Broiled Broccoli- the best way to get it down!

Broiled Broccoli

(from Good Things Utah)

• 3 or 4 bunches of Broccoli cut into small florettes
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• Kosher salt to taste
• Fresh lemon (optional)

Directions:
Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet mixed with the canola oil. Sprinkle kosher salt over broccoli. Put in the oven on "broil" for 4 minutes. Take out and mix it up and put it back in for 3 more minutes. Should be a tiny bit brown if you like it that way. 


I loved to pop this broccoli!  The kids liked it too.  Notice I said "liked".  Is any kid going to "love" it?  I just love it because I liked the taste and know it's good for me.  And it's fast and goes with a lot of dishes.  Yay!!

Oatmeal Bread

Oatmeal Bread

1 cups oats

2 cups water

2/3 cups brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons oil

2 packages yeast (or about 2 tablespoons)

1/3 cup warm water

pinch of sugar

2 teaspoon salt

5 cups flour

1. Boil water and pour over oats.  Let cool.  
2. Add brown sugar and oil.  
3. Dissolve yeast in 1/3 c. water.  Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar.  Let raise and add to rest of mixture.  
4. Stir in salt, add flour, and knead by hand til dough is smooth.  
5. Leave dough in same bowl, cover with a towel, and let raise for 1 hour.  
6. Divide dough and form into two loaves.  Grease bread pans and sprinkle with oats.  Place loaves into pans. 
7.  Let raise again for 1 hour and then bake at 350F for 35 minutes. (I usually warm the oven to 120-ish and let it rise for 30 minutes to cut time).

This is a yummy bread!  I usually do half wheat, half white, and you'd never know the wheat-ness.  Yes, this bread is a little sweet, but who is complaining?  Not me!  It has great flavor and I've made it several times with success.  For me, I make it in my 9 inch loaf pan and a mini-loaf.  Or, you can get two smaller 9 inch loaves.  

Apricot Turkey Pinwheels

Apricot Turkey Pinwheels
(from Taste of Home magazine)

• 1 can Pillsbury Simply French Bread (or crescent roll sheets or puff pastry or pizza dough)
• 1/4 c. apricot preserves
• 1/2 t. ground mustard
• 1/4 lb. deli turkey
• 1/2 c. monterey jack cheese (I used pepper jack)

Spread preserves on rolled out dough. Sprinkle with mustard and then layer with turkey and cheese. Roll up jelly roll style. Cut into 16 slices (or how big you want it). Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until browned.


I thought this was a great snack/meal! If you want to make it a meal you may need 2 cans. I loved the Simply French bread because it didn't have that canned flavor the crescent rolls have. But any dough would be good. I cooked it before cutting it and it worked well that way too.  I love that little taste of sweet with a little spice!

Cream Puff Dessert

Cream Puff Dessert


1 cup water
1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
1 cup flour 

4 eggs

In saucepan over medium heat, bring water and butter to boil. At this point, remove from heat, add to your mixing bowl and add your flour, mixing until a smooth ball forms.Let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan. You can also put it on a cookie sheet to make more, thinner pieces. Bake at 400 for 30-35 mins or until puffy and golden. Cool completely.

Filling:
1 pkg (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened (use light or non-fat if you want)
3 1/2 cups cold milk
2 pkgs (3.9 ounces each) instant chocolate pudding mix (or vanilla if you'd rather- also, you can use sugar-free pudding if you want!)

Beat cream cheese, milk until smooth.  Add pudding mix  and mix until smooth. Spread over puff. Refrigerate for at least 20 mins.

Topping:
1 carton (8 ounces) cool whip
chocolate syrup
caramel syrup
chopped almonds (optional)

Spread cool whip on top. Drizzle with chocolate and caramel syrup. Sprinkle almonds.  Serve!  OR:

optional second topping: (I haven't tried this yet but this is a variation on this recipe and want to try it next time, but it is plenty delicious without!):

1/2 cup chocolate chips

3 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup powdered sugar

Melt in the microwave the chocolate chips and butter. Then stir in the milk and powder sugar. Once well incorporated, drizzle on top of the whip cream. Put in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Enjoy!

I liked the versatility of this recipe.  The crust isn't sweet- in fact, it kind of reminds me of a german pancake, but I've had cream puffs that give me the same flavor, and it's one I like in contrast to the sweet topping.  It's a light dessert that tastes great.

Chocolate Malt Layer Cake

Chocolate Malt Cake
(favfamilyrecipes.com)
2 1/4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 c. malted milk powder (can be found by the instant breakfasts)
1 c. vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Malt icing (see recipe below)
Chocolate ganache (see recipe below) (I SKIPPED)
Malted milk balls (Whoppers)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter & flour 2, 9-inch baking pans (you may have a little leftover to make a cupcake or two if you want). In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add milk mixture, oil and eggs to flour mixture, beating at a medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla, beating just until combined.
Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes (I used 3 9-inch cake pans). Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on racks. Frost cakes, pour on ganache (after you pour the ganache over the cake. Place the entire cake in the refrigerator and let cool for at least an hour), and garnish with malted milk balls.

Chocolate Malt Icing:
(this makes a lot of frosting... I only used about 1 c. butter, no heavy cream, just half & half, and I didn't measure the powdered sugar- just used enough to get the right consistency)

1 1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
3/4 c. milted milk powder
7 1/2 c. powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. In a small bowl, combine cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed to combine. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth.

Chocolate Ganache:

16 oz. bittersweet (or semi-sweet) chocolate (we used chocolate chips)
2 c. heavy whipping cream

Place the chopped chocolate into a medium-sized bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a microwavable container and microwave for 3 to 4 minutes on high, or until it just begins to simmer; be careful not to allow cream to boil over. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds or so. Using an electric mixer, beat on low until chocolate mixture is smooth. Use as is for glazing.


This didn't take too long and since I greased the pans a ton (with cake flour spray) they came right out!  That usually doesn't happen for me.  Anyway, the malt flavor is very subtle but just makes the cake more melt-in-your-mouth.  We love Whoppers over here, so we had to try it!  Don't worry about the ganache- this cake is plenty decadent without it!

The best thing to do with boxed brownies...

I love these brownies.  They make me so happy.  I used Ghiradelli brownie mix, or use your favorite and throw in some chocolate chips.
THEN,
near the end, throw on some marshmallows, enough to cover all of the brownies.  Place back in the oven for a minute or two (make sure not to overbake the brownies though!) until slightly melted and soft.  
Let cool for a few minutes, and then add your icing.  You can use any chocolate frosting; I used the leftovers from my Malted Chocolate Cake.  I microwaved until soft enough to pour.  Or, you can use a canned chocolate frosting microwaved until really soft or this recipe: 

•  1/4 cup butter
•  1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 2/3 c. milk 
• 16 oz. powdered sugar

Combine all in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, and boil one minute. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar. Immediately pour chocolate mixture over marshmallows. Let cake cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Easy Cocoa Ice Cream
(allrecipe.com)

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup HERSHEY®'S Cocoa Powder
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup half & half
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In medium saucepan, stir together sweetened condensed milk and cocoa. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
2. Gradually add whipping cream, light cream and vanilla, beating with whisk until well blended; refrigerate until cold.
3. Place in ice cream freezer container. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

This was delicious and easy.  I used fat-free condensed milk, and just used all half & half instead of the heavy cream.  

Pizza Dip

Hot Pizza Dip
(from allrecipes.com)

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper
• 2 ounces pepperoni sausage, chopped
• 2 tablespoons sliced black olives

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, and basil.
2. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, or a shallow microwave-safe dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over all. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then top with green pepper, pepperoni and olive slices. Cover, and microwave for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

I skip a lot of those things, like pepperoni, green pepper, and black olives (for the husband).  But it's still an awesome dip however you dip it!  I think I even tried to serve it as a main course.  I was fine with that- a little french bread on the side, why not??