Friday Favorites

I must say, this weekend, conference weekend, has to be one of my most favorite weekends of the year. Not only do we get to listen to the words and counsel of prophets and apostles but we get to do it in our pajamas!! WooHoo!

Seriously though, conference weekend is such a great ReSTaRt for me. The inspiring counsel given just gives me the lift that I need to renew my efforts, put the past behind me (as Pumba would say) and keep going. Plus, this year Kenny will get to take Jackson to Priesthood session! (I guess we're getting old!)

At our house we have a little conference morning tradition...although I think it's become less and less of a conference "morning" tradition now and turned into more of a conference "lunch time" tradition. We do conference breakfast (well now it's more like brunch) and get together with any family that's around or friends that want somewhere to go. Kenny becomes the chef for the morning...and he pulls out all the stops: bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes, orange juice. (I normally make sweet rolls...so no, I'm not totally lazy!) We're so full by the time breakfast/brunch is over that we don't bother eating again until dinner (a late dinner that is!) It's a lot of fun. The kids are always up for something other than cereal for breakfast (that's what they get every other morning) and it's fun to get together with our family and friends to listen to conference.

I'll leave you with a recipe that I found on allrecipes.com (again.) Normally I just make the Rhodes cinnamon rolls for conference, but I found this recipe and really like it, so in an effort to be save money but still have something yummy I think I'll make these this year! (I've already tried it out on Kenny and the kids and they loved them, so I won't ruin conference morning by making these.) Also, this recipe was designed to use with the bread machine (hate mixing my own dough) but I'm sure it would turn out great doing it the old fashioned way too.

Soft, Moist and Gooey Cinnamon Buns
By: FionasMom

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
4 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons water
1/2 (3.5 oz) package instant vnilla pudding mix
4 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup butter, softned
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (opt.)
1/4 cup raisins (0pt.)
1 teaspoon milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. In a bread machine pan, place the milk, beaten egg, melted butter, water, vanilla pudding mix, bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Selectthe Dough cycle.
2. When cycle is finished, remove the dough, and knead for3 to 5 minutes. Roll out to a large rectangle.
3. Mix together the softened buter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread over dough. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and raisins, if desired. Starting with the widest end, roll the dough into a log. Pinch to seal seams. Cut into 1/2 inch to 1 inch slices, and place in a greased 9x13 inch pan. Place in a draft-free space, and allow to rise until doubled.
4. Preheat the oven to 35 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake for 15 - 20 minutes. To make frosting, mix the milk, confectioners sugar, softened butter and vanilla in a small bowl. Spread over warm cinnamon rolls.

*Just a note by me: To speed up the rising time of the cinnamon rolls, try preheating the oven to 200 degrees F...then TURN THE OVEN OFF...and put the sweet rolls in (covered by a light dish towel). This won't be warm enough to bake the rolls...just warm enough to help them rise faster!! (and enjoy sooner!)

Friday Favorites

It's Friday again, which means I get to pick a favorite subject to do a post on. So, let me think for a minute...(hmmmm)...(I know)...FOOD!! I love food. Especially, the kind with lots of sugar and chocolate in it. (I don't know...maybe I was deprived as a growing gymnast so I'm just trying to make up for it now! (probably not, since my grandma was always baking something yummy!)) Fruits and veges have their place too, but since this is a "favorites" post I'm gonna have to give way to the dark side and share a yummy, Yummy, YUMMY, cookie recipe that I just found. Jackee...this should be right up your alley!

I found this recipe at www.allrecipes.com and it was submitted by Debbi Borsick. Don't know who she is, but I could just run up and give her a huge hug for this recipe...LOVE it! I've made the cookies twice now...with a little variation, so I'll give you the original recipe and then share the variations on it afterwards!

Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 oz) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.


Now I'm not usually one to actually make my cookies from scratch, but I'm trying to make my dollar stretch a little farther so I figured I could cut the budget by ridding myself of the unnecessary cost of pre-made cookie dough. I usually just buy the ready made Nestle Tollhouse dough because normally I hate the way my cookies turn out, BUT, this recipe has given me hope! Hope that I won't need to buy my cookie dough anymore...because I've finally found a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I like! This is a cookie that has a little bit of crunch on the edge, but is nice and soft in the middle...and they stay soft after they cool...even after a couple of days! (if they last that long!)

Anyway...now for a few alterations and variations...

Alterations:
*use more vanilla - I would suggest 2 tablespoons instead of just 2 teaspoons
(this was a suggestion made by one of the people on allrecipes...not me (I'm not that ingenious of a baker/cook) - tried the regular vanilla with one batch of cookies, and then tried increasing it with another batch of cookies and liked the taste much better with more vanilla!)

Variation:
*try it using a different flavor of pudding - I made it once with vanilla pudding and loved it. Then I tried it with chocolate pudding (told ya I can't pass up chocolate)...again very yummy. I bet white chocolate pudding would be yummy...maybe butterscotch pudding?? My favorite of my experiments was combining the vanilla pudding cookie dough with the chocolate pudding cookie dough. I made half 'n half cookies...I called them Ebony and Ivory cookies (look how original I was being!! LOL!)

Quick Notes:
-Do not over bake these cookies! (I dare say...leave them in for 12 min. max!...they may not look completely done, but they are!
-When making the dough, combine the sugar and butter, then slowly add in the pudding mix until it is completely mixed into the sugar/butter combo...then add your eggs and vanilla.
-This recipe makes a lot as it is written (about 6 doz.) so I just made half the recipe...actually half vanilla, half chocolate and then combined them, so I guess I got tons anyhow. Halfing the recipe works just fine though!

Enjoy!!...and come back and tell me what you thought of them after you make and EAT them all!

Friday Favorites

So, in keeping with the festivities of the week I've decided to post two favorite Valentine's Day things: A Chocolaty Treat and An Idea!

This yummy treat has been a family favorite for quite a while now, and no, we don't just use it for Valentine's Day, but Valentine's Day and chocolate are inseparable, so here you go...

Brownie Pudding Cake
(this is a Pampered Chef recipe...however, I'm sure there are other recipes just like it out there)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/12 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups boiling water
1 table spoon powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar, 1/4 cup of the cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk,melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla; stir until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly in 9x13 pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup coca; gradually stir in boiling water and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Carefully pour mixture evenly over batter in pan.
3. Bake 30 - 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 min. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Spoon into dishes.

Let me just say...this dessert is HEAVEN on earth served with a scoop (or 2) of vanilla ice cream!!

The next idea is brand new...for me (and although I wish I could claim credit for this one, I can't. All credit goes to Andy at Poppies at Play. She is incredibly talented and has some amazing ideas. Go visit her blog to see more of her ideas, and for those of us who are craft-impaired, she also sells many of her creations at PoppyGinger.)

5 Senses Basket
-Fill a basket with an item from each sense. For example:

• Touch: A coupon for a back or foot massage.
• Taste: Sparkling cider, chocolates, or make him his favorite dinner or dessert.
• Sight: Something sexy for you to wear later:) or a photo album of just the two of you.
• Smell: A nice smelling candle or lotion that you can use for the massage.
• Sound: Put together a mix of his favorite music, an iTunes gift card or a cd.

For a card you could say something like " I love you with all of my senses". There are lots of fun possibilities and you could really do it pretty inexpensively.

There you have it...some immediate Valentine favorites. Have fun! Enjoy! Happy Valentine's Day!