Breakfast Pizza

Sometimes, I have leftover pizza for breakfast.  Sometimes, I have leftover breakfast for dinner.  Pizza and breakfast food are two of my favorite things.  The only logical thing to do, then, is to marry the two together, right?  Right.  And, that is exactly what I did.  You can thank me later.

What you need:
1 Pizza Dough*
1 Can of Sausage Gravy
1/2 Lb. cooked breakfast meat of your choosing (I used bacon)
6 Eggs, scrambled
1 1/2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
Any veggie toppings you want on your pizza ( I added mushrooms)

*I make my own pizza dough using a recipe that I haven't been authorized to share.  You can always pick up a pre-made crust at the store or you can buy a can of pizza dough just like a can of biscuits and cook the dough yourself.

What you need to do:
1.  Cook and drain your breakfast meat and scramble your eggs.

2.  Preheat your oven according to the directions on your pizza dough.  Prepare your pizza dough and lay it out on your baking stone or pizza pan, but do not bake the dough.

3.  Spread a generous amount of sausage gravy on top of your cooked pizza crust (as if it were pizza sauce).

4.  Sprinkle your cooked breakfast meat on top of the sausage gravy.

5.  Sprinkle scrambled eggs on top of the sausage gravy and meat.

6.  Sprinkle any veggie toppings on top of the other toppings.

7.  Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the pizza.

8.  Bake according to pizza dough directions. 

Enjoy!

Pepperoni Roll-Ups

My friend Amber bought a house earlier this year.  She had a housewarming party, like, a month later.  I bought a house last year.  I haven't had my housewarming party yet.  When I do have it, it will be more than a year later.  But, whatever.  I'm not bitter.  At all. 

Amber was nice enough to let me bring lots of food to her housewarming party.  That meant that I got to try lots of new recipes. This one was a big hit!  Everybody loves pepperoni and melted cheese.  Toss in a crisp, buttery crescent roll . . . Perfect!  Plus, these get bonus points for being really easy to make. 

Source:  The Girl Who Ate Everything

What you need:
2 packages refrigerated Crescent Roll dough, garlic flavored
8 Cheese Sticks, halved
48-64 pieces of Pepperoni
Marinara Sauce and Ranch Dressing for dipping

What you do:
1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2.  Place 3 to 4 pepperoni pieces on the bottom of the triangle of each 
     crescent roll. 
3.  Place one cheese stick half on top of the pepperoni on each 
     crescent roll. 
4.  Roll up each crescent roll and place seam side down on a cookie sheet. 
5.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crescent rolls are cooked 
     thoroughly (until they are golden brown).
6.  You can put out small bowls of marinara sauce and ranch dressing 
     for dipping if you would like. 

Enjoy!

Heath Bar Cake

My mom has this very sweet friend at her work named Karen.  Karen is a great cook and has a heart of gold.  One year for Christmas she made me a homemade recipe book with some of her family recipes.  It is still my only recipe book.  Right before Easter my mom told me about this great cake that Karen had brought in to work and asked me to make it for Easter.  This cake is delicious and ridiculously easy.  I made mine the night before Easter and let it sit overnight, which I think made it even more moist and delicious. 


Here's what you'll need:
1 Chocolate Cake Mix and the additional ingredients called for on the box
1 Can Condensed Milk
1 Tub of Cool Whip
1 Jar of Caramel Sundae Sauce
1 1/2 King Size Heath Bars


Here's what you do:
1.  Make the chocolate cake according to the box instructions. 


2.  Let the cake cool slightly (about 7 minutes).  Take the handle end of a wooden spoon (or something of similar size) and poke holes throughout the cake.  I made mine pretty uniform in a grid pattern. 


3.  Pour the caramel sundae sauce and condensed milk over the entire cake, trying to distribute evenly. 


4.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. 


5.  While the cake is in the refrigerator, crush the heath bars.  (I put mine in a Ziploc baggie and used my wooden spoon to break up the bars). 


6.  After the cake has chilled for at least one hour, "frost" the cake with cool whip. 


7.  Garnish the cake with the Heath Bar pieces.  I suggest waiting until right before serving to garnish. 


Enjoy!

Easter S'Mores Jars

I found this absolutely adorable idea on Pinterest and I COULD. NOT. RESIST. These jars are cute as a button!  And, the person you give them to gets to add a few ingredients and make them into S'mores Bars.  Perfect!  The jars are simple to assemble and the bars are easy for the recipient to make.  This is a perfect Easter Gift for the little people in your lives, but some adult supervision will be required to make the S'mores Bars.  My mom and I made a  whole batch of these jars to give to the kids in our family. 


Adapted from: Creative Holiday Gift Ideas


Here's what you need to make 1 jar:
1 One Quart Mason Jar
23 Hersey Kisses
8 Peeps
1/2 of a sleeve of Graham Crackers, crushed
1/4 cup of Brown Sugar


Here's what you do to assemble the jar:
1.  Clean the jar. 
2.  Put the crushed Graham Crackers in a baggie.  Add the Brown Sugar.  Set aside.
3.  Put the Hersey Kisses in the bottom of the jar. 
4.  Put the Peeps in the jar, with their faces facing out (so you can see their faces from the outside).  We could only fit 7 around the perimeter of the jar, so we stuck the 8th one inside the "circle" of Peeps.  
5.  Put the baggie of Graham Crackers and Brown sugar inside the jar above peeps. 
6.  Put the lid on the mason jar. 
7.  Create a recipe card with the instructions listed below.  Attach the recipe card to the jar with a piece of festive ribbon.  Ta Da!  You're done!


For the recipe card:
1.  Remove the contents of the jar and put on the kitchen counter. 
2.  Unwrap and cut Hersey Kisses into halves or quarters.  Put in a medium sized mixing bowl. 
3.  Cut (or tear) the Peeps into pieces.  Add to the mixing bowl. 
4.  Add the contents of the baggie to the mixing bowl. 
5.  Add 1 tsp of Vanilla to the mixing bowl. 
6.  Add 1/4 cup of melted Butter to the mixing bowl. 
7.  Stir the contents of the mixing bowl well. 
8.  Pour the contents of the mixing bowl into a small, well-greased baking dish. 
9.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. 


Enjoy!  Happy Easter!!

Double Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcakes

See that right there?  That's the most amazing mistake ever.  Seriously.  I decided to try to make this.  Except I didn't really read very closely and I accidentally bought the wrong ingredients.  And, I love cupcakes, so I made them in cupcake form, of course.


I was making these for one of my book club meetings.  Except I ran out of time to make them in advance and had to make them after I got home from teaching the night before our meeting.  So, I got home around 9:30 pm and quickly threw together my version of this cupcake.  But I didn't want to make a whole batch of my version and have them be terrible, because I had no time to make something delicious if they bombed.  So, I made one cupcake and put it in the oven, thinking if it came out terrible, I could try to save the rest of the batter.  Then I heated up my dinner and sat on the kitchen floor in front of my oven and watched my single cupcake bake.  It was kinda like watching grass grow, except way more exciting.  And, the end result was much more rewarding, I think!


See how the center of the cupcakes are darker than the outside?  That's because the center is filled full of delicious moist fudge.  And see how the tops look all sticky and gooey?  They are.  In the most delicious way possible, too.  I thought the marshmallow would have been over the top with all the chocolate, but I couldn't have been more wrong.  Marshmallow + Chocolate = LOVE.  


These cupcakes must be eaten warm. (See the italics PLUS the underline??? I'm not kidding.)   I took leftovers to work and left step by step instructions requiring those eating them to heat them in the microwave before eating.


The marshmallow melts into the cupcake, which gets pretty messy.  I recommend eating with a fork. 


Source:  Confessions of a Cookbook Queen 


Here's what you need:
1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix and the eggs, oil and water called for on the box
1 Jar Hard Shell Chocolate Ice Cream Topping (like this)
1 7oz jar Marshmallow Fluff


Here's what you do:


1.  Prepare and bake cupcakes according to directions on the box. 


2.  As soon as the cupcakes are baked, pull them out of the oven.  Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke one large hole in the center of each cupcake (you want one large hole, not many small ones). 


3.  Fill each hole with the chocolate ice cream topping.

4.  Put a dollop of marshmallow fluff on top of each cupcake. 


5.  Return the cupcakes to the oven and bake for about 2 more minutes. 


6.  SERVE WARM!


Enjoy!

Energy Balls

My good friend Amber suggested that I try her AMAZING recipe for energy balls.  A while ago.  Like, last October.  I quickly opened the recipe because I get all excited when my friends and family share recipes with me!  Then I read the ingredients and quickly closed the recipe.  Pfffffft!  This recipe calls for wheat germ or flaxseed.   And no sugar.  At all!?!  NO SUGAR????  Are you kidding me?   Clearly, she didn't know me very well.  

So I thanked her for her recipe and told her I'd put it on my list of recipes to try.  Then I scoffed inside.  Because I knew there was nooooo way I was going to make that silly hippie food. 

Well, I've been feeling a little low on energy lately (helllllooo 15 hour work days).  So, this weekend I got desperate.  And decided to try her hippie energy balls.  I had most of the ingredients on hand, so why not?  And, I just knew that when I ate one and it tasted like cardboard, I'd be vindicated.  And I could return to sugar as my main source of energy. 

So, I made them.  And then I ate one.  And then I ate like one million more.  Because these things are deeeelicious, people.  There's no saving my pride here, folks.  I owe Amber one big fat apology.  So, here it is.  You were right and I was wrong.  (God, I hate how that sounds!)

Have a little faith in me and give these things a shot.  Seriously, I promise, you won't be disappointed.  They require very few ingredients and very little time.  They're scrumptious, healthy, and they give you energy.  What do you have to lose? 

I like these so much that I'm already trying to come up with variations.  But, for now, here is my version of Amber's  Energy Balls:

Here's what you need:

1 cup Quick Oats

2 heaping tbsp Peanut Butter

1/2 cup Honey

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 c wheat germ or flaxseed

2 tsp Vanilla

Here's what you do:

1.  Mix everything together. 

2.  Refrigerate for 1 hour. 

3.  Roll into one inch balls. 

4.  Enjoy!  Seriously -- that's it. 

FYI -- Amber's recipe also called for coconut and dried fruit.  I'm picky.  I don't like coconut, so I omitted that.  And dried fruit just didn't sound like it would fit all that well with all the other ingredients, so I kicked that out too.  I could have been wrong about that.  I've been wrong about other things.  *aaahheeemm*  Feel free to add those back in.  She suggested a cup of each. 

Oreo Pie

I know it's Fall now and this is kind of a Summer recipe, but I've spent every. waking. moment. fixing up the house I bought so that I can move in already.  This project is a lot more time consuming than I expected.  So, I just haven't been able to cook nearly as much as I'd like (almost not at all **gasp**).  This will all be worth it in the end.  There is a brand new oven/stove just waiting for me to get the house done so I can get in there and use it!  This is a delicious pie that is super simple to make and I haven't shared it yet.  So here it is.

Here's what I used:
1 Oreo Pie Crust
8 Ounces of Cream Cheese, softened
8 Ounces Whipped Topping (Cool Whip), thawed
2 Tsp. Vanilla
1 Package of Oreo Cookies

Here's what I did:
1.  Crushed 10 Oreo Cookies.  I placed mine in a plastic baggie and beat them with a meat tenderizer.

2.  Combined the Cream Cheese and the Whipped Topping.

3.  Mixed in the vanilla.

4.  Stirred the cookie pieces into the cream cheese/whipped topping mixture.  Be careful to stir only long enough to evenly distribute the cookies.

5.  Poured the mixture into the pie crust.

6.  Refrigerated for a couple of hours to let it set up.

I garnished the pieces with a whole Oreo Cookie when serving.  I've tried this with Double Stuff Oreos and it comes out just as good -- just a little more rich.

Enjoy!

No Bake Cookies

I can cook up a storm when it comes to baking cookies.  I've never been able to make a  No Bake Cookie.  Not even to save my life.  Seriously, if someone told me I had to make a no bake cookie or die, I'd be as good as gone. . .  until . . . I found this recipe!  I conquered the No Bake!

I don't even like No Bakes.  The texture is unpleasant to me (I'm finicky about the texture of my food).  That probably has something to do with my inability to make them.  I did try one of these cookies after I made them.  It tasted pleasant, but I still couldn't get over that texture. 

The people who I shared them with (read: the poor souls who are kind enough to eat the results of my never ending recipe experiment) reported that the No Bake Cookies were really good.  And these are the kind of folks who are not gonna blow smoke for me.  So, you're just gonna have to rely on their opinions and give it a shot yourself!

Slightly adapted from: Indecisive Baker

Here's what I used:

1/2 Stick of Butter
1/2 Cup of Milk
2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1/4 Tsp Salt
3 Heaping Tbsps Cocoa
1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
2 3/4 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
1 Cup Mini Marshmallows
 
Here's what I did:

In a saucepan I melted the Butter and then added the Milk, Sugar, Vanilla, Salt and Cocoa.  I let that mixture boil for 90 seconds (don't let it boil longer than that!).   

After the 90 seconds, I removed the pan from the heat and immediately added the Peanut Butter.  After I mixed the Peanut Butter in completely, I added the Oats.  (You may use slightly more or less oats than I did -- somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 cups) 

After the Oats were mixed in, I added the Miniature Marshmallows and stirred just until it was well combined.  

Finally, I dropped the cookies by heaping Teaspoon full onto waxed paper.  Let them cool completely before you eat them.

Enjoy!  

Biscuit Pizzas

I used to make these little pizzas with my mom and my sister when I was growing up.  I totally forgot about them until a couple of months ago when I was trying to come up with some ideas for heavy appetizers to serve at one of my book clubs.  These just randomly popped into my head.  So I made them, and I was reminded of how simple and delicious they are.  They can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish.  I’ve eaten them as both in the last couple of months.  As is the case with any pizza, you can modify the toppings to fit your tastes.  And, they’re a great food to let the kiddos help make -- I remember how excited I’d get when my mom would let me help with these. 

Here’s what I used:

1 Can of Biscuits

1 Partial Jar of Pizza Sauce

1 Partial Package of Pepperoni Slices

1 Cup of finely shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese

1 Cup of finely shredded Italian Cheese Mix

1 Small Can of Black Olives, sliced

1 Small Can of Mushrooms, sliced

Here’s what I did:

I preheated my oven according to the directions on the can of biscuits.

At my local Wal-Mart, I couldn’t find a single can of regular biscuits.  If I wanted regular ole’ biscuits, I had to buy a four pack.  What am I going to do with four cans of biscuits?  I don’t know either.  So, instead, I bought 1 can of Jumbo Flakey Buttermilk Biscuits.  That whole rant was to tell you that if you buy the jumbo flakey biscuits, you should divide each biscuit in half-ish horizontally before you get started. 

After dividing my biscuits in half horizontally, I laid each half biscuit on a cookie sheet (if you have a regular can of biscuits, use the full biscuit, don’t half it).  I put down parchment paper because I’ve learned that parchment paper makes my life easier. 

Then you need to find some apparatus in your kitchen to push down the center of each biscuit, creating a wall to hold the pizza sauce in.  I used the bottom of a plastic measuring cup.  When I was little we used the bottom of child sized Tupperware drinking cups.  I dipped the bottom of the measuring cup in flour (to keep the cup from sticking to the biscuit) and then gently pressed down on each biscuit to create an indention with walls to hold the sauce in. 

Then, I spooned a little bit of pizza sauce into each biscuit.  I’d say I used about 1 to 2 Tablespoons of sauce per biscuit.

Finally, I added the toppings.   

 

  

Some of the pizzas I made had just pepperoni and cheese.  Others had black olives and mushrooms as well.  Just use your imagination – the possibilities are endless! 

After I had all the toppings on the pizzas, I threw the pan in the oven and let them bake for about 8-10 minutes. 

     HINT:  Keep an eye on your pizzas and be sure to remove them when the biscuits

                get a golden brown color and your cheese is melted. 

Here are what mine looked like fresh out of the oven:

Let them cool a couple of minutes before you eat them.

Enjoy!