Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Puff Pastry Pumpkin Spice Rolls

 These are the easiest almost cinnamon rolls. We replace cinnamon with pumpkin spice and replace homemade dough with thawed puff pastry. Puff pastry is one of the easiest short cuts you can have on hand. These are a perfect fall snack or breakfast item.




So easy. Thaw the one piece of puff pastry per package instructions.


1/4 cup of brown sugar.


Mix with 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix. This smells so good.


Mix it well.


Melt 1 Tablespoon butter. I actually used a little bit more. 


Roll out the dough to a 12x9 rectangle. Brush the butter over all of it.


Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture all over the pastry.


Covered well.


Start on the long end start rolling it up. Try to get it tight so the good stuff doesn’t come out.


All rolled up. Use a serrated knife to cut into slices. Try to make them the same size.


Place on a parchment lined sheet. Place in a preheated 400 oven. Bake for about 17-18 minutes. Keep a close eye on them. You don’t want them to get too brown.


While they are baking start working on the icing. I make mine a little different than the recipe. Start with 3/4 cup of powdered sugar.


1 Tablespoon maple syrup.


Chop up about 1/4 cup pecans.


Nice and golden brown.


Sprinkle the tops with the pecans.


Now drizzle the icing on top. Now in addition to the powdered sugar and syrup the recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons of cream cheese. I like a thiner icing. So I added a little water to the powdered sugar to think it out. If I had had milk I would have used that. 


They are all iced and plated.


A close up of the rolls. These are so flaky and you will get crumbs everywhere. But boy are they good.

Puff Pastry Pumpkin Spice Rolls Recipe

1 sheet puff pastry thawed per directions

1 Tablespoon melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

2 Tablespoons cream cheese softened

1/4 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400. Bake 17-18 minutes.

Monday, October 30, 2023

One Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Broccoli

 I tried this new recipe tonight. Not only does it only use one pot, which is good news, but it also can be put together in about 20 minutes. Perfect for those busy nights.


You could add a small salad to go with this or just serve this casserole.


You could probably keep everything you need for this simple dinner.


Start by trimming and chopping the boneless, skinless chicken breast into small pieces. This took me longer than anything else to do. 


Salt and pepper the chicken. It also calls for garlic powder but I did not add that,


Put some olive oil in the skillet and heat it up. Add the chicken and brown on all sides.


Chicken is cooked.


The recipe calls for three minced cloves of garlic. I added some of the jar kind.


The recipe calls for 1 cup chopped carrots. I had these matchstick carrots left over from Monday night’s meal and they worked really well in this recipe. 


Add 2 1/2 cups chicken broth which is one 14.5 oz can of broth. I also use low sodium broth. It helps control the amount of salt.


Add 1 cup of king grain rice. That is not the minute rice. Stir everything together. Bring to a boil. 


Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook for 10 minutes.


While the pot is cooking chop up the 2 cups of broccoli. This is frozen broccoli I keep in the freezer for casseroles.


Add the broccoli to the pot and stir. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes until the liquid is gone and rice is tender.


Grate 1 cup cheddar cheese. I had white cheddar and that is what I used.


Add to the pot. I have taken the lot off the stove. Put the cover back on for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese.


Then dish it up. It’s that easy. You can cut the broccoli smaller if you want to hide it from the kids.

One Pot Cheese Chicken and Rice with Broccoli Recipe

1 pound chicken breast cut into chunks

Salt and pepper

Garlic powder

Olive oil for lot

1 cup white rice—I think you could use wild rice or brown rice if you like.

1 cup diced carrots

3 cloves minced garlic

2 1/2 cups chicken broth 1 14.5 oz can

2 cups broccoli

1 cup grated cheese.


Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Slow Cooker Beef Ramen

 Ramen noodles are very popular right now. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. So tonight was the night. It was very easy to put together and we enjoyed it.


My husband thought we were having something spaghetti for dinner, but it’s Raman.

Here’s that leftover chicken broth from the other day. I told you I had another use for it. Next time if I don’t have left over chicken broth I will use beef broth. I think it will give it a richer flavor.


Brown your ground beef in a pan.


While the ground beef is browning use that time to chop your onion and red bell pepper.


In a bowl add 3 cloves minced garlic. I used the jar garlic so I didn’t have to cut it and I just estimated how much.


Measure 2 cups broth. Which is normally a 14.25 oz can


1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce. Using low sodium helps control the amount of sodium in this dish.


2 Tablespoons brown sugar


Whisk everything together. I also added some red pepper flakes to this sauce. 


Ground beef is browned and drained.


Layer it in the bottom of the crock pot.


Add about a cup of matchstick carrots. You don’t have to make matchstick carrots you can buy them already cut. It’s a big timesaver.


Add the chopped onions. The recipe calls for scallions but I had my sweet onions so I used those. Whatever you like.


Add the sliced red bell pepper. 


Now pour the sauce on top. 


Mix it all together. Cover and cook for about 6 hours.


Now it is time to finish it up.

About 30 minutes before you want to serve put the Raman noodles in the crock pot. Throw away the seasoning packets.

You will want to get the noodles down into the liquid so they can cook.
The noodles soak up all the liquid and plump up. Stir it well and you are ready to eat.

The recipe said you could add some scallions on top along with some sesame seeds. I didn’t have and sesame seeds so I did not add those when serving.

Slow Cooker Beef Ramen Recipe
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 cup matchstick carrots
1 medium red bell pepper sliced
2-3 large scallions roughly chopped. Or chopped onion
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
14.25 oz can chicken or beef broth
2 packs ramen noodles no seasoning packets
Sesame seeds-optional
Scallions- optional