Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookie Cake

My cousins are coming to visit tomorrow for a couple days. I wanted to make a dessert to go with the enchiladas I was making for dinner. This cake was sent in an e-mail from Kraft foods. It looked delicious. It was really easy to make. As you can see, the only problem I had was I didn't spread the batter evenly!

Ingredients

1 package (2 layer size) devil's food chocolate cake mix

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate

1/4 cups (1/2 stick) butter

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups thawed Cool Whip

12 Oreo cookies, coarsely crushed

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter and bake in 2 (9 inch) round cake layers as directed on package. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.

Microwave chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on high 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in Cool Whip and crushed cookies. Stack cake layers on plate, spreading cream sheese mixture between layers. Spread top with chocoate glaze. Let stand until firm. Keep refrigerated.

Fudge

My mom always called this recipe See's Fudge and made it every Christmas. I've made it a few times myself. I decided to make this a couple days before Christmas. As usual it came out delicious and didn't last long.

Ingredients

1/4 lb butter

9 oz chocolate chips

1 c. chopped nuts

1 t. vanilla

20 marshmallows

1 T water

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. evaporated milk.

Directions

Put marshmallows, water, sugar and evaporated milk in double boiler. Boil slow for 8 minutes.

Place remaining ingredients into mixing bowl. Pour hot mixture into mixing bowl with other ingredients. Beat until melted.

Pour into greased pan.

Keep refrigerated.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

On Christmas Eve, we always put out a bunch of snack foods and my family listens to carols, talk, and let the kids open one gift each. We eat chips, dip, meatballs, sausage balls, cheese and crackers. I found this recipe looking at December/January 2007 Taste of Home Magazine. It was so simple to make and it was the first thing to be eaten!

Ingredients

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 can (10 oz) chunk white chicken, drained

1/2 cup buffalo sauce

1/2 cup ranch salad dressing

2 cups (8 oz) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese

Tortilla chips

Directions

Spread cream cheese into an ungreased shallow 1 quart baking dish. layer with chicken, buffalo sauce and ranch dressing. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Yield: about 2 cups

Magic Cookie Bars

This is my all time favorite recipe at Christmas time. I always make two batches since everyone seems to like them so well. My mom always made this at Christmas time, too.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use chocolate and butterscotch)

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (25 for glass dish). In small bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.

Mexican Wedding Cakes

I have always liked these cookies so I decided to make them for Christmas this year. I had help from my granddaughter, Samantha. She liked rolling the dough between her hands. Austin liked stealing bites of the dough!

I found the recipe on Paula Deen's website. The cookies were yummy! I made balls instead of crescent shapes.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, plus more for coating baked cookies
1 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup pecans, chopped into very small pieces.

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream butter and confectioners sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed, gradually add the flour. Mix the pecans with a spatula.

With floured hands, take out about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into a crescent. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 40 minutes. Roll in additional confectioners sugar while still warm. Cool completely on wire racks.

TWD: Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

Ulrike of Kuchenlatein chose Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies on pages 146-147.

I made the dough for these cookies the other day. After work, I rolled out the dough and my granddaughter, Samantha, picked out which shapes to use. She and my son decorated them. I found the recipe simple. I just don't like waiting for a dough to chill to finisha recipe, but the cookies are delicious. One of the better sugar cookies I have had. Let's hope Santa likes them just as much!

TWD: Buttery Jam Cookies

Heather of Randomosity and the Girl chose Buttery Jam Cookies on page 80. I made my cookies with Red Raspberry Jam instead of the apricot preserves. Turned out to be a good choice since it's my boyfriend, Doug's, favorite flavor!

I found the cookies absolutely delicious and light. It was like a shortbread cookie with a touch of raspberry flavor. I will definitely make them again. Doug, who is not much of a sweet eater, actually ate two of the cookies!

The recipe was really easy to follow and they made up really quick.

Paula Deen's Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes

Jimmy had a potluck dinner and court of honor to go to tonight for Boy Scouts. I ended up not going since I have been sick for the past week. I couldn't seem to quit coughing this afternoon and seem real congested. I think I will need to break down and call the doctor on Monday. I've been very upset about being sick, since it's the Christmas season. I don't have my insided finished being decorated, the outside lights up, presents down been bought.

Anyway...back to scouts. I made a big pot of chicken and noodles. Then, I made a bunch of mint chocolate cookies. Those are good. Can't give you a recipe since it's pre-made batter from a cookie dough fundraiser a friend at work's son had for school. Then, I decided to make the Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes from Paula Deen. They were super simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 18 1/2 oz package Brownie mix

1 12 oz package peanut butter chips or 24 miniature peanut butter cups

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 regualr muffin cu ps with paper cupcake liners.

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions for cakelike brownies. Fill the cups half full with brownie batter. Place about 1 tablesppon peanut butter chips in the center of the batter, or press 1 peanut butter cup into the batter in each muffin cup until the batter meets the top edge of the peanut butter cup.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the cupcakes are set. When they can be handled safely, remove them from the muffin tins and let cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 2 dozen.

TWD: Orange Berry Muffins

November 18, 2008. I had decided not to make the recipe for that week. It didn't excite me. I decided instead to do a rewind of the Orange Berry Muffins on Page 3. The muffins were delicious but could have had a more orange taste to it. I think next time I will do more orange juice.

Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing

I finally found my favorite stuffing recipe. I don't prepare the whole Thanksgiving feast often, but I always fret over the turkey and stuffing. Yes, I know the turkey is easy, but it's the center of the meal. My family came over for Thanksgiving and everyone brought food to share. My boyfriend, Doug, prepared the turkey, which came out awesome. He also helped with the stuffing. (and, cleaning, dishes...such a wonderful guy!)

I mixed two packages of Pepperidge Farm Herb seasoned bread crumbs with 1 pound browned Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage, 2 sticks melted butter, sauted onion and celery, and close to 48 oz of Swanson's chicken broth. Some of the stuffing was stuffed in the bird and the rest baked until heated through.

Yummy! It's my favorite by far. My son must have thought so, too, since he could not stay out of it and finished up the leftovers!


My son digging into the stuffing!

Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies

My son and I saw this Cooking for Real episode on the Food Network a couple weeks ago. We both looked at each other and went YUM! When I started my Thanksgiving baking on Tuesday, Jimmy asked if I could make these mini pies. I had all the ingredients, so, of course, I said yes. These were super easy to make. I only had on mini muffin tin, so I made 12 mini ones and 4 the regular muffin size. I just baked the larger ones a little bit longer.

They came out so delicious. I will definitely make these over and over again. I think they will be added to our desserts every year for Thanksgiving along with the pumpkin pie and pecan pie.

Since I made these mini pies, I decided not to make the TWD's Twofer pie.

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray

For the dough:

• 1/4 cup pecans


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for shaping dough


• 6 tablespoons butter, ice cold


• 2 to 3 tablespoons ice cold water

For the filling:

• 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk


• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup (I used light since that is what I had)
  


• 1 tablespoon sugar


• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin filling


• 1 teaspoon vanilla


• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped plus 24 halves for garnish


• Special equipment: 2 (12-cup) mini muffin tins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray the bottoms and sides of the mini muffin tins with cooking spray.

For the dough:

In a food processor, pulse pecans with the sugar, salt, and flour, until the nuts are ground and the ingredients are combined. Add in butter and pulse until dough resembles coarse meal. Slowly pour in ice water through the feed tube, pulsing, until the dough comes together. Remove from processor bowl onto clean work surface sprinkled with flour.

Form dough into a ball and divide evenly into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and evenly press into each cup, until the bottom is covered. If the dough is sticky, dip your finger in flour first.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the crusts are very golden. Check periodically to make sure they don't get too brown.

Meanwhile, make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and yolk with the corn syrup, sugar, pumpkin filling and vanilla. Stir in the chopped pecans.

Remove dough from oven and spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into each cup. Top each with 1 pretty pecan half. Return the pans to the oven and continue baking, for 12 to 15 minutes more, until the pumpkin filling is set. Allow to cool before removing from the pans.

Yield: 2 dozen

Caesar Steak

I saw a recipe in one of the Taste of Home magazines, or maybe it was Simple and Delicious. Anyway......it was for steak and grilled vegetables. Last night I decided to have steak. I rubbed cracked ground pepper into the steak (I forget what kind of steak, but it was a cheaper cut and only about 2/3 of a pound) and then marinated it in Ken's lite caesar dressing in a bag in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes. I grilled the steak until it was medium rare. While grilling, I rubbed butter on it. I have to say it came out yummy. I will definitely make it again. I didn't do the grilled vegetable, just made a caesar salad to go with the steak.

I forgot to get a picture of the steak, but trust me it was good. The leftovers were delicious on a salad today for lunch!

Baked Taco Chicken

I got this recipe from the April/May 2005 issue of Taste of Home. As I love to do, I was browsing through an old edition and thought that this looked delicious. I made this last week. I halved the recipe, of course, since it was just me and Jimmy that night. I used three large chicken breasts.

The chicken came out moist and great tasting. I served with rice pilaf and a salad. Yummy!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 envelopes taco seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 T milk

2 broiler/fryer chicken (3-4 lbs each), cut up

Directions:

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, taco seasoning and salt. In a shallow bowl, beat eggs and milk. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture, then place in bag and shake to coat.

Place bone side down in a greased 15" x 10" baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until juices run clear.

Yield: 12 servings.

Pumpkin Cake

I made this cake last Wednesday night. Michele from Alwayz Bakin' made this cake for her son's Jake's birthday. She has a picture posted on her blog. It was one of the best food I have ever had made with pumpkin. It was moist and yummy! Michele finally sent me the recipe last week (except she left off the eggs off the ingredients so I had to call her house and her daughter found how many for me!) and I decided to make it. It was very easy. All the ingredients were on hand. I made in 2 round 9" pans and they came out this gorgeous color.

I made Michele's cream cheese icing. I halved the recipe and it was just enough for the 2 layer cake. This was one of the first times that I iced a cake and crumbs didn't come up when spreading!

Pumpkin Cake

4 eggs
1 15-oz can of pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs, oil, pumpkin and sugar. Stir in remaining ingredients until evenly mixed. Pour into a greased and floured 13x9 baking dish (I used 2 9" rounds).

Bake 30 minutes or until center springs back when touched.


Cream Cheese Icing

2 sticks butter, softened
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
5 cups confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients. Spread on cool cake. (This makes a lot of icing. Half the recipe is enough for the pumpkin cake. Half made enough for the layer cakes.

TWD: Rugelach

This week's recipe is Rugelach which can be found on pages 150-151. The recipe was chosen by Grace of Piggy's Cooking Journal. Good choice, Grace! The are delicious! I refrigerated the dough overnight since I started them around 6:00 in the evening and didn't realize they had to be in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Oh well! The recipe was very easy. I found the dough seemed real thin and tore some when spreading the jam. My second half I rolled out, I didn't roll so big.

I made half the Rugelach with strawberry preserves, pecans and chocolate chips. The other half had apricot-pineapple preserves, sliced almonds and 1/2 had chocolate chips. I tasted them both and they both were delicious. I think I may prefer the apricot-pineapple ones better.

My Rugelach came out very messy looking, but who cares! They were GOOD!!

TWD: Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes

This weeks recipe was chosen by Clara of I Heart Food 4 Thought. It was easy to follow. I can't wait to sink my teeth into them! I let them bake a little less than what the recipe called for since others were complaining about the dryness. I added a buttercream filling to the middle of mine which was suggested by Tami's Kitchen Table Talk. I even iced a couple with the buttercream.

I honestly haven't tried them yet. I started them last night, but was running a low grade fever so put the cupcakes away to frost today. I made the icing today while making dinner (meatloaf, yum) and then had to rush my son to Boy Scouts. I will try tonight!

10/29/08 - 9:20 a.m.: I had put these in Tupperware in the fridge last night. After scouts, Jimmy and I tried them. They were delicious!

Buttercream Icing:

1 stick of butter, softened

1 T vanilla

1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/8 cup whipping cream

Whip butter until fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Alternate mixing in powdered sugar and whipping cream until the icing is fluffy and smooth - this could take several minutes. Use an icing bag top pipe icing into cupcakes.

Creamy Chicken Pockets

I found this recipe on someone's blog and printed it. I can't remember whose blog it was, though. The recipe had an error in it, so I googled it and found it correct on Pennies on a Platter. It was easy and really delicious. I left out the onions since my son doesn't care for them, but it would be really good with it. My son liked it so well, he ate almost two servings! The crescent rolls make it real flaky.

Creamy Chicken Pockets
(Make 4 pockets - 4 servings)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
4 small chicken breasts, diced
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons milk
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Brown chicken with onions and garlic.

3. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and 1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine until smooth. Add the chicken, kosher salt, seasoned salt, pepper, and milk. Mix well.

4. Separate crescent dough into eight rectangles, firmly pressing perforations of two triangles to seal into rectangle. Spoon 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of four rectangles. Top with remaining rectangles and seal edges.

5. Place pockets on an ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone. Brush tops of pockets with melted butter; sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cheddar Potato Strips

I was looking through some old Taste of Home magazines and came across some recipes I wanted to make, this being one of them (October/November 2000). I decided to make Manwiches since I hadn't had them in while. I made them with ground Jennie-O turkey and it was quite tasty. Probably since I had not had them in a while.

The cheddar potato strips were really easy to make and delicious. I could've ate a ton of them! I added more cheese than the recipe called for just because I love cheese.

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch strips

1/2 cup milk

1 T butter or margarine

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 T minced fresh parsely (I omitted)

Directions:

In a greased 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish, arrange potatoes in a single layer. Pour milk over potatoes. Dot with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and bake at 425 degrees for 30 mintues or until the potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with cheese and parsely. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 4 servings

Creamy Turkey Sausage Alfredo

This recipe is actually to be made with chicken breasts, but Jimmy and I discovered it was delicious with hot Italian turkey sausage. I omitted the minced onion since I didn't care for it the first time we made it. I added some garlic salt to it and didn't bake it. Just let the sausage simmer in the sauce for a while. We served it over a tri-color pasta and had garlic bread made from hot dog buns and a caesar salad.

I'm giving you the true recipe. It is from some cards I got in the mail from Easy to Bake Easy to Make.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves (about 4 oz each)

1/2 tsp salt

2 T plus 1 tsp olive oil, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T minced onion

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 T coarsely chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place flour in a shallow dish or pie plate. Sprinkle chicken with salt; coat with flour. heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add chicken; cook, turning once, until golden, 2-4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet; place in a 13" x 9" baking dish.

2. Heat remaining olive oil in same skillet over medium heat until hot. Add garlic and onion; cook until garlic is fragrant and onion is tender, 1-2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add whipping cream, parmesan and pepper. Cook until sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken in dish.

3. Bake chicken until an instant read thermometer inserted in center of chidken registers 180 degrees, 8-12 mintues. Sprinkle with parsley.

Yield: 6 serviings

Cookie Carnival: Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

This month's Cookie Carnival recipe was mini pumpkin whoopie pies. I remember whoopie pies from when I was younger. These cookies were absolutely delicious! The recipe was easy to follow and not very time consuming at all. My son thought they were the best! I doubled the recipe so I would have plenty to bring to work and to my mom's.

For the cookies:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1 T unsalted butter, softened

1/3 c. vegetable shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the filling:

4 oz cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

1. Prepare cookies. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Place butter, shortening, and sugars into bowl. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

3. Drop about 2 tsp dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12-14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and tranfer to wire racks using a spatula. Let cool completely.

4. Prepare filling. In bowl, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, butter and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

5. Pipe or spoon about 2 tsp filling on the flat side of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

TWD: Pumpkin Muffins

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was Pumpkin Muffins, page 13, chosen by Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp. I wasn't in the mood for raisins, so I omitted them and the sunflower seeds. I found the muffins wonderful tasting, especially slightly heated with some butter! I made these Saturday night and took some to the Dolphins game the next morning (yes, the Dolphins lost to the Ravens. Sniff!)

I would definitely make these again, but maybe closer to Thanksgiving time. Thanks, Kelly!

Golden Chicken Cordon Bleu

I got this recipe off the Taste of Home website. It's from one of the Cooking for 2 magazines. I wanted to make homemade chicken cordon bleu for last night's dinner. I found this recipe and it was delicious. I would definitely make it again. It was a hit! I served it with mashed potatoes, gravy and caesar salad. I doubled the recipe since I had more than 2 breasts. I will never serve frozen chicken cordon bleu out of a box again!

The recipe was not time consuming at all, especially since I started with the filets that were thin to begin with so I didn't have to bang them out. It looks like it was fussed over. Next time will fry a couple at a time since some started to get too brown since I was trying to bread and fry at the same time! Otherwise, perfect meal!

CATEGORY: Main Dish

METHOD: Baked

TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 20 min.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 oz each)
• 2 slices deli ham (3/4 ounce each)
• 2 slices Swiss cheese (3/4 ounce each)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons 2% milk
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness; top each with a slice of ham and cheese. Roll up and tuck in ends; secure with toothpicks.

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, paprika and pepper. In another bowl, whisk egg and milk. Place bread crumbs in a third bowl. Dip chicken in flour mixture, then egg mixture; roll in crumbs.

In a small skillet, brown chicken in oil on all sides. Transfer to an 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Discard toothpicks; drizzle with butter. Yield: 2 servings.

TWD: Lenox Almond Biscotti

This week's recipe on pages 141-143 was chosen by Gretchen of Canela & Comino. I wasn't sure if I was in the mood for Biscotti, but I have to say these tasted pretty darn good. I even liked them when I tasted the ends after the first baking. The recipe was simple and not too many ingredients. Good choice, Gretchen!

I didn't modify the recipe any. The unmodified version I find is light and delicious.

Crescent-Topped Cheeseburger Casserole

I had bought a can of the new Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated flaky dough sheet about a month ago. I decided I wanted to make it so I went onto the Pillsbury website and found this recipe. Not only did it seem easy, but something Jimmy would like.

It was very good. The dough tastes just like a crescent roll. Jimmy did the mixing of the ingredients and finished browning the meat. I don't think you should have to cut the dough into 6 squares, but instead just lay the dough on top of the meat in one sheet.

While I was putting this together, I thought of ways to change the recipe - different cheese, make it Italian or Mexican. I will definitely make this again and experiment!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 T yellow mustard
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded American cheese (6 oz)
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated flaky dough sheet
1 egg, beaten
1 T sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in pickles, water, ketchup, mustard and pepper.

2. Spoon beef mixture into 11/7 inch (2 quart) glass baking dish (I used metal). Sprinkle with cheese.

3. Unroll dough; press into 12x8 inch rectangle. Cut into 6 squares; place on top of cheese. Brush with egg; sprinkle with sesame seeds.

4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings

Quick Cheese Biscuits

I got this recipe from the Great American Home Baking cards in the mail. I made them to have with the Jerk Pork my boyfriend is making. I was a little skeptical at first since they seemed runny. But they taste delicious. Quite simple. Mine only made 7 biscuits tho. Next time I will double the recipe. I used colby jack cheese since I did not have any cheddar.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 t. butter
2/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well. Stir in the cheese.

3. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives (or a fork) until coarse crumbs form. Stir in the milk into the flour mixture just until a soft dough forms.

4. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the biscuits are firm to the touch, about 15 minutes.

Yield: 10