Orange Pull-Apart Bread

Orange Pull-Apart Bread

12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed but still cold

zest of one orange

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp orange juice

1) Cut rolls in quarters and place on greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let double.

2) Combine orange zest with sugar.

3) Preheat oven to 350.

4) When roll pieces have doubled then roll in melted butter then coat with sugar and orange zest mixture. Place in bunt pan or tube pan.

5) Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until golden on top.

6) Combine powdered sugar and oj till smooth.

7) Invert pan onto plate and drizzle with glaze.

Garlic Greenbeans

Garlic Greenbeans

1 bag frozen green beans

2 cubes frozen garlic (or 2 cloves minced)

1 Tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper

Microwave green beans in a bowl with 1/2 cup water just to dethaw. Drain water from green beans. In a large non-stick skillet heat up olive oil on medium and add green beans and saute till soft. Add in garlic and saute till lightly browned.

Ribs Anyone?

I love ribs, I LOVE RIBS! And I LOVE my crock-pot so I have been looking for a crock-pot recipe and found one that sounded pretty good. I thought I would try it with a few tweaks. I used boneless ribs or country ribs this time. They have a little less fat since they are really just pork loin chops made to look like "ribs".

Oooey Gooey Ribs
2 - 4 lbs pork ribs
1 small onion chopped (or 1/2 cup frozen diced)
1 tsp Cajun seasoning (I Love Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp molasses
2 tsp Dijon
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Combine the ingredients together and mix well.

Pour it over the ribs in the crockpot Mix well and put the lid on it.

Set for High for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8.

No Peaking!

Tip #1 If you open your crock-pot lid then it takes it around 20 minutes to regain its temprature!

Tip#2: I LOVE pre-diced onions in the freezer section because I HATE chopping onions!

Cinnamon Breakfast Bites

Cinnamon Bites

1 1/3 cup flour

1 cup crisp rice cereal, coarsely crushed

2 Tbsp + 1/2 cup sugar, divided

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter flavored shortening

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup melted butter

1) Mix cereal, flour, 2 Tbsp sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

2) Cut in shortening until coarse crumbs.

3) Add milk and stir making thick dough.

4) Roll dough into 1 1/2" balls

5) Mix pumpkin pie spice and remaining sugar in a dish and drop balls into melted butter and then roll in pumpkin pie sugar mixture. 

6) Place together in greased pan and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until firm to touch.

Note: I did make them as individual balls but they are better placed together, they don't dry out as much. The picture above is of them individual and not in a small pan placed together.

Garlic Chicken and Roasted Asparagus

Here is one of our ALL TIME FAVORITE recipes!!! I mean it, it is delicious! A friend of ours made it many years ago for us and we have been making it ever since. It appears on our meal schedule at least once a month. It is great served with asparagus and baked potatoes. Sorry no picture, I will post one when available this week.

Garlic Chicken
4 skinless and boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
4 large cloves garlic, minced (or 2 Tbsp)
2 cups apple juice
4 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Sprinkle chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour in a small pie plate. Spray skillet with non-stick spray and cook till close to done. (You can add a little olive oil if the chicken is not browning.) Remove chicken and add butter. When melted add in garlic and saute 1-2 minutes. Add in apple juice and lemon juice. Boil, uncovered until reduced by about half. Replace chicken in skillet and allow to thicken and cook just till chicken is done.

Roasted Asparagus
1 bunch asparagus
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
dash of salt and pepper

Cut off hard part of asparagus.
Hint: to find the hard part of stem take one stalk of asparagus and gently bend, where it breaks separates the tender part. Cut the rest of the bunch to match.
In a bowl combine the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Turn to coat and place on metal baking sheet or baking stone. Bake at 450 till the stalks are crisp about 15 minutes. (I really like mine extra crispy.)

For the baked potatoes: Clean well and dry. Roll in olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 450 till done. The outsides get all golden and crispy so you can eat the whole potato.

Need a great zucchini recipe? Here you go...

Crispy Zucchini
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425. Combine Panko, cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic in a pie plate and mix well. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and cut off ends. Slice into 1/4" long sections. Spray each side with non-stick spray and press that side into the breadcrumb mixture. Spay other side with non-stick spray and then coat. Place on a baking sheet and cook till tender. During the last part of baking turn on broiler and heat just till browned and crisp.

A New Favorite Recipe

We have a favorite cookbook in our house. It is not allowed to leave our house. You may copy recipes from it but that is it. No borrowing; we almost lost it once...not again. It is our tried and true cookbook and everything I have made out of it  has been great. Thank you Southern Living!

Here is one of our new favorites from the book.

Baked Chicken Nuggets
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
4 skinned and boneless chicken breast halves cut into 1" pieces
1/4 cup butter melted (butter just tastes better)

Combine breadcrumbs, Parm & italian seasoning in large ziplock baggie; seal and shake well. Dip chicken in butter and in small batches put into the baggie and shake till well coated. Place chicken onto a well greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until golden. I turn half way through baking to crisp both sides.
Yields: 4 servings

Finishing up and new fun projects...

I have been wanting to finish Madeline's quilt however I knew it would require me to hand-stitch the binding. I hate hand-stitching anything! But I did it finally and I am so thankful that I did! I love her quilt and am so glad it is finished. I can't wait for her to use it because of course that is what a quilt is for...now onto the fun new stuff:

I made a knock-off of a really expensive type of pants I love! It was alot of fun and something I have never tried before. I went to find a cute black shirt to match it but couldn't so I cut up one of Madeline's black turtleneck's and lopped off the sleeves. I added some detail and voila! I love it and have other fun revamps for some of her bluejeans that I am working on. Can't wait to post them and share. :)

Sniffle...

I am being lazy today. I have the sniffles and I have a million projects to do and I am being lazy. It is a sin I know, but man is it fun! It is cold out and looks like more snow. I am sitting on the couch with the dog, aka "my heater" and watching Wuthering Heights...Madeline is sleeping and I am not even crocheting! I am not even cooking tonight. I will be going out with some lovely coupon I have aquired and Madeline & I are having a 'date' before Bible Study tonight. Here's to laziness today!

What I have been up to...

I have been crafting a little here and there but not alot. My time has been taken up by a very cute little helper. She loves to take off with my yarn, fabric and other miscellaneous items. Unfortunately little gets done unless it is around the house. Here's what I have been up to:

I wanted a pretty cover for my Kindel Fire.

The inside of my Kindel cover. I wanted a pocket and something to keep

the Kindel in place instead of elastic sides.

A hat for a friend's daughter.

A fun new hair flower.

The fun new Frilly Scarf I am making...

And a crocheted kitchen scrubbie...because if you have to dishes it should be fun.

My neighbor has 'hired' me to make 3 notebook covers for her daughters so that should be fun. They will be similar to the Kindel covers and I will hopefully have time to make them before too long. So they get done I 'hired' her to watch Madeline for me while I work on them. My other lofty goal will be to create enough to do a craft fair this fall. It should be fun and I am excited for the challenge.

Happy crafting!