Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Pizza Crust (from Buffington's)
1TBSP yeast
2 TBSP sugar
1TBSP oil
Let sit and activate. Then add:
1 tsp salt
4-5 cups flour
Knead; let rise until double. Press in deep cookie sheet. One batch makes two sheets of pizza. Bake at 425 for 12-14 minutes. I like to brush on melted butter before baking. For added yumminess, I flip the pizza crust, once it's baked, and bake it on the other side for a few minutes. Once done, flip back over. I spread on plain old tomato sauce, sprinkled with garlic salt, oregano and parsley.
Royal Icing (Gingerbread Houses Icing)
2tsp Cream of Tartar
4 cups powdered sugar
(scooped, not packed)
Beat until thick; minimum of 10 minutes. Easy icing and it works. Turns hard as a rock! For really easy gingerbread houses, use graham crackers. But, you all probably already knew that!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Thanksgiving Turkey
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Zuppa Toscana, Soup from the Olive Garden
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 white onion, diced
10 cups water
5 cubes chicken bouillon
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced
1/2 pint whipping cream
2 cups kale, cut in half lengthwise then sliced
1/4 cup crumbled bacon (we like it with the bacon, but it tastes great without it too)
-After browning the sausage, use some remaining grease to saute onions and garlic
-Simmer in a large pot: water, bouillon, sausage, onions and garlic
-Add potatoes and simmer until potatoes are tender but not crumbling
-salt and pepper to taste
-Stir in kale, cream, and bacon before serving
-Serves 10
Monday, November 24, 2008
Better Than "Anything" Cake
A popular chocolate cake with loads of chocolate, caramel topping, candy bars and whipped topping. This is perfect when you don't have a lot of time.
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 German chocolate or other chocolate cake, baked, 13x9x2-inch
• 3/4 cup fudge topping
• 3/4 cup caramel or butterscotch topping
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 6 chocolate covered toffee bars
• 1 tub of whipped topping or 1 envelope Dream Whip, prepared with milk
PREPARATION:
Do not remove cake from pan. After the cake has cooled, make holes in the entire top of the cake using a large fork or the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour (one at a time) fudge, butterscotch, and condensed milk over the top of the cake and let each flavor soak in before adding the next.
Crush 3 of the candy bars and sprinkle on the top. Frost the cake with the whipped topping and crush the 3 remaining toffee bars to decorate the top. Try to keep your hands off of this great cake before serving!
Serves 12
Tip: I like to make things pretty... so i pour fudge sauce in a zip lock back or a piping bag and drizzle it out zig zag style all the way across the cake. and then do the same for the caramel but zig zag the other direction. (it looks like a grid)
Pear Green Salad
2 heads Mixed Greens
½ lb. Bacon (fried and crumbled)
4-5 Ripe pears, chopped
½ C. Slivered almonds toasted
1 pkg. Craisins (approx. 1 C.)
4 oz. Gorgonzola Cheese or Blue Cheese
Dressing: (Only ½ is really needed for the amount of salad above)
2 C. Sugar
2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Poppyseed
½ C. Oil
2 tsp Dry Mustard
1 C. Red Wine Vinegar
This is a hit to everyone! Even my hubby who thinks any salad is just "rabbit food".
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Breakfast Bake
1 lb. cooked sausage
Chopped Ham
6-8 eggs
1/2 C. milk
1/2 tsp. pepper
1-2 C. cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Unroll dough in 9x13 pan; press to cover bottom of dish, firmly pressing holes and seams together to seal.
Spread sausage on top of crust and then sprinkle ham on top. Beat eggs, milk and pepper with whisk until blended. Pour over ham and top with cheese.
Bake 25 minutes or until center is set.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Pumpkin Sheet Cake (Pumpkin Bars)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Need Cookie Recipe
Does anyone have a GOOD Sugar Free Cookie Recipe??? Yesterday I attempted a recipe I got from allrecipes.com using bananas, applesauce, apple chunks, oats and a little flavoring...they were HORRIBLE! They tasted like cardboard on the outside and mushy nastiness on the inside. Jeremy wouldn't take more than a couple of bits, and he'll eat anything! What I don't get is this recipe rated 4 out of 5 stars! Who's rating these things...tree huggers (no offense)?
Anyway, if you don't have a good sugar free cookie, post a good sugar free dessert!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Pasta Primavera
1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced (1 cup) or sometimes when I am in a hurry, I use canned carrots.
1 cup broccoli flowerets
1 cup frozen peas, rinsed to separate
1 small onion chopped
Alfredo sauce (recipe below)
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
*We like to add bite size pieces of cooked chicken to ours but this is optional.
1. cook pasta as directed on package
2. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in skill in 12 inch skillet over medium high heat. Cook broccoli, carrots, peas, and onion in oil 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until veggies are tender.
3. Prepare sauce. Stir sauce into veggies. Drain pasta and add to sauce and veggie mixture. Heat through and serve with cheese.
Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
Heat butter and whipping cream over low heat, stirring constantly until butter is melted. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper.
I am making this for dinner on Sunday. I try and make a special meal once in a while, and this is it. I really like this recipe. It may seem hard at first, but I have made it several times and each time I make it, it gets easier.
Carrie
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Banana Bread Muffins
2 eggs
1/3 C. oil
1/3 C. applesauce ( I use unsweetened - 100% natural)
2 C. mashed ripe bananas (it's about 6 depending on the size)
2 C. flour
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbl. cinnamon
1/2 C. chopped nuts AND/OR 1/2 bag of chocolate chips (optional)
Topping (optional):
Melted butter
Cinnamon/Sugar mixture
Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs, oil, applesauce and bananas. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in nuts and/or chocolate chips. Grease pans or use cupcake liners for muffins.
Muffins (about 24): bake 25-28 mins
4 mini loaf pans or 2 big loaf pans: 45-55 mins
Bake until knife comes out clean and bread is golden brown. All ovens vary, so check bread at minimum baking time. Do not overbake! Brush with butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture.
TIP: If you have bananas that are ripe, but don't have enough bananas to bake bread, store peeled bananas in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Thaw in microwave when you are ready to use.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread
Monday, October 27, 2008
Pumpkin Muffins
Oreo Truffles
Makes about 50 truffles
- 1 lb Oreo cookies (3 sleeves) (I like using Mint Oreos)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (using different extracts allows for subtle flavour changes...I've used mint extract, upped to 1 tsp) (optional)
- 1 lb milk chocolate
- 1/2 lb white chocolate
- Using a food processor, grind cookies to a fine powder.
- With a mixer, blend cookie powder, cream cheese and vanilla extract until thoroughly mixed (there should be no white traces of cream cheese).
- Roll into small balls and place on wax-lined cookie sheet.
- Refrigerate for 45 minutes.
- Line two cookie sheets with wax paper.
- In double-boiler, melt milk chocolate.
- Dip balls and coat thoroughly.
- With slotted spoon, lift balls out of chocolate and let excess chocolate drip off.
- Place on wax-paper-lined cookie sheet.
- In separate double boiler, melt white chocolate.
- Using a fork, drizzle white chocolate over balls.
- Let cool.
- Store in airtight container, in refrigerator.
Out of the World Chicken in a Crock Pot
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 packet dry italian dressing
1 8 oz package cream cheese
Dump all in a crock pot and cook! That easy! I am not sure of the time because I have done anything from tenders to fresh chicken to frozen chicken and it is all different. Try at least 5 hours on low and see if that works! Sorry my recipes are always so vague! We cheat because we have a meat thermometer...makes everything a little less scientific. Shred in crock pot with two forks before serving. This dinner is sooooo yummy. We serve on rice or mashed potatoes for the little taste buds. YUMMMM!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Bag of Bones, Breadsticks
1 TBSP yeast
2 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
Mix lightly and let sit until foamy. Then add
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
(for all you garlic lovers, you can replace
salt with 1 TBSP garlic salt)
31/2 cups flour
Mix, then knead in mixer for about 5 minutes. Let raise til double.
Throw dough on a lightly sprayed surface. Roll into a rectangle shape and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. With each individual stick, slit at each end, just a bit, and fold or roll under to make the knobby parts at the end of the bones. Rub cookie sheets with butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes or until golden brown.
For added flavor try: brushing with melted butter, brushing with melted butter with a dash of garlic salt in it, sprinkling with course salt, sprinking with parmesean, or all of the above. PS, this is all done to the dough before baked, but you knew that, right?
For our door-bell ditching "Boo-ed" treat this year, we made a bunch of these bones and put them in halloween bags, with a note that said, "Enjoy your bag of bones". We were thrilled to give something that wasn't sugar.
Witch Fingers
Creepy Witches' Fingers
Yield: 5 dozen
1 cup Butter, softened, 1 cup Icing sugar (powdered sugar), 1 Egg, 1 tsp Almond extract, 1 tsp Vanilla
2 2/3 cups Flour, 1 tsp Baking powder*
1 tsp Salt, 3/4 cup Almonds, whole blanched, 1 Tube red decorator gel (optional, not pictured)
Gross everyone out with these creepy cookies.
In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking soda*, and salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for nail. Squeeze in centre to create knuckle shape. (Accompanying picture showed long rolled shape with bulge at centre for knuckle; you puff it out rather than squeeze it in.) Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle.
Place on lightly greased baking sheets; bake in 325F (160C) oven for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. Lift up almond, squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place, so gel oozes out from underneath. You can also make slashes in the finger and fill them with "blood."
Remove from baking sheets and let cool on racks. Repeat with remaining dough.
Halloween Swamp Juice
Swamp Juice
2c boiling water
1 (6oz) package Jello Brand Lime flavor gelatin
2c cold orange juice
1 liter of cold seltzer (sprite)
ice cubes
1 pt. orange sherbet, slightly softened
1 orange thinly sliced
1 lime thinly sliced
Handful of Halloween plastic toys (Spiders, mice, eye balls, etc..)
Directions:
- Stir boiling water into gelatin in lg. bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in Orange juice, cool to room temp.
- Pour into punch bowl just before serving. Add cold seltzer and ice cubes. Place scoops of sherbet and fruit slices on the punch.
- Top with plastic Halloween toys… like eye balls, spiders, mice etc…
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Alfredo With A Twist
Kielbasa Alfredo
Penne noodles (prepared according to package)
½ of a link of kielbasa sausage (they come in 16 oz. packages)
½ red bell pepper
½ orange bell pepper
Jar of alfredo ( I used Cheesy Ragu Alfredo)
1 T. salt
Preparations:
- Cook pasta as directed on package with 1 T. salt
- Slice kielbasa in bite size pieces, in a skillet lightly brown sausage.
- In a small saucepan, heat jar of alfredo
- Chop bell peppers, and then toss them in with sausage for last 3 min.
- Combine all ingredients and serve.
- (optional) for garnish, sprinkle parmesan cheese and a couple sliced peppers.
Total time: 20 min.
Really easy, really cheap, not too many ingredients! By Karen Brothersen
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thanks my love
Monday, October 13, 2008
Lip Smackin Apple Dip
3 eight ounce pkgs cream cheese
1 pound brown sugar
2 T vanilla
Heath milk chocolate toffee bits (around 1/2 cup)
Mix together cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Stir in toffee bits to desired amount. Put into serving dish; sprinkle with more toffee bits.
TIPS: I use reduced fat cream cheese (neufchatel.) For easy measuring you can buy brown sugar in a 1 pound box. This recipe is a HUGE hit at parties. Be prepared to hand out recipe after serving!
Potato Roll Dough
In large bowl mix hot water and 1 cup of flour. Whisk in sugar, salt and shortening. Add eggs, Whisk. Add potato's, Whisk. Add yeast, Whisk. Then stir in rest of flour ONE CUP at a time. Dough will be somewhat sticky yet firm. Make sure all the flour is mixed in. You can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough overnight, then roll out and make cinnamon rolls or dinner rolls.OR.... you can let rise until double, then punch down, and let rise again. Then roll out into rolls.
For cinnamon rolls:
Roll dough into rectangle shape approx 1/2 in. thick. Pour small amount of melted butter on dough and spread evenly to the edges. Make Cinnamon & sugar mixture and spread generously on top of butter. Then add anything else like raisins, nuts (YUK) etc. Roll up dough starting from edge closet to you. Cut 2 in. thick rolls, place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise until double. They should look nice and fluffy. Bake @ 350 for 20 min.
Icing:
203 cups powdered sugar1-2 TBS butter1 tsp. PURE vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. PURE almond extract Hot water
In bowl add first 4 ingredients. Then add a small amount of hot water and stir until icing is slightly runny. If too runny add more pwdr sugar. Spoon icing on warm NOT hot rolls and spread around. When icing is set you can drizzle any extra icing on the tops to make them look extra special and pretty!! (a Professional tip) Woo hoo!
This is a very versatile dough.
Breakfast bunz:
spread beaten eggs in place of the butter, then a mixture of scrambled eggs , diced ham or bacon, sausage etc... and cheese in place of the cinnamon!!! roll them up the same way and cut. Then Dip tops into shredded cheese and place on cookie sheet. Bake at same temp. These are seriously awesome!!!!
Pizza rolls:
Spread pizza sauce (not too thick) on dough. Add any pizza type ingredients but be careful with wet ingredients like veggies. sprinkle with mozzerlla cheese, roll up, dip in shredded cheese & bake!!!!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
In a large bowl cream together above ingredients. Then mix in:
5 eggs1 TBS. vanilla (pure vanilla will make the cookie taste better) 2 1/4 tsp. salt2 1/4 tsp. baking soda
When the above ingredients are all mixed together add:
5 C. all purpose flour *** ONE CUP AT A TIME ***
DON"T OVER MIX ! ! ! !
add semi-sweet chocolate chips, aprox 2-4 cups, depending on how chocolaty you like it, I like to add some butterscotch pieces with it to add some flavour. Or you can scoop the dough and then dip it into M&M's!
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for aprox 10 min. IMPORTANT!!! Do not overbake these cookies. They are done when they turn "lightly brown" around the edges. (If you cook them longer they will be too crisp.) They may look like they aren't done, but they finish cooking on the pan while they are cooling down.!! AND.... they are even better the next day!!!!
Lasagna
¼ cup grated onions
1 tsp. salt
1 bottle of Prego
1-2 cups water
1 large can diced tomatoes (I use home-canned tomatoes)
Fill that same can used from above and fill with water and pour that in while you're at it!
Large Dashes of oregano, parsley, garlic powder, basil
Uncooked Lasagna noodles
2 cup cottage cheese
3 cup grated Mozzarella
3 cup grated cheddar
Parmesan Cheese
Brown hamburger and add the rest up to the spices. Let sauce simmer for 1 hour to blend flavors (It should be watery at the beginning because that softens the noodles in the oven). Layers in a 9x13 pan are: Sauce, noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese, For as deep as your pan is and you want to end with cheese on top! I usually can’t get more than two layers. As far as the cheeses go, just plop on some small spoonfuls of cottage cheese everywhere, then cover with grated cheese then sprinkle parmesan cheese. Bake for 1 hour at 350° (until bubbly).
Sweet & Sour Chicken
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3 chicken breasts cut into pieces
2 eggs beaten
Cornstarch!!
First five ingredients make sauce. Take Chicken pieces and mix with eggs. Cover with cornstarch to make it breaded (I take a few pieces of chicken at a time that way they all get it evenly) and seer on the breading in a frying pan on Medium heat for a minute or so on each side. Then put in sauce in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Biscuits & Gravy
3 cups flour
4½ tsp. baking powder
2½ tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup margarine
1 cup milk
1 egg
Mix dry ingredients first then slice in the butter (Don’t melt it!) and add milk and egg. Plop onto a greased cookie sheet. (Mine are jagged looking). Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350°.
Gravy:
Brown 1 lb. of hamburger or sausage. (Season hamburger well with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.) Add ¾ cup of flour to meat and stir for a minute or so until it’s all in well. Add milk slowly until it’s the thickness you want. It has to simmer for a while to thicken.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Chili's Salsa
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 C. canned pumpkin
1 C. white sugar
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 Tbl. vanilla
2 C. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 C. chopped walnuts (optional)
Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg. In separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Dissolve baking soda into milk and stir in dry ingredients. Mix dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture and mix well. Add vanilla, chips and nuts. Drop by spoonful on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown and firm. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Sweet and Sour Pork Chops
1 cut onion
1 lemon
Ketchup
Brown Sugar
This recipe is really a no-measure recipe. Just place enough pork chops to fill the bottom of a baking pan (we have used bone-in and boneless). Spread the onion to cover. I DO NOT like fresh onions and use dehydrated for all of my recipies. However, dehydrated do not work for this recipe and the fresh ones are yummy in it. Squirt the lemon over the chops (bottled lemon juice works fine). Sprinkle brown sugar and dot with ketchup, just eyeballing the amount. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Really scientific recipe, I know, but it is YUMMY and SOOO easy.
This recipe is great for the carnivour in your family and great when you have a bunch of pork chops you don't know what to do with. We like to serve the pork chops on rice, of course, and drench them and the rice in the sauce. YUM-O!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Peppered Beef Tips
2 lbs beef sirloin, cut in 1 inch strips