Quick Apple Dumplings

Well, there's your picture. It happened before I got back to the kitchen this morning. 8 dumplings. 2 kiddos. 1 Dear Husband.

Ta da.
Poof.
Gone.

Here's the recipe and I believe you'll love it!
Set the oven at 350.

You'll need:
2 apples - Granny Smith are fine, I like Jazz
1/2 stick butter
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 container refrigerated crescent rolls

Cut the apples in quarters, skin on and core them.
Wrap the apples in the crescent roll strips and place them in a greased 8x8 baking pan.
Melt butter and sugar and whisk together lightly.
Pour over the wrapped apples and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Breakfast? Dessert? Kiddo's snack? Just enjoy.

Weekending: Easy Lemon Scones

This Sunday morning we decided to have "home church" as Truman calls it. I made scones and the kids set the table. Eric read us a devotion and we sang our prayers. It was actually quite lovely. We ended our home church with playdoh and sketchbooks. Which sometimes feels more church-like to me.

I found this recipe on epicurious, but I adapted it for what I had in the fridge, and what we had in the pantry. I cut down the lemon in the recipe to just a hint so I could mix in chocolate chips. Isabel, my daughter does not really enjoy scones, but she does enjoy them with chocolate. Personally, I enjoy my scones with a big dose of coffee. Don't you?

Easy Lemon Scones

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of lemon zest

For top of scones:

• 1 tsp melted butter
• 1 enough sugar to lightly dust each scone

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl. Using fingertips, rub in chilled butter until pieces are size of small peas.  Form a well into the dry ingredients.

Mix 1 cup milk, lemon juice and zested lemon peel in glass measuring cup. Pour buttermilk mixture into the well you created dry ingredients and stir until dough begins to form (some of flour will not be incorporated). Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and gather together. Knead dough briefly, about 5 turns. Divide dough in half. Incorporate the mini chocolate chips into one half of the dough, do not need just incorporate. Form each dough half into ball and flatten into 1-inch-thick disk. Cut each disk into 6 wedges. 

Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.* Brush tops with 1 tablespoon butter and dust with sugar. Bake until scones are golden brown on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

*Note: I did not space mine apart enough and they all baked together. So if you want these to LOOK like scones, you probably should not be in a hurry and do that (:


--Mary

This week we're joining Amanda for Weekending, and Tasty Tuesday with 33 Shades of Green.  

Crazy Week Night Sweets

Eric, my husband and I have worked together at most jobs we've had for the last 10 years. Mostly in resturaunts, but even now we get up together, get ready together, get the kids off to daycare together and we then, walk through the front doors of our work together.

A few years ago we worked at this place that had the best "Sweets" or sweet potato fries-- I actually almost forgot about them until on a date night we ordered sweet potato fries at another resturaunt. And we were sorely disappointed, not enough sweet or salt. And with the long-lost taste of Sweets in my mind, I could not get over it.

So last night, when I was home with two sickies. I found that I needed dinner, quick! And the two sweet potatoes staring at me on the counter got me thinking again. 

So I made my own version, a baked version with more sweet, and more salt. Not nutritious... but delicious. These are quick and the kids will eat them!

Baked Sweets
1 Tbs brown sugar 
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 pounds sweet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into long strips
1 tablespoon olive oil Spray or grease a baking sheet pan. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix brown sugar, sugar,  cinnamon, salt with  sweet potatoes and oil in a mixing bowl. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender and a little crispy.

 Photo

Monkey Bread - Saturday morning fun

Monkey bread came into our family in the 70's when my grandma found a recipe and began serving it with dinner on occasion. Edith's version was made like a dinner roll, completely savory (and buttery) and built in bites like the one in the picture. But ours today, the one in the picture, is a cinnamony-sweet breakfast treat - something we love to make, especially with friends or the cousins.

This particular version came from our fabulous friend, Bonnie, who introduced it as a breakfast treat for kids on mornings when she drove them to school. Her big boys (her trees!) love it - it was sure to be a hit. So, on those early, yummy, cozy mornings, when she wasn't delighting them with crepes or breakfast burritos, she made Monkey Bread. My kids wanted, desperately, for me to make it too.

This particular recipeis calls for frozen bread dough, butter, sugar, cinnamon and a knife. I learned in my first tries that you must let the dough not just thaw, but rise and that bigger pieces are better than smaller pieces.

Here's our super simple recipe:

1) Thaw a loaf of frozen bread dough. We like Bridgeford.

2) Heat your oven to 350 degrees.

3) Spray a bundt or angel food pan with Pam.

4) Melt a stick of butter, place it in a shallow dish or bowl.

5) Place about 1:4 ratio cinnamon:sugar in a shallow dish or bowl - you could use a whole cup

6) Cut the risen dough into bite sized pieces (we cut the loaf in width-wise strips and then  into thirds).

7) Assemble by dipping cut bread into first butter then sugar and build in the pan.

8) Save left over butter or c/s for next time!

8) Bake in 350 over for about 35 minutes. (The dough at the top of the pan will be lighter than that pictured.)

9) Cool a few minutes, then turn the ring of yumminess over on a pan and serve.

There are several recipes for monkey bread. Erin's has ice cream in the mix! And there's even a kit you can buy.

What I love the most about monkey bread is how it makes my monkeys jump for joy!