S'MORE cookie Bars

Anyone who knows me, knows that I can't resist a scrumptious campfire roasted marshmellow sandwhiched between chocolate and graham crackers! I absolutely adore this campfire treat. The weather has been chilling down and I have had this thought in my head to make a cookie bar in my oven or to try a smore cupcake. So, I googled around and found this gem of a site. This is where my recipe stems. A loves them, I liked them. I would add a bit more chocolate for my taste. But over all another great recipe!

Please note that I doubled this recipe and I used a cookie sheet to make my bars. The dough does rise slightly but is perfect! I also used 10 bars of hershey chocolate. It came in packs of 6. Hindsight for my tastes. I would use all 12 bars of chocolate. I also used about 12 oz. of fluff.DIRECTIONS
S'more Cookie Bars
•1/2 cup butter, room temperature
•1/4 cup brown sugar
•1/2 cup sugar
•1 large egg
•1 tsp vanilla extract
•1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
•3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
•1 tsp baking powder
•1/4 tsp salt
•2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (hershey)
•1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2.In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

3.Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together). I lightly floured the service rolled the dough out and then used a spatula to help lift the dough to place onto the fluff. Another helpful tip is to butter your hands so the dough does not stick to your hands.
4.Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

This is the only pound cake that my husband loves. It his the recipe that his mother has made for years and it is scrumptious! It is sweet, and buttery and has a light crystalized crust! It's just perfect and I take delight in sharing it with you.

SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE

6 eggs
3 cups sugar
2 sticks softened butter
8 oz. sour cream
1 TBL sp. vanilla
3 cups self rising flour

Add butter and sugar cream together, mix in each egg, add vanilla and sour cream, then stir in flour until well blended. Batter will be thick.
My husband had just added all of the ingredients at once and it still came out great. So, this must be a fool proof recipe, which is one more reason why I love it!
Enjoy
Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until center is cooked all the way through.

Halloween Owl

This guy is so cute and easy to make!
Take chocolate moon pies
oreo cookies
miniature mm's. I only had chocolate raisins, so this made the eyes, but the mm's are so much cuter.
I piped left over orange frosting for the nose but you could use candy corn for the nose. I detest candy corn, so I didn't bother buying any.

Open moon pie, seperate oreo cookie and attach cookies to moonpie with melted chocolate or with frosting. Apply mm's for eyes and candy corn for nose or pipe both with frosting.

witches hats

Witches hats

Please take keebler stripe it rich cookies,
hershey kisses
and canned cream cheese frosting. (tint to your favorite halloween color)
Fill frosting into a sandwhich bag, snip the corner. Add frosting to the bottom of the hershey kiss and stick to cookie. Pipe a rim around the hershey kiss, and make a bow. OR you can just pipe a ridge around the kiss. Decorate as you please.

witches broom sticks!

Very easy and simple to make!

Take your favorite cookie recipe. We used snickerdoodles for these.
and use piroutte rolled chocolate wafers. Pepperidge Farms make these or you can use pretzel sticks for the broom. Roll your cookie into a ball and flatten slightly.
Use a fork to make the broom shape.

Spiderweb pizzas!

I love woman's day and this is what I found! Please go here for the professional version.


Ingredients needed:
Jar of speghetti sauce
personal pizzas or english muffins
olives
string cheese


One English muffin and cut in half.

Add speghetti sauce to the top of muffin

Add pepperoni to muffin and sauce

Take string cheese and pull apart very thin strips and make 3 circles in around the muffin. Then add string parallel to the circles and your web is made.


For one spider you will need 3 olives

Take one olive and cut it in half length wise. You now have the body for two seperate spiders.

Take another olive and cut in half to form circles.

Take your third olive and just snip off the tip of the olive on both sides. This is the head of the spider.

GHOSTLY Pancakes

I have always been a huge fan of chocolate chip pancakes and even more so chocolate chip waffles! Being Halloween we decided to make chocolate chip ghosts! YUM YUM GOOD!
Her pancakes look a bit better than mine but I am quite sure mine taste better. But, I do just adore gourmet mom! Check her out.

GHOSTLY shepherds pie

A simple quick way to get the kids excited for fall and all its festivities.
Shepherds pie is one of my oldest daughter's favorite dinners. How lucky we are that it is simple and easy to make. Tonights dinner was compliments of the man of house.


lb ground beef
handful of dry minced onion
1 bag (12 oz) frozen mixed vegetables (we were out so we used, corn,peas and beans)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Mashed potatoes.
Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray. Add beef and onion; cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.

2. Add frozen vegetables, Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender.

3. Prepare your mashed potatoes

4. Start by layering your dinner, into a 9x13 pan. (the grave yard)

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are set and mixture is thoroughly heated.

6. Take a portion of the mashed potatoes and put it into a pastry bag. Be sure to have a large tip. Or use a freezer bag and cut a hole in the corner and pipe out mashed potato ghosts.
Garnish with peas for eyes or I used chocolate chips! HEY, chocolate isn't bad on mashed potatoes!

Homemade Girl Scout Tagalong cookies

These are A's favorite Girl Scout cookies and my second most favorite cookie. Because I adore Chocolate and peanut butter! HOLY BATMAN!! I have died and gone to heaven and seriously will never waste $4.25 on Tagalong cookies again!
I have fell in love with this blogger because she has found the perfect Girl Scout cookie recipes and more importantly she has shared them with the whole world!
The basic cookie dough is like a thimble cookie recipe.
I chose not to melt the peanut butter and add it to a pastry bag. I chose to pat
mine out. It works beautifully, why add another step if it is not needed?? But, if you would like to melt it down, put in a bag and cool it down and then pipe it on your cookie then knock yourself out! I also chose to melt the chocolate into a very fluid state and have the cookies lined up on a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet butted next to each other and I chose to pour the chocolate right over the top of them. (like a candy factory) Once they cooled I then dipped the bottoms into melted chocolate. If I needed more chocolate I chilled the cookie sheet, scraped it into the bowl and heated in the microwave again!

Homemade Tagalongs (a.k.a. Peanut Butter Patties)
Cookies
1 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk. The dough should come together into a soft ball.
Take a tablespoon full of dough and flatten it into a disc about 1/4-inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Cookies will not spread too much, so you can squeeze them in more than you would for chocolate chip cookies. (Alternatively, you can use a cookie cutter, as described in the post above).
Bake cookies for 11-13 minutes, until bottoms and the edges are lightly browned and cookies are set.
Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, use your thumb or a small spoon to make a depression in the center of each cookie
Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (natural or regular)
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar*
generous pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
about 8-oz semisweet chocolate

In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, salt and vanilla. When the mixture has come together,
(I chose to omit the microwave part)

heat it in the microwave (again in short intervals, stirring frequently), until it is very, very soft. Working carefully with the hot filling, transfer it to a pastry bag (or plastic bag with the tip cut off) and pipe a generous dome of the filling into each cookie’s “thumbprint”.
(Once the mixture has come together just pat out and put on top.)

Chill cookies with filling for 20-30 minutes, or until the peanut butter is firm.
Melt the chocolate in a small, heat-resistant bowl. This can be done in a microwave (with frequent stirring) or on a double boiler, but the bowl of melted chocolate should ultimately be placed above a pan of hot, but not boiling, water to keep it fluid while you work.
Dip chilled cookies into chocolate, let excess drip off, and place on a sheet of parchment paper to let the cookies set up. The setting process can be accelerated by putting the cookies into the refrigerator once they have been coated.

Makes about 3-dozen
*You might need slightly less sugar if you’re using the conventional peanut butter, as it tends to be a bit sweeter. Taste the filling before using to make sure you like the sweet/savory balance.

TIPNUT.COM

I have been hanging out here. I absolutely adore this place and hope that you do too! It has everything you would ever want to know about. Since our blog is the place I want our children to turn to. There will be some things taken directly from this wonderful site with a link back!

But you may find things on this site that I might not share. Please head there and be a subscriber too! Tell them I sent ya!

This is among the many reasons why I absolutely adore the internet.

PERFECT COOKIE TIPS

I found this great helpful hint from allrecipes.com and knew I just needed to include this for our family recipe book! I intend to print this blog to book when one of my children marry. So, that should be in like 5 to 10 years. LOL, but seriously!
I have been trying to perfect my Chocolate chip cookie recipe. They look so beautiful and plump as they come out of the oven but as soon as the cool air hits them they deflate like a flat tire! ::bummer::

If you have any helpful tips about anything kitchen related I would love to add it to the helpful tip section!

Perfect Cookies
By: Allrecipes Staff

Some cookies should be crisp and delicate, while others ought to be chewy and tender.
Troubleshooting

If you have a cookie recipe that you love, but aren’t getting the desired results, use these tips to get your perfect cookie:

•Flat If you want your cookies on the flat side, you can do some or all of the following things: Use all butter, use all-purpose flour or bread flour, increase the sugar content slightly, add a bit of liquid to your dough, and bring the dough to room temperature before baking.

•Puffy For light, puffy cookies, use shortening or margarine and cut back on the amount of fat; add an egg, cut back on the sugar, use cake flour or pastry flour, use baking powder instead of baking soda and refrigerate your dough before baking.

•Chewy Try melting the butter before adding it to the sugars when mixing. Remove cookies from the oven a few minutes before they are done, while their centers are still soft but are just cooked through. The edges should be golden. Use brown sugar, honey or molasses as a sweetener. Let cookies cool on the pan for several minutes after baking before transferring to cooling rack.

•Crispy For crisp, crunchy cookies, use all butter and a proportion of white sugar. Use egg yolks in place of a whole egg. Cookies should be baked completely. Let cool on the baking sheet for one minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

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Ingredients

Using the correct ingredients is key. Follow the recipe closely and measure ingredients carefully for best results.

Fats Cookies are made primarily with butter, margarine or shortening. Fats play a major role in the spread of a cookie--whether a cookie keeps its shape or flattens in the oven. Shortening and margarine are stable, and will help cookies keep their original unbaked shapes. Butter melts at a much lower temperature than other solid fats--it melts at body temperature, resulting in a “melt-in-your-mouth” burst of flavor. Cookies made with butter tend to spread out. Butter is essential in certain cookies, such as shortbreads; if they don’t hold their shape, consider lowering the amount of butter, sugar, or baking soda in the recipe. The amount of fat also affects the cookies: in general, more fat equals flat, crispy cookies while less fat equals puffier, cake-like cookies. Whipped spreads are not suitable for baking: use solid sticks of margarine instead.

Flour Flour also affects how cookies behave. Most cookie recipes call for all-purpose or pastry flour. Both bread flour, with its high protein content, and cake flour, which is high in starch, produce cookies that tend to spread less. (The gluten in the bread flour and the absorbant starch in cake flour are responsible for the similar results.) Higher flour-to-liquid ratios are needed in shortbread and crumbly-textured cookies.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda Baking powder and baking soda are the two most common leaveners in cookies. Baking soda is simply bicarbonate of soda, while baking powder is a combination of bicarbonate of soda plus cream of tartar, an acidic ingredient. Baking soda neutralizes the acidity of the dough, allowing the cookies to brown in the oven. Since baking powder already contains its own acid, it will not reduce the acidity in the dough, and the resulting cookies will be puffier and lighter in color.

Sugars Like fats, sugars liquefy in the oven. The type and amount of sugar used play a big role in cookie performance. White sugar makes a crisper cookie than brown sugar or honey. Cookies made from brown sugar will absorb moisture after baking, helping to ensure that they stay chewy. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes contain both brown and white sugars. If you lower the amount of sugar called for in a cookie recipe, the final baked cookie will be puffier than its high-sugar counterpart.

Eggs and Liquids Eggs are a binding agent. Liquids can either cause cookies to puff up or spread. If egg is the liquid, it will create a puffy, cake-like texture. Just a tablespoon or two of water or other liquid will help your cookies spread into flatter and crisper rounds. Egg yolks bind the dough and add richness but allow a crisp texture after baking, whereas egg whites tend to make cookies dry and cakey. To make up for the drying effect of the egg whites, extra sugar is often added. This is why cookies made with just egg whites tend to be so sweet--think of macaroons.

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Mixing
Cookies are not as delicate as cakes, but proper mixing is still important. Some recipes require a creaming step in which the fat and sugars are beaten together until light-colored and fluffy. Other cookies require a sandy texture, so the fat is cut into the flour. Over-mixing can incorporate too much air into the dough, resulting in flat, overly spread-out cookies. Follow the recipe instructions. Once you combine the dry and wet ingredients, mix until just combined.

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Temperature
Unless otherwise specified, ingredients should be at room temperature before mixing. Cookie dough that is chilled before baking will hold its shape better. Rolled and cut-out cookies should be refrigerated before baking for sharper, clearer edges. Drop cookies, such as chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies, can be at room temperature before baking; the spoonfuls of dough will spread and flatten out to the desired result.

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Equipment and Baking

Different baking sheets and ovens produce different results. Thin baking sheets may allow the bottoms to brown too fast. Special insulated baking sheets allow air movement and help cookies bake evenly, but they can be expensive. Semi-thick rimmed baking sheets--also called jellyroll pans--are available just about everywhere, and are a fine multipurpose baking choice. Rather than greasing each baking sheet, consider investing in a roll of parchment paper or a nonstick pan liner to make cookie removal and clean-up easy.

Follow the recipe’s instructions for baking. Invest in an oven thermometer to be sure your oven temperature is calibrated correctly. Generally, cookies are baked in a moderate oven--350 degrees F (175 degrees C)--for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. For chewy cookies, allow them to cool on the pan for 3 to 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. For crispier cookies, let cool for one minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

Samoa or Caramel Delights Girl Scout Cookie bars

These have always been my favorite Girl Scout cookie. I adore these cookies. So imagine my joy when I stumbled across this recipe. This recipe is the same recipe everywhere. The caramel is soft and chewey and the cookie is light, airy and crunchy. mmmm...
I found this recipe on foodgawker.com, and more specifically here.

They are fairly simple to make but they take a bit of time because you need to toast your coconut and melt your chocolate but you must also wait for ingredients to cool between each step. I quickened the process by putting it in the fridge to cool. However, they are every bit worth the time. They will definitely be a welcomed addition to my Christmas cookie trays!

This is a three step recipe. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

STEP 1. COOKIE CRUST
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened ( i use 1 cup softened butter)
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F.

Add sugar and butter to mixer and mix until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg and vanilla extract.

Add flour and salt. At a low mixer speed until mixture is just blended. It does not have to come together. It will look like wet sand.

Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.

Press crumb mixture evenly into pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Until edges are lightly browned.

Cool completely in pan on wire rack before adding next step.
While cookie crust is cooling, reduce oven to 300 degrees.

STEP 2.
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) I used the entire bag
12-oz chewy caramels (my bag was 14 oz. I used the entire bag)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (I used a bakers sweet semi chocolate in a bar but choc. chips will work)
Paraffin wax or 1 tbsp. butter. I felt the chocolate was too thick, so I thinned it by adding a tbsp butter. If you have paraffin wax you can add this if you like.


a. Spread coconut flakes evenly onto cookie sheet and place on middle rack. Every 5 minutes turn the flakes until they are lightly brown and toasted.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.


b.
While coconut flakes are cooling unwrap caramels and place in med to large microwave safe bowl.
Add 3 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp salt
Place in microwave and stir every 35 to 45 seconds until smooth.

c.
When smooth stir in toasted coconut flakes until well blended.

Pour over cooled cookie crust. Use a greased spatula to spread coconut flakes evenly over crust.
Allow this to cool and set completely.


When cooled cut with a large knife or pizza cutter into even bars. Remove bars from pan and place on lined cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper.

STEP 3.
Melt 10 0z. of chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Stirring every 10 seconds until melted. (Once again, I thinned my chocolate slightly by adding 1 Tbsp. butter.)

Drizzle with spoon chocolate over cookie bars going in one direction, (side to side)

Drizzle with spoon chocolate over cookie bars going in opposite direction, (up and down)

Place cookie sheet in refrigerator until hardened.

Once chocolate has hardened remove from fridge and Dip the bottoms of each cookie into melted chocolate and place back on lined cookie sheet.

Return back to fridge to set. Cookies are ready to eat and should be stored in an air tight container in refrigerator or freezer.

Naan Bread

I wanted to make naan because I was inspired by a long ago friend who made naan for her family a few days ago and shared on face book.

I absolutely love naan bread. This recipe was decent and pretty good but not quite the perfect recipe for me. So, I combined the two recipes together and made my own.

I tried the recipe with the Indian woman and she messed her ingredients up. It is written baking soda and in the video she says baking powder. I went with the written of baking soda and the bread was a flop. I am sure she meant baking powder.

Then I made the recipe by the russian woman and this recipe was perfect and easy to follow until it came to adding the eggs and milk. There is not a measurement for that milk. I ended up winging it and adding enough milk that I thought was in the video.

I will make this recipe again because it was pretty close to being a good thing!

Once again, sorry for the lack of pictures. My camera card got corrupted and I was left with just this. Once it baked in the oven on 400 degrees on my stoneware it eaten so I suppose my guessitmate on the milk wasn't that far off.

Coconut Curry Chicken

A few friends from work have been trying different ethnic cuisines each month. We have tried Indian and Thai foods. This is an Indian dish that I particularly liked and tried to duplicate. After surfing the net through various recipes. I came up with one that I like. I am still working on how to make a more pugnent coconut flavor. In this recipe there is just a tease of the coconut flavor.
I found my recipe from Allrecipes.com and foodgawker.com

The saddest thing about this dish. Is my card got corrupted and I lost all my pictures. At least I have the final product but the picture does not do this dish justice!
I did this over the stove top in a skillet but to save time you could brown your chicken pieces and then toss everything in covered dish and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until chicken is super tender. Make sure your dish is covered with a lid or foil.

Coconut Curry Chicken
2 to 3 of pounds chicken (I had a whole chicken cut in pieces) I took most of the fatty skin off but left some for flavor.

1 can coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth

Cayenne Pepper to taste (our family likes it hot, I used 1 to 2 TBsp)

Curry Powder to taste Start with 2 TBLsp, (I used 2 1/2 and a few more dashesTBLsp)

Cumin Powder to taste ( I used 1tsp)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 TBLsp crushed garlic or if you have garlic powder you can add 1-2 tsp.

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tsp vanilla, (this enhances the flavor of the coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Wash and lightly dry the chicken. Put 1 TBLsp butter in hot skillet and add chicken pieces.

Brown the chicken seasoning it with salt and pepper. Add crushed garlic to pan.

Add the chicken broth and coconut milk.

Then sprinkle the rest of the spices and ingredients over the chicken and broth.

On medium to low heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
Cover skillet with lid and allow chicken to tenderize and bake in sauce.

Remove lid and stir the coconut around. (this will clump some)

Continue to simmer on stove for another 30 minutes or so UNCOVERED until chicken is completely done.

Once chicken is tender and falling off the bone. Remove chicken from skillet.

Add 1 TBLsp of butter and bring the sauce to a full boil. Whisk til smoothe and reduce.

I took 1/4 cup of the broth mixture and added 2tsp of cornstarch. Stir until dissolved.

Add to remainder of broth in skillet. Continue to whisk over medium heat.

Taste the sauce to make sure that it is seasoned enough to your liking. If it needs something extra add it here.

We loved it. It was good.
Serve over rice and homemade naan!


***********Baking directions*****************************

If you were to bake. Oven 375
Add your chicken pieces to a 9x13 pan.
Pour broth and coconut milk.
Add all seasonings
cover dish with lid or heavy duty foil.
Allow to bake for 45 minutes.
Stir sauce around to mix coconut mixture.
Bake another 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove chicken from pan and pour sauce into a skillet.
Add 1 TBLsp butter and bring to boil.
thicken, you can add more seasonings and some cornstarch to thicken sauce slightly.
Cook your rice and naan and ENJOY!

baked corn dogs!

My family likes corn bread and we like your occassional hot dog as well. This is a simple quick snack or dinner that can be thrown together in minutes.
If you like little corn dog bites you could cut your hot dogs in bite sizes and place them in your pan as well.
I do not have a twinkie pan. Click this link to see a twinkie or canoe pan. Which I would love to have. My family also adore pancake sausages on a stick. This pan would be perfect for that. I am sure I could save myself a ton of money making our own. So, in retrospect the cost for this pan might be worth it for us.
I found this recipe idea here

Ingredients needed.
Jiffy corn bread mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk.
8 hot dogs
oven on 350 degrees and bake for 15 to 20 minutes
*******************************************************************************

this is what I should have done
*******I would divide this mixture evenly into two 9x13 pans and instead of 8 hot dogs use 16 because you have another pan.**************.
This is what I did.
I used three jiffy corn bread mixes, so 3 eggs and 1 cup milk is needed.
Mix ingredients according to directions on box. I used one 9x13 pan and poured the mixture into a greased pan.

Serve with ketchup, chilli or mustard.

Cherry Coffee Cake

This was good but not great, in my opinion. Instead of resembling a coffee cake mine was more like a cobbler. But, that could be because we did not give it any time to rest or cool before we cut into it! Items rarely have a chance to cool in my house.

Ingredients:

1- 18 oz. yellow cake mix, divided
2/3 cup water
2 eggs
1 can (21 oz.) Cherry pie filling
1/3 cup butter (4 Tbl)
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 TBLsp. Water

Stir together 1 1/2 cup cake mis, water and eggs.
spoon into a greased 13x9 baking pan.
Top with pie filling
Cut butter into remaining dry batter, until mixture is crumbly.
Sprinkle over pie filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool.
while cake is cooling, combine 1 cup confectioners sugar and 1TBLsp water,
drizzle over cake. Serves 12

Pillsbury Donuts or Seminary Donuts

M, asked for these for her birthday cake.
These donuts have been a tradition in the Solomon Family. Bill's dad would make them for his seminary class every Friday morning and they have been passed down to each of his children, and then to his grandchildren. Everyone who spends the night at our house RAVES over these babies. They are so simple and good too.

PILLSBURY DONUTS
4 cans of Pillsbury rolls (we use 4 because there are 6 of us) but who am I kidding? I could eat a can all by myself.
wax paper
A skillet filled with oil, enough so rolls will float in oil. Not necessary to cover.
A medicine bottle, to create the hole.
Vanilla
milk
Confectioners sugar

Lay out wax paper on cookie sheet or counter.



open cans of bisquits and place individually on waxed paper. Use an empty medicine bottle to create the donut holes. Pierce through each one and save the circles for the end.


Heat oil in skillet until hot. Place as many donuts in skillet as you can easily flip with a fork.
Turn when donuts turn golden brown.


while donuts are browning make a glaze for donuts.
Glaze
confecioners sugar
vanilla and just a little water
Dip in glaze, let drip and then place on plate!

These should be called magical donuts because they disappear so quickly. I haven't met anyone who doesn't like them.

Polish Sausage casserole

I was down to the bare staples in my pantry and fridge. I had cheddar cheese, polish sausage and potatoes. Three main ingredients.

Sausage Casserole
1 kielbasa sausage
3 lbs of potatoes. (boiled, peeled and mashed)
1/2 onion chopped fine
2 cups of shredded cheese

Make potatoes as you would for mashed potatoes. Boil the water, peel the potatoes, bring to a bowl until tender, drain and then add 1 stick butter and 1/2 cup milk or chicken broth. Flavor with salt and pepper.

In a skillet brown kielbasa sausage and finely cut onion. Drain excess fat and set sausage and onion on paper towel lined plate.
If I had a blend of frozen vegetables, I would have blanched them in boiling water and then set those aside also.

Get a 9x13 baking dish and layer mashed potatoes, then sausage and onion mixture, then cheese, keep alternating layers until you have last layer of potatoes and then sprinkle with cheese.

Our family likes heat so I sprinkled red pepper flakes on the top just before serving.

Blueberry Smoothies

Blueberry Smoothies
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 pint plain yogurt, or non fat yogurt
1 banana
2 cups ice
Make mixture as thick or thin as you like by adding milk or water. (preference)
I do not add anything.
Honey can be added to mixture. It adds the sweet but I like to add a dollop
of homemade cool whip! Once you make your own, you will never by the store stuff again. YUMMY!

Home made whip cream

sorry, I didn't take a picture of just the whip cream.



Whipped Cream

1/2 pint whipping cream
3 TBS. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Chill bowl and beaters. Add cream to chilled bowl. Begin beating. Be careful not to whip too much or it will turn to butter. As the mixture begins to thicken. Remove beaters and add sugar and vanilla stir. Refrigerate once blended well.

Magic shell

When I was a kid I loved this stuff! My favorite is a double dipped vanilla soft serve icecream cone at DAIRY QUEEN! I order it to this day if my feet happen to find their way to a Dairy Queen parlor. The recipe with butter and using semi sweet chocolate chips remind me of my beloved DQ.

SORRY THE PICS aren't the greatest!
I researched many recipes and found different variances but have settled on highlighting this ladies blog, PLEASE GO HERE.

RECIPE

one cup coconut oil (if you do not have coconut oil, refer to recipe at bottom)

one to two cups semi sweet or dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Melt coconut oil over low heat in a sauce pan. Melt chocolate chips gradually in pan, stirring or whisking in a little at a time. Consistency should be very runny.

Store in a canning jar or a plastic container at room temperature. If stored in fridge, please re heat slowly.

Containers, WE use the melting chocolate candy containers from wilton or a washed out ketchup bottle works great too!

Just save a previous magic shell bottle and make your own refills! It is sooo much cheaper and better too.

You can change the look of magic shell by melting white chocolate. However the food coloring will resist bonding to the chocolate because food coloring is water based. However, if you use the wilton colored chocolate this would work.

Also the fat content can change your magic shell, as to using butter or coconut oil. The use of milk chocolate chips or semi chocolate chips will vary the flavor.

ADD INS to spice it up:: Drops to taste of mint, almond, lemon oil, lime oil or even orange.

>RECIPE, with butter

6 oz. bag of chocolate chips

1/2 stick butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Melt chocolate chips and butter in pan or microwave.

Once melted add oil. Mix well and spoon over ice cream

Ice Cream Cake

My dash wanted an ice cream cake for his birthday but at $30. I needed to be more frugal in this day. So, I set out to make him an ice cream cake and I will never pay for another cake again!!

This was my first ice cream cake attempted. I will definitely make another and fancy it up to look like one purchased at Baskin and Robins.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cake mix
1 tub of cool whip
1 carton of your favorite ice cream
1 4oz cream cheese and 2 cups confectioners sugar

The most important ingredient when making this cake is TIME! TIME and TIME

Prepare any cake mix,in a cookie sheet or two 9x13 pans.
I used a chocolate cake mix baked in a cookie sheet.

I baked it according to directions on the box. Let it cool and then cut the cake in half.

I bought a half gallon of cookies and cream ice cream, in a carton and let it sit on the counter to soften slightly.

I sliced the ice cream with a knife and layed the ice cream evenly across one layer of the cake. I used the entire carton.

I then placed the other layer of cake on top of the ice cream.

Cover with foil and freeze for 3 hours.
Remove from freezer and if the ice cream has melted down the sides take a serrated knife and cut edges so they are clean and even.

Frost with refrigerated cool whip, you can add food coloring for tint if needed.


Take 2 cups of cool whip and add cream cheese and 1/2 cup confectioners sugar. Put in decorative piping bag and pipe a scallopped edge around cake.

Freeze for an additional 2 hours and cake is ready to EAT!!! YUMMERS!!!

How to make Money Leis

Materials Needed:
3 plastic straws to be used as spacers. CUT these evenly. the larger you cut these the farther apart your rosettes will be. The smaller they are the tighter your lei will be.

Curling ribbon 6 to 8 feet.

Scotch tape

$50 to $100 crisp dollar bills
colored card stock - cut to the size of a $1 dollar bill

STEP ONE

Crisp dollar bill.


Fold dollar bill in half length wise


OPEN Dollar


Fold dollar bill into even pleats. IT takes awhile to fold. I folded two dollar bills at one time and then seperated.


Fold all bills into an accordian style


To add variety or color to the lei, you can cut colored cardstock to the size of $1 and fold the same way.


Fold the pleated bills in half and form to make a rosette. Tape both sides to form a circle.

Take curling ribbon. Make a large loop. You will take your 6foot ribbon and fold in half evenly. This will now become a 3ft ribbon. You may add tape to the ends of the ribbon to make it easier to thread through rosettes.

Make a double-knot in the looped end of the ribbon (middle) (not the cut ends).

Put the folded bill below the knot, between the two strands of ribbon. Make a double-knot around the bill to hold it in place.


I started out trying various methods. THIS method. I did not pre close the rosettes. You take your accordian folded bill and you tie the ribbon around the middle, half knot.

Secure that down tightly.

Add a spacer. Picture of what the spacers look likes with rosettes.



and then add another dollar bill and tie a half knot and then a spacer. Slide the dollar down to the spacer. Open the dollar and tape sides to form a rosette. REPEAT

Finish until all your dollar bills are used. You can use the colored cardstock to break the color and use as stretchers, so you could use less money. Because you are using such crisp dollar bills it is irritable to the neck. You can finish the lei off by using beads, or flowers or making a yarn lei on the end.
VOILA
It makes for a beautiful gift! These are very time consuming and I realize why it
My directions may be a little sketchy. Since this was the first one I made. It comes together once you just give it a try. I will have to make another and I will have better instructions.

How to make Candy leis

How to make candy leis.
saran wrap either clear or colored
spooled ribbon to tie and
Buckets of candy, little trinkets or large candy bars, gum etc. If you can wrap it in saran wrap it can be made into a lei!



.

HOW TO MAKE A CANDY LEI!
First you need to gather gum, chocolates or hard candy. You can use anything!
Use saran wrap or colored saran wrap.
Need a spool of curly ribbon, scissors

Carefully lay out about a yard and a half of saran wrap onto table.
(length may vary according to how long or short you wish your lei to be)

Lay candy across the middle of saran and space approximately 1/2inch apart

Once Candy is laid across saran, carefully fold the saran wrap up to top,
make sure candy laes flat and is secure in wrap.

Fold the saran again so that it is snug and makes a long tube with candy in middle.

Cut strips of curly ribbon into 2 inch strips.

Tie ribbon at the start of candy lei.

Continue to tie curly ribbon after each peice of candy (choc bar or gum) or candy cluster (multiple hard candies) to finish the lei off gather the end of the lei and tie curly ribbon snuggly around both ends. Then curl each ribbon by taking the scissors and pulling it tightly against the ribbon ends, the ribbon will curl.
You can make a gum lei, cookie lei whatever lei you wish. If it will wrap you can turn it into a lei.

How to make DUCT TAPE ROSE pens and pencils (3 posts 'til private)

Supplies needed: 2 rolls of ductape. One for the flower petal and green for the stem.
Scissors, and pens or pencils.

Time: At least 15minutes. AS you become more efficient it will drop.

Meet our Instructor: Yadira

Step one: Cut 20 2x2 inch squares, or 2.5 inches. It isn't crucial that you stick to these measurements. It will vary the size of your petals and no rose is perfect. (except for mine) because I worship perfection.

Step 2: Hold tape so that the long sides are up and down. You want to be looking at a rectangle tape.


Fold the right corner over, so that you leave a bit of the tape on the side, showing. The end result will look like an "L"


Step 3: Fold the left corner making a triangle and aligning with tape. You will have sticky tape showing from the bottom.



Step 4: Take pen or pencil and place in middle of tape. If you want to hide the eraser or the top of the pen, position the pen so that it is farther down the tape.


Step 5: Wrap tightly around base of pen or pencil.


Step 6: Keep adding petals. "like wrapping a bandaid. Start with petal slightly at an angle. You need to leave a bit of space with your finger but if you wrap the petal at an angle, this will allow for your petals to fall nicely. MAKE SURE YOURE PETALS ARE EVENLY SPACED!



Step 7: Cut 4 green squares and fold exactly the same way. These are the small green petals at the base of every rose.


Step 8: Measure pen and cut green tape slightly shorters. Take one strip of green tape and wrap evenly and smoothly around pen

:: If you are using a pencil, please make smaller strips and then wrap your pencil.
This will allow you to tear the duct tape off in strips so that you may still sharpen and use your pencils.

A huge thank you to Yadira for teaching us how to make these! This is how my daughters are earning money to get to Carowinds! They are selling pens for $2 each.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

These muffins are very moist and delicious!! The recipe was submitted by my sister, Jennifer.
If you are strange and do not like chocolate, please feel free to omitt the chips.

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 cup banana
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees bake for 20 minutes.
Mix wet ingredients into large bowl.
Mix dry ingredients in seperate bowl.
Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
Stir in chocolate chips and bake for 20 minutes!
Turn out onto cooling rack.

Elbows and tomatoes

Elbows and tomatoes

Ingredients are simple. However, My family LOVES LOVES this! It was a dinner thrown together. All the cupboards had for us that day.

Ingredients:

Box of Elbow macaroni

2 cans stewed tomatoes

parmesan cheese to flavor

1 can whole tomatoes

DIRECTIONS:

Cook macaroni according to directions on box. Empty contents of all cans onto noodles.

Cover with parmesan per preference.

Stir and chop a few of the whole tomatoes and serve hot!

It has a high flavor. Two thumbs up from my crew.

ARTICHOKES

We ate artichokes growing up. I remember going to my grandma's house and she serving these and then my mom would make them for us too. I would eat two by myself! I loved them.
What is it?
It is a big thistle plant that is native to the Mediterranean.
How to choose an artichoke?
Choose artichokes that are dark green, heavy, and have "tight" leaves. Don't select chokes that are dry looking or appear to be turning brown. If the leaves appear too "open" then the choke is past its prime.
How to store an artichoke?
It should be stored in a plastic bag and refridgerated.
How to cook an artichoke.

Peel off all dark or brown leaves.

I choose a heavy deep pot and steam the chokes. Make sure lid is secure. Add salt to water and bring to a boil. Add artichokes.
Put lid on and bring to a simmer 30 to 40 minutes. You want to make sure that your artichokes are tender all the way through.

Serve hot or chilled. Chilled artichokes have more flavor.

How to eat an artichoke?
Pull each leaf off the choke and hold the pointed end between your fingers and only scrape the bottom portion of the inside leaf. Serve with melted butter or olive oil and course salt. You may use lemon butter or mayonaisse.
Sorry, I couldn't pick my camera up to show how to pluck the leaves off and eat because I was eating it too fast.

Be sure to put out a plate for the discarded leaves.

Look, I think she likes it!

Yes, in fact, all of the children liked it! Mr. Incredible wouldn't try. wimp!

Most of the artichoke can be eaten all the way through.
When you get to the fuzzy part you have reached the prize.


Scoop the fuzzy part out with a spoon or just pull it off. The base of the artichoke is edible and is referred to as the heart of the artichoke. This is the best part! Dip in salt and butter and eat. Smile as it goes all the way down. yumm.

Bubble Bath Float

I made these bubble bath sundaes as teacher appreciation gifts and as Mother's Day gifts. They were really cute and fairly inexpensive.

Supplies needed:

Sundae cups and lids. (Go to DQ and ask if they will donate or ask any ice cream parlor)

Box of calgon powder bubble bath (pink)or if you use bath beads by vaseline.
(beads will not bubble like bubble bath.
Box of baking soda
A tube of red bubble oils. (At the dollar store they come in a sleeve of 6)
I could only find pink bath beads and not red. Red would simulate the cherry. They come in a sleeve of 10 for $1
Bath scrubbies They come in a sleeve of 6 for $1
hot glue
bendy straw

Instructions:

Fill parfait cup with 3/4 cup bubble bath powder
1/2 cup baking soda on top.
Should be layers. It should look like a float on the bottom and the foam on top.
Add scrubbie, for the whip cream
hot glue red bath bead for cherry and
insert straw.
Cover with lid, and attach a cute poem.

Make up a cute poem to go with your float and attach.
On the back of the bath bead box, it says you need to use 1/2 cup. I tried this in my own bath and it is plenty and leaves the water amazingly soft and wonderful!!! You will feel sooo soft!!!

The bath beads in a box is already colored a light pink shimmery dust.
It looks like the real MCCOY!!! Yep, I'm so tickled I almost wet my pants. roflrfol
and my clip art is of a strawberry float.
I switched the poem to read float instead of sundae!!
Find some cute cardstock and use a clip art and print the poem below.
**********************************POEM***********************************************
Poem by SHIRLEY THOMAS found at www.craftsayings.com
This very special sundae,
will leave you feeling great.
It's chock full of good things,
even though it can't be ate.

Take it in the bath with you.
Of course don't take a sip,
cause it may look delicious,
but it's made to take a dip.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Homemade Laundry detergent

Here's what you need-1 bar of soap. I used Dove Hypoallergenic (andrew's allergic to detergent)

1-5 gallon bucket with a lid

1 3/4 cup washing soda (i found this at Kroger)

1/2 Borax

Put 4 cups of water on the stove and bring almost to a boil. As the water is warming whittle your soap into the hot water.

Stir a lot!

Add 3 gallons of hot water to the bucket. On the last gallon pour in your 4 cups of soapy water so you should have a total of 3 gallons. Add 1 3/4 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup borax to your water soap mixture. Stir for about 5 minutes.

Put the lid on and let sit over night.

The next morning you have a nice slimy laundry detergent! Can you believe it...that easy. I haven't added the cost yet but I spend approx. $7 a week on laundry detergent and This 3 gallons of detergent cost 5.26 for all the supplies so I need to do some math and figure out how many loads I will get!

Homemade Yogurt

Yummy homemade yogurt!!!!

Ingredients: and things you need!

1/2 gallon whole milk

1/2 cup Dannon plain yogurt with live active cultures

1 or 2 boxes of jello (your flavor of choice)(optional)

2 cups of pureed fruit of your choice (this is optional)

1 crock pot

1 blanket

1 towel

Turn Crock pot on LOW

Pour into crock pot 1/2 gallon of whole milk (I have heard some people use powdered milk)

Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours

Turn crock pot off after the 2 1/2 hours and let sit for 3 hours with the lid on

After the milk has sat for 3 hours scoop out 2 cups of the warm milk into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of dannon plain yogurt -this is your yogurt feeder. The next time you make it you will have your own feeder.(with live active cultures)

Add one box of jello (some don't use any flavoring or some use flavored pudding for creamer yogurt-depends on your taste)

whisk and whisk and whisk

Add yogurt, jello and milk mixture back into the crock pot and cover with a towel and blanket.
Wait 8 to 9 hours before peaking!

Dip out 1/2 cup and save for your next yogurt feeder so you don't have to keep purchasing Dannon plain yogurt with live active cultures.

Add strawberries and bananas or fruit puree of your choice. My kids don't like any lumps in their yogurt so we pureed our fruit all the way up until it was smooth. We added a little sugar because my kids are used to Trix yogurt! Some people add honey to sweeten!

This will last 7-10 days in the fridge. Your feeder will last the same.
This recipe made 24 1/2 cups! I actually did a little math this is approx. 09 cents per container. I paid 52 cents per container of Trix yogurt last week with a coupon!

Orange Beef

Orange Beef

2 Tbls olive oil

1 lb beef flank or round steak, semi frozen

1/4 cup orange peel, slivered

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 Tbls cornstarch

1 1/4 cup cool beef broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1/2 tsp crushed dry red pepper flakes

Slice beef thinly on the diagonal. Heat oil over medium heat. Add beef 1/3 at a time, stir fry 3 minutes, until brown. Return all beef to the pan, add orange peel, garlic and ginger. Stir fry one minute.

Mix together cornstarch, beef broth, soy sauce, marmalade and pepper flakes. Add to beef, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute.

Serve over rice.

Basil Pesto Bowtie Pasta

Basil & BowTie Pasta Salad


1 lb bowtie pasta
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
4 oz fresh parmesan cheese, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
2 large roma tomatoes, seeded and diced small
3/4 -1 cup basil pesto
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 1/2 Tbls olive oil

Cook bowties according to pkg directions, drain and set aside.

Put olive oil in small saute’ pan, add pine nuts and garlic to room temp olive oil. Cook over a moderate temperature allowing garlic to infuse oil. Saute’ until nuts are just turning golden color making sure not to burn garlic (about 2 minutes). If there is excess oil* drain through a paper towel and return nuts to pan. Do not leave on paper towel as you do not want it to soak up all the flavored oil. Set aside.

In a large bowl fold the pesto into the pasta allowing it to lightly coat the pasta. Carefully stir in the nuts, cheeses and tomatoes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

*You should be able to see the oil on the nuts, but there should not be standing oil in the pan.

Parmesan Herb Monkey Bread

Parmesan Herb Monkey Bread

1 Pkg (about 30) frozen yeast rolls, thawed

1/4 cup melted butter or margarine

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbls each fresh (or one tsp dried) Rosemary, Basil & Thyme

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Grease fluted tube pan. Combine cheese, herbs and garlic. Dip each roll into butter and then roll in cheese/herb mixture to coat. Place coated dough evenly in pan. Let rise until double in size*.

Bake in a preheated 375 F oven 30 - 40 minutes or until well browned and top of bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan immediately to cool on wire rack.

*To hurry the process you can preheat your oven to 200 F, then turn the oven off and put pan of rolls in the oven to raise. Do not cover. When they are doubled in size turn the oven on to 375 and let them bake.

Chocolate covered Rice Krispies

These are fun for the kids. You can have them look much cuter. I think I saw these on Martha Stewart's site or Family circle or fun magazine. I was in the check out lane at the grocery store. All that matters is it was not my original idea.


Make your rice krispies according to directions on package. WE make ours in the microwave.

WE use a large glass bowl, one stick butter and one package of large marshmellows.

Place in microwave and cook for 3 minutes or until marshmellows double in volume
use 3/4 of a full box of rice krispy cereal.

Stir and pour out into a lightly buttered pan. You can use cookie cutters to shape your treats or just slice into squares.

IF you are going to make bunny treats.
Place krispies in fridge for 10-15 minutes. Remove from fridge.

Melt chocolate. Using white chocolate also. Tint the white chocolate with food coloring for a pink hue.

Immerse entire front and edges of crispy treat into either the chocolate or white chocolate. Lay on wax paper. Repeat this for all treats.

In a ziploc baggie or in a chocolate funnel add pink frosting and pipe eyes, nose, ears and whiskers.

Last stick a lollipop stick through the bottom. These are sold by wilton and can be found at any cake store or walmart in the baking section.

Chocolate Covered Oreos

This is a quick and oh so yummy way to make a holiday cookie.
We took chocolate and melted it in a glass bowl in increments of 20 seconds and stirred each time until it was a nice smoothe consistency.

If you are going to make lollipop oreo cookies. Skewer your cookie through the middle with your stick and let sit in the refridge for at least 15 minutes. ( A MUST DO STEP)

Then dip cookie completely into melted chocolate. Lay out on waxed paper.

1.

2.

3.

Dutch apple crumb

Dutch Oven Apple Crumb cake
Ingredients
2 cans (21 oz) apple pie filling (brand of choice)
12 oz Caffeine free Dr Pepper or 2 cans rootbeer soda
1 whole stick butter cubed
1 yellow cake mix or butter recipe
Cinnamon

Step 1. Heat 28 bricketts (coals) and then go in to assemble pie.

Step 2.
For easy clean up line dutch oven with foil.
Start with dutch oven and pour apple pie filling into dutch oven.
Sprinkle with cinnamon generously
Pour cake mix over top of mixture, evenly.


Cube butter over top of cake mix, evenly.


Pour 12 oz. of soda over the top.

Step 3.
Put lid on top. Take dutch oven to heated coals.

Step 4.
Place 10 hot coals on bottom. Evenly distribute and place 18 hot coals on top of lid. Allow to cook for 45 minutes.

This really is an amazing pie! YUMMERZ YUMMERS!

Coconut Cake

Duncan Hines Coconut Supreme Cake Mix (calls for 1/3 cup oil, 3 large eggs and water)
150z. can Cream of Coconut
12 oz. Cool whip or real whipped topping
Sweetened flaked coconut as much as desired.

Directions:
Bake cake as directed in a 9x13 pan. While the cake is still hot, poke holes in it and pour cream of coconut over cake. Let Cool completely. Spread on whipped toppping and sprinkle with flaked coconut. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Quick PB cookies

Quick Flourless/Sugarless Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup Splenda

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg, beaten

Cream together peanut butter and splenda, then stir in vanilla and egg. Scoop out in 2" balls and roll in a little splenda, then place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Press down with the back of a fork to flatten slightly. Bake at 350 F 8-10 minutes or until they start to brown on the edges and are firm to the touch. Cool on baking rack.

holiday Sugar cookies

Cream together:
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 TBL spoon milk or heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla


Add:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp Baking Powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 8- 10 minutes

Your dough should not be sticky. Add a little extra flour so that your dough is workable. If you are using cookie cutters, roll out dough to whatever thickness you would like your cookies to be. Roll out dough on floured surface and flour your rolling pin. Choose a cookie cutter or a glass and cut out shapes.

If you are not going to frost these cookies you could sprinkle a little sugar on the tops before baking.

Bake on greased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes. You do not want your cookies to show brown on top. They will be over baked. You will just barely begin to see the bottoms of the cookie turn brown. Another way to test if cookies are done is to lightly finger test. Touch cookie if it springs back it is ready to pull. If your cookie leaves an imprint leave in oven for an extra minute or two.

Remove cookies from baking sheet and let cool on wire rack.

Cool and then frost with cream cheese frosting

Bill prefers his sugar cookies thin and crispy. The rest of the family likes our cookies soft and thick.

Cream Cheese Cakes

Cream Cheese filling

I.
2- 8oz. softened cream cheese
3 egss
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

II.
vanilla wafers
cupcake fills

III.
pie filling

Put ingredients from step I. into blender and blend.
Put vanilla wafers into cupcake fills in tins
Fill 1/2 full with cream cheese mixture

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until set.
Let cool and top with pie filling.

Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars
preheat oven to 350 degrees
I.
2 sticks melted butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Mix together and pat into a 9x12 greased pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes

II.
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
5 TBL flour
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp Baking powder
Beat eggs together. Fold in rest of ingredients.
Pour into crust and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown

Hello Dolly Bars

I. 2 Sticks of buttter
2 cup crushed graham cracker
2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups nut meats
2 15-oz can of sweetened condensed milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1.Melt butter in 9x13 pan.

2.Sprinkle ingredients in order listed.

3.Pour condensed milk over all ingredients

4. Do not mix.

5. Bake in oven for 30 minutes

6. Cool at least one hour before cutting

Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2tsp. baking soda
2cups softened butter
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups semi sweet choc. chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

1. preheat oven 350 degrees (175 degrees celsius)
sift together flour and baking soda and set aside.

2. In large bowl cream together, butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.

3. Beat in instant pudding mix until blended and stir in eggs and vanilla.

4. Blend in flour mixture, stir in choc. chips

5. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased sheets

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, edges should be golden brown

Chocolate Covered PeanutButter balls

I have loved these ever since I was a child! I only make them during the holiday season.

Peanut Butter Balls

2 cups peanut butter (crunchy)
1 1/2cup peanut butter if you use smooth)
1 box powder sugar = 1lb box
2tsp vanilla

work with hand and shape into balls. If you like you can add 1/2 cup rice crispy cereal.

Melt 2 pkg. choc. chips and 1/2 bar parafane wax found in the canning section.

Once your peanut butter balls are rolled dip into melted chocolate and remove with fork, drip and place onto wax paper. Refridgerate when done.

Easy Holiday Cookies

Easy Holiday Cookies

These easy to decorate kid friendly holiday cookies were a big hit with my 3 year old granddaughter. You just start with the basic ingredients: 8 oz white chocolate candy coating
1 tsp vegetable shortening
36 butter cookies (shaped like a flower with a hole in the middle)
assorted sugar crystals and sprinkles for decorating

Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with a sheet of waxed paper.

Melt the white chocolate candy coating and the veg shortening by placing them in a bowl in the microwave and microwaving on 50% power at 30 second intervals, stirring between cooking cycles, until candy is melted and smooth.

Then dip the cookies, front side down, in the melted chocolate and place on the prepared cookie sheet.

Sprinkle with green sugar crystals (to give the effect of a wreath) and then decorate as desired with cinnamon hots, licorice strings (tied like a bow), or other sprinkles or decorations of choice. Allow to set until firm before storing.

As you can see, the only limitations are the boundaries of your imagination! :^)

Overnight Monkey Bread

Easy to make and nice to have for a company or holiday breakfast.

Overnight Monkey Bread

20 frozen dough rolls

1 (4 serving) box instant vanilla pudding

1/2 cup brown sugar

cinnamon to taste

1/4 cup chopped nuts (such as pecans)

1/2 cup butter, melted

white frosting* (optional)

Cut frozen rolls in half and place 1/2 of them (10 whole) in a well greased bundt pan. In a small bowl mix together the pudding, brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Sprinkle 1/2 this mixture over the rolls in the pan. Add the remaining rolls to the pan and sprinkle with the remaining brown sugar mixture. Drizzle melted butter over the top. Let stand on counter overnight, covered with a lint free towel.

In the morning, heat oven to 350 F. Bake 25 - 35 minutes until brown and no longer doughy in center. Turn out onto rack to cool. Serve while still warm. If desired drizzle with white frosting glaze.

*To make a quick white frosting glaze simply heat canned white frosting in a small saucepan over a low heat until it thins enough to drizzle over the monkey bread, or use it for dipping.

Viennese Kiss Cookies

These are a shortbread cookie with a candy kiss tucked in the top.

Viennese Kiss Cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into 1 inch squares

1/4 cup sugar

3 Tbls sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

24 chocolate kisses

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease 24 section (or 2 12 cup)minature muffin tin. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, butter and sugar. Beat*, beginning at slow speed and then gradually increasing to medium speed as flour is combined with butter, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add sour cream and vanilla. Beat* at low speed until soft dough forms.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls (or use a one inch scoop). Place 1 ball in each prepared muffin cup. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately** press kiss into center of each cookie. Let cool for 1 minute before removing from pans. Cool completely on wire rack before storing.

*I use the paddle attachment for my Kitchen Aid to incorporate the butter and flour, then switch to the dough hook after adding the sour cream and vanilla.

**Be sure to unwrap your candy kisses while the cookies are baking. You won't have time to unwrap each one when the cookies come out of the oven.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

A nice alternative to holiday Pumpkin Pie, this is the Cheesecake Factory recipe for Pumpkin cheesecake.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

5 Tbls butter, melted

1 Cup sugar, plus 1 Tbls sugar (divided)

3 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup canned pumpkin

3 eggs, room temperature

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 F. Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and 1 Tbls sugar in a medium bowl. Stir to just coat all of the crumbs with the butter, then press the crumbs onto the bottom and about 2/3 of the way up the sides of a 9" springform pan. Seal the bottom and sides of the pan with tin foil. Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla. Mix with electric mixer on med speed until smooth. Add the pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Continue beating until smooth and creamy. Pour the filling into the pan.

Place the pan in a water bath.* Bake 60 -70 minutes, or until edges are firm but the center of the cake still has a light "jiggle". Remove from oven and allow to set in water bath on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Remove pan from water bath and allow to cool completely before covering. Once cake is completely cooled, cover and store in the refrigerator at least 12 hours before serving.

*To make a water bath, place the spring form pan in a baking dish, such as a lasagna pan, and place on rack in oven. Pour hot water into the baking dish outside the springform pan until in comes up about 1/2 way to the top. Using a water bath helps distribute the heat evenly and prevents the cheesecake from cracking on top.

Maple Turkey Breast w/cranberries

Instead of brining a whole turkey as I usually do, this Thanksgiving I cooked a large turkey breast and used this glaze to finish it off. With Make Ahead Gravy (recipe published previously) for the side dishes this was a hit with the whole family.

Maple Turkey Breast with Cranberries

5-6 lb turkey breast

2/3 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup orange juice

2/3 cup maple syrup

2 Tbls butter

Bake turkey breast on rack in covered roaster pan at 325 F for 2 - 2 1/2 hours or until tender and juices run clear. Turn breast side down and wrap in tin foil, allow to cool completely before slicing.

When turkey breast is cool, bone and slice into serving size pieces. *Place slices in a 9X13 baking dish. Heat oven to 350 F. Place the cranberries, orange juice, maple syrup and butter in a 2 qt saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly pour the mixture over the turkey slices. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes or until juices bubble and turkey slices are heated through.

*Variation: To make this a one pan meal you can add canned sweet potatoes to the pan before pouring the maple syrup mixture over the meat.

Hot Almond Orange Drink

This is a nice change from the hot cider usually served at fall and winter parties, mulled orange juice. MMmmm Good!

Hot Almond Orange Drink

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 (6 oz) can frozen orange juice

3/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp almond flavoring

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp cinnamon

2 quarts water

Heat sugar and 2 cups water in a pan large enough to hold 3 quarts until sugar is dissolved.

Add remaining ingredients and heat until hot. Do not boil. Serve warm. Leftover beverage can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Make Ahead Turkey Gravy

Make your holiday meal a little easier by preparing this delicious rich gravy ahead of time. It can be stored up to 3 months in the freezer or a week in the frig. On turkey day just heat it up, add the drippings from your freshly baked turkey and enjoy! This recipe originally came from Women's Day magazine.

Make Ahead Turkey Gravy

4 turkey wings -- about 3 lb.

2 medium peeled onions -- quartered

1 cup water

8 cups chicken broth, divided

3/4 cup chopped carrot

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Planning Tip: Make up to 3 months ahead and freeze in an airtight container. Refrigerate 2 days to thaw. Reheat in a saucepan, whisking often.

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Have ready a large roasting pan.

2. Arrange wings in a single layer in pan; scatter onions over top. Roast 1-1/4 hours until wings are browned.

3. Put wings and onions in a 5 to 6-qt pot. Add water to roasting pan and stir to scrape up any brown bits on bottom. Add to pot. Add 6 cups chicken broth (refrigerate remaining 2 cups), the carrot and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1-1/2 hours.

4. Remove wings to cutting board. When cool, pull off skin and meat. Discard skin; save meat for another use.

5. Strain turkey broth into a 3-qt saucepan, pressing vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard vegetables; skim fat off turkey broth and discard (if time permits, refrigerate broth overnight to make fat-skimming easier).

6. Whisk flour into remaining 2 cups chicken broth until blended and smooth.

7. Bring turkey broth in pot to a gentle boil. Whisk in chicken broth-flour mixture and boil 3 to 4 minutes to thicken gravy and remove floury taste. Stir in butter and pepper.

At this point the gravy is ready to serve*, or pour into containers and refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

Makes 8 cups. Per 1/2 cup: 52 cal, 2 g pro, 6 g car, 0 g fiber, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 4 mg chol, 516 mg sod.

*I like to add the drippings from the turkey just before serving, but this is a great way to have delicious gravy if you opt to fry or smoke your turkey this year.

Cream Caramels

Another holiday favorite candy.

Cream Caramels

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup butter

2 cups half & half

Butter a square pan 8X8".

Combine sugar, corn syrup butter and 1 cup of half & half in a large, heavy saucepan. Heat to boiling over a medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining cup of half & half.

Cook over medium heat (at a rapid simmer) stirring occasionally, to 245 F on a candy thermometer. (You will want to watch it closely after it reaches about 215 F and stir in frequently as it nears the 245 F point to prevent scorching.)

Pour into the prepared pan and allow to cool at room temperature. Cut into bite size squares for candies and wrap individually in waxed paper, or heat some over low heat using more half & half to thin it out to make a dipping caramel. Store in an airtight container, put in frig if keeping more than a few days.

Peanut Brittle

A holiday favorite, this is easier to make than you might think. Make sure you use a good candy thermometer, the rest is a breeze.

Peanut Brittle

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp water

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 cup light corn syrup

3 Tbls butter

1 lb unsalted roasted peanuts

Butter 2 baking sheets.

Combine the baking soda, 1 tsp water and the vanilla in a small cup or dish. Set aside for later use.

In a large heavy saucepan combine the sugar, 1 cup water and the corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to 240 F on candy thermometer.

Stir in the butter and peanuts. Cook, stirring constantly, to 300 degrees. Watch carefully so mixture does not burn. Immediately remove from heat. Give the reserved baking soda mixture a stir to mix, and then add to the pot. Stir well. The candy will foam up.

Quickly pour half of the candy mixture onto each of the prepared cookie sheets and, using the back of a wooden spoon, spread the candy mixture out as thinly and evenly as possible. Place pans on cooling racks (careful, they will be hot) and allow to cool completely. Break candy into pieces and store in airtight container.

Tip: Candy does not do well in humid conditions. Try to plan your candy making for a day when the weather is dry and you are not cooking anything else that will steam up your kitchen. A rainy day, even in an air conditioned house, can cause problems with your candy.

Rosemary nuts

An easy, delicious addition to any holiday buffet.

Rosemary Nuts

1 lb unsalted assorted nuts (cashews, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, etc)

2 Tbls fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on your heat tolerance)

2 tsp dark brown sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbls butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine. Spread nuts on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven about 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Watch carefully so as not to burn.

While the nuts are roasting, combine the rosemary, cayenne, brown sugar, salt and melted butter. When the nuts are browned and still warm toss with the rosemary mixture to coat. Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

Minute Chocolate Mu'g Cake

Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

This is a recipe that I gave a 'do over' to get a more cake-like texture. The original recipe I got from KT at the view.

1 oversized wide mouth coffee mug (16 oz)

8 Tbls all purpose flour

8 Tbls sugar

4 Tbls baking cocoa

1 egg

6 Tbls milk

6 Tbls oil

6 Tbls chocolate chips

1/4 tsp vanilla

Place flour, sugar and baking cocoa in the mug and mix well with whisk to combine. In a seperate bowl combine the egg, milk, oil and vanilla and mix well. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients, mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Put the mug in the microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes. This is cool to watch. The cake will "climb" out of the mug while it cooks, but no worries, it won't run over.

Turn the cake out onto a plate. The Chocolate Chips will have settled to the bottom and made a gooey 'frosting'. Eat it while it is still warm.

This will serve two chocolate lovers or 4 smaller appetites.

Essence Chicken Tenders

3 Qts Peanut Oil

10 pounds chicken tenders

2-4 cups cornstarch

4-8 Tbls Essence, recipe follows

1 Tbls salt

Essence:

by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch

2 1/2 Tbls paprika

2 Tbls salt

2 Tbls garlic powder

1 Tbls black pepper

1 Tbls onion powder

1 Tbls cayenne pepper

1 Tbls dried leaf oregano

1 Tbls dried thyme

Combine thoroughly and store in an airtight container. Yield: 2/3 cup

To make the tenders:

Heat oil in a large deep pan to 375 F.

In a large ziplock bag combine 2 cups of cornstarch with 4 Tbls Essence, mix well. Rinse chicken tenders and pat dry, then shake a few at a time in the cornstarch mixture. Shake off most of the cornstarch and drop tenders a few at a time into the oil. Fry until golden brown, about 4-6 minutes, and then place on a paper towel lined pan. Sprinkle with salt and keep warm while frying the remaining tenders.

These are good as they are, or finish with the Orange Glaze recipe posted seperately here.

Orange Glaze for Chicken

Orange Glaze for Chicken





This is a delicious citrus glaze you can add to the Tsukune* posted seperately, use it to finish off the delicious Essence Chicken Tenders** recipe also posted seperately here, or brush it on chicken on the grill.





2 cups orange juice (pulp free)


1 cup pineapple juice


2 Tbls orange zest


2 Tbls minced garlic


2 Tbls minced ginger


2 Tbls minced green onion


1 Tbls sesame oil


1/2 cup soy sauce


1/2 cup mirin


1 cup sugar


1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes





Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and stirring occasionally cook at a slow boil until the liquid has reduced by about 1/2 and the mixture becomes the consistency of a moderately thick syrup (about 20 minutes).

*Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup to warm Tsukune in a skillet and cook tossing frequently until liquid reduces to a thick glaze. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds if desired.

**Place fried chicken tenders in a baking dish and toss with glaze. Bake at 350 F until glaze thickens, about 20 - 30 minutes. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and/or fresh chopped cilantro if desired.

Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Balls)

Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Balls)

16 oz ground chicken

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 Tbls sugar

4 Tbls chicken broth, divided

2 Tbls soy sauce, divided

1 egg

1/4 to 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

2 Tbls veg oil

3 1/2 Tbls water

Soak the onions in water and squeeze out moisture. Combine the chicken and onion with the sugar, 2 1/2 tbls chicken broth, 1 tbls soy sauce and the egg. Mix well. Add enough bread crumbs to be able to work with the meat mixture. Roll into bite size balls (or use a 1" scoop).

Heat the oil in the pan; brown meatballs on all sides. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes or until cooked through. Return tsukune to the skillet you used to brown and keep warm.

Combine the water with remaining 1 1/2 Tbls chicken broth and 1 Tbls soy sauce. Add to the Tsukune and cook over med heat until almost evaporated.

At this point the Tsukune is ready to eat, or you can finish it off with the Orange Glaze recipe posted seperately.

Sausage and Potato Skillet Meal

Sausage and Potato Skillet Meal

Quick, easy and delicious.

1/4 cup butter

2 Tbls veg oil

1/2 lb kielbasa sausage, sliced

1 large potato, washed and sliced thin

1/2 med onion, sliced thin OR dried onion flakes

garlic powder, salt, pepper

Heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Add butter to hot skillet and melt, then add oil. When oil is hot add potatoes to the pan. Toss to coat and cover. Steam 2-3 minutes to start potatoes cooking, then add sausage, onions and seasonings. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, or until potatoes start to become fork tender. Then remove the lid and allow the sausage and potatoes to brown, turning frequently with a spatula to ensure even browning.

Velveeta Cheese Soup

Velveta Cheese Soup

Cold weather is coming, and this is a hearty way to get your family to eat a bowl full of veggies! It's versatile as well. If you don't have cauliflower, use double the broccoli; don't like celery substitute more carrots. Make it your own. It can be made ahead and kept warm in a slow cooker, or tossed together quickly at the last minute. Use a food processor to do the chopping.

1 1/2 qt water

1 sm onion, chopped small

1 cup celery, chopped fine

2 1/2 cups potatoes, diced small

1 1/2 cup carrots, diced small

5 chicken bouillon cubes

1 1/2 cup chopped broccoli

1 1/2 cup chopped cauliflower

1 lb Velveeta Cheese

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Put the water, onion, cleery, potatoes, carrots, bouillon cubes, broccoli and cauliflower in a large pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. Stir in cream of chicken soup and cheese. Stirring constantly simmer until cheese melts (about 5 minutes). Do not boil. Serve immediately, or keep warm until serving time. Watch carefully so as not to boil or scorch the soup.

Apple Tart

Recipe and directions straight from Kraft foods.
This recipe was just OK. Mediocre even. But, I wanted to try something new.
1 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 15-oz. pkg.)

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

3 red and/or green apples (1-1/4 lb.), thinly sliced 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 Tbsp. flour 1 tsp.

cinnamon sugar 1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping. For best results use baking apples such as granny smith, or macintosh, etc.


BAKING instructions:
HEAT oven to 450ºF. Line 9-inch pie plate with crust. Carefully spread cream cheese in 6-inch circle in center.


Thinly slice apples and TOSS apples with sugar and flour; spoon over cream cheese.




Fold crust partially over apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

BAKE 25 min., covering loosely with foil for the last 5 min. Cool. Serve with COOL WHIP. Refrigerate leftovers.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Medium sized spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise, seeds discarded
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil,
salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
3 shallots, sliced thin
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley


Start with a beautiful spaghetti squash



Clean out seeds and discard




Line baking sheet with foil

salt and pepper squash and coat with olive oil
brush cut side and inside of squash with TBL spoon of oil and liberally salt and pepper.


Place on baking sheet cut side up

Roast for one hour or until squash is soft and brown. Allow to cool.

Draw a fork through the squash to form long spaghetti like strands. Add to frying pan and toss. Before serving add grated cheese and parsley.


While squash is cooling in a frying pan add 3 cloves garlic thinly sliced, 3 shallots thinly sliced and pepper flakes to pan. Cook until shallots are tender.
I had tomatoes that needed to be used so I roughly peeled them and coarsley chopped. I added to the garlic mixture and then added the squash! Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic and herb seasoning. Add squash last.

MMMmmmmmm... good. Everyone liked this! I knew they would.

Banana Bread w/buttermilk

Banana Bread

Please feel free to add any of the following as an add in:

1/2 cup nuts

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup cranberries or any fruit you decide

Ingredients:

¾ cup butter (softened)

1 ½ cups sugar

3 very ripe bananas

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

¾ teaspoon salt

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup nuts (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees,

In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar.

Mash bananas by hand and add to mixture.

Add eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, flour and salt. Stir in buttermilk and chopped nuts or any add in.

Step 2:

Pour into 1 or 2 greased loaf pans.

Step 3:

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean or almost clean). Be sure not to over bake. Bread is done when toothpick comes out clean or slightly clean.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Peanut Butter Brownies

1 pkg. brownie mix. Prepared in a 9x13 pan. (cakelike brownies)

Filling
1 cup cold milk
1 (3.4 oz)pkg. vanilla instant pudding and pie.
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 squares semi sweet baking chocolate
1 1/2 cups cool whip (don't thaw)
1/2 cup peanuts

Step one

prepare brownie mix as directed as brownies are baking begin step two.

Step two
whisk milk and pudding. Mix for 2 minutes. Mix well and cover and refridg. pudding while brownies are cooling.


Spread pudding mixture over brownies.


Step three
Microwave whipped topping and chocolate on high, for 30 seconds. Stir.
cook for 30 seconds again and stir, continue process until chocolate is melted.
The whipped topping gives the chocolate a more fluid feel.

Spread over pudding, sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired and refridgerate for one hour. Be sure to refridgerate leftovers too.

I got this recipe from Kraft food and Family magazine.

**************These are a hit************** We will be making them again and adding them to our Christmas trays. They are very rich and decadent so cut them in 1x1 or 2x2 squares.

Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

6 to 8 large chicken drumsticks. Boil in a skillet until cooked through.
2 medium onions or one large onion, cut into large chunks
3 to 4 medium to large size green bell peppers, cut into large cubes.
1 bottle of sticky finger bbq sauce or your favorite BBQ sauce

When chicken drumsticks are finished cooking remove from skillet.
Heat skillet with 2 TBL oil and add onions and peppers to skillet. Toss and cook until onions are translucent. Add 1/3 cup water and cover skillet with lid for 2 minutes. Remove lid and continue to saute'.

Coat chicken drumsticks with sticky finger barbeque sauce and place on baking sheet. Turn oven to broil and broil until slightly carmelized and brown. Turn chicken peices over. Coat with more sauce and broil again for 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken and place in skillet and toss onions and peppers with BBQ sauce over chicken peices.

Serve over a plate of rice or noodles. You could add watered down BBQ sauce to skillet to make a bit of a rue and reduce it down over medium heat and pour over rice.

Beef Broccoli

Beef Broccoli is one of the easiest dishes to make! Just start a pot of rice and dinner is ready in under 20 minutes.

BEEF BROCCOLI (6 to 8 people)

2lbs. fresh broccoli florettes/or frozen

Beef flanks

1/2 soyu sauce
1 1/2 TBL.garlic
1cup brown sugar
1 TBL. spoon ginger
1 cup water

Remove meat from pack and rinse. Place meat in hot pan and begin to brown. Add garlic when meat is nearly done. Just barely pink. Season with salt and pepper or lawry's salt. Remove from pan and place broccoli florettes into pan with 2tbl. water and place lid on pan for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove lid and add beef and garlic and soyu sauce, ginger and brown sugar with 1 cup water. Toss and season until flavors are absorbed. Add a little more water or soyu sauce to make a good broth and add more brown sugar or seasonings as needed. Turn heat up from medium to medium high. Remove when broccoli is still a la dente.
These measurements are all guessamations! I do a lot of my cooking by taste. If the sauce needs more tang I add a bit more soyu or if it isn't sweet enough I add brown sugar. If I need a bit of a different taste I sprinkle in a little more ginger or garlic. If the soyu is too strong then I weaken it with a half a cup of water or a bit less. Don't be afraid to try things out and change things up to the liking of your own family.
I did use a seasoning packet because I wanted to see if it was easier to use a pre made ready packet. YOU know what? It's not. I can do the same exact thing with the seasonings I have at home. But, If you like packet is very much the same. I just added more seasonings to our likening. Serve over steamed rice.

Chicken Cattiatore

I have had chicken cattiatore a few times and it should be made in a slow cooker. This is a perfect dish for company or on a busy night. A sure crowd pleaser.But, rushed the process and it came out Fan-tab-ulous!
I had the basic ingredients:

4 to 5 skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 cans tomato paste 2 cans water
4 cans stewed tomatoes
2 TBL spoons or season to taste (roasted garlic bell pepper seasoning blend) It is buy Mccormick and it comes in a spice jar
1 med to large onion, sliced thin
1 green bell pepper finely chopped
2 small cans of mushroom peices or 6oz. sliced mushrooms
2tsp. oregano
1tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp celery powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 TBLS. olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 Cup dry white wine

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker on low heat for 7 to 9 hours or high heat for 3 to 4 hours.

If you need to rush the process. Place chicken in a pot of water and bring to boil until done. Drain water and remove chicken.
In same pot add olive oil,onion, green pepper, mushrooms and white wine and cook until onion is translucent but slightly firm. Add all of the tomato sauces and paste and 2 cans water. Add all of the remaining ingredients and chicken and bring back to a simmer. Serve over steaming rice or pasta.

Orange Rosemary Ribs

This takes a little time, but is so worth the effort!

2 Racks (5#) baby back ribs
6 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped, divided
2 1/2 tsp klosher salt, divided
2 1/2 tsp minced garlic, divided
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, divided
12 oz orange marmalade
1 Tbls cider vinegar

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place rack in lower third of the oven. In a small bowl combine 4 tsp Rosemary, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp garlic and 1 tsp pepperflakes. Set aside.

Bake Ribs:

Rinse ribs, pat dry. Place on heavy duty aluminum foil and rub with combined seasonings; wrap foil tightly around ribs and place on a baking sheet. Roast 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until tender.

Grill Ribs:
In a small bowl whisk marmalade, vinegar and remaining seasonings. Cover and set aside.
Heat grill to medium high. Brush Ribs w/glaze. Remove from foil* and grill until golden brown.

As you can see from the picture, I elected to just open the foil and grill the ribs that way. They were very tender and I was concerned they would fall apart on the grill. The ribs browned just as nicely, and I think it helped retain the moisture.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

I made this for the first time about a year ago, and it has quickly become a family favorite. Make sure to check out the Hints for a Successful Cheesecake at the bottom. :)

10 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies (like oreos)
1/2 cup butter, melted
24 oz cream cheese, softened*
14 oz good white chocolate bar, broken into pieces
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbls vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

Preparation: Preheat oven to 300 F and butter the inside of a 10 inch springform pan. Wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum foil so that the foil completely covers the bottom and sides and is pressed firmly against the pan. (I use the extra wide foil so this can be accomplished with one solid sheet.)

Make the cookie crust: First crush the cookies in a food processor or with a rolling pin until very fine. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the melted butter with a fork. Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan until you make an even layer. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan and set aside.

Make the filling: Melt the white chocolate by placing a bowl over simmering water or using a double boiler. Stir the chocolate until smooth and set aside.

Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or a hand mixer) to beat the cream cheese with the sugar and salt. Continue to beat until smooth, then add the eggs one at a time. After each egg, beat the mixture well and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.

Add heavy cream and vanilla. Beat well. Add the sour cream and beat well at slow speed.

Give the white chocolate a final stir to make sure it is smooth and add to the cream cheese mixture. Beat well at slow speed.

Pour into the prepared springform pan.

Make a Water Bath: Place the springform pan into a high sided pan such as a lasagna pan. Place onto middle rack of oven. Add hot water to the lasagna pan. The water should come up the side of the springform pan at least half way.

Bake for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes (I find I usually end up baking it 5 - 10 minutes longer - just check it closely the last 20 minutes or so). When done, the cheesecake should be mostly solid around the edges but still jiggle a little in the center when you shake the pan. Remove from oven and let the cake stand at room temperature for about an hour.

Remove cheesecake from water bath and place in fridge (still in springform pan). Cool in fridge, uncovered, for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. When completely cooled you may cover with plastic wrap.

To remove cake from springform pan, run a knife under hot water, then wipe dry. Run the knife around the edge of the cheesecake. Unbuckle the springform and remove the ring. Run the knife under the cheesecake to remove the bottom of the pan. Carefully transfer to a large platter.

*The tub of softened cream cheese does not work as well as the solid bricks of cream cheese softened for an hour or so on the counter.

Hints for a Successful Cheesecake:

1) Always bring refrigerated ingredients (eggs, cream cheese, sour cream, etc) up to room temperature before using

2) Always mix at the slowest speed and for the minimal time that will accomplish the task. Over beating can cause the cake to 'crack' on top.

3) Always use a water bath as described above to bake a cheesecake, even if the recipe does not call for it.

4) Always butter the inside ring of the springform pan. This prevents the cake from sticking to the sides, those preventing cracking when the cake shrinks as it cools.

Cheesy chicken quesadillas

I found this wonderful recipe on Cynthia's blog. Cynthia and I have very similar taste buds!
Her pictures are better than mine and definitely more appetizing so please check her out for her pictures alone. This takes less than 5 minutes from start to finish.

*****DISCLAIMER*******
This recipe calls for a can of Campbells Southwest Style Pepper Jack condensed soup but they have discontinued making this soup. If you can find it follow the recipe. If you can not find this hot commodity please follow my improvised recipe.
"original"
CHEESY CHICKEN QUESADILLAS: I found the recipe here.

1 pound boneless chicken breast halves, cubed 1 can (10¾ oz.) CAMPBELL'S Condensed Southwest Style Pepper Jack Soup ¼ cup water 8 flour tortillas (8-inch), warmed Pace Chunky Salsa

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cook chicken in nonstick skillet until done and juices evaporate, stirring often.

Add water and soup and heat through. Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture on half of each tortilla to within ½-inch of edge. Fold over and seal. Add 1 TBLsp oil to hot skillet. brown each side. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa. Prep/Cook Time: 20 minutes Yield: 8 quesadillas

****************************IMPROVISED RECIPE***************************************

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 large can of breast of chicken 12.5 oz can or 2 lb. boneless chicken breast.
1/4 of a block of pepper jack cheese (cubed)
1 Tbl spoon red pepper flake add as much or as little to preference.
Heat ingredients in a pot on stove. Once cheese is melted then spoon on to flour tortillas and fold. Add 1 Tblsp oil to hot skillet. Add flour tortillas to skillet and brown. Flip and brown the other side. Remove and cut into wedges or eat whole with a dollop of sour cream and salsa on the side.

Fried dough and calzones

Ever since I was young the town I grew up in had an Italian Festival. It was due to the fact that the majority of the townsmen were all Italian. We were brought up on this stuff and I could smell the aroma of hot oil through the air when the festival was open. YUMM, such great memories. My children really like this and its really easy to do.

Frozen bread dough
oil
confectioners sugar
speghetti sauce
mozzerella cheese

Heat oil in a deep frying pan or iron skillet. Oil should be at least 3 to 4 inches deep. Deep enough to submerge dough completely in oil.
Lightly flour counter and rolling pin. Tear off a piece of dough and roll out slightly. Emmerge into hot oil. Oil should be hot enough that dough cooks fairly quickly. Do not over brown. Quickly brown and cook the other side. Remove and place on paper towels to drain excess oil.
Add butter and confectioners sugar or

sauce and top with mozzerella.


If you would like to bake or fry a calzone. Tear off dough and roll out on floured counter. Add mozzerella to center of dough, or you could add cheese, ham and broccoli. What ever stuffings you would like to add to the middle do so.
Seal edges. Place into frying pan and turn when brown. Keep a constant watch on your heat. You do not want it too hot or not hot enough.

If you choose to bake this. Please set your oven to 375 degrees or 400. Use an egg wash and baste the outside of your calzone, then lightly brush with melted butter. Bake in oven until done. 20 to 30 minutes.

No fuss Fruit pie

Mr. Incredible and family went to eat at a chinese restaurant and they served this really yummy apple dessert. I knew it couldn't be hard to make. So, I went home to do it myself.
I grabbed one can of lucky apple pie filling and one box of Pepperidge farm pastry sheets and a tub of vanilla ice cream. I then decided to look on line to see if they had a recipe! Of course, they did! It can be found here!

I followed the directions on the side of the box.
Thaw: 30 minutes
Bake: 30 minutes at 400 degrees

Nothing could be easier than this fruit pie made with Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets . Add your favorite pie filling—cherry, apple, blueberry or a combination.

ingredients
1 pkg. Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets)
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1 can or jar (21 oz.) fruit pie filling, any variety , any variety

directions
THAW pastry sheets at room temperature for 30 min. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Mix egg and water.

UNFOLD pastry sheets. Place 1 pastry sheet on baking sheet. Spread pie filling on pastry to within 1" of edges. Brush edges with egg mixture. Place remaining pastry sheet over pie filling. Press edges together with fork to seal. Brush with egg mixture. Cut several 2" slits in top of pastry.

BAKE 30 min. or until golden. Cool on baking sheet on wire rack at least 15 min. Cut into squares and serve.
Servings are for 9 people, but 6 if your last name is Solomon. Plate and compliment with a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream.

CORN FRITTERS

Again we had a lot of corn left over. I decided I would make corn fritters! These are really good! You could also add them to corn bread if you were going to have chille!

CORN FRITTERS
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups corn (you could mash these slightly)
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/4 c. flour, approx
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. salt

Oil for deep frying

Mix together all ingredients EXCEPT add just enough flour to hold fritters together. Drop by tablespoons in hot oil and cook 3-5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

I did not want to fry the fritters today! So, I chose to use your basic pancake recipe and I added 1 tsp more salt. They were good! Add a little butter and some syrup and you have a meal.

Carrot Muffins (cooked carrots)

Ok, the last of my carrots and recipes
Use cooked carrots once again.!

Carrot Muffins

2 cups warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
4 cups mashed/pureed carrots

DIRECTIONS
Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl combine eggs, oil and brown sugar; beat well. Combine egg mixture and flour mixture; Mix dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Mix just until blended. Fold in carrots. Spoon into muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes on 350 degrees. Let cool for 30 minutes before frosting or eat plain!

These are scrumptious!

Carrot soup

What to do with left over cooked carrots. Make soup of course! Basically, I just through whatever I had in the spice rack and in the refridge into this dish. A little bit of this a little bit of that. I didn't truly measure. If you like it add a little more or less. This is very adaptable to your taste buds!

CARROT SOUP!

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds carrots, peeled, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 TBL. ground cumin
1 TBL. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
4 cups (about) swanson chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of sugar

Add whipping cream to soup for a smooth taste.
I put a dollup of plain yogurt on top! This was highly flavored and very good!
I through everything in the pot, used my handy dandy braun mixer and pureed it. I allowed everything to simmer and then added more seasonings if needed.

Carrot Cake (cooked carrots)

I had a lot of left over baby carrots. I decided to make carrot cake. I love carrot cake, however my family not so much.
Your traditional carrot cake starts off with raw shredded carrots but I remember a recipe from my childhood that my mom would always make, and I liked it the best.

Her carrot cake called for junior carrots in a baby food jar. Surely, if I just mashed these cooked carrots it would work. VOILA' it is fantastic!

Please feel free to add any additional items to your carrot cake as you desire. My family does not care for nuts and half of them are allergic to them anyway. I adore walnuts on my carrot cake, but not IN it.

CARROT CAKE RECIPE

3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups flour
2 junior size baby food carrots BUT
I used 3 cups mashed finely almost puree'd, but leave a bit of texture.
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix eggs, sugar and oil, and vanilla together. Add dry ingredients to bowl.
Fold in carrots and Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Beef Stroganoff

This is what we always have when we have left over steak! This works well with any cut.

Beef Stroganoff

2 8oz bags of no yolk egg noodles
1 family size can of cream of mushroom
1 small can of cream of mushroom
Fill the large family can 3/4 full of milk
1 small can of mushroom bits
Salt, pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbl. olive oil.

Boil salted water and once water boils add 2 pkgs of egg noodles. While water is boiling prepare steak.
Slice steak into thin strips. Have at least 2 to 3 steaks left over.
Over medium heat lightly toast minced garlic and add meat strips to pan, pour entire can of mushroom bits into pan.
Drain water from noodles and return noodles back to pan. Turn stove on low to med. heat. Add steak and mushrooms to noodles.
Add cream of mushrooms to the top of noodles. Take large cream of mushroom can and fill 3/4 full with milk or heavy cream. Add to noodles. Stir until well blended and heated. If mixture is too thick add additional milk.

Chicken Ring

This is a fabulous dish and the fam just loves it! I found this recipe through Pampered Chef. But, I changed it up a bit, because that's how I roll.

Chicken Ring
1 cup mayonnaise
6 tablespoons Grey Poupon, ( I just squirted til I thought it was sufficient)
2 stalks celery
1 tablespoon onion chopped
3 to 4 chicken breasts cubed
4 slices bacon, crispy cooked, chopped or a 2 handfuls of bacon bits.
4 ounces (1 cup) shredded cheese (any)
2 packages of refrigerated crescent rolls (16)
or 2 large refrigerated crescent rolls (12)
I had 1/2 cup of craisins and it gave it a really nice sweet surprise.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Unroll crescent dough and separate into 16 triangles,
arrange triangles in a circle onto the 13-inch round stone,
with wide ends overlapping each other in the center and the points toward the outside.
Have a five inch diameter opening in the center of the stone. Scoop the chicken mixture evenly across the widest end of the triangle. Bring outside points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (filling will not be completely covered).

Bake ring 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven immediately sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.

Dream Cookies

I've been making these cookies since I could reach the stovetop to stir the pot by standing on a chair. My Dad brought the recipe home from the Navy after the Korean War. No bake and easy to make!

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 cups quick oats

In a medium size saucepan melt the butter, add milk, cocoa and sugar. Heat over med-high heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a rapid boil, then continue to stir and boil one minute. (Timing at the point is important to the finished product. To much boiling will result in dry cookies; to little and they won't set up.)

Remove pan from the heat; stir in the vanilla and peanut butter until mixture is smooth. Add oatmeal and stir until well combined.

Immediately pour into a lightly greased 9X12 pan (or spoon onto wax paper in individual size cookies). Allow to cool completely. Cut into squares to serve.

Yeast Raised Waffles

What's for dinner? Stuck in a rut? We like to have breakfast for dinner on occasion. I served these a few nights ago with hash browns, maple sausage and orange juice.

1 pkg active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 3/4 cups luke warm milk (scalded and then cooled)

2 Tbls sugar

2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 cups all purpose flour

In a large mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add reaining ingredients; beat until smooth. Cover; let rise in warm place 1 1/2 hours. Stir down batter.

Cover again; refrigerate 8-12 hours. Stir down batter.

Pour from cup or pitcher onto center of hot waffle iron. (Follow manufacturers suggestion as to greasing the waffle iron) Do not overfill iron. Bake about 5 minutes or until steam stops.

Variation: For Pecan waffles, sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped pecans (per waffle) on heated waffle grids and close iron; heat about 3 minutes or until nuts are golden brown. Pour batter over nuts and bake as directed above.

Try these with some fresh made cinnamon honey butter...

Cinnamon Honey Butter:

1/2 cup softened butter

2 Tbls Honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon*

Stir together until well blended. *Use more or less cinnamon according to taste.

Crepes

Yumm, these are a family favorite. They are so light and airy and most delicate to the pallette.

2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour, preferably bleached
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus 2 or 3 teaspoons butter for coating the pan

Blend the eggs, milk, water, flour, salt, and the 2 tablespoons melted butter for 5 seconds, or until smooth in a blender. Stir down and repeat if necessary. Or, to mix by hand, sift the flour into a medium bowl and add the salt. Whisk the eggs until blended, mix in the milk and water, and whisk this mixture into the flour and salt; stir in the 2 tablespoons melted butter. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (though 2 hours is preferable)

Gently stir the batter if it has separated. Heat a seasoned 6- or 7-inch nonstiek crepe pan over medium-high heat until hot.

Coat the pan lightly with butter, lift the pan from the heat, and pour about 1/4 cup for a 9- or 10-inch pan, tilting and rotating the pan to coat the surface.

Cook until almost dry on top and lightly browned on the edges, about 1 minute. Loosen the edges with a metal spatula and flip the crêpe over using your fingers or the spatula, then cook the other side for about 15 seconds, or until lightly browned.

Turn the crêpe out onto a clean tea towel to cool. Repeat with the remaining batter, wiping the pan with butter as needed and stacking the crêpes as they are cooked. For serving immediately, cover the crêpes with alurninum foil and keep them warm in a preheated 200°F oven. For serving later, wrap them in plastic wrap in quantities intended for each use and slip them in a self-sealing plastic bag. Refrigerate crêpes for up to 3 days, or freeze them for up to 2 months.

Makes sixteen to eighteen 6- or 7-inch crêpes, or ten to twelve 9- or 10-inch crêpes

Crêpe batter should be about as thick as heavy cream. If it is too thick, thin it with a little water. If it is too thin, additional flour can be added.


STRAWBERRY FILLING
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water.
Stir and blend berries until a sweet juice has been made.
set aside

Homemade Whip Cream
1/2 pt. whipping cream
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Whip cream with mixer. Be careful not to overbeat or else will get too thick like butter. When it begins to thicken, add sugar and vanilla; stir. Refrigerate.

Tres Leche

Popular in Mexican & Honduran cultures.
SERVES 6 -8
I got this recipe from recipezarr.com
Ingredients

cake
white cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 cup whole milk
12 ounces evaporated milk
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces whipped dessert topping mix
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whole milk
9 cherries

Directions
1 Bake cake as directed on box.
2 While cake is cooking, mix together 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 can evaporated milk, & 1 cup whole milk with a whisk. Set aside.
3 When cake is finished cooking, use the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake. Whisk your milk mixture once again, and pour slowly over the entire cake. Put the cake in the fridge for 4 hours to set flavors.
4 After 4 hours, make your whipped topping by mixing together the vanilla, milk & whipped topping mix. Use mixer for 4 minutes. When topping is ready, spread over cake.
5 To top it off, drain & rinse 9-12 cherries. Dry each cherry off, so the juice doesn't run in the topping. Put dry cherries on top of cake in rows of 3 or 4.
6 This makes a beautiful cake. Must be kept refrigerated. You can use various flavors of cake mix. Many people love to put sweetened coconut in the whipped topping. You can also make a lower fat version by choosing low sugar cake mix, fat free sweetened condensed milk, fat free evaporated milk, & skim milk.
7 Enjoy!

Caramel Apples

The recipe makes a glossy caramel coating that sticks to the apples without pulling out your fillings.

1 1/2 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
6 tbsp. water
Popsicle sticks
8 to 10 apples (Granny Apples)

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar and water. Stir until it has a smooth consistency. Gently bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 3 minutes, until the pan's sides get steamy and the mixture is thin but somewhat sticky. Remove from heat. Pierce the center of each apple with a Popsicle stick, then swirl in the caramel syrup until coated. Place apples on a greased cookie sheet to harden. Refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 hours. Serves 8 to 10.

Variations:: Once your apples are dipped into the caramel gently roll each apple in toppings and drizzle with the melted chocolates.
Chopped peanuts
melted white chocolate
melted dark chocolate
sprinkles
mini chocolate chips
coconut flakes
miniature marshmellows
crushed oreos
crushed pretzels

Mexican Corn on the Cob

Warrior's Gfriend likes to eat her corn like this. It is even better if you choose to grill your corn. I have never had it this way but find it quite pleasing to the taste buds.

Corn on the cob
Melted Butter
Chilli powder
Fresh limes
Melt butter & sprinkle chili powder to liking, add lime juice & 1 tsp. salt. Brush over corn and devour.

GRILL THIS BABY!
Wrap in tin foil & place on grill be sure to turn every 2 minutes. Take off when corn shows grill marks, 5-10 min. Voila~

CUH-RAZY PIZZA or Pizza-Pull-A-parts

I got this recipe off of pilsbury.com. I love that site. My family devoured this and the best part about it, was it was STUPID EASY! I know you should never say the "S" word, but seriously! It is that easy!

PIZZA PULL APARTS

2 tubes Pillsbury big country biscuits
15 oz. jar of pizza quick sauce
2 c. cheese (Mozzarella, cheddar or combination)
Meat: pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, etc.
Toppings: olives, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, etc.

Cut each biscuit into 4 and place in ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan. Place meat on top of biscuits and pour pizza sauce over meat. Put on toppings and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until biscuits are cooked through. Take out pieces with fork.

This is what I did.
Brown you hamburger/turkey meat
pour speghetti sauce, dump 1 can of mushrooms, and dice some olives, green peppers, etc. Mix into your meat sauce.
Cut bisquits into 1/4ths and mix into meat sauce.
Pour out into 9x13 pan
Top with mozzarella cheese and bake in oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until brown.

One Dish Chicken & Creamy Rice

One Dish Chicken & Creamy Rice

1 Tbls oil

4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

2 tbls sour cream

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 cups instant rice (like Minute Rice), uncooked

Heat oil in pan and brown chicken breasts, until cooked through (about 4 minutes per side). Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.

Add to same skillet the soup, sour cream and chicken broth. Cook and stir until well combined and bring to a boil. Add rice, mix well. Top with chicken; cover. Reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes or until rice is tender.

Makes 4 servings

3 Cheese Mac n Cheese

3 Cheese Mac N Cheese

3 Cheese Mac N Cheese

Okay, let me preface this by saying I know Velveeta isn't really cheese. I keep a box in the food storage just for emergencys and on Sunday was glad I did, as we had 5 unexpected little appetites for lunch. :) So I used what I had in the frig, (the white pepper and fontina cheese gives the dish a very subtle smoky flavor) and my dil said, "This is a keeper...write it down!" So I am...

1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked according to pkg directions

5 Tbls butter, divided

2 Tbls flour

1 1/2 cup milk

1/4 -1/2 tsp white pepper

4 oz fontina cheese, shredded

4 oz mild cheddar cheese, shredded

4-5 oz velveeta cheese, cubed

1/2 cup fine ground bread crumbs

Melt 2 Tbls of butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in the flour, continue whisking and cook over a medium heat for one minute to form a roux. Remove from heat and let sit 1-2 minutes. Meanwhile, warm the milk in a seperate pan or in the microwave.

Put the roux back on the heat and slowly whisk in the warm milk. Cook over med-high heat whisking constantly until the milk begins to look 'slightly thick'. (It won't really thicken, but it will look like a slightly 'heavier' consistency.) Stir in the white pepper. Remove from heat and add the 3 cheeses, stirring until it forms a smooth sauce. Add cooked macaroni noodles and stir to coat. Pour into a lightly greased (I use PAM) 9x11 baking dish.

Melt remaining 3 Tbls of butter and stir in the bread crumbs. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the macaroni. Bake at 325 F for about 20 minutes, or until casserole is bubbly and top is browned.

SE North Carolina Pork BBQ

SE North Carolina Pork BBQ

BBQ in North Carolina is a noun, not a verb. It refers to pulled pork in a vinegar based sauce. Try it! You'll never eat tomato based sauce again!

5-6 lb boston butt roast

The Rub:

1/4 cup New Mexico red chili powder

1 Tbls dark brown sugar

1 Tbls ground cumin

1 Tbls Kosher salt

1 Tbls sugar

1/2 Tbls fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix together well and store in an airtight container.

The Finishing Sauce:

2 cups cider vinegar

1 Tbls peppercorns

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp salt

1 Tbls hot pepper flakes

1 onion, finely chopped

1 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly, uncovered, for one hour. Strain to remove peppercorns if desired. Store in sealed container in the refrigerator.

To make the BBQ:

Rub the boston butt pork roast with a generous amount of bbq rub on all sides. Place the roast fat side up in a roasting pan and cover with tight lid or seal with tin foil. Bake at 250 F for 3 - 4 hours* or until meat pulls apart with a fork. Remove the remaining fat (much of it will have cooked off) and chop or pull meat. Pour a small amount of the finishing sauce over the meat and stir gently to coat. You don't want to overdue the sauce as it will pool in the bottom of the dish and can become rather strong. More sauce can always be added at the table to satisfy individual tastes.

*Meat may be cooked in a slow cooker if desired, cook for about 6-8 hours on low.

Taco Seasonings

Taco Seasonings

No more wondering if you have a pkg of seasonings in the cabinet. Make your own!

1/4 cup instant minced onion

3 Tbls chili powder

2 Tbls cumin

1 tsp salt

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbls cornstarch

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp oregano

Mix all ingredients together and place in a clean jar with a tight lid. Use 2 Tbls of seasoning mix per pound of meat.

Garden Fresh Salsa

Garden Fresh Salsa

If your garden is going crazy with tomatoes right now like mine is, this is a great way to put them to use!

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2 Tbsp chopped red onion

3 Tbsp chopped green bell pepper

2 Tbsp chopped green chile pepper

1/2 - 1 tsp celery flakes*

1/2 tsp mustard seed

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro**

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

2 Tbsp veg oil

Combine the vegetables, seasonings and vinegar in a bowl. Add oil and stir gently to coat. Let sit in refrigerator at least 2 hours to allow flavors to blend.

*I use dry celery flakes because dh doesn't like celery chunks. 3 Tbls Chopped celery may be used if desired.

**To prevent fresh cilantro from clinging to knife while chopping, sprinkle the salt on the cilantro leaves, roll or bunch cilantro and then chop with sharp knife.

OREO and Fudge ice cream cake

Dash wanted an ice cream cake with oreos. I didn't put the order in time, so I had to resort to the first best mode and that was make it. This is such a simple and really yummy dessert. It is made from ice cream sandwiches. For more great recipes go to oreo.com


1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
8 OREO Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches, unwrapped


POUR fudge topping into medium bowl. Add 1 cup of the whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in chopped cookies; set aside.
ARRANGE 4 of the ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long piece of foil; top with half of the whipped topping mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches. Frost top and sides of dessert with remaining whipped topping. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet.
FREEZE at least 4 hours before serving. Store leftover dessert in freezer.

For a visual instruction video please click here.

OREO Dessert

Dash absolutely loves anything that has to do with Oreos. The picture does not do this quick and easy summer dessert justice. It is heavenly and a definite "must try".
For more great recipes go to oreo.com


OREO DESSERT
2/3 pkg. oreo cookies crushed
1 lg. family style cool whip tub
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
1 cup. powder sugar
2 boxes of french vanilla instant pudding (3 1/2 oz.)

Pour half of the crushed oreo mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
Mix cream cheese and butter and then add cool whip and sugar.
In a seperate bowl mix pudding with 3 cups cold milk.
Add pudding to cream cheese mixture. Fold and blend well.
Pour over cookie crumbs. and top with remainder of cookie crumbs on top of pudding.
Chill for 10 hours.

Homemade OREO cookies

These cookies are really good. I had originally made my cookie balls into 2 inch balls. They just looked like they were big chocolate cookies. They have a definite distinct chocolate oreo taste! Dash really liked these.

HOMEMADE OREO COOKIES

OUTSIDES
2 pkg. Devil’s food cake mix
4 eggs
¾ c. oil

MIDDLE
8 oz. cream cheese
2 ¾ c. powdered sugar


Mix the above ingredients together. Roll the dough into dime-sized balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool cookies.

FROSTING:

8 oz. cream cheese
2 tsp. vanilla
2 3/4 c. powdered sugar

Mix all of frosting ingredients until smooth. Frost BACKS of cookies and place together to make sandwich cookie.

COCONUT FRENCH TOAST

I do not normally care for coconut or coconut flavoring. But these sweet things are a definite must try! You are going to love these!!! If you are poly and like poni popo// These have a similar taste! Please please try these and don't turn your nose to them because they have a coconut flavor. THESE THINGS ARE AMAZING!!


1 loaf of french bread (sliced on the bias)
3/4 cup coconut cream
4 large eggs
1/3 cup milk


Prepare french toast as normal. Heat a skillet or griddle over low to
medium heat. Add a pat of butter. Dip bread slices into egg mixture, allow to saturate slightly. Place in hot pan and turn when light brown.

For garnish: Sprinkle coconut flakes and sliced mango on the side. Or add plain yogurt and a few fresh raspberries!

Ham and Eggs in a cup

This is such an easy and fun way to serve up breakfast.
Serves 6

6 cupcake or muffin pan (spray with pam)
6 slices of honey cured ham
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tin with pam. Fold ham slices into muffin tin making sure to fold over and cover any holes that may form.
Add 1 heaping TBL of shredded cheese, and then break one egg into center.
Bake in over for 10-15 minutes, depending on how you desire your eggs.

Serve with a slice of toast!
:note: I over cooked these. I cooked them for 15 minutes and we would have liked our egg a bit runny and the ham not so crisp on top. Ideal time probably around 12 minutes. These are quick and really good!

Beef Stroganoff & Green Bean Ceasar

This was our dinner tonight. I didn't have the sour cream and mushrooms to make a traditional stroganoff, so I sliced up a NY strip steak and used what I had. It turned out really good! Of course, I forgot to take the picture until after we ate so the pic is of the leftovers. This made enough for two with leftovers, but not enough for four.

Beef Stroganoff

8 to 12 oz of tender beef steak such as NY strip, sliced thin

1 Tbls olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 can crm of mushroom soup

8 oz beef broth

2-4 tbls milk

garlic powder, salt and pepper

8 oz. egg noodles

Heat oil in large skillet, add meat and onions, cook over med-high heat until meat is browned and cooked through. Meanwhile in a small bowl mix the soup and beef broth until smooth. Reduce heat and add broth mixture to the skillet; stir to combine. Add milk to thin to creamy consistency. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer over low heat while you prepare the noodles. This will allow flavors to blend. Do NOT Boil!

Prepare noodles according to pkg instructions. Drain and toss with 1 Tbls butter to prevent sticking. Serve Stroganoff over noodles.

Green Beans Ceasar

1 can french cut green beans, drained

1 Tbls salad oil

1/2 Tbls white vinegar

1/2 Tbls instant dried onions

dash salt

1/2 clove garlic, minced

dash pepper

1 Tbls dry bread crumbs

1 Tbls grated Parmesan cheese (I use fresh)

1/2 Tbls butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 F. Toss beans with salad oil, vinegar, onion, salt, garlic and pepper. Put into ungreased casserole dish. Stir together the bread crumbs, cheese and butter; sprinkle over the beans. Bake uncovered 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

* The vinegar gives these beans a tangy bite. Adults seem to love them, but most kids will wrinkle their noses the first time you serve them so you may want to have some regular beans on the back burner for them. :)

Chive Garlic Butter

I absolutely love what this little number does to a piece of steak! ::swoons:: Just a little pat or two on your favorite cut of meat will send you into heaven. Caution: It did not have the same effect on my husband or my dad, go figure:

1 stick butter (softened)
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed (for each stick of butter use one clove of garlic)
Fresh cloves chopped finely (amount varies to your personal tastes) Careful fresh chives are very flavorful.
For every stick of butter add one clove garlic.
Whip butter, chives and garlic in small bowl. When mixed pour out onto saran wrap and shape into a log or you can spoon into a pastry bag and fit with a medium star shape. Pipe onto wax paper and pop into fridge until firm. Place the butter log into fridge until firm. Remove from refrigerator and allow to set to room temp.
Once at room temp. Place a pat or dollop onto steak and enjoy!

Grilled Dinner

This is a recipe we use frequently during the summer months. It is quick, easy, and the best part - no cleanup!

Grilled Summer Veg with Kielbasa

Serves 4

1/4 red onion, sliced thin

~8 small red potatoes, quartered

Baby Carrots

2 ears corn, cut into fourths

one yellow squash, sliced in 1 inch pieces

one zuccini, sliced in 1 inch pieces

one lb kielbasa sausage sliced into 1/4 - 1/2 inch pieces

2 Tbls butter

Seasoned salt such as McCormicks Garlic and Pepper seasoning

Soak the potato and corn in water about 45 minutes before you plan to prepare this dish.

Pull out a layer of Heavy Duty Tin Foil large enough to fold over ingredients with several inches to spare. Place the corn, potaotes and sausage in the center of the foil. Tope with the onion, squash and zuccini. Dot with the butter and sprinkle with seasoned salt.

Fold the foil up from both sides and then fold the foil closed at least three folds to seal in moisture and steam. Form triangles of foil at each end and then fold in several times to seal.

Place the foil package on a hot grill, seam side up and cover grill. Let the vegetables cook about 20 minutes, depending on how hot the grill is. Then turn for an additional 10 minutes cooking time. (Cooking time depends a lot on your grill, so watch them close the first time and adjust as necessary.)

A few notes: It is important that your squash and zuccini be sliced large and placed on top of the other vegetables to prevent their overcooking. For larger groups you can make this dish in a disposable aluminum roaster pan and seal the top with foil. In this case I stir the vegetables about 20 minutes into cooking and then add the squash and zuccini to avoid overcooking.

It's Berry Time!

Fresh Berries in Honey Lime Glaze

Equal Parts Fresh Lime Juice and Honey

(for example: 2 Tbls Lime Juice, 2 Tbls Honey)

6 Cups Assorted Fresh Berries such as Strawberry, Blueberries, Blackberries, Bing Cherries

Wash and drain the fruit. Mix the Lime juice and Honey thoroughly. Pour over fruit and gently stir to cover. Allow fruit to set an hour or so on the counter or up to 4 hours in the frig. I like to serve at room temp.

It sounds simple, but I always have people asking "What did you do to this fruit?!" :)

Cupcakes in a Cone

These are fun and festive and can be made for any occassion. Turn them into soccer balls, or baseballs. They are anti messy! Gotta love that.
CUPCAKES IN A CONE
1 box funfetti cake mix (or your favorite) mix as directed
1 reg. ice cream cone (pkg of 24)
Fill cones to just above the first line of cone and bake 15 to 18 minutes for 350 degrees. Cool and frost.

The special baking container was purchased on line through the jello website. You can just stand these on a cookie sheet in the middle of the pan. Watch your baking times, they may vary.

Vanilla Punch Bowl Cake

This cake may not look visually appealing but it will tickle every taste bud on your tongue. You will love this! It tastes a little like strawberry shortcake! It is so good and definitely one of my favorite summer desserts out there.
Vanilla Punch Bowl Cake
1 box yellow cake mix (bake as directed and cube)
2 regular pkgs of vanilla pudding.
1 lg. family size cool whip or 2- 8oz containers
2 quart size strawberries (washed and sliced sweeten slightly if necessary with sugar)
2 pints blueberries (washed)
Alternate cake cool whip and fruit.
For a festive feel for the 4th of July decorate like the flag.

Chocolate Punch Bowl Cake

This was Keawe's request for his graduation cake. It is extremely good!
Chocolate Punch Bowl Cake
1 box choc. cake mix (bake as directed and cube slices when cooled)
1 lg. family size cool whip container or 2- 8oz. containers.
1/3 cup mini choc. chips
1/3 cup heath bar candy crushed
1/3 cup chopped nuts
2 small pudding pkgs.
Layer cake, pudding, cool whip etc, 3 times in a punch bowl and top off with candy mixture.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

A has been begging me to buy FLIPZ. They are $6 for a 11oz, and for a family of 6 we would have them gone before we even made it to the car. The mini pretzels. I knew I could make them cheaper and better. I asked A, to let me try and if he didn't like them I would then buy him a bag. They were a HUGE success! I did 16oz. for $4.
CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZELS
A bag of your favorite pretzels
Any brand melting chocolate
A double broiler, or microwave or stove

Just melt your chocolate. Be careful not to scorch your chocolate. If chocolate is burned it will become grainy and lose that glossy look. It is still edible but visually appealing it is not. The reason is because the cocoa butter or fat has been absorbed too quickly. If you use white chocolate. This has a faster heating point and remember chocolate when melted will hold its shape. Be sure to stir until smoothe.

Melt chocolate in your method of preference. I used the microwave. Heat for 1 minute and then 15 seconds until smoothe and creamy. Stir - each time.

Dip pretzels front and back in melted chocolate. You can use your fingers or fork.
Lay out on wax paper or foil to harden. We love using pretzel sticks and making wands. Dipping the pretzel stick half way into chocolate and rolling into sprinkles, chopped nuts or crushed candy.

Chocolate Eclaire Cake

Stupid Easy and Crazy good!
The pictures for this cake did not do it justice. It really comes out in pretty layers but it was the first slice and a corner piece. I was too busy licking my fingers to put the camera down to take a better picture. This is very much like the ice box cakes!

2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) Cool Whip
3 cups milk
1 (16 ounce) package graham cracker squares
1 (16 ounce) package prepared chocolate frosting

In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the pudding mix, whipped topping, and milk.
Arrange a single layer of graham cracker squares in the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan. Evenly spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of crackers and the remaining pudding mixture. Top with a final layer of graham crackers.
Spread the frosting over the whole cake up to the edges of the pan. Cover, and chill at least 4 hours before serving.
Make vanilla pudding according to directions.
Layer graham crackers on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
Top with vanilla pudding, layer crackers and top with pudding and then add
the final layer of crackers. Frost the top with chocolate frosting. Let set in
fridge for 3 hours. If you would like to add another layer of pudding and crackers this is fine.

Broccoli and cheese turnovers

OK, this was a trial dinner. This was all we had in the freezer to make. I had two packages of broccoli and cheese and 2 Pillsbury butter crescent rolls. I emptied the contents of the broccoli and cheese into the pan and heated it through and broke open the crescents and added the broccoli mixture to the crescents and sealed all edges.

Popped into the oven on 350 and baked to the directions on the can of the crescents.
These turned out AMAZING! If I had chicken on hand I would have boiled 2 breasts and added it to the broccoli and cheese mixture.

The family loved it. They are not big broccoli eaters but these two dishes went over very well.

PASTA SUPREME SALAD

Pasta Supreme Salad
This is a great summer salad.

2lb. rotini pasta
1/2 to 1lb. ham sliced into 1/2 inch thickness or 1 inch thickness
1 1/2 to 1lb. turkey cut in 1/2 inch or 1 inch slab
1 package of cubed cheese
1 lg. bottle Italian dressing
1 pkg. frozen broccoli florets
3 Tbsp. salad delights (seasoning section)

Boil pasta as normal. Salt water. Take slabs of cold meat and cut into cubes.
Add to pasta with the cubed cheese. Drain pasta from boiling water, pour the boiling water over the broccoli florets to Blanch them, add broccoli to salad.
Pour into large mixing bowl and add 3 Tbsp. seasoning along with one bottle Italian dressing. Mix gently but thoroughly. VOILA! ready to serve!

To Die for Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

11/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup blueberries



Topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
11/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon





Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liner

2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffing cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

3. To make crumb topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes in preheated oven, or until done.

Substitutions: Leah Beth likes chocolate chip muffins better than blueberry so instead of blueberry I add 1 cup choc. chips. and for the topping I take out the cinnamon and add 1 1/2 teaspoons of chocolate.

Cupcakes from Scratch

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

11/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients then add wet ingredients. Line each mini muffin with liner and fill with 1 tablespoon each.

*For chocolate cake add 1/4 cup cocoa

*For white cake: Prepare as for the basic cake except use 3 egg whites for the the whole eggs. White may be beaten separately and added for lighter cake

Bake 350 for 15 minutes.

cool completely.

Confectioners sugar icing:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

6 cups of confectioners sugar

Mix all together and add your favorite color food coloring!! YUM

Bella's Doggy Treats

Bella's Favorite yummy treats!

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

2 spoonfuls of peanut butter

a dash of water

a dash of salt

1 1/4 cup flour

Heat oven to 350

mix egg, peanut butter, water and milk in bowl. Next add flour and salt. Mix well and dump on cookie sheet. Spread with spoon. Bake for 20 minutes. Cut into squares or shapes with cookie cutters. Let cool completely. Store in zip lock bag.

Homemade Wheat Bread

Wheat Bread

Add the following to the mixing bowl:
1 heaping tablespoon of Baking Yeast
1 cup of honey
4 cups of very warm water

Stir with wire whip
Let rise approximately 15 minutes until yeast pops to the top (Do not go longer than 20-25 minutes)
Put mixing bowl on the mixer
Add:
1 tablespoon of salt
1 cup of Pure Wesson Canola Oil

Using the wire beater start mixer on 2nd/ 3rd speed
Slowly pour in whole-wheat flour until no longer sticky (approx. 8-12 cups) (cover mixer with towel to keep flour from flying)
Use one finger to scrape dough from wire beater
Sprinkle top of dough with flour
Loosely cover with plastic lid and let rise for one hour
Knead with hook shaped attachment for 5 min (2nd/ 3rd speed)
Dump dough on counter and divide into four loaves
Get all air bubbles out and put in pans
Cover with towel and let rise for 35 minutes
Put in cold oven (Make sure pans DO NOT touch)
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees
Remove from oven, dump out loaves, and wrap in towel till cool

My kitchen aid broke around 2 weeks ago...so I just mix all ingredients with a spoon then kneed with my hands for 5 minutes. It works the same just takes a little more effort-and elbow grease!

MEATBALL SUBS

These are so simple yet it was soo good!
You can make your own meatballs or buy a bag from Sams Club. (we did)
jar of your favorite speghetti sauce. WE always spruce our sauce up with added seasonings.
Fresh baked hoagie rolls from your favorite grocer and
Mozzerella cheese.

Slice bread only in the middle. Do not slice the ends. So that it forms a pocket. Kind of like a pita pocket. Add meatballs to bread and cover with sauce and sprinkle with mozzerella cheese.

Place on baking sheet and turn oven to broil. Brown rolls and cheese for 7-10 minutes. Be sure not to burn rolls. It browns the cheese and gives the rolls that perfect CRUNCH! Enjoy!
These were definitely better than expected for store bought meatballs and much better than the meatball subs at SUBWAY!

HOOTER WINGS

Coated chicken after 30 minutes

Chicken in skillet with hot oil

Perfection

Mmmm...Mmmmmm....

GOOD!!!


5 lb. bag of chicken wings
1 bag of HOOTER wing bredding (found in grocery aisle)
1 jar of HOOTER wing sauce of your choice (found in grocery aisle)

Thaw bag of assorted chicken peices. Rinse and drain.
Dip chicken in milk.
Empty contents of bredding in large bowl or a large zip loc bag.
Place chicken peices in bag and shake or place in bowl and coat.
Set bredded peices of chicken aside in large bowl or pan.

When all peices have been thoroughly coated, set in fridge for 15 to 30 minutes.
If there is any bredding left over re-coat chicken peices before dropping in hot oil skillet or deep fryer.

Oil should be 350 degrees. Drop peices into hot skillet and let cook on one side for 15 minutes. Do not turn until then. Turn peices of chicken over and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. When peices are cooked all the way through drain on paper towel and then coat with HOOTER sauce.

These are sooo good!!

Pisctachio Pudding Cake

Oh my goodness, this cake brings back many childhood memories. In fact, my mom was quite the baker and always had a delicious meal on the table for our family. I remember requesting this cake ALL the time. The cake was a beautiful green. This cake would have made a perfect St. Patrick's Day dessert.

1 pkg white cake mix
1 pkg instant pistachio pudding
1 cup club soda
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs

Topping
1 pt heavy cream
1 pkg instant pistachio pudding
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp sugar

Cake: Blend eggs, oil and club soda. Add cake mix and pudding. Beat until creamy. Add chopped nuts. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake in a greased and floured tube pan 45 to 50 minutes.
Topping: Mix all together and beat until creamy.

FILLING

Blend 1 1/2 cup cold milk, 1 pkg jello pistachio pudding and 1 envelope dream whip.
mix together.

Remove cake from bundt pan after 15 minutes and cool on rack. Split into 3 layers and spread with filling. Spoon the rest into center.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Ingredients:
4/5 chicken breast
3 to 4 cans of chicken broth
4 tsp. lemon juice
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 tsp. parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste
White rice

Directions:

Bake chicken in 1/2 cup water and 2 tsp. lemon juice
Cover with foil 350 for 45 minutes.

In Dutch oven add 2 cups water, broth, cream of chicken soup, 2 tsp. lemon juice, parsley flakes and salt and pepper. Simmer on low while chicken is baking.

After chicken has baked shredded and add to soup mixture. Simmer for 30 minutes

Make 1 1/2 cups of rice to 3 cups of water. Add rice and simmer for 5 minutes...Enjoy!!!

Pictures to come...I just wanted to get the recipe typed in!!!

GOULASH

GOULASH
While growing up this has been my family's version of goulash. It is basically any pasta with ground brown beef and sauce.

This is the same variation that is made with Ziti, speghetti, etc.

WE chose to use SHELLS for our dish.

2lbs. pasta shells
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 jar of your favorite speghetti sauce
1 16oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 160z shredded mozzerella cheese


Boil water and cook shells in salted water. Remove from heat and drain.
Pour pasta back into pot.
Brown ground beef and season with salt, pepper, lowereys etc. drain off fat. Add meat to pasta. Add sauce and one package of shredded cheddar. Mix until well blended.
Then pour out into a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle top with mozzerella cheese. Bake in oven on 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Fresh Asparagus

I always eat asparagus when we go out for dinner if it is on the menu. My children never eat aspargus and since they have tried a few new vegetables I thought I would share the experience with them. They turned out great! They appreciated the new vegetable but I can't say it was a favorite. ( I have no idea why!) However, they did eat the asaragus that were on their plates.
Biology
Asparagus is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 100-150 cm tall, with stout stems with much-branched feathery foliage. The 'leaves' are in fact needle-like cladodes (modified stems) in the axils of scale leaves; they are 6–32 mm long and 1 mm broad, and clustered 4–15 together. The flowers are bell-shaped, greenish-white to yellowish, 4.5–6.5 mm long, with six tepals partially fused together at the base; they are produced singly or in clusters of 2-3 in the junctions of the branchlets. It is usually dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, but sometimes hermaphrodite flowers are found. The fruit is a small red berry 6–10 mm diameter. Asparagus is eaten worldwide, commonly with eggs in China and with beef in Britain. It is not considered a delicacy as it is very cheap and easy to obtain.
History
Asparagus has been used from very early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavour and diuretic properties. There is a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius’s third century AD De re coquinaria, Book III. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who ate it fresh when in season and dried the vegetable for use in winter.[verification needed] It lost its popularity in the Middle Ages but returned to favour in the seventeenth century.

Culinary

Only the young shoots of asparagus are eaten. Asparagus is low in calories, contains no fat or cholesterol, and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of folic acid, potassium, dietary fiber, and rutin. The amino acid asparagine gets its name from asparagus, the asparagus plant being rich in this compound.

The shoots are prepared and served in a number of ways around the world. In Asian-style cooking, asparagus is often stir-fried. Cantonese restaurants in the United States often serve asparagus stir-fried with chicken, shrimp, or beef, also wrapped in bacon. Asparagus may also be quickly grilled over charcoal or hardwood embers. It is an ingredient in stews and soups. In the French style, it is boiled or steamed and served with hollandaise sauce, melted butter or olive oil, Parmesan cheese or mayonnaise. The best asparagus tends to be early growth (first of the season) and is often simply steamed and served with melted butter. Tall asparagus cooking pots allow the shoots to be steamed gently.

Asparagus can also be pickled and stored for several years. Some brands may label them as "marinated" which means the same thing.
The bottom portion of asparagus often contains sand, and as such proper preparation is generally advised in cooking asparagus.

Medicinal
Asparagus rhizomes and root is used ethnomedically to treat urinary tract infections, as well as kidney and bladder stones. It is also believed to have aphrodisiac properties.
Ingestion of Asparagus may bring on an attack of gout[9] in certain individuals due to the high level of purines.
To select :
Look for spears with a vivid color and no blemishes and bruises. The buds at the tip should be tightly closed, and the base of each stalk should appear freshly cut. Whether you choose pencil-thin, standard or jumbo is a matter of personal preference. All can be equally tender as long as they are fresh. For the best flavor, enjoy asparagus at the peak of its season from March to May. At other times of the year, the asparagus in your market has likely been flown in from a distant country.

To store :
Remove any bands that bid the spears together, and put the bases of the stems in a glass filled with about 2" of water. Cover loosely with a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Changing the water daily will help the asparagus stay fresh longer, but for the best flavor, enjoy asparagus soon after you've bought it.
To trim :
Hold one end of the asparagus spear in each hand and bend the stalk. The spear will naturally break at the point where it becomes tough.

I chose to boil mine. Have a large pot of water and add salt. I had fresh chicken stock or broth on hand and used the boiling water from the chicken and just put the asparagus in that. I also added one can of chicken broth. This lends to a great flavor to the asparagus.

Boil for 7 to 10 minutes. Watch for the change of the vegetable to turn to a vibrant beautiful green. You want your asparagus tender but not over done and still slightly firm.
Carefully remove from water and drain. Add salt pepper and slice a lemon to add as a garnish. It also gives a great zip to the veggie.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Me or my family really enjoy enchiladas. Bill and Spencer are the only ones who usually order these. I have tasted many enchiladas before and none of them have me raving or dying to try another one for at least a year! EXCEPT for these!! My entire family loved them and we look forward to eating them again!I prefer the sour cream sauce as to the tomato base. One of my biggest griefs with enchiladas were they were soggy and the texture!. This one is a FIVE STAR in my book.



Chicken Enchiladas in Sour Cream Sauce
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
18 corn tortillas
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 cups shredded chees