Ice Cream Caramel Rolls

I remember being so excited for my first Home Ec class in 7th grade. Cooking at school? How much better could it get? This is one of the recipes that we made in class and one that my family has enjoyed ever since. The ice cream gives the caramel sauce a unique silky texture and a warm vanilla flavor. Since these rolls start with frozen bread dough, they can be assembled in less than fifteen minutes and left to raise overnight. Ice Cream Caramel Rolls are the best thing to wake up to on a Saturday morning.

Ice Cream Caramel Rolls
20 frozen white dinner rolls (dough balls)
4 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
½ c. butter
1 c. vanilla ice cream

Combine 4 Tbs. sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Roll each frozen ball into cinnamon and sugar and place in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture over the top of the rolls. Meanwhile in a saucepan, stir the ½ c. brown and white sugar and butter over medium heat. Bring to boil and then remove from heat. Stir in the ice cream and pour over bread dough. Cover with tin foil and let raise over night.


In the morning bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then flip pan onto a cookie sheet or serving platter.
Printable Recipe

Vegetable Beef Soup

This week I am cooking in the Genereux Kitchen since we are at my parents home celebrating Christmas over the New Year weekend. To illustrate just how plentiful the food is here my husband weighs himself pre-Genereux Christmas and post-Genereux Christmas celebration. It is hard when my mom, sisters and I all enjoy spending time in the kitchen. Today we made a couple of soups for lunch and the vegetable beef was the favorite. The star ingredient is the acini de pepe which is a pebble-sized pasta. I use it instead of barley but if you don't have any on hand you could use barley or rice in it's place. Serve with a crusty bread.

Vegetable Beef Soup
1 lb. beef stew meat, cut bite sized
2 Tbls. olive oil
1 c. carrots, chopped
1 c. celery, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 12 oz. can beef broth
3-4 c. stewed tomatoes
1 c. water
1 cube beef bullion
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. rosemary
1/4 acini di pepe pasta
In large soup pan, heat 1 Tbls. oil at medium heat and add stew meat. Brown meat until cooked and transfer meat into a bowl. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and saute carrots, celery, onion and garlic until tender (8-10 minutes). Add beef broth, stewed tomatoes, water and seasonings. Simmer on low for 15 minutes. Add cooked meat and pasta and simmer another 15 mintues.
Printable Recipe

Mushrooms, Onions & Garlic

Steaks are supposed to be the "main event" in a meal but for me it is all about the mushrooms. Sauted mushrooms, onions & garlic make the perfect side dish that is so simple I hesitated posting it. But if anyone is eating steak without this side, you are not enjoying steak at it's fullest potential. The balsamic vinegar helps caramelize the onions and I love the way the slowly sauted garlic takes on a creamy, buttery texture. This could also be served with grilled chicken. Yum!!

Mushrooms, Onion & Garlic

6 Tbls. butter

1 Tbls. Extra virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, cut in half

1 pkg. white button or baby bella mushrooms, cleaned & quartered

1 onion, sliced

salt, pepper

2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

In large saute pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium low heat and add garlic. After garlic has cooked for about 5-8 minutes add onions, mushrooms, and salt/pepper. Saute another 5 minutes and add balsamic vinegar. Continue to saute until golden brown.

Quick & Easy - Broccoli Cheesy Soup

Broccoli & Cheese soup is one of my favorite comfort foods yet I think it is hard to find yourself a good bowl of it. Canned cream of broccoli soup is simply out of the question (if you've ever tried it, you know what I'm talking about) and there are only a couple of restaurants where I will order it off the menu. Basically, I have found that if you want good broccoli & cheese soup you have to make it yourself. I experimented tonight using frozen broccoli since I had a terrible worm incident with fresh broccoli that I can't discuss for fear that my readers will no longer be able to eat fresh broccoli! Instead, I used the "steamable" vegetable bags you can now find in the frozen section at the grocery store. I love them!! You pop them in the microwave and voila - in 5 minutes you have perfectly steamed veggies without having to wash a pan! Try them in this speedy soup recipe that tastes as if it had been slow-cooked all day.

Broccoli & Cheese Soup

3 Tbls. butter

1/2 onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced (optional)

1 14 oz. can chicken or vegetable broth

1 c. milk

3-4 Tbls. flour

salt/pepper

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/2 tsp. basil

1 1/2 c. heavy cream or half & half

1-2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 12 oz. bag "steamable" frozen broccoli

In sauce pan, saute onion & carrot in butter over med-low heat until tender (approx. 5 minutes). Add chicken broth and bring to a low boil for 5 minutes. In a small bowl whip flour and milk until smooth. Gradually stir flour mixture into boiling broth. Add seasonings and simmer again for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in cream and cheese until melted. Meanwhile, microwave broccoli according to the directions. Add cooked broccoli to soup. You may have to adjust milk/cream amounts to reach your desired consistency. Serve with additional shredded cheese on top.

Tip:

I use a kitchen shears to cut broccoli into smaller chunks since I prefer small pieces in my soup.

I think block cheese that is shredded at home works better than cheese that is already shredded in a bag.

Christmas Eve Eggnog

There is snow on the ground (with much more on the way!), Christmas music is playing throughout the house, the gifts are wrapped under our sparkling tree and all is well in the Vossen Kitchen. Thank you to those who have followed my adventures in the kitchen this holiday season. After my cookie marathon, I am ending my Christmas preparations with creamy homemade eggnog. I started making this about 12 years ago and I have continued to every Christmas Eve since. With a big batch of whipping cream and nutmeg involved you can't go wrong. I am excited because my co-worker brought me fresh eggs from his farm today so this eggnog is as fresh as it can possibly get. Because I am making the custard tonight, I will not have a finished product until tomorrow so my photo shows the beautiful fresh eggs I'm using. I want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas - I will be back in the kitchen next week!

Christmas Eve Eggnog

Soft Custard

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Dash of salt

2 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Eggnog

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup light rum (optional)

Ground nutmeg

In 2-quart heavy saucepan, stir eggs, granulated sugar and salt until well mixed. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture just coats a metal spoon; remove from heat. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Place saucepan in cold water until custard is cool. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours. Just before serving, in chilled medium bowl, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Gently stir 1 cup of the whipped cream and rum, if using, into the cooled custard. Pour custard mixture into small punch bowl or large pitcher. Top with remaining whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg. Serve immediately. Store in refrigerator up to 2 days.

Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

I grew up on a farm so it was pretty much mandatory to have meat and potatoes on the table at the end of a day. This is a version of scalloped potatoes and ham that my family always made. This hotdish is hearty and delicious - the kind of meal to warm you up on a cold winter's night. Put your leftover Christmas ham to good use in this recipe. I attempted to measure the ingredients while I was making this tonight but it is really more like a good estimate. Check on the consistency half way through the baking process and adjust the amount of milk, cheese, etc. as you see fit.

Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

6-8 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" pieces

1 sm. onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3/4 c. half and half or milk

1 c. shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese

salt/pepper

3 Tbls. cold butter cut chunks

Combine all ingredients in a large casserole and bake at 375 F until potatoes are tender, approximately 90 minutes. Stir a couple of times while baking. (Bake covered for the first 45 minutes and uncovered for the remaining 30-45 minutes.)

Tip: For a quick meal you can combine all of the ingredients and refrigerate the day before and bake at a later time.

Andes Mint Cookies

There are many Christmas cookie variations that use the lovely Andes Mint for a frosting. I like this recipe for its simplicity and that it uses chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder. These mint cookies are soft and chewy and the swirled chocolate mint makes them simply beautiful. The best part is that after making these, your kitchen will actually smell like Christmas! Once again, I am using parchment paper (one of the best inventions : ) on my cookie sheets. If you do not plan on using parchment paper you will want to lightly grease your baking sheet because these cookies have a tendency to stick.

Andes Mint Cookies

3/4 c. butter

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

2 Tbls. water

12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

2 3/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

2 boxes Andes Mints

Melt together butter, brown sugar and water. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Let stand about 15 minutes to cool. Add remaining ingredients (except mints) and mix until well incorporated. Chill dough 1-2 hours. Roll into 1" balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 F for 8-9 minutes. Remove from oven and place 1/2 of an Andes mint on top of each cookie. Let cookies sit for 30 seconds or until candies are melting and glossy. Swirl melted chocolate with a butter knife.

Tip: I like to use mini chocolate chip morsels since they melt so easily.