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February 16, 2012

Chicken Croissant Roll-ups

MY FAMILY LOVED THIS RECIPE! 
We sincerely loved it.  I made it a second time just to be sure.  Yep, we loved it.  The second time I made the dish, I doubled the filling and used the extras for sandwiches made on Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. ~Good stuff~. 
 Pinterest...love Pinterest...my new go-to (P)inspiration site!
This recipe came from a pin I saw...

 Chicken Crescent Roll-ups
2 (8 oz.) cans Crescent Roll dough
1 ( 10.75 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 c. milk
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. milk
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 c. chicken, cooked, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sauce:
Mix together the 1/2 c. milk, 3/4 c. grated cheese, and canned soup.
Filling:
In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese and butter. Add in the garlic powder, seasoning salt, and pepper. Add the 2 Tbsp. milk, chicken, green onions, and a 1/2 c. shredded cheese. 
Roll out the crescent dough, separate into triangles, and then place a heaping tablespoon of the filling in the center of the wide end of the triangle. fold the two corners over the filling, toward the center of the dough triangle, then roll from the widest part of the dough toward the point. Pinch ends closed.
 
In a 9 x 13 baking dish (which has been lightly coated with non-stick spray), spread a small amount (about 1/4 c.) of the sauce mix on the bottom.
Place the rolls, seam side down in the pan. Repeat with the remaining dough/filling.
Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the rolls, and sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese (lots of "remains" in this recipe, bwaaa haaaa).
Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly in the center of the dish.



Note:  The second time I made these, I used the large size can of crescent rolls, and only needed 1 can instead of 2.
I did make minor changes to this recipe to suit my own family's tastes, but you can see the original recipe here:  Recipe adapted from: PlainChicken.coml


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February 14, 2012

KENTUCKY-Bourbon Balls

I don't really think it's surprising that the favorite cookie for the state of Kentucky is Bourbon Balls.  After all, Kentucky is famous for their bourbon, right? Fabulous! As part of Our Cookie Nation Series, this is another simple recipe, and we liked the outcome, but this cookie does take extra time to make..3 days! Gaaaahhh!!!!
KENTUCKY BOURBON BALLS 
GRADE: B
1 c. chopped pecans
5 Tbsp. Kentucky bourbon
(you can substitute 5 tsp. vanilla extract & 10 tsp. water, combined)
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 lb. (16 oz.) pkg. confectioners' sugar
18 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
2 c. pecan halves, for decoration (optional)

Day 1:
Place the chopped nuts in a seal-able jar. Pour the bourbon over the nuts, stir, seal, and allow to soak overnight.
Day 2:
Mix the softened butter and sugar together. Fold in the soaked nuts, including any left over liquid. Form into 3/4" balls, place on a baking sheet, and refrigerate overnight.
Day 3:
Line another baking sheet with waxed paper. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just-barely simmering water, stirring often, and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching.
 Roll the balls in the melted chocolate to coat. Place on the waxed paper. If using pecan halves for decoration, press one into the chocolate on top of the ball. 
Store in the fridge until serving.



 I liked this "cookie"-I would really consider this a candy-they make a pretty addition to dessert plates. I sent some of these to a friend, and her entire family are in love with them, she will be making them often, I think.
Although I didn't try making these with the vanilla extract substitution for the bourbon, my girlfriend did, and she loved that version as well.  Hope you enjoy them too!

Recipe Source: Kentucky Bourbon Balls

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February 8, 2012

IOWA & KANSAS-PEANUT CLUSTERS

I spent a Saturday in January trying to make up for lost time by whipping up several recipes for OUR COOKIE NATION series here on the blog.  I've been such a slacker for over 3 months that I'm now compelled to get my act together, and get caught up, at least a little!
In the Readers Digest article on 'Our 50 States Favorite Cookies', Iowa and Kansas had the same results.  The most popular recipe at ALLRECIPES.COM for these 2 mid-west states is PEANUT CLUSTERS!
I don't really see how Peanut Clusters qualify as a cookie, but hey, I'm not complaining because I love chocolate candy too! 

These were a huge hit with my husband and mom.  I mean HUGE. They loved them, and so did I.  In fact I hid a few so that I would have a little treat when the "others" weren't looking... My girlfriend Beth Anne was the guinea pig taster and she said they were fabulous too, so this one is a WINNER!
 Grade: A!

PEANUT CLUSTERS

1 (12 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (12 oz.) pkg. peanut butter chips
12 oz. raw Spanish peanuts
(I used cocktail peanuts-I'm not a fan of the Spanish variety)

Combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips in the top of a double boiler. Stir frequently over low to medium  heat until all the chips are melted and completely combined.
Pour in the peanuts and stir well to make sure all the peanuts have been incorporated.
  Drop by tablespoon onto waxed paper, allow to cool, and for the chocolate is set.  Store in the fridge or a cool place.
These took maybe 15-20 minutes to make, and if you drop them onto a baking sheet that you can move to the fridge for quicker set-up time, then they would be ready to go in less than 60 minutes!  Awesome! 
I got about 40 candy clusters from this recipe.
THANK YOU IOWA AND KANSAS!
The one small thing I wish I could change about this particular recipe is the storing temperature.  I found that if I left them out, the chocolate was soft and got all over my fingers, and if I stored them in the fridge, then the chocolate was solid and harder to bite thru... sad, sad story, right? hahahahaha!


Recipe source: ALLRECIPES.COM


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February 5, 2012

February 5th is National Chocolate Fondue Day!


Yep, today is National Chocolate Fondue Day (it's also Superbowl #46 Sunday, but that's not important)!
I don't often make fondue, mostly because my hypoglycemia gets all crazy out of whack, I have no self-control. None.  So what I've done is compile a list of fabulous fondue recipes for you to try. Some are savory, and some are sweet.
I found many of the links via Pinterest.com, and a few I already had on hand, so follow the links and celebrate FONDUE!
This first recipe is from The Family Kitchen, and they have a lot of recipes for fondues, so be sure to browse around... 

Next we have:




Now for the Sweet Fondues...

Here is a basic, go to recipe for chocolate fondue;





I hope you try all of these recipes, and that you find a couple of keepers for your recipe box!


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