Fabric, Food, and Friends

Just before the StayAtHome directive came for Kansas, a small group of friends gathered at the local quilt shop on Sunday afternoon for sewing, visiting, and snacking. We knew many of our activities were being cancelled and this might be (and did turn out to be) a last gathering for a while. Its hard to say which we enjoyed most - fabric, food, or friends - but we're glad we had that afternoon. 

My pan to take was Veggie Pizza, one of my favorites, but something I don't make for us at home. It was a popular treat and when the afternoon was over we traded leftovers. So I came home with only a few pieces of the veggie pizza, some Barney Stone cake (pound cake covered with peanuts), and chocolate chip cookies. All very good. With those goodies, it is amazing we got any sewing done, but we did. 

This Veggie Pizza is easy to assemble, and I think it helps to do the crust earlier in the day so it is ready. The choice of toppings is yours, your favorites or what ever you have on hand. If you want to reduce the calories you can use low-fat sour cream and cream cheese. 

Veggie Pizza

2 (8 oz) packages refrigerated crescent rolls

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a jellyroll pan with no-stick cooking spray. 

2.    Pat crescent roll dough into a jelly roll pan. Press the edges together to form a solid crust. Let stand 5 minutes. Pierce with fork. 

3.    Bake for 10 minutes, let cool. 

1 cup sour cream

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

1 (1 oz) package ranch dressing mix

4.    In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, cream cheese, dill weed, garlic salt and ranch dip mix. Spread this mixture on top of the cooled crust.

Topping options: Assorted chopped raw veggies: celery, broccoli, small onion, radishes, bell pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes.  Grated carrot, sliced black olives. Shredded cheese.

5.    Top with favorite toppings. Cover and let chill. Once chilled, cut into squares and serve. 

Now we do our visiting while sewing by texting! 

No-Bakes Just Got Even Better!

"There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate" (Linda Grayson). 
I agree! Chocolate is the perfect taste to celebrate friendship, love, and Valentine's Day. These easy to make no-bake cookies are so quick you can make several batches to share with friends. I've loved this basic recipe for years, but this version from Sally's Baking Addiction has a different twist. I used 3 squares of 100% cacao unsweetened chocolate instead of the usual powdered unsweetened chocolate and I think it enriched the flavor. Also soaking the oats for 5 minutes incorporated the ingredients better. Be sure to use quick oats or pulse regular oats in the food processor 4-5 times to make them finer cut. The original recipe suggested using coconut oil instead of butter, I'm going to try that next time. Coconut oil solidifies like butter when cooked and cooked. 

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER NO-BAKE COOKIES

Ingredients:

3 cups quick oats

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup milk

¼ cup natural unsweetened or dutch-process cocoa

⅔ cup creamy peanut butter

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions: 

1.    Place oats in a large bowl. Set aside. 

2.    Combine the butter sugar, milk, and cocoa together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until the butter melts, then bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 1 minutes without whisking. Remove from heat and, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until completely combined. Pour this mixture over the oats, then stir to combine it all. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes. This allows the oats to soak up some moisture.

3.    During the 5 minutes, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. And make sure there is enough room in your refrigerator for the baking sheets. 

4.    Using a 1-Tablespoon cookie scoop (or a spoon), drop a tablespoon of dough onto the lined baking sheets. If desired flatten out and shape into a cookie. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 

5.    Refrigerate the cookies for at least 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and enjoy! Store leftovers covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.