cheese danish, kind of cinnabunnish

This recipe rocks, it came from a cookbook that my mom's work put out. A bunch of people from Children's Hospital collaborated and did this as a little fundraiser. So thanks Gina Fedel for this.... 

9x13 inch pan:

2 pkgs crescent rolls

2 (8oz) cream cheeses, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

3 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg white

1/3 cup sugar

cinnamon    

I'm not a big measure-r...  Tonight I only had one package of crescent rolls so here's somewhat of an idea of what i used, oh and I made it in a pie-ish or tart pan. 

1 package crescent rolls

1 package of cream cheese

some sugar 

an egg

a squirt of lemon juice

a spoonful of vanilla extract

some more sugar

some cinnamon

Heat oven to 350* (180* C) 

Unroll the package of crescent dough and cover the bottom and sides with dough, seal the seams. (My pack of crescent rolls had 6, i used four for the bottom of the pie pan and saved two for the top) Mix cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract together and spread over the bottom of the crust. Top with the rest of the dough, When I did the smaller pan and only used one package of dough I pulled it into a few thinner pieces and made a sort of

 checkerboard type  thing on the top, it was pretty and also not overly doughy which i found making the first recipe. Mix egg white, sugar and cinnamon and spread over the top layer.

 Putting a lot of cinnamon in it makes it taste super and also kind of cinnabon-ish. Bake 30 minutes for the original or about 22 for my twist. Serve and enjoy! 

So the Pickerill kids and I had this for dinner tonight, and Gloria was pretty sad, missing her mom and to try and ease her pain he said, "It's so yummy Gloria, when you eat it your head is going to splash with lava!" a few minutes later as she was eating it I asked if her head was splashing with lava and she said no... Lucas says, "Darn it, I got it wrong" 

fried rice

rice (brown or white, cooked)

butter

carrots/onion (<-- the basics, but add other veggies if you'd like)

soy sauce

eggs

(cashews can be good thrown in there too)

some meat (i used this pre-flavored shawarma meat that was already cut into thin slices) 

so cook your rice how ever you like. put a dallop of butter in your pan and saute the onions, carrots (i shredded my carrots) and any other veggies that you'd like (celery, sprouts, baby corn?) saute your veggies and then add your rice ( i prefer brown) and some soy sauce in a seperate pan spray it with some non-stick and crack a few eggs straight into the pan and then use your spatula or utensil to kind of slice up the egg so it's in smaller pieces throw that into your other pan and then cook your meat in the egg pan. i found a pre-seasoned shawarma box of meat that's really nice in the rice ( i really don't even know what kind of meat it is.. it's in dutch). let it all cook together for a bit, maybe add some salt and pepper and a few nuts. 

crepes

or "swedish pancakes" as i'd have called them before i moved to europe....

2 eggs

2 cups of milk 

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup of flour

1/2 tsp salt

whisk/mix all ingredients together....

put a dallop of butter in the pan every couple of crepes... cook/flip and so on. 

it's also good to cook up some bacon and have some kind of (preferably something white/light) cheese slices, torn into smaller bits. 

once you flip the crepe add the stuff that you want in the middle and then fold it in half (kind of omelette-like) :) SO good. & Most people have this stuff on hand, so it's super easy.... you just have to be patient in flipping..... 

brooke's favorite cookies

Brooke's favorite Christmas Cookies

2 c. flour

1 c. butter

1 c. cream cheese

mix ingredients & chill (preferably overnight, or a couple of hours) give a blob of dough to each person on a heavily flour'd surface and roll away. Not too thin. Cut out with cookie cutters, and sprinkle/press in TONS of sugar (the more the merrier). Colored Sugar & Red Hots are fun! Bake 10-15 minutes at about 375*...... have fun & enjoy! 

sunday soup

Well, all (almost all) the stores are closed here on Sunday, at least the ones within a reasonable distance of our house, so today I made some dinner with what we had in the kitchen and it turned out nicely. 

Some tomato-ey soup...

I started with two cups of cream and cooked it until it was frothy and then added a can of (maybe stewed?) tomatoes some basil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and macaroni noodles..... cooked it until the noodles were soft, it was yummmmmy! 

chicken noodle soup

noodles

2 eggs 

cup of flour (actually quite a bit more) 

3 tbsp milk

dash of salt

mix together and roll out, cut into thin strips and lay out on a towel... (you'll probably need a nit of flour to get the mixture thick enough to even cut. 

leave out to dry on a towel for at least an hour

put some water in a big pot (not too much, only enough to cover the chicken that will be in there soon), with some chopped onions, carrots and celery and some chicken stock powder and boil for a few minutes until the veggies are soft, reduce heat and add a few chicken breasts, let it simmer on low/medium heat for maybe 20 minutes.... until it's done! 

chop the chicken and save the broth for later! 

i used a 4-5  cups of cream and cooked it until it got frothy and then added 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup ( i made a big pot for alot of people, when i made it just for the family i only used 2 cups of cream and 1 can of mushroom soup!) then i added most of the broth and the noodles and turned the temp up kind of high so the noodles would cook and then near the end i added the chicken and WAHLAAAAH! oh yes, and i added garlic powder, salt, pepper and some more chicken stock powder! 

pita chips

chop up your favorite grocery store soft pita and dip both sides into a mixture of

olive oil

basil (oregano would be good too)

garlic powder 

black pepper

spread out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt and bake at high temp and then flip until they're crispy. 

pumpkin roll

This is by far my mom's most famous and amazing recipe.... It's basically her signature.  I have vivid memories of Sarah Boyle (really good family friend) cutting off huge pieces, like 2 inches wide, when it's usually about 1/2" 

Preheat oven to 350*

3 eggs 

1 cup of sugar

1 2/3 cup pumpkin or 1 small can

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup flour

1. mix together and spread onto a cookie sheet with sides (that is lined with wax paper)

2. bake 20-22 minutes or until cake springs up when touched. 

3. Cool briefly and then flip onto a "turkish" dish towel, very carefully peel off wax paper then roll up like a jelly roll starting at the narrow side (with the dishtowel). It can sit for one hour or several hours..... (while you make others!)

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup powder sugar

2 tsp butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla 

Mix together! 

Unroll pumpkin rolls, frost and re roll (this time without the towel :)) Wrap in Saran wrap and refrigerate. 

carrot cake

4 eggs

1-1/4 cups vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

2 tsp Vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups grated carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350* or 175 C (Or decide between 170 and 180 if your dutch oven doesn't allow anything but even 10's)  Grease & Powder 9x13" pan.

2. Beat eggs, oil, sugar & vanilla in a large bowl. Mix in flour, soda, powder, salt & cinnamon. Stir in carrots, then pour into the pan. 

3. Bake 40-50 min.

Icing:

1/2 cup softened butter

8 oz cream cheese

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat all of these ingredients together, frost cake once cooled! 

broccoli cheese soup

Connor was really missing panera's soup, so we found this recipe......

1 Onion

Butter

flour

4 cups half and half or cream

chicken stock

3-4 heads fresh broccoli

1 shredded carrot

nutmeg

16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, (or dinky individual slices of cheddar that look like american cheese, that's all we can find here in Holland, so far) 

1. Saute chopped Onion in butter. 

2. In another pan (to save dishes just start with the big pot, saute onions in it and then put them aside in a bowl) Melt 1/2 cup of butter, cooking on medium heat, and then add 1/2 cup flour cook, stirring constantly for about four minutes. Add half and half and  continue to keep it moving with a whisk after a few minutes add around 2 tbsp of chicken stock (we used 'chicken flavored base' it's a big jar of yellow powder, it's the best! my family even mailed it to me from the States!) Simmer for 20 minutes (I only did ten before I added the veggies yesterday and it worked fine), stirring alot! (Or if you're cooking with a kid, you have them stir constantly. ;) 

3. Chop broccoli (Connor preferred tiny little pieces, so it'd be exactly like panera). 

Shred Carrots. Add both and the already sauted onions and after adding them let pot simmer for 20-ish minutes. Add Some salt (maybe a tsp?), pepper (pinch), and 1/2 tsp Nutmeg and cheese, stir over low heat until the cheese is all melted.

To be like panera, serve with a nice piece of baguette! 

sometimes eric needs a nap

right after dinner! 

gigi eating..... priceless

cilantro & lime rice

(connor couldn't wait until we were done praying to dig in! )

This is chipotle style rice! YUM! We had our first 'chipotle' dinner in amsterdam tonight.... sort of a practice run, we'll be sure to have the nashes over for round two.... 

-Sorry I don't have the perfect measurements.... butter here is sold in big tabs so i'm not sure how much i used, but I'd say about a 1 inch cube.

- small handful of chopped fresh cilantro

- 1- 1/3 cups basmati rice

- 2 cups water

- tsp salt

- juice of two limes

melt butter in pot/pan, add rice and cook a minute or two. 

add lime juice, then water and salt and bring to a boil.

reduce heat and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed (about 15-20 min).

stir in chopped cilantro and serve warm!!! 

kheer (rice pudding)

1.2 L milk

75 g basmati rice, rinsed

100 g sugar

150 g rasins, golden & corinth

1 piece of cinnamon, or a couple tbsp cinnamon powder

6 cardamon (pods? seeds?) 

2 tsp rosewater

flaked almond 

Sorry, I converted these measurements when I made it but didn't write it down, plus it was probably to ml and wouldn't help you much anyway..... just google it and you can find out! 

boil milk, add rinsed rice and stir w/ a wooden spoon for 10 min, leave to cook at least one hour, stirring occasionally on very low heat. Add sugar, rasins, cinnomon and cardamon and cook for another hour, stirring frequently (i'm pretty sure I didn't cook it this long). At the end of the cooking time, it should look like cream. After taking it off the heat add rosewater and stir, transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle flaked almond and refridegerate until you're ready to eat! 

channa masala

2 tins of chickpeas, rinsed in a colander

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped in long strips

3-4 med potatoes

1 -1/2 tsp Turmeric

2 tsp Garam masala

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp onion seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

veggie oil

heat the oil in the pot.

add onion seeds & cumin seeds and let them pop & fizzle for 20 seconds.

add onions and saute until they're lightly browned.

add tin of chopped tomato for 5 min and then add the spices.

then add the cubed/chunked potatoes. add 3 small glasses of water into the pot and bring to a boil. let it simmer on a low flame for 20 minutes with a lid, to soften the potato.

once potato chunks are soft add the chickpeas, stir it all up and add another cup of water, bring to a fierce boil and then turn the flame down to simmer in the pot for a while- with lid partially on. Add some freshly chopped coriander/cilantro and let it simmer for another ten minutes. after that turn off heat and put the lid on and let it stand until your rice is ready! 

bangan ka bhurta

2 eggplants

vegetable oil

1-2 onions, chopped

2 roma tomatoes, sliced

1/4 tsp cayanne pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

fresh cilantro

some garam masala (maybe a  tbsp?)

Quarter and then Broil the eggplant for 5-6 min until it's slightly scorched (you should turn them halfway) . Microwave eggplant about 5 min on high, until tender. As soon as it's cool enough to handle remove most of the skin and cut it into thick slices.

Meanwhile, heat oil in the skillet and saute onions until tender, mix in eggplant and tomatoes. Add the seasonings and adjust to your liking.... Saute until tender. Garnish with cilantro and serve! 

this is an indian eggplant dish

vegan brownies

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup water

1 cup vegy oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

preheat oven to 350* Mix everything, well. Bake 25-30 min. They're kind of goo-ey and good! 

These are super easy. We are starting to keep these ingredients stocked up so we can make them anytime.... We like to top them with some homemade whip cream (forget the vegan title) and strawberries! 

winter chili & cornbread

1 or 2 chopped onions

a few chopped garlic cloves

1 tbsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

2 cans of kidney/red beans

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp paparika

1/2 tsp pepper

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups zucchini (sliced thinly) 

a can of corn

2 cans of tomatoes 

1 can tomato paste

Cook onion, garlic and spices in a large pot. 

Add beans and corn. Add zucchini and bring to a quick boil then reduce the heat and let it cook while you make cornbread.....

2/3 cups butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 2/3 cup milk

2 1/3 cups flour

1 cup cornmeal

4 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

Cream butter & sugar. Combine eggs & milk. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately . Pour in a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 400* for 22-27 min. Serve Warm! 

While the cornbread is cooking, cook some (ground beef? i think) meat and then add it to the chili.....  ENJOY! 

black bean & squash bake

1 or 2 butternut squash(es)

1 tbsp vegy oil

1 med onion chopped

1 green pepper chopped

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

black pepper to taste

2 cans of black beans (or you can be like us and just use black beans and soak them a few hours or overnight and then boil them for a few hours!) 

1 large or 2 small cans of diced tomatoes (don't drain) 

1 cup frozen or canned corn

1-2 cups cheese (something yellow)

Heat oven to 350*. Lightly grease a baking dish. Steam butternut squash slices until they're mashable (i cut them into a few pieces and in a few inches of water in the oven for a while....) While squash is steaming heat oil in a large soup pot and saute onion for a few minutes and then add green pepper and spices, saute a few more minues (around ten total), add black beans, canned tomatoes & corn, cook another 5 min and then adjust spices to your liking! Put the steamed squash in your greased baking dish and mash to cover the bottom of dish (the longer you steam them the easier they mash) pour black bean mixture on top of squash cover with cheese and bake 15-20 min or until it's heated through and the cheese is melted! 

Thanks to Ginny Oswalt for this amazing recipe! We've made it SO much! :) 

zucchini pie

4 cups thinly sliced unpeeled zucchini (also yellow squash works well)

1 cups chopped onion (i always left this out, but now i'm liking it)

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped parsley, I always just use 2 tsp parsley flakes

2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp basil leaves ( or a few fresh leaves, torn small)

2 eggs well beaten

8 oz or 2 cups shredded cheese (usually mozzerella or italian) 

8 oz can of cresent dinner rolls

2 tsp mustard (any kind)

Heat oven to 375*.

Cook Zucchini and onion in butter on medium heat skillet.

Stir in all spices. Mix eggs & cheese together and dump in your sauted veggies into the bowl.

While you're cooking zucchini and onion you can separate the crescent dough and lay it out so it covers the pan (pie pan) or you can (do it in a 8.5 x 11 inch pan by doing 1 & 1/2 of the recipe). Flatten it out across the pan and use the mustard to even out the dough covering the pan bottom and sides. 

Pour the mixed veggies and egg mixture into the crust and bake 18-20 minutes (a little longer if you use a bigger pan) 

It's pretty good about 10 minutes after it's done baking! Enjoy! 

p.s. it goes well with mint lemonade and lemon cake, for a yellow and green themed dinner!