Bacon and Turkey Panini

This actually wasn't the greatest, but I am putting it on the blog to give me an idea when I need ideas for healthier meals. It had bacon and avocado and it was rather bland... No idea why. It looks pretty though.

Here is What You Will Need:
Ciabatta  Buns
Bacon
Turkey
Lettuce
Cheese
Avocado (mashed or sliced however you're feeling)

Put all of the fixens you want on your bun and throw it in the George Foreman.

Easy Breezy Pizza Dough

Nine days out of the last ten I have felt like pizza, I have only subjected my family to eating it with me three times. I don't mind the home made dough recipe we have already but I wanted one that was a lot faster and this one did the trick! I made up the dough let it sit for five minutes, rolled it out let it sit for five minutes, rubbed a bit of butter and parm cheese on it, stuck it in the oven for ten minutes took it out and put all of our toppings on it. It wasn't pizza hut crust or anything, but it was as good as our dough that takes an hour to rise, so I like it! I will probably use this one from here on out unless we have company. Cheers!

Here is what you will need:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry Yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

1 teaspoon White Sugar

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

2 1/2 cups Bread Flour (or AP)

1-1   ½ teaspoons Italian Seasoning

½ teaspoon Garlic Salt

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

½ teaspoon Salt

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350. (you can bump it up to 400, but I like a chewier crust that is well cooked) Attach dough hook to your mixer Mix yeast, sugar and warm water let sit for about ten minutes (yeast should be nice and foamy)

2. Add all other ingredients. Mix/ knead for 6-10 minutes. Let rest for five minutes, then roll out into your desired pizza shape. We like circles, but when we are feeling cray cray we can handle a rectangle, ha ha!

3. Either glaze with butter and parm cheese or place directly into the oven for 10 minutes.

4. Take out of the oven place desired sauce and toppings on then stick it back in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Mine only needed 20 minutes, it will probably depend on how many toppings you have.

5. ‘A Lovely Cheese Pizza, Just for Me’ “Keep the Change You Filthy Animal!”

Olive Garden Chicken

'Megan from Burley' as she is known in my phone, 'told' this recipe to me and as with all things I am not sure if I remembered everything once all was said and done,All of us but Corbyn ate it... so another win... when will that boy (or any of my boys) eat?! We have made it a few times and I haven't put it on the blog because it isn't the 'prettiest' dish. You could probably make it happier with colored noodles or something, but as it is it isn't super pretty

2-4 Chicken Breasts
1/2 Bottle of Olive Garden Dressing
8 oz Cream Cheese
Rice or Noodles (cooked)

Cut up chicken into cubes, place chicken and dressing in a large ziplock bag overnight or for a few hours. When ready to cook, place all contents of the bag into a large skillet. Then cut up cream cheese into chunks and add to skillet. Cook until cream cheese is melted and incorporated into the 'sauce' and chicken is no longer pink. Be sure to heat to 165 so that chicken is fully cooked. Spread over rice or noodles and enjoy.

Mango Peach Smoothie

Seriously every time I think there aren't any more good smoothie recipes out there, I find another one that blows me away!! This was really good. Like straight from Jamba, or Booster. It doesn't have any ice in it, so it has a really nice strong flavor. We get bulk bags of fruit from Costco and they worked beautifully in this recipe! Cheers!

Put in the Vitamix in Order:
1 C Vanilla Yogurt
1 C (heaping) frozen Mango
1 C (heaping) frozen Peaches
3/4 C OJ

Blend it up for some tropical yumminess! The original recipe didn't call for the yogurt, but I added it, and liked the creamy texture... you can do what you want.

Yummy Pina Colada!

I had a real hankering for a pina colada the other day. I wanted one so bad I kept singing Garth Brooks' Two Pina Coloadas "I want one for each hand"

Here is What You Will Need:
1 1/2 Cup Pineapple Chunks (I tried half mango half pineapple and it was really good too!)
1 1/2 Tablespoon Orange Juice Concentrate
1/2 can or 3/4 Cup Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut (this can usually be found in the Hispanic food or alcohol isles at the grocery store it isn’t alcoholic though)
4-6 Cups of Ice (you can’t have a wimpy blender for this one folks)

1- Pour the whole can of the Coco Lopez into a bowl and mix it with a spoon because the coconut oil and other ingredients separate. I could eat this stuff straight it is SO good!

2-Put the first 3 items in a blender first then top with ice. I used 4 cups the first time I made it and the taste was really strong, the second time I made it I used 5 cups of ice and it was pretty close to perfect. The taste was amazing, just really strong. My vitamix took it like a champ, but my guess is most non vitamix/blentec blenders couldn’t handle this recipe.

3- Taste it, If it is too rich add another cup of ice and blend again. If it is diluted add another chunk of pineapple and a Tablespoon of Coco Lopez and blend again.

This was seriously a tropical island in a cup for me. I loved it! It was too strong for Corbyn, but the rest of the boys liked it so I consider it a mostly win!

Homemade Corn Dogs!!!

My kiddos and Todd LOVED these! They were definitely a fan favorite! 

INGREDIENTS

·         6 hot dogs, cut in half

·         12 lollipop sticks or Bamboo Sticks

·         vegetable oil for frying

For batter

·         ½ cup all-purpose flour

·         ½ cup cornmeal

·         2 tbsp sugar

·         2 tsp baking powder

·         ½ cup to ¾ cup milk

·         salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1.       In a pan or deep fryer place at least four inches of oil, Heat the oil to 350 degrees F.

2.       Slice each hot dog in half.  Put each dog onto the lollipop sticks. You can use wooden Bamboo skewers as well.

3.       In a bowl, combine all the batter ingredients and whisk. (I would grind the cornmeal a bit more, it is really coarse and we could ‘chew’ the grit)

4.      I found it easier to pour the batter in a long skinny cup (Magic Bullet cup worked). Dip each hot dog into the cornmeal batter to completely cover the hot dog. Carefully place the hot dogs into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Cinnamon Rolls

I have tried making cinnamon rolls about seven times in our marriage and each time the 'bread' portion of the cinnamon rolls turned out rock hard. Who knows what went wrong each of those times, and maybe it takes making bread/cinnamon rolls a bagillion times to understand the way bread works... who knows. However, these turned out beautifully! They were melt in your mouth good, and the cream cheese just made them over the top! The next day they still were pretty good heated up in the microwave! Definite winner for me!

YIELD: 1 dozen generously-sized rolls

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

COOK TIME: 22 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 5 hours

INGREDIENTS:

Dough

up to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Start with 4)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet, I use Red Star Platinum)

pinch salt, optional and to taste

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (3/4 of one stick)

3 large eggs, lightly whisked

3/4 cup buttermilk

Filling

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), very soft - let it sit out while dough rises

1 to 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed

about 3 teaspoons cinnamon (I used almost 5 teaspoons)

Cream Cheese Frosting

Stick of Butter (softened)

8 oz Package of Cream Cheese (softened)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3-4 Cups of Powdered Sugar (I start with 2 and go up depending on my taste buds that day)

DIRECTIONS:

Dough - To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 4 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, yeast, salt to taste; set aside.

Place 6 tablespoons butter in a small microwave-safe bowl, and heat to melt, about 45 seconds; set aside. Crack eggs in another bowl and whisk; set aside.

Add buttermilk to a small pan and heat up over the oven, until the desired heat of your yeast.  Red Star Platinum yeast calls for warmer temperatures than most, 120 to 130F; other brands and yeast call for much lower temperatures, about 95 to 105F. Taking the temperature with a digital thermometer is highly recommended. If the milk separates or gets a little funny looking after being warmed, whisk it to smooth it out.

To the dry ingredients in the stand mixer, add the melted butter, eggs, buttermilk, and beat on medium-low speed for about 1 minute, or until combined.

Switch to the dough hook (the dough will have stuck to the paddle and just pick off what you can and put it into the bowl) and knead for 10 to 12 minutes (15 to 18 minutes by hand). If after 5 minutes more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clears the side of the bowl but sticks to the bottom. This is a very sticky, tacky, moist, and borderline sloppy dough; don't be tempted to over-flour it. It's supposed to be that way. The more flour you add now, the less fluffy and more dense the rolls will be. Dough should clear the sides of the mixer while kneading but sticking to the bottom is fine.

Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, spray a large mixing with cooking spray, and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free place to rise for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or doubled in size. I keep my bowl inside a powered-off oven. Every 45 minutes or so, I power on the oven for 1 minute to 400F, as if I am preheating it, then I power it off. Do not, repeat not, keep the oven on. These short bursts of 1 minute of heat create a stable 85F-ish warm environment, ideal for the yeast. If your rising spot is cold, it will take longer than 2 1/2 hours.

Prepare a 11-by-17-inch or similar sized jellyroll pan or sheet cake pan with a raised edge, or use a 9-by-13-inch pan. I prefer a jellyroll pan because it's slightly larger so the rolls are less squished, have more room to rise, and bake more evenly. Line pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.

Rolling Out the Dough - After dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Turn dough out onto a floured Silpat or floured countertop. Knead it lightly for about 2 minutes. With a rolling pin, roll it out to a 16-by-12-inch rectangle; just slightly larger than a standard Silpat.

Filling - With a knife, butter the dough with 1/2 cup soft butter, leaving a 3/4-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle the brown sugar over it. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the brown sugar; I was very generous with the cinnamon and used almost 5 teaspoons and recommend at least 3; just eyeball it and shake it on.

Slicing the Dough - Loosen the dough from the counter using a bench scraper (or metal spatula), and starting with a long edge, roll the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seam closed and turn log so seam side is down. Gently stretch the log to be 18 inches in length with an even diameter all the way around and pat the ends to even them up. Don't fret if your log isn't perfect; it's okay.

Slice the cylinder into 12 evenly sized rolls (about 1 1/2 inches wide) using a bench scraper, serrated knife, or plain unwaxed dental floss (works great to not squish and compact the log). Arrange the rolls cut side down in the prepared baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap.

Decide to Make Straight Through - Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until the rolls have nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Or...Decide to Make as Overnight Rolls - Don't let rolls rise after they've been sliced and placed in covered pan. Place pan in refrigerator for up to 16 hours. Before baking, let the rolls sit at room temperature until they have nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Baking -For either version, bake at 350F for 22 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden on top and cooked through but not overly browned. Immediately and generously, spread cream cheese frosting on the warm rolls. Serve immediately. Rolls are best eaten fresh, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Reheat leftover rolls for a few seconds in the microwave before serving. If you have issues with cream cheese frosting at room temperature, then refrigerate the leftover rolls; I don't. For long term storage, I recommend making the rolls as directed and then freezing unfrosted rolls; allow to thaw at room temp prior to serving and frost as directed. I prefer freezing finished rolls rather than freezing uncooked dough.

Cream Cheese Frosting I mix the butter,  cream cheese, and vanilla  together first and then I add the icing sugar a half a cup at a time until I achieve the taste desired, as soon as the rolls are out of the oven I smear the icing all over them… enjoy…YUM!

Kashina's Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

I always try to be healthy, but sometimes I try harder. This last week I was running a lot and eating a lot of greens, but my body was telling me it needed some protein. Meat didn't sound good, nor did eating a handful of nuts, so I decided to try a peanut butter smoothie! Delish! I want one right now thinking about it... I probably will go and make one! The kids loved it, Todd loved it, and I loved it, three very hard groups to please! We tried it again with bananas... no go. The kids and I didn't like it with bananas at all so keep the bananas out.
Todd drinks a carnation supliment drink for breakfast every morning so that is what I used for our 'chocolate' part you could probably use any kind of chocolate drink powder or syrup... or if you are hardcore healthy use some dark chocolate chunks... or leave out the chocolate (*cough* crazy person *cough*) up to you!

Here's What You Will Need:
1 1/2 C Almond Milk
1 1/2 C 1% Milk
2 pkgs Carnation Chocolate Drink Mix
1/2 C Peanut Butter (mmmmmm)
1 tsp Vanilla
2-4 C ice (depending on how thick you like it)

Place all ingredients in the Vitamix in the order listed. Blend... Enjoy

This makes enough for all five of us to have LOTS! My guess is about 4 large adult servings.

NO bananas... Ok try bananas in it, AFTER you have tried it normal... not as good huh?

Ginger Snaps

I LOVE Ginger Snaps, but for my finiky taste buds they are a hit and miss treat. My best friend from high school used to make the best ginger snaps ever, but whenever I tried her recipe it didn't work for me. I like my ginger snaps not to snap, ha ha! I like them soft and chewy and this recipe totally nails it! You can't leave the cookies out in the air or they wont be as soft, so keep them in an air tight container if you want them to stay soft and chewy longer! Enjoy! Writing this out makes me want to make them and eat them again, dang it!

What You Will Need:

1 C Sugar
1/4 C Molasses
3/4 C Oil
2 Eggs
3 C Flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Cloves
1 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 375. In a mixer (unless you are awesome and hardcore and do it by hand), mix sugar, molasses, oil, and eggs until combined. Combine all dry ingredients together in a bowl and slowly combine everything together. Using a cookie scoop ( to make the cookies even) scoop out dough, roll into a ball and coat with white sugar. Lightly press down on a cookie sheet. (I used the bottom of a flat glass cup). Bake 8-10 minutes. Yum!

The handsome Ginger eating his Ginger Snap!