Easy Raspberry Cream Cheese Danish



Lately on Pinterest I have been finding lots of recipes using canned crescent or biscuit dough. While it may not be the very healthiest option, it sure is fast and easy! I have started keeping a few tubes on hand so if I'm pressed for time or I just want to try one of the recipes I find, I will be ready!

This is pretty easy and fast. And it looks nice, too! Perfect for feeding family staying at your house for the holidays.

Ingredients

1 tube crescent rolls
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons all purpose flour

I used probably 3/4 cup of thawed frozen raspberries because that is what I had on hand fresh ones would be even better! Blueberries or blackberries would also be wonderful. The raspberries had a little more juice than I would have liked, but it didn't seen to affect the baking or the taste of the danish.

1 cup powdered sugar
4+ tablespoons heavy cream
splash vanilla extract

Directions


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and flour together in a small bowl and set aside.



Pop open crescent roll dough and unroll, leaving crescents in rectangles. On an ungreased baking sheet or parchment papar, lay the crescent roll rectangles together, lining them up width wise. Dough should be almost the entire length of a cookie sheet. Press edges together to even out edges and seal any holes.



Carefully spread cream cheese filling down the center of the dough to be about 2-3 inches wide.



Press raspberries into cream cheese mixture.



Cut 1/2 inch slits diagonally up both sides of the dough. (Mine weren't perfect but it still worked.)




Fold 1/2 inch dough pieces over the filling, alternating sides to get a braided pattern. You may have some extra dough left at the bottom, just mess with it until it looks kinda pretty.



Bake for 20-30 minutes until the crescent dough is golden brown and the filling is set. Cool before removing from baking sheet.



Once danish has cooled, remove to serving platter. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, vanilla and cream to create icing. You may need to add more cream to get the desired consistency. Drizzle icing over danish. Cut into pieces and serve!



Enjoy! Make sure to let me know what you think if you make it!

Original recipe here.

"Kitchen Sink" Muffins



I have learned SO much about cooking from my mom. And whenever I have a question about anything I know I can call her and she will probably know! She e-mailed me this recipe two years ago after we visited for Thanksgiving, and I still use it frequently. It is really easy to customize these to your tastes! Below I have copied her recipe, with my notes in italics. She writes:

Well, here are instructions for my "Kitchen Sink" muffins. Success will be achieved by making them enough and observing the quality of the batter and the resulting muffins. I don't think muffins are a critical sort of thing like a cake, they are pretty forgiving, so don't be afraid!

Dry Ingredients:

FLOUR -- I always use 1/2 cup whole wheat, 1/2 cup white, and 1/2 cup oat flours. This seems to make enough batter for six muffins most of the time (depending upon other ingredients I guess).
LEAVENING -- I use about one teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon soda. I don't know why I don't use a set amount of soda, I just put in what I think is right at the moment. (I use 1 tsp soda)
SALT -- not a major ingredient but I think you should have some in there for flavor, say 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.
SPICES -- These will depend on your other ingredients. You can leave spices out, or you can put in a lot of different ones. I almost always use some cinnamon, but you can use nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ginger, cardamom, etc. Say about a teaspoon of cinnamon if you are using it, and somewhat less of any others, except if you are making sort of gingerbread muffins use more ginger.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a smallish bowl.

WET MIXTURE -- not all the ingredients in this mixture are "wet," but the mixture is. Mix in a medium bowl.

I always start with a portion of bran cereal like All Bran. I never measure it, but I think it is between 1/2 to 1 cup of it. I think one cup is a safe amount. (One thing that makes really great muffin base are the crumbs in the bottom of cereal boxes. I save mine in a bag to use for things like this. Frosted shredded wheat and granola crumbs are my favorites. I either use 1 cup of bran cereal, or 1/2 cup bran and 1/2 a cup of that mixture.)

Put the bran cereal in the bowl and add YOGURT or BUTTERMILK, probably about a cup. Stir them together to start the cereal getting soaked so it will break down.

I put the SWEETENER in the wet mixture. I don't use a lot because I usually use some kind of fruit and that adds sweetness. Say no more than 1/4 cup of sugar, brown sugar, honey, molasses, syrup, jam, jelly (melted) or some other thing. It depends on what your overall flavor goal is what kind of sweetener you use. (Apple butter is really good for this, especially if you make your own.)

Don't forget to put in ONE EGG, and some OIL or MELTED BUTTER, about 2 tablespoons.

Mix these things together.

Add to the wet mixture any kind of fruit puree like mashed banana or applesauce, or any kind of dried fruit like raisins or chopped prunes or apricots or peaches, or dried berries. I started out making these muffins when I had some hard dates in the cupboard; I soaked them in hot water until they were soft and added them, water and all, to the wet ingredients. You will very likely need to add more moisture in the form of water or milk or juice, so I will often soak dried fruit (if I am using it) in water and add this. If I don't do that, I usually add some water when I mix the batter and can see what I need. This really is the part you need to learn to get a feel for; that is, how much liquid ingredients to add, how moist/runny you want this "wet" mixture to be. It all depends on what you are using. (See? Very customizable!)

You may also add chopped nuts or chocolate chips, depending on what you want.

So once you have your wet mixture, you can stir in the mixed dry ingredients. Stir gently, and add more water or something liquid until the batter is mixed. THE BATTER should NOT be RUNNY, NOR HEAVY and STIFF. The reaction of the acid from the yogurt/buttermilk and/or the fruit will make the batter sort of puff up, so it will be kind of light and fluffy. Don't stir it down or you will make it flat, and the muffins will be tough. Mix lightly but thoroughly.

Fill large muffin cups nearly to the top. Since the muffin batter is fluffy, it will not rise a great deal more in the oven, so you don't want to under-fill the cups. You should have enough batter for six or sometimes five muffins.

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes at about 375-400 degrees. You might like to test them with a toothpick to see if they are done, or check earlier to see that they are not over-browning. Again, it depends on what the ingredients are so you have to sort of watch.

I hope this helps you to make your own yummy muffins!

Thank you, Mom!! I love you! :D




April 2nd, Additional note: I made a version of these for our 13 month old! I baked them in a mini muffin tin so they were a nice size for him, and the extras freeze really well. I used pureed squash, shredded carrot and zucchini to give him some veggies and applesauce, prune juice and raisins for fruit. I used a little honey as sweetener, and added wheat germ and oats to the dry mixture. I used plain greek yogurt and butter. He LOVES them, especially with some peanut butter on top. Here they are:

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup



I LOVE soup! We have lots and lots of winter nights here in Montana that call for comfort food. The great thing about this soup is it calls for a box of Rice-A-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice, which you may already have in your pantry! This is easy and quick, and would be great with a fresh, crusty roll! Well, the prep is quick, it hangs out for a few hours in the crock pot. But if you put all these ingredients together after lunch, a very tasty and filling soup will be waiting for you for dinner!

Ingredients

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package of Rice-a-Roni long grain and wild rice
1/2-1 cup diced carrots
1/2-1 cup diced celery
1 11 oz can of corn
1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1/2 tsp ground pepper

3/4 cup all purpose flour (I used about half this)
1/2 cup butter (I used 1/4 cup)
2 cups half and half (I used milk mixed with heavy cream, but it was probably only a little over a cup total)

Directions

Combine broth, water, carrots, celery, corn, chicken and rice (along with seasoning packet) in a large slow cooker. If you are wondering why the chicken breasts look seasoned in the pictures, mine were marinated because we had extra in the fridge I needed to use.



Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Take out chicken and shred with two forks and then add back into slow cooker. In a small bowl combine salt, pepper, and flour. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour mixture by tablespoon to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Stir cream mixture into slow cooker and then let cook on low for 15 more minutes. (I used less of the cream mixture in mine and it was still amazing and creamy!)



Enjoy!

Original recipe here.