Salmon

We threw this on the grill tonight. YUM!

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons light olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 (6 ounce) fillets salmon

Cinnamon Rolls

I made these last night for some friends that were packing up and moving this morning. These were AMAZING! I adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com because I don't have a bread machine. I just used my Kitchenaid and everything worked perfectly. My house is generally pretty cold, so for a warm place for the dough to rise, I turned my oven on for one minute and then turned it off before covering the dough and placing it in there. I have one other recipe I love for really gooey, sticky rolls. These are a little less messy. I will post both. For these I doubled this recipe and it filled a cookie sheet & one other round pan. YUMMM!!!

Ingredients

1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup warm milk
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons milk

Directions

1.Combine water, melted butter, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. Cover with a plate and let set 10 minutes. Meanwhile mix vanilla pudding, warm milk, and egg.

2.When the yeast has set, combine yeast mixture with pudding mixture in mixer. With mixer, need in flour and salt. You may not need all of teh flour. Add enough flour for the dough to pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball, but still a tiny bit sticky to touch.

3.Place dough in oiled bowl. Cover and let rise 1 hr.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 17x10 inch rectangle. Spread with softened butter. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over dough.

5.Roll up dough, beginning with long side. Slice into 16 one inch slices and place in 9x13 buttered pan. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

4.Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. While rolls bake, stir together cream cheese, softened butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk. Remove rolls from oven and top with frosting.

Green Grape Salad

I had a BBQ for Flint's birthday last weekend. Although it was a little stressful getting all of the food ready with little Allie on my hip, the food was a success! I am going to post a few of the favorites. Because I like to experiment, most of the recipes were first-timers for me. Enjoy!

Green Grape Salad


This was my sister's favorite. I doubled it for the BBQ and everyone took what little was leftover! I am thinking of adding granny smith apples next time. I think it would be PERFECT! Delicious and addicting as is.

Ingredients

4 pounds seedless green grapes
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces chopped pecans
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

1.Wash and dry grapes. In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Add grapes and mix until evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans, mix again and refrigerate until serving.

No Bake Cookies & A Winner!

And the winner of the Easter Giveaway is..... BRITNEY BRENT! Please choose one of the following prizes and shoot me an email at flintandashley@yahoo.com with your mailing address. Congrats!..

1. Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book
2. O'Keefe's Working Hands Creme
3. Cookie Scoop by Wilton

Now back to oatmeal cookies... Last but not least No Bake Cookies!! Who can resist these simple little pieces of heaven? Here's my favorite recipe found on allrecipes.com

No Bake Cookies III



Ingredients

2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup milk
1 pinch salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.In a saucepan bring sugar, cocoa, margarine, milk, and salt to a rapid boil for 1 minute.
2.Add quick cooking oats, peanut butter, and vanilla; mix well.
3.Working quickly, drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper, and let cool.

Oatmeal Cookie #3

Today is the last day to enter into the Easter Giveaway! Become a follower of my blog and you will automatically be entered to win your choice of 3 awesome prizes! Best of luck! I will announce the winner tomorrow. Now back to Oatmeal Cookies... Here is another Ray family favorite...

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I post it in honor of my husband that lives for chocolate & peanut butter. I started making these during the wrestling season and he got mad when I gave most of them away. I was only trying to help.... He says that they are the best cookie he has ever tasted. I add milk chocolate chips to mine and use real butter rather than margarine.

Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking oats

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.In a large bowl, cream together shortening, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3.Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just light brown. Don't over-bake. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Oatmeal Cookie #2....

Clementine's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies


I found this recipe years ago on the back of a bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips. I LOVE these cookies. So when you're in the mood for oatmeal cookies and need some chocolate too.... whip up these babies. I use milk chocolate chips myself. SO GOOD! Don't overbake.

Yield: 5 dozen 2-inch cookies

12 ounce(s) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup(s) butter, softened
3/4 cup(s) packed brown sugar
1/2 cup(s) sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla
1 cup(s) unsifted flour
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon(s) nutmeg
3 cup(s) oats, uncooked
1 cup(s) walnuts, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color (about 4 minutes). Add vanilla and egg, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stir flour with baking soda, salt, and spices; add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie, 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on a cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling racks. Store in tightly covered container. Makes about 6 dozen 2-inch cookies.

Oatmeal Cookie Madness! (and a GIVEAWAY!!)

Just 3 more days to become a follower and be entered into the Easter GIVEAWAY drawing! The winner will choose from 1 of 3 prizes... Now how about oatmeal cookies?! Yesterday afternoon we got a hinkering for those good old No Bake Cookies. Can you really go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter? The were delish and got me to thinking about all of my favorite oatmeal cookies. So here you have them! It's hard to choose a favorite. So try... and enjoy! :)

Mom's Oatmeal Cookies

These always come out so moist and fluffy. Not to mention they make your house smell like heaven!

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, cream together the butter, butter flavored shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely. Store in airtight container. Makes 3 dozen.

Garlic cheesy Artichoke Dip

My sister-in-law made this dip for us a few times over the holidays last winter and I LOVED it. I could not stop eating it. You can either slice up a bagette or use tortilla chips to dip in. You can serve it as is or scoop it into a bread bowl. Both are delicious. Easy and AMAZING. Enjoy :)

2 T butter
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans artichoke hearts, cut up
16 oz sour cream
2 8oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1 bread bowl with the top cut off and hollowed out

Saute the garlic in the butter for about a minute on med-high heat. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Put the dip in a baking dish, cover the top with foil and heat in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 375. Serve with sliced french or sour dough baguettes or tortilla chips.

Mom's Cherry Dessert

I am not a cherry pie fan, but I could never turn down this dessert made by my mother. I tried to make it the other night for some friends. I was avoiding a trip to the store and made it without having all of the right stuff. It was still delicious, but I promised I'd post the real recipe soon. So here you go! Enjoy :)

1 yellow cake mix
2 21 oz. cans cherry pie filling
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour cherry pie filling in the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Sprinkle cake mix on top. Top with butter shavings. Last, top with almonds. Bake about 50 minutes or until golden. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. YUM! Thanks Mom :)