Holiday Recipe Round-Up

I've been thinking about writing a post about a recipe I've tried over the past couple of weeks for the holidays, but I've been a little lazy taking pictures and generally documenting my cooking. There are several recipes I have tried from other blogs or sites, however, that have been a part of our un-processed lifestyle this year, and they are worth sharing. These are all my photos, I just kept forgetting to take the steps! I've also been working on this post for days, but with my husband working from home, my 10-year old step son playing computer games, and my littles demanding attention, it has been a busy couple of weeks!

The first is a recipe from My Baking Addiction: Baked crab rangoons. I made these for a little gathering I had at my house before Christmas and they are just as good as the real thing...but so much easier and so much better for you! I used real mayonnaise (not light) and used a green onion too. I also doubled the recipe shown here.

For the same gather, I made this Beer Candied Bacon from Tide and Thyme. I followed the recipe exactly, just subbing a porter for the beer they used (it was what I had). Oh. My. Goodness. This is bacon at a whole other level, my friends. It takes time and you have to babysit it, but if you have a snow day, like we have today, please make this!

Next up, Christmas Kringle. My in-laws order a couple of these for their Christmas morning breakfast and I wanted to make one for my husband. This isn't as labor-intensive as a classic kringle, but it is just as good (in fact in my opinion, better). It has everything I would want in a breakfast pastry. My good friend gave me some home-made apple pie filling which I used for the middle, and mixed it with some raisins too. You can use whatever filling you desire. You can find the recipe here.

Next up are sticky buns! My Mom and Step-Dad came over a few days after Christmas to close on a house they bought in town and to hang out with us. My Step-Dad had his gall-bladder out just a couple weeks before and was still on the mend. He happened to mention that sticky buns sounded really good...so I decided to whip these up! They were just what the doctor ordered. Very ooey-gooey and sticky!

I followed this recipe: Cinnamon Rolls

I of course used butter, and I also had the formed cinnamon rolls rise in the fridge overnight. I let them sit our for about 20 minutes in the morning before baking them.

My little helper put on the glaze. 

Next up is a bit of a revelation. Homemade Velveeta. Yes, it is kind of an oxy moron - homemade processed cheese, but that is basically what it is! I used it to make a cheesy pull-apart bread for New Years Eve and they were so so good. This is the cheese cubed up after I made it, ready to get put into bread dough, rolled in butter, and placed in a pan for baking. I WILL be making this again soon for cheesy dips. Definitely a super-bowl party must coming up! Here is the recipe: Homemade Velveeta

I also tried a new bread recipe. It is supposed to be a Great Harvest copy-cat, and I LOVE Great Harvest. When I can't make bread myself, I go there. This came out AWESOME. The bread rose so beautifully it overflowed my bowl. Half the loaf was gone by the time it cooled because the boys kept going back for warm bread and butter. A perfect snack, in my opinion!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Last but not least, another hit for us all - Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins. I had leftover buttermilk from something or other. These are light but flavorful and best warm. I used dried blueberries (a trick I learned from the Pioneer Woman - they plump up in the muffins but stay put and don't bleed). A perfect New Years muffin. I also used whole honey greek yogurt instead of low-fat vanilla yogurt.

I hope you are all safe and warm if you are experiencing the same weather I am here in the Midwest!