Mrs.4444 Cooks

Autumn Chopped Salad, from Espresso and Cream

2011-12-27T19:57:00.002-06:00

I recently caved to peer pressure and joined Pinterest. That's where I found a photo of a beautiful-looking salad from Espresso and Cream and decided to make it for dinner. Except for the addition of pomegranate seeds, I followed Madison's recipe to a T, so I'm not going to give you the blow-by-blow here. You can find the recipe here, but in case you want to know what's in it first, here are the ingredients:

Romaine lettuce
pears
dried cranberries
chopped pecans
crumbled bacon!
feta cheese
poppy seed dressing
balsamic vinaigrette dressing

I fed this to myself, Mr.4444, and three young college guys who thought it was fantastic. It's as delicious as it is pretty!

Dawn's Kick-Butt Cheesy Potatoes

2011-12-26T20:36:00.000-06:00

My friend, Dawn, made these potatoes for our Halloween party, and they were a big hit. I don't have a photo (too busy that night), but I do want to share the recipe.

1 red onion, diced
1/2 stick butter
2 bags hash browns
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Vegetables (mushrooms, green pepper, broccoli) optional

Saute onions until soft. Put all in a crockpot and heat 4-6 hours on low (first hour on high) or bake in the oven.

If you bake it, add a topping.
Warning: This recipe is a beast on a crockpot (messy), but that's what dish soap and hot water are for, right?

Christmas Cake Pops

2011-12-24T11:38:00.000-06:00

It's Christmas Eve day, so I don't have a lot of time,

but I wanted to share my Christmas Cake Pops that I made this morning.

Are these beautiful, or what?!

Dark Chocolate Cake (per box directions)

Milk Chocolate Frosting

Dark Chocolate Candy Coating

Mini M&Ms

Peppermint Candies

Green Melts

I made the dough last night. I whipped these up this morning, in about two hours.

Cake bites are a lot faster to make than cake pops (which require a stick).

I got a real kick out of decorating these.

So simple, and yet so pretty.

If you're lucky, you'll receive this little collection as a present tonight.

Merry Christmas!

Somebody's Gonna Get Gobbled Up!

2011-11-21T20:49:00.001-06:00

It's Kendall's turn to bring a treat to Spanish class at her high school.

She found inspiration from Bakerella, but WOW--These turned out great!

Can you guess what kind of cake pops Kendall decided to make?

Tools of the trade...

Assembly line focus....

How cute are these?!

Chocolate-covered raisins, butterscotch-flavored beaks,

eyes from Creative Cake Supply.

Wattles with "homemade" fondant (cherry-flavored Tootsie Rolls)!

Yes, I know--I'm a genius.

Pretzel legs inserted carefully...

(She painted those nails herself. Clearly, we 4444s are not afraid of tedious tasks!)

Double-stuffed oreos with chocolate candy corn await...

I know, right? Seriously, seriously cute!

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Party Pops

2011-10-26T23:57:00.000-05:00

Our annual Halloween party is this weekend. On Friday, I'll make Barbequed Beef for a Crowd,

Theresa's Beans, and Beer Dip. Tonight, I made these....

The green and orange pops were made with carrot cake, cream cheese frosting, and vanilla candy coating. They're absolutely delicious.

(They're in a fancy display box because they will be a prize for our costume contest.

I also made these basic cake pops, and I have a few platesful for serving at the party.

Yes, that's a cribbage board. It's kind of a long story.

Happy Halloween!!

Allan's Guacamole

2011-07-16T21:03:00.000-05:00

"No offense, Barb, but that is, by far, the best guacamole I have ever eaten."

Need any more convincing to try this?

If so, you're too stubborn. (See a therapist.)

Personally, until I found Lawrey's Guacamole Mix, I never liked guacamole.

I fell in love, though, and so did everyone who tried my guac.

Then the bastards stopped making it!

I couldn't find it anywhere.

Thank goodness,

because if they hadn't stopped making my favorite guacamole mix,

I would never had made my brother-in-law, Allan's, real guacamole,

the recipe for which has been patiently waiting for me in our family cookbook

for two years.

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados (I used 2.5)

1/4 cup peeled & finally chopped Italian plum tomato
(oops. Just realized I forgot to peel it. Whatever.)

4 tsp seeded and minced jalapeno (I didn't measure--just used one whole jalapeno)

1/4 chopped onion (red, yum)

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (I didn't measure--just used one whole lemon)

2 T freshly squeezed lime juice (ditto on the measuring)

1 tsp Worcestershire (pronounced "woostasheer")

1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce

1 tsp salt (We like sea salt.)

6 turns freshly-ground black pepper

See that? All natural ingredients.

(Discounting the fact that I have no clue what * Worcestershire sauce is.)

First, do all of the mincing, dicing, etc.

and throw it all together

Don't forget the cilantro--Wow--That was such a great addition :)

Cut the avocados in half, take the pits out.

Scoop the flesh out with a nice-sized table spoon and mash it with a potato masher until it's still chunky.

Mix everything together.

Some would say to chill it for a bit, to give the flavors a chance to "meld."

We skipped that step and inhaled it.

It was fantastic.

The only change I will make next time is to probably cut the Worcestershire sauce amount in half.

Maybe. It really was delicious. Very flavorful.

Good-bye, Lawrey's.

I am so over you.

From Wikipedia:

The ingredients of a traditional bottle of Worcestershire sauce sold in the UK as "The Original & Genuine Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce" are malt vinegar (from barley), spirit vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies, tamarind extract, onions, garlic, spice, and flavouring.^[8] The "spice, and flavouring" is believed to include cloves, soy sauce, lemons, pickles and peppers.^[8]

Devil's Sex Cake Bites!

2011-07-02T23:36:00.001-05:00

Tonight I started making one of Kyle's favorites--Devil's Sex Cake when I had a fantastic idea!

OMG!! I could make Devil's Sex Cake Pops or Cake Bites! What fun! Here's how it worked--

Make Basic Cake Pops using devil's food cake and milk chocolate frosting.

You'll also need this (4-6 bars if you're making a whole cake, or just two if you're making cake pops out of half of the cake, which is what I did)

and this...

I think Mrs. Richardson's might not be available in everyone's area,

so if you find some, buy more than one (for next time)!

You'll need some CoolWhip if you want to go that route (you'll see what I mean later).

After chilling the dough and making the balls, poke the end of a wooden spoon into each cake pop,

making space for the best part (coming up in a minute). I want to point out that after I made the holes,

I realized this would stick less and might work better:

(It did.) Recognize it? It's a nutcracker! (Necessity is the mother of invention, you know.)

Okay, back to the yum! Warm up the Mrs.Richardson's and put it in a pastry bottle (or whatever it's called--I got it at a cake supply store a while back). BE CAREFUL! I heated mine in the bottle (not the most efficient method, but it is what it is), and when I took it out of the microwave, it SQUIRTED sauce all over the cupboard and burned my hand a little (after only 15 seconds!)

Anyway, squirt a little deliciousness into each cake bite....

And then patch each one with a little more dough.

You can then just gently roll them again to regain their round shapes. Chill again.

Crush the Heath bars and set aside.

When the cake balls/bites are chilled again, dip them in melted candy coating
and sprinkle with the Heath candy before they cool/dry.

I did some like that, and I then tried just stirring the Heath bits into the melted coating
and dipping the cake balls into that. It worked "okay," but not great.

And I also did some like this!

They're beautiful like this, but they have to be eaten right away, and believe me, they were--

I wish I had a video of Kyle's face when he at the first one--That does a mom's heart good :)

So, I made them three different ways, and to tell you the truth, all were delicious!

Yum!

Peanut Butter Cake Pops

2011-06-30T02:08:00.004-05:00

See these little babies?

You may think them cute, but actually, they are quite ugly (the process, anyway).

While in California, I bought this cake pop at a Farmers Market...

...and once home, quickly set out to replicate it, because it--was--delicious!

I'm happy to report that mine are wonderfully delicious, as well, but they did not come without folly. Fortunately for you, you'll be able to learn from my mistakes.

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake and the ingredients mentioned on the box (eggs, oil, water)

3/4 container butter cream frosting

peanut-butter-flavored candy coating

creamy peanut butter (or crunchy, if you'd like a lumpy effect)

Oreos

sucker sticks

(And now my mouth is watering again!)

Bake the cake and make the cake balls as instructed here.

You with me? Good.

Next, scrape the frosting off of the Oreos, like so....

(And please don't tell me they sell Oreos without the frosting, because I'm certain they're just not the same; you gotta have that little bit of sweet left on 'em to make 'em just yummy.)

Get rid of your pent-up aggression by smashing the Oreos inside a Ziplock bag any way you choose,

and set the crumbs aside.

Next, melt the candy coating.

As you can see here, the instructions that came with mine said to melt them and add peanut butter.....

so I did,

....but as you will see in a moment, this created a pretty big pain in the butt--A delicious, ugly mess,

and I'm hoping to figure out a way to correct it, but I can't argue with the finger-lickin' results--

These babies are delicious.

I made cake pops, so I used sticks. It's a matter of preference, of course.

Dip a stick in candy coating, place it into the ball of cake...

and dip it into the melted coating.

Looks simple enough, right?

However, you might also notice that the addition of creamy peanut butter
caused the candy coating to be very runny.

Quickly, I tried the expected method of letting it drip a bit and then "simply" rolling it in the Oreo crumbs, which resulted in this:

Drat! So I tried this-- rolling them around a little...

Ugly, see? And this...

They still looked like wrecks.

The coating, though it set up well enough eventually, was just really drippy.

Finally, I decided to do this:

I just sprinkled a bed of Oreos down, dipped them, set them on top of the Oreo dust,

and quickly sprinkled more on their tops.

By the time I figured it out, I had this motley crew of practice peanut butter cake-pops.

Every single one of them was delicious.

Well, not that I ate every single one of them,
but I do admit to eating one of each style,

(strictly for quality-control purposes, of course).

The next time I make these (and believe me, there will be a next time), I will probably....

*use a little less peanut butter, maybe?

*buy a different brand of candy melts, maybe?

But that's all that I'd change--
I've made yellow cake with butter cream before and found it to be just "okay."

However, with the addition of peanut butter and Oreos?

Divine.

I like to put my cake pops in the freezer. Have you ever tried that?

You might not want to do that, though,
because who needs cake-pops that are now twice as good,

and therefore impossible to avoid eating?

You might gain 10 pounds from eating them,

and then,

it could get really ugly.

Hey, if you get inspired and decide to go to Creative Cake Supplies (in Green Bay, in the little plaza across from McDonald's on Shawano Ave), tell them Mrs4444 sent you, will you? I'd appreciate it.

Summer Grilled Peach and Bratwurst Kebabs

2011-06-14T21:06:00.000-05:00

Mmmmmmmmm.

If you're from Wisconsin, you've certainly heard of Johnsonville brats. In fact, you probably cut your first molar on a Johnsonville brat. They're all I ever buy, so when I happened upon this recipe on Facebook (Bobby Deen recipe video) I thought, "Awesome--A new twist on the traditional brat!" and decided to try it. [This is NOT a compensated review--I'm just doing it for fun, because we liked it a lot! Oh, and for the record, brat rhymes with "cot," not "cat."]

Ingredients:

Marinade:
1/2 cup peach nectar*
2 tbls. rice wine vinegar
2 tbls. soy sauce
1 tbls. olive or vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced

Other Important Stuff:
5 Johnsonville Original bratwursts
2 green peppers
1 large red onion
3 fresh peaches (not too soft)

First, put the skewers into a pan of water to soak (unless you're a fan of grill fires).

Now, Bobby Deen says to whisk the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, but we 4444s just like to mix our marinades in gallon-size Ziplock bags, so that's what I think you should do. Don't forget to add the garlic.

Prepare the vegetables, brats, and peaches. I just got my camera back after having it held hostage for 30 days, so I'm going to show you what this step looks like. The brats are cut into fifths.

Green peppers are to be chunked. (See that awesome knife? I highly recommend you get one for the chef in your house. The Wusthof brand is expensive, but my hero (The Pioneer Woman) recommends them, so I bought one for Mr.4444 for Christmas a few years ago, and it was his favorite gift that year.)

Cut the red onion in big chunks, too.

Place them all in the bag with the marinade, and mix it up to distribute it evenly.

(This is why I like using the Ziplock bag--you can just keep flipping the bag over to move the juice around.)

After about ten minutes, I dumped the marinated goodies into a bowl, because I didn't want to have to dig my hand down in the bag to pull out pieces to put the kebabs together.

Prepare your grill. This is where I get lucky--Mr.4444 is the grillmeister in this house. (I know it's easy; If you're a grillin' kind of gal, Bravo--I'm impressed, but I like to play the feminine, wimpy role in this regard.)

Grill over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, turning and basting frequently with leftover marinade.

When it comes to grilling kebabs, Mr.4444 recommends using two skewers for each one--It keeps the food from spinning around the sticks and allows for more even cooking that way. (I'll keep that in mind for next time.)

In case there is any doubt, these kebabs were delicious. You Southerners out there might have grilled peaches all the time, but we were grilled-peach virgins before tonight. Wow! They're really, really good!

I dedicate this post to Mr.4444, who burned his fingers repeatedly during the grilling of these fine brats, due to having to spin the skewers and flip individual brat pieces that didn't cooperate. What a guy--I love that man.

*I used apricot nectar, because it's the closest thing I could find, and although I only needed a half-cup, it came in a little six-pack. I figure I'll use the rest of it in other marinades.

P.S. Mr.4444 ate his brat bites with a little ketchup on the side. I ate mine without. We were both very happy.

To see the recipe without all the commentary, click here (but make sure the ingredients are listed correctly--I notified Johnsonville of the mistake, but I'm not sure when they'll get a chance to fix it). It should say 1/2 cup (not 1/4 cup) peach nectar, and the oil is missing from the ingredients list. (I watched the video to get the ingredients straight.)

Spinach Ravioli Bake

2011-06-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

When I saw this recipe from Mrs.Tuna, I was especially attracted to these words: spinach, mushroom, easiest recipe ever. Turns out she wasn't kidding about the easy part; it's super easy! She only forgot to mention one thing; it's delicious!!

15 oz. package frozen cheese ravioli (or your own homemade, if you are Susie Homemaker)

6 oz package fresh baby spinach

1 24-oz jar spaghetti sauce (or your own...)

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Optional, mushrooms, but really--who doesn't like mushrooms? (Never mind.), sauteed in butter and crushed garlic. If you're aiming for hardened arteries, don't drain the butter off.

This recipe is SO easy. Mrs. Tuna said you only need one pan, but I used two--Mix everything together in a nice, big bowl, and then plop it into a 2-quart, casserole dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (Someone should think of a quicker way to say that, like "a SWNSCS casserole dish" or "a slicked-up casserole dish" or something like that (I'll keep working on it).

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes (covered). Uncover, add mozzarella, and bake 15 more minutes. YUM

Cake Pop Kids

2011-05-13T18:42:00.000-05:00

I first got into the cake pop thing after landing on Bakerella's blog and buying her book for Kendall. Kendall was too busy with school--classes, prom, final exams, getting her driver's license, etc. to barely open it, but I figured it could be a fun little hobby for her. She loved the cake pops I made, and when she finally wrapped up her A.P.European History exam, she decided it was time to play! She made her first batch on Wednesday, and they were so wildly received at school that she and her friend, Kelsey, excitedly made some more, this time for A.P. classmates.

That little bottle in her hand is worth its weight in gold, btw!

A little messy (she's learning).

I suggested she decorate before putting them in the cute little paper cups,

but what do I know?! :)

You know you've been making cake pops when...

Cake pops, cake balls, goof balls...It's all good!

Baby Shower Cake Pops

2011-05-05T23:09:00.005-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, I've got a new hobby--making cake pops.

Inspired by Bakerella's book, Cake Pops, I've been having a lot of fun!

Recently, I googled "Baby Shower Cake Pops" and found a super-cute baby cake pop photo

(which I can no longer find, of course).

My colleague, Tina, is about to "pop," so what better treat to bring to her baby shower

at school tomorrow! I had so much fun making these!

I used Bakerella's Basic Cake Pops recipe and used the following ingredients to finish my them off:

Dark Chocolate Cake

Milk Chocolate Frosting

Wilton white/vanilla candy melts

Dark Chocolate Candy Coating purchased at my local cake decorating store

a black "candy marker"

cupcake liners

tiny fabric ribbon

a Styrofoam base on which to display the cake pops

cotton candy for the "bed" of my display

Obviously, I went with white candy melts for some of these. I have to admit; they're not my favorite,

but I didn't know where to find "white" chocolate on short notice.

I also used dark chocolate candy coating, because that's my favorite,

and I love the results...soooo cute!

(It's hard to see in the photos, but they are adorable in normal lighting.

Sadly, I had one "crack baby."

And this one is the first one I made (and my favorite)...

It was a messy job at times, but the process was fun and not hard at all (just lots of steps).

How could it not be fun, with these little cuties staring at you all night?

For what it's worth, they are easy to make; it's just time-consuming. You can easily make the dough and roll the pops ahead of time. You can also keep them in the fridge (air-tight container or foil covered) for days;
I've eaten week-old pops that are still fantastic.

So, don't you wish you were pregnant?

(Me neither.)

But I'm pretty sure Tina's gonna be glad she is!

Note: Making these took me five hours (I told you it's a hobby!) If I make them again, it will probably go a little quicker. If I were to sell these cake pops, I wouldn't make them for less than $100, considering the labor and materials. (That's about $2.40 each.) So, yeah; it's not something I'd do every day, but I'm really glad I made them, because I know they'll be a hit tomorrow at the shower!

Sweet 16th Cupcake Wars Birthday Bash!

2011-05-01T19:46:00.000-05:00

This post is simply some videos from the "Cupcake Wars" birthday party we threw for my daughter's birthday. It's for us, certainly, to refer back to when reminiscing, but also for anyone looking for fun ideas for such a party.

First, the surprise (Kendall knew she was having a party but had no idea what kind):

Then, the intro....

After baking, the girls presented the inspiration for their cupcakes...

And a little bit of the judging....Our "Simon," Mr.4444!

We also enjoyed pizza (that we baked while the cupcakes were being decorated)!

In fact, after two hours, I had to ask the girls to wrap up the baking/decorating,

because we still had to eat and do the presentations.

As it was, the party lasted four fun hours!

The only thing I forgot to do was put all of the cupcakes together and put candles in them for a "cake."

I did that later, at home, and it was okay, but everyone was sick of cupcakes by then, of course.

All in all, the party was a huge success and one no one will soon forget.

I highly recommend having a "Cupcake Wars" birthday party! :)

Candy Writer Fail?

2011-04-28T21:10:00.004-05:00

I bought these "Candy Writers" to decorate my Easter Egg Cake Pops, and for about 30 minutes, they worked, but overall, I am really not happy with them, so I thought I'd warn you. I followed instructions on the tubes, and they seemed warmed up well enough, but I just could not get the yellow one to come out more than one time. How strange is that?! The other two colors worked for my eggs, but after that, they were useless. I'm sure I can get my money back if I take them back to the store I got them from, but I'm not happy about the hassle. I'm new at the sweet-decorating thing, so if you have a product you love that does the same thing (adds fine detail in bright colors that aren't gels), let me know, please :)

Update: I left the tubes sitting next to my computer for about an hour before I picked one up and noticed that it had warmed up again, due to the "exhaust" from my computer on that side. Out of curiosity, I picked it up, took the cover off, and tried it out (on my finger). It worked. How funny. Also, I finally figured out that it's cheaper and easier to simply buy a little, plastic, cake decorating bottle and fill it with melted candy coating to decorate with. Works like a charm :)

Cake Pop Fragments

2011-04-28T20:43:00.001-05:00

So much to say about cake pops that I decided to put them here, rather than at Half-Past Kissin' Time.

Difference Makers and I made a bunch of cake pops tonight.

I made some Easter Egg Cake Pops/Bites over the weekend. Visit this post for pics.

My sister Judy made the cutest cake pops for Easter. Aren't they adorable?!

She also made some amazing graduation cake pops, just for fun...

Incredible, no?

For my next trick, I will make baby boy cake pops for a baby shower.

You will love them.

I've gotten such a kick out of turning so many people on to Bakerella's book.

It's a joy to have inspired people to have so much fun.

I look forward to seeing more of your creations in the coming months.

Thanks, Bakerella!

Red Velvet Easter Egg Cake Bites

2011-04-23T15:05:00.001-05:00

This recipe would not be possible without the inspiration of Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Treats, by Angie Dudley (Bakerella).

I'm so excited! In honor of Easter tomorrow, I decided to make cake eggs, instead of cake pops.

I followed the recipe for cake pops but used these ingredients this time:

That's Red Velvet cake and cream cheese frosting.
Not pictured is dark and milk chocolate candy coating chips for melting and dipping the eggs in.
Have you ever wondered what makes a red velvet flavored cake red velvet?
So did I, and now I know, simply from reading the box.

It's red food coloring in chocolate cake. Hm. Kind of disappointing,
though I'm glad to know that I am not eating velvet curtains or something.

Doesn't it look beautiful?

After the cake is baked per box directions (and cooled), crumble it.
I only had one hand for this photo, but the best method is to
take a chunk in each hand and rub them together, gently, until it falls apart.

Remove any dry/chunky bits that don't like to crumble. In the end, it will look like this:

Beautiful (unless you're allergic to red dye, I suppose).

Use the back of a spoon to mix 3/4 of a can of frosting into the crumbled cake...

...until it's fully incorporated. It will look something like this.

Put the dough into the fridge for several hours (or the freezer for 15 minutes).

While it's chilling, remember to remove the Box Tops for Education for your local school!

I also took the time to set up for the presentation of my Easter cake eggs,

as well as the decorations I planned to use.

The woman in the cake supply store suggested that I mix the dark and milk chocolate,
since the dark isn't as sweet, but I decided,
"Heck no! Dark chocolate rocks!"
I dipped some in dark and some in milk. Both are delicious!

When the dough is thoroughly chilled, take part of it out and start shaping. This is the best I could do...

Return them to the fridge so that they are firm when you start dipping them.
Repeat with the remaining dough.
As Bakerella suggests in her book, wash and dry your hands frequently;
if they get too "caked up," the dough gets hard to work with.

When ready, put the candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl

and cook in 30-second increments at half power,
stirring each time, until melted.

I bought this little doohickey yesterday. It's for lifting chocolate-covered stuff out of a bowl and letting it drain a little. I found it helpful, but here's a good tip: don't let it get caked in dried chocolate; it makes a mess in the cake ball. Rinse it off every now and then for best results.

I used these for the first time, to decorate.

They had to sit in hot water for a few minutes before being workable. I liked using them.

Are these adorable, or what?!

You don't have to use frosting to decorate. As Bakerella suggests, just drizzle left-over coating over the tops.

Doesn't this cute thing look amazing?!

Of course, I had to taste one. Thank goodness, red velvet tastes just as good as dark chocolate!

The only difference I noted is that my eggs are twice as big as my cake pops.

Is that a bad thing?

Got a sweet recipe to share? Check out the offerings at Sweet as Sugar and add your own!

Bakerella's Cake Pops

2011-04-21T21:07:00.002-05:00

These cake pops are so popular, I so far keep forgetting to get photos of them before they are all gone! I'll keep working on that. For now, please accept this shot, taken by Angie Dudley, a.k.a. Bakerella.

I learned about Cake Pops/Cake Bites/Cake Balls a couple of weeks ago and have made three batches already. I'm serious about how good they are---EVERYone absolutely loves them. I bought Bakerella's book, Cake Pops for Kendall's birthday party, and I had to try them out. Although I am putting the recipe basics here, I highly recommend the book; it is very detailed (yet user-friendly) and filled with inspiration. You can find it everywhere, but I bought mine at Target for about $15.

Basic Recipe:
A boxed cake (and accompanying ingredients--usually 3 eggs, oil, and water)
1 container of ready-made frosting
almond bark or candy coating

Optional:
sucker sticks (paper is best)
tiny cupcake paper thingies
sprinkles/candies

Basically, all you have to do....

[Hmm. Should I really make this sound easy? Maybe I should keep that to myself, so I can be admired like I was today at work when I shared these. I kind of like the illusion that I am a fancy, talented chef. Nah--I'm too nice to keep it to myself--You win.]

All you do is bake a cake, cool it, crumble it up (directions for novices, like me, are in the book), add 3/4 can of frosting, and mix it together using the back of a spoon or spatula. Chill. (The dough, Silly.)

After several hours in the fridge (or 15 minutes in the freezer, apparently), take some of the dough out (keep the rest cold) and roll it into little balls with your hands, washing (and drying) your hands every so often (when they get too sticky). Place the balls on wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Put the balls in the fridge while you roll the rest of the dough.

Put the candy coating disks in a microwave-safe bowl and melt them. Bakerella recommends 30 seconds at 50% power, stirring and repeating until melted. Drop the balls, one at a time, into the candy coating (or put them on sticks and dip them). Use a teaspoon to lift the ball out, tap the excess coating off and place on a cookie sheet. THIS IS IMPORTANT: The coating dries quickly--If you're going to sprinkle stuff on it, now's the time to do it! If you're going to get all fancy like the book and make adorable faces, etc. on the cake balls, you'll have to follow the directions in the book.

After the cake pops are dry (5-10 minutes), you can put them in decorative little cupcake papers or stand the pops up on a styrofoam block. They also make cute display boxes for them. I keep my cake pops cold, but that's just my preference. The cake pops last a long time in the fridge. For example, tonight (Thursday), I ate some from Kendall's party last Saturday, and they were still excellent! (cover with plastic wrap or keep in an air-tight container.

Oh, and if you don't have decorative sprinkles, you can just drizzle melted candy coating across the cooled pops--It looks very pretty.

For the record, Walmart has a wonderful selection of cake baking paraphernalia. My local store is out of the sticks and "won't get any more for a couple of weeks." (Seriously?! That's crazy!)

I have so far made these with:
*dark chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting, coated with almond bark (and with chocolate candy coating--both were excellent)
*yellow cake with vanilla frosting, dipped in chocolate (wonderful)
*strawberry cake with vanilla frosting, dipped in white chocolate (not candy coating). These were sickeningly sweet. Next time, I'll avoid white chocolate and stick to white candy coating, maybe.

So now, I'm thinking of finding a way to sneak some crunchy peanut butter inside the dark chocolate cake pops.

Be still, my heart!

Blueberry French Toast

2010-12-26T18:34:00.000-06:00

Holy cow! Until I came over here to find the recipe for my Blueberry French Toast, I had no idea that I'd failed to put it here! Well, it's too late now for the blow-by-blow photos, but I do have the most important part--the end result, so I'll just cut to the chase with the recipe.

[update: A year later, I added the pics :)]

This is the perfect recipe for morning company,

as you can easily prepare it the night before

and just throw the rest of it together 30 minutes before breakfast.

Ingredients:

8 oz. French bread* (preferably a little stale)

6 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cornstarch

2 12-oz frozen (or fresh) blueberries

2 tbls melted butter

Slice the bread 3/4" thick. I use this amazing saw-type knife that I picked up at my local farmer's market from a guy selling them for $20. I wish I had bought several, as this thing is a beauty.

Whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla, and baking powder and dip the bread slices into the mixture.

Place on a rimmed baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and set in fridge overnight.

Mix sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch and set aside.

I usually do this the night before,

so it's ready when I need it in the morning.

This is especially nice for us, because we always eat this on Christmas morning,

and I and throw it together quickly.)

In the morning, grease a 9 x 13 pan. Rinse berries

and toss with sugar.

Spread blueberries in the bottom of pan.

Place bread pieces (wettest-side-up) on top of the blueberries, cutting pieces to fit if necessary.

Brush with melted butter.

Yes, I know; what was I thinking, just pouring the butter over the top?!

Don't worry--I spread it around with the back of a spoon.

This was also the point when I remembered reading a review of Mrs4444 Cooks,

in which the reviewer said that everything I have hear is loaded with fat/sugar and horrible for you.

(Yes, I'm paraphrasing.)

Anyway, I remembered her statement when I was pouring the butter,

and I thought to myself,

"Take that!"haha

Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with powdered sugar (but be careful--It's easy to accidentally inhale powdered sugar!

Keep a drink close by!haha).

Serves 4

*If you wait til Christmas eve to buy the bread, you might be in trouble; French bread is in high demand for the holidays; don't be afraid to shop early. Stale French bread works the best, anyway.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-12-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

Wow. I've eaten some cookie dough in my day, but the cookie dough I ate tonight may well go down in history as the best I've ever eaten.

I'd never heard of Nutella cookies before reading a post from Jene (at The Original Bean), and I'm very glad I did, because these cookies are delicious! (raw or cooked!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature (I used salted.)
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 cup of Nutella
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of chopped hazelnuts (I added a whole cup because 1/2 cup didn't look like enough)

As you may have noticed, the recipe called for chocolate chips, of which I had none, so Mr.4444 kindly took out his trusty kitchen knife and wacked up some Bakers chocolate that I had. Like Jene says, I finally found a use for the other end of my Pampered Chef measuring thingy...

First, cream the butter until its...well....creamy.

Then, add the vanilla, sugars, and Nutella. Mix well.

Add the vanilla and the eggs (one at a time, mixing 30 seconds between each egg).

Put the flour, baking soda, and cocoa....wait a minute!

What flour?! Dang it--Sorry, I forgot to put the flour in the ingredient photo. Here you go!

The recipe said to sift the dry ingredients, so I did what any resourceful cook would do:

What?! Yes, it's time-consuming and a little annoying, but you can't argue with the results
(or the directions, which remind you that cocoa stays in chunks if you don't sift it):

Mix well.

Fold in the chocolate chips and the nuts.
The recipe calls for hazelnuts, but I made an executive decision on that one, too;

since hazelnut coffee makes me gag, I went with walnuts.

Now here's where I muffed up the recipe and you should not. (Like my mom always said, "Do as I say, not as I do!" Chill the dough for ten minutes or so. I didn't, and the result was kind of disasterous; so bad that I can't show you a pic (Just kidding--I did take a pic, but I lost it, so you'll have to use your imagination. Picture big, flat cookies all run into each other on the pan.)

If you haven't eaten all the dough yet, put it by rounded spoonsful (I used the big Pampered Chef cookie scoop) onto parchment paper and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, allowing to cool a bit on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

While my cookies came out flat as pancakes and badly misshapen, I'm happy to report that they tasted fantastic and got rave reviews from Kendall and Mr.4444. They were all gone within two days.

I can't tell you how many this makes, since eating have the dough skewed my end result. (Jene said that they're too rich to eat too many, but you can see what a liar she is.) If you make them, let me know what you come up with, if you can resist...

Aunt Mary's Bailey's Irish Cream

2010-12-18T11:43:00.000-06:00

3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
3 tbls Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 pint cream or half-and-half

1 cup whiskey (Irish, or whatever you have)

Blend all but the whiskey in a blender. Add the whiskey and mix again. Pour into bottles and refrigerate. Keeps a long time and is great in coffee with whipped cream on top! (Makes a nice Christmas gift!)

Homemade Hot Chocolate

2010-12-18T11:40:00.002-06:00

This recipe is so simple! It makes a huge batch, and creatively wrapped, makes a perfect little Christmas gift. The photo here is of those I packaged up for my Difference Makers kids. Since they absolutely LOVED it when I served it after Ding-Dong-Decorate-and-Ditch, they were tickled to receive some more to take home.

Four Simple Ingredients:

1 8-qt box of powdered milk (no, Matty, you cannot substitute the liquid variety, haha)
1 22-oz Cremora (some people say they use the flavored kind, but I just keep to the plain stuff)
1 box of confectioner's sugar
1 2-lb box Nestle's Quick

Just dump it all in a BIG container and mix it up! I'll warn you that it's not cheap to make, but it really does make a LOT. I couldn't even fit all of mine in my largest mixing bowl--I dumped it all into a huge stockpot to mix it. The powdered milk was $13.00, but it was twice what I actually needed, so I'll be making another batch, which Kendall plans to give to her friends as Christmas gifts.

This is really a treat. For the adults on your list, you could also make my Aunt Mary's Homemade Bailey's Irish Cream. (I guess I'll have to post that recipe, too!)

Sweet Stuff! ($50 CSN Stores Giveaway!)

2010-12-04T14:53:00.003-06:00

I recently received a copy of the book Nonna Tell Me a Story for review, and I'm happy to report that's it's lovely. Written by "one of the most-loved chefs on television, a best-selling cookbook author, and restaurateur," Lidia Bastianich, the book encourages families to share holiday memories of old and create new ones through baking and decorating together for the holidays. Laura Logan did a wonderful job with the heart-warming illustration that accompany the sweet story of multi-generational holiday sharing in the first half of the book. In the second half, Chef Bastianich shares her recipes for a number of favorite holiday cookies, from Almond Butter Cookies to these babies:

Photo found at Palacinka.com

You can find this hardcover book many places on line, priced anywhere from $9.32 to $15.

If you buy this book, you might need cookware to bake all of the deliciousness. Want a little help? Enter to win a $50 CSN Stores gift code. Not a baker? You will be amazed at the incredible number of products offered by CSN Stores' 200+ sites. Win this, and you could put a nice dent in your holiday shopping.

To Enter, visit this link and give me the link of something you'd love to own (money is no object)! [This is a required entry.]

For extra entries:
*Enter my $100 CSNStores giveaway on Half-Past Kissin' Time
*Tweet this giveaway and include the url for your tweet. (Worth 2 extra entries)
*Include a link to this giveaway in your December 10th Friday Fragments (or any post, I suppose) and let me know in a comment here. (Worth 2 extra entries)
*Share a link to any Mrs.4444 Cooks post on your Facebook page and let me know here (or email me a screenshot if we're not FB friends). (Worth 3 extra entries)

GIVEAWAY ENDS Sunday, December 12TH at 10pm and will be announced in my Friday Fragments post on December 17th.

[UPDATE: The winner of this giveaway was Dee! Thanks for entering, Everyone! :) ]

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

2010-11-26T20:46:00.000-06:00

Some day, I just might be brave enough to cook with yeast. Until that day comes, I'm gonna just put this recipe here for safe keeping; these rolls were a big hit at Thanksgiving this year :) (Thanks, Mary!!! And Thanks, Geri, for the recipe!)

Ingredients:

2 tsps active dry yeast
1 1/2 C warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 1/4 C canned pumpkin
1/2 C butter or margarine, softened
1/3 C sugar (or Splenda)
2 eggs
2 tsps salt
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
4 1/2 to 5 C all-purpose flour

These are delicious, a pretty color, and do not really taste much like pumpkin.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the pumpkin , butter, sugar, eggs, salt, and whole wheat flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough all-purpose flour to make a soft dough (I use 5 cups). Turn onto a lightly-floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, until doubled (about 1 hour).

Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly-floured surface; divide into 3 portions. Roll each portion into a 12" circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place, pointed-side down, 2 inches aprart, on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Move to wire racks. Yield 3 dozen

Nutritional Analysis: 1 roll = 134 calories, 3 g fat (2 saturated), 19 mg cholesterol, 161 mg. sodium, 23 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein. Diabetic exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat. 3 Weight Watchers pts.

CSN Stores Giveaway!

2010-11-19T00:00:00.012-06:00

Children's Luggage, pet products, cookware that would make Chef Ramsey kiss butt for; these are just a few of the many, many products you can find on the CSN Stores website. Seriously--The have 200+ stores!! I'm excited to tell you that very soon, I will be offering you a chance to spend your very own CSN Stores gift certificate! Stay tuned for your chance to enter!

My Two New Favorite Kitchen Tools!

2010-11-13T12:50:00.003-06:00

Last summer, I bought a piece of crap B&D blender and have had to return it not once, but twice, because it can't handle the power demands required to blend a banana smoothie! It starts to blend and then has a cardiac arrest and cannot be revived. Very frustrating!! It's back in it's box again, and I'm happy to say that I will be returning it permanently this time, because I have found a new friend in, surprisingly, my new Oster blender, which I got to pick as part of a CSNStores offer.

I don't really know why I've not bought the Oster brand before, but it was within the budget allowed to me by CSNStores, so I went for it, and I'm really happy I did--It's perfect! I especially noticed that the motor on my 12-speed Oster blender was relatively quiet; I made smoothie at 8am without waking Mr.4444, who slept peacefully just a room away. It effortlessly tore through frozen strawberries like a champ. The 5-cup pitcher size is perfect for our smoothie making needs. For you gadget fans out there, this blender even has "clean" mode (which kind of cracked me up). I'm really happy with our new blender and look forward to using it often.

I also chose the West Bend Electronic Stopwatch for my holiday baking, and I'm thrilled with it. Every year, I make Norwegian Krumkake (see my post, When Kaka Means Yummy!). When you make krumkake, you can only make two at a time, and they have to cook for about 80 seconds. As a multi-tasker, I often burn some, because I can't be bothered to stand there and watch them cook. My new timer is going to make burned krumkake a thing of the past :)

The timer is the perfect size (numbers show up nice and big) and it's a very basic, timer, which makes me very happy; I don't need all kinds of complicated buttons--just let me count up or down and I'm happy. The West Bend timer that I got can be displayed three different ways--it's magnetized to put on your fridge, you can clip it to your belt, or stand it up with an easy flip of the stand on the back. It beeps loudly, which is perfect for me, because I can be doing things in the next room and still hear it. I'm really looking forward to doing my holiday baking with my new timer.

My experience with CSN Stores has been wonderful. I've reviewed three of their products and very much look forward to having a CSN Store Giveaway very soon, so stay tuned!!

Spiced Apple Cider

2010-10-25T22:28:00.005-05:00

CSN Stores has gifted me with a gift certificate to any one of their 200 stores on-line, where I look forward to shopping for whatever I want! I'm excited to choose from a bar stool, to a blender, to a blanket. Really, the choices are endless, but I think since I broke my crockpot this weekend, I'll be looking for one of those (which I could actually use tomorrow, when I take this wonderful cider to share at work)!

You know how, at work, people are expected to bring treats in on their birthdays? Well, I boycott that; it's against my principles to have a commitment on my birthday! That said, I do like to bring in a treat now and then during other times of the year, and when Kendall said she was in the mood for my mom's Spiced Apple Cider, I figured I'd make some. The recipe makes a ton, so I should have plenty to share all around.

Ingredients:

2 2-inch long cinnamon sticks

2 tablespoons whole cloves

1 1/2 quarts water

1 cup sugar(dang! just realized I could have used Splenda!)

1 gallon of apple cider of your choosing

1 12-oz can frozen orange juice (we buy it with pulp)

1 12-oz can frozen lemonade

I threw my 5-year old cinnamon sticks away and bought new ones.

The cloves smelled wonderful.

First, take the first four ingredients and simmer them on the stove for an hour.

Obviously, the water will be clear at first.

After a little while, it will look a little cloudy.

After an hour, it will be a beautiful, golden hue.

Strain it into a large pitcher...

...or, if you have a huge Tupperware bowl, strain it directly into that.

The entire batch fits into the bowl,

where you can gently stir it with the apple cider, lemonade, and orange juice.

Carefully fill the apple cider bottle, using a funnel.

The recipe makes a gallon and a half.

It also makes for a wonderfully-flavorful drink on a cool, autumn day.

For what it's worth, it also makes a fantastic accompaniment to leftover pumpkin and spice cake!

(and can you imagine it with a shot of amaretto?!)

Yummmmmm.

Carol's Slow Cooker BBQ

2010-08-12T16:50:00.000-05:00

Now I'm no Rachael Ray, but I definitely wouldn't call myself a "slow cooker," so let's assume that Carol here is referring to a crock pot in the title of her recipe for delicious barbecue. I got this recipe from SparkPeople, a website for helping people reach nutrition and fitness goals. So far, it's given me the structure and guidance that I needed to lose 6.5 pounds. I was looking for a recipe that had molasses in it (it's got lots of vitamins, People!) and found this and a recipe for low-carb homemade barbecue sauce. Both are relatively healthy but full of flavor. [If you'd like a more heart-hateful recipe that is sure to please, check out my Barbecued Beef for a Crowd.]

I'll warn you ahead of time that this is not a difficult recipe, though it will taste like you worked on it for hours (which, of course, you will, if you are the crock pot.) If you want to milk this for all it's worth, splash some water on your face, mess your hair up a bit, and smear a little sauce on your shirt. Then grab your favorite book and spend some time reading in the kitchen, but keep a cookbook handy, in case you have quickly switch. (Make sure it's right-side up, of course.)

Ingredients:

4lb boneless beef chuck, arm, rump or pot roast (yes, I know I forgot to photograph it. More on that later)

2 large onions, sliced into thin strips

4 stalks celery, sliced

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1.5 cup catsup (or ketchup, if you're a stickler!)

1 cup BBQ sauce (I made this!)

1/4 cup Grandma's Molasses

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or your choice of other kind

2 tbsp prepared yellow mustard your choice of type

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

Confession Interjection: As you may have guessed, I was about out of molasses

and turned it upside down to try and get every drop out.

I ended up having to go borrow some from my sweet neighbor, Wendy.

Also, because the barbecue sauce recipe reviews stated that it had a lot of kick,

I only used a sprinkle of the black pepper and chili powder this recipe calls for.

Anywho, all you have to do is whisk the sauce ingredients together...

til they are a nice, caramelly color...

I followed this recipe backwards, mixing all of the "gravy" ingredients first,

because I put off touching the meat until as late as possible;

Mr.4444 usually cleans/cuts the meat for me, and he wasn't home.

I don't know what it is about me and touching raw meat, but I find it quite disgusting.

I guess that's why I forgot to take it out for the ingredient photo. Anyway, here it is...

I'm very proud of myself for preparing the meat all by myself; I didn't even gross out once!

(But don't tell Mr.4444, because I think he likes being my meat-prep hero :)

Put the veggies and meat into the crockpot...

The recipe said to put the meat in first, but you know what a rebel I am;

I put it in second and mixed the stuff up a little.

Pour the sauce all over this culinary promise...

and fire up the crockpot on Low. Leave it alone for 8-10 hours.
Remove the meat from the sauce, and remove any fat you see.

Fork the meat apart, like so...

and return it to the sauce.
Refrigerate overnight or serve right away on your favorite rolls,

with some yummy potato salad and veggies, of course! :)

Per Carol:
This recipe has so much flavor, no one will notice the Worcestershire sauce and the salt were deleted to reduce sodium (Shh! Don't tell Carol there's Worcestershire sauce in the barbecue sauce I made! It'll be our little secret!) Using molasses, instead of brown sugar and Worcestershire, gives a depth of flavor and authenticity, while reducing sugar and sodium. (Don't worry--Mine didn't take fake at all.)
It is great to take to picnics, buffets, or tailgating. Freezes well.

P.S. The potato salad was AWESOME and made with the following: red potatoes, pickled green beans, celery, hardboiled egg white, Miracle Whip, and mustard. And BTW, that is a salad plate and a dinner roll, so don't go thinking I've been eating like a horse. This is just one of many healthy, reasonably-sized meals I've been eating since I turned over a new leaf (and lost six pounds!!)

Low-Carb BBQ Sauce

2010-08-10T14:46:00.000-05:00

I've been making healthier decisions lately, when it comes to eating and exercising, and I've found that using SparkPeople helps. I found this recipe there this week and decided to try it. It was great!

Ingredients

Oh, before I go there, I'll tell you that this time, I decided to take a page from Mr.4444's cookbook, which says that you should always measure everything out first and put it into cute little dishes for easy mixing. I have to admit, it does look nice.

Before...

After...

Oh, and here's a Public Service Announcement about measuring:

This...

is exactly why your Home Ec teacher taught you to never, ever measure over the bowl in which you are mixing ingredients. See? It really does happen! Can you imagine the nightmare of accidentally over-pouring the Worcestershire sauce into your bowl? (I shudder to think of it!)

Back to that list of ingredients:
1 c tomato sauce
3 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T cider vinegar
6 packets Splenda
1 T chili powder
2 t Tabasco sauce
2 t garlic powder
1 t pepper
1 t liquid smoke

I happened to have some Splenda packets on hand, but I don't always, so I measured them out for you and found that 6 packets is about a teaspoon and a half.

I only used 1.5 tsps of Tabasco, since one of the reviewers said the recipe was not for the faint of tongue.

Simply mix the ingredients and "cook" them 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and turning the heat down when it starts to boil.

I made this sauce for Carol's Slow-Cooker Barbecued Beef, and it was wonderful.

Personalized Omelets for a Crowd

2010-08-05T13:05:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning, at our family reunion, I'll be helping facilitate the making of breakfast, which is really fun! I highly recommend it! (stay tuned for pics!)

Ingredients:
Eggs (2-3 per person)
Various diced ingredients: onions, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, pre-cooked sausage, ham, turkey, shredded cheese, etc.
1 quart-sized Ziploc bag per person (must be quart)
permanent markers
large container of ice water
large pot(s) of boiling water
salsa (if you like)

This is a fun and easy breakfast that gets everyone involved. Great for company or even for camping! Here's where the fun starts: Give each person a bag and a marker and have them personalize their bags with their names (some will be more creative than others, which is half the fun.) In pairs, help each other crack 2-3 eggs into your bags, and "squish" them to mix up the eggs. Then add whatever ingredients you like, plus a teaspoon of water (unless you added tomatoes, which add enough moisture). Submerge each bag (just to the zipper) in the ice water, to force the air out, closing the top carefully. When everyone is ready, place the bags together in boiling water 10-12 minutes for 2-egg omelets, adding a couple of extra minutes for a 3rd egg. One time that we made these, we did not have the right bags, so we used gallon-sized bags; YIKES! They were so big, they flopped over the edges of the pan and melted to the sides. While it all worked out, we learned our lesson. Use the quart-sized bags, which are smaller than the gallon size and more durable than the sandwich size. Most importantly, have fun! Serve with salsa on the side, if desired.

Summer's Harvest Breakfast

2010-06-06T19:40:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year; strawberries, other fresh fruit. It's the perfect time of year for this delicious breakfast concoction I came up with a couple of years ago. Looks yummy, doesn't it? Read on if you love fresh fruit and a healthy breakfast... (and sorry to you anal folks out there who are really bothered by that spoon not being straight. Just keep reading, and you'll forget about it.)

One of the things I love about summer (and no school) is that I have time to make breakfast for the kids (if I feel like it, haha). When I made this favorite for Kyle and me recently, I decided to share it with you. In classic Pioneer-Woman style, I took a photo of the ingredients. (That's where she and I part, though; this recipe is so simple, there is no need to lead you by the hand through every single step.)

The beauty of this "recipe" is that you can use whatever fruit you have available, and since summer has so many fruits to offer (think blueberries, mangos, necterines, grapes, etc.) the sky's the limit! For this batch, I used about 1 cup each of the oatmeal and the yogurt. This yogurt is vanilla, but I've used strawberry before, and it was great, too. If you can't tell, those are sliced almonds (Kyle and I like their nice crunch, but I keep them out for Kendall.)

Start by washing the fruit. I am grossed out by the thought of eating fruit that's been grabbed by Lord knows how many dirty hands. And at the risk of sounding like an infomercial, I'm going to add that I LOVE this product for washing fruit:

It's 100% natural, smells like citrus and gets the waxy coating off of fruits and vegetables beautifully. The store I first found it at doesn't sell it anymore, so I buy it on line. For $20, I bought a 32-oz bottle of concentrated product that makes EIGHT bottles like this (16oz) one, so I'm sure it will last me at least a few years.

Next, cut the fruit into small (cube-sized) pieces. I have to share my all-time favorite Pampered Chef product, too, because I love it for taking strawberry tops off and digging the top out of tomatoes. (It's also a gem for scooping out bad spots of any fruit or vegetable.) I call it a "doohickey," and I own two, because one is always dirty.

Put the fruit in a medium-large bowl and top with oatmeal, yogurt, and almonds. Then, just stir it up and eat it! This batch made two large, full bowls for Kyle and me. It doesn't keep forever, but that's okay; we eat it too quickly to have any leftovers anyway :)

Barbecued Beef for a Crowd

2010-05-21T22:00:00.003-05:00

I'm surprised it's taken me so long to post this recipe, as we've been making it for years, and it's always a big hit. As usual, it's a very easy recipe, so I think you'll be impressed. [I'm not sure how much this makes, but we serve it at our Halloween party every year, and I know it makes a ton. Count on feeding around 40 with this doubled recipe, and you should be good.)

Ingredients:

10 pounds beef *roast
2 small bottles of ketchup
2 small bottles of chili sauce
3/4 cup of mustard
7-8 T brown sugar
2 T of vinegar
4 T worcestershire (pronounced woostesheer, BTW)
4-5 diced onions
2 bay leaves

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the meat in a large roasting pan.

In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the meat.

Cover the pan tightly with foil, and put it in the oven. Bake for 4 hours. (If you use the amounts here, increase that time about 30 minutes; the four hour time is for a single batch.) When the meat is ready, you should be able to fork it apart with ease. This is a team effort in our house. Use a sturdy tongs to take a hunk of the meat at a time to a plate and fork it apart, removing the fat, and returning the meat to the pan. Continue until you've removed all of the fat solids and have the meat back in the sauce. Keep warm in a crock pot at your event. It works fine to make the night before, too (Mr.4444 and I will be shredding beef at midnight tonight! (For Kyle's graduation party tomorrow!!) Any leftovers freeze perfectly, so don't worry about making too much. Serve on potato rolls (our favorite) or whatever rolls float your boat!

By the way, this barbecue goes great with Theresa's Beans!

Hungry yet?

*When choosing the roast for this recipe, look for some fat marbling throughout; that gives the best flavor. Too much fat and, well...you'll have too much fat and not enough meat. Not enough fat, and you have tough meat that doesn't pull apart easily. So heed this warning, because nobody likes having to spit stuff in their napkin! :)

Easy Pasta Salad

2010-05-21T20:34:00.001-05:00

Is there really such a thing as a difficult pasta salad? I actually thought twice about posting this one, because it's so easy, but then I figured that not everyone is an experienced cook, so I figured it's worth a post. This salad is a nice accompaniment to any summer meal. We're serving it with barbecued beef sandwiches (and ham, and guacamole, and taco dip, and....) for Kyle's graduation party.

Ingredients:
Pasta of your choice (I used rotini this time, but you can use any kind, including spaghetti.)
Veggies of your choice (cukes, Vidalia onion, celery, green pepper, red pepper, tiny tomatoes)
Cheese (optional) Note that I didn't think to add mine til after I took the photo
Olives (optional) I actually changed my mind and left these out (Mr.4444 said, "People hate green olives."
1 bottle of Italian dressing
1 bottle McCormick Suddenly Salad seasoning (not pictured)
pepperoni (optional)
shredded Parmesan (for guests to sprinkle on top)

(Note: Although this recipe lists the ingredients for one batch, I actually doubled it, so you'll see a lot more at the end of the post.)

While you're cooking the pasta per box directions, dice your vegetables. (Of course, I washed that dirty celery!) I took the next photo to show you one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools. You know how you get invited to Pampered Chef parties but hate to go for fear you'll spend too much? Well, I highly recommend that you buy one of these babies, as it is worth it's weight in gold (about $10).

I've had mine for about ten years, and it will still take a finger off if you're not careful. When we're peeling potatoes for booyah, I can peel at least three times as fast as anyone with a old-fashioned peeler (and I don't have the waste I get with a knife.) But I digress, just like I did when I became enamored with this gorgeous red pepper and took this shot...

And now, back to the show! When the pasta is done, be sure to rinse it in cold water (in a colander, Matty) right away (it stops the cooking and keeps it from getting mushy). Drain thoroughly and put in a large bowl. Add the vegetables, and pour the dressing over all.

Stir. Add salt and pepper if you want. Chill for several hours, and don't be afraid to stir now and then to mix the dressing through.

Off to make another dish for the party!!

[Update: Today, when I tasted the salad before serving it, I decided it needed something (it was a little too tame. My sister Mary brought some sliced pepperoni to add, and we also added a bunch of McCormick Suddenly Salad seasoning and some more Italian dressing. That gave it the kick it needed.]

Devil's Sex Cake

2010-04-15T17:00:00.002-05:00

For the background on the name of this cake, read What IS the Devil's Favorite Food, Anyway?!

This is one of the easiest cakes to make, and it really is sinfully delicious;

Everyone who gets a piece is satisfied.

Ingredients:

1 devils food cake mix (or German chocolate, if you prefer)

(ingredients referred to on the cake box: oil and egg)

1 jar Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch-Caramel Fudge

1 large container of Cool-Whip (the small is pictured, but I wished I had had a little more)

1 bag of Heath bits (or 4-5 Heath bars, chopped small)

First, bake the cake per directions on the box.

As soon as you take the cake out, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes in a regular pattern all over the cake. Do NOT poke the holes all the way down to the bottom; just do it half-way. (But remember, you can still get pregnant going half-way.)

Put the caramel topping in the microwave (without the lid) and microwave long enough to heat it up for pouring (about a minute at half-power, depending on your microwave). Stir. Pour over the cake, taking care to fill the holes as evenly as possible.

Allow cake to cool.

When the cake is cooled, spread the Cool-Whip over the top.

Sprinkle Heath bits over the Cool-Whip.

Chill, smoke a cigarette, and then go clean up.

It was good for me. Hope it's good for you, too.

Snickers Bar "Salad"

2010-04-12T20:21:00.005-05:00

Who am I kidding? It's a dessert. And seriously; it's so easy, a whole post about it would be ridiculous.

And it's so quick, I forgot to take a photo of the ingredients:

6 Snickers bars, chopped
1 big container of Cool-Whip
6 large granny smith apples, cored and sliced

This is all I've got for you (just before the big stir!)

And it's so good, I have no photos of the leftovers.

Really; it's that good.

And tune in next time for the promised "Devil's Sex Cake!"

Apple Dumplings, Simple and Delicious

2010-04-10T22:18:00.021-05:00

If you've never had The Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings before, you are really missing out! They're one of the easiest things to make (Yes, Matty, even for you.) I've been making them for years, as they are the favorite of everyone in my house and beyond, and to prove it, I'll tell you that Kendall requested Apple Dumplings for her "birthday cake" when she had her birthday sleepover tonight. (That reminds me--while they're in the oven, I'd better find some candles!!)

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 granny-smith apples
2 pkgs Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
cinnamon (enough to sprinkle as pictured below)
a few ounces of Mountain Dew soda/pop

(As you may have noticed, this recipe is not for the calorie/fat conscious. If you must be health conscious, simply close your eyes while you eat it; I've heard that cuts the calories and fat in half!)

Ready? First, put the two sticks of butter in a 2-quart saucepan to melt on low. While it's melting, cut and peel the apples however you like to do it. I use the fun apple cutter...

but I suppose it would have been easier to simply peel the apple and then cut it. It's a horse-apiece, I guess.

There are eight dinner rolls per package. Sixteen dumplings fit nicely in a cake pan (two per person.) The apples I bought today were very small, so I used about a slice and a half for each one. Simply set them at the wide end, roll them up, and place the apple-filled crescents in your cake pan.

By the time you've finished, the butter should be melted.

Add the sugar, and stir, but not too much; it should still be grainy. Remove from heat and add the vanilla (Or not; I've accidentally left it out before, and it turned out fine.)

Pour butter/sugar mixture evenly over all.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Now for the odd part. Carefully pour some Mountain Dew down the rows and around the edges.

I would guess that you only need about 1/4 cup. If you use too much, they'll be swimming in liquid. When that happens, I just take a turkey baster and suck some of the juice out, so that they don't get too soggy.

[BTW, if you're especially observant, you will wonder why in the world these apples are now in a ceramic pan, instead of metal. (If you did notice, I'm very impressed!!) The reason is that I made two pans worth for Kendall's party, since I had to feed 14 girls.]

Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees, or until they are nice and brown and you are drooling.

Remove from oven and let stand for a minute or two, or you won't be able to use your tongue for a few days (which might be good, what with the week's worth of calories and fat you'll be consuming.) Serve with or without vanilla ice cream.

Here's the birthday girl enjoying her "cake."

For the record, the girls loved the apple dumplings. In fact, one of them inspired a new name for them, when she asked, "May I have another piece of heaven, please?"

Need I say more?

Glazed Meatloaf

2010-03-04T20:29:00.000-06:00

I think I know what meatloaf heaven is like; I was there again tonight when I ate a plate of leftovers (Is there anything better, really, than meatloaf leftovers?) The recipe for this wonderful meatloaf, which has a delightfully-sweet taste, came to me via my second cousin, Sara Olson. Sara is a Mennonite, and if you know anything about Mennonites (besides the fact that they wear dresses and cute bonnets), you know they can cook. (Or is that just a stereotype? I'm sure someone will let me know, haha.) Anyway, Sara's meatloaf is to-die-for, and it's unlikely that I will ever use a different recipe, now that I've tried hers, so it's only appropriate that I share it.

Ingredients:2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed saltines (about 30)
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tsp salt (we like kosher)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper

Glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 T mustard

First, prep your ingredients. Think about how artistic food can be. Is it just me (a Wisconsinite), or does this cheese look gorgeous next to the carrots
?

And speaking of carrots, why is it that every time I peel carrots, I think of women's legs?

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl...

And then, be very, very brave, and mix it with your bare hands!!

I'm shocked that I did that, actually (Usually, I wear sandwich bags on my hands when I tough raw hamburger, cuz it grosses me out).

At this point, check on your rice.

Did I catch you with that one?? Only kidding; there is no rice in this recipe; it was for the sick dog.....

Yeah, you know your dog is sick when he won't touch a peanut butter sandwich.

Pat the meatloaf into a 9 x 13 baking dish. What?!! I packed it all into a bread pan, obviously...

no wonder it overflowed a little bit and took forever to cook. (Still, I'd do it the same way again.) Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Mix glaze ingredients....

and pour over meat.

Allow me to interject here to insist that you never, ever, ever skip this glaze part, as it is the most wonderful part of the recipe (next to the cheese and carrots inside the meatloaf, of course.)

Bake 10-15 minutes longer. (Add a half hour or more if you cook it the way I did; in a stone loaf pan.) I wonder if Martha Stewart shows pictures of her cooking messes or just pretends they all turned out perfectly?

Be sure to use a meat thermometer if you aren't sure. 170 degrees is good. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

FYI, my photo is missing a vegetable...

because I got impatient with the cooking time and ate the broccoli long before the meatloaf came out of the oven. One might think I spoiled my appetite by eating a ton of broccoli, but thankfully, I did not; I ate every single bite of my supper.

And then I went to stuff an Imodium tablet down the dog's throat....

Baked Mostaccioli

2010-02-20T14:22:00.011-06:00

My SIL, Mary Sue (or MerrySue, as she likes to be called) has some great recipes! For example, I got the Confetti Scalloped Potatoes recipe from her, and this one is also incredible. I made it last week, for Kyle's end-of-the-year swimming banquet potluck, and the pan was the first one to go empty. See?

Although I've mysteriously lost all but three photos of this dish, I'm going to post the recipe, because it's really wonderful.

Ingredients:
8 oz. mostaccioli noodles (I used about 12)
1.5 lbs ground beef (I used 2)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic (I used 3)
1 28-oz can tomatoes
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1-4-oz can mushrooms (I used 12 oz. of fresh mushrooms)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried basil (Yeah, that's what's in the baggy pictured, Silly!)
1/8 tsp pepper
1 large bay leaf (Why do they call them bay leaves? I wonder.)
1 lb. sliced mozzarella (I used shredded)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

First, put the water on to boil the pasta. [Read this hilarious post from Matty, who made this delicious dish a little differently.]For what it's worth, I bought the pictured Wal-mart brand of pasta against my instincts (they not-so-mysteriously had only their brand stocked on the shelf), but I'm glad to say it turned out perfectly. BOIL THE PASTA (There-That's for you Matty-types.) Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook ground beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic, until meat is browned and veggies are tender. Drain off fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, sauce, paste, undrained mushrooms (or fresh, sliced), water, salt, sugar, basil, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.

Stir in the mostaccioli. Turn half of the meat mixture into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. Layer half the mozzarella on top. Top with remaining meat mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until heated through. Remove foil. Put remaining mozzarella cheese into strips; arrange on top of casserole. Bake for another 5 minutes or more. Serve with garlic bread and a nice salad. Serves a small crowd of hungry young men.

Note: I put this together and stuck it in the fridge (without baking it) for the next night. After school, I ran home and threw it in the oven straight from the fridge, so it took an full hour and a half to cook. It was well worth the wait :)

Confetti Scalloped Potatoes

2010-02-14T22:03:00.001-06:00

In Wisconsin, we like our *cheesy potatoes. This recipe is a crowd pleaser and comes from my SIL, *Mary Sue. Matty, you should definitely try this one--It's even easier than the Easy-Peasy Bars From Heaven and is really, really delicious!!

Ingredients:

1 bag Ore-Ida Potatoes O'Brien (The recipe only calls for 16oz. The bag is 28 oz. I used most of it.)

1/2 stick butter
1 can Campbell's Cream of Whatever soup (really, use whichever one you like.)
1 soup-can of milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
dash of pepper
1 cup crushed cheddar-flavored crackers (we like Cheez-Its), divided

Oops-What the heck is that little white thing in the pic?! Garlic?! I did NOT use garlic in this recipe; I think it snuck over from the other ingredients on the counter; you know how garlic is always showboating in recipes. Just ignore that, okay? Now let's get crackin'!

In a bold and daring move, I actually chose not to measure the crackers!! Join me on the wild side and just throw some in a sandwich bag, like this...

And pretend that each little square is a bit stress in your life; take it out on the crackers inside, til they look like this...

Set those aside.

Next, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Now, here's where I actually adapted the original recipe (which is something I'm usually too chicken to do, so Go Me! I'm such a daredevil!) Instead of the original call for 1/2 cup chopped onion, a small green pepper, and 2 tablespoons of pimiento, I just bought the kind of hash browns that already had those ingredients in the bag. Because I didn't need to saute anything, I also cut the original 1/2 cup butter to 1/4 cup. It really turned out really well, so my recipe reflects these changes.

Stir in potatoes, soup, and milk. I took this pic for you to see how much of the potatoes I used (about four cups.) And yes, it was supposed to be a soup can of the milk, not a cup. (I hope we survive!!)

Stir. Then add the cheese, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the cracker crumbs.

Pour into a buttered, shallow casserole dish. If you forget to butter the pan, feel free to dump everything back out again, wash the pan, butter it, and move back to the previous step. (Not that I did that or anything....)

Top with remaining cracker crumb...

and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. [Yields 6-8 servings.]

Get ready to be showered with praise for your fine work. Everyone loves these.

*Warning: This recipe calls for a double-dose of Lactaid, if you (like me) are lactose intolerant. (How is it possible that I would live in Wisconsin and have this affliction? I love milk and cheese, but they do not love me. Thank heaven I can pop a pill or two and indulge :)

[P.S. If you're lucky enough to have a copy of our first family cookbook, this recipe can be found on page 37.]

Easy-Peasy Bars from Heaven

2010-02-07T22:25:00.000-06:00

Okay, that's not really the name of these bars. I think my cousin Julie was actually trying to ensure that no one else in the family would want any of her "Dump Bars" when she named them, haha. Honestly, though, they're called Dump Bars because all you have to do is "dump" all of the ingredients in the bowl and mix them up. I made them for the Music Boosters Chili Lunch. Let's just say I brought an empty container home, and we'll forget about the name, okay? Here's how you, too, can be a baking superstar....

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

5 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup chocolate chips

Dump all of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) into a bowl.

I have to take this moment to ask--Raise your hand if you ever decided that since hot cocoa is great, then cocoa powder must be incredibly delicious, so you tried to eat a spoonful of Hershey's Cocoa, only to find

yourself spitting violently?!

Back to the yum....Mix until all ingredients are moistened.

Take a moment here to stop and smell the chocolate, smell the roses, or in my case, watch the snowflakes and wonder how much more winter you can expect....

Spread in greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top (do not stir.)

Did you notice the lone escaped chocolate chip? (I didn't have the heart to crop it out.)

Admire the beauty of it all....

(Did you see Lincoln's face in there? Good--neither did I, but I thought I'd check.)

Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven. Let cool a bit and then slice before taking them to your event. (Make sure you save ~~twelve~~ one for yourself, or like me, you will come home with an empty container!)

Beef Barley Soup

2010-01-16T00:28:00.008-06:00

Saturday is our big Soup Swap, so I was busy tonight whipping up my contribution; my sister Mary's delicious Beef Barley Soup.

Of course, every soup is better when it's made with TLC, so that's why I was thrilled when my dear friend, Dawn, offered to come over and help.

She served as Peanut Gallery, Personal Assistant, and even brought us Chinese food to sustain us through the night. Her fiance Jerry showed up when most of the work was done (haha) but we truly enjoyed his company as well. I'd like to take this time to thank Dawn for not making too much fun of my obsessive measuring! :)

And now, back to the soup!

Ingredients (makes 11 cups):
1-2 soup bones
1 lb soup meat (chuck roast or stew meat)
1 1/2 cup chopped onions
1 3/4 cup sliced carrots
1 3/4 cup sliced celery
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs parsley
2 T salt
1/8 tsp pepper
9 cups water
1-2 16-oz canned tomatoes (basil & garlic flavor)
1 cup uncooked pearled barley
3 T chopped parsley
3 cloves garlic (more if you like)
beef bouillon

I multiplied the recipe by FIVE for the soup swap. Don't try this at home...(unless you're feeding a crowd or have a ton of freezer space, haha!)

Cut meat into cubes.

Kiss the helper.....

then slice the carrots, celery, and onions.

Go crazy with the garlic if you like, and set it aside for later. In a heavy 4-6 qt. pot, put the bones, meat, onions, 1 cup of the carrots, parsley sprigs, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and water.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer about 2.5 hours. Skim yucky stuff off the top.

Remove bones and return meat from bones to soup. Add remaining carrots and celery, tomatoes, garlic and barley (I rinsed the barley and checked for scary things in it first.) You may also want to add some beef bouillon at this point. Partly cover, and cook 45 minutes to an hour, til vegetables and barley are tender. Just before serving, stir in chopped parsley. Makes 11 cups.

I'll be honest and tell you that as I type this, the soup is still in the cooking stage, so I won't be able to post a pic of the results until tomorrow. What?! It's 12:21am--cut me a little slack, will ya?! [Update: It turned out wonderfully as the pic I added added to the top of this post! :)]

P.S. I also want to thank my friend and colleague, Sarah, for giving me the beautiful apron for Christmas. As I said, every good soup is made with TLC, and with Dawn's, Mr.4444's, and Sarah's help, this one is sure to be a winner!

P.P.S. Dawn "forgot" her Chinese food leftovers! I'm pretty sure she did it on purpose; something tells me she'll be stopping by on Saturday for a taste of the soup! :)

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad w Black Beans & Chili-Lime Dressing

2009-12-13T19:09:00.020-06:00

Apologies to whoever I got this recipe from! I tried to find you via Google but came up empty. Regardless, it's all over the Internet, which tells everyone it's good! [Update: Thanks, Blogging Under the Influence!!!]

I don't know how anyone could get tired of eating sweet potatoes or potato salad, but let's just say you are. In that case, this is a delightfully-different spin on potato salad and on sweet potatoes in general. First of all, it's a mixture of textures and flavors not usually associated with sweet potatoes (kind of like my yummy Berry Mallow Bake that way.) Also, it's served warm or room temperature, which I absolutely loved (since you know Mr.4444 rarely brings the meat in from the grill at the time he originally planned!) Let's get started!

Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes (I used two of the ginormous ones pictured), cut into 1" chunks
1 large red onion, chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
salt and freshly-ground pepper
*1-2 tablespoons minced, fresh, hot chili (such as jalapeno)
1 clove garlic, peeled
juice of two limes
2 cups cooked black beans (canned are fine), drained
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely-diced
*1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

*Before I begin, I must confess that I am missing two ingredients from my version (too lazy to run back out to the store for cilantro and a jalapeno. Even without those, it was delicious.

Instructions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Chop the sweet potatoes and onions like this...

Put them in a large bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil. (Knowing what I know now, I might put a little less oil in this stage next time; when I cooked the potatoes, they were so wet, they were fully cooked before having the chance to brown.)

Toss to coat...
...and spread out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with sale and pepper.

Put them in the oven and roast, turning occasionally, until potatoes begin to brown on the corners and are just tender inside, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and keep on pan until ready to mix with dressing.

While the potatoes and onions are filling your kitchen with the scent of heaven, prepare the dressing. Juice the limes...(I like to use a strainer, since that's all I have to keep the seeds out of the juice, but I just asked Santa for a juicer thingy, so hopefully, I've behaved myself enough this year.)

Put chilies in a blender or mini food-processor along with garlic, lime juice, the remaining olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Process until blended, making sure not to do this....

Just look at that golden goodness:

Drain the beans.
Don't forget to watch the potatoes. Mine looked like this when they came out:

Put warm vegetables in a large bowl with the beans and bell pepper. Toss with dressing and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate up to a day.

Serves 4-6

Isn't it pretty?

The final product, as my mom would say, "Looks good enough to eat!"

And eat we did! Here are the verdicts:

*Mr.4444 and I loved this dish and had two helpings each.
*Kyle (age 17) had one serving and said it was "good."
*Kendall (age 14) could not get past the onions and the fact that I made her try it without actually looking at it first. (Sorry, Kendall.)

Sweet and Salty Pumpkin Seeds

2009-10-31T23:53:00.002-05:00

Kendall talked me into carving a pumpkin today. Isn't he cute?

She likes carving pumpkins because she loves to stick her hand in the goo. Here she is, modeling pumpkin guts for you....

I enjoy pumpkin carving, especially since I found this recipe for a different kind of pumpkin seed seasoning. It's sweet and salty goodness at its best!

Ingredients:

seeds from one medium pumpkin (about a cup and a half)

5 T sugar, divided
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin (I insist on using seeds and grinding them myself; it's just better that way!)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp coarse salt (Kosher salt)
1 pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste (I used pepper flakes and ground them, too.)
1 1/2 T peanut oil

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread seeds on the parchment paper, evenly. Bake until dry, stirring occasionally; about one hour (though mine only took 45 minutes this time; maybe it was the parchment?) Cool. (I poured them onto a clean, cool cookie sheet and set them on the deck for five minutes.

Set two tablespoons of the sugar aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of the sugar, plus the salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne; set aside.

Heat peanut oil in a medium, non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the baked pumpkin seeds and the rest of the sugar.

Stir, cooking until the sugar melts and the seeds begin to caramelize (I cooked mine until the seed started whistling!), about a minute. Transfer to bowl with spices and stir well to coat.

Cool.

These may be stored in an airtight container for up to one week (if they last that long!)

Pizza Casserole

2009-10-13T18:21:00.019-05:00

Ever since I got a taste of my friend Pam's delicious Pizza Casserole last weekend at the Homecoming dinner at her house, I've been wanting to make it for dinner. So, even though I had 49 other things to do tonight, I happily put my needs aside and sacrificed for my loving family.

Note: Try to make this on a night everyone has other commitments so that you can have most of it for yourself. (Also, there will be fewer people around to watch you sneaking pepperoni.)

Ingredients:12-oz. egg noodles (I used only part of the bag pictured)
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion
1 green pepper
1 8-oz pkg pepperoni
fresh mushrooms
pizza sauce
Campbell's cheddar cheese soup

First, put water on to boil for the noodles. If you have a 10-year-old Calphalon pot like mine, try not to grumble too loudly about the finish coming off. (I've already had it replaced once, and I'm too lazy to send it in again.)

Dice the green pepper and one small onion (or half of a large one)

The recipe actually called for canned mushrooms, but to me, that's like sprinkling mystery parmesan cheese from a can, instead of grating the real deal, so I decided to throw caution to the wind (I'm not an adventurous cook) and used fresh.

Brown the ground beef, along with the green pepper and onion. (Why, no, I'm not worried about heart disease. I may die, but I'll die happy.)

Add the pizza sauce and cheddar cheese soup,

and stir....
Simmer for about ten minutes (I added the mushrooms during this time.)

Remove from heat and stir in the pepperoni ~~minus the 25 you ate while cooking.~~

Add the pasta. I made the whole 16 oz. bag and reserved about 1/4 of it for Kendall (who had the swine flu and wasn't interested in real food.)

Mix and place in greased casserole dish. I poured it into two dishes, so that I could freeze one.

At this point, remember the frozen block of mozzarella in your freezer. And if you have the patience of a first grader with severe ADHD and no meds when it comes to cooking, go ahead and try to grate it anyway. (It takes longer than thawing it first, but it it's a nice challenge.)

At this point, I want to show you the level of sacrifice I am willing to make for my family (yes, I really am a pacesetter when it comes to putting one's family first.) Just look at the cheese-grating injury I sustained in order to tend to my family's well-being...

It was worth it.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (covered.) Remove cover and bake another ten minutes. (This also freezes very well.) Doesn't this look delicious?! Trust me; it is!!! [Of course, I only needed 30 minutes because it was already hot. Adjust heating times as needed.]

Now, I kid when I say I'm very dedicated to my family. If that were true, I'd have a tomato for this salad and some fresh, toasty garlic bread to accompany this meal, right?

My poor family had to tough it out...

...but I didn't hear any complaints.

Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves

2009-07-09T22:20:00.022-05:00

Creepy, of Tiptoeing Through the Tulips sent me to Rachel, at A Southern Fairytale, for this easy-yet-wonderful recipe for miniature Mexican meatloaves. They were a big hit at our house tonight. A fun way to serve meatloaf, these are sure to please adults and kids alike. (Kendall even liked hers a lot, in spite of the fact that there were onions in it!)

This recipe is so easy, I'll bet I can record it all here from memory, without even looking at the recipe. (Yeah, yeah, I'll need the pics, but I never said I was Carnack the Great!)

Ingredients:1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion (more, if you like)
12 saltine crackers
1 egg
1 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese (divided)
1 cup salsa

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.
Mix the ground beef and onion...
crackers... (Who knew crackers could look so artistic?!)
and egg...Stir it up well. Then add 1 cup of the cheese and 1/2 cup of the salsa. I like ChiChi's, obviously, but you can be a rebel and use what you like.)
Mix well...
Now, if you know me well, you know that I'd sooner scoop my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon than touch raw hamburger, so I put a sandwich bag on my hand before dividing the mixture into the twelve "cups."
Next, use a teaspoon to make a little "well" in the center of each loaf.
Place on foil-lined baking sheet, but don't use this kind, because I HATE it! (I always forget that it's too wide for my oven until right as I'm trying to shove it in there!)
Rachel recommends just letting it "sit" for a while, to let the flavors meld. You could certainly put it in the fridge for a few hours, or you could leave it on the counter and take care of this...
And this....
And then remember how much you love this stuff and need to add it to your grocery list...(Seriously, I have never given two hoots about the scent of my dishwashing liquid, until I smelled Dawn botanicals Honeysuckle and Rain scent.)

Then, have a brainstorm about a future blog post about "Favorite Things."

Okay, when you're ready, pop them in the oven and bake "20-22" minutes. Rachel's oven only took 18 minutes. Mine took 22. (I used a meat thermometer to make sure they were at least 180 degrees, since I was making them for the first time and didn't want any trips to the ER for ecoli poisoning.)

Then, take them out, top with remaining salsa and cheese, and return to the oven for three minutes.
The recipe makes 12, but I ate three before I remembered to take this photo!
These would be great for individual meals in the freezer (if they last that long!) Everyone loved them!

Visit A Southern Fairytale for many, many other terrific recipes!

Theresa's Beans

2009-07-05T22:35:00.005-05:00

I'm certain that my SIL, Theresa, is an excellent cook (my brother looks healthy, and we've shared a few recipes), but I never get to taste many of her other dishes, because this one is always requested at family gatherings. Super easy, and very delicious!

Ingredients:1/2 lb. bacon (there's no getting around this one--so yummy!)
1 lb ground beef (or for you health nuts, I suppose you could use something less fattening)
1/2 to 1 whole onion, chopped
1 cup Ketchup (or Catsup for you Yoopers out there)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp vinegar
3 cans (15-20 oz) baked beans (I just use whatever kinds I have on-hand)

First, cook the bacon and chop it into pieces.Reserve the grease if you have no regard for your health, and saute the onions in that next. Today, I just cooked the ground beef and onions together and left out the bacon grease. (Not because I felt like being "healthier," but simply because I forgot! Besides, beef grease or bacon grease-either way, you're gonna die of heart disease, right?)Add the ketchup, brown sugar, mustand, and vinegar to the drained ground beef and onions. Mix and simmer 15 minutes. I accidentally skipped this step today, and it turned out delicious anyway, but next time, I'll probably follow directions! (And yes, I was spacey today. What else is new?)

Add the beans and bacon. Mix and bake in 350-degree oven 45 minutes (covered) or cook in a crock pot for about 4 hours.I'm sorry I do not have a photo of our delicious meal of chicken, corn-on-the-cob, pistachio salad, Theresa's beans from dinner tonight, but we honestly ate every single bit of them, and I had nothing to take a photo of when it was all said and done and I remembered. That should be proof enough for you that making these beans will make you popular (but you might never be able to bring anything else to a family gathering, so beware!)

Company Egg Bake

2009-06-30T21:58:00.001-05:00

Grandma 4444 is a great cook, and she's always generous with her recipes. (For proof, check out Best Ever Pasties and her Cherry Torte!) Today's recipe is a big breakfast hit when company comes. You put it together the night before and just bake it in the morning. Perfect for tailgate breakfasts, Sunday brunch, or the morning after the Halloween party, when the house is full of bleary-eyed, nauseous drunkards with headaches. It's easy peasy, too...

Ingredients (mostly stuff people often have on-hand)6 slices of bread
6-8 slices of Kraft American Singles
ham or sausage or bacon (cooked)
1/2 of a green pepper, diced
1/4 onion, diced (or more, if you like onion breath)
mushrooms, if you are not a big baby and can handle them
1 dozen eggs
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

First, butter your 9 x 13 pan.
And no, that's not "dirt" on the pan. It's stonewear; the "dirtier" it is, the more "seasoned" the pan is, and a seasoned pan is a wonderful thing :) Next, remove the crusts from the bread...
Tear it up into pieces and place them in the pan, like so...
Unwrap the cheese slices. For some reason, these gave me a hard time tonight; each little flap tore off, rather than working with me to get the cheese out neatly. On the bright side, that was the most difficult part of this recipe--(See, I told you it's easy-peasy.)
Place cheese slices across the bread.
Top with your ham or other meat. I used 1/2 of the package this time.
Next, clean your mushrooms. Remember, you clean mushrooms with a towel, not by running them under the sink until they are slimey!!
Dice your onion and green pepper, too, and then sprinkle them over the meat.
Pretty as a picture, huh? (Of course, if you are serving picky eaters, you may leave any of these ingredients out.)
Crack the dozen eggs and add salt and pepper "to taste." For you newbie cooks out there, that means you have to guess. This is how much pepper I used. I also added about 1/4 tsp of salt (you can always salt your portion again later.)Add the milk to the eggs and whisk them til they're nice and frothy.
Pour the egg mixture over the yum in the pan.
Cover and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning, remove the cover and place in the oven set at 250 degrees for 45 minutes. Raise the heat to 350 degrees and bake another 15 minutes.

Serve with salsa, if you like (and a side of Ibuprofen, if necessary).

Festive Tossed Salad

2009-06-27T22:34:00.008-05:00

Got so many requests for the recipe for this salad I made Mom's 80th birthday party that I thought I should put it up here. It's always a big hit. I didn't have time to take the blow-by-blow shots, but I've got the recipe and a few pics here for you....

Ingredients:10 cups Romaine lettuce, torn
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2-3 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 Braeburn apple, cored and cubed
1 pear, cored and cubed
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 to 1 cup cashews
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

In a blender, blend sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, onion, and salt until well-blended. Gradually add oil while continuing to blend on low. Then, add the poppy seeds and blend a little more. Pour into dressing container.

Prepare lettuce. Just before serving the salad, mix lettuce with dressing and place in a BIG bowl. Top with apples, pears, cranberries, cheese, and cashews (I like to leave it all on top and let people dig in from there (because it is so pretty!)

Enjoy!

Taco Pie

2009-06-13T10:01:00.023-05:00

Ever since she had Taco Pie at a friend's house, Kendall has been asking me to make if for supper. I'm very glad she kept badgering me, because it was delicious and easy. If you've ever made tacos, you can easily make Taco Pie. (Seriously, a monkey could do it.) Here's how....

Ingredients:1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup water
1 pkg. taco seasoning (we like Ortega)
1 pkg. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 1/2 cup Fritos Corn Chips, broken up
8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz. sour cream
Lettuce and tomatoes for serving

First, prepare the meat per package directions (that's what the water is for).

While the meet is cooking, open the crescent rolls and arrange them like this in a pie pan...
Use your fingers to spread the pieces until you have formed a hole-free crust.
Next, take a tomato and place it in the middle of the crust.
Only kidding! (I was in a silly mood.) Take 3/4 of the Fritos and sprinkle them over the crust.
Top with the taco meat...
Then, the sour cream...
And the cheese....
Finally, top with the remaining Fritos...
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. (I baked mine an extra five because you have to add time when baking with stoneware.)

Meanwhile, prepare the sides (the sour cream turned out to be unnecessary, but it's in the pic, so you'll just have to suck it up, sorry.)
Forgot to take pics of the finished product until it was half gone!
Voila!
Sorry about some of the blurry photos; I don't know what I did wrong. Fortunately, I did everything else right; this was a big hit!

Black Bean Watchamahoosit

2009-05-18T00:00:00.004-05:00

I always know it's summer (or close enough) when I start getting a craving for BBW. I'm sorry, but I don't have the perfect name for it, because if I call it Black Bean Salsa, you'll probably limit yourself to thinking it's just a party dip. However, BBW is much more than that! It lasts for days in the fridge, and although you can eat it on chips, you can also eat in a pita for lunch or even serve it over scrambled eggs. Warmed up and mixed with some leftover chicken or turkey, it's delicious in fajitas, too. If you think it needs freshening up, squeeze another lime in or add a fresh avocado. This recipe is very versatile.

First, assemble your ingredients:
1 30-oz can of black beans, drained
1 15 oz can chic peas (garbanzo beans)
1/2 bag of frozen corn, thawed
1/2 (or less) chopped red onion
1 bunch of scallions (green onions)
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1 small can chopped green chilies
salt and pepper to taste
2 T whole coriander seeds
2 T whole cumin seeds
1 lemon
1 lime
1 16oz jar of your favorite Picante sauce/salsa
2 avocados (optional, but what fool wouldn't? JK)
soy beans (edamame, also optional, but don't be afraid; they have a very mild flavor, add gorgeous color, and are good for you)

By the way, for some reason, my store only carries this brand of edamame:Just so you know, I'm not all about organic stuff, but I do like me some edamame, so I suck it up and buy organic. I use the whole bag, but you could use 1/2.

First, set the corn and edamame out to thaw. You may also just run a little warm water over them to have a quicker effect. Drain the beans and garbanzo beans, too, but don't rinse them.
While those are thawing, you may chop your red onion...
and the green onion...(I only used the amount pictured and discarded the rest.)
Cilantro has stems, so you'll need to strip the leaves off before chopping...
Throw everything as you go into a large bowl. Here's how it's coming along...nice. Mr.4444 came into the kitchen at this time, and said, "Wow, what is that herb that smells so good?" (It was the cilantro, of course.)
Add the green chilis...
How's that for colorful?
As always, I wash all of my produce with Veggie Wash before preparing it. I just get grossed out by the thought of them being picked by hands that probably don't have access to a public restroom. (I'm just sayin') So, yes, I did wash the lemon and the lime before slicing them in half. I also let them sit in some hot water for a bit before that, so that when I squeezed them, the juice wouldn't stubbornly cling to the insides.
If you have any pent-up anxiety, this is a great opportunity to release it; squeeze the lemon and lime as hard as you can (into a strainer, so the seeds don't end up in the food and break someone's tooth.) Again, you'll get more juice if you warm them up a little first. (Sometimes, I microwave them for about 30 seconds.)
See this little doohickey? It's from Pampered Chef, and if you asked me, "If your house were burning down and you could only take one kitchen utensil, what would it be?" I would choose this thingy.
It's fantastic for taking tops off of strawberries and tomatoes, as well as funky spots off of any fruit or vegetable. In this case, I love it for scooping out the "pith" of the fruit. You can see it there, below, on top of the black beans; it's the meaty part of the fruit (but not the tough, chewy stuff; just the good stuff. The recipe calls for just the lemon pith, but I take it from both. Pour the lemon/lime juice into the bowl...
Add freshly-ground pepper and salt to taste. Then prepare the coriander and cumin. When I got this recipe from my friend, Julie, she said that I needed to invest in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, because already-ground spices are just a sacrilege. She's right; there is nothing like the wonderful aromas of freshly-ground seasonings, so buy them like this...And yes, this is way more than you need for this recipe, but guess what? They are the primary seasonings needed for this delicious grilled salmon recipe, so quit yer whining; you'll use it up in no time! Use this (mortar and pestle)or this (spice grinder)to grind them up.

Now, contrary to what you might think, this is not sawdust sprinkled over the BBWIt's what it looks like when you grind up all the lovely coriander and cumin over the bowl, taking time to put on your wrist brace first (it's a workout, let me tell you, but so worth it!). Then, add the Pace Picante Sauce. Oops. Just realized I used Pace Chunky Salsa. Guess what? I don't know the difference between the two, and I don't think it matters, because I've made it both ways before and survived.
Here you go...now mix it all up. Don't worry about food mixing together; as my mom says, "If you think that's gross, you should see it when it's in your stomach!"
How's that for beautiful? I usually like to leave the avocado out until just before serving, though I have also put it in right away; it's not going to hurt anything.

BBW can look a little scary to the vegiphobe, so serve it in a pretty dish with a little cilantro garnish. Once you get them to try it, they'll be hooked. And if they're foolish enough to pass, you can smile and take it home, cuz you know that just means more for you!

P.S. BTW, if you have my cookbook, this recipe can be found on page 52.

Beer Dip

2009-05-17T12:12:00.010-05:00

An often-requested dip around here is made with Weaselmomma's favorite ingredient: beer. I know she's a Coors fan, but I usually just use whatever random beer I find in the fridge when I make it. This time, I had my choice of three (since we've had company lately, and everyone has different taste, I guess.)

I make this dip whenever Kyle has a gang of kids over, which he did last night. It's SIMPLE to make, has ingredients usually found in most kitchens, and never lasts long.

Ingredients:
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dip
2 pkgs cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup (1/3 of a can) of beer
pretzels for serving
Now, if you haven't taken the time to soften the cream cheese, just throw it in the microwave to soften it (I usually do 15 seconds per package).

Then, throw everything in your mixer like so:Now Weaselmomma, just because you like beer does not mean that "a little extra" beer will make this recipe even better. It does not; it just makes it soupy and upsets the balance of flavors. Since you have to open a can of beer and only use 1/3 of it, there's plenty extra to suck down to satisfy your cravings; leave the dip recipe alone.

Back to the mixing...Be careful not to turn it to the "Fling" setting right away, or your cupboards will be immediately spackled with whitish, wet muck. Start out slowly, and mix until blended well.Put in a 2-3 cup bowl and serve with pretzels. It's that simple.

Paula Deen's Red Potato Salad with Bacon

2009-05-10T20:37:00.023-05:00

My good friend, Dawn, was kind enough to get me a subscription to The Food Network magazine. (Thanks, Dawn!!) This month's issue has a "He-Made, She-Made" potato salad cook off between Paula Deen and Aaron McCargo, Jr, and both recipes looked so good that I decided to make them (though not in the same weekend.) Mother's Day seemed like a great day to try a new recipe. I chose Paula's Red Potato Salad with Bacon to make today, and I'm glad, because it was delicious. Here's the play-by-play:

Before I begin, I have to explain the first photo, which I took when my camera was set on Macro. For the record, I don't know macro from macaroni, so when it turned out terribly, I decided to go to Picnik (my favorite phot0-editing website) and just do something fun with it, so here it is.Ingredients:
6 cups cubed red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled (about 1 and 3/4 lbs)
2-3 strips of bacon
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup chopped sweet pepper (any color or combination)
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 sliced scallions
1 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoons mayo (Paula might die, but I used Miracle Whip)
3/4 teaspoon salt x 2

First, clean your potatoes. Again, I love Veggie Wash for this (and they are not paying me to say that!)Place the potatoes in a large pot, and cover them with water.Add 3/4 tsp sea saltand bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until tender, 8-12 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon (or just take it out of the box, like I did. Don't you love precooked bacon?!) After the bacon is cooked and no longer dripping with grease, cut it up.Clean and cut up the rest of the veggies...(BTW, I only used part of these peppers; Mr.4444 grilled up the remaining parts for supper--yummmm.) Isn't that picture gorgeous? I even looks misleadingly like my kitchen sink is immaculate! Believe me (and anyone who has ever been to my house), my kitchen sink is never immaculate.)

Here's another pic, which pretty much sums up the remaining ingredients (besides the potatoes, of course) in a neat little package:In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, mayonnaise, 3/4 tsp of salt, and pepper.Cut up the potatoes and add with other veggies to a large bowl. Pour previous whisked mixture over veggies, and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate or serve at room temperature.We ate when it was room temperature, and it was terrific; the dijon mustard and red wine vinegar made this a unique potato salad, but one that everyone liked. Now to put it up against Aaron's Classic Potato Salad. (I'll keep you posted!)

Caramel Popcorn

2009-04-20T21:52:00.028-05:00

This recipe comes to you courtesy of my sweet friend, Kandee. It's a variation on my mom's, which I fondly refer to in this post.First, pop your popcorn. I just cover the bottom of a heavy pan with oil (vegetable is fine) and add two kernels. Then, cover the pot, turn the heat to high, and listen for a pop.

[I'll interject here to say that I once forgot about the popcorn at this stage and nearly burned the house down. Did I tell you Mr.4444 does a lot of the cooking around here? There is a reason for that.]

(I'm also interjecting to say that I'm using Calphalon cookware here, folks. We had the same set for about 10 years before we read our guarantee and had it replaced for free. Looks like we're back where we started and need another replacement. Hopefully, someone at Calphalon will read this post and have mercy on us. We do love the cookware, if not the way it looks.)

Once you hear the pop, lift the lid carefully and pour in popcorn to generously cover the bottom. Then put the lid back on quickly and wait for it to start exploding. When it starts, reduce the heat to here, and keep the pan moving until you only hear occasional pops. Pour into a large bowl. (Note: Unless you like very expensive dental work, you might want to take this time to remove any unpopped kernels that you happen to find in your popcorn. You'll probably see them later, but it's easier to get rid of them now.)

Here are the ingredients for this recipe:
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda (set this aside)

Melt the butter....
Add the brown sugar...the corn syrup...And the salt...Set the baking soda to the side for now.Okay, I can't lie. There were lumps in my brown sugar, so at this point, I whipped out the handy-dandy potato masher. Voila!Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring frequently.Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil, stirring frequently, for about five minutes. You could use a candy thermometer to turn it off at the "firm ball" stage, but I do it the old fashioned way....

Fill a small cup with COLD water. Dribble about a teaspoon's worth of caramel into the bowl. With your finger, see if you can gather it up. If you can't, then keep cooking, and try again in a few minutes. If you can, see if you can pick up the little mass and tap it on the side of the bowl. If you cook it too long, it will crack too hard (and you can still make the caramel corn, but you will be seriously risking your tooth enamel.)

When it can be tapped against the cup/bowl, remove the caramel mixture from the heat and add that baking soda you set side earlier. Mix well. (It will foam up.)Pour about half of the mixture over your popped corn, and stir, adding more after it's mixed, until it's covered fairly well. Pour into a large pan. (I did not grease this non-stick pan, but you might need to, depending on what you use.)See this little bugger? That right there is a dentist's dream. Get rid of any kernels that failed to pop. You'll get one more chance to do so, but it's best to get them when you see them right away.

Place in an oven preheated to 250 and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Stir. Repeat. Stir. Repeat. (45 minutes total) Dump the popcorn out onto a large piece of foil. Break it up into little pieces. This is your last chance to save on dental bills...give it another once-over (I found five more kernels this time!)You will know you have done this well when children start running into the kitchen saying, "Are you making caramel corn?! I LOVE YOU!!!" (especially if you don't have any children!)

After it's cool, put it into baggies or other containers. We each packed some up to take to school tomorrow....

....Because my kids don't want me to hand-deliver it! I wonder why????? [Insert haunting cackle here.]

P.S. Confused? Read Another Sweet Memory at Half-Past Kissin' Time.

"Party Cheese Terrine"

2009-04-13T00:00:00.003-05:00

Do you have any idea what a terrine is? Neither did I, and I'm still not sure what a terrine has to do with this recipe, from my co-worker, Laura. It's a dip that you layer in the container and then flip onto a plate to serve. It called for a special "cheese server" container that Tupperware no longer sells (apparently) so I had to be creative. When I Googled "terinne," I came up with some fancy ceramic containers and terms like "pate" and "duck foie gras." Don't let that scare you; I didn't think the dip would know the difference, so I decided to use two to-go containers that I happened to have, and my dip tasted every bit as good (and better) than some shee-shee-froo-froo fancy-schmancy restaurant fare. In fact, be careful, because this dip is so good, you will have a hard time pulling yourself away from it.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups snipped parsley (get rid of the stems)
3 pkgs. cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 1/2 pkgs Buddig ham, chopped small
1 tsp prepared mustard
1 2-oz jar chopped pimiento, drained
Optional garnish: cucumber or water chestnut slices
Assorted crackers to serve with the dip

First, lube up the container you're going to layer the dip in with vegetable oil. Mix the pecans and 3 tablespoons of the parsley; sprinkle evenly into the bottom of the container.
Beat the softened cream cheese, butter, and milk until creamy.
Take 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture and spoon it onto the mixture in the pan. Carefully spread it around with a knife. (It will slide around a bit, but don't worry about it.) Next, chop the green onions. (For years now, I've been a big fan of Veggie Wash, so I always clean them first. In fact, I wouldn't think of eating a single veggie or fruit without having cleaned it with Veggie Wash first.)
This is my favorite pic of the bunch, so I'm making it bigger. Isn't it pretty?Mix the onions with the remaining parsley
and add 1/2 of the remaining cream cheese mixture to the bowl and mix it up.
Plop this over the first layer (and spread it.)
Next, prepare the ham. I suppose you could use Buddig beef, too, but this being Easter, I chose the ham (Just kidding, Silly! I was just following the recipe.) The package is a 2-oz size, so you'll need a total of 5 ounces.
Chop it up small...
Mix the ham, drained pimiento, and mustard.
Stir and spread this mixture over the 2nd layer.
Here's how much this recipe made (the smaller container is a Ziplock sandwich-sized container.) If you're the fancy type, feel free to put it into your terrine :)
Now, here's where I read the directions that read "Cover and chill overnight,"(about three hours before we had to leave for the party at my brother's house.) Guess what? I broke the rules; I chilled it in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then put it in the fridge for 2.5 more hours. (No one was the wiser!)

Shortly before you need to serve the dip, invert the container onto a plate and cover with a hot, damp cloth to help the dip slide out of the container. If you're in the mood to channel Martha, garnish the dip with a few slices of cucumber or water chestnuts. Isn't it pretty?! Serve with crackers (or eat it with a spoon--Just kidding!!)

*Note: This recipe is copyrighted by Meredith Corporation and Dart Industries.

Chicken Spaghetti

2009-02-26T17:44:00.016-06:00

My nephew, Nathan, and his wonderful wife, Jen, have each lost a ton of weight over the past couple of years. Something tells me it had nothing to do with her Chicken Spaghetti recipe, which I made tonight for the first time. This recipe is loaded with all things calorie and delicious, but it's more than worth the ~~weight~~ wait, heehee.

Ingredients:

6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 lb thin spaghetti
1 stick butter
1 cup onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
6 oz. jar diced pimento
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can evaporated milk
2 tsp mustard
1 tbls Worcestershire sauce
4 drops Tabasco sauce
1/2 lb grated Velveeta
1 cup sour cream

Optional Topping: Bread, cracker, or corn flake crumbs mixed with some melted butter.
Oops. Forgot something for the photo (and OOPS--the pimento, too! It was in my car.)...Boil seasoned chicken until tender, reserving broth. Shred cooled chicken. While the chicken is cooking, saute onions, celery, pimento, and garlic in butter until soft. Cook spaghetti in chicken broth (add water if you need to.) Drain, reserving broth (yes, again.) Mix all of the above, except sour cream and Velveeta. Add some broth if it seems too dry.

Place in a large baking dish or pan.

Did you know you can grate Velveeta? (I thought it would be too mushy, but it was fine. It reminded me of the good old days, when we ate Cheese Whiz straight out of the can.)Mix grated Velveeta and sour cream, and then spread it over the spaghetti mixture. (Top with optional crumb mixture, if desired.)Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly hot. (Freezes well, prior to cooking, if you want to split it in half for a rainy day :) Feeds a crowd!

Spice-Crusted Salmon with Lime-Orange Salsa

2009-02-26T09:44:00.002-06:00

[Orginally posted last summer at Half-Past Kissin' Time. Just had to offer it up again, as it is fantastic and a know a lot of people eat fish this time of year (Lent).]

Because I have always been a big fan of butter (I have always been a "dunker") and have been trying to cut back, I feared I would never get to enjoy salmon anymore. Now that I have this recipe, I can eat a whole piece of salmon without a drop of butter and enjoy it! Everyone who tries it loves it. We found the amount of spice mixture to be just right for two large fillets; you may need to double it. (Don't double the salsa ingredients, though, as it makes plenty.)

Spice Mixture:
1/2 T black peppercorns
2 T whole coriander
1 T whole cumin
1 tsp kosher salt

Salsa Ingredients:
4 oranges
1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 C fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp slat
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T minced Chipoltle pepper
1/2 red onion, chopped

1 lb salmon fillets

Salsa: With a sharp knife, remove skin and white pitch from oranges. Working over a medium-sized blow to catch the juice, cut the orange segments from their surrounding membrane, letting segments fall into the bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Salsa can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to eight hours. It does take about 30 minutes to do this. If you don't have the patience, buy your favorite fruit salsa separately, or just prepare the salmon without it; it's delicious with or without.

Spice Mixture: Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add coriander and cumin; toast, stirring constantly, until aromatic, 2-3 minutes. Let cool, and transfer to a spice mill or mortar and pestle (see, you do have a use for one of those!) Add peppercorns to the mill, and coarsely grind all of the spices. Stir in salt. [Now, some will say this process is unnecessary. I strongly disagree. The heating and grinding awakens the flavors, unlike that bottle of ground stuff that's been in your pantry since you got married. Trust me.]

Prepare the grill or heat broiler. Coat the pink side of the salmon with the spice mixture (Hubby likes to give them a light spray of olive oil first.) Grill or broil on a lightly oiled rack until the salmon is opaque in the center (about 5 minutes per side). Serve with the salsa and your favorite side.

And don't forget to come back and tell me how much you loved it!

Aunt Bette's 5-Hour Oven Stew

2009-02-17T20:00:00.005-06:00

When you smell the aroma of this stew cooking, you will feel like a superstar cook; seriously. It's fantastic. It's also easy. Aunt Bette's stew obviously takes five hours to cook, so you do have to plan ahead, but it's simple to prep and takes care of itself once you put it in the oven.

Ingredients:3 potatoes
2 sweet potatoes (our addition)
3 celery stalks
6 medium carrots*
green beans**
3 lb. chuck roast
1 T sugar
salt and pepper to taste (we like kosher salt)
4 T quick-cooking tapioca (baking aisle)

1 large can of tomato juice
1 French bread loaf (for at the meal)
*I know, I know; there's only one in the photo (Mr.4444 was running to the store for me when I took the photo.)
**Recipe calls for canned, but we wouldn't dream of it!)

We used this pan, which is 12" x 18" and about 3 inches deep. A Dutch oven would be fine, too, but we added even more beef that I told you about, and it made a huge amount that would not have fit in our Dutch oven.
First, wash and rinse the veggies. (I love Veggie Wash.)
Cut the celery into 1-inch chunks like this:
Peel the potatoes, but put them in water until they are all peeled, or they will turn icky colors while they wait.)
Slice the onion like this...
Make the bacon. Bacon?! What bacon? Why, the bacon you like to use as a weekend morning alarm clock for your teenage son! (Always the multi-tasker, I am!)In case you were wondering how much snow we still have, I took the next photo on the deck. Put the sugar, tapioca (which looks a lot like sugar), salt and pepper in the same bowl, mixed.
Cut the fat off the meat and put it in a huge bowl with the veggies as you prep; it's easier to mix everything and then put it in your pan.
Cut the carrots like so...
And the potatoes/sweet potatoes, in eighths...
Here's proof that Mr.4444 has nice jeans, too! (And a nice butt, of course.)
Sprinkle half of the seasonings over the top of what you have so far. (You will not have this much meat, unless you are really into beef, like we are.)
Give it a good stir, sprinkling the rest of the seasonings and tapioca to get it all spread throughout.
Dump it into your pan and pour tomato juice over all, just until barely covered (though it's not even necessary, according to my friend Jennie, so don't worry if you don't have enough :) Bake (covered) for five hours at 250 degrees. When you smell it cooking, that means it's just about done. Only then can you afford to check a potato.

Looks good enough to eat, doesn't it?! For instructions in how to eat this stew like a pro, click over to Half-Past Kissin' Time's Beef: It's What's for Dinner.

Taco Soup

2009-02-15T16:53:00.008-06:00

Wondering if all of our meals here are the 4444 household are fancy? Here's evidence that they are not. This is the easiest recipe ever, and as Jen (Cheaper Than Therapy) can attest, it's delicious and very family friendly. This meal took five minutes to throw together (I'm not kidding; I watched the clock.) Soooo simple.

Ingredients:1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can whole kernal corn, undrained
1 can black beans, undrained
1 small onion, chopped or diced (I didn't use all of the onion pictured)
1 lb. chicken, cut up (you could easily use a few breasts from last night's dinner; just grill extra)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dip

Garnish (not pictured): Grated cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips

Dump everything in the crockpot.Yup; it's that easy. Cook on low for seven hours (or whenever you feel like turning it off before that; ). Serve with grated cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream. Don't expect any leftovers (feeds four).

Filet of Beef Moutarde Forestiere

2009-02-02T21:30:00.001-06:00

About now, you must think we are all sheeshy-froo-froo in the kitchen, but believe me we are not. Just two nights ago, we had boxed mac-n-cheese and chicken patties for supper, so please don't rush to judgment. I'll warn you, though; between the filets and the expensive cognac, this is not Hamburger Helper, but when you consider what it would have cost to take nine people out for filets, I think it's a bargain. This is a very special meal (read why here), and we have it maybe once every couple of years.

BTW, this one is all Mr.4444. I did make Emeril's potatoes to go with it, and Aunt Amy brought two salads, but other than that, I was just the photographer.

Ingredients:
This recipe has been doubled. (And there are two other packages of mushrooms not in this photo.)

9 6-to-8 oz beef filets, butterflied
2 sticks of butter
tons of mushrooms (or 8 oz. if you're crazy)
1 tsp each of rosemary and sage (we used fresh)
1/2 cup cognac
8 tsps Dijon mustard
8 tsps mild mustard
4 Tbls. sour cream
1/2 tsp regular paprika
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbls parsley, plus more for garnish

Prepare all ingredients before you begin. Mr.4444 always does that, so here they are.Don't forget the paprika. And be sure to strip the leaves of the herbs from the stems before you chop them. Put the cousins on the mushrooms...Grandpa4444 taught me about cleaning mushrooms. Never wash mushrooms, making them all slimey. Instead, wipe them clean, starting at the tops and moving downward. Trim off the icky bottom-of-the-stem part.Heat 3 skillets; one over medium heat (for the mushrooms), two over high. Add a stick of butter to the mushroom pan. When butter is melted and hot, add mushrooms. (As you can see, it's a bit more than the 8 ounces called for in the recipe, cuz we think mushrooms are important!) Saute mushrooms, adding salt and pepper to taste. Watch them (don't allow to burn). See this? It's going to come in handy soon, believe it or not. Don't worry; it's a lighter, Silly! Add remaining butter to hot pans. Get the steaks ready. YUM!! When butter is melted and hot, add steaks. After a few minutes, turn steaks, then sprinkle with crushed rosemary and sage. Mr. 4444 says a good rule of thumb is to cook them about six minutes on one side, and seven on the other (make sure the pan is hot!) And speaking of rules of thumb, here's a pic of Mr.4444 showing his brother how to tell when a steak is done to your taste. With an open hand, press on the soft part of your hand, just below your thumb. That level of "give" you feel is the feel of a medium rare steak. If you close your fist and press on it again, that feeling is the feel of a steak that is medium-well. Use that to gauge how done your steaks are, or in this case, you could also use a thermometer. According to Mr.4444, 140 degrees is medium rare. He took them out at 130 degrees (because he knew they'd be in the oven with the mushrooms for a little while) and put them in the oven on warm, in the mushroom pan, while he prepared the sauce.

Oh, and BTW, because we had two pans of steaks, Mr.4444 scraped all the gunk from one pan into the other before starting the sauce. He said that stuff is what makes it taste so good. (I was skeptical, but this man can cook, so I didn't argue.)Now here's the fun part; the beginning of the sauce prep and the part that brings everyone to the kitchen; flaming the cognac. Pour the cognac into the "dirty," still-very-hot pan, and light it on fire! (This is sure to please all the pyromaniacs in the house.) The burning gets rid of the alcohol but keeps the flavor of the cognac in the pan. Then add both mustards, paprika, cream, and sour cream. Half-way through, stop to clean the glass off the floor.... from one of the bowls flying off the counter. (The parsley here was not necessary, but it didn't hurt. :)Whisk the ingredients together...Mix some mushrooms into the sauce. Grate pepper over steak and salt to taste. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve steaks piping hot, topped with mustard cream sauce (put remaining sauce in a gravy boat on the table). Garnish with more parsley.Grandpa would be proud. :)

Mahogany Broiled Chicken with Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes and Cilantro Chimichurri

2009-01-22T00:00:00.031-06:00

How's that for a title?! My sister Judy recommended this prize-winning recipe from the FoodNetwork. (For the boring, smaller version of this meal, without wildly entertaining commentary or photos, click here.) It won the $100,000 Chicken Challenge. It's wonderful, but not for the conservative palette, as it has an unusual blend of flavors and a little "kick" in the potatoes. For the adventurous, though, (and that includes us!) it's a treat.

First, the Food Network bold-faced lies and says the prep time was 25 minutes. That is total B.S., unless maybe if you've made it 10 times. From the time I started to the time we put it on the table was two hours. That's okay, though, because it was delish, and they weren't lying about it being easy. (I'm just trying to be straight with you. I did re-word the directions to avoid some of the confusion that we had, so it should go much quicker for you. No need to say thanks; just have us over for dinner when you make this.)

We did bake a plain sweet potato for Kendall, but she couldn't rave enough about the chicken. Mr.4444 and I loved it all. [As per Judy's suggestion, we doubled this recipe, and it was a perfect amount for four people.]

Oh, and one more thing: Read all of my directions, all the way to the end, before shopping. Don't be like a certain someone I know and wait until you pull the chicken out of the fridge to realize you need bamboo skewers! :) And this pic only shows part of the chicken (I stole it from Mr.4444 while he was preparing it.)

Chimichurri Sauce Ingredients:
2 cups chopped cilantro leaves (save a few sprigs for garnishing later!)
12 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In a small bowl, mix chopped cilantro, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Here are a few of the play-by-play pics for this step...

Notice the back-seat cook next to me. Don't take him seriously, though. Just look at the jeans this man is wearing. (I threaten to throw them away on a yearly basis. I did hide them once, but they found their way home at some point, obviously.)If at some point, if you realize that you forgot to chop the cilantro.... (probably because of the distracting husband) , throw it all in a little food processor. Doesn't it look beautiful?!Then set it aside and tackle the basting sauce (our favorite part of this dish.)

Basting Sauce Ingredients:
10 tablespoons dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons bottles hoisin sauce (Asian food aisle)
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup lime juice (FYI, you'll need 3 extra teaspoons later)
(And BTW, I used 4-5 limes to get this much lime juice!)

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in 1-inch cubes (Mr.4444 cut ours bigger, just cuz.)

In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, mustard, hoisin sauce and vinegar. Careful...our hoisin sauce was excited to get out of the bottle!BTW, to get the most lime juice from your limes, try nuking them 30 seconds or so before cutting.Reserve 2/3 of this mixture (This will be for basting the chicken later.) To the remainder, add 1 cup lime juice, stir, and pour over chicken as your marinade. Place chicken in refrigerator.

At this point, take a look behind you. Remember Kathy's excellent tip, "Clean as you go?"

Wondering if I follow it? Um...Not so much. (Sorry, Kathy.)

Sweet Potatoes Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch thick pieces
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 teaspoons chopped, canned chipotle pepper
2 teaspoons adobo sauce (from the canned chipotle)
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon lime zest
3 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

(Oh, and that lime zest thing? Don't be like me; remember to zest the limes before you squeeze all the juice out of them!)It's MUCH easier to zest lemons from nice, plump limes!

"Place sweet potatoes in a heavy saucepan and cover with boiling water." Cover with boiling water? What kind of directions are those? We boiled them like normal people. Cook, covered, over medium-high heat, until tender; about 15 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Then drain potatoes in colander. Return potatoes to pot (off-heat) and add the cooking water, butter, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, remaining 3 teaspoons of lime juice, cumin, lime zest, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Mash.

Pretty gorgeous, huh?Let the grillmeister of the house go out in the cold to preheat the broiler (or grill, which was our preference, even in three feet of snow.) No, those are not his bare feet; they're his slippers.Thread chicken on 8 bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes. Broil about 6 inches from heat, basting with reserved mahogany sauce until done, about 8 minutes. To serve, divide potatoes among 4 plates; top each with 2 skewers of chicken and drizzle with cilantro chimichurri sauce. Garnish with cilantro sprigs. As Mom would way, "Looks good enough to eat," doesn't it?!So, although a bit putsy, we found this dish to be absolutely worth it! We think you will, too!