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Apple Butter Banana Bread

August 15, 2018 by Debbie 4 Comments

This past weekend my husband and I had an adult get away to the hill country in Texas and San Antonio. The hill country we need another few days there in the future just to hit all the wineries in Fredericksburg. It was just a neat little community that I will return to soon. We were wanting a weekend of more than just shopping and wine tasting so the majority of our time was spent in San Antonio. While in San Antonio we stayed at The Menger Hotel which is like staying in a museum. This hotel is grand and rich in history, and it has a pretty cool bar,lol. The bar is where Teddy Roosevelt was said to have summoned and recruited The Rough Riders. They are very proud of their history and show it off in displays that I just find fascinating.

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How to Par-Bake Cinnamon Rolls

August 7, 2018 by Debbie Leave a Comment

Honestly who doesn’t love homemade cinnamon rolls? Waking up to that warm gooey goodness with a hot cup of coffee is pure heaven . In order to have them for breakfast the cook..AKA Me..would have to get up at in the wee hours of the morning to start the process. Not very fair huh? The answer to all of this is Par-Baking your rolls. All this means is when the rolls are ready to go into the oven they are partially baked and can be either frozen or refrigerated. I have kept rolls in the freezer for a few months and they baked beautifully. Just think if you had homemade cinnamon rolls slathered with homemade icing on Christmas morning you be Mom of the year.

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Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll Frosting

August 5, 2018 by Debbie Leave a Comment

My teenage boys adore homemade cinnamon rolls , seriously they devour them. The only time they may complain is if there isn’t enough frosting. I mean what is a cinnamon roll without being slathered in a thick layer of frosting. Hands down our favorite recipe is my Cake Mix Cinnamon Roll recipe and with this we have to top them with cream cheese frosting. It is simple to make and really makes the roll rich and decedent.

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Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

August 4, 2018 by Debbie Leave a Comment

These Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls come from my collection of “furlough rolls”. My husband is a federal employee and he was furloughed during the fall of 2014. To help make ends meet during that time I made and sold cinnamon rolls when I got off work. I came up with several variations of cinnamon rolls in that time and I dubbed them all furlough rolls. When that time passed and my husband was no longer furloughed I swore I would never knead dough again. Once the blisters healed from closing hundreds of pans and the freezer no longer was stocked with pans of rolls that didn’t sell I missed them. These are seriously worth kneading dough again. Back in 2014 I adjusted this recipe many times and could make these without even thinking but not today. I actually had to pull out my handwritten notes.

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Fluffy Chocolate Chip Cookies

July 26, 2018 by Debbie Leave a Comment

I am going to be honest here, I am a cookie fanatic and these cookies are AMAZING!! A warm fluffy chocolate chip cookie with a cold glass of milk is pure heaven for this girl. I am getting over a little illness and needed some comfort food…AKA chocolate chip cookies. One of our local super markets has these cookies in their bakery called muffin top cookies that are basically a fluffy cake like cookie. I have been on a quest to figure out how to make something similar . I have searched the internet on how to make cookies fluffier and came up with several ideas. One of the more interesting things I found was adding cornstarch to the flour mixture. I read it would soften the protein in the flour and make a more tender cookie. This little trick plus extra baking powder seems to have worked beautifully. I took my basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and altered it a bit and the results were fluffy, soft and super yummy.

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Wedding Cake Cupcake

July 18, 2018 by Debbie Leave a Comment

One of my favorite cookbooks I received as a newlywed back in the late 90’s was The Cake Doctor cookbook. I learned then that boxed cake mixes can be doctored up and made remarkably delicious and this is a perfect example. I even make Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls that are to die for. Once I discovered I could make a yummy cake pretty easily I then became a frosting snob. No canned frosting for me!! These cupcakes are perfect for any occasion from weddings , birthdays and showers. For these cupcakes I added a little color but that is totally up to you. Another bonus is this recipe makes around 30 average sized cupcakes.

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Tuna Casserole

July 7, 2018 by Debbie Leave a Comment

I know this seems like just a plain ole tuna casserole but to me it is pure comfort food. This is exactly how I grew up eating this and it is the first dish I learned to cook. Back in the 80’s helicopter parents really didn’t exist and as a teenager I was left to fend for myself from time to time. Like most comfort foods they usually make you feel good inside and bring back good memories. This dish reminds me of a friend from my teenage years that sadly passed away June 23, 2018 from complications of diabetes at the age of 46 . My friend was a super picky eater and when we got tired of eating whatever we could pick up in a drive thru window this was our go to dish.

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Cool and Creamy Summer Desserts

June 28, 2018 by Debbie Leave a Comment

Summer is here and it it time for cool and creamy desserts. It is only June and the temperatures are in the upper 90’s and the heat index is well in the 100’s , plus factoring in the high humidity it is sweltering . When the heat is turned up I want light and airy desserts. These are the perfect desserts to bring to barbecues or just for dessert after Sunday dinner. At first I was going to list these in the order that are my favorites but I couldn’t choose a favorite. So in no particular order , here we go.

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Whipped Chocolate Candy Crunch Pie

June 24, 2018 by Debbie Leave a Comment

It is summer time and I am all about no bake desserts!! I also have a small love affair with anything chocolate , and this Whipped Chocolate Candy Crunch Pie is enough to get you “Chocolate wasted”, LOL. If you have never had or made chocolate whipped cream you don’t know what you are missing . It is simply scrumptious and should be on the top of any chocolate lovers must haves. It can be used as a topping , dip or just lick it off a spoon. It is not only incorporated into the light and fluffy pie , this pie is topped off with it.

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Sweet Heat Country Style Ribs

June 14, 2018 by Debbie Leave a Comment

I love boneless country style ribs but my husband usually cooks them on the pit. He is the pit master at my house , but his job keeps him away on the weekends at times. I had a package of these type ribs that needed to be cooked and an over abundance of jalapenos from my meager garden. I was hungry and using what I had on hand is basically how these Sweet Heat Country Style Ribs were born. I love using different flavors together and sweet and spicy is at the the of the list of being a favorite.

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Baked Broiled and Basted