Homemade Gumdrops

 Happy Valentine's Day!  I made these yummy gumdrops for my kids to give as part of their Valentines for their friends.  They had Mickey Mouse Valentine's and so I figured it would be fun to use the Mickey cookie cutter shape.  I thought they turned out really cute and I was surprised how easy they were to make.  

Homemade Gumdrops
2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups applesauce
2 pkgs. (3oz. each) red gelatin
2 envelopes (.25 oz each ) unflavored gelatin
1 tsp. lemon juice

Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and place in refrigerator.  Combine 2 cups sugar, applesauce, red gelatin, unflavored gelatin, and lemon juice in a large saucepan.  Let stand for 1 minute.  Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly.  Boil for 1 minute and then immediately poor into cold baking dish.  Refrigerate until firm (about 3 hours).  Loosen sides of gelatin with a spatula and onto cutting board or wax paper.  Use sharp cookie cutters to cut out gumdrops.  Sprinkle sugar over a piece of wax paper and place gumdrops on top of sugar.  Let dry out for 8 hours or until slightly sticky.  Roll in remaining sugar and store in airtight container.

Delicious Homemade Rolls

I love homemade rolls!  My husband is a pro at making rolls and so he has been the designated roll maker in our household for years.-His Mom trained him well.  So up until recently I've just let him do it.  However, the past few months I have been working on my roll making skills.  I'm definitely not as speedy as he is at forming the rolls, but I am getting there.  This is my mother-in-law's recipe and it is our favorite!  If you're looking for a delicious homemade roll to add to your dinner...this one's for you!

 

Mom's Best Hot Rolls

2 cups warm water

2 Tbsp. yeast or 2 pkgs.

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp butter, melted

6 cups flour

Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar in mixer.  Let set to soften yeast.  Add salt and butter.  Add in flour and mix for about 8 minutes.  Cover and let rise for about an hour.  Form into rolls and raise again for another hour.  Bake at 375 for 14-16 minutes.  

Chicken Noodle Soup

Yesterday, we had a crazy winter storm.  It literally dumped buckets of snow here and is still going! Thankfully, I had no where I needed to be.  So we just hunkered down and stayed warm inside.  And what better way to stay warm then making some homemade chicken noodle soup.  This is my Mom's recipe that she would make for us all the time growing up and I love it!  It's just good comfort food on a cold winter day!  

Chicken Noodle Soup

5 or 6 chicken tenders cooked and chopped

Chopped carrots, about 3 handfuls or 14 oz. bag of frozen carrots

Chopped celery, as much as you want

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 cup rice

1 bag Egg Noodles

Salt & pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon 

In a large pot boil 5 to 6 cups of water with chicken bouillon.  Add carrots, celery, and onion and boil until soft.  Once the veggies are soft, add rice, noodles, and chicken.  Cook about 30 minutes until rice and noodles are cooked.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Chicken Roll-Ups

Chicken roll-ups were one of my favorite meals when I was growing up.  I remember begging my mom several times to make them.  Since they are one of my hubby's favorite meals, and the kids will eat them, we make them quite frequently around here.  This is a fast, and easy meal to throw together for a yummy meal for your family.  

Chicken Roll-Ups

2 cups of chicken, cooked and cut into chunks

1 block cream cheese

1 tsp. pepper

2 tubes crescent rolls

bread crumbs

melted butter

Cream of chicken soup

1 can of water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together cooked chicken, cream cheese, and pepper in a medium bowl.  Unroll crescent rolls and place a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture on each one and roll up.     Roll each crescent into the melted butter and then roll in the bread crumbs until completely covered.  Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.   In a small sauce pan pour in one can of cream of chicken soup and mix in one can of water.  Heat on low until warm.  Serve over warm chicken roll-ups.  

Pumpkin Pancakes

This weekend I made my family our traditional pumpkin pancakes.  I make these every year around Halloween and Thanksgiving.  These are delicious!  We love that they fill our whole house with a yummy fall scent.  My husband says they are more like a dessert than a breakfast food.  I would have to agree with him.    We love these pancakes!  

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/2 cups milk (I used 2 cups to help thin out the batter)

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 Tbsp. vinegar

2 cups flour

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground allspice

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar.  Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a separate bowl.  Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.  Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium high heat.  Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.  Brown on both sides and serve hot.  

Note: This batter comes out extremely thick.  I always add extra milk to help thin out the batter so the pancakes aren't so thick.  

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

 Since it is Fall, I feel the need to be baking lots of pumpkin treats.  I already told my husband that we are having pumpkin pancakes this weekend.  Yum!  Anyway, one of our favorites fall treats is chocolate chip pumpkin bread.  There's something about the chocolate chips and pumpkin flavor that is just awesome!   

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Recipe adapted from allrecipes

3 cups white sugar
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease three 9x5 inch loaf pans.  In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs.  Beat until smooth.  Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Pour batter in greased loaf pans.  Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

I threw a baby shower for a lady in my ward and made these scrumptious little cupcakes for the party.  If you like snickerdoodle cookies, then you are bound to love these cupcakes.  Topped with the cinnamon cream cheese frosting makes them irresistible!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Recipe Girl
Yield: 28 cupcakes

CAKE:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk

ICING:
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 28 muffin tins with paper liner.  Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in vanilla.  Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with additions of milk, beating until combined after each addition.  Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filing each about 3/4 full.  Bake 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.  

Icing: In a medium bowl, blend the cream cheese and butter.  Add in sugars, vanilla, and ground cinnamon.  Spread onto cooled cupcakes or pipe on the frosting with a piping bag.