Biscuit Dough Powdered Donuts

This recipe comes with a warning: You will find yourself dreaming of ways to somehow make and eat these, a whole recipe of them, without your family members finding out.  I haven't figured out how yet, let me know if you have any ideas.

A can, or 2, 5, 8, of those tiny baby biscuits (usually 10 per can).
oil
powdered sugar or icing


Flatten a biscuit on your hand and tear a small hole in the center.

Place in hot oil (between 4 and 6 on my burner).  When you can tell the oil side is becoming toasty (around the edges) flip the donut.  You do not want them to be dark-at all!

Place yummy donuts on paper towels.

Variation of colors: the middle one on the left column is way too brown.  I think the perfect one is the bottom right corner :)

 Cover in powdered sugar or your favorite icings.

Incandescently perfect.

Really, Really Easy Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe is great for taking a snack to Sunday School, taking a dessert, or to just have for breakfast.  It is literally SO easy, a two year old could do it.  (with help with the oven, of course!)  Oh and it's a Weight Watchers recipe!!  If you make regular-sized muffins, they are 1 point each....so the minis are probably 1/3 point. haha But whose counting?

You will need:

One box of spice cake mix

One 15 oz. can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just plain pumpkin)

THAT'S ALL!  No water, no eggs, no oil, no lard...

What you will need to do:

1.  Stir up the two ingredients.  It will look very dry at first but I promise, it will all get mixed in and be very moist.  So DON'T add water, ok?  It should look thick and "gloppy."

2.  Fill mini muffin tin 2/3 full, or a little more.  Or you can use a regular muffin tin (bake for 18-20 min instead).  They only rise a little bit...not as much as cupcakes or other muffins do.

3.  If you wish, you can add a few chopped pecans or walnuts and a sprinkle of brown sugar to the tops, just before you put them in the oven.  This probably knocks them out of Weight Watchers category though.  I added chopped pecans to half the batch.

4.  Bake at 350 for 12 minutes for minis.

5. Enjoy!  They can be served warm or room temp.  Not sure how they would be cold.  Picture shows one without pecans and one with pecans.

Recipe yields about 44 mini muffins or 12 regular muffins.

Easy, right? Yes.

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!

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?

Miniature Sausage Muffins

1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1 (6-oz.) package biscuit mix
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

Combine sausage and green onions in a skillet; cook over medium heat until sausage is browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well.

Combine biscuit mix, dry mustard, and red pepper; add milk, stirring just until moistened. Stir in sausage mixture and cheese (mixture will be thick). Spoon into greased miniature muffin pans, fillin two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 14 miniutes or until muffins are golden. Remove from pans immediately; serve warm. Yield: about 2.5 dozen

These are great for brunches, showers, or breakfast! I usually double the recipe!! :)

~Tara T.

The Best Blueberry Scones in the World!

I found this recipe here (source: Ben Millett) a few months ago while I was preparing to host my first extra fancy tea party (I love all things tea parties).  I've modified the instructions a little; feel free to use either mine or his.  They are simply divine.

Ingredients:

2 sticks of frozen, unsalted butter -you actually only use 10 tbsp
1 1/2 C fresh or frozen blueberries (or whichever fruit you prefer)
1/2 C whole milk
1/2 C sour cream
2 C unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for work surface
1/2 C sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp grated lemon zest (optional)

1.  Preheat your oven to 450 F
2.  Remove 1/2 the paper from your sticks of butter, grate the unwrapped ends (total of 8 tbsp) into a small bowl.  Freeze grated butter until ready to use.  Melt and set aside an additional 2 tbsp butter.

3.  Whisk together milk and sour cream in bowl, refrigerate until needed.
4.  Whisk flour, 1/2 C sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in large bowl.  Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss by hand until butter is mixed well.

4.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture and fold with spatula until just combined.

5.  Liberally flour a work surface and knead your dough 6 to 8 times.  Add flour as needed to prevent sticking.  Roll dough into a 12 inch square.

6.  Sprinkle blueberries evenly over your dough and press them into the dough.  Loosen the dough from your work surface, you may have to use a metal spatula.

Roll your dough into a tight log then lay it seam-side down and press into a 12 by 4 inch rectangle.
Using a sharp knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles, then cut each diagonally to form 2 triangles.

I actually went back and smushed it all together and followed my directions, made 8 instead of 6.

7.  Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar.  Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes.

*Please don't judge that I used my countertop, I do not have a fancy work surface ;)  Also, please forgive that I only edited the last picture-too lazy and excited to finally post this!

*If you are making these ahead, you can freeze them.  Wrap them individually in aluminum foil and skip the butter/sugar sprinkle step and you should do this immediately before baking (freezing the scones with butter on top will make them gooey when they bake).  You can bake frozen scones on 375 F for 25-30 minutes.