Caramel Frosting for Cinnamon Rolls

•   Yumalicious.  The kids had a snow day today so I made Megan's Father's Day Cinnamon Rolls.  A certain oldest child of mine doesn't like cream cheese frosting so I found this recipe to try instead and it was a big hit.  I made 1 1/2 times this recipe and we thought it was great...we don't like to skimp on the frosting around here.  ;)  
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• CARAMEL FROSTING
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• 1 stick Butter
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ cups Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2-½ cups Powdered Sugar

  Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in the brown sugar and salt. Cook on low for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in milk. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and whisk in until smooth.  (I used the hand mixer to make it nice and smooth.)  Pour over warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

  frosting recipe from https://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breads/amish-cinnamon-rolls-with-caramel-frosting/

Creamy Cinnamon Apple & Walnut Fruit Salad

This salad is SO good.  We had this when everyone was here for Christmas and it was a hit with everyone who tried it.  The original recipe recommends letting the apples soak in  lemon water to prevent browning while you chop them, but I don't think that's necessary.  I just added the diced apples to the dressing and it was fine.

Creamy Cinnamon Apple and Walnut Fruit Salad

The perfect autumn fruit salad! It's loaded with crisp, sweet apples, cranberries and walnuts and covered in a rich, cinnamon cream cheese dressing. What's not to love?

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Apple Fruit Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 247 kcal

Author: Jaclyn

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz) pkg. Neufchatel cheese, softened slightly (light cream cheese)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 (8 oz) pkg. light sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 lbs crisp, sweet apples, chilled (I used a combo of Gala, Jazz and Golden Delicious)
• 1 cup chopped Fishers Walnuts
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, whip together Neufchatel cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2.  Add sour cream and vanilla and blend until combined. 
3. Dice apples into cubes, adding them into the bowl of dressing as  you go.
4. Add the walnuts and cranberries and stir to coat evenly.  
5. Keep chilled and serve within an hour for best results*.

Recipe Notes

• *The dressing can be made a day in advance just don't cut the apples until you're almost ready to serve this. Also, it makes a big batch so if you aren't serving that many you can cut the recipe in half.

Recipe altered slightly from cookingclassy.com

Piselli Fritti (Fried Peas)

I made these for our Italian Christmas Eve and I thought they were tasty.  I caramelized the onions first and then added the frozen peas, and after I allowed them to cook for 10-15 minutes, I allowed them an additional 5 or 10 to make them a little more "crispy" and to evaporate the extra liquid, as she suggests.

Piselli Fritti (Fried Peas)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups fresh or frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 garlic cloves, minced or 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 cup water or chicken stock (1/2 cup if you’d like the peas a little wetter)

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Meanwhile chop your onions and mince the garlic. When the oil is heated through, toss the onions into the frying pan and cook them for two to three minutes until then soften.

Add in the peas, fresh or frozen, and sprinkle with the salt, oregano, basil and garlic. Toss to combine. Add in the water and/or chicken stock and reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow the peas to cook for 10 to 15 minutes until soften and most of the water as been absorbed.

If you like your peas moist, then these are ready to be served up. Or if you want a little more texture and crispiness, turn the heat back up to medium-high for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, to evaporate the remaining liquid and begin to slightly brown or crisp the pea edges.

Serve up hot as a side dish to any main and prepare to be just a bit addicted. There is a lot of flavour packed into these peas. And they are also great warmed up the next day.

Recipe originally from http://www.anitaliancanadianlife.ca/recipes/piselli-fritti-fried-peas

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I'm always a little nervous to make cheesecake, for fear that it won't turn out right, but Mia and I made this for our belated Christmas dinner with Jeff's family and it was a hit with everyone.  The cheesecake is gluten free, but not the crust.  Anyway, this was fantastic....everyone thought that we bought it from a restaurant, so Mia and I were pleased to be able to say that we made it.  The store was out of frozen raspberries so I bought mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries and strawberries) and it was delish.  I also melted some extra white chocolate chips and drizzled them on top once the cheesecake was cooled.  

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (chocolate graham crackers work great!)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries (or mixed berries)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water

• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup half-and-half 
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.
5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Melt some white chocolate chips to drizzle on top, if desired, and serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

Recipe originally from allrecipes.com