Pillsbury Bake-off

In 2006, my Mom & I decided it would be fun to enter the Pillsbury Bake-off contest. So we brainstormed what we could do with qualifying ingredients, got to work in the kitchen, and tasted and helped critique each other’s creations. That year, I entered a Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie (for those of you who really know me I’m sure aren’t surprised that I did something dealing with cheesecake) and PB&J Morning muffins. We had so much fun coming up with our own recipes and thought it would be fun to enter the contest every year. Some of Dave’s co-workers have told him in the past that I should enter baking contests and shows, to which he told them I already have. I’m not the best cook, but it is something I enjoy. So this is what I came up with for the 2009 Pillsbury Bake-Off:

Strawberries & Cream Pinwheels
(A festive breakfast pastry. Emma loved them and asks for them a lot now. Dave enjoyed them, too, but his version of the recipe is to leave the sliced almonds out. He has a thing about food textures and doesn’t think it goes well.)

Pinwheels:
2 cans Pillsbury Flaky Dough Sheet
4 oz. (half an 8 oz.) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
¼ c. Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
¼ tsp. each vanilla and almond extract
1/3 c. Fisher sliced almonds
1/3 c. Smucker’s strawberry preserves

Icing:
1 Tbsp. butter, softened at room temperature
2 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
¾ c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 375. Spray two cookie sheets with non-stick baking spray. Open dough sheet cans, and using a pastry cutter or butter knife, cut each rectangle into 8 equal-sized squares. Place squares evenly apart on baking sheets. Cut from the corner of each square to the center, leaving about ¾” x ¾“ square in the middle. In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and extracts with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Drop one heaping teaspoonful onto the center of each dough square. Top with one teaspoon sliced almonds, pressing down slightly if necessary, so almonds stick. At each cut of dough, fold corner of left side of cut toward center; press gently to hold in place. Spoon 1 teaspoonful of strawberry preserves in the center of each pinwheel. Bake at 375 for 8 to 12 minutes, or until pinwheel edges are slightly browned. Allow pinwheels to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make icing by mixing together with an electric mixer butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and extracts. Drizzle icing over pinwheels. Makes 16 pinwheels.

Creamy Chicken Crave Pizza
(The combination of these rich flavors and different textures is kind of fun. )

1 can Pillsbury pizza dough
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 box (10 oz.) Green Giant frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain
1 envelope (1 oz.) Ranch dressing mix
1 can (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes
1 cup cooked, cubed chicken
½ c. real, cooked bacon pieces
1 c. pizza blend grated cheese
1 Tbsp. Crisco Olive Oil
½ tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425. Spray a 12” pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray. Unroll pizza dough and press or roll onto the pizza pan. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and ranch dressing mix. Add spinach and tomatoes and mix well. Spread onto the pizza dough, leaving a ¾” space around the edges of dough. Sprinkle chicken and bacon over the entire pizza. Top with cheese. In a small cup, mix together the olive oil, onion salt, and garlic powder. Brush over the crust edges. Bake at 425 for 16 to 21 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Southern Style Sausages in Blankets with Dipping Gravy
(I love biscuits & gravy. This is a twist on that southern classic. Didn’t get a picture of this one, but there was nothing fancy about it.)

1 can Pillsbury Southern Style Biscuits
1 package Little Sizzlers sausages, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings
2 Tbsp. Land O’ Lakes salted butter
2 tsp. minced garlic
¼ c. chopped onion
½ c. Flour
3 c. Milk
1 Tbsp. Sugar
½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. ground Sage

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook sausages according to package directions, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet. Place a sausage on one end of each biscuit. Roll up in biscuit, folding open side under. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Chop up extra sausages and set aside. In a large saucepan, sauté garlic and onion in sausage drippings and butter, until tender. Add ½ c. flour, sugar, salt, pepper, sage and stir to make a thick paste. Gradually add milk; stirring constantly over medium heat. Add chopped sausages, and heat through. Remove from heat and spoon into individual serving cups. Dip the sausages in blankets into the gravy.

My mom is truly the greatest cook in the world, and since I was very young, I remember helping her cook. I give her all the credit for my love for and skill when it comes to cooking and baking. I hope to one day be able to be as great as she is in the kitchen. She woke up almost every morning to make us all hot, homemade breakfasts. She makes nearly everything from scratch. She just throws ingredients together, without measuring or looking at cook books and makes magic. She once told me that the reason she puts so much effort into her meals is because that is a way she can show her love to the ones she loves. A few years ago, I put together a cookbook of her recipes, Baked with Love. To preface the cook book, I compiled several favorite quotes on cooking. Here are a few quotes from it I enjoy, maybe you can relate:

“Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.”

- Craig Claiborne

“This kitchen is closed because of illness -- sick of cooking.” -Unkown

“Our mom’s embodied the love of the kitchen and food that lingers in our memories and on our taste buds.” – Jack Canfield

“The fact is that it takes more than ingredients and technique to cook a good meal. A good cook puts something of himself into the preparation; she cooks with enjoyment, anticipation, spontaneity, and he is willing to experiment.” – Pearl Bailey

“There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won’t and that’s the wife who can’t and will.” - Robert Frost

“The most indispensible ingredient of all good home cooking: love, for those you are cooking for.” – Sophia Loren

“My mother is a champion nurturer. Mothers, who are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children, can be a powerful force for strengthening families when they use mealtimes to gather loved ones. They follow the examples of the Savior to calm, teach, and help their families remember important things as they feed, cultivate, educate, and rear at the consecrated tables in their homes.” – Julie B. Beck.

Happy Graduation Day!

He did it! After 6 years, Dave has graduated! He will be getting his B.S. degree in Health Administrative Services. He wrapped up all class work, and will be finishing up his internship this summer. But those who graduate during the summer semester are advised to walk for the Spring commencement. So we had that Friday. It was a great day!
We woke up bright and early to be at the Dee Event Center by 7:30. Dave lined up and waited to walk in, while I finished getting the kids ready. My parents came to the morning University Commencement. It was pretty good, but long, as always. There were about 2,500 graduates this semester from WSU. It was fun to see some friends I had while in school and some from our current or past student wards; Roseann & Pete Owen, Ammon Ence, Mike Koefed, Jon Anderson, Nicole Thompson, Cassie Costley, and more. Of course, the Wind Ensemble was playing for the occasion, which I was excited about, as I used to be in that group. It brought back some great band nerd memories. The student speaker was Amil Aziz, who is from Afghanistan, majoring in CLS. He had a great story to tell and was very passionate about America and the opportunities it provides. It was touching. The keynote speaker was Jerry H. Peterson, who is a local successful businessman, and a good friend of my Great Aunt & Uncle. He was very down-to-earth and we all really liked what he had to say. During one portion of the presentation, the speaker asked those who had graduated from WSU to stand up. I stood up, my Mom stood up (graduated in Business), and lots of others, of course. It was cool to see how many in attendance had also graduated from WSU. My favorite is seeing all of the professors in the funny caps and gowns. They had a film (my dad said it seemed more like a promotional video, I agreed) and that was kind of fun. You gotta love the pomp and circumstance of it all.
After the graduation ceremony, there was a luncheon on campus we stuck around for with my parents. We then walked around the campus together, which had changed a lot since my Mom went there in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I hadn’t seen the new facelift for the bell tower, Elizabeth Hall (someday the Comm department will move in there so they won’t have to share buildings with the Chemical technology folks…they stink because 1. The experiments do with the chemicals they have and 2. They are always smoking outside of the building. At least when I went there) and hadn’t seen the complete Union Building renovation (it was almost complete when we went to the last Homecoming). It’s looking really nice. The new landscaping and waterfalls they’ve put in near the bell tower are very beautiful. I think the campus is a lovely one, and it’s just getting better. All of the activities on campus brought back lots of great feelings and I couldn’t help reminiscing in my mind. Ah, the memories.

Then we went to the library. My mom’s grandfather, Thomas Wheelwright, donated many church books several years ago to the University, including a first edition of the Book of Mormon. My mom’s grandpa used to show the books to her when she was young, but she had never seen them at WSU. We went up to the Special Collections, and they let us back into the archives. He donated several rows of book shelves of “Times and Seasons”, “Teaching of the Prophets” and many old church books and magazines. It was neat to see, and there were many there, a lot more than I had ever thought. The library worker who let us back actually told us many had used the books and magazines for senior projects and thesis’. So it’s good to know they’re being used. Then we asked about the Book of Mormon. The worker told us they hardly ever got it out, because of the worth and value, and in light of the robberies of early Book of Mormons that occurred a few years ago, but because my Mom was special, she went back to the vault, and brought it out in her gloved hands. It was in a special box to help preserve it. It was so neat to see it, and look at the notes that people had written in it. I felt the spirit very strongly concerning the origins of the book and how it came about. I also felt grateful for my ancestors, who had the courage and faith to join the church, and who have been so faithful to the Lord, putting me in the position where I am today. After, we talked about how many people had probably possessed the book, and who it was passed around to. We thought it would be cool to start a Book of Mormon, and have everyone who had read it and passed it along to sign their name and where they live and the date they started and finished to see the process of where it came from/where it ended up.

That afternoon, we had the College of Health Professions commencement ceremony. Yasmine Simone, the college Dean gave a quick speech, then the names were read. After it was all over, and the recent graduates were walking off the floor into the tunnel, Emma looked at me, and with a concerned look on her face, said “So we’re never going to see Daddy again?” I don’t know where she got that idea from! It was pretty funny though. That night, we went to ABC Mandarin (one of Dave’s favorite “eating places” as Emma would say) with the Ryerse’s. Then we went home and took naps. That night, we went to go get ice-cream at Big Rock and rented a movie (Bed Time Stories…we thought it was really cute).
The glad grad and his proud kids - our family bleeds purple!!

These kids are a product of two Wildcats! (:

Dave has been such a great student. He is such an example to me of loving learning. He really enjoys learning about things, and gets excited to tell me about that new knowledge. He has been such an amazing full-time provider/student/father. He does so much and for that I’m grateful. He told me he still doesn’t feel like he’s done much, and there’s still a lot to do. I agree with that. It’s so important to be a life-long learner. A college education means nothing, really.
I am also grateful that we decided to go to WSU. We both got quality educations and loved our time there. I’m also SO glad we met, fell in love, and married because of Weber State. I was going to go to USU, until the last minute, I changed my mind. He was signed up for Helicopter school, but then decided Weber might be the way to go. How wonderful we ended up at Weber! I really love that place. Rarr rarr rarr!