Taste of Home Tuesday: Simple Cream Cheese Danish

Yesterday we had some friends over for dinner.  I was looking for a quick dessert and found these cream cheese danishes I had pinned on Pinterest a while back.  Justin thought they sounded good so we quick made them.  We like cherries so I added cheery pie filling to each danish.  They were delicious!!  I loved how simple and quick they were!  We will be making these often in the future. 

Ingredients:
2 cans of crescent rolls
1 8oz package of cream cheese at room temp.
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sour cream
Optional: pie filling or fruit preserves of your choice
Icing:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp softened butter

Preheat the oven to 350.
Open the crescent rolls carefully to avoid unrolling or tearing the dough. You'll need to leave it in it's cylindrical shape. Slice the dough into pieces about 1/4 inch thick (as though you're slicing cookie dough). Place the slices on a cookie sheet and press the center in to make an indentation for the cream cheese filling.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, white sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and sour cream. Add a dollop of the mixture to the indentation you made in each circle of dough. I find that about a tbsp works well, but you can use as little or as much as you like. If you like fruit with your danish, you can also add it to the rolls before the cream cheese mixture. (I like cherry pie filling or blackberry preserves, personally.) Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
While the danish are baking, you can make a quick royal icing to drizzle over the tops. Mix together the confectioner's sugar, milk and butter in a small bowl. You can use a spoon to drizzle it over the tops of the danish, or you can put it into a small zip-top bag and snip of the corner for an easy "piping bag." Take the danish out of the oven and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes before icing.
Voila! Cream cheese danish without leaving the house or breaking a sweat.

Thanksgiving Pictures

I have wanted to take pictures with Justin for years, but we just haven't had anyone do it.  Last year at Christmas we tried to take a few ourselves, but we were inside and it just didn't work very well.  Yesterday we were both home for Thanksgiving and he agreed to try again.  We got out the ladder and put the timer on the camera.  It worked!  I have a large frame I've been wanting to hang in the basement and now we have pictures to fill it! 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I am most thankful for this man in the pictures with me.  We've had our share of struggles, but God truly does cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Taste of Home Tuesday: Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I enjoy the challenge of trying to make homemade versions of foods that people purchase everyday.  The most recent thing we have tried is granola bars.  The recipe I am posting today is the one we like best so far.  It makes a chewier bar which we prefer.  The neat thing that I have found with granola bars is I can add whatever "extras" I want.  Justin and I aren't too fond of coconut so, instead of using the coconut, I ground peanuts and almonds and substituted them in.  I really like the chocolate chips and I've also added craisins, raisins, and dates.  I like to put them all in the same bars.  I enjoy the different textures and flavors it gives the bars.  Justin prefers fewer "extras".  I love taking the same basic recipe and adding whatever I want.  Enjoy!!

 

Ingredients
4 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips*
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir to combine.
5. Place granola mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a rectangle, about 13 x 9 x 1 inch thick.
6. Bake for 40 minutes.
7. Allow to cool completely then cut into 3 x 1 inch bars.**

* You can substitute raisins or other dried fruit for the chocolate chips.
** Individually wrapped, the bars will remain fresh for several weeks.

Taste of Home Tuesday: General Tso's Chicken

Justin and I enjoy eating Chinese food every so often.  If we are at a buffet we usually both end up with General Tso's Chicken on our plates.  Justin had the day off and was going to make dinner, he did some searching online and found this recipe.  I was amazed at how close it was to the restaurants sauce.  It was very thick and very tasty!  It made quite a bit so I froze the leftover sauce.  When we pulled it back out to eat over rice I just added a little water and microwaved it until it was back to the consistency we wanted.  This is a great recipe!  Enjoy!!   

Picture by Lavender Lynn



Ingredients

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

2 cups green onions, sliced

8 small dried chilies, seeds removed ( bird pepper or thai chilies are good)

Cornstarch slurry

1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium preferred

1 eggs, beaten

1 cup cornstarch

Sauce

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup sherry wine or 1/4 cup white wine

14 1/2 ounces chicken broth ( a can)

Directions

Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix. If you make this ahead of time just refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it. This also keeps your dirty dishes down.

Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Add chicken pieces to coat. Using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. YES even though the mixture has a weird consistency it will not stick like paste and the excess will drip off. Add chicken to the hot (350 degree) oil and fry until crispy. Only cook 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time. You do not want to lower the temp of the oil by cooking too many at a time. You can use a simple cooking or candy thermometer to judge the temp of the oil.

Drain on paper towels. Keep warm- I just put them in the oven with the oven off. Repeating until all chicken is fried.

In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees. Again, a candy thermometer works great. You can fry all the chicken, drain the oil to the desired amount and use the same pan if you like.

Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.

Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add a little water. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.

Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until all is hot and bubbly. The quicker this is done the crispier the chicken stays.

Serve over rice.

Taste of Home Tuesday: Slow-Simmering Beef Bourguignon

Justin found this recipe and thought it looked tasty.  I agreed, however; I knew if we had it during the week I would not have time to make it according to the recipe.  Instead of browning the meat I just dumped it in the crock pot and took it to school with me.  When I got home I chopped the veggies and sauteed them until they were tender.  I followed the recipe once the veggies were ready.  It turned out very well!  Enjoy! 

Picture by Taste of Home

Ingredients
3 pounds beef stew meat
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups beef broth
1-1/2 cups dry red wine or additional beef broth, divided
3/4 pound medium fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 thick-sliced bacon strip, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Italian tomato paste
Hot cooked egg noodles

Directions
Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, brown beef in batches. Remove with a slotted spoon to a 4- or 5-qt slow cooker. Add flour; toss to coat. Add broth and 1 cup wine.
In the same skillet, add the mushrooms, onion, carrots and bacon; cook and stir over medium heat until carrots are tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add remaining wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan; stir in tomato paste. Transfer to slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until beef is tender. Serve with noodles. Yield: 6 servings.

A thankful heart

I wanted to share Ann Voskamp's blog post again today.  What she is talking about tied in with our sermon from yesterday.  I love when God works things together like that.  A couple of things that stuck out to me,

"To bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving means to sacrifice your understanding of what is beneficial and thank God for everything because He is benevolent."

"A sacrifice of thanks lays down our perspective and raises hands in praise anyways-always."

"We give thanks to God not because of how we feel-but because of Who He is."



Here is the link to her post.  Enjoy!

Sweetness

Several weeks ago Justin and I went down to Pretty Prairie to celebrate the September and October birthdays.  I had the privilege of baby sitting Wyatt while everyone else went to homecoming.  I took way too many pictures (if there is such a thing:)) but he was all smiles.    

He is not a tiny little baby anymore!

He found his voice and was squealing at me.

All smiles

Telling a story

"Why do you keep putting that camera in my face?"

He was playing with his elephant and it got stuck over his face.  He started shaking his head to get it off.

If finally slid to the side and he thought it was funny.

He was telling me all about it.

Last time I talked to mom she said he's rolling all over the place and really getting up on his arms.  It seems like he was just a teeny tiny baby!  I can't wait to see him again (and of course the rest of the family as well:))!

Tomorrow's already Friday??

Tomorrow is already Friday and I just realized I've missed Taste of Home Tuesday.  It has been an incredibly busy week!  Monday we had a birthday party at the Pizza Hut.  Tuesday we grabbed a burger from the drive thru on the way to Life Group.  Wednesday we ate a sandwich before heading out to Trunk or Treat at church.  Thursday we grabbed a burger with some friends and shopped for our Operation Christmas Child boxes.  Tomorrow I plan on coming home after school and relaxing all weekend.  Thankfully next week will not be as busy.  I will post a yummy new recipe next Tuesday!