Thursday, January 26, 2012

Creamy No Bake Lemonade Pie

2 (5-oz) cans evaporated milk
2 (3-oz) packages lemon instant pudding mix
2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
2 (3-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (12-oz) can frozen lemonade concentrate, partially thawed
1 ready-made graham cracker crust
Garnishes:  whipped cream, fresh mint sprigs, lemon slices

Whisk together evaporated milk and pudding mix in a bowl 2 minutes or until thickened.
Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add lemonade concentrate, beating until blended; add pudding mixture and beat until blended. 
Pour into crust; freeze 4 hours or until firm.  Garnish, if desired.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Chocolate Chip Coconut "Awesome" Bars

1 cup plus 2 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3/4 cup sugar
4 T. butter, softened
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Topping;
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 T. butter
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1/2 t. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup crisp rice cereal
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 and spray and 8 x 8-inch baking pan with non-stick spray.  Notice the pan size.  I think that I doubled the entire recipe and put it in a 13 x 9-inch pan. 
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, butter, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.  Mix until it just forms a cohesive mass and then add the chocolate chips and stir.  Press this evenly into the prepared pan.  Combine the cream cheese, butter, egg, flour, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth and creamy, then stir in the cereal, coconut and chocolate chips until well mixed. 
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the base and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the topping is golden brown all over and just set at the edges while the center is still just a little wobbly.  Cool and chill for at least two hours.

Home-style Green Bean Casserole

1 1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
2 T. butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 T. ranch dressing mix
2 t. chopped fresh thyme
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 t. butter
1 (8 oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms
Vegetable cooking spray
1 cup French fried onions, crushed
1/2 cup panko crumbs
2 plum tomatoes, chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Cook green beans in boiling water to desire doneness; drain.  Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain.
2.  Melt 2 T. butter and whisk in flour until smooth.  Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in milk, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened.  Remove from heat, and whisk in buttermilk and next 4 ingredients.
3.  Melt 1 t. butter in a skillet and add mushrooms.  Saute 6 to 8 miuntes.  Gently toss mushrooms and green beans in buttermilk sauce.  Place in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. 
4.  Combine French fried onions and next 2 ingredients; spinkle over green bean mixture. 
5.  Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Harvest Salad

1 large butternut squash
2 T. olive oil
2 T. honey
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1 (8oz.) bottle poppy-seed dressing
1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 (8 oz.) packages mixed salad greens
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup lightly salted, roaster pecan halves
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Peel and seed butternut squash; cut into 3/4 inch cubes.  Toss together squash, olive oil, and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; place in a single layer in a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined jelly-roll pan.
2.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until squash is tender and begins to brown, stirring once after 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, and cool in pan 10 minutes.
3.  Pulse poppy-seed dressing and cranberries in a blender 3 to 4 times or until cranberries are coarsely chopped.
4.  Toss together squash, salad greens, and next 3 ingredients in a large serving bowl.  Serve with dressing mixture.

Broccoli Salad

5 cups fresh broccoli florets
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
1/4 cup of red onion, chopped
1 cup of frozen peas, thawed
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup sugar

Mix dressing and add to other ingredients.  Toss and mix well; chill thoroughly before serving.

Praline Pull-Apart Bread

1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
1 (2 lb.) package frozen bread roll dough ( Rhodes White Dinner Rolls)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Stir together sugar and 3 tsp. cinnamon.  Coat each roll in butter and the dredge rolls in sugar mixture.  Arrange in a lightly greased 10-inch tube pan; sprinkle with pecans.  Cover and chill 8 to 18 hours.

Preheat over to 325 degrees.  Beat whipping cream at high speed with mixer until soft peaks form; stir in brown sugar and remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon.  Pour mixture over dough.  Place pan on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. 

Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes; invert onto a serving plate, and drizzle with any remaining glaze in pan.

Had this for Christmas on Kristi's suggestion.  It was yummy.

Fried Confetti Corn

8 bacon slices
6 cups fresh sweet corn or frozen can be used
1 cups diced sweet onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp.  Drain on paper towels, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet.  Coarsely crumble bacon
Saute corn and next 3 ingredients in hot drippings in skillet over medium meat about 6 minutes or until tender.  Add cream cheese and half-and-half, stirring until cream cheese melts.  Stir in sugar and next 2 ingredients.  Transfer to a serving dish, and top with bacon.

Linda's Cheesy Potatoes

2 pound bag of hashbrowns (frozen section)
2 cups cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
 Chopped green onions or half an onion
1 stick butter
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Put everything in crock-pot and cook on high for 4 hours.  Stir about every hour if needed.

Chicken Pot Pie

Store bought pie crust--with top and bottom.  Can make your own.
1 egg
14 1/2 oz. can chicken broth
3 cups of cooked chicken
1 bag 16 oz. mixed vegetables
1 bag of McCormick original country white gravy mix

Saute chicken with a little olive oil or just debone chicken if cooked earlier.  You may also add onions and mushrooms if you are sauteing the chicken.  Mix gravy and broth as directed on gravy package.  In a large bowl, mix gravy, veggies, and chicken together.

Put bottom crust in a pie pan, add chicken mixture and top with other crust.  Whisk egg and brush on top of the pie crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Peppered Chuck Roast

1 12 oz. jar of banana peppers
1/2 juice from banana pepper bottle
1 pkg. Good Season Italian dressing
1 can beef broth
Chuck roast
Provolone cheese
Hogie rolls

Combine all ingredients into a crock pot and slow cook for about 8 hours.  To serve, melt provolone cheese on a hogie bun and add meat.  It will shred when you stir it.  You may also add peppers to the sandwich.

Karyn and Steve love this one.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1  lg can chicken (white meat)             ¼ cup Louisiana Hot Sauce or Frank’s Red
8 oz Spicy Ranch Dressing                             Hot Sauce
12 oz. Cream Cheese                          1 cup grated Cheddar Cheese  

Combine first 4 ingredients.  Pour into a deep dish pie plate.  Top with grated Cheddar.  Bake at 350° for 20 minutes until bubbly.

Serve hot with Fritos, crackers, celery, etc.

Sausage and Cheese Tartlets

1 lb Owens mild ground pork sausage            1 8oz. bottle Ranch Dressing
1 ¼ c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese         1 4oz. can chopped ripe olives, drained
1 ¼ c. shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese          1 tsp. ground red pepper
5 2oz. pkgs. Mini phyllo shells (sometimes    in the frozen food section)

Cook sausage in a large skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain on paper towels.  Combine sausage and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl.  Fill each shell with a heaping teaspoonful of sausage mixture and place on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese melts.  Serve warm.  Makes about 6 dozen.

Note:  To save time, you can fill and freeze unbaked tartlets in their original tray and slide into a Ziploc bag.  When ready to bake, transfer to ungreased baking sheets and add 2 to 3 minutes to the original baking time.