Honey Yeast Rolls

I got this recipe from Amber at Amber's Delectable Delights. This recipe makes the most beautiful dough, and the smell...ah! The honey in the recipe makes the rolls slightly sweet, but in a perfect way. I doubled it and it worked great! I got 24 big rolls, but you can make them smaller to stretch it even further. I had about 4 leftover, and couldn't get them off my mind all night! I finally got into them when I woke up. I wrapped two in a damp paper towel, and they warmed up perfectly.

Ingredients:
* 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
* 1 cup warm water (105°-115° F)
* 1/4 cup honey
* 3 tablespoon canola oil
* 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 4 cups bread flour, separated
* vegetable cooking spray
* 1 tablespoon butter, melted
* 1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

1.) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add 3 cups of the flour and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. With the mixer on low speed, add the remaining 1 cup flour and mix until it is incorporated into the dough. Switch to the dough hook, and continue kneading on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

2.)Form the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 2 hours.

3.)Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 30 seconds. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

4.)Punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball and place into a round, lightly greased baking dish, spacing evenly. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes. Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush lightly over the tops of the rolls. Bake at 400° for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Reese's Cookies

Yum, yum, double yum! Peanut butter and chocolate has got to be one of the best combinations on earth! I would love to find the person that thought of it, and kiss them right on the mouth! Ew, well...not really- but it's a figure of speech right? Right. Good. I found these one day a couple of weeks ago on Picky Palate. Cookies are Jenny's specialty, and she has made some awesome looking cookies, using non-traditional and sometimes downright surprising ingredients! Take a peek. If you are a Reese's lover, try these cookies. You'll love them. Promise. ;)

Ingredients:
* 2 sticks softened butter
* 1 Cup packed brown sugar
* 1 Cup granulated sugar
* 3 Tablespoons corn syrup
* 2 large eggs plus 1 egg white
* 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
* 3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
* 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 Cups chopped Reeses

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer beat the butter, sugars and corn syrup until well combined….light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with the chopped Reeses. Mix only until just combined. Using a medium cookie scoop (I just used a tablespoon), scoop dough onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until just turning golden around edges. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.


Enjoy!

Kite Day!

Last Friday was Kite Day for Jasper's preschool class. It was not the best day for flying kites, as there was almost ZERO wind, but the kids still had a ton of fun! I wanted to share a few pics.

Nacho Pie

These pictures absolutely do not do this dish justice! This is one of the quickest, most delicious dinners I make. I have made it several times now after finding it on Mommy's Kitchen. I LOVE Tina's blog. She cooks up so many delicious things. Remember these? Yep, that was a Tina recipe! I have yet to make anything from there, that I didn't enjoy. If I had more time the night we ate this, I would have made some rice or something to go with it, but I tell you- it was just fine on it's own! It is a great switch-up from the same old taco dinner.

Nacho Pie
Ingredients:
* 1 lb. ground beef
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1 (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce
* 3/4 cup water
* 1 packet taco seasoning
* 1 tube of crescent roll dough (Pillsbury or generic- it doesn't matter)
* 1 1/2 cup crushed Doritos or tortilla chips (which is what I used)
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or mexican blend- and while we're being real, I used waaaaaayyy more than one cup. More like 2. =)
* additional sour cream, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, olives, or other garnish

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350.
2.) In a large skillet, brown beef and onion over medium heat until done. Drain off any grease and return to skillet.
3.) Stir in tomato sauce, water, and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5-10 mintues.
4.) Separate crescent rolls into 8 triangles and place them in a 9-inch pie plate
(just fit them all in there and press the seams so it looks like one solid pie
crust. I have to tear them and turn them sideways to get them all in there.)
Press up the sides to form your crust.
5.) Sprinkle 1 cup crushed chips over crust
6.) Top with taco meat mixture.
7.) Using a spatula, spread sour cream evenly over meat mixture.
8.) Sprinkle cheese and remaining chips on top.
9.) Bake 30-40 minutes, or until cheese melts, pie is bubbly, and crust is golden brown.
** Cool 10 minutes before cutting (if you are not me. If you are me- cut into it anyway because your husband is in a hurry to leave for work, slop some onto plates and eat like barbarians. =)

Don't forget your topping and garnishes. Enjoy!

Gatlinburg 2010

We had a great trip this year. It had been a couple of years since we had been, and it was Sawyer's first trip- so that made it special for us. The first morning, we ate breakfast at The Apple Barn, and there was a creek across the street so we thought we'd let the kids look and take a few pictures.




Then, it was on in to Gatlinburg to the Ripley's Aquarium. The boys really seemed to enjoy it, especially the moving walkway that took you around the underside of the aquarium.




This is one of the only ones I could get of Sawyer because he was getting sleepy and wanted Heath to carry him the whole time.

The next day, we decided to drive through Cade's Cove, but when we got down that way, we figured out that they had it closed. Right before they made you turn around there was a big picnic spot that we stopped at so we could all play in the creek. It was cold as ice, but we got a couple of good pictures there. This was definitely Heath's and my favorite part of the whole trip. It was beautiful here and so peaceful even though there were others around having picnics.


After driving back from the Cades Cove area, we had some time to kill before dinner. Let me tell you- kids are crazy enough about candy, so what were we thinking taking them to the candy store before dinner when everyone was already starving?! There was this cute old horse outside that Sawyer wanted to get on, then decided he didn't like it so much. I love this picture. =)

We ended up driving home that same night, and it was so peaceful. The kiddos slept the whole way! It was a great trip, and I can't wait to go back!

Happy Easter! A recipe...and other random things

Was the Easter Bunny good to you this morning? He (er..He and SHE!)was very good to the boys. Here is their loot. What rotten, ahem- I mean precious little angels!

Do you like the tree I made them for their little table? I made it for less than $8!!! Took some elbow grease, and a muddy trek into the woods behind Heath's parents house for the branches, but I think it was worth it. I made my niece, Aubree, one too (this was just part of her Easter gift- I'll show you the rest later). I found her cute little planter at the Salvation Army for a quarter, and got my boys a plainer, more masculine one at Wal-mart for around 90 cents. I took em' outside and gave them a coat of navajo white spray paint. Then, I took some sand paper and roughed them up a little for a worn look. I didn't do too much with Aubree's since I thought it should still look girly. I hot-glued a piece of floral foam into the bottom, then arranged my branches how I wanted them. Next, I added some glass stones I found at the Dollar Tree to weigh them so that the branches wouldn't pull them over. Stuck some spanish moss on top, hung the eggs (found at K-mart), and DONE!




And here is the outfit Sawyer is wearing today. It was Jasper's and used to have his monogram on it, but I ripped all that out and re-did (is that a word?) it for Sawyer.


Now, for the recipe I promised. I have made these muffins multiple times, and each time, I say how I should make them more. I love banana flavored things, but not really the traditional banana bread with walnuts. This recipe seemed like a good compromise as it is still a banana muffin, but with an uber-delicious streusel topping! The recipe can be found here. If you make them, let me know if you think they are as good as I do. =)

Sawyer approves. =)


Again, I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

We're back! And with some changes...

So, I know it's been FOREVA!!! Things got wild here for awhile. And I went into a cooking S-L-U-M-P. Seriously, I really have NOT cooked anything to blog about. In that long! That's all changed a little in the past few weeks, so I have cooked a few good things to share, but I have other things I'd like to share with you as well...which brings me to the part about the changes. You see, I love to cook- but there are so many other things about my life that I love too. I want to start sharing those things with everyone. So starting NOW, this blog will no longer be just a cooking blog, but a family blog- about all things Thompson (don't worry- all those yummy things will still be there!). I still browse all my favorites, and am excited and inspired to get back into the swing of things. Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me to get back to this- it really is something I love! And thanks to everyone who has read and kept up with us thus far...hopefully,you'll stay with us!