Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Cheese Ball

Hey y'all! I know it's been awhile since I posted a new post but I figured that this was something I needed to share.

My brother graduated from ASU this week and we threw him a graduation party. Because I love cooking, I decided to cater his party. I saw this recipe on Foodgawker.com (my favorite recipe website) and decided to make it because I wanted to challenge myself. This cheese ball was a HIT! Everyone loved it! This was a huge cheese ball and I definitely thought we would have a least half leftover. I was so wrong! There was maybe a quarter left after the party. I was glowing with happiness from all the compliments I received.

If you're throwing a party, you should definitely make it! Or if you like cheese balls, half or quarter the recipe and make it for yourself!

Isn't is beautiful?

Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Cheese Ball

Ingredients

4 8 oz. Reduced Fat Cream Cheese packages

1 1/2 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese

3/4 cup Bleu Cheese (the original recipe called for feta but you can choose)

2 garlic cloves

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed dry

1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

1 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup sun-dried tomato pesto (or basil pesto)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, parmesan and bleu cheese. Divide into thirds. Add spinach to one-third of the mixture.

2. Line an 8 inch bowl with plastic wrap. Spread one-third of the cheese mixture in the bottom of the bowl. Place half of the sun-dried tomatoes on top. Spread the cheese and spinach mixture over the tomatoes. Top that with the rest of the tomatoes. Spread the last third of the cheese mixture on top.

3. Cover the top with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

4. Remove from the fridge and invert the cheese ball onto a platter. Press the toasted pine nuts onto the side of the cheese ball. Spread the pesto over the top.

To serve, I sliced a french loaf and toasted the slices in the oven at 350 degrees for 4 minutes on each side. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

It's be forever since I've had a new post because I don't have a kitchen. Well lucky for you, the other day my friend Alison and I made the best cinnamon rolls I've ever tasted. Think fall in the form of cinnamon rolls. It was awesome!

Sooooo good. Fall is my favorite season and these cinnamon rolls were the perfect kick off for it, especially since fall food is the best. The flavors and spices that go along with a lot of stereotypical fall foods just make me so happy inside. Fall food just has a warm and comforting taste that reminds me of home. So I hope you enjoy these! They are a little bit time consuming but I promise they're worth it!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:
for rolls:

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

for filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar

for icing:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl add warm water, yeast, sugar, and oil and stir together.  Allow to set for 3 to 5 minutes or until bubbles start to form.  Stir in egg and pumpkin.  Add 2 cups of flour and combine. Add salt and 1 cup of flour.  Stir until a soft dough forms and starts to pull away from sides of bowl. Add additional flour if needed.

Pour dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, adding flour as needed until dough is soft and smooth but no longer sticky.  Allow dough to rest about 5 minutes. Roll out to a rectangle shape about 12 x 15 inches.

In a medium size bowl mix butter and pumpkin puree together until smooth.  Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg.  Spoon filling over dough and spread into a thin, even layer.  Sprinkle brown and white sugars evenly over dough.  Starting from a long side, carefully roll up dough, pinching the edges to seal.

Using a sharp knife (I like to use my bread knife) cut into 1 1/2 inch slices.  Place onto a greased cake pan, pie plate or other baking dish.

Bake for 25 minutes or until rolls are cooked through and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar together.  Stir in vanilla and milk, mixing until smooth.  Pour over warm cinnamon rolls, gently spreading to cover the rolls.

My recommendation is to eat these warm out of the oven...but it's totally up to you.

Peach Cobbler

If you really know me then you know that there is one dessert I will never ever turn down. This amazing dessert is cobbler. It's like pie but so much better! I'm not a big fan of berry cobblers...I mainly stick to apple and peach cobbler. Simple and delicious!

I bought the new Cook This, Not That by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding and found a recipe for apple cobbler in the dessert section. I didn't have granny smith apples so I substituted peaches for the apples. Such a good choice.

I really like this recipe because it's a healthier version than most cobbler recipes. One day I'll have to post my mom's cake mix cobbler...BEST THING EVER. But anyways, Enjoy!

Peach Cobbler

2 peaches
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbs brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
2 Tbs butter, chopped

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel and dice your peaches. Place them in a bowl and add the apple juice, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp cinnamon and 2 Tbs brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, remaining cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Mix in the butter with your hands until the mixture is in little clumps. Take 2-4 (depending on how big you want your serving sizes to be) ceramic dishes and divide up the peach mixture. Evenly distribute the oats mixture over the peaches. Place in the oven for 25 minutes. When done, the peaches should be bubbling and the oats slightly brown.