A food I already loved...simplified!

Who hasn't been to a party and enjoyed a rolled pickle? You know- a piece of lunch meat, smeared with cream cheese, wrapped around a pickle and cut into slices? I adore them! Then, I found out an even easier way to enjoy them...Rolled Pickle Dip!!!!

All you need for this recipe... 1 (8oz) Package of Cream Cheese, 1 (2oz) Package of Dried Beef or Budig Beef (generic is fine), and some dill pickle relish.

Chop the beef into very tiny pieces.

In a bowl, stir cream cheese until smooth.

Add in beef and 2-3 TBS of relish (I usually use 3!). Stir well to combine.

Chill for at least 1 hour for best flavor- serve with your favorite crackers!

Yum...I really LOVE Cream Cheese Frosting!

To go along with my need to bake with yeast this weekend, I decided to try a new Cinnamon Roll recipe as well. I've recently discovered how much I love making dough and then allowing it to rise in the refrigerator overnight. I still can't believe that actually works! This time, I used the recipe for Overnight Cinnamon Rolls.

Again, proof 2 1/4 tsp of yeast with 1/2 cup of white sugar in 1 cup of warm milk. Add 1 cup of flour, 1/3 cup melted butter, 3 eggs and 1 tsp of salt. Continue adding flour and knead dough until smooth. Place in an oiled bowl, covered, for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, roll dough into a large rectangle, about 10 x 14. In a bowl mix 3/4 cup of Brown Sugar with 1 TBS of cinnamon.

Spread evenly over the dough leaving 1 edge clean. Brush this edge with water.

Slowly roll the dough and seal the edge. Cut into 12 equal pieces.

Place into a buttered baking dish. I used 2 8x8 pans so I could freeze one batch for another time. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

 Look how big they got overnight!!! Allow to sit at room temp for 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

While the cinnamon rolls bake- make frosting :) I didn't use the frosting recipe recommended, instead, I used the frosting from the Clone of a Cinnabon recipe!

My rolls baked for exactly 25 minutes- they got so big!!!

Frost and serve! Very sweet and very delicious :)

Fall flavors full of love!

I adore pumpkin.  I NEVER get sick of it and wish it wasn't considered so seasonal! Today, we made Iced Pumpkin Cookies!

Lots of ingredients, which is a bonus if you have a two-year old that loves to help :)

Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl. Robyn just loves this part...Me too! Another chance to use my whole nutmeg. It smells so good!

Beat together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, pumpkin and vanilla.

Gradually add flour mixture until incorporated.

Oops! How did those chocolate chips get in there??

Made exactly 36 cookies, just as the recipe states. I'm always shocked when my guesstimated scoops come out just right :) Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

I made another change to this recipe... I used Orange Juice instead of the milk for the frosting. Such a tasty combination!

I also added a little food coloring to give it a nice orange color :)

A beautiful glaze and a wonderful tasting cookie....so good!

I love Cream Cheese Frosting!

I've been searching and searching for canned pumpkin. I couldn't imagine a Fall without making Pumpkin Bars!! I printed a recipe on-line in 2003- it's no longer available on-line, but I'm here to share it with you!

Oops...forgot to put the baking soda in the picture :) Don't forget to put it in the recipe!

Begin by beating the eggs until frothy.

Add pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, sugar, baking powder and soda. Mix well.

Add flour and mix until smooth.

Pour into an un-greased baking dish....I use a 9x13 but it can also be made on a sheet pan. Throw in a 350 degree oven, for about 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick.

While the bars bake, mix 3 oz of cream cheese with 1/4 cup of softened butter until fluffy.

Add 1 tsp of vanilla and 2 cups of powdered sugar. Beat until smooth.

Let the pumpkin bars cool....I always stick them in the fridge because I can't wait!

Frost and serve...yum! I added cute little Leaf Sprinkles on top. I love to eat mine cold :)

I just love Wedding Mints!

So, I haven't blogged for over a week, because I was cooking and preparing for my parents anniversary- which was a surprise!! My parents celebrated their 35th anniversary on August 23rd- and we planned a surprise dinner for them. My preparations began with Cream Cheese Wedding Mints...my mom's favorite :)

For this recipe you need:

Cream Cheese

Butter

Powdered Sugar

Flavoring 

Mold and granulated sugar are optional

Begin by creaming 1 TBS of Butter with 3 oz of Cream Cheese.

Gradually add in 3 cups of powdered sugar...I actually needed 4 to get the mixture stiff enough to mold.

I added mint extract and split my batch in half...dying one half a pale yellow.

After a terrible first batch sticking to the mold, I decided to roll small balls of the mixture in granulated sugar first and they popped right out of the mold!

This recipe made about 50 molded mints...approximately the size of a quarter.

 The swirl from the mold turned out better the longer I practiced...but they were all delicious. I froze them for one week, thawed in the fridge and served at the anniversary dinner. A huge hit!

The appetizer I love to make for a crowd!

When I have to take an appetizer or picnic snack for a larger group, my go-to is Tortilla Roll-ups. I don't really follow a recipe any more, but this is similar to what my mom always made. It starts with 1 block of cream cheese, 1 (8 oz) container of sour cream, 4 green onions, 1 (4 oz) can of green chilies, 1 (8 oz) bag of cheddar, 4 oz of black olives (chopped), and 1 tsp of Lawry's seasoning salt with 8 burrito size, flour tortillas.


Once upon a time, I used to buy the little can of chopped black olives. One day I realized, that 4 oz can of pre-chopped olives cost more than the large can of whole olives. I own a food processor, why throw away the money! So, now I buy the large can of olives and throw about half the can in the food processor (or my mini-chopster) and pulse until chopped.

Mix 8 oz of cream cheese (I use low-fat) and 8 oz of sour cream (I use lite) until smooth.

Chop 3-4 green onions, whites and tops and throw in the bowl.

Add in olives, Lawry's, cheddar and chilies. Stir and spread by large spoonful onto each tortilla. Spread until it evenly covers the tortilla.

Roll up each tortilla and scrape any excess off so the outside of the tortilla doesn't get soggy when wrapped.

Wrap each log in a piece of waxed paper. I've found that plastic wrap and foil both make the tortillas soggy. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or over-night.

Depending on how much filling you like in your tortillas, this will make 6-8 logs. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

Slice the ends off each log (reserve) and slice remaining tortilla into about 1 inch rounds.

Serve roll-ups with your favorite salsa or picante sauce for dipping.

And we like to save the ends to snack on before we go to the party. It's hard to wait that long!