottom)
1/3 cup peanut butter (stirred in with sugar mixture)
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
6 TBSPs your favorite jam

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (stirred in with sugar mixture)
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Monster Granola Bars
1/3 cup peanut butter (stirred in with sugar mixture)
1/3 cup mini m&ms
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, mix together the oats and cereal.
2. In a medium microwavable bowl add in butter, honey and brown sugar. Microwave this mixture for 2 minutes. It will bubble up so make sure your bowl is big enough so it doesn’t overflow. You can also do this step in a saucepan if you don’t have a microwave.
3. Add the vanilla and salt to the sugar mixture and stir. This will bubble a little bit. (If you are adding peanut butter or cocoa powder this is where you put it in. Stir the PB or cocoa into the sugar mixture) 4. Pour the sugar mixture over the oats and cereal, and thoroughly stir using a rubber spatula. Mix the ingredients together until the oats and cereal are completely coated.
5. Add in your desired mix-in. If you are adding chocolate chips or m&ms and don't want them to melt, wait a few minutes before stirring them in.
6. Press the bars very firmly into a parchment lined 9″x 9” pan. If you like your bars thicker, you can use a smaller pan. If you do not press firmly enough, the bars will fall apart when you eat them. You can also sprinkle on some of your add ins on top like mini chocolate chips or m&ms and press those down so they stick to the top.
7. Place them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes then cut to size.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge or on the counter. If you keep them in the fridge they will be a little hard and chewy. At room temp they will be soft.

PB and J Note: It's best to layer these bars. I have stirred the jam in and they are a little too soft this way. So press half the mixture into the bottom of your pan, then spread on your jam, and press the other half on top.

English Fruit Scones

I love scones! Especially scones slathered with clotted cream and jam. These are the perfect traditional fruit scone. This recipe is like the scones served in the Highclere castle tearoom (according to Lady Carnarvon). I had one of those scones 2 years ago when I visited Highclere Castle. I followed the recipe as written and ended needing to make a few changes. I changed the medium egg to a large, used regular sugar instead of caster sugar, and added a little milk (original recipe in link above). You want a slightly sticky dough, so add the milk/egg a little at a time until the dough comes together and doesn't fall apart, but don't make it too sticky (you need to be able to work with it). You might use all the milk and you might need a little more. The leftover milk/egg mixture is brushed on the tops of the scones before baking. Milk helps the scones to brown. If you use all the milk mixture just brush some milk on the tops. Now lets talk a little out how to eat it. There are 2 traditional ways, the Cornish way and the Devon way. The Cornish way (originated in Cornwall) is jam on the bottom, clotted cream on the top. The Devonshire way (eaten in the county of Devon) is to spread cream first and then the  jam. I have had it both ways, and I'm not sure which I prefer. I like to be able to spread the cream kind of like butter and then add jam on the top, but there's something about a big dollop of clotted cream that I love! Apparently the Queen prefers the Cornish way. Which way do you prefer your scone?

English Fruit Scones
adapted from Highclere Chef Paul Brooke-Taylor's recipe
7 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter, cubed
2/3 cup sugar
5 1/4 TBSPs baking powder
1 large egg
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup golden raisins, currants, or sultanas (aka raisins)

1. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees F
2. Dust two baking trays with flour and place in the fridge.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.
4. Add the egg to the milk and pour just enough of it into the flour mixture to form a sticky, soft dough (see my notes at the top). Stir until dough comes together. Add the golden raisins to the dough and mix in to evenly distribute.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured board or worktop and quickly and gently shape it into a round about 3/4 inches thick. Handle the dough as little as possible. Using a 2 1/2 inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Place rounds on the chilled, floured baking tray and brush each scone lightly with some of the remaining milk/egg mixture (if none remains brush with milk). Reshape dough and cut again, repeating until all dough has been used.
6. Bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes until golden brown and well risen. Put a clean tea towel on a wire rack. Lift the scones off the baking tray with a palette knife, transfer to the tea towel and wrap the towel around the scones. These scones are best eaten warm, soon after baking, and are fabulous with clotted cream, jam. They also freeze well. Makes about 25 scones.

Pizza Rolls

I've tried a few different ways to make pizza rolls. I even have another recipe on my blog, but this is my new favorite. You make them just like cinnamon rolls. The dough is rolled out into a big rectangle, then you layer with sauce, pepperoni, and cheese. I use a homemade pizza dough recipe you can find here. I like to add a little ranch and crushed red pepper flakes to the top of mine when eating, kinda like frosting. :) My kids like to take them to school in their lunches too.

Pizza Rolls
2 lbs pizza dough (I use this recipe here)
1 cup pizza or marinara sauce
1 6oz pkg of pepperoni slices
2 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella or preferred cheese, divided
2 TBSPs melted butter
Garlic salt and Italian seasoning (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Lightly flour work surface and roll pizza dough into rectangle about 20in x 14in. Spread pizza sauce on the dough all the way to the edges. Place pepperoni slices on the sauce in a single layer. Fit as many on there as you want. Sprinkle 2 cups of cheese over the pepperoni.
3. Starting from the long end, roll up dough like cinnamon roll dough. I start I one side and roll it just a little then switch to the other side and roll it up to match the other side. Then once I have a good log I can roll it all together at once. If pepperoni or cheese slips out just tuck it back in. It might look messy, but will still taste good! Using a sharp serrated knife, slice into 1 1/2 in discs. You should have about 14 rolls. Place on prepared baking sheet, slice side up. Again you can tuck in some cheese or pepperonis here if they have fallen out.
4. Brush tops with melted butter, then season lightly with garlic salt and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, if desired. Sprinkle the last 1/2 cup of cheese of the rolls.
5. Place in oven and bake 22-27 minutes. Rolls are done when crust is lightly browned and cheese and sauce are bubbly.

 Topped with a drizzle of ranch and sprinkled with crushed red pepper flakes.

Muddy Buddies

We love to make Muddy Buddies! You can do everything with just a bowl, microwave, and large ziplock bag, which makes this a very kid friendly recipe. Ready to eat in just a few minutes!

Muddy Buddies
chex.com
9 cups Rice Chex™, Corn Chex™ or Chocolate Chex™ cereal (or combination)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1.  Measure cereal and pour into large bowl; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on high 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Fresh Cherry Scones with Lime Glaze

Cherries have been on sale here, so I've been making these scones! I bought a cherry pitter last week. Can you believe I've never owned one?! My 7 year old doesn't like to eat cherries because he's worried he's going to swallow the pit. Now he pits them himself (yes he makes a mess) and eats them like a pro. :) This is similar to my Blueberry Scone recipe but with self rising flour instead of all-purpose and the addition of an egg. If you want to use all-purpose flour in this recipe add 4 tsps of baking powder and 1 tsp of salt. These are made into Americanized triangles but you can also cut them into rounds if you prefer. 

Fresh Cherry Scones with Lime Glaze

4 cups self rising flour
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups pitted, chopped cherries fresh or frozen
1 egg
1 cup milk
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream plus 1 TBSP of cream, separated

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP fresh lime juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with baking mat or parchment paper and set aside. 2. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or rub it in with your fingers until it resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar and cherries.
3. Add the egg, milk, and 2/3 cup of cream. Stir until it comes together in a dough. Do not over mix.
4. Over lightly floured surface, knead dough a few times. split in half. Make each section of dough into a ball and flatten out dough into 8 inch circle.
5. Transfer circles to baking sheet and using a pizza cutter to cut into 8 triangles. Leave them together in the circle.
6. Brush the top of each circle with remaining 1 TBSP of cream.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until scones begin turning golden brown around the edges.
8. While scones are baking, mix powdered sugar and lime juice in a small bowl. After scones have been removed from oven, drizzle glaze over the top. Serve warm.
Makes 16 large scones

Banana Brownies with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting

I'm trying to eat healthy this month. Today is not a good day for that. I had some overly ripe bananas that I needed to make something with, and instead of banana bread I made banana brownies! I can't stop eating them! The brownies are thick, but not cake like. I've been keeping mine in the fridge and they are so fudgy! The frosting has a little bit of peanut butter, so you're getting that classic peanut butter and banana flavor. Oooo the frosting would be great with Nutella too...hmmm. So if you're looking for something to make with those old bananas, try these brownies instead of bread!!

Banana Brownies with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting

adapted from backforseconds.com

Brownie

3/4 cup unsalted butter 

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 

2/3 cups cocoa powder 

2 cups sugar 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup overripe mashed banana 

4 eggs 

1 1/4 cup flour 

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 

Frosting 

1/4 cup salted butter, softened 

1/4 cup shortening 

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2/3 cups cocoa powder

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar 

1/4 cup milk, half and half, or cream 

 1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

 2. In a large microwave safe mixing bowl, heat butter and chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 increments, stirring each time, until melted and smooth. 

3. Whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Stir in sugar, salt, vanilla, and mashed bananas. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. 

4. Gently stir in flour until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. 

5. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudge like crumbs. Let cool completely before frosting. 

6. To prepare frosting: In a mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter, shortening, and peanut butter until light and creamy, scraping down sides when needed. Add cocoa and powdered sugar and half of the milk; beat very well. If too thick, add more milk until desired consistency is reached. Beat a couple of minutes until light and fluffy. Spread over cooled brownies.

Frozen Slushies

We have been eating these slushies all summer! I had never tried to make anything but ice cream in my ice cream maker before, but these work so great! All you need is a packet of unsweetened drink mix (like Kool-Aid), water, sugar, and your ice cream maker. I have a 1.5 quart Cuisinart ice cream maker (pictured below) but any electric salt free machine will work. So if you're looking for a sugar rush and brain freeze, this is your treat. :) 

Frozen Slushies
4 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
1 pkt of unsweetened drink mix

1. Dump water, sugar and unsweetened drink mix into freezer bowl of ice cream maker. Make sure bowl is completely frozen first.
2. Put in the mixing paddle and cover with the plastic lid.
3. Turn machine on and let it run until mixture reaches slushie consistency, about 20-30 minutes.

Makes 5 8oz servings

Lemon Marshmallow Popcorn Bars

Yellow is one of my favorite colors! It makes me think of daffodils and tulips in the spring. When we lived in Washington state, we would go to the tulip festival and see rows and ROWS of amazing flowers (see pics at the bottom of this post). Popcorn also makes me think of spring because it looks like those little white blossoms on trees. These treats are similar to the marshmallow rice cereal variety, but made with POPCORN! Skinny Pop Original Popcorn works great in this recipe (you can see their products here). I added in some lemon flavor with zest, mini lemon marshmallows, and crushed lemon candies. Yep, get your kids to pick out the yellow mini marshmallows from one of those multi colored bags. :) Once you've got the basic recipe down, you can change up the flavors too!

Lemon Marshmallow Popcorn Bars
3 TBSPs butter
1 TBSP lemon zest, packed (1 large lemon)
10 oz marshmallows
10 cups popcorn (I like Original Skinny Pop, see pic below)
2 cups yellow mini marshmallows (or whatever you can get from the bag of colored ones)
2 oz white almond bark or vanilla chips, melted
2 TBSPs crushed lemon candies (lemon drops or lemon heads)

1. In a large pot, melt butter over low heat until melted. Add lemon zest and marshmallows. Stir until marshmallows have completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in popcorn until mixed well and popcorn is covered with marshmallow mixture.
3. Add yellow mini marshmallows and stir to combine.
4. Press into greased 9x13 inch pan.
5. Drizzle melted almond bark over top and sprinkle on the lemon candy.
6. Cool and cut into squares.

Store covered at room temperature. Best served the same day.

Hawaiian Ham and Cheese Sliders

I've tried a few different versions of these sliders and this is my favorite one. I especially like it with the Our Best Bites Poppyseed Dressing spread over the rolls, but you can use any kind that you like. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of the dressing to be spread evenly over both sides of the rolls, but I find that the bottom of my rolls ends up too soggy if I spread a 1/4 cup of dressing over them. I prefer to use a little less and only spread a little on the bottom and the rest of it on the top. We eat these up fast, so it might be a good idea to make 2 pans. ;)

Hawaiian Ham and Cheese Sliders
adapted from ourbestbites.com
1 dozen Hawaiian Rolls
1/3 cup Our Best Bites Poppyseed Dressing (or any poppyseed dressing)
6 slices Swiss or provolone cheese, cut into quarters
18 thin slices honey or brown sugar ham
2 TBSPs butter
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp dehydrated onion
1 tsp Creole or other mild coarse-ground mustard


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x13" baking dish with aluminum foil. Set aside.
2. Slice the rolls in half. Don't separate them.
3. Spread a small amount of dressing on the bottom rolls, just to barely cover them (we don't want them to be soggy). Spread the remainder of the dressing on the top half.
4. Place a cheese quarter on each roll
5. Place 1 1/2 slices of ham on each roll.
6. Place another cheese quarter on top of ham on each roll.
7. Carefully turn top half of rolls over onto the bottom half and place the entire thing into the prepared baking dish.
8. In a small bowl, melt the butter and whisk in the poppyseeds, dehydrated onion, and mustard. Spread it evenly over the tops of the rolls.
9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 2-3 minutes before serving.

BBQ Smoked Sausage French Bread

When I look at these pictures I think, PARTY FOOD! This would be a great super bowl party snack. It has all the major food groups, bread, cheese, meat, and BBQ sauce! ;) The recipe only uses half of the loaf of French bread, but you can definitely double it to feed a crowd. It would also be amazing to substitute chicken, and even throw some bacon in there, which I will try soon. I used beef smoked sausage and cheddar cheese, but you can use your favorites of either one. And no reason why you can't make this for dinner!

Barbecue Smoked Sausage French Bread
1 loaf French bread, sliced in half lengthwise (you only need 1 half)
1 TBSP butter
1 small onion, sliced
12oz  package of smoked sausages, chopped
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
3/4 cup shredded cheese

1. Place french bread half on a baking sheet. Toast under broiler just until it starts to brown. Remove from broiler.
2. Melt butter in skillet over med-high heat. Add onion slices and cook stirring occasionally until onions are soft.
3. Add chopped sausages and continue stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, until cooked through.
4. Add barbecue sauce and cook for a few minutes until mixture is heated through.
5. When sausage mixture is hot, scoop it onto the french bread and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Place back under broiler to melt cheese. Keep your eye on it so it doesn't burn.
7. Slice into strips and serve.

I couldn't say no when he asked to be in the picture. Haha

Lucky Charms Treats

Here's an easy St. Patrick's Day treat that takes only 3 ingredients and about 5 minutes to make! 

Lucky Charms Treats

5 TBSPs butter

1 16oz bag marshmallows

1 11.5oz box Lucky Charms Cereal

1. In a large microwave safe bowl, microwave the butter and marshmallows on high for 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir. If butter isn't completely melted, return to microwave for 1 more minute.

2. After the marshmallow and butter mixture has been mixed well, add the cereal. Stir making sure to coat all the cereal with the marshmallow mixture. It helps to coat your spoon with cooking spray so that it doesn't stick.

3. Spray a 9x13 in pan with cooking spray and dump the cereal mixture into the pan. Press down with your spoon or a spatula making sure to even it out.

4. Let cool and cut into squares. Best served the same day, but can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days.

Cake Mix Cookies

These cookies have endless possibilities! I made some for Valentine's Day with a strawberry cake mix and chocolate chips, but there are so many potential combinations! I got 30 cookies from this recipe and they were gone in 3 days. Can't tell you how many I ate...or won't. ;) One of the tricks with these is to shape the dough balls a little taller than normal on the pan, almost like a cylinder, before baking to make sure that they don't get too flat. I'm planning on trying some different cake mixes and I'll post more pics as I do.

Devil's Food and Mint Chips

Cake Mix Cookies

adapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com
1 box (18.25 oz) cake mix, I used Pillsbury
1 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 350F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla by hand.
4. Add the egg mixture to the cake mixture and stir to form a dough. Continue mixing until egg mixture is incorporated and no dry cake mix remains. Gently mix in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop rounded balls of dough (about 2 TBSPs) onto prepared baking sheet, keeping the ball more tall than wide. Top with a few more chocolate chips, if desired.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown. Cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Strawberry and Semi Sweet Choc Chips