Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

1. 1 cup flour
2. 1 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
3. 1 tsp baking powder
4. 1/2 tsp baking soda
5. 1/2 tsp ground allspice
6. 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
7. 1/4 tsp salt
8. 3/4 cup milk
9. 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
10. 1 egg
11. 1 Tbs vegetable oil
12. 1 Tbs vinegar

For the Cinnamon Cream Syrup

1. 1/2 cup white sugar
2. 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3. 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
4. 1tsp ground cinnamon
5. 1 tsp. vanilla extract
6. 1 cup water

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture, just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

For the Cinnamon Cream Syrup

1. Stir all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, stir occasionally until boiling. Let it boil for a few minutes while stirring until it thickens. Remove from heat and set aside until needed.

Best Bread Machine Recipe Yet

I have had my bread machine for a few years, and this recipe is the ONLY bread recipe I have ever had turn out! It was perfect bread, yay!
I don't have a picture, because we ate the entire loaf way too fast! Next time I will take a few shots!

BEST BREAD MACHINE BREAD YET!

1 C warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 Tbsp white sugar

1 (.25 ounce) package bread machine yeast

1/4 C vegetable oil

3 C bread flour

1 ½ tsp salt

Place the water, sugar and yeast in the pan of the bread machine. Let sit and develop for 10 minutes. Add the oil, flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Select Basic Bread setting, and press Start.

How To Easily Peel Peaches/Tomatoes

This Summer I had made three different peach jams with fresh peaches, and some pasta sauce out of garden grown tomatoes. I learned how to easily peel them, via the internet, so here it is...

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil
2. Cut a shallow X into the bottom of the fruit, try to just puncture the skin
3. Plop the fruit into the water (2-4 at a time, depending on the size of your pot)
4. Leave them in for 60 seconds or so, the more fruit the longer the time
5. Plop the fruit into an ice bath to cool
6. Peel off the skins lickity split!

Method two for the Tomatoes
If you want a 'roasted' taste to your tomatoes, you can try the following method.
1. Turn on oven broiler
2. Cut tomatoes in half
3. Place tomatoes cut side down on cookie sheet
4. Place in oven until skins are starting to brown
5. Remove from oven and wait until cool, skins will pull right off.

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients

Tortillas
BBQ Chicken, shredded (I had BBQed ours a few days before as the main dish)
Cheese
Bacon
Avocado
BBQ Sauce

Directions:
We use Tortilla Land tortillas because they taste almost authentic, and they are way better than the nasty precooked ones, gag! I cook one side, flip over and then add my ingredients: I 'glaze' the sides with the bbq sauce, then on one half I add cheese, chicken, bacon, and avocado. I fold the tortilla in half, and flip it over and over until it is the desired crunchy golden brown color I like... cheers!

Strawberry Peach Jam

This jam is SO good! My boys even like it!

STRAWBERRY PEACH            JAM

Makes approx. 15 half pint jars

INGREDIENTS

4 pounds ripe peaches (I used nearly 6 pounds)

7 cups granulated sugar, divided

8 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and quartered lengthwise

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. butter

PROCESS

1.  Put large canning pot of water on to boil.  When boiling, add half-pint jars and boil 10 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow jars to sit in hot water until needed. Simmer lids in a separate pan then turn off heat and allow to sit until needed but remove screw tops to dry towel.

2.  In a separate pot of boiling water, blanch peaches in batches for 60 seconds then transfer to an ice bath.

3.  Peel and slice peaches into a large non-reactive pot. 

4.  Add 3 1/2 cups sugar to peaches and bring to a boil.

5.  Puree peaches and sugar with immersion blender while cooking for about ten minutes over medium heat.

6.  Add strawberries, remaining 3 1/2 cups sugar and lemon juice.

7.  Return to a boil, stirring often, then puree until all is smooth and well blended.

8.  Cook for forty minutes, stirring often so as not to burn on the bottom.  Occasionally skim foam from top.

9.  Remove jars from hot water (I placed mine onto a cooling rack over a cookie sheet to catch drips) then turn heat to high to return canning pot water to a boil for processing.

10. Using funnel, pour jam into sterile jars leaving 1/2 inch of head space.  (I just stop pouring when jam reaches bottom edge of the funnel.)

11. Wipe rims with damp paper towel.

12. Top jars with lids and screw on the covers.

13.  Using tongs, place jars of jam into boiling water and allow to boil gently for 10 minutes.

14.  Remove with tongs to cool on thick towels so jars don't crack on cooler counter top.

15.  You will hear popping as the jam cools.  That is the lovely sound of the jars sealing.

16.  After jars have cooled, tighten screw tops and store on the shelf for one year.

17. Refrigerate once opened.

Rather than doing the whole boiling the jam jars, I just froze them and now they are a great freezer jam!

Enjoy!

Peach Cobbler

I may have been going a bit overboard with the peaches lately but seriously is there anything better than a fresh peach? I have been freezing them by the pound for the nasty winter months so we can have them in our smoothies.
This cobbler is divine! You wont be able to have too much because it is so rich, but it is good down to the last drop! Todd was even scraping the plate!

Peach Cobbler

For the filling:

4 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches – about 8 or 9 peaches, depending on size

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon flour

For the crust:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2/3 cup buttermilk (or a buttermilk substitute of 1/4C milk mixed with 3/4C plain yogurt)

1 tablespoon brown sugar, for topping

whipped cream or ice cream for serving (optional, NOT)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Combine all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar) for cobbler crust in a bowl, and set aside. Generously grease a 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish. Place the sliced peaches in the dish and sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour. Mix gently with your hands or a spoon, and spread evenly in the baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes. While the peaches are cooking, cut the butter into the awaiting dry crust ingredients with a pastry cutter or your fingers, to make the texture like coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk and stir to form soft dough. Remove the peach mixture from oven and drop rounded spoonfuls of dough on top. Then sprinkle the top of your cobbler with the remaining tablespoon of brown sugar, and return to oven. Bake until the fruit is bubbly and crust topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. So delish!

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

This is good stuff! I didn't wnat to run to the store one day when I needed chocolate icing, so I made it from scratch, I have made it twice, and everyone who had it loved it!

Ingredients 

2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

Peach Freezer Jam

Yield: Five 8-oZ jars

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened white grape or apple juice

One 1.75-ounce package no-sugar-needed fruit pectin (or 3 tablespoons from a jar)

5 to 6 medium peaches, peeled, diced and coarsely pureed in the blender (3 cups of puree)

1 cup granulated white sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Five 8-ounce freezer-safe glass jelly jars & lids (cleaned and dried)

Directions:

1. Heat the juice in a medium saucepan at medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Whisk in the pectin. Continue to whisk until dissolved. Keep at a hard boil for 1 minute. Stir in 3 cups of peach puree, sugar and cinnamon. Bring back to a boil and keep at a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Transfer the mixture to a measuring cup with a spout for pouring (it will be very runny). Divide the hot mixture between the 5 jars, leaving 1/2-inch room at the top of each jar (room for expansion during the freezing process). Place the tops on the jars and let them sit at room temperature until they are completely cooled off (12 to 24 hours). Put one jar in your refrigerator to use now, and put the rest in your freezer to use later!

Skinny Broccoli and Chicken Alfredo

My boys LOVED this! Todd was neither yay or nay on it, so all in all this one is a winner! I really liked it, and I loved that it is a lower calorie dish than the original I make. This one could be served often and not make you roll down the hall! 

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt & pepper then cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 cups cooked broccoli

8oz rotini

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup milk (any kind)

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

salt & pepper

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water before draining. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle in flour then whisk to incorporate and cook for 1 additional minute.

Slowly whisk in chicken broth, then milk. Whisk in Greek yogurt, salt and pepper, then turn the heat down to low and let the mixture simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Mine was already really thick so I added some more chicken broth, I was worried it might be too salty, but it still tasted great! Turn the heat off then stir in parmesan cheese, then chicken. Pour over cooked pasta then add broccoli and stir well. Add a little reserved pasta cooking water if sauce is too thick. Serve.

CARNE ASADA FRIES and PICO DE GALLO

I LoVE the Pico at Cafe Rio, I could drink the stuff, and this recipe comes pretty close, and I have tried a few. 

INGREDIENTS

1 (32-ounce) package Steak Cut Fries

1 pound cooked carne asada, diced (I used steak)

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup guacamole (optional)

cheese

FOR THE PICO DE GALLO

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup diced onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 lime, juiced

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking dish with parchment paper. Bake fries according to package instructions.

To make the pico de gallo, combine tomatoes, onion, cilantro and lime juice in a medium bowl; set aside.

Serve fries immediately, topped with carne asada, sour cream, guacamole, cheese and pico de gallo.

Breakfast Cookies

These are super good, and super filling! My boys can only handle half of one at a time, I had one for breakfast at 5:30am and wasn't hungry again until Todd came home for lunch at 1pm!

Ingredients:

2 cups quick oats (not whole oats)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup almond butter, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or honey)

1/4 cup apple butter (I used LauraintheKitchen’s apple butter)

1 large banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds/slivered almonds/sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raisins/chocolate chips/white chocolate chips

1/4 cup ground flaxseed (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

Combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl. Mix until all of the ingredients are combined. The dough will be quite stiff.

Take 1/4 cup of dough and drop onto prepared cookie sheet. Slightly flatten the tops into desired thickness. The cookies will not spread in the oven. I used a large cookie scoop and they seem to be the perfect size for us.

Bake for 15-16 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Allow to cool on the cookie sheets completely.

Cookies stay fresh at room temperature for 1 week. Cookies can be frozen up to 3 months.

Adapted from here 

Beef with Broccoli

3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided (2 then 1 tablespoon)
1/2 cup water, plus
2 tablespoons water, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb boneless round steak cut into thin 3-inch strips (grass fed pasture raise happy please)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 bunches of broccoli cut into florets steamed in the microwave for 3 minutes
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground ginger
rice

In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water (more if needed, I used about ¼ of a cup) and garlic powder until smooth. Add beef and dip. In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm. Stir-fry broccoli in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes. Return beef to pan. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

NOTE: I just added broccoli to the beef/chicken in the last stage, it came out great. Corbyn even liked it! 

Indian Tacos

I grew up literally less than a mile from the largest Native reserve in North America, which means I got to grow up learning a lot about their culture. One of my favorites were Indian Tacos, but I only had them a few times growing up.I looked and looked for an 'authentic' Indian Tacos recipe all over online and had my mom ask all of her friends but according to all of them, you make taco meat and do normal tacos over fry bread, what?! How could they have been that good growing up if they were just simple tacos? Very doubtful I tried it, THEY WERE SO GOOD! I used Emily's Fry Bread recipe and then we just made simple tacos. Yum!

Ingredients
taco meat
lettuce
tomatoes
cheese
etc

Place all ingredients on cooked fry bread and enjoy!

Nutella Cheesecake

are you in for a really, really, really, really, REALLY rich cheese cake? Corbyn decided he wanted this for his birthday cake this year, it was pretty easy to whip up, but it was too rich for all of us. Kase was the only one who was able to pound it!
If you are like me and prefer to watch the video on how she made it go here

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 ¼ cups of Ground Graham Crackers
6 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp of Nutella
¼ cup of Granulated Sugar
¼ cup of Chopped Hazelnuts, finely ground in a food processor

For the Filling:
2 8oz Blocks of Cream Cheese, softened at room temperature
1 cup of Powder Sugar
1 ½ cups of Nutella
½ tsp of Vanilla Extract
¼ cup of Heavy Cream

For the Topping:
1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
4 oz of MILK chocolate chips
1 tsp of Butter, softened at room temperature

1) In a food processor, add all the ingredients for the crust and whiz it up until everything is finely crushed and when you pinch the mixture together, it holds well.
2) Press the mixture in the bottom and one inch up the sides of a 9” springform pan, set it in the fridge.
3) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the cream cheese and nutella and mix it on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
4) Add the remaining ingredients and keep mixing it for another minute or so or until you have a smooth batter.
5) Pour the batter into the prepared crust, cover the top of the pan with a plate and set it in the fridge overnight.
6) About an hour before you are ready to serve it, make the ganache.
7) In a small saucepan, add the cream and bring it to a simmer.
8) Pour the cream in a bowl with the chocolate chips and let it sit for about 3 minutes.
9) Whisk it all together until the chocolate chips have melted, and whisk in the butter as well.
10) Place it back in the fridge for about an hour to set a bit.

Tip:

Wipe your knife in between cutting each slice so that all the slices come out nice and neat.

Recipe By: Laura Vitale

NEXT TIME for ME!!!

It would be just as good with Deana's Cheesecake crust, that way I wouldn't have to buy expensive hazelnuts. 

We didn't wait the hour after putting on the ganache, and I like the drip effect it had on the cake. I prefer this cake 'warm' sitting out on the counter for a bit. 

Holly's Buttermilk Pancake Recipe!

I haven't had much luck making pancakes in the past, but these are good and they turn out for me pretty good. They could be fluffier (Holly's were fluffy) for me, but these are super tasty and EASY! Yay! I make them with Stephanie's Pancake Syrup

The only bad thing about these pancakes is how much I miss Holly when I make them!

Glazed Pecans

We crush these and put them on our Steel Cut Oats…so good!

Ingredients

1 egg white

4 teaspoons water

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat an oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat the egg in a bowl until frothy; whisk the water and vanilla into the egg. Stir the sugar, cinnamon, and salt into the egg mixture. Add the pecans; stir to coat completely. Spread the pecans onto the prepared baking sheet.

Roast the pecans in the preheated oven, stirring about every 15 minutes, until the coating forms a glaze, about 1 hour. Allow to cool on the baking sheet at least 10 minutes before serving.

Steel Cut Oats

3 C Water
1 C Steel Cut Oats

You can replace the water with a 1/2-1 C of milk/Almond milk for a sweeter taste
You can also add a tsp of cinnamon while cooking to spice it up a little

Bring them to a boil and let them sit overnight, the next morning scoop out what you want (a little goes a LONG way) and heat that up and save the rest in a air tight container in the refrigerator. It keeps 5-7 days really well, after that it starts to get a mucus type texture to it, ha ha!

Frozen Hot Chocolate in the Vitamix

I have been to the Serendipity's in Vegas and I have tried their 'famous' frozen hot chocolate, and although it was super yummers, I couldn't believe the price tag on the stuff! Found this online and it is different than the real deal stuff at Serendipity's but it is still hecka good (see what I did there?)

Ingredients
2 C Whole Milk (I used 2%, and didn't quite fill it to the 2 cup mark, and then topped it off with cream)
5 Packages of Preferred Hot Chocolate. I used Swiss Miss
4 C Ice

Put them in the blender in the order listed. Blend to desired consistancy, then pour into cups and enjoy!
You can garnish with homemade whip cream, or we used store bought ( we eat a lot of breakfast food around here) and chocolate shavings or chips if you are in a pinch.

*** the real deal has flakes of chocolate all through out it. I thought this drink was divine, but if you wanted it more like the real deal I would throw a bar of chocolate in there as well.

Shrek Smoothie

This Smoothie is super easy and so far the boys LOVE it! I love it when I can get them to eat/drink a few greens.

This smoothie is the exact same as the 'Get Up and Goji" Smoothie except instead of the Goji berries add
3-4 C Kale/Spinach

We find Kale doesn't have as much taste as Spinach, so my boys prefer the Kale. Cheers!

Even Hims likes them! 

Get Up and Goji

When T and I lived in Vegas, we frequented the Tropical Smoothie there by our place, probably more than we should. By far our favorite smoothie there was the 'Get Up and Goji' it was SO good. Since I got the Vitamix last week, I really wanted to try and make a smoothie as close as possible. Although we don't have a Tropical Smoothie close to our place to compare, the whole family really really like this smoothie, SCORE!

Ingredients:
1/2- 3/4 C Vanilla Yogurt
1 Orange Peeled (but keep the good white stuff on)
1/2 of a Circle of Fresh Pineapple *
1-2 TBsp of Goji Berries 'bloomed' in 1/2 C of Water**
1/4 of a Banana
2-3 C Ice
1-2 TBsp Chia Seeds (optional)

Place ingredients into blender in the order they apear in ingredients list. Blend as you normally would. Enjoy!!! So yummy!

Note: you can forgo the Goji berries and the smoothie would still be super yummy, but I think they are what make this smoothie seriously AMAZING!

NOTE TO MYSELF: Try Peaches instead of Pineapple next time!
* I cut the pinapple into circles about an inch think, and then I peel them and cut them in half. You don't need to cut out the core for the Vitamix, how great is that?
** I am sure the vitamix could handle them in their dry state. I 'bloom' the goji berries by putting them into the water a half hour to an hour before I am going to blend (or overnight) if you forgot and are pressed for time and still want them in your smoothie you can stick them in the microwave for 20-50 seconds to bloom them faster, I just really don't like using the microwave if I can help it.

BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies, Yet!

These turned out for me, yay! I loved them too! I am so excited! 

The dough is huge and the cookies are super yummy, enjoy! 

Ingredients:

1 Cup Vegetable Shortening
1 Cup Butter (don’t use margarine)
1 1/2 cups White Sugar
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla

5 1/4 to 5 1/2 cups Flour (I need less, rather than more)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp Salt

2 bags choc chips (12 oz bags) I didn't need this many, you can choose your preferred. 

Directions:

1. Start by mixing the shortening(don't use butter, use shortening) and butter with white and brown sugar. Add the three eggs and vanilla .

2. Mix the buttery/egg mixture for a full THREE minutes. The time is important for the eggs and butter to become fully whipped and to develop new chemistry. You’ll watch the buttery mix go from gushy liquid to beautiful cream

3. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, and salt). Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix. Then add the other 1/2 and mix.
3. Use a lot of good chocolate chips and mix semi-sweet with milk chips. Some recipes call for one bag of chocolate chips. This recipe is large so we’re using 2 bags. 

4. Then use a small cookie scoop to make 15 uniform balls on an ungreased cookie sheet (do NOT use a non-stick pan–the cookies won’t bake as evenly)

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes or just until the cookies are slightly golden on top. If you wait till the cookies are entirely golden on the outside, it’s too late. They’ll be overcooked. You want them to be soft inside. Allow them to cool for a few minutes and transfer to a cooking rack, though they may not make it that far.

Making Cookie Dough Loaves:
Now if you’re making cookies for a big party, go ahead and keeping scooping/baking all the dough. But cookies are only good for a day or two (in my opinion), so why bake the whole batch and have them go to waste? If you freeze the dough, you can have fresh cookies any time you want! 

* Divide the dough up into 3 or 4 piles on wax paper sheets.
* Use the paper and your hands to shape each pile into a loaf.
* Roll them up inside of the wax paper.

Then wrap each loaf with plastic wrap (to avoid freezer burn or freezer smells). Or….simply place them all in a ziplock bag together. Then put them in the freezer!

When you’re ready to bake a few cookies, take out a cookie loaf. Microwave it for about 20 seconds. Pull off a bit of dough and bake them just as we did above for 8-9 minutes.

This LINK has some great ideas too!

Granola Bars

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups quick cooking oats {not rolled oats!}
1 cup crispy rice cereal
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, stir oats and rice cereal together. Set aside. In a small pot, melt butter, honey and brown sugar together over medium high heat until it comes to a bubble. Reduce the heat and cook 2 minutes or until just above softball stage. Pour in vanilla and stir. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients. Pour into lightly greased small jelly roll pan {about 12x8x1} and press out to be about 3/4 inch in thickness. {If your pan isn't small enough, pack the mixture into one side. You really want to press them down so they stick together.} Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press down lightly. Cool on a countertop to room temperature for two hours or until the chocolate chips are set before cutting into bars. Wrap in parchment or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

NOTE: These were really really good! You need to cook them with a candy thermometer. I ended up cooking them twice. The first time I just boiled the mixture for the two minutes and they never set properly, we ended up eating them as cereal. The second time I cooked them with a candy thermometer and waited for just above soft ball stage and they came out much nicer! 235-245 is softball so above 245 just by a little. (to be technical J)

Also I used wax paper and a rolling pin to roll them out to get them super tight, you can do as you wish. 

***

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars

I consider myself a hard core peanut butter lover, and these were a bit much for me. I love them for the first two bites, and then I feel like I have had enough sugar to last the average person a month! Peanut butter cookie bottom, with a peanut butter top, and a yummy cheesecake esk middle, with peanut butter chips!!!
It is CRay cray! Let's get on our way!

Ingredients
16 oz roll of peanut butter cookie dough
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 C sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup of Reeses Peanut Butter Chips

Get It Done
1. Grease an 8x8 pan
2. In a mixing bowl place cream cheese, egg, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk. Beat until smooth and creamy. Stir in peanut butter chips.
3. Press in half of cookie dough into the bottom of the pan (wet hands help the dough not stick to your fingers). Pour cheesecake mixture over
4. Break up remaining cookie dough and scatter on top of cheesecake mixture in pan.
5. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until lightly brown on top.

Ham and Cheese Roll Ups

Todd wasn't a big fan, and neither were my boys, but I loved them! That is why they made it to the blog! If I were going to make them again, I would probably line the 'bread' with Alfredo sauce before putting on the ham and cheese.

1 ½ C warm water

2 T sugar

1 T yeast

1/2 t salt

4-4 ½ C flour

1 pound deli ham, sliced thin

2 C cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Pour 1 1/2 C warm water into your stand mixer and preheat your oven to 170 degrees. (You read it right...170 degrees is all you need.)

2.  Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon yeast. Turn the mixer on low for about 30 seconds allowing the ingredients to combine. Let it rest for 5 minutes, or until it gets all bubbly.

3. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 cups flour. Turn the mixer on to low and let the flour mix in. Add the rest of the flour (2 1/2 cups worth) one cup at a time. When the dough pulls itself away from the side of the bowl, you have enough flour.

4. Turn the mixer to medium speed and allow it to mix for 5 minutes.

5. Spray your counter with cooking spray, divide the dough into two equal parts and allow them to rest on the counter for 5 minutes. Don't skip this step, ok? If you don't let the dough rest it won't roll out nicely and then you might start to cry and then your kids would think you have lost you mind. Thanks for your cooperation.

6. After the dough has rested roll the old girl out into a large rectangle.

7. Cover it with half of the ham and sprinkle it with 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

8. Roll the dough up starting at the longer end.

9. Spray a large knife with cooking spray and slice the roll into 12 rounds.

10. Place each pinwheel onto a large cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

11. Repeat steps 6-10 with the other half of the dough.

12. Place both pans into your warm 170 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until they start to rise just a bit. You don't want them to get super puffy, you just want the dough to have the chance to expand a little, like you see in the picture above.

13. Turn the oven up to 350 degrees (don't take the pans out of the oven) and let the pinwheels bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown along the top and bottom.

14. Take the pans out of the oven and let the pinwheels rest for about 5 minutes...then gobble them up.

Enjoy!

TIP: placing plastic wrap over your dough will keep it from getting dry spots on it