Red Velvet Pancakes

My kids new obsession for breakfast is red velvet pancakes. They are more like a dessert, so beware!!! Good idea for holidays, special occasions, or just want the kids to eat breakfast!

2 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 cups milk
2 tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 lg. eggs
1 1/2 t. red food coloring
2 t. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil.

Whisk eggs and set aside. Stir together all the dry ingredients. Add the egg, oil, vinegar, and mix in with the dry ingredients. Last stir in the food coloring. Heat a skillet or griddle with a tab of butter. I pour about an ice cream scoop amount of batter for each pancake. Turn when they start to bubble. About 2 minutes on each side.

For the topping I used real maple syrup. I also made a glaze out of confectioners sugar.

Hungarian Sour Cream Cookies

These cookies were really easy. They have a nice soft texture. I dusted them with powdered sugar.  Delicious!!

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar; stir in egg, sour cream and vanilla extract.  Stir in flour and baking powder.
Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until cookies are set but still very pale. Remove to a rack and cool completely.
Makes about 52 cookies.

Sweet Gibanica

We had our cousin Jenny over for an ethnic feast. Jenny brought szalonna , kolanche , and Hungarian wine. I made chicken paprikash and sweet gibanica.

                                    Gibanica Recipe

• Apricot Filling:
• 1 (9-ounce) package dried apricots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Raspberry Filling:
• 1 (10- to 12-ounce) jar red raspberry preserves
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Cheese Filling:
• 1 (8-ounce) package softened cream cheese
• 1 pound small curd creamed cottage cheese
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• .
• 1 pound thawed filo dough
• 4 ounces (1 stick) melted butter
• Confectioners' sugar

1. To make the apricot filing: Place apricot pieces in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until soft and thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons butter and cinnamon. Set aside to cool.
2. To make the raspberry filling: In a small bowl, mix the raspberry preserves with honey and set aside.
3. To make the cheese filling: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth and blend in cottage cheese, sugar and lemon zest. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add sour cream and beat again. In a separate medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and fold into the cheese mixture. Set aside.
4. To assemble: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 13x9-inch glass pan (so you will be able to see if the bottom is baked). Place filo in bottom of pan and lightly brush with butter.Place a second piece of filo dough and lightly brush with butter. Spread half the cheese mixture on top.
5.  Place filo on top of cheese and lightly brush with butter. Place a second sheet of filo dough on top and lightly brush with butter. Spread half the apricot filling on top and repeat with 2 more sheets of buttered filo dough, followed by the raspberry filling and 2 more  sheets of buttered filo dough. Continue in this manner until all the fillings are used. End with 2  sheets of buttered filo dough on top. Brush any remaining butter on top of dessert.
6. Bake 55 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.           

                                        

                                                

Ronnie's Birthday cake!

Ronnie's big Birthday bash is tonight!! I made him a super simple oreo cake. I like that it has chocolate on top instead of frosting. 
Here is the recipe. Enjoy!! http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/chocolate-covered-oreo-cookie-cake-90307.aspx

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

Have you tried the Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies at Panera!?!? I thought I'd make some for the kids for Valentine's Day. Super easy. 
 

1 box red velvet cake mix
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
1/2 cup white or chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and flour. Mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Stir in chocolate chips. Mix until smooth. Take about 1 tablespoon of cookie dough and form into a ball.(I just kind of dropped it in the sugar) Roll the ball in powdered sugar until fully coated. Place cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are set and cookies begin to crack.

Holly wreaths (remember my coloring book?)

No-Bake Holly Cookies

What You Need

1/3 cup butter or margarine

30 JET-PUFFED Marshmallows

1-1/2 tsp. green food coloring

3 cups corn flakes

2 Tbsp. cinnamon red hot candies

Make It

MELT butter in large saucepan on low heat. Add marshmallows; cook and stir 3 to 4 min. or until melted. Stir in food coloring.

ADD cereal; stir to evenly coat. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper-covered baking sheets sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Press candies into cereal mixture, flattening each mound slightly.

Schyler's piglet cake. He's loved piglet since he was 1 years old. I was gonna make hoho cupcakes. That sounds really yummy. I hate to make them though, because I would end up eating almost all of them. :)

Caramel Puffs

These are great!! I made them last night. Very easy. It makes alot so be prepared for a stomach ache. :) http://www.food.com/recipe/corn-puffs-caramel-corn-385806

nothing good to eat

I have nothing good to eat at my house. I decided to have a cucumber sandwich. It may sound boring , but it was GREAT! I ate two of them. I probably could have ate another. I put sliced cucumbers, a piece of cheese, garlic salt, pepper and mayo on two slices of bread. Yum!! What we create when we have to go shopping. :)

BMT subs!

I've been making my own bmt subs. This is the chipotle dressing I made up. It tastes very similar to subway.

3/4 c. buttermilk ranch dressing
2-3 seeded chipotle peppers in a can
1 t. taco seasoning

Mix in blender until thoroughly blended.

I Love this pic of Naiema!

doughnuts

Monica's apple fritters are giant. One is enough for 2 people. I bought those instead of sprinkle doughnuts for the kids. They love them , but can't finish a whole one. I've tried making doughnuts at home. Not the same. Dealing with the grease is annoying. Maybe I should try frying stuff outside? :) Less stink and mess.

fair food

I'm trying to think of some fun "fair snacks" for our movie night. I'm also thinking of some fun games too. I wanted to make cotton candy. I might make funnel cakes or elephant ears. I'm not sure if I'll take them to the fair. Sooo expensive! Remember my fried snickers? I don't think they would care about those. :( I posted a pic of our batman night. Superhero subs and bat cheeseballs.

cinnamon sticks

1- 10 oz. pkg. pizza dough (I used meijers)
4- T. butter
cinnamon and sugar
1- cup confectioners sugar
2-3 T. milk

Stretch the dough out until it looks like a long snake. Slice about 2-3 inch long pieces.
Roll in butter and shape on a sprayed cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 425 for about 6 minutes. Take out of oven, brush with more butter and cinnamon and sugar.
Whisk together the confectioner sugar and milk. Drizzle over bread.

I made these for the kids breakfast. They tasted pretty yummy. :) I gave them a banana too, so they could have something healthy. :) Bela loved them!

batter

This is the batter I use to fry chicken nuggets. I guess it would be called a tempura batter. So far I used it for cod, perch, chicken, onion rings, mushrooms and green beans. I have to say, the green beans are the best!
1 cup ice water
1 egg
1 cup flour
Whisk it all together and let it sit a minute.
I make a nice jalapeno mayo that is good to dip.
1 cup good mayo
1-2 jalapenos
2 T. lime juice
1 garlic clove
salt-n- pepper
Mix everything really good in a blender

Butternut Squash Pasta (Healthy Mac)

I made this great pasta last night. It's best eaten after you make it. I heated it up the next day and it wasn't as good. Still good, but not great. I don't prefer mac -n- cheese reheated anyway.

1- 12oz. pkg. of thawed butternut squash
1-16oz. pkg. of rigatoni
2-cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 cup chicken broth or veggie broth
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded parmesan and asiago cheese
salt and pepper
olive oil and 1 T. butter

Saute garlic in olive oil and butter for 2 minutes
Add squash and saute for 2-3 minutes longer
Add broth, heavy cream, cheese, and whisk until melted.
Season to taste with salt and pepper
Let thicken a little. Pour over pasta!

I know the holiday is over, but here is a great batch of cookies to try: http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/cookies/Top20HolidayCookies.htm
I'll probably try a few. There is always Valentines, right??? I had to run to Target today. Surprisingly they have nothing left. Everything is 75% off. (Xmas stuff) Kmarts sales after Xmas are never great. Alot of B-days in January and February. :) So far I ate almost everything in the gift Rhonda sent, same with Dori's , wear my pajama pants every night and only a few chocolates left. :)Thank you again for all the great gifts for me and my family.

The years fly by. Watching an old video and seeing how young everyone was makes me very emotional. I think we had a lot of snacks. Wings, onion rings, dips, chocolate fondue, cheeseballs, quiche, and veggies. I think that's it. The boys are waiting to open the champagne. I remember when Rhonda and Ronnie thought they were drunk. :) Happy New Year to everyone. I hope this will be the best yet.

I am really annoyed with my baking this year! I just burned my 4th. thing. I'm usually a great baker. I just put it in, get busy and forget about it. I have wasted too much butter. You know I obsess about stuff so i'll probably make it again until it's right. I don't know why I bother. :(

Crazy Days!

What a crappy day yesterday. This is why I don't like winter. I don't like all the coats, hats, gloves, and boots. Trying to keep them on the kids is a PAIN! I don't like driving in the bad weather. I REALLY don't like when the power goes out. That is horrible! I almost didn't send Schyler to school, but then I thought, I can't keep him home all winter. I wish school was just fall and spring. :) I need to start my baking. I just haven't had time. It's a mad house always. How am I finding time to write this? Bailey and Bela are probably pulling balls off the tree and Coconut is probably pooping in the house and chewing toys! I guess I'll try to get organized. Calgon take me away!!!!! Oh, I'm thinking about taking the boys to see , "Walking With Dinosaurs." I think they'd love it. Check out the website. http://www.dinosaurlive.com/