29 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
Thank you to my friend Jeffrey Frank for this excellent idea. Terrific way to use leftovers.
If all the dressing vanished on Thanksgiving Day, make your favorite stove-top stuffing mix and bake it into waffles. Tear turkey into small pieces and heat with the gravy. Pour over waffles and top with a scoop of mashed potatoes with more gravy drizzled over the top. Be thankful. Again. Some more.
22 Nov 2014 4 Comments
08 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
3 oz. package of cream cheese
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk (reserve white)
2 cups all-purpose flour
Blend together sugar, margarine, cream cheese, salt, almond extract, vanilla, and egg yolk with mixer. Mix in flour until well blended.
Roll into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for two hours.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough, one third at a time, on a lightly floured surface. Using a cookie cutter dipped in flour, cut out cookies as close together as possible.
Place the cookies one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. To prevent breaking, move cookies to and from baking sheets with a wide spatula or pancake turner.
Leave cookies plain or, if desired, brush with slightly beaten egg white and spring with colored sugar.
Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are a light golden brown. Cool completely.
{My mom always told me the most important part of making sugar cookies was to take them out as soon as they were even slightly brown on the bottom, or not at all. I took mine out before they had even browned and left them on the cookie sheet to cool. That made them extra soft and delicious.}
If desired, use the almond glaze below.
Almond Glaze:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 tsp. almond extract
2 Tb. water
4 drops of food coloring
Stir all ingredients until smooth.
Pour 1 teaspoon of glaze on each sugar cookie. Use the back of the teaspoon to spread glaze evenly over cookie. Let glaze dry.
25 Oct 2014 2 Comments
This dessert from http://www.thepickyapple.com/blog is heavenly. Kim made it for one of the fall shows at Depot Theater Company and had non-stop requests for the recipe.
NOTES:
Kim uses condensed milk instead of evaporated, adds a splash of almond extract, and throws extra butter and pecans in there — more is better!
In the comments section under this recipe, one cook said she inverts the cake after it cools and spreads cream-cheese Cool Whip on top. YUM! (Kim would whip real cream, though … )
There are LOTS of good notes here: http://www.thepickyapple.com/blog/2008/11/22/pumpkin-crunch-cake/
18 Oct 2014 101 Comments
Okay, boys and girls, I just made this cake again for the first time in about eight years… and it’s ah-mazing. If possible, eat it warm, straight out of the oven. (After you frost it.) Yeah, it’s good.
1 yellow cake mix
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup oil
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons milk
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
8 oz sour cream
Mix cake mix, oil, eggs, and sour cream by hand, about 50 strokes.
Put half the batter in 9 x 13 pan.
Combine brown sugar and cinnamon and spread over entire cake. Spread the rest of the batter on top of this.
Use a knife to make swirls in the cake.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes.
Blend powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract and spread on warm cake.
04 Oct 2014 Leave a comment
Time for a recipe. Watch for them on Saturdays right here!
Throw in some vanilla and a pinch of salt just for grins.
21 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
On gray days my thoughts turn to wine and chocolate. Here’s something for the chocolate half of that equation.
• Salted Pretzel Caramel Brownies •
Ingredients
• 1 box Betty Crocker fudge brownies (for 9×13 pan)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. water
• 2/3 c. vegetable oil
• 3 cups pretzels
• 1 jar caramel sauce
• coarse sea salt
Directions
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, or grease with cooking spray.
• Prepare brownie batter according to package instructions.
• Pour about 1/3 of the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread until the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. Then add two even layers of pretzels, covering the entire surface. Carefully spoon the remaining brownie batter on top to cover the pretzels.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the brownies comes out clean. Remove and set on a cooling rack to cool.
• Spoon the caramel sauce onto the top of the brownies in an even layer. (If it is too thick, spoon the sauce into a small bowl first and microwave for 30 seconds to thin.) Sprinkle the caramel with a few pinches of sea salt.
• Serve warm, or let cool to room temperature then serve.
07 May 2013 1 Comment
This is the classic Fried Rice recipe and it’s wonderful. My husband made a huge batch of it the other night and sautéd small shrimp in garlic butter to go with it. We’ll have yummy leftovers tonight with the chicken you’ll find posted below. We eat like kings in this country — grateful beyond words!
29 Apr 2013 2 Comments
It isn’t summer yet, but it is warm out — 82 degrees at the moment — and these look good.
10 Apr 2013 2 Comments
How about the easiest cookies ever?
COOL WHIP COOKIES — EASIEST COOKIE EVER
1 box cake mix (any flavor- chocolate, red velvet, lemon, etc.), 1 tub Cool Whip (8 oz), 1 egg. Mix ingredients. Drop spoonfuls into powdered sugar to coat. Bake at 350 for 12 mins. Cool before removing.
18 Mar 2013 Leave a comment
A day late, but who’s counting?
Irish Beef Stew
yield: 4 servings
Print This Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. stew meat
4 large carrots, peeled & chopped
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1 large bay leaf or 2 small
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
heaping 1/3 cup frozen peas
mashed potatoes
Directions:
In large pot or deep skillet, brown stew meat in olive oil until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Pour in onions, carrots, garlic and spices. Cook another 5 minutes. Deglaze pan with beef broth. Cover and simmer 2-4 hours or until meat is very tender. (This would be perfect to cook in the crockpot!) When you are ready to serve, remove bay leaf. In a small bowl stir softened butter and flour together until smooth and incorporated. Stir butter mixture into the stew with the frozen peas. Once the gravy thickens slightly, it’s done. Serve hot over mashed potatoes.
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