Baked Cannelloni: New Food Friday Part 2

Whine whine whine!  This recipe has a lot of instructions to type.  Awwwww...I don't wanna type 'em all up...

Yeah, that's why today's post is REALLY the recipe I made last Friday.  Aside from the Nutella cookies.  Which were good.  Mmmm...I want some more of those.  Actually...I want more of this stuff!!  So this first picture is the picture from the Taste of Home magazine.  This is what it was supposed to look like:

This is what MINE looked like:

You'll notice that the innards are a little lighter in mine...I didn't use as much meat in mine.  I'll explain after the recipe.  Don't get me wrong...I thought it was still pretty darn tasty, but next time I think I'll add more meat.  That being said, here's the recipe that took me a week to type up:
Baked Cannelloni
Adapted from: Taste of Home

2 TBSP olive oil
dried minced onion (rehydrated)
2 oz mushrooms, finely chopped
1 pkg. (19 oz)  Italian sausage
6 TBSP butter
6 TBSP flour
3 cups milk (not skim)
12 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
2 egg yolks
12 cannelloni pasta shells
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 tsp dried oregano

For the filling:
1- In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, onion and mushrooms.  Cook for 5 minutes, allowing the onion to soften and the mushrooms to release liquid.
2- Once most of the liquid has dissipated, add sausage, crumbling it with a wooden spoon into small pieces as it cooks.  Stir and cook all ingredients until the onion is softened and the sausage is no longer pink and is starting to brown.  Set aside.
For The Bechamel Sauce:
1- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add flour and stir until well incorporated.  Slowly, add milk and whisk together until smooth.  Continues whisking until sauce comes to a slow boil and starts to thicken.  Stir half this sauce into the sausage mixture.  Reserve the other half to pour on top of the cannelloni.  Add cubed mozzarella to the sausage and sauce mixture and continue stirring, while slowly whisking in the egg yolks; mix to combine; cover and set aside.
Assembly:
1- Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse under cold water and reserve, being careful to keep the pasta from breaking.
2- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spread 3/4 of the reserved bechamel sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 oiled baking dish. Spoon filling into each pasta tube.  Start from one end and use your finger to push the filling all the way through. (Yeah...we'll talk about this later.  Read on...)
3- Nestle the cannelloni in the sauce and cover with remaining bechamel sauce.  Top with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of oregano.  
4- Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until heated through and cheese starts to turn golden.  Remove from oven, let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

All right.  Time for Susan's interpretation of the above recipe.  

First.  "This recipe is brought to you by Johnsonville".  No really.  It was.  At the Taste of Home show they advertise for their sponsor's SHAMELESSLY.  The actual recipe in the magazine says "1 pkg. Johnsonville Italian Sausage Links; removed from casing".  Guess what?!  Any sausage will do!  The sausage I made this with is from Winco...and when Joe and I discovered it...we were in love.  It's SUPER tasty and we use it for pretty much every recipe that calls for sausage:

I've never found it anywhere else, but that doesn't bother me.  I do 90% of my grocery shopping at Winco anyway.  So yeah.  I used this sausage and it was 3 oz shy of what the recipe calls for.  Good thing I read directions carefully.  Duh.  As I mentioned before...I'd add more meat the next time I make it. :)

Next.  I hate mushrooms.  And before you get up in my face (computer screen?) about how I should try it before I say I hate it, I have.  So back off. I think mushrooms are nasty.  So I left them out of half my recipe (Joe ate the half with the mushrooms) and that could be part of the reason ((probably IS) my cannelloni's are super cheesy.

Third.  Cannelloni pasta?  What the crap is that?  Where on earth do you buy it?  I couldn't find it...so I used (insert triumphant music here) Manicotti noodles and guess what?!  They worked perfectly. Huzzah.

Fourth. "Spoon filling into each pasta tube.  Start from one end and use your finger to push the filling all the way through"????

I learned this snazzy trick:

Step one - cook the manicotti noodles and drain:

Step two - cut the noodles down one side:

Step three - spoon filling into noodle:

Step four - fold noodle over the filling and set in pan seam side down.

SOOOOOOO much easier then that "push the filling" nonsense.

Last bit of interpretation.  That whole bake 45 minutes or until heated through should probably just say, until heated through.  The top of my cannelloni looks a LOT darker than the one from the magazine.  I kind of like the cheese brown, so it didn't hurt my feelings at all...but I was somewhat surprised when I opened the oven to see that.

So there you have it!  Baked Cannelloni!  It's not nearly as complicated as it looks at first.  And it's super good!  Tastes super good if you have Nutella cookies to eat after....just sayin'.

Nutella Pastry Cookies: New Food Friday Part 1

Seriously?  I need to do better to read ahead of time so I know what I'm doing.  I had a great plan in my head to put Kaylee down for her nap and then do the cookies then start dinner.  I put her down, open up my iPad, find the recipe...and read "8 oz of cream cheese SOFTENED, 1 cup of butter SOFTENED".  You'll never guess where my butter and cream cheese is.  Oh!  You guessed!  THE FRIDGE.  Sigh.

Well I have a plan, darn it!  So I mixed the dough up anyway.  Ha ha ha.  Take that recipe!  I AM QUEEN!  And guess what? 

So anyway.  I would highly recommend letting your butter and cream cheese soften for this recipe, but if you're a dope like me, you can cut them into chunks and mix them with the mixer and it'll do the same thing...it just takes a tad bit longer.  

Also.  Roll dough out into a 10"x7" rectangle? Really?  Cause dough does that...

Oh wait...no it doesn't. 

You DO want to roll it thin.  A lot thinner than I did.  When I put the cookies in the oven I set my timer for 15 minutes.  Then 5 more minutes.  Then 5 more minutes.  Then 5 more minutes.  Yeah...30 MINUTES LATER!  So yeah.  Think thin.  Thiiiiiiiin.  Exactly what you will NOT be if you sit and eat all these delicious cookies in one sitting...which is kind of what I want to do.

When it says cut the dough into squares...it means squares.  Not rectangles.  See my happy little rectangle shaped cookies?  See my triangle with a weird little corner that shouldn't be there?  Someone didn't follow directions and cut the dough into rectangles. Squares my friends.  Squares would have made my life a bit easier.  Obviously you don't need to get out a ruler and measure to make sure all four sides are the same length (gasp!  4th grade math!  SEE!  You do need math!) but get it as close to square as you can.

The original recipe (which is also the recipe below) recommends drizzling Nutella over the top, but if you look at my finished product:

I didn't put the Nutella on top because we started eating them and didn't want to wait for the drizzling!  (I may or may not be munching on another one as I'm typing.  Don't judge me.)

So yeah.  After those words of wisdom, here's the recipe!

Nutella Pastry Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups Nutella
• 1/4 cup water

How to Make

1. In a large bowl cream together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour to mixture until combined.
2. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Refrigerate in a zip-top bag for at least an hour, until dough is no longer sticky.
3. When dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350°.
4. Lightly sprinkle counter with flour. Roll out one portion of dough into 10"x7" rectangle. Trim edges if necessary. Cut dough into 2 1/2" squares. Place a heaping teaspoon amount of Nutella in the center of each square. Moisten edges of dough with water, fold over diagonally and then pinch closed.
5. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a SilPat. Place pastries on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden.
6. Transfer to wire rack when done and continue cooling.
7. **If desired drizzle you can drizzle the pastry cookies with some extra Nutella...heat 1/4 cup Nutella in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, add in about 1/4 -1/2 tsp vegetable oil and stir to thin. Lightly drizzle the Nutella on top of the pastries.

Read more: http://cookiesandcups.com/nutella-pastry-cookies/#ixzz37BtWCMJk

Ice Cream Cannoli: New food WHAT?

You.  Guys.  I seriously can't even WAIT until next week to post this one.  I'm posting it now.  I have to.  It's in your best interest.  I'm just looking out for you.  If you're just here for the recipe...scroll on down cause this recipe has a full blown story.  (Although if you were to ask anyone that knows me...I almost ALWAYS have a story when a simple answer will do.)

Join me in my time machine...my Tardis, if you will...and we're going to go back in time a couple months.  No...weeks.  This happened just last month:

The week after school got out my mom and Kaylee and I went on a road trip up to Logan to go to the Taste of Home Cooking School show with my sister-in-law Alli.  Now, remember if you will that I LOVE to cook.  So naturally I was SUPER excited to go to this show.  They give you all kinds of goodies, a couple of magazines with a bunch of recipes in them and of course how can you turn down being put in the drawing for a $2,500 small appliance make-over!  Well my favorite part (aside from the hopes of winning big) of the show is that they show you how to make about 8 or 9 of the recipes from the magazines they've given you.  You can follow along, make notes, write down suggestions of changes if you're like the presenter and don't really like ricotta cheese...(ew.  Sorry.)  Basically...it's just a night of awesome.

Please go back and remember, however that I had my dear sweet little Kaylee with me.  At that point she was on the brink of 9 months old.  SO well behaved.  Such a good baby!  She'll sleep through anything!  Um...yeah.  If she's already ASLEEP!  But no.  No no no no no.  She was wide awake.  We got there an hour before the show started (gotta get good seats, man!) and she was awake and wanting to crawl.  So I took her out in the foyer (in a high school...with a filthy, dirty floor.  Don't judge.) and let her crawl and play and I chased her and totally wore her (aka: me) out.  I figured she'd totally zonk and I could enjoy the show with my perfect, sleeping baby sitting beside me in her stroller. (Are you laughing at my stupidity yet?)  I go in to the auditorium and place her in her stroller and BAM! She's awake and hollering.  Not like: "I'm mad and I hate my situation" holler.  Just: "I'm here and I want everyone to know it" hollering.  So I get her out, I bounce her, mom tries bouncing her, we put her back in her stroller, now she's getting mad.  She was at that stage where you know the baby is tired but they won't go to sleep.  You know the one.  And then the show started.

Remember all the winning you can do?  Well that takes place throughout the show...and they encourage you to scream and yell and do a "Price is Right" dance on your way up to the stage or as you just stand at your seat.  Cause that'll help Kaylee sleep.

Point of that story?  I wasn't able to take notes like I wanted because I finally had to put Kaylee in her stroller and push her back and forth at the back of the auditorium.  Do I regret taking her?  Not at all.  Would I do it again?  Heavens yes!

ANYWAY.  What does this have to do with a new recipe?  Well.  One of the recipes they made was for a Chocolate Cannoli.  Unfortunately, I was up and rocking Kaylee and I didn't write down the substitute the cook had for the ricotta cheese in them.  Another unfortunate was that it requires special equipment.  A Pizzelle Iron.  Who has that?!  I mean really!

I looked it up on Amazon immediately and decided that this could be doable. It was expensive...but not ridiculous.  I could buy one for myself as a reward for doing something I disliked ("exercise every day this summer" passed through my thoughts).  I got excited and thought of all the other things I could put in one of these cannolis.  The show finished (no, I didn't end up winning anything and yes, Kaylee slept through the rest of the show) and the weekend ended. Mom and I headed home (with a slight detour to Smith and Edward's...holy cow...I could spend a LOT of money there) tired, happy and chatting about all the recipes we wanted to try and alter to our likes and dislikes. 

When I got home I went on and on to Joe about the cannolis and how awesome they are and how I wanted to buy a press for myself so I could make them.  Little did I know, Joe decided as I talked that since he hadn't gotten me a Mother's Day present he would get me a Pizzelle Iron for a late gift.  Less than a week later, guess what showed up at our door!  I've never been more excited about something in my life!  Well...that's probably a lie.  But I was incredibly excited!  I made cannolis that same day!  I didn't have anything for the insides except cool whip and chocolate pudding so I made a tasty (but super runny) "chocolate-pudding-thing".  They were so messy!!!  It's good though. :)

Last night, Joe and I went to a friend's house for dinner and games.  As is my nature, I asked what we could bring and decided I wanted to make cannolis.  What to put inside though?  Read on, my friends.  Here is the recipe for cool, summer treatiness.

Ice Cream Cannoli
Recipe by: Taste of Home Test Kitchen with a little twist by Susan

1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg, sugar, butter, vanilla and almond extract until blended.  Poor 1 TBSP of batter into each mold and bake in a preheated pizzelle iron according to manufacturer's directions. (Cuisanart Iron set to 3 is what I used)

Remove the cookie from the iron and roll around a cannoli form (you can use the metal handle of a whisk) and set on a wire rack to cool.

This recipe will make 12 cannoli cookies.

After everything cools take ice cream (I had Toffee Crunch ice cream) and let it soften.  Use a spoon to put the ice cream in each of the rolled cookies.  Wrap each ice cream stuffed cookie with plastic wrap and set them in the freezer for a few hours so the ice cream would set back up.  (Originally I just set the stuffed cookies on a plate in the freezer....yeah....the ice cream was too soft and melty so it ran all over the plate.)

Melt half a bag of milk chocolate chips in the microwave and added a small spoonful of shortening (sounds gross but it makes the chocolate runnier and then it sets up faster). Unwrap the cannolis, one at a time and dip each end in the chocolate.  Put them on a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil on the counter until all 12 are dipped.  Drizzle the rest of the chocolate over the top and ta-da!  You get this lovely result!

You could probably make some other type of something for the insides, but honestly, I think the ice cream was probably the best thing EVER.  

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars: New Food Friday...err...Monday...

Okay, so I was supposed to update on Saturday, but I was drained from the day before (White Peaks marched in the Provo Freedom Festival parade.  KILL-ER man.  I wanted to die this year.) and then I just got busy.  BUT despite my tired legs and fried brain I DID make a new recipe after the parade on Friday: Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars.  Doesn't that just sound 4th of July-ee?  Sort of?  Maybe?  Okay, just use your imagination.



Okay, so these cheesecake bars.  First of all, pick yourself up off the floor if you know me.  I actually made and ATE something with fruit in it.  If you don't know me...just know that I'm not a huge fruit and vegetable fan.  At all.  But these bars!  Oh these lovely sinful bars!  They were good.  The end.  Here's the recipe:

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars 
Recipe from: http://www.raininghotcoupons.com/caramel-apple-cheesecake-bars-recipe/

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, (2 sticks) cut in small chunks
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons separate
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup caramel topping
• Streusel Topping:
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup butter, cut in chunks (1 stick)
  Instructions
  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Combine flour, brown sugar and butter chunks then use hands to combine until crumbly.Press evenly into a baking pan and bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned.
2. Mix cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until blended then add eggs and vanilla. Pour over crust
3. In a separate bowl stir together chopped apples, 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon.
4. Pour over cream cheese mix evenly
5. Combine all streusel toppings (using hands again with butter chunks to make into a crumble) and then cover apples.
6. Bake for 30 minutes
7. Cover with caramel drizzle
8. Enjoy!

I'm not much of a "take pictures while I'm cooking" kind of girl.  My hands are messy and I'd just rather get in there and cook.  I guess I can work on that particular skill for the good of mankind...or rather, those who read this blog.  Is there anybody out there? (Brownie points to anyone who knows THAT reference...mmm...brownies...)  I DID take a picture of the final product though:

Obviously photography needs to go on my list of skills to acquire as well.  Shrug.  I'm not perfect. If you want better pictures, refer to the blog I got the recipe from.  It's up by the title of the recipe.

 As you can see, my dessert is missing the caramel, as that's drizzled on piece by piece.  A couple of notes on this recipe though.  Above, it never tells you what size of pan to use.  I did mine in a 9x13 pan and it was the perfect size.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm a crust girl.  I don't eat the innards of my pie and chuck the crust.  In fact, my grandma and mom and I ALL make what we call "pie crust cookies" every time we make pie.  It's just a given.  My grandma has been known to make pie crust just to make the cookies.  No actual pie made.  HOWEVER!  The bottom crust on this one was a little thick for me.  In fact, I had a second piece after it sat in the fridge overnight and my plastic fork broke on the crust.  When I make it again, I think I'll half that crust recipe.  Also, for any of you Weight Watcher kids out there, if you cut that 9x13 beauty into 20 pieces, each piece is 11 points plus.  Yeah...a little steep...but I say it's worth it!

Delicious, delicious, delicious.  The apples were still crispy (completely unexpected) and the cheesecake was cheesecake-y, and now I'm making up words.  That's my cue to leave.  Next Friday I've got TWO new recipes I'm trying.  Ambitious.  Good thing there's no school!!!

I'm baaaaaaaack! Wait, what?

So.

It's been awhile.

A lot has happened.

I'll give you the shortened version.

  2 days after my last post my amazing younger brother was in a horrible motorcycle accident.  I'm not going to go into all the details now or I'll end up sitting at my computer blubbering like an absolute idiot.  It's already bad enough that the anniversary of his accident is next Thursday...boy this will be a tough week.  If you really want to know all the details you can go to the blog my sister-in-law Alli kept for him during his time in the hospital. (http://brianscottkelley.blogspot.com/) He passed away from complications from his accident and it threw my life up-side down.  Needless to say, I really haven't felt like doing much of anything since then.  There were a few days that it was pushing it to even get out of bed in the morning.  My wonderful husband has taken great care of me and gotten me through a lot of rough days.  I'm not by any means "all better",  I still have days that I want nothing more than to hide in my bedroom and not come out.  I still plug away though.  I still teach and my fantastic students help get me through the week.  One of the biggest pieces of sunshine in my life since then is my sweet, sweet baby girl Kaylee.

I mean, really.  Check out that face.  What a doll.  She is such a well behaved little girl (knock on wood) and has been so much fun to be a mommy to! She's almost 10 months old (?!?!) and full of babbling and energy...and getting into the dogs' water dish.  Oh well.  She has fun and that's what matters, right?

Now, for the real question.  WHY am I back?  Why after so long did I return and dust off my AMAZING (insert eye roll here) blogging skills? Because I thought it would be fun to share some recipes, that's why!

I am by NO MEANS a professional baker.  I love to do it, but I do it for fun.  I'm pretty well known at work for being one of the first people to sign up to bring a dessert to potlucks.  It seems like people always ask for my recipes.  So...here they are...sort of.  I've started a new thing this summer: "New Food Friday".  It was just a fun little way to have an excuse to make new treats once a week.  It's been fun and I want to share!

Now, keep in mind, this blog is not strictly a cooking blog.  I may post about something awesome that happens at school.  I might rant a little bit about the kid that intentionally threw a popper firework at Kaylee who was ASLEEP in her stroller DOING NOTHING to hurt him and the PARENT DID NOTHING.  *Ahem* Sorry...calming down...calming down...okay.  I'm good again.  My plan though, is to continue with "New Food Friday" and post the successful recipes Friday night or Saturday morning.  Knowing my luck, that's what it'll turn into and all I'll ever post, but hey...that should keep people happy, right?