Friday, July 30, 2010

Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn

Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn (adapted from Rachael Ray)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
1 teaspoon coarse salt
In a large pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. add the popcorn. When the oils sizzles, sprinkle the sugar over the kernels. Cover and shake the pan until the popping slows down, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss with melted butter then the salt."

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Savannah Cinnamon & Cookie Company - A Classic Southern Tradition of Flavor

Savannah Cinnamon & Cookie Company - A Classic Southern Tradition of Flavor:

"Savannah Squares Almond Crunch

Ingredients:
Directions:
Stir together 6 cups Rice Chex cereal and 2 cups whole almonds in a 13 X 9 pan. Melt 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of Southern Almond Mix. Heat until boiling, then simmer for two minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and stir until foamy. Pour mixture over cereal and nuts and stir to coat well. Bake at 250 for one hour, stiring mixture once. Remove from oven and spread on a cookie sheet to cool. For a sweet and spicy version of this recipe, add cayenne pepper to taste to liquid mixture prior to boiling

Turkey Turnover

I warned you all I was going to be adding a lot of old recipes on here.
I like to make these and freeze them with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.

You can make your own pastry dough or buy pre made pie crust.
I like to make smaller ones but this recipes is for one large one. I like to make them and freeze them and pull them and bake as needed.
Preheat oven to 425

pastry for 1- 9" single pie crust
2 T soft butter
1 cup cooked turkey, diced or shredded.
1/3 cups sliced green onions
2/3 cups sliced celery
1/3 cups sour cream
1 T Dijon mustard

Combine turkey, onions, celery, sour cream and mustard in a bowl. Spread mixture over half the crust one inch from the edge. Fold unfilled half over the filled have and crimp edges. Cut three slashes on top and bake for 20 minutes.

I guess it helps to tell you what to do with the butter. Just melt it, use it to seal up edges and brush on top of crust about half way though cooking.

Pistachio Jello Dessert

1 3.5oz Pistachio jello
1 20oz can crushed pineapple
1 3/4 cup cool whip

Whip jello and can of pineapple along with the juice together. Fold in cool whip. Chill until set.

Chili

I will be the first to admit I don't like chili. This is the first chili I made many many years ago and could eat. It is a cheap easy meal.

1 16oz bag pinto beans
1 LB ground chuck.
2 cups chopped onions
6 cloves garlic, minced
2- 8oz tomato sauce
3 T Chili Powder
1/2 tea salt
1/4 tsp pepper


Soak beans over night and rinse. The directions say not to drain but I like to rinse mine. Add to a pan and cover by at least an inch with water and cover and simmer for 3 1/2 hours or until tender.
Cook meat, onions and garlic over medium heat until meat is no loner pink. (Do Not Drain) When beans are done add meat mixture and remaining ingredients, stir well and simmer for 30 minutes.

No Bake Jello Pie


This is a very old Weight Watchers Pie.

3oz box sugar free jello, I like Orange and Strawberry
2/3 cups boiling water
2/3 cups nonfat dry milk
1 cup ice cubes
1 cup cool whip....more if you want to top it off with more.

Dissolve jello in boiling water stir to dissolve. Add ice cubes and stir until it starts to thicken, remove any left over ice cubes. Add dry milk and whip until fluffy, fold in whip cream. chill for one hour.

Praline Dip

This is good for frosting also.

With and electric mixer, whip the following ingredients until fluffy.

8oz soften cream cheese
1/2 cup powder sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup Southern Praline mix

For a Holiday touch, serve with red and green apples sprinkle with lemon to keep from turning brown.
Butter cookies,
Pound cake or anything you like can be dipped in this.

Praline Party Mix

My girl's use to work at County Clutter and they sold a Praline mix that was great to make this party mix with. I think this is my favorite out of all the party mixes I have made or eaten.

I believe you can get this at the Savannah Cinnamon Company 1-800-288-0854 I need to go order some as well as a few other kinds. There is a blackberry one that taste great mixed with 7up and serve over ice.

m In a large bowl Mix 8 cups of any combo of Quaker Oat Squares, Crispix, Rice or Corn Chex
Add small pretzels, pecan halves or roasted peanuts.

Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.

Melt 1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Praline mix
1/2 tsp baking soda.

Heat until boiling and gently cook for 2 minutes. Pour over cereal mixture. Stir to coat , bake at 250 degrees for one hour, stirring once during baking. Cool thoroughly before placing in pretty tins. :o)

Friday, July 23, 2010

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread

preheat oven to 350

1/2 cup Butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour.
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup walnuts

Cream butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs and mashed banana. In a small bowl combine flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt and blend into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and pour into prepared loaf pans, bake for one hour and ten minutes or until tested done.

Spicy Pumpkin Loaf

I hate to admit this but this is the first thing I ever really learned to make good so I use to bring it to pot-luck all the time. I think people started getting sick of it.

6 eggs
4 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 large can solid pumpkin
5 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 T. baking soda
1 T allspice
1 T cinnamon
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
3/4 cups raisins

In a 6qt bowl bowl lightly beat eggs add sugar, oil and pumpkin. Mix well. In another bowl stir together flour,baking soda, salt and spices add to pumpkin mixture and mix until blended. Stir in walnuts and raisins and spoon into greased pans. bake at 350 until tooth pick comes out clean about and hour and ten minutes. I cannot remember how many this makes but from the flour amount I would guess at least 4 loaves.

Fool Proof Fudge

My Grandma use to ask me to make this for her all the time.

18 oz Chocolate chips
1 8oz sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tea vanilla
I use to add chopped almonds for my Grandma and sometimes chopped roasted pecans and mini marshmallows. I also have been known to add nuts with cranberries or any dried fruit you like.

In top of a double boiler melt chocolate stirring occasionally. Remove from heat stir in milk, vanilla and any nuts or dried fruit you like or no none at all. A swirl of peanut butter would be good. Pour into a waxed paper lined small baking pan. 8x8 cool and enjoy.
This is a east fudge to make for Christmas, you would add chopped candy cane to it, maybe instead of the vanilla you would add peppermint extract.

Lemon Loaf

Years ago, over 26 years ago, I made this Lemon bread and it was so good. I have thought about this bread off and on for the past 5 years or so.
Well I am going through some of my very old note books I had written recipes in when I just started cooking. That was about two years after I was married. I had no idea how to cook when I first got married. I was only 16, I could make a killer steak and burger because I worked at a steakhouse but anything else I was clueless.

Here is the recipe for the bread and once I am done with this detox I am on I plan on making it and I will post pictures. If you try it let me know what you think and send me a picture, I am on facebook also so come look me up.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tea baking powder
1/2 tea salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tea grated lemon peel

Stir together flour, salt, baking powder and salt
Beat eggs, oil, milk and lemon peel. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir until blended.
Pour patter into a greased and flour loaf pan.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or when a tooth pick comes out clean when tested.
When loaf is done and while still warm use a long skewer and poke holes all the way to the bottom of loaf, pour hot glaze over loaf letting it soak in slowly, let cool in pan on a rack 15 minutes. Turn onto rack and let cool completely.

Glaze

4 T lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

Spinach Dip

1 cup Mayo

1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 pkg (10oz) chopped spinach, thawed and drained.
1 pkg (1.4 oz) knorr vegetable soup mix
six slices bacon chopped, fried and set aside to cool.
1 can (8oz) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 green onions

Stir together and chill for at least 3 hours, serve with french bread. I like to use around one ad my bowl and cut up french bread and serve.

Spanish rice with meat

6 slices bacon , chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ground beef
5 cups can diced tomatoes, heated
1 cup uncooked rice
1 tea salt
1 tea Worcestershire sauce
1 tea paprika

Fry bacon, slowly pour off fat. Add ground beef, onion and garlic. Cook until meat is no longer pink. add spices, heated tomatoes and rice. Cover and cook in a 400 degree oven for an hour.

My paper said 5 cups tomatoes heated and it says nothing about being covered. But it is so old of a recipe that I think it was diced can tomatoes and I would think for the rice to cook it would have to be covered. When I go to make it I will leave it covered for about 30 minutes and then remove the cover for the last 1/2 hour.

Hello

Hello everyone,

I have been busy with a few things, I guess I will start with our vacation. We bought a use travel trailer, we have wanted one for many years and every time we saved for one something would come up. So this year we got a good amount back from our taxes and decided to go for it and not let anything get in the way. Well we took off and our first stop was a KOA right outside of Lassen. What a super sweet couple who run the place, their name slips my mind right now but I have a notebook where we wrote all about our travels and will put it in another blog. Anyhow after Lassen we headed up to Oregon, we decided to just stop off and stay in a rest stop for the night and head about again early the next morning since we were headed to Washington. Well We got in to Washington and Stayed at Dungeon's for the night, it was raining and muddy and the spot we had leaned to the right way too much. Well we walked around the Sound, went into Port Angles and then Port Townsend both are cute little towns. Well the next day we took the Ferry into Victoria BC It was a cute little town but very expensive.
So we Went back to Port Angeles and one of my kids wanted to eat at the Italian restaurant that Bella and Edward ate at but my husband hates Pasta so off we headed back to our camp spot.
The next day we headed to Forks, yes just to see the little town. We could not go all that way and not drive another hour to see it. The drive was beautiful.
Well we went to Seattle and went the Sci-Fi museum and to see the needle, the weather was very foggy so we felt it would be a waste to pay to go up to see nothing. Well also went to Pikes Market place, had to see the first Starbucks. Once I do the full post and add the pictures I will add a link to it.
Well to make a long story short, from there we headed back to California and to our favorite camp spot for a few days. The night of our last stay my 14 year old decided to break his arm in two places. Good thing we already got the trailer. :o) So he was in pain all that night, but we never heard a sound from him. We gave him our bed and my husband and I slept on the sofa. Well here he is with a broken arm and he don't hear him, but my 18 year old got a sun burn and we heard him all night long. LOL
Well we got his arm set the next day. The next week we went camping again with two of my daughter, grandson and our two son-in-laws along with the five of us. No one got hurt.
Well today I was going through some stuff and found a lot of my old recipes, some over 24 years old. I have been on a detox diet so I have not been able to cook stuff but I want to add the recipes before they get lost forever. I will add pictures to them as I make them. These are tried and true recipes. So be on the look out for them. One is a rice dish my friend Pat made us after I had my third daughter 24 years ago. I wonder if she still makes the dish.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Chicken Macaroni Casserole

I figure I better add some of these family favorites here before I lose the recipe. I went to add my Taco Soup recipe and could not find it. The weather is so cold here I am thinking of soups for dinner.












2 T butter
1/4 cups flour
2 cups light cream
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth, divided
1 pound Velveeta, cubed.
2 boxes (7 oz each) elbow macaroni, cooked and drained.
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
salt and pepper

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until combined. Add cream and 1 1/2 cups brother all at once. Stir until smooth. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; add the cheese and stir until melted. Stir in macaroni, chicken, salt and pepper. Add additional broth if needed. Pour into 3-qt baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until heated through.


Lasagna Soup

Going though some old recipes and thought I would post them. I made this year ago for some thing that was going on at church. It was a huge hit.

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 package lasagna dinner mix (hamburger helper)
5 cups water
1 141/2 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
1 7oz whole corn, undrained
2 T Parmesan cheese
1 diced zucchini

In a dutch oven or soup kettle, cook ground beef with onion until no longer pink. Drain and then add all ingredients besides noodles and zucchini; bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add the noodles and zucchini, cover cook 10 more minutes or until noodles are done. Serve right away.