Creamy Ranch Potatoes

I find that I can't ever use a bag of potatoes fast enough. I love potatoes so I when the ward was doing a potluck I knew exactly what I should do... Find a crock pot potato side dish recipe! This easy creamy potato recipe is delicious and great because I just left it in the crock pot on low and came home to have my side dish ready to go! These potatoes would go great with roast, chicken, or a pork chop main dish. Give them a try!

Creamy Ranch Potatoes

2 1/2 lbs potatoes, cut in about 1 inch square pieces

1 cup sour cream

3 tbsp ranch salad dressing mix (or just one little 1/16 oz packet)

1 (10 1/2 oz) can of cream of chicken soup

Parsley and extra ranch powder (optional for garnish)

1. Put the cut up potatoes in the crock pot.
2. In a separate bowl. mix the sour cream, ranch, and cream of chicken soup together.
3. Now put in over the potatoes in the crockpot.
4. Cover and cook on low for about 7 hours.
5. If you can, gently stir a few times during the 7 hours. If you would like, sprinkle some parsley or extra ranch powder on top for a little garnish. :)
6. Now they are ready to eat with your delicious dinner!

Fairy Rolls

For Thanksgiving this year I was able to make the rolls! I used my mother in law's KitchenAid to make them and it made the process super easy! For those who don't have a KitchenAid they are still super easy and taste light and fluffy... just as if a fairy had made them!  

AND... best part of all is they only take 10 steps to make. :)

Fairy Rolls

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups hot water

2 tbsp yeast

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1. Place the room temperature butter in a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot water over the butter so it melts. 

2. Add the yeast and let it sit for 2-3 minutes.

3. Blend in the eggs.

4. Add in the sugar and the salt and blend together.

5. Add the flour and baking powder and work the mixture until a nice, fluffy dough forms.

6. Cover the dough and let rise until double in size.

7. After it has doubled, roll out on a floured surface (about a 1/2 in. thick) and cut dough into circles. (I used the ring from a Mason Jar).

8. Fold circles in 1/2 to make the shape of the roll and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. 

9. Let the rolls rise again. A few minutes before you are planning on sticking the rolls in Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

10. Bake the rolls at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. When you take them out brush them with a little butter and... there you have it! Delicious and fluffy rolls in only 10 steps!

Good Luck! Leave a comment if you have any questions!!

Stuffed Raspberry French Toast with Custard Sauce

Yummm... two raspberry posts in a row. :) I made this a few weeks ago for Sunday breakfast and by the time it was done cooking we were almost late for church so I didn't get a very good picture... I have a lot to improve with my blogging but hey I am having fun!  *If you look on the Kraft website you can see their beautiful picture and also a video of the recipe process. :)

Stuffed Raspberry French Toast with Custard Sauce

Recipe from kraftrecipes.com

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup  sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp.  ground cinnamon

2 whole eggs

2   egg whites

1-1/4 qt. (5 cups) fat-free milk, divided

1 loaf  French bread (16 oz.), ends trimmed, cut into 18 slices

1 pkg. (12 oz.) frozen unsweetened raspberries

1 pkg.  (3.4 oz.) Instant vanilla pudding

 *just a note:  the french bread they use is the long skinny loaf kind not the big fluffy kind you usually use to make garlic bread. I am sure both kinds would work, but you just won't be able to fit as much in the pan. I bought my long skinny loaf at Target.* 

 BEAT first 4 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add whole eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, mixing well after each. Gradually beat in 2 cups milk.
 
ARRANGE 9 bread slices on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with half the berries and remaining bread slices. Pour cream cheese mixture over bread. Let stand 30 min.

*I recommend  flipping the french toast over after 15 min. so each side has a chance to soak. This will help it so that one side isn't soggy and the other dry. :) Also, if you feel you have a lot of excess egg mixture in the pan you may want to transfer your french toast to another pan before baking once again just to reduce the chance of the french toast being soggy. 

 

HEAT oven to 350°F. Bake French toast 40 min. or until golden brown. Meanwhile, bring remaining milk just to boil in saucepan; gradually add dry pudding mix, whisking until well blended. Remove from heat; let stand 5 min. Meanwhile, microwave remaining raspberries in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 15 to 20 sec. or until warmed.

 SPOON pudding over individual servings of French toast; top with berries.
 

 

**Here is another look at this delicious breakfast! So easy and delicious!**

Raspberry Cheesecake Cake Balls

Cake balls... what a brilliant invention! I love all of the creative culinary minds out in the world because they sure bring me happiness with their creations! I made this recipe for the ward Halloween Party and they were a hit! My costume was an apron and I was going to carry around these cake balls and say I was a baker... well the cake balls didn't last long enough so I simply wore an apron around. :) 

I try to post things on my blog that I think other people might want to make and that I have found aren't too complicated. I am trying to improve my blog and my next post is going to include more pictures throughout the process of making the recipe. So be on the lookout for the improvements!

This recipe is SUPER easy to make and delicious. I mean they are dipped in chocolate so you can't get much better than that. Without further ado here is the recipe!

Raspberry Cheesecake Cake Balls

 The cake:

1 box white cake mix

3 eggs 

1 tsp. raspberry extract

1 cup milk

* Mix together cake mix, eggs, raspberry extract, and milk. Batter will be thick. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 28-32 min. or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely. Crumble cake into small pieces, placing crumbs in a large bowl. (I removed any brown parts of the cake before crumbling.)

Add:

 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup fresh raspberries, mashed. 

*(you can use frozen raspberries just thaw them and squeeze dry)*

* With the back of a spoon, mix together cake crumbles with other ingredients until a thick dough consistency forms. Shape into evenly sized cake balls and cool 1-2 hours in the refrigerator or 20 min. in the freezer. 

* Remove from the fridge or freezer and dip in white melting chocolate. (I added about 1 tbsp. shortening to the chocolate to make it thinner and easier to dip with.) Last of all, top with crushed graham crackers!

Here is the end product! Voila!

*I found this wonderful recipe in the cookbook *"101 Gourmet Cake Bites" by: Wendy Paul.* There are SO many fun cake bites recipes in the book for all occasions. If you like this recipe check out the cookbook!

Homemade Wendy's Frosty

Yummmmm.... that my friends is a Homemade Chocolate Frosty! Yay. what a wonderful idea. :) The best part of this is it only takes 3 ingredients to make and an ice cream maker.

Homemade Chocolate Frosty

1/2 gallon chocolate milk

7 oz sweetened condensed milk (1/2 of a normal can)

8 oz Cool Whip

In a mixing bowl add all three ingredients and mix together. Start ice cream maker and while it is churning add the ingredients in. Let the mixer do the work for about 20 minutes (until it is the consistency you like) and then eat your homemade frosty!

Here is Danielle enjoying her Homemade Chocolate Frosty. :)