Cream Cheese Stuffed Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

Earlier this week I got home from a walk and really wanted to sink my teeth into a gooey cinnamon roll.  (That would probably defeat the purpose of the walk, right?)  Later I remembered that I had some cream cheese left in the fridge that needed to be eaten or tossed.  And that's how this creation was born!  I'm usually not creative enough to come up with new recipes on my own (not that this really counts as a recipe), but these were really, really good!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

4 oz. cream cheese (I use reduced fat)
1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus a little more for the icing
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 package refrigerated crescent rolls (I use reduced fat)
cooking spray
cinnamon
sugar
milk

Mix cream cheese, 1/3 cup powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy.  Place mixture in a piping bag or put it in a plastic bag and cut the tip of one corner off so that you can pipe the mixture through the hole.

Separate crescent rolls and lay them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Lightly spray each roll with cooking spray and then sprinkle each with cinnamon and sugar.  Pipe a small amount of cream cheese mixture onto the wide end of each roll.  Roll up the crescent rolls, starting with the wide end.  Lightly spray the tops of the rolls with cooking spray again and sprinkle with some more cinnamon and sugar.  Bake according to package directions for the crescent rolls.

To make the icing, mix a little powdered sugar with some milk.  It only take just a splash of milk.  Start with a little and you can always add more.  Drizzle rolls with icing.

Note:  I prepared these at night, refrigerated them, and baked them in the morning.

Ham & Potato Casserole

Here's another recipe from my Mama!  There's not much to say about this other than it's really yummy and you should try it!

Ham & Potato Casserole
From Joanna Knox

2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1 large onion, diced
1 pound cooked ham, diced
cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk

Saute onion until it begins to caramelize.  In a 9x13" pan layer potatoes, onion, ham and cheddar.

Melt butter in a saucepan.  Whisk in flour and salt until combined.  Add milk and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken.  Pour mixture over casserole.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 15-30 minutes more.  

Salsa Chicken

Ugh!  I forgot to take a picture!  No excuses today...just plain forgot!

I don't even remember where I got this recipe from.  I've been making it since I was in college.  It was one of the first recipes I started cooking for dinner after I moved out of the dorms and had to start preparing all my own meals.  It is simple, healthy and good!

Salsa Chicken

chicken tenders
salt
pepper
cumin
garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder
salsa
cheddar cheese, grated

Place chicken tenders in a baking dish.  Sprinkle with spices.  Pour salsa over chicken so that chicken is evenly covered.  Top with cheese.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.  Serve over rice.

Note: I didn't include any measurements because I never measure for this dish.  Just use enough chicken to feed your family and eyeball the other ingredients to your liking.  You could leave out the cheese if you want it to be really healthy.

Crispy Potatoes

A few years ago my cousin, Jaclyn, put together a book of favorite family recipes.  I love looking through this book because it brings back memories of eating family meals in my Nanny's kitchen with everyone happily bickering with one another.  Those were some of my favorite times.  Sometime soon I'll have to post the all-time favorite Jarchow recipe for chalupa.  But for now, this is a recipe of Jaclyn's that I'd never had before.  I modified it just a tad.  It is a great side dish.  We had it this week with the pulled pork I posted yesterday.  Thanks, Jaclyn, for this recipe and the wonderful book!

Crispy Potatoes
Adapted from Jaclyn Meng

2 cans diced potatoes
4-5 tablespoons ranch dressing mix
cooking spray

Drain water from potatoes.  Sprinkle dressing mix over potatoes and stir until evenly coated.  Spray foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray.  Spread potatoes out on foil.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes and then broil for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes start to get brown and crispy.

Note:  I've also made this with Italian dressing mix.  

Barbecue Pulled Pork

We had this twice this week and both times I forgot to take a picture.  I guess that's what happens when you have a hungry baby hanging on your leg while you try to fix dinner.

I've been making this recipe for 3-4 years.  I love how easy it is!  It is also very adaptable, freezes well and you make it in the slow cooker!  You can make more or less depending on the size of the pork tenderloin you buy.  You can use whatever soda and sauce you have on hand.  You may want some extra sauce to add if you like a lot of sauce.  I've never thought of it before, but next time I'll try adding some liquid smoke.

Barbecue Pulled Pork

1 pork tenderloin (plain, not marinated)
1-2 cans dark cola (root beer, Coke, Dr Pepper)
1 bottle of barbecue sauce

Place pork in slow cooker.  Pour cola over pork.  Add enough water to cover pork.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Remove pork from liquid and shred with 2 forks.  Pour out all liquid and return shredded pork to slow cooker.  Add sauce and stir to combine.  Cook on low for 30 minutes to an hour.

Gold Rush Brownies

Here's another family recipe!  I really don't know where this recipe came from, but my family has been making it forever.  It's great when you need a quick chocolate fix!

Gold Rush Brownies

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I use fat free)
1 small bag chocolate chips (or 1 1/2 cups)
9 graham crackers (the large rectangles, usually 1 sleeve), crushed in food processor (or 2 cups graham cracker crumbs)
1 cup pecans (optional, I leave them out)

Mix all ingredients together.  Bake at 350 in a greased 8" square pan for about 30 minutes.

Strawberry Cake

What better dessert to make for Valentine's Day than a pink cake?!  A yummy, strawberry, pink cake!  And it happens to be my hubby's favorite...win, win, win!

This recipe has been in my family as long as I can remember.  My grandmother makes it and so does my mom, and we even have pictures of this cake at my 2nd birthday party.  I think it has evolved a little over the years.  My grandmother makes it as a layer cake and her icing is thicker.  This is the way my mom makes it.   It is super moist and delicious!

Strawberry Cake
From Margaret Knox and Joanna Knox

1 box white cake mix
1 3-oz. package strawberry jello
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup water
16 oz. frozen sliced strawberries, thawed (the kind in a tub, not a bag)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Puree strawberries in a blender or food processor.

Mix cake mix, jello, flour, oil, eggs, vanilla, water and a little more than half the strawberries.  Bake in a greased 9x13" pan at 350 for about 30 minutes or until done.

Once the cake has cooled, prick it several times with a fork.  This will allow the icing to soak into the cake.  Mix the rest of the strawberries, powdered sugar and butter on high speed until well blended.  Pour over cake.