Is There a Bun in the Oven?

A review of the dinners so far this week have revealed that......I have been making a lot of repeat recipes. Teriyaki salmon with sugar snap peas and rice, grilled barbecue chicken with sauteed zucchini and orzo. Nothing too earth shattering so far. Even though I love to cook and do it numerous times a day, it still takes up A LOT of my time. I can't even imagine the drudgery some people most feel at preparing the next meal when they don't even like to cook. Kinda like me and exercise.

I am still on my refrigerated and freezer dough kick. I made two more recipes. One kinda exciting and the other really exciting. Nothing gourmet but sometimes I'm going for convenience. I guess they are only exciting if you like to cook. I found a recipe for Sloppy Joe Buns and made up a recipe for Apple Turnovers filled with Spiced Cream Cheese. After these 2 recipes, I'm pretty much done with the dough for a while. I'm starting to feel like the Pillsbury dough boy.

The Sloppy Joe Buns are great to have in the frig or freezer for a snack or meal for the kids. Just reheat them in the microwave or oven. The Apple Turnovers are just for me. I did share a few with my family members but they never know how many I made to begin with. What happens in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen.

Sloppy Joe Buns

makes 16

1 package Grands Big and Fluffy biscuits, separated into 2 thin pieces of dough
1 pound ground beef or turkey
about 1/2 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce
1/2 cup cheddar cheese plus extra to sprinkle


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown the ground beef or turkey in a pan for about 8 - 10 minutes. Add the barbecue sauce, and cheese and stir to combine. Grease 2 muffin tins and put each half biscuit in a cup and push up the sides. Put a heaping spoonful in each muffin cup. Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese. Return to oven and melt cheese. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes then remove. EAT!





Apple Turnovers filled with Spiced Cream Cheese

makes 8 turnovers - 4 for yourself and 4 to share

2 sheets of puff pastry - like Pepperidge Farm
4 apples, peeled and sliced kinda thin
2 -3 TB brown sugar
dash of cinnamon
1 TB butter
4 oz cream cheese, room temp.
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
sugar for sprinkling - best if you have the big crystals

1 egg mixed with 1 tsp water for the egg wash


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a pan, cook the apples, in the butter with the brown sugar and cinnamon. They should just begin to get tender. Let cool. Mix together the cream cheese, egg yolk, cinnamon and nutmeg. Roll out one sheet of the pastry to about a 12 inch x 12 inch square. Cut into 4 smaller squares. Place a dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the center of each square of the pastry and top with a glob of the apples. Brush the edges of the square with the egg wash and fold the 2 opposite corners to the center to overlap. Brush the outside of the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining pastry to make a total of 8 turnovers. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.