Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels

I hope everyone in the northeast is surviving the snow. It was a crazy storm, that's for sure! If you were snowed in, hopefully you had plenty of good food! And speaking of good food, I have an excellent appetizer recipe to share with you today - pepperoni pizza pinwheels! I've made these twice in the past few weeks for two different occasions (and the pictures in this post are from the two different times I made them). These pinwheels are awesome! And they're so easy too. Definitely keep them in mind for the next time you need an easy, delicious appetizer or snack!

The recipe starts with Pillsbury crescent rolls, and that's a large part of why this recipe is so easy. Of course, you could make your own dough, but for something easy, Pillsbury is definitely the way to go. I adapted this recipe from Recipe Girl's Pizza Pinwheels recipe. Lori (a.k.a., Recipe Girl) actually does make her own dough from scratch (and it looks fairly simple!), so if you're so inclined, check out how she made her dough. 

If you're looking for exact measurements for this recipe for the various ingredients, definitely read the post on Recipe Girl. I didn't measure as I made these; I just went through the motions and eye-balled everything! And they came out great. Exact measurements aren't totally necessary with this one. :) And I've made them two ways too, with either tomato sauce or bbq sauce. Use whichever you prefer!

Ingredients:

-1 package Pillsbury crescent roll dough

-bbq sauce or tomato sauce

-chopped pepperoni

-shredded mozzarella cheese (or an Italian blend or any favorite cheese!)

-dried herbs (e.g., herbs de provence, rosemary, etc.)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Roll out the crescent dough on a flat surface, and pinch the dough together at the seams. Spread your bbq sauce (or tomato sauce) to the edges of the dough, and then spread the chopped pepperoni evenly over top of the sauce. Next, sprinkle with a generous amount of  shredded cheese, as well as dried herbs.

Starting from the long end of the rectangle, carefully roll the dough into a log. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 1/2 to 3/4-inch slices (the dough is soft; don't worry if it presses down a little when you're cutting it). Arrange each slice on the parchment paper, and top each with more shredded cheese (and more herbs, if desired). Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crescent dough is lightly golden brown.

Makes 12 to 16 pinwheels, depending on how wide you slice them.

See that cool looking "knife"? It's an Ulu knife, and it's fabulous! I used it to chop the pepperoni. It's also great for chopping fresh herbs.

I forgot to use parchment paper the first time I made these, but they still turned out just fine and didn't stick to the cookie sheet.

I really enjoyed both versions of these pinwheels - with the bbq sauce and the tomato sauce. However, if I had to choose, I'd say the bbq sauce is my favorite! Mike and I often put bbq sauce on our pizza, which was the inspiration behind using bbq sauce for these pizza pinwheels.

Now, if pepperoni isn't your thing but you do like meat, shredded chicken would work great instead. And for a vegetarian option, I was thinking that a mixture of sauteed onions and mushrooms might be wonderful...or whichever veggie(s) you choose!

Eating these was like eating a slice of pizza in a different, fun form - a pinwheel! The crescent dough was light and fully, and the ingredients inside are very reminiscent of pizza (as you'd expect :)). And of course, the fact that they are a finger food automatically makes them more fun!

I loved this recipe and will likely be making these pinwheels many more times in the future! I can't wait to make them with different combinations of ingredients too. What ingredients would you try if you made these? I'd love to hear your ideas!

An Interruption to Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

Hi all! I had intended to bring you a great recipe at the end of this week, but this week has turned out to be much busier than I expected, so unfortunately, I'm not going to have that ready for you...

So instead, I thought I'd share a few images that I've recently come across in different areas of my life. I hope you find them "humerus." You'll see what I mean here shortly. ;)

To everyone being affected by this winter storm "Nemo," please be safe and smart!! And stock up on beer. ;)

Talk to y'all next week!

Wedding Wednesdays: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue!

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue...

Welcome back to Wedding Wednesdays! Today I thought I'd share the details of our wedding that made up the "four somethings" that every bride should have for good luck. And, as always, credit for our great pictures goes to our wedding photographers, Upstate Photographers.

First, let's start with "something old!"

I can't remember if I have mentioned this on the blog yet, but the veil I wore on our wedding day was the same veil that my mom wore for her wedding day 33 years earlier (and that my grandmother made!)! Once I had chosen my dress, we realized that my mom's veil would go perfectly with it! Veils can be outrageously expensive (just like wedding dresses can be!), so it was not only a meaningful, special choice to wear my mom's veil, but it was also an economical choice. ;) The veil was just what I had wanted to; it was simple, with just a little bit of lace, and its length was about to my waist, which is the length I liked.

The only trouble with the veil was that the lace on it was white! Aaaannnd, my dress was ivory. We were told that the veil could be tea-dyed though so that the lace would turn ivory. Thankfully, my mom volunteered to take on that crafty project! She and a good friend of ours managed to tea-dye the veil perfectly so that the lace trim was a perfect shade of ivory to match my dress. I'm so happy it worked out!!

I loved my wedding veil. :)

See how well the dress and veil matched?!

We also mentioned in our ceremony program that the veil I wore was my mother's veil, that my grandmother made, so that our guests would know the special meaning behind it!

Another "something old" was my parents' '38 Chevy! It's okay to have more than one item per category, right? :) The car was restored just in time for our wedding, and Mike and I felt so privileged to ride away in the same car my parents rode away in back in 1979. Love it!

Time for "something new!" For this one, there were many possible items that could be new... I can't say that I chose one item in particular to specifically be the one something new, but here were some things that the girls and I discussed the morning of the wedding that could count for the something new item!

My shoes!

My dress, obviously. :)

The "Colleen and Mike" personalized hanger I got on Etsy!

My necklace! I also found this on Etsy. I reeeeally wanted just a simple, pearl drop necklace, but believe it or not, this was really hard to find! Luckily, Etsy came through for me (as it often does!).

There really were many items that could have counted as my something new. I'll just go with all of the above. :)

Next, "something borrowed!"

This one was a little tougher. Thankfully, my mother had offered me her garter belt that she wore on her wedding day! So, that became my something borrowed. Although I did wear it for the day, we did not do the removal of the garter belt production during the reception. It just wasn't "us."

Now, the garter belt could have also counted as my something blue since it was blue (as you can see!). However, I wanted to have different items for each category. Soooo, for my something blue I had blue nail polish on my toes! The day before the wedding, my bridesmaids and I went to get our nails done (manicures and pedicures, of course ;)). I couldn't decide what color to get done on my toes, and then someone suggested that I chose a blue for my something blue - what a great idea! 

The girls all chose burgundy for their toes to match their dresses. :) And they all had silver shoes but different styles - their choice!

 So there you have it, my something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. So much fun! Hopefully all these items bring good luck and happiness to our marriage, as the tradition goes.

♥

And in case you missed any of my previous Wedding Wednesday posts, here are the links to the previous ones!

Wedding Wednesdays: Favors Part 1 (Homebrew!)

Wedding Wednesdays: Centerpieces, Table Names, & Decor

Wedding Wednesdays: The Cake & Cupcakes!

Loaded M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

Helloooooo! Is it really February already?!

I had originally intended to share some fun Valentine's Day ideas with you today. But then, these cookies happened. So I had a change of plans. These cookies were just too good not to share with you immediately!

I made these cookies on Wednesday evening to bring into work on Thursday. I had been planning on making cookies already, but as of mid-day on Wednesday, I still wasn't sure which type of cookie I was going to make. Lucky for me (and my coworkers!), Sally from Sally's Baking Addiction showed up at just the right time with her Wednesday post of Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies. Sally's recipe calls for three different chocolate chips (as you might gather from the name of the cookies!), but as you can probably tell, I didn't follow her recipe exactly since I added M&M's. However, I did use Sally's excellent base cookie recipe to get started! Be sure to check out Sally's original post here (her photos of her cookies are amazing!). The measurements and ingredients I used are below.

Ingredients:

-3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

-3/4 cup light brown sugar (dark brown is actually preferred, but I used light)

-1/4 cup granulated sugar

-1 large egg, at room temperature

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-2 tsp. cornstarch

-1 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

-1/2 cup mini M&M's

-1/2 cup dark chocolate M&M's

Instructions:

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. On low speed, mix in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and M&M's. The dough will be thick and sticky; chill it for at least 30 minutes (or up to 3 days).

Preheat oven to 350. Drop balls of dough (about 1.5 Tbsp. of dough per spoonful) on cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until the cookies are barely golden brown around the edges. Do not bake them for more than 10 minutes (although, cooking times may vary per oven, so use your best judgement; certainly, if they're too undercooked at 10 minutes, keep cooking them but keep a very close eye). Remove and let cool for 3 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack to cool completely. Also, do not drop cookie dough on warm cookie sheets; be sure to let cookie sheets cool completely if using again for another batch.

Look at how loaded this dough is! So much goodness in there with all those M&M's and chips...

As I mentioned above, I brought these cookies to work yesterday. Let's just say that people's reactions were very positive! :) The texture of these cookies is incredibly soft and chewy, and the flavor is wonderful. And I think the flavor would be even more enhanced with dark brown sugar versus the light brown sugar that I used. I loved how full of M&M's and chocolate chips they were (hence, my decision to call them "loaded" cookies ;)). When you're mixing in these ingredients, you may think that the dough is too full. Have no fear; it's not! This recipe has the perfect proportion of dough to mix-ins, I think.

I love how easy this recipe is. The ingredients are completely normal and ones you'll likely have in your kitchen pantry or cupboard at any given time. And they're versatile too! Add whatever mix-ins you'd like. Any kind(s) of baking chip would be wonderful! Just imagine the combinations...

If you make these cookies, you won't be disappointed, I promise! I'm thinking that you should probably make them for any Superbowl Sunday get-together that you might be going to... I would put money on them being gone before the halftime show. ;)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Wedding Wednesdays: The Cake & Cupcakes!

Welcome back to my next Wedding Wednesday post. :) Thanks for joining me!

Today I thought I'd share our choices for our wedding cake! Mike and I decided to go for cupcakes for our guests and a small, round cake that would be our wedding cake for the ceremonious cutting of the cake. I love the look of tiered cakes, and we considered going that route, but ultimately, cupcakes just felt so fun and are such an easy way for guests to enjoy a sweet treat at the end of the night, so that's what we went with! 

Several people asked me if I'd be making our wedding cake and my answer was always "definitely not!" Yes, I love baking, but there was no way I was going to add one more thing to my wedding planning plate. I was more than happy to let someone else do the baking! And that "someone" was our venue, Jimbo's Club at the Point. They have a pastry chef right on site, and after our tasting, we were incredibly pleased with how delicious their cake flavors were, so it was an easy decision to go with Jimbo's and not have to search for an off-site baker to make our cake/cupcakes.

At our tasting, we sampled several different cupcake and frosting flavors (see pic below). The frostings were amazing! Several of them had booze in them, which was fun. ;)

There were such frostings as cabernet chocolate, Grand Marnier, and cannoli! In the end, we chose two different frostings: Bailey's chocolate and creme de menthe Oreo. Both were incredible! We went with a vanilla cupcake underneath the Bailey's chocolate and a chocolate cupcake for the creme de menthe Oreo. For our own wedding cake, we decided on a pumpkin cake with a classic vanilla frosting. Oh man, was it amazing. I definitely wanted a fall flavor in there somehow, so that's how we decided on pumpkin for our own cake. And, just in case any of our guests weren't huge fans of chocolate (or booze in their frosting), we thought we could offer our pumpkin cake with vanilla frosting to them instead of a cupcake.

Here are some pictures of our delicious wedding cake, cupcakes, and the cake cutting! :)

(Note: these pics are a mix of professional ones and ones taken by our guests)

Mike picked out the fun cake topper we had. He loves to fish (and got his love of fishing from his dad!), so this cake topper was perfect for us. And it fit our Adirondacks venue nicely too!

We had made some signs to put next to the cupcakes so our guests would know what flavors there were!

I love the background of these pics, with so many guests having their cameras and phones out to take pics. 

I love this pic below, as it's when Mike was pointing to a little bit of frosting that I had on the side of my mouth after he fed me a bite of cake.

And I also love the reflection of the lights from inside the room in the window. It looks like there's fireworks outside!

Sealed with a kiss, of course!! ♥

Isn't that the cutest little sign?! My mom gave this to us, and it was such a perfect, sweet addition to the cake table. :)

See you again later this week for some fun Valentine's Day ideas!