Weekend Wrap: Snowman Pancakes

I have been dying to share my photos of our Snowman Pancakes. My daughter just loved them so much and although it doesn't snow here in the Phoenix area, we can still pretend we've got snowmen out front in the yard :)



Using two pancakes we formed the body of Mr. Snowman. Then while the pancake was still warm, I pushed in blueberries for his eyes and smile. Mini marshmallows for the snow base and a strip of bacon for his red scarf! So cute! 

Send me your pictures of your Christmas Wintery Breakfast to my Facebook. I'd love to see them.
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Weekend Wrap: Green Chili Crock Pot Chicken

This week, like many of us I'm sure, I was running a bit short on time. Wrapping up all the Thanksgiving festivities, scheduling out all of our Christmas parties, shopping and more, Christmas Shopping, Christmas Cards,  and more; so finding time for a yummy delicious dinner was, well, I hate to say it, but on the back burner.

I had a can of Green Chili Enchilada sauce in my pantry so instantly I thought - Chicken in a Crock Pot! Yum! (and easy of course)





I added about a teaspoon of Cayenne pepper and some seasoning salt to the sauce and then placed 3 boneless skinless chicken breast in the Crock Pot. (you can put them in thawed or frozen, doesn't matter - just takes a bit longer on cooking time if they are frozen).

4 busy hours later - Green Chili Chicken! -   now that's my kind of meal! 





We wrapped them in tortillas with refried beans and shredded cheddar cheese for burritos!

What is so marvelous about this chicken is, after our burrito night, we are now enjoying it over nachos and also mixed with refried beans as a bean dip! So many delicious meals and snacks that took about 5 minutes of preparation and 4 hours of "I don't have to think about it" cooking hours!

Enjoy

Weekend Wrap: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Taking a moment before I jump right into Christmas mania, to talk about my wonderful Great Grandma Johnson. For years, every Christmas she would make all of us yummy cinnamon rolls that came all bundled together on a plate to enjoy. When I was first married I made sure to make a trip down to her home so she could teach me her recipe. (keep in mind, these photos are from a few years ago)










Great Grandma is always so humble, never to boast about anything of her doings, and she is appreciated by us more than she'll ever take credit for. Not only did we get to look forward to her yummy cinnamon rolls, but also to homemade pajamas ever Christmas, hand crochet's slippers and a cross stitched memento of some sort, usually an ornament. Although I haven't gotten into the cross stitching yet, I have made a few crocheted slippers, working on my daughters first pair of homemade pajamas and yes, I'm about to carry on the cinnamon roll tradition.





I love that my kids will be able to enjoy the sweet comfort of Great Grandma even though we are miles a part. Maybe next time we go visit, I'll be the one to bring the goodies!


And you thought I was going to give out the recipe, didn't you? 

Weekend Wrap: Something Spice, Something Nice

For the past week or so my husband has been commenting about how much he and a co-worker of his enjoys spice cake. In fact, a week ago Friday, he suggested I make Spice Cake flavored "Cake Balls." For those of you that don't know about the cake ball trend, it is simply baked cake, mixed with frosting, rolled into a ball and dipped in chocolate. (yum).

He says, "Oooo, spice cake and white frosting, so delicious."

"White frosting sweetie? Don't you mean a cream cheese frosting?"

"No - white, that's the only way to have it."

"No, I'm pretty sure you are thinking CREAM CHEESE"

(And yes, this is a typical evening conversation in our home)


I told him to go talk to his co-worker about which frosting and that I was certainly positive that spice cake would have a cream cheese frosting. (all the while being in disbelief that this was even a discussion. I thought it was something we agreed on)

The following day, he comes back and responds, "Yes, you were right, as always, it's cream cheese" (ok, so maybe not those exact words, but I was definitely right).


I decided that I really did not want to bake a cake from scratch to turn into cake balls, not that night at least, so I thumbed through some of my recipes and came across one that was in a Holiday Magazine by Paula Deen.


Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Filling and an Orange Cream Cheese Frosting was exactly what his co-workers needed, at least I thought so!




Before I get started with the recipe I want to make a few notes.

• Start out by making the filling first as it needs to be refrigerated for at least 2 hours. 
• When stirring your cranberry filling over medium-low heat, it states to heat for 15 minutes, which for me it only took about 12-13. 
• The recipe calls to make a three-tiered cake, but personally I always make a two-tiered cake instead of three. (For a few reasons: (1) three tiers is way too much cake for one slice, (2) sometimes one cake doesn't come out of the pan clean enough for my liking, so I always just plan to have a back-up layer (3) by only making two tiers I am able to sample the cake before serving it to guests.
• If you plan to slice the cake before serving it, refrigerate it once you frost the cake; this will make the frosting and cake firm enough to have a clean slice. 
•  For the lemon and orange zest, you can usually get 1 teaspoon out of one lemon, and 1 tablespoon out of 1- 1 1/2 oranges. 
• You can garnish the cake with gingerbread cookies (which I didn't), but I think gingersnaps crumbled on top (or bottom) would also be really yummy.
• If you choose to only make a two tiered cake like I do, use the additional layer to make 1/2 a cake. Slice it in half and prepare like you would a whole cake (filling and frosting). This also works well if you want to serve more cake for a larger crowd, pre-slice your cake like I did and you'll have at least 5 more slices.
• I thought the cake tasted even better the day after, verses the day of, as the filling was able to sink in to part of the cake, so delicious!

Ok, now on to the recipe:

Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Filling

Makes 1 (9-inch) cake)

CAKE:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsulfured molasses
3 large eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 cups whole buttermilk

CRANBERRY FILLING:

(Makes about 1 cup)
16 ounce can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

(Makes about 3 cups)
8 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1/2 cup butter -- softened
1 tablespoon orange zest
4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

GARNISH: Gingerbread cookies

CAKE -
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 3 (9-inch) cake pans with non-stick cooking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, molasses, and eggs. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well combined.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, lemon zest, salt, and cloves. Gradually add to oil mixture, alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour evenly into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cook completely on wire racks. Spread Cranberry Filling evenly between layers. Spread Orange Cream Cheese Frosting on top and sides of cake. Garnish with gingerbread cookies, if desired. Note: Pepperidge Farm and Archway make gingerbread cookies.

Cranberry Filling -
In a medium saucepan, combine cranberry sauce, orange zest, and orange juice. Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, or until thickened. Cover and chill for 2 hours. Makes about 1 cup.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting -
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and orange zest at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in confectioner's sugar until smooth. Makes about 3 cups.

Source:
"Paula Deen's Holiday Baking 2008"

I am definitely going to be adding this to my favorites recipes and cannot wait to bake it again!

As Promised

As promised, here I am posting pictures and links about yesterday's post. My family and I made a quick flight back home over the weekend, so I was away from all of my pictures and info and such.

Back to Sweet Somethings -- So good! I think I might just grab some on my way out to California this week getting ready for my book release party.

Ok -- whoa whoa whoa - stop everything. Apparently I was on a sugar high, but this delicious bakery is called Something Sweet - not Sweet Somethings - hah! Sorry, I must be loosing it.


Something Sweet is located in Ahwatukee in the Safeway/Trader Joes parking lot off of Chandler blvd.



Here are also a few articles that were printed about her bakery:

http://www.ahwatukee.com/news/business/article_4f36c690-4c4a-11e0-8e70-001cc4c002e0.html

http://www.ahwatukee.com/news/business/article_9d1ea958-e638-11e0-bf63-001cc4c03286.html

Hope you'll stop by sometime.

Weekend Wrap: For my fellow Arizonians

Todays weekend wrap goes out to my fellow Arizonians to highlight a local bakery in our hometown of Ahwatukee. Sweet Somethings recently opened up just down the street from my home and I am in love. I had the wonderful priviledge of meeting the owner Tina and heard her stories of always having the dream of owning a bakery.

I am currently away from my computer with all my photos so Lord willing I promise to post photos and links about this great bakery tomorrow. Until then I hope you all have a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Weekend Wrap: Apple Cider Pancakes

I've been on somewhat of a pancake kick lately! Especially for dinner! This week the craving struck again and of course I answered! Usually when I'm making pancakes for dinner, I just whip up a batch from the side of a Bisquick box and I love making the Supreme Melt In Your Mouth ones. I had decided to experiment a little so I added two packets of apple cider mix to the batter and it was delicious. Just a hint of that fall time favorite was the perfect addition to my late night breakfast classic.



What's your favorite thing to mix into pancakes?

Weekend Wrap: Apple Cider

This weekend, my husband and I took the kids to a REAL pumpkin patch....a REAL one -- not a cardboard box at the grocery store....or a tent in a dirt parking lot (not that there is anything wrong with those, we tend to frequent that type of pumpkin "picking" on a yearly basis) but a real pumpkin patch, where we were able to pick the pumpkins right off the vine...It was gorgeous there, but part of my favorite experience  (despite the joy in my daughters eyes) was enjoying a delicious bottle of fresh apple cider...




Nothing beats it! My husband expressed his enjoyment by saying, "It tastes like I am drinking a red apple!"
Thank you Plumper Pumpkin Patch for such a wonderful time!

Last Halloween I made up some delicious homemade apple cider myself, I'm thinking I need to dig out the recipe....when I do I'll be sure to share.

What is your favorite fall time drink?

Weekend Wrap: Recipe Time!

Here you thought I forgot about you this weekend....Nope! I surely didn't. (I gave this topic the title of "weekend" wrap for a reason! lol --- got me the whole weekend to post about it!)

I was in California this weekend for a dear friend of mine. Her mom passed away and we all gathered together for her funeral this past Friday.

While I was there, the kids and I stayed with my Aunt, who is a phenomenal baker. Phenomenal might even be an understatement. Anyways, any time I'm there we are always talking about recipes, what she has made, and what she plans to make.

This time she made sure to show me one of the recipes she had been saving, knowing that I would absolutely love to make it!

It looked so delicious I immediately wrote it down. It's pretty easy .... so perfect for the blog too!

Savory Party Bread



Doesn't it look delicious???

The recipe comes from Taste of Home and can be found here, but the version we had was slightly different. Here is the recipe that was clipped out of a magazine she had...

Ingredient
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 round loaf sourdough bread  1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, slice
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2-3 tsp poppyseeds

Cut bread diagonally into 1-in. slices to within 1/2 in. of bottom of loaf. Repeat cuts in opposite direction. Arrange cheese slices in cuts. Combine butter, onion and poppyseeds. Drizzle butter mixture over bread.

Wrap loaf in foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 8 servings.

Enjoy!
EnParty Cheese Bread2 50  

Weekend Wrap: Chicken Cacci-what?

Chicken Cacciatore --- what is it?

For some reason, I was caught up on the fact that Chicken Cacciatore was a dish made with a red sauce, but then mixed with green olives and some sort of peppers, along with chicken. Do not ask me where I dreamed that up from. So any time I ever saw the name of this recipe I always flipped on to the next page in the cookbook, as I knew my husband would freak out not care for this if it was served for dinner.

A few weeks ago, I'm not sure how it was brought up in topic, but I remember my mom saying, "Why not make Chicken Cacciatore?" I looked at her in disbelief that she thought I would make that for the family. She then proceeded to say that she use to make it all the time and that my brother loves it.

No recollection here?

I tried explaining this dish that I had apparently dreamed up and she said all she would do is throw spaghetti sauce and chicken in a crock pot and it made an amazing dinner.

Which brings me back to my first question: What is Chicken Cacciatore?

According to Wikipedia, Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian. When referring it to a cooking style it means that you cook it "hunting style"; with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, herbs and mushrooms. (Apparently I wasn't so off base with my dreamed up Chicken Cacciatore now was I?)

I then skimmed through a Google search of Chicken Cacciatore and not one recipe was alike. All made with different ingredients, looking amazing in their own unique ways. (I love recipes! They are so based on ones interpretation of a meal).

Well, I went ahead and made OUR VERSION of Chicken Cacciatore and let me tell you, WE ARE HOOKED! I am so in love with this meal.

And guess what?  I'm even sharing my recipe! Can you believe that?

Little insider tip to our new guilty pleasure. My husband and I took the chicken cooked in tomato sauce, scooped it on to pieces of crispy garlic bread, topped it with mozzarella cheese, and sunk our teeth into the savory flavors of each amazing bite. You seriously need to try this!



Chicken Cacciatore:

3 cans tomato sauce (15 oz. cans)
2 cans tomato paste (6 oz. cans)
1 Tablespoon Garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons Seasoning Salt
1/4 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
2 teaspoons Roasted Garlic
3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Mix all ingredients, excluding chicken, in a medium sized Crock Pot. Once well blended, add Chicken. Cook on high for about 4 hours or until chicken can easily pull apart.

Serve over Rigatoni or Spaghetti Noodles. Or like mentioned previously, try the amazing version of Chicken Cacciatore Cheese Bread! YUM

Arizona Pre-Release Party

As promised, I am here Sunday morning blogging about last nights party. The warmth of support and loving, encouraging words overwhelmed me last night and I owe it all to my friends and family who have believed in me throughout this entire journey. It was so inspiring having everyone here, ask about my book, enjoy the food I made and just to hear the joyous conversations throughout my home! Thank you all so very much for coming and continuing to give me the support as my book releases on October 11th!

Of course I couldn't leave this post without any pictures, so I've posted a few that I took on my camera. We had excellent photographers throughout the evening, so once I get those prints back of course they will be posted as well.

For Appetizers I served all recipes from my book (of course) which included: Salsa Chicken, Chipotle Salsa, Burttery Golden Cornbread, Just Like Mama's Chili, Cheesy Potato Casserole and a Party Sandwich, oh yes, and Snuggle Pigs too! For take home gifts, I packaged some of my Good Morning Cinnamon (monkey bread) along with my business card.

We also had a raffle going throughout the night, which my daughter chose the lucky winner which was........drum roll please......NIKI HEINEN! She won an autographed copy of my book, several cooking items, plus a gift certificate to my parents ice cream parlor: Chaparral, in Wickenburg, AZ.


I am so anxious to get the pictures back so I can post more and more!! Here are a few as promised:

Weekend Wrap: TODAY'S THE DAY!

Today's the day == BOOK RELEASE PARTY DAY!!

I know you are going to be totally bummed, but I barely had a breather to say a quick hello....but wanted to let you all know that I will be posting tomorrow about the event....so sit tight, I'll be back tomorrow.

Weekend Wrap: Tour de Southern California

Last week, the kids and I spent some time in Sunny Southern California, hitching a ride with my mom, while waiting for my hubby to drive out the following weekend to join us.

We had such a blast spending time with our friends and family, but the cherry on top was getting to visit all of my favorite spots, plus enjoying some homemade goodies too!

Now, I will be posting most of everything we I consumed over the week, with the exception of a few meals I made myself (including peanut butter & jellys, mac & cheese, carnation instant breakfasts, etc) and some homemade goodness from my sister-in-law, so PLEASE - DO NOT START ADDING UP THE CALORIES. Yes, I know, I ate like I was a pregnant lady ready to pop, but hey! I was on vacation!

To start our trip, we of course had to stop by my parents ice cream parlor (and restaurant) Chaparral Homemade Ice Cream. With pretty much every meal they serve up my mom's secret recipe cheese ball, so my dad created what he calls the Wicken-bagel (because their town name is Wickenburg). They pick up some fresh bagels, toast them in their huge pizza oven and spread the cheese ball all over the center...sooo yummy...



From there we headed into Southern California, where my mom's long time friend picked us up our favorite mexican food from Juanita's. If you've ever eaten there you know what I'm talking about! My mom has been going there since she was in highschool, and carried on the tradition with me. What I find most entertaining is, the location of Juanita's is in a very...very.....not so great part of town, and if it were any other place other than Juanita's I'm sure my dad would have given me some long lecture of why I should NOT BE GOING THERE, but yet, for some reason, when we said, "Oh we're going to Juanita's", everything seemed A-O-K.



On Saturday, I met one of my favorite friends at Woodranch. I am completely bummed out that we do not have any of these in Arizona, but at the same time, it's probably a good thing. If you've eaten at Woodranch, then you know how amazing their butter rolls are that they bring to your table. At one point, our waitress brought us out a fresh steaming basket, because our full basket had cooled...A-MAZ-ZING! I'm thinking I should email them and suggest heading out to the Grand Canyon State!





After enjoying our Sundayg in 77 degree weather down in San Diego (which is quite a change from the consistent 108 degree's in Phoenix), my aunt and uncle dished up quite a delicious bbq. Charcoal grilled chicken, fresh veggies, corn on the cob, baby potatoes and mouth watering watermelon..YUM. For dessert, she whipped up homemade chocolate pudding, which as you can tell, my daughter loved.











Oh yes, I almost failed to mention, on Saturday, my Aunt (and daughter Aliyah) baked us a Buttermilk Pound Cake with Custard Sauce....





Now, if you know me well, you know my love for donuts. GOOD DONUTS. Growing up in So. Cal, we would have donuts all the time. Heck, I remember driving past three donut shops, just to go to my favorite one (Manna's Donuts), which later ended up having another donut shop right in the same parking lot. We'd get them for sports games, take them to work, or even drop by before church. When I moved to Arizona with my husband, we shared the same passion for donuts, and were very disappointed to realize that Arizona really does not have ANY GREAT DONUTS.  I mean seriously...Dunkin Donuts? No-Thank-You. After searching for over 4 years now, we have come across a few shops here and there that are managable, but still nothing like California, oh and I forgot to mention -- we have to drive at least 15-20 miles, just to come close to one of these mom and pop shops! Outrageous right???!!

Well, after my third morning at my Aunts, my Uncle finally came down the stairs saying, "No donuts this trip Jackie?" I replied with the fact that I was trying to hold out until Jeff (my husband) came that following weekend so we could go together. He then followed up with................what I used as an excuse to HAVE TO GO.....by him saying "Oh man, I can't remember the last time I had a donut.....probably the last time you were here." Seriously -- how could I let the guy down? We headed into downtown Murrieta and treated ourselves to one of the best donut shops I've ever had...probably even better than my childhood favorite Manna Donuts in Chino.



Our trip at my aunts concluded with Homemade Alfredo Sauce over angel hair pasta and a penne dish with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella. I love pasta!!





As we waited Tuesday afternoon for my mother-in-law to take us on to the next portion of our vacation, I sunk my teeth into some fresh homemade bread, buttered and smothered in honey. I even snuck in a few extra pieces while the kids where taking their naps. 




While spending some time at my sister and brother's home, one of their favorite fast food spots is Bakers. I remember loving their bean and cheese burritos, but hadn't eaten there in probably over 10 years. Of course we had to pick up a bite and it was just as yummy as I remember it being.....



My sisters and I picked up one of my favorite spots in Chino for dinner Wednesday which was at the Riverside Grill. If you've never been there before it's easy to miss as the entire patio is covered in trees and vines.



On Friday my husband finally arrived and we drove down to Huntington Beach to take the kids to the ocean for the first time. As a child, my husband and his family (along with many other friends and family) would go to the beach ever Wednesday. He remembered getting strips and cheese from Jacks right on the board walk. As we sat there together as a family, he reminisced of all the fond memories he has from going to the beach. He laughed a bit to himself, remembering how much trouble they would get in if they ordered  a soda. Strips and Cheese were all they were allowed, since they brought their own drinks.....but he mumbles to me, "But sometimes all I wanted was a Dr. Pepper, and mom didn't bring that all the time." So funny.

I remember ordering Strips and Cheese for the first time and being shocked that the cheese wasn't melted over top the thin crispy tortilla chips; but after taking that first crunch I was hooked!







We also walked down to the end of the pier to enjoy one of Ruby's rich chocolate milkshakes....



Friday evening, after our fun filled beach day we headed over to my old stomping grounds, JoJo's Pizza Kitchen. I worked there as a waitress throughout college and then moved in to their office area as Marketing Director before moving out to AZ. I absolutely loved working their as a waitress, so many fond memories, but most of all I think I miss my tips and "regulars" (the ones that would request my section). We chowed down on some delicious pizza, while my husband's Grandma said that they served her the best lasagna she has ever had in her life. For *dessert* we ordered their apple pie pizza (apple pie filling covered in mozzarella cheese all served on a homemade pizza crust) and took it home to enjoy ala mode!







You're probably wondering how much longer I can  go on with my food post today right? .....Oh I can go on...and I will :)

Saturday morning as my husband drove me and the kids on our way to another donut shop we passed by a hamburger joint I don't think I've ever been too. He nearly slammed on the breaks saying "THAT PLACE HAS AMAZING BREAKFAST BURRITOS!" Of course I couldn't pass something like that up! He was right; they were so delicious. I'm actually craving it already for the next time we go to CA.






After our big breakfast my bestest friend treated me to *lunch* at the Avocado House. Another spot that I had never been too, but have been dying to try. My aunt actually knows the owner and everyone that I've talked to has had such great experience there. The restaurant was really neat, as it is an old house converted into restaurant. You order at the counter as you see all of the busy employees in the kitchen rushing breakfast out to everyone. I knew I wanted a cinnamon roll as she makes them homemade, but I did not see any on her dessert table. I was getting a bit bummed, so was trying to come up with a back-up plan if she didn't have any left. "Mmmm....Butterscotch loaf cake....Yes I'll get that" The man in front of me must have been listening in on my thoughts because the moment I decided on Plan B, he snatched up my mini loaf cake....so disappointed. There were several Vanilla Cranberry loaf cakes and what looked to be delicious brownies on the table too, but to my pleasant surprise as we approached the counter, a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls were pulled from the oven.....Mmmmm.





And finally, the wedding we attended had the cutest cupcakes at our tables displayed beautifully. Flavors included Carrot Cake, Vanilla with Raspberry Lemon frosting and my personal favorite: Chocolate with banana and peanut butter frosting....



Although it may seem that my trip was all revolved around food, we did get to spend so much wonderful time with friends and family. We were able to be a part of one of my close family and friends special day uniting as husband and wife...and the cherry on top was enjoying  delicious bites of my favorite places; many of them childhood favorites and a few unexpected additions to my list.

Can't wait for our next trip..........to see everyone of course!