best dessert recipes: March 2012

Mission Organization: Week 13 - My Coffee Cupboard Runneth Over

The cabinet above my coffee maker is a little over stuffed. I keep a supply of coffee, coffee filters, and mugs there. I also keep tea and hot chocolate mixes along with straws. It all sort of made sense at one time, but it has gotten really cluttered. My mission this week was to reorganize this cabinet.

I just emptied the cabinet to begin with and wiped it all out. After sorting through the mugs and choosing my husband's favorite ones, this is the group I had left to discard. Is it any wonder there wasn't room for anything? Who needs this many mugs for morning coffee?

When I was decluttering, I had to rescue this mug. It's one that a favorite student gave me many, many years ago. I kept this mug at school for years and had coffee in it every day. There are too many happy memories to let this one go.

Here's an item that is long overdue to be discarded. I haven't had a coffee maker that uses this basket type of filters in many months. These are being moved to the craft supplies!

After the purging and decluttering I found that I had an entire empty shelf, so I moved the to-go coffee cups from another cabinet over to this one. Now that makes sense, I think. I also added some small baskets to keep similar items together.

One basket is for coffee filters.

Another basket is for teas.

Hot chocolate mixes fill a third basket.

All those extra mugs can be donated and there are still plenty left.

The extra coffee is in the cabinet, but I filled one of my Fiestaware canisters with coffee and set it beside the coffee maker for everyday use.

I'm very happy with my coffee cabinet reorganization. It's so nice not to have everything crowded and stacked here, I just need to apply this to the rest of the kitchen!

This post was shared with:
Mrs. Happy Homemaker Mission Organization

Here's an item that is long overdue to be discarded. I haven't had a coffee maker that uses this basket type of filters in many months. These are being moved to the craft supplies!

One basket is for coffee filters.

Another basket is for teas.

Hot chocolate mixes fill a third basket.

All those extra mugs can be donated and there are still plenty left.

The extra coffee is in the cabinet, but I filled one of my Fiestaware canisters with coffee and set it beside the coffee maker for everyday use.

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A Snake in the Easter Grass

Snakes are not everyone's cup of tea, but my grandson Landon is intrigued by them. He loves to read about them and learn all he can about the different types and where they live. For a six-year-old, he's quite the snake expert. When I saw a snake made from plastic eggs by Sarah at Sheek Shindigs, I immediately thought of him and how it would tickle him to find one in his Easter basket.

These snakes are very simple to make, and require only a few supplies. I did my snake a little differently than the directions at Sheek Shindigs, so check out those directions for some alternatives.

You can make the snake any length you want. For mine I used a total of 39 plastic eggs, but only two of them are used whole. The rest of the snake is made with only one half of each egg. I also used some elastic cord, and a small piece of felt for the tongue. Dried beans are used inside the egg at the tail for the rattle.

Each egg half needs a hole in the end to run the elastic cord through. My husband made the holes for me with his drill and a tiny bit, but I think the holes could also be made by using a nail. Make a hole in each end of the whole eggs. Start the snake by putting some dried beans in one of the whole eggs for the tail, then run the elastic cord through the egg. Tie a knot securely on the end. I also put a drop of hot glue on the knot so it would stay put.
Then just start threading the egg halves onto the elastic cord. When the snake is as long as you like, add another whole egg for the head. Knot the elastic cord on the final end. I also used hot glue to secure my whole eggs parts together.

Cut a tongue from the felt and glue in place at the front of the head. Use a Sharpie to draw some eyes for the snake. The snake is ready to slither right into the Easter grass!

This post was shared with:
Whimsy Wednesday
Kids in the Kitchen
Mop it up Mondays
Serendipity and Spice Manic Monday
Flamingo Toes Think Pink Sundays
Country Momma Cooks Link and Greet
Crumbs and Chaos Seasonal Inspiration
Crafty Moms Share Sharing Saturday
Finished it Friday
Diana Rambles Thematic Thursday
Petal to Picots Friday Party

These snakes are very simple to make, and require only a few supplies. I did my snake a little differently than the directions at Sheek Shindigs, so check out those directions for some alternatives.

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Monkey Bread Muffins

Hello, my name is Sara, and I have a cinnamon sugar problem. I love cinnamon sugar things, and if it also involves fried dough, it's that much better. This recipe doesn't involve fried dough, but it does involve tender slices of bread coated in cinnamon sugar that bake into delicious slightly gooey layers that are super delicious warm from the oven.

If you need inspiration for Easter morning brunch, here it is!

This recipe calls for frozen bread dough. You can use homemade dough if you want. I used homemade the first time I made this, and it was just a little harder to work with, because it was stickier. These photos represent the frozen dough experience...

Start by dividing the dough into 4 equal pieces.

Then divide each fourth into 8 pieces, so you have 32 total.

Press out each piece to roughly make a circle and place on a nonstick cookie sheet, or waxed paper. (You can use a rolling pin if you want but I couldn't be bothered...)

Now brush each piece with melted butter

and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.

Now, stack four of the slices one on top of another.

Cut each stack in half,

then place two stacks cut side down in a greased muffin tin cup.

Repeat with the rest of the slices - stacking, cutting and placing in the muffin tin. You should have 8 muffins.

Place the muffin pan on a larger rimmed baking sheet, then bake for 20 minutes or so until the tops are golden brown.

Let cool for about 10 minutes then carefully remove from the muffin pan. While they cool, you'll likely need to change into elastic-waisted pants... I'm just sayin'.

One year ago: Shrimp Enchiladas
Two years ago: Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Butter and Almonds

Find more great ideas at Crazy Sweet Tuesday, Cast Party Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, Recipe Roundup, It's a Keeper, Full Plate Thursday, Bake with Bizzy, Sweet Treats Thursday, Kids in the Kitchen, Sweet Tooth Friday, Foodie Friday, Food on Fridays, Friday Food.

Monkey Bread Muffins

1 - 1 lb. loaf frozen bread dough, mostly thawed
2 1/2 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 tsp. nutmeg

In a bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Then cut each quarter into 8 pieces. Flatten each slice with your hands or a rolling pin and place on a sheet of parchment paper or a nonstick cookie sheet.

Brush each dough slice with the melted butter. Then sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Stack 4 dough slice on top of each other then slice the stacks down the middle. Place two of the sliced stacks, side by side, cut side down into a greased muffin tin. Repeat with the rest of the stacks.

Place the muffin tin on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake muffins at 350 for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Gently remove from the muffin pan and serve warm. (If you have any leftover - ha! - keep in an airtight container and microwave for about 20 seconds to warm up before serving again.) Makes 8 muffins.

Recipe source: adapted from Wendy See Wendy Do

Then divide each fourth into 8 pieces, so you have 32 total.

and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.

Now, stack four of the slices one on top of another.

Cut each stack in half,

then place two stacks cut side down in a greased muffin tin cup.

Repeat with the rest of the slices - stacking, cutting and placing in the muffin tin. You should have 8 muffins.

Place the muffin pan on a larger rimmed baking sheet, then bake for 20 minutes or so until the tops are golden brown.

Let cool for about 10 minutes then carefully remove from the muffin pan. While they cool, you'll likely need to change into elastic-waisted pants... I'm just sayin'.

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Pound Cake Cookies

Spring has arrived, and these Pound Cake Cookies are perfect for the events that come with springtime. If you're hostessing a tea or a shower this spring you may want to serve a tray of these buttery little morsels. The recipe I used was adapted from Southern Living Homestyle Cooking.

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Pound Cake Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon rum or 1/2 teaspoon imitation rum flavoring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 36 pecan halves

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar; beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in egg yolk, rum flavoring, and vanilla extract. Combine flour and salt, then gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Cover bowl and chill for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on prepared pan. Press 1 pecan half on top of each cookie. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen.

Press a pecan half on top of the unbaked cookie dough.

Bake for 12 - 14 minutes, cool on a wire rack.

Once you try these cookies you'll know why they are named "Pound Cake Cookies". If you decide to serve them to guests, have the recipe handy, someone's going to ask for it!

This recipe was shared with:
Your Cozy Home Party
Serendipity and Spice Manic Monday
Melt in your mouth Monday
Flamingo Toes Think Pink Sundays
Country Momma Cooks Link and Greet
Crumbs and Chaos Seasonal Inspiration
Momtrends Friday Food
Not Your Ordinary Recipes Foodie Friday
Sweet Temptations
Something Swanky Sweet Treats Thursday
Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday
Bake with Bizzy
Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party
Newlyweds Recipe Linky

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Pound Cake Cookies

Press a pecan half on top of the unbaked cookie dough.

Bake for 12 - 14 minutes, cool on a wire rack.

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Shrimp and Spinach Risotto

Spring seems like a wonderful time to make, and eat, risotto, in my opinion. Maybe it's because I associate delicious spring vegetables like spinach and asparagus with risotto. But regardless of the time of the year, this is a delicious risotto studded with mushrooms, spinach and shrimp. If you want to make this vegetarian, or a side dish, simply leave out the shrimp. It will still be spectacular.

Start by getting the broth simmering in a saucepan. Turn the heat to low so that the broth stays warm, but it doesn't need to boil. Then melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and add the onions and saute for a few minutes. Now add the mushrooms

and garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Stir in the rice

and continue to cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Now add about a ladle-full of broth, and turn the heat down to medium low. Cook and stir constantly until most of the liquid is absorbed, then add another ladle of broth.

Continue this process until the broth is used up - stirring until almost all liquid is absorbed before adding more broth. This process will take about 20 minutes.

When you're out of broth, and most of it is absorbed, add the spinach.

Stir the spinach in so it starts to wilt and then add the shrimp.

Finally, add the parmesan cheese.

Give it all a good stir to warm up the shrimp and melt the cheese,

then dish into bowls and serve!

One year ago: Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake
Two years ago: Tuna Tetrazzini

Find more recipes at Mangia Monday, Menu Monday, Mop it up Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday at the Table, Tasty Tuesday (#2), Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday (#3), A Little Birdie Told Me, Tuesday Talent Show, Hearth and Soul, These Chicks Cooked.

Shrimp and Spinach Risotto

3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp. butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
1 cup arborio rice
1 - 6 oz. package baby spinach
1/2 pound cooked medium shrimp, halved
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In a small saucepan, bring broth to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and keep warm.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in rice until fully coated and starting to get "toasty," about 3 minutes.

Add about 1 cup (or a ladleful) of broth and reduce heat to medium low. Stir until most of the broth is absorbed, then add another ladleful. Continue this process for about the next 20 minutes, waiting until most of the liquid is absorbed before adding more, and stirring constantly.

Add the spinach and stir until it begins to wilt. Add shrimp and parmesan and stir until shrimp is warm and cheese is melted. Serves 4.

and garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Stir in the rice

Continue this process until the broth is used up - stirring until almost all liquid is absorbed before adding more broth. This process will take about 20 minutes.

When you're out of broth, and most of it is absorbed, add the spinach.

Stir the spinach in so it starts to wilt and then add the shrimp.

Finally, add the parmesan cheese.

Give it all a good stir to warm up the shrimp and melt the cheese,

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Cream Cheese Jalapeno Sausage Pinwheels

These sausage pinwheels are a versatile dish that can be served as a tasty appetizer or as breakfast on their own or paired with eggs. I love recipes that make use of crescent roll dough, and I know many people make one version or another of these pinwheels. The recipe that I'm using is one that my sister first gave me, and I think my husband would be happy if I made these every day.

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Cream Cheese Jalapeno Sausage Pinwheels

1 pound pork sausage

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 package crescent roll dough

In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until browned, adding the jalapeno pepper to the sausage while it is cooking. Drain the grease from the sausage, then add the cream cheese. Stir over very low heat until the cream cheese is blended into the sausage. Spread the crescent roll dough out on a sheet of parchment paper, sealing the perforations and seams together so that the dough is in one rectangular sheet. Spread the sausage/cream cheese mixture over the crescent dough in a thin, even layer. Start rolling the dough up lengthwise, very carefully in one long roll. Refrigerate the roll for 20 - 30 minutes, or stick it in the freezer for a short while, this will make it easier to slice.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining with aluminum foil and spraying with cooking spray. Slice the roll into sections about 1/2 inch thick, place the slices on the prepared pan. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until the crescent dough is browned.

This recipe is simple, requiring only sausage, jalapeno pepper, cream cheese, and crescent roll dough.

Flatten the crescent roll dough out into one flat sheet and seal up the perforations.

Spread the sausage/cream cheese mixture in a thin layer over the dough.

Roll the dough up to form the pinwheels.

Refrigerate the dough after it is rolled to make the slicing easier.

Slice into pinwheels and place on a foil lined sheet pan.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes.

I love the kick that the jalapeno pepper adds to these pinwheels. You could also use hot sausage if you wanted to turn up the heat another notch!

This recipe was shared with:
Momtrends Friday Food
These Peas Taste Funny Link it up Thursday
Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday
A Little Nosh Tastetastic Thursday
Newlyweds Recipe Linky
The Shady Porch Rock n Share
Your Cozy Home Party
Jam Hands Recipe Sharing Monday
Beyer Beware Hunk of Meat Monday
Mix it up Mondays
Mop it up Mondays

Print Recipe

Cream Cheese Jalapeno Sausage Pinwheels

1 pound pork sausage

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 package crescent roll dough

This recipe is simple, requiring only sausage, jalapeno pepper, cream cheese, and crescent roll dough.

Flatten the crescent roll dough out into one flat sheet and seal up the perforations.

Spread the sausage/cream cheese mixture in a thin layer over the dough.

Roll the dough up to form the pinwheels.

Refrigerate the dough after it is rolled to make the slicing easier.

Slice into pinwheels and place on a foil lined sheet pan.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes.

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Mission Organization: Week 12 - The Mail

One of the most persistent and frustrating sources of clutter at my house is the mail. A new stack comes every day and often yesterday's stack is still lying where it was thrown the day before. Most of the time the mail gets thrown on the kitchen island - right in the middle of the kitchen - making the kitchen look cluttered as soon as you step in. My problem to solve this week is how to get the mail clutter off the counter without misplacing or losing those important pieces of mail that need to be dealt with soon or bills that need to be paid.

The solution to the mail clutter is an empty cereal box. I'm modeling my project after a nifty one I saw created on the blog There's a Hole in My Bucket.

First of all, before I make the project, if your cereal box has one of these coupons on it, please clip it off and save it for a school.

Many schools collect them. My grandchildrens' schools, both public and private, save them, and most of the schools that I have worked in over the years also collected them. At the last school I worked in, a ladies' Sunday school class collected these as a project for our school. So even if you don't have children or grandchildren who collect them, somewhere there's a school that will appreciate you saving them.

Now on to the project - I decided to turn the cereal box sideways to make it wider and not as tall. I cut the front down lower than the back, then taped the top closed. I used scrap book paper to cover it all over. It took most of 4 sheets. I also painted some small wooden letters to spell "MAIL" and then hot glued them to the front.

To finish it off I used two clip magnets at the top to hold it to the refrigerator, but to add a little more security I hot glued a large flat magnet to the back. This magnet was just one I had in the drawer with some advertising on the front.

Will this solve my mail clutter problem? I don't know. At least now I have a place to put the mail when it gets piled on the counter. I'm not sure that I'll be able to retrain "everyone" to use this container, but I'm going to try.

This post was shared with:
These Peas Taste Funny Link it up Thursday
Momnivore's Dilemma Creative Juice Thursday
Domesblissity Thriving on Thursdays
Junk in their Trunk Link it up Wednesday
The Shady Porch Rock n Share
Whimsy Wednesday
Mop it up Mondays
Mrs. Happy Homemaker Mission Organization
Country Momma Cooks Link and Greet Party

The solution to the mail clutter is an empty cereal box. I'm modeling my project after a nifty one I saw created on the blog There's a Hole in My Bucket.

First of all, before I make the project, if your cereal box has one of these coupons on it, please clip it off and save it for a school.

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