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Monday, December 14, 2009

White Chip Cookies

1 2/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lg. egg
2 cups white morsels

Combine flour, baking powder,baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter,sugars and vanilla in large mixer. Stir in morsels and put on cookie sheets. Bake for 8-12 minutes at 375*

Makes about 3 dozen

Cream Tuna on Toast

Melt 3-4 T butter on medium heat, stir in 3-4 T flour until lumps are gone. Add 1 c. milk, a little at a time to smooth out lumps, then add another cup of milk (or two, depending on how thick or thin you want it). Stir in ¼- ½ t. salt. Add 1 can of Tuna.
Pour over toast.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Red Slush

1 box of pineapple sherbet
1 small can of frozen orange juice
1 small can of frozen lemonade
2 smashed bananas
1 small can of frozen strawberries

Blend together and refreeze. When ready to serve just pour some sprite or 7-up over it.

Pumpkin Seeds

2 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp garlic salt
2½-3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Melt in pan and then stir in 2 cups of pumpkin seeds.
Bake at 275* for 1 hour or until golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes.

Pancake Mix

2 eggs (beat)
2 cups flour
1 ½ cup milk or buttermilk
4 Tbsp melted butter or shortening
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Beat until smooth

Italian Rice

1 ½ cups minute rice
1 whole onion chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 whole bell pepper chopped
1 can tomato soup
½ tsp salt
1 cup cheese grated
1 can corn
1 pound hamburger
Paprika
Pepper
Worcestershire sauce
1 can mushrooms

Boil Rice. Chop onion, pepper and garlic and cook in oil until onions are brown, then add hamburger and cook. Add tomato soup and seasonings and cheese, until cheese is milted. Add rice and corn. Stir over low heat for 5 minutes. Put in baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for ½ hour at 325*.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Cool Whip Frosting

1 c. cold milk
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 sm. box vanilla or chocolate instant pudding mix

Beat on low for 1 minute. Stir in 8 ounce thawed Cool Whip. (If using vanilla pudding you might add a few drops food coloring for colored frosting.)

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Frozen Lemon Dessert

1 small pkg. lemon jello
3/4 cup hot water
1 cap full lemon extract
1 can of cold canned milk (refrigerate the night before)
20 graham crackers (2 pkg)

Combine first four ingredients, and cook to the syrupy stage.
Whip milk in large bowl. Pour hot syrup over whipped cream while still beating. Line pan with crackers then pour the mixture in. Let sit in refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Top with graham cracker crumbs.

Seedless Raspberry Jelly

3 C. zucchini
1/2 C. lemon juice
3 C. sugar
1 (6oz) pkg. Raspberry Jello

Peel zucchini, remove seeds and shred.Add lemon juice and cook until transparent. Blend in a blender. Return to pan and add sugar and Jello. Bring to a rolling boil for 6-8 minutes.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Homemade Alfredo Sauce


1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded (I like to add more)
salt & pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in small saucepan (not Teflon coated) and simmer on low until melted and mixed, stirring continually (about 20 minutes). Whisk until smooth before serving over pasta. Can be refrigerated and used again if reheated on low heat. (Remember to whisk again!)

*may add cut up and cook chicken chunks seasoned with Montreal steak seasoning.
Serve with Fettuccine noodles

Makes 4 servings

*Half-and-half or evaporated milk can be used for some or all of the cream to reduce fat but the consistency won't be as rich or as thick.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Easy Corn Salsa

1 bag small bag frozen corn (thawed)
2 tomatoes (chopped)
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 cans black beans (drained)
1-2 avocados (chopped)
cilantro (chopped)
1 packet Italian dressing mix

Chop and mix veggies. Make Italian dressing per instructions on box using balsamic vinegar. Mix it all together and enjoy.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Rice & Black Bean Taco



1 cup cooked rice
1 can black beans
1 can corn (drain water)
2 small cans green chilies

Mix above ingredients together and serve warm. Make Taco.

Tortilla shells
Cheese
Salsa

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Did You Know?

Bananas
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to
pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Bananas
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster

Cheese
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Cooking beef
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

Eggs
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

Treat
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints
in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Garlic
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Treat
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!


Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water.
Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such
as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza.


Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.


Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.


Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in
a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food
moist and help it reheat faster.


Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers,
put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and for-
get about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not
get through wet newspapers.


Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.


No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket.
It will keep the mosquitoes away.


Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.


Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.


Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose.
Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! .. static is gone.


Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of
your car . When the window s fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!


Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.


Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.


Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!


Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Applesauce Cookies

1 C Shortening
2 C Sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Mix these up well, then add:

4 C flour
2 tsp soda
2 C applesauce (or just one can)
1 C oatmeal
1 package of chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. They should be browning on the edges and the top shouldn't be doughy

Monday, February 16, 2009

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

2 (15oz.) cans Great Northern Bean, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
¼ cup all purpose flour
1 ¾ cups chicken broth (1 14 oz can)
2 cups half and half (or 1 cup milk and 1 cup half and half)
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
Two 4ounce cans chopped green chillies with their juice
1 whole rotisserie chicken shredded- white and dark meat
6 ounces grated monterey jack cheese- about 1 ½ cups
½ cup sour cream

Directions

1. Drain beans in a colander and rinse
2. Cook onion in 2 Tablespoons butter over medium heat until the onions is softened but not brown
3. In a heavy pot melt 6 Tablespoons butter over medium low heat and whisk in flour
4. Turn heat to LOW and whisk constantly for 3 minutes making sure it doesn’t turn brown.
5. Stir in onion and add broth and half and half, whisking constantly.
6. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Then mixture should be thickened. If it is too thick add a little broth or water to thin it.
7. Stir in Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper
8. Add beans, chilies, chicken and cheese
9. Cook over medium low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally or put in crockpot on low heat.
10. Serve with sour cream on the side
11. Yummy as a soup or dip with frittos or tortilla chips

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Chocolate Candy Cane Brownies

Ingredients:
1 bar (4 oz) sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crushed candy canes
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate mini chips
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8 inch square pan and line the bottom with aluminum foil. Grease the aluminum foil and dust with flour (or cocoa).
2. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate with butter over low heat.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for 3 minutes on low speed.
4. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla extract.
5. Beat in the flour and salt until blended. Add the crushed peppermints and stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into
6. our prepared pan.
7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool.
Makes about 16 brownies.

Christmas Candy Cane Cheesecake

Ingredients:
1 cup Chocolate wafer crumbs
3 Tbsp Margarine, melted
1 ea Envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup Cold water
16 oz Soft Philly cream cheese
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Milk
1/4 cup Crushed candy canes
1 cup Whipping cream, whipped
3 oz Milk chocolate candy bars, chopped
Directions:
1. Combine wafer crumbs and margarine and press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Cool.
2. Soften gelatin in water; stir over low heat until dissolved. Combine cream cheese and sugar, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Gradually add gelatin, milk and candy canes, mixing until blended, chill until slightly thickened but not set. Fold in whipped cream and chocolate.
3. Pour over crust. Chill until firm.
4. Garnish with additional whipped cream combined with crushed peppermint candies, if desired.

Chocolate Candy Cane Pie

Ingredients:
1 ready-made chocolate cookie pie crust
14 ounce can Eagle Brand Regular Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup candy canes, finely crushed
10-12 drops green food coloring
2 cups whipping cream, whipped

Directions:
Combined sweetened condensed milk, finely crushed candy canes, chocolate chips and food coloring. Fold in whipping cream. Pour into crust, cover. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm.

Chocolate Chips Cookies

1 cup Butter flavor shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour (add enough flour that dough doesn't stick to fingers, sometimes it takes a little extra)
Chocolate Chips

Mix the wet ingredients thoroughly, then add the dry. Add as many chocolate chips as you like.