Buckeyes

So I've lived in Ohio for over 2 years and had not tried to make these yet, not sure why not!  For those of you that are wondering what a Buckeye is exactly, it is a nut that grows on a tree here and basically looks like the treat below.  It is also the mascot of Ohio State University.  Here's Brutus Buckeye to give you an idea of the inspiration for the treat....

You may hear people call these peanut butter-chocolate balls or something of the sort...do not be fooled, they are BUCKEYES! Anyhow, I searched through a few different recipes, and they were all really similar.  Most used chocolate chips rather than the candy coating, but I like how fast the candy coating sets up...I'll let you be the judge.  They were a great treat to have around when we had some people over the over night to watch our Buckeyes play!

Buckeyes

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 pkg chocolate candy coating or chocolate bark

1.In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.

2.Press a toothpick into the top of each ball (to be used later as the handle for dipping) and chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.

3.Melt candy coating in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until smooth.

4.Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding onto the toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes. Put back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.

Yummy, right?  Now here's a real Buckeye for comparison...

All I can say from this point on is GO BUCKS!!!

4 Packet Roast

Crockpots are my saving grace on Sundays. Especially when we get home from church @ 4:15 each week.  The Sister's Cafe provided me with this new recipe to add to my crockpot arsenal.  It is much yummier than the roast I have been doing in the past.  The gravy is good as well, it is salty though.  I made a regular packet of brown gravy and added some of the drippings to it so it wouldn't be too overpowering, and it turned out SO good.  My husband is a huge fan, and I'm sure I'll make it again soon! 

1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 packet Italian salad dressing mix
1 packet onion soup mix
1 roast of choice
1/2-3/4 cup of water
assorted veggies if desired (carrots, onions, potatoes)

Place roast in crockpot. Arrange vegetables around the roast if being used. Sprinkle the mix packets over the roast. Pour water around the roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Pizza Bites

We had some people over the other night to watch our Buckeyes play (don't ask the outcome).  We had a few snack-type foods to have on hand that would be good for a football game, and these were perfect!  Just a little pizza bite that wasn't greasy like the pizza rolls you get at the store.  I will definitely make these again!  I found these on over at Our Best Bites and will make them again for sure!  They also had the suggestion for using chicken, bacon in these and dipping in ranch...that'll be on my to try list next!

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough* (or make your own)
marinara/pizza sauce (click here to make your own)
2 T grated Parmesan cheese (sorry, I don't know how to make that)
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t dried Italian seasoning
mozzerella cheese
Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

*You can use regular pizza dough, or thin crust.
Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400 degrees. If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. Just eyeball how much. You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind.
When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or mini muffin tins).


Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top (if using mini muffin tins, start checking them around 9 or 10 minutes). Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.


Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Wonderful Mashed Potatoes

I am a SUCKER for potatoes and gravy...if I were on death row, I believe they would be on my final menu!  The sure sign you have some good mashed taters is that they taste wonderful WITHOUT gravy.  These were just that.  So obviously for Thanksgiving potatoes are one of my top priorities...even over the turkey ;)  

Wonderful Mashed Potatoes 

3 lbs. potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/4 lb. butter
1/2-1 c. milk
1/2 c. sour cream
2 tsp. salt (I like garlic salt)
1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water for 15-20 minutes until very tender. Meanwhile heat the butter and milk in small sauce pan (or in microwave). Drain potatoes. While still hot, place the potatoes in a big bowl. Slowly add the milk and butter mixture, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Mix until the potatoes are mashed but not completely smooth.

Recipe Source:  Sister's Cafe

Bear's White Bean Chicken Chili

Once again, bring on the soup!  I don't know where the name comes from, I just copied what the food blog called it.  This is a very easy dinner that you can just throw in the crockpot and have ready by dinnertime.  It doesn't get easier than throwing in FROZEN chicken breasts and opening a few cans :)  I highly reccomned putting a handful of cheese on this, slice an avocado, and topping with cilantro, mixing it up and eating with tortilla strips!  If you don't love spicy food, leave out the jalepeno, it has plenty of kick without it!  This recipe comes from The Recipe Club.  It's delicious and will make its way into my soup rotation!

2 cups chicken broth
3 frozen chicken breast
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
2 cans mild diced green chiles, undrained
2 cans great northern beans, undriained (I used 3...it looked a little to brothy for me)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
sliced jalapeno peppers, optional (I used a few teaspoons of canned diced jalepenos

Cook in crock pot on high 3-5 hours. About 1/2 hour before serving, cut up chicken and put back in crock pot.

Right before serving, add:

1 cup sour cream
1/2 block cream cheese

top with extra sour cream, cheese, avacado, cilantro, corn chips, pico, ect.

Fast version:

Grill chicken. Bring all other ingredients to a boil. Boil until beans and onion are tender. Add chicken and serve as above.

Marshmallow Popcorn

This is where caramel corn meets rice krispie treat!  I was craving a little something sweet tonight and came across this one while I was going through my old cooking club entries.  I just bought a new bag of marshmallows this morning and this looked really easy, and it was!  This one came from my visiting teacher, Jami.

1 bag plain microwave popcorn—popped, remove unpopped kernels
1 stick butter
½ c. brown sugar
2 c. mini marshmallos

Melt butter in small pan, add sugar and stir in marshmallows. Remove from heat as soon as marshmallows are melted. Pour over popcorn in bowl, mix!

Teryaki Chicken Fried Rice

This recipe sounded really good when I first saw it.  I have to say it wasn't quite as flavorful as I had hoped.  I definitely will make it again, but next time I may add more sauce, some egg, and maybe some more spice of some sort.  I got this one from My Sister's Cafe.

2 cups uncooked brown rice (4-5 cups cooked)
2 Tb olive oil
1 large chicken breast, finely sliced (about 1 lb)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1-2 cups sugar snap peas, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

Cook rice as directed on package. Over med-high heat, stir fry the chicken in 1 Tb olive oil until fully cooked, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Add the other 1 Tb olive oil and saute green onions and carrots over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in peas, rice and chicken. Pour in the teriyaki sauce and stir to distribute evenly. Cook another few minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Pasta e Fagioli

I told my husband this week that I am starting to make soup once a week now that the weather is more conducive to it.  He objects, constantly telling me that soup is not a meal.  Although last week when I made a copykat version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, he was more than thrilled. This recipe was compared to the Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli.  I wouldn't say it tastes the same by any means, but it's good!  It is a great hearty soup perfect for the fall! 

Pasta e Fagioli

2 tbsp. butter, divided
1 (20 oz.) package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

64 oz. reduced-sodium beef broth
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
4 oz. ditalini pasta

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a Dutch oven or large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the pot and brown, crumbling as it cooks. Once the sausage is browned, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon and discard any excess grease.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery, and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, 8-10 minutes. Return the sausage to the pot, add the can of diced tomatoes with juices, stir briefly, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the beans, beef broth and tomato sauce to the pot. Add in all of the seasonings, stir well, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer at least 30 minutes.

Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve.

Creamy Ham and Pea Farfalle

This is definitely not something you want to eat everyday, you would have a heart attack!  A butter and cream sauce is probably not on a cardiac diet!  Every once and a while it is just nice to have a comforting creamy pasta!  With a few adjustments, I got this recipe from Mindika Moments.

1/4 C. butter

1 C. Ham cut into ¼ inch pieces (or Canadian Bacon)
1 C. frozen peas – defrosted (I actually used 2 cups...the more veggies the better, right?)
2-3 T. flour (2 T. your sauce will be thinner. If you like a thick sauce, use 3 T.)
4 C. Heavy Cream
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 C. parmesan Cheese grated
16 oz. bag or box farfalle pasta cooked and drained

1. Melt butter in a large sauce pan. Heat until bubbly. Add ham (or canadian bacon) and stir until just heated through.

2. Add flour and stir until incorporated. Stir for about 3 minutes to cook out flour taste.

3. Add Cream, Garlic, and Cheese and stir until sauce thickens.

4. Add peas and pasta.  Serve warm.

Caramel Apple Crisp

I'm trying to put my apples to good use that we got at the apple orchard last week.  We had the missionaries over tonight for dinner, and this is what they got for dessert.  It turned out great and with some vanilla ice cream on the side, it was even better.  The original recipe came from Allrecipes, but I switched it up a bit after reading some of the reviews.

Apple Filling:

5 large Granny Smith apples (I used honeycrisp)- peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water

Crumble:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup butter, softened

Caramel Sauce:

1 (14 ounce) package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 degree C).

2. In a heavy sauce pan over low heat, melt the caramels with the evaporated milk.  Heat , stirring frequently, until mixture has a smooth consistency. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the top of apples.


3.In a medium size bowl, toss apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, and water; spread evenly into a 8x8 inch pan. In another bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, oats, and butter; spoon mixture evenly over caramel.

4.Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes (apple mixture will bubble and topping will be golden brown).

Moist Corn Bread

Have I mentioned how happy fall time makes me?!  I t  hink it is the best time of year for comfort food, pumpkin breads, apple desserts, soups and chilis, and wonferful sides like this corn bread!This is yet another recipe from cooking club.  I'm so glad I joined this club, because I have gotten so many delicious recipes from it!  This one is no exception.  It comes from my friend Sheena, who is always sharing yummy recipes with the group.  Serve it alongside your favorite chili or Taco Soup and you have a fabulous dinner!  Not to mention it is a lot quicker to throw together than making your own breadsticks :)

2 cups Bisquick
1 c. sugar
1 c. milk
½ tsp. baking soda
4-5 heaping Tbsp. yellow cornmeal
3 eggs
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, melted

Mix together in ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Serves 12.

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Another recipe for brunch on Conference weekend.  This is SO good!  I got this recipe from cooking club, submitted by Noelle.  Pure deliciousness!

* 2 kiwis, peeled and diced

* 2 crisp apples - peeled, cored and diced
* 8 ounces raspberries
* 1 pound strawberries
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

* 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
* butter flavored cooking spray
* 2 cups cinnamon sugar

1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar

and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.

4. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Caramel Overnight French Toast

Conference weekend....brunch with friends...what to make?!  I was searching on All Recipes and came across this recipe.  It is great!  I did make a few changes to the original recipe with wonderful results!

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
12 slices bread (I used 1 loaf of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl bread, about 16 pieces) cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.In a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with half of bread. Combine sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle half over the bread. Place remaining bread on top. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar; set aside.

2.In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining cinnamon. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

3.Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes.

Bubble Pizza

I am always on a quest to find creative ways to "spice up" regular old recipes, so when I saw this recipe from Cook and Tell, I knew I had to give it a try.  It was nice for a change to make pizza and not to have to make the dough (although I do think homemade dough is better).  This is a really quick to put together dinner on a busy night!

4 cans buttermilk refrigerator biscuits, quartered and shook in cornmeal

1 1/2 cups pizza sauce
2-4 cloves garlic
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
cornmeal (the recipe on the website never said how much to use...I think I ended up using about 1/4 a cup, maybe just a bit more :))

Toppings: onion, ham, mushroom, olives, green pepper, bacon, pepperoni, whatever you like on your pizza!

Preheat oven to 375.

Quarter biscuits and shake in cornmeal. Place in a large bowl. Mix pizza sauce, garlic, and any other toppings. Stir with biscuits. Put in a 9x13 pan. Top with cheese and other toppings. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins

It's that time of year!  Yesterday we went apple and pumpkin picking at a local fruit farm, and it was so much fun!  Now, time to use up some of those apples we brought home!  These muffins are mighty tasty, a perfect breakfast for a General Conference weekend!  Thanks to My Kitchen Cafe for sharing this yummy recipe!

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons sugar

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine pumpkin, butter, and eggs in another bowl and add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in chopped apple and spoon into greased muffin pans, filling two-thirds full. Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; sprinkle evenly over muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.