Cheesy Sausage Monkey Bread

This is great with marinara sauce or pesto would be awesome too.

Here is what you need:
3 1/2ish cups of flour
8oz mozzerella
8oz of sausage (I cooked a pound and froze the rest)
1/4 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 stick of butter
2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast
2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning 
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of milk

Dice up 1/2 onion and cook with sausage in a skillet on medium heat until all pink is gone.  Drain and set aside.

Mix together 1 1/2 cups of flour, Italian seasoning, yeast.

Heat salt, sugar, butter, and milk in a small sauce pan on low heat until 120-130 degrees.  The butter will be only partly melted.  You don't want it any warmer or it will kill the yeast.

Add butter/milk mixture and egg to flour mixture.  Beat quickly ofr 30 seconds on a medium speed of a mixer

Slowly add in flour and place in a greased bowl and let rise at room temperature until doubled.

Punch down dough and roll flat.  Cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Layer pieces of dough with sausage and cheese.  Repeat several times until fill.  This makes enough for two you can freeze and serve later.

Bake at 350 for about 30-40 min until golden on top. 

Green Chile Chicken with Pitas

I served it with cilantro limes rice.  It was great.  You can use store bought pitas but these are easy and can be made ahead of time and freeze well.

Lets start with the pitas.  They don't take alot of active time.
1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast
1/3 cup of olive oil
2 teaspoons of salt
2 tablespoons of sugar
6 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

Mix 2 3/4 cups of warm water, yeast, and sugar.  Let rest for five min and it will be bubbly

Mix salt, and oil and slowly mix in flour

Knead until smooth and stretchy.  It will be sticky.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover and let rise for about 2 hours at room temperature until doubled. Place in fridge for an hour so it will be easier to handle.

 Bunch down the dough and take about golf ball size of the dough and roll out to on a floured surface about an 8 inch circle.  Its meant to be a rustic so its okay if its not a perfect circle. 

Preheat a cast iron skillet on medium high with a little oil.  Place dough in hot skillet and cook for about a min and then flip for another 45ish seconds.  You want a few dark places.  Continuing to cook remaining pitas in the same manner adding oil as needed.

Now on to the chicken.  Its a simply food processing the ingredients and then simmering.  It would work good in a crock pot too.

1ish pounds of chicken tenders or breasts
1 teaspoon of chicken base
1/2 of an onion
2 jalopenos
3 Anaheim peppers
12ish tomatillos
3ish limes
1/2 bunch of cilantro

I have a mini food processor on my immersion blender and I love it.  Its a lot less mess and hassle.  Peel and quarter the tomatillos and process and then place in a sauce pan.

Quarter and seed the jalapenos and process and then add to tomatillos

Repeat the process with the Anaheim peppers

Process 1/2 the onion and garlic.

Stir the ingredients together and zest the limes into the mixture and add chicken base and bring to a simmer.

Add in chicken and simmer at a low heat for at least 30 min.  I simmered mine for several hours.  You want a good part of the liquid to be gone.

Put sauce and chicken in the bowl of a mixer with paddle blade and mix to shred chicken.

Stir in roughly chopped cilantro and limes juice.  It reheats very well so its great to make ahead of time and then reheat

Serve with warm pits, rice and queso fresco or sour cream.

Funfetti Shortbread Cookies

2 1/4 of flour
1 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon of salt
2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of vanilla
sprinkles
at least 6 oz of dark chocolate
1-2 tablespoons of shortening
1 egg

Cream together butter and sugar

Add in cornstarch and salt

Cream in vanilla and egg

Slowly add in flour

Slowly add in sprinkles (about 5-6 tablespoons)

I used a small (1 tablespoon size) cookie scoop.  Scoop and flatted with your fingers or a greased glass.  Bake for 8-10 min at 350.

Roughly chop chocolate and microwave chocolate with shortening on half power at 30 second intervals until glossy.

Dip cooled cookies in chocolate and then sprinkle with sprinkles.  Let the chocolate harden on wax paper.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Cookie Dough FIlling

Cookies
1 cup of butter
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of while sugar
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
3/4 cups of cocoa powder. (I like Hershey's Special Dark)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 3/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of espresso powder

 Cream together softened butter and sugars on medium speed in a mixer until light and fluffy.

Add in vanilla, espresso powder, and eggs.  You might need to scrape down the sides.

Add in baking soda, baking powder, and salt

Slowly add in cocoa powder and mix until smooth.

Slowly mix in flour

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave on half power checking every 30 seconds.  When melted and glossy add into dough.

Scoop the cookie dough into even balls with a medium cookie scoop

Flatten using a greased glass and bake at 350 8-10 min until slightly cracked on top.

Now on to the filling
14 oz of marshmallow fluff
2 cups of flour
1 cup of butter
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla
mini chocolate chips

Beat softened butter until flight and fluffy

Add in vanilla and sugar

Add in flour.  It will be like course sand.

Add in marshmallow fluff and scrape down sides as needed. Gently add in chocolate chips.

Scoop about a tablespoon or two of filling and sandwich cookies.