Rustic Rosemary Loaf

***My favorite Pinterest find yet! This tastes like something you'd get at Macaroni Grill or Johnny Carino's!***

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
1 TBSP sugar
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning ( or a pinch of each: garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil)
1/4 tsp pepper
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread flour + more for kneading
1 egg whisked + 1 TBSP water
Extra chopped rosemary for sprinkling

*Disclaimer- I didn't have white whole wheat flour, or bread flour...so I just used regular flour, and it still turned out amazing.

Directions:

1. Place sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl. Add warm water. Let sit 10 minutes to proof.

2. Stir in the salt, seasonings, and olive oil. Add in flour to form a ball. Knead on a floured surface for five minutes. (I ended up adding about another 1/2 cup of flour to the original dough to help prevent the sticking because it was so soft).

3. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let raised until doubled in size...about one hour.

4. Punch down dough. Form into a round loaf and place on a cornmeal dusted pizza stone. Cover and let raise 45 minutes.

5. Brush top of loaf with egg wash and sprinkle additional rosemary on top.

6. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until crust is browned and a hollow sound is made when tapping the loaf.

Breakfast Casserole

Finally! A Pinterest success!

Ingredients:

I pkg refrigerated crescent rolls
1 lb ground sausage
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Dash of ground mustard
Splash of Worchestershire sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a casserole dish, (9x13) press crescent roll dough together to seal seams.

In a pan on the stove, cook sausage. Drain.

Put crumbled sausage over dough. Sprinkle the cheese over sausage.

In another bowl, mix remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour over sausage and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutella Buttercream Icing

While making Tyler's birthday cake, I needed a filling of some sort.  Since I was covering the cake with fondant, it could not be refrigerated.  So, I needed to come up with a filling that didn't need refrigeration.  Thus, Nutella Buttercream Icing was born.

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
2 T milk
1/2 cup Nutella, give or take (I didn't measure)

Cream butter and shortening together.  Add vanilla.  Gradually add powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping sides often.  When all sugar has been mixed, icing will appear dry.  Add milk and Nutella, and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Scrape sides as necessary.  Keep icing covered with damp cloth until ready to use.

I used this buttercream as filling for the cake, but it was so yummy that I wished I had covered the whole cake in it!

Lemon Zucchini Loaf

Adapted from the original recipe at:
http://nancycreative.com/2012/03/25/lemon-zucchini-loaf-with-lemon-glaze/

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup grated zucchini (you don’t need to peel the zucchini before grating it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan; set aside.

In large bowl, blend flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  In medium bowl, beat 2 eggs well, then add canola oil and sugar, and blend well. Then add the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest and blend everything well. Fold in zucchini and stir until evenly distributed in mixture. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl and blend everything together, but don’t overmix.

Pour batter into prepared 9×5″ loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (if your oven tends to run hot, check the loaf after 40 minutes; also, if you make this in an 8×4″ loaf pan, your baking time may be a little longer…about 5 to 10 minutes more). You can also make mini loaves in about 35 minutes.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely. While loaf is cooling, make the glaze…

Lemon Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended. Spoon glaze over cooled loaf. Let glaze set, then serve.

Notes:  This is not super sweet.  If you like your zucchini bread really sweet, try adding a little extra sugar or use applesauce in place of the oil.  Definitely make the glaze!

Salsa

24 cups peeled chopped tomatoes 3 cups chopped onions 2-5 jalapeños 1 cup chopped green pepper 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup salt 1 cup vinegar Put tomatoes in colander to drain off excess juice. Cook onion, peppers, salt, vinegar until done. Add drained tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are done and favors are blended. (usually 3-4 hrs). Put in pint jars and process for 15 min.

Caramel Marshmallow Popcorn

I found this recipe on Pinterest. It was so fast and easy...

Ingredients:

3 bags of microwave popcorn
2 sticks of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
16oz of marshmallows

Pop microwave popcorn. Place in large bowl, removing any unpopped kernels. Set aside.

In a large microwave safe bowl, place remaining ingredients. Microwave on high for 2 and a half minutes. Stir. Microwave for 1 minute, stir. Repeat until mixture is smooth and thin. Pour over popcorn, stir to coat. Pour out popcorn onto wax paper to set up a bit. It will be like a soft caramel popcorn.

Chicken Taco Filling / Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

This easy recipe only takes 5 minutes to prepare, and it is so versatile!

4 T taco seasoning
1 cup chicken broth
1 lb boneless skiness chicken breasts

Dissolve taco seasoning into chicken broth.  Place chicken breasts in crockpot and pour broth over.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  With two forks, shred the chicken meat into bite-size pieces.  Place shredded meat in freezer bags with the juices, or use immediately in tacos, burritos, nachos, salads, or in the following recipe for Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos from OurBestBites.com.

3 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1 T lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese
small tortillas (corn or flour)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.  Heat cream cheese in the microwave for 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir.  Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder.  Stir to combine and add cilantro and green onions.  Add chicken and cheese and combine well.  You can prepare this step ahead of time.  Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking.  It helps to place them between damp towels.  Usually 20-30 seconds will do it.  Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.  Then, roll up as tight as you can.  Place seam side down on the baking sheet.  Lay all taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other.  Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle salt on top.

Place plan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and ends start to get golden brown.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.  Makes 12-16.

Whole Wheat Banana Pecan Muffins

My kids are muffin enthusiasts, and they really liked these muffins we made from OurBestBites.com...

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 c. mashed very ripe banana (about 2 large bananas or 3 smaller ones)

1/3 c. plain yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. pecans, chopped

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with liners–you’ll need about 15-16.Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, honey, and butter. Add each egg in one at a time, combining completely after each addition but not over-mixing. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined (don’t over-mix).Divide the batter evenly (so the cups are about 2/3 full) among 15-16 muffin tins. Combine the chopped pecans and brown sugar and sprinkle them on top of the batter. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to finish cooling.