Cinnamon Rolls

These are perfect to give away to your neighbors and friends for the holidays and boy are they delicious!!! So give them a try...they don't disappoint!

1 quart (4 cups) whole milk (I used what I had in the fridge)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
8 cups (plus 1 cup extra, separated) flour
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
1 T salt
3 cups (to 4 cups) melted butter
2 cups sugar
Generous sprinkle of cinnamon

Procedure:

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1 ½ to 2 cups melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees (see note below) until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Use one of the following for the frosting: Maple frosting* or Cream Cheese Frosting.

For the maple frosting, I substituted syrup for the coffee and didn't add maple flavoring.

From The Pioneer Woman.

Eclair Cake

Best of both worlds...as good as a real eclair, but SO much easier!!!

Cake:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/4 t salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Bring water, butter and salt to a boil until butter is melted. Add flour all at once and mix rapidly with a wooden spoon. Lower heat and continue stirring for 2-3 minutes to dry dough. Dough should be soft, but not sticky. Cool slightly. Transfer to a mixer and add eggs one at a time. Beat thoroughly after each addition until completely smooth. Spread into an ungreased 9by13 pan. Bake for 35 minutes at 400 degrees. Mixture will puff up while in the oven. When removed, prick bubbles with a fork and kind of smash down a little. Let cool completely.

Filling:
2 packages (3.5oz) instant vanilla pudding
2 1/2 cups cold milk
1 (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 (12oz) Cool Whip

Mix pudding and milk until thick (like pudding.) Add cream cheese and beat until smooth. Spread over cooled cake bottom. Top with Cool Whip.

Topping:
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T butter
3 T milk
1 cup powdered sugar

In a saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and milk, alternately until a thin glaze forms. Drizzle over Cool Whip. Refrigerate at least one hour.

*From bigoven.com

Chicken Tamale Casserole

If you love tamales, you are going to love this!

1 cup shredded cheese (I use sharp cheddar)
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 t cumin
1/8 t ground red pepper
1 box corn muffin mix (such and Jiffy)
1 (15oz) can cream style corn
1 (4oz) can diced green chilies, drained
1 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded chicken (I used rotisserie)
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine, 1/4 cup cheese, milk, egg, cumin, red pepper, muffin mix, cream corn, and chilies. Pour into a greased 9by13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and pierce surface with fork. Pour over 1/2 can enchilada sauce, top with chicken, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over top of chicken. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes. Let stand at least 5 minutes before cutting. Top with sour cream. Enjoy!!

*I actually used green chili enchilada sauce because that was all I had and it was delicious!! So you can go either way.

*From Tasty Kitchen.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Simple...but oh so delicious!

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t salt
2 cups frozen vegetables of your choice (I do broccoli)
4 boneless, skinless breast halves (about 1 lb)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a bowl mix chicken soup, water, rice, onion powder, salt, pepper and vegetables. Pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Place chicken on top. Cover and put in oven at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Let casserole stand for 10 minutes covered until cheese is melted.

Pumpkin Cookies

These are the EASIEST, most moist and delicious pumpkin cookies I've ever had!! I actually was a little skeptical of how good they could be, but was soon mistaken when I took the first, scrumptious bite. You MUST try these!!!!

1 box Spice cake mix
1 15oz can pumpkin
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix cake mix and pumpkin till moist. Add chocolate chips. Spray pan with a little cooking spray and bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes (or if you have an amazing oven like my aunt Mara, do convection at 325 degrees for exactly 10 minutes.)

*Keep in mind that the cookies come out the way you put them on the cookie sheet...they don't change much.

Quesadilla Bake

Really easy and really fast!! Such a tasty dish that takes no time at all and I love how it has the spinach hidden in there for added nutrition!

1/2 whole store bought rotisserie chicken
4 whole wheat flour tortillas, cut into wedges
1 1/2 cup salsa
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3 cups baby spinach
2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese (I used pepperjack and cheddar cheese)

Remove skin and cut chicken into bite size pieces.

Combine salsa and ricotta cheese in a bowl.

In a greased 9 inch square pan, layer tortillas, chicken, spinach, salsa mixture and cheese. Repeat the layers twice. End with a layer of tortillas topped with pepperjack cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

*Adapted from Tasty Kitchen.

Oreo Cheesecakes

These are SO easy and really good! I got them from Baking Bites and she did them with Halloween Colored Oreos and they were SUPER cute for a Halloween treat! Sadly, when I went to the store, I couldn't find them, but they are just as good with normal Oreos!

1/2 c sugar
2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1/2 c milk
2 t vanilla
1 T flour
1 1/2 c chopped Oreo cookies
16 whole Oreos

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, cream cheese, eggs, milk and vanilla until very smooth. Blend in flour. Stir in chopped Oreos. Place one Oreo in the bottom of each muffin cup. Top with 1/4 c batter. Bake for 16-19 minutes until cheesecakes are set. Cool in pan. Chill cheesecakes for at least 2 hours.

*From Baking Bites.