recipe - Stuff Parents Need

Spooky Orange Cream Cinnamon Rolls with TruMoo Orange Scream Milk

October 6, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 6 Comments

This post brought to you by TruMoo. All opinions are 100% mine.

We cooked up something frighteningly delicious for Sunday brunch this past weekend, all inspired by the special edition product in dairy cases across the country right now: TruMoo Orange Scream Milk. Have you seen it?

I thought it served as a great tool for making something extra special for a chilly October morning. We came up with the idea of doing Orange Cream Cinnamon Rolls, and I’d love to show you how to make them!

Ingredients:

Dough

1 package dry active yeast
3/4 cup TruMoo Orange Scream Milk, room temperature or slightly warmed
1 stick of butter at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, room temperature

Filling

1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 stick butter at room temperature
1 tsp TruMoo Orange Scream Milk

Icing

Half a stick (4 oz) cream cheese at room temperature
2 Tbsp TruMoo Orange Scream Milk
1 cup powdered sugar
orange sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

Add 3/4 cup TruMoo milk to a mixing bowl.

Add yeast to the milk, give it a stir, and allow it to sit for 2 minutes.

Slowly add in the butter, sugar, vanilla, 1 cup of flour, cinnamon and salt, and combine using a mixer.

Once this mix is just combined, add the eggs.

Now it’s time to add the remaining flour and beat until well combined.

The dough needs to be kneaded (and hey, don’t we all??? Heh heh..) for 5 minutes. If you are fancy and have a stand mixer, get out your dough blade. If you are like me, and do NOT have such fancy equipment, get out your flour and lightly flour a surface, and then get to work. Or in my case, put your husband to work.

Smear some butter on the bowl you were using, and then place your kneaded dough back in that bowl. Roll it around a bit so that some butter gets all over it. Then put plastic wrap on top, and put the bowl somewhere warmish to sit for an hour. We actually put it in the sink it a bit of warm water. Yes, you really do need to let it sit for that long. And yes, it is torture.

BUT! While you are waiting you should learn more about TruMoo! visit their website for more delicious TruMoo Halloween recipes. You’ll find plenty of other ideas for ways to use your Orange Scream Milk. Or you could just have a glass; it’s awesome, trust me.

While you are waiting, you should also get started on the cinnamon roll filling. Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix together until well-combined.

Now that an hour has passed, get your dough back out on a lightly floured surface and roll it out into roughly the shape of your 9×13 baking dish (a little bit larger is ok).

Now add that yummy filling you made a short while ago and sprinkly it evenly all over the dough. Roll the dough on the long end of the rectangle you made (you want your roll to be long). Roll it tightly, and then cut into 12 pieces.

I cut the roll in half, and then cut each half again, and then took each section and made 3 rolls, for a total of 12. Place these in your 9×13 baking dish, and be sure to butter the dish first. Cover it again with plastic wrap. Let it rise, once again, for an hour. I KNOW….THIS PART STINKS!

While you wait, might was well browse the TruMoo Pinterest boards! They have some terrific ideas for you to pin. You can also check out the TruMoo Facebook page. I like connecting with the brand here because they have fun giveaways that pop up from time to time!

While you are waiting, you should also go ahead and preheat your oven to 350, though it will only take it 5-10 minutes to get that hot.

Once you time is up, remove the plastic wrap and put your cinnamon rolls in the oven for 30 minutes. They should look something like this when they are ready:

Give them a little bit of time to cool down so that your icing doesn’t melt too fast. Once you just can’t stand the wait any more, apply the icing liberally to your rolls, and for extra color, add some orange sprinkles.Dig in, and enjoy! They are SO yum!

Frozen White Russian, Coffee-mate Style! (Giveaway!)

March 7, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 111 Comments

What have you fabulous friends been adding to your coffee, lately, to give it a little extra love? I’ve been taking my own little tour of Coffee-mate offerings (I counted 15 different options at my nearest Walmart about a month ago….clearly I was without my children if I had time to stop and count anything!). I’m currently finishing up their Amaretto flavor (highly recommend) and I’m also working through their Fat-Free Hazelnut (which I like, but I find that I personally prefer the NON fat-free options, which is sort of a bummer).

With all the flavor options Coffee-mate has to offer, I had to chuckle when I most recently decided to opt for their original flavor. But I figured that the flavor that started the company that I love probably got something right. It also happened to be an ingredient needed to make an adult beverage I’ve been wanting to try: a White Russian. But in true Tiffany style, I wanted to crank up the chill factor for this beverage. Why have it cold when I could have it frozen? So I made a few tweaks to the recipe I found on the Coffee-mate website, and create something positively dreamy!

Ingredients

1/4 cup coffee flavored liqueur (Kahlua, for example)
1/2 cup vodka
1/4 cup Original NESTLÉ COFFEE-MATE Liquid Coffee Creamer
lots and lots of ice
whipped cream (optional)
chocolate syrup (optional)

Add the liquid ingredients to a blender, and then throw in a whole bunch of ice. Blend and continue to add ice until you get the consistency you desire for your frozen drink. I added a bunch because I wanted mine to have the texture of a frozen daiquiri. Top with whipped topping and/or chocolate syrup, if desired. Yield: 2-3 servings

Oh mercy, this was a delicious drink! The vodka was a bit strong, which was a good thing for me, as it kept me from just chugging my frozen coffee treat. I’m definitely keeping this recipe on file, and would happily serve it to company, perhaps in cute little glasses, as an after dinner coffee alternative. The Coffee-mate creamer addition also makes it a dairy-free option for folks with sensitivity to milk.

Coffee-mate’s Newest Flavor

I also think that the newest flavor Coffee-mate has just released would be excellent in this recipe. It’s called Extra Sweet & Creamy, and the name alone perfectly describes how I like my coffee to taste. I’ve actually been to a few stores looking for it, but as far as I can tell, the product hasn’t yet made it to Chattanooga (it just launched in January and Coffee-mate is still rolling it out to new locations). You guys, I’m totally stalking this stuff. I get that crazy look in my eye every time I head over to the dairy section of a grocery store, and I start moving around the Coffee-mate flavors, hoping to find Extra Sweet & Creamy hiding behind the other ones. I’m sure I’m quite a sight! But I’ll keep being “that lady” in the stores until this flavor lands in my fridge! Hopefully your neck of the woods has it already (you can check the store locator to see where this exact product has been stocked!).

For Your Next Party: Sweet and Spicy Barbeque Meatballs

December 4, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

I wrote this post as a Reynolds Real Mom. For more fantastic recipes with effortless clean-up, be sure to check out the Reynolds recipe page!

For your next potluck gathering, I’ve got a very easy recipe that will be the first dish to get polished off on the buffet line! Two very surprising ingredients form the perfect sauce for these oven-baked meatballs.

Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Meatballs

Ingredients:
2.5 lbs ground chuck
2 lbs ground pork
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp steak seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 eggs

for sauce:
1 32 oz container barbecue sauce
1 32 oz container grape jelly
hot sauce (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 and line 4 baking sheets with Reynolds non-stick aluminum foil. Combine the meat with all other ingredients except for the sauce and form into bite-size meatballs. Place 20 meatballs on each pan, and bake for 35 minutes or until browned all the way through.

While the meatballs are baking, pour the barbecue sauce and the grape jelly into a sauce pan and heat over medium until they are well combined. If you want your meatballs to have a little extra kick, add some hot sauce to the mix.

Once the meatballs are finished, you can slide them right off the pan an into your serving dish. Pour your sauce on top and serve immediately. The finished dish does well in the microwave if you are taking it to a party and need to reheat it.

Yield: 80 meatballs (sounds like a lot, until you see how quickly folks inhale them!)

Thanksgiving Recipe I’ll Be Making: Gorgeous Roasted Veggies!

November 7, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Special thanks to Reynolds for sponsoring this Thanksgiving recipe content through the Reynold Real Moms program. Parchment Paper is a total game changer, y’all!

Today I’m excited to be sharing with you the main vegetable dish I will be serving to my family on Thanksgiving Day. It is absolutely gorgeous, is loved by every member of my family (even my 4-year-old who could live on peanut butter!), and is likely going to be the easiest recipe on the table because it is so flexible. Check it out and see if you might want to try it for your family feast, or even for the next time you have company over!

Harvest Bounty Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

various in-season vegetables of your choice (great options include most varieties of squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, new potatoes, miniature onions, brussels sprouts, eggplant, carrots, radishes)
salt and pepper, to taste
other seasoning of choice (we use Italian seasoning)
extra virgin olive oil
Reynolds Parchment Paper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Tear a sheet of Reynolds Parchment Paper to fit a baking pan with raised edges. If your sheet is too large and hangs over the edges, just grab a pair of scissors and cut it to size. Depending on the number of guests you are serving, you may need more than one pan for roasting.

Scrub your vegetables and slice as needed for optimal roasting (you will see in my example that I cut squash into bite-size pieces, cut brussels sprouts in half, and left the miniature onions and carrots whole).

In a large bowl, add roughly 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and selected seasoning. Mix well to combine. Then add the vegetables to the bowl and toss well to ensure they are all coated with oil.

When the oven is ready, place your oiled and seasoned veggies on your parchment paper, and spread them out so that they aren’t piled on top of each other. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip over the vegetables. Return to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes.

thanksgiving recipes: harvest bounty roasted veggies

Serve immediately! The vegetables will slide right off the parchment paper with no sticking, and the cleanup will consist of simply tossing the parchment paper. One less thing to clean on a very busy day is something we all can be thankful for!

What are you thinking about serving for your veggies this Thanksgiving???

Delicious Mexican Dishes to Please One and All! (31 Days of Unforgettable Recipes)

October 12, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

Special thanks to Mary for gathering up some AWESOME Mexican food recipes for us to enjoy! Be sure to check out her blog (info at the bottom of the post) for more terrific recipes and other fun musings!

I love Mexican food. No, really. I mean I super-duper, mild-or-spicy, everything’s-better-in-a-tortilla LOVE IT.

When I was pregnant with our first child, I ate so much Mexican food my husband was convinced our baby would be born looking for the chips and queso. (He wasn’t totally wrong, given the fact that we celebrated her first birthday by eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant – and treating her to tiny bits of chips and mild salsa!)

And while I have my favorites, I’m not really discriminating when it comes to Mexican restaurants. Fast food, national chains, authentic local restaurants and holes in the wall – I love them all.

But of course I can’t eat out every night, can I?

Luckily, between the internet and my imagination, I can make a new Mexican dish every night if I want to. (And you know I want to!) Today I’m honored to share a few of my favorite recipes for Mexican food with you. Thank you to Tiffany for the invitation!

Tortilla Chicken with Salsa Verde
Originally published at Giving Up on Perfect

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 egg
1/2 cup tortilla chips, crushed
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup salsa verde
1/4 cup pico de gallo
4 slices or 8 tbsp shredded white cheese

For cilantro sauce:
Bunch of cilantro
2 tbsp oil
Ripe avocado, chopped
1/4 cup salsa verde

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine panko and chips. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then coat with egg. Dip chicken into panko mixture until well-coated. Fry the chicken in a couple tablespoons of oil over medium heat (just a couple minutes on each side, until browned). After chicken is fried, place in baking dish and bake for 15-25 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on chicken and bake for a few more minutes until it melts.

While chicken is baking, combine cilantro, oil, avocado and salsa. Mix with food processor (or, sadly, with electric beaters if you are currently without a food processor. I do not recommend this, as it may result in avocado being sprayed all over your kitchen. Beware.).

Pour a couple tablespoons of salsa verde onto each plate, and place chicken on top. Spoon cilantro sauce and pico de gallo over the top, and enjoy!

A few notes: The original recipe was for just two pieces of chicken, but I found that I had plenty of ingredients for four. Also, the original recipe suggests Mexican cheese or provolone; I used Monterey jack because it’s my favorite. Finally, I don’t love avocado and might forgo the cilantro sauce next time. But all the flavors mixed together really was delicious!

(Not that my family would know, since they both turned up their noses at the thought of green salsa, avocado anything or fresh pico de gallo. I loved it, though. And both my husband and daughter thought the crispy chicken with cheese on top was good!)

Here are a few more of my favorite Mexican recipes:

Baked Chicken Taquitos
Jalapeno Popper Dip
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Homemade Taco Seasoning
Restaurant-Style Salsa
Shredded Beef Tacos & Pico de Gallo
White Chicken Enchiladas

Of course, I won’t stop there! (And you can find lots more at my blog, Giving Up on Perfect {hint, hint!}.) I can’t wait to try these new recipes for Mexican food that I found on Pinterest!

(Pssst! Do you pin? Let’s swap ideas, then! Follow me here.)

Recipes for Mexican food I’m trying next:

Ro-Tel Cups from Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour
Jalapeno Popper Corn Fritters from Closet Cooking
Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chile Soup from Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice
Oven Tacos from Mommy, I’m Hungry
Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips, The Thread Effect
Easy Mexican Chicken Marinade, Stuff Parents Need

What’s YOUR favorite Mexican dish or appetizer?

Mary Carver is a writer, blogger, church planter, wife and mom. A recovering perfectionist, Mary writes with honesty and humor about her imperfect life at www.givinguponperfect.com. Her posts about everything from dieting and housekeeping to parenting and faith encourage other women to give up on perfect and get on with life. She also writes for (in)courage and is the author of Plan a Fabulous Party {without losing your mind}. You can connect with Mary on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

Want to see the entire 31 Days of Unforgettable Recipes series? Just click the banner below to see the full list!

Mimosa Recipe: How to Make a Perfect Mimosa

September 14, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 11 Comments

If you have been on the hunt for a mimosa recipe that gets it right, look no further! I have done the grueling work of testing several different ways to make a mimosa (tough job, but someone had to do it…) and I have found the perfect blend!

My quest started earlier this week, when my 16 month old took a dive in our living room and gashed HER EYELID. She needed 3 stitches. Oh, and did I mention where they were located?

THEY WERE ON HER EYELID.

Little Layah was SO brave. Mama? Not so much. And no wonder my nerves were so shot. You see, this event came a few days after she ruined her best dress and the bathroom rug with nail polish, broke my favorite pair of glasses, and put poop in my hair. And two days after the “stitches incident” she decided to start the day at 1am (oh how I wish I was kidding) with her only naps for the entire day being a very brief one from 6-6:30 am (when our other child was up, so yeah…no nap for mommy) and in the car on the way home from running errands at 10:45am.

So I think it is no coincidence that while I was sitting in my car parked in my driveway with a sleeping toddler in the back that I started thinking that I needed to do a post on mimosas. I mean, I clearly needed to offer a recipe to my readers, just as a good and fun thing to do. Also, mama needed a drink in a major way by this point!

So Friday morning, I heard the following sentence come out of my mouth: “Layah! Get in the car, the wine shop opens in 6 minutes!”

Given the week we’ve had, I think I was justified, my friends! 🙂

I did a little experimenting with different quantities, and here’s what I found to be the perfect mix for a Mimosa

Mimosa Recipe

1/4 cup pulp-free orange juice
1/4 cup (plus a splash!) sparkling white wine (I recommend Prosecco)

Pour 1/4 cup orange juice into a champagne flute (oh heck yes, I broke out my stemware for the occasion!). This should fill nearly half the glass. Then pour 1/4 cup Prosecco into the flute. Top off the glass with an extra splash of sparkling wine (maybe 2 Tbsp? Just eyeball it). I found that the extra splash is exactly what the drink needs to go from good to great!

I hope this helped you figure out how to make a mimosa. They are really quite simple, and you can’t help but feel a tiny bit elegant while sipping on one. Even if you know you had poop in your hair a week ago…

As for my glasses, those are from Waterford, because I got married in 2002 and have a Southern mama who swore I would regret it forever if I didn’t register for china and crystal. Spoiler alert, she was wrong! These champagne flutes are just as pretty and about 1/4 of the price. Live and learn!

Pasta Recipes that Mix and Match: Easy, Kid-Friendly!

August 27, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 12 Comments

I find that at least once a week, even with meal planning in advance, I find myself working right until dinner time, and needing to be able to pull together something FAST. That’s why I just loved this idea I saw in a magazine a few months ago (and which I can’t find to save my life! Maybe it was Parents? Maybe Family Fun?).

Mix and Match Pasta Recipes

All you need to do to pull together a large variety of options for everyone in your family is to have several different types of pasta available in your pantry, as well as several different sauces in your pantry or fridge, and several different toppings that come together in a flash. Most of those toppings can also be found in your pantry, your fridge, or even your freezer! Stay stocked up on theses items and a meal almost makes itself for you! If you have older kids, this is a great way for them to start to learn to cook for themselves!

Pasta Options

Here’s what I offered up to my family as options. I actually decided to cook a small amount of each pasta type, and then kept unused pasted sealed in the fridge, and that made lunches even easier for the next few days. It was glorious!!!

I think wagon wheels would also be great to offer, but I couldn’t find any at my local store :-(.

Pasta Sauce Offerings:

I got every single thing featured here from a jar to save time and hassle!

Pasta Recipes Add-Ins:

Now it’s time for the really fun part: the add-ins! This is where kids can start to feel really empowered about their meal options, and they can build exactly the kind of pasta they want, switching it up depending on their mood! I have tried lots of different dishes just by rearranging the key ingredients, and it has been a great way for “leftovers” to feel brand new!

Extra Indulgence: Cheese!

If you really want to go all-out and make a super rich pasta dish, just offer up a selection of cheeses. It is SO yummy, you guys!

Want to see what my 4-year-old “made” for her dinner? I think she did a great job!

Love the idea? Pin it or share it with your friends (easy share buttons over on the left!).

Philly Cream Cheese Cannoli Dip Recipe

August 11, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 21 Comments

I have joined forces with Philadelphia Soft Cream Cheese to create what I believe to be the ULTIMATE snack. It is simple. It is super yummy. It is really pretty. And it’s also quite inexpensive! I’m so excited to show you how to make a snack that will have EVERYONE talking!

So, are you ready for the awesome? Let’s do it!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cannoli Dip

1 (8 ounce) package Philadelphia Cream Cheese spread

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 Tbsp plain yogurt

15 oz Ricotta cheese

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pour heavy whipping cream into a bowl and beat with a mixer until stiff peaks form (2-3 minutes). Set aside roughly half the mixture into a separate, smaller bowl.

To the remaining mixture add philly soft cream cheese. Mix well to combine. To make the mixing process easier, I recommend cutting the cream cheese into 8 sections. At the same time that you add the cream cheese, also add the plain yogurt.

Next, fold in the ricotta cheese. Then fold in the remaining half of the heavy whipping cream.

Now it’s time to sweeten it up! Add the 2/3 cup powdered sugar and gently fold it in. Your dip will start to look a bit glossier (and it will start to taste like the inside of a cannoli, too!).

How about some color? Fold in those delicious mini chocolate chips! Don’t use the larger chips…it will be too overwhelming when you take a bite.

To serve, sprinkle the top of your dip with more chocolate chips, and dust with a bit of powdered sugar. The perfect dipping instruments, in my opinion, are strawberries and graham crackers!

I made this recently while Tim and the girls were outside doing some chores. They were all thrilled to find this waiting for them when they came back in. It looks super fancy, but honestly, it was quite simple to put together. And the taste? Lean in a little closer and I’ll scoop some for you…

How cruel of me! I bet you could ALMOST taste it, though! Head on out to your nearest grocery store and get started making this delectable snack. You will have a new favorite dish to bring to parties and potlucks, as well as a go-to snack for your family!

Summer “Thyme” Spritzer with Reynolds Baking Cup Covers

June 27, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 13 Comments

I am a Reynolds Real Mom, and as such, have been compensated for my time. All thoughts and opinions express here are mine, as always.

Are you planning any summer soirees this year? When the weather is gorgeous, the great outdoors become the perfect backdrop for a gathering with family and friends. But the bugs in the air can definitely put a damper on things, especially if they land in your drinks! There’s a clever solution to this problem that takes just a second to create, and that makes your event look totally swanky.

Aren’t these Reynolds Baking Cups drink toppers awesome?! Here’s how to make them:

Simply flatten out a Reynolds Baking Cup and then form it around the top of your glass. Stick your straw through the top (I recommend cutting a small hole in the top of the baking cup with a pair of scissors first) and your beverage will be bug-free. It will also look pretty darn cute! What an easy way to dress up your drink and solve a problem all at once. That’s how this Real Mom does it! Here’s a link to the exact baking cups I used if you are as in love with them as I am!

Now for what’s inside those beautifully covered cups!

Summer “Thyme” Spritzer

Ingredients

32 ounces lemon flavored sparkling water
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 lemons, sliced thinly
fresh thyme
ice cubes

Fill your small pitcher with the sparkling water. Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice to give the beverage a little extra kick. In 4 individual glasses, place a slice of lemon, a few sprigs of thyme and some ice cubes. Pour drink into each glass, cover with a Reynolds Baking Cup, add a straw and enjoy!

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