Caramel Apple Streusel Cheesecakes

Here comes another one of those recipes that seems to be all over your social media feeds.  Mini Caramel Apple Streusel Cheesecakes

They really are not that difficult to put together and turn out pretty darn good.

first you fill the bottom of 18 muffin cups with the crust mix and bake for 5 minutes

next you fill them with some of the cheesecake mixture

Top each with some diced up apples...

then sprinkle the tops with a little of the streusel topping...

bake for 25 minutes and let cool in the fridge for a couple of hours then top with caramel and eat!

the full recipe can be found at the following link:

http://hugsandcookiesxoxo.com/2015/09/mini-caramel-apple-streusel-cheeecakes.html

Pot Roast!!!!

This recipe uses the slow cooker so it can technically be used any night of the week.

There is really not a whole lot of hands on time for this recipe...maybe 15-20 minutes tops

first you mix up some cranberry sauce, tomato sauce, water and onion soup mix

sear the roast on all sides in a little bacon fat.....because why not!

add the roast to the slow cooker...

pour the sauce mix on top of the roast....

cover and cook on low for 8 hours...

now for the recipe....

Here is what you need:

• 1 roast...shoot for about 4 pounds
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat (can use olive oil if you don't keep bacon fat)
• 1 can of whole cranberry sauce (14 ounce)
• 1 can of tomato sauce (15 ounce)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 packets of dry onion soup mix
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Here is what you need to do:

• mix the cranberry sauce, tomato sauce, water and soup mix in a bowl
• sear the roast on all sides in the bacon fat over medium/high heat
• place roast in slow cooker and pour sauce mix over it
• cover and set to low for 8 hours
• remove roast, and slice
• add cornstarch to a small dish and add a little and wisk to combine
• pour cornstarch slurry in slow cooker, wisk, cover and set to high for 15 minutes
• serve gravy over roast

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Everyone needs a quick weeknight recipe....and it doesn't get much quicker than this one!

It took longer for the oven to heat up than it does to get this dish together.

Season up the shrimp....

Get the topping ready...

Put the shrimp in the baking dish and cover with topping.

15 minutes in the oven and you're done!

Get this stuff together:

• 2 Tablespoons white wine
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2 Pounds shrimp
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper

now do this:

• Put lemon and wine into baking dish
• in a small bowl melt butter and add panko...mix with a fork to combine
• in a bigger bowl add shrimp, oil, garlic, red pepper flakes mix to coat and season with salt and pepper
• put shrimp into baking dish
• top shrimp with panko/butter mixture
• bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 mintues

and that's it....hard to get much simpler!

Stuffed Onion Bombs

So lets call series "Facebook requests"

and the first installment will be the stuffed onion bombs that comes by request of Lisa.  I would describe these as baseball sized meatloaves wrapped in onion and bacon

so you toss the majority of the ingredients in a bowl to mix

Form into 6 balls, roughly the size of a baseball

Wrap in the outside layers of a yellow onion

Wrap in bacon and secure with toothpicks

A detailed recipe can be found at using the following link:

http://myfridgefood.com/recipes/salads-and-sides/stuffed-onion-bombs

Game Day food!

Brat and Cheese stuffed Pretzel Buns

When football is on you need some good game day food to eat....and what goes better with football than the combination of beer, brats, cheese and pretzels??  So let's combine them all into one easy to carry handful of goodness!

First thing you need to do is make up a batch of pretzel dough....

While the dough is proofing it's time to make the filling...

then you need to put some filling inside the dough and form it into a little bun

then you just bake them and its time to eat and cheer on the Packers!

Here comes the recipe....

Gather some stuff and make the pretzel dough:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Put all that in a bowl of a mixer for 10 minutes

Then add the following

• 2 ounces melted unsalted butter
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Mix and knead until you get a smooth dough ball...about 7 minutes
Then place the dough ball into a greased bowl in a warm place for an hour to proof

Now lets make the filling

Find all of the following:

• 1 pound bratwurst
• 1 can of beer
• 2 ounces bourbon
• 1 sweet onion - diced
• 4 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 cups grated mild cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce

Heat up your skillet on medium-high heat...take the brats out of their casings and break up into the pan and cook it until browned.  

Add half of the beer and all of the bourbon to the pan, cook until there is almost no liquid left in the pan...remove from the heat...empty into a bowl to cool

Return the skillet to the heat and toss in the onion and garlic..once they have browned and softened add the rest of the beer, turn the heat to low and cover until the liquid is almost gone again, then add that to the brat mixture you put in that bowl earlier.

Once that brat and onion mixture has cooled go ahead and add the cheese and stir it all up.

By now you dough should be proofed and ready to use.  so put a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil...you only need about 3-5 inches of water in the pot..once boiling add 2/3 cup baking soda to the water.

Now pull off a chunk of dough...like the size of an egg.  roll it out so that its about 4 inches across, then spoon some filling..2-3 tablespoons should do it into the center and fold up the edges and pinch the seams to close them up

Then drop them into the boiling baking soda bath for 15 seconds...flip them over and let them bathe for another 15 seconds..place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and cut a very small slit into the top

Now put them in a 450 degree oven for about 13 minutes..once they are nice and golden brown remove from the oven, then get to eatin!!

One of the best parts about fall.....

Pumpkin Bread!

My time in the kitchen is usually a solo effort...but today I was joined by the amazingly talented and beautiful Cadence...it was her request to make what is now her "favorite fall treat", no way i could turn down that request.


So we start by measuring out the pumpkin puree...

Then some sugar, eggs, oil and water

Mix it all up....

Get all the dry ingredients together and whisk to combine....

Add dry to wet mix and fill the dishes....

Bake...Cool...Eat!

Now for the recipe

Get this stuff:

• 1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Do this with it:

With a mixer, stand or hand...your choice.  combine the following:

• pumpkin puree
• eggs
• vegetable oil
• water
• sugar

In a different bowl mix the following together:

• flour
• baking soda
• salt
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• cloves
• ginger

Add the dry to the wet mixture and mix until just blended

Pour into greased loaf pans and bake @ 350 for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a loaf.

Cool in pan for 20 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack and cool for an hour..but good luck waiting an entire hour before eating!

Chicken Nuggets!

baked, not fried

This recipe is kid tested and approved.  If you strive to remove processed foods from your daily diet while maintaining convenience then this is a dish for you.  They go together quick, contain real chicken and bake in just 15 minutes.

now for the details....

Just 7 ingredients...chicken, water, corn flakes, Parmesan cheese, potato flakes, garlic salt and pepper

Form into little nuggets and place on a pan...

Bake for 15 minutes, turning half way through

here comes the recipe...

what you need:

• 1 pound of chicken breasts (boneless/skinless)
• 1 Tablespoon potato flakes
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup crushed corn flakes
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

what you need to do with it:

• In food processor combine Chicken, potato flakes, water, garlic salt, pepper and chop it up until its pretty fine
• put the chicken mixture into another bowl and clean food processor bowl
• place corn flakes (about 2 3/4 cups) into food processor and process until finely ground
• in a bowl, plate or pie pan combine the corn flakes and Parmesan cheese
• scoop a small amount of chicken, 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons and form into a nugget, rolling in the corn flakes until well coated
• place coated nuggets on a parchment lined sheet pan
• bake for 15 minutes @ 375F, flipping half way through

if you want to freeze them for later use just stop prior to the baking step.  put the sheet pan in the freezer for a couple hours and then transfer the nuggets to a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.  when ready to bake just toss on a sheet pan and bake as directed above