Buttermilk Rolls

After the Hint O'Mint cookies, I had some leftover buttermilk, so I decided to use it for these. These rolls are perfect for almost any dinner, they're fluffy and delicious!

Buttermilk Rolls

1 package yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)

1/4 cup warm water (about the temperature of a warm bath, 110 to 115 degrees)

1-1/2 cups warm buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

4-1/2 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Beat buttermilk, oil, sufar, salt, baking soda, flour and yeast mix together with 2 cups flour. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise- about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; divide into 18 pieces; roll into balls. Cover and let rise, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Double Chip Cookies

Basic, but they taste pretty good.

Double Chip Cookies

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

In a large mixing bowl, cream the peanut butter, shortening, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; mix well. Stir in milk and vanilla

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (I used tablespoonfuls) 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Romove to wire racks to cool.

Waffle Cookies

This was one of the weirdest recipes I had ever heard of, so of course, I had to try it. They're cooked in a waffle iron, and so it's a little difficult to frost (have you ever tried to frost a waffle?) However, they taste amazing! The frosting is one of the best I've ever tasted as far as chocolate homemade goes, and if you doubled the frosting recipe it'd be great for a cake.

Waffle cookies

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 squares (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter

1 square (1 oz) unsweetened chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

7-1/2 teaspoons hot water

Edible glitter and sprinkles, optional. (I've never used edible glitter, but I'd love to someday! It's available here. Another note: The sprinkles don't stick. You have to pretty much press them into the frosting. I've given you fair warning.)

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate in 20 second intervals; stir until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool completely. Beat in eggs. Combine flour and sugar; gradually beat into egg mixture stir in vanilla.

Drop by tablespoonfuls (although I used closer to rounded teaspoonfuls...it seemed to work better if it was smaller) 1 in. apart onto a pre-heated waffle iron. Bake for 1 minute or until set. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For frosting, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add confectioners' sugar alternately with water, beating until smooth. Frost waffle cookies to within 1/4 in of edges. Decorate with glitter and sprinkles if desired. Let stand until frosting is set.

Spicy Beef 'n Corn Casserole

I loved this recipe! It looks really good, too, so I can pretend I'm some kind of brilliant chef!

Spicy Beef 'n Corn Casserole

1/2 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1-1/3 cups water

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 can (15.5 oz) red beans (kidney beans) drained

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

1 can (8 oz.) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz.) Pillsubry crescent recipe creations refrigerated flaky dough sheet.

1. Heat over to 375 degrees. Cook rice in water as directed on package, omitting butter and salt.

2. Meanwhile, in 12-in skillet, cook beef, onion, bell pepper and celery over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in cooked rice, red beans, tomatoes, corn, Worcestershire sauce and red pepper. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot. Spoon in to 2-quart casserole dish.

3. Open can of dough; do not unroll. With serrated knife, cut dough into 1-in slices. Cut each slice in half; place cut side down around edge of casserole.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

Fish with Fruit Salsa

So I have a collection of pictures of food that I need to post with their recipes. I am getting behind and sometimes I just am tempted to delete the pictures and think- the food wasn't that good anyway. BUT I remember that I really just want to document everything that I've tried- whether successful or not. I have come to terms with the fact that I am just not an awesome cook no matter how I try- but then Practice makes perfect. I have all my life to practice so I shall continue in this quest- and urge you all too also! So yesterday, well, actually On saturday Derek found that the Tilapia was really cheap at Wal Mart so we bought some without really having an awesome plan for it. We figured some butter and lime is all it needs anyway. At the last minute, I found this recipe I really wanted to try. It is taken from Pillsbury Fast and Healthy Cookbook- and was rated highly by many saying it was ABSOLUTELY Delicious so of course I really wanted in on that! Luckily I had most things on hand and had to dip into our food storage for the mandarin oranges hehe... Here it is along with my substitutions:

salsa

• 1 (11 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained, coarsely chopped
• 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges segments, drained, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped- Used regular white onion
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped- didn't have so I used 1 tsp parsley
  
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon jalapeno chile, seeded, chopped (about 1 chile)

fish

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 (4 ounce) fish steaks (with any type of fish- swordfish, tilapia, mahi mahi, flounder, etc) (3/4 inch thick)

Directions

1. For HOT/WARM SALSA: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine all of the salsa ingredients; mix well. Microwave on HIGH for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring once halfway through cooking. Cover to keep warm.
2. For COOL/ROOM TEMPERATURE SALSA: Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl; mix well.
3. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of lime juice; mix well. Rub the mixture on the fish steaks.
4. Spray a skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Pan fry the steaks for about 2-3 minutes on each side over medium-high heat, until the steaks flake easily with a fork.
5. Plate the steaks, and spoon the salsa the fish- Enjoy!

This was Sooo Good! I will most definitely make this again!! I loved it so much and the salsa was AWESOME. I have never been that excited to hurry up and finish cooking and plating because the little bites I stole were great. I couldn't marinate it correctly though because they were frozen so I just baked them in the marinade on 375 degrees for about 20 minutes (because they were frozen it takes longer) and it didn't work great but I'm sure if done correctly- they are even more DELECtable.. go ahead try it. I served it with my "mexican rice"- maybe in another post
ps that pic of Lucas isn't even on the same day but I just wanted to stick it in here :) lol

Brownie Hearts

I made this for Rommel for Valentine's Day, and he loved it. They're super easy but look like it took you forever. I got the recipe from my mom, but I'm not sure if she made it up or got it out of a book or magazine.

Ingredients:

Brownie mix (prepared)

1 cup melted chocolate chips

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Sprinkles

First you make bake the brownie mix, first putting aluminum foil in the pan and spraying it with Pam. I used the "Candy Shop" brownies with peanut butter cups because those are Rommel's favorite, however, they were only for an 8x8 pan, so I could only make four hearts. If you use regular brownies in a 13x9 pan, you can probably get more.

Then you bake it as normal and let it cool for at least half an hour. Flip the pan over onto a wax paper surface, and let the brownies fall out. Then peel the aluminum foil off the top of them.

Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out heart shaped pieces. For me, the brownies were thicker than my cookie cutter, so I made the outline with the cookie cutter and cut it out with a knife.

Remove each heart to a plate or serving platter. Combine the oil and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 15-20 second intervals, stirring for five seconds inbetween each, until melted. Spoon melted chocolate chips into a ziplock bag, and cut one corner. Drizzle chocolate over the hearts in a criss-cross fashion. Cover with sprinkles.