HTE Chefs

HOMEMADE GRANOLA BARS

2010-07-25T12:47:00.005-04:00

Okay. Here's the basic, original recipe from Goop.com, which is Gwyneth Paltrow's "Mom" website. It's good made just like this, but ohhhhhhh, the variations you can do!!!!!

1 1/3 cup quick cook rolled oats
pinch salt, one of cinnamon, one of nutmeg and one of ginger
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 cup dried fruit and/or nuts
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup good quality maple syrup
2 T. brown rice syrup

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8" square pan with parchment, hanging over the sides.

Grind 1/3 cup of the oats in the food processor until they're powdery. Add to large bowl with remaining oats and all other dry ingredients. Toss.

In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients together.

Add wet to dry.

Put mixture into pan and smooth top. Bake 1/2 hour until evenly browned. Let cool 15 minutes on a cooling rack (the parchment makes a good sling to get it onto the rack). Cut into bars.

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Now for the variations. I've found that just about any dry, crunchy type of grain or cereal will work for the "1/4 cup flax seeds". I've used wheat germ, crunched up cereal (it's the perfect thing to do with the leftover handful in the bottom of the box), and several other ingredients that sounded and looked as if they might taste good in a granola bar. No misses yet. I don't think you can screw it up.

Secondly, you can change up the spices you use however you want. When I'm using apples I use a little more than a pinch of cinnamon and ginger and no nutmeg. When I use dried mango or papaya I use a pinch of cardamom. Peaches and cloves are good together, and then sometimes I just don't use anything but the salt so I can taste the natural sweetener and other ingredients I've used.

Third, 1/4 cup of oil is WAAAAAAAAAY too much. I use about half that. Replacing the oil with peanut butter or any kind of nut butter is really delish too.

Fourth, I don't care for maple syrup too much so I replaced it. Depending on what ingredients I"m using I've replaced it with agave nectar, honey, or a mixture of those two plus others like sorghum or molasses. (A teensy bit of that goes a long way though.)

In order to get my kids to eat this the first time, I added m&ms- about 1/2 cup to the whole recipe. I guess that provided just enough chocolate/candy lust to get them to try it. Now they love them no matter what ingredients I sneak in.

Enjoy!

Tiedye

Buff Chick Dip (from Hungry Girl)

2010-04-02T20:57:00.005-04:00

I did this dip for a friend get-together late this afternoon. Oh. My. Gosh. It's FABulous!! It's from the new Hungry Girl 1-2-3 Recipe Book. OK here's the recipe as written by HG:

8 oz. fat free cream cheese
1/2 cup Frank's Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup fat free Ranch dressing
1/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
Two 10 oz cans of 98% fat free chunk white chicken breast in water, drained and flaked

Place cream cheese in lg microwave safe bowl and stir until smooth. Mix in Frank's RedHot sauce, mozzarella, ranch, and yogurt. Stir in chicken until thoroughly combined.

Microwave 3 minutes. Stir and then microwave for an additional 2 minutes or until hot. Enjoy!

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Ok here's what I did:

One 8 oz tub of lowfat cream cheese, room temp
1/4 cup Frank's Redhot Buffalo Wing Sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup lowfat Ranch
1/4 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt

I left off the chicken completely because two of us are vegetarians. Then I substituted lowfat instead of fat free for the cream cheese and Ranch dressing. I would just rather not have food than to have the fat free versions of those items. Then. THIS is MOST important...... I used HALF of the amount of Frank's sauce and it was just right. HALF.

OK this is the BEST dip for fresh celery and salt free tortilla chips on the PLANET. I bet it would be great with chicken too.

Enjoy!!

tiedye

Ice Cream Cake

2010-02-09T14:08:00.004-05:00

Okay, here's the original recipe as I got it a few years ago:

Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake

Butter the cake pan of your choice, then press wax paper over the bottom of the pan.

If using Dairy Queen ice cream, spread it in the bottom of the pan. If you are using any other ice cream, allow it to soften, then spread on the bottom of pan until the pan is almost half full. Sprinkle with crushed Oreo cookies, then spoon hot fudge sauce (at room temperature) over the top of this. Set in freezer until frozen.

Remove from freezer and add second layer of ice cream. Smooth it evenly with the top of the cake pan. Return to the freezer and freeze until very hard.

Remove from freezer and frost with a mixture of equal parts ice cream and thawed frozen whipped topping beaten together. Return to freezer until 10 minutes prior to serving time.

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Now here's what I do. We like it better- it still has that distinct taste a DQ ice cream has but instead of being all ice cream it has a thin layer of real cake too.

You do need a cake mix (whatever flavor you want), you need chocolate wafers, Hersheys chocolate syrup, and you DON'T need Oreos.

Line a deep cake pan (I use a bundt pan) with Saran. (If you spray a little Pam on the pan it'll stick nicely for you.

Bake your cake in a large enough sheet cake so it's a thin layer - maybe 1" to 1.5". Let it cool.

Dollop and then spread a little hot fudge sauce in the bottom of the pan. Spread softened vanilla ice cream next, to about 1/3 full. Make sure it's pressed down firmly into the pan.

I use chocolate wafers; the kind that are with the sundae ingredients at the grocery store. Crush a sleeve of those and then drizzle just enough chocolate syrup over them and toss, so they are a little moist instead of dusty and loose. Then spread that over the vanilla ice cream and press firmly.

The cake layer is the next layer- cut it to fit and lay it over the cookie crumbs. Press firmly.

Spread a layer of chocolate ice cream last, until your pan is as full as you want it. Cover with Saran directly on top of the ice cream and freeze.

I frost this cake with Cool Whip.

Enjoy! Tie

Barbeque Baked Bean Cheese Dip

2010-02-06T10:52:00.003-05:00

This was in the Thursday Food edition of the AJC. It's suuuuperrrrrb.

1.5 cups catsup
1/2 c molasses
1/3 c maple syrup
1/3 c packed brown sugar
3 strips bacon, finely chopped
4 slices deli ham, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/4 Dijon mustard
1 cup water
three 15-oz cans cannellini beans, drained
8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1-pd bag corn tortilla chips

In medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the catsup, molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, bacon, ham, onion, mustard and water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook, stirring often, until very thick, about 2 hours. (Note from Tie: I put it in the crockpot on low instead so I didn't have to watch it.)

Add beans and simmer another 10 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 and spread cream cheese in an even layer across the bottom of a deep 8x8 baking or casserole dish. Spoon beans and sauce over cream cheese, then top with cheddar. Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and heated through.

Serve with chips.

Enjoy!
Tie

CHEESEBURGER CHOWDER

2010-01-06T08:01:00.003-05:00

1/2 pound ground beef
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1 3/4 cup milk
1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 T taco seasoning
1 T dried minced onion
1/2 t. chili powder

Optional, for topping:
Coarsely crushed corn chips
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped green onions
Sour cream

In large saucepan saute beef over medium heat until done. Drain.

Stir in soup, milk, potatoes, chilies, and seasonings until blended. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes or until heated through. Garnish with toppings.

This soup takes all of 15 minutes from start to finish, and it's GOOD. Sometimes I use low fat Velveeta instead of the cheese soup, because Campbells cheese soup has a particular taste I'm not so fond of, but even using the soup it's still great.

I have made it without the mexican seasonings before, and then I top each bowl of soup with a hamburger dill pickle chip and a teensy swirl of mustard (sounds gross, BUT lemme tell you, it tastes LIKE A CHEESEBURGER)!!

Enjoy!!
Tie

SALTINE CRACKER TOFFEE BARS

2009-12-16T08:12:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, it sounds gross. Trust me, it's SOOOOOOOO not.

Toffee Treats

1/4 of a box of saltine crackers
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
1 large bag of chocolate chips
chopped walnuts - optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Grease with butter. Cover with one layer of saltine crackers laid side to side like bricks. Bring 1 cup sugar and 1 cup butter to a boil and continue to boil for 2 1/2 minutes. Pour over crackers and spread fast. Bake 5 to 7 minutes. Spread a large bag of chocolate chips over, like icing. Top with chopped walnuts if desired.

You can't believe how good these are.

Enjoy! Tiedye

IHOP's GRIDDLE CAKES

2009-12-13T17:52:00.004-05:00

Many years ago my mother in law told me about these. Ronny and I are not big on going out for breakfast but on this particular morning, we all had accommodated a family member's birthday request and met at the IHOP. I had no clue what to order. Boy was I glad I listened to my Mama.
NOWWWWWW, they have discontinued these delightfully unique pancakes, and I guess it's to the advantage of my hips, but I mourn them. Now that I found the recipe, I'm making them at home. Yay me. Yay my family- wow they're good.

Now this recipe makes a TON of pancakes. BUT. They freeze beeeeeautifully! Makes school mornings a snap.

3 1/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup honey
28 ounces of pancake mix
18 ounces of Cream of Wheat
2 t baking powder
5 1/2 cups nonfat milk
8 eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil

Mix yogurt and honey until smooth, cover and set aside in a the refrigerator.
In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, Cream of Wheat, and baking powder; set aside.
In separate large bowl, combine milk, eggs, and oil, stir into dry ingredients and mix until batter is smooth.
Ladle 1/4 cup portions of batter onto medium hot lightly greased griddle. Cook until pancake tops begin to bubble (you guys know how to cook pancakes at this point.....) ^_^

Serve each plate with 1/4 cup of yogurt and honey mixture.

Enjoy! Tiedye

THE SOUP NAZI'S CRAB BISQUE

2009-12-13T17:36:00.003-05:00

Again, ingredients you just wouldn't expect. That's why these recipes are so phenomenal. There seem to be a lot of ingredients, but don't get intimidated. Most of them are just pinches of spices. It really is quick and easy. I used canned crab meat- that sped up the process immensely. I used onion powder and celery seeds instead of making my own broth, and I put it all in a slow cooker instead of cooking it for FOUR hours. After the potatoes (in bold) you dump everything else in AT ONCE. It still was the best crab bisque I've ever had. WAAAAAY better even than Aspen's Lobster Bisque. THAT's sayin' a LOT.

4 pounds snow crab clusters (legs)
2 quarts water
2 quarts chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, quartered
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 t dry mustard
1 T chopped canned pimiento
one 16oz can refried beans
1/2 t pepper
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 T butter
1/4 t dried thyme
1/8 t dried basil
2 T Old Bay seasoning

Remove all crabmeat from shells and set aside.
Discard 1/2 of shells and put remainder into large pot with water and chicken broth over high heat. Add onion, 2/3 of chopped celery, and the garlic, then bring the mixture to a boil. Continue to boil for 1 hr, stirring occasionally, then strain the broth. Discard the shells, onion, celery, and garlic, keeping only broth.

Measure 3 qts of broth into lg saucepan or pot. Add water if there's not enough broth to measure 3 qts.

Add potatoes and bring mixture to boil, then add one half of crabmeat and all remaining ingredients, including remainder of chopped celery, to saucepan and bring mixture back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 4 hours or until soup reduces by about half and starts to thicken. Add remaining crabmeat and simmer for another hour or until soup is very thick.

Refrigerate overnight. It's better the next day. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Serves 4 to 6.

REFRIED BEANS......WHO'DA THUNK IT?????

Enjoy! Tiedye

OLIVE GARDEN'S SALAD DRESSING

2009-12-13T17:32:00.003-05:00

It's our favorite Italian dressing by far. Surpringly, there are a couple of ingredients that make it different from other Italian dressings. Guess that's why we like it so much?

Considering how expensive it is to buy this stuff at the Olive Garden, it's worth making a batch instead.

1/2 white vinegar
1 t lemon juice
2 T beaten egg
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3 T grated Romano cheese
2 T dry unflavored pectin
1 1/4 t salt
1/2 t minced garlic
1/4 t parsley flakes
pinch of dried oregano
pinch of red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients in blender on low for about 30 seconds.
Chill in refrigerator for 90 minutes.
Serve over favorite salad.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Enjoy! Tiedye

OLIVE GARDEN'S FETTUCCINI ALFREDO

2009-12-13T17:27:00.002-05:00

Same cookbook as the last recipe - and oh boy is this good and rich. BUT. It's my #1 son's favorite alfredo. Very easy too.

1 pound fettuccine
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 grated Romano cheese
6 jumbo egg yolks
salt and cracked pepper
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t parsley flakes

Cook fettuccine according to the pkg directions. Heat milk and cream in a large, heavy saucepan until it comes to a simmer. Slowly whisk in the cheeses and then remove from heat.
Place egg yolks in a bowl and slowly whisk in a portion of hot milk and cream mixture to temper. Season to taste with s&p.
Add cooked fettuccine to saucepan. Sprinkle in garlic powder and stir until the sauce thickens to desired consistency.
Sprinkle with parsely and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6

Enjoy! Tiedye

THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY'S OREO CHEESECAKE

2009-12-13T17:15:00.003-05:00

Alright. I have a new cookbook. It's called America's Most Wanted Recipes, and it has the recipes for many restaurants' famous dishes. This is one that's particularly special since a few of my HTE sistahs and I sat in a booth and visited over one of these (and a couple of other flavors of cheesecake as well).

CRUST
2 T butter, melted
1 1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (about 25 cookies, finely chopped)

FILLING
Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1/4 t salt
2 t vanilla
1/4 cup ap flour
8 ounces sour cream
5 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped, for filling

10 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped, for topping

Have all ingredients at room temp before beginning. Preheat oven to 325.

Crust: mix melted butter with Oreo cooking crumbs and press onto bottom and 1 1/2" up the sides of a 9" springform pan. Set aside.

Filling: Beat cream cheese with elec. mixer on low until fluffy. Slowly add sugar and continue beating cream cheese until mixed well. Add eggs one at a time and continue to beat until blended.
Measure vanilla, salt and flour; pour into cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. Add sour cream and beat.
Stir in the 5 coarsely chopped Oreo cookies with a spoon.
Pour the cream cheese mixture into the sprngform pan and sprinkle the 10 coarsely chopped Oreo cookies over.

Place the pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. After that time keep the oven door open and let the cheesecake stay in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool enough to place in refrigerator for 24 hours.

To serve, run a knife or metal spatula around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake, and remove the pan.

Serves 4 to 6

Enjoy! Tiedye

BEST SALSA EVER

2009-12-09T16:32:00.004-05:00

I had this at a family get together this past weekend and fell in love with it. Super easy!

1/4 cup of fresh cilantro
1/2 medium onions
1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
6 roma tomatoes, quartered
1 teaspoon of cider vineger
1 teaspoon of salt,(optional)
1/4 - 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper

You put every thing in the Cuisinart or Magic Bullet in this order, mix until all is chopped.

Enjoy!

Tiedye

CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN MUFFINS (or BREAD)

2009-12-09T10:22:00.003-05:00

Yesssss, another pumpkin recipe. Here's the thing. I bought one of the $15 sized pumpkins at church back around Halloween. HUGE thing. I bought it for the front porch. We didn't carve it, it was just part of our harvest porch. Well it lasted, and it lasted, and it LASTED. No rotten spots like you usually see after a couple of weeks. Guess it was because the weather was cold and it preserved it. Who knows. So. When we got ready to put the Christmas porch up, I found myself with a perfectly good hunormagondous pumpkin on my hands. Couldn't throw it away. I've been bred not to do such wasteful things. So I cut it in half, scooped the seeds and strings out, (toasted the seeds ^_^ ) and BAKED the darned thing. It took BOTH ovens. The result? TWELVE QUARTS of pureed pumpkin. Yep. So here's what I did with a pint of it today:

3/4 cup white sugar (I used raw sugar)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
hefty pinch of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
hefty pinch of ground ginger
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Whisk together first three ingredients until blended well. Add pumpkin and water and whisk until blended.

In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, soda, cloves, ginger, and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture and fold until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

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Now I know this is not a remarkable recipe, but it's GOOD and it's healthy. I think it's because you don't use the traditional pumpkin spices, and so it gives it a whole different taste.

Enjoy!

Tiedye

PUMPKIN COBBLER

2009-11-24T20:29:00.002-05:00

This is so super easy, so delicious, and it's sort of different- a nice change from pumpkin pie. I wish I could remember where I got the recipe so I could give credit.

15 oz can pumpkin (not pie mix)
12 oz can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t ginger
1 cup sugar
dash of salt

Mix and pour into 9x13 pan.

1 box yellow cake mix with pudding
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 sticks of melted butter

Sprnkle cake mix over pumpkin, then pecans, then pour butter over.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

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THAT's the original recipe (for that unnamed source which I can not recall). Ok here are the changes I made:

I used real pumpkin that I had in the freezer. It made the batter a little thinner, but it still set, and it was great. I always swear I can tell the difference between canned pumpkin and real. In truth, who knows.....?

I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup, and I used raw sugar instead of refined white sugar. I use raw sugar or turbinado sugar whenever I can, and in a pumpkin recipe it was a no-brainer. Those two tastes are fabulously rich together.

I used walnuts instead of pecans. I like them better with pumpkin. Personal preference.

I reduced the amount of the butter to ONE HALF of a stick. It was PLENTY.

Enjoy, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! I'm thankful for this blog.

Tiedye

Savory muffins

2009-11-18T23:37:00.000-05:00

I got this book for my birthday and have not used it until recently, I know shame on me.

http://www.amazon.com/Mix-100-Muffins

Scallion & Goat Cheese Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste

2 large eggs, room temp

1 cup buttermilk, room temp***

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 bunch scallions, sliced thin

5.5 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Sea salt, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper into mixer bowl.

Lightly beat eggs and add to mixer bowl. Add buttermilk**, melted butter, scallions, and goat cheese. Mix on medium speed until just combined - do not overmix.

**If you don't have buttermilk add 1 tablespoon white vinegar to just under a cup of low fat milk and stir together.

Scoop the batter into the muffin pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 20 minutes, until well-risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch.

Let muffins cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing. Serve warm or cool completely and store covered for 3 days.

Yields: 12 muffins

I also used gorgonzola once and I seemed to like it better............chefs choice I say.

Cactus

If you like cranberries……..

2009-11-18T23:01:00.000-05:00

This is a great buffet dessert or even after the turkey or prime rib Thank Full meal that's just around the corner.

Cranberry Nut Tart

3 cups (12 oz bag) rinsed cranberries
¾ cup chopped pecans
½ cup sugar
¾ cup melted butter
2 large eggs slightly beaten
2 tbls orange juice
1 cup sugar ***
1 cup all purpose flour

Butter and lightly flour a deep 10 inch pie plate or a 10 x 2 quiche dish.

Place cranberries in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle with the pecan pieces, then sprinkle the ½ cup sugar.

Now in a bowl combine the melted butter, eggs, juice and the 1 cup of sugar. Add the flour and whisk till smooth. Pour mixture over the cranberries.

***If I have any oranges on hand I sometimes grate maybe a tsp of the orange rind into the wet ingredients.

Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. Insert the old toothpick in the center to check for doneness.

Let cool…………………add a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream or not.

Enjoy

Cactus

Cornish Hens with Apricot Glaze

2009-11-17T18:22:00.002-05:00

This recipe is easy as can be, but so delicious that no one will know how little time it actually takes to prepare.

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Cornish game hens
2 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon grated onion
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the salt and cayenne pepper. Rub a third of the mixture inside the hends. Brush the hens with 1 tablespoon of the butter and sprinkle with the remaining seasoning mix. Place hens on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

In a saucepan, combine the preserves, honey, onion, nutmeg and remaining butter. Cook and stir until preserves are melted (I'm lazy; I melted everything together in the microwave). Brush over hens. Bake another 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and a meat thermometer reads 180 degrees. Cover and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

PUMPKIN GOOEY BUTTER CAKE

2009-11-11T16:24:00.004-05:00

A Paula Deen favorite - I should have known when I saw how much butter to use! I don't know how I lived to nearly 40 y/o without ever tasting this but SIL introduced it to me a couple years ago. I was planning on making this for a surprise dessert tonight and thought I had all the ingredients, but unfortunately, I'm missing the cream cheese. Well, there's always tomorrow...One of these days I'm going to try the chocolate/peanut butter variation.

Ingredients

Cake:

1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar*
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

*Reviews of this recipe said that it's very sweet and the sugar can be reduced to 3/4 or 1/2 the amount included here.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Variations: For a Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

For a Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

Fabulous Fall Meal!

2009-11-11T09:40:00.004-05:00

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmigiano, for grating
Pumpernickel or whole grain bread, as an accompaniment

Directions

Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion, as an accompaniment, recipe follows

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Serve pumpkin sausage pasta with pumpernickel or whole grain bread and Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion.

Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion:

1 pound triple-washed spinach, de-stemmed
1 small Golden Delicious apple, quartered, cored, and sliced
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons (a couple of splashes) apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grain mustard
1 tablespoon (a good drizzle) honey
Coarse salt and black pepper

Place spinach, apple, and onion in a salad bowl. Place oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a small plastic container and fit lid on container. Shake dressing to combine, 1 minute. Pour dressing over salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Yield: 4 servings

Philadelphia Cherry Danish Dessert

2009-11-10T22:21:00.002-05:00

2 8-oz. cans refrigerated crescent rolls, divided

2 8-oz. tubs cream cheese spread

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided

1 egg white

1 tsp. vanilla

1 21-oz. can cherry pie filling

3 tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 13x9 inch baking pan. Unroll one can of crescent dough. Place in baking pan; press into bottom of pan to form crust, firmly pressing seams togther to seal.

Beat cream cheese spread, 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar, the egg white, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spread onto crust; cover with pie filling. Unroll the remaining can of crescent dough onto a large sheet of wax paper. Pat out dough to form a 13x9 inch rectangle, pressing seams together to seal. Invert over pie filling to form top crust; discard wax paper.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool at least 20 minutes. Gradually add milk to remaining powdered sugar, beating well until blended and thick. Drizzle over warm dessert. Cut into 24 rectangles to serve. Store leftover dessert in fridge.

(Makes 24 servings)

Blonde is good

2009-11-09T11:55:00.001-05:00

Maple Coconut Blondies

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and the egg and whisk until smooth. Add in flour and salt and stir just until no streaks of flour remain. Add in coconut and stir to distribute evenly. Pour into prepared baking dish.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until blondies are set and lightly browned.

Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Family is quite fond on ooooey goooey brownies but these are almost as good with a cold glass of milk.

Cactus

pb & chocolate pie

2009-11-07T10:04:00.009-05:00

This pie took me five minutes to make. Honest. Aaaaand, it tastes just like a Reesies Cup. Here's a picture of it from the Kraft Food site. It's in the Holiday 2009 Food & Family magazine.
My drizzling technique has not been perfected like on the pie above, but I have no doubt it will taste just as good. :- ) I'm countin' on it.

1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 Tblsp. creamy peanut butter (divided)
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg. vanilla flavor instant pudding (3.4 oz size)
2 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip, divided
1 Oreo pie crust, 6 oz.
3 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet chocolate

Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup peanut butter until well blended. Add milk and dry pudding mix; beat 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup Cool Whip. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate.

Microwave remaining Cool Whip and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on high 2 minutes or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stiring after each minute. Cool.

Spread chocolate mixture over pudding layer in crust. Microwave remaining peanut butter in small microwaveable measuring cup 30 seconds; stir. Drizzle over pie.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

Then make a big pot of coffee and enjoy. Mmm.

Tiedye

GRAPE SALAD

2009-10-27T12:12:00.005-04:00

I had this dish for the first time over the weekend. After I took the first bite I thought it was good. Just good. Different. Then I took another bite. And another. And another. And before I knew it, I was pulling the Tupperware out of the fridge every chance I got, just for another bite. It's different, unique. I like that about it too.

GRAPE SALAD
Serves 15

2 lbs green seedless grapes
2 lbs red seedless grapes
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup crushed pecans

Wash and stem grapes. Set aside.
Mix sour cream, cream cheese, white sugar and vanilla by hand until blended.
Stir grapes into mixture and pour into large serving bowl.

For topping, combine brown sugar and crushed pecans. Sprinkle over top of grapes to cover completely. Chill overnight.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's the original recipe. What I had this weekend had been put together a little differently. Half of the topping was put on the BOTTOM of the pan (first, in other words) and the other half on top like the recipe says.
Also I wouldn't chill it overnight. It's not one of those dishes that gets better after a day. It was at it's best on the same day it was made.

Enjoy!
tiedye

Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cake

2009-04-22T07:21:00.004-04:00

Wowzers, this cake is sumpin else entirely. Be sure to have some cold milk and a good pot of coffee ready when this one's done. You will want both. *_*

The recipe was a generational internet hand me down, value added. That is to say, it originally came from a website - Parents Magazine I think, then Bakerella snagged it and did her wizardry on it and ohhhhhweeeee here it is:

devils food cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 cups chopped Reeses pb cups, plus more to cover top of cake
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Heat oven to 350*. Coat two 9" round cake pans with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl beat cake mix, egs, buttermilk and oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to med-high and beat for 2 mins., scraping down side of bowl after 1 minute. Fold in 3 cups of chopped Reeses.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 34 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let layers cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto wire racks and cool completely.

Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium-size bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.

Trim top of cake layers flat with a serrated knife. Put 1 cake layer on cooling rack and place on a baking sheet. Pour 1 cup frosting on top; spread evenly with a spatula. Top with remaining cake layer. Pour remaining frosting over the top, allowing it to spill over the sides. Smooth top and sides with spatula. Refrigerate 1 hour to set. Transfer cake to serving plate and garnish with chopped candy, if desired.

I made this in a sheet pan for a couple of reasons. A. I do not make layer cakes well. They're fussy, and I don't do fussy. 2. I'm making it for a large party.
It turned out to be a good thing, because you get a good ratio of cake to icing (I'm all about that) plus you don't have to be so careful about icing the cake. You can pour the icing over the cake and sort of schmear it and let it drizzle around and go where it wants to settle. I'm all about that too.

Ok, last point. There is no easier or better icing - the two most important qualifications - than this one. There are two ingredients. Two. And they're the best two in the world. Chocolate. Heavy Cream. 'Nuff said. Actually not enough - the consistency? Ahhhohhhhh - it will make you want to float.

Have your milk and coffee ready I tell ya.

Enjoy!

Tiedye

2009-03-05T13:01:00.003-05:00

There are a whole bunch of laundry detergent recipes here at TipNut

I’ll be using the following from Suzanne McMinn's Chickens in the Road

I'll be using Fels Naptha soap for the first batch and see if I break out in hives or any other strange skin anomalies. If I get all red and bumpy, I'll use a castille soap instead.

How to make Homemade Laundry Soap:
1 regular (not large bath-size) bar of plain soap
1 cup Borax
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup baking soda
water
Grate the soap. (Soap grates easily.)

Heat 3 pints (6 cups) of water on the stove and add the grated soap. Stir occasionally, until the soap melts.
I use a pint jar and a quart jar for all the water measuring for this recipe as it’s faster than doing it one cup at a time.

Once the grated soap is melted, add 1 cup Borax, 1/2 cup washing soda, and 1/2 cup baking soda, stirring to dissolve.

I use a large pot, large enough to hold all the water I’ll need for my mixture so I don’t have to get a separate pail. If your pot isn’t large enough to hold over two gallons, you’ll have to transfer the mixture to a bucket at this point.
Add one quart jar of very hot water to your soap mixture.

Stir well. Add six more quarts of cold water. (If you’d like to add some scent, now is the time. Add 10-15 drops. I don’t add scent–it’s no big deal to me and would increase the cost. I’m happy with my laundry simply smelling fresh.) Stir well again and ladle or scoop the mixture into your container(s). I’ve found that three large plastic coffee containers are exactly right to hold this recipe. They come with handy snap-on lids and one is just right to keep by the washer for daily use.

Use 1/2 cup per large load of laundry. Mixture may gel or clump as it sits, so stir before each use. (I keep a 1/2 cup scoop–in a plastic bowl to prevent mess–on top of my washer to measure out the detergent. I just stir it with the scoop before measuring it out.)

Georgia Cracker Salad

2009-01-13T13:45:00.001-05:00

Tie posted this on the ID board but I thought that we should have it here cause it's a keeper.

Georgia Cracker Salad (how appropriate, eh?)

1 sleeve saltines
1 large tomato finely chopped
3 green onions finely chopped
1 1/2 cups mayo
1 hard boiled egg finely chopped

Crush crackers. Mix all ingredients together and serve immediately.

It's from The Lady & Sons.
__________________

Odee's Oatmeal Cookies - Even Bee Can Make 'Em!

2008-11-19T11:10:00.003-05:00

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups un-sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup softened butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar,
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups Old-Fashioned Quaker oats
1 (11 ounce) package Nestle Toll House butterscotch-flavored morsels (about 2 cups)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.
Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Stir in oats and morsels.
Drop by rounded Tablespoonfuls onto an un-greased baking sheet.
Bake 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies, 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies.
Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Pan Cookie Variation:

Grease 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan.
Prepare dough as above.
Spread in prepared pan.
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack

BACON WRAPPED HERBED CREAM CHEESE STUFFED CHICKEN

2008-10-10T18:28:00.006-04:00

This is the dish from Entree Vous....

I'm guessing at the amounts of spices & such that go into the cream cheese. You would adjust to taste anyway. . . .

1 8oz brick cream cheese, softened
1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
few leaves of fresh parsley finely chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried
1 - 2 chives, finely chopped, green included
1 red bell pepper, deseeded, deveined, and chopped
pinch salt
pinch pepper
four chicken breasts
8 slices bacon

Preheat oven to 325

Add garlic, parsley, chives and bell pepper to cream cheese and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Put chicken breasts between two pieces of saran wrap and flatten (pound) to even thickness. Salt and pepper chicken.

Divide cream cheese mixture into fourths. Shape each fourth roughly into a ball. Place one cream cheese ball into the center of each chicken breast and roll chicken up from the short end. Wrap two pieces of bacon around the rolled up chicken breast. Do not overlap bacon.

Spray Pam in baking pan and place stuffed chicken in pan. Cover with alum. foil and bake for 30 minutes or until baked through. Uncover, turn oven up to 350 and cook 10 more minutes. Depending on your oven and the thickness of your bacon you may need to turn your oven onto broil for a couple of minutes at the end of the baking time, to crisp up the bacon.

Enjoy..

Tiedye

Best Bread Machine White Bread I've Ever Had

2008-09-17T16:05:00.005-04:00

I was in the mood to start using my bread machine again last week and this. Tried a wheat bread that was okay...but this White Bread was REALLY good! The link to the original version is down below....the recipe came from allrecipes.com

Homemade Wonderful Bread
GAIL'S VERSION:
INGREDIENTS (in the order I put them in the machine in)

1-1/2 cup room temperature water*
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry potato flakes
1/4 cup dry milk powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (at room temperature)

DIRECTIONS.

Add ingredients in the order suggested by your manufacturer, including the yeast mixture. Select the basic and light crust setting.

Don't forget....do not use "old" bread flour (I used "Better for Bread"), or out of date yeast. These are things that could cause your bread not to rise properly. You can probably substitute a cup of wheat flour for a cup of white, but you'll want to add some "Vital Wheat Gluten". The rule of thumb is to add 1 tablespoon of vital wheat gluten for every cup of low- or no-gluten flour (such as wheat flour) that is being used in your recipe.

Want to make this a mix of wheat and white? Substitute 2 cups wheat flour for 2 of the 4 cups of flour. Just be sure to add 2 Tbs. of Vital Wheat Gluten to help the dough rise properly (1 Tbs per cup of wheat)

NOTE: * - original recipe said 1-1/4, but some reviewers found it necessary to add another 1/4 cup of water. If you'd like to read all the reviews, and all the way folks made variations of it, , or see the original version which included "proofing the yeast", here is the link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Homemad...ad/Detail.aspx

BITS 'o BACON BREAD

2008-07-16T08:10:00.004-04:00

Here you go, BeezieWeezie. This is a breadmaker recipe from a book called "electric BREAD" which is way WAY old - in fact it has a 1996 copyright which is when I got my first breadmaker, and I've been using it since then. But it has the most wonder-delish-mous bread recipes ever, like peanut butter bread (my #1 son's favorite in the world) and some of the most creative but still easy. Course they're all easy when you make 'em in the breadmaker, ain't dey? :)

The first measurement is for a small loaf and the measurement to the right is for a large loaf.

2/3 cup WATER (1 cup)
1 2/3 cup WHITE BREAD FLOUR (2 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup WHEAT BREAD FLOUR (1/2 cups)
4 tsp SUGAR (2 tbsp)
1 tsp SALT (1 1/2 tbsp)
4 tsp BUTTER (2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp GREEN (black will do) PEPPER
CORNS, CRUSHED (3/4 tsp)
1/2 tsp BASIL (3/4 tsp)
pinch GARLIC POWDER (1/4 tsp)
1/4 cup BACON (with fat) (1/3 cup)
1 tsp FAST RISE YEAST (1 1/2 tsp) or
2 tsp ACTIVE DRY YEAST (2 1/2)

You cook the bacon until its almost crisp. Set the fat aside while you crumble the cooked bacon, then remix bacon and fat before measuring.

A couple of times I made a down and dirty loaf of this recipe with the Hormel real bacon bits and it was still really good - you could tell the difference if you'd had the real stuff, but still REALLY good.

Extra pepper's good, brushing with butter when it's partially cooled is really good, sprinkling coarsely ground salt on top is good.

It usually gets eaten up right out of the breadmaker while its still warm so I try to have soup ready for it.

Tiedye *_*

Boggles

2008-07-08T12:08:00.007-04:00

Another fabulous recipe taken from one of Joanne Fluke’s books: “Fudge Cupcake Murder”. Check out the books at www.murdershebaked.com

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 cup		butter, melted (2 sticks)
1 cup		brown sugar
1 cup		white sugar
1/2 tsp		baking powder
1/2 tsp		baking soda
1/2 tsp		salt
2		eggs, beaten
1 tsp		vanilla
1/4 tsp		cinnamon
1/8 tsp		nutmeg
2 cup		flour
1 1/2 cup		sweetened dried cranberries (Craisins or another brand) ***
1 1/2 cup		rolled oats (uncooked oatmeal)

1	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Add sugars and let cool a bit. Add eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Add flour and mix. Then add the cranberries and oats and mix everything up. The dough will be quite stiff.
2	Drop by teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a sheet.
3	Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Remove to rack until cool.

Yield: 5 to 6 dozen, depending on cookie size

Cooking Tips

*** If you can't find the cranberries where you live you can substitute any chopped dried fruit such as dates, apricots, peaches, etc.

These freeze well if you roll them in foil and put them in a freezer bag.

Whippersnappers

2008-07-03T14:48:00.003-04:00

I made the “Spice Cake” version and they are pretty good. (Have also had the Strawberry version, and plan to try a chocolate version next week). Once again taken from one of Joanne Fluke’s mystery books - “Candy Cane Murder”

Whippersnappers (Lemon, Spice, or other flavors)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees - rack in middle

1 pkg		(appx 18 oz) Cake mix, the size you can bake in a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan
2 cups		Cool Whip (measure this)
1 large		beaten eggs
1/2 cup		powdered sugar

1	Combine dry cake mix, Cool Whip, and beaten egg in a large bowl. Stir until it's well mixed.
2	Drop by teaspoon into the bowl of powdered sugar and roll to coat the cookie dough
3	Place the coated cookie drops on a greased (using non-stick cooking spray) cookie sheet, 12 cookies to each sheet
4	Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let them cool on a the cookie sheet 2 minutes or so, the move to wire rack to cool completely

Yield: 4 dozen

Cooking Tips

This is an old church recipe that you can use any flavor cake mix in these cookies. The author especially likes Lemon Whippersnappers in the summer because they're simple to make and very refreshing. Original recipe done with Lemon

Scandanavian Almond Cake

2008-07-01T16:48:00.001-04:00

Scandanavian Almond Cake
(taken from Joanne Fluke's "Carrot Cake Murder" book...the Hannah referred to in the recipe is the main character, Hannah Swensen)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, rack in the middle

1/2 cup		salted butter
1-1/4 cups		white sugar
1 xtra large		eggs
1/2 tsp		baking powder
1-1/2 tsp		almond extract
2/3 cup		cream (can use half & half)
1-1/4 cups		flour
1/4 cup		sliced almonds

1	Before you start to mix up this recipe, grease (or spray with Pam) a 4-inch by 8-inch loaf pan..
2	Cut a strip of parchment paper (or wax paper) 8 inches wide and 16 inches long. Lay it in the pan so that the bottom is covered and the strip sticks out in little "ears" on the long sides of the pam. (this makes for easy removal after your cake is baked). This will leave the two short sides of the pan uncovered, but that's okay. Press the paper down and spray it agai nwith Pam (or another nonstick cooking spray)
3	If you decided to use the sliced almonds, sprinkle a few in the very bottom of your paper-lined loaf pan).
4	HANNAH's 1ST NOTE: Don't let this next step scare you...it's extremely easy an dit will keep your cakes from turning too brown around the edges.
5	Place the stick of butter in a one-cup Pyrex measuring cup (or another microwave safe bowl). Zap it for 40 seconds on HIGH, or until it's melted) (You can also do this in asmall saucepan on the stove). Now pour that mleted butter through a fine-mesh strainer, the kind you'd use for tea (or a larger mesh strainer lined with double thickness of cheesecloth). After the melted butter has dripped through, dump the mmilk solids that have gathered in the strainer tinot he garbage (or throw away the cheesecloth) . What you have left is clarified butter
6	Set your clarified butter on the counter to cool while you.... Mix the white sugar with the egg in a medium sized bowl, or inthe bowl of an electric mixer. Beat them together until they're light and fluffy.
7	Add the baking powder and the almond extract. Mix well
8	Cup your hands around the bowl with the clarified butter. If you can hold it comforabley and it's not so hot that it might cook the egg, add it to your bowl now and mix in. If it's still too hot, wait until it's cooler and then mix it in.
9	** Add half of the cream and mix it in. Add half of the flour and mix it in. Now add the rest of the cream, mix. And then add the rest of the cream, and mix.
10	Pour the batter into a loaf pan you've prepared and smooth the top with a spatula
11	bake the cake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
12	Let the loaf pan sit on a wire rack or a cold burner for 15 minutes. Then loosen the cake from the short sides of the pan (the non=papered sides) with a metal spatula or a knife.
13	tip the cake out on a pretty platter and remove the parchment paper. Let it cool and then dust the top with powdered sugar if you wish.

Cooking Tips

**HANNAH's 2ND NOTE: In the following steps you're going to add half the cream, and then half the flour. You don't have to be precise and measure exactly half. Just dump in what you think is approximately half and it's be just fine.

HANNAH's 3RD NOTE: Mother's friends Joyce & Nancy have special half-round loaf pans especially for baking Scandinavian Almond Cake. Joyce's cake bakes for the same length of time as mine does. Nancy's pan has dark nonstick surface. It's heavier than Joyce's pan and the dark surface makes it bake faster. Nancy bakes her cake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Julia’s Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken

2008-06-24T19:38:00.001-04:00

My Family LOVED This!!!

This came from an acquaintance of mine, and is cooked in a crock pot, but could certainly be modified to be done in the oven.

Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8.oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pkg. Italian dressing and seasoning mix

Soften cream cheese. Stir in other ingredients. Place chicken in crockpot and pour mixture on top. Allow to cook on low for 8 hours. Serve over rice or noodles. Enjoy!

Christa’s Heath Bar Cake

2008-06-23T21:29:00.003-04:00

Got this recipe today at a reception at church. I got HALF a serving...went back and grabbed the other half after tasting it! I am NOT a Heath Bar person...so this was quite a surprise!!!

Christa’s Heath Bar Cake*

1 chocolate cake mix

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 small jar butterscotch topping

12 ounces whipped topping

4 small Heath (or Skor) candy bars, chopped

Prepare cake according to directions on package and bake in a 9x13 inch pan.

While still hot, use a wooden spoon handle to poke holes in the top of the cake. Pour condensed milk evenly over the top, then pour butterscotch topping evenly over that. Sprinkle half of chopped Heath bars over the top. Refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Spread whipped topping over cake, then sprinkle with remaining Heath pieces.

*(recipe taken from 101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix by Stephanie Ashcraft)

CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE

2008-06-18T07:25:00.003-04:00

Okay got another one. It's just so easy to type these things once and then paste them into my cookbook software . . . . . ^_^

I made this for dinner last night and my kids went WILD, and actually so did my handsome husband, surprisingly. GREAT low ingredient, fast, dump-it-in-there fambly meal. I served it with chips, potato salad and baked beans, just like I would have if I'd been having burgers.

1 box of creamy, cheesy mac and cheese prepared using directions on box (or you could use a 40 oz pk of Stouffers Mac and Cheese and make your life even easier)
1 lb. ground chuck or ground turkey
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 T catsup
3 tsp yellow mustard
2 tsp dill pickle relish OR several hamburger dill chips
1 or 2 medium tomatos, roughly chopped
1 container refrigerated biscuits

Preheat oven to 400*.

Saute onion and add ground meat until done, drain. Add catsup and mustard and gently stir in tomatoes.

Place half of mac and cheese in a 9" square baking pan and top with the ground beef, then remaining mac and cheese.

Place biscuits around edge of pan. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until biscuits are fully cooked and golden brown.

Sprinkle pickle relish over top, or space hamburger chips apart over top.

Tiedye

ELEGANT CHERRY TRIFLE PUDDING

2008-06-17T07:09:00.003-04:00

10 to 12 inch angel food cake, cut in 1 inch squares
1 can cherry pie filling
15 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 sm. pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
1 3/4 c. milk
1 c. sour cream
1/4 c. sherry
1 c. heavy cream whipped into stiff peaks (or Cool Whip, but oh boy is real whipping cream deLICious!)
1/4 c. toasted almonds for garnish

Layer 1/3 of the cake squares into trifle bowl or large clear bowl. Combine cherry pie filling and pineapple. Spoon 1/2 of the fruit over the cake. Top with 1/3 of the cake squares. Top these with remaining fruit, then remaining cake squares. Press cake into an even layer over fruit. Combine pudding mix, milk, sour cream and sherry. Pour this over cake, allowing pudding to run to the lower layers. Refrigerate overnight. Before serving, decorate with whipped cream. Layer and sprinkle almonds over. Nice to serve at Christmas. Serves 12.

I recently bought a trifle bowl from my friend who sells Pampered Chef, and this is one of the recipes that she gave me with it. It's awesome. Most of the other recipes were the fairly regular trifle recipes with layers of same ol' same ol', but this one surprises your taster! ^_^

Tiedye

Asian Slaw - YUMMY!! YUMMY!! YUMMY!!

2008-05-23T01:54:00.003-04:00

Sorry I don't have a photo..... but can truly say that this is DELISH !!! Truly a big hit at parties.....

A neighbor made this last year for a neighborhood gathering...... It was the first time I ever remember guys standing around a table telling everyone "You have to taste this salad" !!! It's easy and it is soooooo good. I usually make it up a 1 1/2 days ahead of time..... it just gets better and better.......

Asian Slaw -

1 (16oz) package of slaw mix
2 (3 oz) packages beef flavored ramen noodle soup mix (I like more noodles so I add an extra package of noodles - but don't use the 3rd flavoring packet)
1 Cup Sliced almonds, toasted
1 Cup Sunflower kernels1 bunch
Green onions, chopped
1/2 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Vegetable oil
1/3 Cup Vinegar

Remove flavor pockets from soup mix and set aside;
Crush noodles.
Place noodles in bottom of a large bowl.
Top with slaw mix; sprinkle with almonds, sunflower kernels, green onions.
Whisk together contents of flavor packets, sugar, oil & vinegar…..
Pour over slaw mix.
Cover and chill 24 hours.
Toss before serving……

Yields 8 - 10 servings…… Actually goes a lot farther at a gathering when you're serving other items....

Pizza Spaghetti Style - Casserole (Can be made ahead)

2008-04-26T18:32:00.002-04:00

Pizza Spaghetti Style

This is a "new" family favorite. Everyone loved it - especially the kids -

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped (we don't like - so I didn't use)
8 oz. pkg. button mushrooms, sliced OR 2 more bell peppers, chopped
26 oz. jar pasta sauce
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 lb. spaghetti pasta, broken into 2" pieces
3/4 cup whole milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 (5 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to boil for cooking spaghetti.

Cook ground beef, onion, green pepper, and mushrooms in heavy skillet over medium heat until beef is browned, stirring to break up beef. Drain well and add pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning; stir well and let simmer while preparing spaghetti.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Meanwhile, combine eggs and milk in large bowl and beat until blended.

Drain spaghetti and toss with egg and milk mixture.

Spread half of spaghetti/egg/milk mixture in a 13x9" glass baking dish. Top with half of sauce and beef mixture. Repeat layers.

To freeze, cool casserole in refrigerator at this point. When cold, wrap well, label, and freeze up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until thoroughly heated. Uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts and edges of casserole bubble.

To refrigerate overnight and bake the next day, cover the casserole and chill for 2-24 hours.

When ready to eat, bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until hot. Then uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts.
If baking without freezing or refrigerating, bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Top with pepperoni, then cheese, return to oven, and bake for 10 minutes longer to melt cheese. Let stand 5 minutes to set, then cut into squares to serve. 10 servings

Enjoy !!!!

Shrimp, Tuna & Macaroni Salad

2008-04-26T12:25:00.002-04:00

A "Family Favorite" from my mom. Wonderful by itself, or served with burgers, or grilled chicken!

1-1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 can tiny shrimp (4-1/2 oz)
1 can chunk tuna (7 oz)
3 hard boiled eggs (1 may be used for garnish if desired)
3/4 cup diced celery
2 kosher dill pickles, chopped
1/4 cup green peppers (optional)
2 med carrots, grated
1 small onion, minced
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
pepper taste

SAUCE
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbs sour cream
1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 Cook elbow macaroni according to package instructions, drain, and stir in lemon juice (to keep macaroni from sticking together)

2 While macaroni is cooking - In separate bowl combine celery, pickles, carrots, onion, salt & pepper and green peppers (optional..I never use them!). Drain & add the shrimp, and tuna. Mix well. Add chopped hardboiled eggs, and if you wish, reserve one to use as garnish.

3 Add above to the drained macaroni.

4 Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream and dry mustard in a bowl. Stir in to entire salad mixture.

5 Refrigerate several 3-4 hours minimum before serving, stirring at least one time.

Cooking Tips
TIME SAVING TIP: I hard-boil my eggs while cooking the macaroni. Put the eggs in the pot of cold water, put on the stove, bring to a boil. Add macaroni to boiling water and eggs are usually done when macaroni is cooked
EGG TIP: To keep from having a green ring around your yellow yoke, put eggs immediately in a bowl and run under cold water for a few minutes to cool the eggs. This really works!

Cinnamon Crisps

2008-04-19T09:45:00.010-04:00

This recipe is from Joanne Fluke’s book, “Lemon Meringue Pie Murder”....from a delightful murder mystery series she writes. All the books have recipes in them...and this is the first I have tested! To find out more, go to http://www.murdershebaked.com

2 cup melted butter
2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1 cup white sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 cup white flour

Coating Mixture:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1 Melt butter. Add sugars and mix. Allow to cool to room temperature. Add beaten eggs. Stir well. Add vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix well. Add flour in increments, mixing well after each addition.

2 Use your hands to roll dough into walnut sized balls. (If dough is too sticky, chill for an hour before rolling)

3 Combine the sugar and cinnamon for coating mixture in a small bowl to make the dough-ball rolling mixture. (Mixing it with a fork works nicely.) Roll the dough balls in the mixture, then place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. Flatten the dough balls with a greased or floured spatula

4 Bake in a preheated 325 oven for 10-15 minutes (They should have a touch of gold around the edges). Cool on the sheet for 2 minutes then remove the cookies to a rack to finish cooling.

Yield: Makes 8 dozen, depending on size of cookie

(I cut this recipe in half the first time I tried it)

Apple and Dried Plum Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream and Cognac

2008-03-27T08:24:00.003-04:00

Crust

1 1/4 c a/p flour
1/2 t granulated sugar
1/2 t fine salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (preferably 0 trans fat), frozen, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 stick chilled unsalted butter (4 T) cut into 1/2" pieces
3 T ice water

Filling

12 medium pitted dried plums (prunes)
1/3 cup Cognac (or brandy), of drinkable quality
4 medium Golden Delicious apples, peeled, quartered, cored; each quarter cut into 3 wedges
3 T granulated sugar
3 T unsalted butter, melted, divided
1/4 cup apricot preserves, heated and strained

Vanilla ice cream

Special equipment - 9" removable-bottom tart pan

For the crust- blend flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Add the shortening and butter, blend by pulsing until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
Add ice water, continue to pulse until moist clumps form. Gather dough into a ball, and flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least one hour.
For filling: combine dried plums and Cognac in small bowl. Cover and let stand 2 hours, stirring often. Drain the dried plums, reserving the Cognac. Cut the dried plums in half, set aside.
Preheat oven to 400*. Position a rack in center of oven. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, into a 12" round. Transfer dough to a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom. Fold overhanging dough in and press, forming double thick sides, refrigerate crust for 30 minutes or place in freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Mix apples, sugar and 2 T of butter in large bowl. Pile apples into dough-lined tart pan.
Bake tart until apples are just tender, about an hour.
Tuck rehydrated dried plums into spaces between apples. Brush fruit with remaining T of butter. Bake until apples are very tender and crust in golden brown about 20 minutes longer.
Blend 1 T of reserved Cognac into strained preserves to make a glaze. Brush glaze over warm tart.
Cut tart into wedges and serve warm or at room temp with ice cream. Drizzle some of reserved Cognac over ice cream if desired.

I got this recipe from a Viking cooking class I attended. I watched the chef prepare the dough and here's the thing. Even HE made a mess of it. HA! So there. His dough was not beautiful and he did not care one flip. His point was to follow the principle of pie dough so that it would TASTE great, and he told us what the principles were as he was patching great holes in the tart crust dough. When he finished spackling his dough he said now take a sip of your wine and watch THIS. And he filled the dough with the beautiful apples just filled it slap dab full piled it up and shmushed them a little then he looked at us, threw his hip out and put his hand on it and said NOW. Can you SEEEEEEE the crust? AHAAA! Of course not.

I'll be making this tart again you can bet. It's so soooooo delicious and special.

Crispy Potato Galette

2008-03-27T08:19:00.002-04:00

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
3 T canola oil, divided
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 1/2 ounces garlic herb cream cheese (such as Boursin)
3 whole green onions, white and green parts chopped separately)

Line a large bowl with cheesecloth folded double. Coarsely grate the potatoes into the cloth, then gather the edges of the cheesecloth together and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.

Heat 1 1/2 T of the oil in a 10" nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Press half of the potatoes into a thin, even layer in the pan. Sprinkle with s&p.

Leaving a 1/2" plain border, scatter the cheese and the white parts of the onions over the potatoes. Press the remaining potatoes over the filling in an even layer.

Cook over medium high heat until crisp on the bottom, pressing occasionally with a spatula, about 10 minutes. Place a rimless baking sheet over the pan and invert the galette onto the sheet. Add remaining 1 1/2 T oil to the same pan, then slide the galette, browned side up, back into the pan.

Cook until crisp and golden on second side, about 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with chopped green onion tops; cut into wedges to serve.

This galette can be made two hours ahead. Turn onto a baking sheet and let stand at room temp. To serve: warm on a baking sheet in a 350* oven until crisp, about 15 minutes.

Roasted Chicken with Herb Butter, Onions and Garlic

2008-03-27T08:04:00.003-04:00

7 T unsalted butter brought to room temperature
1 T chopped fresh flat leaf parsley plus 3 large sprigs
1 T finely chopped fresh thyme plus 3 large sprigs
1 T finely chopped fresh rosemary plus 3 large sprigs
1/4 t fennel seeds crushed
1/2 t kosher salt plus additional as needed for seasoning
1 wole 3 pound chicken giblets removed
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 medium onions peeled and quartered
14 cloves garlic peeled
1/2 cup dry white wine of drinkable quality
1 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 t a/p flour

Preheat oven to 425*, position rack in bottom third of oven. Mix butter, chopped herbs, fennel seeds and 1/2 kosher salt in small bowl, blend well.
Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper toweling. Remove and discard any large pieces of fat. Season cavity of chicken with s&p; fill with herb sprigs.
Cut off wings.
Starting at neck end of chicken, gently slide your fingers under skin of breast and upper part of legs, loosening skin from meat. Spread 3 T of the herb butter under skin of breast and upper leg meat. Place chicken on a rack in a large roasting pan; tie legs together with butcher's twine to hold its shape. Scatter onions around chicken. Season chicken and onions with s&p.
Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and scatter the garlic cloves around chicken. Brush chicken onions and garlic with 1 T of the herb butter then return to oven and continue roasting for 30 minutes more.
Remove chicken from oven. Reserve 1 T of herb butter for sauce, and brush remainder on chicken and vegetables.
Return to oven, continue roasting until chicken is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 180*, about 30 mins. longer. Tilt chicken so juices from cavity drain into roasting pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter, surround with the onions and garlic, then tent loosely with aluminum foil.
Pour pan drippings into gravy separator and set aside. Place roasting pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, pour wine into pan, quickly scraping up any browned bits that have formed on bottom of pan. Add stock to pan and bring to a simmer. Spoon off and discard fat that has accumulated in the gravy separator; add defatted pan drippings to the pan.
Stir the reserved T of herb butter and flour together to make paste. Bring liquid in roasting pan to simmer; whisk in butter/flour paste. Simmer sauce until slightly thickened, whisking occasionally. Season with s&p, serve with chicken.

This recipe is from a Viking cooking school I attended. It's a super simple dish to prepare and our chef did not deglaze the pan (#8 and 9) but just included instructions for that. I wouldn'tve known what to do if the dish had been any more moist than it already was..... it was fabulous.

Salad of Mixed Greens, Walnuts, Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese

2008-03-27T07:53:00.003-04:00

DRESSING
2 T white wine or Champagne vinegar
2 T freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1/2 orange)
1 1/2 tsp finely minced orange zest
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T walnut oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

SALAD
4 small beets, unpeeled
1 T extra virgin olive oil
6 cups baby lettuces with frisee
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 ounces chilled fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
Thin strips of orange zest, for garnish

For the dressing: Combine vinegar, orange juice and zest in small mixing bowl, whisk until evenly mixed. Add oils in a slow steady stream whisking continuously until dressing is slightly thickened and creamy (emulsified). Season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside until needed.
For the salad: preheat oven to 400*. Scrub beets, toss them with olive oil in small roasting pan. Roast beets until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour; cool, peel, and cut into 1/2 inch wedges.
Mix lettuces and walnuts in a large bowl. Toss with just enough dressing to coat evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide salad among four chilled plates, arrange beets around greens. Top salads with goat cheese and orange zest; serve immediately.

This recipe is from a cooking class I took at The Viking Cooking School. It's an awesome salad. When you roast the beets, it makes them so sweet they taste like you've sprinkled sugar on them.

Tiedye

White Chili

2008-03-19T09:59:00.002-04:00

This is the White Chili recipe I use. My family loves it, which is rare for something I cook! I am going to cook the beans all day in the crockpot. Then I'll add the chicken and turn up the heat for the last hour or so.

White Chili
1 pound large white beans, soaked over night
6 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium onions, chopped (divided)
tablespoon oil
2 4-oz cans chopped green chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp ground gloves
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
4 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Combine beans, chicken broth, garlic and half of the onions in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are very soft, 3 hours or more. Add more chicken broth, if necessary. In a skillet, sauté remaining onions in oil until tender. Add chilies and seasonings and mix thoroughly. Add to bean mixture. Add chicken and continue to simmer 1 hour. Serve topped with grated cheese.

8-10 servings

Chocolate Chip Cookie

2008-03-19T09:52:00.003-04:00

This is so easy...but as the directions say don't overbake.

Skillet-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie

(from MarthaStewart.com)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, I used the teeny ones cause that's what I had on hand
1/2 cup chopped nuts..........optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix until they are fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Transfer dough to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (I actually used my 12-inch skillet and cut down the cooking time to about 30 minutes), and press to flatten, covering bottom of pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Don't overbake; it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges. Serve warm; top each wedge with a scoop of ice cream.

Enjoy ..........Cactus

Cheese Danish Squares

2008-02-25T10:38:00.005-05:00

Oh wow are these easy. They're a cheat; you use packaged ingredients but I get comments every time I make them and I hadn't made them in awhile then The Food Goddess from the AJC reminded me to last Thursday in the Food Section. So I did for some girlie friends. Just FYI, they go great with bellinis but better with cawfee.

2 8 oz. packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1 12 oz container whipped cream cheese
1 cup plus 2 T. granulated sugar, divided
1 egg, separated
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Pam your 13x9 baking dish. Line the bottom with 1 package of crescent rolls and pinch the seams together.

In a mixing bowl beat together cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, egg yolk and vanilla. Spread over dough. Carefully unroll the second package of crescent rolls over the filling.

In a small bowl whisk together the egg white and remaining 2 T. sugar until foamy; brush over top of the rolls. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nuts if desired.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.

P.S. Sometimes I fool around with the vanilla, and use almond flavoring instead, or reduce the vanilla and use a couple of drops of almond. I like it better with a touch of the almond.

Tiedye

Valentines help

2008-02-10T11:33:00.000-05:00

a recent post over on HTE by kimmy brought out a few ideas for kid friendly baking ideas for a school function fundraiser.

Not only is this a great forum for decorating these ladies know how to bake.

Check out a few of these that may help your next baking project.

First up GailD supplied the ever so popular Snickerdoodles.

"What about heart shaped Snickerdoodles? I came across my Snickerdoodles recipe this afternoon! I bet there is a way to make them heart shaped!"

Snickerdoodles
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Blend in to cream mixture to make a stiff dough. Make walnut size balls.

Mix 2 Tbs sugar with the cinnamon. Roll balls in the sugar. Place on a greased baking sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees until lightly browned.

Next up Lee_sa_D supplied these tasty gems "this is one of my favorites and super easy!!"

Wonderful White Chocolate Cookies

2 cups white chocolate chips or the equivelent in white almond bark
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1 cup toasted rice cereal
Melt white chocolate chips in a baking pan in a 200°F oven (I use the microwave ... stir frequently to melt evenly). Remove from oven and stir in the peanut butter. Stir in marshmallows, peanuts and toasted rice cereal.
Drop by small spoonfuls onto wax paper to cool. Store in a covered container in a cool place.
Makes 24 cookies.

KimMi donated this morsel of sweetness.

"This is a CERTAIN hit with kids! Trust me, you will love these cookies!"

Peanut Butter Cracker Cookies

Ritz crackers
White candy coating bark (1 or 2)
Creamy peanut butter
Red sugar, sprinkles or Valentine sprinkles
Using 72 crackers, spread peanut better (about 2 tsp. per cracker) on one cracker and top with the other. You'll have 36 cracker sandwiches when done. Spread a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet to use for placing the completed cookies on.

Melt white candy coating according to pkg. directions. Make sure you add a little solid shortening (about 1-2 TBS.) to the candy coating while melting.....but not too much or it won't harden completely. Using a fork, balance the cookie on the fork and dip it into the candy coating..making sure cookie is completed covered. Tap the base of the fork on the side of the pan to remove any excess coating. Place cookie onto wax paper. Continue this process until all 36 cookies are done.

Watch the cookies after they're coated. They will start to harden. When the cookies have lost their glossy look (they've started to harden), spinkle some type of decoration--red sprinkles, red sugar, Wilton's valentine sprinkle mix, etc.--on the tops of each cookie. You may need to do this midway thru making the cookies, so don't let the candy coating get too hard.

After all cookies are completed, you can pop them into the refrigerator (or in the cold garage if space doesn't permit in the ref.) for 20 minutes or so to harden. I think they will eventually harden if left on the countertop, but I like to jump start them by placing in the refrigerator.

I would recommend, Kim, that you buy two pkgs. of the candy coating. I usually get about 32 cookies out of a pkg., so I'm not sure you could stretch it to do 36. Also, you'll probably want to do some cookies as trial runs since the dipping process takes a little practice. Remember, practice cookies MUST be eaten!

Nanny supplied us with this nameless yet easy treat, easy is good!

"here is a quick treat"
200* temp of oven
place pretzel on cookie sheet..
Hershey Kiss in middle
let it melt 5 min. in oven
then place M&M's in holes let it cool.
bag.. we used red and white M&M's .

Next we have some favorite go to spots of our group.

ShoeGirl gave us these links.......

"These are things that I'm going to make this week for some friends with little kids"

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recip...D223B433BE08DF

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recip...81F0ECBA99B236

I put in my two cents with this site that looks simple and yummy!!

http://thepioneerwomancooks.com/2008...nd_candy_.html

So there ya go ask and ye shall receive.

Next up I hope will be some Easter ideas!!!

Mother-in-Law’s Vegetable Soup

2008-01-17T15:50:00.000-05:00

Mary’s Vegetable Soup

This original recipe is from my mother-in-law, who with 6 kids, had a house full to feed. I have since cut the recipe basically in fourths because it made SO much. These proportions will fit fine in a 6qt Dutch Oven pot. Play with the recipe and swap out vegetables to suit your mood, or what is in your fridge!

1/2 lb		Stew beef
1/2 qt		water
1		bay leaf
1 can		28oz. can Diced tomatoes
1		onion (small to medium)
1/2 pkg		Shredded Cabbage (appx 5-6 oz.)
1		Medium Baking Potato - cut into cubes
1		medium carrot, sliced (about 12-14 mini carrots)
1 can		can of green beens (14.5 oz)
1 can		can of white or yellow corn (14.5 oz) - option
1-2 tsp		salt (do it to taste)
		black pepper to taste

1	Simmer stew beef in water with bay leaf for 2 hours. Remove from heat. Remove meat from broth. Skim off fat (which can be done by refrigerating broth for an hour or two or using a gravy seperator).
2	Trim stew beef into small, bite sized pieces
3	Combine the rest of the ingredients. (can be done ahead of time and set aside, or done when ready to start cooking the soup.
4	Bring broth, meat, and all other ingredients to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer. Add another cup of water at this time if you feel you need more broth. Simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Yield: 4-5 quarts

The Best French Onion Soup

2008-01-12T15:09:00.001-05:00

I have ever made. I promised our Miss Beezer I would post this - sorry I took so long. A tad labor intensive but the end result is absolutely to die for I swear/guarantee.

As you can see this is copied and pasted direct from Cooks Illustrated site. I have made this twice while visiting my family and got rave reviews.

And if you do try it please let me know how you liked it. And yes the sherry gets cooked off but leaves a very good flavor.

Enjoy

Cactus

Best French Onion Soup

1/2008

Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, will make this recipe overly sweet. Be patient when caramelizing the onions in step 2; the entire process takes 45 to 60 minutes. Use broiler-safe crocks and keep the rim of the bowls 4 to 5 inches from the heating element to obtain a proper gratinée of melted, bubbly cheese. If using ordinary soup bowls, sprinkle the toasted bread slices with Gruyère and return them to the broiler until the cheese melts, then float them on top of the soup. We prefer Swanson Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth and Pacific Beef Broth. For the best flavor, make the soup a day or 2 in advance. Alternatively, the onions can be prepared through step 1, cooled in the pot, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before proceeding with the recipe.

Serves 6

*Soup*
3	tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces
6	large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see illustration below)
	Table salt
2	cups water , plus extra for deglazing
1/2	cup dry sherry
4	cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note)
2	cups beef broth (see note)
6	sprigs fresh thyme , tied with kitchen twine
1	bay leaf
	Ground black pepper
*Cheese Croutons*
1	small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices
8	ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

STEP BY STEP: Golden Onions Without the Fuss

1. RAW: The raw onions nearly fill a large Dutch oven.	2. AFTER 1 HOUR IN OVEN : The onions are starting to wilt and release moisture.
3. AFTER 2 1/2 HOURS IN OVEN : The onions are golden, wilted, and significantly reduced in volume.

STEP BY STEP: Triple Deglaze

Most recipes for French onion soup call for deglazing-—loosening the flavorful dark brown crust, or fond, that forms on the bottom of the pot-only once, if at all. The secret to our recipe is to deglaze the pot at least three times.

STEP BY STEP: Slicing Onions

Halve onion pole to pole, cut off root end of onion, then peel. Place flat side of onion on work surface, then slice from pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

PUBLIC HOUSE KAHLUA CHEESECAKE

2008-01-10T15:15:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know I'm hoggin' the blogspage and all, and after this recipe I promise to quit. BUT. This, my friends, is BIG. BIG NEWS, breaking news, big news indeed. I must share. Thursday's Atlanta paper is the Food Section paper (I look forward to Thursdays a LOT) that just shows you what a nerd I am but that's beside the point AAAAAAAANYWAYsies, I was reading along and lo and beholdin' in the Q and A section a lady (God bless her) asked if there was any way the famous Kahlua Cheesecake from the Public House could be obtained. The Public House was a restaurant in historic Roswell for many many years until it's *sob* closing a few years ago. Gee whiz they had the best elephant garlic and sundried tomato bruschetta in the hemisphere.

WELL.

It turns out that when the Pleasant Peasant (another top notch restaurant here) was purchased several years ago, the buyer also purchased the RIGHTS TO THE PUBLIC HOUSE'S RECIPES!!

We, my friends, could not have made out any better. She may have gotten the Peasant, but WE got the recipe, and FOR FREE!! As I look at it, the ingredients and the amounts, I'm figuring the secret has to be in the directions cauz there's nothing special about the ingredients, in fact they're pretty sparse. Directions though, kinda fussy. But ohhhh hoo ho ho ho. This cheesecake is The Big Cheese of all cheesecakes. As the Pioneer Woman says, Make this. Now. : ^ )

1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs, or crushed Oreos
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted - if using Oreos, reduce butter to 5 Tablespoons
6 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup Kahlua

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press into bottom of a 10" springform. Bake 10 minutes, cool. (Do not try to use a 9" springform. You will certainly fill the bottom of your oven with overflow batter. It really requires the 10" size.)

Heat a large pot of water on stove and keep warm. Select a baking pan that will snugly hold the springform pan; a 12" square or round pan works well. Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan in a large piece of heavy aluminum foil. Reduce the oven temperature to 250*.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and beat well. Beat in eggs and egg yolks one or two at a time, scraping down the sides after each addition. Add the Kahlua and beat until well incorporated. Pour over the crust in the springform pan. Place the springform pan inside the larger pan, place in the oven on the middle rack, and then carefully pour the warm water into the larger pan, 1 inch up side of the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake in the water bath for about 3 hours, until the top is golden and the cheesecake is set. Remove from the water bath and cool in the springform pan on a wire rack for 1 hour; then chill for several hours or overnight. Remove the side of the pan before serving.

Tiedye

MEDITERRANEAN LEMON CHICKEN

2008-01-09T11:08:00.000-05:00

I made this chicken for the first time a couple of nights ago and it got rave reviews. It's super duper simple and takes very few ingredients, nothing that you'd have to go out to get. I made rice to go with it and we used the extra sauce as gravy to pour over. Warning though, this dish is very very lemony.

1 lemon
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil (that's what the recipe calls for but I gotta tell ya I use lots more)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 chicken legs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees .
In a 9x13 inch baking dish, grate the peel from 1/2 the lemon, squeeze out the juice (about 1/4 cup) and add to peel with the oregano, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Stir until mixed.
Remove skin from chicken pieces and discard. Coat chicken pieces with the lemon mixture and arrange, bone side up, in the baking dish. Cover dish and bake for 20 minutes. Turn and baste chicken.
Reduce heat to 400 degrees F and bake uncovered, basting every 10 minutes, for about 30 more minutes. Serve chicken with pan juices.

Recipe from All Recipes

Tiedye

Greetings.........

2007-12-25T10:03:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas
to all our readers and friends!!!

Meringue Coated Pecans (aka Nannie's Swedish Nuts)

2007-12-24T13:45:00.000-05:00

Marrying into a big family, I was blessed to also be the recipient of many family recipes. One that has become a Christmas-time tradition for us is making Nannie's Swedish Nuts to give to our friends, ministers, and other special folks in our life.

3½ Cups pecan halves (this usually fills up one LARGE cookie sheet)
1 Cup Sugar
pinch of salt
2 beaten egg whites
1/2 cup butter (or margarine)

Toast nuts at 300 degrees until brown.
Beat egg whites until they stand in peaks.
Fold in sugar and salt. Then fold nuts into the meringue mixture.
Melt butter in flat pan. Spread nuts over melted butter. Bake at 325 for 1/2 hour, stirring every 10 minutes until nuts are coated and all the butter is gone.
NANNIE'S NOTES: Watch or they will burn.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I usually get on a roll early in December browning the pecans ahead of time, and separating them out in batch proportions so I can make a batch at the drop of a hat! I have found that pecans are most affordable at one of the warehouse clubs such as Sam's or Costco.

Enjoy!

~GailD~

CORN YEAST ROLLS

2007-12-23T17:14:00.000-05:00

These are awesome, and they're super duper easy. They can take the place of regular yeast rolls in a meal because there's still so much more flour than cornmeal, but there's enough cornmeal that the crunch and the taste of corn and a teensy bit of sweet makes them an incredible surprise. They're great with soups and stews too.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup milk, I use 2%
* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup cornmeal
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (I use 1 pack of active dry or if I'm using rapid rise I might use slightly less than a pack)

DIRECTIONS

Throw all ingredients in bread machine. Select dough cycle. Start.

Once cycle is complete, turn out of bread machine container and punch dough down.

Cut dough in half and in half again, continue to cut in half until you have 18 to 20 balls, less if you want large rolls. No need to reshape. I leave them the shape they're in even though they're odd shaped from having been cut instead of rolled. These rolls are sort of rustic and unique so the shape is perfect (plus it keeps it super easy). Arrange on a greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the rolls begin to brown.

You can make these a day ahead and refrigerate them after you arrange them on your cookie sheet. I cover them with saran, then make sure the next day you get them out in enough time to rise the second time.

Tiedye

EggNog Cookies from Mrs Claus

2007-12-21T13:09:00.000-05:00

Well actually they were mentioned more than once by our very own kimIndy.

We have friends visiting and are staying at their daughters. Well I was mentioning the eggnog cookie, she asked that I print it out and maybe her and her daughter would make them.

Well they made them this a.m. and friend couldn't get over here fast enough with my plate full.

kimmy was right, they are yummy......boy is that an over worked word, however the are quite tasty.

Here's the recipe straight from Santa and Mrs Claus' web site. For other recipes check out the site http://www.northpole.com/Kitchen/Cookbook/cat0001.html

Eggnog Cookies

Makes Approximately 3 Dozen

From the kitchen of Karen Hamlin

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients together. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until it resembles a grainy paste. Add eggnog, vanilla and egg yolks and beat at medium speed until smooth. Add the flour mixture and beat at low speed until blended. Do not over mix. Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Sprinkle lightly with additional nutmeg. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until bottoms turn light brown. Transfer from pans immediately to cool.

Don't forget to think of kimmy when you bite into one of these. Oh and as suggested leave a plate out for Santa.

Cactus

Cheese Pate Appetizer

2007-12-19T15:55:00.000-05:00

If you like cheese balls, you will love this savory cheese pate.

It's no-cook, no-bake, and easy.

INGREDIENTS

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened, divided use
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
3/4 cup chopped pecans
4 ounces Brie or Camembert, rind removed, softened
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup pecan halves, for garnish

PREPARATION

Beat 8 ounces of the cream cheese, milk, and sour cream until smooth. Line a 9-inch pie plate with plastic wrap.

Spread mixture over the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly across the surface and gently press into the cream cheese mixture.

Beat remaining 16 ounces of cream cheese, Brie cheese, Swiss cheese, and blue cheese until combined. Scrape into pie plate on top of previous layer and smooth the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, remove top plastic wrap and invert pate onto a serving dish. Carefully peel off bottom layer of plastic wrap. Press pecan halves in a decorative pattern on top.

Let cheese plate sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving with apple slices, vegetable sticks, and crackers.

Yield: 16 to 20 servings

ps.....................your choices of cheese depend on your taste, however cream cheese must be used as the base. Low fat cheeses and sour cream is OK.

Enjoy!!!

Cactus

Apple and Pear Crisp

2007-12-13T18:48:00.000-05:00

Originally by Ina Garten, modified by Nancy in ME
-----------------------------------------------------------

Apple and Pear Crisp

Preheat oven to 350*

2 lbs ripe Bosc pears (6 pears)
1 1/2 lbs firm apples (6 apples)
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 c. granulated sugar or Splenda
1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

For the topping:
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. granulated sugar or Splenda
3/4 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. old fashioned oatmeal
1/4 (1 stick) cold butter or Promise, diced
1 tsp cinnamon

Peel, core and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add lemon zest, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into 9 x 12 baking pan.

For the topping:
Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 - 65 minutes, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly.

Serve warm.

Norwegian Cookies

2007-12-12T08:58:00.000-05:00

These cookies are so good. Do Not Overbake them. But, they are so soft and Delicious..

Norwegian Cookies
1 cup butter or marg. softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. almond and vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cups chopped fine walnuts(i don't use)
green/red sugar

Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs and extracts. Beat until light and fluffy. Add flour & nuts, beat just until moistened. Cover & Chill 1 hr until firm. ( I usually chill overnight). Shape into 1" balls place 2" apart on greased cookie sheet. Flatten to 1/4" thick with glass in colored sugar. Sprinkle w/additional colored sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Hint: I use parchment paper I don't grease. I feel there's enough butter in for grease. I have never had a problem with sticking...Enjoy

ARTICHOKE/HEARTS OF PALM DIP

2007-12-11T13:55:00.000-05:00

I had this artichoke dip this past weekend at a party. When I scooped some of it into my plate I thought it was going to be that regular artichoke heart/mayo/parm/cheddar dip, which would've been fine, cauz that's one of my favorites. BUT let me say this. When I put the first bite of that luscious stuff in my mouth I swore I'd never ever EVER let the regular artichoke dip touch my lips again. This stuff is heaven on a cracker. Or in a spoon. Or on your finger. Or howsomever you wish to get it to your piehole.

You won't believe it. Seriously.

2 cans artichoke hearts, chopped
1 can hearts of palm, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded – sprinkle some on top
½ cup parmesan cheese - the kind from the bottle is fine, or bagged pre-shredded
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 - 2 Tbsp BBQ Sauce to taste
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 - 2 Tbsp Texas Pete hot sauce to taste
2 Tsp garlic powder
2 Tsp onion powder
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together (reserving enough of the cheese to sprinkle over the top) in a bowl.
Pour into a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350* for 30-45 minutes until bubbly and slightly browned on top.

See, it's not even that different from the regular stuff, huh! But I'm telling you, it'll stop you in your tracks.

Tiedye

THOSE GOOD OLD CHESS SQUARES

2007-12-10T14:11:00.000-05:00

My Mother in law calls them cake squares. Whatever, they're fast, easy, and people devour them until they're green.

Yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 T. water
1 stick butter
chopped pecans (optional) I like it better without. . . one of the few things in life

Spray Pam in a 9x13 pan. Mix above and spread in bottom of pan, will be very thick.

3 eggs
1 blocks of softened cream cheese
1 box of confectioners sugar

Pour on top of cake mixture.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and lower temp to 325 for another 20 - 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

That's it!

These are so VERY rich that I usually cut them in very small squares, about 1 1/2" or so.

For a change I have added a half capful of almond extract to the cake mixture. That's a terrific taste, sort of unexpected.

Tiedye

Quiche

2007-12-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

This is probably, in my humble opinion, one of the very best quiche recipe I have ever made. I have tried others and I keep coming back to this one.

Even my sister can't remember where this recipe came from. But it is one of my our all time favorite go to recipes to fix for company, pot lucks, a buffet item or just a lunch or brunch at home. We like this for a brunch with a fruit salad compliments the quiche

Green Chile Quiche

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
6 eggs beaten
3/4 cup low fat milk
3/4 cup half & half
1 4 oz can of chopped green chiles
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
unbake 10" pie crust

Slice cream cheese and place on the bottom of the crust. Beat eggs, add , chiles and mustard. Fold in the shredded cheese and pour over cream cheese in the crust. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour 15 minutes or until done in center. Check after one hour. If your edges of pie crust get too brown protect them with foil.

This quiche I added a taste of smoky paprika and a pinch of red pepper flakes and left out the dry mustard. I forgot that I add a spoon ful of salsa on the side.

You can also make these in a muffin tin, just cut the pie crust to fit the tin you use and adjust the baking time.

If you like quiche, try this you will not be sorry. And if you do try it let me know how you adjusted it to fit your taste. I would like to make it a little lower in calories but I am not a chemist.

My favorite cookie for Christmas

2007-12-06T09:14:00.000-05:00

Well actually they are my favorite anytime, but at Christmas this is just the first cookie we make.

Don't ask me why my momma called them rings, they aren't at all. I think some also call them Russian Tea Cakes and they are not a cake either

Not really a traditional cake, these are the snowy white cookies, the Pastelitas De Boda served at weddings, that nearly melt in your mouth. It is a familiar cookie also featured around the holidays and similar versions are found in other countries besides Mexico. Not exactly like the pfeffernusse, which has a bit more crunch and spice, these little nuggets hold up nicely in a cookie gift basket. Wrap in plastic and store in air tight containers to avoid getting powdered sugar all over the place.

MEXICAN WEDDING RINGS/CAKES/BALLS
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

1 cup or two sticks unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup finely diced pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup powdered in the middle of a sheet of waxed paper. Place the flour in the middle of another sheet of waxed paper. In the mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter and the two extracts. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the sugar, holding the waxed paper like a funnel, into the butter mixture. Then add the flour slowly in the same manner, and add the nuts. If you have one, it's a good time to use that splatter shield on your mixer. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula, mix to combine. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into one-inch balls. Place on sheet pans giving about an inch or so of space inbetween. Place remaining powdered sugar on a large dinner plate. Bake one sheet pan at a time, about 12 to 15 minutes, rotating pan half way through baking. Cookies should be lightly browned, do not overbake. Remove pan from oven and let cookies cool about 5 minutes. Roll each little ball in the powdered sugar. Allow them to absorb the powdered sugar for about one minute, then place them on racks to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

Very busy time

2007-12-05T09:31:00.000-05:00

Since we are all so busy getting ready for the holiday season festivities, ya know all that egg nog, Christmas parties, and cheese nut balls, I am gonna post some how to's for the next few days.

Here is one of my very favorite sites. I find they have a wealth of info on this site, when ya have time go poke around.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2551_braise-anything.html

Next time tablescapes and napkin folding.

2007-11-19T20:27:00.001-05:00

Pumpkin Pound Cake.......compliments of kimmy

1 box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix (plain, not the butter or pudding kind)

1 small box of Vanilla Instant Pudding mix

4 eggs

3/4 C sugar

1/2 C oil

1/4 C water

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg
(I use 2 tsp of Pumpkin Pie spice instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg)

1 15oz can of plain pumpkin

Mix all ingredients well (I mix everything and then mix in the pumpkin)
Place in a greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hr.

I was so excited .....I sprayed the heck out of my pan this time and it all came out ....I usually miss a spot here or there and the cake sticks..bummer...I had some orange sugar sprinkles that I used instead of flour

Turkey on the Grille

2007-11-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

We started cooking our turkey on the grille many, many years ago. Reason being it was warm, we all lived in Southern California and nothing worse than heating up the kitchen when it's 80+ degrees.

OK on to the method..............

When we are all together, there aren't very many of us. So a 10 - 15 pound turkeyfor us was way plenty.

1. fire up the grille to good and hot 425 at least.

2. the bird should be sitting on the counter, ya don't want it iced cold when you put him on the grille. Follow your package directions for cleaning said bird please. I rub the turkey with butter on the outside and put celery and carrots on the inside after salting inside.

3. the bird should be in a proper size oven proof pan. I like to line the pan with foil cause it's a bit less clean up. Make sure the lid of your grille is able to close and there is enough circulation around to cook.

4. A 15 pound unstuffed turkey cooks on a grille for about 3 3 1/2 hours with an internal temperature using an instant meat thermometer should be 165 - 175 degrees. Your grille should be between 325 and 350, don't let it go over 350 cause it will guickly dry our and not brown.

Go to the Butterball web site for ideas. Hope I didn't forget anything.

Happy Turkey Day

Cactus

Hearty Harvest Soup

2007-11-17T17:20:00.000-05:00

Serves 6 (or 3, if you have Don's appetite!)

8 oz sausage meat. Regular, Italian or I use Jimmy Dean reduced fat sausage
1 medium onion (about 1/2 cup)
2 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, roasted garlic flavor
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup broccolli, chopped. (Feel free to add more if you like)

Cook sausage and onions until sausage is crumbled and browned, and onions are just opaque. About 10 minutes.

In stock pot, combine broth, tomatoes, beans, sausage and onion mixture. Cook on simmer for 5 minutes. Add broccolli and cook another 5 minutes.

Freezes beautifully.

This is Don's absolutely favorite winter soup.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

2007-11-17T09:44:00.000-05:00

Compliments of CalGal.......................I have adapted my grandmother's recipe.

2-3 packages of Pepperidge Farms seasoned Cubed stuffing Mix.

1 onion

a package of Jimmy Dean sage sausage (comes in a tube-like container)

2 sticks melted margarine ( I have just started diet kind, and it was just as good!)

about 5 cups of Swanson chicken broth

The day before, I chop and brown the onion, drain it, and put in covered dish. Then I brown the sausage, drain and also set it aside in a bowl and refridgerate both sausage and onion.

Thanksgiving day, I put the stuffing mix into a huge soup pot, Melt the margarine and add it to the mix, then add the chicken broth, pre-cooked onion and sausage, and stir it all up. No additional spices are needed.

I stuff the turkey with a good portion of the stuffing, then put what is left over into a greased covered casserole dish. When I take the turkey out of the oven and let it set before carving (to set the juices a bit) I pop the casserole dish into the oven and heat at 350 degrees for about half an hour. When we take the stuffing out of the turkey, we will mix it into what is in the casserole, and the consistency is perfect. My family will not let me make any other recipe, as they love this one so much.

Cornbread Stuffing

2007-11-17T09:42:00.000-05:00

Compliments of barbgarrett..................

Sounds a little time consuming - but it's not. It's a "pan" dressing b/c here in my part of the South we don't stuff either.

- Prepare 2 boxes Jiffy Cornbread, let cool, crumble in lg. bowl
- Add 1 package stuffing mix
- Add 1 large can apple pie filling (cut into pieces - include filling)
- Add 1 lb. browned, drained, crumbled country sage sausage
- Cook 1 large onion, 4-5 celery stalks in turkey parts (neck, gizzard, lights, etc) with 3 cups chicken stock (until veggies and meat are done)
- Add 1 cup of cooked veggies to bread mixture
- Add enough chicken stock from cooked veggies to make moist
- Add salt, pepper, poultry seasoning to taste
- Bake in a pan until the top is lightly browned and edges are lightly crispy.
* If you think it has dried out, pour some leftover chicken stock on top before you reheat.

This is the dressing I use to stuff a pork shoulder. I made this recipe when I was on the Food Network

Mom's Bread Dressing...

2007-11-17T09:38:00.001-05:00

Compliments of ..............bugs aka as buginlowcountry

(this is for a smaller batch... I X's it by 4 for our family of almost 20)

4 Cps. bread cubes (we just get bags of regular bread... nothing too fancy... cheap white bread is what I use... or you could use different kinds of bread, wheat, white, misc... just tear it into small chunks)

1/4 Cp. diced onion

1/4 Cp. diced celery

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. sage

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 eggs, beaten
Turkey or chicken broth (I always do the turkey, so I have the broth from it... I bake mine in one of the bags, so it gathers all the juice up nicely. Canned broth will work, but the flavor isn't as good)

Break bread cubes and put into baking pan. Combine butter, onions, and celery in a skillet and saute. Mix the sauted veggies and other ingredients to the bread cubes and add broth until well moistened (I say slightly soupy... and I always add a bit more sage than is called for... because I REALLY like sage!). Bake 30 mins. to an hour (depending on the size batch you make) at 325* or until golden brown on top. YUMMY!!!

I have been known, after a holiday, to make another batch of the dressing, and put all the left over turkey in and bake... Ohmygosh!!! I sooo love this stuff! (*"*)

PIZZA CAKE

2007-11-16T19:14:00.000-05:00

This recipe might be more for useful for purposes of novelty, interest, and pure speed. If you find yourself in a spot where you need to put together a unique cake in thirty minutes or under, here's your recipe. It's a cake mix, canned frosting, a little fruit, some white chocolate, and more red food dye than a dozen humans need consume in their lifetime, but it was such fun for the kiddos and they did it themselves with just guidance from me. All I did was "the hot stuff", as #1 son calls it. I put the cake in the oven and got it out.

White cake mix (I usually add 1/2 capful of vanilla and a drop or three of almond flavoring to improve...)
Can of white (reduced sugar) icing & red food dye
1 block of white chocolate, grated
1 banana, sliced supposed to look like mushrooms
a few strawberries, sliced supposed to look like pepperoni
blueberries or grapes supposed to look like olives
Disposable pizza pan

Bake the cake mix by directions on box, in the pizza pan. It took 20 minutes to bake since it's spread so thin, by the way. Dye the icing red to resemble pizza sauce and spread over cooled cake, to within 1/2" or so of edge. Sprinkle white chocolate over icing. Place fruit on top randomly.

You could use all kinds of other things for toppings. I got the idea from Family Fun Magazine. They suggested green fruit leather for peppers, etc.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

2007-11-16T18:37:00.000-05:00

I find that stuffing/dressing is really a debatable food item.

This is my method

12 oz bag of Pepperidge Farm corn bread stuffing mix plus any leftover cornbread or dolls I might have saved the last month in the freezer
1 diced onion
1 cup diced celery use the leaves too
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp. sage I use fresh sage
1 granny smith apple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
handful of golden raisins (optional none if sister is a guest at the table)
2 eggs, beaten
If you have giblets from the turkey cook those prior and chop finely
1 1/2 - 2 cups liquid I use vegetable or chicken stock. Could use water and apple juice. If using stock make sure it is reduced sodium.

Melt butter over medium heat add onions and celery, cook till transparent. Add apple, sage and chopped walnuts and saute to meld the flavors of each just for a couple a minutes. Let this mixture cool some because if you add it to the stuffing mixture you will scramble the two eggs you have in the bread crumbs. Stir in the liquid till desired consistency. Salt and pper to desired taste. Put all of the above in a casserole dish, cover and bake 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, remove cover and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes more for top to crisp some.

Happy Thanksgiving

Cactus

Baylee's green beans and artichokes

2007-11-14T14:11:00.000-05:00

Ingredients
Onion
Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 cans cut green beans - drained
¼ cup Italian style bread crumbs
¼ cup parmesan cheese
3 small jars marinated artichokes - drained (reserve 2 tbsp juice)
1 tsp lemon juice
Lemon slices

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil.
Place three cans cut green beans in large bowl.
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add sautéed onions and garlic to beans
Add bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
Toss all together
Roughly chop and add artichokes and reserved juice to beans and toss
Squeeze 1 tsp lemon juice over all
Place mixture in 9x13 baking dish
Garnish the top with sliced lemons
Bake at 350* f0r 25 minutes

Roasted Fall Casserole

2007-11-04T11:49:00.000-05:00

Ingredients

3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled turnips (about 1 1/4 pounds)

3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato (about 1 1/4 pounds)

2 1/2 cups (1/4-inch) cubed peeled Granny Smith apple (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons light margarine, cut into small pieces

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.Combine the first 6 ingredients in a shallow 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with butter. Bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until tender, stirring after 45 minutes.

Yield: 7 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)CALORIES 230 (15% from fat); FAT 3.8g (sat 2.2g,mono 1g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 2.2g; CHOLESTEROL 9mg; CALCIUM 52mg; SODIUM 85mg; FIBER 4.6g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 50g

Apple Bars

2007-11-01T14:41:00.000-04:00

Here's a fabalous apple bar that are to die for. Hunters went wild over them.

Apple Bars
2 1/2 c. flour 1 cup shortening (cut in flour)
1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt
seperate 1 egg (saving white for later)
add egg and milk to measuring cup to make 2/3 cup.. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients. Divide dough in two. Roll each half into rectangle to fit jelly roll pan. Place 1 in jelly roll pan, sprinkle with about 1/2 cups rice krispies. Cover w/chopped apples. Sprinkle w/sugar and cinnamon gererous amount sprinkle 2 tlbs. flour over top. Roll out 2nd crust and put on top of apple filling seal edges. Brush w/beaten egg white. Bake for 30 to 45 min or until apples are done. While warm, frost w/thin powdered sugar glaze..

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T10:18:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin, Raisin, and Spice Muffins with Molasses Glaze

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger juice, best done with a garlic press
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin, or 2 cups of well roasted pumpkin puree
1 tbsp cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp nutmeg, ground
1/2 tsp allspice, ground
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp molasses
1 cup golden raisins

Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp water, plus extra if necessary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two large muffin tins with non-stick spray, this recipe will produce about nine large muffins or 18 regular sized muffins - spray as many tins as necessary. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. In a separate large bowl, beat together the sugar and the oil, with either a hand whisk or an electric beater. Then, add the eggs one at a time, beating after the addition of each egg until the egg is completely combined. Once all the eggs have been added, add the ginger juice, pumpkin, buttermilk, molasses and raisins to the bowl and whisk/beat thoroughly. Next whisk in the dry, sifted ingredients, added 1/4 at a time. Be sure to whisk the flour mixture just enough to combine - the more you beat the flour, the tougher the muffins will be. Fill the muffin tins to about a centimeter from the top with the batter. Bake in the upper 2/3 of the oven for about 40 minutes if you’re using the large tins, and about 30 minutes if you’re using the regular sized tins, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of a muffin comes out mostly clean. Removed the finished muffins from the oven and set the tins on a rack to cool. After about an hour the muffins will be cool enough to remove from the pan.

After removing the muffins from the pan, make the glaze. Sift the powdered sugar and salt into a medium sized bowl. Add 1 1/2 tbsp molasses and 1 1/2 tbsp water. Whisk. If the glaze seems too thick, add a little more water, if it seems too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar.

Dip the tops of the cooled muffins into the glaze, which will drizzle down the sizes. Allow the glaze to set for about an hour before serving.

Give credit where credit is due, this recipe was found at this food blog http://www.whatwereeating.com/

GRANDMOTHER'S RUSSIAN TEA

2007-10-30T06:45:00.000-04:00

We make this every year, put it in jelly jars and tie pretty ribbons around the rim. We make two or three recipes at a time. One year we made such a large "makin'", we made it in a lobster pot. Fun stuff.

1/2 cup instant tea (regular)
2 cups Tang
3 ounces Wyler's powdered lemonade
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1 cup sugar

Mix all. This is my Grandmother's original recipe, and I haven't found Wyler's lemonade in years but for some reason I always transcribe this recipe exactly as she gave it to me. But anyway Countrytime or Kroger brand or just whatever brand of lemonade works just great.

It's so pretty in the jars, all the different colors make layers and striations.

This recipe makes a tea that is orange-y in taste - which surprises some folks the first time they make it, so be forewarned. The amounts can be altered of course, to suit your tastes.

Chicken Pot Pie

2007-10-22T13:09:00.000-04:00

Another Oggie gem..................

1/3 cup margarine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 cups chicken
1 16-ounce package frozen mixed vegetables
1 box ready-made pie crust

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray 9-inch pie plate with oil and line with one of the crusts.

Heat margarine over low heat until melted (I usually add the onions to the margarine just so they're cooked a little more tender).

Blend in flour, salt and pepper and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat.

Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute.

Stir in chicken and frozen vegetables.

Pour into the crust and top with the second crust.

Cook uncovered at 425 degrees until crust is golden brown.

Allow to cool slightly before serving as this will allow the "juice" time to set and thicken.

This recipe is easily doubled and believe it or not, tastes even better when reheated.

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes

2007-10-22T13:05:00.000-04:00

From Oggie: thought I'd send along a couple of our favorite cool weather recipes.

Even though this recipe is technically for cupcakes, it also bakes up beautifully as a cake

1 box spice cake mix
1 15-ounce pure pumpkin (don't mistakenly use the pumpkin pie mix)
3 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 container prepared cream cheese frosting

Blend the first five ingredients in a large mixing bowl until moistened and then beat on medium speed for two minutes.

Pour batter into 24 paper-lined muffin cups (fill cups 3/4 of the way). You could also pour the batter into greased and floured cake pans (either one rectangular or two round).

Bake at 350 degrees for 16-21 minutes (baking time will vary for cake pans), until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to baking racks to cool completely.

Top with craem cheese frosting.

Yummy Bark

2007-10-21T14:05:00.000-04:00

ShirlM gave us this one:

INGREDIENTS

Saltine (with salt) crackers ( about 1 and ½ sleeves)
Bag of semi sweet chocolate chips1 pd butter (must use butter, not margarine)
2 cups dark brown sugar (better than light brown)
Crushed nuts or any topping you desire (can use mini marshmallows, coconut, etc.)

Cover large cookie sheet with aluminum foil. . Spray with non-stick spray.
Lay saltine crackers on foiled cookie sheet
Melt butter and brown sugar stirring for 3 minutesPour melted sugar/butter over crackers.Bake on center rack at 350* for 7 minutesRemove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top.
Shut oven off, but place sheet back in warm oven until the chips are melted.
Remove sheet and gently spread chocolate over the entire tray of crackers with a plastic spatula.
Add topping, nuts or whatever.
Put in freezer until hardened.
Tip upside down and remove foil.
Break into pieces and ENJOY! (may need a mallet to break)

Ina's Warm Applesauce

2007-10-21T13:51:00.000-04:00

This was posted on the board by Schsec. I thought it would be nice to include it here.

INGREDIENTS

3 different kinds of apples ( one should be tart)
Juice of 2 oranges plus 2 tbls orange zest
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tbls butter
A few red apple peels (optional for color)

PROCEDURE

Peel, core and dice the apples and place in dutch oven
Add all other ingredients
Place red peelings on top for color
Bake covered at 350* for 1 hour
Serve warm

STEAMED JASMINE RICE, CHICKEN AND CROOKNECK SQUASH

2007-10-16T22:47:00.002-04:00

Oh boy oh boy oh boy this contraption gizmo-ish appliance thingie is my favorite new friend - I mean find.

Aroma brand. . . inexpensive too. Ok so here's what I did.

I put the rice and water in according to the instructions, and I let it soak for about ten minutes. The directions say if you like your rice soft to do that. We do.

Then I put in the steamer basket and added bnls sknls chicken breasts pounded thin, peppered and sprinkled sparingly with Cholula sauce. (Tabasco would work if you don't use Cholula but I love the Cholula because it's a little smoky.)

Thennnnn, I sliced crookneck squash in thick chunky slices and put them on top of the chicken breasts, loosely with air inbetween so I could see a little space between them. Then I salted and peppered those and smashed a little dried thyme and winter savory in my hand together and sprinkled over the squash. Just a little.

Then, I shut that sucker and timed twenty two minutes, and DINNER WAS SERVED! Well I did throw a pat or three of Smart Balance into the hot rice and toss it around.

I have never had rice so good. It was so fluffy and delish. My boys shoveled and shoveled until every single MORSEL was gone. The chicken was moist and flavorful. The squash was just right and NOT squeaky - there's nothing worse than squeaky squash. Blech.

It's a keeper. And the next time I use it (already have the meal planned - basmati rice, smoked sausages and sweet potatoes) I'm doing yet another thing with it at the same time I'm cooking dinner - I'm steaming my face...HA! This thing puts out a slow, steady stream of steam until the rice is done. Then when it's done it starts slowing down - that's sorta how I could tell it was 'bout ready. So after dinner I started thinkin', hmmmmm, why should all that steam go to waste? There is jis no guud reezun.

So I don't know who likes the new addition better me....or the guys. But who cares, it's a hit. It's stayin'.

Avocado Orange Juice Salsa

2007-10-16T17:50:00.000-04:00

This is an amazing salsa....I added cilantro cause I like the flavor it adds. Also when adding the avacado I added it by hand and not pureed cause I like chunkiness. I also added about 1/4 cup of finely chopped vidalia onion. for tomatiloos you will find canned ones OR tomatillo sauce in the latin aisle section of your market. The canned tomatillos have vinegar as an ingredient so do not use the sauce as it would make the salsa bitter.

8 tomatillos, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
2 jalapeño chiles, seeded,very finely chopped use sparingly if you are not a fan
juice of 1 lime (2 tablespoons)
juice of 1 orange (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 ripe California avocados, peeled and seeded

Combine the tomatillos, jalapeños, lime and orange juices, salt, pepper, and a Tablespoon or two of ice water in a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth. Add the avocados and purée briefly, just until smooth. Add orange juice to thin if necessary. Goes well with crispy warmed tortilla chips

We had company stop by the other nite, yes while we are traveling we have company. Anyway they loved this salsa and took the recipe with them.

Cactus

Canadian Cake

2007-10-16T08:46:00.000-04:00

This was my grandma's recipe w/the best frosting. In the fall of the year I don't know why but I always think of spice, pumpkin and apple desserts. Here's one of my favorite's. Please try I know you will like it. Better than box I think. But, than anything from scratch is the best don't you think?

Canadian Cake
3 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. of each cloves, cinnamon and allspice
..Sift together all above.

Cream:
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup butter ( if shortening is used, add 1 tsp. salt)
Add to creamed mixture:
1 1/2 cups sour milk
2 well beaten eggs

Mix well and add dry ingredients and 1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup nuts(raisins or candied fruit may be used)

Pour into large cake pan, greased. Bake at 350 degrees
for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
Frost when cool with Sour Cream Frosting..

Sour Cream Frosting;
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Boil cream and sugar to soft-ball stage; cool.
Beat until creamy, add salt, vanilla, nuts(and
coconut, if desired.)
Spread on cake.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

2007-10-15T21:53:00.001-04:00

This is always a hit whenever I serve it.

Ingredients:

3/4 cp. butter, softened
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2-1/2 cps. crushed pretzels
1 - 6 oz. package strawberry flavored gelatin
2 cps. boiling water
3 cps. chilled strawberries
1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cp. sugar
1 - 7 oz. container whipped topping, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream butter with brown sugar. Mix in pretzels and pat mixture into the bottom of a 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.

3. In a medium bowl, dissolve gelatin in the boiling water and stir in the strawberries. Chill until partially thickened.

4. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture over the top of cooled crust, making sure to seal the edges. Chill, then pour gelatin mixture over the cream cheese layer. Chill until firm.

Makes 10 servings.

White Beans Provence

2007-10-15T16:08:00.000-04:00

This sounds like a good side dish:

White Beans Provence

3 cans white beans (butter beans Great Northern beans)
2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence
¼ cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Drain and rinse beans. Gently mix in herbs, wine and butter. Place in a casserole dish, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Herbs de Provence Recipe
3 Tbsp dried marjoram
3 Tbsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp dried savory
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp fennel seeds

Combine all ingredients. Mix well and spoon into a tightly-lidded jar. Store in a cool, dark place up to four months.
Use to season chicken, vegetables or meat.
Yield: 3/4 cup

Fall tidbit from my seester

2007-10-14T11:33:00.000-04:00

This gem was posted by my sister over on PBE
It is a perfect fall breakfast treat....I wonder how kids would like this. I would be quite interested in some feedback on that.

Not that I have a cholesterol problem, I'm one of those oddities that can eat butter on both sides of my bread and still show good numbers at testing time. This doesn't mean I'm skinny, nope, not afflicted with that disease. I've got one of those it's-easier-to-jump-over-than-walk-around types of bodies; could have something to do with the butter. As for eating healthy, I'm more of the hate the texture of a bowl of cooked oatmeal but like the cookies. I'm sure you're getting the picture. I did stumble onto a great recipe for cooked breakfast type oatmeal that has become a favorite in my house for family and friends.

2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 c raisins or combo of dried fruits
2 tablespoons of chopped raw nuts
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375.
Melt butter in 8-inch square baking dish in microwave.
Combine first five ingredients in a bowl.
Combine milk, applesauce, and egg in the baking dish, mix and add this mixture to oat mixture.
Pour everything back into the baking dish and bake 375 for 20 minutes.
Serve warm. Makes five servings and can be refrigerated and reheated the next day.

This recipe is great because it is very flexible. Don't have applesauce? Use a raw chopped apple and cook it for about 2 minutes while melting the butter. Today I used Trader Joe's Peach Sauce. This stuff is so yummy over ice cream but I digress, use it in place of the applesauce.

I also put in nutmeg because I got this cool grater at my Meca, Surfas and I do love the taste of nutmeg. You can add a little cinnamon or not. Like I said, easy.

I also bake it in a 7 x 9 glass pan which fits in my Barbie Easy-bake side oven. I adore this little oven, it handles everything the big oven does but it heats quicker and I'm sure uses less energy. If I want I can bake just a few cookies or make this yummy breakfast treat. The trick is to find baking dishes that fit, but then I always carry a tape measure, something my sister taught me.

Mexican Chicken

2007-10-14T09:54:00.000-04:00

This is a great recipe I got from a friend for mexican chicken. My family loves this stuff.

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can rotelle
1 box Velveeta (I use between 1/2 to 3/4 box depending on how cheesy you want it)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 can water
1 bag Nacho Cheese Doritos

Boil the chicken and let cool then cut into bite size pieces.
Crunch up doritos in bag. Put a layer of crunched doritos in baking pan.
In a bowl mix the chicken, rotelle, velveeta, crm of chicken soup, and water.
Pour that on top of doritos in pan. Top with more crunched doritos.

Bake at 350* for 35-45 minutes, depending on how brown you like your doritos.
Enjoy!!!

Orzo Salad

2007-10-11T15:13:00.000-04:00

I got this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine several years ago. In fact I see that the page I tore from the magazine is rather stained and worn, so I re-typed it for the blog and now I have a fresh clean copy. I made this last nite along with grilled veal chops and a small green salad.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta; about 10 ounces)
1/3 cup (packed) chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup (packed) chopped Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives

1 cup finely chopped radicchio (about 1 small head)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 large garlic cloves, minced

Method
Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Add sun-dried tomatoes, oil, vinegar and olives and toss to blend. Let stand until cool. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

Mix chopped radicchio, pine nuts, chopped basil, Parmesan and garlic into orzo mixture. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Cactus

Pumpkin Pie Spice Iced Cookies

2007-10-10T21:11:00.001-04:00

Tenderheartto5 posted this on the board. I thought it would be good to have it here:

Pumpkin Spice iced cookie receipe (O/T)

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour1
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz) Libby 100% pure pumpkin
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups (12oz) chocolate chips

VANILLA GLAZE for topping

combine in small bowl and mix well:
1 cup powdered sugar,
1 to1/2 tablespoon milk,
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. combine flour, pumpkin spice,baking powder,baking soda, & salt in medium bowl.
2. Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy, beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla
3. Gradually beat in flour mixture and stir in choc chip morsels.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in 375 oven until edges are slightly brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes.. spread vanilla glaze drizzle.

Another metaloaf

2007-10-09T12:39:00.000-04:00

This is rather classic - I think - shrugging ones shoulders. It contains sausage as you can see.

Classic Meat Loaf Recipe
Why do I love meatloaf? It reminds me of being a kid. Where else can ya get meatloaf other than at home or a school cafeteria or even a truck stop eatery? That and I often buy it already mixed at our fabulous local butcher. So all you have to do is add an egg and put it in a baking pan and plop it in the oven for an hour. But what if your butcher hasn't made up a batch? It's easy enough to make. Here's a recipe we use for traditional meat loaf. The ingredient that makes this meat loaf extra delicious is the spicy ground pork sausage. We once substituted this sausage for regular ground pork and have never looked back.
1 cup of finely chopped onion
1 celery rib, chopped fine
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 carrot, chopped fine
1/2 cup of finely chopped scallion (can substitute onion)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
do not add salt because of the sausage
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup ketchup
1 1/2 pounds of ground chuck
3/4 pound of spicy ground pork sausage (or use Italian sausage - 1 sweet, 1 hot)
(NOTE: many versions of meatloaf call for ground veal as well. I would experiment with a third each of beef, pork, and veal.)
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten slightly
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves These are all approximate measurements because meatloaf is the kind a thing that I have just never measured., well the exception on the eggs

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2 In a large heavy skillet cook the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, and scallion in butter, over moderate heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Cover and stir occasionally until the carrots are tender, about 5 more minutes. Stir in salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/3 a cup of ketchup. Cook for 1 more minute. 3 In a large bowl, combine the meats, eggs, breadcrumbs, vegetables, and parsley. Form into a loaf and put into a rectangular baking pan. Cover loaf with remaining ketchup. 4 Bake meat loaf in oven for 1 hour. Serves 4 to 6.
Sooooooooooo good leftover for samiches the next day.

MEAT LOAF - weird, but true : - )

2007-10-09T08:02:00.000-04:00

I have a meat loaf recipe Bee, that I've been making for years and my handsome sweet hubby asks for it and now that we have kids my kids LOVE it but it's a funky one. There are others on our board (I remember others saying) who have great meat loaf so maybe they'll come along and post their recipe cauz this one, well, it's pretty polar. Love or hate relationship I say. You'll see.

The original recipe is from the red and white checkered Betty Crocker's cookbook, but I added one ingredient. Betchu can guess.

1 package frozen chopped broccoli or leaf spinach
2 pounds hamburger (now I use half lean beef, half turkey)
2 eggs or substitute
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs (about 1 slice bread)
1/2 cup smashed cheez-its
1/4 cup catsup (or salsa) depends on mood
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 pkg smoked sliced ham
3 slices mozzarella cheese cut diagonally in half for garnish (see, here's where you can tell it's the old 1960's edition......)

Rinse broccoli under running cold water to separate, drain. Mix hamburger, eggs, bread crumbs, smashed cheez-its, catsup, milk, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, and oregano. Pat hamburger mixture into rectangle, 12x10", on larger piece of wax paper. Arrange broccoli on hamb. mixture almost to edge, sprinkle with salt. Arrange ham on top of broccoli. Roll up rectangle carefully beginning at long side using wax paper to lift. Press edges and ends of roll to seal.

Place on rack in shallow roasting pan. Cook uncovered in 350* oven 1 1/4 hours. Overlap triangles of cheese on top and cook just until cheese begins to melt, about a minute longer. Garnish with celery leaves if desired. (Again, old oooooold cookbook.)

8 servings. (At our house it's 4 or 5 servings.)

The ham makes the center of the meat loaf roll slightly pink sometimes.

2007-10-09T05:50:00.000-04:00

I need a meat loaf recipe. I make it once in a while but I don't have a really good recipe to follow so it's different everytime. Even when it's really good, I can't remember what I did! Can y'all help?

Must be soup weather...

2007-10-07T20:34:00.000-04:00

Tortilla Soup

At first glance this looks to be over the top complicated. It’s not at all, read thru the recipe first. This will fill four good size soup bowls

I have had many different versions of this soup - some are good and some are very bad. Either too hot with spice, too watery with no depth of flavor. That's why I ROAST the vegetables before putting them in the soup.

Here we go.............

Start out by preheating your oven 400 degrees

2 red peppers cut in chunks
1 large onion chunks
3 large carrots large chop

Place all the veggies on a baking sheet, sprinkle with oil of your choice, salt and pepper toss to coat. bake for about 20 minutes.

My love for Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes is well known, I had some leftover chicken breast about two good size that I diced up and some of my mean green sauce** see below

After the veggies are roasted and cooled some, I added to the chopped chicken, poured the mean green sauce over the chicken and added a half a container box of low sodium chicken broth. Let that simmer for a bit and added my can of fire roasted tomatoes, added the remainder of the low sodium chicken broth and let simmer for about half hour. Had a can of white hominy, rinsed it well and added that to the pot. Now remember the mean green sauce already has a lot of seasoning so extra is not need. Taste as you go. If you don't have a fondness for hominy you could use potatoes small chop

Once the hominy is heated thru it tends to thicken the soup, so I added another box of low sodium chicken broth.

Garnished with tortilla strips* slices of avocado, lime wedges and some fresh cilantro. I had made corn muffins earlier and added a small can of chopped green chiles to the batter.

If you want more spice, dice very, very finely a jalapeno pepper and add just at the end. Find the similar recipe here at the Muir Glen site. Try it if you like spicing, adjusting it if you don't. Dang this was good. Although a few zantacs were passed around at the completion on the meal.

*Tortilla strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
Three 6-inch corn tortillas, cut into ¼-inch strips
While the soup is cooking, prepare the tortilla strips. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tortilla strips in a single layer. Cook for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally with tongs, until the strips are light brown and crispy. Transfer the strips to a plate lined with a paper towel.

**Mean Green Sauce
1 can of Herdez Salsa Verde, or something that has tomatillos, onions, serrano peppers, salt, and cilantro.
1/2 ripe avocado
about 1/2 cup cilantro, packed
one serrano pepper, no seeds

Blend this in a food processor until smooth. Add salt to taste or extra serrano peppers if you like it hotter. Strain out all the seed.

Now here's the odd part, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for about five minutes. Don't boil, just simmer, this isn't a reduction. Thin with a bit of water or chicken broth. This is a real thin sauce. Maybe as thin as tomato juice. Cool and refrigerate. Can be kept in the fridge for a few days.

Cactus

OMG GARLIC SOUP

2007-10-07T13:36:00.000-04:00

OK went to friends' last night for dinner and Clay cooked chicken piccata for dinner with garlic mashed potatoes and a salad. But here's the star that stole the show. The reeeeeeeally big shoooooow. THE GARLIC SOUP oh yeaaaah. Guaranteed this'll be in the top three of the easiest soups you'll ever make. It's not hearty, it's a broth-type soup. You gotta have crusty toasted bread with it so you can sop. Here's what he did.

5 large cloves garlic
olive oil
Sazon Goya flavor packet
2-3 baby carrots

Chop five cloves of garlic and saute them in olive oil until they barely barely have a little color, really just a minute or so.

While garlic is going, pour two boxes of chicken stock in a dutch oven and turn eye on med-high. Add 1 cup water, or more to taste.

Sprinkle in Sazon flavor packet (this is saffron, or that's the biggest flavor I tasted in it). He gave me some packets to bring home but the ingredients aren't on the individual packets. The powder is very yellow so I'm pretty sure I'm right on the saffron.

Put carrots in a parmesan cheese grater and grate into the soup.

Turn soup down to medium low and cover, let simmer.

THAT'S IT. It doesn't take any time for the carrots to cook since they're grated, so it's almost done right away.

I'm telling you I ate TWO bowls of the stuff. My ten year old SON even ate a bowl. I can see all KINDS of possibilities for using this as a base for other soups, too. I bet it freezes well. I bet you could throw in just about any seafood, pasta, you name it.

Clay got this recipe from the chef of an oceanside restaurant at Fernandina Beach where they charge an arm and a leg for a bowl of it......

Tie

Incredibly Delish - Baby Back Ribs like Applebee's

2007-10-06T23:40:00.000-04:00

I've always been hesistant to try cooking ribs at home..... Can't tell you why, the thought just intimated me. Found this recipe - it's quite easy and the best thing is listening to everyone's "Hmm, Hmm Good!". Even my husband (who is not a rib fan) has requested them over and over. I make extra sauce and freeze it for the next time......

~~janice~~

Baby Back Ribs like Applebee's®

Boiled, brushed with sauce, then broiled. These ribs are tender and full of zesty flavor.
Serves: 2-4
Prep. Time: 1:15

3 lbs. pork baby back ribs - cut in 2-4 sections
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbls. dark brown sugar
3 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. liquid smoke (see Notes below)
1/2 tsp. salt

-Place ribs in a large pot and fill pot with enough water to cover ribs.
-Bring water to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, or until ribs are fork tender.
-While ribs are boiling, combine remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
-Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring often, for 30 minutes, or until slightly thickened.--Place boiled ribs, meat side down, on a broiler pan.
-Brush with half the sauce mixture and broil 4"-5" from heat for 6-7 minutes.
-Turn ribs over, brush with remaining sauce, and broil additional 6-7 minutes, or until edges are slightly charred.

Notes: Liquid Smoke is a natural flavoring used to add a smoky flavor to foods. The product is produced by burning hardwood chips and condensing the smoke into a liquid form. It is readily available in the U.S. in the spice or condiment aisle of a grocery store. There is no substitute for this ingredient; if you don't have it, simply omit it.

Comments about recipe -
My family has never had better tasting ribs than these.
We love this recipe!!
I will never make ribs any other way.
These ribs were possibly the best we have ever had.
These ribs were awesome! We rated them a 5 out of 5 napkin recipe!
Wow! Incredible recipe! Meat was falling-off-the-bone tender, and sauce was wonderful! Had husband and 3 picky kids begging for more. I'll definitely be making again soon!

Credit - Robbie's Recipes - http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/

Asian Slaw - YUMMY!! YUMMY!! YUMMY!!

2007-10-06T23:35:00.000-04:00

A neighbor made this last year for a community gathering...... It was the first time I ever remember the guys standing around a table telling everyone "You have to taste this salad" !!! It's easy and it is soooooo good. I usually make it up 1 1/2 days ahead of time..... it gets better and better each day.......

Asian Slaw

1 (16oz) package of slaw mix
2 (3 oz) packages beef flavored ramen noodle soup mix (I like more noodles so I add an extra package of noodles - I don't use the 3rd flavoring packet)
1 Cup Sliced almonds, toasted
1 Cup Sunflower kernels
1 bunch Green onions, chopped
½ Cup Sugar
¾ Cup Vegetable oil
1/3 Cup Vinegar

Remove flavor pockets from soup mix and set aside;

Crush noodles. Place noodles in bottom of a large bowl.

Top with slaw mix; sprinkle with almonds, sunflower kernels, green onions.

Whisk together contents of flavor packets, sugar, oil & vinegar….. Pour over slaw mix.

Cover and chill 24 hours. Stir before serving……

Yields 8 - 10 servings……Enjoy !!!

~~janice~~

GRANDMOTHER'S ANGEL BISCUITS

2007-10-06T17:34:00.000-04:00

Here you go, Beezie~

5 cups unsifted plain flour
1/4 c. sugar (this is the original recipe, but I use only about 2 T.)
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. shortening
1 pkg. dry yeast
2 T. warm water
2 c. buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Dissolve yeast in warm water and add with buttermilk to dry mixture. Mix well. Turn out on lightly floured board; add more flour if necessary, only knead enough to make a smooth dough, and roll out to 1/4" thickness. Brush with melted, unsalted butter.

I use a snuff tin for an angel biscuit cutter so the biscuits are petite. My Grandmother always did that. She would always get my DH to go to the grocery store and buy the snuff for her so no one thought she dipped. ;- )

Bake at 400* for 15 minutes, less if you have a hot oven. Check often - these are great just lightly brown on top.

These are awesome with country ham in the middle, a bowl of cinnamon applesauce, and a cup of fresh, strong coffee.

Not sure where to do this

2007-10-06T17:10:00.000-04:00

Tiedye, could we please get the recipe for angel biscuits, too? I wasn't really sure where to post this question. Somebody tell me if there is a better way.