Bunny Buns

This is a recipe from Mom that she made a couple of years ago with the grand-kids from the Friend magazine. Julie made it this year for Easter but used her own roll recipe and shaped it like a bunny.  

Bunny Buns

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup milk, warmed not quite to boiling

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

5 1/2 cups flour, sifted

Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup hot water, 1 teaspoon butter

1. 1. Wash hands with soap and water.
   
2. 2. Sprinkle yeast in the warm water and set aside.
   
3. 3. In another bowl, blend milk, sugar, shortening, and salt. Cool until lukewarm, then add eggs, water with yeast, orange juice, and orange peel.
   
4. 4. Stir in flour a few cups at a time to make a soft dough. Let stand for 10 minutes.
   
5. 5. Knead dough 5–10 minutes on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Place it in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover bowl with a clean towel and put it in a warm place. Let dough rise for 2 hours, or until double in size. Punch dough down and let stand for 10 minutes.
   
6. 6. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough into strips 1/2 inch wide and 14 inches long. Roll between hands into rounded snake shapes. Cut one strip into pieces 1/2 inch long, and roll into balls.
   
7. 7. Place one long piece of dough on a greased cookie sheet. Place one end of the strip over the other to make a loop; bring the end that is underneath up and cross it over the other end. Place a ball of dough on top of the bottom loop.
   
8. 8. Cover bunnies and let rise in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until nearly double in size. Bake at 375ºF (190ºC) for 12–15 minutes.
   
9. 9. For the glaze, stir powdered sugar, water, and butter together. Frost bunnies with the glaze while they are still warm.
   

https://www.lds.org/friend/2011/04/bunny-buns?lang=eng

1-Hour Cinnamon Rolls (it took me 1.5 hours)

1-Hour Cinnamon Rolls

THIS recipe for cinnamon Rolls might not be the absolute best in the universe, but we really enjoyed them.  It took me a total of about 1.5 hours so keep that in mind. there may have been too much of the sugar mixture. I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and I couldn't even tell there was wheat other than the fact that these hit your stomach like a rock. I used a 9X13 baking dish and divided dough into 12.

my go-to oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

These are perfect for me. and sometimes i add coconut. Yum

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2014/08/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe.html

Caramel Shortbread Squares

OH MY GOODNESS! These. are. good. Similar to a twix bar. pretty simple to make. but hard to wait for them to cool :) takes at least 2 hours to cool. but who doesn't love a twix? i cut them super small and used them for a take-in dinner, and visiting teaching-all from an 8X8 pan. we still got to eat some, too!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/caramel-shortbread-squares/

Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream White Sauce

http://www.raininghotcoupons.com/chicken-enchiladas-with-sour-cream-white-sauce/

Mark REALLY liked these and I liked these but couldn't eat too much because they were rich. I also tried a recipe for creamy enchiladas from sixsistersstuff that we like too but I can't find it now...weird.

Ingredients:

• 10 small soft flour tortillas (you can use corn but I like flour with chicken)
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups shredded and cooked chicken (we like to use rotisserie chicken)
• 3 cups Monterey Jack cheese – shredded
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4oz can diced green chillies (I like medium – they are not spicy at all)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine shredded chicken and 1 cup of cheese
3. Fill tortillas with the mixture above and roll each one then place in a greased 9×13 pan
4. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat
5. Stir flour into butter and whisk for 1 minute over heat.
6. Add broth and whisk together. Cook over heat until it’s thick and bubbles up
7. Take off heat and add in sour cream and chilies. (be careful it’s not too hot or the sour cream will curdle)
8. Pour mixture over enchiladas and add remaining cheese to top.
9. Bake in oven for 20-23 minutes then you will want to broil for 3 minutes to brown the cheese.
10. Enjoy!

Strawberries and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Strawberries and Cream Stuffed French Toast

YIELD: SERVES 6

I use our go-to homemade whole wheat bread but you could use any bread you like as long as it is fairly hearty (not super thin and soft). My friend, Lien, who gave me the recipe which I adapted slightly, adds a couple tablespoons chopped almonds to the cream cheese filling which would be delicious (but not welcomed by my children). Also, any kind of milk can be used (dairy, coconut, almond). This stuffed French toast is really adaptable - change out the fruits, use chocolate chips in place of the fruit, jam instead of fruit or chocolate - the options are endless really. If you don't use all 16 ounces of strawberries for the filling, you can top the French toast with the extras or just eat them while cooking up the French toast.

INGREDIENTS

Filling:
• 8 ounces light cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
Fruit:
• 16 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled, washed and sliced
French Toast:
• 12-14 slices hearty sandwich bread
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Dash of ground cinnamon
• Powdered sugar for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice and brown sugar until the mixture is light and creamy.
2. Spread the mixture evenly among each slice of bread. Layer strawberry slices on top of the cream cheese mixture on half of the bread slices. Top with the remaining pieces of bread that have been spread with the cream cheese mixture. You should have 6-7 french toast sandwiches total.
3. In a shallow dish or pie plate, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon for the French toast. Preheat a nonstick griddle (or a skillet on the stove) over medium heat. Lightly butter the griddle or skillet (or spray with cooking spray or use a bit of coconut oil) if needed. I don't usually grease my griddle but every griddle/skillet will differ.
4. Carefully dip each stuffed French toast (working in batches if needed, depending on the size of your griddle/skillet) in the egg mixture on both sides and place on the hot griddle. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, adjusting the heat as needed to get perfectly golden French toast.
5. Serve warm with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Recipe Source: adapted from a recipe, Lien sent me a long time ago

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/strawberries-and-cream-stuffed-french-toast/

I wanted to do something special for Valentine's Day. These were so fun!  I used frozen strawberries from Costco and store bought wheat bread.  I think they would  have been even yummier if the cream cheese inside had been mixed with powdered sugar. 

Asian Quinoa Meatballs

ASIAN QUINOA MEATBALLS

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time20 minutes

Total Time35 minutes

Yield20 meatballs

Healthy, nutritious and packed with so much flavor. Perfect as an appetizer or a light dinner!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce-Beth used low sodium 
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Sesame seeds, for garnish
FOR THE SAUCE
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

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INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
• In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, quinoa, garlic, onions, egg, soy sauce, sesame oil, Sriracha, salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 18-20 meatballs.
• Place meatballs onto the prepared baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until all sides are browned and meatballs are cooked through.
• To make the sauce, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sugar, sesame oil, Sriracha and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium high heat.
• In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Stir into soy sauce mixture until thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Serve meatballs immediately with sauce, garnished with green onion and sesame seeds.

NOTES

Adapted from Handle the Heat

http://damndelicious.net/2014/10/15/asian-quinoa-meatballs/

I loved these!!! Mark thought they were just okay.  I think he hated that I had used turkey gourn beef instead. I didn't use seseme oil because it was too expensive.  I use this Asian oil that Mark had bought.