easy and super yummy cinnamon rolls

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So these are the best cinnamon rolls that I have ever made and probably also the best homemade cinnamon rolls I've ever had.  Now, there's Cinnabon, to which nothing compares, but these are so good that I'd probably be just fine having one of these instead.  They're really easy and not time consuming at all.  You can make these, start to finish, in less than 45 minutes thanks to this awesome dough recipe.  These rolls are not topped with an icing, but a frosting, a cinnamon cream cheese frosting at that and it's amazing.  The cream cheese keeps these rolls from being too sweet, but it does make them richer, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Copycat Recipe - California Pizza Kitchen Pizza Dough

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Last Friday, my husband's parents had plans to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Easter Concert, so it was going to be just the four of us for dinner.  We don't get to have dinner just the four of us very often, so whenever we do it's always really special for us.  We decided to do something fun that the kids would love, so we made grilled pizzas.  This recipe for a copycat CPK pizza dough has been our go-to for a few years now.  I don't think it actually tastes like their pizzas, but it is really good and really easy to make.

The recipe is for two crusts, but they are kind of thin, which is still really good.  When I made the dough on Friday, we wanted to make 3 pizzas, so I doubled the recipe and they came out a little bit thicker and chewier, which was so good.

Our favorite pizzas to make are a plain cheese with pizza sauce for the kids, a margarita pizza, and a barbecue pizza.  For the margarita, I take fresh mozzarella and just break it up into small pieces, rather than shredding it.  Then I add sliced Roma tomatoes, some fresh basil that's been chiffonade, and then I drizzle the top with olive oil.  It's so good and probably favorite of all the different pizzas we've made.  We had some leftover smoked pulled pork that we used on the barbecue that made it extra yummy.  We used Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, fresh mozzarella, and red onions as well.

Our favorite tool to use for homemade pizzas are pizza screens.  We only bake the pizza on them in the oven, but I love using them for their shape to help get the pizza crust into a circle.

Be careful putting the dough on the grill, you don't want it to fall through the grate.  If it does, just use some tongs to pull it back up.

We first lightly cook both sides of the dough before adding the toppings.

After the toppings are added, we put the pizzas back on the grill and close the lid to keep the heat in so the cheese melts faster.  Make sure the heat isn't up too high so that you don't burn your crust.

Once the toppings are heated through, it's time to enjoy!  We love the flavor and texture of the crust when it's grilled.  We've also cooked them on the smoker and that is definitely my favorite way to cook these pizzas.  The crust takes on a really delicious, smokey flavor and it's soft and chewy, just the way I like it.  But it does take longer to cook that way, so we don't do it too often.  If you try out this recipe, I'd love to hear if you think it tastes like the CPK pizzas and what your favorite toppings are.  The recipe and directions here.  Enjoy!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies + Fool Proof Tips for Making Perfect Cookies

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For several years, I was on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I've always wanted to be the mom with the best chocolate chip cookies and to me, that means a cookie that is buttery with crunchy edges and a soft middle that doesn't fall apart.  To be completely honest, while I do love chocolate, I prefer for the actual cookie to take center stage.  In my opinion, if the cookie itself is so delicious that it doesn't need the chocolate to taste good, then you know your recipe is a winner.  Finally, after several failed attempts to find the recipe I was looking for, I decided to try to create it on my own.  I've tweaked this recipe many times, at one point even including whole wheat flour, which didn't help and only made the cookies hard and somewhat bland.  I love whole wheat, but it just wasn't working out and, frankly, I don't want my chocolate chip cookies to be "healthier."

After making lots and lots of batches of chocolate chip cookies, I also learned some tips to making them turn out perfect.  With food, it's not just about the actual ingredients you use, it's also about how you incorporate them with each other.  There's a whole science behind it and figuring it out can be kind of tricky, so I'll spare you the time and guess work and just let you in on all the things I've learned and that work for me.  I do these every time I make these cookies and you know what?  They turn out perfect every time too.

First, the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour, spooned and leveled
2 tsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2-2 cups chocolate chips

The method:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Place butter and sugars in the bowl of a mixer.  Cream together on medium speed, scraping down the sides once or twice, until light and fluffy; it should resemble frosting.  While your butter and sugar are mixing, combine your dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  Once your butter and sugar are light and fluffy, scrape down the sides and add the egg and vanilla.  Mix until just combined and then slowly add in the flour mixture.  Mix until combined and then fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon about two tablespoons of rounded dough (it doesn't have to be a perfect sphere) onto an ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet.  The cookies don't spread a ton but keep about a two inch space between them for room.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden.  Do not overbake because they will continue to cook on the cookie sheet when you pull them out.  Wait a couple minutes and then carefully scoop them up and place them on a cooling rack to cool down.

OK, now here are my tips, the things that I do every time I make these cookies.

1. Start with room temperature butter.  If you're in a hurry and your microwave has a butter softening setting, go ahead and use it.  I do it all the time for other recipes and I have used it for this one and everything turns out great.

2.  Cream your butter and sugars before you add any other ingredients.  With your mixer on a medium setting, this should take anywhere from 5-10 minutes.  If you're interested in more information as to why creaming is so important, read this post.  It's very informative.

3.  You can make cookies using a cold egg, but your ingredients will blend together easier if your egg is at room temperature.  Info on that right here.

4.  On the topic of eggs, don't over beat them!

5.  Spoon and level the flour, DO NOT just scoop it up.  No matter how tempting it may be or how pressed for time you are, too much flour will make your cookies dry and hard.  My friend Carrian blogged about the importance of spooning and leveling flour right here on her blog.  (And yes, I really do know her.  I've known her for many years now, so I'm not just calling her a "friend" for the heck of it.  And while I'm at it, read her blog because she is awesome!)

6.  Whisk together your dry ingredients just for a minute or two to incorporate air and make them lighter.  I started doing this awhile back whenever I make pancakes from scratch and the difference is very noticeable.  The pancakes come out thicker, fluffier and softer.  Doing this has the same effect on these chocolate chip cookies too.

7.  If you have it, bake in a convection oven.  Convection ovens are so great because the big fan in the back helps to circulate the heat and everything bakes evenly (and quicker!).  Since we have a convection oven, these cookies take exactly 8 minutes to bake.  On Monday I had to bake 6 dozen cookies for a family get together and it took me only 48 minutes to bake them all!  Also, all of the cookies were gone and we only had about 20-25 people come, so take from that what you will...Anyway, if you don't have a convection oven, a conventional oven works great too, just make sure that you rotate the pan 180 degrees halfway through the baking time.

8.  Do not overbake!  Remember, they will continue to cook when you take them out of the oven.  I like to let my cookies sit on the cookie sheet for about 2-3 minutes and by then they are firm enough to be moved to a cooling rack.

These cookies store really well too, as long as they are covered with plastic wrap.  They'll stay soft and delicious (the magic of cornstarch, folks!) and you'll be able to enjoy them for days.  The dough stores well in the refrigerator or freezer also, but just make sure you allow the dough to warm back up to room temperature.  I've baked them cold before and the results just aren't the same.  They're good, but I prefer them much more when the dough is room temperature first.

Enjoy these warm with some milk and share, if you must.  I'd love to hear how you like these and if you find my tips helpful.  Also, if you have any tips you'd like to share, please do!

Homemade Guacamole Recipe

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Guacamole is one of my most favorite sides of all time.  Any time we have Mexican, whether at home or at a restaurant, for me, it's just not complete without some guacamole.

Here's my recipe for a delicious and flavorful guacamole that is sure to please.

Ingredients:
4 avocados
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
1-2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black ground pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
cilantro, to taste

I start out by scooping out the avocados and then pouring the lime juice over them to help kind of soften them and break them down a little bit.  Then I add the rest of the ingredients and, rather than mashing the avocados, I stir everything together.  We like our guacamole to have a balance between mashed and chunky and stirring allows us to get the right consistency.

Add to tacos, burritos, salads, quesadillas, nachos, burgers (it's so good!), sandwiches, or serve as a dip at a party.  However you eat it, I sure hope you enjoy it!

White Sauce Chicken Enchiladas

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**First, I want to apologize for the terrible quality of these pictures.  I am not a photographer, especially not a food photographer.  I don't have a fancy camera and the batteries for my Nikon Coolpix are dead, so these were taken with my iPhone.  I think I do pretty well with outside photography, it's inside I struggle with.  Indoor lighting is tricky business!**

Anyway, on to the enchiladas.  You've probably seen the recipe for best enchiladas ever floating around on Pinterest.  Well, I kind of want to challenge that.  I've tried it and it's good, but I think that mine is better.  If you've tried that one and you try this one, you'll have to let me know what you think.  Just for comparison's sake, my recipe uses whole wheat tortillas, more veggies and there is no butter or flour, so ya know, it's healthier ;)

This recipe makes 16 enchiladas, to 9x13 pans, which is great for having leftovers (these freeze really well) or feeding a lot of people.  However, if you want less, you can just half the recipe.  Super simple!

Here's what you'll need:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

16 oz. of your favorite tomato-based salsa

3 cups low-sodium chicken stock

16 oz. low-fat sour cream

two 4 oz. cans green chilies

1 can black olives, diced

3 roma tomatoes, diced

1 medium white onion, diced

3 cups shredded cheese, of your choice (I use the cheddar/jack mix from Costco; also, I eyeball this, so you can use more or less, depending on your taste)

16 whole wheat tortillas (we use these)

refried beans (I use this recipe)

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

4 tbsp. corn starch, dissolved in about 1-2 tbsp. water

To start off, place the chicken and salsa in a crock pot and cook on low for about 6 hours.  Shred the chicken and let it sit in the juices in the crock pot while you make the sauce so that it can reabsorb as much of the juices as possible.

To make the sauce, saute the onion in vegetable oil until translucent.  Add chicken stock and heat to a boil.  Add cornstarch mixture and stir until thick; remove from heat.  Stir in sour cream, green chilies, tomatoes, and black olives.  Spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of your two (or one, if halving) 9x13 pans.

To make the enchiladas, spread desired amount of beans onto middle of tortilla, then add chicken and some cheese.  Roll up and place in pan.  Continue until all the tortillas and chicken are used.  Top enchiladas with remaining sauce and then top with cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes until the cheese is melted, slightly browned in some spots and bubbly.  And enjoy!

favorite Pinterest recipes: dinner

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If you've ever tried recipes from Pinterest, then you've probably come across the occasional recipe fail.  I know I have and that can be really frustrating, but on the flip side, I have tried some that have turned out better than expected and have had even my young son salivating when I go to make it again.  Here are a few of our favorites. *click on image for link

For this recipe, I used my own homemade biscuit recipe because we all love it so much, but the filling was absolutely delicious.

These enchiladas are a favorite in our house.  In fact, I always double the recipe so that we have lots of leftovers.  My son will eat these for lunch for days after.  For the chicken, I cook it throughout the day in the crock pot with enough salsa to coat it and it comes out juicy and flavorful, a perfect filling for these enchiladas.

We love stuffed bell peppers so much and these did not disappoint.  In fact, this will be my go to recipe from now on because they were so simple.  My only substitutions were: instead of rice, I used quinoa; in place of the turkey sausage, I used ground turkey; and I used chicken stock in the bottom of the pan instead of water.

I don't really know how skinny this chicken Parmesan is, but it's super tasty and sometimes, that's all we really want.

I do not like lasagna, at all.  But I really enjoyed this recipe.

Best meatloaf ever.  At least in my (and my family's) opinion.  The best part about this recipe, is you can make it into meatballs and you'll have plenty that you can freeze for at least one other meal.  Love it!