Hot buttered rolls anyone?

A bunch of you were surprised to learn about my couponing blog Craving Savings. I guess I'm a closeted couponer...sorta. I mean I do have that public blog & all, but I rarely talk about it over here.

So it seems to reason that you might not know that I'm pretty domesticated too. Granted S does the laundry but I do most of the cooking at our house. Otherwise we would eat a lot of Luck's pinto beans**. Trust me it's better that I do the cooking.

And I enjoy it. Minus the clean up part.

But baking is my real passion. Creating something out of flour & water and watching it become something amazing is a complete rush for me.

These are just two of the character cakes I've made over the years. My family still talks about the year I made a race car track for my two oldest nephews complete with jello cars. And about the Sponge Bob cake I free handed.





Cookies, pies, sweet breads and cakes...all good stuff, but nothing compares to fresh yeast bread. I really love making a fresh loaf of bread. This No-Fail French Bread has been in my rotation for the last few weeks.

Then I stumbled across this recipe for Bread Machine Buttery Rolls.

They say a picture is worth a million words...get a load of this:



Pass the butter please NOW.

**My husband is partial to Luck's pinto beans. And by partial I mean these are the ONLY kind of canned pinto beans that he will eat. Whenever it's his turn to make dinner I can guarantee Luck's will be part of the menu. It's a small price to pay for a husband that does the laundry. That ALWAYS does the laundry. Jealous much?

What's for dinner? Good question.

That's what Mama Kat's asking today cause she's starving.

I wish I had an answer for her, but for all my stockpiling and couponing, I didn't do a real menu plan this week. Mainly because I had something going on every night.

DUH!

Those are the times you need a menu plan. Instead there were frozen meals on Monday, Wendy's on Tuesday and finally yesterday I cooked. Don't get too excited though...it was sloppy joes and mac n cheese. From a can. And a box.

On my anniversary.



That's not a knock at S either. We went into town and bought things for a Booster function on Saturday, stuff for Beefy's cake next week and then I bought a $900 camera package cause I'm a spoiled brat the reviews were good and it seemed like a good deal for a starter like me.

So we could have eaten out. Again. But I didn't want to. Remember I'm frugal and had just dropped a pile of money on a camera.

Besides that we ate out on Friday, Saturday and Tuesday which is three times as much as I would have liked to.

Now I just need to get back into the groove of menu planning and cooking. Maybe you could inspire me by answering the question -

What's for dinner?

(And I WILL be having another giveaway next week. I just got the "mystery product" in the mail yesterday so I'm going to try it out this weekend and then offer it up to ya'll. I can't wait!)

Easy as...cake?

When Mama Kat asked for a favorite recipe it was really hard to narrow it down to just one. Ya'll know I heart food. But after a lot of consideration I decided on dessert.

This cake is so worth all the effort you put into it. It's worth all the time you'll spend making it. It's worth every calorie when you finally get to eat it.

Promise.

First take any cake mix. I heart chocolate so that's what I used, but any ole' cake mix will do. You see how hard this is? Decisions, decisions.


Then take any soda, even diet soda, especially diet soda, and mix 12 ounces into the cake mix.

Ta-da! You're done!

Well...not really since you will need to bake it. Or not. I can testify that the batter is pretty tasty.

If you decide to bake it, then heat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes for cupcakes. Maybe a little longer if you are actually making a cake.


Make sure to let it cool completely before trying to eat it, otherwise it will fall apart. Or so I heard.

Easy peasy, chicken greasy. You got cake!

Home Ec wasn't the only class in session this week - go HERE to see what other homework was turned in this week.

Tidy Tuesday - The Conspiracy Theory

I'm jumping on Denise's bandwagon, with her permission. In yesterday's post she said it was going to be a Theme Week over at her place. I immediately asked for details and she said I could play along because I would add to her street cred - her words, not mine.

BTW if you are looking for ways to make the most out of your pudding I highly recommend you check out Multipurpose Monday.

So today has been declared Tidy Tuesday.

Conspiracy much? Me thinks yes.

Do you remember a couple weeks ago I mentioned that I cleaned my room but I still had a mountain of clothes waiting to be put away? Well I'm convinced that S sent all you guys an email and asked for help. The only one that answered his tortured plea was Denise and this whole "theme week" was really a ploy to get me to put them away. Really!

Okay not really, but that's exactly what I did started. Let me introduce you to The Mountain.

Most people wouldn't show you this but I'm all about keeping it real. And this is 100% real. All THIS has been laying on my SD's bed for the last 2-3 weeks and each day I pick a shirt, or undies or socks from the pile.

So I started working...

Folding...

Sorting...

I tossed a pair of pjs that had seen better days...

Thanked the laundry Gods that I found my favorite A7X shirt...

And wondered how I would ever get all the wrinkles out...

Finally I ended up here


Everything folded in a neat little pile based on where it needs to go.

This is my plan:

Unfortunately I didn't get started until after work, after the grocery store, after making dinner, after emptying the dishwasher, after filling the dishwasher up again and after washing the pots and pans so none of these piles are going to the appropriate place until tomorrow.

I decided to treat myself to a nice cup of hot tea and some trashy TV instead.


But rest assured Denise (& S), this will be waiting on me tomorrow.



Now pop on over to find out what Denise has been tidying up...hopefully there's no pudding involved this time, or maybe it pudding would be a better alternative. You be the judge.

It's really THAT easy...

It's been a while since I posted any new recipes. Sunday I spent most of the day with my trusty laptop and while I was jumping around I found a recipe for "mix in the pan" cakes that claimed to be as good as a boxed cake mix AND as easy.

That's a claim I wanted to put to the test.

Since I still had applesauce in my freezer I decided on the applesauce version, leaving the chocolate one for another day.

"Mix in the Pan" Applesauce Cake

Here's what you need:


1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice I used a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves since I didn't have any allspice.
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vinegar I used apple cider vinegar cause it's what I had.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Measure all the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, baking soda, spice(s), and salt) into the 8-inch UNGREASED square pan. Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Pour the wet ingredients (water, applesauce, oil, and vinegar) into the flour mixture and stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, but do not beat or over-mix.

Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. (It was 40 minutes in my oven.) Serve plain or dust with powdered sugar.


I couldn't wait to cut into it so it was still hot when I did. It crumbled a bit because I didn't let it cool properly. Didn't bother me a bit. The cake still tasted good and I'm not above eating crumbs.

The only I might change next time is to add more applesauce and less oil. And I might add some raisins. Or walnuts. Or raisins and walnuts. Or chopped apples. Or...well as you can see I could do a million things with it but the basic recipe is good and just as easy as it said.

Wondering what I had for dinner? Check this out. Let's just say my kitchen smelled delicious yesterday.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

I worked on a few more things yesterday evening. Here's what I've made so far:

Eggnog Bread
Preacher Cookies
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Sour Cream Pound Cake
Peanut Butter Balls
Snowball Cookies
Sausage Balls
Reindeer Noses

I still need to make:

Mexican Pinwheels (not a cookie)
Potato Chip cookies (I'm still looking for a good recipe so they are on the back burner for now.)
Fudge
Peanut Butter Balls (My first batch won't be enough to last through Christmas)

Featured today is my Sour Cream Pound Cake recipe. I don't remember where I got this recipe but I've been making it for the last 11 years.

Here's what you need:



1 cup butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.



Mix baking soda and vanilla with sour cream; add alternately with flour and mix well.



Pour into a greased & floured 10" tube pan. (I used 4 mini loaf pans plus one regular loaf pan.)



Bake @ 325 for 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar if desired.



If you are interested in any of the other recipes that I don't have a link for just let me know!

Sorry for the late post but I had a small scare last night. I woke up around 5 because my heart felt like it was literally beating out of my chest...it was very quick and erratic. I got up, moved around and thought it would go away. It didn't subside until after 7:30 this morning so I thought it was best to go to the doctor this morning. She said my EKG looks good and if it happens again she will monitor it with one of those 24 hours devices.

For those wondering, I didn't go to the emergency room because I didn't have any other issues. No pain, no shortness of breath or nausea. Just the erratic heartbeat. So I'm okay now and I just hope it was a fluke. I am prone to weird ailments so hopefully I can add this to that list.

Snowball Cookies

Saturday I didn't do anything but lay on the couch taking numerous naps throughout the day. To make up for it, I had a bake-a-thon yesterday.

Here's what I made:

Eggnog Bread
Preacher Cookies
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Sour Cream Pound Cake
Peanut Butter Balls
Snowball Cookies

I still need to make:

Mexican Pinwheels (not a cookie)
Sausage Balls (obviously not a cookie)
Potato Chip cookies (You convinced me to try these!)
Fudge
more Peanut Butter Balls (My first batch won't be enough to last through Christmas)
And anything else that I come across between now and Wednesday.

Today I'm sharing my Snowball Cookie recipe.

Here's what you need:



1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups (12 oz pkg) semi-sweet chocolate mini chips
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
Extra powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375.

Beat butter, vanilla extract and salt in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in flour.



Stir in the chips and nuts. (Batter will be stiff.)



Shape tablespoons of dough into 1 1/4" balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned.



Remove from oven. Sift powdered sugar over hot cookies on baking sheets. Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.



This recipe is supposed to make 60 cookies but I think I made mine a little bigger so it wasn't quite that many. Snowballs have a shortbread texture, with the added bonus of chocolate and walnuts. They are one of my favorite holiday cookies.

OMG Brownies

These brownies were originally called Chocolate Bliss brownies for good reason, but quickly re-named OMG Brownies by the kids after they tried them. The name stuck because these brownies will make you say OMG!

What you'll need:



18-21 ounce brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies, in my case 2 tablespoons water, 3 eggs, & 1/2 cup vegetable oil)
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup salted nuts (I used nut topping, but you can use your favorite nut.)
40 rolos

Preheat oven to 375. Combine brownie mix, water, eggs, vegetable oil and 1/4 brown sugar. Once mixed fold in 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour batter in a 13x9 pan.



Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup of salted nuts. Sprinkle over brownie batter. Bake 20-22 minutes or until done. (It was closer to 35 minutes for me.)



While the brownies are baking unwrap a million freakin' rolos. Lick the spatula and bowl while unwrapping - it will keep it from being such a pain in the ass. I just used an entire bag of the smaller ones. Set aside 24 rolos and then quarter the rest.



Take the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and microwave for 1 minute or until melted. Place melted chocolate in a zip top baggie.



When brownies are done remove from oven and sniff really hard to inhale all the chocolate deliousness that just came out. Immediately press 24 rolos into the brownies.



Then sprinkle with the quartered rolos & remaining nuts. Cut the corner off the zip top baggie and drizzle chocolate over the top.




Cut into squares and serve warm; it's especially good with ice cream. Trust me on this.

Now eat and say OMG!

Let's Talk Turkey

I roasted my very first turkey 2 years ago. I researched the perfect instructions for hours on end until I found Alton Brown.

Man. I love me some Alton Brown. That kid is like the MacGyver of the food world. He can do anything.

Anyway, I followed his instructions to the letter both years and ended up with the most succulent turkey I'd ever tasted. It was browned just right, moist inside and an overall easy process for a newbie like me.

But I've fudged this year.

I bought my turkey from Kroger over 3 weeks ago when they were on sale not realizing what I was getting. Yes, it's a turkey but can you tell what's wrong?



It's buttered. That means I will not be putting it into a brine. I couldn't possibly stick a buttered turkey in a container of brine right?

I feel abandoned and lost. I pray that my buttered turkey turns out equally as good because if it doesn't I will be in serious trouble.

With the impending holidays on our heels, this is the first of many posts regarding food that you will see from me.

I heart food. I heart eating food. I heart making (most) foods. So of course I heart talking about food. And forgive me but isn't that what the holidays are all about?

If you ♥ holiday food like I do, join me and my fellow twitters from Mommy Gossip - GNO while we talk....what else - FOOD! RSVP here and then follow the others to join in on the fun!

Apple Cider Cake

I cannot remember where I got this recipe, but for the last 4 years (or so) it has become mine. It is my sis's favorite cake and I'm obligated to make it at least once during the holiday season.

Which is okay with me cause it's G-O-O-D. And easy since it starts with a cake mix.

Let's start with the ingredients. As you can see I'm not brand specific.



Cake:
18.25 oz plain yellow cake mix
3.5 oz vanilla instant pudding (dry)
4 large eggs
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves



Glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp apple cider
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour bundt pan. Place cake mix, pudding, eggs, apple cider, oil, cinnamon & cloves in mixing bowl. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape bowl and beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan.



Bake 42-48 minutes (or until done). Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes.



While the cake is cooling, go outside and grill yourself a steak or two for dinner. Then go back in and make the glaze while the meat is resting.



Glaze: Heat confectioners sugar, cider and lemon zest in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth.



Take cake out of pan and immediately pour glaze over the cake. Be sure that the cake and glaze is still warm so that it soaks down into the cake.

In other words don't take your sweet time taking pictures for your blog otherwise it the glaze will harden on top. Still good, but not great.



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What are you still here for? Go make this cake already!

Hot Pockets from home

This is one of the recipes on my sidebar that I've wanted to make since forever. I had some a lot of deli ham sitting in my fridge so I decided to make ham and cheese pockets. Now that I know how easy it is I regret not doing it earlier.

Here's what I did. (Original Pizza Pockets recipe from Happy To Be @ Home)

Step 1 - Make dough

Step 1 1/2 - Buy Kitcheaid mixer. Well, not really but it does make life easier. I've had mine since last Christmas and I'm still completely in love with it.

1 pkg of active dry yeast
1 c warm water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 c all purpose flour



I added my yeast right into the dry ingredients because I always purchase INSTANT yeast. This yeast will be your BFF because it enables you to skip the "let soak" phase of yeast. I then added all the wet ingredients and mixed with my beloved kitcheaid.



Once it was mixed I scraped the sides and then proceeded to add an additional 1/2 c all purpose flour until my dough was no longer sticky. (Add in 1/2 c increments if you need additional flour.)

Then turn your fabulous kitchenaid back on and let the dough hook do it's magic for the next two minutes. Or if you really want to, you can knead by hand for two minutes.

Put the dough ball into a greased bowl turning to oil the top. (I used a tablespoon of olive oil.) Cover and let it sit for at least one hour.



This is where it expands like my thighs.

After an hour or so, punch down the dough and divide into 10 balls. Then roll each ball into an 8" circle. Or something that resembles a circle.






Fill one side with whatever you like...I used some sliced deli ham and cheese for 6 of them and then pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese for the last four "circles".





Fold and use a fork to seal. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.



According to the ladies over at Happy To Be @ Home these freeze really well wrapped in foil or a ziplock. I doubt they stick around long enough to find out.

Hello! A teenage boy lives here.