Red Hot Cinnamon Apples

4 medium apples
1/2 C red hot candies
1/4 C white sugar
1/2 C water

Cut apples into slices.  (you can peel them if you want, but I don't)  Place all ingredients into a large saucepan and stir.  Bring ingredients to a boil.  Stir and reduce heat to low.  Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until apples are soft.  Serve apples alone or over vanilla ice cream.

Not only is this recipe delicious, it makes your house smell amazing.  This is also really good cold.  Let the cinnamon apples cool, then refrigerate.  Enjoy!

Hank's Home Made Pizza

My son loves pizza, I mean what kid doesn't.  But I really dislike greasy pizza so I would rather make my own than order out.  I like making my own dough but I confess I don't usually make the pizza sauce.  If you have a good recipe feel free to share.

 

2 teaspoons dried granulated yeast
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup water, plus
2 tablespoons water

Place all the above ingredients in the order I have listed into the bread machine.  Select the dough cycle and press start.  When the dough cycle is complete, take the dough out of the machine and place in well greased bowl, and roll the dough around to coat it in olive oil.
Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1/2 an hour.  Knead the risen dough lightly.
To shape and bake: roll the dough into your desired shape.  Place on well greased cookie sheet or pizza stone.  Place in the oven for 5 minutes before putting on toppings.  Then add a toppings of your choice and bake at 400 to 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  

Topping Ideas:

For this pizza I used 1 Cup Barilla Tomato Basil sauce, 1lb of ground beef and 2 Cups of shredded Sargento mozzarella.

BBQ Pizza Chicken

1 Cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, 1lb grilled chicken sliced, 1 medium red onion thinly sliced, 2 Cups shredded Gouda (or you can use colby jack), two jalapeno peppers (seeds removed and sliced).

Enjoy!

Beef Shish Kabobs Marinade

So it is baseball/softball season...which means I have very little time to cook.  I have explained before that cooking is my stress relief, soooo I'm a little stressed right now.  I'm tired of ballpark food and fast food.  Today I was determined to have "real" food.  I got up this morning and put together shish kabobs and made a marinade.  I knew that the kabobs could marinate all day and I could grill them in the hour I would be home this evening.  I also made a blueberry cobbler (see my cobbler recipe in a previous post).  After two games today it was nice to eat at home.  So here is my marinade recipe.

• 
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup prepared mustard
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely cracked black pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, ground black pepper, and garlic.  Mix well, and add your favorite meat. Seal the bag, and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours.  You can also place the kabobs in a dish and pour the marinade over them.  Then cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge.

Remember that meat and vegetables cook for different amounts of time so cook them on separate kabobs.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Short Cut Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil1 cup mini marshmallows
2 cups strawberries, quartered
1 pkg strawberry jello

Mix cake mix, eggs, water, and oil according to package directions.  Set aside.  Grease bottom of a 13x9 inch pan, sprinkle with marshmallows.  Combine strawberries and jello, set aside.  Pour cake batter over the marshmallows.  Spoon strawberry mixture over batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Serve warm, Enjoy!

Sausage, Potatoes, and Banana Peppers

1 package turkey smoked sausage

1 pkg small red potatoes, quarterd

1 small jar banana peppers

1 large onion, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, spray with nonstick olive oil spray.  Slice sausages into thin rounds.  Quarter the potatoes and slice onions.  Place all ingredients on baking sheet and drizzle oil over.  Use your hands to toss everything together in the oil, making sure everything feels coated.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Top with sliced banana peppers.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 30-35 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Enjoy!

Cheesy Beef Bundles

1lb lean ground beef
3 gloves of garlic, minced
1 jar of prepared spaghetti sauce
1 cup of mild cheddar cheese
2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Brown ground beef and drain fat.  Add minced garlic and cook for another two minutes.  Add spaghetti sauce and cheese, stir.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Then separate crescent rolls into squares on a cookie sheet.  Pat the squares out so they are slightly bigger.  Place two spoonfuls of the meat mixture in the middle of the square.  Bring each corner of the square to the middle and twist.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

My mother-in-law made this recipe with hot roll mix.  I loved the recipe but waiting for dough to rise and kneading etc. didn't fit in my schedule.  I was standing in the grocery store one day with all of the ingredients for this in my cart and trying to figure out what night of the week I had enough time to make it.  Then I saw crescent rolls, I didn't know if they would work but it was worth a shot.  I made them that night and it worked!  I also hold this recipe dear to me because I made these the night my son was born.  My Mom had come to my house to help me get things ready and Hank decided that he would come 10 weeks early.  My Pampered Chef stone still has four round spots on it from those cheesy beef bundles that night.  I love recipes that bring back good memories.  I hope you Enjoy and make your own memories.

Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze

Cake:

1 package lemon cake mix

1 package instant lemon pudding mix

3/4 cup vegetable oil 

4 eggs 

1 cup Sierra Mist

Glaze:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.  In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix, then stir in the oil. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the Sierra Mist.  Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. For glaze: Place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl; stir in lemon juice and zest (glaze should be thick, yet pourable). Add more sugar or lemon juice, as necessary, to achieve desired consistency. Remove cake from pan.  Pour glaze over the cake.  Allow to cool.

I love, love, love lemon, especially in the spring time.  Lemon awakes your taste buds, it's like coming out of a long winters sleep.  So why put it in a bundt cake, only Grandmas in the 1950's make bundt cakes.  SO NOT TRUE!  Bundt cakes are good and really versatile, not to mention pretty.  So try this making this for your next family gathering, Enjoy!