Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aoli

These tasty little treats were a yummy appetizer for a winter game night. The perfect combination of healthy and indulgence with a tangy garlic aoli.

Recipe adapted from Costa Kitchen

Brussel Sprouts Ingredients:
20 frozen Brussel Sprouts, partially thawed cut into halves
Canola Oil
Salt & Pepper

Aoli Ingredients:
6 tbs mayonnaise
1/4 tsp garlic minced fine
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbs flat leaf parsley chopped fine


Brussel Sprouts Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Place brussel sprouts on a baking sheet and drizzle with canola oil. Crack some fresh salt & pepper to taste. Mix around brussel sprouts on pan to ensure they all get nicely coated in the oil.
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on at least one side.

Aoli Directions:

Mix together mayonnaise, garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Serve in a ramekin.

Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever

Over the last year I've found several excuses to make these including preparation for Hurricane Sandy and for the morning after a New Year's Eve party. When the power is out and the house is cold and you're forced to make coffee using a french press a homemade cinnamon roll can go a long way (man that was a crazy party - JK oh, Sandy.)

 Recipe adapted from Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup margarine, melted

4 ½ cups all purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup white sugar

1 package active dry yeast

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

Frosting Ingredients:

3 ounces of cream cheese, softened

¼ cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.       Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, margarine, salt, and eggs. Add the flour in quarters and mix well. It will get a little tough, but keep at it until it’s well mixed! If it starts to get way too hard to mix anymore, dust your hands with some flour and finish mixing it by hand.

2.       Knead the dough into a large ball and put it back into the bowl. Cover it with a dish cloth and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

3.       Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F

4.       Roll dough into a large rectangle (Make sure not to roll it too thin, or it will rip when you roll it up). Spread dough with the softened butter and sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly over it. Roll the dough up and cut into rolls about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick (I always end up making a different number). (Dough can be stored in the fridge at this point for later use.)

5.       Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan (or two). Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about thirty minutes.

6.       Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together the ingredients for the frosting. Spread or drizzle it on warm rolls before serving.

Stuffed Red Bliss Potatoes

I love twice baked potatoes. Big and Small. and these tiny ones are so yummy - even left over.

Ingredients:  
8 small red bliss potatoes, about 2" diameter
1 tbsp light Mayonnaise
2 tbsp fat free sour cream
4 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic
2 tbsp fresh thyme (or rosemary)
3 tbsp grated parmesan or asagio cheese
salt and pepper to taste
paprika

Directions:

1. In a medium pot, cover potatoes in water and add 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until soft (about 12 minutes). Drain and run under cool water. Set aside.
2. While the potatoes cook, in a small pan, add oil and garlic and cook on very low heat, about 12 minutes, till soft. Remove garlic and discard oil. Mash garlic.
3. In a medium bowl combine garlic, thyme, cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix well.
4. Preheat oven to 350°. Using a teaspoon, scoop out potato leaving 1/4 inch shell.Mix the potato with the other ingredients and fill potato shells. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Best Sugar Cookies

This Valentine's Day I wanted to make heart shaped sugar cookies with leftover dough from Christmas. However, when I defrosted it and tried to roll it out, it just crumbled. So, I quick got on the interweb and found this gem - buttery sugar cookies that don't require any fridge time.

And then I found the perfect icing. It dried hard and shiny, but was still yummy and sweet.

Cookie recipe adapted from Food.com; Icing recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com

Cookie Ingredients
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 T vanilla
2 3/4 c flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt

Icing Ingredients
1 c. powdered sugar
2 t corn syrum
2 T water
1 T vanilla
food coloring

Cookie Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla.
3. Mix dry ingredients; add to wet ingredients 1 cup at a time
4. Don't chill dough. Roll out dough and cut cookies.
5. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 6-8 minutes until golden brown.

Icing Directions

1. Mix all ingredients and add water as needed.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I seriously love nothing more than cinnamon crunch or coffee cake or cinnamon swirl or whatever you want to call it muffins/bread/cake. I found this delicious recipe while preparing care packages to send to friends who are still in school. I knew immediately that I would have to double the recipe to keep some at home.

Recipe adapted from Mangio da Sola

Bread ingredients:
1 and 1/3 c. sugar
1 heaping Tbsp. cinnamon
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 c. milk
1/3 c. oil

Glaze ingredients:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Bread

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x3x13 loaf pan.
2. Mix 1/3 c. sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
3. Mix flour, remaining sugar, baking powder and salt in another bowl.
4. In another bowl, beat egg. Add milk and oil. 
5. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Batter will be lumpy. Do not overmix.
6. Pour half of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar on top. Pour remaining batter on top and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.
7. Bake 40-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Glaze

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Pour over the top of bread.