Veggie Pizza

With the Superbowl coming up, I thought I'd share one of my all time favorite appetizer recipes. There are lots of "veggie pizza" recipes out there, but this one hands down is the best I've ever had. It's super easy, you make it ahead of time, and you can customize it to your liking.

I know, vegetables are not on most guys' Superbowl menus, but the guys in our life devour this (maybe because it has the word "pizza" in the title?) and the gals at these parties might want something other than hot wings to munch on. Not that I'm downplaying the importance of hot wings at a football party. Please get hot wings too. Your Superbowl party will thank you later.

Yum... carrots, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, onion, cheese, ranch..... It's so colorful!

Cut into squares and you are ready to go!

Veggie Pizza

by Girls in Aprons

2 pkgs refrigerator crescent rolls

**Unroll and spread on lightly greased jelly roll pan. Press edges together to form a rectangular crust and pat down evenly (you may have to cut some of the rolls up to cover the entire jelly roll pan, just be creative!). Bake at 375 for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

2- 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise
1 package ranch dressing mix

**Mix together and spread on cooled crust.

Pizza toppings (customize to your liking):

2 stalks broccoli

3 green onions
1 green pepper
2-3 roma tomatoes
1 small bag shredded carrots

1 cup shredded cheese

Seasoning Salt

(Optional: 1 small head cauliflower, 10 fresh mushrooms, 1 can olives)

Chop vegetables fairly fine (I used my food processor to cut the broccoli and carrots smaller). Layer in any order (I mixed my veggies together in a bowl and added it on top of the ranch mixture, except the tomatoes which I added last). Sprinkle the cheese on top and then top lightly with seasoning salt. Wrap with plastic wrap and press down firmly so the veggies stay on the pizza. Refrigerate at least 8 hours to let flavors blend.

Classic Cheesecake with Sour Cream Topping

There are a few things in life that I can't live without. My family, for one. Great books to read, my faith to keep me on the strait and narrow, comfy pajamas and big ol' fuzzy blankets to snuggle in while I watch my shows at night. You know, the usual. And then there is cheesecake.

I've known from a very young age that cheesecake was going to be a good friend of mine. Yeah, I know, it's not the healthiest dessert out there, but even though I can't say "no" to cheesecake, I also know how to (kind of) eat it in moderation. And the fact that I don't typically like to make cheesecake means it's not always in my house. But Cheesecake Factory is fairly close by, and don't get my started on the amazing recipes I've seen on Pinterest lately. I'm going to have to just make a few (dozen) of those one of these days.

But one of my fave kinds of cheesecake is just plain ol' regular cheesecake. My husband had his birthday a couple months ago and asked me to make cheesecake for his little family get-together. I love this recipe because it is super creamy and light tasting. I'm not a super-fan of the really heavy, dense cheesecakes. I don't know if it's because they are really rich or if it's the heaviness of it. This cheesecake is simple and you can top it with pretty much anything you want!

This recipe is actually really easy to follow. As long as you read the recipe, follow the steps, and bake as directed you'll be fine. It's also really normal for a cheesecake, when it comes out of the oven, to be a little jiggly on top. Not super crazy jiggly, but the top of it near the center may look a little wobbly if you lightly shake it, and that's fine. Once it cools you'll be fine. It will set, trust me! Cheesecake is definitely picky sometimes, and I've made a couple that are undercooked when I cut into them. Just make sure that you let the cheesecake set up in the refrigerator overnight so it sets properly.

And don't let the "sour cream" scare you. It makes the cheesecake amazing!

Classic Cheesecake with Sour Cream Topping
by Girls in Aprons

Crust:
1 pkg graham crackers, crushed
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup butter, melted

Mix and press in bottom of 9 inch spring form pan (make sure it is a nice one, not a flimsy one, or the butter in the crust will melt out). Bake at 350 for 6 minutes.

4 egg whites, beaten until stiff
3 pkgs (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cream the sugar, cream cheese and vanilla together. Carefully fold stiff egg whites into cream cheese mixture. Place on top of baked crust and return to oven for 30 minutes.

Topping:
2 cups sour cream
3 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Mix topping ingredients together and carefully spread on baked cheese cake (spread it slowly on top so you don't ruin your layers). Return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes at 400. Cool completely before refrigeration.

Best if made the day before. (Carefully ream around the edge of cheeses cake with a sharp knife as soon as it comes out of the oven. This will help to keep it from cracking in the center).

Stuffed French Toast

Let's face it, even though I love to cook and bake, there are times I just don't want to make dinner. Whether it's a time thing or a lazy thing, but sometimes I don't want to cook anything even if it's already been planned.

Enter the time-saver: Breakfast for Dinner.

I know this isn't breaking news. Every one has breakfast for dinner, right? But sometimes I feel guilty making plain ol' pancakes (again) or boring frozen waffles (even if I try to jazz them up with peanut butter or something).

My favorite thing to do lately is Stuffed French Toast. The best thing about this meal is that you can tailor this to each person's likes and dislikes. You can make them sweet or savory and just have fun with it. And it was easy to throw together. I had everything in my pantry and refrigerator ready to go and it was on the table so fast. This is also super easy for breakfast, so maybe surprise your family one morning!

Here I did whipped cream cheese (easier to spread) and strawberry jam, drizzled with Nutella and topped with powdered sugar. Hey, I never said it was super duper healthy. Serve with a side of fruit and you'll feel better :)

Some other stuffing ideas:

 PB&J

peanut butter and Nutella

marshmallow creme and Nutella

Fluffernutter (marshmallow creme and PB)

cheese and bacon

bacon, tomato and avocado (savory Stuffed French Toast!)

The possibilities are endless. Just use what you have and top it off with what you want.

Start with your ingredients. Some of the ingredients might be tricky to keep in (tomato, bacon, etc) but I'll just show what I did. I smeared cream cheese on both sides (A) because it's good and (B) because it makes a good "glue" for everything. Then I added some jelly. 

Smoosh together and dip in your egg mixture. Use both hands and be kind of careful, You basically want to make sure the egg doesn't get inside the filling since that party won't really be getting cooked, just warmed.

And I love using Texas Toast for my French toast! It's thick and yummy. I use Franz bread here in the NW, but any thick sliced bread will do.

Spray your pan with Pam (or whatever spray works for you) and cook on both sides until golden brown.

Yummmm. Something about cream cheese and jam oozing out of my French toast is delightful. And Nutella really brings everything up a notch, doesn't it?

Stuffed French Toast

by Girls in Aprons

6 eggs

splash of milk

dash of cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

Put ingredients together in a shallow bowl (I use a pie dish) and wisk with a fork until combined.

Texas Toast (or other thick sliced bread)

Whipped cream cheese

Strawberry Jam

Nutella

Powdered Sugar

Heat your pan to medium heat and spray your with nonstick cooking spray.

Start with two slices of bread and smear some cream cheese on each slice, top one slice with jam and press the two sides together. Carefully dip each side of the "sandwich" into your egg mixture, making sure not to get the egg into the cream cheese/jam.

 Place your French Toast onto the pan, cooking each side until golden brown. Top with a drizzle of Nutella and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Serves 4-6

Raspberry Pretzel Salad

Waaay back when I was first married (and sadly, the worst cook ever), I bought a cookbook. I was seriously done with the terrible meals I had been making for my poor, patient husband (who apparently also didn't have high expectations for my cooking skills, or he had really bad taste in good food). I can't even remember what we ate most the time, although thoughts of spaghetti (really, just pasta and sauce) and overdone steaks come to mind. Yikes! I remember branching out and actually made a decent meatloaf once, and I was great with a slow cooker. And pancakes.

The cookbook I bought was "The Essential Mormon Cookbook", and let me tell you, I was terrified. I hadn't made most of the stuff in the book, and I had never even made Jello before either! I perused the recipes and found a few I still use today (their meatball recipe is delicious, and so is their Missionary Meatloaf). One recipe, though, that my mother helped me make when she came to help after the birth of my first baby was the Raspberry Pretzel Salad. It was amazing! I was so weirded out to be using preztels with cream cheese and raspberries, but something about those things all together makes perfection!

We've made this recipe lots of times before, but this was the first time I had actually made it on my own. I only the second time I had made Jello before (I'm slowly becoming the ultimate Mormon housewife). It was a major hit at the Thanksgiving feast. It was like eating dessert with my turkey!

So start off with your pretzels. The recipe calls for sticks, I had regular so I went with it. I just broke them up into thirds and fourths and had them lay as flat as possible.

Add the butter. Make sure you cover them as much as you can. 

Mix your cream cheese, sugar and Cool Whip. I could eat this concoction all day! 

Butter + Pretzels = Amazing! Somehow it has this toffee flavor that is to die for!

Carefully place the cream cheese mixture on top of the cooled pretzels. You don't want to lift the pretzels, so I put spoonsfuls all around and then lightly spread it with my spatula. Cover from edge to edge, so when you pour your syrupy Jello on top, it does not leak to the bottom. This will cause soggy pretzels!

Pour on the raspberry goodness!

This is what you're looking for. Three distinct layers, and no Jello leaking to the bottom!

So. Good. And bonus, it can be made the day before!

Raspberry Pretzel Salad
by Carissa Poyfair, adapted from "The Essential Mormon Cookbook"

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
2 1/2 cups thin pretzel sticks
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip, thawed
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 large pkg raspberry jello
2 (10 oz) pkgs frozen raspberries undrained and slightly thawed
Melt butter and pour into 9X13 pan.  Break pretzels in half and pat evenly into pan.  Bake 10 minutes at 400.  Remove from oven and cool. 

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, Cool Whip and sugar.  Dab on top of pretzels and spread to edges of pan, leaving no spaces (if the Jello gets under this layer, it will make the pretzels soggy).  Refrigerate 1 hour.  Bring water to a boil.  Completely dissolve gelatin in boiling water and cool in fridge until syrupy.  Add raspberries and pineapple and stir.  Pour carefully over top of cream cheese mixture.  Refrigerate overnight or until firm.