Pronto Donuts

Thanks for sharing Nikki. These look delicious...

This recipe only takes 30 minutes, so it's a winner in my book! The finished product is light and fluffy. Just don't make these too often because they are completely irresistable!

Ingredients:

5 teaspoons yeast

1 cup luke warm water

3 tablespoons sugar

1 egg, well beaten

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour (more if dough is sticky)

oil for frying

Maple Glaze:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons maple syrup or maple extract

powdered sugar (enough to make it the consistency you prefer)

Mix yeast, water and sugar. Wait until bubbles form in mixture. Add egg, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and flour. Mix to form dough. Knead dough for 1 minute. Roll out dough and cut donuts using donut cutter or large drinking glass. Allow to rise for 30 minutes on floured surface. Fry in oil until golden brown. Oil should be approximately 350°. Coat with maple glaze or any topping of your choice (chocolate, cinnamon sugar, etc.).

These would also be AWESOME if filled with cream, custard, or fruit filling.

Coffee Filters

This is kitchen related, so I thought to share. Who would have thought?

Better than paper towels and a lot less expensive...

COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.
18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.
20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..
25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.

OH YEAH THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS TOO.

Stuffed Red Peppers

Thanks Jessica. Although my husband would never eat these I am sure they are amazing!

Ingredients
4 red bell peppers
1.5 lbs ground beef or turkey
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
8 oz cream cheese
shredded Mozzarella

Preheat oven 350 degrees
Cut tops off of peppers and hollow out. Saute onions and garlic add ground meat and drain.
Add cream cheese to skillet and stir mixture into peppers. Then sprinkle with cheese cook for 40 minutes

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

I have to say his is probably the best thing I have cooked in a while. It was sooo juicy!

You can cook in skillet or bake. I baked mine, I suggest you do the same!

Served with homemade mashed potato's and bread, I had a field green salad to go with it to till I realized the lettuce went bad (so quick darnet)

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 cup dried Plain bread crumbs
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper *I just used Season All Pepper, and Garlic Powder
6 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges, for serving (Your "garnish")

Directions
Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper**. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.

I double battered mine so use a bit more cheese and bread crumbs.
I baked these chops vs. cooking them on skillet, on 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until cooked thoroughly, and golden.
OR
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Potato Salmon Patties

I doubled this recipe to freeze for later

Ingredients
1 (14.75 ounce) can salmon, drained and flaked
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup garlic and herb seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup dry potato flakes
1 medium onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil


Directions
1.In a medium bowl, mix salmon, eggs, garlic and herb seasoned dry bread crumbs, dry potato flakes, onion, garlic, dill weed, celery salt, salt, and pepper. Form the mixture into 2 inch balls, and flatten into patties about 1/2 inch thick.
2.Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. In batches, cook patties about 5 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.

Easy Chicken Spaghetti

1 pkg chicken breast
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. Velveeta Cheese
1 can Mild Rotel
8 oz Spaghetti

Boil your chicken, and shred.

Use broth from chicken to boil your pasta. Drain.

In the mean time, add Velveeta (cubed), cream of mushroom and rotel together over medium heat until melted.
*If you DO NOT like the consistency of tomato's, but still want the flavor of Rotel, use a food processor to puree them and add to the mixture. This is what I did to still give the dish a little spice. And the hubby didnt even know there was tomatos in it...suuweeettt

After that add all ingredients into a baking dish and back for 20 minutes on 375!

Blueberry Brownies

Gross? I think not.

When I had too many blueberries left over from my sons brief interest in them, I decided to puree them and add them to a basic chewy brownie mix.

My husband did not want anything to do with them but, he finally tried one.

They were amazing, and the next morning the "gross brownies" he claimed them to be were missing.

Turns out they were so gross he brought them to work to eat :)



PS. Only use Pampered Chef Stoneware! Booooo to Prrex and glass bakeware!!!