WHAT'S COOKIN' @ LINDA'S?

This one is for Bonnie

2012-01-31T20:42:00.000-06:00

I promised Bonnie I would post this over a month ago.... so sorry. This was a wonderful holiday appetizer very similar to the pepper jelly on cream cheese. By the way, I only made HALF of this recipe and we had plenty!

Cranberry-Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
12 oz fresh cranberries
4-5 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
2 8 oz cream cheese, light or regular, softened
crackers for serving.

Pulse the cranberries in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, sugar, cumin, lemon juice and salt. Pulse until the ingredients are well combined and finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a glass bowl with cover and refrigerate for 4 hrs or up to overnight so the flavors have time to develop.

When serving spread the cream cheese in an even layer on a serving plate or 9" pie plate. Top with the cranberry mixture spreading evenly over the top of the cream cheese. Refrigerate for up to an hour before serving. Best with crackers or tortilla chips.

Gooey Cheesy Bread

2012-01-31T20:23:00.000-06:00

We were invited to a pre- Christmas gathering with some friends. I had zero time to prepare, and I had seen this bread recipe on Pinterest. It turned out wonderful, I made it again for New Years Eve. You really should give this one a whirl.

Artichoke Bread
1/3 cup butter
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
4 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 french bread loaf
salt and pepper
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350*. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium/high head. Add the garlic and cook until it smells yummy, less than a minute. Add the artichoke hearts, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and sour cream Stir to blend. Remove from the heat and cool. Slice the bread lengthwise and scoop out some of the center, not a lot. Spoon artichoke mixture evenly into the bread shell and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese. Place each half on a baking sheet and cover lightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes. remove foil and bake another 5-8 minutes or till the cheese melts completely. Cut into slices and eat!

Cocktail time!

2012-01-31T20:15:00.000-06:00

Pomegranate Cosmopolitan
1 cup good vodka
1/2 cup orange liqueur
1 cup cranberry juice cocktail (like Ocean Spray)
1/2 cup bottled pomegranate juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
limes for garnish

Combine the vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, lime juice in a pitcher. Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice, pour the cocktail mixture in and shake for a full 30 seconds. Pour into martini glasses, garnish with a slice of lime.

You got your chocolate on my peanut butter....

2012-01-31T20:07:00.000-06:00

I started following Pinterest about 6 months ago. I've found some great ideas, and tried several recipes. Unfortunately I have found that several have been disappointing. Probably the best way is to search for something similar on a trusted website, and not worry about it.

Tonight I took crescent rolls from a pop n fresh can and covered them with peanut butter. Next I sprinkled them with chocolate chips and rolled the triangle up like your supposed to. Baked them at 375* for about 10 minutes and yum-yum. A quick little treat.

2012-01-31T20:01:00.000-06:00

For God
so loved the world
that He gave His
only
begotten
son so
that whoever
believes
in Him shall
have everlasting
life.
John 3:16

How many ways can you cook a chicken?

2012-01-31T19:49:00.001-06:00

Wings are one of my happy-est food thoughts. I like them hot, sweet, saucy, BBQ, any way at all. I'll admit they are messy, probably the worst idea at a party. But-in the privacy of my own home, I love nothing more than a good dark beer and a plate of wings with blue cheese dipping sauce.

This one is a recent discovery, my second time making it. Easy as all get out to prepare, maybe 10 minutes....and they get CriSpY!

BUFFALO WINGS

3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
chicken wings 3-4 lbs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup Franks Hot Sauce

My, what lovely weather we're having.

2012-01-31T19:48:00.000-06:00

The weather has been amazing. January with only a day or two of light snow, quite unlike last year. I don't know if I haven't been cooking as much, or cooking and not posting. Probably the latter.

Heather told me about this broccoli she roasted in the oven. I made it and really enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if this was the exact recipe. There are several of them out there. We had it last night, and I was reminded of how much I loved it.

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

1 head of fresh broccoli, cut into florettes
2 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
olive oill
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425*. Place broccoli on a sheet pan in a single layer. Toss with garlic and olive oil. sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 20-25 min. It will be crisp-tender and the tips are starting to brown.

Remove from the oven and toss with another tablespoon of olive oil, lemon zest and juice, and Parmesan. Serve right now!

Crabby Pants

2011-12-11T14:03:00.002-06:00

In my classroom at school when someone arrives with a scowl or responds in a less than polite manner, I might as them if they have their crabby pants on. What that has to do this this recipe is really a stretch, but there is crab meat in the recipe!

Anyway....

Here is a crab Rangoon recipe that was quite tasty. Better for you because it's baked, but still has that oh so good flavor I crave.

BAKED CRAB RANGOON

1 can 6oz white crab meat, drained

4 oz cream cheese (could use Neufchatel) soft

2 green onions, thinly sliced & include some of the green

1/4 cup light mayo or regular

12 won ton wrappers

Heat oven to 350*.

Mix first 4 ingredients.

Place 1 won ton wrapper in each of 12 mini muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. The edges will stick up, that's OK. Fill with crab mixture.

Bake 18-20 minutes of until edges of cups are golden brown and filling is heated through.

I had a few minutes left when I though the edges were the right color, so I took them out and gave them 30 seconds in the microwave to firm up the middles. Be sure to cool them a few minutes before digging in.

If you prefer a crispier texture bake the wrappers for 5-7 minutes before filling them, then another 6-8 minutes or till filling is heated through.

Birthday Salutations

2011-12-11T13:35:00.005-06:00

For the last couple of days I kept asking Mike what kind of cake he'd like for his birthday. He just had trouble making a decision. James and Sarah are here from Lincoln, so we've been doing fun stuff instead of the usual ho hum. Shopping, eating out, etc... Today i flipped through some saved recipes I put on the back burner, and found these cupcakes that I wanted to try. He agreed -thank goodness! Before we went to Panda Garden I mixed up the cupcake batter, baked them and left them to cool. After we arrived home I quickly mixed up the frosting.

THEY ARE GOOD!!! Heather reminded me that James could bring some home for them, so I have their batch tucked away in a container ready for the road. I'm so glad Mike couldn't make up his mind. :-)

PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES = yum

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup peanut butter morsels

2/3 cup marshmallow fluff

Preheat oven to 350*

Cream butter and peanut butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and eggs and beat together until fluffy. Add vanilla and mix for another minute or so.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients mixing just until combined. Add the milk, and once mixed add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in peanut butter morsels and marshmallow fluff by hand.

My recipe said it would make 12 cupcakes, but I got 15 out of the batter.

Pour into cupcake tins with liners and fill 2/3 full. I use an ice cream scoop so they bake evenly. Bake for 18 (ish) minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

MARSHMALLOW BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

1 stick butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup marshmallow fluff

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until creamy. Add in fluff and beat for 2-3 minutes. Add in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar slowly, then beat on medium-high speed 2-3 minutes. If it seems runny add more pwd. sugar, if it's thick, add a bit of milk or cream 1 tbsp at a time. I needed to add liquid, but I think it would depend on the humidity level in your home.

After I frosted the cupcakes I warmed up some leftover genache, this step is optional.

The recipe said that the frosting will get hard, so make them the same day you are going to serve them. Okie dokie!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. MULLEN!!!!

I'm Thankful

2011-11-30T18:37:00.002-06:00

So much in our lives we take for granted. Each and every day we have more than we could ever deserve, even on our worst day. Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I was blessed to spend it with family that I love. My parents, brother, husband, children, and for the first ever Thanksgiving.... my granddaughter! It was fun, even though Lucy was not the best sleeper, ahem. Some day we will remind her of how she kept us awake at night. :-) Love you Lucy!

Here's the recipe I used for sweet potatoes, or yams? They reminded me of a German chocolate cake!!

Praline Sweet-yam-tatoes

40 oz can yams

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350*.

Place drained hams in a 2 qt. baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam.

Combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle over the top.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until bubbly.

I was also thankful there was leftover pecan pie!!! AND Cool Whip!!! wink wink

Back to the Basics

2011-11-30T18:25:00.002-06:00

I never grew up eating a variety of foods. My mom was a good, but basic cook. We had chicken - fried in bacon fat by the way. We had fried hamburgers, plenty of pot roasts on Sunday, frozen pizza when I got older, and eggs. Not all at once. I don't remember a lot of other meals, oh but I do remember cinnamon rolls and chocolate cake. But, I think I made the cake. Anyway....

I don't have a memory of mac and cheese. We probably had it, but I'm sure it was from a box. It wasn't until recently I cooked homemade mac and cheese. It was super easy, and I kind of liked it! I know it's not a healthy offering, but sometimes you just have to have a bowl of mac and cheese.

Velveeta's 75th Anniversary Recipe

Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups (8oz) elbow macaroni, uncooked

3/4 lb (12oz) Velveeta cheese product, cut up (pretty sure I used 1/2 lb)

1/3 cup milk

1/8 tsp pepper

Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain well and return to pan.

Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Cook on low heat until prepared cheese product is melted, stirring frequently.

Yup, that's it.

What would you like for your side?

2011-11-30T18:10:00.002-06:00

Whenever we go out to eat my husband has a terrible time deciding what to order, he just has trouble making decisions. Once he has labored over the list of choices, then comes the dreaded next question: "What would you like with that???? soup, salad, potato, rice, sauteed veggies" etc.....

I always feel like I need to have a meat, potato, veggie, salad at most meals. Who do I think I am, June Cleaver? AND I like different colors to be represented! Nothing makes me more distressed than sitting down to a meal and realizing everything is a shade of beige/brown. Well, almost nothing makes me more distressed. I may be exaggerating a little.

Here's an offering for a salad that combines a couple of food groups. Maybe this will make suppertime a little easier. :-)

COTTAGE CHEESE SALAD

1 tub small curd cottage cheese

1 can Mandarin oranges, drained

1 small can crushed pineapple, drain very well

3 oz box orange or apricot Jell-O

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 small container Cool Whip

Mix all together and keep in refrigerator.

This salad will start to get watery in a couple of days, so eat it up!!

It's beginning to look a lot like....

2011-11-30T18:03:00.002-06:00

December is hours away, and my mind is beginning to race for new appetizer ideas for Christmas. I was reviewing a few recipes on my iPad and found this pizza roll. I made it for a football game and it was pretty tasty. I think I found it on a blog, maybe Pioneer Woman?? Not sure.

Pizza Rolls

2 cans refrigerated pizza crust

garlic salt

Italian seasoning

1 cup sliced and chopped pepperoni

1 cup shredded cheese, whatever kind you like

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

spaghetti sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to 425*.

Dust a large cutting board with flour and roll out each pizza crust.

Season each crust with garlic salt and Italian seasoning, as much as you like.

Top with cheese and meat.

Start with a short end and roll crust into a tight log.

Slice into 1" sections.

Place on lightly greased pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Serve with spaghetti sauce for dipping.

Food Groups

2011-10-30T20:36:00.002-05:00

Anyone who knows me very well, will tell you that I'm campaigning to get chocolate accepted as one of the four food groups. I'm sure one of those others is completely expendable.

I recently made a layer cake that had a very unusual frosting, I found it on the Kraft Foods page. My kids thought it was special enough for a birthday cake, I just thought it was good enough to be a food group-as usual. I substituted Bakers chocolate for chocolate chips.

BEST-EVER CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

(that's Kraft's title not mine, but it's pretty good)

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips - divided

1 pkg chocolate cake mix, 2 layer size

1 pkg 3.9 oz Jell-o chocolate instant pudding

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 tub (8oz) cool whip topping, do NOT thaw

2 Tbsp sliced almonds

Heat oven to 350*. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in large bowl with mixer until blended. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour into 2- 9" round pans sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. Loosen cakes from sides of pans, invert onto wire racks; cool completely.

Microwave cool whip and remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips in microwave on high 1 1/2 min or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 1 minute. Let stand 15 minute to thicken.

Stack cake layers on plate, filling and frosting with cool whip mixture. Sprinkle with nuts, keep refrigerated.

RE MIX

2011-10-30T20:24:00.002-05:00

I'm posting a do-over. I have made this ranch cracker mix for a long time, it's actually posted 2/23/2008. When my family was here last weekend, they asked for my mix recipe. It was the same mix, but I switched up the ingredients a little. Instead of using 2 bags of oyster crackers, I used 1 and added some pretzel rods (broken up a little) and a box of nutty crackers. Experiment!

In case you don't want to look back here it is again:

Ranch Cracker Snack Mix

2 - 12-16 oz pkg plain oyster crackers

1 envelope hidden valley buttermilk ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

1 tsp dill weed

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3/4 - 1 cup salad oil

Whisk together the ranch dressing powder and oil. Add the rest of the ingredients mixing well and pour over crackers; stir to coat. Place in a 250* oven for 20 min stirring a couple of times. Cool completely and store in an air tight container.

Brunch n Football

2011-10-30T20:07:00.002-05:00

Saturday the Huskers played early, 11AM. I decided it would be fun to do a brunch thing instead of the usual game fare. I looked and looked for an egg recipe, then realized how short of time I was. I had to make a decision, fast! I fell back on a quick recipe, Breakfast Burritos. I was zooming to HyVee to pick up a prescription at 10AM and still didn't have eggs ready...stress! I hit the sausage aisle and found a new Jimmy Dean precooked sausage crumbles, awesome! I then headed for eggs and saw the egg beaters on sale too! I got one with seasonings already in it, so when I got home it was super fast, no eggs to crack. Nancy brought caramel rolls and cookies, I had apples and caramel dip. Of course we had a mimosa or two. By the way, the Huskers WON! GO BIG RED!!

Breakfast Burritos

flour tortillas

eggs, scrambled

sausage or bacon cooked and crumbled

cheddar cheese, grated (or any blend you like)

diced green onion-optional

diced green pepper-optional

salsa

Be sure to warm the tortillas so you can fold them easier. I just put them on my smooth top stove to heat them up on a burner. Microwave is good too. Down the center spoon eggs, cheese and sausage. Anything else you like can be added. Be sure to leave some room at the bottom to fold it up or you'll have a real mess on your hands. We like ours with salsa, they were delicious! Nancy and Bill liked them too!

Ba-nanas

2011-10-30T19:40:00.007-05:00

I found a new banana bread recipe and it's really really really great!!!

My poor bananas have been waiting patiently 3 days now, crying out to me to make them into something. Why is it that as soon as you get bananas home from the grocery store, they already seem to be getting dark? I buy green bananas, really green ones, but they still ripen at the speed of light.

I have tried different bread recipes and often they turn out dry and without much flavor. I googled the Pioneer Woman just for fun to see what she had, and voila there it was. This was a large recipe, and the kicker?? You bake it in a bundt pan of all things! The were two things I didn't like about the recipe, no vanilla extract and no walnuts. I of course, fixed that. Please give this one a shot, I loved it.

BANANA BREAD

2 sticks butter (I used Imperial margarine)

1 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

3 whole eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

4 cups + 2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cups walnuts

Preheat oven to 350* Grease and flour bundt pan or use a spray for baking and coat it generously.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add mashed bananas and vanilla, beat together.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until all is combined, then stir in walnuts.

Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes, then invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing and serving with softened butter.

Nuts!

2011-10-30T19:20:00.003-05:00

Speaking of nuts.....

About 4 or 5 years ago I realized I had gotten stuck on a phrase when things weren't going well. I'd say, "Nuts!" thinking it was far nicer than many other expletives I could be saying. Until one day, a preschooler heard me say it, looked me straight in the face and said, "Mrs. Mullen, that's a BAD word." I thought about it for awhile. His mom is a friend of mine, so I told her what he had said. She replied, "Well, when you live in a house full of boys, you can just imagine what that means at our place!" I was so embarrassed, I broke myself of that word very quickly. Well, I digress....

When we were leaving Lincoln a few weeks ago, my favorite son-in-law sent a Food & Wine magazine with us for the ride home. I found several recipes in that one book that peaked my curiosity. I really enjoyed this pecan recipe, this would be a great neighbor or co-worker gift for the holidays. FYI, I did a half batch and probably would again. Just half everything, the egg is tricky but you can do it!!

MAPLE PECANS

4 cups pecan halves

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper(use 1/2 tsp if your not afraid)

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg white, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350*. Spread the pecans on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast until they are fragrant, about 10 min. Let the pecans cool. Lower the oven temp to 250*.

2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the pecans with the maple syrup, butter, salt, cayenne and black pepper. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add the egg white to the pecans and toss well.

3. Spread the pecans on the lined baking sheets in a single layer. Bake for 40 minutes until the nuts are golden brown. Immediately loosen the pecans from the paper with a spatula. Let cool completely on the baking sheets before serving.

The recipe said you can store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. I kept ours for about 3 weeks and they were fine. I did keep them airtight.

Cheese Head

2011-10-16T21:16:00.002-05:00

Tonight it is supposed to freeze. Therefore, we have entered into the soup season. There are so many great soups, one of my old standbys is this broccoli cheese recipe. While Mike ate it, he told me 3 times how good it was. No sense reinventing the wheel, when you already have a winner!

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

1 16oz pkg frozen chopped broccoli

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup onion, chopped (I used more)

2 cups chopped potatoes

2 141/2 oz cans chicken broth

3 tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups milk

3/4- 1 lb Velveeta cubed

Simmer vegetables in broth 15 minutes. Mix flour into milk and add to cooked veggies. Cook and stir to thicken slightly, about 10 min. Add cheese, turn off heat, stir and cover till melted. Stir again and serve. So good.

Hot Dog!

2011-09-30T22:51:00.001-05:00

This picture has nothing to do with anything.

I just think it's funny!

Bacon is even good on EV-ERY-THING.

2011-09-30T22:39:00.003-05:00

When I read this recipe, I had to give it a lot of thought. It seemed like it would be greasy and gross. However, I'm such a big bacon fan that it finally got my motor runnin'. This is not a last minute thing to throw together, it takes 2 hours to bake. I even liked it leftover/cold out of the frig. Bacon = happy!

BACON CRACKERS

1 pkg club crackers

1# thin sliced bacon, cut slices in half

Grated Parmesan cheese or Parmesan Regiano (sp?) combined.

Lay crackers face up on a cookie sheet. Scoop about 1/2 tsp of grated Parmesan cheese onto each cracker. CAREFULLY wrap each cheese covered cracker in a half slice of bacon. This part takes some coordination, I completely spilled all of the cheese off of my first cracker. Hang in there, it will get easier. Completely cover the cracker from one end to the other, making sure it fits snugly.

Place the bacon wrapped crackers onto a baking sheet that has a cooling rack on it so the grease will drip away from the crackers.

Place in a 250* oven for about 2 hours. :-)

Olive Juice

2011-09-30T22:27:00.002-05:00

Does anyone remember a movie that talked about saying OLIVE JUICE? The idea was that from across the room, or just mouthing the words it looks like you are saying I LOVE YOU. I'm not sure why that's relevant, except that this recipe has a lot of olives in it. I've always loved olives. Green, black, sliced, stuffed, marinated, right out of the jar, you name it. This baked bread was pulled out of my hat for the last Husker football game. I think it was from the Pioneer Woman's blog. Tomorrow is a BIG game with Wisconsin, I better put my thinking cap on to find some other yums.

OLIVE CHEESE BREAD

1 loaf French bread

6 oz stuffed green olives

6 oz black olives

2 green onions

1 stick butter, room temp

1/2 cup mayo

3/4 pound Monterrey jack cheese, grated.

Roughly chop both black and green olives. Slice green onions into thin pieces.

Combine butter, mayo, cheese, olives and green onions in a mixing bowl. Stir together until combined, spread onto French bread that has been sliced lengthwise. Bake at 325* for 25 min or until cheese is melted and golden.

This mixture can be refrigerated up to 2 days and used as a dip also!

quickgetsomerecipespostedbeforeseptemberisover

2011-09-30T22:16:00.002-05:00

It's a Friday. It's the last day of September. I haven't paid any attention to my blog all month. That can only mean I must be in the throes of the first month of preschool. Argh! Yes, it's true. Getting 42 preschool age children into a routine takes a lot of work. Therefore, when I come home, I've been taking it easy, a little too easy.

Here we go! I'll do this in reverse order. Tonight I have put together a crock pot breakfast that I'm hoping will be wonderful. I've really been enjoying my crock pots lately, this is one of many reasons. I'm going to post the original recipe, but I cut it in half and used my little crock. Much better for just two of us. :-)

Crock Pot Egg Casserole

12 eggs or 2 cartons of egg beaters

1 (32 oz) bag frozen hash browns, any kind

1 lb cooked and cut up bacon, ham or sausage (or mix it up)

1/2 - 1 cup diced onion

12 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp dry mustard

salt, pepper and anything else you love

Spray a 6 qt crock pot with nonstick spray. Put in 1/2 of the hash browns, meat and onion. Sprinkle with half the cheese; then repeat.

Mix together eggs, milk, sour cream and seasonings. Pour over the top of ingredients layered in crock pot.

Cook on low for 8 hrs.

Can't wait for the morning to eat this.

Did I mention that I like granola?

2011-08-31T17:39:00.004-05:00

I have made a few different kinds of granola, but this is the one people! I am so happy with the taste of this one, it's j-u-s-t right. I eat it with yogurt, parfait style. I have it for breakfast with milk. I've seen Mike grab a handful of it and chuck it right in his mouth. It. Is. Good.

Homemade Granola

6 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup walnuts, broken into pieces

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup coconut

2 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup honey

1/2 cup oil

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 cup dried fruit, soaked in water (craisins or raisins)

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix liquid ingredients in a 2 cup measure and warm slightly in the microwave, then pour over dry mixture. Stir until well coated.

Put in two greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes; stir and add dried fruit. Bake another 20 minutes or until evenly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Have any Key Lime?

2011-08-31T17:24:00.004-05:00

I was watching Paula Deen make a pound cake. She used about a hundred stick of butter in it, and I'll admit it looked good. I went in search of a recipe that would imitate hers, but be a little kinder to those I love. This one was in Southern Living Magazine and it was a winner! Since I could not find any key limes, I was forced to buy a bottle of key lime juice. I always like to use fresh when possible, but I think this was probably a good alternative.

Key Lime Pound Cake

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lime zest (used a regular old lime)

1/4 cup fresh Key lime juice

Preheat oven to 325*. Grease and flour a 10" (12 cup) tube pan.

In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating just until blended after each one.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Combine at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour batter into tube pan.

Bake at 325* for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10-15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

Prepare glaze, and immediately brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Key Lime Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tablespoons fresh Key lime juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together powdered sugar, fresh key lime juice, and vanilla until smooth. Use immediately.

HURRY UP, AUGUST IS ALMOST OVER!!!!!!!

2011-08-31T16:38:00.006-05:00

I guess I'll start at the end of the month, and work my way back. I kept thinking I had time to get some posts in for August, guess what? That leaves today! Let's get crackin'

Speaking of 'crackin'.... here is the latest brownie experiment. I took this to Lincoln yesterday for the fam to review. It received 3 thumbs up! I found this on another blog, give it a try!

Better-Than-Crack Brownies

1 brownie box mix (9x13 size)

1/2 cup salted peanuts

1 cup chopped peanut butter cups (I found minis , they were perfect)

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Mix Brownies according to directions and bake for 20-25 min in a 9x13 baking dish. Remove and top with peanuts and peanut butter cups and bake for 5 minutes more.

While they finish baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Stir in cereal. Remove brownies from oven and evenly spoon chocolate mixture over top. Carefully smooth out.

Refrigerate for 2 hrs. before serving.

TuhmAte-o, TuhmOtto.

2011-08-11T07:44:00.002-05:00

It's been a pretty good summer for our tomatoes. For some reason the ones thriving are the smaller varieties. I have an heirloom green stripey that is soooo cute and delicious! Lots of cherry or grape size in both yellow and red. One variety is about the size of a tennis ball, they are also very good. Our Roma tomatoes died, so I won't be dehydrated those this summer. I always kept a stash of them in the freezer for salads in the winter.

EVERYONE on the food channel has been cooking tomatoes and putting them on pasta. I was of the opinion that I DO NOT like baked tomatoes. Because of the abundance of our crop, and the lack of other great ideas, I caved in and tried it a few days ago. I'll admit it, I was wrong. This was a delicious dish that I will be making several times this summer.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Pasta

2 lbs of cherry tomatoes, halved (I mixed yellow/red)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp slivered fresh garlic
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (leave this out if you don't want heat)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup chiffonade fresh basil leaves
1 tsp minced fresh oregano leaves
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh please

Preheat oven to 350*. In a large baking dish toss the tomatoes with oil, garlic, vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes & pepper. Roast until the tomatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the fresh herbs and stir well.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Toss with a couple of tsp of EVOO. Add the tomatoes and pan juices and reheat if needed, just a couple of minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and it's ready to serve.

Mike took our leftovers to work today, I can't wait to make it again!

Heather Lea, Lucy Lea

2011-07-23T13:15:00.003-05:00

Look at my girls!!! As you can see Lucy is a happy little darlin, and she is obviously very advanced. She is seen in the 2nd picture already enjoying a good book, all by herself! (That was a tricky camera shot, believe me!!!)

I have no recipe at this moment. Just these cute pics. It's fun being a Grandma. :o)

PS She got her first two teeth July 20th!

Quiche me, quick!

2011-07-23T12:51:00.003-05:00

I went to Lincoln last week for a couple of days. Heather was hosting a baby shower brunch for a good friend, so we started to look over some possible recipes. While she was perusing through various choices, her main objective was something with MEAT!! I mentioned this quiche a couple of times, even sent her the link...but it didn't make the cut.

I couldn't stop thinking about the recipe, so when I got home guess what I made for Mike?!? Yup, Spinach Quiche. We really liked it, and it was super easy since there is no crust. Of course with only two of us we had enough left for a couple of breakfasts as well! It heated up nicely in the microwave, I added some hot salsa on top for fun. :-)

It's ironic that Paula Deen did a very similar recipe this morning on her show. She used only 1 cup of cottage cheese, but added 1 cup of sour cream. I also add a hand full of Swiss cheese along with the cheddar, oh - and I cooked the spinach in the microwave as directed. Here is the recipe as written.

SPINACH QUICHE
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1 16oz small curd cottage cheese
2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup crushed croutons

Preheat oven to 325*. Lightly grease a 9" pie or quiche pan.

Place spinach in a small sauce pan, cook over med heat stirring occasionally until soft. Drain off any remaining liquid. Then give it a BIG squeeze with paper towels to make sure all the liquid is out. Stir in green onions, eggs, cottage cheese and cheddar cheese. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 30 min. Remove from oven and sprinkle with crushed croutons. Return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes, until eggs are set.

Depending on the size of pie dish you use the time will vary. It might take another 15 minutes! Keep and eye on it, give it a shake to see if it's set.

Update: Chocolate Dipped Snowballs (flat in summer)

2011-07-23T11:58:00.002-05:00

In March of 2009 I posted a recipe for these marshmallow-y ball treats. I think they must have been rather labor intensive, because I never made them again. They were really good, I just forgot about them, I guess. I needed a dessert to take to a church pot luck, and the temps have been hot hot hot. As I reviewed past posts to find something that jumped out at me, this one caused me to pause. Instead of rolling them into balls, I put the base into a 9x13 pan. Now the next size smaller pan might be better, they would get thicker. I didn't mind that they were flat, more like a cookie serving. I'll re post the recipe with the new directions. Here you go Heather!

Chocolate not-dipped flat Snowballs
1/4 cup butter
1 pkg 10 oz marshmallows
5 cups Post Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds Cereal
1/2 package semi sweet or dark chocolate chips(I used a little of both)

Melt the butter and marshmallows in the microwave and stir in cereal. Pat into a greased cake pan, save your wrapper from the butter to push down without it sticking to your hands.
Next melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time until it is smooth. Pour into a Ziploc sandwich bag, pressing out as much air as you can before you zip it up. Cut a tiny piece off of one corner of the bag to use like a pastry bag. Squeeze the chocolate randomly on top of the bars. You don't have to cover it all, it looks pretty with some of the bar showing. If it's a hot day you might need to pop it into the frig for a short time to harden the chocolate. That's it kids. Done.

Ho Ho

2011-07-18T16:29:00.003-05:00

HO HO HO HO
This is what little Hallie said as she tried my bars last week. She is 2 1/2 and smart as a whip!
This recipe is from my friend Barb. I don't make them often because it's a BIG pan of decadence.
My reason for making them this time was my friend Carol. She came to Norfolk from Texas and mentioned that she was craving one of my Ho Ho Bars. Well I knew she had been eating wisely, with an upcoming wedding. So I made them as an after the celebration-celebration!! I hope you have a reason to make them, they are heavenly.

HO HO BARS
1 stick margarine, melted
1/2 cup oil
1 cup water
3 tbsp cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1 tsp vinegar and enough milk to make 1/2 cup)

Cream together margarine and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients, this will be a thin batter. Spray a jelly roll sheet pan (17 1/2 x 11 1/2) with Pam and pour in batter. Bake in a 350* pan for 25 minutes or until done when tested with toothpick.

Filling:
1 cup sugar
1 cup Crisco (butter flavor)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt

Beat together for 5 minutes (if you have a stand mixer, this is the time to use it!)
Then add 1 cup powdered sugar. Spread over cooled cake.

Frosting:
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp margarine
6 tbsp milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat first three ingredients together and beat for one minute. Add chocolate chips and beat until thick. Spread over filling layer.

Store this in the refrigerator.

Knee High by the 4th of July

2011-07-18T16:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we had a potluck at church. They are always so much fun!! There's always deviled eggs, potato salad, jello, beans, etc... so many choices. Friends at the table next to us were enjoying a salad and asked if I had brought it. Well, it wasn't mine but it was a recipe I have made before. I told Brook I would send it to her, and when I looked for it on my blog today, guess what? It wasn't here. So without further adieu, I give you Crunchy Corn Salad!!

CRUNCHY CORN SALAD
1 can white corn
1 can yellow corn
1 cup mayo
2 cups shredded cheese - mont. jack or cheddar
1 med bell pepper - chopped
1 small purple onion - chopped
11 1/2 oz bag chili cheese Frito's (crunch it up in the bag)

Combine the corn, mayo, cheese, pepper & onion. Just before serving, stir in the Frito's that have been coarsely crushed in the bag. If you don't think you'll eat the entire salad, add the crushed Frito's a handful at a time to each serving instead.

Now, if your family doesn't like onion or bell pepper leave it out!

My friend Pam gave me this recipe originally. I added the onion after I looked at some other similar recipes online. Talk about a quick recipe! This one you could put together in less than 5 minutes. Enjoy. :o)

Jalapeno Delight

2011-07-06T11:18:00.003-05:00

Another new summer side dish idea.

PICKLED JALAPENOS & CARROTS

10 jalapenos sliced into 1/8" rings
2 cups peeled and sliced 1/4" carrots
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 red onion sliced 1/4" thick

I used 3 or 4 jalapenos, and a not as hot salsa pepper for the rest.
I found out a couple days later at our family reunion that my sister in law Tami cans this recipe! She said she blanches the carrots to soften them, that's a great idea. Her recipe didn't include onion, I like that addition. I'm sure however, that she uses all jalapenos. You decide how hot you want it! :-)

Directions:
Bring vinegar and sugar to a slight simmer, just to dissolve the sugar. Add remaining ingredients and steep for 1 hour minimum before serving. Store in airtight container.

Company's Coming!

2011-07-06T10:28:00.001-05:00

We have been crazy busy the last 6 days, and the next 4 don't look much calmer. We have a revolving door for company with so many things going on. We have had some great friends getting married with 2 weddings, attended a family reunion, and welcomed a new Kindergarten teacher to St. Paul's. Nicole and her parents joined us for dinner Friday night, how nice to get to know them better!

BEEF TIPS A'LA ANN!
3 lbs stew meat (I used sirloin cut into 1" cubes)
2 cans of cheddar cheese soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 soup can of water

My friend Ann recommended this recipe, her directions were:
"Put in a crock pot about 8 hours, enjoy!"

Because I used sirloin, my recipe did not have to cook as long. After lunch I started the slow cooker on medium/low for 1 1/2 hrs. I then turned it to low for another 2 hrs. My meat was tender so I just unplugged it and left it until it was time to use it. I cooked wide egg noodles to serve it on. We had a LOT left over, and there were 7 people at dinner. I will make a half batch next time. It was delicious, thanks Ann!

Yet ANOTHER Coleslaw

2011-06-22T11:40:00.002-05:00

I think summertime is the perfect stage for bringing out salads. If you like it, make it again. If not, don't look back. I didn't appreciate coleslaw when I was younger, I've learned to like it. I especially like it with fruit added. Check this out!

SUMMER COLESLAW

5 cups shredded cabbage

1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

Combine above ingredients in a large bowl with a snap on lid. Then combine ingredients listed below in a separate bowl. Refrigerate all until ready to serve. Combine just before it's time to serve stirring well.

1/2 cup mayo

1 Tbsp sweet pickle relish

1 Tbsp grainy mustard

1 Tbsp honey

salt and pepper

Nanner Nanner

2011-06-22T11:29:00.002-05:00

Its my opinion that everything benefits from chocolate. If you want to substitute something else, knock yourself out!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup canola oil (or veg. oil)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)

3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. This is a thick batter, don't worry! Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350* for 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 min. before removing from pans to a wire rack.

My new favorite muffin! I didn't have plain yogurt, so I used key lime :o) it was fine. I always use an ice cream scoop to make them uniform in size. We always have bananas going bad on hand. Mike eats one every day, but we still can't seem to get through them before they turn. This recipe may cause me to buy a couple extra each time so I 'have to' make muffins.

MUFFIN time

2011-06-22T11:13:00.002-05:00

I found a deal at Sam's Club not long ago on blueberries. They were so sweet and good all by themselves. I tried a super easy blueberry muffin recipe worth sharing.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

raw sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350*, and spray a 12 cup muffin tin.

Combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. In another bowl combine melted butter, egg and milk and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir with a spatula just until combined. It's OK if there are lumps in the batter. This is a detail I have evidently kept from my daughter, she claims she didn't know that you can over stir a muffin. Well, you can...so don't. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.

Use an ice cream scoop to fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full. Sprinkle the tops with pure cane organic sugar. I like that kind because it's course and a little brown, it looks pretty! I guess you could use regular sugar. My original recipe called for 1/2 cup for topping, but I didn't use that much.

Bake 20 min. or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick in the center of muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan about 10 minutes before you turn them out.

These are berrylicious!

Sea Food - Yum.

2011-06-22T10:48:00.002-05:00

I don't know why I have never attempted bacon wrapped shrimp. Just the sight of it on a TV commercial makes me salivate. I love shrimp. I LOVE bacon. Combine the two ~ and you have a moment that makes the angels sing.....loudly!

We have a local market that sells frozen raw shrimp, these are bigger then you get in the bags. They have the shells on them yet, so they must be thawed then peeled. I seasoned them with some garlic powder and house seasoning. I use this Paula Deen house seasoning recipe for almost everything, I'll list the ingredients below.

Set the shrimp aside while you get the bacon ready. Each slice can be cut into 3 pieces, the idea is to wrap it with just enough so it can actually crisp up when cooked. You will need toothpicks to secure the bacon.

We debated using the George Foreman grill or grilling outside. Outside won, so we then slipped the shrimp onto wooden skewers to make it easier to flip them. Shrimp is done when it changes color. It doesn't take long, be attentive so that you don't overcook or you'll get rubber shrimp.

I didn't state amounts, you can decide how many you can eat, and the price of the shrimp may help you decide! Those big boys are pricey. You could always combine the shrimp with steak or chicken. It's all good.

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Store it covered.

Artichoke Baby!

2011-06-22T10:27:00.002-05:00

I loved this salad a LOT! My daughter, and husband also thought it was good. The second day I served leftovers to son & soninlaw. I don't think they loved it as much as me, but I really love artichokes. I will be making it again, soon.

ARTICHOKE SALAD

1 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

8 oz bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

1/2 cup sliced black olives

4 sun dried tomatoes, julienned

1 small red onion, sliced super thin or diced (your preference)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves

salt and pepper

Combine first 5 ingredients ingredients in a serving bowl. Whisk together second group of ingredients for dressing. Gently toss together and let rest covered in the frig for about an hour before serving.

Summer of '42!

2011-06-09T17:23:00.009-05:00

The summer has been busy. We went to a street dance with our good friends Bill & Nancy.

We went to the Christian Cross Festival with a celebrity, Miss Hallie.

We celebrated my parents 69th wedding anniversary at their favorite table at the mall,
followed by lunch at Whiskey Creek.

Can you believe 69?!?! Mom was 17, dad 20, they eloped! My Grandma told my Grandpa they had gone the opposite way they really did, so he wouldn't catch them in time! They have worked hard for everything they have, I'm so very proud of them! Oh yes, I bought 69 doughnut holes to celebrate. They shared with their friends at the mall!

Never met a brownie I didn't like.

2011-06-09T16:33:00.006-05:00

Brownies. Cheesecake. Peanut butter. Toffee.

Imagine mixing these all together into one dessert. Got a picture in your head? I wasn't satisfied with just the picture, I had to get my grubby little hands on this concept. Mmmm. I love it when you can take a box of something, add more to it and end up with a new twist on an old idea. These brownies are splendid, amazing, d-lish! Try them.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

1 box chocolate fudge brownie mix (19.5 oz)
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

2 eggs

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup toffee bits

1 1/2 cup milk chocolate baking chips

3 Tbsp heavy cream

Heat oven to 350*. Lightly spray 9x13 pan with no stick cooking spray.

In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, oil, water and eggs 50 strokes with spatula. Spread batter in pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with mixer on medium until fluffy. Add milk and peanut butter beating until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of toffee bits. Spoon mixture over batter evenly. This part takes some patience, use a small amount at a time, because it will not spread well on the raw brownie batter.

Bake 35-ish minutes, or until cheesecake layer is set and edges are light golden brown. Cool on rack for 30 min, then refrigerated another 40 min.

In small bowl microwave chocolate chips and cream 45 seconds or until melted; stir until smooth. Spread over cheesecake layer. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Stir covered in refrigerator.

They get pretty firm in the frig, so I would suggest taking them out about an hour before serving.

This is the pan fresh out of the oven, without the chocolate glaze on yet.

Here they are after, the glaze...is there a piece missing??

Summer 2011, it's ON!

2011-05-24T13:34:00.002-05:00

We are just days away from another Memorial Day weekend, the 'official' kick off to summer. I have been out of school for a week already, although it doesn't seem like it's been the lazy days yet. As I post, we are having new carpet installed on our main floor. It's a lot of work moving all of that furniture around, we had to get pretty creative with storage. Also, I didn't know it would be so NOISY! Poor Maddie, she doesn't want to be in, it's sprinkling on and off outdoors, and she doesn't know what's going on!

My sister in law Ruth put some pressure on me several years ago. She liked a particular salad I made and used the recipe over the summer for any gathering they were invited to. The next summer she said, "I need a new summer salad that lives up to the last one!" I don't recall what I sent her, but every summer since - I feel a responsibility to come up with another recipe.

I made this one two days ago, and it seems to get better as it ages. That's a plus for me, since there are only two in our house, it takes awhile to finish anything I make. I don't know if this is the best I'll find yet for this summer, but I really like it and it's pretty. Similar to others I've made, but a new little twist. Easy to double for a larger gathering, please note the change in dressing amounts at the bottom of the recipe.

BROCCOLI SLAW
1-12 oz package of broccoli slaw (This looks like cole slaw mix, but it's made with broccoli, carrots and red cabbage.)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 large red pepper, chopped

Dressing:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
(If doubling recipe use 3/4 cup canola, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cider vinegar.)

Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over the first group of ingredients that have been combined. I think it was better day 2, so leave for several hours before serving.

It's nice to have a summer salad that is not dairy based, much safer to take with you if it won't be refrigerated!

Poppin' in to say hi.

2011-05-22T15:11:00.002-05:00

Does this make you hungry???

I watched this recipe yesterday on the food network; and since I didn't forget about it by today~I decided I should probably try it out. A thought I had while making it was that in the summer time you really don't want to heat up the oven so this would be great! On the other hand, if it's humid it might not keep very long. Guess you'd have to eat it up pronto!!

Chocolate Popcorn Brittle

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

10 cups of popped popcorn

salt, optional

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

3/4 cup white chocolate, melted (I substituted 2 squares vanilla almond bark)

1 cup salted pretzels, crushed (Not one plain pretzel in my house, so I skipped this)

Mix the sugar and honey in a small saucepan and bring to a boil Let simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the crunchy peanut butter, continue to stir until smooth. Add the vanilla and stir again.

In a large mixing bowl, measure out the popcorn. If desired, lightly salt the popcorn. Pour the warm peanut butter mixture over the popcorn and stir well until completely coated.

On a baking sheet lined with wax paper, pour the coated popcorn and distribute evenly. Drizzle with the melted semis sweet chocolate, then the white chocolate. Sprinkle the crushed pretzels over the warm popcorn. Allow to set about 20 minutes or pop into refrigerator to speed it up. Store tightly covered.

I'm anxious to try this again WITH the pretzels, I'm a big fan of sweet and salty together.

Cheese that goes CRUNCH!

2011-04-26T13:25:00.003-05:00

Not long ago we had company here from Wisconsin. I put this casserole together thinking it would appeal to the 'younger' portion of the visitors. Turns out it was a good choice. Even Miles, (who tends to be a picky eater) enjoyed the casserole. Shannon asked for the recipe!

CHICKEN DORITOS CASSEROLE
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1 can chopped green chili's
1/2 onion finely chopped
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled & shredded
8 oz grated mozzarella cheese
8 oz grated cheddar cheese
1 package Doritos's nacho chips

1. combine soup, sour cream, chili's and onion together.
2. In another bowl combine the two kinds of cheese.
3. Crush the Doritos in the bag, you'll need to let some air out of the bag in order to crush them.

In a 9x13: dish layer chicken, cheese, soup mixture & chips two times.
Bake 350* 45 min.

This is a stick up!

2011-04-25T17:16:00.002-05:00

L-o-n-g ago a friend told me about this recipe. I thought she was nuts when she told me that it started with white bread flattened with a rolling pin. I had to try it though, and I'm glad I did.

This is a recipe that can be prepared ahead of time, and stored in the freezer. Just bake however many you need. I liked them so much, I even made these for a teacher's conference that we hosted at our school.

CINNAMON STICK ROLL UPS

White sandwich bread
1 8oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Cut off crusts from the bread and flatten each slice with a rolling pin.
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and yolk until well blended. Spread enough of this mixture on each slice of flattened bread to cover up to 1/4" from the edge.
Roll up like a jelly roll and brush each one with melted butter. Roll in cinnamon and sugar that has been mixed together. *At this point you may freeze them to use later.*
Bake for 15-20 min @ 350* or until golden.

This time I cut off just the side crusts so I didn't waste so much bread. These are yummy, so cinnamon-y!

James' Magic Beans

2011-04-25T17:01:00.002-05:00

For Easter we had a spiral cut ham, cheesy potatoes, cherry supreme salad, and these beans. Not a big spread, but everyone was full when we finished up. We did leave room for butterscotch pie.

The original recipe is called Grandma's Green Bean Casserole. Since I got this from my son, I decided to change the title. It was extra nice that James was there to make this for me for our Easter meal. They were GREAT!

James' Green Bean Casserole
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup sour cream
3- 14.5 oz cans French style green beans, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup French's french fried onions

Preheat oven to 350*
1. Melt butter in a large skillet over med. heat. Stir in flour until smooth and cook for one minute. Stir in the salt, sugar, onion and sour cream. Next add the beans and stir gently to coat.
2. Pour mixture into a 2 1/2 qt casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese over the top, use more if you wish. Top with French's onions.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden and cheese is bubbly.

I did it, I made jello.

2011-04-25T16:48:00.002-05:00

I made jello. Not impressed? Well, I really don't ever want jello, or need jello, or even think about jello, unless it's a jello kind of holiday. I googled jello salad and this was one of the first five I saw. I think it was pretty good, but you'd have to ask a jello connoisseur to know for sure. If you try it, let me know.

Cherry Supreme Salad
1 3oz pkg strawberry flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 - 21oz can cherry pie filling

1 3oz pkg lemon flavored gelatin
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 3oz pkg cream cheese
1/3 cup mayo
1 8oz can crushed pineapple, UNdrained
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup whipped cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Dissolve the strawberry gelatin in 1 cup of boiling water. Stir in pie filling, then spread mixture into a 7x11 pan. Refrigerated about 45 minutes until nearly set.
2. Dissolve the lemon gelatin in 3/4 cup boiling water; stir in the lemon juice and set aside. Mash the cream cheese in a separate bowl until soft then stir in the mayo. Pour the lemon gelatin into the cream cheese mixture and stir until smooth. Add the pineapple and fold in the marsh-mallows & whipped cream. Spread the pineapple mixture over the chilled cherry layer. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and chill until fully set. About 2 hours.

I made this for Easter yesterday. I ate it again today, still wasn't bad! :-)
Maybe I could become a Jello convert. We'll see.

Easter. Chocolate. Yum.

2011-04-22T16:47:00.002-05:00

My girls were here for a couple of sleeps. It's so nice to spend time with Lucy, uninterrupted time to just stare at her! She is going to be 2 months old this Easter Sunday! Now she can do some tricks: smile, coo, and fluff like crazy! (Fluff is the preschool nice word we use for a bodily function that sneaks out sometimes!)

I have been on a chocolate binge this last week. The black bottom banana bars I made last weekend for the game, were gone so fast I made another batch. Then I made these wonderful chocolate cookies with half of a big marshmallow on top drizzled with fudge frosting! Oh MY! I don't know if I can share that recipe yet, because I got it from a preK mom. THEN today I made black bottom cupcakes, and yes they are tasty. I am planning to switch it up a little and make my dad a butterscotch pie for Easter. I have been given 3 different recipes, not sure how to pick the winner?!?

Here we go with the cupcake recipe.

BLACK BOTTOM CUPCAKES

First buy a packaged chocolate cake mix and make according to directions. I went with a dark chocolate version, but you pick what you like the most. Go ahead and fill cupcake liners with a scoop of the batter, they should be a little more than 1/2 full. I think I got about 27 out of my mix. Next you'll be making the filling.

1- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix all of these ingredients together and top each cupcake (not baked yet) with a teaspoon of the cream cheese batter. Now Bake it at 350* for about 20 min. or until it tests done.

Now comes the frosting. Hershey's has a great butter cream frosting recipe on the baking cocoa box. However, today I used this recipe.

Mocha Frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup hot strong coffee (I add in some espresso powder too)

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add pwd sugar and cocoa slowly, mix constantly alternately with vanilla and coffee. Use your discretion on the amount of liquid. Less or more to make it a good consistency for spreading.

The original frosting recipe was twice this amount, but there was so much left over! It's just enough to frost the cupcakes.

Nanner

2011-04-19T19:29:00.002-05:00

So much has been going on! RED WHITE game last weekend in Lincoln. Lucy visits. Easter this weekend. Spring/Earth Day projects at school. (Less than a month left of school!) Choir music to learn for holiday services. Yard work. Nancy's birthday (today).

The unthinkable happened yesterday. Mike came to me and said, "We don't have any leftovers in the frig, what should I take for lunch?!?" My head probably spun around in a complete circle. That's when I realized I have been gone, gone, gone and have not been cookin', cookin', cookin'.

Well, tonight I did a Paula chicken dish. Not bad. I still have 3 lbs of ground beef waiting to become razzle dazzle. Not quite sure what will happen to it, yet. For some reason I have been able to come up with many desserts lately. I got a recipe from a mom for a yummy cookie. I have been hungry for my favorite cupcake. And, last weekend I tried a new banana bar recipe. Here's the odd thing, ALL THREE have chocolate and more chocolate in them. It's true, I'm Linda and I'm a choco-holic.

OK, so I did just get a recipe for Butterscotch Pie, but honestly that's for Easter and it's my dad's favorite - not mine. I will give you a review of that pie in about a week, OK? Now back to chocolate. Here's the recipe for the banana bars, they were received with open arms when we tailgated in Lincoln last Saturday. In fact one of James' friends told me to stop passing them around! I made another batch of them within 4 days, which NEVER happens.

BLACK BOTTOM BANANA BARS
1/2 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
chocolate chips
walnuts

Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl cream butter, & sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Blend into creamed mixture alternately with bananas. Divide batter in half. Blend cocoa into half of the batter. turn chocolate batter into a greased 9x13" cake pan. Spoon banana batter evenly over chocolate batter and carefully spread to within 1/2" of edge. Cover with desired amount of chocolate chips and walnuts. I probably used about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and 3/4 to 1 cup walnuts broken into smaller pieces.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until center tests clean with toothpick. Cool and cut.

P.S. I continue to love my Kitchen-Aid mixer more and more every day!

The Grandmother of all Bar Recipes!

2011-03-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

Seven Layer Magic Cookie Bars

Servings: 2 dozen bars
Serving Size:
Nutrition: See Below
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients

Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup (6 oz.) butterscotch-flavored chips
1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions

HEAT oven 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.
BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.
For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up by edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into individual bars.

That's just peachy!

2011-03-07T21:12:00.004-06:00

I mentioned online that I had tried a pie experiment, several people requested that I share the recipe. Pies are not something I've baked often. I make a good pumpkin pie, and pecan pie for Thanksgiving, but that's about it. Maybe I'm on to something here, my husband would probably appreciate that. He was weaned on fabulous pie, maybe that's why I have never tried to compete. Who knows, but give this a try if you like some pie!!

Peach Crumb Pie

Filling:
5 large, ripe but firm peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup cornstarch
juice of 1/2 lemon

Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch salt
4 Tbsp butter, cut into small cubes

Your favorite pie crust recipe, or a store bought pie dough like Pillsbury.

1. In a large bowl combine the peaches, sugar and cinnamon. Add cornstarch to a small bowl and whisk in the lemon juice so no lumps remain. I had to add a little more water to this so it would be smooth. Pour the cornstarch mixture over the peaches and toss. Let them rest for 15 minutes while you roll out the pie dough and make the streusel topping.

2. Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice and salt in a large bowl. Blend the butter into the mixture with your fingers until it forms pea size lumps and looks crumbly.

3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Place the pie crust in the bottom of a 9" pie pan, crimp edges as desired.

4. Pour the peach filling into the pie shell and sprinkle the streusel topping over the pie. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

Soup-a Suppa!

2011-03-07T19:24:00.002-06:00

I thought we were finished with snow, and the really cold 'stuff '. After all, next weekend the time changes, and Spring is less than 2 weeks away. BUT...in the Midwest we all know that the weather isn't ever predictable!

With 2 inches of snow today, and the promise of 2-4 more tomorrow ~ I had to take a step back in my mind and find a soup recipe for supper. I've looked for a long time for a chicken tortilla soup but never landed on one to try. I stumbled on a Rachael Ray recipe over my lunch hour, and decided to give it a whirl. I changed a few things, but I WILL try it again, thought it was good!

Oh, and FYI this isn't a soup to throw together in a hurry ~ unless you have another pair of hands to help out!

TORTILLA SOUP

1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 red bell pepper
1 pound chicken breast
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
1 small zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes 28oz
1 can tomato sauce, 8 oz
3-4 cups chicken stock
shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro, **tortilla strips for garnish

The recipe called for a grill pan, and since I don't have one, I used my George Foreman grill to roast the corn and red pepper. Char them just to the point they are turning color, watch them so you don't over do it. Cool and dice peppers into small pieces.

While vegetables cook, dice chicken. Add 2 Tbsp oil to a soup pot, add chicken and season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown chicken, then add zucchini, onions, garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook another 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and chicken stock. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat to med low. Add corn and red pepper and cook another 5 minutes.

It's ready to serve! Garnish each serving with cheese, sour cream, cilantro and tortilla strips.

**To make tortilla strips cut flour tortillas in 1/2" strips and bake in a 350* oven for about 5 minutes. Don't walk away, they will burn quickly! I used a pizza cutter to cut them, and spread them out so they didn't touch on a large pan. They get crispy and you can break them into bite size pieces in your bowl.

Oooo la la...breakfast!

2011-03-07T18:57:00.004-06:00

Do you eat breakfast? I am a latecomer to the breakfast world. I started to eat cereal or a bagel in the morning only about 1 1/2 yrs ago. I know it's better for you, and it's time I try to get my ducks in a row, right?

My ultimate breakfast would have bacon every day!! I'm not an egg lover, I'm learning to like them but I have a ways to go before love happens. I really love a sweet yummy thing like this recipe.

Blueberry French Toast

1 (1lb) loaf of Italian bread cut into 1" cubes
1 8oz package cream cheese, diced
1 cup blueberries
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup blueberries
1 Tbsp butter

Put half of the bread cubes in a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle cream cheese on top of bread cubes. Top with 1 cup blueberries and remaining bread. In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla & nutmeg. Pour egg mixture over bread, cover pan and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning take pan from refrigerator 1/2 hour before baking. Preheat oven to 350*. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes, uncover and bake another 30 minutes until golden brown and the center is set.

To make sauce: combine sugar, cornstarch and water. Boil over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add blueberries and reduce heat, simmer 5-8 minutes or until the berries have burst. Stir in butter until melted. Serve over squares of french toast.

She's here...Lucy (perfect) Lea Eigsti

2011-02-28T08:28:00.005-06:00

Thursday I was at school getting ready to take my children to the pep rally in the gym. I got THE CALL from Heather at 2:25. They had gone to a regular Dr. appointment and were told she was dilated to 4 and close to being fully effaced. YIKES!! Because March 6th was the due date, and this was February 24th we did not have any bags packed. My sub Karen just happened to be in the building, she offered to stay the last hour for me. I called Mike at work as I headed out the door.

When I got home I grabbed suitcases, and feverishly started to pack. I felt like I was spinning around as my thoughts raced in many directions at once. Mike didn't get home until after 3:20, by then my things were in the trunk, a thermos of fresh coffee was ready, dog arrangements had been made, and I probably checked 5 times to be sure my camera was in my purse. We took off with smiles on our faces and our hearts jumping to our throats.

Our drive was uneventful till we were almost to Seward. We heard Lincoln was getting snow, a lot of it - and that roads were very bad. It wasn't an exaggeration. Our last leg of the drive was harrowing, we crawled along with blowing snow and poor visibility. The ditches were littered with cars that had gone off the road, semi trucks halted traffic as they put chains on their tires, radio personalities were saying again and again that if you are in an accident exchange information and keep going since the officials were swamped with accidents. I kept our car on a straight safe path by clinging to the handle over my window. I always wondered what that handle was there for, now I know!

Finally, we were in Lincoln. We crawled to Bryan LGH then called Nate at 6:41 to ask where we should park. BIG SIGH... we found the new parents to be in room 405 with smiles on their faces and feeling great, Heather did not have major contractions yet. Their delivery suite was beautiful! Everything would happen in that room. Things are certainly different now, for the better!

The four Parents (soon to be grandparents) and one sibling gathered in the waiting area. Some sat on the floor, some on chairs, some pacing. I spoke with James and told him how things were going, he asked who was there and then decided he should be there too. NOW we were ready for some baby news. We actually didn't have to wait that long!

At 11:09 we heard a familiar lullaby play over the intercom, we looked at each other...does that mean a baby was born?? There were 3 families waiting to deliver that we knew of. One mom had been in labor 17 hrs, and Heather's Dr. was going to do a c section on her after he checked in with Heather. Turns out that our little dumplin' was in a hurry and the doctor changed his game plan.

After 4 good pushes, Lucy Lea was met by two adoring parents. She weighed 6lb 14 oz, was 19 1/2" long, had a head full of dark hair and big beautiful eyes. We have witnessed a miracle.
I was so excited it was difficult to contain my energy. This is clear in a photo Nate took as we entered their room to meet our precious little girl. There were oohs and ahhhs and lots of hugging, smiling, picture taking. We left for home around 1 I think.... so very happy that all of us were safe and healthy.

Nate, Heather and Lucy were moved to the 6th floor to room 614....wait a minute, that's how much Lucy weighed! They would stay there, all three of them until they were dismissed on Saturday afternoon around 1PM.

Now come the nights with not much sleep, and new discoveries every day.
GOD is GOOD!

Edamame

2011-01-31T21:49:00.003-06:00

I love Edamame more and more. If you don't know, edamame is soy beans and my stores carry it in the freezer section by peas and carrots! It's very good for you and easy to work into a lot of different recipes. This one was pretty dog gone tasty! We had it with a pork loin, and for several meals after that. Makes a lot!

MEXICAN BEAN SALAD (with Edamame)

1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can light kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 to 2 cups frozen edamame beans, cooked minimum time - rinsed
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 10 oz pkg frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 small red onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup canola oil
1/ cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 dash Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder

In a large bowl combine beans, bell peppers, corn and red onion.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime and lemon juice till combined. Stir in sugar, salt, garlic, cilantro, cumin and black pepper. Season to taste with hot sauce and chili powder; add more cumin, salt and pepper if needed.

Pour dressing over veggies and mix well. Chill thoroughly and serve cold.

Another Crescent Roll Discovery!

2011-01-20T13:26:00.003-06:00

What's not to like about crescent rolls? Some of the best desserts I make include them. Last night when my husband made soup for supper, I thought about a bread at the very last minute. I grabbed a can of the crescent rolls that are seamless out of the fridge. This was the first time I bought that kind. On the side of the tube was this recipe, and as luck would have it I had all the ingredients. Well let me tell you, they were fantastic! I will make these for brunch sometime soon.

Crescent Bacon-Cheese Tartlets

Prep Time: 20 Min

Total Time: 45 Min

Makes: 12

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet (love the seamless dough!)

1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/4 cup chopped cooked bacon

1 tablespoon chopped green onion (1 medium)

1 egg

3 tablespoons whipping cream (or half & half)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 375°F.
If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough into 1 large rectangle on work surface. Press into 12x9-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough on work surface. Press into 12x9-inch rectangle.
Cut dough into 12 squares. Gently press squares into 12 ungreased mini muffin cups, shaping edges to form rims 1/4 inch high. Spoon cheese evenly into dough-lined cups. Top each with bacon and onion. In small bowl, beat egg and whipping cream with wire whisk or fork until blended. Spoon slightly less than 1 tablespoon mixture into each cup.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and filling is set. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups.

Soup-ER!

2011-01-19T18:44:00.001-06:00

Minestrone Soup

Recipe courtesy Ellie Krieger for Food Network Magazine

Prep Time:: 15 min
Inactive Prep Time:: --
Cook Time:: 30 min

Level:: Easy

Serves:: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
cup elbow pasta
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.

Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan and chopped basil.

Per serving (2 cups): Calories 260; Fat 8 g (Saturated 2 g); Cholesterol 5 mg; Sodium 560 mg; Carbohydrate 37 g; Fiber 10 g; Protein 15 g

Photograph by Andrew Mccaul

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Wed Jan 19 2011

Peanut butter cups are divine...

2010-12-28T20:23:00.003-06:00

My sons birthday is coming up later this week. He requested two things: A smoked turkey from Louie, a friend of the family since James was a youngster. And a Peanut butter cup pizza. I ALMOST forgot them both. Just realized last night I had not ordered the turkey, and about an hour ago I happened to think about the dessert. That is why I live my life around a list, keeps me out of trouble. I think that working with preschool age children has given me a shorter attention span. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Well, before I'm distracted again I will post the recipe so I will be able to deliver the ultimate birthday treat on James' GOLDEN birthday!!

TRIPLE PEANUT PIZZA
1 tube (18oz) refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chopped peanut butter cups

Press cookie dough onto a greased 14: pizza pan. Bake @ 350* for 12-15 min. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand 4-5 minutes. Spread melted c hips over crust and freeze for 10 min or until set.
Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Spread over the chocolate layer. Sprinkle with the PB cups and chill until serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Muffin Man

2010-12-24T14:59:00.002-06:00

REFRIGERATOR BRAN MUFFINS

1-15oz Raisin Bran cereal
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
5 cups flour
5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2-3 cups walnuts or pecans coarsely chopped
1 cup dried apricots - chopped
1 cup dried dates - chopped
1 cup margarine melted
4 eggs beaten
1 qt buttermilk

Line cupcake pan with liners, fill each 3/4 full and bake approx 20-25 min @ 375*
This can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks. I bake just a 1/2 dozen or so at a time so they are fresh!

Prime Rib

2010-12-08T06:27:00.001-06:00

Do you cook prime rib around this time of year? We do a small cut, but this recipe turned out the best of all last time. Making my mouth water....yum.

Prime Rib
4# meat
Sniders Prime Rib and Roast seasoning

Leave meat out for 2 hours to bring to room temp. Use a generous amount of seasoning and hand rub it into the prime rib. Place into a pan with about 3" sides for roasting. I just used a cake pan. Heat oven to 450* put meat thermometer in roast then place in oven for 20 min (5 min per pound). Shut oven off DO NOT open the door!!
After 3 hours turn heat on to 350* and roast to desired internal temp. Ours was at 150* it was beautifully pink and juicy. It took about 25 min.
Let it stand 15 min before carving to keep it juicy. I used the meat drippings and an envelope of aujus for delightful dipping :-)

Huskers Like Cake!

2010-12-04T13:51:00.002-06:00

I can't wait to eat this!! It's a recipe for BOSTON CREAM PIE, why they call a cake a pie in Boston is beyond me. Premier run on this recipe, but I can tell you the icing tasted fudgy, the filling was creamy, and the cake....don't know yet but it looks good! The original recipe said to use one layer of the cake and cut it horizontally, but what would I do with the other layer cake??? I just used them both. This picture was taken outside since it said to refrigerate for an hour, and it definitely wouldn't fit in my frig today. Rest assured I put it in an airtight cake carrier so nothing could creep in, not even a 4 legged Maddie dog. I'm taking this to a Husker party tonight, let's hope it's a celebration cake!

BOSTON CREAM PIE

1 pkg (3.4 oz) JELL-O vanilla flavor instant pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 1/2 cups thawed cool whip
1 yellow cake mix - baked according to directions in 2 round pans
1 square semi sweet Bakers chocolate
1 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk

Beat pudding mix and 1 cup cold milk 2 minutes. Stir in cool whip, let stand 5 minutes.

Stack first cake layer on serving plate, spread pudding mixture on and top with second layer.

Microwave chocolate and butter 1 min. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add sugar and 2 Tbsp milk; mix well. Spread over cake and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Do you stuff your bird?

2010-11-30T16:22:00.003-06:00

TO stuff or NOT to stuff, that is the question. My mother in law makes the most wonderful stuffing, and it always comes out of the bird. I have had zero success with stuffing as I always compared the end product to Ann's. This time I tried a slow cooker recipe. This seemed like a great plan since it would take up no room in the oven, and I could cook it anywhere I had a plug in! I will admit it got a little brown on the bottom, so if you want to avoid that be careful when dishing it to a bowl. I wonder if I should have stirred it during the cooking process to avoid that? I did like the flavor, it was pretty close to the best ever stuffing. (I also did my corn casserole in a slow cooker, worked great and had the most wonderful texture.)

Thanksgiving Stuffing in a Slow Cooker

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery (include some tops)
1/4 cup butter
1 package seasoned stuffing cubes or crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can 14 1/2 oz chicken broth
2 eggs
giblets from turkey chopped and browned in skillet if desired

In a small skillet cook onion & celery in butter until tender. In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes/crumbs, and seasonings. Stir in onion mixture and giblets if using. Combine broth and eggs and add to bread mixture tossing to coat.

Transfer to a 3 qt slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through. Makes 12 servings.

They came, they saw, they ate.

2010-11-30T16:04:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving was great! There was a chance of inclement weather, but that turned out to be nothing. Everyone arrived Wednesday night, and by Friday night, after a satisfying Husker win, they were all on their way back home. Seemed to fly by very quickly, but on the other hand it was nice that everyone still had a whole weekend waiting for them after all the celebrating!

We stick to a tradition menu for this holiday, but I did try some new things this year. One of the variables on the menu is the sweet potatoes. Not a loved veggie by the general population, but my dad likes them so I am always looking for a magic way to prepare them that will dazzle the crowd. My son who does not like sweet taters said this was good, so there you go.

Pretzel Topped Sweet Potatoes 10-12 Servings
2 cups chopped pretzels
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 -2 1/2# can sweet potatoes, drained
1 -5oz can evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the pretzels, pecans, cranberries, brown sugar and butter; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the sweet potatoes until smooth. Add the milk, sugar, & vanilla; beat until well blended.

Spoon into a greased shallow 2 qt baking dish; sprinkle with pretzel mixture and bake uncovered @ 350* for 25-30 min or until edges are bubbly.

These were best the first time served, the pretzels got mushy when reheated and didn't look very appetizing. I also thought that half of the amount of pretzel topping would be sufficient, but James said that was his favorite part.

We eat cranberries because.....

2010-11-23T15:49:00.002-06:00

My room has been full of Pilgrim information the last two weeks. We learned that 102 people sailed on the Mayflower. Over half of them died the first winter. Wild turkeys were introduced to us by the Wampanoag people. Cranberries were very plentiful and the pilgrims used them in just about everything!

My mother in law gave me this recipe not long after we were married, it's traditional each and every Thanksgiving that we have this. It may be my favorite thing on the table!

Cranberry Salad
1/2 pkg fresh cranberries ground
1 orange ground with 1/2 of the orange rind still on it
2 apples chopped coarsely
1 -8 oz can crushed pineapple
Mix all above with 1 cup sugar

Dissolve 2 packages of red jello any flavor with 3 cups of boiling water. Add fruit mixture and 1/2 cup of walnuts coarsely chopped. Chill until thick.

(I like to use raspberry jello, but you can certainly decide for yourself what to use!)

Weekends are for chocolate

2010-11-14T07:55:00.003-06:00

I have a few friends who don't like chocolate. I don't quite understand. I love the smell, the look, the TASTE, the satisfaction derived from it. It's perfect.

I took a new chocolate experiment along to some friends house last night. We were going to watch the Nebraska football team kick Kansas around. We were not disappointed, despite some clumsy ball handling at times. While this experiment was baking it looked as though it would spew over the sides of the slow cooker as it bubbled up over the edge of the lip. It did look like a volcano, but in a good way. Be sure to use a slow cooker that is BIG enough. Mine was rectangular shaped. The kids at the party LOVED it, me too!

SLOW COOKER CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE

1 pkg 3.9 oz JELL-O chocolate instant pudding
3 cups cold milk
1- 2 layer size chocolate fudge chocolate cake mix
2 squares Bakers semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used semisweet choc. chips)
2 cups thawed cool whip topping (or a can of FUN whipped cream)

Beat pudding mix and milk in 4 or 4 1/2 qt slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray with whisk 2 min.

Prepare cake batter as directed on package and slowly pour over pudding in slow cooker. Do not stir, cover.

Cook on low 2 1/2 to 3 hrs or on high 1 1/2-2 hrs. Test with toothpick inserted in cake to see if it is done. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate, turn off heat and let slow cooker stand covered 30 min or until pudding is thickened. Serve with cool whip.

November is here! Dip something....

2010-11-01T11:20:00.002-05:00

Well, maybe I should introduce myself. hahahaha

We had the best weekend. Friday night a surprise costume party for a good friend, Huskers kicked some tiger butt Saturday afternoon, Sat night Trunk or Treat at our church where we handed out about 650 treats to kids, Sunday morning Reformation festival, & Sun night 100+more trick or treat'rs at our house! Wow, reading that made me tired.

I stopped at Papa Murphy's pizza place yesterday to get a $6.99 pumpkin shaped pizza and then dug out some veggies to serve as a side dish. I made a dip recipe that was given to me at a Bridal shower l-o-n-g ago, and I've just recently become enamored with it again. It's so easy and very good with every veggie you can find.

VEGETABLE DIP
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp dill
1 1/2 tsp Beau Monde seasoning
2 Tbsp diced onion

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate. The Beau Monde seasoning is expensive, but you will have it a long time once you have made the initial investment.

I made a half batch yesterday, wish I would have made a whole one.

Wednesday, pajama and chicken day!

2010-10-27T06:45:00.000-05:00

Today is our pajama party at school. I bought a PINK pair of pajamas bottoms with coffee cups all over them. :-)
We'll watch a Veggie Tale movie called WHERE'S GOD WHEN I'M SCARED, pop corn in our big school popper, and drag blankets and stuffed animals around with us all day. What could be better?

I found this meal online this morning...I believe it will be on our table tonight! Easy ingredients, I may add some onion and corn. I'll give you a review once we have it!

Foil-Pack Chicken Fajita Dinner recipe

Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed!

2010-09-28T11:41:00.002-05:00

We made this at preschool today, a real taste of Fall without much work. The children enjoyed cutting up the apples with their butter knives. It's really hard to keep those fingers out of their mouths though!!

Easy Apple-Raisin Pie Slices
INGREDIENTS:

1 Pillsbury® Refrigerated Pie Crust, softened as directed on package

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups finely chopped, peeled baking apples

1/4 cup raisins

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon sugar

Ice cream, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray or use parchment paper. Unroll crust. Place crust in center of cookie sheet.
In medium bowl, mix 1/4 cup sugar, the flour and cinnamon. Add apples and raisins; toss gently to coat. Spoon apple mixture lengthwise down center third of crust to form 5-inch-wide strip to within 1/2 inch of top and bottom ends, pressing lightly to distribute evenly. Dot apple mixture with butter.
Fold sides of crust to center, overlapping center slightly, to enclose apple mixture. Fold top and bottom ends over about 1/2 inch. Brush crust lightly with water; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool 15 to 20 minutes. Cut crosswise into slices. Serve with ice cream.

A little trivia......what did Johnny Appleseed wear on his head??

Here fishy fishy....

2010-08-15T19:13:00.004-05:00

We had a marvelous summer dinner tonight. I had orange roughy in the freezer, and if my memory serves me correctly - I don't believe I've ever cooked roughy before. I asked for input from my FB friends, and one particular person mentioned blackened fish. I don't think I would have come up with that on my own, so thanks to you S.Ann! My next feat was then to find a recipe for the rub. I did some research online and found this one, and I will use it again. It had some good 'kick' and really gave the fish an unbeatable flavor. If you don't like spicy, you better cut back on the cayenne, but I thought it was perfect. **** 4 stars from me! The other thing I liked about this recipe was the fact that it's done on the grill in foil packs. Many people online complained about how cooking a blackened fish smoked up the kitchen. Also, there's not much mess to clean up. I did some little potatoes browned in olive oil/butter and a fresh veggie stir fry with carrots, zucchini and onion. I bought all of the veggies at the farmers market, the carrots still had the tops on!!

OK so here's the rub recipe followed by directions for the foil packs.

Blackened Fish Rub
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper or restaurant pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
Combine all of the above, this is enough for about 6 fillets.

Tear off heavy duty foil wrap for each fillet. Make sure it's big enough to fold over a couple of times to prevent leaks. I sprayed each piece of foil with veg. spray to make sure nothing would stick, not sure if that's necessary. Sprinkle each fillet with olive oil to coat both sides, then spread about 1 tsp of rub seasoning on each side, be sure you are liberal with seasoning. Place a dollop of butter on each side of the fish, then wrap securely in foil so nothing leaks out.

The grill needs to be pretty hot. Grill for 4 minutes on the first side, and about 3-4 minutes on the second side. It really depends on how thick your fillets are. I used orange roughy, but I think you can use any nice fish fillet. The roughy did not get mushy, it help up nicely to the cooking process.

We LOVED this recipe. My husband gave me 2 thumbs up!

Green is my favorite color

2010-08-12T14:20:00.002-05:00

IT'S HOT, H-O-T hot people! I have been working in my classroom getting ready for open house on the 28th. I have to be thankful that I work indoors, what horrible conditions to be an outdoor worker these days. And speaking of working outside, our street has been a mess for over 2 weeks, they are tearing up almost every speckle of cement and making it new before public begins school next week. The intersection that we use ALL the time has been out of commission for the same amount of time. There are days when we barely make it out of our drive and onto a passable road, I always pray when I get ready to leave the house that there will be a path in this maze. Those workers never get a break from the heat, they sit under a shady tree for breaks (throwing water bottles in my lawn) and get right back to it. I just finished watching them move huge slabs of cement to a dump truck, I watched because I was pretty sure they were going to nail my mail box. So far, so good.

The heat has hindered my menu this week. I bought a beautiful ham, but obviously it hasn't been choice weather for running the oven for any amount of time. Soooo, I took out some hamburger a couple of days ago. We used half of it last night to grill burgers, and today I used the rest to stuff peppers. I didn't have any tomato soup which is what my regular recipe calls for, so I looked for a recipe that included pizza sauce, for some reason I had a couple of jars of that. The more I think about it - the better it sounds. I will have to comment later on how it turned out, but I have high hopes for this one.

Pizza Stuffed Green Peppers
green peppers - 3 to 6 depending on size
1 16oz jar of pizza sauce
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 cup of toasted bread cubed to 1/2" pieces
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped onion (maybe some black olives & mushrooms?)
salt and pepper to taste
4 oz mozzarella cheese cut into 4 or 6 pieces

Clean the peppers and cut the tops off, so you can replace it after filling. Mix 1/2 cup sauce with ground beef, toasted bread, egg, onion, salt and pepper. The idea is to have a chunk of mozzarella cheese wrapped in hamburger to go in each pepper. You'll have to cut it to the shape and quantity of your peppers. I had 3 l-o-n-g giant peppers, so I did 3 long chunks of cheese. Because they were long fat peppers I laid them on their side and cut accordingly. Be sure to try and seal the meat well so it doesn't ooze cheese out while it cooks. My meat seemed kind of runny, but I'm hoping it will bake up all right. I topped the peppers with the rest of the pizza sauce before I put the pepper lid back on. I will probably top these with some shredded cheese when they are almost done. If these were going in the oven I would say 400* for 30 min. I put mine in a slow cooker today on medium, I'll adjust the heat as needed but think it will take about 3 hours.

I'll give you the verdict later. Stay cool!

Summerlicious no bake baking

2010-08-07T10:44:00.002-05:00

Today I can't help but think about how hot it's supposed to get in the next few days. Makes it hard to think about spending time in the kitchen when the temps get to be 90* +.
Tonight we are going to cruise night on the avenue, we'll get to watch vintage cars drive by, burn out, and hot rod like we were in the 70's again. Hope we don't melt into the pavement!

I started the day having coffee with a couple of classmates. One of them was headed to a reunion and wanted some easy dessert ideas. I looked for a recipe that I was sure I had posted before, but it either evaporated or I had a total brain fart. In any case, I'm posting it now so that I know where I can find it when I need it! :-) PS, it's a NO BAKE recipe for this hot-hot day.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP BARS
2 packages of graham crackers - crushed
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup melted margarine
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
Mix the above ingredients together well. You could use a mixer or food processor to make it easier. Pat into a 9x13 pan.
Melt together the following and pour over bars. Refrigerate till firm.
12 oz milk chocolate chips
1 Tbsp peanut butter

Colorado cookin'

2010-08-05T13:21:00.002-05:00

Monday we returned from a fun filled vacation in Colorado. Mike's sister Katie is very inventive in the kitchen. We ate lots of raspberries which were growing abundantly in her garden. She fed us homemade jellies, fruit salsas, the first of their tomato crop, and more. When more company was coming she threw a cake in the microwave, yes the microwave. I admit that I have over-looked this method of baking for the most part. But for summer cooking, what a great alternative! She used one of the silicone bundt type pans, and it really worked slick! Here is Katies recipe for cake, she said you can use any flavors of mix or fillings you want. Experiment!!

Katie's Kake
1 yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 can pie filling (this one was peach)
fresh peach chopped
Mix all by hand and bake in the microwave for 15 min. Use a toothpick to test if it's done a little ahead of time. I think she said to let it set for about 5-10 minutes before turning it out onto a plate. She served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream while it was still warm, mmm-mmm.

July has had 20 sleeps already!

2010-07-20T17:20:00.003-05:00

In my preschool world the children often measure time by how many sleeps it is until an event. What an easy way to file it in their little minds, come to think of it-works well in my little mind as well!

So I had these bananas, that turned brown the minute I took them out of the bag from the store. Or so it would seem. I just threw 4 bananas away last week, and I was NOT going to let it happen to me again. I sampled a banana cake at work a couple of weeks ago, and I thought the flavor was excellente'. When I first looked at it, I'll admit I thought it was a spice cake and thought to myself, "yuk". Not my first love in cakes - obviously that would be something chocolate. After I passed by the cake for about the 10th time I sliced off the tiniest of slivers, to feed my curiosity as well as my grumbly tum. I was pleasantly surprised to taste 'nana. I love banana bread, banana muffins, so why not banana cake?!? I asked for the recipe and was again pleasantly surprised that it was only 4 ingredients and none of them were butter or oil. Hey, this might almost be healthy...except for the slab of cream cheese frosting on top. To help with that dilemma I dug bag to my carrot cake post on March 18th and found a frosting that I gave 4*'s.

I'm baking this cake even as we speak, I'm anxious for Mike to try it and give me his professional appraisal. He's getting pretty good at being a food critique! :-)

BANANA CAKE
1 yellow cake mix
1 cup mashed bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
(I snuck in 1 tsp. vanilla extract)

Beat for 2 minutes with a hand mixer. Pour into a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake @ 350* for 30 minutes (do the toothpick test) Cool and frost.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1/4 cup butter
4 oz light cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut

Cream together the butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Stir in pecans and coconut, frost cooled cake.

Chewy, chewy, chewy, chewy, chewy, chewy, chewy baby!

2010-07-13T16:18:00.002-05:00

Ohio Express, that's the name of the group that sang the song Chewy. I googled the lyrics and I could sing the whole thing! I thought maybe it was an Archie song or the Partridge Family ;-), but now I have the facts. Don't know how long ago that was, I was in grade school I think.

Speaking of chewy, I made some CHEWY granola bars that are fudgie tasting, and ohhh so good. I was telling Heather about them, and she requested I post it ASAP....so here goes.

CHEWY GRANOLA BARS
1 -10 1/2 oz bag mini marshmallows
2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup butter - cubed
1/4 cup white corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
Microwave these 5 ingredients in microwave until blended.
Stir in remaining ingredients:
4 cups quick oats (I found whole grain quick oats)
1 cup Rice Krispies
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut (Heather will leave this out!)
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
2 Tbsp wheat germ-toasted
2 Tbsp sesame seeds

Spread into a 9x13 pan that has been greased. Press down and bake @ 350* 15 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

I lined my pan with parchment paper so I could lift it out to cut the bars. Also, I didn't have peanuts or wheat germ, still really good without it. I almost substituted another type of nut, but there seemed to be a lot in the recipe already. I would suggest having the last group of ingredients measured out, ready to go because it starts to set up and gets tough to stir. I cut my bars and put them in airtight containers to keep them fresh.
There's so gall-dern much humidity right now ya know..... (she said with her best Fargo, ND accent)

One more thing....

2010-07-09T16:26:00.003-05:00

OK, so the original dip I wanted to make last weekend was totally forgotten. I made it today and I'll tell you it's to bad I missed it. VERY good for a fun little easy cheesy something to go with crackers and a cold glass of ______. If you try this one out give me some comments and tell me what you think.

BEER CHEESE DIP
2 8oz cream cheese - soften
1 package ranch dip powder
2 cups sharp grated cheddar cheese
2 green onions chopped, include some of the green top
1/2 cup beer

With a mixer combine cream cheese, ranch powder, cheddar cheese & onion. Slowly add the beer, scrape sides of bowl down with a spatula to thoroughly blend. Get those crackers ready to DIP! Store in the frig in a covered container.

BOOM!

2010-07-09T15:18:00.002-05:00

The Independence Day celebration weekend was very very good. I think about how wonderful it is when you can have your children, and your parents all together at the same time. Doesn't happen often enough, that's for sure.

As I said earlier I spent some time paging through books looking for a few new offerings for the party. I had many on my list, and will only share with you those recipes I feel worth repeating. As usual I had my superb staff on hand to help me cook (thanks Nate, Heather & James) so it ended up going rather smoothly.

MANDARIN ORANGE CAKE
1 yellow cake mix
1 can mandarin oranges with juice
1/2 cup veg. oil
4 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together approximately 2 minutes. Spray a 9x13 pan, then pour in cake batter. Bake 30-40 min. @ 350*. Cool completely and frost.

TOPPING
1 8oz cool whip-thawed
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
1 15oz crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup flaked coconut

Stir together with spatula and spread on cooled cake. Refrigerate.

next..............

3 CHEESE NACHO DIP
1 8oz sour cream
3 oz cream cheese, soften
1 can refried beans (I like the HyVee spicy brand)
1/2 cup picante
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
4 oz cheddar cheese grated
4 oz monterey jack cheese grated

Combine all ingredients and put in an oven safe dish to bake. I actually did mine in the microwave because I didn't want to heat up the kitchen - but I think it would be much prettier baked in the oven until heated through. 350* 1/2 hr maybe??? Serve with tortilla chips and big cold glass of _________.

next...........

UNION SQUARE BAR NUTS
18 oz unsalted mixed nuts
2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp sea salt or Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. butter melted

Preheat oven to 350*. Spread the nuts onto a baking sheet and toast them in the preheated oven about 10 minutes until golden brown. Combine the rosemary, cayenne, brown sugar, salt and melted butter. When the nuts are finished roasting immediately toss them with the spiced butter and serve.

I actually liked them better a couple of days later, at room temp. This recipe is from a famous bar in New York City.

next.............

CRESCENT ROLLUPS
2 tubes crescent rolls
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese - shredded
1 green pepper, chopped fine
1 can mushrooms drain and chop
1 small can of chopped black olives
1 package sliced ham chopped

Mix all ingredients together except crescents. Roll out dough putting 2 triangles together to make rectangles. Pinch seams together before you spread cream cheese mixture on. Roll up starting with a short end, slice each roll into 6-8 pieces, depends on how big you want them. Lay each on parchment and bake @ 425* until golden, about 8 minutes. Serve warm.

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy

2010-06-29T17:48:00.002-05:00

That's right, the 4th of July is just days away. Our town does a bang up job (hee hee) of celebrating. We have a FANTASTIC display of fireworks, as well as a parade, events at the park, etc... Because we live about 1/2 mile from the lake and we have a school across the street from us without trees to block our view, we have a great spot to watch the display from home. Each year we are pleased to entertain family, and friends.

Of course, I've been looking recipe books over for the past week looking for some fun ideas. I have some good things lined up, I'm looking forward to it so much! I think everyone thinks about hamburgers, hot dogs or ribs on the grill. Along with that you must have some great baked beans (see post from March 26, 2008) and a salad. I think a macaroni or potato salad are easily interchanged, both favorites of mine.

The two recipes I'm posting are time tested. My mom gave me the mac salad recipe, and my Pastors wife gave me the potato salad inside scoop back in the 70's. Over the years I have tried others, but always come back to the old reliables.

GLADYS's MACARONI SALAD
1 cup macaroni shells - cook according to package directions
1/2 cup celery - diced
1/4 cup green pepper - diced
2 Tbsp onion - diced
1 tomato - diced
1 small can peas
1 cup diced ham
1/2 cup salad dressing

Combine the cooked macaroni with the vegetables, peas and ham. Stir in the salad dressing until well mixed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least an hour before eating.

I have substituted frozen peas, because I prefer that texture. I don't always add the ham either, I've use bacon or even added diced cheese. This recipe isn't huge, if you have more people coming, double it.

VERNITA'S POTATO SALAD
8 potatoes
6 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup miracle whip
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vinegar
Desired amounts of diced celery, onion and sweet pickles (optional).

Peel and boil potatoes in salted water until just tender, don't overcook! Drain and put them into a large bowl. Hard boil the eggs and peel them. You'll want to dice all but one, save that one to slice for garnish on top. If you have an egg slicer it's much easier! Add the diced eggs, celery, onion & sweet pickles to the potatoes. Combine sour cream, miracle whip, sugar, salt, & vinegar. Pour over potatoes and eggs and stir gently to combine. Transfer to a bowl, garnish with egg slices and sprinkle paprika on top. Cover tightly and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

I think this salad is better the second day. I usually don't add the pickles, but this is the original recipe so I left it in. I used 2 stalks of celery and about 1/2 of an onion.

Dippity do da, dippity ay - my oh my.....

2010-06-22T16:37:00.003-05:00

I looked back on my blog and noticed I posted another hummus recipe last July. Something about summer eating makes me think of cool dips. I have this one waiting in the fridge to break out with our hamburgers on the grill tonight. It's perfect with bagel chips, if you haven't bought bagel chips before you really should give them a try. I like the sea salt variety, with no extra flavoring in them. They are better for you than chips and they are much more substantial to dip with.

Creamy Hummus Dip

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans (same thing)
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
(chopped jalapeno if you want some kick)

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Serve with pita chips. This texture reminds me of a hummus dip I ate last Fall in Denver. I think adding the liquid from the garbanzo (or chickpeas) is a great idea. I'm playing with the idea of adding a little cumin yet, I think that smoky flavor would be a good marriage. I'll give it one more taste test before I decide.

I also made some kolaches this afternoon. I'm not a proficient baker, I do OK but I get discouraged if it doesn't turn out perfect. My kolaches are taller then I would like, I squished 'em down good after they proofed, but even with the filling in they went up not out. I used a prune filling and custard, not together - they are in different rolls. What WOULD happen if I mixed them???? Hmmmm. Guess I'll wait to bake another batch when it's not 90* outside. My dough will stay in the fridge for a week. I made 12 today, more is on the way!

I need oatmeal....or an ark.

2010-06-17T19:43:00.006-05:00

I've been working at a temporary job this summer, and it's and EARLY job. This week the office manager was gone, went to California with her family. Then, with all the flooding in our area our surgery scheduler was not able to make it to work the last two days. Bottom line - they have been letting the new girl (me) who knows nothing (or next to it) run the surgery center office. I've been running my but off, and stressing big time. Thank goodness tomorrow is FRIDAY - hey!

So when tension is running high I think it's important to eat something good for you, like oatmeal! I wouldn't have thought of it, but one of the nurses had a bowl of oatmeal this morning on her break and it smelled so good. I always put extra cinnamon, nuts, cranberries, etc.. in mine and it's a big treat.

Since it's hot I thought a bowl of oatmeal was not the answer. I watched Giada make these bars a couple of weeks ago on tv and they looked yummy (singing the last word). I do like granola bars, so thought this was a safe one to try. I added the cranberries for color, plus I love them.

APRICOT OAT BARS

vegetable oil cooking spray
13 oz jar apricot preserves (about 1 1/4 cup)
8 dried apricots chopped into 1/4" pieces (about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup dried cranberries or craisins

1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup light brow sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda

1 3/4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped

2 sticks butter, melted
1 egg room temp, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put oven rack in the center of oven. Preheat to 350*. Spray a 9x13 metal baking dish w/veg oil spray. Line the bottom and sides of the pan w/parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with veg oil spray and set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the preserves cranberries and apricots. Set aside.

In large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon , salt and baking soda. Stir in the oats and nuts. Add the butter, egg and vanilla and stir until blended well.

Using a fork or clean hands, lightly press 1/2 of the crust mixture onto the bottom of the pan. Using a spatula spread the filling over the crust leaving 1/2" border around the edge. Cover the filling with the rest of the crust mixture and gently press to flatten. Bake until light golden, about 30 min. Cool for 1 hour and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Monday-chicken, Tuesday-chicken, Wednesday-chicken....

2010-06-14T15:18:00.004-05:00

We eat a LOT of chicken. Occasionally my favorite store has chicken breasts with the skin and ribs still attached at a super duper price. Last weekend only .88 a pound for the family pack! This is a great way to buy it for making chicken salad, or for casseroles because it is going to have much more flavor than buying skinless/boneless + it's a money saver. :o)

This recipe was originally for the oven, and it called for a roasting chicken. Have you priced roasting chickens lately? They are expensive! It also called for butter spread on the outside of the chicken. If you are so inclined, go for it but I decided to cut the calories. A whole 5-6 lb.roasting chicken in the oven at 425* will take 1 1/2 hours if it is trussed. Use a roasting pan and be sure to put some of the ingredients into the cavity of the chicken.

Roasted Slow Cook Chicken

3 1/2 - 4 lb chicken breasts (or other pieces)
kosher salt
fresh ground or restaurant pepper
several springs of thyme 8-10 ish
1/2 lemon
6 cloves garlic peeled
1 medium onion cut in 1/2" slices
4 carrots cut into 1" pieces

Wash the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Place in a slow cooker and sprinkle generously with pepper and salt. In between chicken pieces place the sprigs of thyme, garlic cloves, onion and carrots. Squeeze the lemon juice over all and cut the lemon rind in half and put that in as well. Cook the chicken for 3 hours on med high or until the juices run clear when you slice it.

oo oo ah ah

2010-06-14T15:01:00.003-05:00

I realized something awesome this weekend. I wanted to make monkey bread for breakfast, but thought it would make way to much for the two of us to eat. Then I thought, ah-ha! How about if I made a mini monkey breakfast? What took me so long to think of this!?

Monkey Bread for Two

1 tube of refrigerated biscuits
1/8 (maybe a little more) cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 stick margarine
chopped nuts

Cut each biscuit in 4 pieces and shake it in the sugar and cinnamon that has been mixed together. After each piece is coated, drop into a small oven safe bowl. The one I used was a Pyrex oval dish that holds just under 4 cups, round would be fine or a bread pan. Be sure to spray it with nonstick spray first!! Throw in some chopped nuts occasionally, as much as you like. Heat the brown sugar and margarine until it comes to a boil Pour over the biscuits and bake @ 350* for 20-25 min. If it's getting dark - cover loosely with foil the last part of the baking time. Immediately invert onto a plate and go for it!

Original full recipe post was February 22, 2009

Someone's in the kitchen

2010-06-12T17:16:00.002-05:00

What a great weekend it has been so far! Last weekend was also stellar! On a summer time roll I think :-) !!

Last weekend was my class reunion here in Norfolk. Probably 90-ish classmates made it back to play the name game. So many people to catch up with, it was tough to find enough time to visit with everyone I wanted to. Wish it could have lasted longer. We had so much fun planning it, that I think our reunion committee is going to continue to have 'meetings'!

Last night we took a road trip with our besties Nancy & Bill. Went 20 miles to a tiny town of 52 people to eat at a chicken/fish buffet. From there went to a Kolach festival about another 40 miles down the road then back tracked 30 miles to the drive-in theater to watch the new Karate Kid! None of it was planned, we just like to take off and see where we land sometimes.

Today I was looking through some cookbooks I got for teacher appreciation week. I got 3 new ones and they are g-o-o-d. I found today's recipe that I will make again very very soon. So yummy, and much better than the version you can buy at Starbucks or other coffee places.

BISCOTTI
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup white sugar
6 Tbsp butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg beaten

2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325* and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Stir together the flour, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the 2/3 cup sugar and butter. Beat in 1 egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients.

On a lightly floured surface divide dough into two pieces. Roll each piece into a log about 9" long and 1 1/2" wide. Place logs on the prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly. Brush with the beaten egg.

Bake for 25-30 min in the oven until golden and firm to the touch. Cool for 15 minutes.

On a cutting board slice each log crosswise at a diagonal into 1/2" slices using a serrated knife. Place back on the baking sheet cut side down and sprinkle with the mixture of the remaining cinnamon and sugar. Return to the oven for another 15-20 min until toasted. Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container.

Great with coffee!

Potato, Patotto

2010-05-31T09:44:00.003-05:00

What a fun weekend it has been! First of all it's great because I have slept in for 3 consecutive mornings now....yahoo! In case you missed it, I have taken a summer job that gets me up at 4AM. You can feel sorry for me now, since I am NOT a morning person. The second reason it's great is because James came home from Lincoln for a couple of days, always a fun time. The third reason is that we have been able to spend lots of time with friends and that is always a WIN-WIN situation!!

I made a yummy potato Sunday for lunch that is fast and E-A-S-Y, and I think you all should try it out this summer. With farmers markets offering those cute little baby red potatoes there is nothing holding you back, so get busy!!

HASSELBACK POTATOES
with herbed sour cream

16 oz red new potatoes
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced - more if they are small cloves
4 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper or restaurant pepper

Preheat oven to 375*
Using a wooden spoon as a cradle, place each potato in the spoon and make several parallel slits in the top, making sure not to slice completely through. (I did not have a wooden spoon deep enough, so I used a large serving spoon) Place a garlic slice between each slit at the top of the potato. Toss in a medium bowl with butter and olive oil to coat thoroughly.
Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until tops are crispy and potatoes are cooked through, about 45 min. Transfer to a platter and top with herbed sour cream .

HERBED SOUR CREAM
1/2 C sour cram
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
Combine in a small bowl and season as needed with s&p.

The OTHER white meat.

2010-05-18T21:23:00.003-05:00

Today was my first day of summer vacation! Last night I had 22 preschool graduates in their cute little hats receiving their diplomas, it was a fun evening. So, today I did a lot of odd jobs around the house, one of the things I did was clean out my fridge, some of it anyway.

I am sad to admit that we really do end up wasting more food then we should. I found the last couple of slices of a great pork roast that we made, and if I don't post the recipe on here I'll never find it again to repeat the meal!

This recipe has some zing, and I do like zing these days. We cook a lot of pork because it's so economical, this is a variation that I really enjoyed. We had it with a kicked-up mashed potato, oh it was g-o-o-d!

Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

1/3 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons restaurant black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary leaves, plus 4 sprigs rosemary, with hard woody stems
2 large garlic cloves
2 pork tenderloins, about 1-pound each
2 slices bacon

In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, fresh ground black pepper, chopped rosemary, and minced garlic and mix well. Rub the mustard mixture over the surface of the tenderloins and wrap in plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Place rosemary sprigs in the center of a roasting pan. Remove the plastic wrap from the tenderloins and top each with 1 slices of bacon. You may tie with kitchen twine to secure bacon strips, I just laid mine on top and it worked fine.
Place the roasting pan in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer, inserted in the tenderloins, registers 160-170 degrees F. Remove from oven when desired doneness is reached and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes on a cutting board. Remove kitchen twine, slice and serve with your favorite sides.

Here kitty, kitty!

2010-05-18T21:13:00.002-05:00

How many of you make puppy chow? I made it when my kids were young, and I find that the "younger" faculty members that I work with seem to have an indescribable love for it. I have not made it for a while, however when I was in Lincoln last weekend at the Farmers Market I saw a new version that was fun. It was called Kitty Chow - and instead of using Crispix cereal, they used Kix! I was intrigued enough that I came home and googled it, and today I tried it out. I took half of it to a co-worker and the other half is being appreciated by MY better half. If you have young kids or are young at heart you better give this one a try!!

KITTY CHOW
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips-semi sweet
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 cups Kix cereal balls
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Microwave the peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips together for about 1 min. in the microwave, stirring after 30 seconds. Once it's melted stir in the vanilla and pour it over the Kix cereal in a large bowl. Make sure you thoroughly coat all of the cereal. Pour the powdered sugar into a large sack and add your chocolate covered Kix. Close securely and shake like crazy! I ended up adding more powdered sugar because it wasn't powdery enough for me, you decide how much you want!

Always cheesecake time.

2010-04-28T11:25:00.004-05:00

Somehow I misplaced April. It was here just a moment ago, I have a vivid recollection of taxes...hmmm. We have been busy with yard work, I planted my window boxes about a week ago and I'm itching to get at my planters around the yard. Mike has the gardens planned out, a variety of tomatoes, and cucumbers, are being cared for in anticipation of the ground warming up enough to plant. I think in about 10 days it will be time!

School has been so wonderful. This is the time of year when I really would like to keep them. Yesterday I found myself just watching the different groups and I was so proud of the way they interact with each other. Polite words, kind actions, giggly laughs, that's what 4 & 5 year olds are all about! I will miss these little people as they move on with their education. Some stay here at St. Paul's, but many go to other schools. It's always heartwarming when an alumni student calls and want to come read to the 'little kids', or stops by just to say 'hi'.

I have been playing around with salads, I tried a Tabbouleh recipe that was OK, but I have a friend who sent me a recipe with great promise. I'm anxious to try it! Mike made a ham and bean soup yesterday in the slow cooker. It has been a good week to revisit soup, cool and windy. Spring will come back, I know it!

This recipe for cheese cake turned out pretty well. You could use any kind of nut, pecans sound good to me too! Isn't it pretty? I didn't chop the nuts on top, they were slivered and I just let them be. Enjoy if you try it!

Almond Praline Cheesecake

Yield: 1 (9-inch) cheesecake
Nutrition: See Below
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted* and finely chopped
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
ALMOND PRALINE TOPPING
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped, toasted* slivered almonds

Instructions

HEAT oven to 300°F. Combine graham cracker crumbs, almonds, brown sugar and butter in medium bowl; press firmly into bottom of ungreased 9-inch springform pan or 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
BEAT cream cheese until fluffy in large bowl. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth (do not overbeat). Add eggs and almond extract; mix well. Pour over crust.
BAKE 55 to 60 minutes or until center is set. Cool. Top with Almond Praline Topping. Chill.
ALMOND PRALINE TOPPING
COMBINE brown sugar and cream in small saucepan. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup chopped, toasted slivered almonds. Spoon evenly over cheesecake. (For 13 x 9-inch pan, double all topping ingredients; simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened).
*To toast almonds: Place almonds in dry nonstick skillet; cook over medium heat, shaking pan until nuts are lightly browned.

Life is just a bowl of .....

2010-03-29T11:30:00.005-05:00

Good morning everyone! It's almost noon, so the time to offer that greeting is almost gone. This is going to be another marathon week, I better get lots of rest and eat my chocolate ;-). Thursday I'm looking forward to my brother and sister-in-law coming for a visit, they will spend Easter here! It's always fun as we remember the good old days and listen to my dad tell stories of even earlier good old days. We are so blessed to have this family heritage alive and well.

I found a 'new to me' recipe that may be 'old to you' but I was kind of impressed with it. It was in my latest Taste of Home magazine that I took with me over the weekend on a short road trip. Don't worry, I wasn't reading while driving. It's another bar recipe that is so beautiful when you plate it because of the layers. It's similar in flavor to a Kit Kat candy bar, but richer. I doubt there will be many if any left by Thursday when the company arrives, so I'll have to make something else! Maybe you can try it for your guests.

Homemade Candy Bars

Ingredients

8 ounces Club crackers, divided (about 2 sleeves)
1 cup butter, cut up
1/2 cup milk
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

Place a third of the crackers (about 25) in the bottom of an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. pan.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add the milk, graham cracker crumbs and sugars; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Pour half of the mixture over crackers, carefully spreading to cover. Place half of the remaining crackers (about 25) on top. Spread with remaining sugar mixture. Top with remaining crackers. (Now there are 3 layers of crackers)
In a small saucepan over low heat, stir peanut butter and chips until melted and smooth. Spread over crackers. Chill until firm, about 1 hour. Cut into small squares. Yield: 3-4 dozen.

I had to put mine in the fridge to harden up quicker, we were a bit impatient.

Refrigerator Bran Muffins Rock!

2010-03-25T11:43:00.004-05:00

My daughter just called me looking for a recipe. I am surprised I have not already done this one! When I worked in the office at the Jr. High School one of the teachers there brought these muffins in, I was hooked then and there. The best part is that you can mix them up and keep the batter in the fridge for about a month. bake a few fresh yummy muffs whenever the mood strikes you.

BRAN MUFFINS
1 15 oz box Raisin Bran cereal (boxes come 20 oz, just eyeball it)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
5 cups flour
5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups nuts, chopped (pecans or walnuts)
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup dried dates, diced
1 cup melted margarine
4 eggs, beaten
1 qt buttermilk

Combine all of this in a mammoth bowl!! Stir well. I use paper liners in my muffin tin and use an ice cream scoop to make them the same size. Bake at 400* for 20-25 min.

I have cut back the nuts to two cups when I didn't have enough. Also I've played around with various dried fruits, craisins, etc... It's all good.

What's up Doc?

2010-03-18T07:47:00.004-05:00

It's been a busy week, busy but fun. Yesterday at school was a marathon day with so many activities! We painted shamrock pictures, planted seeds to grow in our window, did a scavenger hunt and the afternoon class also baked Irish soda bread. That along with our regular schedule made for busy little people!

One of the girls in the pm class walked in and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a classmate wearing a sequin bow tie for St. Patricks Day. She said, "You look dapper!" and he looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. She proceeded to say, "Dapper is a fancy word for handsome!" You should have seen him puff up with confidence! She then continued to the back of the room to hang up her coat. I LOVE MY JOB!!!

Today is my wedding anniversary. Mike and I have been married for 32 years, how can that be possible? But when I think about my son being 29 and my daughter 26, it feels right. The big debate last evening when we went out for an Irish libation was where to eat tonight. We talked about driving to Columbus which is just a 45 min. drive, eating here somewhere or making our own. It just seems that on a special occasion you should be treated, but there's nothing more disappointing than going out for a special meal and it doesn't live up to your hopes. I'll let you know what we decide.

A couple of days ago I found THE BEST carrot cake recipe. I like cream cheese frosting but I think they are usually too sweet. This one is perfect in my world. I hope you will try it! I probably will make it again for Easter.

Carrot Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
3 cups carrots, grated

Frosting:
1/4 cup butter
4 oz pkg light cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut

Measure all ingredients and mix in a large bowl. Beat for 3 minutes. Pour into a 9x13 greased pan. Bake @ 350* for 35-40 min or till it tests done in the middle. If it's getting dark, cover loosely with foil last 10-15 min.

To make frosting cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla then add the powdered sugar till smooth. Fold in nuts and coconut, frost cake.

We're potato people. Not potato heads, potato people.

2010-03-15T16:18:00.004-05:00

When I think of March food, I of course think of corned beef - a favorite at our house! Cabbage, brussel sprouts, green beer, potatoes... See how I slipped in the beverage?? tricky :-)

In March of 2008 I posted a Party Potato recipe, and it's great! I found a similar recipe for you working girls/guys (myself included) that you can put together much faster since you don't have to cook the potatoes first. See what you think of this easy cheesy version a la' 2010!

PARTY POTATOES II

2 lbs frozen hash browns
1/2 cup grated onion
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup melted butter
1 16 oz sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together and bake in a 9x13 pan @ 350* for 1 hour. (I'll bet you could do this in a slow cooker on low) Also, another version of this puts crushed cornflakes mixed with melted butter on top for a divine crunch factor!

Ewww, jello.

2010-03-15T16:07:00.002-05:00

Jello is a word that makes me nauseous. I can't stand the texture, I know I've mentioned that before on this blog, but it's still true. Therefore I am always looking for a salad that can take the place of a jello salad on an Easter table or another "jello" holiday. This little salad probably could clog a few arteries, but it goes down like a dream! Almost a dessert - yum.

PINK FLUFF SALAD

1 can cherry pie filling
1 (12oz) cool whip
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8-oz) can crushed pineapple, drained well
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup pecans

Stir together the sweetened condensed milk and cool whip. Fold in pie filling, then add pineapple, marshmallows and pecans. Chill several hours before serving.

Pass the salad please.

2010-03-15T13:23:00.002-05:00

We had Christmas March 6th. Yes, I said Christmas! Actually it was the last of the gatherings, we went to Grandma Ann's for a turkey dinner that was supposed to happen a couple of months earlier. Ann makes the BEST gravy in the world. I've watched her do it, I've asked questions, I've tried to replicate her gravy and still no luck. So flavorful, so perfect.

Whenever we would ask what to bring for a family meal at her house, for years she told us to bring bread. :-( Not that bread isn't important, but it's not fun. This time I wised up and said I'd bring a salad, one of Mike's all time favorite salads. This recipe is older than the hills, you've all had it I'm sure. But when I looked it up on my blog to make it, I didn't find it....so I'm posting it for myself if not for you. Try to use it up in a couple of days or it gets really ugly.

Broccoli Raisin Salad

1 head of fresh broccoli, cut up into florets-about 4 cups
1/2 cup red onion sliced thin, then quartered
1 cup sliced celery (optional)
1 lb bacon, fried crisp and drained-crumble
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins

Dressing:
3/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. vinegar

Combine all ingredients in the first group and add dressing that has been stirred together. I substituted Hormel real bacon bits instead of frying the bacon, much easier!

Caviar Dah-ling!

2010-02-28T20:10:00.003-06:00

One upon a time, long ago.....Mike and I tried caviar. We wanted to experience the elegance, dare to try the unknown, savor it with a little sip of bubbly. Our fatal mistake, we let our budget determine the kind we bought and it was horrid! I have never tried it again *sigh*.

This caviar recipe is for a modern day tortilla toasting type of party. My friend Donna sent me her recipe, and I did some online research and combined a little of this and a little of that. I made half of this batch - and it still was quite a lot. Many of these recipes called for bottled Italian dressing, but I find that a little harsh sometimes depending on the brand. I opted for the EVOO and red wine vinegar. You decide what sounds best for your family!

TEXAS CAVIAR
2 cans black eyed peas, drain
2 cans corn, drain
2 cans Rotel tomatoes with chili's (or jalapeno if you like it spicy)
2 cups of red or yellow pepper, chopped
3 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, diced
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp cumin
6 Tbsp red wine vinegar -whisk together with:
6 Tbsp olive oil

Combine all of these ingredients and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

Biscuits Anyone?

2010-02-06T21:51:00.003-06:00

It's Saturday night, and it was a good day. Coffee this AM with a couple of my coworkers. Shopping with my husband at Wmart. A little time spent watching and old movie this afternoon, & a nice dinner including a glass of Cabernet. After that a Bruce Willis movie, Surrogates - it was futuristic and kind of interesting! We ended up the evening with an ice cream Sundae. I saw Rachel Rae put this together and it looked yummy. Vanilla Bean ice cream topped with melted peanut butter and hot fudge sauce. I think I used too much PB, it was intense!! It only takes about 30 seconds in the microwave to make it smooth enough to pour. The hot fudge was my favorite part, a little like a peanut butter cup on ice cream ;-) yea!

To go with our spaghetti tonight I found a recipe for a cheesy garlic biscuit. Most recipes called for Bisquick, which I did not have. I finally ran across this that was supposed to be similar to a Red Lobster biscuit, it was pretty good and very easy to put together. I'll use a little more garlic or fresh garlic the next time I make them, they were pretty mild.

Cheese and Garlic Drop Biscuits

1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

***Topping:***2 tablespoons melted butter & 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine flour, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar, sugar and garlic powder in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender. Mix milk and then cheese into mixture with a wooden spoon. Drop by large spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 10-12 minutes. Mix melted butter and garlic powder together and brush on warm biscuits as soon as you remove them from the oven.

This is supposed to make 8, but I missed that fact until after mine were in the oven and I had only scooped up 6, woops. Needless to say I had to bake mine a bit longer, just go by the color and you'll know when they are done.

You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

2010-02-02T15:51:00.002-06:00

You know if you read my blog at all that I love HOT stuff. Mike and I need our fix of hot wings on a regular basis, in fact tonight that sounds pretty good. HyVee, here I come! It's not always a good idea to serve a messy wing, so here is an alternative that you might like.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 8-ounce package cream cheese
2 cups cooked chicken (a store-bought rotisserie chicken works best), shredded
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce, recommended brand: Franks Original
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 to 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing (eyeball it)
1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (eyeball it)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Cover the bottom of an 8x8" dish or pie plate with cream cheese.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken, wing sauce and butter, and pour over the cream cheese-filled dish or pie plate.

Top with just enough blue cheese dressing and mozzarella cheese to cover (adding too much cheese will cause a thick skin to form that will make eating the dip difficult once the cheese cools).

Heat the dip in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with Scoops (Tortillas or Frito's) alongside for dipping.

YUM!
PS Anyone know the song attached to the title above???

Only 2 1/2 hours left!!

2010-01-31T21:10:00.003-06:00

OK, January is almost history for this year....yippeeeee! I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things. Or rather warmer and happier things.

Over the weekend we had a celebration for my daughters' birthday in Lincoln. The plan: get together with Nate, Heather, her wonderful in-laws Rod and Linda and our son James. We met at the birthday girls house, and got in on the tail end of a birthday brunch that Nate had for her. Lots of good friends were there, it's nice to witness others showing love for someone you care so much for.

We did a little shoppin' and then had a supper of what else but soup?!? That's what January has been all about this year, definitely it's been soup weather since before Christmas. Since tomorrow is February, (actually in 2 1/2 hours it will be February) I am posting my LAST soup recipes until the season of Fall rolls around in 8 or 9 months. I am ready to move on!

I tried two NEW recipes for the gathering, I know that sounds dangerous - right? But my theory has always been that if it's not good, who's really going to say, "yuk this is awful!"?? If you have lots of people and everyone eats a little, it's gone before you have time to think about how good it was, or wasn't.

As luck would have it, I found two soups that hit it out of the ball park!! The first was a soup my friend Kristin's mom sent me last week. It is similar to a tomato bisque I used to eat at a local restaurant. The second soup is a version of a jambalaya, and believe me there are MANY versions of jambalaya!! I LOVED the second soup, but I'm not the biggest tomato soup fan in the world. Those who like tomato LOVED that one, so you'll have to make both and let me know what you think!?! :-) And just in time for the SOUP-er Bowl!

TOMATO TORTELLINI SOUP
1 pkg 9oz refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini
2 cans tomato soup
1 can vegetable broth
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups half and half cream
1/2 cup chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (more if you want some for garnish)

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile in a large pot combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through stirring often and be careful not to boil hard. Drain tortellini and add to the soup. Stir in cheese and it's ready to go!

Now for soup number 2!

SLOW COOKER JAMBALAYA
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" cubes
1/2 lb sausage diced - like a kielbasa (I used a turkey version)
-- if you can find andouille sausage use it, but it's pricey!
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 med. onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 can chicken broth
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp Creole seasoning
1 tsp hot sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 lb frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed
2-3 cups of cooked rice

In a slow cooker combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery & chicken broth. Stir in oregano, creole seasoning, hot sauce, by leaves and thyme. Cover and cook on high or 3 hours OR low for 7 hours. Stir in the thawed cooked shrimp and cook just until the shrimp is heated through, about 5-10 min. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.

We let each person put rice in their bowl so they could decide how much they wanted. It was SOOOO good, I can't wait to make it again!

Another pot o' soup

2010-01-19T16:02:00.002-06:00

Tonight I plan to make a pot of bean soup so we can have it tomorrow. The weather is STILL cold, icy and blah. Soup just seems like a natural choice. This recipe is a favorite that I made when we used to ski in Steamboat Springs. Our good friends Kari, Larry, Kim and Gary were always so much fun on those trips. Nothing but wonderful memories of those times. I think one of the things I like about this soup is the fact that there are tomatoes in there, it adds a little more flavor.

STEAMBOAT BEAN SOUP
1 tube of mixed beans (in the soup aisle)
1 tsp salt
2 qt water
ham hocks or bone from a ham with some meat left on
1 large onion - chopped
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes -or diced
chili powder, salt & pepper to taste

Cover the beans with water and add salt, soak overnight. Drain and add 2 quarts of fresh water and the ham hocks. Bring to a low boil and simmer 3 hours. Add the onion and crushed tomatoes, then chili powder and salt/pepper to taste. It will depend on how salty your ham is, you may not need any salt. Simmer another hour or till beans are tender.

It's soup weather!

2010-01-09T15:05:00.002-06:00

I've made a lot of soup the last few days. Mega snow drifts tend to make you think along those lines. The soup recipe I found today is one that I discovered at least 15 years ago. It was a favorite the first time we tried it! You can add heat or keep it mild depending on what type of salsa you use.

TACO SOUP
2# ground chuck
1 med yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder (use 1 fresh garlic clove if you have it)
1 - 28oz can tomatoes, diced
1 package taco seasoning
1 - 8 1/2 oz jar salsa
2 cups water
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 cups shredded cheese (jack, cheddar or both!)
tortilla chips

Brown ground chuck and onion - drain. Combine with garlic powder, tomatoes, seasoning, salsa and water in a large pot. Simmer 30 min. Let each person garnish with broken chips, cheese, sour cream and lettuce. Pass more chips and lots of water.

So many cheesecakes, so little time.

2010-01-09T11:43:00.002-06:00

It's no secret that I LOVE cheesecake. I love a creamy rich cheesecake, so many taste bland. For years I've made a chocolate chip cheesecake that I have used as the measure for all others. I think I found one that may be almost equal to the legend. It is a recipe from the same cookbook, so that may be why I like it so much. These girls just know my taste!

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
(I thought it was better the 2nd day)
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp margarine - melted
Mix together and press into bottom of a spring form pan
Cheese filling:
24 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (baking powder)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
Blend cream cheese, sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Add eggs slowly. Pour over crust. Bake @350* for 35 min. After completely cooled, spread on topping; then garnish with chocolate curls.
Topping:
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut
Melt butter over low heat. Blend in milk, sugar, egg and vanilla. Cook stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in nuts and coconut and spread on cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate.
Serves 12-16

I believe I baked mine another 5 min. because the center was not quite done. It's a tough call because it needs to wobble to be moist, but cooked. I don't think you'll be disappointed with this one!

Christmas Food

2010-01-01T14:00:00.002-06:00

It was brought to my attention that when my family is home and we are cooking together, I usually give my son-in-law the "tricky" recipes to prepare. He thinks I'm testing him ;-) but I just know he has the eye for detail that is needed for challenging recipes. When Nate first cooked with me I gave him a recipe for crab stuffed snow peas, and he did that with great panache! The recipe I gave him this time was a tiny little quiche appetizer, and they turned out SO well. I'm anxious to make these again, the flavor was wonderful.

MINI BACON CHEESE CUPS

1 package Pillsbury pie crusts
4 oz cream cheese
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
3 chopped green onions - use the green part as well
2/3 cup shredded cheese - I used a white and yellow mix
4-5 Tbsp packaged precooked bacon bits

Preheat oven to 425* and spray 24 mini muffin cups with Pam. Unroll the pie crust that has been at room temp. for about 15 minutes. Use a 2-2 1/2" round cutter to make circles from the crust. Place one in each muffin cup and press gently to form cup.

Blend cream cheese, egg, egg yolk, & onions until well blended. Divide evenly among the pastry cups. Top with cheese and bacon and bake 12-15 min until edges are light golden. Cool about 5 min before removing from the pan.

These are time consuming, but worth it. I loved the flavor! Good job Nate :-) What will I have for you next time you visit?????