Brussels Sprouts: 60 Seconds

So one of my favorite things about Bountiful Baskets is that we usually get some type of fruit or vegetable that I wouldn't normally buy at the store and sometimes that I have never even tried. So the fun part is cooking and eating slightly outside of my normal comfort zone. And on a few occasions I have had to call my Grandma Shirley and ask, "What is a persimmon? And how do we eat it.?" This week we got brussels sprouts and nobody at my house had ever tried them and after all they get such a bad rap I have never even thought of buying them. Anyway, after some Internet searching I finally found a technique that I thought would work best for what we normally would eat as a side dish, the result....pretty good. Not something I would want every week but, I am a huge fan of cooked cabbage and it is a very similar taste like a little mini cute cabbage. So I would definitely make them again but, would probably be a little picker with what I served them with since they are a pretty distinct taste.

60 Second Brussels Sprouts:

18 Brussels Sprouts
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Lemon
Salt & Pepper
4 Tbs Butter

1. Remove the core of the brussels spout by cutting it out in a triangle shape, like you would the core of a cabbage.
2.  Cut brussels sprouts into really thin slices. If any of the leaves fall off just roll them up and slice thin.
3. Put a Tbs of olive oil in a pan and heat it until it is smoking hot, the trick to cooking these is the high temperature so don't prematurely throw your sprouts in.
4.  When your pan is seriously hot, toss in your brussels sprouts and squeeze a half a lemon over the top and add salt and pepper to taste.
5.  Cook them for exactly 60 seconds on high heat, stirring constantly, and not over cooking.
6. Turn off heat and squeeze other half of lemon over the top and add butter, when butter is melted your ready to serve.

And the bonus, I think they are actually healthy! If you have any questions there are about a million you tube video's on this (seriously), Enjoy!

Mini Pizza

We just made these the other night and its not really something you need a recipe for once you've made them once and have the general idea. These were so fun because my kids made them for dinner and they had a blast cooking their own dinner, so it was fun watching them create their own pizza...and I swear I am going to start remembering to take pictures for the blog someday, pictures make everything better!

 

1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury Grands refrigerated biscuits

1 cup pizza sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

1 package (3.5 oz) sliced pepperoni

 

Press each biscuit into 6-inch round. Place on greased cookie sheets. Top each round with pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni.  Bake at 375°F 10 to 15 minutes or until bottoms are deep golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

 

Lion House Rolls

These rolls are to die for, if you click on the above picture it should link you to the webapge for this recipe where she has all sorts of pictures and videos. These are a new favorite of mine, I think possibly because they are totally drenched with butter, hot out of the oven they are DELICIOUS!

2 cups warm water
2/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk
2 Tbs dry yeast (2 pkg)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1 egg
5-5 1/2 cups flour

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water and the milk powder and stir so the milk dissolves.

Add the yeast to this mixture while water and milk is still warm. I let the yeast proof (dissolve and start to react) for a couple of minutes then add the sugar, salt, butter, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then turn to medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add 2 more cups of flour then mix on low speed until the ingredients are wet, then turn mixer on medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. The dough will be getting stiff and you may need to remove the bowl from the mixer and mix in the remaining flour by hand (mine is still wet here).

Add approximately 1/2 cup of flour and mix again. (This can be done by hand or mixer). The dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour). Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour approximately on tablespoon of vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl so it is covered with the oil. (This helps prevent the dough from drying out.) Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size.

Sprinkle a cutting board or counter with flour and put the dough on the flour. You want to put enough flour on the dough so that it is workable and not sticky.

You can roll these into crescent rolls or do it the traditional Lion House way. Here is a video showing how to roll them the Lion House way. Roll into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick and brush with melted butter. You want to cut the rectangle into smaller rectangles that are 2"X4" (a little smaller than a dollar bill). If you make and "L" with your thumb and pointer finger that will show you how wide and tall to cut your rectangles.

Then you roll them (or flip them like in the video) and place them on a greased (or parchment lined) baking pans with the end of the roll resting on the pan.

Let rise in a warm place until the rolls are double in size (approx. 1-1 1/2 hours). Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are browned to your satisfaction. Brush with melted butter while hot. Yields 2 to 2 1/2 dozen rolls.

Oreo Cake

For Rylan's birthday this year he wanted an Oreo cake so I started the hunt for a good recipe, and I ended up finding this fantastic recipe on Pinterest. Honestly this is the best frosting ever....ever! I am a huge Oreo fan and seriously I could make this frosting and skip the cake, it's so good. When I try it again I may try it on cupcakes or just a plain white or even a chocolate cake.  The Oreo cake is good but, combined with the frosting it is really rich. Oreo frosting....I may have to go and make it now.

Oreo Cake:

1 box white cake mix

15 Oreos, crushed 

Cake: Prepare cake according to package directions, stirring in the crushed Oreos to the batter before dividing between prepared pans. Bake as directed on box. Remove cake layers from oven and allow to cool completely on cooling rack.

Oreo Frosting:                                                                                                                                                    

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar
1 (8 oz) container Cool whip, room temperature
15 Oreos, crushed
¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting: In mixer, cream the cream cheese and sugar. Add vanilla, mix well, and stir in Cool whip. Mix well. Fold in crushed Oreos until well blended & frost cooled cake. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve and refrigerate any leftovers.