Mocha Expresso Iced Coffee

In one of my earlier posts I gave my recipe for iced coffee. That's a very tasty recipe, but sometimes I like to give it a little boost. You can enhance your coffee with lots of flavors: hazelnut, almond, etc. Those are all tasty, but nothing goes together quite as well with coffee as chocolate. That's why I decided to make a mocha expresso iced coffee; it's the best way to wake up in the mornings! Hope you guys love it as much as me! Enjoy! Until the next one!

Ingredients:

1 cup of 2% milk
2 Expresso Coffee Cubes
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp chocolate syrup



Procedure:

Make the expresso cubes as in the Expresso Iced Coffee post.

Put two coffee cubes in your mug.

Add the sugar

Add the milk.

The coffee will begin to melt.

Add the chocolate.

Lastly, stir to mix it all together.

Enjoy!

Easy Stove-Top Macaroni & Cheese

The first time I made Mac & Cheese was in 2012. It was amazing to go back through my blog and see where I was then as opposed to where I am now.  I really loved that recipe, it was the only recipe I 'd seen for homemade Mac and Cheese. So I decided to look for other recipes and do a little trial and error until I found the one I loved the most! This version of the recipe is one I've wanted to make for a very long time. I found it a long time ago on food.com. Why the fascination with Mac & Cheese? Well, I used to eat lots of Kraft Mac & Cheese when I was a kid. I remember loving those boxes. Then I grew up and realized that the stuff in those boxes wasn't exactly the healthiest thing in the world. Since having my baby I've decided to really make everything from scratch, from the baby food to everything that he's eating right now. Recently homemade macaroni and cheese has had a resurgence in popularity. Lots of restaurants are even making fancy versions of this classic dish. So I decided to make this recipe at home, relive some of my childhood joy and share it with my son. The result was that he loved it! Hope you guys love it too! I will probably be making some personal versions of this recipe pretty soon. Enjoy! Until the next one!

Ingredients:

8 oz. elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 dash black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or 8 oz. (by weight) cheddar cheese


Procedure:

Cook macaroni according to package directions.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour, salt and pepper, slowly add milk.
Cook and stir until it begins to bubble.
Stir in cheese. Keep stirring until fully melted.
Drain macaroni and add it to the cheese sauce, stir to coat.

Measure 8 oz. of macaroni.

Shred the cheese.

Measure out your cheese.

Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Put the butter in a medium saucepan.

Melt butter over medium heat.

Measure your flour.

Add the flour, salt and pepper.

Keep stirring.

Stir in the milk.

Cook and stir until it begins to bubble.

Stir in cheese.

Keep stirring until fully melted.

Drain macaroni and add it to the cheese sauce.

Stir to coat.

They are done!

Enjoy!

Top with a little cheese!

Nutella Crescent Rolls

I love warm, soft, flaky crescent rolls. Their buttery goodness is one of my favorite things. Also as anyone who reads this blog knows, I love Nutella. So of course I decided that these two great things would go great together. Not surprisingly these disappeared almost as soon as they came out of the oven. I'm sure they'll be a hit when you make them too! Enjoy! Until the next one!

Ingredients:

Crescent rolls
Nutella


Procedure:

Preheat the oven per the package instructions, then open and unroll the package of crescent rolls.

Separate the triangles.

Put a little Nutella on top.

Or put a lot! Either way, Spread it out over the top.

Roll up the crescent rolls and put them in the oven. Make sure to leave some space between them so they can expand.

They'll come out looking a beautiful golden color and a little Nutella peeking out.

With a little coffee, milk or tea, these are priceless!

Enjoy!

Semi Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I saw on Pinterest that a girl had used pizza dough to make cinnamon rolls. I don't have experience making cinnamon rolls from scratch, but I've read the recipes dozens of times and they take time; lots of time. They have to do two rises in addition to the other prep time, plus the baking. That's why I've never made it before. (It doesn't mean I won't make them eventually, completely homemade...) So, I was very exited when I saw the recipe for quick cinnamon rolls online. The prep time is very short and the results are delicious. Really delicious! My hubby doesn't eat many sweets, but let me tell you he ate almost every cinnamon roll from this recipe. Hope you guys enjoy this, and the endless options and combinations. Until the next one!

Ingredients:

1 (13.8 oz) can of (store bought) pizza dough
3 Tbsp butter (melted)
2/4 cups white sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp walnuts

Icing:

2 oz of cream cheese
7 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp 2% milk
1 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare pie dish with nonstick spray
Open and unroll the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface.
In a small bowl combine the sugar and the cinnamon.
With a pastry brush or a spoon, brush the butter over the dough. Make sure to cover the entire surface.
Spread the sugar mixture over the dough.
Roll up the dough. The original recipe says to roll it from the 6 inch side, but I rolled it from the 12 inch side to get lots of mini cinnamon rolls.
Cut to the amount of cinnamon rolls you desire.
Place them on a 9" pie dish.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.


Icing:

Beat the cream cheese and the butter together in the stand mixer until creamy.
Add the vanilla and the milk and keep mixing.
Gradually add the confectioners sugar and salt. Mix until the icing looks smooth and fluffy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl.

Combine them well.

Lightly flour your counter or work surface.

Open and unroll the pizza dough.

With a pastry brush or a spoon, brush the butter over the dough. Make sure to cover the entire surface.

Spread the sugar mixture over the dough.

I added walnuts to half the rolls. This or any other fillings are optional, but very tasty!

Roll up the dough. The original recipe says to roll it from the 6 inch side, but I rolled it from the 12 inch side to get lots of mini cinnamon rolls.

Prepare pie dish with nonstick spray

Cut to the amount of cinnamon rolls you desire.

Place them on a 9" pie dish. Try to leave as much space between them as possible.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Icing:

Ingredients for the icing.

Put the cream cheese in the stand mixer or a bowl.

Add the butter.

Beat the cream cheese and the butter together in the stand mixer until creamy.

Add the vanilla and the milk and keep mixing.

Gradually add the confectioners sugar and salt.

Mix until the icing looks smooth and fluffy.

Spread the icing over the rolls.

Enjoy this magnificent roll!