Overnight Orange Pull Aparts

This is one of my favorite recipes. I make this every year for Christmas morning breakfast and serve it with hot cocoa and sausage. It is SO easy and what I like best is that I can throw it together the night before and it is all ready for the next morning.

Overnight Orange Pull Aparts

12 to 16 frozen white roll dough (still frozen) (I use Rhodes dough)

1 (3.4 oz.) package vanilla instant pudding

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup dried cranberries or Craisins

1 orange rind, grated finely

½ cup butter or margarine,

melted Frosting (recipe below)

Sprinkle cranberries in the bottom of a greased bundt pan. Arrange rolls evenly in pan.Mix sugar and dry pudding together and sprinkle over rolls. Combine orange rind with melted butter and spoon over rolls. Cover pan with sprayed plastic wrap. Place pan in cold oven overnight (8 to 10 hours). Remove rolls from oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap from pan and bake for 25 min. Immediately invert pan onto a serving platter. Cool slightly and drizzle with frosting.

Frosting: 1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
For a cinnamon flavored version you can use: ¾ chopped nuts in place of the cranberries 4 oz package of butterscotch pudding in place of vanilla pudding, and sugar ½ cup packed brown sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in place of the orange rind Then you don’t even need the frosting, but if you really want it use milk in place of the orange juice)

Famous Green Salad

I have yet to make this salad and take it anywhere and come home with any of it left. It is always a hit. I got the original recipe from my sister-in-law a few years back and have since done some tweaking and trying new things etc. I say it is famous because every time I bring it, I get hit up for the recipe over and over and it is known as "that yummy salad that you make."

2 heads iceberg lettuce
1 head green leaf lettuce
Chop these up and put in large bowl (I usually use my big Tupperware bowls)
Then add
16 oz shredded mozzerella cheese
1 jar bacon bits - normal spice jar size
1 large can drained mandarin oranges
1/2 - 1 can cashew halves or pieces
1/2 bag of craisins or more if you like
The salad part is really just kind of add more or less as you like.
Mix this all together well.
Dressing:
1/4 C pureed red onion - (I usually just buy a really small red onion because you don't need that much. Peel it, cut it up and put it in your blender. You may want to add a teeny bit of water to help get it started blending. And you blend it until it is pureed. Empty that out of your blender except for the 1/4 C)
1 C Sugar
1/2 C Red Wine Vinegar
2 t dry or regular mustard (I use the regular mustard)
Blend all of this together until well blended.
Then add 3/4 Canola or Veggie oil.
Blend again.
Mix the salad well but don't add the dressing until right before you serve it to avoid it from getting soggy. Don't overdo it on the dressing. Just enough to cover it. You may have some dressing left over.
I just made this for a family party and it fed about 30 people. None left of course. LOL. A few weeks ago I had to make it for a much bigger party so I doubled it and it fed about 75 people.Enjoy!

Andes Mint Brownies

This recipe is absolutely to DIE for! I think it originally came from Pampered Chef. It uses Andes mints and cream cheese so it HAS to be good, right?

Andes Mint Brownies
1 package (19-21 ounces) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 drops green food color (optional)
1 package (4.67 ounces) Andes mints (28 pieces), unwrapped, divided
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9x13 pan . In a bowl, prepare brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies. Pour batter into baker, spreading evenly. Bake 35-40 minutes or until brownie is set. Do not over-bake. Remove to cooling rack; cool completely.
2. In a bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar; whisk until smooth. Add food color, if desired; mix well. Spread evenly over brownie.
3. Coarsely chop 18 of the chocolate thins; sprinkle over filling. Place remaining 10 chocolate thins in small microwave safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 20-40 seconds, stirring after each 20-second interval, until melted and smooth. Do not overheat. Drizzle chocolate in a circular pattern over filling. Allow chocolate to set 5 minutes. Cut and serve.

Cranberry Salsa

I got this recipe off of Good Things Utah a few years ago and it has become a BIG hit in my family, especially at Christmas time. It is easy to make and SO yummy!

1 12oz package fresh cranberries
3/4 C Sugar
1 medium green jalapeño with seeds removed (be careful when removing seeds NOT to touch your face or eyes. If you want it more spicy, you can leave one or two of the seeds in.)
1 green onion
1-2 T fresh cilantro to taste or 1 tsp dried cilantro (I always use the fresh cilantro)
1/4 tsp Cumin
Put all ingredients in food processor and mix until a course mixture. Store in refrigerator overnight for flavors to blend.
Makes 3 Cups.

I spread a layer of cream cheese onto a platter and then pour the salsa over the top. You can serve it with tortilla chips or crackers.

Catalina Cashew Chicken

This recipe is SO easy and SO yummy. It is a family favorite, especially for McKell who loves it! I usually serve it over rice or even with baked potato. This is also a great dish for large parties or dinners. When I was in the Relief Society Presidency, we used this recipe more than once and to make it go further, we shredded the chicken and served it over rice.

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (boneless skinless chicken tenders work great too)

Put in a 9x13 pan

Sauce:

1 jar of apricot pineapple jam

1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix

1 bottle of Catalina dressing

1-2 C cashews - you can make it as "nutty" as you wish

Mix this all together and pour over the chicken. Bake, covered, for 1 hour.

Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

Kneaders Double Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

Brownie

1 cup butter

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Melt the chocolate and butter in a 2 quart bowl in the microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring every 20 – 30 seconds until the chocolate is melted. Cool slightly. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix well with a spatula. Add the flour and stir to combine. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into a buttered 13-inch x 9-inch x 2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Do not overcook. Cool.

Filling

½ cup softened butter, margarine, or shortening

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 drops mint flavoring or to taste

1 drop pink food coloring

In a small bowl, beat the confectioners’ sugar, butter and mint flavoring until smooth. Add food coloring to make a light pink. Spread evenly over cooled brownies and then chill.

Chocolate Ganache

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

¼ cup heavy cream

crushed peppermint ( red and white)

Put the chocolate chips and cream into a small bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute stirring every 20 – 30 seconds until chocolate is melted. Do not over heat. Immediately pour over the brownies. Decorate with crushed peppermint. Do not refrigerate. Mixture will set up on brownies in about 15 – 20 minutes.

**I sometimes just use 2 brownie mixes and add a few extra eggs to the mix. I bake it in a large cookie sheet rather than a 9x13. These are so yummy!

Easy Caramel Popcorn

This is such a fun and easy recipe. We make it all the time in our family.

Pop 2 batches of air popped popcorn and put aside in a large bowl.

In a pan on medium heat combine:

1 square margarine or butter

1/2 C light corn syrup

2 C brown sugar

Heat this until it boils. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add:

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla.

Pour this mixture over the popped popcorn and mix well. Put onto a greased cookie sheet or form into popcorn balls. We like to eat it while it's still gooey.