Braided Spaghetti Bread

Ingredients

1. 1 Loaf Rhodes™ Bread Dough or 12 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature (I have also used PW's pizza crust recipe and it turned out great)
2. 6 ounces spaghetti, cooked
3. 1 cup thick spaghetti sauce
4. 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5. 1 egg white, beaten
6. Parmesan cheese
7. parsley flakes

Instructions

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and let cool slightly. Remove wrap from dough. Place spaghetti lengthwise in a 4-inch strip down center of dough. Top with sauce and cheese cubes. Make cuts 1 1/2-inches apart on long sides of dough to within 1/2-inch of filling. Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid. Lift braid with both hands and place on a large, sprayed baking sheet. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley. Bake at 350°F 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and slice to serve.

Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Roll loaf or combined dinner rolls into a 12x16-inch rectangle. 

Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10-15 minutes. 

Recipe: http://www.rhodesbread.com/blog/blog/braided-spaghetti-bread

Graham Cracker Toffee Crunch

I stumbled upon this recipe while on Pinterest and realized I had every ingredient on hand, so I thought, why not? This is so easy and so delicious. I'm embarrassed to admit that half the pan is already gone! Although, I did have some help :)

Ingredients

• 14 - 16 graham cracker sheets

• 1 cup butter

• ¾ cup brown sugar

• 2 cups milk chocolate chips (1 bag)

• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 15x10x1 inch cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper lightly sprayed with non stick cooking spray.
• Break graham crackers into quarters and cover the cookie sheet in a single layer.
• In a saucepan combine the butter and brown sugar and stir over medium heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly for about 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and pour evenly the graham crackers. You may need to spread mixture evenly over graham crackers with a spoon. Bake for 7 minutes at 350.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the baked toffee and let them melt for a few minutes. Then spread the melted chocolate evenly over the toffee.
• Sprinkled with chopped nuts on top of the melted chocolate.
• Cool completely (put in fridge to set up faster) and then break apart and store in airtight container.

Recipe: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2014/12/graham-cracker-toffee-crunch-recipe.html

Sugar Cookies

I was looking for a different recipe that would be better for cut-out cookies. This one worked out great!

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Recipe: Alton Brown

Swedish Meatballs

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/2 cup Panko*
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE GRAVY
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups beef broth
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, egg yolks, allspice, nutmeg and cooked onion; season with 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 24 meatballs.
• Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• To make the gravy, melt butter in the skillet. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in sour cream; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Stir in meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
• Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Recipe: http://damndelicious.net

Chicken Tortilla Stack

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 9-inch flour tortillas
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced, for serving
• 1 roma tomato, diced, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray.
• Heal olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Working one at a time, add tortilla and cook until crisp and lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes per side, flipping only once.
• Place 1 tortilla on the bottom of the springform pan. Spread 2-3 tablespoons sour cream evenly over the top, followed by chicken, sharp cheddar, Pepper Jack and mozzarella. Repeat with 3 more layers; top with remaining tortilla, sour cream and cheeses.
• Place into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheeses have melted and the stack is heated through.
• Cut into wedges and serve immediately, garnished with avocado and tomato, if desired.

Recipe: http://damndelicious.net via Pinterest

Restaurant Style Spanish Rice

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.
Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Recipe: http://mytastebuddies.blogspot.com via Pinterest