Sunday, February 12, 2012

Pecan Pie (No Karo Syrup required)

Ingredients 1 cup light brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup chopped pecans Directions 1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 2.In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and the flour; mix well. Last add the milk, vanilla and nuts. 3.Pour into an unbaked 9-in pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done.

Key Lime Pie

Serves 8 Graham Cracker Crust 3/4 lbs of Graham Crackers 4 tbsp granulated sugar 2 sticks melted butter 1/4 tsp sea salt Filling: 4 egg yolks 1 can (14 oz) condensed milk 2/3 cup fresh key lime juice 1 lime , grated zest Topping: 1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream, chilled 2 tbsp confectioners sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Directions: To Make Graham Cracker crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Break up the graham crackers, place in a food processor and process to crumbs. Add the melted butter, sugar and salt and pulse until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9" pie pan, forming and even layer on the bottom, sides and edge. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow the crust to cool. To make filling: While the crust is resting, in an electric mixer with wire wisk attachment, whip the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until fluffy or for 5-6 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to whip until thick (3-4 minutes longer). Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes or until the filling has just set. Cool on a wire rack and refrigerate for 20 minutes. To make topping: Whip the cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla until nearly stiff. Evenly spread the whipped cream on top of the pie and place in the freezer for 20 minutes prior to serving.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells

Ingredients
1 package (12 ounces) jumbo pasta shells
1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 pound sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1 egg, beaten
1 carton (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
3-1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown chicken in 1 tablespoon oil.
Remove and set aside. In the same pan, saute mushrooms in remaining
oil until tender; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the egg,
ricotta, 1-1/2 cups Parmesan, mozzarella and seasonings.
Drain and rinse pasta with cold water; stuff each shell with about 1
tablespoon of cheese mixture. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in.

Paula Deens Cookware

Autumns Texas Style Mac & Cheese

One box of Velveeta Mac and cheese, one can Rotel tomato, one can ranch style beans, one half yellow onion diced, one bell pepper diced, one pound ground beef. Saute onion and bell pepper, brown beef, boil macaroni. Mix all ingredients.

Taco ring

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 package (1.25 oz) taco seasoning mix
1 c. (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbs water
2 8-oz packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1 medium green bell pepper
1 c. salsa (optional)
3 c. lettuce, shredded (we used more — ¾ a head)
1 medium tomato, diced
¼ c. onion, chopped
½ c. pitted ripe olives
sour cream
Directions:
–Preheat oven to 375°. Brown the ground beef, then drain. Add taco season and simer
–Unroll the crescent dough; separate into triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on a pizza pan with the wide ends toward the center of the pan, overlapping each other. It will look like a large sun with the points hanging half off the pan. There should be a 5 or 6 inch opening in the center.
–Spoon the meat mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough. (Filling will not be completely covered).
–Bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
–Shred lettuce, dice tomato, onions, olives, green pepper, and whatever other items you want to put inside. Place them in center of the taco ring and use that as your toppings!

Lasagna

1 pound of sweet Italian sausage 1 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes 2 (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce
2 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste
1/2 Cup of Water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons fresh Basil leaves chopped
4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
23 ounces of ricotta cheese.
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 egg
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 Lasagna Noodles
Directions
1. Start with the following in a pot. 1 pound of sweet Italian sausage
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic chopped
Brown the ground beef, Italian sausage, onions and garlic in a pot until they start to look. It takes about 6 to 9 minutes to brown the meat. I like to use a Dutch oven to cook this portion of the recipe. I use a medium low temperature to brown the meat. It is optional to remove the grease from the meat once it is finished browning, your choice.
2. Add the following:
1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes 2 (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce
2 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste
1/2 cup of water
Gently stir this into the cooking meat.
3. Add the following:
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons fresh Basil leaves chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Gently stir these seasoning into the sauce. Cover the pot and let the meat sauce simmer. minutes
Simmer on low heat for 1 hour and 30
4. Soak 12 lasagna noodles.
The lasagna noodles need to be soaked in hot tap water for 15 minutes.
5. While the noodles are soaking you can make the cheese filling. Put the following in a mixing bowl:
23 ounces of ricotta cheese.
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
Grate fresh nutmeg over the Ricotta cheese.
6. Add the following

1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped Mix these ingredients together with a spoon
7. Now we start building the lasagna layers.
Use a 9×13 inch baking pan.
Spread 2 Cups of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Remove your lasagna noodles out of the water bath. Shake water off wet noodles. Lay 6 noodles across the layer of sauce.
Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the layer of noodles.
Spread 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta layer.
Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella layer
Spread 2 cups of meat sauce over the cheese layer
Lay down the next layer of noodles
Spread the remaining ricotta mixture over noodles
Spread the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses saving
lasagna
Put the last layer of meat sauce on the cheeses
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
8. Cover with foil
Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 25 minutes
Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for approximately 15 minutes.
–Serves 12 people

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Crockpots

This can be used to make meals or to keep food warm. I know it came from Kohl's, but I'm not sure how much it cost because it was a gift.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie


The recipe for these is on the back of a can of pumpkin (for pumpkin pie) and Karo Syrup for (pecan pie) I recommend the light karo syrup rather than the dark one because it tastes better.

Nieman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies


1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp instant espresso coffee powder (I used folgers instant coffee grounds and ground it into a powder.)
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees f.
Grease a cookie sheet.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and espresso powder and stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet. Cookies should be 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Bake 2 minutes longer for crispier cookies. Remove from cookie sheet and place on wire cooling rack.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork



2 lbs pork tenderloin
1 (12 oz) can or bottle of root beer (your favorite brand)
1 bottle (18 oz) of your favorite bbq sauce
8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Place pork tenderloin in slow cooker, pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily (6-7 hours). Drain well. Stir in BBQ sauce and serve on hamburger buns. You can also add slices of cheese, pickles and onions for more flavor.

Ratatouille


I don't have the recipe for this one. The recipe for it came in a book with my pressure cooker. You can google Ratatouille and I'm pretty sure you can find a good recipe for it.

Reindeer mix


To make 4 batches you will need to purchase:
1 (8.9 oz) box of Cheerios
1 (12.8 ox) box of Rice Chex
Small twist pretzels (I bought a large bag, but I didn't use them all)
1 large bag (21.3 oz) of M&M's
1 lbs jar of peanuts
4 12 oz bags of white chocolate chips

For each batch you will be making, cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or wax paper and set aside. A tupperware "That's A Bowl" is the perfect size for mixing up a batch of this stuff. In the bowl, mix the following:
2 1/4 cups cheerios
3 1/4 cups rice chex
1 1/2 cups pretzels
3/4 cup M&M's
3/4 cup peanuts

Stir gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

In the microwave, melt one bag of white chocolate chips according to package directions in a glass bowl (it will melt plastic bowls really quick). Let it cool slightly and then mix into bowl a couple of spoonfulls at a time. As soon as everything is well mixed, dump mix onto your cookie sheet and spread out evenly. Let it sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour so chocolate can set. Break up with your hands and fill bags or other containers.

Candied Yams


I don't really have an exact recipe for this one, but I can tell you how I do it.
One large can of yams drained.
A couple of tablespoons of butter (just use your own judgement)
cinnamon and nutmeg (again, just use your own judgement)
one apple peeled and thinly sliced
marshmallows (large or small don't matter) to cover the the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees f until the marshmallows start to brown.

* In this photo the pink marshmallows were strawberry flavored and it didn't make much difference. I let my daughter help me make this and she wanted to use those.

Chicken Fajita Spaghetti


8 oz uncooked spaghetti
1 lbs boneless/skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into strips (I used thighs)
1 tbsp oil
1 small onion sliced
2 small bell peppers of any color thinly sliced
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1/2 cup water
1 cup taco sauce
1 envelope fajita seasoning mix

Suate chicken in oil until juices run clear. (8-10 min). Remove Chicken from the skillet and keep warm. In the same skillet suate the onion and the peppers until tender. Add back in the chicken. Add the chilies, water, taco sauce and fajita seasoning. Heat thoroughly. Reduce heat to keep warm.

Cook spaghetti according to directions and drain well. Top spaghetti with the chicken mixture.

Sweet Potato Balls


4 large sweet potatoes
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups shredded coconut, sweetened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 large marshmallow per potato ball

preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the potatoes until tender, then peel and mash them. Stir in the brown sugar, orange juice, orange zest and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, toss the coconut with the sugar and cinnamon. Press mashed potatoes around each marshmallow, creating a 2-3 inch diameter ball. Roll the balls in the coconut mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Watch carefully for the last few minutes of cooking because the expanding marshmallows can cause the potato balls to burst open.

*You can also use an ice cream scooper to scoop out the balls then roll them in the coconut mixture then bake for same time rather than wrapping it around a large marshmallow.--- see picture.

Strawberry poppy seed chicken salad from panera bread

Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad from Panera Bread

Chocolate Fondue


Chocolate Fondue. This is just Nestle Chocolate Morsels melted in a rice cooker.