Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 lb. frozen pizza dough, thawed in refrigerator
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Frosting:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 Tbsp. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1.) Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.  Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl; stir in nuts.  Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 15x7 inch rectangle.  Spread butter on top; sprinkle with sugar mixture.
2.) Starting at long edge, roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion.  Moisten edges with water; pinch to seal.  Cut crosswise into 16 slices.  Place rolls in pan, with space in between them.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 400.  Bake until tops are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes.
3.)  Make frosting: Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until light, about 2 minutes.  Frost rolls, serve warm.

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 packages (8 oz each) Philadelphia Neufachatel Cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) jello vanilla instant pudding
2 cups thawed cool whip lite whipped topping, divided
2 cups frozen pound cake cubes
1 square baker's semi-sweet chocolate

1.) Combine berries and sugar.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Beat Neufchatel cheese with mixer until creamy.  Gradually beat in milk.
2.) Add pudding mix, mix well
3.) Blend in 1 1/2 cups cool whip.  Spoon half into trifle bowl.
4.) Top with cake, berries, and remaining Neufchatel cheese mixture.  Refrigerate 4 hours.
5.) Melt chocolate; drizzle over dessert.  Top with remaining cool whip.

Special extra:  Melt 1 additional chocolate square.  Dip 5 strawberries in chocolate, letting extra drip off.  Refrigerate 30 min.  Use to garnish dessert.

*Recipe courtesy of Kraft food & family magazine (Spring '09)

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
5 egg whites
2 (16 ounce) cans chocolate frosting

1.) Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
2.) Combine the cocoa powder and boiling water in a bowl and stir until the cocoa is dissolved, about 30 seconds.
3.) Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.  Add the cocoa mixture and mix for 1 minute longer.  Beat in the sour cream, vanilla, and baking soda.  Add the flour and salt.  Mix for 1 minute more.
4.) Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form, 2-3 minutes.  Fold into the batter.
5.) Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pans.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25-28 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.  Cut each layer into 2 even layers for a total of 4 layers.  Spread the frosting between the layers and over the top and side of the cooled cake.

Louisiana Sloppy Joes

2 pounds lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (19 oz.) Progresso Vegetable Classics hearty tomato soup
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed chicken gumbo soup
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. dried Cajun seasoning
12 burger buns, split

In 12 inch nonstick skillet, cook ground beef, celery, bell pepper, and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
Reduce heat to medium.  Stir in all remaining ingredients except buns.  Cook 15 to 20 minutes longer or until mixture is bubbly and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.  Spoon beef mixture into buns.

Broccoli & Tomato pizzas

2 cups small broccoli florets
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 whole grain naan or 3 whole grain pocket less pitas
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1 cup quartered grape or cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella

1.) Hear oven to 475.  You'll need a baking sheet.
2.) Place a steamer basket in a large skillet. Add water to come up to bottom of basket and bring to a boil over high heat.
3.) Add broccoli; cover and simmer 3 minutes or until crisp and tender.  Lift basket from skillet; drain water from skillet.
4.) Add Olive oil and garlic to skillet; add broccoli and toss over medium heat 1 minute or until fragrant.
5.) Place pitas on baking sheet.  Spread each with sauce and top with broccoli, ricotta, tomatoes and mozzarella.
6.) Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese melts and bottoms are crisp.

Black & White Cookies

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
3 ounces very bitter or unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 to 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (optional)

1.) Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper.
2.) In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter.  Mix by machine or hand until fluffy.  Add eggs, milk, vanilla, and lemon extracts, and mix until smooth.
3.) In medium bowl, combine cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir until mixed.  Add dry mixture to the wet in batches,  stirring well after each addition.  Using a soup spoon, place heaping spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.  Bake until edges begin to brown, 18 to 20 minutes.  Cool completely.
4.) Boil a cup or so of water in a small pot.  Place powdered sugar in large, heat-safe mixing bowl.  Gradually stir in enough boiling water to the sugar to make a thick, spreadable mixture.  Err on the side of caution because a too-thin frosting is hard to undo.  Leave remaining boiling water on the stove.
5.) Spread frosting on 1/2 of the flat side of each cookie.  Once all cookie halves have been frosted, place the bowl of the remaining frosting over the hot water and bring it back to a simmer (creating a double boiler).  Stir in the bitter or unsweetened chocolate until melted, as well as the light corn syrup.  At this point, depending on the chocolate you used and your preferences, you might find the chocolate color to be a little lighter than the "black" of a black-and-white cookie.  If so, I find that the tablespoon or so of cocoa mixed in darkens the color nicely.
6.) Ice the remaining 1/2 of the cookies with the chocolate frosting.  I find that the chocolate especially with cocoa in it is especially prone to getting to dry, so don't worry about whisking in an extra teaspoon of that hot water from time to smooth it back into a shiny frosting.
7.) Let the frosting set.  Store in an airtight container.  These cookies keep for a few days, but I think they're best on the first or second day.  Because of the cake nature of these cookies, they can become stale quickly.

Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk, low fat or whole
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• vanilla wafer cookies
• 3 to 4 bananas, ripe but firm
• sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping
• banana slices for garnish
• mint sprigs, optional

Preparation:

In a bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and flour; stir to blend. Slowly stir in milk until smooth. Pour into the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture begins to thicken. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks; gradually whisk in about 1 cup of the slightly thickened hot milk mixture. Return egg mixture to the double boiler, stir in the vanilla and butter, and continue whisking and cooking until well thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
In tall dessert glasses or a 2-quart serving dish, make a layer of vanilla wafers then sliced banana. Spoon some of the pudding over the banana layer then layer more vanilla wafers and banana slices, topping with more pudding. Serve with whipped cream topping. If using short dessert dishes, use only one layer each of the wafers, banana slices, and pudding, and then top with a dollop of whipped cream. Garnish each serving with a few slices of banana and a mint sprig if desired.
Serves 6 to 8.

Couch Potatoes

6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 stick butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. smoked sausage (optional)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped fine
1 cup water

In a rice cooker, spray cooking spray.  Put a layer of potatoes.  Over the potatoes, sprinkle a layer of onions, parsley, pieces of butter, salt and pepper.  Repeat these layers 2 more times.  If you use sausage, layer slices of sausage over the potatoes.  Cover and turn on the rice cooker.  Let it cook until rice cooker turns off.

Sweet Potato Crunch

Step 1:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon

Step 2:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup melted butter

1.) Mix ingredients from step 1 together well and pour into a casserole dish.
2.) Mix step 2 together and spread over sweet potatoes in casserole dish and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Light chocolate chunk cookies

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. canola oil
2 large eggs lightly beaten
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 ounces good quality dark chocolate chunks
3/4 cup dried cherries
1 cup almond slices

1.) Preheat oven to 375
2.) In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars; beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add oil and eggs; beat until creamy.  Stir in vanilla.
3.) In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and salt.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir well.  Gently fold in chocolate, cherries, and almonds.
4.) Scoop batter by heaping tablespoon onto 2 baking sheets covered with parchment paper.  Bake cookies in 2 batches in upper and lower third of oven until golden on top and bottom (12-15 minutes).  Transfer cookies on parchment paper to a wire rack; cool (cookies will crisp as they cool).  Store cookies at room temperature in an air tight container (they will keep for up to 4 days).