Picnic Pepperoni Rolls

     I love picnics.  I mean, I really, really, really love picnics.  I look for any occasion I can find to take out all my picnic supplies even when it would be much easier to just stop and pick up a bucket of chicken.  I love every bit of planning for a picnic, preparing the food for the picnic, packing the car for the picnic, and then enjoying our meal outside.

   At the top of my list of favorite picnic foods are pepperoni rolls.  Not only are they absolutely delicious and easy to eat, they are great for picnics that are a little farther from home because they taste just fine at room temperature.  I will tell you, though, that they smell heavenly and trying to not eat them on the way to the picnic site can be pretty tough!

  My family and I had our first taste of pepperoni rolls at a tiny roadside bakery in Gap Mills, West Virginia.  We had to travel way up into the mountains to get to these rolls we had heard so much about but once we tasted them, we knew we would be back.  The bakery is also well worth the drive for their cinnamon rolls.  The first time we went, we took our bag of warm pepperoni rolls and ate them in the car while we sat in the parking lot.  I am pretty sure not one of them made it home that day.  We learned pretty quickly that we just needed to buy more of them the next time!

  One of the last memories I have of my grandmother is of convincing her to leave the assisted living facility where she lived to take a road trip to the little bakery.  My mom was certain that she wouldn't agree to the trip since traveling had become quite difficult for my grandmother.  Never underestimate the lure of the pepperoni roll!  After very little protesting, we helped her in the car and headed up the windy roads.  If I close my eyes, I can still see my grandmother in the front seat of the car enjoying her roll.  I treasure the memory of that beautiful drive up and of her happiness that day.

  While I in no way can pretend that I can duplicate the exact taste of those homemade rolls, I CAN promise you that my recipe is quite simple and quite tasty!  These little gems are perfect for your next picnic.

Picnic Pepperoni Rolls (click for printable link)

24 frozen dinner rolls (I prefer Kroger brand rolls)
48 slices of sandwich style pepperoni, sliced very, very thinly (I often use Genoa salami for my girls since it's less spicy)
garlic powder to taste

4 T. butter
garlic powder to taste
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
crushed red pepper to taste

Place the frozen rolls on a baking sheet sprayed well with non-stick spray and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap that has been sprayed very well with non-stick spray.  Defrost the rolls but do not let them rise.  If I am making them in the morning, I will often just defrost them in the fridge so that they don't rise.  If you defrost them on the counter, just keep an eye on them so that they don't rise much at all.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees or whatever temperature the bag of rolls says to preheat the oven to.

Using one defrosted roll at a time, roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a circle (don't worry if the circles aren't perfect) until it is flattened well.

Place two slices of pepperoni (or salami, which is what I used in this picture) on the roll, overlapping and leaving a little bit of space on the edges.  Sprinkle with garlic powder.

Pull two opposite edges out a little and fold them toward the center but not all the way into the center.  Sorry if this sounds a little confusing!  You aren't trying to make the edges meet is what I am trying to say.  You will need to sort of fold the edges of the pepperoni in as you go, too.

Pull the bottom edge up and roll over entirely to seal the roll up.

Place the rolls on a greased baking sheet (or just use Reynolds Release Foil like I do) with the rolls  barely touching one another.

Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the rolls are browned.

While rolls are baking, prepare the butter topping by melting the butter in the microwave.  Add garlic powder to taste, crushed red pepper to taste, and Parmesan cheese.  Stir well.

As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, brush with the butter mixture.

Caramel Dip

      Honeycrisps are here!  Honeycrisps are here!  At our house, that can only mean one thing . . . it's time to start making caramel dip!

    The next time you are tempted to purchase one of those tubs of caramel dip that tastes vaguely of chemicals, do yourself a favor and make a batch of this dip instead.  I promise, if you just make it one time, you will NOT go back to the store-bought kind.  The recipe is so simple and takes no time at all to prepare.  If you have little people around your house, they make it even simpler since you can usually con them into unwrapping the caramels provided you conveniently look the other way when they sneak one or two into their little mouths!

   I discovered this gem of a recipe several years ago in a magazine that is, sadly, no longer being published. Wondertime was one of the best magazines I have ever subscribed to.  It was full of thoughtful parenting advice and stories that went much deeper than the best way to pottytrain your child or which stroller was best for city life.  I looked forward to receiving my copy every month and was devastated when I found out Disney was canceling the magazine.  Luckily, I had saved a copy of this recipe they called Fondue for Pears and have given it to so many friends and relatives over the years.  I have actually never tried it with pears but I am sure it would be delicious!

  One of my favorite things about this dip recipe (aside from how easy it is to assemble) is that the caramel really never gets hard.  You could eat the leftovers (if you have any!) right from the fridge if you wanted to, although, it really is much better served warm.

  As you are cooking the dip in the microwave, you might think it is not working out so well.  Don't worry!  Just keep heating and stirring and I promise, it will smooth out.

Caramel Dip

14 oz. bag of Kraft caramels, unwrapped
1/2 C. half-and-half
1 T. butter


In a large bowl, combine caramels, half-and-half, and butter.  Don't worry about mixing them up at this point.  Microwave on high for 3 - 4 minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds.  Continue to microwave until it is warm and smooth.

Fall Cookies

   Here in East Tennessee we woke to a beautiful and rainy fall Saturday.  I had no choice but to enter into the autumn baking season!  I know that there are tons of sexy recipes floating around Pinterest and Facebook that call for pumpkins, apples, and cranberries.  I will get to those soon enough in my kitchen, but my first day of fall baking always and only includes gingersnaps and peanut butter cookies.    I know that neither of these items probably seem exclusive to fall to many of you and to be honest, they really don't to me either.  I only know that for some reason they did to my grandmother.  As soon as she felt the weather began to get colder, she would bake a batch of each of these cookies.  Along with about a thousand other things I wish I could ask her now, I regret never asking her what made these seem so fall-like to her.

  The two types of cookies don't even really go together to me and I have always been puzzled as to why she chose to bake both of them on the same day.  I think I may have solved the mystery today!  Ma-ma used the Betty Crocker Cooky Book for both of these cookie recipes and I do, as well.  Mine is the facsimile edition which just means it was made to look like the older version.

  As I was looking for the peanut butter cookie recipe today, I stumbled on this picture:

   I found myself wondering if perhaps one day, years ago, my grandmother saw this page and decided to make both kinds of cookies. I feel certain she voted not to make the candy cane ones because that would have been entirely seasonally inappropriate!

  Late in the afternoon today, my kitchen was filled with the smell of peanut butter and molasses.  While I will never be able to make my cookies as tiny and beautiful as my grandmother did, I still celebrate the arrival of fall with these cookies!  Here are both cookie recipes from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book:

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/4 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. Crisco
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. light browned sugar (packed
1 egg

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (I always use White Lily)
1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl set on medium, beat butter, Crisco, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and egg until light and fluffy.

Turn mixer to lowest speed and slowly add in the flour mixture.  Mix just until combined.

Chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and place on baking sheet.

Dip fork into sugar and press twice to make a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set.


Molasses Crinkles

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. Crisco
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses

2 1/4 c. flour (I only and always use White Lily)
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cloves
1 t. cinnamon ( I absolutely LOVE the Vietnamese Cinnamon from King Arthur flour in all my recipes)
1 t. ginger

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger.  Set aside.

In a large bowl set on medium, beat together butter, Crisco, brown sugar, egg, and molasses.  Turn mixer to low and slowly add flour mixture.  Mix just until combined.

Chill in refrigerator for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls.  Roll balls in granulated sugar and place on baking sheets.  Using a small glass, press the bottom of the glass on the tops of the cookies to flatten before baking.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Magic Mix

    Slowly but surely fall is drifting into East Tennessee.  At our house that can only mean one thing -- it is time to start making Magic Mix!   Magic Mix is an addictive combination of Chex cereal, peanuts, popcorn, M&Ms, and caramel glaze.  I am sure you are wondering just how unique this recipe can be given that some variation of party mix shows up at, well, at every party.  I guarantee you that if you make this just one time you will become a believer in the power of Magic Mix.  Any time I make this snack and share it with someone, inevitably they will end up asking for the recipe.

  In no way can I take credit for creating this recipe or for even finding it in the first place.  My friend Angela (of the famous Angela's Chili) discovered it some time before we kindred spirits found one another.  She says she remembers seeing it on the side of a Chex box several years ago and thinking that it sounded like a recipe worth trying.  When Angela shared the recipe with me the title said "Holiday Party Mix."  That title in no way does justice to how amazingly good this concoction is so it quickly became known simply as "Magic Mix."  Try it just once and you will see why.

The original recipe called for chocolate chips, but Angela made a fateful choice to swap the chocolate chips for M&Ms and we are ALL so grateful for that decision!  It's so fun to use different holiday M&Ms throughout the year.  I always get so excited to see the bags in the fall.  The M&Ms also taste so good when you mix them with the warm mix right out of the oven!

   For my first batch this year, I used these Harvest M&Ms which are just plain M&Ms in autumnal shades:

   My husband goes nuts for anything pumpkin flavored so he suggested we use these new Pumpkin Spice ones we found at Target this year for a second batch:

  I am pretty sure they are sold exclusively at Target.  He loved this batch but I wasn't a huge fan of them.  You can also find Candy Corn flavored M&Ms this year so if you like white chocolate, give them a try!

  Be sure that you have a large roasting pan on hand when you make this recipe.  I bought a large disposable one years ago and it has held up fine.  You want to have plenty of room to stir the mixture as it bakes and as it cools.  Always, always, always spray the pan liberally before beginning.  This recipe makes quite a few servings which I love because it means I can give it away as teacher treats, share it with friends, or take it to a party.  I recently used it as my contribution to a tailgating party.

  When you cook your caramel mixture be sure to follow the directions carefully and let it boil without stirring for 5 minutes.  Once you take it off the stove and add the baking soda and vanilla, you will notice that it sort of "fluffs" up a bit.  That is normal and that is what you want to happen!

  I suggest that you find yourself a party to go to soon or at least one other person to share this with and whip up a batch of Magic Mix.  Your life will feel complete after you do!

Magic Mix

9 cups Chex corn cereal squares
1 1/2 cups lightly salted peanuts (or unsalted)
4 cups popped popcorn (natural, no butter or seasoning.  1 bag of microwaved popcorn yields the perfect quantity)

1 C packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup (one stick) butter
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. baking soda

14 oz  M&Ms (some holiday bags are a bit smaller and this is okay)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Prepare large, deep roasting pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.  Coat liberally.

Mix cereal, popped popcorn, and peanuts in roasting pan.

In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup.  Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil while stirring constantly.  Once the mixture reaches a boil, stop stirring, and allow it to boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and baking soda.  Pour evenly over the cereal mixture and stir very well to coat as much of the mixture as you can.

Bake for 45 minutes being sure to stir well every 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and add M&Ms with the cereal mix is still hot.  Stir to combine well.  Cool completely in pan, stirring frequently to break apart mixture.  Store in an airtight container.

Jolly Ox Charbroil Chicken

  My friend Caramia knows good recipes.  Not only has she gathered a plethora of recipes to feed her family of five nutritious, homemade meals nearly every night of the week (usually very, very busy weeks), but she was a chemist in her former life so she really gets the science behind why some recipes work so well.

   Several years ago Caramia offered to share her family's Hawaiian Chicken recipe with me and I eagerly waited for it to arrive in my email box.   I do not like thick, gunky teriyaki recipes and Caramia assured me that this was not that kind of recipe. When it finally arrived, it improved my whole family's life.  We now eat this chicken at least every other week in the summer because it tastes so good grilled.  I currently have about 12 lbs. of it frozen in the marinade in bags in my deep freezer.  I love being able to just thaw it the night before and have it turn out full of flavor.

  Let's talk about the name of this recipe for just a moment because I so love the history behind it.  Even though Caramia calls it Hawaiian Chicken, when she sent it to me it arrived with the name Jolly Ox Charbroil Chicken. I had never heard of this restaurant so I did a little research and found an article on the website for The Chattanoogan.  It turns out that the Jolly Ox and Steak and Ale were one in the same.  At the time the chain was growing around the US, it was illegal in Tennessee to use any reference to alcohol in the name of a restaurant.  It seems this was a hold over from Prohibition.  Apparently there was a Jolly Ox in Knoxville as well.

  My husband and I share many great memories of dining at Steak and Ales while we were dating and newly married.  I never tried the chicken because, well, I was there for the steak!  Luckily for all of us, though, the chicken recipe lives on and is a great one to keep in your recipe box.

  While I sometimes serve this chicken as it is with a couple of sides, my favorite thing to do with it is to place the grilled meat on a fresh Kaiser bun and top it with cheddar cheese, grilled pineapple slices, and a little mayonnaise.

I almost always bake some sweet potato fries (only Alexia brand for our family!) and dip them in this AMAZING (really, really, really amazing) Raspberry Jalapeño Jam from Raven's Original.  You can order directly from the website or if you are lucky enough to have a Mast General Store near you, they usually have it.  My friend Gloria has treated me to 2 jars of this miracle find and we LOVE it.  It is delicious over cream cheese and served with Wheat Thins.

  However you choose to serve your Jolly Ox Charbroil Chicken, I feel certain you will love it!  Here is Caramia's recipe along with her original notes.  My only change is to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts as opposed to the whole chickens her original recipe called for.

Jolly Ox Charbroil Chicken

"The original recipe came from a restaurant that was in Knoxville many, many years ago.  This is an absolute family favorite that I have made with whole chicken pieces and with chunks of chicken that I then put on shish-ka-bobs with pineapple and red pepper pieces."

4 - 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( I use a mallet to flatten the larger pieces of the breast so that it will cook evenly)
10 oz. sherry (I just use cooking sherry from the grocery store)
14 oz. pineapple juice
1/2 C. red wine vinegar
3/4 C. sugar
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 C. soy sauce

Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken.  Marinate for at least 24 hours.

Baked Harvest Apples

 
    Autumn is my very favorite time of the year and I love finding recipes that perfectly fit the season.  I discovered this one years ago on Allrecipes.com which has been my go-to source for great recipes since 1998.  The teacher who taught advanced catering in the high school I first worked at shared this site with me and I have found it to be an amazing resource.  I love my online recipe box as well as the user reviews.  I have shared many, many recipes with friends and family from Allrecipes for years now.

  The original recipe calls for 2 large baking apples.  When I can get them for a fairly good price (or sometimes I just splurge!), I use HoneyCrisp apples.  They are perfect in this dish!  If they aren't in season or I don't want to spend quite so much on them, I use Galas which are also delicious.  Really, you could probably just use your own favorite and they would turn out fine.  I am just partial to very crisp apples.

    I begin by turning the apples over and cutting off a little of the bottom so that they will stand up more easily in my baking dish.

  After I slice the bottoms off, I turn the apples over and cut around the top of the core just enough to pull out the stem and to give myself a space to work with.  I then take a melon baller (or you can just use a spoon) and hollow out almost the entire middle of the apple.  I always leave a very tiny bit of the core in bottom so that the delicious sauce and juices don't leak out.

  After placing the apples in the baking dish, I begin making my filling.  Chop your walnuts up very finely and mix them with the raisins and the orange peel.  

   Stuff the apples using a small spoon and then make the sauce on the stovetop.  Pour the sauce over the filling and down into the apples.  Do this very slowly so that the filling doesn't just rise to the top and pour out.  

  The last time I made these I cut and peeled an extra apple to place around the two filled apples in the baking dish since my two girls don't love the chopped nuts.  I then just poured some of the sauce over the apples before baking.

  Pop these in the oven and your kitchen will smell better than and fall candle you can buy!  These will definitely impress any guests you have over for dinner.

The original recipe for Spiced Baked Apples from Allrecipes.com (with a few minor tweeks):

Baked Harvest Apples

2 large baking apples (I prefer HoneyCrisp or Gala)

2 T. very finely chopped walnuts

3 T. raisins

1 t. grated orange peel

1/4 C. packed brown sugar (either light or dark works fine in this recipe)

1/4 C. water

1 T. butter

1/2 t. cinnamon (I LOVE Pampered Chef's Cinnamon Plus in this recipe)

1/4 t. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by coring the apples and placing them in a buttered or sprayed baking dish.  Be careful not to cut off the very bottom of the core so that the juices will remain in the apples while baking.

Mix together the walnuts, raisins, and orange peel.  Fill apples with mixture.

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, water, butter, and spices.  Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble, about 5 minutes.  Slowly pour the sauce over the nut/raisin filling being careful not to go too quickly so that the filling does not overflow.  Pour any extra down the sides of the apple and then into the bottom of the baking dish.

Baked uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes or until the apples feel tender when poked with a fork.  Remove them from the oven and let them stand for about 10 minutes before serving.  I like to serve mine in bowls so that all the sauce stays in the bowl.

Muffins Your Way

    I am a sucker for any recipe that serves as a base for my own creativity in the kitchen!  This muffin recipe is perfect for letting me use the ingredients I have on-hand for add-ins.  I love experimenting with different seasonal variations.  Last week I happened to have raspberries on hand and they worked perfectly with some tiny chocolate chips to create a lovely breakfast for my family.

   I discovered this recipe in an issue of Every Food several years ago and have at times used blueberries or blackberries.  I have also tried cinnamon chips and they work great, as well.  One of my favorite things about this recipe is that I can assemble half of it the night before I plan to make them.  I go ahead and prepare the dry ingredients so that I can easily mix the wet ones and add them to make the muffins.  This definitely makes for an easier morning!

   The only change I have made to the original recipe is to substitute buttermilk for the whole milk the recipe originally called for.  I feel like the buttermilk adds a great deal more flavor. Since I live close enough to Cruze Dairy Farms, I always, always, always use their buttermilk.  It truly is the very best!   If, however, you do not have buttermilk on hand, using any kind of milk works fine.  I have used both whole and 2% with great results.

Better-Than-Basic Muffins (from Martha Stewart's Every Day Food)

2 C. all-purpose flour (I only and always use White Lily)
3/4 C. white sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

3/4 C. butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
1/2 C. buttermilk (I only and always use Cruze Dairy buttermilk)
1/2 t. vanilla

Mix-ins of your choice (baking chips, fruit, nuts, etc.)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare 12 muffin tins by greasing or lining them with papers.

Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Create a well in the center of the  mixture.

Whisk together melted butter, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients.  Stir very gently, just until combined.  It is ok to leave a few lumps.  Be careful not to overmix!

Add mix-ins.

Divide the batter among the 12 muffin tins (depending on the quantity of mix-ins I have used I sometimes need to pour extra batter into my tiny muffin pan or make a few extra big ones).

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.