Simple Yet Gourmet

This coming Saturday I am hosting a baby shower for my sister Kristi.  We are going to have a light lunch including Chicken Salad Sandwiches on Buttermilk Rolls , Great White Punch, Strawberry Spinach Salad , a fruit tray with dip, mini-cheesecakes, and these adorable cupcakes.  As Aaron will tell you, I always have to try recipes out before making them for something and these cupcakes were no exception.  I had already tried out one cupcake recipe and they did not turn out well at all.  These came through for me though, and I'm so glad.  I think they will be just perfect for the baby shower!  I'll have more of these recipes for you after the shower :)

Okay, so I felt like you guys needed a little dessert this week so here is Mike's new favorite cinnamon roll recipe.  I will have to agree with him on this one, these are the best rolls I have made yet.  I have seen this recipe all over the place, but never cared to try them because I like my own recipe.  But I was feeling a little bored with my recipes and decided to give this one a try.  You actually make pudding and add it to the dough, which makes is extremely soft and pliable.  Now you have a soft, moist roll covered in cream cheese goodness, what more can you ask for in life!  I'm glad I was bored!   Enjoy. (Sorry I forgot to take a picture with the frosting on them, but they were yummy!)

My little girl turned 10 years old this past Friday so I surprised her with Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes. I served it with fresh strawberries and raspberry syrup. They were amazing, this recipe will be one of our family favorites for sure. Like always, I combined two different recipes into one to make and the added a few things to make the "perfect recipe." It was a nice change from the boring, buttermilk pancake recipe!

When I was first married I made these for Mike, he so surprised that I had made these from scratch instead of from a can.  It was really fun to cook for Mike because everything I made he was amazed with!  We have had many good laughs from those early years. These have become one of our family favorites as well as a McCain favorite as well.  I usually make a whole batch and we then have leftovers for lunch the next day or dinner the next evening.  I really love to serve these with the homemade hamburger buns I have posted in the past, but feel free to just by hamburger buns as well.  In the summer we like corn on the cob, but in the winter I serve it with sweet corn and fruit.  A very easy dinner for those busy weekday nights!

My little Maddie loves poppy seed muffins, so I decided to go on the hunt for a good lemon poppy seed muffin recipe just for her. Well it paid off, this one is a winner! The recipe was almost perfect, but I thought it was a little thick so I add buttermilk to the batter which made them even more moist and much easier to handle. They were just sweet enough yet had a nice tartness to them with the lemon icing drizzled on top. Next time, I think I might even add some blueberries for color and flavor. Yummy!!

This is one of Mike and Maddie's favorite dishes. I have never been a fan of Shepherd's Pie, but this recipe changed my mind. You make a garlic mashed potato (which recipe I use all the time) for the top, with a layer of Havarti cheese, a layer of sauteed veggies and seasoned beef. The gravy makes the dish complete! I know it has the hated mushrooms, but I chop the mushrooms and onions really fine so my kids and husband don't notice! I love this dish because it's a complete meal in one dish. I like to serve it with sliced fruit, but other than that, dinner is served!

Here is the roll recipe I promised last week to post, sorry for the dealy. You will need to plan ahead to make these, for the truly do take 4 hours total to rise! I know that seems like a lot of time, but if you start these after lunch, they will be fine for dinner. This is NOT a hard recipe, it just needs to have time for the dough to rise. They are worth the time, moist, soft and just a wonderful texture. They even heat up nicely the next day in the microwave. Please give them try, you won't be disappointed!!