Blueberry Sweet Rolls

 
There is a certain bakery near us that has the most amazing sweet rolls. People will often bring them for us at my work, or if it has been a while we will encourage our boss to get some on her way in. Everyone loves them. They have a wide variety of flavors including cinnamon, blueberry, raspberry, and orange. Yes I have tried them all, and no I can not pick a favorite. My favorite changes depending on my mood that day, but I can tell you that I always enjoy them. Well this week we found blueberries on sale at Winco. We of course had to get as many as possible. I was really in the mood for some sort of bread and decided that I could make blueberry sweet rolls just like the local bakery. I made them and was so glad that I did. I could have eaten the whole pan. Luckily (for my thighs) I refrained. But needless to say they are delicious!

Blueberry Sweet Rolls

Dough
5 1/4 c. white flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 rounded tablespoons saf-instant yeast
3 T. oil
2c. hot tap water


Filling
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs flour
2 tsp lemon juice
3 tbs butter

Browned Butter Glaze
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with tin foil or a silpat to help with the clean up process.

For the dough: Mix dry ingredients to bowl of stand mixer. Add oil and water. Mix for 1 minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, add a little more water, if too wet add more flour. Dough should clean the bowl of the mixer. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add flour to the dough after it has finished mixing.) Let dough sit in the mixer for 10 minutes (set a timer if you are like me and most likely would forget about it). After the 10 minutes is up turn the mixer on for about 30 seconds then turn it back off again. Repeat the process of letting the dough rest/rise then turning on mixer 2 more times.  During the down time make the filling.

Filling: Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until fruit is blended down and more liquid. I like mine quite blended, but if you like more chunks feel free to only blend it a small amount or add fresh blueberries after the blending process is done. Pour blended blueberry mixture into a medium size sauce pan. Place the pan over medium heat. Heat until mixture thickens. Once thick take off heat and set aside to cool. It is ok if it is still warm, but you don't want it boiling hot when you spread it on the dough.

After the final resting and turning on the mixer process turn dough onto a well floured surface. Split the dough in half working with one half at a time. Roll out half of the dough into a rectangle. Spread filling on rolled out dough. I found that cutting the dough into long strips with a pizza cutter and then rolling it up was easier and less messy than rolling it up then cutting it, but you can do this step however you want. Place rolled up sweet rolls on prepared baking sheet. Allow about an inch in between pieces to allow for rising, but to still let them tough slightly once baking. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until dough is a light golden brown.


Browned Butter Glaze: Over medium heat heat butter until it is browned. (It starts turning a nice amber color and gives off the most delicious nutty smell) Pour browned butter into a heat proof bowl and add powdered sugar and milk. Mix with a whisk or hand mixer until combined. I like mine to be just slightly thinner than I would make it if I wanted it to be spreadable. Drizzle glaze over warm sweet rolls and enjoy!

Cheese Blintzes

I hope all of you had a wonderful Valentines Day! The last few years my husband and I have taken the train to Denver for Valentines Day. This year we stayed in a cute little bed and breakfast in down town Denver. We had a great time! We also love taking the train places. On this trip one of the things they were serving in the dining car of the train for breakfast were cheese blintzes. My husband had never heard of these before. Now train food is ok, but when they said they cooked the cheese blintzes in the microwave I just couldn't bare to try them. I told my husband I would make him some when we got home. I absolutely love a good cheese blintze! Most of you know that anything that you can call breakfast, but really could be eaten as a dessert is ok in my book. I think these are such a yummy variation to a traditional crepe. This recipe is very easy and so worth any work you put into it! If you have never tried cheese blintzes this recipe is a very basic recipe and can be dolled up any way you want.

Cheese Blintzes

12 6-8 inch crepes

2 8 oz packages cream cheese (sorry, low-fat will not work here)

1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta cheese

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 T melted butter

Toppings:

Applesauce

Fruit

Jam

Sour cream

Syrup

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and brush a 9x13 pan with melted butter. Stir cream cheese, cottage cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla extra in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until blended. 

2. To fill each crepe, spoon 3 T of filling cream cheese mixture in the center of once crepe, then fold the bottom part of the crepe up over the filling, followed by folding both sides in, and finally folding the top down. Place seam side down in prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

3. Brush the tops of each blintz with melted butter and place in oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until they are puffed and turning golden in color. Remove from oven. I have also done this step in a frying pan with some butter, flipping once browned. If choosing this option you have to be very careful not to tear the delicate crepe when flipping.

4. To serve, top blintzes with your choice of applesauce, fruit, jam, sour cream or syrup. If you are feeling spunky you can also put the fruit on the inside!

Recipe Source: Heat Oven To 350

Strawberry Salad

I always love a good salad. I will be honest though, this salad with the dressing is more like a dessert. The combination of strawberries, Craisins, and the fabulousness of the dressing is just heavenly.  Its probably not the most healthy salad, but is absolutely to die for! If you are looking for a crowd pleaser of a salad this is it! This is another delicious recipe courtesy of my wonderful mother.

Strawberry Salad

 

1 head of romaine lettuce

10 Strawberries sliced

1/2 cup Craisins

8 oz Feta Cheese

Candied Almonds or plain pine nuts

 

Wash and cut lettuce. Place in a large salad bowl. Top with remaining ingredients and toss lightly to combine.

*To candy the almonds, place almonds in frying pan.  Pour a lot of sugar to cover over the top.  Stir over medium heat until the sugar melts and coat the almonds.  It seems like it takes forever for the sugar to melt but it does!

 

Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing

 

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. salt

2/3 cup rice vinegar (I have also used apple cider vinegar with good results)

4 tbl. red onion

4 fresh strawberries

1 tbl. water

1 1/2 cups canola oil

4 tsp. poppy seed

  

Throw all ingredients in the blender and puree.

Lemon Cake with Lemon Filling

My husband and I took the long way home the other day and decided to go on one of our favorite drives. It is this beautiful drive that takes us up over one mountain and down into another valley. We accidentally stumbled upon this road when we were trying to take the scenic route home, but took the wrong scenic road. We ended up in city we weren't planning on going to, but it was totally worth the few extra miles. Luckily around here all of our cities are pretty close so it didn't take us that much longer to get home.I have been talking about the fall colors recently and how I love them. I just thought I would first share with you all a little glimpse of how our mountains are looking right now.

There still is a surprising amount of green up in the mountains so we plan enjoying the beautiful fall colors more over the next week or two.

Ok now on to more drool worthy topics. It was my brother in law's birthday last weekend and I was lucky enough to make his birthday cake. He had some very specific requests as to what kind of cake he wanted. He wanted a lemon cake with lemon filling, cream cheese frosting, and lemons dipped in sugar on it. I set out to meet this challenge, just hoping it would turn out well. I personally think that lemons are often forgotten, or not valued as they should be. I would have never thought to make him a lemon cake, but let me tell you I was sure glad that I did. The cake turned out delicious. Everyone really enjoyed the cake. The cake itself had a mild lemon flavor, the filling is tart and very lemony, and the cream cheese frosting has a little bit of tang all on its own that was absolutely delicious. I used the whipped cream cream cheese frosting that I posted the other day and it was perfect! I hope this post reminds you all of how much you love lemons!

Lemon Cake with Lemon Filling

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
3/4cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup white sugar
4 egg yolks, beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8 inch round pans. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon juice. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make filling: In medium saucepan, mix together 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Mix in 6 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup sugar, and bring mixture to boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. In small bowl, with a wire whisk, beat egg yolks until smooth. Whisk in a small amount of the hot lemon mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan, beating the hot lemon mixture rapidly. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes, or until thick (not to boil).

Pour mixture into medium bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming as it cools. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate 3 hours.

To assemble the cake, trim off any excess on the top of each cake so that when they are placed on each other they will sit as flat as possible. Place bottom cake layer on a cake pan. Spread with lemon filling. Place second layer on top of filling. Frost as desired.


Recipe Source: Adapted from Allrecipes

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

I must first start off by telling you all that I just got home from a fabulous Alaskan cruise! In case you didn't know the average cruiser gains 1-2 lbs per day per cruise. That is horrible! That means on my 7 day cruise I could have gained 7-14 lbs. Wow! Luckily I didn't gain that much (it is hard not to gain a few). The reason everyone gains so much is because there is so much food available at all times. Not only is there a lot of food, but it is good food. The only thing I was disappointing by was their Alfredo sauce. Sadly that didn't live up to my likings, but everything else was fantastic. I had some of the best soups I have ever eaten, and their french toast was amazing! I will say that the most amazing part of an Alaskan cruise isn't the food. Alaska truly is beautiful! It might have rained almost every day, we had to avoid the open seas because there were 60 foot swells, and we had to make some changes to our itinerary due to the bad weather, but it was still incredible! I think my favorite place was a fjord named Tracey's Arm. This was our detour since we weren't able to make it to Hubbard glacier but it was stunning. I have never seen so many waterfalls in my life. Did you know that there really is blue ice? I always though it looked blue because of the ocean or sky, no it is actually blue. It is breathtaking.  Just imagine being surrounded by green mountains, waterfalls, and blue ice floating in the ocean! If you haven't been to Alaska and have an opportunity to go, take it!

Well the reason that I bring up our cruise (beside the fact that I am still in awe by it) is that after eating your weight in amazing food it is nice to get back and eat some simple home cooked food. The reason their food tastes so good is because it is not lacking in grease of fat. I am pretty sure 99% of the food we ate wasn't very good for us. This is fine for a week but we were really excited to eat our oatmeal for breakfast when we got home. Next I had to use the bananas that had gone very brown while sitting in my fruit bowl while we were gone. What is the best thing to do with old bananas? Of course I had to make this banana bread. This recipe is a healthified version of my mom's banana bread. Yes I do like to make up my own words on occasion.  Eating foods like this is such an easy way to get in your whole grains and fruits! Yes I also like to justify my eating of anything sweet. Enjoy.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 ripe bananas mashed
2 tbs chia seed (optional)
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp soda

Prepare 2 bread pans by lining them with tin foil. Spray the tin foil with cooking spray. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add bananas and chia seed. Add flour and soda. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool before serving.

Apple Crisp

Years ago I was at a group function where dessert was served. I have always loved apple crisp so I was excited when I found out that was the dessert. I took one bite and realized that there was an amazing explosion of flavors in my mouth. I knew I had to have the recipe. The best part of this recipe is that it is so simple. When she told me how to make it I was amazed that something that tasted so great could possibly be so easy. This is my go-to recipe whenever I need to make something that is delicious but don't have a lot of prep time.

*Note: I have used the homemade cake mix for this recipe ever since I discovered the recipe for homemade cake mix and I LOVE it. You can use a box cake mix instead of the homemade version but trust me the homemade results are fantastic and you know exactly what is in it. I keep the homemade cake mix in the freezer and use it whenever I need so it is just as easy as using a box mix. If you do use a box mix just know you will need to use more butter.

Apple Crisp

1 large can apple pie filling (I used some homemade apple pie filling I canned last year)
2-3 cups homemade cake mix (you could used a box cake mix if desired)
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tbs butter melted

Spread apple pie filling in a 9X13 pan. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over top of pie filling. Sprinkle brown sugar over cake mix.  Drizzle melted butter over brown sugar. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Enjoy with ice cream or whipping cream on top.

Pretzel Jello Salad

For those of you that have never heard of this salad you might be thinking that pretzels and jello are a very weird combination. For those of you that have had this delicious "salad" before know that it is a fantastic combination of sweet and salty. This has been a favorite of my family for as long as I can remember. If I ever need to bring something to a friend or family get together and ask my husband what to bring 9 times out of 10 he will suggest this. Now you need to know there are other variations of this recipe out there. We do ours slightly different and I LOVE the way it turns out. I love each layer individually as well as all of them together. I hope you will try it this way and let me know what you think.

Pretzel Jello Salad

2 2/3 cups broken pretzels
1 1/2 cubes margarine or butter
2 8 oz packages cream cheese softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 6 oz package strawberry jello
2 cups water
1 large package strawberries
1 8 oz package cool whip (or enough whipping cream to cover top approximately 1-2 cups)

Cream together sugar and cream cheese. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put margarine in a 9X13 pan and place in oven while preheating to melt. Break up pretzels. I have found that the easiest way is to put them in a strong zip lock back and roll a rolling pin over until you get the size of pieces you want. I like a combination of small and medium sized pieces. Pour pretzels over melted margarine or butter and mix. Spread pretzels out to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set in fridge to cool. Once cool spread cream cheese mixture over pretzels. The cream cheese mixture is thick so this can be a challenge, but don't worry it doesn't have to look perfect. Boil water. Mix boiling water and jello in a heat prof bowl. Set jello in fridge for 30 minutes. Add chopped strawberries to jello. Spread jello over cream cheese. Set in fridge until jello is set. Top with cool whip or whipping cream.

Here are some step by step photos

Fruit Bars

I think I could stay home all day and just make yummy treats. This would be fine if I didn't want to eat all the yummy treats that I made (my taste buds love it, my thighs do not). The reason I love baking so much is because I LOVE eating the things that I make. I have very little desire to make something that I don't like (my husband can attest to the fact that I have a long list of foods that I do not like). Well today I unexpectedly got the day off. Of course the thing I wanted to do most was make some yummy treats. I found this recipe in my recipe box and knew that this one was the winner for the day!

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white whole wheat and 1/2 cup white flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups quick oats
3/4 cup butter
1 cup fruit jam (I used a mixture of homemade raspberry and strawberry jam)

Mix flour, baking powder, brown sugar and oats. Place flour mixture into a food processor. Cut the butter into slices approximately 1-2 tbs thick and add to the food processor. Pulse until all the butter is incorporated and is a crumb texture.  Pat 2/3 mixture into a 13X9 inch pan. Spread jam over top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 of the mixture over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

I got this recipe from my good friend Matney. She calls them apricot bars because she uses apricot jam. I call them fruit bars because I like to use a variety of different jams. Regardless of the jam you use these are amazing. Thanks Matney for the great recipe!

Green Smoothies

I'm sure most of you have heard about green smoothies. As far as I can tell they are kind of the craze right now, and why wouldn't they be? What better way to eat a bunch of fruits and veggies than to blend them all together and drink them? Not to mention that there is no better way to start you morning off right. My husband and I heard about these a few months back and decided to try them. I will admit my husband was quite skeptical at first. He told me he didn't want to actually know what was in it. He was shocked that it wasn't actually green. I have definitely experimented a lot with different fruits and some turn out much better than others. I usually use whatever fruits and veggies I have on hand. Here is the smoothie I made today.

Green Smoothie

1/2 cup milk
3-4 hand fulls of spinach ( will often fill the whole blender with spinach)
2 cups fresh strawberries
1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries
2 tbs honey
1/4 cup strawberry lemonade

Combine the milk and spinach in a blender and blend until smooth. Add strawberries, banana, blueberries, honey and lemonade blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Like I said this is the one that I made this morning and it was really good. Here are 2 other fruits combinations I have used in the past in my smoothies and really enjoyed.

Spinach, pineapple, orange juice, banana (this one is actually a lovely color of green)

Spinach, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, yogurt, honey

I have even added whole carrots to the process and enjoyed that. These smoothies are not an exact science so please feel free to play around with the fruits and veggies. Spinach is typically my staple in these, but I have also used other types of green leafy vegetables.

Apple Dip

I don't know about you but I seem prefer my fruits and veggies with some sort of yummy dip or sauce all over them. Really anything that gets you to eat your fruits and veggies should be completely acceptable on all diets and be counted as 0 points or 0 calories however you want to count it. The only problem with this dip is I can eat it with or without apples. Secret confession - when I eat this dip with my apples I usually have more dip than apples but who's keeping track right? I have loved this recipe since I was a little girl. If I ever need a little extra encouragement to eat more apples this always does the trick!

Ok I know there are some of you that don't like butterscotch chips. I am actually one of those people. You are just going to have to take my word for it until you make this dip that it doesn't taste like butterscotch. Just try it, you will be glad you did.

Apple Dip

1 cup butterscotch chips
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp cinnamon

In a saucepan over low heat melt the butterscotch chips and sweetened condensed milk stirring frequently to prevent burning. When all the chips are completely melted remove from heat and add the salt, vinegar, and cinnamon. Serve warm with sliced apples. Stores well in the fridge, just rewarm dip in the microwave or sauce pan prior to serving.

This recipe is courtesy of my wonderful mother.