Apple-Snickers Salad Again

I've actually posted this recipe on my blog before.  You can see it here.

But at Camp Steiner, along with an abundance of bananas, we were sent an abundance of apples.  So I had to make Apple-Snickers Salad.  The difference is that at Steiner I had to make it for about fifty people.  I really think the recipe for fifty is better than the small recipe, but I'm not going to the trouble of reducing the recipe by five. If you want to divide each ingredient by five and make it smaller, more power to you. ;-)

APPLE-SNICKERS SALAD

(serves about 50)

25 of your favorite apples, cored and diced
28 regular-sized Snickers candy bars, sliced about 1/2-inch thick
3 cups milk
2 pkg. (3 oz. each) white-chocolate flavored instant pudding
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip (I like the extra creamy kind)

1.  Toss diced apples and sliced Snickers together in a huge bowl.
2.  In a smaller bowl, mix the pudding and milk together.
3.  Pour the pudding mixture and Cool Whip into the huge bowl with the apples and candy.
4.  Mix well to coat everything with the yummy sauce stuff.
5.  Refrigerate until ready to serve—but not longer than an hour or two.


Oh, all right! Try this to serve 6 to 10:

5 apples, cored and diced
5-6 regular-sized Snickers bars, sliced
about 2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 oz. instant white-chocolate pudding (You'll need a food scale for this one! Or you could measure how many tablespoons of pudding mix are in a box, divide that by 2.5 and put that measurement in. Good luck.)
1/2 cup Cool Whip

See if that works. :-)

Loralee's Banana Cream Goodness

While we were at Camp Steiner we were plagued with an abundance of bananas—about two to three cases of them every week. I'm not sure why commissary thought 50 people could, or would, eat 150 bananas a week, but it was driving me crazy.  And then they brought us so much milk one day that I didn't have room for it in my miniscule refrigerators.  I was very irritated.

In my cranky state, and having just had a scoutmaster give me a couple dozen real eggs, I came up with an idea, and here it is (whittled down to normal porportions, rather than the 50-person dessert I made at camp):

LORALEE'S BANANA CREAM GOODNESS

one small pie tin (about 8 inches)

CRUST:
Lorna Doone cookies (I have no idea how many you'll need—enough to crush and line a small pie tin)
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. melted butter

FILLING:
3/4 cup sugar
3-4 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. rum extract

sliced bananas (I have no idea how many—I'd guess two or three would do for one pie)

whipped cream

CRUST:
1.  Crush the Lorna Doone cookies and put them in the pie tin.
2.  Add the 2 Tbsp. sugar and 3 Tbsp. melted butter to the crushed cookies and mix them together.
3.  Press the cookie mixture onto the bottom of the pan and up the sides.
4.  Bake it at 350 for about 10 minutes.
5.  Remove from oven and let it cool.

FILLING:
1.  Mix the sugar and cornstarch together in a medium saucepan.
2.  Add the milk and egg yolks; whisk to blend.
3.  Cook over medium heat, whisking until thick and bubbly.  Cook another two minutes or so.
4.  Remove from heat and blend in the butter, vanilla, and rum extracts.
5.  Place plastic wrap (actually, I use a grocery bag) directly on top of the pudding and let cool to room temperature.
6.  Spread half of the pudding over the crust in the pie tin.
7.  Top with the bananas.
8.  Spread remaining pudding over the bananas.
9.  Place plastic directly on top of the pie and refrigerate until ready to serve—at least an hour.
10.  Top with whipped cream and eat it up!  Yum!

Basic White Bread

Hi Steiner Staff!

Some of you asked for the recipe for Snakes and for Pizza Rolls.  Well, I don't actually have a recipe for those.  It's pretty much white bread with stuff in it.  So here's the basic bread "recipe" (which is really more like instructions), and I'll give instructions for the specialty stuff at the end.

  First of all, when you make bread, remember this: 

• One cup of liquid (milk, water, broth, juice) will make one loaf of bread or eight to twelve rolls (depending on how big you make the rolls). 
• For every one cup of liquid you need to add one teaspoon of yeast.
• For every one cup of liquid you need to add one teaspoon of salt.
• Oil and sugar depend on your taste.
• NEVER add all the flour at once.  When I first add flour, I generally add one cup more than the liquid I started with (so if you used one cup of water, start with two cups of flour)—and I use heaping cups. Stir that in, then add a cup at a time until the dough seems about right—sticky, but like bread dough.  Any additional flour you need will be spread on the counter/table and kneaded in—again, you'll add a little at a time.

If you remember those guidelines you can make bread all day long without a recipe.

BASIC WHITE BREAD

1 cup warm water (or other liquid)—about like a nice, soothing bath temperature.
2 - 4 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. salt
2 - 4 Tbsp. oil (cooking oil or butter—I always used butter at camp, and I didn't measure it at all.  I just chucked in a glop of butter.)3 - 5 cups flour

1. Stir warm water, sugar and yeast together in a biggish bowl.  Let yeast proof (this means it will get all foamy and bubbly-looking—it takes about five minutes).
2. Add salt and oil; stir in.
3. Add two heaping cups of flour; stir (use a large mixing spoon or rubber spatula.  I prefer the rubber spatula myself).
4. Continue adding flour about 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is too stiff to stir with a spoon.  (If you're doubling, tripling or making ten times this recipe, add the flour about 1 cup at a time.) 
5. When the dough is too stiff to stir with a spoon, then you start mixing it by hand.
6. Generously dust your table or counter with flour.
7. Dump the dough onto the floury table and begin kneading.  You do this by folding the dough in half, pulling the far edge toward you, then pressing down hard on it to seal it closed (you might even press it a few times).  Turn about a quarter turn and repeat; fold; press; fold, etc. You are finished when the dough is like a smooth ball, and very elastic—this takes me about five to ten minutes; you might take longer at first.
8. Scrape the gunk out of your mixing bowl, oil the bowl lightly and put the dough back into the bowl. Turn it to coat with oil on all sides. 
9. Cover with a damp towel and let rise about an hour, or until it's about doubled in bulk.
10. Spray a bread/loaf pan with cooking spray (PAM, etc.).  Make sure you get the corners.
11. Punch down the dough.
12. Shape dough into a loaf and place in the greased pan.  Let rise 30 to 60 minutes—until it's about doubled.
13. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
14. Bake loaf for about 35 to 40 minutes; remove from oven to a heat-proof surface.
15. Dump the loaf out of the pan and it's ready to eat (although easier to slice if you wait a bit!).

You can easily double, triple, or even octuple this recipe. :-)

YUM!
HAM & CHEESE ROLLS (or Pizza Rolls)

In addition to the basic bread ingredients, you'll need:
grated cheddar cheese and
some diced ham 
or
spaghetti sauce/pizza sauce
grated mozzarella cheese
chopped pepperoni

Follow the bread recipe up to instruction 9. Then:

10. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
11. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 1/2-inch thick.
12. Sprinkle the dough with grated cheese but leave about a 2-inch space bare, along one of the long edges.
13. Sprinkle ham over the cheese.

14. Starting with the long, cheese-covered edge, roll the whole thing up into a log (cinnamon-roll style). 

15. Pinch the long edge closed.

16. Use a piece of heavy thread or dental floss to slice into 10 to 12 rolls. (You can use a sharp knife, but the thread works beautifully and the rolls look nicer. Just slide a 10 to 15-inch length floss under the roll about one inch. Wrap the ends around the roll, let the ends cross over and keep pulling until the floss has cut all the way through the roll.)
17. Place the rolls onto the greased cookie sheet and let rise until about doubled.
18. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
19. Bake rolls for 25 to 30 minutes.
20. Remove from oven and eat them hot.

For Pizza Rolls, spread sauce, then mozzarella cheese, then pepperoni over the rolled out dough.  Be sure to leave the 2-inch blank space or the dough won't stick closed. Rise and bake as for ham & cheese rolls.



SNAKES!

This is easy.  Use the same ingredients as for Ham & Cheese Rolls, or Pizza Rolls.  OR I've also done sliced beef with barbecue sauce & Swiss cheese, or turkey with whatever cheese sounds good at the moment.  Just choose whatever sounds good in a hot sandwich.
Plus you'll need a couple eggs and some food coloring.

Make the bread just like basic bread dough—one whole snake takes about six times the recipe (6 cups water, 6 tsp. yeast, etc.).  After the first rising, divide the dough into three semi-equal pieces and roll each piece into a rectangle about 10-inches by 16 to 20-inches. Put the filling on each rolled-out piece just like for Ham & Cheese Rolls, and roll it up but do not slice it.   Pinch the ends closed, too.  Put the roll onto the greased cookie sheet and shape it kind of like an S. (Make sure all three pieces bend in the same direction.)

For every color you want to paint onto your snake you need to mix:
1 egg
1 Tbsp. water
food coloring

Use these colored egg mixtures to paint your snake pieces in stripes or whatever strikes your fancy.  Stripes are easiest.
Poke two fingers down into the dough on the head end, where you want to put the eyes.  Stick a couple of olive slices in the eye sockets you just made.

Bake each snake section at 350 for about 25 to 30 minutes.  Generally my snakes explode in the oven and some of their innards ooze out.  That's OK.  Just cut off the leaked-out stuff before you remove the snake section from it's baking sheet.

Lay the snake pieces out so they're touching, and look like a big, long snake.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread Cookies

All right. I have to post this because we just made such a cool gingerbread house! Follow this recipe exactly to make cookies. To make a house, you'll probably have to double the recipe (or more) decrease the baking soda, and bake it twice as long so it will get good and hard.

Have fun!

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
5 cups flour

Cream shortening and sugar; add egg, molasses and vinegar and beat until fluffy.
Beat in the soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
Mix in the flour by hand.
Refrigerate at least one hour.
Heat oven to 375.
Roll out dough to about 1/4-inch thick and cut out with cookie cutters.
Bake on very lightly greased cookie sheets for 5 to 6 minutes.

Cool and decorate as desired.

* For a gingerbread house: Roll the dough directly on lightly floured cookie sheets; cut out the patterns and remove excess dough. [I do not remove the dough from windows and doors before cooking—they will hold their shape if you cut them out, but leave the pieces in. While the pieces are still hot and fresh from the oven, re-cut them and remove them.]
Or you can fill the empty window spaces with crushed hard candy (like Jolly Ranchers) to make a stained glass effect, but you have to be careful not to burn your dough or the candy turns brown too.
Or, better yet, cook the house with the window-dough cut, but not removed. Remove the dough and let it cool. Now fill in the windows with home-made hard candy.

HARD CANDY

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2/3 cup corn syrup
flavoring
food color

Combine sugar, water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan.
Bring to a boil and cook until it reaches 300 degrees.
Add flavoring and coloring if desired. [I didn't do this, because I don't plan on eating our windows. Although maybe the kids do.]
While the syrup is still very hot, spoon it into your gingerbread house window spaces. Keep little kids away from this until it is completely cooled!

Now you can build your house! I just looked up "Gingerbread House Frosting Cement" online for a good glue recipe—it was easy to find.

Have fun!

Gourmet Granola Bars

When Bruce started a new job that didn't allow him much time for breakfast in the morning I, being the wonderful, devoted wife that I am, started looking for recipes for stuff that he could grab and take with him. And, since he has to spend a BIG portion of his day driving around, I also wanted to come up with some easy snacks. These chewy granola bars qualify on both counts.

This recipe is for a basic, chewy granola bar. You make it gourmet by adding your favorite stuff: chocolate chips, raisins, Craisins, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, nuts, coconut* . . . Whatever sounds best to you. And I'll tell you, I've come up with some killer-good creations!

GOURMET GRANOLA BARS

2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/3 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 to 1 1/2 cups add-ins [the creative, gourmet stuff—see intro*]

1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix together the 2 Tbsp. melted butter, 2 Tbsp. corn syrup, and 3/4 cup sugar. It will turn into a big, wet glump of sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the oatmeal, wheat flour, Rice Krispies, salt, cinnamon and whatever gourmet add-ins you want.
With your fingers, mix the sugar stuff with the oatmeal stuff. You will have to work it in with your fingers to make sure it's evenly mixed. [Yes it is sticky and messy, but worthwhile—just keep repeating to yourself, "No more stale, cardboard, granola bars!" ]
In the small bowl that is now empty, mix the 1/4 cup melted butter, honey, water and vanilla until it's homogenized [how's that for using a big word?].
Pour this mixture over the oatmeal mixture and mix well—Yep! With your hands. It's just easier that way, and your hands will wash!
Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Pour the granola mixture into the pan. Press it down firmly and evenly.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Now you have a 9 x 13-inch granola bar. If you want smaller granola bars, cut it into pieces the size you like (I make 24 bars with a pan this size, which is comparable to store-bought bars). But leave the bars in the pan because they fall apart if you remove them while they're hot!
When they're mostly cooled you can take the bars out of the pan and put them into snack baggies, or an air-tight container.

Now you have a terrific, made-to-order snack for your family, you gourmet chef, you!
Bon appetit!

Tuna Casserole Supreme

I know. You're thinking, "How good can tuna casserole be?"
I know you're thinking this because I know that tuna casserole is THE default, can't-think-of-anything-else-to-make, last-minute dinner. A couple cans of cream-of-something soup, a couple cans of tuna and Voila! Dinner.

And that's how Bruce feels about it. He politely eats just enough to keep from starving.

But today I did something different; and Bruce said that I "transformed it from the last-minute, gotta-eat-something meal, to something [he'd] order at a restaurant and be glad that [he] did." High praise! And he said I'd better write what I did to make it before I forget. (He came up with the swell name, too.)

So here it is:

TUNA CASSEROLE SUPREME

1 1/4 lb. of your favorite pasta [I like penne]

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup can-milk
1 1/2 cups milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cans tuna packed in water, drained, but reserve the liquid—you'll be using it .
6 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
2-3 oz. American cheese, finely diced
salt and pepper, to taste
dash Bon Appetit seasoning

1 cup Panko crumbs
onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1-2 Tbsp. butter

Put the pasta water on to boil after you chop the veggies, but before you cook the sauce. :-)

In a large skillet, melt 3 Tbsp. butter.

Add the chopped onion, chopped celery and 1/2 tsp. salt to the melted butter. Turn heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent—5-8 minutes.
Add flour to onion mixture and stir until it's all moistened up with the butter and veggies.
Stir in the can-milk and the milk. Turn heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens up.
[Is your water boiling yet? If so, add the pasta—and keep an eye on it . . . who likes mushy pasta?]
Whisk the cream-of mushroom soup and the water from the cans of tuna into the sauce [don't whisk it into your boiling pasta!].
Whisk the sour cream into the sauce.
At this point I got out the hand-blender—because my kids won't eat anything that has the appearance of little veggie pieces in it—and I blend it until it's smooth. But this step is totally optional!
Stir in the tuna.
Season to taste with salt, pepper and Bon Appetit seasoning.
Add the cheese and stir until just melted, then remove from heat.
Now you can set it aside while you wait for the pasta to finish cooking.

Drain the cooked pasta and then put it into a LARGE baking dish.
Stir the sauce into the pasta.

Put the Panko crumbs into a separate, smallish bowl. Sprinkle them with onion powder and about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. of salt.
Dollop the 2 Tbsp. butter onto the crumbs and work it into them with your fingers. You don't want to see any big pieces of butter.
Sprinkle seasoned crumbs on top of the casserole.
Bake at 325 for about 10-15 minutes, or until crumbs turn golden-brown. OR you could just stick it under the broiler until the crumbs look nice.

Serve it up hot! Mmmm—mmm good!

Frankenstein's Laboratory (Yogurt)

The very first time I ever heard of yogurt was when I was about ten or eleven. I was in bed, reading a book before I went to sleep—or probably yakking with Denise—when my dad came in with a little plastic cup of some green, almost pudding-looking stuff (lime flavor). He said, "Try this—it's really good." After I asked and found out it was called yogurt, and checked it out a little, I gave it a try. Yum! I was an instant yogurt fan.

At that time there was this big "healthy food" kick of the 70's going on, and yogurt was the new, trendy, healthy food. Yogurt makers appeared on the market. My mom got one and she made lots of yogurt for a while. It was super-good when it was mixed with her home-made strawberry freezer-jam. After a while the yogurt-making stopped and we just bought it when we wanted some.

Well, I just did the coolest thing last week! I made yogurt! Home-made yogurt—without a fancy yogurt-maker. It takes time, but it's not like you're slaving over it all day long; in fact, it's way easy. And if your family likes yogurt—if you cook with it, or put it in your smoothies like I do—it'll save money, and there's the added bonus of your being so cool because you can make your own yogurt. ;-)

Look at this:

Here's how this translates: You get TEN (10) times as much home-made yogurt as a little carton of Yoplait, for only 33 cents more. Greek Yogurt is thicker, so you probably get about EIGHT (8) times as much home-made yogurt as Greek Gods, for 66 cents less.
To make all things equal, 6 oz. of home-made yogurt would cost you about 8 cents! How's that for cool? You do need a slow-cooker and lots of time, but it's really easy to make.


HOME-MADE YOGURT

This makes a very soft yogurt. Well, it's pretty normal until you mix jam or other tasty stuff into it; then it's still yogurty, but a little thinner. If you like it thicker, then make it into Greek Yogurt (directions at the bottom of the page).

1/2 gallon (8 cups) 2% milk [you can use 1% or even fat-free milk]
a slow-cooker (crockpot)
1/2 cup plain yogurt, with live and active cultures [the live and active cultures are the important part—they are your "starter," just like a sourdough starter]
2 more Tbsp. cold milk
1 pkg. unflavored gelatin (like Knox)
a slow-cooker (Crockpot)
heavy bath towels [seriously!]

Pour 1/2 gallon of milk into the slow-cooker.
Put the lid on, turn it onto "low" and let it sit for 2 1/2 hours.
Turn the cooker off, leave the lid on and let it sit for 3 more hours.
At the end of the 3 hours, stir the gelatin into the 2 Tbsp. cold milk to soften. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
Stir the softened gelatin into the 1/2 cup plain yogurt.
Remove 2 cups warm milk from the slow-cooker and stir it into the yogurt mixture.
Stir the yogurt-milk stuff back into the milk in the slow-cooker.
Cover the slow-cooker and completely wrap it in heavy towels. Put it some place where it won't get bumped or jostled and let it sit for 8 hours.
After the 8 hours you have plain, Yoplait-style yogurt! Yes it's still warm, so put it in the refrigerator to chill.

Now you can add honey, jam, cinnamon-sugar, or fruit—or whatever you like best—to sweeten it and eat it. Or you can use it for cooking with.


GREEK YOGURT

So, what's the deal with Greek yogurt? Why does it cost twice as much as regular yogurt? Well, it's just so darn tasty—probably because it's thicker and creamier than regular yogurt. This also means it makes a good substitute for sour cream. (In recipes I still cut it 1/2 & 1/2 with sour cream—mostly because of cost though. So maybe we're in for a change.)

To make Greek-style yogurt:

Line a wire-mesh strainer with a coffee filter.
Scoop it full of yogurt and set it over a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for several hours*; the extra liquid stuff will slowly drain out of it. Voila! (Or maybe I should say, "Eureka!") Greek yogurt!

Enjoy!

* p.s. (March 18) I actually strained my yogurt for 24 hours (I forgot about it) and then it seemed more like commercial yogurt, but not quite as thick as commercial Greek yogurt. Still tasty though!

English Muffins

So Bruce has been bragging about me again. Now it's at his new job.

He has to go to work much earlier than I want to get up, so I decided to make him some breakfast things that can be frozen, so then he could grab something and re-heat it at work. This week I made chewy granola bars, and sausage and egg muffins (like they have at McDonald's). Since we didn't have English muffins handy and I didn't feel like going to the store, I made those too. And then, when his co-workers see what he's got, he starts bragging about how cool I am, and how I made the English muffins myself. Funny Bruce! :-)

So now I have a recipe request!

ENGLISH MUFFINS

You really could use any bread recipe for these. Just DO NOT PUNCH DOWN THE DOUGH; and then cook them on a skillet as per directions. :-)

1 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. yeast
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp. salt
5 1/2 to 6 cups flour
cornmeal

Dissolve the honey in the milk and water.
Add the yeast; let it proof.
Mix in the butter and salt.
Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough.
Knead remaining flour into the dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
Place dough in clean, greased bowl; cover and let rise about 1 hour.

Generously sprinkle 2 ungreased baking sheets with cornmeal. Do NOT grease the baking sheets!
DO NOT PUNCH DOWN DOUGH!

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to about 1/2-inch thick.
Cut dough into circles. [I use a wide-mouth canning lid.]
Place dough circles on the prepared baking sheets.
Gather up remaining dough; re-roll; cut, and place on sheets.
Generously sprinkle tops of circles with cornmeal; lightly press the cornmeal into the tops of the cirlcles.
Cover with wax paper and let rise until doubled—about 30-45 minutes.

Preheat skillet or griddle to 325 degrees.
Sprinkle cornmeal over skillet.
Place the English muffins in the skillet. Cook for about 6-8 minutes on each side, or until evenly browned.
Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Split English muffins with a fork. Toast them and slather them with butter. Mmmmmm, best way ever to eat English Muffins!

Better Than Fried Chicken

OK. I have to admit that I am on a healthy, light-cooking kick. This is nothing new; I've been doing this kind of thing for years. But, aside from that, deep-frying anything is a big, total pain—especially chicken (which never seems to get cooked all the way through). And this is a really good recipe. I'm sure it would work beautifully with fish, too.

Use four split chicken breasts, or a whole, cut up chicken. If the breasts are big I will often cut them in half. Absolutely use the Panko crumbs—they give it a nicer texture than regular, fine bread-crumbs. [You can find them in the bulk-bins at WinCo. I've also seen them in boxes in the Asian food aisle at other stores.]

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN

1 whole chicken [see note, above]
3 large egg whites
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
6 oz. panko bread crumbs
2 oz. dry wheat bread crumbs
a dash or two of Season-All (optional)
2 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425.
Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray.
Mix the egg whites, Dijon mustard, thyme, garlic and cayenne pepper together in a shallow bowl.
Mix the panko crumbs, wheat bread crumbs, Season-All and vegetable oil together in a shallow dish.With your left hand, dip a chicken piece into the egg mixture.
With your right hand, dip the eggy chicken piece into the crumbs, pressing to make sure they stick.
Put the piece on the prepared rack, and repeat the process with the rest of the chicken pieces.
Spray the tops of the chicken pieces with cooking spray.
Bake until golden-brown and the meat is no longer pink, about 50-60 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Apple-Snickers Salad

Hi Tami! I believe you are the only die-hard who still reads my cookbook blog—a belief that stems from Melanie telling me that you do read it regularly. So, this recipe is for you, and it is to die for!

We had this the other night at our Cub Scout Blue-and-Gold Banquet. From a distance I thought it was potato salad; then, as I got closer to it I thought it looked more like apples. But what were the darker colored chunks? Ham? Bacon? Maybe grapes?
I was standing in the line, and had just determined to try it out, when the chef of this salad said, "It's really good. I know, it sounds weird, but it is so good." And so I found out that it was, indeed, apples, and the darker bits were chunks of Snickers bars. She didn't have to convince me that it would be good. It sounded excellent!

Just imagine getting one of those great-big, gourmet candy-apples—the ones that are double-dipped in caramel, and then coated in chocolate, and then possibly more chocolate, and then dipped in nuts. Well, take one of those, slice it up, and then dip it in dunk it into a sweet, creamy dip before taking a bite. Heavenly!

Now, I don't know if you can rightfully call this "salad" since it has candy-bars in it. But Michelle Moon, who gave me the recipe, says it is healthy because there's apples in it. So you can decide for yourself. Here is the recipe:

APPLE-SNICKERS SALAD

1 large pkg. instant vanilla pudding

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 tub Cool Whip
8 regular-sized Snickers bars
6 medium-size tart apples [I think Granny Smiths are too tart. Try Jonathons, or Pink Ladies.]

In a large bowl, mix together the pudding, milk and Cool Whip.
Cut the Snickers bars into bite-size pieces. [You could use the bite-size bars, but I think the regular ones are better because you get more caramel and a tiny bit less chocolate.]
Add the Snickers to the pudding stuff; mix in.

Core and cut the apples into bite-size pieces. (Peeling them is optional.)

Hurry and mix the apples in with the rest of the stuff before they turn brown!
If it seems too thick, mix in about 1/4 cup more milk.
Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Enjoy it with other people. It's not that healthy!

Tami's Really Cool, Tasty and Delicious Pretzel-Jello Stuff

I've eaten this jello salad that Tami, my niece-in-law (niece-in-law?), makes; and it is really yummy! I know, pretzels with jello might make you think twice, but you should think a third time and just try it.

I missed out when she took it to Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's house, because I spent Turkey Day at my in-laws. But Tami graciously gave me the recipe, and now I am going to propel her to culinary fame by posting it here, on my cookbook blog. ;-)

TAMI'S PRETZEL-JELLO SALAD

CRUST:
2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cubes melted butter
FILLING:
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup sugar
8 oz cool whip
JELLO:
6 oz jello pkg.
water
2 cups cold orange juice (optional)


CRUST:
Mix the crushed pretzels, 2 Tbsp. sugar, and butter together.
Flatten the mixture into a 9x13 inch pan; bake at 400* for 10 minutes, then cool completely.
FILLING:
Mix the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar together until smooth; blend in the Cool Whip.
Spread over the cooled pretzels, making sure to seal the edges so the Jello mixture won't leak through.
JELLO:
Make the jello according to package directions, substituting the 2 cups juice INSTEAD of the 2 cups cold water, if desired.
Slowly pour the jello over the top of the cream cheese mixture. Do this slowly and carefully so you don't pour a hole into the cream cheese. [Refrigerating the cream cheese stuff first might help; it might harden it up a little. Maybe also letting the jello cool to room temperature before you pour it—Loralee].
Refrigerate until jello is completely set.
EAT:
Serve to your family and friends at the next big gathering (like New Year's Eve).
It's yummy, but don't eat it all by yourself!

Oven-Baked, Blueberry-Stuffed French Toast

This is a traditional Christmas breakfast dish in our house. It's great for Christmas because you prepare it the night before, and then in the morning you toss it into the oven and by the time you're through opening your gifts your breakfast is cooked. And it is sooooo yummy! I should really make it for other occasions than Christmas. Like tomorrow. Mmmm.


Oven-Baked, Blueberry-Stuffed French Toast

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
a drizzle of maple syrup, about 1 Tbsp.
12 oz. white bread cut into cubes (about 3/4 of a loaf)
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 1/2 cups milk
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
cinnamon
additional nutmeg
1-2 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into about 1/4-inch cubes

Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar and maple syrup until well-blended.
Put half of the bread cubes into the baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Dollop the cream cheese mixture over the bread in the baking dish.
Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the top of the bread and cream cheese.
Put the remaining bread cubes into the baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg; then press it all down a little.
In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, 1 tsp. nutmeg and milk. Blend well.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread. Press it all down again, if necessary, to make sure all the bread cubes are moistened.
Scatter the little butter cubes over the top of it all.
Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and then cover the baking dish with the foil. (Cooking-spray side down, right?)
Put it in the refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, put the French toast into a cold oven.
Turn heat to 350 and bake for about 1 1/2 hours—until it's not soggy anywhere.
Remove from oven and serve it warm.
It's really delicious as is, but I suppose you could top it with blueberry syrup. Or whipped cream on top would be yummy.

Merry Christmas!

Accidental Applesauce

Every year, for Thanksgiving, I bake an apple pie. For Jason. He loves apple pie and since I am a nice mom, I make it for him once a year, on Thanksgiving.

Well this year I blew it. I overcooked the apples (enough for two pies!) and had to make them into applesauce. It turned out to be the best applesauce I've ever had! Really! And I already liked applesauce.

And, yes, I did buy more apples and I still made apple pie. And it was delicious.



ACCIDENTAL APPLESAUCE

I don't really like Granny Smith apples, which are traditionally used in apple pies (I'm sure this is because they are too sour to just eat them). So I use several different kinds of apples in my pies—these are the ones I chose this year:

8 honeycrisp apples
4 Granny Smith apples
4 Jonagold apples
4 Braeburn apples

You also need:

2 Tbsp. lemon juice
about 1 cup water
sugar, to taste (I probably used 3/4 to 1 cup)

Peel, core and slice all the apples. This takes forever!
Put them into a great, big pot and toss with the lemon juice.
Add the water.
Cover the pot and put it on the stove, over low heat.
Go to your sister's house (or a friend's house) and forget all about the apples for about an hour. When the lightbulb goes on, call your kids and shriek into the phone, "Turn off the stove! Yes, the burner where the apples are."
Hurry home; check out the apples. Are they too mushy to use in a pie? Good.
Use your magic wand to blend it all into applesauce.
Stir in sugar, to taste.
Put the applesauce into smaller containers and refrigerate.
Eat it before it grows mold (within a week or so).

Makes about 3 quarts of really delicious applesauce!

Eewwww!

Check out this great picture of our Halloween Slime Punch:

Thanks Becky!

More Marvelous Muffins

Mmm, Mmmm, Mmmmmm!

On May 16 our friends Grant and Janae had their first baby—an absolutely beautiful little boy. And as an excuse to visit (like we needed an excuse) we made a whole bunch of muffins and took some over. I already posted the Blueberry Muffin recipe [just click on the link :-) ], but here are the recipes for the Orange-Cranberry Muffins and the Bran Muffins. (These are also from The Best Light Recipe cookbook.)

CRANBERRY-ORANGE MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, chopped fine
2/3 cup orange juice
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
tiny pinch of cloves (optional)
2 tsp. grated orange zest [I use a little more--I like it orangey!]
1 cup sugar [I think you could get away with 3/4 cup]
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine cranberries and orange juice in a microwave-safe container; cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 1 minute. Let stand, covered, until softened and plump. Strain cranberries, discarding juice.
Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. You can use cupcake-papers, but I think they're nicer if you just spray the pan. Also, the recipe says it makes 12 muffins, but they must use a bigger tin than I do. This recipe makes 18 muffins in my tins (about 2 to 3-inches across the bottom of each cup).
Process the sugar with the orange zest until pale orange, about 10 seconds. If you don't have a food-processor, just chop the zest very fine and then mix it in with the sugar.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and 1/4 of the sugar together. Set aside.
Beat 3/4 of the sugar and the butter together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until very fluffy. Add vanilla.
Turn mixer to low-speed and add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating just until incorporated, followed by 1/2 cup of the yogurt, scraping down the bowl as needed. Repeat this process two more times, alternating between the remaining flour and yogurt. Mix just until ingredients are incorporated.
Gently fold in the cranberries.
Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip them out onto a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Yum!

And now, the

BRAN MUFFINS

1 cup unprocessed wheat bran
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup 2% or whole milk (don't use 1% or fat-free. Yuck!)
6 Tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray your muffin tin.
Stir the wheat bran, yogurt, milk, molasses and vanilla together in a medium bowl until combined; let sit for at least 10 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of the sugar together; set aside.
Beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Beat in 1/3 of flour mixture until just incorporated, followed by 1/3 of the bran mixture, scraping down bowl as necessary. Repeat this process twice more, alternating between the flour and bran mixtures, until ingredients are just incorporated. Do not overmix.
Gently fold raisins into the batter.
Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes.
Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes, flip them onto a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Yum, yum!

Guests and Brownies

Last night Ben and Tami and their cute little girls came over for dinner. Did we think to take pictures of them (or at least the cute little girls)? Well, no. But here is the brownie recipe Ben asked for.

The first time I made these they were yummy and gooey; the second time not so much. But I think the difference was this: The first time I made them was for a big party, and the recipe didn't make enough. So I mixed up a cheap (and I mean probably the cheapest one available) brownie mix and added it to the home-made recipe—but I didn't use a bigger pan. So they were thicker, which probably added to the gooeyness factor. Well, try it out either way—it's a yummy recipe.

BROWNIES

1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. warm water
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder [I am not about to pay for espresso powder just to make brownies with! Instead, I borrowed some Pero powder from my mom—which I'm sure coffee-people would say is NOT the same at all, but I don't know the difference.]
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter [I never remember to buy unsalted butter, but if I have it I use it.]
3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped fine [buy baking squares, don't use chocolate chips]
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 large egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk flour and baking powder together in a small bowl; set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk the cocoa, water, vanilla and espresso powder together; set aside.
MIcrowave the butter and chocolate together at 50% power until melted, about 1 minute; whisk until smooth. Whisk in sugar and salt until completely incorporated. Whisk in the cocoa mixture, then whisk in the egg. [whisk, whisk, whisk!] Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated (do not overmix).
Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray (like PAM). Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
Bake until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 20-25 minutes.
Cool for as long as you can stand to wait. Eat them up!

Chocolate Mousse Pie

I have a friend who swears chocolate mousse pie will induce labor. It’s never worked for me;
but it’s still delicious anyway. And this recipe is to-die-for heavenly!

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE PIE

1 Oreo pie crust
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
6 Tbsp. water
2 large eggs, separated
4 Tbsp. sugar
⅛ tsp. salt
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. heavy cream, chilled
whipped cream, for topping

Combine chocolate and water in a medium heatproof bowl set over a saucepan filled with 1-inch of barely simmering water; melt, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat.
Whisk egg yolks, 2 Tbsp. of the sugar, and the salt in a medium bowl about 30 seconds. Pour melted chocolate into the egg mixture and whisk until combined. Let cool about 3-5 minutes.
In a clean bowl, beat egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy (1-2 minutes). Add remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar, increase speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Whisk a few strokes by hand, making sure to scrape any unbeaten whites from the bottom of the bowl.
Using a whisk, stir about ¼ of beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it; gently fold in remaining egg whites with rubber spatula until a few white streaks remain.
In the original egg-white bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. With a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the chocolate stuff until no white streaks remain. Spoon mousse into the pie shell. [Or you could skip the pie shell and spoon it into individual serving dishes. But then it wouldn't be Chocolate Mousse Pie.] Cover and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours. (May be refrigerated up to 24 hours.)

Serve topped with whipped cream.

Tangy Whipped Cream

I made this to go with my Valentine's Day cake. It was pretty good with chocolate cake, but it is fabulous with fresh raspberries.

TANGY WHIPPED CREAM

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sour cream (not the lite kind)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp. vanilla

Beat all ingredients together, at high speed, until soft peaks form. Serve immediately. (With fresh raspberries!)

Name This Recipe

Last night was one of those busy nights when I didn't have any dinner plan and didn't have a lot of time to make dinner either. So I looked around the kitchen and came up with a pretty tasty meal--even the kids really liked it! But what would you call this dish?

NAME THIS RECIPE

1 lb. spaghetti
1 pkg. (12-16 oz.) breakfast sausage
1/2 -1 tsp. fennel seed, crushed
1/2 large white onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
thyme, to taste
oregano, to taste
lemon pepper, to taste
a few handfuls of fresh spinach
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
feta cheese, crumbled

Put a pot of water to boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente.
While the spaghetti is cooking, brown the sausage in a large frying pan. Add the fennel seed to the sausage while it is browning. When the sausage is mostly cooked add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are limp. Add the garlic, thyme, oregano and lemon pepper; cook for a minute or so. Add spinach and cook until it's wilted. Stir in the tomatoes and remove from heat.
By now the pasta should be all cooked. Drain it, then return it to the pot and stir in the sausage mixture and about half of the feta cheese. Add salt, to taste. Top with remaining feta cheese and serve immediately.

Pretty darn good, but what would you call this?

Popcorn Balls

These are soooo easy to make and the kids LOVE them! And, since they are made with Jello, you can make different colors to suit the seasons: Tonight we made orange for Halloween, but you could make red and green for Christmas, pink, purple or yellow for spring--Oh! The possibilities are just endless! :-)

JELLO POPCORN BALLS

9 cups popped popcorn [I prefer air-popped, with no butter, but microwave popcorn will work.]

1 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1 (3 oz.) package jello, any flavor

Put the popcorn into a bowl large enough to hold all of it.

In a heavy saucepan, bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil. Add the Jello and stir until dissolved. Pour over the popcorn and stir in well. Let it cool for about 10 minutes. [I learned the hard way that the balls just won't stick together if you try to make them while it's still hot. Besides that, you will burn your hands!] Lightly butter your hands--just like putting on lotion. Now scoop up handfuls of the popcorn goo and make it into balls.

When you're all finished making the popcorn balls, give your kids some spoons and let them clean up the bowl for you.

This recipe makes about 18 balls the size of tennis balls.