This one is for Bonnie

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

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!

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....

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.

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?

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.

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

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

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

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

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?

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....

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

This picture has nothing to do with anything.

I just think it's funny!