Special K / Wheaties Clusters

I first had these during a music camp at church (think VBS except we learned a musical in one week to perform on Friday night).  I remember the ladies working hard in the kitchen making us snacks while we rehearsed.  Thank you Kristy! :)  They are so yummy and just enough different to be something "new" for a lot people. The recipe I have is actually named "Special K Clusters" and indicates that Wheaties is an alternative for the cereal. For some reason, I've always made them with Wheaties, so I adjusted the name when I wrote the title.

Ingredients:
1 cup white Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
5 cups Special K or Wheaties flakes

Directions:
Bring Karo syrup and sugar to a rolling boil.
Remove from heat and add vanilla, peanut butter, and cereal; mix well.
Working quickly, drop by spoonfuls on wax paper.
Once the clusters set up, transfer to an airtight container for storage.

Raspberry Shortbread Ribbons

'Tis the season for Cookie Swaps! This is a great Cookie Swap recipe because they make up quickly and easily. Depending on the size of your Cookie Swap, baking enough cookies can be a bit daunting. You shape your shortbread into logs, for this one, and then simply slice into ribbons after baking. You could always double the dough and make larger slices if you wanted bigger "ribbons". The recipe promised 5 dozen, I ended up with about 4 dozen. Since I needed 3 dozen, this worked out well -- I could reject some of the not-so-pretty ones. And eat them, of course. ;)

warning: cell phone photo coming up...

Ingredients:

Shortbread Dough:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
 
Directions:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  While this is mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add egg and vanilla to the butter and sugar and mix well.  Gradually add dry ingredients until throughly combined.
 
Seperate dough into fourths.  Form a log from each dough section four inches apart on a greased cookie sheet.  Your logs should be about 10 inches long and 2.5 inches wide.  Create a 1/2 inch valley down the center of each log; try to create a "dam" at the end of each log, otherwise your jam will just run off the edges later on.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
 
Remove logs from oven and fill the valleys with jam.  Bake for another 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Cool for two minutes, then slice into 3/4 inch slices.  Transfer ribbons to a wire rack.  Be sure to place a layer of wax paper between the rack and counter to catch the glaze drippings in the next step. 
 
In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients.  Drizzle glaze over warm cookies.  Cool completely so that glaze will harden.  Also, be sure your cookies are seperated from one another after drizzling, so that the glaze doesn't "glue" them together.

Chicken Enchilada Dip

Here's a really great dip that's super easy to throw together -- and the best part is it warms up in a Crock-Pot.  It would be perfect for football bowl games, Christmas and New Year's parties, and family get-togethers this season!

Ingredients:
1 family size Cream of Chicken soup
1 bundle green onions, chipped
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) tub sour cream
1 pound chicken fajita meat, cooked

Directions:
Combine the first 4 ingredients until well blend.  Add in the fajita meat.  Heat through in Crock Pot and serve with tortilla chips.

Thanksgiving 2010

Cast of Characters:
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Baked Squash Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole
Cranberries

Encore:
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins 

What were the stars of your Thanksgiving dinner this year? :)

Sweet Potato Casserole

What Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a good Sweet Potato Casserole? Thanksgiving 2010 is graced with the presence of the below version. I think it's going to be a winner!

Ingredients:
3 cups coarsely mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
Combine the first six ingredients and pour into a prepared 2 quart dish. Mix together the topping ingredients and spoon on top of sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes; topping should be nicely browned.

Smokey Black Bean Soup

I came across this recipe and used it for a Heart Healthy Luncheon at work a couple years ago.  It was a competition to find the best recipe with the requirements of no more than 200 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 1.5 grams of saturated fat per serving.  This soup weighs in at 155 calories, 2.6 grams of fat, and .5 grams of saturated fat per serving.  AND -- it's full of flavor!  Oh, and I came in second place... except there was no second place, it was winner take all.  I hear it was a tough decision, though!  I got beat out by a dessert.  Figures!  ;)

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons olive oil
1.5 cups chopped onion
1.5 cups celery
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1.5 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
fat free sour cream
lime wedges

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, celery, and garlic; saute for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent.  Add the broth, tomatoes, cilantro, cumin, and smoked paprika.  Bring to a soft boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add 1 can of black beans and puree soup to make a thicker texture.  Add the remaining black beans and simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve each bowl with one lime wedge and 1 tablespoon fat free sour cream.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Seriously, nothing says autumn more to me than PUMPKIN.  Pumpkin everything.  Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks. Pumpkin Bread. Pumpkin Pie Dip with Gingersnaps.  Pumpkin Pie. and how about some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins?  Well, yes, don't mind if I do...

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients (for this recipe, we're going to include the sugar in the "dry" category) and set aside.  Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl and add butter; mix until blended.  Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing well between each addition.  Stir in chocolate chunks.  Line about 16 muffin tins with liners and spoon batter into muffin tins.  Bake for about 20 minutes (my oven bakes hot, though, so you may need a couple more minutes).

*as usual, I cut back on the sugar for this recipe.  I kinda got sidetracked and didn't cut as much as I intended, but I know I did not get a full measuring cupful in... maybe a little more than 3/4 cup?  These were definitely sweet enough, though, and could probably stand to be cut a tiny bit more if desired.

Chex Mix

In my family, we have our own version of Chex Mix.  Over the years, the recipe (which probably originated from the original on the Chex cereal boxes) has progressed into the recipe below.  Every year, about this time, we start making Chex Mix and it remains a staple through the holidays.

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter*
1 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
several dashes of hot sauce, depending on your preference

2 cups each of:
rice Chex, corn Chex, wheat Chex, and Cheerios
And various amounts (to your liking) of: pretzels, mixed nuts, Cheez-Its, and oyster crackers.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250.  On a large jelly roll pan, place the stick of butter and allow it to melt completely while the oven heats.  Once the butter is melted, add the sauces and seasonings and mix until well blended.  Add cereals and other chosen ingredients.  Toss until pieces are well coated.  In a 250 degree oven, bake one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

*you may need to add a bit more butter, depending on your cereal and addition amounts

"That Strawberry Dessert"

There's this strawberry dessert that usually gets pulled out in the summer months around our house.  I don't really have a true name for it.  We've always just referred to it as "that strawberry dessert".  It's a super easy dessert that can be made quickly and with few ingredients.  It's very light and cool, so it makes a great summer dessert for potlucks and such.  I recently made it for a friend that had just gotten home from the hospital and thought, as I was making it, that it's a rather festive dessert for Christmas as well!  It's a really pretty red and white dessert and looks classy in a clear glass dish.  So I thought I'd share it here.  :)

Ingredients
1 Angel Food cake
1 three ounce package strawberry gelatin
1 1/4 cup water
1 small tub Cool Whip
10 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed*

Directions
Bring the water to a boil and add gelatin; stir until all is dissolved well.  Stir in the thawed strawberries and mix well.  Set the gelatin in the fridge about 10 or 20 minutes to slightly begin to set up.  Meanwhile, tear the Angel Food cake into bite size chunks.  Pull out your slightly set up gelatin and strawberries and gently fold in the Cool Whip.  Do not stir this too much, Cool Whip has a tendency to completely fall apart if it gets manhandled too much.  It's finicky stuff.  Pour this mixture over the Angel Food pieces -- you may want to do this in a separate bowl and make sure the pieces get a little more evenly coated, plus this lets your pretty clear bowl stay clean.  ;)

*I've been buying the 16 ounce frozen strawberries because I've been unable to find 10 ounces.  Personally, I don't feel like there are "too many" strawberries vs the other ingredients.

Pillow Cookies

So about a month ago, I was on Bakerella's blog and saw her post on Pillow Cookies. Well, the pictures alone will make you drool. Bakerella is not only an amazing baking creator, she is also pretty great with a camera. I'm jealous. Of both skills. Anyway, these Pillow Cookies have tormented my dreams for weeks... well, if I remembered my dreams they would. They tormented my daydreams at least. This afternoon I decided they needed to be made, once and for all. The recipe below is mostly Bakerella's, find the original here. I did tweak a few spots, which I've noted. By the way, this cookie dough recipe may be my new favorite chocolate chip cookie. It uses only brown sugar, has more vanilla and also an extra egg yolk in it. It turned out really well!

makes 10 large cookies
Ingredients:
1 package brownie mix

for cookies:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 oz. bag miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Bake up the brownies according to the package directions.  I added about 3 palmfuls or so of finely chopped walnuts -- we like nuts in our brownies, but I didn't want them to be too chunky for this creation so I chopped them much finer than usual.  I also underbaked the brownies a bit, about 4 minutes short of the box time -- again kinda our preference, but my theory was also that they will bake a bit inside the cookie.  Let the brownies cool and then cut 10 one inch squares and set aside. Do with the remaining what you will.  ;)  By the way, did you know the best and easiest way to slice brownies is with a plastic knife?  True story!  Brownies stick to the metal knife, but not to the plastic knife.

While the brownies are cooling, begin the cookie dough.

In a mixer, beat butter until creamy.  Add brown sugar and beat until smooth.  Add eggs, yolk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a fork.  Gradually add flour to butter mixture and mix until well combined.  Stir in the mini chips.  so, I didn't have mini chips.  All I had were the normal size.  I had the bright idea of trying to pound them a bit with the flat side of a meat tenderizer while they were in a baggy to break them up.  Not one of my finer ideas, since the bag busted and I lost a few chips to the floor!  ha, but in the end, the regular size chips worked okay.  I do think the mini chips would make a neater looking cookie.  but, back to the recipe... Let dough chill, covered, in the fridge for at least one hour -- it will be easier to work chilled. Just resist the urge to visit the fridge and nibble on it. It's hard and I may have failed that part.

Once the dough comes out of the fridge, you'll have to work fairly quickly as the dough will soften up on you and becomes harder (stickier) to work with.  Of course a lot of this may have something to do with the amazing July heat and humidity here.  ;)  Using a measuring cup, scoop out 1/2 cup of dough onto a cookie sheet (I used my baking stone).  You'll get about 6 scoops on one regular sized cookie pan.  Make a small indentation in the middle of each scoop and place one of your 1 inch brownie squares in.  Cover the brownie with the cookie dough, at this point I gently picked up the dough and formed a rough ball around the brownie -- don't handle the dough too much, though.  You'll want to put the dough back in the fridge until you're ready for the second batch.  After all 6 cookies are finished, pop them in the oven (you should get 4 more cookies in the second batch, for a total of 10 from this recipe).  Bakerella suggests 18 minutes at 350.  I kept the 350, but went for 14 minutes.  Again, total preference to have a gooier cookie.  :)  And that our oven bakes just a tad hotter.  After removing the baking stone from the oven, I let the cookies rest about 2 minutes before transferring them to wax paper.  And then be prepared to be amazed with chocolaty, brownie, cookie goodness.  :)  Mine didn't turn out nearly as pretty in the middle as Bakerella's did.  I guess when you want a gooey cookie, you give up perfect photo opportunities.  ;)

Antipasto Platter

There are links upon links that turn up when you search for "antipasto platter" on the internet -- each one different. So, I looked them over and decided to wing it on my own. and then add my own version to the links upon links already out there. ;)

Ingredients:
8 ounces perle mozzarella
8 ounces sliced provolone
6 ounces sliced roast beef
6 ounces sliced hard salami
7 ounce jar pimento stuffed green olives
6 ounce can large black olives
8 ounce jar roasted red bell peppers
8 ounces cherry tomatoes
12 ounce jar pepperoncinis
green leaf lettuce leaves

Vinaigrette Ingredients: 
2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste
about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon each of the following dried herbs:
    oregano
    marjoram
    basil
    thyme

Directions:
Stack the provolone and cut into quarters; do the same with the hard salami. For the roast beef, lay lengthwise and slice into thirds. In a bowl begin separating the pieces of provolone, salami, and roast beef so that later the vinaigrette will cover each piece well. In a colander, dump the green and black olives, roasted red bell peppers, and pepperoncinis and allow to drain. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. In a large container, combine the vegetables, cheeses, and meats. In a separate bowl, mix all the vinaigrette ingredients well and pour over the vegetable/cheese/meat, mixing as you pour to coat well. Refrigerate for several hours. To serve, choose a large platter and place a layer of green leaf lettuce to cover the bottom. With a slotted spoon, scoop the antipasto mixture evenly on top of the lettuce. You can also spoon some of the vinaigrette on top of the mixture. After the main antipasto ingredients are eaten, don't just toss the lettuce! It's now been marinating in the vinaigrette during the party and full of flavor for a great salad!

Mexican Casserole

This is an old family favorite -- we've been eating this for as long as I can remember! Quick, easy, and delicious. Does it get any better than that?

Ingredients:
1 pound hamburger
1 medium onion
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can Fiesta nacho cheese soup
sour cream
salsa
shredded cheese
avocado

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a skillet, brown hamburger and onion. Making one well covered layer, place tortilla chips on the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan. Add refried beans to the hamburger; mix well. Spoon meat mixture over tortilla chips and then spread cream of mushroom soup and then cheese soup over meat mixture. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, and sliced avocado.

a week of experimenting...

So, on my trips to visit my (second ;)) cousin, we have fallen into the habit of experimenting in the kitchen.  The last time I was in Omaha (in October for our 30th birthday blowout weekend!), we tackled Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon -- or as we referred to it, Beef Booya.  I'm sure Julia would not have been impressed with our nickname. haha.  And yes -- we were indeed inspired by the movie Julie and Julia.

Sarah's Homemade Tomato Sauce

In her own words, Sarah describes the process for her tomato sauce.  When TR and I made this, we didn't add the ground beef, simply because we didn't have it thawed out in time.  ;)  I can definitely see doing this in the future and doubling, even tripling the recipe (it looks intimidating, but honestly it's quite easy) and canning the sauce for use later.

Ingredients:
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
8-10 tomatoes, med-large in size
1 can tomato paste
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparing tomatoes:
In a pot of boiling water, put 2-3 whole tomatoes at time. Boil until you see the skin split and start to peel. Transfer tomatoes from boiling water to ice water. Repeat for all tomatoes. Pull tomatoes out of ice water and peel skin off and cut out the core. The skins should slide right off very easily. Take the seeds out of the tomatoes by squeezing or using your fingers to dig out the seeds. Put seedless tomatoes into blender and blend to desired smoothness or chunkiness. I usually purify most and then leave 4 tomatoes or so chunkier.

Sauce Directions:
In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the sausage, beef, onion, and garlic until well browned; drain fat. Stir in blended tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix in sugar and season with basil, fennel seed, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (This makes a lot of sauce. For my family it's at least 2-3 meals worth of sauce. I take out 4 cups at a time after it's cooled and bag it and freeze it. 4 cups = 1 jar of spaghetti sauce.)

Herbs - I use what's on hand. I used mostly fresh this time, just chopped up thyme, oregano, basil and Italian parsley. I then added dried fennel seed, dried oregano and dried basil as well, plus the salt and pepper.

Olive Oil - I just did 4 swirls of the pan or so (so I guessed about 4 tbsp.). You can add more or none. This was the first time I added it.

Meat - You don't have to even add meat, but I think it adds to the flavor. This time I used nitrate-free already cooked Italian sausage. I just cut it into tiny cubes and added it with the hamburger. In the past, I've used ground turkey sweet Italian sausage. I would cut the casing and just add the inside and it mixes with the beef. I prefer this method so it's all uniform and cooks better. You could also add ground pork, ground steak or whatever your family likes.

Some recipes call for water. Every time I've added water, it gets way too runny. Probably because it's fresh tomatoes. Don't add water!! You might even want to add another can or two of tomato paste to thicken it up if you like a thicker sauce. Also, if you plan to freeze it, that can water it down, so when I go to heat it up again after it's frozen, I'll sometimes add a can of paste.

It seems like a lot of steps, but it's actually quite easy! And once you do it once it's even easier!! Enjoy!!

Jones Family "Secret" Rice Krispy Treats

On my summer trip to Omaha one afternoon, we were sitting on the couch and my cousin begins describing this amazing thing her grandma has always done with rice krispy treats.  I realize she's describing my grandma's rice krispy treats.  ;)  Well, they are sisters afterall.  Turns out, we've both grown up eating these treats... So, it seemed only right that we make them this week.  I present the Jones Family "Secret" Rice Crispy Treats:

Ingredients:
1 cup light Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
6 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips 

Directions:
Bring the Karo syrup and sugar to a slight boil in large sauce pan (too much boiling makes them stiff and hard to eat).  Remove from heat and add peanut butter and mix well.  Add Rice Krispies and mix well.  Spread in 9x13 (we just did two 8x8).  Melt semi-sweet chips and butterscotch chips in the microwave and spread over the bars. Refrigerate (or freeze if you're impatient) until cool. Once they are "set" they can be stored room temp.  Or if you're like our grandmas, you can freeze and pull them out when family comes over or for holidays.  ;)

Sopapilla Cheesecake

This one comes from Beth Moore's blog.  I've had the awesome opportunity to attend one of Beth's Bible studies at Houston First Baptist when she did Here and Now, There and Then, a lecture series on Revelation.  My friend Abby and I went the entire 10 week series in the fall semester of 2009.  If you get the chance to do this study now that it's officially published -- do it!  It was so incredibly interesting and what fun it was to be there live while it was recorded for Lifeway!  Anyway, I'm totally offtrack now... Back to the recipe -- I stumbled on this recipe on her blog after having it at a church potluck and searching for the recipe.  This is so easy to throw together and sinfully yummy.  :)  I've also successfully halved the recipe and baked it in an 8x8 pan.

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
2 (8 oz) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (combine about 1/2 cup sugar with 1 TBS cinnamon)

Directions:
In a 9×13 baking pan, unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan; flattening and pressing the seams as you go.  Mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and extract and spread over the crescent rolls.  Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture.  Pour one stick of melted butter over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Baked Squash Casserole

One of my many waitressing jobs included a year long stint at the Black-eyed Pea.  One my favorite things they serve is their Baked Squash Casserole.  This recipe comes to a pretty darn close resemblance of it!

Ingredients:
5 pounds yellow squash
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs*
4 ounces butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
dash of pepper

Directions:
Cut the tops off the squash and cut into about 2 inch chunks.  Place the squash in boiling water and boil just until tender.  Drain and coarsely mash; a potato masher works really well.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour in a 3 quart casserole dish and sprinkle a light layer of breadcrumbs over the top.  Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

*for the breadcrumbs, I like to use King's Hawaiian Honey Wheat rolls.  These closely resemble the yummy honey wheat rolls that the Black-eyed Pea is famous for and what they use in their own squash casserole.  I let the rolls dry out for a day or night before I make this dish and just crumble them with my hands.

Nachos

So, I was aimlessly wandering through HEB Sunday afternoon trying to buy enough food for lunches and easy dinners this week, but feeling very uninspired.  Somewhere in the bread aisle, I had a thought.  I grew up making very simple nachos in the microwave for snacks.  A few chips, a couple spoonfuls of salsa, some shredded cheese, zap them for a few seconds and we're good to go.  Well, I decided, how about that comfort food stepped up a couple notches?  Still a very simple dinner to throw together after work, but very filling.  I can see adding refried beans or a variety of other additions, but the idea was to keep it simple and filling, so I tried not to get too carried away.  Tip: I used a rotisserie chicken to make it even quicker to throw together... plus I have extra chicken for salads and such.  Or more nachos.  ;)

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Ingredients:
tortilla chips
salsa
shredded chicken
southwest seasoning*
4 cheese Mexican blend
chopped avocado (1 small or 1/2 of a large)
sour cream

Directions:
Layer tortilla chips on a foil lined baking pan.  Spoon salsa, distributing evenly on chips.  Add shredded chicken, again being generous and even.  Sprinkle with southwest seasoning.  Layer handfuls of cheese until covered to your liking.  Bake in a 350 oven for about 5 minutes, until warmed through and cheese is melted.  Layer chopped avocado pieces and spoon sour cream evenly over nachos.  Serve immediately.

*The blend I used was a southwest rub made by Adam's Reserve and contained: cumin, sweet pepper flakes, onion, chipotle, garlic, New Mexico chile peppers, black pepper, coriander, cilantro, and lime.

Baked Stuffed Eggs

Yes, another recipe that sounds a bit "different".  I made this for Easter one year when I was on the hunt for a new recipe.  It turned out really well and everyone seemed to like it.  It orginally called for 6 eggs, but I was able to squeeze in 8 eggs with no problem and had plenty of sauce.  This prepares well the night before because it actually needs to be refrigerated the night before baking.

Stuffed Eggs:
8 hard-boiled eggs
3-4 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sauce:
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions:
Cut eggs lengthwise, remove yolks, set whites aside. On a plate, mash yolks and add sour cream, mustard, and salt. Mix well. Fill the egg whites with the yolk mixture. In a small pan, saute onion in butter until tender. Add soup and sour cream; mix well. Pour half of the sauce mixture into an 11x7 pan. Place stuffed eggs in sauce and spoon remaining sauce on top of eggs. Sprinkle with cheese and paprika. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve immediately.

Milnot Cheesecake

My grandma used to make this all the time, it's easily one of our family favorites... I really don't see it very often outside of our family, in fact. It makes me wonder if it's more of a Midwest recipe?  but, I digress. Cold beaters and chilled Milnot are very crucial to the recipe. don't try to skip that step! I recommend putting the beaters in the freezer for a few minutes and the Milnot in the fridge for a couple hours before making the cheesecake.  Of course, the name derives from the brand of sweetened condensed milk.  It's difficult to find Milnot around here, so I use other brands, but the name has certianly stuck!  This is not a traditional cheesecake in shape, texture, or flavor but it is definitely easy and very good!

Ingredients:
3 ounces lemon Jell-O gelatin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup boiling water
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
13 ounces Milnot Sweetened Condensed Milk, chilled
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:
Dissolve Jell-O in water; cool. Cream sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese. Add Jell-O and mix well. Whip Milnot with cold beaters until fluffy and fold into Jell-O mixture. Add butter to graham cracker crumbs and pack into a 9x13 pan. Add filling to crust and sprinkle with more graham cracker crumbs. Keep refrigerated.

Apple Gorgonzola Salad

This particular recipe was inspired 100% by a salad at Buca di Beppo, an Italian family style restaurant.  Ingredient amounts are approximate, because I simply toss in the amount that "looks" right. I use this recipe for the spiced walnuts.

Ingredients:
1 head romaine lettuce
3 ounces dried cranberries
2 granny smith apples, sliced
3 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled
1/2 cup spiced walnuts

Directions:
Tossing the above ingredients with an Italian vinaigrette in a large bowl with tongs is the best way to prepare this salad.  Be sure all of the salad is evenly coated with your desired amount of vinaigrette.

Spiced Walnuts

I use Spiced Walnuts for various things.  This method also works well for any kind of nut you need to roast with some flavor.  One of the most common dishes I use these walnuts for is my Apple Gorgonzola Salad

Ingredients:
1 egg white
2 cups walnut halves
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 pinch salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whip egg white in a bowl until frothy. Toss walnuts in and coat well. Combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt; sprinkle over walnuts, coating evenly. Spread walnuts in one layer on a cookie sheet; bake until toasted, about 10 minutes. Remove and cool; store in an airtight container.

Egg Olive Salad Sandwiches

My mom used to put a booth in a local church's fall craft bazaar. The church ladies made these sandwiches every year and they are simply amazing. I went back to the bazaar a couple falls ago for the first time in years... They were still making the same sandwiches, but I didn't get one — they were sold out!! The recipe comes from the church's cookbook. The book suggests only Sunbeam white bread, but since when do I follow rules?! Pita bread, whole grain bread, wheat bread, or just a a bed of lettuce... It's all good.  A great sandwich for a tea party!

Ingredients:
5 hard-boiled eggs
1 (16 ounce) jar stuffed green olives
1/2 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise*
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
 
Directions:
Chop eggs and olives finely; the finer, the better.  A food processor makes this job quick and easy.  Add remaining ingredients and mix gently by hand.  *start with a 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and add as needed.  Tightly cover and cool the mixture for a few hours or overnight.  Make into sandwiches and cut into quarters or use cookie cutters for a touch of creativity.

Guacamole

I used to be very simplistic with my guacamole.  Mash up the avocadoes, add some sea salt and call it done.  Sometimes I'd add tomatoes.  But, then I discovered this recipe.  And while I still revert to the "basic" guacamole when I'm in a hurry, I like to make this one when I have time and have the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:
7 ripe medium avocados, peeled and halved
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 pint grape tomatoes, chopped
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
juice from 1 large fresh lime
1/2 tablespoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Directions:
Sprinkle seasoned salt and crushed garlic over avacado halves.
Coarsely mash the avocados, leaving some chunks.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
 
Servings: 6

Chicken Enchiladas

One of my favorite recipes ever and an old standby.  One of my dearest friends and a college roommate, Jamie, gave me this one.  I think of her every time I make these enchiladas!  For the chicken, I often use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery deli.  It adds a really great flavor and eliminates the step of baking chicken breasts.  You'll have some chicken leftover, but hey -- who can't find something to do with those delicious chickens?!

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded/chopped baked chicken breast
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can of chopped green chilies
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
3 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 of a medium onion, finely chopped
12 tortillas
1 1/2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese

Directions:
Mix together the soup, chilies, cumin, salt, sour cream, and milk.  A blender makes this mixture really smooth, but I often just stir by hand.  Set aside.

Combine chicken, cream cheese, and onion.  Wrap this mixture into about 12 warmed tortillas.  Lay in a 9x13 pan and pour soup mixture over enchiladas.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven, top with cheese and return uncovered to oven until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Servings: 6

Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 salmon fillets
1 lemon
10 crushed Ritz crackers

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine mayo, cheese, and red pepper; set aside.  note: I often add a bit more red pepper after tasting.  Lay salmon fillets on a foil-lined baking pan. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over each fillet.  Spread each fillet evenly with mayo mixture. Cover mayo with cracker crumbs.  Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Servings: 4

Sausage Cheese Muffins

We had these at the TBC Women's Retreat this year (a few of our guys from church come up and cook all weekend for us. They love it; we have some excellent men cooks; and we save money vs catering! win/win/win!!). These are so good and they freeze really well, making an easy and quick breakfast to grab from the freezer and pop in the toaster oven as needed. Also makes a great appetizer for parties -- just cut into wedges and serve!

Ingredients:
1 pound sausage
1/4 teaspoon red pepper (optional)
1 stick butter
3 jars Old English cheese spread
12 English muffins, split

Directions:
Cook sausage, crumble, and drain well. Set aside to cool. Combine butter, cheese, and pepper. Mix until fluffy (I've used both a mixer and done this by hand; both work just as well). Spread on English muffin halves. Bake at 425* until bubbly and slightly brown; about 8 minutes.

Yields 24 muffins

Corn Dip

Quite possibly my most requested recipe and dish. I kinda feel cheated that this is the one I get remembered by. I mean, a dip? Come on! sigh. ;) But, it is quite good.

It has great flavor (despite the intial thought -- corn dip??) and is so easy to make. It is best to let it sit in the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours to allow the flavors to combine. Note: The cayenne definitely adds some kick and gets stronger as it sits in the fridge for a few hours, so use sparingly if you wish.

Ingredients:
2 (11 ounce) cans mexicorn
16 ounces sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 to 1 bunch cilantro
3 to 4 green onions
2 cups four-cheese Mexican blend cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 lime
2 (12 ounce) bags tortilla chips

Directions:
Mix together the corn, sour cream, and mayonnaise.
Slice lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half over corn mixture; mix well.
Chop cilantro and green onions. Add to the corn mixture.
Blend in cumin and cayenne pepper.
Mix in shredded cheese.
Refrigerate overnight. Serve with tortilla chips.

Servings: 10 - 12

Welcome!

I thought it might be interesting to start a blog based on the many recipes that float around in my life. I'm constantly searching for new ideas: picking up new cookbooks, reading cooking magazines, and searching the internet for creative ideas. I've posted a few of my recipes on Recipezaar, but I've recently become slightly disgruntled with them, so I thought I'd make a new way to share my love for all things in the kitchen. I'm sure my obsession with mixing bowls, serving dishes, and Pyrex will make it's way here as well. Looking forward to sharing this with you and hearing your feedback as new posts appear here! First up, I'll be transferring a few of the ole' favorites in my recipe box to the blog. Be back soon!