Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Let’s do a recipe — my kind of recipe …

baked potato

Cottage Cheese-Stuffed Potatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes
1 cup (low-fat) cottage cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions

Preheat oven to 425º F and place rack in the center of oven.
Use a fork to prick your potatoes in several places and place directly on oven rack. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until tender.
In a large bowl, mix together cottage cheese and sour cream until combined.
Then add in onions, cheese, dill, chives and garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Remove potatoes from oven and cut in half lengthwise and across.
Spoon heaping amount of cottage cheese mixture into potato.
Optional: return to oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe adapted from Spark Recipes

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Cinnamon Roll Cake!

Yes, since you’ve all been so good about not making note of little inconsistencies in these trying times … other than that original Bad Girl, Miss Snarky Pants, http://paltrymeanderings.com, who for whatever ungodly excuse has yet to tag me in a new post of her own … we’re running a Sunday Bonus.  Kim made this cake yesterday before the KU/Iowa State game and its gooey buttery brown-sugary goodness gave both of us reason to go on after our team’s unfortunate loss.  You in turn are guaranteed to need this recipe before March Madness ends, and I know you’re thanking me: CinnRollCake Cake: 3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted

Topping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Directions: Mix the CAKE ingredients together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9×13 pan. For the TOPPING, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
enough milk to make a runny glaze, about 6 or 7 tablespoons
1 tsp. vanilla

Drizzle glaze over cake after letting it cool slightly. Top with vanilla bean ice cream and try not to weep at first bite.

{And although the luscious photo up top looks similar to the Honey-Bun Cake Recipe that’s been enjoying a decent run here … not the same, not the same.  Two cakes, each fabulous in its own right.}

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PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

chocroll

 

Yes, these exist, and they melt in the mouths of those who eat them, I have that on good authority.  They’re also fun to make, pretty to eat, and you can switch those two things around for entertainment.  Tell me this doesn’t look like your grandma’s kitchen when she was on crack.

Ingredients:

1 can seamless crescent rolls (or pinch together seams on a regular can, or make your own.)  {WHAT??}
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
¾ C mixed peanut butter and chocolate chips

Directions:
Beat sugar, cream cheese and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.

Unroll the crescent roll sheet onto lightly floured surface. Stretch dough (you can use a rolling pin), then trim the edges for a nice rectangular shape. A pizza cutter is great for trimming edges of dough.  {I didn’t say that about the pizza cutter because what would I know?}

Spread the cream cheese mixture over top of the crescent sheet, leaving 1/2″ around the edge.
Sprinkle chips on cream cheese – press lightly to aid in rolling.
Roll the crescent sheet up tightly, from long side to opposite long side (helps to have four hands) and wrap in your favorite brand of clingy stuff.
Place in freezer for at least 2 hours. It won’t get really solid as the cream cheese mix won’t freeze hard.
When chilled preheat oven to 350°.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (prevents sticking and helps in cleanup).  {Honestly, there are still phrases out there that make me want to go back to the kitchen, but so far the short-term memory thing is still kicking in on demand.}

Slice the crescent roll into 1/4″ slices. They won’t keep the precise round shape, but that is fine!  {You bet it is, because your mother isn’t standing over your shoulder anymore oh hi whoever’s mom, you are so lovely in that sweatshirt is that the color this year?  Jeez, who knew you could appear out of nowhere like that, somebody’s mom … or whoever?}

Look at the ghosts, living or dead, that haunt your creative-idea board, the ones that turn your Pinterest projects into panic attacks because they WILL.NOT.TURN.OUT.F*CKING.PERFECT.   AND.THE.WORLD.IS.NOT.FAIR.DAMMIT.  {Yes, that IS part of the original recipe, I’m frankly surprised you would ask.}

Bake on prepared cookie sheet for 12 -14 minutes until crescent roll appears golden brown.
Cool on the parchment paper or wire rack.

{I don’t know how many melty things this makes because I am not the cook.  Clearly a bit of attentive hands-on research would not be out of line.  I’ll get back to you … but please don’t bug me about it.}

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Grown Up Game Day Cheesy Beer Dip

The Kansas Jayhawks will be playing basketball in about twenty minutes over on the hill and here on HD, so we’re in Snack Mode.  Here’s a variation on the usual white-guy queso, and I’m sure you can think of all kinds of ways to personalize it.  Enjoy!

 

Beer Cheese Dip

 

“There are certain times when we are totally okay with indulging in ridiculously yummy foods that we know are probably less than great for our health. Sitting around and watching the big game with friends and family is one of those times when we’re just happy to be around loved ones and we like to soak it all in. (Much like the piece of bread when we dunk it into this dip!)

This beer cheese dip is sinfully delicious and we’re not sorry! Use your favorite beer—keeping in mind that lighter draughts will produce a lighter dip and vice versa—and cheese, gradually melt and blend it all together and you’re golden. You do need to plan out the rest of your party prep, since this dip is best made right before serving, but it’s really easy and packs a flavorful punch, sure to be everyone’s favorite!”

 

Beer Cheese Dip
Yield: 2-2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup ale or lager (or your choice beer; light and crisp will result in a lighter sauce, etc.)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese (optional)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
tortilla chips, for serving
Directions

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add in flour. Stir roux for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and pasty and flour has had a chance to cook (but not burn).
Whisking continuously, gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Then pour in beer and stir until fully incorporated.
Raise heat to medium-high and let mixture simmer lightly. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and dry mustard and season with salt and pepper.
Continuing to stir, let cook for about 4 minutes, or until sauce thickens.
1/3 cup at a time, add in grated cheese and stir until (almost) fully melted. Then add another handful. Continue with remaining cheese.
Once mixture is smooth and thick, taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
Transfer to serving bowl and serve immediately with tortilla chips, crackers, or slices of toasted baguette.

Recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma

http://12tomatoes.com/2015/01/grown-up-game-day-cheesy-beer-dip.html

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Sweet, sweet tapioca …

Are there dishes from your childhood you’d give your right earlobe to duplicate?  (Don’t fear it, Stephen Colbert’s doing okay without his.)  I finally came across my mom’s potato pancakes when we moved here — miraculously, they’re made every morning by the nice folks at The Roost, just up the street — who knew?

Still looking for a few things, most of them cooked up by one of my vimmens … the collection of interesting females who shaped my concept of personhood, for good and ill.  My grandmothers, my mom, my aunts … they’re a warm honey-pot in my heart, part perfume, part tears, part crazy, part food.  Like peach cobbler.  I have my grandma’s recipe, but not her homegrown peaches that I helped pick and blanch and slice.  So there’s that, but it’s fixable, except for the grandma part.

Still-warm lemon-meringue pie that’s at least four inches high, baked from scratch with my mom’s recipe.  Actually, somebody I know might have that recipe …

My Aunt Bette’s meatloaf.  That one could probably be solved, too.  The list gets really long, though, once I open the Food Memories file folder — might have to leave the rest of the salivating and crying for another day.  Meanwhile, here’s a thing I’ve looked for and tried to whip together and just happened across today because that’s how the universe works sometimes … the clone of my mom’s tapioca pudding, which, trust me on this, is equally incredible warm or cold.  But I like it warm.

Tapioca

tapioca pudding recipe

Notes from 12 Tomatoes, where I found the recipe:

“A dessert that’s a favorite among many is tapioca pudding. It’s similar to other sweet puddings like rice pudding to a degree, however there’s something unique to the taste of tapioca. What exactly is tapioca, though? It’s a starch harvested from the cassava plant.

Far too many tapioca pudding recipes call for an instant mix or come in the ‘instant’ variety. So much of the creamy, delicious flavor is lost this way. Instead, our recipe calls for small, pearl tapioca. This wonderful, sweet dessert is a great way to end a meal, or even as a night-cap before you head off to bed. Some tapioca requires soaking overnight. If that is the case, soak overnight and reduce the milk to 2 1/2 cups.”

 

Sweet Tapioca

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Devils on Horseback

From the brilliantly clever people at The Crepes of Wrath … Bacon-Wrapped Dates!  With surprises!!

 

bacon-wrapped dates

No wonder these little beauties are known as “Devils on Horseback” — they pack a powerful, naughty punch with spiced poached pears, crispy bacon, and sweet, chewy dates. Recipe here.

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup

broccoli soup

Creamy Soup Recipe: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

When temperatures cool down, there’s really nothing better than digging into a warm and hearty soup; the thicker the better, we say. Broccoli cheddar is one of our favorites, and this recipe is the way to do it! It really delivers on flavor and creaminess—packed with broccoli and cheese, you get a ton of bang for your buck and you will feel it warm you up from your core! This soup tastes delicious and is fool-proof to make; get cooking and see how much you love it!

 

Ingredients

4 cups broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup unsalted butter, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions

In a medium pan over medium-high heat, sauté onions and garlic in 1 tablespoon butter until softened.
In a large pot, cook remaining butter with flour to create a roux, 3-4 minutes. Once pasty and thick, add in half-and-half and chicken stock. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Add onions, garlic, broccoli, and nutmeg to mixture and simmer for another 25-30 minutes, until thickened.
Stir in cheddar cheese until melted, taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.
Optional: Puree soup to smooth out chunks {horrors!}, or serve as is.
Recipe adapted from Yammie’s Noshery

http://12tomatoes.com/2014/10/creamy-soup-recipe-thick-broccoli-cheddar-soup.html

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Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Pie

Because I hung up my apron ten years ago when I married a cook, I don’t post recipes that require 37-million ingredients and tedious hours to assemble — I figure most people are as cranked about that as I am.  Not all, I get that — but it’s cool for the rest of us to have a few go-tos that are within the realm of quick-ish possibility.  Ergo …

CPB Pie

CPB Recipe

 

CPB Comments

 

From 12 Tomatoes.  Check them out here:  http://12tomatoes.com

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Pumpkin Bread with Caramel Filled DelightFulls!

 

PBFrame

https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/146152/pumpkin-bread-with-caramel-filled-delightfulls/?

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Do this!!

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.

 

waffles

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German Chocolate Waffles

DH-GERMAN-CHOC-CAKE-WAFFLES

Good fall treat.

http://www.duncanhines.com/recipes/specialty-desserts/Duncan%20Hines®/german-chocolate-waffles/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_content=chocolatewaffles-11.18.14&utm_campaign=bakingseason

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Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies!

sugar cookies

 

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.

From http://beneathmyheart.net

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It’s SaturYAY! Try something new …

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.  

pumpkin crunch cake

 

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/

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Heeeyyy, good-lookin’, whaaatcha’ got cookin’ …?

ADDENDUM:

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.

Honey Bun Cake

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.

10309382_922955184387876_91640386428077594_n

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Tortellini Soup on a chilly fall Saturday? Yes, please …

tortellini soup

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