Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a safe, warm and joyous holiday with your family and friends. Merry Christmas!

Caramel Cheesecake Rolo Brownies

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Cooks Note: I don't really need to say much about these, the name speaks for itself. These are simple, delicious and oh so addicting. These were another teacher gifty recipe and I hope they enjoyed them. There was only ONE left for me to taste, and all I can say is, it is a good thing only one remained. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Box of your favorite brownie mix or homemade brownies, prepared according to instructions
1 Block of cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 Egg lightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
3 T caramel sauce
3/4 bag regular sized rolos, unwrapped
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2) Spray a 9"x9" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

3) With an electric mixer, combine the softened cream cheese, beaten egg, sugar and caramel sauce until smooth.

3) Pour 2/3 of the prepared brownie mix into the pan. Take dollops of the cream cheese mixture and place on top of the brownie mix, finishing off with the remaining brownie batter on the top. Take a knife and swirl the brownie and cream cheese mixture together to create a marble pattern.

4) Before placing in the oven, take the unwrapped rolos and push them lightly into the brownie cheesecake batter. You can use as many or as few as you like, but if you use the entire bag it will give you a very dense layer of rolos in the brownies. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips/chunks.

5) Bake the brownies in a preheated oven for 35 - 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let them cool to room temperature before cutting. They may be a little gooey still, but cutting them before they get too hard is better because the rolos can be hard to cut when they harden.

6) Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

This Pinspiration comes from And They Cooked Happily Ever After

Gooey Butter Cookies

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Cooks Note: I am not a huge cookie fan. Yes, I know, it's weird, but I'm just not. Don't get me wrong, cookies are good, but if I had to chose a dessert to eat it would be something else, like bread pudding or flan. But I was going to a cookie exchange and I needed something quick, so I saw Gooey Butter Cookies on Pinterest and it made me think of Paula Deen. So, I made them. VERY easy. And surprisingly, really tasty. I hate it when you make cookies and then after a while they get all hard and old tasting. These don't, they stay moist and yummy and sort of taste like a cookie/cupcake. Try them for your Christmas Eve festivities! Enjoy!

Makes 2 Dozen

Ingredients: 

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 c butter
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 8 oz brick of cream cheese
1 egg
powdered sugar

Directions:

Beat butter, egg, cream cheese and vanilla until fluffy
Mix in cake mix
Chill for 30 min
Roll into balls and dip into powdered sugar
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, and dust with powdered sugar on top if desired
This Pinspiration comes from LilLuna

Baked Mac and Cheese

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Cooks Note: Everyone loves Mac and Cheese. There a a million and one ways to make it and I think it is fun to just try them all. This was very classic, very yummy and very simple. I served it with salad for a weeknight dinner. Let me know if it is as good as yours. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 8 ounce pkg elbow macaroni

4 T butter

4 T flour

1 c milk

1 c cream

1/2 t salt

fresh ground black pepper to taste

2 c shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 c breadcrumbs, buttered

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400

Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside

In a large saucepan, melt butter

Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended

Pour milk and cream in gradually, stirring constantly

Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly)

Reduce heat and cook 10 min (stirring constantly)

Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 min, or until cheese melts

Turn off flame

Add in macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coast with cheese sauce

Transfer macaroni to buttered baking dish

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs

Bake 20 minutes or until top is golden brown

Serves 4-6

This Pinspiration is from Food.com

Oreo Truffles

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Cooks Note: I saw these on Pinterest and thought, those look yummy, but labor intensive. And let me tell you, if there is one thing I cannot handle it is labor intensive, not the week before Christmas anyway. So I read the directions, and shockingly they were simple and required very few ingredients. 

I needed teacher gifty things, so I liked the idea of a fancy looking treat that was super easy. I made 48 of these suckers (no doubling required, that is what it makes) and threw them into tins for the kiddos to take to school. 

The Kraft recipe calls for Bakers chocolate, which would work great, but I like Candy Melts and thought the white would be more of a contrast with the Oreo garnish. Anyway, they are really tasty and the teachers loved them. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 36 Oreo Cookies, finely crushed and divided
• 1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream  Cheese, softened
• 2 Pkg. Wilton Candy Melts (white or color of your choice)

Directions:

RESERVE 1/4 cup cookie crumbs. Mix cream cheese and remaining cookie crumbs until blended.

SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm.

This Pinspiration comes from Kraft

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

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Cooks Note: Oh my goodness, there are no words for how delicious this is. I made this tonight for dinner, yes dinner, because I wanted to test it out for Christmas morning. I made it around noon and threw it in the fridge till dinner time and it came out AMAZING! It was simple to make, but tastes like something you would eat at a fancy B&B. The Pioneer Woman says you can add fruit to the recipe or nutmeg for flavor (which I did) ad I was thinking how yummy it would be if you replaced the heavy cream with eggnog for a holiday kick! You HAVE to make this, and let me know how it turns out. I know you will enjoy!

Fresh Out of the Oven:

Ingredients:

For the French Toast:

1 Loaf French or Sourdough Crusty Bread

8 Eggs

2 Cups Whole Milk

1/3 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

3/4 Cup Sugar

2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

For the Topping:

1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Pinch Nutmeg (optional)

1 Stick Cold Butter cut into pieces

Instructions:

Grease 9x13 inch baking dish with butter

Tear bread into chunks or cut into cubes and spread evenly in baking dish

In medium bowl mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar and vanilla and pour evenly over 

bread, cover tightly and store in the fridge for several hours or overnight

In a separate bowl mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt, add nutmeg if desired. Add 

butter pieces and cut them into the dry mixture until it resembles fine pebbles. Store in 

a zip-lock in the fridge.

When you are ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove casserole from fridge and sprinkle crumb mixture on top

Bake 45 min for a softer, more bread pudding like texture or 1 hour for a firmer, less 

liquid texture.

Scoop out individual portions and top with butter and warm drizzled maple syrup.

This Pinspiration is from Pioneer Woman

Chicken and Green Chili Pasta

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Cooks Note: I love anything with green chilies in it. To me this is mac and cheese meets chicken enchiladas and it is really good. It is quick and easy and likely you have all the ingredients in your pantry. This is also a good one for a holiday pot luck or dinner. There is a lot of room for variations here too, you could add veggies, replace the chicken with ham, etc. It will be yummy no matter how you do it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb Penne pasta

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded with cumin and onion (2 cups)

2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

4 oz diced green chilies

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package, drain and set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9x13 cooking pan.

2.  In a mixing bowl, stir together chicken and cheese.

3. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter.  Stir in flour to make a roux and let bubble for 1 minute.  Slowly add in chicken broth and stir constantly.  Let bubble and thicken for 10-15 minutes.  Turn off heat and stir in sour cream and green chilies.  Stir until well combined.

4. In 9×13 baking dish, layer pasta, chicken and cheese mixture two times.  Then pour sauce over top.  Do not stir.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until bubbly and golden on top

This Pinspiration comes from Joyful Mamma's Kitchen

Happy Holidays Everyone!

It is Holiday time and since we have been MIA for a while now we are going to make a come back with some Holiday decor to get everyone in the mood. 

We love Christmas more than any other holiday and we like to do it up big, whether it is food, decor, gifts or parties, our motto is go BIG or go HOME!

Send us pics of your decor, we would love to see how you celebrate.