APPLE CINNAMON PULL APARTS

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup apples (Golden)

1/2 cup milk

2 ounce package cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter

Mix first 3 ingredients. Add milk. Stir until dough forms. Cut cream cheese into 16 cubes. Divide dough into 16 pieces. Wrap dough around cheese. Combine sugars and cinnamon. Roll pieces in butter then in sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place in ring mold or bundt pan. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes.

Invert and serve.

Ginger Body Scrub Use this one in the morning as the essential oils are invigorating.

1/4 cup Sea Salt

1/4 cup Cornmeal

1/3 cup Olive Oil (Or any oil base you prefer), warmed

2 drops Ginger, warmed

4 drops Peppermint, warmed

3 drops Rosemary, warmed

Mix salt and cornmeal.

Combine warmed oil and essential oils then mix with dry ingredients.

Use in the shower or standing in the tub. Apply in circular motions, working from the extremities inward, working towards the center of the body and the heart.

Rinse with warm water. Gently pat dry. Your skin will feel smoother and have a nice glow.

 

Candy Roll Pretzels  Small Pretzel Knots (not straight pretzels)

Bag of Rolos

Pecan halves

Lay the pretzels on a cookie sheet and place a Rolo in the center of each pretzel.  

Heat in a 250 degree oven for about 4 minutes, just until Rolo is soft.

Remove from oven.

Push 1/2 of a pecan on each Rolo.

Let cool.

 

Seven Bean Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes One Quart 2 cups milk

2 cups heavy cream
7 vanilla beans, preferably Tahitian, split, seeds scraped out; seeds and beans reserved
¾ cup Vanilla Sugar or regular sugar
6 large egg yolks
Pinch of salt

1. Place a 1-quart freezer container in the freezer. Prepare an ice bath: fill a large bowl with ice and a little water and nestle a medium bowl in the ice.

2. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine the milk, cream, vanilla seeds and beans, and half the sugar. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and allow the milk and cream to infuse for 20 minutes.

3. While the milk and cream are infusing, combine the egg yolks and the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl and whisk them together until lemony yellow.

4. After infusing the cream mixture, remove the plastic wrap and return the mixture to the heat. When the milk and cream come to a simmer, remove from the heat and slowly whisk 1/2 cup into the egg yolks. Once the cream is incorporated into the yolks, whisk the yolks back into the cream. Be sure to scrape all the yolks into the pan with a rubber spatula.

5. Place the pan over low heat and immediately begin to stir the custard. After about 2 minutes, the custard will begin to thicken. Keep stirring until the consistency is like thick cream. The custard is done when the temperature reaches 180°F. Test for readiness with your spatula: dip it into the custard, pull it out, and run your finger across the back of the spatula. Your finger should leave a clear trail and the rest of the spatula should remain coated with custard. If the custard does not run into the finger trail, it is thick enough and can be taken off the heat. If it does run, cook the custard for another minute, or until the consistency is right.

6. Remove the custard from the heat and immediately pour through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl in the ice bath. Stir occasionally for 5 to 10 minutes, until the temperature of the custard drops to room temperature. Stir in the salt. If you have the time, chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Otherwise, continue to stir over the ice bath until the temperature drops to 40°F. Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer to the freezer container and place in the freezer for 2 hours, or until firm.

 

Homemade Soft Taffy2 cups Sugar1 1/2 cups Corn Syrup1/4 teaspoon Salt1 tablespoon Vinegar1 teaspoon VanillaCook ingredients over medium heat in a large pan until sugar dissolves. Add 1/2 cup whipping cream to mixture and cook to firm ball stage. Pour onto a buttered plate and cool until cool enough to handle. Butter hands and pull taffy until it loses its glossy color. Cut with scissors and roll in powdered sugar. Wrap in pieces of wax paper.

Rum Marinated Pork Chops

1 large onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup dark rum
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 (5 oz) lean pork chops

Mix first 6 ingredients in a large shallow dish. Stir in rum and lemon juice. Add pork, and turn to coat. Cover and marinate for 8 hours.

Remove pork chops from marinade. Discard marinade.

Bake at 350° F. till done.  Makes 4 servings

WW Points: 5 pt.

 

Fragrant Bath Fizzies

Another great holiday or birthday gift! 

·  1 cup baking soda

·  1 /2 cup cornstarch

·  1 /2 cup citric acid

·  15 drops essential oil

·  food color, 10 drops (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Add food coloring to a small amount of the mix in a separate bowl.

Add colored mix to remaining mix and blend.

Mist the salts with a mister enough so that they hold together but not enough to start fizzing.

Pack these salts into a soap mold.

Flip over onto a piece of waxed paper and allow molded fizzie to dry overnight.