Recipes: Auntie Anne’s Apple Cinnamon Pretzels
Delicious Auntie Anne’s Apple Cinnamon Pretzel ready to be eaten!
We had the opportunity to try these Auntie Anne’s Apple Cinnamon Pretzels and they were delicious! It wasn’t completely homemade, but it was fun putting them together. The girls had a blast rolling out the dough, putting into different shapes, and sprinkling on the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Pretzel dough rolled and shaped into cool designs!
Apple pretzels are baked, now on to the next step!
They have been sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar!
Anyone ready for a special treat?!
If you are looking for a fun and delicious treat! Try Auntie Anne’s Apple Cinnamon Pretzels.
Mother’s Day Celebration
Huge Mother’s Day chalk message on the driveway from Karlie!
I am blessed. Yesterday I was reminded again of how much God has given me. A family that loves me despite all my imperfections. Jake and the girls showered me with love on Mother’s Day. Even though Jake was on call this Mother’s Day weekend and was a little busier than normal, he made time to celebrate. It was a great day with the family.
They made me breakfast in bed. We went to church. Jake and the girls made an amazing lunch. That afternoon we relaxed, read books together, opened gifts, played games, and had fun. Thankful for my family and a chance to spend the day together. Their thoughtfulness made me feel loved and appreciated.
Breakfast in bed – cheesy scrambled eggs, ham, and sauteed mushrooms! Delicious!
Fresh flowers from the girls (they got them from Children’s Church)
Putting together the pinwheel steaks!
They choose what ingredients to stuff the steak with for lunch
Pinwheel steaks ready to go into the oven!
Stuffed with tomatoes, swiss cheese, goat cheese, bacon, ham, spinach, mushrooms, sunflowers, cranberries, and more goodies!
My steak was AMAZING!
Huge stuffed portobello mushroom! Stuffed with spinach, hummus, and topped with toasted granola – so tasty!
Mother’s Day cards from Jake and the girls. Karlie’s was the kitten and Brina’s the puppy.
Brina picked out a beautiful pink rose bush for me!
Karlie picked out a gorgeous red rose bush for me!
Adorable handmade flowers from my girls! Brina made the bright yellow one and Karlie made the blue and red one!
A place to sit and talk with Jake or read with the kids. Very comfy!
Sweet note from Brina. The top says “I am thankful to have a Mom like you because you are nice to me and play with me.” The bottom has a cute little poem!
Colorful Mother’s Day Butterfly from Brina
Cute card from Brina
Mother’s Day note from Brina wanting to know if I can play or cook with her! Love my girls!
Vibrant Mother’s Day drawing from Karlie
Sweet poem and note from Karlie on the back of her drawing.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
But no one a flower,
Just like you!
Happy Mother’s Day! Hope you are having a nice and relaxing day. Do you like the card and rose? The rose is a rare blue rose that only grows on Neptune! May you please read to me on the deck?
Thankful for my family! I treasure these times we have together. I am blessed.
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Fresh Apples & Caramel Dip
Fresh Apple Slices and Caramel Dip
Do you have a party where you need a quick, healthy, and easy appetizer? This one is kind of a no-brainer, but sometimes I need to be reminded that the simple easy snacks that require less prep can be just as enjoyable for everyone (and allows you to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your family). Freshly sliced apples with caramel dip is a great one to bring and share! There’s is just something refreshing and delicious about apples and caramel. Yum!
For this event I took fresh apples sliced them, dipped them in a mix of lemon juice and water to keep them from turning brown and poured the caramel dip that we already had in the pantry onto the serving platter. You can make your own caramel sauce, but since I had some on hand it was easier just to pour it into the dish. Also, if you want to make it even easier, especially if you’re in a pinch, you can purchase both pre-sliced apples and caramel dip at the store. Sometimes it’s the simple easy stuff that is a big hit.
Family Recipe: Bierocks
You can pack your bierocks with more meat less bread if you want! I usually do a mix of both (more bread and more meat) so people can choose what they want to eat. This one is a picture of a more bread.
My Grandma taught me how to make this delicious recipe that is basically a dinner roll stuffed with hamburger, sauerkraut, and cheese called Bierocks (although the first half of the word is pronounced like the word “beer” it does not contain any actual beer). Even though the combination sounds a little interesting it really tastes amazing! I am not sure where the recipe actually originated from but I do have family from Czechoslovakia so maybe that area. I remember as a kid helping my Grandma make this recipe and have great memories of spending time together talking while cooking for the harvest crew.
Fresh out of the oven and ready to be eaten!
Every once in awhile I like to make up a big batch of Bierocks so we can eat some right away and the rest I like to stick in the freezer to pull out on those busy days for a quick meal. I have used a number of different bread recipes to make Bierocks and they all have turned out well. Today I will share the latest bread version I made earlier this week using Money Saving Mom’s Freezer-Friendly Pizza Dough. We have made this pizza dough so many times and love it, so we figured why not try using it to make Bierocks!
Dinners ready…….Bierocks…..come and get it!
Bierocks:
- DOUGH
- 2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
- 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 Tablespoons oil (vegetable, Canola, or olive oil)
- 5 cups flour (can use all whole-wheat, half white/half whole-wheat, or all white)
Pour the warm water into a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir to dissolve.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Put onto a floured surface and knead dough for two to five minutes until smooth and no longer sticky. Take the kneaded dough and roll out.
Note: I used this recipe but split the dough into thirds, two of the pieces I wrapped and put in the freezer for future pizzas or other recipes and used the remaining third to make the Bierocks. I love that I get the base to 3 meals out of 1 pizza dough mixture! 🙂
- FILLING:
- 2 pounds Ground Beef
- 1/3 Onion (diced)
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 cans Sauerkraut
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (or mixed cheese)
Brown beef with onion and seasoned with salt and pepper. Drain any excess oil off the meat. Mix the sauerkraut into the meat and cook on medium for 2 to 4 minutes until the sauerkraut is mixed well.
Cut the dough 3 to 6 inch circles (depending on the size you want it to be). Place 1 ice cream scoop (or 1/4 to 1/2 cup) of meat filling onto each circle. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of cheese over the top of the meat. Bring the four corners up over the filling and pinch together to seal on the bottom. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Place seam down on greased baking sheets. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the bierocks.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until the dough starts turning a golden brown color. You can rub a little bit of butter over the tops of the bierocks immediately after taking them out of the oven for additional flavor and color if you want. Makes approximately 24 Bierocks
You can eat these plain or (my favorite) with a touch of ketchup. Any leftover Bierocks after eating them for dinner are wrapped individually and put in a freezer ziplock so we can easily pull one, two or more out at a time, stick them in the microwave (or toaster oven) and have a meal ready in minutes.
Ground hamburger and sauerkraut mixture
Bierocks stuffed and ready to be baked
Cheese sprinkled over the top of some of the Bierocks (we like the cheese inside and out but it is optional). I made some with cheese and some without since we have a family member who cannot have dairy.
Picture of the Bierocks without cheese!
Family Recipe: Nancy’s Banana Bread
A friend recently gave us banana bread which the girls absolutely loved. After finishing that loaf I dug out our family recipe to make another loaf. Grandma Willa shared Nancy’s Banana Bread recipe with us many years ago. This delicious banana bread is always a super special treat around our house. It is a wonderful recipe to pull out for a breakfast treat when you have guests staying with you or your hosting a get together for a group of friends. I love that it is easy to put together too.
Nancy’s Banana Bread:
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 tablespoon Water
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1/4 cup Walnuts (optional)
- 3 Bananas, mashed
Mix all the ingredients together. Place in greased and floured bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Recipe: Super Chocolate Cookies
We made these delicious Super Chocolate Cookies during our Saturday Christmas Baking Day . This recipe was from Favorite Brand Name: Cooking for Kids, Kids’ Party Food. The recipe has a delightful mix of chocolate, peanut, raisins, and crunch. Our girls enjoyed them for their taste and color. I doubled the recipe and it was a huge batch, probably around 60 cookies. Our family, friends and neighbors all got several of these cookies to enjoy. The recipe below is for the regular amount if you want more like I did for sharing than just double it.
Super Chocolate Cookies
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/3 cups packed Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Butter, softened
- 1/2 cup Shortening
- 2 Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 cup Candy Coated Chocolate Pieces (M&Ms)
- 1 cup Raisins
- 3/4 cup salted Peanuts, coarsely chopped (I did not chop the peanuts and it turned out well)
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Beat brown sugar, butter, and shortening in large bowl turn on electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in candy pieces, raisins, and peanuts.
3. Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Flatten slightly with fingertips. Bake cookies 13 to 15 minutes or until almost set. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets. Transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.
Makes about 20 (4 inch) cookies. Our cookies were slightly smaller and we made a double batch so we had closer to 60 cookies.