My First Blog Award

I got my first blog award today from jennys-cookbook It was such a fun surprise and totally made my day :) Thanks so much Jenny everyone be sure to go and check out her awesome food blog.

The Liebster (German for dearest, beloved or favorite) Blog award is given to blogs with less than 200 followers. 

Do you want to give a little Christmas present to some of your favorite bloggers too?

• Copy the award and post it on your blog.
• Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
• Post 5 of your favorite blogs (with less than 200 followers) and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Hope that followers will spread the love to other bloggers. 

Here are the 5 fabulous blogs that I want to share with you today.

adorkablerecipes. Love the name and all the posts on this fun blog.  

angelinkitchen   Her latest post is caramel pretzel truffles. Do I really need to say more :) yummy I love all her great recipes.


aubreysrecipes Reindeer Donuts so cute and easy my boys would love to make these and leave them out for santa.

 bigmamashomekitchen  Chocolate chip cookie Double stuff Oreo Brownie Bars. Are you kidding me?? Amazing :)


bethsfavoriterecipes I love this blog I have tried so many of her recipes and we have loved every one. Be sure to check her out. I do everyday :)

 Well there are my 5 I could go on and on with all the blogs that I love but all good things must come to an end lol



Thanks again Jenny and Happy Holidays all my great followers :)

Nutella Hot Chocolate

1 cup milk
2 1/2 Tbsp Nutella
1 Tbsp Cocoa
pinch of salt
3T half and half

1.In a small sauce pan over medium heat, whisk the first 4 ingredients together until well blended and hot.

Pour in a cup and top with the half anf half and also some whipped cream.


* Serves one

Cranberry Orange Pull Aparts

24 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold

1 small box non-instant vanilla pudding

1/2 cup sugar

1 orange rind, grated

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1.Cut roll in half. Mix pudding, sugar and orange rind together. Dip rolls in butter and then in pudding mixture. Arrange, alternately with dried cranberries, in large sprayed bundt pan. Pour any leftover butter and pudding mixture over rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double or even with the top of the pan. Remove wrap and bake at 350F 30-35 minutes.

2.Cover with foil the last 15 minutes of baking. Immediately after baking, invert onto serving platter. Combine powdered sugar, butter and orange juice. Mix well. Drizzle over pull-aparts.

Great tip for cleaning your slow cooker

I hate when I get food stuck in my slow cooker it seems like no matter how much you scrub it wont come off.I heard someone suggest filling the slow cooker with warm water and then throwing a dryer sheet in it and letting it soak.  I thought that was a weird suggestion....until I finally tried it for myself.  So I did the dryer sheet trick and it actually worked.  It totally loosened up the burnt dried on crust.Just fill up the slow cooker with warm/hot water and throw in the dryer sheet and let soak about 20 min then wipe it all out.  So there you have it...use a dryer sheet.  Amazing!

Caramel Pull Aparts

24 ounces frozen dinner roll dough (about 18-20)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix

1/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup melted butter

1.The night or several hours before, grease and flour a 9 or 10 inch tube pan. Mix brown sugar and pudding mix together. Mix white sugar and cinnamon together. Cut thawed but still cold dinner rolls in half and place in pan a layer at a time. Sprinkle brown sugar and pudding mix over first layer of rolls. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon mixture over the brown sugar and pudding mixture. Pour the melted butter over first layer. Repeat with the next layer.

2.Place in fridge overnight Do not cover. Next morning take out of fridge 30-40 min before baking and bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 30 minutes. Let stand a few minutes and turn pan over onto serving platter.

* Top with powdered sugar glaze or cream cheese frosting.

Mac and Cheese Soup with Veggies

2 T. butter
1 small onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 t. salt
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. pepper
8 c. chicken stock
1 1/2 c. elbow macaroni
2 c. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
3 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. milk (I used 1/2&1/2)
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese


1. Melt butter in a large pot. Add onions, celery and carrots. Season with salt, paprika and pepper and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in chicken stock and bring to a slow boil.

2. Add noodles and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. After noodles are fully cooked, add the broccoli. Dissolve cornstarch in milk and slowly stir into slowly boiling soup. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until fully melted.

I got this recipe from http://stolenmomentscooking.com/

Orange Pull Apart Bread

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 c. sugar
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1/3 c. fat-free milk
1/4 c. salted butter
1/4 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Filling:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. grated orange zest

Cream Cheese Icing:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. orange juice

Grease a standard loaf pan

Heat milk and butter just in microwave or on stove until butter melts. Add water, then allow to cool till just warm (110-115F). Add the yeast and 2 tsp. sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 5 min. Add the vanilla.

Combine 2C flour and the rest of the sugar. Add to the yeast mixture and mix till flour is just moistened. Add eggs, one at a time, beating till incorporated. Add 1/2 c. flour and mix till dough is smooth. Add 2 Tbsp. flour and mix till smooth.

Lightly flour a work surface and knead dough for about a minute. Add the last 2 Tbsp. flour if dough is too sticky. Place dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat, cover, and let rise in a warm place till doubled, about 1 hour.

Rub the orange zest into the sugar until it is orange and fragrant. Combine with the melted butter and set aside.

Punch down the dough and roll into a 12x20 inch rectangle on a floured surface. Spread the filling on the dough. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 5 strips, each 12x4 inches (use a ruler to get this as accurate as possible). Carefully stack the strips on top of each other, so you have a stack of five 12x4 inch rectangles.

Cut this stack into 6 equal rectangles, each 2 inches wide. Carefully place each of these smaller stacks into the loaf pan, cut side up. Cover and let rise in a warm spot till doubled, about 45 min.

Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 30-45 min. Cool on rack about 10-15 min., then remove from pan to rack to continue cooling.

Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar till smooth. Add the milk and juice and mix till combined. Ice warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 I got this recipe from http://thatskinnychickcanbake.blogspot.com/