Two Holiday Recipes

Here are some recipes that I picked up at home in Alabama looking through magazines.

I'm trying this one this week:

Whole Grain Marshmallow Crispy Bars

Makes 24 bars, prep 15 min, cook 5 min, stand 15 min

3 T butter
1 10.5 oz bag miniature marshmallows
1 15 oz box multi-grain cluster cereal
1 1/4 cups dried cranberries, divided
vegetable cooking spray

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows, and cook, stirring constantly, 4 to 5 minutes or until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in cereal and 1 C dried cranberries until well coated.

3. Press mixture into a 13X9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Chop remaining 1/4 C dried cranberries, and sprinkle on top. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes or until firm. Cut into 24 bars.

and this recipe I'm saving for special guests or give away baskets at Christmas time. These are a little too dangerous for me to go ahead and make now. :)

Molten Lava Cookies

1 C (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 C sugar
3/4 C cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 C dark or semisweet chocolate (at least 60% cocoa), roughly chopped
powdered sugar for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add cocoa powder, eggs and vanilla; mix until combined.

2. Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Using your thumb, press a thumbprint into the center; fill with a piece of chocolate and fold dough over to cover chocolate.

4. Place balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are firm and tops are soft. Remove cookies to a cooling rack; dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Tamale Corn Casserole and Cream Cheese Bars

Tamale Corn Casserole

Ingredients:
2 small cans olives
3-4 cans tamales (drain juice and peel off corn husk and break up in hands)
2 cans cream corn
2 cans kernel corn (first can whole with juice)
1 bag tortilla chips
1 stick butter

In a 9x13 pan layer the following ingredients:
1st layer :1st can corn (w/juice), tamales (broken up), olives, half stick
butter, crushed chips.
2nd layer: drained corn and dollups of cream corn, tamales, olives, crushed
chips and butter pads will end up on top.
Bake 350 for about an hour.


Cream Cheese Bars

Ingredients:
2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese (can use reduced fat)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
"some" cinnamon and sugar

Cream together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Grease a 9x13 pan and cover
bottom with 1 package crescent rolls. Spread cream cheese mixture over and cover with the other package of crescent rolls. Dust with cinnamon and sugar.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until serving.

Green Chile Corn Muffins

Green Chile Corn Muffins

Vegetable Oil Cooking Spray
1 1/4 cups self rising corn meal
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 (8 oz) can cream style corn
1 cup sour cream
1 (4oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400. Spray muffin tins with veg. oil spray. In a small bowl combine cornmeal, cheese, corn, sour cream, and chiles. Stir until combined. Add oil and eggs and stir until everything is combined. (Do not overmix) Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Makes 12 muffins.

(The original recipe calls for 1/2 c oil but mine were greasy. I also used light sour cream. They were really good but my mom made them last week with only 1/4 cup oil and they were much better! Perfect with a good bowl of soup!)

Hot Caramel Apple Cider

Doesn't that sound yummy? And, oh, it's so easy! Just pour yourself a mug of apple cider and squeeze in a few squirts of caramel ice cream topping. Heat in the microwave and stir in a few drops of vanilla and you're all set. If you wanted to make this fancy, you could spray some whipped cream on top and drizzle with more caramel syrup. I'm embarrassed to say that my girls and I have gone through a whole gallon of cider already this week! Gotta put the brakes on! =)

Happy Fall everyone!

Chicken Ranch Pasta

I made this last night for the first time... SO easy! Quick and Yummy!

Chicken Ranch Pasta

4 chicken breast, cut up into bite size pieces (I used chicken tenderloins)
6 slices of bacon
2 T flour
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 1/4 c milk
1/2 pkg pasta, cooked and drained (I used rotini)
Parmesan cheese

Cook bacon in large pan. Remove and drain on paper towels. Cook chicken in leftover bacon drippings until no longer pink. Sprinkle ranch mix and flour onto chicken and stir well. Add milk. Cook until thick and bubbly. Crumble bacon and stir into chicken mixture. Mix with cooked pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

I have to admit I did not cook my chicken in the bacon drippings. I just couldn't! I drained the drippings and added olive oil to the pan. This was really good! I'm going to try it with a Italian dressing mix next time because I don't like eating so much MSG!! Why can't they make a ranch mix without MSG??! I guess I could attempt to make my own??

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Do you like to cook with your kids? This is a perfect one to have a kid help with I think. Only 4 ingredients. Can you believe it?

1 C peanut butter
1 C sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix, shape into balls, put on cookie sheet, flatten with a fork, bake at 350 for 16-18 min. I added chocolate chips just 'cause.

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder (do you like soup? gotta try this)

4 slices bacon, chopped (I used turkey bacon)
1 C diced onions
1/2 C each diced celery and diced red bell pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 T minced fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
2 T all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C chicken broth
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, well drained
1 can cream style corn
2 cups chopped roasted chicken breast (I just boiled some chicken and chopped it up)
1 T hickory-flavored barbecue sauce (I just used what I had on hand)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook chopped bacon and chop up (I cook mine in the microwave). Not too crisp. Put it in pan with onions, celery, red pepper and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. (you may have to add some butter to your pan if you don't cook bacon in the pan or if you use turkey bacon because it doesn't give off enough fat)

Add thyme and flour. Mix well. Stir in broth and evaporated milk. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and stir continuously until soup thickens slightly.

Reduce heat to low. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and let simmer for 10 min stirring occasionally. Serve hot. (like you needed that advice huh?)

Carrot Banana Bread

Carrot-Banana Bread

1c. bananas, mashed
1c. sugar (I used splenda)
3/4 c. oil
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. carrots, grated
1/2 c. nuts (opt.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 1 loaf pan. In medium bowl, combine bananas, sugar, oil and eggs. Beat 2 minutes. Fold in flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots and nuts. Spoon batter into loaf pan. Bake 60-70 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing.

Side Dishes to Die For when you cook your Next Turkey

Blueberry Duff

2 c flour
4 tsp butter
4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 c sugar
1 cup blueberries (that's an approximation... sometimes it can be more!)
1/2 tsp salt
water

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add water until a hard dough is formed (don't make too soft!!!). Transfer to a pudding bag, tie the bag close to the top so no dough can escape. Cook in pot with vegetables and salt meat for 1 hour at a continuous boil. Before removing from the bag, gently squeeze out excess pot liquor. Slice in 1 inch rounds. Serve hot or cold. Great hot with gravy or leftover as a snack.

Now, I know you're going to ask... what's a pudding bag. Essentially it's a muslin type fabric that is sewn into a simple bag. You can by them in local grocery stores here but You could also make one! They are about 6inces wide and 10inces long... and you tie with some kitchen string. Throw it into the wash with dish towels etc... don't try to get the stains out, they just add character.

Another issue, you can cook this in a pot of boiling water alone however, in NL we cook Sunday supper by starting with salt-meat, which is trimmed naval beef that has been brined... Yummy!!! We start this giant stock pot at 10 am for a 5:30 meal... boil the meat all day to get the brine and salt flavours through the water and the salt out of the meat. We add vegetables to it at 3:30ish and cook them all together, in the one pot... We add carrots, turnip and cabbage first, then at 4:00 we add potato, turnip greens and blueberry duff.
If you're going to cook a peas puddin, that goes on early and you can cook this in the big stock pot or on its own. Peas are a gassy food anyway and if they are cooked in the pot with the salt meat they tend to soak up any grease that comes from it. So for a peas puddin you need another pudding bag!

Peas Puddin
1/8-1/4 c split yellow peas for each person who wants to eat the pudding (some like more than others)

place the split yellow peas in the pudding bag, tie the bag about 1-2 inches above where they sit in the pudding bag. Place the peas in a boiling pot of water and cook for 3 hours or until all the peas mush together without any solid pieces left. (They should be cooked in heavily salted water or in the pot with the vegetables & salt meat!) Remove the bag from the water and tightly squeeze the peas to get all the remaining water out. Transfer the peas into a bowl and mash with butter, salt and pepper to taste. Some like this really buttery and others kind of dry. You'll have to see what your family likes best.


Blueberry Duff is absolutely delicious! Peas Puddin is more of an aquired taste many people like it, but I don't! Andrew loves it so I make it for him. Although, he thinks his mom's is better. I can never get the seasoning just right... and she can't tell me because she just does it lol... so it's a live and learn situation. Part of the "to taste" direction.

Andrew's mom makes the a blueberry duff that's different than mine, she essentially has the same batter but she greases a dish and pops it in the microwave or sometimes the oven until a toothpick comes out clean. She'll serve this with a custard sauce for dessert with tea. I prefer mine as part of supper but her way is also great.

I hope you enjoy these side dishes the next time you make turkey, roast (beef or pork) or even a chicken! The only real requirement is that they are served with gravy and even that isn't necessary!

Moroccan-Style Chicken Stew

If you are like me and like a good stew and try to be different every once in a while, this is for you. I made this last night and it's good.

1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or breasts like I used)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes in puree (I used two regular sized diced tomatoes)
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 C dark seedless raisins
1/4 C salad olives (chopped pimiento-stuff olives) I omitted this ingredient as I do not like olives... but if you do, go for it.
1 C water
1/2 C loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves (I just sprinkled a little dried cilantro on top)

1. In nonstick 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven, (or a big ol' pot like I used), heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and cook 5 min or until light golden brown.

2. Meanwhile, in pie plate, mix flour with coriander, cumin, salt, ground red pepper, and cinnamon. Toss chicken with flour mixture to coat evenly.

3. Add chicken to Dutch oven and cook 7 min or until lightly browned, turning chicken over througout cooking time. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.

4. Stir in tomatoes with their puree, beans, raisins, olives, and water; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. (that is, if you chose to use whole tomatoes instead of diced) Garnish with cilantro.

Each serving has about 300 calories. :) "Stew" on that why don't ya?