Philly Cheesesteak Pizza

It's that time of year when I'm absolutely tired of cookies, chocolate treats, and just sweets in general. My body just needs some good wholesome food. Now I know pizza is not really considered wholesome home cooking, but this pizza was just what my husband and I were looking for late last night.

It was late and we were just starving and we wanted something that was half way healthy for us and I remember seeing this recipe for a Philly Cheesesteak Pizza in one of my cooking magazines. I had already marked the page anticipating making this yummy pizza, so it was easy to find. The next step was to see if I had everything to make this. Because the ingredients are so basic I of course had everything to whip this together.

Know the recipe says it serves 6, but there is no way it would unless you are serving this in little tiny pieces as if it were an appetizer. My husband and I demolished this pizza with no trouble. I would recommend doubling this recipe if you're making this for more than two people.

So on with the recipe. Let me know how you like it.

Philly Cheesesteak Pizza
1 tube (8oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2T olive oil
1/4 t beef bouillon granules
1/2 lb. thinly sliced deli roast beef
1 T prepared Italian salad dressing
1 1/2 C (6oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Unroll crescent roll dough into lone long rectangle; seal perforations. Press into the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 13-in x 9-in baking pan. Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes pr until lightly browned.

Saute green pepper and onion in oil and bouillon in a large skillet until begetables are tender; set aside.

Arrange beef over crust. Brush with salad dressing; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 4-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Top with green pepper mixture. Cut into 12 pieces.

Credit: Taste of Home Simple and Delicious magazine

Nut Goodie Drops

Well the big day is almost here! For my family and I Christmas Eve is the big event for us. This is the time we open presents from Santa and from each other. Usually I let the kids open one present under the tree before we go to Church in the late afternoon. I also quickly fill stockings while everyone gets in the car to go to church.

Even though my children are college age I will still fill their stockings when they are otherwise preoccupied. And yes I still have packages from Santa for them. They shake their heads at me, but old habits are hard to break.

Today I am still making Christmas goodies. One treat that is a snap to make is Nut Goodie Drops. This recipe I got from my mom. She use to make these when I was a kid. These take very few items to make and they are done in literally a few minutes. In fact I was able to finish these in under 15 minutes.

Nut Goodie Drops
16 ounces white almond bark 
6 ounces of chocolate chips
1/2 C peanut butter
3 cups raw Spanish peanuts
Wax paper

Directions
Melt almond bark in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl, stirring every minute to minute and a half. Once bark is melted stir in chocolate chips and peanut butter until melted and smooth. Add peanuts and stir to mix. Use a tablespoon to drop mixture onto wax paper. Let drops cool and set up on wax paper. Once drops are set you can place them in a container. I separate layers with wax paper so they don't stick together.

Christmas Count Down!

Well we are now into the final days before Christmas and if you are still trying to make some yummy treats for the holidays, but feel you don't have the time do not fear. I have two super quick and easy treats that will wow your friends and family.

My daughter and I made both of these last night in a matter of a couple of hours. We had never made either one and were very happy with the results. In fact we may just have to make some more of these to give to family and friends.

The two treats we made were Peanut Butter Cup Cookies and Easy Sea Salt Caramels. The cookie recipe I found on Allrecipes.com and the caramels recipe I found on the blog Lucy's Best. I found this blog by pure accident, but I have found a lot of recipes that I would love to try, so please visit their site. They are on my blog list so super easy to get to from my blog.

You will need mini muffin pans for the cookies and parchment paper or wax paper for the caramels. Well on with the recipes. Give them a try and let me know what you think of them.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/2 C butter, softened
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 t vanilla extract
2 T milk
40 minature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375degrees F. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
2. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan. 
3. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.  

Easy Sea Salt Caramels
6 Tablespoons of butter cut into 6 pieces
3/4 Cup white sugar
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup light corn syrup
3/4 Cup sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoon vanilla
Coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Place a sheet of aluminum foil in a  9X13 pan. Spray the foil with cooking spray, making sure to coat sides as well.
2. In a microwave safe bowl (at least 2 quart), add butter, white and brown sugar, syrup, sweetened condensed milk, & vanilla. Stir together and place in microwave, uncovered. Cook in microwave on full power for 8 and a half minutes, stopping and stirring thoroughly twice during the cooking time (about every 2-3 minutes). 
3. Remove from microwave and stir until well mixed. Pour hot caramel into a prepared 9X13 pan. Place in fridge until firm enough to remove & cut (about 60 minutes). 
4. Pull up on sides of aluminum foil and remove the whole slab of caramel at one time. Place caramel slab on cutting board covered with parchment or waxed paper and cut into pieces of desired size. Then sprinkle a dash of sea salt on each individual caramel. 
5. Wrap each piece individually in parchment paper or wax paper.  

Snickerdoodles

Aw, there's nothing better than coming in from the cold and having a hot cup of cocoa and some snickerdoodles! I was introduced to these cookies by my sister-in-law. I had never heard of them before and she was so surprised that she just had to share some with me.

It's been many years since my first encounter with these yummy cinnamon, melt in your mouth cookie, but I still love having them on a chilly winter day. I usually make them at Christmas time, but have been know to make them other times of the year too.

These cookies again are very simple to make. I like simple, especially when I feel like my life is a rat race sometimes. Isn't my life suppose to slow down a little now that the kids are in college? I guess I'm gonna have to rethink how I'm spending my time. LOL!

Anyways, when I mix up these cookies I usually mix them up the day before and throw it in the fridge overnight. The dough has to be chilled for at least an hour, so I figure what's the difference if it's overnight. For me it just makes it easier, because the mixing is done and all I have to do is roll the dough into balls and roll in the sugar/cinnamon mixture and bake.

Well here's day 2 of my holiday cooking recipes.Oh and of course I just automatically double the batch. They are just too good. Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

1/2 Cup Butter
1 1/2 Cup Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tarter
2 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

In a mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half of the flour, the 1 cup sugar, the egg, vanilla, baking soda, and cream of tarter. Beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Shape into 1 inch balls. Combine the 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. roll balls in sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 11 minutes or till edges are golden. Cool cookies on a wire rack.
Makes about 3 dozen.

Oatmeal Gingersnaps

I'm finally back in the kitchen! I've had a few things that were keeping me away, but I'm really going to try and make an effort to blog at least once a week if not more. I'm starting out with some Christmas goodies. Today I was baking away in anticipation of Christmas. I actually made two different kinds of cookies, but I'm going to share with all of you one that I have just tried for the very first time.

I got this recipe from Taste of Home. It was one of those that gets sent to my email account and I just couldn't resist trying it. To start off it looked so easy to make and right now I'm looking for anything that is quick and easy to make. The other thing that I liked about them is they were a gingersnap cookie. I love the way gingersnap cookies smell. It just makes your whole kitchen smell delicious.

This recipe makes 3 dozen, but this is a good recipe to quickly make another batch or just whip up a double batch when making these. I know that they are going to go fast at my house so I'll have to keep the recipe handy so I can make another batch.

Like many recipes I kinda tweaked this one. Instead of flattening them with a glass dipped in sugar, I just rolled the cookie in sugar before putting them on the pan. This recipe kind of reminded me of my mom's Molasses Sugar cookies and that's how my mom use to do it. They flattened out nice, no glass needed.

So here's the recipe. Enjoy! I'll be back tomorrow with another holiday recipe.

Oatmeal Gingersnaps
Ingredients
1/2 Cup Shortening
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Molasses
1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Quick-Cooking Oats
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
Additional Sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. Combine the dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. roll into 1 inch balls; roll in additional sugar.
• Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until set (do not over bake. I did not flatten them). Remove to wire racks to cool.
• Yield: about 3-31/2 dozen.