Peanut Butter Temptations

These yummy little cookies go back about 12 years when I lived in St. George going to college. We lived in a town home and a lady across the street brought us a plate full of these during Christmas Time. So for some reason, although these aren't just Christmas Cookies, it's the only time of the year I make them. So I guess for me, they are my Christmas cookies. And we all know how much I LOVE peanut butter, you can imagine how good these cookies are, and look at how adorable they are! Perfect to go on your Christmas plate of treats to bring to your neighbor!I tried to see if it made a difference in whether or not I rolled the dough or not, and it didn't really. Personally i think they looked better not rolled so save your self some time and just throw a spoonful of dough in your mini muffin pans and call it good!
And DON'T put those peanut butter cups in the cookie until the second they are done cooking, then pop those bad boys in real quick!

1/2 Cup Butter

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 Cup flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

10 oz bag small reeses peanut butter cups

Cream together your butter, Peanut Butter & sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to mixture. Drop spoonful of dough about 3/4 full in a mini muffin pan. Bake at 375* for 8-10 min. When done, immediately press unwrapped Peanut Butter cups into the center of each cookies. At this point I stick the whole pan in my refrigerator and let it cool, otherwise the chocolate takes forever to harden. And although these are soooo yummy to eat warm right of the oven, I actually like to store these in an air tight container in my refrigerator and eat them cold. SOOOOOOO good! Enjoy!

Banana Cream Pie

For Thanksgiving this year I was in charge of a Banana Cream Pie and Rolls. I put myself in charge of the Banana Cream Pie because I had a FABULOUS recipe I made from scratch that was to die for. Then when it came time to make it, I couldn't find the recipe anywhere!!!! (Hence, the whole reason why I am making this blog!!) So I hurried and stalked my favorite food blogs and came across this one. It wasn't from scratch, but had rave reviews about how good it was and how easy it was. So I made it, and LOVED it! So I guess I now have a new favorite Banana Cream Pie!http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/banana-cream-pie/

Butternut Squash Soup

I love finding new soup recipes, and everyone has been raving about butternut squash soup. So I put my little feelers out there for everyones recipes and when I found this one, I thought it was the best one for me to try! And it was awesome. I loved it. You can do it two ways as you can see in the two pics below. The one from Our Best Bites is completely blended to make a baby food like consistency. I like some substance in my soups, so what I did was take half the soup and blend it then added it back into what I left behind and came up with a perfect consistency! Give it a try! Here is my version:
And from Our Best Bites

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/10/butternut-squash-soup/

Gluten Free - Brazilian Cheese Rolls

For those of you wondering what kind of rolls to cook up for Thanksgiving that has to be Gluten Free, here you go! I just went to a cooking class at Kitchen Kneads themed for Breaking Dawn and they demonstrated them there. I'm in charge of rolls this year for Thanksgiving so I'm going to bake a batch of my Lion House Rolls, and a batch of these! These are sooooooooooooo easy, and soooo yummy! You actually blend the ingredients in a blender and pour them into the muffin pans. Love it! They are made with tapioca flour and have a yummy warm chewy middle from the cheese that brings on a whole new texture in these rolls, so enjoy!!! You can actually make the batter and store it in the fridge for up to a week.

*1 egg -

1/4 Cup olive oil

2/3 Cup milk

1 1/2 Cups tapioca flour

1/2 cup packed grated cheese - I liked montery and colby or chedder was good too

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp thyme (optional)

*you should have your egg at room temp. for optimal fluffiness. If you forget to plan ahead you can put your egg in a bowl of warm water for a few min.

Preheat oven to 400* Grease a mini muffin tin. Put all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. Scrape down the edges with a rubber spatula and blend again. Pour into the muffin tins almost to the top. Bake for 15-20 min. (I did 20) until puffy and lightly browned. It's definitely a bonus to eat while warm! Enjoy!

4 Packet Roast

So I'm back after a weekend of my 4 year old breaking his arm and getting surgery, to me getting the -semi tummy flu -. I know I haven't posted forever!! But here goes: I've made this one a few times, the last being this Sunday and was reminded at how easy and yummy this roast is! I have to say my favorite Roast to use is the Tenderloin Roast. It is soooooooo.... well, umm, Tender. Just make sure you get the roast out the day before to let it defrost. 1 Roast

1 Packet Lipton Onion Soup

1 Packet Ranch Dressing

1 Packet Brown Gravy

1 Packet Italian Dressing

3/4 Cup of Water or 1 Can Beef Broth

Just start with Searing your Roast with Olive oil on each side for 3 min. Put Roast in your crockpot and surround with your favorite veggies, mine being potatos, carrotts and onions. Then Sprinkle your packets on top, and last your liquid. I Put my crockpot on high for 2 hours and then low for the last 6 hours. Serve with your favorite sauce (Go 57 Sauce users!!!) Or you can use A1. It's best with all 4 packets but don't fret if you don't have them all every time. Yesterday I only had the ranch packet and the onion soup packet and it was still awesome!!

A fun way to do leftovers with this meal is in a heated tortilla with melted cheese and your meat & veggies ripped into smaller peices, Plus your sauce!

I got this recipe from Sisters Cafe: http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2010/09/4-packet-roast

Lion House Rolls

My friend Amy is THEE Master of Rolls! Ever since I met her I've known how much she loves her cheese sandwiches on bread, and her subways, and her rolls. She's a great cook, and a master at roll making. I've tried three kinds of her rolls and LOVE every single one of them. So today, I will start with the Lion House Rolls! I've use this in my 5 quart bowl Kitchen Aid and it works great. And don't forget to serve them with this Honey Butter

1/3 Cup Warm Water
2 tblsp yeast
3/4 Cup Sugar
3 eggs
9 Cups flour -divided
1 tblsp salt
3 Cups milk

2 Squares of Margarine (YUCK on Margarine, but soooooooo worth it in this recipe!!!)

Put your yeast in water and set aside. In a seperate microwavable bowl combine your 3 cups of milk and margarine. Microwave for 3 minutes. In your Mixing Bowl combine your sugar, eggs, 6 cups flour, & salt. Once combined, add your bowl of heated milk and mix for a few more minutes then add your yeast and mix well. Add about 3- 3 1/2 Cups flour and knead for a few minutes (until dough starts to pull away from bowl but still soft and sticky) Let rise 1 hour.

Take Bread out and knead on a floured (or buttered) surface for a minute. Break dough in half, and roll each piece into a rectangle. Spread Margarine all over the dough (I've skipped this step and it tastes fine) and cut into strips of about 1 1/2 inch by 3 inches. Grab the short side with both hands and flip the dough around and tuck end piece on the bottom. Pictures above are supposed to help with this!

Bake at 375* for 18 minutes.

Ham And Potato Soup

It's sooo hard to post all of my healthy dinners and snacks right in the middle of comfort food weather & the holidays! So please forgive me and don't lose faith in me, because I promise I have more up my sleeve, but who can resist right now? I say if you eat good 80% of the time, you can cheat the other 20% of the time and still feel good about yourself! On that note, here is some yummy Ham and Potato Soup that is quick and delicious. And yes, I did serve them in bread bowls. I know, bad!!!!! But ohhhh, soo good! Enjoy!

Ready in 45 min:

4 Cups Water
3 1/2 Cups peeled & diced potatoes

1 Cup diced cooked ham
1/3 Cup diced celery
1/3 Cup finely chopped onion
2 tblsp chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

6 tblsp butter

6 tblsp flour

2 cups milk

Garnish options: bacon, chives & cheese!

If you are short on time microwave the potatoes for 5 minutes before you start, then follow the rest of the directions. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham & chicken bouillon in a stockpot. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender about 10 to 15 min. Add your salt & Pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over med - low heat. When melted, slowly whisk in flour 1 tblsp at a time with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick. About 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over med-low heat until thicker, 4-5 min. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot and cook soup until heated through. Serve Immediately!