The HOPE You're Hungry Recipe Box - No chatter - just recipes! :)

[UnderstandBlue]

We have had such fun sharing recipes as we stamp our way through this month of challenges that this year we are going to have a dedicated recipe box.

Please make sure each post in this thread contains a recipe - no chatter.

And please include the full recipe here - you can add a link for credit purposes, but don't just link us to a recipe offsite. That way your yummies will be preserved here for the future.

Make the title of the post the name of your recipe.

We're going to have a yummy time!!


Index of recipes:

Hors D'Oeuvres / Appetizers

Cheesy Salsa Dip
White Bean and Garlic Dip
White Bean Bruschetta
Cranberry Salsa Dip with Cream Cheese
Egg Rolls

Soups

Low Carb Broccoli Cheese Soup
Simple Chicken Soup
Potato Soup

Breads

Parmesan and Rosemary Focaccia
Tomato Cheese Rolls
Southern Living's Cream Cheese Banana Bread
Dutch Oven Breads
Starbucks Pumpkin Scones

Salads

Waldorf Salad

Party Cranberry Salad
Caprese Pasta Salad
Grape Salad
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Arugula Potato Salad (No Mayo)

Main Dishes

Roast Chicken with lemons
Sausage with Kale Stew and Mashed Potatoes
Enchilada Casserole
Scrumptious Beef
Greek Yogurt Chicken
Slow Cooker French Dip
The Most Amazing Enchiladas in the World
Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
Beef Skillet Fiesta
Pasta Carbonara
Maple Mustard Pork Chops
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Acorn Squash and Sage Brown Butter Pasta


Side Dishes

Spaghetti Squash With Clam Sauce
Last of the Summer Tomatoes Pasta
Pasta with arugula, and sundried tomato pesto
Broccoli Rice Casserole
Corn Especialo
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Crockpot Sundried Tomato Risotto
Baked Orzo with Eggplant and Mozzarella
Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Medley

Sweets


Apple Spice Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Dea's Yummy Granola
Brown Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Topping
White Chocolate Berry Pie
Apple Pie Breakfast Bake
Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
Aunt Olga Bars
Homemade Cream Cheese Mints
Brown Butter, Bacon and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Eggnog Cookies
Soda Cracker Candy
Apple Puff Pancake
Hutsel Fruit Bread
Grandma Witzig's Sugar Cookies
Prune Whip
Delicious Coffee Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Caramel Salty Peanut Grapes
Apple Cinnamon Bars
German Apple Pancake
Pink Fluff
Super Easy Banana Cake
Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Hawaiin Bread and Maple French Toast

Jams, Jellies and Sauces

Enchilada Sauce
Pot Sticker Sauce
Cranberry, Peach and Fresh Ginger Chutney
Pineapple Salsa
Bacon Jam, a.k.a. CRACK

Beverages

Quick & Easy Hot Spiced Cider
Treaty Oak Pepperita

[UnderstandBlue]

I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart. She did hers in a slow cooker, but I did mine on the stove. This recipe took some of my Facebook friends by STORM - we all made it on the same day, and everyone agrees, it's completely life changingly delicious. If the word "jam" bothers you - it's not really a jam, it's a delicious spread. My fave use of it is on a grilled cheese with tomato and avocado but it's to die for over cream cheese on a cracker or over brie.

After you refrigerate it just warm it slightly in the microwave - about 30 seconds - before eating.

Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 medium yellow onions, diced small
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup brewed coffee (this made me nervous but you MUST use it - you don't taste the coffee but makes it very deeply flavored and yummy)

Directions

In a large skillet (I used a LeCreuset shallow pot), cook bacon over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet (reserve for another use); add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and coffee and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Add bacon and stir to combine. Simmer until reduced and syrupy - I think mine went 45 min to an hour.

Transfer to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers, up to 4 weeks. < Yeah right, if you don't eat it all in one day

Original recipe here. Word to the wise - Lori cooked hers in a crockpot and finished on the stove because she said it wouldn't reduce down in the crockpot - stovetop worked great instead.

[vdoyle8]

Great idea, Lydia! Here's the Quinoa recipe I posted the other day -- it's very yummy.


Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Medley
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 6 Serving Size: 1 cup • • Points+: 4 pts
• 15-ounce can black beans, no salt added, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup cooked quinoa (according to package directions)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped fresh mango
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 small jalape�o pepper, seeded and finely diced
• juice from 1 medium lemon or lime
• 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Directions:
Mix together the beans, quinoa, corn, bell pepper, mango, onion, cilantro, and jalape�o in a mixing bowl.
Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and turmeric in a small bowl.
Drizzle over the mixture and toss. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

[mamaxsix]

This is a recipe I posted the other day....it even tasted good reheated today! I didn't change anything and used the larger amt of lemon zest
Baked Orzo with Eggplant and Mozzarella
from smitten kitchen
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi
I made a couple changes to this recipe due to personal preferences. The original called for a lot of carrots and celery (4 carrots, 3 celery stalks) but I wanted them to just be a background flavor, not main ingredient. I also chopped them more finely. I used a lot less lemon zest and oregano than was suggested because I was nervous but ended up wishing for more of each so I�ve listed the range from my amount to the suggested one below. Finally, the tomatoes were intended to be sliced and then arranged across the top of the dish as it baked. If you�d like to do it this way, sprinkle them with a teaspoon of dried oregano, salt and pepper before you bake it. I chopped them for two reasons: I wanted the tomatoes inside the dish and I also like the crunchy lid of a baked pasta dish. A layer of tomatoes would protect you from that if you�re not into it. (You probably don�t like pudding skin either, do you? It�s okay. We can still be friends.)
You could easily use whole wheat orzo here, or I suspect, another grain. However, you�ll have to do a bit of fiddling with the broth level to adjust for each one. Grains that take longer than pasta to cook (just about all of them) would probably benefit from par-cooking before they go in.
A few other substitions: I didn�t have any vegetable broth and used water. I felt it wasn�t lacking at all for flavor. If you don�t have fresh tomatoes, you can use canned ones (though fresh will hold up better on top). If you don�t have fresh oregano, use half the amount of dried oregano. If you don�t like or don�t have either, thyme, fresh or dried, would work well here but it�s much stronger in flavor and only half as much should be needed.
Serves 4
1 large (mine was just over 1 1/4 pounds) eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch dice
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 celery stalk, in a 1/4-inch dice
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces orzo, a rice-shaped pasta, rinsed
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 to 3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest or more to taste, up to the zest of a whole lemon
4 ounces mozzarella, firmer is better here, cut into 1/3-inch dice
1 1/2 ounces (a generous 1/2 cup) parmesan, grated
3 medium tomatoes, diced
Sprinkle your eggplant generously with salt and let it drain in a colander for 30 minutes. I used this time to get the rest of my ingredients ready. After 30 minutes, rinse it well and pat it dry on towels.
Preheat your oven to 350�F. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil and once the oil is shimmering, add the eggplant. Fry for 8 minutes, stirring pieces occasionally. Using a slotted spoon or spatula, transfer them to paper towels to drain. Add celery and carrots to remaining oil and cook for 3 minutes before adding onion and garlic. Cook together for 5 more minutes on medium heat. Stir in the orzo and tomato paste and cook for two minutes more. Off the heat, add the oregano, mozzarella, parmesan, tomatoes, fried eggplant, lemon zest, 1 teaspoon table salt, many grinds of black pepper and the stock and mix well.
Transfer mixture to an 8�11-inch (about 2 quarts) ovenproof baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, then bake 20 minutes without the foil. (You can increase the ration of foil-on to foil-off time if you don�t like a crunchy pasta lid.) Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

[muzbysmom]

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 c Margarine (I used butter and it worked fine)
1/2 c Vegetable Oil (I used Canola and again, it worked fine)
1 3/4 c Sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c sour milk (I added 1 tsp lemon juice to regular milk to make it sour)
4 T Cocoa (isn't that 1/4 cup?)
2-1/2 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1 t soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
2 c grated zucchini

Mix first 4 ingredients together. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, cloves, and sour milk. Sprinkle grated zucchini on top and mix with mixer.

Topping: 1/4 c chocolate chips, 1/2 c chopped nuts, 1/4 c brown sugar. Sprinkle topping on cake batter after pouring ingredients into a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

I served it with whipped topping on the side and it went over very well at a Labor Day BBQ.

Enjoy!

[pattyb]

I made this for my brothers this summer, there wasn't any left!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Ingredients<o:p></o:p>
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened<o:p></o:p>
1 cup white sugar1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls<o:p></o:p>
3/4 cup white sugar<o:p></o:p>
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 cup butter, room temperature<o:p></o:p>
1/4 cup honey<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Directions<o:p></o:p>
1.Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. <o:p></o:p>
2.Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. <o:p></o:p>
3.Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake. <o:p></o:p>
4.Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.<o:p></o:p>

[Joan7356]

So easy... so good... And any leftover egg roll vegetable/meat is great served/mixed with rice....


Egg Rolls

Serves 4-6 people

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
3 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 small cabbage, finely shredded
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms
3 large carrots, shredded or chopped in little bits
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped

Brown ground beef.
Add all vegetables that have been finely chopped.
Cook until tender crisp.

Add:
3 tablespoons sesame seed oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
crushed garlic

Salt and pepper to taste.
Stuff, wetting edges to seal (can use egg).
Deep fry (hot oil 350-375) until golden
Keep warm until served.

Egg Roll Dipping Sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
Pinch of chili powder
Mix and let stand 1 hour until flavor blend before serving.

[naturecoastcrafter]

I made this recipe today with the following adaptations. I used ground chicken, Frank's wing sauce, and Ken's blue cheese dressing from the grocery store. I added about 1/4 c. mayo and 1/4 c. sour cream to the sauce to cut the heat a bit. Oh and by the way, if you line your baking pan with nonstick reynolds foil, there is no need to oil the pan.

They are scrumptious. I'm serious. You will never go out for wings again.

From the Souffle Bombay blog. If you're on Pinterest, you can find the recipe on my "Savor the Flavor" board: http://pinterest.com/jhcross/savor-the-flavor/

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

1 pound boneless chicken breasts
1 small egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs (depending on the size egg you use you may need to add a bit more)
2 TBS wing sauce
1 TBS milk
Couple dashes of salt and pepper
2 TBS crumbled blue cheese (optional)

Pub Sauce
12 oz or 1 1/2 cups of your favorite wing sauce
3/4 cup (more or less to taste) blue cheese dressing

Place chicken in food processor and pulse until chopped up (6-8 pulses should do it). (I am sure ground chicken will do just fine, but I wanted a firmer texture so I grounded it myself). Place ground chicken in a large bowl, add in egg, breadcrumbs, wing sauce, milk, salt and pepper and Blue cheese if using. Mix it all up well with your hands (my kids LOVE to help with this part). Form into balls (not to big) and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

In a large pot combine wing sauce and Blue cheese dressing, heat it through, stirring often. Once meatballs are out of the oven add them gently to the sauce and heat through for a bit. Serve alone or with a roll for a sandwich and enjoy!! Include a small bowl of crumbles blue cheese for folks to sprinkle on their sandwiches.
Note: Feel free to make your own wing sauce and or blue cheese dressing...depending on the time I have...I do or I don't. Also, if you are not a lover of blue cheese (like me) you can substitute ranch dressing for the blue cheese dressing in the pub sauce.

[LuvLee]

I rarely use box mixes.....but.....I wanted to make something super simple and experiment.....and hubby LOVES this!! It's very moist and banana-ey!!!


Super Easy Banana Cake

5 bananas, mashed
1 box Golden Butter Cake mix
1/2 c. oil
3 eggs
2/3 c. milk

Mix all together into mashed bananas. Pour into 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 350* for 25-30 mins until just done. Cool and frost.

Easy Frosting

1/2 c. softened butter
3 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
3-4 T half n half

Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla and then add half n half until consistency is what you desire. Add more or less to adjust consistency.

[eliotstamps]

This is one of the first recipes I pinned on Pinterest and I've made it several times now - so good! Here's the link to the original.

Maple Mustard Pork Chops

adapted from Cooking Light

1 tablespoon butter
4 (4-ounce) boneless pork loin chops, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle pork chops evenly with salt and pepper; add pork to pan. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add broth to the hot pan, whisking quickly to deglaze (get all the brown bits left behind by the pork into the sauce). Add next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil, and cook for 3-5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Return pork to pan; simmer 3 minutes or until pork is done, turning once. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper as needed.

[eggette]

Okay - here is Pasta Carbonara!! - you can't go wrong with Pasta AND Bacon!

This recipe is from Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman - with a few minor changes

12 ounces of spagetti
8 slices of diced bacon
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 eggs
3/4 cup of grated parmesan (there's nothing like the real stuff ladies!)
3/4 cup of heavy cream ( I use 10%)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup peas

Cook pasta according to instructions

While pasta is cooking, fry the bacon until just barely crisp...drain on paper towels....use bacon grease to cook the onions and garlic - set aside.

In a bow, mix together eggs, parmesan, cream, salt and pepper until smooth.

When Pasta is done, drain - reserving a cup or two of pasta water

Place pasta in a bowl and slowly drizzle in half of the egg mixture - stirring constantly the whole time . The sauce will become quite thick - splash in a little of the reserved hot water if needed.

Add peas, bacon, and sauteed onion and garlic. Finish adding the sauce, stirring until combined.

Serve immediately with extra Parmesan.

Hope you like it - now that I have typed this up, my mouth is drooling -- we are having this for supper tonight!

[sewsplendidstamper]

This is a Weight Watchers recipe that a friend passed on to me. About as easy as you can get.
1 box chicken broth
1 packet country gravy mix
1 bag either country hashborwns (not the shredded) or potatoes O'Brian (the ones with the onion and peppers)

pot>broth>gravy mix in while cold>potatoes in>simmer til warm

See? Easy. But I amp it up
I saute a shallot and clove of garlic in a touch of oil (less than a teaspoon) add the rest of ingredients then add thyme and salt and pepper to taste.

I've served this chunky and used my immersion blender to make it smooth. If making smooth you'll need extra broth to thin it out afterwards.

[Ksnurse]

This is super easy even with the homemade dressing and is so light and fresh.

Disclaimer: Unless I'm baking or making jelly, I don't measure anything, so these are approximate amounts.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Salad:
8-10 cups of fresh spinach, rinsed and stems removed
1 quart strawberries, rinse and slice
1 small vidalia onion, slice in very thin rings
1 cup honey roasted almonds, or candied
couple handfulls of shredded parmesan or asiago cheese

Dressing:
1/2 cup plain yogurt, or vanilla works too
grated zest of 1 small orange
juice of 1 small orange
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinager
1 tsp. spicy mustard, I use one with horseradish
1 tsp. ginger paste

1: put all dressing ingredients in bowl and whisk until blended adding more yogurt as needed for thickness. store in fridg until ready to serve.

2: toss all salad ingredients in large bowl and toss with dressing right before serving.

Even with the ginger and horseradish, the dressing just has the teeniest kick becausse of all the orange.

[Vickie Y]

Pink Fluff
1 can cherry pie filling
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can crushed pineapple (drained slightly)
Mix these together with 1 large container Cool Whip topping and refrig. overnight.

[scrapbooknut1]

Here is one of my favorite potluck recipes:
Grape Salad
4lbs grapes
1 8z cream cheese
1 8z sour cream
1/2 c sugar
1 tea vanilla
4z chopped pecans(I usually use more)
2 tlb Brown sugar

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add grapes and mix well. Mix pecans and brown sugar...sprinkle on top of grape mixture...refigerate until cool.

Green Grape Salad Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Hoope you try it and enjoy

[Cook22]

German Apple Pancake

A couple of weeks back I was looking for a recipe I thought I had for Dutch Apple Cake to make when DH and a friend spent a whole day working on one of his bikes. :rolleyes: No luck finding it, but what I did find was this - on old thermal fax paper and so faded it was hard to read; I tried it out for breakfast this morning as I was awake early.
From Anna Thomas' Vegetarian Epicure.

3 large eggs
5 fluid oz milk (it's 1/4 imperial pint, so it's a little under a US cup)
3/4 cup flour, pinch of salt
1 1/2 tblsp butter
(optional, 1 apple thinly sliced).

1 lb tart apples
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup sugar
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.

Preheat the oven to 450F, Gas Mark 8.
Beat together the eggs, milk, flour and salt till very smooth. Add the thinly sliced apple if using.
Heat a heavy 12" skillet and melt the 1 1/2 tblsp butter. When it's just sizzling, pour in the batter and put the skillet in the oven. After 15 minutes reduce temperature to 350F, gas mark 4 and cook for another 10 minutes. The pancake should be light brown and crisp.
While it's cooking, prepare the filling. Peel and thinly slice the apples, and saut� them in the 1/2 stick butter. They should be tender, still keeping their shape - about 10 minutes. Add the sugar and season to taste with spices.
Slide the pancake out onto a large plate, spread the filling over half of it and fold the top over.

She suggests drizzling it with more melted butter and dusting with sugar to serve - I passed on the extra calories. And I didn't have enough apples to put any in the the batter.
She also says that if it bubbles up in large air bubbles in the first ten minutes or so of baking, pierce with a skewer or fork to let the air out.

Serves 2-3 people for breakfast, 4-6 as a dessert.

[Rebecca Ednie]

Caprese Pasta Salad

1 tub sweet cherry tomatoes
3/4 lb penne rigate (with ridges) cooked and drained
1 tub boconccini cheese (fresh mozza) in bite sized pieces
1 bunch basil cut in thin strips (chiffonade)
Garlic minced, S&P to taste (I use 5-6 cloves)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3-1/2 c lemon juice (I like a LOT!)

Add all ingredients to hot pasta. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to let flavours and temperatures combine. Enjoy right away or cold later. Great picnic food!

[Benzi]

Makes a complete meal and so good! I got it from my Mother and have no idea where she got it.

1 lb. ground beef
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
1/4 cup diced onion

2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1-1lb. can diced tomatoes
1-12 oz. can whole kernel corn
1 1/4 cup beef bouillon ( I use a bouillon cube dissolved in 1 1/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup thin strips green pepper
1 1/3 cups Minute Rice, uncooked

In skillet, brown meat in oil over high heat, leaving meat in coarse chunks. Add onion; reduce heat to medium and cook until onion is tender, but not browned. Add seasonings, tomatoes, corn, and bouillon-bring to a boil. Stir in green pepper. Boil again. Stir in rice. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

[superjen]

It finally got cold here so I made soup yesterday. I didn't use a recipe but it turned out so good, I thought I should write it down so I could make it again. I think the secret was the farm fresh veggies and herbs. It is so simple, it hardly needs a recipe but even DH commented on how good it was, so here it is.

1 pound chicken breast (I used boneless skinless but bone in will work too)
4 large sprigs fresh rosemary
4 large sprigs fresh oregano
4 large sprigs fresh thyme
5 whole cloves garlic (or more)
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
2 cups potatoes, coarsely chopped (2 inch chunks) - I used red skin potatoes and left the skins on
2 cups carrots, coarsely chopped
2 quarts chicken broth (I used store bought because that's what I had)
1 cup corn kernels
2 cups chopped fresh spinach (I used something called "perpetual" spinach because that's what I had from my CSA but I think regular spinach or even kale would be delicious).
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

- Cover the chicken breasts water. Add the rosemary, oregano, thyme, garlic and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and let cool, reserving the liquid. Strain the liquid and return it to the pan.
- Add the potatoes, carrots and 2 quarts of broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are cooked, about 10 minutes.
- Shred the chicken. Return it to the pan. Add the corn, spinach and parsley. Heat through.
- Add salt and pepper to taste (I added 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper).

[eliotstamps]

These are really more like cake than bars; they were a huge hit at my book club yesterday.

APPLE CINNAMON BARS
From Betty Crocker

BARS
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
2 eggs
1teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped peeled apple (1 medium)
1 cup cinnamon-flavored baking chips (from 10-oz bag; found near chocolate chips in the baking aisle)

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Heat oven to 350�F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add apple butter, eggs and vanilla; beat until well blended.
On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended. Stir in apple and cinnamon chips. Spread batter in pan.
Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and top is evenly browned. Cool in pan on cooling rack at least 1 hour.
In small bowl, mix glaze ingredients until thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over bars. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 4 rows.

Makes 32 bars

[UnderstandBlue]

Sundried tomato risotto. Original post here.

Ingredients:

8 oz. Mezzetta Sundried Tomatoes in oil
3 C. Arborio rice (I used Vigo)
8 C. Chicken broth (I used Central Market Organics)
8 oz. Shredded Asiago cheese
1 tsp. Salt

Pour oil from the tomatoes into the bottom of the crockpot. Finely dice the tomatoes, and add them with any remaining oil. Add rice and stir all this together in the crockpot until the rice is coated with oil. Add the chicken broth and turn the crockpot on high. Cooking time depends on your machine - check it at about 2.5 hours. Mine took about 3.5 hours, so at 3 hours, I added the cheese, stirred it and let it go another half hour. Feel free to reverently whisper my name when you have that first bite .

[UnderstandBlue]

Time for a cocktail, no?

1 oz. Agave Nectar
1 oz. Fresh lime juice
Jalape�o slices (add to taste)
2 oz. Treaty Oak Platinum Rum
Shake up with Ice
Add club soda to taste

[jacqueline]

I've got a salsa recipe to go with Lydia's cocktails...my friends all love this. It's a nice switch from regular tomato salsa.

Pineapple Salsa

2 cans crushed pineapple
2 jalapenos cut in half and seeded
1/2 - 1 sweet onion (more or less to taste - if using red or yellow onion, use less as they're stronger)
2 garlic cloves
juice from 2 limes
black pepper
cilantro

Dump crushed pineapple into large mixing bowl. Squeeze lime juice over pineapples and stir. Use a food processor or blender to finely chop garlic, onion, jalapenos and cilantro (I have a mini processor chopper but you can do it by hand also if you're inclined). Add to pineapples and mix together. Add black pepper (to taste). I also add a few sprinkles of garlic/sea salt from the grinder. Chill and serve with tortilla chips.

Yummy!

[stamp_momma]

When you've been stamping all day and hubby says, 'WHAT'S FOR DINNER?" This one comes together in a matter of minutes... SO YUMMY!

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Rachael Ray

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 softball-sized onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1 cup beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
4 dinner rolls
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1 cup provolone, shredded

In large skillet over medium-high heat add the oil and then brown the ground beef, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and green pepper and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes.

Split open rolls and remove most of the soft insides, leaving a bed to hold the meat mixture. Toast the rolls and set aside.

While the meat is cooking, melt the butter in a medium-size pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in milk, bring up to a bubble and let thicken, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the cheese.

To serve, place a scoopful of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the rolls, then top with the cheese sauce and replace the top of the roll.

[It's Ree]

Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg

Powdered Sugar Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
Spiced Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

Directions:
TO MAKE THE SCONES:.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.

Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 14�16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:.

Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth.

When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.

AS THAT WHITE GLAZE FIRMS UP, MAKE THE SPICED ICING:.

Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.

[Greywolf]

I thought this had been posted by someone already, but I don't see it, so I pulled it from my file. It really works, and it's really good!

DUTCH OVEN BREAD

Apparently when you bake bread in a covered dutch oven, it "steams" inside the pot and therefore yields the kind of crust and texture we are all looking for. If you open up the lid halfway through, you'll be stunned at how it had risen and how delicious it looked and smelled.

This is a no-knead bread recipe and is intended to be a kind of loose, easy dough, with a lot of bubbles.

Ingredients and Method:

1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour and a bit more for dusting the bread after rising.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a bowl or mixer. Add the flour and salt (in that order) and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest on a counter at room temperature at least six hours and preferably, overnight. (This allows the enzymes to continue to work to develop a nice flavor to the dough) It'll be loose and bubble up, that's ok.

Dust a cutting board with some flour and scrape the dough onto it. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the top as it will be very sticky. Don't knead, just fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times, and shape into a ball. If the dough is too loose, just knead in 1/4 cup of flour. Repeat as necessary until the dough is the consistency you would like. Shape into a ball by pulling around the dough edges and folding underneath. Place on the counter on a piece of parchment paper and cover with a towel and let rise for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When you are ready to bake the bread, preheat the dutch oven in the oven at 450 degrees. Carefully remove the dutch oven, take off the top, and using the parchment paper, lift up the dough ball (towel removed, of course, heh heh, but leave the parchment paper under the dough) and gently drop it into the dutch oven. Use a knife to slash 3 slits in the dough, diagonally. Cover and place back in oven.

Bake covered for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and continue baking for 15 minutes* until dough is browned. Remove from oven and cool for one hour before cutting.

*I didn't let it brown for the full 15 minutes at the end � maybe about 11 minutes. As I always do with bread, I rubbed shortening (or use margarine) on the hot crust with wax paper, and draped a towel over the loaf while it was cooling. I've done that since I was a kid as it keeps the crust from being too hard. If you really like the hard crust, you can skip that step.

[superjen]

People come to my house saying "I'll try them but I don't like Brussels sprouts." to asking for the recipe when they leave. So give it a whirl even if you think you don't like them. Next thing you know you'll be awaiting CostCo to carry them again.

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
Coarse ground salt
Fresh ground pepper
Garlic salt
Cavender's Greek Seasoning (or any other all purpose seasoning)

- Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the Brussels sprouts in a baking pan, leaving room (because you will need to stir them and won't want to spill them all over). Add oil. Season with salt, pepper, garlic salt and Cavender's to taste (I'm pretty liberal with my seasoning). Toss to coat the Brussels sprouts with oil.
- Cook until the sprouts are quite brown and tender, about 30 minutes. Toss every 10 minutes.
- Adjust seasonings and serve.

[UnderstandBlue]

Ingredients

• 1 pound or more of grapes
• Half cup crushed peanuts (salted)
• Meltable caramel candy (1 Pkg Kraft)
• 2 TBS whipping cream
• Some fancy toothpicks

Directions

• Crush your peanuts using a rolling pin until you have the desired texture (finely crushed works best)
• Wash your grapes and stick them with some fancy toothpicks. Set aside.
• Add your caramel candies with cream to a double boiler. Completely melt caramels stirring often. If you don't have a double boiler you can use a pot of boiling water and a heat proof bowl.
• Dip your grapes in your slightly warm caramel sauce and then into your crushed peanuts, place in a container lined with wax paper in the fridge until ready to serve.

Adapted from >> Crunchy Green Grape Appetizers recipes : herdaily.com

[tessaduck]

Jan's Old Virginia Wassail

2 quarts cider
2 cups orange juice
1 cup lemon juice
2 cups pineapple juice
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp whole cloves

Combine ingredients and bring to simmer 5 min. Strain and serve hot.

[Benzi]

1 bag Zachary's old Fashioned Chocolate Covered Creme Drops
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp butter or margarine

Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave
on high for 2 minutes. Stir until all ingredients are thoroughly
combined. Pour into an 8 x 8 pan. Let set 5 minutes and cut
into squares.

Use less peanut butter if it isn't chocolate-y enough for you.

Use a different bowl to put in microwave than the pan you
let it 'set' in.

[UnderstandBlue]

Okay - no substitutesky's, because this is really good!

White Corn Tortillas from Central Market (El Milagro Blancas)
Shredded Chicken
1 onion, finely chopped (zenchop)
16 oz. Crema (stupidly, they have this next to the mexican CHEESE at CM, instead of by the sour cream, where it belongs.
8 oz. cotija cheese, crumbled
1 can evaporated milk
16 oz Herdez salsa verde (that's green for you, you cracker!)
1 cup rice
1 Knorr chicken bouillon cube (the big one)
4 tsp. Bolner's Fiesta Spanish Rice Seasoning.
Metric tons of finely shredded colby jack - (4 cups)

Cook rice as follows:

Microwave the Knorr cube in 2 C water till it dissolves - like 2 minutes. (you have to kind of smash it) Brown the dry rice and 1/3 C. of the chopped onion in a little oil in your rice pan. When toasty, add 1/2 cup (use a dry measuring cup, not a liquid measure) of the Herdez salsa verde and the chicken bouillon water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to Low, cover & cook 20 minutes or until done.

Saute the remaining onions in butter until heavenly. Set aside.

Clear your mind of all negative thoughts. Negative thoughts and dairy products produce carcinogens. Heat the oven to 350.

In a saucepan, heat the crema, evaporated milk, cotija and remaining salsa until cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth and warm. Add the heavenly onions.

Put a little sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Put down a layer of corn tortillas, tearing pieces to make an OCD person happy that it's all perfectly covered. Follow with cooked rice, chicken, cheese and the sauce & repeat till you get to the top. the top layer should be tortillas, cheese & totally covered with sauce.

Bake for 35 minutes or until all bubbly and yummy.

Eat and then send me a long email about how these are the best enchiladas you've ever had in your whole life, complete with pictures of happy dinner guests.

Rolled enchiladas are for losers. Stacked are totally cool.



(These freeze well!)


(I sub sharp cheddar for CJ and it's amazing)

[UnderstandBlue]

Made this yesterday and it's TDF!

Makes one loaf + 9 muffins, or two small loaves.


3/4 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (1 1/4 pounds unpeeled bananas, about 4 medium)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:

1
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
2
Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8- x 4-inch loafpans.
3
Bake at 350� for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent browning, if necessary. Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing.

Read more at: Southern Living's Cream Cheese Banana Bread Recipe - Food.com - 364985

[stamp300]

Tomato Cheese Rolls or Bread

These instructions are for 1 1/2 pound loaf or as many rolls you can get out of the dough.

5/8 cup mile (for Welbilt/Dak bread machines just add 2 tablespoons more milk)
1 (6oz) can tomato paste
1 egg
3 1/4 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons Red Star brand active dry yeast for all machines except 1 1/2-pound Welbilt/Dak machines (use 2 teaspoons yeast)

Place all ingredients in bread pan, select Light Crust setting, then Start.

Once the dough is kneaded, then you start making your rolls. Add about 1/2 square of cheese (any cheese) while you're making your rolls. Then you put them in a muffin pan. Then you put the oven on 350 bake for 12-15 min.

Yummy! Paul always has special requests to make at least 5 dozen every year.

Connie

[nurse11349]

Delicious Coffee Cake

1 box of yellow cake mix
1- 3oz box vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup of sour cream

Combine above ingredients and beat
for 4 minutes. Grease 9 by 13 pan
and layer cake and filling, starting with
cake mix and ending with sprinkling
of filling on top. I make 3 layers.

Filling:1/2 c. nuts (Optional), 3/4 c. sugar,
1 tsp. cocoa, 1 tsp. cinnamon.

Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees.
(If using 2 smaller foil pans, 35-40 min.)

Got this recipe in 1970, first year started
working in a hospital. Still have the same
file card (yellowed).

[mamaxsix]

Cranberry, Peach and Fresh Ginger Chutney
4 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup raisins ( I used half dried cherries)

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup water

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 cup chopped Granny Smith apple (I used peaches instead)

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

Directions

Combine the cranberries, raisins, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat until berries start to pop, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, apple, and celery; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to thicken, 5 to 10 more minutes. Transfer to a container and cool slightly. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to blossom.

[UnderstandBlue]

I make this every Thanksgiving and everyone loves it.

2 cans white shoepeg corn, totally drained (don't sub regular canned corn)
1 stick butter
1 pkg cream cheese
1 can Hatch chopped green chiles (I like the hot)
salt & pepper to taste


Put it all in a microwave safe bowl and heat 30 seconds at a time until blended and heated through. Sit back and wait for all the admiring applause


AWESOME with stuffing.

[UnderstandBlue]

1.25 C uncooked rice1 pkg frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 tsp salt
2-3 cups grated sharp cheddar, preferably white
1/2 tsp pepper
2.5 cups chicken broth.


Cook the rice in the broth until done. While still hot, put it in a buttered casserole dish and mix in soup, cheese and seasonings until mixed and melty. I eyeball the cheese - I like it very cheesy. If it looks dry with the amount of cheese you like, add a small amount of broth or water.


Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 until bubbly

[pvilbaum]

This is one of my favorite salads for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Party Cranberry Salad
There 's lots of cranberry taste in this beautiful gelatin salad. Cranberry and raspberry gelatin are cooked up with pineapple syrup and water and then poured over a bowl of cranberry sauce, crushed pineapple, apples and walnuts. Chill, set and serve.
Serves 11 to 12 servings

Ingredients
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
1 (3 ounce) package cranberry flavored gelatin mix
1 (3 ounce) package raspberry flavored gelatin mix
1 cup cold water
2 (16 ounce) cans whole cranberry sauce
1 apple - peeled, cored and chopped
0.5 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
1. In a saucepan, combine reserved syrup and enough water to make 1 cup. Bring liquid to a boil and add cranberry and raspberry gelatin; stir until dissolved. Add cold water and cool to room temperature.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine pineapple, cranberry sauce, apples and nuts. Add to gelatin and mix well.
3. Pour into serving dish and keep chilled until ready to serve.

[mamaxsix]

adde1 1/4c well-cooked dried prunes (I stew them in water to cover with a
cinnamon stick piece)
1/2 tsp grated orange rind
1 cup heavy cream whipped with 2T sugar

If there are pits in your prunes, remove them. Press prunes through coarse sieve (I usually just break them up in the bowl with a spoon). Mix in the orange rind then fold into whipped cream. May sprinkle with some chopped nuts and extra orange for garnish. Chill before serving.

*If you're not fond of prunes, my other grandma used canned plums instead, but I prefer the flavor and texture of it made with the prunes instead and with the heavy meal we are eating the prunes are a nice "help".

[mamaxsix]

Ingredients to cream together:
3/4 c butter
1 c cooking oil
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Dry Ingredients:
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 scant tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Beat the first ingredients together. In separate bowl mix dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to the creamed ones. Take a tsp of dough and form into ball. Place on cookie sheet and flatten with bottom of a glass greased and dipped into sugar. Bake at 375F for ~10minutes.

These sugar cookies just melt in your mouth. I make them at Christmas with colored sugars.