They are simple, yummy and on the table in no time.  And they are so versatile.  Keep a can of these buttery rolls on hand and you can be so creative with any leftover meat and veggies.

Crescent Chicken Bundles

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1-½ cup Cooked Chopped Chicken
¾ blocks Cream Cheese, softened
3 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons celery, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons Milk
1 dash Salt
1 dash Pepper

Soften cream cheese and mix together with butter.
Mix in onion, celery, milk, salt and pepper.
Stir chopped chicken into mixture.
Separate Crescent rolls into 4 rectangles. Pinch perforations to create seal
Divide chicken mixture evenly between each dough rectangle.
Close the bundle by pulling all 4 corners together at the top and again pinch down each seam to seal.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Want to spice it up a bit?  Add your favorite seasoning (ex. Cajun, Italian, Greek) to make it personal.

I would love to hear about some of your crescent creations.

Keeping it simple,

These were my first attempt.  I made them a bit too large I think.  And I don’t think I would actually put them in the toaster – mine leaked –

The second time I went a little smaller. I put the filling on one side of the rectangle and folded over so I only had to crimp three sides.

For some reason I was not able to get them completely sealed either time and a some of the filling leaked out.  No worries though (thank you parchment paper for easy cleanup) – just scrape it up and spread on top before drizzling on the icing.  If you have any tips and trick for a fool-proof seal, I would certainly love to hear from you.

So here you go—

Homemade Breakfast Strudels

- 1 box of Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed (you will find these in the freezer section usually with the frozen whipped topping)
- 1/2 cup of jam (any flavor)
- 2 teaspoons of cornstarch

On a lightly floured cutting board or pastry mat, unfold the pastry sheets and roll out to about 1/3 of original thickness.

Using a pastry cutter or pizza cutter, cut pastry into rectangles.

Combine the jam and the cornstarch, then spread onto 1/2 of the rectangles to within 1/2 inch from edge.  Place another rectangle of pastry on top and seal the edges. Or you can spread on one side of the rectangle and fold over to seal.

The second time I made them I pierced the tops with a fork to vent (thinking this may prevent the leaky filling – didn’t work).

Bake on parchment line baking sheet (this was important for me to catch the leaky filling) at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  If serving immediately, drizzle with icing (recipe below) and serve warm.

If you are planning to use them later, freeze in a single layer.  After they are completely frozen store in freezer bags and when ready to eat bake at 400° for 4-6 minutes or until warm. Drizzle with icing.

Voila!  And the kids loved them.

I love this Baked Potato Soup,  Actually, it could probably be labeled a chowder.  The flavor of the potatoes is heightened by baking them first.  And then the cheese, corn and bacon (oh my, what’s not good by just adding bacon?).  Just heavenly!

This will definitely be one of your favorite “go to” soups – any time of year.

Cheesy Baked Potato Soup

4 large baking potatoes
4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
4-6 ounces cream cheese
2 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 carton chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn
Red pepper flakes, to taste
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 cups half and half
8 slices crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Bake potatoes at 400° until soft; cool completely. You can even bake a day or two ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to use.

Peel the skins from the potatoes and cut into small bite size pieces. set aside.

Saute the onions in butter over medium heat, in a 3-quart pot,  until soft and transparent.

Dice the cream cheese, add to the onion mixture, stirring until melted.  Add the flour, salt, pepper and chicken broth; continue stirring until smooth.

Add potatoes, corn, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Cover and reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20-30 minutes to blend flavors.

Right before you are ready to serve, add the half and half, crumbled bacon, and cheese and just heat through but do not bring to a boil.

Serve immediately.  Would be awesome with a big wedge of cornbread.

YUM!!!

So if you are a chocoholic (like my husband) and don’t have a stash of cookies or candy bars in the house this is the perfect go to recipe.

I only eat this straight from the pan though – right after it’s done.  It is at its best when you have to eat it with a spoon. Once it hardens I’m done with it.  And the best way to eat it is to pour it, while still warm, over crackers.  Perfect combo of salty and sweet.

Easy Skillet Chocolate Fudge

2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup sweet milk*
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 Tablespoons cocoa**

Combine all ingredients into an iron skillet. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches soft ball stage (this means that a soft ball will form when dropped in cold water – I didn’t know that did you?  So much for my candy making skills).

Remove from heat and beat until smooth.  You can also add chopped nuts at this point if you so desire.

Pour into a buttered dish to cool.  Make sure you pour some onto some crackers to eat right away – you won’t regret this step.

Cut into squares.

* Okay, the hubby tells me that the higher in fat the milk is, the better the fudge.  The best combo is with evaporated milk, or use half & half. Or use part 2% and part half & half. Am I confusing you yet?  Bottom line is that skim milk will NOT work at all.  If you are counting calories you probably aren’t going to make this anyway so go for the gusto.

**The best I’ve ever tasted of this recipe is when it is made with DARK cocoa powder – but you can use whatever variety you have on hand.

Till next time – keeping it simple.

But salsa has to be my all time favorite.  Give me a bowl of salsa and a bag of tortilla chips – yep, I’ve got a meal.  I don’t know why I even bother to order an entree when I go to a Mexican restaurant – just give me the chips and salsa.  Why not?  You have your veggies, fruits (tomatoes – fruit or veggie?), grains (tortilla chips count as a grain don’t they?). So many health benefits – tomatoes & jalapenos are full of antioxidents and heart healthy. And some studies have found that garlic can help prevent heart disease and cancer.

Although the best salsa is made with “fresh from the garden” tomatoes (my favorite part of summer), you can definitely make it with those from the produce department at your local grocery.  You’ll probably want to double the recipe though because it will definitely go fast.

Salsa (Pico de Gallo)

6-8 large fresh ripe tomatoes
1-2 fresh jalapeno peppers
Small red onion
1 lime
1 bunch fresh cilantro
2-3 garlic cloves
Salt to taste

Now I’m not going to give you exact measurements here.  This is more of an eye-ball it and taste preference sort of recipe.

So you start with the tomatoes.  Peel and finely dice them (I remove the seeds and drain the juice too, but if you like your salsa juicy, feel free to skip that step).  My favorite tool for chopping the tomatoes is my Food Processor.  Makes the task quick and simple.

Finely chop the jalapeno (I only use one but if you like it extra spicy add another) and red onion (this is where the eye-ball comes in, I use about 1/4 to 1/3 the amount of onion as I do tomatoes).

Finely chop or press the garlic – oh what would I do without my garlic press?

Combine all of these into a medium bowl and squeeze in the juice of 1 lime.

Finely chop the cilantro and add to mixture to taste.  Cilantro is usually one of those herbs you either love or hate. I love it, so I add enough so that it is evenly sprinkled through the salsa.

Finally, add salt.  Another taste step.  The more acidic the tomatoes the less salt you will need, so just taste as you go.

Last step – grab a bag of your favorite tortilla chips and you’ve got lunch.

Enjoy!

Now don’t get me wrong – I do like chocolate (preferably the dark version), but on most occasions I tend to lighter desserts.  This, of course, has its pros and cons.  The cons are that when I make the non-chocolate dessert, no one else in my house will eat it.  And the pros are that no one in my house will eat it (yep I get the WHOLE thing to myself). Oh wait, is that a pro or a con?

So when spring springs, I get the taste for citrus.  I absolutely LOVE anything lemon.  And lime comes in a very close second.

These key lime cupcakes quench the citrus craving. Key lime through and through, in the cake, glaze and frosting too. Sweet and tart all in one bite. Luscious.

You will notice the different colors of the cupcakes in the picture.  One batch was baked in a metal pan and the other in a stoneware pan.  I cooked them at the same time.  The metal pan ones got a little over-browned on the bottoms and the stoneware ones probably could have used a little more bake time.  Either way they were both delicious.

Key Lime Cupcakes

1 box lemon cake mix
1 box lime-flavored gelatin
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup Key lime juice (fresh or bottled)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 or 3 drops green food color, optional

1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons Key lime juice

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2-3 tablespoons key lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Grated lime peel, optional

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, gelatin, water, lime juice, oil, eggs and food coloring with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.

3. Bake 19 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Pierce tops of cupcakes in several places With toothpick or fork.

4. In small bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar and lime juice, a little at a time, until glaze is smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle and spread glaze over cupcakes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

5. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. On low speed, beat in vanilla and 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar until mixed; beat on medium speed until fluffy. Frost cupcakes, mounding and swirling frosting in center*.   Garnish with lime peel.  Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes 24 cupcakes

*For easy frosting technique, place frosting in a large zip lock bag. Snip a small hole in corner of bag and pipe frosting onto tops of cupcakes.

We have had a couple of snow days here recently and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the days being lazy and watching movies all day with my daughter. It really is nice to just leave everything behind every now and then and just do nothing. But all those movies can make a girl hungry so I found some milk chocolate & peanut butter chips hiding out in the cabinet and just had to have some cookies. Not sure why I even bought these because we usually only use dark chocolate chips in our cookies.

Now you have to understand that I am NOT a baker. All the exact science and measurements make me nervous. So I start creaming the butter and the sugars and go to add the eggs and discover that I only have ONE egg. Now I’m getting frustrated and wondering how I’m going to figure this one out without running to the store. (Lesson here is get all ingredients out BEFORE you start preparing)

So my darling daughter (the real baker in our house) suggests to maybe make a half recipe or substitute something for the egg. In my frustration, I sat the mixer down against the bowl and it falls over knocking a portion of the sugar mixture into the floor. What now?? No way to figure out what percentage is lost.

Not to be defeated, we started experimenting. Added the one egg, a little bit of milk to replace the egg and proceeded with the dry ingredients. Wasn’t sure what the result would be but they turned out really good.

So here is the recipe (my version in parentheses).

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks of butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 12 ounce package peanut butter & milk chocolate chips

Combine flour, soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside

Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl until well combined and creamy. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla, mixing well. (Or add one egg and approximately ¼ cup milk). Stir in chips.

Drop by tablespoon onto baking sheet (I use a baking stone) and bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes until golden brown. (Now here was a big difference, I had to keep baking them for about 15-18 minutes before they were done. So was this because of the lack of egg? You bakers/scientists probably know the answer to this)

So I’m pretty proud of the accomplishment into experimental baker, but don’t think I’ll be trying this too often. Too stressful for me. I do love all the bakery creations though, would just rather eat than prepare.

But when you have a lot of them what is the best way to store them? First of all, if you are planning on using them within a week DO NOT put them in the fridge! Chilling will cause them to lose almost all of their flavor and also turn them mushy. So when you bring those beautiful tomatoes in from the garden or farmers market, leave them on the kitchen counter or window sill until you get ready to use them. They should be good for at least a week this way. Store bought tomatoes will have a shorter life since they are already a few days old by the time you get them.

Now I know some of you have LOTS of tomatoes and there is no way to eat them all in a week. For long term storage you can either freeze or can them and have great tasting tomatoes well into fall or winter. My kitchen skills haven’t progressed that far so I just keep making salsa until they are gone. Patience, I’ll get to the salsa recipe soon, I promise.

Keep it simple and savor all the tastes of summer!

But there is one jewel that hits it’s prime right in the middle the hottest part of summer. Homegrown tomatoes are the BEST!

I haven’t grown any myself in the last couple of years but my friend (thanks Sandy) blessed me with some right out of her garden last week and they are a little slice of heaven.

My favorite summer sandwich is the classic BLT. I could literally eat one every day if I have really good home grown tomatoes. The ones in Walmart can’t even come close. The perfect combination of saltiness, acidity, sweetness & crunch)

So today, I’ve been slaving over my computer in my wonderful air conditioned house (no humidity here, although a couple of flies seem to always somehow sneak in. How do they do that?) and for my lunch break I indulged. The perfect BLT.

If it makes you hungry, never fear. Easy to make and oh so satisfying.

BLT (Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich)

2 slices of lightly toasted bread
Mayonnaise (but I prefer Miracle Whip)
4-5 slices of crisp bacon
2-3 thin slices tomato
2 leaves of lettuce

It is important to toast the bread for this sandwich. Keeps it from becoming quite so soggy from those juicy tomatoes.

Spread both bread slices with mayo (or Miracle Whip).

Layer bacon slices, tomato and lettuce then enjoy each delicious bite.

I have found that it is important to layer the tomato between the bacon and the lettuce to again prevent the juiciness of the tomato from soaking up the bread. So if this is the process I think we should change the name to “BTL”. What do you think?

I like this recipe because I can add a little extra heat and the honey balances it out. Although they were still too hot for the son. Guess I should just leave his naked. And you can adjust to the heat you prefer by the amount of cayenne you add.

They are great for a weekend dinner or double it up for party finger food.

Enjoy!

Honey Buffalo Chicken Wings

3-4 pounds Chicken wings
1 stick butter
1 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup honey
Salt
Cayenne pepper

Cut off the tips of the wings and discard. Using a sharp heavy duty knife separate the wings at the joints and cut off any loose skin. This process isn’t too difficult once you determine where the joint is.

Preheat the grill to high heat and lightly oil the grate. You could also deep fry or oven bake them but I prefer the outdoor grill method for less mess and better flavor.

Grill the wings over medium high heat for 15-20 minutes, turning often, until done and the juices run clear. I also make sure the skin is crispy (don’t want any chewiness here).

While the wings are cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add hot sauce, honey, salt & cayenne. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes until well combined and heated through.

Remove wings from the grill to a large bowl with lid. Pour sauce over wings. Secure the lid and give a vigorous shake to coat.

Serve with raw veggies and Bleu Cheese or Ranch dressing.