Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

Last year after I made my Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies, I kind of fell in love with everything gingerbread. This year after making the cookies once again, I decided to try to make a gingerbread hot chocolate, which really isn't that hard--you just add gingerbread ingredients (molasses, ginger, clove, and cinnamon) to the hot chocolate. It was almost like drinking one of my gingerbread cookies.

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate with Homemade Marshmallows

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
4 cups water or milk
1 1/3 cup hot chocolate mix (homemade or store bought)
2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove

Directions:
Heat water or milk in a pan or in the microwave. Dissolve hot chocolate mix, molasses, and spices in water or milk. Pour into 4 mugs. Add marshmallows or Reddi Whip, if desired.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Drink Recipes:
Butterbeer from Harry Potter 
Pumpkin Hot Cocoa
Spiced Cinnamon Tea 
Spiced Cranberry Juice 
The World's Easiest Spiced Apple Cider 

Easy Every Day Rolls

I'm in love with these rolls for so many reasons. They are so simple yet so good. Chewy and light and everything a roll should be. I made them for Thanksgiving and will probably make them again for Christmas, but I could easily make them for dinner any night of the week.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
2- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (1 package)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup warm water
3 tablespoons butter, melted and divided

Directions:
Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast, salt, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and water in the bowl of a standing mixer. Mix well with the paddle attachment until mixture is smooth. Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time until dough is tacky and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Change to the hook attachment and kneed until smooth, about 4 to 6 minutes. (You could also knead by hand).

Grease a bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 45 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch down dough and divide into 12 balls. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and place the dough balls into the dish. Cover once more with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size again. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the roll for 15 minutes or until the tops turn golden. Remove from oven and brush with remaining tablespoon of butter.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes:
Basic Pizza Dough Recipe
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Homemade Pita Bread
Parmesan Onion Rolls 
Soft and Chewy French Bread 
Sour Cream Dinner Rolls  

Sugared Nuts

Just before Thanksgiving, we were over at my in-laws, and my mother-in-law had just been to Frankenmuth with her girlfriends. She had bought some cinnamon-sugared almonds that were amazing like all sugared nuts are. I decided to see if I could make them myself and was excited to discover how easy they were. I put out a bowl of them at Thanksgiving dinner and let's just say they were a favorite. (However, my baked apple chips seemed to be the most popular appetizer).

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 cups nuts (I used peanuts)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and the water until frothy.

In a second bowl, mix together the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

In a large third bowl (or a large Ziplock bag), toss the nuts with the egg white until the nuts are well coated. Add the sugar-cinnamon mixture and toss until all the nuts are evenly coated.

Spread out the nuts on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through baking time.

Allow to cool before serving.

I also made some buffalo spiced nuts, but there weren't anything to write home about.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Appetizer Recipes:
Bacon and Cheese Deviled Eggs 
Cheese Puffs for Cheese Lovers!
Buffalo Chicken Dip 
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Parmesan Veggie Crisps 
Snowflake Tortilla Chips
Roasted Peas 

Homemade Dried Cranberries

Homemade craisins (dried cranberries) are so incredibly easy to make--they just occupy your oven for a day. I go a little cranberry crazy in the winter and I've already used them to make a cranberry brie grilled cheese sandwich (seriously, sooo good!) and Cranberry Bliss Bars. I chased Eric away from them before he devoured them all, and I'm contemplating making a chicken breast stuffed with ricotta, spinach and cranberries.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions:
Wash cranberries then place them in a sauce pot. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil in a second pot then pour boiling water over cranberries. Let the cranberries soak for about 10 minutes. They will pop (split open) during this time.

Drain the cranberries and gentle dry them. Check to make sure all the cranberries popped. If any of them did not, pierce them with a paring knife.

In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to boil until sugar is dissolved to make a simple syrup. Add cranberries to the simple syrup and stir until all the cranberries are well coated (you can skip this step, but your craisins will be very, very tart).

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread the cranberries out on the cookie sheet in a single layer and place in the oven.

Bake cranberries for 6 to 8 hours. Since cranberries come in different sizes, the smaller one will dry out quicker than the larger ones so at about 5 or 6 hours, I start checking on the cranberries every hour and removing the ones that are shrivelled but are still somewhat soft.

Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cranberry Recipes:
Cranberry Sauce Three Ways: Traditional, Orange Zest, and Brandied 
Spiced Cranberry Juice
Michigan Cranberry Brownies 
Sugared Cranberries
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cranberries
Dark Chocolate-Covered Cranberries 

Doggie Birthday Cupcakes

A couple weeks ago, I saw a picture of Eric's cousin, her husband, and their beautiful dog on their wedding day. My immediately thought (other than awww, that's so cute!) was: why didn't we do that? The answer is simple: we didn't adopted Arya until about a month after our wedding. But it feels like she has been with us forever and we sometimes forget that there was a time before her.

October 16 marked 1 year since our little puppy love came into our lives. To celebrate, I baked her doggie friendly cupcakes! Both cake and frosting are made mostly from pumpkin puree. Canned pumpkin has a ton of fiber and beta-carotene and can be used to treat both diarrhea and constipation in dogs. However, don't let your own puppy love eat all (8) of these cupcakes at once. Like everything else, too much of anything is bad and could make your dog sick. (Source)

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin-pie mix)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

Frosting
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup pumpkin puree

Kibble/dog treats, garnish, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 8 paper liners.

Combine all of the cake ingredients in a medium bowl. Divide evenly between the muffin tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the center of the cupcakes set.

Allow cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.

Whisk together cream cheese and pumpkin puree. When the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost the cakes.

Remember to take off the paper wrapper before giving it to you pup!

Licking the batter bowl clean!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Basic Pizza Dough Recipe

Whenever we've done homemade pizzas, I've always used Jiffy boxed pizza crust. Tonight I hadn't planned on making pizza, but when I opened the fridge, I discovered that we had all the makings for a pizza--except the pizza crust. In truth, it's about time I made my own pizza dough. I have fallen in love with bread making over the last year--I've made tortillas, different types of rolls, breadsticks, and French bread--I should have my own pizza dough recipe, especially considering how much Eric loves pizza.

This is a pretty basic recipe that can easily be personalized to suit anyone's taste. I sprinkled my crust with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Next time I might add some Italian herbs. But regardless how you season it; the crust is soft and delicious.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet active yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water

Directions:
Place water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, oil, and salt; combine. Add more flour until dough forms a bowl. Knead 5 to 7 times. Roll into a bowl, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease pizza stone with cooking spray.

Punch dough and place it on the pizza stone. Work it into a crust with a 12-inch diameter. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from oven and add sauce, cheese, and toppings.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.

Raw dough

After first bake

Toppings

Baked

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pizza Recipes:
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Homemade Pizza Rolls
Ricotta, Basil, and Sun-dried Tomato Pizza 
Pizza Inspired Chicken
The Pizza Quiche
Pizza Zucchini Boats

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Between my husband and the dog, peanut butter has become a staple in the house. So much so that I buy the huge 5 pound jar. A few weeks ago we ran out and it wasn't in the grocery budget to stock up on it. Eric and Arya had to go two whole weeks without their peanut butter, and I got plenty of complaints from Eric and sad eyes from Arya as she tried to give me her Kong toy (which usually gets filled with peanut butter). So when I finally bought a jar, Arya got her Kong full of peanut butter and Eric got these amazing peanut butter pancakes.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup water (or milk, if you prefer. I actually like water better)
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat griddle or skillet to medium heat. Grease with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, combine water, peanut butter, egg, oil, and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well-combined.Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour 1/4 cup portions onto the griddle or pan. Cook until little bubbles appear, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve with butter or syrup, if so desired.

Peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and eggs with cheese, kale, and bacon

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
Blueberry Muffins
French Toast in a Mug
Homemade Hash Browns
Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins
Sweet Buns Three Ways: Cherry, Blueberry, and Cream Cheese 

Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

All it took was one bite and the husband was already asking me to make them again (despite the full pan we still had). Forget about those cans of cinnamon rolls you can buy at the grocery store. The dough is always dry and tasteless. If you're going to indulge in a cinnamon roll, really indulge with something sweet and buttery and gooey. It requires a bit more work than popping open a can, but it is so worth it.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe adapted from here.
Cream Cheese Frosting recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients: 
Dough

1/4 -ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

Filling

1/2 cup butter,melted (plus more for pan)
3/4 cup brown sugar (plus more for pan)
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 

Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon milk, optional

Directions:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside. In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, butter, salt, and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and combine until well incorporated. Pour in yeast mixture. Gradually add in remaining flour until the dough becomes easy to handle. Knead dough on a floured work surface for 5 to 10 minutes (this can also be done with the hook attachment on a standing mixer). Roll dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow dough to rise until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.

When it doubles in size, punch down the dough and roll it out into a 15x9-inch rectangle on a floured work surface. Spread softened butter (from the list of filling ingredients) over the dough. Mix cinnamon and sugar together then sprinkle over buttered dough.

Start at the 15-inch side and roll the dough into a log, pinching the edge together to seal. Cut the log into 12 sections.

Grease the bottom of a baking pan with butter then sprinkle with sugar (if desired). Transfer the cinnamon rolls to the pan, placing them close together. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 25 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned.

While the rolls bake, make the frosting. In a large bowl, whip cream cheese, butter, and extract until creamy and well combined. Gradually add powdered sugar. If your frosting is too thick, add milk and stir.

You can either wait until cinnamon rolls are completely cooled to frost or you can let them cool slightly then frost. This will cause your icing to melt a bit, but there is nothing better than a warm cinnamon bun in my book.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes
French Toast in a Mug

Homemade Hash Browns
Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins 
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug

Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce

Fruit sauces--cherry, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry--so perfect for summer. They go on ice cream, brownies, and breakfast food like waffles, French toast, and pancakes. Well, my raspberries were about to go bad and I didn't know what to make for dinner--which usually means breakfast for dinner (or canned soup).

For the pancakes I used Martha Stewart's recipe, but you can use boxed pancake mix too.

Ingredients:
Pancakes
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg

Raspberry Sauce
3 cups raspberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Directions:
Pancakes
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the milk, butter, and egg. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine. Be careful not to overmix.

Grease skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.

Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto the skillet to make one pancake. Cook until surface of pancakes develops bubbles and a few of the bubbles have burst, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the underside, another 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. (Recipes makes approximately a dozen pancakes).

Raspberry Sauce
Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a saucepan. Stir in water. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens. Add raspberries and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 10 minutes.

Pour raspberry sauce over pancakes.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
French Toast in a Mug
Homemade Hash Browns
Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins 
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug

Orange Chicken with Fried Rice

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but we no longer need to order out for orange chicken. Now, I have a very good crockpot orange chicken recipe (my mom absolutely loves it--she says it's even better the second day) but for real orange chicken, you need it breaded and fried (this coming from a girl who generally prefers her chicken baked or grilled). I've made more than a few variations of it since orange chicken is something Eric and I both love; we almost always order it when we get Chinese. Eric has already perfected fried rice--honestly, I'd rather have his fried rice than a restaurant's fried rice--and I figured out the perfect breading a while ago. So I've been working on the sauce. Soon as Eric tasted it, he told me I nailed it. He also ate leftovers for his lunch and dinner the next day (which is a big deal because he isn't big into leftovers).

Ingredients:
Chicken
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Oil for frying

Orange Sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 cup orange marmalade 
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Eric's Fried Rice

Toasted Sesame Seeds (optional)

Directions:
Prepare Fried Rice and Toasted Sesame Seeds first.

Chicken
Place the cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish and combine. In a second shallow dish, beat the eggs. In a third shallow dish, pour panko breadcrumbs. Dredge the chicken pieces in the cornstarch, dip in egg, then coat in panko.

Heat oil over medium-high heat. In batches, cook chicken until the breading is a golden brown and the meat is cooked all the way through. Place chicken on a paper towel-lined plate.

Orange Sauce
In a large saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, marmalade, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Over medium heat, bring to a boil.

In a small bowl or glass, dissolve 3 tablespoons of cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of water. Slowly pour into sauce. Stir until sauce reaches the desired thickness.

Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds (you don't have to do the sesame seeds, but Eric and I have discovered that they make everything better). Serve with fried rice.

Arya sulking because she was exiled from the kitchen while we cooked.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Baked Garlic Chicken
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Chicken Patties
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Corn and Black Bean Skillet Chicken 
Parmesan Chicken Casserole 
Pizza Inspired Chicken  

Homemade Pepper Jack Cheez-its

So these crackers didn't even last a day--but in my defense, I only made half a batch. Cheez-its have always been my favorite snack crackers so I can't believe it's taken me this long to make my own. However, I didn't have enough cheddar to make traditional Cheez-its, so I made pepper jack instead. So good. Eric is lucky I set aside some for him and didn't devour them all myself. (Eric's share of the bounty quickly disappeared too, I might add).

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:

2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons water

Directions:
In a large bowl, beat cheese, butter, and salt. Gradually add flour and mix on low until your dough resembles coarse crumbs. Adding the water as needed, mix the dough together using your hands until it forms a ball. Shape the dough into a flat round, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Divide dough into half. Roll each half into a very thin rectangle (1/8 inch or less in thickness). Using a butter knife (or a pizza cutter or if you're fancy, a fluted pastry cutter), cut the dough into 1-inch squares. If desired, use a toothpick to make a hole in the center of each cracker. Transfer squares to baking sheet.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the crackers are puffed and browned on the edges. Place on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Snack Recipes:
Yogurt-Covered Blueberries
Zucchini Chips 2.0
Potato Chips in the Microwave
Jalapeno Popper Wontons
Homemade Pita Chips 
Homemade Pizza Rolls