New Twists on an Old Favorite

I think it is safe to say that dried beef, pickles and cream cheese may be one of the best food combos ever.  I know, some may disagree and think that I exaggerate, but once you try one of these two new recipes, you might just change your mind!

Since summer is fast approaching and there will graduation parties and picnics to attend, you can't go wrong with either of the make ahead recipes.

Magic Pickle Dip (found here and everywhere on Pinterest:)

Original recipe makes 16 servings 

1 8 oz cream cheese, softened

6 dill pickle spears, diced

1 jar dried beef, chopped

Mix together the softened cream cheese, diced pickle, and chopped beef until well combined. Chill until ready to serve.  Serve with Ritz crackers.

This is the dried beef we have around here.

Stackers 

8 oz cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons dill weed

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder 

8 oz french onion chip dip

 Mix together well! 

You will also need:

1 jar dill sandwich stackers or think sliced dill pickles

10 - 6inch flour tortillas

2 jars dried beef

Thin sliced cheese (I used about 6 slices of provolone sliced  for sandwiches)

 Long tooth picks

Spread cream cheese mix on one tortilla.  Top with sliced beef to make a single layer covering the whole tortilla.  Spread BOTH sides of the next tortilla and place on top of the beef.  Add a layer of pickles. Repeat tortilla layer. Add a layer of cheese.    Keep going until you have used up all your tortillas.  

To place the tooth picks. You basically want to have a whole bunch of 1-1 1/2 inch squares with a toothpick in each one.  I scored my stacker across the top into 4ths and then into the smaller  squares. I like everything to be even.  Then I added the toothpicks, evenly spaced across the entire stacker.  Once that was all done, I wrapped it up good in plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge.  I cut all the pieces all the way though right before serving.   

So here's to summer and lots of picnics, parties and light eating!

Sweet Dreams are made of Cheese

Saturday night our Dinner Club group from church met for the first time.  We had a wonderful meal that included tortilla roll ups and queso for appetizers, a build your own taco bar, fresh fruit and Cupid's floats for dessert.

We had Pastor's famous Beer Margaritas to drink, played a rousing game of Outburst and had a lovely time just catching up and chatting with friends from church for more than the usual 5 minutes.

I was responsible for the queso.  I have recently fallen in love with the chips and queso from Qdoba so I set out to find a copy cat recipe to try for this occasion.

I found it here, from a quick Google search of "copycat Qdoba queso." 

I did use Velveeta where it called for American cheese.  So with that and some peppers compliments of Jan, I was all set. 

I  highly recommend you make this tonight. And probably tomorrow too. And if you need to take something to your Super Bowl Party Sunday, make  it for that too.

Here is the batch from Qdoba I had the other day.  Oddly enough, there isn't any of the batch I made left  for me to photograph. 








The Cupid's Floats can be found on Pinterest.  Vanilla ice cream topped with Cherry 7-UP, whipped cream and a cherry. 

At our house ice cream + pop= Volcanic Eruption.  Dad, be sure to add this to your VE menu.  You will love it.

Lombardi Chicken. Don't let the name decieve you .

I am not from Wisconsin.  I am not a Packers fan. Just want to get that out of the way right off the bat.

Last week I took meals to a few people from church.  For some reason, I had a hard time coming up with what to make.  I seem to be in somewhat of a rut lately when it comes to meal planning so I just stuck with a couple of old favorites. 

This recipe was featured in a little cook book called Hometown Cooking from June of 2001.  (I went way back with this one.)  It was published by Better Homes and Gardens and I don't think they publish it anymore.  It was such a fun little book that featured Midwestern towns and recipes from local residents. 

This particular recipe was from Cedarburg, Wisconsin.  Cedarburg is home to some wonderful stores like Amy's Candy Kitchen, home of the best caramel apple EVER as well as Downtown Dough where you can purchase cookie dough,cookie decorating accessories,  and every cookie cutter known to man. I hear there is Pyrex there too.

So out of all that also comes this great chicken dish that your family will love.
Here it is, copied and pasted straight from the internet so I didn't have to retype it.

Lombardi Chicken
from Hometown Cooking magazine. It originated from a cookbook in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. This is a keeper. This recipe pays homage to Vince Lombardi; coach for the Green Bay Packers

2 lbs skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves
5 T. flour
6 T. butter, divided
2 c. fresh sliced mushrooms
1 c. dry Marsala wine
2/3 c. chicken broth
2/3 c. shredded mozzarella or fontina cheese
2/3 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onions


Cut each breast half in half lengthwise. Place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with the flat side of a meat mallet until 1/4 inch thick. Remove plastic wrap. Coat chicken lightly with flour.

In a 12 inch skillet, melt 1 T. of the butter or margarine over low heat and add half of the chicken pieces. Cook for two minutes on each side. Transfer to a 2 qt. rect. baking dish. Repeat with another tablespoon of butter and the remaining pieces of chicken. Add chicken to dish.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet. Add mushrooms. Cook and stir until tender; add wine, broth, and dash each of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; boil gently until mixture is reduced to one cup (about 5 minutes). Pour over the chicken.

Combine two cheeses and green onions and sprinkle over the chicken. Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree
oven for 20 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Makes 8 servings.

Rhubarb 150 Ways

Ok, not really, but if you have rhubarb, you know that you always end up with way more than you know what to do with! 

Here is my very favorite rhubarb dessert. Unlike my Dad, I don't consider eating bowls full of strawberry rhubarb jelly a dessert. This one came from my mother and I remember her making it often at the beginning of every summer.  You won't be disappointed with it, I promise!

Rhubarb Cherry Crunch

4 cups diced fresh rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 cup water
1 can cherry pie filling
5 drops red food coloring (I never add this)
1 tsp almond extract

3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 sifted flour
pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omit these)

Place rhubarb in 11 x 7x 1 1/2 inch baking dish.  Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan.  Gradually stir in water.  Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thick.  Stir in pie filling and almond extract.  Pour over rhubarb. 

Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, salt and butter.  Mix until crumbly.  Sprinkle over fruit mixture. 

Bake in moderate oven, 350, for 45 minutes until golden brown and rhubarb  is tender. 

Makes 6-8 servings.

 
I have added several new recipes to the rhubarb section of my cook book over the years so if you need more ideas of what to make, just let me know. 

A little birdie told me

I heard that today is National Poultry Day.  Quite fitting with my chicken raising memories don't you think?  So I thought I would share these recipes that all include eggs!

Yorkshire Pudding (recipe compliments of my Aunt Ann, minus the Pyrex comments:)

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter

Melt butter in 8x8 pan.  It must be Pyrex, of course :)  Combine remaining ingredients in another Pyrex bowl and mix together.  Pour batter, which is thin, into the 8x8 pan.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. 

Serve with fresh fruit or syrup.

Easy Breakfast Casserole (Laura's recipe and an Easter breakfast favorite)

6 slices bread, cubed
1 lb diced ham or browned breakfast sausage
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp mustard

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  Spread cubed bread in the bottom of the pan.  Spread ham or sausage over the bread and then spread the cheese over the meat.

Mix together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and mustard.  Pour over all.
Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight.

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove plastic wrap and bake for 1 hour.

 

Bacon and Double Cheese Quiche

(Mom's recipe, commonly known as Egg Pie at our house)

1 prepared pie crust, baked

10 strips bacon

4 large eggs

1 ½ cups light cream

¼ tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp white pepper

½ cup white cheddar, shredded

½ cup Monterey jack with peppers, shredded

Cook bacon over medium heat until crispy.  Transfer to a paper towel to drain excess grease.  In a  small bowl whisk together eggs, cream, thyme and pepper.  Pour into prepared crust.  Crumble bacon and sprinkle over egg mixture.  Top with shredded cheeses.  Bake until golden and custard is set, about 30 minutes. 

Birthday Recipes

As promised…a few recipes from Briee’s birthday party. Two of the favorites were the Kiwi-Lime Cups (a Pampered Chef recipe) and of course the Pink Champagne Cake from the Booze Cakes Cookbook.

Kiwi –Lime Dessert Cups
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted, divided
½ package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 lime
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 drop green food coloring
2 cups thawed frozen whipped topping
1 cup fresh strawberries
2 medium kiwi, peeled
Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Spray cups of mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour. Set aside 2 tbsp of the almonds. Finely chop remaining almonds.
Cut cookie dough into six ½ -inch-thick disks. Dip disks into chopped almonds, coating evenly. Cut each disk into four wedges for a total of 24 wedges. Place wedges into cups of muffin pan; bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown (wedges form into cups). Cool in pan 3-4 minutes; remove cups to cooling rack.
Meanwhile, zest lime to measure 1 tsp. Juice lime to measure 1 tbsp. Combine zest, juice, cream cheese, sugar and food coloring; whisk until smooth. Add whipped topping; mix until stiff. (the filling may appear curdled when mixing in the whipped topping; continue mixing until filling appears smooth again). Spoon cream cheese mixture into large resealable plastic bag; set aside. Thinly slice strawberries and kiwi, cut kiwi slices in half.
To assemble, trim corner of bag; pipe filling evenly into cups. Top with strawberries, kiwi and reserved almonds.
*Chef Notes: We did not use the strawberries in the garnish.

Pink Champagne Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg whites
A few drops of red food coloring
2 cups Champagne
Pink Champagne Frosting
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup Champagne
¼ cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
A few drops of red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar 3 to 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat in egg whites one at a time.
Mix in food coloring. Beat in flour mixture and Champagne in three alternating additions, starting and ending with flour to prevent curdling. Pour batter into pans and bake 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
For the frosting: In a mixing bowl, beat butter 1 minute. Gradually add the confectioners” sugar, Champagne, milk, vanilla, and food coloring; beat until smooth and creamy.
Once cake has cooled completely, place bottom layer on a cake plate and spread half the frosting overtop. Add top layer and cover with frosting.

Salmon burgers/Sliders

I have made a variety of salmon burger recipes, but this one is my  new favorite. For those of you that don’t know much about me…I have NEVER purchased canned salmon. Being raised in the Seattle area, the only canned fish we ever ate was tuna fish. Since moving to Colorado 13 years ago, my husband Brian has always found a reason to get up to Alaska at least every other year to fill our freezer with salmon and halibut. So, whenever a recipe calls for canned salmon, I just pull a piece of salmon out of the freezer and bake it up! If you want to make sliders, you just make the patties smaller. Enjoy!

Alaska Salmon burgers
1 – 15 ½ oz can unsalted pink salmon, drained, skin removed
½ cup celery, finely chopped
½ cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup lite mayonnaise
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons salsa
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1. Combine all ingredients. Mix well.
2. Form into patties
3. Spray nonstick pan with oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides
4. Serve on buns with lettuce, sliced tomato and pickles.

Addictions

It can be difficult to live with your adult children that come home from college for the summer. No time for stories…enough said. On Friday afternoon, in a moment of frustration, I left the house headed for a place where I knew my addictions would get the best of me. And I got caught. While browsing my favorite section of Barnes and Noble,  my good friend Jennifer walked right up to me and asked, almost in that intervention sort of tone, “do you really need another cookbook?”
The real answer is NO. I do not NEED another cookbook. But we have a tendency to let our addictions take over in moments of frustration. So…yes, I did buy a new cookbook. This is it.


And I made this recipe today….

Rum & Coke Whoopie Pies
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cola
Fluffy Cream Filling
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup marshmallow fluff
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons light rum

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon liners.

For the cakes:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk and cola.Add the buttermilk mixture to the creamed butter and egg mixture. Add the dry ingredient mixture, and beat until well blended.
4. Drop batter by the tablespoon full onto baking sheet, leaving plenty of room for the cakes to spread (8 per baking sheet) and bake 10 minutes or until set.
5. Remove from oven, and let the cakes cool on racks completely before filling.

For the filling:

1. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and marshmallow fluff until light and creamy. Mix in the rum. On low speed, beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Once all added, turn speed up to high and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Spread an even amount of filling on the flat side of half the cooled cakes.
3. Place another cake, flat side down, on top of each filled whoopie pie. To glamorize, dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar, or roll them in mini chocolate chips or sprinkles.

They are very, very tasty good.
And I am bringing them over to your house Jennifer….so look out. They might be addicting!

Bar Cookies are great for Parties!

If you are planning more than one party at a time…(we know a little about that), or planning a party that requires travel of food…(one hour away or in the mail; we know about this too!), or if you need to make food a couple of weeks before the party…(because you have too many other things to do)…a Bar Cookie is the perfect dessert! Two of our favorite recipes did double duty this past month.
The French Caramel Pecan Bars is a recipe that I cut out of a newspaper YEARS ago. It is easy to make and freezes well. The Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars is a Taste of Home recipe I found while looking for something “very chocolate”. It keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks!

French Caramel Pecan Bars surrounded by Brownie Pops at Tasha’s Graduation Party



Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars featured with Mini Pies at Shelby’s graduation Party



Both are served along with Peanut Butter Cup Cookies and Frosted Brownies at Dick & Cindy’s Wedding Reception

Recipes:

French Caramel Pecan Bars

¾ cup butter, melted
1 pkg Moist Supreme French Vanilla Cake Mix
1 egg
2 ½ cups quick cooking rolled oats
1 can coconut pecan frosting
1 (12 oz) pkg (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans
Heat oven to 350⁰ F. Spray a 15x10x1 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Place melted butter in large bowl. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the cake mix; set aside.
Add remaining cake mix to the butter; blend well. Add egg; mix well. Stir in oats.
Press 2/3 of cake mix mixture (about 2 ½ cups) in bottom of sprayed pan.
Place frosting in medium microwave bowl; microwave on high for 1 minute. Add reserved 3 tablespoons cake mix; stir until large lumps disappear.
Drizzle half of frosting mixture over cake mix mixture in pan; spread evenly.
Sprinkle with chocolate chips and pecans. Drizzle with remaining frosting mixture.
Crumble remaining cake mix mixture over frosting mixture.
Bake at 350⁰ F. for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbly. Cool completely.
Cut into bars. Makes 48 bars.

Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1-1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups crisp rice cereal

Directions

• In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
• Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts if desired. Spread in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
• Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes. Sprinkle with marshmallows; bake 2-3 minutes longer. Remove to a wire rack. Using a knife dipped in water, spread the melted marshmallows evenly over top. Cool completely.
• For topping, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until blended. Remove from the heat; stir in cereal. Spread over bars immediately. Chill. Yield: about 3 dozen.

Chicken Bites

Tonight I tried a recipe from my Tabasco Cookbook. This is a platter of Honey Mustard Chicken Bites!

They were very moist and delicious. The Tabasco flavor was very mild, so if you like things a little more spicy…just add a little more Tabasco!  Here is the very easy recipe:

1/3 cup spicy brown mustard
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco pepper sauce
1 pound boned skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces.

In a medium bowl, mix the mustard, honey, ketchup, garlic and Tabasco sauce. Set aside 1/4 cup of the mixture; add the chicken to the rest and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven broiler. Arrange the chicken pieces on a rack in the broiler pan and broil, turning once and brushing with the marinade, until the chicken is tender, about 10 minutes. Serve with the reserved sauce as a dip.

Fancy Chicken

This is a great recipe that I tried from the Relish Magazine. Please note the suggested wine pairing.

Food & Wine

Pairing food with wine is big industry. There are numerous books and magazines with so many suggestions….Some say you must follow certain rules such as - red wine with red meat, white wine with chicken and seafood; others tell you to break all the rules and just enjoy! The choices can be overwhelming and where do you start?  Do you choose your menu and then the wine? Or should you choose the wine and then plan the menu? I personally like to choose wine based on the name and/or the label. I don’t worry too much about pairing it with the perfect food. It's much easier to pair a wine with a good friend.  Kellee and I do have some favorite wines. This is one of them.



Cupcake Vineyards have some very interesting food & wine pairings.
Check out their suggestions.

Substitute Ingredients

As I continue to cook my way through the Pioneer Woman Cooks…I kept looking at her Chicken Spaghetti recipe, but I could never remember to buy the pimientos! One night I just decided to make it and substitute a few ingredients. A good cook once told me “if you change one ingredient of any recipe it becomes your own”. So here is the DFD (Dairy Farmer’s Daughter) version of PW Chicken Spaghetti. I used the meat from a rotisserie chicken,  roasted red peppers instead of pimientos and celery instead of green bell pepper. Because I did not have any chicken broth from cooking my own chicken, I added some canned chicken broth to my water before I cooked the spaghetti. I thought the results were great!

Sushi Anyone?

Thanks to the Food Network Magazine, I had a little fun with friends and family over Easter weekend. We love going out to eat sushi, but I have never tried to make it at home. This recipe was the perfect solution for all of our non-sushi eating friends and it was really fun and easy to make. My daughter Briee was so impressed she took all the ingredients back to school to “make” sushi for her college friends.

Cheesy Potatoes

Easter dinner on my side of the family is ALWAYS ham and cheesy potatoes. The ham is pretty simple and nothing too fancy. The cheesy potatoes, on the other hand, have evolved over the years. This dish started out as Golden Potato Casserole, a recipe from the 1966 cookbook put out by the American Dairy Association, and fondly referred to as “the dairy wives cookbook”. My mom made this casserole as a side dish to ham and fried chicken. As kids, we called this dish “cheesy potatoes”. As my sisters and I left home (each with our own copy of the “dairy wives cookbook”) we continued to make Cheesy Potatoes whenever ham was on the menu.

Sometime during the 1980’s, my aunt gave my mom a recipe for a quick easy version called “Hash brown Cheese Potatoes”. My recipe research took me to the internet where I  found quite a few recipes for Hash Brown Cheese Potatoes…most of them included cornflakes. My recipe card from mom does NOT include cornflakes. Then I remembered my mom telling me that my aunt always put cornflakes on hers but she never did. This “new” recipe for cheesy potatoes is now being made by the 3rd generation in my family. My niece made two pans yesterday for Easter dinner. That will cover about 15-18 people, no leftovers.

Although the new easy version is very good, this little jog down memory lane found me at the stove this morning boiling potatoes for the original Golden Potato Casserole. I put it in two pans and took one over to Kellee.  Her and Brian both agreed, the original is better! I am giving you both recipes. If you have the time…make the Golden Potato Casserole, if you are feeding a crowd, use the Hash Brown Cheese Potatoes. Either way…I hope you agree, Cheesy Potatoes are delicious!

Golden Potato Casserole
6 medium potatoes
2 cups (8oz.) shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup butter
2 cups sour cream at room temperature
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons butter
Cook potatoes in skins, cool, then peel and coarsely shred. In a saucepan over low heat combine Cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup butter, stirring occasionally, until almost melted. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream, onion, salt and pepper. Add potatoes, stirring lightly and turn into a buttered 2 quart casserole dish. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter; bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated through.

Hash Brown Cheese Potatoes
2 lb. frozen hash browns (country style or shredded)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
Slightly thaw hash browns. Mix together all ingredients. Mix in hash browns. Put in greased 9x13 pan, bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Rotisserie Chickens

 

I have cooked a few rotisserie chickens in my life.  Lets see, if I worked 5 days a week and we made 40+ chickens per day, well, you get the picture, it comes out to a lot! 

Last week, Grandma and Grandpa came for supper and they brought a rotisserie chicken from Sprouts.  If you think I have cooked a lot of chickens, you should ask Grandpa how many he has made in his lifetime. They don’t call him Deli Jim for nothing!

Today I tried the rotisserie chicken recipe from the great crock pot cookbook I got for Christmas.  The book is called Make it Fast, Cook it Slow and has all kinds of things you can make in your crock pot!  HERE is the link to the blog that goes with the book.

 

And here is the recipe!  Enjoy.

--1 whole chicken, skinned (4-5 pounds)
--2 tsp kosher salt (if you'd like it as salty as the ones in the store, add another 1 tsp.)
--1 tsp paprika
--1 tsp onion powder
--1/2 tsp dried thyme
--1 tsp Italian seasoning
--1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--pinch of chili pepper (probably not necessary)
--4 whole garlic cloves (optional)
--1 yellow onion, quartered (optional)

 

Skin the chicken and get rid of the neck and other stuff from the cavity.

In a bowl, combine all of dried spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Plop the bird breast-side down into the crock pot.

If desired, shove 4 whole garlic cloves and a quartered onion inside the bird.

Do not add water.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8. The meat is done when it is fully cooked and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat.

All Things Pasta

 

I have been on kind of a pasta kick lately.  Not actually eating a lot of pasta but talking about it a lot. Vodka pasta, spaghetti pies, refrigerated tortellini, stuff like that. With all that talk,  I have decided to make this for supper tonight.  It looks good to eat and quick and easy to make, and it has bacon in it.  How can I go wrong?

 

Spaghetti Carbonara

From the March 2006 EveryDay Food page 95

1 pound spaghetti

8 oz bacon (8 slices)  cut 1 inch thick crosswise

salt and pepper

3 large eggs

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1/2 cup half and half

1.  Set a large pot of water to boil (for pasta).  In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

2.  Salt boiling water generously; add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions.

3.  Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Parmesan, and half and half.  Set aside.

4. Drain pasta, leaving some water clinging to it.  Working quickly, add hot pasta to egg mixture.  Add bacon; season with salt and pepper, and toss all to combine (heat from pasta will cook eggs).  Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional Parmesan cheese. 

Another Quick and Easy Dessert

 
I had almost everything on hand for this quick and easy dessert. Another big hit at Ladies Bible Study.

Chai-Tea in a cupcake

Both of my girls love Chai Tea, so when I ran across this recipe in Martha's cupcake book, I knew I had to try them. Lots of wonderful spices needed to get that good Chai Tea flavor. My high altitude adjustments are in italics.

Makes 46 mini muffins (and this is true! I tried to stretch it out to make 48 and it just wouldn't go there!)

Cupcakes:

¾ cup milk plus 3 tablespoons

2 bags of black tea

1 cup all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising) plus 2 tablespoons

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder less ¼ teaspoon

½ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

¼ teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cardamom

Pinch each of ground cloves and ground nutmeg

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup packed dark brown sugar less 1 tablespoon

2 large eggs, room temperature plus 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350^O. Line mini muffin tins with paper liners. Bring milk to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; add tea bags, and let steep, covered, 15 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing the bags over the pan, and discard. Allow milk to cool completely. Whisk together both flours, baking powder, salt, pepper and spices.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of tea-infused milk, and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter among lined cups. Bake rotating halfway through, until tops spring back when lightly touched and are pale golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To finish, dip top of each cupcake in icing, then turn over quickly, and let set. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are glazed. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Condensed-Milk Icing:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (7 ounces)

Pinch of coarse salt

¾ cup confectioners' sugar

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together butter, condensed milk and salt until smooth. Whisk in confectioners' sugar ¼ cup at a time, until combined, then whisk on high speed until thick and smooth. Use immediately.

Chicken Pot Pie

Once again, the Pioneer Woman has convinced me to try something new. This time…it is pie crust. Just for the record, I have made pie crust before, and I was not very successful, so I gave it up.

But chicken pot pie is another thing. I love chicken pot pie. I have never made a chicken pot pie…for fear of the crust. But her pie crust recipe looked rather simple and so I tried it. The crust was easy to make and so I continued on with the chicken pot pie. I am sure the butter and heavy cream added to the wonderful taste of this pot pie. If you have this cookbook, you will find the step by step directions/pictures on page 126. I very carefully followed step number 10 which notes that the rustic looking crust is a good thing. Here is her recipe for the perfect pie crust.

Ingredients

1-½ cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole Egg
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions
In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Separate the dough into halves. Form 2 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. (If you desire a thinner crust, divide dough into thirds.) Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it's still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)
When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it's a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it's about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.
With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.