Monday, December 28, 2009

Apple Crisp


I made this apple crisp from allrecipes.com for dessert last night. It was really really good.

Apple Crisp II


recipe image
Rated: rating
Submitted By: Diane Kester
Photo By: [jessica]
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
Servings: 12
"This large 9x13-inch crisp is made hearty with cooking oats mixed into its sweet crumbly topping. Underneath are all the lovely things that compliment apples -cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. Serve warm with rum raisin ice cream or a big dollop of freshly whipped cream."
Ingredients:
10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored
and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water


1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Cheesy Potatoes and Rolls




My husbands family has a tradition of having ham, cheesy potatoes and rolls for Christmas dinner. Now it's our tradition too. These recipes are my mother-in-laws and they are delicious!

60 Minute Rolls (makes 2 dozen)

3 ½ to 4 ½ c. flour

3 T. sugar

1 t. salt

2 pkgs. Yeast (or 2 tablespoons)

1 c. milk

½ c. water

¼ c. margarine or butter

In a large bowl thoroughly mix 1 ½ c. flour, sugar, salt, and undissolved yeast. Combine milk, water, and margarine or butter in a saucepan. Heat over low heat until liquids are very warm (120 degrees to 130 degrees F.). Margarine does not need to melt. Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes at medium speed of mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add ½ c. flour and beat at high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; place bowl in pan of water at about 98 degrees F. Let rise 15 minutes. (If you are not in a hurry, you can skip this step and just let it rise about 45 minutes or so on its own). Turn dough out onto floured board. Divide in half and shape into whatever shapes you want and put on greased pans. Cover; let rise in warm place, free from draft about 15 minutes. Bake at 400 about 12 minutes or until done. Brush with melted butter, remove from baking sheets, and cool on wire racks.

Au Gratin Potatoes

Boil 6-8 medium potatoes—cool, peel and cube.

Mix together the following:

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

¼ c. chives or finely minced onion tops (optional)

1 cube margarine or butter

1 pint sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

Heat until cheese melts and fold into potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until bubbly.

(Sometimes I cut the margarine in half and use real sour cream (not low fat or non-fat)) I think the real sour cream is better for this recipe.

Sausage Egg Casserole



I made this casserole for Christmas breakfast. It was SO good. I wish I would have made it the night before like the recipe suggests, because it took a little bit of time to put together, but it was so worth it! Next time I will make it the night before. I also made the Country breakfast casserole and Jalapeno cheese grits which are oldies but goodies. The 2 casseroles are from allrecipes.com and the grits are from Bobby Flay's wife on the Food Network.

Sausage Egg Casserole


recipe image
Rated: rating
Submitted By: KNITWIT
Photo By: Sheri O.
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

Ready In: 9 Hours 40 Minutes
Servings: 12
"Assemble the ingredients the night before, and bake this casserole in the morning. Stand back and wait for the compliments. I've made it with fat free cottage cheese, egg substitute, and reduced fat sausage; the taste is still wonderful!"
Ingredients:
3/4 pound ground pork sausage
1 tablespoon butter
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
10 eggs, beaten
1 (16 ounce) container low-fat cottage
cheese
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chile peppers,
drained

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
Directions:
1. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside. Melt butter in skillet, and cook and stir the green onions and mushrooms until tender.
2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and chiles. Stir in the sausage, green onions, and mushrooms. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the melted butter. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
5. Bake 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Country Breakfast Casserole
Submitted by: Kristin
Prep Time: 15 MinutesCook Time: 50 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 15 MinutesYields: 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1 (16 ounce) package
breakfast sausage
1 chopped green onion
2 cups shredded Cheddar
cheese
6 eggs, lightly beaten (I usually add 2-3 extra eggs)
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 (2.64 ounce) package
country gravy mix
6 slices bread, cut into 1 inch
cubes (I used shredded frozen hashbrowns instead of bread)
2 tablespoons melted butter
(optional)
paprika to taste (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 11x8 (I use 9 x 13) inch baking dish.
2.
Brown sausage in a large skillet; drain fat.
3.
Combine sausage with green onion and spread evenly across the bottom of the baking dish. Top with shredded cheese. Whisk together eggs, water, milk, and gravy mix; add mixture to baking dish. Arrange bread squares evenly on top. If desired, drizzle melted butter over bread, and sprinkle with paprika.
4.
Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Set aside 10 minutes before serving.

Jalapeno Cheese Grits

Recipe courtesy Stephanie March (Bobby Flay's wife)





Ingredients

* 2 cups quick-cooking grits
* 2 1/2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar
* 1 stick unsalted butter
* 1 tablespoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
* 3 large eggs, well beaten
* 2 jalapenos, finely diced
* 1/4 cup canned chopped green chiles
* Garlic salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the grits according to the directions on the back of the package. Remove from the heat and add next 6 ingredients (Cheddar through chilies). Stir well and season with garlic salt, to taste. Pour into a buttered 9-inch baking dish and bake for 1 hour. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Creamed corn with bacon


We had this as a side dish for Christmas Eve. It's my family tradition to have tamales and green chili soup on Christmas Eve. Matt and I were watching the Food Network and saw this recipe & Matt said wow, that looks good, so I surprised him and made it to go along with our tamales. This corn was really good. Next time I will cut back on the lime and cilantro though. It was a little over powering. I still think nothing beats the Rudy's like cream corn in a previous post, but if you were making Mexican food this corn would be a perfect addition to the menu.

Creamed Corn with Bacon

Recipe courtesy Michael Symon

Prep Time:
25 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
55 min


Serves:
4 to 6 servings as a side dish

Ingredients
Corncob stock:

* 5 shucked ears corn (kernels removed and reserved*)
* 1 bay leaf
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1/2 onion peeled and quartered
* 1 tablespoon whole coriander seed
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 quarts water

Corn saute:

* 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/4 pound thick-cut bacon cut into lardoons
* 1 cup diced yellow onion
* 1 clove garlic minced
* *Reserved corn kernels
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups reserved corncob stock
* 1/2 cup creme fraiche
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves
* 1 lime, zested

For the stock:
Directions

Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a lively simmer and cook to reduce liquid to 2 cups, approximately 30 minutes. Strain and reserve, keeping stock warm.
To finish the corn:

Begin heating a large saucepan, and glaze bottom with the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the lardons and cook over medium heat, rendering the fat and browning the pieces, stirring as needed. Add the onion and sweat, about 45 seconds. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring, another 30 seconds. Add the corn and salt, continuing to cook for another 2 minutes. Add the reserved corncob stock and bring to a simmer, cooking until the liquid reduces to approximately 2/3 cup. Add the creme fraiche and simmer 3 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the butter and stir. Remove pan from heat; stir in cilantro and lime zest. Check for seasoning and serve.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Kristin's Pretzel Hugs





My friend Kristin brought these delicious little bites to a party last week. I had to make them immediately! They were a big hit at the party. Everyone kept asking how she made them. They looks like they've been dipped in chocolate and then drizzled. Then Kristin said she used Hershey's Hugs to make them!

You just lay out the pretzels on wax paper. Put a hug on each pretzel. Put it in the oven for a VERY short time, just until they start melting and then take them out and drop 2 M&M's on top and press it down gently and then stick them in the freezer for about 5 mins. SOO good, so fast and so easy! Thanks Kristin!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Chili & Soup



We had some friends over for a Gingerbread house making party on Saturday night. I made some chili and soup to eat while we built the houses. I made the simple chili I usually make and then my friend Tracy's SUPER yummy potato corn chowder.

Kerstin's super easy chili

Brown 2 lbs of ground beef with 1 large diced onion. Add 3 cans of chili style tomatoes, 1 can drained black beans, 1 can drained kidney beans, 3 large cans ranch style beans, 4-6 T of Fiesta brand easy chili seasoning mix. Let simmer for about 30 mins.

Tracy & Bryan Glatt's Corn Chowder

Large soup pot

Canola Oil

Thick slice of salt pork (or 5 slices of thick bacon)

1 large onion –chopped

3 cans of cream style corn

6 large potatoes – cooked and cut to bite-size (Tracy doesn't cook them beforehand and neither do I. Just dice them and let them slowly cook in the soup.)

5 ½ cups of canned milk – (2 cans of Carnation evaporated milk) measure each can in a 2 cup measuring cup - fill with water to make each can measures 2 cups, the last cup & ½ is water.

5# Hormel ham – cut to bite size pieces (you can reheat so ham is hot when you add to the chowder)

Salt & Pepper to taste





First prepare potatoes, cook until tender. While potatoes are cooking, I start the chowder - Cook salt pork, canola oil and onions in soup size pot, on med-high heat, cook till onions are lightly browned (do not cook too high or onions will burn). Remove salt pork or bacon, leaving drippings. Add creamed corn, heating until bubbly. Add milk. Add potatoes. Add ham, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil then let simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes. Serve with crescent rolls, corn bread or jalapeƱo bread.

1-50 point Choco Chip Muffins!


I finally got around to cooking our enormous Halloween pumpkin, so I decided to make pumpkin muffins. I make 2 different recipes. 1 my mother-in-law sent me from Our Best Bites that she tried when my sister-in-law Laura made them when she was visiting her and another one I always love to make from the Lion House Pumpkin bread recipe. I just added chocolate chips to the Lion House recipe and cut down the cooking time. The one from Our Best Bites is suppose to be 1 weight watchers point per muffin without the choco chips. I'm guessing the Lion House recipe is about 50 points per muffin!

Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Our Best Bites

2 spice cake mixes (Duncan Hines, although not pictured, is the best for this recipe)
1 30-oz. can pumpkin
1 12-oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Okay, super-tricky here. Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mixes and pumpkin. Add in chocolate chips.


Spoon mixture into lined muffin tins. This can make as many as 48 muffins or as few as 36, just depending on how full the tins are filled. These really don't rise very much, so you can fill the tins pretty full. If aesthetics are a concern, keep in mind that how they look going into the oven is very much what they will look like coming out of the oven. So a cookie scoop works great to keep things on the prettier side.
Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean.

Lion House Pumpkin Bread
1 1/3 C Veg oil
5 eggs
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin
2 C flour
2 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
2 pkg (6 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1 C nuts

Grease pans. Mix well oil, eggs, pumpkin, beat well. Seperate bowl: sift flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in pudding and nuts. Pour into pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Makes two loaves.