Happy Blogiversary to me!

The Sweeting Spot is one year old today. Yay! Thank you all for reading. Here's to another great year.

Pssttt.....

Some big news coming up...

... we have been given new callings! We will no longer be teaching the 16-17 year olds. :( We are sad to leave our class because our kids are really awesome! But we're very excited about our new callings.

Thing is... we haven't been sustained yet. So I can't tell you what they are =) Stay tuned and I'll tell you Sunday!

(well, one person knows, but I tell her everything and she's not telling anyone, riiiight??)

"Meh" crab quesadillas

I made this recipe from Eating Well last night and it was just alright. I think Hans liked it more than I did - I found it kind of boring. And there was kind of a weird aftertaste - I think it has something to do with flour tortillas, vegetable oil, and a skillet. I swear tortillas always taste better at restaurants - I must just not cook them right.

But the inside was very creamy and the crab flavor is delicious. I'd add more jalapeños and less red bell peppers. But I think a lot of it is personal preference. It certainly was quick and easy, it just didn't impress.

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
2 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
4 scallions, chopped
1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapenos, (optional)
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
8 ounces pasteurized crabmeat, drained if necessary
4 8-inch whole-wheat tortillas
2 teaspoons canola oil, divided

Combine Cheddar, cream cheese, scallions, bell pepper, cilantro, jalapenos (if using), orange zest and juice in a medium bowl. Gently stir in crab. Lay tortillas out on a work surface. Spread one-fourth of the filling on half of each tortilla. Fold tortillas in half, pressing gently to flatten.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 2 quesadillas in the pan and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges.

Grown-up grilled cheese

Oh. My. Gosh.

These ham, cheese, and pear grilled cheese sandwiches are so good. Loved, loved, loved. Especially with pumpkin spiced butter... oh yeah.

It's quick and oh-so-simple, but packs a mouth full of flavor. It's for those nights where you might normally make grilled cheese, except it's got some protein, some substance, some punch!

First, mix the softened butter with the spices and salt. I didn't have ground coriander, so I left that out and it was fine.

Set four slices of bread on the griddle (or pan) and layer the Swiss cheese, a slice or two of ham, the pears and a slice of Fontina. Top with the other piece of bread. Spread the butter mixture heavily on both sides of bread. Cook as you would for a regular grilled cheese - brown on medium for about six minutes on each side.

Try not to drool as you eat.

Shopping List:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 slices sourdough bread
4 slices Swiss cheese
3/4 pounds shaved cooked ham
1 (15-oz) can pear halves in heavy syrup, sliced
4 slices fontina cheese

Recipe Courtesy of Serious Eats.

Easy pizza rolls

Lately I feel like we've been eating the same 4-5 dishes over and over again. I'm pretty good about test-driving dessert recipes, but it's been awhile since I've tried something new in the dinner department.

So here's recipe #1 - Pizza Rolls from Let's Dish

These were really easy to make, making them great for a busy Saturday after a full day of errands.

Ingredients
Pizza Dough  (I was lazy and used the Pillsbury prepared stuff)
1 teaspoon garlic salt (felt like a lot of salt...)
2 teaspoons basil
1 cup sliced pepperoni, chopped (Yay for Hormel's minis - no chopping!)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix the cheeses, spices, and pepperoni in a bowl.

Divide pizza dough in half. Roll each half into a rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick and 12 inches long. Sprinkle each half with equal amounts the pepperoni mixture.

Starting at a short end, roll dough up tightly to form a log. Slice into 1-inch pieces.

Place rolls on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until browned on top.

Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

I think this took all of 20 minutes to make and was very tasty. I ran out of pizza dough before I ran out of the pepperoni mixture. I think if I made my own dough it'd work a little better, but this was good for a quick meal. The recipe feeds two generously, but we fed three without over-stuffing ourselves. Definitely one we'll make again!

Christmas kisses cookies

Tonight is the stake musical fireside and I'm supposed to bring cookies. So why not experiment with a new recipe? And this one showed up in my reader and looked cute soooo... DONE.

These were easy to make. Once again, I heart my cookie scoop.

Those are some big chocolate chips!

Just be careful not to move the cookies to the cooling rack before they're ready.... Oops!

Very chocolatey, with just a hint of mint. Enjoy!

From Our Best Bites.

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1/2 c. real butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
optional: 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (I didn't use)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips
48 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped (Found 'em at Wal-mart!)

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Meanwhile, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the centers are set but still soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss. Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden. If necessary, after the cookies have cooled, they can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to re-solidify the Kiss.

Are you kidding me??

I get off work at 5:30.

According to Google Maps, my house is 10.7 miles from my office.

Then why am I walking in the door at 6:50???