The Peach Pioneer

So it's Spring Break, and being in the Floridian 80+ degrees, we developed a hankering for some peaches. Our friend Meagan, with whom we are staying in the Tampa Bay area, had a great recipe to try, and her husband fetched us some fresh peaches from the store. I was amazed that they had peaches already, but Meagan said these technically came from Chile. Either way, it was great to taste a real peach. We made this recipe for a breakfast dish and it went great with coffee. I think it would also be good to try using apples and some cinnamon.

What You'll Need:
Cake & Filling
2 cans crescent rolls
1 8-oz. package cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1 can (21 oz.) peach, cherry, or apple pie filling
Fresh peaches! (Or cherries, apples)
Nutmeg to taste

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Unroll crescent dough. Separate into 16 triangles, reserving 4 triangles for decoration. Arrange 12 triangles in a circle (on a round stone pan if you have one!) with wide ends toward the outside edge of baking stone and points toward the center (Points will not meet.) Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll dough into a 14-inc circle, pressing seams together to seal. There should be a 3-inch diameter opening in the center. Form a slightly raised rim along inner and outer edges of dough.
2. In a batter bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg yolk and vanilla (& nutmeg if you'd like!); whisk until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over dough to within 1/2 in. of edge. Spoon pie filling evenly over cream cheese mixture. (We added fresh peaches with the pie filling. Good move.)

3. Using a pizza cutter, cut each remaining dough triangle lengthwise into three strips. Arrange dough strips evenly in spoke-like fashion over the filling. Press ends to seal at center and outer edges. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 15 minutes.

4. For glaze, combine powdered sugar and milk; mix until smooth. Drizzle evenly over cake. Cut into wedges. Serve warm.


Yield: 12 servings. (290 calories each)

(from Pampered Chef)

Sausage Cream Cheese Casserole

Here's my latest recipe on Tummies Full of Love:



What You'll Need:
2 cans of crescent rolls
1 lb. mild sausage
2 cups shredded cheese
1 8-oz. package of cream cheese

Directions:
1. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan and spread 1 can of crescent rolls on the bottom.
2. Brown sausage, drain.
3. Return sausage to skillet and mix in cream cheese until meat is covered evenly.
4. Spread cream cheese/sausage mixture in 9x13.
5. Spread 2 cups (or just the full bag) over the mixture.
6. Cover with the other can of crescent rolls, and bake according to the instructions on the crescent roll cans (usually 375 for 15-20 minutes.)

Here's a picture I took on my phone before consuming the casserole... not the best quality photo, but the food was good! Enjoy!

Homemade Payday

This is one of my favorite family recipes and I probably make it more than anything else I make. It's super easy, super tasty, and pretty inexpensive, so why not? No refrigeration necessary, so it's a great recipe for parties, Sunday School, or mailing to someone.

What you'll need:
1 package of Reese's Peanut Butter chips
1 package of mini marshmallows
1 jar of peanuts (I use "lightly salted")


Directions:
1. Combine marshmallows and peanut butter chips in a large mixing bowl. Melt in the microwave to a creamy and easily-stirrable consistency. (Keep an eye on it, too, because this could happen if you leave it in there too long...)


2. Pour in peanuts and mix together.
3. Spray a 9x13 pan and spread the mixture. It is thick and sticky, so I like to spray my hands too before patting it all out.
4. Let cool/harden. Cut into squares.

Variation:
Coat finished squares in Baker's dipping chocolate for homemade Baby Ruth!

Red Velvet Waffles

Here is a recipe for Red Velvet Waffles with a Cream Cheese Frosting and Butter Pecan Syrup! I modified a recipe that I found online, and here was the result. It claims to make 4 servings, but mine went much farther than that. Store leftover mix in an airtight container in the fridge for breakfast the next day or two!

THE WAFFLES


What you'll need:
2 cups flour (I used Whole Wheat)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 cup butter, melted, cooled
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tablespoons red food coloring

Directions:
1. Separate eggs.
2. Beat egg whites until stiff.
3. Mix dry ingredients together then add wet.
4. Mix all ingredients together THEN fold in the egg whites.
5. Heat waffle iron and spray with non-stick cooking spray
6. Pour mix into waffle iron and cook until done!

THE FROSTING

What you'll need:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp. sugar
Cool whip

Directions:
Mix it all together, soften in microwave if necessary. I layered small square waffles with the frosting and topped with Cool Whip.

THE SYRUP


What you'll need:
1 1/2 cups of maple syrup (I used a sugar-free, butter-flavored syrup with Splenda)
1/8 cup of butter (If you are not using butter-flavored syrup, do 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup of pecans

Directions:
1. Melt butter.
2. Add syrup and mix together.
3. Add pecans.

As I mentioned, my waffle iron is square shaped, so I layered 2 small waffles with frosting in the center, plopped a dollop of Cool Whip on top, then drizzled the butter pecan syrup. It was a fun change to the traditional waffle. Unfortunately, my Red Velvet Waffles have completely cleaned me out of red food coloring. Now I'm considering Blue Suede Pancakes?