Easiest Pizza Ever

So, this has recently become a favorite of mine. It's not a gourmet dish for sure--like Kelli's pizza. And, Kristi has known about it for awhile, but it's a new discovery to me. We've used it when playtime has extended into lunchtime. Or, it would be fun for a potluck playgroup.

1 can biscuits
1 jar pizza sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese
pepperoni slices
sliced olives
and other toppings you like

Squish (this is a technical cooking term) the biscuits on a cookie sheet. Spread a spoonful of pizza sauce on top. Top with shredded cheese and other desired toppings (feel free to put plenty on, the biscuits expand when they bake). Bake according to biscuit instructions and serve with a tossed green salad.

Potato Rolls

Personally I have never made these, but my mother in law has and they are divine! They melt in your mouth and have this awesome sweet glaze over them. I crave these! My sister in law, Sarah, said it took her 4 times to get this recipe right, but don't let that keep you from trying it out! They are awesome! It's more like a sweet treat than an actual roll, and she makes them for almost every occasion I have been at with her. I am going to try and make them so I'll let you know how that goes (being that it will be my first time trying to make a homemade bread using yeast and no bread machine!).

1 cup mashed potatoes (yeah, I know what you're thinking, but they are potato rolls!)
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup warm water
3 eggs
5-6 cups flour

Combine the potatoes, sugar, yeast, and warm water. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, and salt. Stir in 5 cups of the flour, add enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead until the dough is not sticky. Allow to rise until double in size. Cut into small portions, roll into long lengths and tie into knots. Place on a greased cookie sheet and allow to double again. Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes. Frost while they are still warm.

Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. butter
water as needed

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

If this was Rachael Ray's, I'd say YUM-O, but it isn't. This is Paula Deen's recipe and it's so good (and, strangely enough, there is plenty of butter involved!). It's actually quite easy to make, too - see, Stina, you can make homemade cheesecake! And because you bake it in a 9x13 pan, you don't need any fancy springform pans. Here are my suggestions: *Spray the foil inside the pan with cooking spray *I used low-fat cream cheese and it still tasted great *I only used about half of the Streusel topping *Get the caramel sauce in the jar, it's just a little bit more money but you want a good caramel sauce to top this cheesecake.

How good is it? Steve (my brother-in-law) ate two servings, and he's lactose intolerant!!!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Streusel topping, recipe follows
1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.
In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 30 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping.

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.

Eclair Cake- Perfect for Easter dinner!

So I know it has been a long time since I have posted a recipe. I think I've only actually posted one recipe on here to date. Anyway, this cake is so scrumptious. We had it at our Relief Society birthday dinner and I ate way more than my share. You bake it on a jelly roll pan so it looks like it makes a lot, but the cake is so thin that you can definitely eat more than once piece, and you will definitely want to. Just keep leftovers (if you have any) in the fridge. When I make this myself I will post a picture!

Crust:
1 cup water
1 cube butter (Paula Deen would love this recipe)
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Topping:
8oz cream cheese
1 large instant vanilla pudding
3 cups cold milk
8 oz cool whip
Chocolate topping (recipe below)

Bring water and butter to a boil, take off heat and mix in flour. Add eggs one at a time and beat into batter with a fork. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread batter on to sheet. Bake 20-25 min at 400. Mix cream cheese, pudding and milk. Let it set up a little and spread it onto the cooled baked crust. Spread cool whip on top and drizzle with chocolate topping.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1- 5oz can (2/3 cup) evaporated milk

Melt chocolate and butter. Add sugar, gradually stir in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil for 8 min. Let cool slightly and drizzle onto cake, making it look pretty :)

Lemon Blossoms (which is another name for HEAVEN!!)

I made these for a ward function, and they were literally gone in like 5 minutes. At least I saved myself a few at home! They are so good - like old fashioned donuts with lemon!!!

Cupcakes:
18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Glaze: 4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a tea towel To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.
With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

Easy Banana Muffins

From Betty Crocker (not me, the other one!)

1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups Bisquick Original baking mix (I use Jiffy--cheaper!!!)
1/2 cup raisins or chopped nuts (I put in chocolate chips)

Heat oven to 400. Grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffin cups, or line with paper baking cups. Beat bananas, oil, egg, and sugar in a large bowl until well blended. Stir in bkaing mix and chocolate chips just until baking mix is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool muffins in pan 5 minutes, remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm if desired.

Ranch Chicken

Make this. It will change your life FOREVER!!!!!!


5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup sour cream
1 can cream soup
1 packet dry Ranch dressing mix (can use Italian)

Slow cook chicken breasts with other ingredients mixed and poured over the top. Serve over rice. (I like to double the sauce. So, I use 1 cup sour cream and 2 cans cream soup and 2 packets of dressing mix. I never use as much chicken as it calls for and I like to cut up the chicken too. Whatever...)

Mega Meatball Pizza

This is Rachael Ray's. I love it. I just buy my dough from Papa Murphys. It's already on its own pan, which cuts down on dishes. It's worth it to get the ground sirloin instead of using just hamburger.

1 pizza dough, store bought or from your favorite pizza shop
A palm full all-purpose flour or cornmeal
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons – 2 turns of the pan
2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary leaves, a couple of sprigs
Coarse salt
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Black pepper
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
A handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 pound fresh mozzarella or brick mozzarella, your choice, sliced or grated

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

On a round pizza stone or pan or on a rectangular baking sheet, using flour or cornmeal to dust the dough, spread out the dough to form your crust. If you are using a baking sheet, drizzle pan with extra-virgin olive oil then set crust in place. Poke the pizza dough in several areas with the tines of a fork. Drizzle the dough with extra-virgin olive oil then season it with finely chopped rosemary and a little salt. Place in oven 10 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, then the meat. Brown and crumble meat a couple of minutes, then add onions and garlic. Season the meat with salt and pepper then work in the tomato paste using the back of a wooden spoon to combine. Stir in the cheese, parsley and oregano.

Remove pizza crust from oven and top with meat. Arrange cheese over the pizza, working to edges. Return the pizza to the oven and bake until cheese is golden, another 10 to 12 minutes.

Pumpkin Bars

Christina has been wanting this recipe for a while so I thought I'd post it. I've been making this recipe for years and they come out wonderfully every single time. You just can't go wrong with this one!


2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. oil
2 c. canned pumpkin

Sift dry ingredients together and mix with eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin mixture. Pour into greased and floured large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for 30 min. Frost when cool.

Frosting:

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. milk
3 oz. cream cheese
3/4 stick of butter

Beat al together and spread on cooled bars.

Easy Homemade Bread

When I was the Beehive leader I taught my Beehives this recipe and even THEY thought it was easy. It turns out every time and it's really delicious (especially the next morning as toast!)
This is actually my Grandma's recipe-Janet Norviel

2 c. luke warm water
1 Tbls. dry yeast
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
4 Tbls. salad oil
Flour (enough to make dough stiff)

In large bowl, put water, yeast, sugar, and salt and stir until mixed. Add oil. Add flour a little at a time until you have a thick elastic ball. Turn out on a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes (I never kneed it that long) until smooth. Add more flour if sticky.
Put back in bowl; let rise until double. Divide into two bread pans. Let rise again. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Butter tops immediately and turn out on dish towel to cool.
*You can also make delicious scones out of this recipe. Just let the dough rise once, then break off small pieces, flatten slightly, and fry in hot oil. Top with butter and honey.

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding

I made this for Kelli's Favorite Things party. I'd actually never made it before then, Paula Deen just makes it look oh so very good! And--it lived up to my expectations. It's delicious. Give her a try!



Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding
(Paula Deen from Food Network)

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top. In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.