Cross Country Bakers

Recipes for May's "Cinnamon Roll" show down!

2011-05-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Dear CCB bakers for the month of May we have decided to do a cinnamon roll show down! This means that you will need to make both the recipes posted below and tell us which one you think is better, so this means not altering the recipe by leaving out certain ingredients. One of the recipes is from your truly (The DeL Sisters) and the other from some dear friends that go to our church. May the best Roll win!

Cinnamon Roll # 1

2pkg. Yeast
1c. warm water 105-115
2/3 c. sugar and 1t. of sugar
1c. warm milk
2/3 c. melted butter
2t. salt
2eggs lightly beaten
7c. flour

Filling:
1c. melted butter

1 3/4 c. sugar

3 T. cinnamon

1 1/2 cups walnuts chopped

Cream Cheese Glaze

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoon butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon milk

Place warm water, yeast and 1t. sugar in a bowl. Let sit so it will get foamy.
In a mixer, mix milk, 2/3 c. sugar, melted butter, salt. And eggs; stir well. Add yeast mixture. Then add ½ of the flour and mix till smooth. Stir in enough flour to create smooth but slightly sticky dough. Knead. Put dough onto a lightly floured counter and roll dough into a large rectangle. Pour ½ c. of melted butter onto dough and sprinkle with 1 ½ c. cinnamon sugar sprinkle with nuts. Roll jelly roll style, cut in to 15 pieces.
In 2 13x9in. pans, pour remaining ½ c. butter, sprinkle with ¼ c. sugar. Place rolls in pan. Let rise 45min. Bake for 25min. more or less. Until golden brown. Cool slightly, spread with glaze.

Cinnamon Roll #2

Dough:

1 quart whole milk

1 c. veg. oil

1 c. sugar

2 pack. (4 1/2 tea.) active dry yeast

9 c. all-purpose flour

1 heaping tea. baking powder

1 scant tea. baking soda

1 T. salt

Filling:

2 c. melted butter, plus more as needed

1/4 c. ground cinnamon for sprinkling

2 c. sugar, plus more as needed

Maple Icing:

2 lbs. powdered sugar

1/2 c. whole milk

6 T. (3/4 stick) butter, melted

1/4 c. strongly brewed coffee

dash of salt

1 T. maple flavoring or maple extract

1.) For the dough, heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat; do not allow the mixture to boil. Set aside and cool.

2.) Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit on the milk for 1 minute.

3.) Add 8 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour.

4.) Remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl.

5.) Yo assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan. On the floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30x10 inches.

6.) To make the filling, pour 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly.

7.) Generously sprinkle half of the ground cinnamon and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter. Don't be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar!

8.) Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly toward you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don't worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine!

9.) When you reach the end, pinch the seam together. When you're finished, you'll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log.

10.) Transfer to a cutting board and with a sharp knife, make 1 1/2-inch slices. One log will produce 20-25 rolls.

11.) Pour a couple of tablespoons of melted butter into the desired pie pans or baking dishes and swirl to coat.

12.) Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd.

13.) Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough and more pans. Preheat the over to 375 degrees. Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the counter top for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove the towel and bake for 13 to 17 minutes, until golden brown. While the rolls are baking, make the maple icing!

14.) In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt.

15.) Splash in the maple flavoring.

16.) Whisk until very smooth. and add in more maple, sugar, butter, or other ingredients as needed until the icing should be thick, but still pourable.

17.) Take the rolls out when timer goes off.

18.) While the rolls are still warm, generously drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top.

19.) As they sit the rolls will absorb some of the icing's moisture and flavor.

20.) ENJOY!!!

DeL Sisters

2011-04-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

These PB cups were very yummy, though next time we would cut out the coconut oil, it came though a little too much for our liking:-) We also made the chocolate from scratch by using coconut oil, cocoa powder and maple syrup. Next time we are going to use 90% dark chocolate bought from the store!

The "T" Sisters

2011-04-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

This was an amazing recipe! They tasted surprisingly similar to Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups and I will definitely be making them again. The one thing I would change next time, is I would put in some cereal, like Rice Krispies, to make them less dense and to add extra “crunch.” But other than that, they were scrumptious!

Merrit Sisters

2011-04-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

These little rounds taste quite good and are not hard to make--hurrah! I definitely want to make them again and double the chocolate (never can have too much of that), and probably use less coconut oil, since our current batch of coconut oil has a very strong flavor. I used semi-sweet baking chocolate and Hershey's dark chocolate combined instead of unsweetened chocolate, and used much less honey in the chocolate part. I also used regular sized muffin tins, since we don't have mini ones right now, but that doesn't affect the taste, only makes for fewer trips to the freezer. *smiles*
-Melissa for the Merritt Sisters

Merrit Sisters

2011-04-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

My sister and I had fun making these, laughing at ourselves as we used a ziplock-bag wrapped hammer to pound the chicken and two large mixing spoons to crunch up the croutons into bread crumbs. (Annie said we should have gotten a video of it, but I don't know about that!) We used Pepper Jack cheese instead of Swiss, though it didn't taste too spicy. The large pieces of meat were not as tasty or moist as the small ones--perhaps because more of the egg mixture saturated the small ones. Overall I think they were good, and I might try them again sometime with a variety of ingredients. We made a large batch and had leftovers the next day, which is why my second photo has better, natural lighting.

-Melissa for the Merritt Sisters

April Recipes!

2011-03-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

Margherita Burgers
You can change the given quantities of pretty much any of the ingredients to suit your tastes.

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 to 1/3 cup of sun dried tomatoes, in oil, chopped finely
2 tbsp of the oil the tomatoes are packed in
1 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Hamburger buns
Slices of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil leaves, for garnish

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, sun dried tomatoes, oil, onion, chopped fresh basil and salt and pepper. Mix well and form 8 patties. You can cook the burgers on the BBQ, in a pan or, as I like to cook them in my panini press, it takes half the time as they cook on both sides at the same time! Just cook them from 8 to 10 minutes per side or until the internal temperature of each patty is 160F. Let the burgers rest a few minutes before serving them.

Heat or toast the hamburger buns, place a patty on each bun, then top with mozzarella, tomato slices and fresh basil leaves.

Ultimate Veggie Burger Recipe
These make great do-ahead meals, and you can store shaped, ready-to-cook patties in the refrigerator for a week's worth of work lunches. Sprouted garbanzos are becoming more readily available, but if you can't find them, canned or cooked garbanzos (chickpeas) will work great. Sprouting boosts their already fantastic nutritional value even more...

2 1/2 cups sprouted garbanzo beans (chickpeas) OR canned garbanzos, drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 onion, chopped
Grated zest of one large lemon
1 cup micro sprouts, chopped (try brocolli, onion, or alfalfa sprouts - optional)
1 cup toasted (whole-grain) bread crumbs
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or clarified butter)

If you are using sprouted garbanzos, steam them until just tender, about 10 minutes. Most of you will be using canned beans, so jump right in and combine the garbanzos, eggs, and salt in a food processor. Puree until the mixture is the consistency of a very thick, slightly chunky hummus. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the cilantro, onion, zest, and sprouts. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. At this point, you should have a moist mixture that you can easily form into twelve 1 1/2-inch-thick patties. I err on the moist side here, because it makes for a nicely textured burger. You can always add more bread crumbs a bit at a time to firm up the dough if need be. Conversely, a bit of water or more egg can be used to moisten the batter.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium low, add 4 patties, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes. Flip the patties and cook the second side for 7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the skillet and cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining patties. Carefully cut each patty in half, insert your favorite fillings, and enjoy immediately.

Makes 12 mini burgers.

Homemade, Healthier Peanut Butter Cups
If you use another nut butter, you may need to add more honey. Peanuts are naturally sweet. For that matter, this is definitely a “to your own taste” recipe! And you can easily adjust the sweeter to satisfy you.

3/4 cup of peanut butter, toasted and salted (or use nut butter of your choice)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla (if you are making this gluten free, make sure to use gluten free vanilla)
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/3 cup of chopped soaked and dehydrated nuts, or toasted (I used a mixture of chopped almonds and pumpkin seeds) *
4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
2-4 tablespoons honey *
1-In a small bowl combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla, first two tablespoons honey, and nuts. Mix until well combined.

2-Drop by the heaping teaspoon into mini cupcake pans. Place in freezer.

3-Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in the top of a double broiler (or, like I do, in a heat proof bowl that fits on top of a pot you have). Mix in the honey. Bring about two inches of water to a boil in the pot and place the bowl on top. Watch the chocolate carefully so that it doesn’t burn, stirring gently while the chocolate melts. When there are just a few chunks left in the chocolate, take off of the heat and allow it to melt completely.

4-Drop by the teaspoon over the peanut butter mixture and place back into the freezer. Freeze for 20 minutes. Take out, and using a butter knife pop them out. Keep in the freezer or refrigerator and enjoy!

*To toast the nuts, place in a dry pan over medium-high heat. Stir almost continually until they are starting to brown. Take off of the heat.

*I used only one tablespoon honey to sweet the chocolate, but we decided that it needed to be sweeter! So I have put two to four tablespoons, depending on how sweet you want it to be.

The DeL Sisters

2011-03-27T05:18:00.000-07:00

It was so fun being able to make both recipes this time!

Stuffed Chicken
As you can see from the picture, we ended up not breading it before baking/cooking. Instead we stuffed them with basil pesto and mozzarella cheese wraped them in bacon and grilled them! It was sooooo good, next time we would like to try some other kind of other cheese, maybe something with a little more zing/bite to it:-)

Pancakes
Well, we had the same problem as Hannah T. When you put the cinnamon center in it just all came running out and burned!!!! Oh well, our family still really enjoyed them and even liked them with no filling/ swirl:-) We were trying to think of a way to make a filling but not have it come all running out when it got warm......still needing to do some experimenting in the kitchen though.....

The Marshall Sisters

2011-03-27T05:09:00.001-07:00

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

This recipe is really yummy! If you're not careful, the cinnamon falls out when you flip the pancakes, which results in a slightly burned taste on a few. Overall, though, we will definitely make them again! Maybe with pecans, whipped cream, and cinnamon syrup!!

The Marshall Sisters

The Yen Sisters

2011-03-27T05:08:00.001-07:00

We made the broccoli cheese stuffed chicken this month. It was fun to put together! I ended up having to use shredded swiss cheese, which made it a little difficult, so I would definitely use slices next time. Overall, though it was good, it seemed a bit bland to me. Next time around I would have added more salt, and some garlic. Otherwise we really liked it!

Kathryn & Tara Y.

Tracy Rickstrew

2011-03-27T05:06:00.001-07:00

Ok, I know that my photography leaves much to be desired. I've been having camera problems. Couple that with the time of evening I was ready to take this picture gave me no option but to use the dreaded flash. Yet, despite my lack of photographical proof...this was delicious! I will certainly make this again. Changes I made include: 1) not being very precise in my measurements, 2) two large chicken breasts cut in thirds, 3) mixture of mozzarella and asiago cheese, and 4) two pieces of whole wheat bread mixed with approximately 2 T. Johnny's Garlic Bread & Seasoning (from Costco). On the plate, I added salt as I thought they needed more. We had leftover buttery jasmine rice so we out them over rice and served with a spring salad. This is a great basic recipe. I'll definitely keep this one and keep trying new fillings. Next, I'll think I'll add sun dried tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms with the mozzarella/asiago mixture! Yummy.

The "T" Sisters

2011-03-27T05:03:00.000-07:00

These were the best pancakes I’ve had in a long time! I used all whole wheat flour instead of half all-purpose flour like the recipe called for and I added an extra egg because they weren’t holding together very well. The swirl part didn’t really work out, as the cinnamon mixture kept burning on the pan, so about half way through, I just stirred it into the batter. They didn’t look near as nice that way, but they still tasted great!

Hannah for the “T” Sisters

DeL Sisters Crepes

2011-03-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Thank you Hannah T for this lovely recipe! Last week our sister Kathryn lost a tooth so for a speceial treat we made these for breakfast. We made them for breakfast and stuffed them with Nutella and Fresh Strawberries. They were all gone, we had to save one back so we could at least get a good picture. I had never made crepes before so it was a new expierience, fun but alot more work then pancakes:-)

Esther for the DeL's

The Merrit Sisters

2011-03-01T03:52:00.001-08:00

We didn't have all the same ingredients as the recipe called for, but I doubled the recipe and substituted as best I could. Regular flour instead of coconut flour, coconut oil & canola oil instead of grapeseed oil, chopped almonds instead of walnuts, etc. Perhaps my problem was that I added a bit of extra flour, thinking the batter looked far too runny (or else I absentmindedly did something else wrong, math of any sort not being my strong suit). It turned out a little more cake-like than desired. Our oven, we found out later, heats up hotter than the gauge on top says, so the edges of the brownies got a bit dark and hard. However, the inside pieces were all right, though hardly the fudgey type of brownies I prefer. My brother and others liked them, though.

-Melissa for the Merritt Sisters

T Sisters Crepe's

2011-02-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

This was a great recipe and definitely a “make again”! They can be filled with fruit, yogurt, cinnamon-sugar, jelly or any other yummy things you can think of!

The "T" sisters

New March Recipes!

2011-02-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

Yen Sisters

2011-02-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I (T) was in a baking mood, so I decided to make the brownies, BUT I had an idea of what I wanted to make in my mind, so I changed up the recipe to fit the idea. :) I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, and added quite a bit more than the recipe called for, used regular flour, and sugar instead of agave (who wants to be healthy? *grin*) and took out the nuts. I didn't really measure anything - just guessed and hoped it came out okay. Then, for an extra flare, I made some cream cheese/sugar/vanilla stuff and marbled it into the brownie mix, and sprinkled extra chocolate chips on top.
They were very good, very pretty and soft with crisp edges! Definitely a make-again!

Tara for the Y sisters

DeL Sisters Brownies

2011-02-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

These brownies are an adaption from a recipe we saw on Elana's Pantry, we thought they looked so scrumptious that we must try them! Upon viewing the recipe, we found that we didn't have all the exact ingredients on hand, so we switched a few things around from the original recipe. They were just as good as the picture looked and we will be keeping the recipe in our brownie archives:-)

DeL Sisters

2011-02-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

New February recipes

2011-01-29T14:36:00.000-08:00

Dessert Crêpes
Ingredients:
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder (optional)
Directions:
In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter, flour, sugar, and salt until smooth. Heat a medium-sized skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or oil. Using a serving spoon or small ladle, spoon about 4 tablespoons crepe batter into hot pan, tilting the pan so that bottom surface is evenly coated. Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes on a side, or until golden brown. Serve immediately; store leftovers in air-tight container. Makes about eight Crêpes.

The dessert crepes were selected by Miss Hannah T. The brownies recipe was selected by The DeL Sisters from Elana's Pantry website.

Double Chocolate Walnut Brownies
½ cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao
¼ cup coconut flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
½ cup agave nectar
¼ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped walnuts
⅓ cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao
Place ½ cup chocolate chips in Food Processor and pulse until the consistency of coarse sand
Pulse in coconut flour, salt and baking soda until combined
Pulse in eggs, agave, grapeseed oil and vanilla
Pour batter into a greased 8x8 pyrex dish
Sprinkle walnuts and remaining chocolate chips over batter
Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes
Cool and serve

Merrit Sisters

2011-01-29T11:28:00.000-08:00

We made the Beef Enchilada Casserole, then found out that at least two other families we know had also cooked it the same day, so we were all eating beef enchilada casserole that day!

We enjoyed the meal, and made a few changes to it. The only thing I'd recommend is perhaps toasting the tortillas, or adding the enchilada sauce later, since that would give them a nice crunch/keep them from being soggy.

Instead of the plain pinto beans, we added two cans of Ranch Style Beans, one with onions, and the other with jalapenos, which we added instead of green chiles.

We enjoyed making and eating this meal; thanks!

Ann Merritt

DeL Sisters

2011-01-29T07:04:00.001-08:00

Hannah and I both agreed on the Autumn Stew, we had made it about 3 years ago a remember really liking it. After searching the grocery store for celery root and parsnip and coming up with no success we decided to change the ingredients by adding sweet potatoes, Yukon potatoes, and butternut squash! For the crumble we used whole wheat flour and Colby jack cheese, we also added in chopped chicken to make it more of a main dish! Everyone in our family classified it as a "earthy" tasting meal, that is they really liked it.

Rugloski Sisters

2011-01-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

The Beef and Bean Enchilada casserole was a big hit, especially for our dad. He said it was "top dog" :) and wants us to make it at least once a month! We did not have plain kidney beans so we used ranch style beans which we rinsed first to get the sauce off. Looking forward to the next recipes!

~The Rugloski Sisters

Landry Sisters

2011-01-29T06:57:00.001-08:00

We made the Autumn Vegetable Stew with Cheddar Garlic Crumb Crust this month. Who thought of this? We all thought it was special .. So special in fact we‘re only going to serve it… no, no it wasn’t that bad.
We butchered one of the last of the fall pumpkins to use instead of the butternut squash and decided to forgo the parsnips and used extra carrots instead. We think it would have been better with parsnips or potatoes: Not so orange. Next time we will add some green chilies and more garlic (we like garlic)! For the crumb crust we used malted wheat flour, kefir instead of cream and decided to forgo the baking powder altogether. Everyone seemed to like the crust the best.

Braymer Sisters

2011-01-29T06:54:00.000-08:00

We made the Bean & Beef Casserole for January... The only changes we made were to substitute kidney beans for the pinto beans, but other than that we did just what the recipe said! :) It was very good - thank you for the wonderful recipe!! :)

Valerie & Julie

Yen Sisters

2011-01-29T06:50:00.000-08:00

We decided to make the enchiladas last minute, because we had most of the ingredients in the house. We were out of enchilada sauce, though, so we made "pizza enchiladas" - also known as use-whatever-we-have-on-hand enchiladas. :-) We used pizza sauce in place of the enchilada sauce. Aside from that, the only thing we did differently was to use more meat (Dad likes a lot of meat), and we mixed all the filling together instead of making individual layers (we still layered the filling with the tortillas).

It was fairly good - I'm sure it would have been better if we had used real enchilada sauce, but it was good considering we didn't. :-) It was really filling too!

Apologies for the dreadful picture... that's what happens when you take food photos at night. :-)

Kathryn for both of us

Recipes for January!

2011-01-10T05:15:00.000-08:00

Autumn Vegetable Stew with Cheddar-Garlic Crumble Crust

For the Cheddar Topping:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 T. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
6 T. butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1-1/3 c. heavy cream
1 ½ tsp. finely chopped garlic
Pinch of coarse ground pepper
½ c. grated sharp cheddar cheese

For the Vegetable stew
About 3 T. olive oil
About 3 T. butter
1 red onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch rounds
1 medium celery root, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 acorn squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 c. dry white wine
3 T. tomato paste
3 c. chicken, vegetable broth or water
1 T. fresh chopped marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste

To make topping, mix flour, salt and baking powder in large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry knife until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cream, garlic, and pepper. Add the cheddar cheese and mix lightly with a wooden spoon until mixture just holds together. Let rest.

To make the stew. Heat the oven to 400. In a large saucepan, heat about ½ the oil and butter over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery root, cook stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned about 7 min. Transfer the cooked veggies to a large 13x9 inch pan` . Add the rest of the butter and oil to the skillet. Add the squash and parsnip and sauté until they are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for another couple minutes, and then add all to the 13x9 pan. Increase the heat and add to high and add the wine, paste and broth to sauté pan. Bring to boil. Scraping up the browned bits stuck to the bottom, lower heat and simmer about 3 min. Add this liquid to the baking pan with the veggies, sprinkle with marjoram and season with salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil and bake the veggies just until tender about 30mins. Remove foil. Using a large spoon, dot the surface of the veggies with Ping-Pong ball sized dollops of cheddar topping. The top of the casserole should look like the surface of the moon; bumps and craters are ideal. Return the casserole to the oven, uncovered until topping is cooked and browned about 25 min.

Bean and Beef Enchilada Casserole

12 oz. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 ½ tsp. chili powder
¾ tsp. cumin
2 15 oz. cans pinto beans drained
2 4 oz. cans diced green chili peppers, undrained
1 ½ c. sour cream
3 T. flour
½ tsp. garlic powder
12 6 inch corn tortillas
2 10 oz. cans enchilada sauce
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 3 quart rectangular baking dish. In a large skillet coo the beef and onion until meat is cooked, drain the fat off the meat. Stir chili powder and cumin into the meat and cook about 1min. Stir in beans and chili peppers into the meat mixture; set aside. Stir together sour cream, flour and garlic powder, set aside. Place half the tortillas in the baking dish, cutting to fit and over lapping if necessary. Top with ½ the meat mixture and ½ the sour cream mixture and ½ the enchilada sauce; repeat layers. Cover dish with foil. Bake for 35-40 min. or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 5 min. or until cheese melts. If desired garnish with chopped tomato and sliced green onion.

Winners and Prizes of the Gingerbread house competition!

2011-01-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

Announcing the winners!!!!

1st. Place Prize goes to..... Gingerbread House #6-Maker: Laura and Elizabeth Adams!
and, the 2nd Place Prize goes to Gingerbread House #2 Maker: The Rugloski Sisters!

Congratulations ladies, we are impressed with your creativity and beauty you both are very deserving of your prizes:-)

For the First Place we are sending the Adams sisters a year subscription to the "Taste of the South" magazine.

And for the second place prize for the Rugloski sisters, we are sending you a year subscription of the "Southern Lady" magazine.

We hope you both enjoy these, and had fun participating in this little competition!

~The Del sisters

Gingerbread House # 6

2011-01-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread house voting rules!

2011-01-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

Hello all!
Esther and I ( Hannah) have put together a gingerbread hour competition with a few friends and would like to invite you all to participate in the voting.
To vote; Leave a comment under the house you are voting for, stating which number you think has the best looking gingerbread creation!
Those who were Gingerbread house participants, this is a reminder that you cannot vote for your house/building!
Prizes will be given to those with 1st and 2nd place.........

God Bless!
Hannah and Esther Del
ww.delkitchen.blogspot.com

Gingerbread House # 5

2011-01-01T06:02:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread House # 4

2011-01-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread House # 3

2011-01-01T05:59:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread House # 2

2011-01-01T05:58:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread House # 1

2011-01-01T05:57:00.001-08:00

DeL Sisters Cookies

2011-01-01T05:04:00.001-08:00

We don't have to much to say about these since we picked them out and had already made them before. One thing we, still really like them:)

Emily Deamer

2011-01-01T05:04:00.000-08:00

The only thing I changed about the recipe is that I used evaporated cane juice sugar instead of white sugar. They were incredible! A nice touch-up to good old chocolate chip cookies. YUM!

~Emily

2010-12-31T05:00:00.000-08:00

We decided to make the Aunt Laura's Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies for December. We didn't change any of the ingredients, but instead of layering it in a 9x13 pan, we made them into individual cookies, put an indent in the middle and poured the cream cheese into the center. We made them for a cookie exchange. They were very good, though next time we would use a little less sugar as they were a tad too sweet.

Thanks DeL girls for the nice recipe!

Kathryn & Tara

Gingerbread House Competition

2010-12-11T17:42:00.001-08:00

Ok ladies here are the rules of the game!

Rules of the competition are:
1.All things must be edible
2.Gingerbread or Graham cracker houses are both viable
3. All Pictures of houses must be sent in by December 31st.
4.Any Gingerbread/Graham Cracker structure is fine; barn, house, church and whatever else you can come up with!

Voting:
The houses will be voted on by all CCB members by comment. We will post all the pictures of the houses with a number, and you will leave a comment with the number of you choice as your vote!

Prizes:
Esther and I will award prizes for the first two placements.........and the prizes are a surprise:-)

Have fun ladies, and if you have any questions, send us an email!

December Recipes!

2010-12-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

Aunt Laura’s Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies
Cookie Dough:
¾ c. butter, softened
¾ c. sugar
¾ c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 T. vanilla
2 ¼ c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ c. chocolate chips
In a large bowl cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla. Stir in flour, soda and salt till blended. Add chocolate chips. Press half the dough into the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. Pour cream cheee filling over top. Sprinkle remaining dough on top. Bake at 325 for 45-55 min. until the cream cheese is set and dough is cooked through. Cool all the way before cutting and serving!

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 8oz.pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
½ c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat till very smooth and creamy.

Chocolate Toffee Crescent Bars
8 oz. can Pillsbury Refrigerated Quick Crescent Dinner Rolls
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. butter
1 c. pecans, chopped
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Separate crescent dough into 2 large rectangles. Place in ungreased 15x10inch jelly roll pan. Gently press dough to cover bottom of pan; seal perforations. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and butter; boil 1 min. Pour evenly over dough. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake 14-18 min. until golden brown. Remove from oven; immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Slightly swirl pieces as they melt, leaving some pieces partially melted or whole. ( Do not spread evenly, leave a molted appearance.) Cool; cut into bars. Makes 3-4 dozen.

November Recipes

2010-11-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

A good side dish to serve with lunch!

A very yummy banana cake, its good for you too!

Some Good heart healthy oatmeal with a little bit of a twist for those cool fall days ahead!

Replica of Whole Foods Seeduction Bread!

Yen Ladies

2010-11-01T08:46:00.001-07:00

Tara made the pasta fazoole today for lunch... yummmmmy! It was so delicious! It reminded us all of something you might eat at Olive Garden. She added more beans than the recipe called for, used more butter than the recipe called for (hehe), and used chicken broth for the liquid. She also omitted the canned tomatoes and instead added more tomato puree. In addition she used egg noodles instead of the whole wheat noodles and didn't cook them separately (just threw them in the soup to cook).

It was wonderful and we will definitely be making it again! Thanks Landry sisters for the great recipe!

Kathryn & Tara

Ahhhhhh! This recipe is DEADLY. We knew it would be when we picked it out. :-) It was quite tasty, but very rich - we had a hard time finishing our slices. We did everything according to the recipe, but we would change a few things next time. We would have crushed the crackers/cookies finer for the crust (maybe using a food processor?) and added more butter as it was crumbling to pieces when we ate it. We found there to be too much crust for a normal pie plate so we had to use our deep dish. Otherwise, it was very good, though due to its sweetness and richness I think it will have to be reserved for special occasions!

Kathryn & Tara

Landry Ladies

2010-11-01T08:44:00.001-07:00

Hello Ladies,

We feel bad that the only recipes we got to this month were the ones we sent in. Sorry. We did taste the Braymer sisters pumpkin dump cake, though. It was yummy. With the Pasta Fazoole we used red kidney, garbanzo and black beans, and also experimented with different spices; cardamon, herbs De Provence, sage, oregano, and lots of garlic. We served it over some rustic handmade pasta with a side of biscuits. For the Irish Soda Bread we substituted raisins for the currents and added walnuts. After trying this recipe again, I think it could do with a little less baking soda, maybe a half tsp less. It didn't taste bad but it did make the loaf turn a little Green. Did anyone else have this happen? It's also important to stir the soda in with the fruit/nuts if you are soaking it over night. Otherwise I think it tends to clump together. We shaped ours into oblong baguette style loaves, instead of rounds.

~The Landry Ladies

Merrit Sisters Comments

2010-10-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

We did try the Fazoule recipe shared by the Landrys, and we enjoyed it. I didn't take a photo of it soon enough, though, and then it was too late, because it was all gone. Sorry about that!
We changed a few things, such as no zucchini (although I meant to add that), and omitted the pasta, since the meal was to be shared the next day. We also didn't use any cheese, although I think that would've been good! The only other thing that I can think of which may have been different, was the use of coconut oil to fry the onions in.

I'm looking forward to the next recipes!

DeL Sisters

2010-10-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

This month has been so busy we only got around to making 2 out the 4 recipes. We made the Pumpkin cake the the Braymers pick out though I did a lot of alterations. We did not have a cake mix on hand so I decided to get creative and change it around, I used cream instead of evaporated milk,honey,xylatoil, and molasses for the sugar, and whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt for the missing cake mix, I also added in some chopped apple! It turned out amazing and so very moist, it will be a recipe we will make again for sure.

The PB pie was very easy and quick to make. I changed the crust around a little by just crushing oreos with the filling still in and then drizzling melted butter on top and freezing till hard. I also put it in a 10 inch spring form pan. I had a little taste of the filling and it was so very rich and creamy, though we have not officially eaten it as it is for our brother Tom's birthday party tonight:) Thanks Yens for the scrumptious recipe!

October Recipes!

2010-10-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

This time around we decided to to change things up a bit and ask a few of our devoted members to pick out the new recipes for October! So below are the recipes from the Braymer, Landry and Yen Sisters!

Thank you all for picking them out, we can't wait to start baking/ Cooking!

The Braymer Sisters picked.......

PUMPKIN PIE CAKE

INGREDIENTS:
1 - 29 oz. can pumpkin
4 eggs
1 - 13 oz. can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 box dry yellow cake mix
2 sticks butter, melted
1 cup nuts, chopped

Stir ingredients together. Pour into a 9 x 13" pan. Sprinkle the box of cake mix over the mixture in pan. Pour the melted butter over cake mix. Sprinkle chopped nuts over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Once the it has cooled, top with COOL WHIP and refrigerate. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

---THE BRAYMER SISTERS

The Landry Ladies picked out 2 recipes one is below the other is linked!

Pasta Fazoole

2-3 C. Cooked beans (a good

combination is red kidney,

great northern and Garbanzo)

1 Large Onion, chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Carrot, grated

½ Stalk Celery, sliced

2 T. Butter or Olive Oil

¼ C. Tomato puree, or more

¼ Tsp. Oregano

½ Tsp. Salt

Dash of Pepper

Dash of hot red pepper (optional)

¼ C chopped fresh Parsley

(2 Tbsp. Dried)

1 15 oz can Diced Tomatoes

Liquid to make soup consistency

5-6 C. if desired

¼ C chopped green pepper

1 C. grated zucchini

1 C. whole grain pasta, cooked

and drained

Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Sauté onion, garlic, carrot and celery in oil. Add beans, tomato puree, seasonings and liquid. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add pepper and zucchini. Simmer 10 minutes longer. Add pasta. Sprinkle Parmesan on each serving, if desired. (If freezing this for later use, omit the pasta until serving the meal)

This dish is a soup or stew , hearty enough for dinner with salad and homemade Bread. The combination of whole grain pasta and beans increases the protein value of both.

http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/03/irish-soda-bread-2.html

The Yen Sisters picked.......

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham crackers crumbs
1 cup finely ground oreo cookies( cream filling removed)
4 T. butter, melted
6 T. sugar
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temp
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
2 T. milk
4 oz. melted semi-sweet chocolate
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 c. toasted chopped peanuts
Rich chocolate sauce( recipe follows)

Heat oven to 375.
Combine graham crackers, oreo, butter and 4 T. sugar in medium bowl. Stir to combine thoroughly. Press the mixture firmly into 1 9inch pie pan and bake for 15 min. Remove the pan from the oven, let the crust cool completely, then wrap it with plastic wrap and place the pan in the freezer for at least 1 hour and for up to 2 weeks. Allow the crust to come to room temp before filling.

Combine the cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and milk in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended and smooth, about 1min. on medium speed. Add the melted chocolate and the peanut butter and continue to blend for another minute on medium speed. Combine the cream with the remaining 2 T. sugar in another medium bowl. Beat with a whisk or electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate and peanut butter mixture until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Pour the filling into the pie crust. Smooth the top of the pie with a spatula, cove, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. To serve use a hot wet knife to slice the pie into 8 portions. Garnish with peanuts and drizzle with Rich Chocolate sauce.

Rich Chocolate Sauce

3/4 cup half-and-half
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 T. butter

In a small saucepan bring half & half to a bare simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat. Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Whisk the Half&half slowly into chocolate. Add the vanilla and butter to the sauce and whisk until butter is completely incorporated. The sauce can be kept refrigerated in an air tight container for several days, but must be returned to room temp. before serving.

The Braymer Sisters

2010-10-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

We made these corn dogs for dinner Friday night. As you all suggested, we did add more milk to the batter, which helped it a lot! We accidently burned them a little when frying (oops! :), but otherwise they were great! Our family really enjoyed them! Thanks so much for the recipe!

THE BRAYMER SISTERS

Yen Sisters

2010-10-04T16:25:00.001-07:00

SO sorry for the long delay in getting this out! We did make this during September, but it was at night so we couldn't get a good picture. Then we were sick, and thus we are late with our picture of the apple clafoutis! This was a hit with our family! We had it the first time for dessert and then the second time we tried it for breakfast. Both times we left out the walnuts. Otherwise, I think we followed the recipe exactly. Tara likened it to an apple bread pudding. It was delicious!

Thanks DeL girls for the great recipe!

Kathryn & Tara

Emily Deamer

2010-09-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

These were really yummy! I also had trouble getting the batter to stick to the hot dog. I just got my hands messy and made it stick! It was quite a mess, but a lot of fun! I cooked mine in coconut oil. Just a note: my husband and I didn't feel the greatest on these. I think it's because of the very high fat content from the oil.

~Emily

DeL Sisters

2010-09-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

This time we got around to making the corn dogs and pasta salad. We wish we would have had time for the cloufuti but it seems as if the month went by to quickly to fit it in to our baking sheduale!

Corn Dog Comments:
We had the perfect day to make our corn dogs....Labor Day! After laboring all morning and part of the afternoon we sat down to eat these amazing corn dogs. I don't think we have ever made anything fried except for some doughnuts we made with our Dad about 6 years ago, they turned out like lead balloons......long story! But Hannah had very fond memories of our Mom buying us corn dogs when we were small, the frozen kind you mind:) I on the other hand had very bad memories of these same corn dogs, so till last 3 weeks ago I could not stand them! It was definitely a interesting process, when we tired to fry the first one the batter would not stick! We ended up adding more milk to the batter and that fixed out problem. So all in all we have both agreed the homemade corn dogs although not the healthiest:) are 100% better then the ones we used to eat when we were little!

Pasta Salad Comments:

The pasta salad was very good as well. We did not put in the suggested arugula but we did add some diced fresh mozzarella. It was just fantastic because the pasta was hot when we added it and made it all melt together! For some extra specialness we topped it with Parmesan.
Mmmm!

The Marshall Sisters

2010-09-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

I made a peach-nectarine clafouti for breakfast this week. The recipe I used called for brown sugar sprinkled on the fruit before adding the batter. But you know what? It doesn't need extra sugar :) I ate some warm from the oven, it was so very tasty!! Mmm, good.
-Allison
for the Marshall Sisters

The Merrit Sisters

2010-09-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

I've always liked pesto, so this was the recipe I especially wanted to try. It turned out well, though slightly dry, perhaps. Everyone seemed to like it, though, especially my little niece (maybe more for the tomatoes than anything). :)
Instead of pine nuts, I used chopped almonds (not toasted), which were what we had on hand. I also added another clove or two of garlic than the recipe called for. We had precooked the chicken before, which I simply heated and added to the pasta. We couldn't find arugula, so that was left out. If we make it again (which we may), I think it could use a little more of the sauce.

-Melissa for the Merritt sisters

The T Sisters

2010-09-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

Walnut Clafoutis and it turned out wonderful! I used several more apples than the recipe called for and I also added a 1 teaspoon of almond extract.

Landry Sisters

2010-09-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

For the peach smoothie, we used coconut milk instead of hazelnut milk. Aand for the french toast we changed thing's around a little bit by making PumpkinWaffles. We used all the same ingredients: spices, milk, and pumpkin, we just made it with flour instead of bread! And we served it with grape maple syrup. and Allspice butter. It was so "DeLicious"!

Recipes for September!

2010-08-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

Homemade Corn Dogs!

http://www.acozykitchen.com/homemade-corn-dogs/

A French Dessert ;-)

http://junglefrog-cooking.com/apple-walnut-clafoutis/

And............a Summerish Pasta Salad.

http://www.theparsleythief.com/2010/07/pesto-pasta-salad-with-grilled-chicken.html

The T Sisters

2010-08-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

These were so good! I used sucanat instead of sugar and gluten-free flour instead of wheat flour. My whole family loved them and I will definitely be making this recipe again.

Hannah for the T. Sisters

The Rugloski Sisters

2010-08-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the great recipe! We didn't change anything except for the frosting; we used only powdered sugar and milk. We were surprised at how good they tasted. Looking forward to next months recipes!

The Rugloski Girls

The Merrit Sisters

2010-08-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

These were fun to make, as well as fun to eat. :) I used half sugar, half honey for the filling. I changed the icing quite a bit, not using the store-bought icing, but following the rest of it pretty closely, only omitting the honey and adding a little lemon juice concentrate, since my brother thought a little lemon taste would be good. But you could hardly taste the lemon, so I probably should have put more of that in. We all like them, and may make them again.

-Melissa for the Merritt Sisters

Janel Jasso

2010-08-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

For August I decided to do the Strawberry Pop Tarts,they were so good my family could not wait for breakfast to eat them so they had them for dessert! On this recipe I just used what I had on hand!

I used Kamut wheat instead of whole wheat and white flour, and in the crust I used coconut milk which made it very rich. To thicken the strawberry filling I used ground flaxseed instead of cornstarch, and instead of butter for the filling I used coconut oil. And the frosting I made out of coconut butter and some leftover strawberry filling.

Thank you so much for the recipe!

~Janel Jasso~

2010-08-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

DeL Sisters

2010-08-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

This month has been extremely busy for us so we only got around to one recipe........we made the pumpkin french toast for our Dads birthday! He loved it as did our Mom. We used some canned figs that we had picked last year for the syrup instead of fresh figs. Other then that we followed the recipe pretty closely. We might get around to trying the pop tarts as some people in our house would really like them:)

The Marshall Sisters

2010-08-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

My sisters and I have been having breakfast for dinner this week, and I made the strawberry pop tarts to go with scrambled eggs on Wednesday!
I followed the recipe exactly, and was pleased with the flakiness of the crust :) With an extra ball of dough, we'll try a maple-brown sugar batch!

Allison
The Marshall Sisters

The Adams Sisters

2010-08-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

Comments not available yet......

Braymer Sisters

2010-08-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

For August, we chose to make the strawberry pop tarts as we had all the ingredients for them and they looked very

yummy! :) We made 2 batches of pop tarts: the 1st was the original strawberry, and then on the 2nd we used peaches.

Other than changing the main ingredient in the last batch, we did not make any changes to the recipe, but the tarts

were still wonderful!!!

Thanks for the great recipe!

~The Braymer Sisters

Rugloski Sisters Brownies

2010-07-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

We made these for Dad; he really likes the mocha flavor. We used almonds instead of walnuts and honey in place of agave nectar. He enjoyed these with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

-The Rugloski Girls

The "T" Sisters Tart

2010-07-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

This was very good! I didn't have rosemary or thyme, so I used fresh basil and chives out of my garden. I also substituted the parmesan cheese withnutritional yeast.

~ Hannah ~

New Recipes for August!

2010-07-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

For the month of August we have picked three different breakfast recipes! We thought a little change might be good.

Strawberry Pop Tarts
Peach Smoothie
Pumpkin French Toast with All-spice butter and Fig-Maple Syrup

1 heaping cup pumpkin puree

6 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

1tsp. vanilla

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp. salt

8 (1-inch-thick) slices day-old brioche or challah

4 T. unsalted butter,cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup canola oil

All-spice butter (recipe follows)

Fig-Maple Syrup ( recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Whisk together the pumpkin, whole eggs, egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon,nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, milk,cream, and salt in a large baking dish. Place bread in the baking dish, and turn the bread to coat evenly; let sit for 5 min.

3. Heat 2 Tablespoons of the butter and 2 Tablespoons of the canola oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat until the butter completely melted. Place 4 slices of the bread on the bottom, 2-3 minutes. Turn the slices over and cook until the bottom is golden brown, 2-3 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet. Wipe the pan out with paper towels and repeat with the remaining 2 Tablespoons butter,2 Tablespoons oil, and 4 slices of bread.

4. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 5 min.

5. Serve 2 slices per serving topped with the allspice butter and some of the fig-maple syrup.

Allspice Butter

Makes about 1/2 cup

8 T. unsalted butter, at room temp

2 tsp. ground allspice

2 T. pure maple syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

In a small bowl, combine the butter, allspice, maple syrup and salt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30min. and up to 2 days.

Fig-Maple Syrup

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

8 fresh figs, quartered

1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup

Combine figs and syrup in a small sauce pan and simmer over low heat until the figs are soft, about 10 min. This can be made up to 4 hrs. in advance and refrigerated. Reheat before serving.

DeL Sisters Brie Sandwich

2010-07-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

This sandwich was amazing! We all loved it. We followed the recipe quite closely with only a few changes. First we swapped Swiss chard for the spinach, and then we used a multi grain bread instead of the recommended french. We also cooked out tomatoes in a balsamic butter and then instead of oilve oil. Before serving we brushed each side with Olive oil and cooked on a griddle till cheese was melty and the bread was lightly toasted to a golden brown. One other change I almost forgot was that we put 1/2 sour cream and more garlic in the mayo spread! Thank you Merrit Sisters for a wonderful recipe. We look forward to some more great recipes!

DeL SIsters

2010-07-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

This month all the recipes looked so good we decided to make all three! The picture of the sandwich will be on its way soon:) For the brownies we add chocolate covered coffee beans,doubled the coco powder, put it in a 13x9 pan and served it with whipped cream. The second time we made them( no picture) we added a peanut butter honey swirl! YUM! Both times they were very good.

For the tart we I followed the recipe pretty closely, the only thing I added was an extra egg and few tablespoons of milk to the top. It really helped it stay together better. It was very good and everyone in our family liked it a lot.

Landry Sisters Brownies

2010-07-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Brownies were...Better than we thought they would be.

We had always considered black beans savory before.

We made them with honey and almonds... and served them with peaches.

Landry Sisters Tart

2010-07-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

The Tart recipe was Tasty

We had polished off the Parmesan.

So we substituted Swiss...and served it with peaches

Landry Sisters Sandwich

2010-07-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Merritt's recipe was Marvelous.

We have a partiality to Bree you see.

We changed the tomatoes to red peppers...and served it with peaches.

Yen Sisters

2010-07-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well, we decided we had to try the black bean brownies because it sounded too weird to not try it. We didn't have any unsweetened chocolate, so we just used the sweetened chocolate and reduced the agave. We also used half honey and half agave. The only coffee we had was Starbuck Via packets, so it had a VERY strong coffee flavor which was really yummy! They were very good and you would never know they had black beans in them! We're going to make them again with unsweetened chocolate and see how it turns out!

Thanks for the fun recipe!

-Kathryn and Tara

Merrit Sister

2010-07-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the chicken and brie sandwiches.

These sandwiches were very tasty! We grilled them after assembly in a panini-maker, and that also helped to melt the cheese. Yum. I hope to make them again!

2010-07-03T14:02:00.001-07:00

Chicken-and-Brie Sandwich with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
From Cooking Light

A good balsamic vinegar makes all the difference in the roasted tomatoes, whose heat will immediately melt the soft Brie. There's no need to cut the rind off the Brie, since it's edible.

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (16-ounce) loaf French bread, cut in half horizontally
3 ounces Brie cheese, sliced
3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)

Spinach Dressing
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups fresh spinach

Preheat oven to 300°.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes; cook 4 minutes, stirring once. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Sprinkle tomatoes with thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Wrap handle of pan with foil; bake at 300° for 15 minutes. Keep warm.

Combine mayonnaise, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over top half of bread loaf. Spoon tomatoes evenly over bottom half of loaf. Arrange Brie over tomatoes; top with chicken. Combine 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add spinach, tossing gently to coat. Top chicken with spinach mixture; replace top half of bread. Cut loaf into 6 pieces.

The Marshall Sisters

2010-07-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

We all really liked the chicken salad! It was so tasty! I added sesame seeds to the flat bread, and even made it again later in the week. The bread was one of the easiest wrap recipes I've ever made. Definitely a keeper! :)

Allison for the Marshall Sisters

The DeL Sisters

2010-06-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

This time around we were only planning on doing the muffins but.......everyone who did the chicken salad had rave reviews so we decided to make it as well! We made the salad and served it over a bed of lettuce and a side of sweet potato fries with a sweet honey mustard dip, it was heavenly. Instead of putting in mayonnaise we used all yogurt(Homemade!), we also added dried cranberries,apricots, and chopped walnuts. In place of the Dijon mustard we used a raspberry wasabi mustard, we also used dehydrated onion instead of fresh onion and also fresh parsley. Everyone in our family liked it, so we will be making it again!

We could not decide what muffin picture to post so we did both, which do you like better?

For this recipe we we used coconut milk in place of the cows milk and soaked it in the flour over night, we used 1 1/4 cups instead of 3/4's. We have made these before but we love any excuse to make them again:)

The Merrit Sisters

2010-06-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

We all really like these muffins. They are lightly sweet and have a good consistency. We doubled the recipe and substituted a little agave for part of the honey. We used mostlywheat flour, but some white flour, since we were low on our wheat flour. Instead of macadamia nuts (which we didn't have) We used slivered almonds and walnuts. We also added extra apples to the mix, a little over 2 cups instead of 1 and a half. They are good topped with honey and butter or pear butter, which we had on hand. Thanks for the good recipe! - Melissa & Ann Merritt

Rugloski Sisters

2010-06-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

We used chopped almonds in our salad and left out the celery because we didn't have any : ) We served it withapple slices and raspberry iced tea. It was delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!

The Rugloski Girls

The DeL Sisters

2010-06-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

Esther rolling out the dough....they were sooooo good!!!

This month we made the Flat Bread, instead of making the chicken salad we made a greek dinner with lamb, tzatziki,hummus and other greek type fillings! It was really amazing. I followed the recipe most the way, but did not let it rise for an hour because we did not have enough time. It still turned out and we will be using this as our go to flat bread. We will be making the muffins tomorrow...... a few of the other girls are going to be posted late so make sure to come back and check them out!

New Recipes for July!

2010-06-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

Brownies with a Twist!
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/amazing-black-bean-brownies-recipe.html

Zucchini Tomato tart

http://anjasfood4thought.blogspot.com/2010/06/tomato-zucchini-tart-with-herbs-and.html

The Yen Sisters

2010-06-26T06:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had harp practice so we made the Apple Muffins to bring along. We didn't have any coconut, so we left that out, and one of our friends can't have milk so we substituted orange juice. They turned out really nice! The recipe actually made a full 12-cup pan for us and they all turned out so pretty and uniform. :-) We weren't going to make the honey butter at first, but then we changed our minds and decided to make it, but omitted the cinnamon. Mmmm... the muffins were good alone but they were 101% improved when slathered with honey butter! :-)

Thanks for the yummy recipe, girls!

Kathryn for both of us

The Landry Ladies

2010-06-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

Photo Coming soon!

We made the Tropical Apple Muffin's using Spelt four instead of Wheat and we replaced half of the apples with fresh cut pineapple. We also soaked the flour in 1 milk, instead of 3/4 like the recipe calls for, overnight and then added the rest of the ingredients just before baking. They turned out wonderfully moist and flavorful! Our younger brother did the honors of biting the picture muffin=)

For the Poppy seed chicken Salad, we used salmon instead of chicken and homemade mayonnaise, which was fun to make and added a neat dimension of flavor! We served it over a bed of shredded lettuce and toped it with walnuts and sliced hard boiled eggs.

The Landry ladies

The "T" Sisters

2010-06-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

This was a wonderful recipe and I will definitely be making it again. The coconut mix that went on top really added to the muffin's flavor and texture. My family liked them so much that I hardly had time to take a picture!

Recipes for June!

2010-05-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

We were thinking something a little savory, and chicken salad sounded summery, so here are two recipe that you can do for that idea Chicken Salad and you could make some flat bread to put the salad in

Then for something a little sweet for breakfast, here are some unique apple muffins!

Have fun!

The Del sisters

The Landry Sisters

2010-05-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

Gia (my 4 year old sister) and I decided to make the raw version of the Key lime pie. Instead of using individual tart pans we used a 10 in stoneware pan. For the crust we used raw sunflower seeds instead of the nuts and coconut. We also added an egg to the crust and baked it (I know, so much for raw : } at 300 degrees for 20 minutes before adding the filling. The egg made a glossy and crispy texture, which was good. For the filling, we replaced the lemon juice with cocoa powder and used raw honey instead of agave. The Sunflower seed crust was not very sweet so it offset the sweetness of the “pudding” quite nicely. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go over at first but everyone ate it up and came back for more and my mom said she really liked the crust.

The "T" Sisters Key lime pie

2010-05-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

This is a really good recipe! I just happened to be on a raw diet the week I made this, so it was a nice addition.

~Hannah~

Marshall Sisters Key lime pie

2010-05-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

I made the Key Lime Pie, and it turned out really tasty! I used chocolate graham crackers for the crust, and if I make it again I'll add more sugar to the crust. Chocolate grahams are not as sweet as regular ones :) The pie turned out nice and 'limey' even though I only had half the amount of lime juice! For the topping, I made whipped cream and used a melon baller to make the puffy top. Yummy recipe!

Allison Marshal

The Yen Sisters Chocolate Pots

2010-05-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

Hey girls!

Here is our photo for the chocolate pots! As Hannah & Esther know, we made these twice... once with them when they came up for a visit and once on our own. The first time we made them it was nighttime and so the pictures turned out terrible, so we had to make them again to get a good picture. :-) The first time we made them with chocolate covered espresso beans in it instead of the white chocolate chips... mmmmm. They were sooo good, but very rich, plus it was late at night so I couldn't even finish mine! The second time we didn't put anything extra in, and we baked them a little longer. I think that next time we will bake them somewhere in the middle. They were very good (and yes, I ate the whole thing the second time around!). Definitely a make-again!

Kathryn for both of us

New recipes for May!

2010-04-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

This looks really yummy especially for all your chocolate lovers:-) This recipe was chosen by Kathryn our little sister.........

Chocolate Pots!

Our dad chose Key Lime pie as our second recipe for this month, Esther and I have never made Key Lime Pie, so this should be fun!

Here is a recipe for those of you who do not own an oven and here is another link to one that is more of a traditional recipe that uses an oven

The DeL Sisters Lemon Raspberry Tart and Banana Pops!

2010-04-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

The lime bars we changed to lemon and added fresh raspberries to the top before baking. I also doubled the filling and put into a tart pan, my brothers and Mom absolutely loved it! It was a little sweet for my liking, Hannah has no option other then the picture looks pretty as she was not here when Kathryn and I made it:)

As you know, we have made the ice cream before, multiple times:) Because it's sooooo good! This time we decided to leave the bananas whole and dip them in dark chocolate and rolls them in shredded coconut and chopped almonds before freezing. They were a little tough to eat because they were on a metal stick, we tried not to skewer ourselves:)

Janel Jasso's Banana Ice Cream

2010-04-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

I put the frozen bananas through the champion juice. And I made fresh Almond butter and sprinkled cinnamon and honey. The recipe was great!!!

~Janel Jasso

Rugloski Sisters

2010-04-24T08:33:00.001-07:00

We did basically everything the same except we doubled the recipe and for the crust we added more butter and added zest from only 3 limes. It was delicious and a nice change from lemon bars which we make often.

-The Rugloski Girls

April update!

2010-04-24T08:23:00.001-07:00

Hello all you wonderful participants! We are having sooooooooooo much fun looking at all your comments and pictures!
I have put up all the pics (except ours, its coming have to get it off the camera yet!)
Anyway I am on a computer that won't let me copy and paste ya'lls comments onto the site, but I will get them up there with your post as soon as I get home..........around 2ish!

New recipes to be posted next week!
Having fun yet?!?!?!

The Del sisters

Abigail Guerra's Banana Ice Cream

2010-04-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for including me in on this one. My grandma and auntie both said that they would be more than happy for me to use their ovens. In that case I may be able to participate in some of the recipes. This banana ice cream use really good my siblings and I enjoyed it. I added raspberries and blueberries to the ice cream and Carmel to the topping. WITH MY FATHERS JOY ,ABIGAIL

The T Sisters Banana Ice cream and Lemon Butter Snowbars

2010-04-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

These were amazing bars! Everybody who tasted them thought they were great and I had two friends ask for the recipe! Below are the changes I made...

1.) I didn't have any limes on hand so I used lemons instead.

2.) I doubled the filling because just one batch didn't seem to be enough for the crust.

3.) I omitted the lemon zest

This is definitely a recipe I'll be keeping!

~Hannah~

This was very, very good homemade ice cream! My whole family loved it, and my Dad's comment was "This is the best dessert I've had for a long time!". Here are my changes...

1.) I used 6-8 bananas so there would be enough for everybody

2.) I blended the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla in with the bananas, instead of putting it on top. I also added a little bit of Sucanat.

3.) I drizzled a little syrup on the top, right before serving.

This is a quick and easy treat that will be great for hot summer days!

~Hannah~

The Anderson Ladies Lime Bars

2010-04-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

"I greatly enjoyed making these Lime Bars. I made them just as the recipe called for. They taste very good and are eye catching as well. Everyone enjoyed them!"

Ariana Joy

Yen Sisters Banana Icecream

2010-04-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

We made the banana "ice cream" for breakfast yesterday! We adjusted a little bit; Tara is allergic to raw banana, so for hers, she cooked them first before freezing. She made hers first, and after trying it, said it pretty much just tasted like cold mashed banana. (I wonder why?? :-). So when I made mine, instead of drizzling the peanut butter mixture on top, I mixed it in, and (so much for dairy-free) added a touch of cream. It tasted pretty good! I think it is a bit of a stretch to call it ice cream, but it made a tasty breakfast - somewhere between a smoothie and ice cream. The peanut mixture sort of "hardened" so you got little caramel-y chunks in it... yum!

- Kathryn for both of us

2010-04-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

I decided to do lemon instead of lime because we had lemons on hand. We love lemon bars abd these are pretty and yummy!

Allison for the Marshall ladies

The DeL Sisters

2010-03-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

We decided on the Apple Carrot muffins for this time around. All three of us had lots of fun making these muffins together. The first thing we changed was using zuchini instead of carrot and we diced the apples instead of grating them, next we used half Molassasand half Buckwheat Honey that our Mom bought at Target , it has a very distinct flavor! At the end we topped them with a few chopped walnuts. All of us really liked them a lot.

Esther for all of us

Evvie Marshall

2010-03-27T06:03:00.001-07:00

"These muffins turned out really yummy....the second time! I changed the molasses to 1/4 cup, and added 1/4 cup honey."
Evvie Marshall