No Bake Chocolate Cookies - Version 2

I love no back chocolate cookies - yum!  You know the ones you make on the stove top then put in the fridge?  Yeah, we all like them.  The only problem is that they have peanut butter in them so Dad and Becky can't have them which is pretty sad really.  I was trying to decide what you might be able to use in place of peanut butter that would make them ok for everyone and it hit me - the thing that is the answer to most of life's important questions - Nutella!  Duh.  Why hadn't I thought of this before?  So, I whipped up a batch to see if it would really work.  It did.  And it might even be an improvement on the original recipe.  (Although I still love the original and will enjoy those any time!)

See, they even look the same:

So next time you make these you might consider swapping out Nutella for the peanut butter.  Mmmm, mmm!

Monique's Rolls

My sister-in-law, Monique, always brings these rolls to family functions and we all look forward to them.  Jeremy and I were talking about how good they sounded and it finally dawned on me that I could ask her for the recipe haha!  She normally rolls them into crescent shapes, but I just do round rolls with them.  I really like that this recipe uses some food storage items too!

Monique's Rolls

2 c. warm water

2/3 c. instant dry milk

1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened

1 Tbl. dry yeast

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. instant dry potatoes (pearls or flakes)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

Flour - enough for a soft dough (about 6-7 c.)

Mix together in the order given.  Knead for about 8 minutes or mix in stand mixer for several minutes.  Let rise 1 time.  Punch down and turn out on a floured board.  Divide in 2 and roll into a 10 in. circle.  Brush with butter or margarine.  Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 16 triangles.  Starting at the wide end, roll up in crescent roll fashion.  Place on greased baking sheet with the point on the bottom.  Cover well with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use.  Remove from the freezer about 3 hours before you wish to bake them.  Makes about 3 dozen.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Brush with butter after baking.

 If you are making the rolls and baking that same day, after you roll them out and place on cookie sheet cover with plastic wrap or towel and let rise to double the size then bake.

**To make into circle rolls, divide dough into two portions and roll into rectangle onto floured surface.  Cut each dough rectangle into 12 pieces with pizza cutter and roll each piece into a ball.  Place in two 9x13 pans and let rise.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

These pancakes are healthy and very tasty!  I used a hand blender to mix the wet ingredients so I didn't really have any sweet potato chunks.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• ¾ cups whole wheat flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups mashed or pureed cooked sweet potatoes
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
  

Preparation:

Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Combine remaining ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop by 1/4 cups onto hot greased griddle or skillet and fry, turning once, until browned on both sides.

Honey Lime London Broil

This was a yummy marinade for London Broil.  It probably would've been even better had I let it marinate for the full 24 hours.  But, tonight our London broil only got 30 minutes to marinate.  Hey - that's pretty good!  : )

Honey-Lime London Broil

2 Lbs London Broil
1/4 C. Honey
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp. Soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/4 C. Lime juice
3 Cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. Onion powder

Measure the honey into a 2-cup measuring cup.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Add the remaining ingredients and whisk to blend.  Place meat in a large resealable bag, pour the marinaded over the meat and seal the bag.  Refrigerate for 24 hours, turning occasionally.  Broil 7-10 minutes per side for medium rare, or to desired doneness.  Let rest 15 minutes before slicing.  Slice across the grain and serve. 

Recipe from a card I picked up at Sprouts

Cinnamon Popcorn

This stuff is addictive! It is certainly Cameron's new favorite. He had a hard time sharing with anyone.

Cinnamon Popcorn
4 qts. popped popcorn (about 1/2 c. kernels)
3/4 c. butter
2/3 c. sugar
1 T. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300.
Place popcorn in a large bowl. Combine the butter, sugar and cinnamon in a small pot and melt together, stirring to blend. Pour over popcorn. Stir to coat, or put the lid on and shake it up.
Transfer to 2 greased 15x10x1-inch baking pans. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Altered slightly from allrecipes.com

Zucchini Cakes

Do you have any zucchini left? If you do, you should really try these. They are so good! They were made as a vegetarian alternative to crab cakes. You can either fry or bake these. I opted for baking because me and frying aren't the best of friends. And it takes way longer.
The original recipe recommends using fresh bread crumbs from a baguette (blended up into crumbs). I didn't have a baguette on hand so I used regular breadcrumbs from a container.
I also mixed up a little variation of tartar sauce - mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, garlic powder, dill, and lemon juice. Just start with a little and add things a little at a time until it tastes good to you. Or make up your own sauce.

Zucchini Cakes
3 c. coarsely grated zucchini
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 c. finely diced bell pepper (using orange or red adds a nice color - like fake crab!)
1 1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 T. mayonnaise or plain yogurt
1 tsp. Dijon or spicy brown mustard
small dash of cayenne pepper, or more to taste
2 T. oil
1 tsp. butter

Place grated zucchini in a colander; sprinkle with salt and let stand 30 minutes. Press with paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible. Zucchini should be fairly dry, and you should end up with about 2 cups. Place zucchini and remaining ingredients (except oil and butter) in a bowl. Mix well.

To prepare for frying: Form into 8 patties the size of crab cakes. Chill. Heat oil and butter in skillet. Add patties to skillet and cook on both sides until browned. Drain on paper towels.

To prepare for baking: Form the mixture into small (1-inch) patties and put on a greased baking sheet. (I think it was easier to form them on the sheet rather than in my hand). Chill. Melt butter and mix it with the oil. Brush the tops of the patties and bake at 450 until lightly browned.
(I accidentally baked them at 400 for around 15 minutes, so it should take less time than that.)

Serve with your sauce.

Adapted slightly from Relish Magazine

Raspberry-Lime Dip

This dip is super delish! And bonus! It's healthy and not fattening. I wish I had discovered it earlier in the summer since the days of delicious fruit are numbered now. We ate this with bananas, raspberries, strawberries and grapes.

Raspberry-Lime Dip

1 C fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed and drained
1 1/4 C fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp grated lime peel
Assorted fresh fruit

Place raspberries in a food processor or blender; cover and process until smooth. In a large bowl, whisk yogurt, brown sugar, lime juice, lime peel and raspberry puree until well blended.  Chill until serving.

Serve with fruit.