Caramel Crunch Sauce

1/4 C Butter
2T Flour
3/4 C light Corn Syrup
1 1/4 C firmly packed Brown Sugar
5 oz Evaporated Milk
1 1/2 C coarsely chopped toasted Pecans
4 crushed Heath Bars

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool 15 minutes. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Stir in pecans and crushed candy. Serve sauce warm over ice cream.

Harry Potter Butterbeer

Vanilla Ice Cream
Caramel Crunch Sauce (see recipe)
Rum Extract to taste
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp clove
Apple Cider

Let container of vanilla ice cream soften slightly. Blend in cooled caramel crunch sauce (omit pecans and Heath bars for this drink), rum extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Refreeze for several hours. To serve, pour hot apple cider over a scoop or two.

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1C oil
2C sugar
3tsp vanilla
2C grated zucchini
Nuts (optional)

Sift Together:
3C flour
1tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder

Beat eggs well until light and foamy. (This is the most important step.) Add oil, sugar, vanilla and zucchini. Mix lightly. Add remaining ingredients and nuts. Mix lightly. Pour into two sprayed medium sized loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.

Sausage, Bacon, Apple, and Cornbread Stuffing

1 (9x9 inch) pan cornbread, cut into small cubes
1 (14 ounce) package dry bread stuffing mix
8 ounces pork sausage links, finely chopped
1 pound bulk pork sausage
1/2 pound bacon slices, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried sage leaves, or amount to taste
2 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth, or as needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 9x13 inch baking dish.
Place the cubed cornbread and bread stuffing mix into a large bowl. Set aside.
Place the chopped sausage links and ground sausage in a skillet; cook and stir over medium-high heat until evenly browned. Drain, and place sausage into a bowl. Using the same skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until evenly browned. Drain bacon on paper towels. Drain excess bacon fat from the skillet. Stir the cooked sausage and bacon into the cornbread mixture.
Using the same skillet, cook the celery and onion over medium heat until transparent and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir into the cornbread mixture.
Stir the apples into the cornbread mixture. Season with salt, pepper, and sage. (I didn't have sage so used poultry seasoning to taste.  I also didn't think it needed salt and pepper, so omitted these ingredients.) Pour enough chicken broth over the cornbread mixture to moisten thoroughly, and toss to distribute evenly. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish. (I like moist stuffing so used 3 cans chicken broth for the amount of bread I had.)
Bake in preheated oven until top is toasted and the center is firm, about 45 minutes.

Brined Pork Chops with Apples

Brine:
4 cups apple cider
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 TBSP coarsely ground black pepper
2 TBSP dried rubbed sage
1 TBSP ground cinnamon
8-10 1 1/2 inch thick center-cut pork loin chops, trimmed of excess fat

Pork:
1 TBSP olive oil

1 onion- thinly sliced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup apple juice
2 TBSP raisins ( I used craisins)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 TBSP Dijon Mustard


Preparation-
For brine: Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Stir until sugar and dissolve. Add pork chops to brine. Top with plate to submerge pork. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.

For pork: Drain brine from pork chops. Pat pork dry. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add pork and cook until brown but not cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pork to plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to same skillet. Cover and cook until onion is soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add apples and saute until pale golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in broth and cider, apple juice, raisins and ginger, scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet. Add cream and mustard. Bring sauce to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add pork. Cover; cok 3 minutes. Turn pork over and cook until thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 150' F, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to plates.

Simmer sauce until lightly thickened, about 4 minutes longer. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon over pork and serve.

Milky way apple salad

1 large pkg instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
Mix together and let sit 5 minutes

Mix in 1 8 oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
Add 1 small container of cool whip
Cut up 6 granny smith apples and add to mixture
Cut up about 6 milky way bars and mix in (you can use more or less)

Refridgerate for 1 hour and enjoy!

Carrot Apple Side Dish

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups diced carrots (about 6 medium)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup diced peeled apple
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Directions

In a saucepan, cook carrots in water until crisp-tender; drain.
Add butter, brown sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon; mix well. Stir in apple.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine cornstarch and cold water; stir into carrot mixture.
Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.
Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes or until glazed, stirring constantly.

Yield: 4 servings **I doubled the recipe for dinner group.**

Creamy Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:
Table Salt
1 lb. elbow macaroni (preferably with ridges)
1/2 red onion, minced
1 rib celery, minced
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream


Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and macaroni and cook until nearly tender, about 5 minutes. Noodles should not be completely done.  Drain in colander and rinse with cold water until cool, then drain briefly so that macaroni remains moist. Transfer to large bowl.


Stir in onion, celery, parsley, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder, and cayenne, and let sit until flavors are absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add mayonnaise and let sit until salad texture is no longer watery, 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. (The salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Check consistency and seasonings before serving.)

Grapefruit Drink

1 bottle of Squirt or Fresca Soda (Squirt is sweeter, Fresca is more tart)
1 white grape juice from concentrate
1 grapefruit

Mix together. Pour over ice. Slice Grapefruit and add for decoration.

Chocolate pretzels

1 pkg. pretzel twists
1 bag rolo candies
1 can mixed nuts

Arrange pretzels on cookie sheet.  Place 1 rolo on top of each pretzel. Bake in oven on 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and push down sofened chocolate with a nut.. you can use pecans, cashews, peanuts, almonds, etc.

let cool and enjoy.

Gooey Smores Bars - August 2011 at Angie's

Gooey Smores Bars

(Makes one cookie-sheet full. Half a recipe fits nicely in a 9x13 pan)

1 1/3 c. sugar
1 c. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
4 2/3 c. graham cracker crumbs
2/3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 c. chocolate chips, more or less (can use some chocolate bar pieces)
14 oz. jar of marshmallow creme
2 c. mini marshmallows

Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Gently mix in flour, salt, and graham cracker crumbs. Reserve about 2 c., and press remainder into the bottom of a greased cookie sheet (one that has sides).

Sprinkle chocolate over crust, pressing down slightly. Drop creme by tablespoonfuls over all. Sprinkle with marshmallows. Sprinkle with reserved crust mixture; press down lightly.

Bake 17-22 minutes at 350 F. Cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

4 c. broccoli, cut into bite size pieces

4 c. cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces

1 can water chestnuts, sliced (I don't like these, so I left them out)

½ c. black olives, sliced

1 lb. bacon, sliced & fried crisp

½ c. grated parmesan cheese

1 c. cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

DRESSING:

2 c. mayo 1 c. sugar

Mix mayo and sugar together and refrigerate.

Right before you are ready to serve combine all ingredients and toss with dressing.

Star Punch

1 64 oz cranberry juice (can be cranapple if you can't find sparkling cider)
1 24 oz bottle cold sparkling cider
1 1 liter bottle ginger ale
1 orange washed
1 16 oz bag frozen strawberries, raspberries or blend (optional)
star anise fruit (optional)

Combine all liquids except for 1 cup of cranberry juice if wanting the anise flavor into a punch bowl.

Cute orange in half and squeeze juice of 1/2 the orange into liquid.  Slice other half and garnish on top.

Place frozen berries in punch bowl or make into a circular shape by arranging in bundt pan with some water and freeze.  Place flat side down in punch bowl after frozen.

Hint of anise flavor: Place 3-4 slices star fruit in saucepan  with reserved cranberry juice and bring to a simmer.  Remove from and pour into glass and allow to cool. Refrigerate until cool and stir into punch. 

For a nice fun star theme place a slice of star anise into glass as a garnish.

Strawberry Cream Pie

This recipe will make two pies.

2 chocolate cookie pie crusts (or your favorite pie crust will work)
1 box strawberry Danish Dessert
4-5 cups strawberries cleaned, hulled, and sliced
1 8oz package cream cheese (fat free or light will work), softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Crust: If you're interested in making your own crust.  Here's what I did.  I took a box of chocolate wafer cookies (not oreos), 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter.  Crush the cookies to a fine powder and mix with melted butter and sugar.  Press into two pie plates.

Directions:  Clean, hull, and slice the strawberries and set aside.  Cook the Danish Dessert according to package directions.  Set aside and allow to cool.  While Danish Dessert is cooling, beat softened cream cheese with sugar and vanilla until smooth.  In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until stiff.  Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.  Fold the strawberries into the cooled Danish Dessert.  Fill the pie shells by layering 1/4 of cream cheese mixture into the bottom of each pie shell.  Cover this with 1/4 of the strawberry filling into each pie shell.  Layer again with remaining cream cheese filling followed by remaining strawberry filling.  Chill and serve.

Garlic Fridge Pickles - July 2011 at Marlana's

Garlic Fridge Pickles

• 2 whole Cucumbers
• 2 cloves Garlic (I used that mashed garlic that comes in a jar)
  
• 1 cup Vinegar (I used 1/2 c. white vinegar and 1/2 c. red wine vinegar)
  
• 1 cup Water
• ⅓ cups Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Dill, Dried
• 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 pinch Coriander (Didn't have this; I used a dash of celery salt)
  
• 6 whole Peppercorns (I used about 1 tsp. coarse pepper)
  

Use cucumbers with no wax residue on the peels (I peeled my cucumbers)

Slice cucumbers in 1/4″-1/8″ slices.

Cut garlic cloves in quarters, then smash them a bit.

Put cucumbers and garlic in a bowl.

Heat vinegar (I like apple cider vinegar, but white works also), water, sugar, salt, dill, red pepper flakes, coriander and peppercorns in a small sauce pan until sugar and salt are dissolved.*

Pour over the cucumbers and garlic.

Cover and let marinate in refrigerator for at least two hours.

Serve cold.

Crab Wonton Stars with Firecracker Sauce

8oz Crab
8oz Cream Cheese
1/8 C Sour Cream
1/2 T Garlic Powder
1/2 T Sugar
Chopped Green Onion (I didn't measure it)
Soy Sauce (splash, I didn't measure it either)

Wonton Wrappers
Sweet Red Chili Sauce

Blend ingredients and place small spoonful in center of wonton wrapper. Seal edges with water. Fry in oil for one minute at 350 degrees.

Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar (June 2011)

16 oz. fresh strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar

Place strawberries in a bowl.  Drizzle with vinegar.  Sprinkle sugar over top and stir gently to combine.  Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least one hour but no more than four hours.  Serve as is or over vanilla ice cream.  Serves six.

Note:  Don't make more than you think you'll eat.  These do NOT keep over night.  I will occasionally make a single serving using 2.5 oz. strawberries, 1tsp. balsamic vinegar, and 2 tsp. sugar.

Hot Bean Dip

Ingredients
1 8oz package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 16 oz cans refried beans
1/2 package taco seasoning mix
5 drops hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 8oz package cheddar cheese
1 8oz package monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, blend cream cheese, sour cream, beans, taco seasoning, pepper sauce, parsley, green onions, and half the cheddar and monterey jack cheeses. Pour mixture into 9x13 baking dish and put remaining cheeses over top. Bake 20-30 minutes or until cheese is slightly browned. Serve with tortilla chips.

Strawberry Lemonade

1 gallon water
1 cup sugar
1 can lemonade concentrate
1 package frozen strawberries or raspberries

Combine water, sugar and concentrate.  Add Strawberries/Raspberries.  I like to mush them around every few minutes to get the flavor started.

Mud Pie

36 Oreos
1 cube butter melted
1/2 gallon any flavor ice cream
1 jar hot fudge or caramel topping
1 8 oz container cool whip, defrosted

Crush Oreos in a gallon size zip-lock bag. Mix butter and Oreos. Press 1/2 + of mixture into a 9 X 13 pan. Freeze for 20 min. Cut ice cream to fit on top of frozen crust. (About an inch thick.) Freeze 20 min. Pour Topping over ice cream. Freeze 20 min. Top with cool whip and remaining crumb mixture. Freeze until ready to serve. Cut into squares to serve. For fun with kids you can add gummy worms. :)

French Bread

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp oil
6 cups flour

Mix water, sugar and yeast. Sit for 5 min. Stir in salt, oil and 3 cups flour. Stir vigorously. Add 3 more cups flour slowly. Rest for 5 min. Stir down and rest for 5 more minutes. Repeat 3 times. Roll out 1/2 of the dough into a triangle and then roll like a jelly roll. Pinch with water to seal. (I don't usually do that I just pinch it together then put it on the bottom) Repeat with rest of the dough. I fit both on one cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray and raise for 20 min. Diagonally cut 3 slits (\\\) Bake at 375 for 23-25 minutes. Cover with a towel after they come out of the oven. I like it best when I remove the loaves onto separate towels and wrap them. I found if I left them on the cookie sheet the bottoms would get soggy from the steam. Enjoy!

Baked Beans - June 2011 at Tawnya's

Baked Beans

Six cans of pork & beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 T. Worchestershire sauce
1 c. ketchup
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. molasses
1 lb. lean bacon, cooked and crumbled

If desired: dry mustard, salsa, green peppers (to taste)

Put everything in a crockpot. If starting the night before, cook on low all night. If starting same morning, cook on high all day. Take the lid off as soon as mixture starts to bubble.

It will make your house smell amazing!

Fluffy Raspberry Squares

1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers (about 45 wafers)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 pkg (3 oz each) raspberry jell-o
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 pkg (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 pint raspberry sherbet, softened

In a small bowl, combine the wafer crumbs, pecans and butter; set aside 1/4 cup for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 11 x 7 dish. Cover and refrigerate for 30 min.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form; set aside. In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add pudding mix; beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Add sherbet; beat on low for 1 minute or until soft-set. Fold in whipped cream.

Spread over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set.

**My notes: I only had half as much jell-o as it called for, but it seemed to work. The usual recipe is to use lemon jell-o, lemon pudding, and lemon sherbet. I like raspberry better, so that's what I used. I also don't have an 11 x 7 pan, so I doubled the recipe and made a 9 x 13 for dinner group and an 8 x 8 pan for my family. **

Cheese Fondue

3 cups Velveeta cheese cubed (8 oz. is 1 cup)
2 tbsp. Butter
2 tbsp. Flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper

Combine butter and flour and stir constantly until butter is melted.  Then add milk and stir until it is smooth, add cheese, salt and pepper in a saucepan stirring constantly over medium heat until cheese is completely melted.  I did it on the stove and then transferred it to the crock pot since I wasn't going to be home during the afternoon.  I just set it to low and let it simmer away.

Dip french bread, pretzels, potatoes, and broccoli, carrots, meats, etc.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Crust:

 1 1/2 C. Hot Water
2 tsp. Real Salt
2 Tbls. Sugar
2 1/2 tsp. Instant Yeast
3- 4 cups flour (closer to 3, do not add too much)
1 tsp. dough enhancer

Combine all ingredients in your mixer.  Add flour little by little at the end so that you do not add too much.  The dough should be soft, not too sticky.  Let it kneed in the mixer for about 15-20 minutes.  Knead a few more minutes with your hands.  Set on counter and cover with damp cloth for 5 minutes (while you are getting everything ready).

Sauce:

1 can tomato sauce
Favorite barbecue sauce
(you want equal amounts.  I used the can of tomato sauce to measure the barbecue sauce in)

Shredded Chicken
Purple onion (chopped very fine)
Mozzarella cheese

Roll out dough to make pizza shape.  Cover with the barbecue/tomato sauce.  Add shredded chicken and purple onion.  Cook on 500 degrees-- or as high as your oven will go-- for 5-10 minutes.  Then add cheese and cook again until cheese is completely melted and starts browning. YUM!