Apple Strudel Muffins

These taste so good! Try them, they're easy!

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
* 1 1/2 cups chopped apples (I use granny smith and grate them)

*1/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
4. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Eye of Round Roast

Possibly the best roast recipe I have come across...
Ingredients

* 1 (3 pound) beef eye of round roast
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 tsp italian seasoning
* 1 tsp garlic powder or garlic salt
-(fresh garlic can be used as well. Mince 3 cloves well)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Season the roast with seasonings and salt and pepper. Place in a roasting pan or baking dish. Do not cover or add water.
2. Place the roast in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Roast for 21 minutes (seven minutes per pound) then turn off the oven and let the roast sit in the hot oven for 2 1/2 hours. Do not open the door at all during this time!
3. Remove the roast from the oven, the internal temperature should have reached at least 145 degrees F (65 degrees C). Carve into thin slices to serve.

Chocolate on Chocolate Cupcakes

These cupcakes are wonderful! Chocolate cake is filled with chocolate filling, then topped with chocolate frosting!

Cupcake:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 1/3 cup water
2/3 cup oil
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs

Bake as directed by the box. When done, hollow out a small portion of the middle to pour in chocolate ganache.

Filling:
1 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

Heat chocolate and vanilla in the microwave till melted, then stir in vanilla. Pour a small amount in the hollowed out center of each cupcake.

Frosting:
1 cup butter
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup melted chocolate chips (or more depending on how rich you want it)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar (enough to get to desired consistency)

Cream butter, then add sour cream. Pour melted sugar in and beat on high, incorporating it before the chocolate cools. Add the vanilla and start mixing in the sugar. Continue until desired consistency has been met. Frost cupcakes.

Adding a garnish is easy and makes the cupcake so much more fun to eat. Grated chocolate, coconut, or nuts make a great addition.

Candybar Coupons

These are fun gifts to give someone especially when you are looking to save money. Here are the directions.

Supplies:
candy bars (Hershey's work the best)
Craft/scrapbook paper
Printed sheets of coupon ideas (ex: breakfast in bed, movie night, etc)

Wrap each of the candy bars in paper (the size will vary depending on the candy bar), securing with non-toxic glue.
Cut out the coupon labels in a fun pattern, and paste onto the front of the paper covered candy bar.
Give away!

Geometric Pomanders

Pomanders are foam balls soaked in water, then covered in flowers. A less expensive, but equally beautiful option is this geometric paper pomander. It is quite easy  and looks great. Here are the steps...

MATERIALS
Craft or scrapbook paper
Drinking glass with a 2” diameter (for a smaller ball trace a 1” diameter circle)
Plain cardboard/cardstock (for template)
Ruler
Scissors
Pencil with eraser
Glue stick
Hole punch (optional)
Ribbon or thread (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place your drinking glass onto the piece of plain flat cardboard/cardstock. Using the pencil to trace around the base of the glass to create a circle. Use your scissors to cut out the circle.
2. Repeat the first step, but after tracing the circle use your ruler to draw an equilateral triangle in the center (so each point touches part of the circle). Cut only the triangle out, using scissors.
3. Using your circle template, trace lightly around your favorite portions of the scrapbook paper and cut out. Look for complementary colors and patterns or mix and match for a more vibrant look. Erase any pencil marks that may be visible. You’ll want to do 20 circles for each ball.
4. Once you have your circles cut out, place the triangle template face-up in the center of the circle. Carefully, fold the edges of the circle that peek out up around the triangle, making tight creases. Do this with each of your paper circles. You’ll have 3 folded up areas on each circle.
5. Once you have all your circles creased and ready to go, you can start gluing it all together. Start with 2 pieces and use your glue stick to glue two folded edges together with the top points of the triangles pointing up, pressing lightly to adhere. You’ll keep repeating this process to form the top and bottom of the ball.
6. Think of it as a group of 5 paper circles on each end with all triangles facing up and 10 paper circles running through the center with triangles alternating up and down. The center should form a band instead of a circle.

Barbequed Tri-tip with Onion

INGREDIENTS

Caramelized red onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 red onions
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Tri-tip
1 teaspoon garlic powder
teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 1 1/2- to 1 3/4-pound beef loin tri-tip roasts, trimmed of all but 1/4 inch of fat
2 tablespoons olive oil
Barbecue Sauce:
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup steak sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbls molasses

DIRECTIONS

For caramelized red onions
Melt butter with olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until deep golden brown, stirring frequently, about 30 minutes. Stir salt, and pepper. Remove from heat. Stir in chives just before serving.

For tri-tip
Prepare barbecue sauce (mix all ingredients together). Mix garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Brush both sides of tri-tips with oil and sprinkle with garlic-powder mixture. Grill tri-tips 5 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium-low, or if using charcoal grill, move meat to cooler side of grill. Cover and grill until thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125°F to 130°F for medium-rare, brushing with barbecue sauce and turning every 10 minutes, about 30 minutes longer.

Transfer tri-tips to work surface; let stand 10 minutes. Cut meat crosswise into very thin slices; arrange on platter. Surround with caramelized onions and serve.

Chocolate Truffle Cake

INGREDIENTS
• 16 oz unsweetened chocolate • ¾ cup whipping cream
• 1 cup, plus 6 Tb butter • 2 ½ cups water
• 3 large eggs • 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 2/3 cup flour • 2 cups sugar
• 1 ¼ tsp baking soda • ½ tsp salt
• 2 ½ cups powdered sugar • 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325 and grease three 9-inch pans
2. In a saucepan, heat 12 ounces of the unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup butter, and the water. When all is melted and smooth, remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in the chocolate. Add flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until blended. Bake 25 min.
4. Filling: In a saucepan, heat remaining 4 squares chocolate until melted. Stir in confectioner’s sugar, butter, and ¼ cup of the cream.
5. When cakes are cooled, cut layers in half & spread the filling between
6. Frosting: Heat the remaining ½ cup cream and 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate until melted and smooth. Pour over the cake and spread

Soft Pretzels

Ingredients
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar • 1 ¼ warm water
• 5 cups all-purpose flour • ½ cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt • 1 tbls oil
• 1/2 cup baking soda • 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping
Directions
1. In a bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water for10 min
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and kneed till smooth
3. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, dissolve baking soda in water.
5. When risen, turn dough out onto and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape.
6. Dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution & sprinkle w/kosher salt
7. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.