Yummiest Jam EVER

I have discovered the best way to make jam! It only takes 3 ingredients: Ball Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin (bought mine at WalMart), Splenda, and fruit.

The thing that makes this different is that it only takes 1 1/2 cups of Splenda for the whole batch!! The jam takes on the natural fruit flavor and it is so good! Go ahead, try it, you won't be disappointed!

Buttermilk Biscuit Donuts

We did this for a book project, but they were so good and clever that I'm going to put them here too. I got this recipe from Once Upon a Cookie. They were stupidly easy and delicious!

Buttermilk Biscuit Donuts
from Paula Deen

Ingredients

Peanut oil, for frying (Canola is good too)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Icings:

2 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
5 tablespoons milk, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Colored sprinkles
Chocolate sprinkles

2 cans buttermilk biscuits (I use the ones that come 10 to a can because they make mini donuts and mini donut holes. But you can also use the larger biscuits if you want bigger donuts.)

Directions:

Heat 2 inches of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to 350 degrees F.

In a shallow bowl, stir together the ground cinnamon and sugar and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, set aside. This is the vanilla icing. In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup of confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of milk and set aside. This is the chocolate icing.

Lay out the biscuits on a cutting board and with a 1/4 to 1/2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter (or any small circle you can find), cut out a hole from the middle of each biscuit. Fry them in the oil until just golden and then flip with tongs to fry the other side. Be careful not to cook them to long. You can even fry the donut holes. Drain on paper towels and then toss in the cinnamon-sugar or ice and decorate with sprinkles, as desired.

Cool, Creamy Fruit Salad

I got this yummy recipe from Sister's Stuff. This was good enough to be a dessert.

1 Small Package Orange Jello
1 Small Package Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding
2 C. Water
Mandarin Oranges
1 Small Cool whip

Mix together jello, pudding and water in saucepan. Cook until it thickens. Boil 1 minute. Set in fridge overnight or until set and cool. Mix with mixer one small bowl of cool whip. Whip until creamy. Stir in oranges.

Cookie Stuffed Cupcakes

I found this recipe on All Recipes. It was really good! I used my co-op cookie dough instead of making their version. It was still delicious. I'd probably just do that again or use pre-packaged cookies. I used Rachel's rich chocolate frosting that she posted about on this blog.

Cookie Stuffed Cupcakes

1 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1 (18.25 oz) bow yellow cake mix
1 1/3 c water
1/3 c canola oil
3 eggs

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside. Beat the butter and sugars with a mixer until smooth. Add 1 egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls; place on baking sheet, and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

3. Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl with a mixer. Add the cake mix, water, and oil. Spoon into the cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.

4. Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool entirely on a wire rack.

Mom's Buttermilk Pancakes

This is Mom's recipe. She got it from Aunt Freddie's ward cookbook, the actual recipe is by Judy Potter. Anyhow, these are AMAZING!! This is mom's new guests breakfast. You know, the one she always makes when people are visiting. I don't mind, they are divine!

Buttermilk Pancakes and Syrup

1 1/2 c. flour
3 T sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c buttermilk
1/2 c milk
1/8 c oil

Mix dry ingredients. Add and mix remaining ingredients, leaving a little lumpy. Cook on griddle at about 350 degrees.

Syrup:
1/2 c buttermilk
1 c sugar
1/2 cube butter or margarine
1/2 tsp soda

Cook on high. Boil 1 minute. Turn off and add 1 tsp vanilla. Cook in a large saucepan because it will boil over easily. Two times this syrup recipe for 3 times batch of pancakes.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

Okay, I don't eat pumpkin pie, don't really like it. However, this was really good! I was totally surprised at it's yumminess...
Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/3 C pumpkin, canned or homemade
1/4 - 1/2 C milk
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t cloves (just use a 1/8 t measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 t nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream
a few graham crackers

Pop it all in a blender. Start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. I used somewhere between 1/4-1/2 C.

A note about blenders: Here's the problem with making thick, diner style milkshakes at home: A lot of times you have to add so much milk to the thing to get the blender to process that it turns into a milk-slushie instead. Or you have to blend and plunge, blend and plunge, etc. You know the drill, right? So if you have any trouble with your blender, I would recommend blending everything but the ice cream first and then mashing it into the ice cream by hand (well, with a hand. Holding a fork or spoon :) If your scooped ice cream sits out at room temp while you measure the other things and get them all ready, then by the time you mash it all together it should be a good consistency.

Sprinkle with crushed graham cracker crumbs before serving.

Skillet Penne with Chicken and Broccoli

I love this recipe...I craved it the entire time I was in Spain so I made it right when I got home and it was just as delicious as I'd hoped it would be. It really tastes like candy to me. I'm sure you could use milk instead of cream and still get a delicious result. Enjoy!



Skillet Penne with Chicken and Broccoli
adapted from America's Test Kitchen

1 lb. chicken breasts, sliced into 1 inch pieces
Salt and Pepper
3 Tbs. butter
1 onion, minced
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
¼ tsp. dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. penne- or favorite pasta (2 ½ cups)
2 ½ c. chicken broth
½ c. heavy cream
1 bunch broccoli (1 ½ lbs.), stems discarded and florets cut into 1 inch pieces
1 12-oz. jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and chopped as fine as desired
½ c. parmesan cheese

1. Pat chicken dry, season with salt and pepper. Melt 1 Tbs. of butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until its lightly browned but not fully cooked, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Add 1 more Tbs. butter, onion, red pepper flakes, oregano, and ½ tsp. salt to skillet. Cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
3. Sprinkle penne evenly into skillet. Pour the broth and cream over it. Cover and bring to boil, about 5 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to med-low and stir in the broccoli and roasted peppers. Cover and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally until the pasta begins to soften and the broccoli turns bright green, about 8 minutes.
5. Stir in the chicken and any accumulated juice. Cover and continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.
6. Stir in remaining butter and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.