Pizza Factory Breadsticks

  A year or so ago, my room mate and I decided we wanted to learn how to make Pizza Factory bread sticks. So many places get famous for their breads and Pizza Factory is one of those places in Utah.  

So I went on Pinterest ( I love Pinterest! ) and there are a few different versions, but here are the keys to making them amazing. 

 Use dowels to cook them... don't just put them on a pan... they will not taste the same. 

Use homemade dough, not Rhodes rolls dough. They are so much better with that home made touch.

Lastly, make sure you season the butter like the recipe says. It makes a huge difference!

Here is my favorite version... enjoy!!

Pizza Factory Twisted Breadsticks

1 T. yeast

2 T. sugar

1 1/2 C. warm water

1 T. oil

1 tsp. salt

3 1/2 C. flour

3/4 C. melted butter - divided

3/8  tsp. granulated garlic

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves

1/4 tsp. Season All

1 T. Parmesan cheese

8  - 1/4 inch wooden dowels

cut into 18 inch lengths (craft store)

or 8 - 12 inch skewers 

I tried them both ways and decided

I wanted the long wooden dowels like

Pizza Factory uses, but the skewers worked too.

Mix the yeast, sugar and water and

let sit for a couple of minutes to dissolve

the yeast.  Add the oil, salt and flour and

knead by hand or with your mixer with a

dough hook for about 5 minutes.

Cover and let rise until double.

Divide dough into 8 equal parts,

about 4 oz. each if you want to use

a kitchen scale.

Lightly flour your hands and roll

the dough into about an 16-18 inch

long "snake".  Moisten the top of your

dowel or skewer and begin wrapping

the dough around loosely.  Moisten a little where

the breadstick will end too.   Pinch to secure

the dough at the top and bottom.  Leave about

5 inches at the end of the dowel, if you are using

the longer dowels.

Hang over the edge of a 9x13 inch cake

pan with all of the dough inside the pan.

Let them rise until doubled.

Brush with 1/4 C. melted butter.

Heat oven to 375.  Bake at 375 for 

about 15- 20 minutes or until just golden.

Meanwhile mix the remaining 1/2 C. melted butter,

seasonings and parmesan cheese.

When the breadsticks come out of the

oven, brush them with the seasoned melted

butter mixture.

Even more Kneaders!! Yay!

So from the same blog, I found another post of more Kneaders recipes. I just couldn't help but re-blog these!

Kneaders is one of my favorite places:) These are all so good!!

Kneaders  Rosemary Focaccia Ingredients 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 cup warm water 2 ½  cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons rosemary 2 tablespoons butter ¼ teaspoon sea salt Method 1. Place yeast, sugar and water in large bowl and allow mixture to become bubbly. 2. Mix in 1 T butter, salt, and 2 cups of flour. 3. Add one T of fresh chopped rosemary. 4. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or about 5 in a dough mixer. 5. Oil a bowl, put dough in and cover with a towel 6. Let rise in a warm place for one hour until doubled. 7. Punch down dough and divide in half. 8. Spray baking pan with cooking spray. 9. Shape dough into 2 small rounded loaves. 10. Sprinkle remaining 1 T of rosemary over the loaves and press lightly into the surface. 11. Cover and let rise again until double - about 45 minutes. 12. Preheat oven to 375 decrees. 13. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. 14. Remove from oven and brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with salt. Kneaders Eclairs INGREDIENTS FOR CHOUX ½ cup unsalted butter 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp. sugar  5 large eggs or 1 liquid cup ½ tsp.  salt  1 cup water  Preheat oven to 425 degrees 1.Combine water, butter, sugar, salt in a medium sauce pan over medium  high heat. 2. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat. 3. Stir in flour. Incorporate and return to heat. 4. Stir constantly for 4 minutes or until mixture pulls away from the sides and forms a film on the bottom of the pan. 5. Transfer to a mixing bowl with paddle attachment. 6. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes, and slightly cooled. 7. Add eggs slowly in four equal parts. Allowing to incorporate after each part. Add next part and repeat.  The batter will be smooth and shiny. 8. Immediately pipe with a pastry bag, no tip. 9. Decrease oven to 350 and bake for 25 – 30 minutes until golden brown. 10. Turn off oven, prop door open and allow to dry. 15-20 minutes  INGREDIENTS FOR FILLING: One large box vanilla pudding.  Make as directed and allow to cool 1 cup Cool Whip Fold above ingredients together in a medium size-mixing bowl. Refrigerate. INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE GANACHE ½ cup heavy cream 4 oz semi sweet baking chocolate Chop chocolate into small pieces and put in small bowl and set aside. Heat cream slowly in a small saucepan until warm to the touch. Pour cream over chocolate.  Let stand until chocolate is melted. Stir until smooth. ASSEMBLE ÉCLAIR 1.   Break any walls inside of choux with a wooden skewer. Fill baked choux with pudding mixture using a pastry bag and tip 230. 3. Dip top half of éclair into chocolate ganache. 4. Set on top of wire rack to dry. 5.  Serve immediately. Kneaders  "To Die For"  Stuffing Ingredients ½ Cup Butter 1 Cup Chopped Onion 2 Cups Chopped Celery 2 Cans Chicken Broth, or 3 Cups Turkey Drippings 2 Packages Kneaders Asiago Croutons or Hazelnut 12Grain Croutons Preparation: Brown onion and celery in butter, add chicken broth (or turkey drippings). Next add Kneaders croutons. If mixture needs more liquid add ¼ to ½ cup of extra chicken broth (or turkey drippings). For added flavor you can add 1 lb. cooked and drained sausage, 1 cup roasted chopped chestnuts, chopped and cooked giblets, 1 medium chopped peeled granny smith apple, ¾ cup Craisins. Put mixture in 9 x 11 baking pan and cover with tin foil. Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes. Serves 12     (¾ cup size servings) Kneader's Almond Citrus Bars Ingredients for Almond Crust 1½ cups all-purpose flour 6 Tab. Margarine chopped in cubes ½ cup powdered sugar 1/8 cup sliced almonds Preparation In a medium bowl, combine flour and powdered sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture.  Should resemble course breadcrumbs. Stir in almonds. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with pan coating. Press dough into pan. Bake 340 for 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Ingredients for Filling 6 eggs    ¼ cup lemon juice 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar 1/8 cup lime juice 1 tsp lime peel 1 tsp lemon peel ½ cup all-purpose flour 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg ¾ tsp. baking powder  1 tsp. lime peel garnish, powdered sugar PreparationIn a medium bowl combine eggs, granulated sugar, flour, lemon juice, baking powder and nutmeg.  Beat on medium 2 minutes. Stir in by hand lemon peel and lime peel.  Pour over hot crust. Bake 20 minutes or until edges are browned and center appears set. Cool 1 hour. To serve, sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar.  Add Candied Citrus Slices if desired.  Makes 15 - 20 bars. Ingredients for Candied Citrus Slices ¼ cup water   key limes ¾ cup sugar.   small lemons Preparation In a large skillet combine water and sugar; bring to a boil.  Add 2 sliced lemons or 10 sliced key limes.  Make sure they are thinly sliced. Simmer gently, uncovered for 2 minutes on until just softened.  Transfer to rack to cool.  KneadersCream Cheese Lemon Truffle Pie Ingredients: Baked 9” pie shell ½ cup water 3 Tablespoons sugar 1 egg 1 Tablespoon cornstarch Zest of ½ lemon 1 ½ Tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons butter 1 cup vanilla chocolate chips or coins 1 (8 oz)  package cream cheese 1 cup whipped cream sweetened with powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon toasted almonds Toast almonds on a parchment covered cookie sheet at 350 degrees until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Put water, sugar, lemon zest in a saucepan and bring to a boil. In a large mixing bowl, mix egg and corn starch. Slowly add hot water to egg mixture in the bowl, and then pour entire mixture back into the pan. Stirring continually, heat until thickened. Remove from the heat. Add lemon juice and butter. Stir until mixture has cooled to 100 degrees. Pour ½ of the hot filling in a bowl. This will be used as the second layer of the pie. Add vanilla chips to the filling remaining in the pan. Stir until chips are melted. In a second bowl, place softened cream cheese. Add the hot vanilla chip mixture to the cream cheese and beat together. Spread this mixture in the bottom of the pie shell. Spread the remaining lemon filling on top. Chill for two hours. Top with sweetened whipped cream and garnish with toasted almonds. Makes 1 pie. Keep refrigerated until time to serve. Kneaders  Key Lime Tarts Let me start out by explaining the difference between Key limes and your everyday supermarket variety, the Persian lime.   Key limes come from the Florida Keys, thus their name, and are smaller, more yellow and contain more seeds than the green skinned Persian limes.   The bad news is they’re almost impossible to find fresh at your local market, but the good news is Persian limes work just as well in this particular recipe. Ingredients½ cup fresh lime juice (3 to 4 limes) 4 teaspoons grated lime zest 4 egg yolks 1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk 8 3” tart shells Preparation1. It’s easiest to remove the lime zest from whole limes so start with that. 2. Cut the limes in half and squeeze out the juice being careful to not include any seeds. 3. Whisk the egg yolks and lime zest together in a bowl until tinted light green.  This takes about 2 minutes. 4.  Beat in the milk, then juice and set aside at room temp till it thickens. 5.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 6. Pour mixture into tart crusts, bake for 5 minutes until the center is set, but still wiggles when shaken. 7. Remove from the oven and cool to room temp. 8.  Refrigerate for at least three hours until well chilled. 9. Serve with whipped cream topping and decorate with a lime wedge. Makes 8 Tarts Kneaders Pumpkin Spread 1 (16oz) pkg Frozen Whipped Topping, Thawed 1 (5 oz) pkg instant vanilla pudding mix 1 (15 oz)Can solid pack pumpkin ½ - 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice In a large bowl, mix together instant pudding mix, pumpkin pie spice. Fold in whipped topping. Chill Serve with sliced pumpkin bread or fresh sliced fruit. Sweet Toffee Dip8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature) ½ cup granulated sugar ¾ cup brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1½ toffee candy bars ( finely chopped) Mix all ingredients except for toffee bar, until incorporated. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Great with fruit, ginger snaps, etc.  Kneaders  Stuffed Italian Shells Ingredients:1 package of Maestri Pastai Shells 2 c. Ricotta Cheese 3 c. Mozzarella Cheese (divide ½ cup out) ½ c. grated  Parmesan Cheese 2 eggs ¼ c. Parsley 1 tsp. Salt ¼ tsp. Pepper 1 lb. Ground beef 1 bottle meat flavored Prego sauce ½ c. water 1 loaf Kneaders Asiago Cheese BreadMethod: 1-Cook ground beef then add Prego sauce, and ½ c. water.  Let simmer for 10 min. 2-In a separate pot bring water to a boil add shells and cook for 15 min. Should  be almost but not quite done.  Drain. 3-In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley salt and pepper. 4-Toast bread in the oven until crisp.  Place in baggie and crush with a rolling pin. To Assemble: 1-In the bottom of a baking dish (9 by 13)  put ¼ of Prego mixture. 2-Stuff shells full of cheese mixture and place in the baking dish. 3-Pour the rest of the Prego mixture on top of the shells. 4- Sprinkle Mozzarella and top with Kneaders Asiago Cheese Bread, bread crumbs. 5-Bake at 350 degrees, covered with tinfoil for 30 min. Bake uncovered for 10 min. or until cheese is melted. Kneaders  Apple Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding Ingredients serve 18 1 quart cream 3 large eggs 1 cup granulated sugar divided 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla 8 Kneaders cinnamon rolls 1 cup apple juice 1 cup sliced apples pealed and cut thinly. Optional Sprinkle of cinnamon In a medium bowl, combine cream, ½ cup sugar, eggs, vanilla. Cut up 8 Kneaders cinnamon rolls in quarters. Add to mixture and carefully combine. In a small bowl, mix together apple juice, apples and ½ cup sugar. Spray a 9 x 13 dripper pan with pan release. Fill pan a little more than half full with roll mixture. Pour apple mixture over the top of cinnamon roll mixture Spread remaining cinnamon roll mixture over the top of the apples Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Sprinkle top with cinnamon Serve hot Garnish with vanilla sauce or caramel sauce  Kneaders  Key Lime Pie with a Pretzel Crust INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRUST 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. pretzel crumbs 3 Tbsp. sugar 7 Tbsp. butter (melted) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9" pan with non-stick baking spray. Crush the pretzels until very fine; processing in a food processor for about 30 seconds works well. Add the sugar and melted butter, mixing to combine; you can do this right in the food processor. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes; the crust won't change color much, but will firm up. Remove from the oven and make the filling. INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING ½ cup fresh lime juice (3 to 4 limes) 4 tsp. grated lime zest 4 egg yolks 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk It's easiest to remove the lime zest from whole limes so start with that. Cut the limes in half and squeeze out the juice being careful to not include any seeds. Whisk the egg yolks and lime zest together in a bowl until tinted light green. This takes about 2 minutes. Beat in the milk, then juice and set aside at room temp till it thickens. Pour into the crust and smooth with a spatula. Bake the pie for 28 to 32 minutes, until the filling is set, with a small spot in the middle still soft looking. Cool for several hours before serving. Top with whipped cream and a garnish of crumbled pretzels. Kneaders Chicken Salad1/4 cup white vinegar salt pepper 1 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 1/4 cup sour cream About 4 stocks celery About 1 small bunch green onion Cooked chicken (6 half skinless/boneless breasts. Bake, shredded) *Mix vinegar, salt, pepper, mayonnaise and sour cream together. *Mix celery, green onion and chicken in separate bowl. Mix all ingredients together and taste. Let set overnight for best flavor.

Kneaders Recipes! Yumm...

Alright so Kneaders is pretty much awesome! If you haven't been there then you live under a rock. So use that smartphone I know you have (although you live under a rock so you may not have a phone at all) and go find a Kneaders. I promise you will not regret it.

For everyone who knows what it is or for anyone that doesn't live near a Kneaders, here are several of their delicious recipes.

My sister found this blog and sent this to me. I just had to share:) thanks to Junk of the Heart at http://www.holymolymeohmy.com

ENJOY!

Kneaders Pumpkin Chocolate Chip CookiesIngredients: 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature 2 eggs 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment whisk together sugars, eggs, butter and pumpkin, cream together for 3 minutes or until color lightens. Scrape down the bowl, and mix for one more minute at medium speed. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and ginger.  Remove whisk attachment and replace with paddle attachment. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients mixing until just incorporated. Carefully fold in chocolate chips using a rubber spatula. Using a ice cream scoop, scoop out cookie dough, onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown on outside edges.

Kneader's Mint Brownies Brownie Layer: 1 cup butter 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate 2 cups sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1/4 tsp. salt 4 eggs 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I have used less than this, about 2/3 cup, and thought they still turned out just as good) Frosting Layer: 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 cups powdered sugar 2-4 Tb. milk (as needed until frosting reaches desired consistency) 1 - 1 1/2 tsp. peppermint or mint extract (use 1 tsp. for less minty brownies or 1 1/2 tsp. for more minty ones. They do peppermint ones at Christmas time and mint ones the rest of the year.) 2 drops green or red food coloring (red for peppermint or green for mint) Chocolate Ganache: 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup heavy cream (or butter if you don't have cream on hand) 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper or foil. Spray with non-stick spray. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until completely melted. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until completely combined. Gently fold in flour and salt until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake 25 - 30 minutes (do not overcook). Cool completely. 2. When brownie layer is completely cooled, prepare mint frosting. Beat all ingredients together with mixer until light and fluffy, adding milk as needed to reach desired consistency. Using an offset spatula, spread over cooled brownies (make sure you spread it evenly so the top ganache layer will work right). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 3. Make ganache layer by heating cream and chocolate chips in microwave for 30 seconds, then stir completely until totally melted and combined (microwave for up to 30 more seconds if needed). Cool slightly, then spread evenly over mint layer. Do not refrigerate, ganache will set up within about an hour.

Kneaders French Toast 1 loaf of Chunky Monkey Bread, cut into 8 slices 8 eggs 3 cups milk 1 tbsp. brown sugar 3/4 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. vanilla  1. Whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla and pour half of mixture into 9×13 baking dish. 2. Place slices of bread into the baking dish and pour remaining egg mixture over top, making sure to cover all slices. 3. Refrigerate while making syrup (recipe follows). Kneaders Caramel Syrup From ABC4 1 c. brown sugar 1 c. heavy whipping cream 1 c. corn syrup 1. Whisk together over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is heated through. Ok! We’re ready to pull it all together! Remove your bread slices from the refrigerator and start cooking them on a well buttered griddle. {is french toast cooking or baking? or frying? I’m a little confused by that…} Cook/bake/fry to your liking– you know, crisp and buttery on the outside, warm and moist on the inside. Remember: these slices are super thick, so you’ll need to use a lower heat and keep them on for a little longer– just like crockpot cooking, “low and slow.” Pour the caramel syrup over top (and I’d highly recommend serving with a strawberry and homemade whipped cream for the full experience, but that’s just me…) and prepare to thoroughly enjoy. You can die happy now.

Raspberry Bread Pudding Recipe 1 1/2 loaves aged or day old,  white bread (I like to use a heavy type of bread, usually 1 lb. loaves would be standard.) 1 qt. heavy cream 3 C. sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla 5 C. raspberries, fresh or frozen (hers were fresh) 1 C. sugar 1/2 C. apple juice In a large bowl mix the cream, sugar, egg and vanilla. Cut bread into 1 1/2 inch cubes and add to cream mixture, coating the bread well.  Let stand 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to allow cream to absorb. Mix the raspberries, sugar and apple juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Layer a 9x13 inch baking pan 3/4 full with the bread mix and pour fruit filling over the bread mix, spreading evenly. Top with the remaining bread.  Bake 40 minutes at 375. Serve warm topped with vanilla cream sauce. (If you want it to cut into nice squares you can chill it and then cut it into squares, then microwave it for 20-25 seconds per piece and top with sauce.) Vanilla Cream Sauce 1 1/3 C. butter 5 T. flour 3 C. heavy cream 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp vanilla 2/3 C. sugar Melt butter in medium saucepan and add flour.  Stir 10 minutes until it has a nutty aroma, do not brown.  Add salt, cream and sugar until mix is thick.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Serve warm over the pudding.

Kneaders Pumpkin Choco Chip Bread INGREDIENTS 3-⅓ cups unbleached all purpose Flour 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 tbsp Cinnamon 2 teaspoons Baking Soda 1 teaspoon Baking Powder 1-½ teaspoon Salt 2-⅔ cups Sugar ⅔ cups Softened Butter 4 whole Eggs 1 pound (or 1 30oz can or 2 15oz cans) Mashed Pumpkin ⅔ cups Water 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I highly recommend Ghiradelli) DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream sugar and butter until well incorporated. Add eggs one at a time and then add the mashed pumpkin. Alternate adding dry ingredients with water. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into three large greased bread pans and bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Makes 3 loaves. That won’t make it very long at your house before being devoured.

Chunky Monkey BreadMakes 2 loaves Ingredients: For the Dough: 1 c. warm water 1 tbsp. yeast 3 tbsp. sugar 3 c. AP flour (do not use whole wheat!) 1/4 c. dough enhancer 3 tbsp. butter, soft 1 tbsp. oil pinch of salt For the Brown Sugar Filling: 2 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. butter, melted 2 tsp. cinnamon Instructions: Proof the yeast by sprinkling it over the water. Sprinkle the sugar over the yeast. It should all start to sink into the water and eventually become foamy. Meanwhile, add remaining dough ingredients into a bread machine or a stand mixer. Add the yeast mixture into the bread machine or bowl. If using a bread machine, run through dough cycle. If using a stand mixer– use a paddle attachment to mix together until a dough ball forms. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Punch down with bread hook. Repeat two more times. Meanwhile, grease and line two bread loaf pans with parchment paper. Mix together the brown sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon. Remove from bread machine or bowl. Divide dough into halves. Continue to divide into halves until you have 64 small dough balls. Line the bottom of the two pans with dough balls. Spread each of them with the brown sugar mixture. Continue alternating layers of dough with layers of brown sugar until no more remains (I got 3 layers of dough, 2 of brown sugar). Cover and let rise for 30 more minutes. Bake at 375º for 27-28 minutes. Remove and let cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let continue to cool on rack… or start eating

Bread!

So really soon I am going to blog about making bread, a family recipe that my great grandmother made. But, for right now, I want to talk about all the ways to spice up bread and make it more interesting.

I'm a college student so anything I can do to make my food budget go further is useful.  There are several ways to make bread into a really delicious snack.  I try not to eat many carbs.. but they are cheap food so I take what I can get. And carbs are my weakness... oh well

1-- Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

Country bread, sourdough, and french bread all taste amazing when dipped in a dish with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. 

2-- Herb Infused Olive Oil

Take some of your favorite herbs: I like chives, thyme, and rosemary... they might sound like a weird combination but when infused into the oil, they combine really nicely. 

You can also infuse softened butter and mold it back into rounded loafs to use anytime

3-- Ultimate Garlic Bread

The trick to making really good garlic bread is to not just have garlic  in the butter

Add 3/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp rosemary leaves (dried from the bottle works fine but fresh is better),  1/4 tsp Season All, and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese to 1/2 cup butter and melt them together.

Spread this on bread (sourdough or french bread is the best) wrap the slices together in tin foil and broil on high for 15 minutes (depending on how hot your oven gets on the broil setting)

You can also brush this on bread sticks and biscuits to make them super delicious

4-- Brie Deliciousness

Take a wheel of brie and top it with raspberry jam and almonds or cranberry sauce and onions, or pretty much anything you think will taste good. If you like spicy, consider grating some pepper jack cheese on top or red pepper flakes and parsley. My favorite is the cranberry sauce on its own or with onions.

Once you top the wheel of cheese, broil it on low until the Brie starts to melt. Then just choose how melted you want it and take it out when it gets there. 

This is good on fruit (I recommend apples) as well as bread. 

If you want to try baked Brie, which is similar only it is wrapped in a puff pastry, check out this recipe from Rachael Ray   Rachael Ray Baked Brie.

What do you want??

Is there anything you guys would like me to cook and blog about??

Best Birthday Cake!!!

So, my birthday passed a couple days ago and  I had some friends that decided they want to have a cake eating party to try a bunch of different type because everyone had their specific cake they loved. 

One of my friends makes butter-cream fondant that she swears is amazing and then everyone jumped on the band wagon of all the different cakes that they can make that are amazing. So it got me thinking about my favorite kind of cake.

People from my hometown request my mother's chocolate cake because it is amazing! Everyone praises it because it is really moist and chocolate-y with amazing frosting. They assume it is a family recipe that is incredibly difficult to make.  The fact is that it is the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box.  Its amazing! Sometimes the best recipes are on the back of the package.

My mother makes this cake on every single birthday in my family. It may seem overly simple but it is amazing!!  It isn't a sugar overload or so rich that it gives you a headache. Its just perfect  :)

Chocolate Cake  with Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 cup flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 Eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour  a 9x13 inch  glass cake pan
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
3. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed 2 minutes
4. Stir in boiling water and pour into the pan- don't worry when the batter is super thin, it's supposed to be
5. Bake 33-38 minutes.  The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean or when you juggle the pan and don't see any wiggle in the center of the cake

However, I don't like the frosting from the back of the cocoa box...

Frosting is a really important part of any cake. Personally I like cream cheese frosting because it tastes less sugary and it is creamier. There are a couple different ways to make cream cheese frosting but the most basic is:

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cube butter
1 8oz package cream cheese
Powdered sugar

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer and then mix in the powdered sugar until it reaches your desired level of sweetness.

Cheap and Easy Meal

So college is expensive. That is not a surprise to anyone who has ever been in college or had a friend/child in college.  I turned in a time card late to work a couple weeks ago which means that I didn't get paid on payday. So I went an entire month on a single paycheck where I had several days off so it was a tiny paycheck to boot. That, my friends, is not easy. So I had to get really creative.  I decided to make some dishes that can really stretch to make many meals from just a few ingredients.

This is one dish that my mother and I made for a wedding. Because I had made so many batches of this dish, I pretty much had it memorized.



Baked Rigatoni Lasagna
1 box Rigatoni pasta
1 large can Marinara Sauce
18 slices Provolone Cheese
1 lb Sausage browned
1 cup shredded cheese (whatever kind you like)
1 cup Sour Cream

1. Cook the pasta according to the box
2. Heat oven to 350
3. in a 9x13 baking dish, spread a spoonful of sour cream on the bottom
4. place a layer of pasta (enough to cover the sour cream)
5.place 1/3 of the sausage on top of the pasta
6. pour 1/4 of the jar of marinara sauce and spread it over the sausage
7. place six slices of provolone cheese in  a layer on top of the sauce
8. spread another spoonful of sour cream on the cheese and repeat the whole process 3 times.
9. top the dish with the shredded cheese and the rest of the marinara sauce.  Bake for about 30 minutes. It is done when the cheese is melted and you see bubbles along the sides of the glass pan


You can alter this recipe if you like more or less sauce or you want to have less cheese.  I  use reduced fat Jimmy Deans sausage. So use what you like, but I would recommend you try it according to the recipe at least once, it is really good!!