Chocolate Rum Balls

These rum balls are delicious, but off limits to kids.  They make great gifts.  My husband requests them every year.  If you want to make a kid friendly version, substitute the rum with Orange Juice.  They are not quite as good, but the kids will still enjoy them.

Chocolate Rum Balls - allrecipes.com

Ingredients
3 1/4 cups crushed vanilla wafers
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup rum

Instructions
 1. In a large bowl, stir together the crushed vanilla wafers, 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and nuts. Blend in corn syrup and rum.
   2. Shape into 1 inch balls, and roll in additional confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight container for several days to develop the flavor. Roll again in confectioners' sugar before serving.



Notes:
I discovered this time around that if I have just a sprinkle of water on my hands and rub my hands together that they form much easier and won't stick to your hands while you roll them.  They get more potent as the time goes on, so be careful!  Don't eat and drive! Heehee

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, who can resist them?  My daughter requested them for a class party, and then I made some for the family too.  We won't talk about the fact that Christmas is a busy season as it is, and that my husband had been traveling extensively, and that I had had two of my three children home sick in the past week and that I was frazzled and that I had to memorize 8 pieces of music for a Christmas concert I was to sing in with our church choir.. and the fact that I got up at 4 30 in the morning to make these beauties!  It was all worth it.  And I got permission to use my words on songs I didn't get memorized!  Wahoo! (These are also nice for Valentines or any other occasion you can think of)
I got this recipe from allrecipes.com  it truly is a wonderful website if you have not discovered it yet.

Don't buy the overpriced chocolate dipped strawberries in the stores - they are so easy to make and delicious!  Makes about 3 packages of strawberries.  If you have chocolate left over use them to drizzle over cookies, or dip other fruit.  Very good.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Ingredients
16 ounces milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
1 pound fresh strawberries with leaves
  
DIRECTIONS
   1. Insert toothpicks into the tops of the strawberries (washed and completely dried!).
   2. In a double boiler (bowl over hot water in a pan), melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding them by the toothpicks, dip the strawberries into the chocolate mixture.
   3. Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into styrofoam for the chocolate to cool. (or in this case, I used cupcake papers and just put a berry in each.  Enjoy.

Scottish Shortbread Cookies

I found this recipe online.  It is a shortbread recipe that was passed down from generation to generation.  I made a little change to it.  Rather than baking it in a pan and then cutting them into slices, I rolled them out and treated them like sugar cookies.  I kept the temperature at 325F as in the original, but because they were smaller, the batch was done after 20 minutes.  I made stars and then drizzled them with chocolate that I had left over from Chocolate Dipped Strawberries (Yes, I have that on my blog too)

Enjoy.
Source:
http://weheartthis.com/2009/08/24/scottish-shortbread-recipe/

Scottish Shortbread
Yield: 5 dozen depending on size of the cookies
1 lb. butter, softened a day in advance
1 c. sugar
1 egg
6 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt (pinch)
1/4 tsp. baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cream sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat in egg. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder (I use a whisk for this) in a separate bowl.
3. If you have a Kitchen Aid Mixer, put on your bread kneading attachment and slowly add flour mixture on lowest setting until ingredients are evenly combined. You will have a very dense, mound of dough when mixer is done. If you do not have a Kitchen Aid Mixer, you will need to add the flour mixture by hand. Do not attempt to use a hand mixer or lesser mixer to add the flour, it WILL burn out the motor (Since I’ve been making this, I have officially murdered 4 hand mixers and one Sunbeam stand mixer, so thank goodness I got a Kitchen Aid last year–my reign of terror over small appliances has ended). Add the entire flour mixture into the large bowl with the other ingredients and use hands to combine. Rub the butter mixture into the flour using both hands until the dough resembles coarse meal Start squeezing and punching the dough to force it to stick together. Once the dough starts to stick, knead the dough until it forms a very stiff, dense ball (about 40 times—yes, you read that correctly). Think about how everything was combined using only hands for centuries and don’t feel so bad.
4. THIS IS WHERE I ROLLED THE DOUGH OUT AND MADE COOKIE SHAPES:
Divide the dough in half, place in two 7×11-inch pans. Take a fork and pierce the dough in rows, careful not to press fork too deeply (should go about 1/2 way down).
5. IF MAKING COOKIES BAKE FOR 15-20 minutes per batch until the edges begin to turn golden.  Original Recipe:Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Shortbread will be very light, almost white with barely golden edges when done. Remove from oven, cut immediately with a sharp knife into rectangles, or “fingers” (I prefer to cut off all the edges first). Cool in pan. 
Becky's Change:  Let cool completely and drizzle with melted chocolate.


Recipe Notes

Submitter's notes:
My grandmother's family hailed from Scotland. Along with the necessities, they brought with them was a recipe for Scottish shortbread. This recipe has been passed down through generations. The area that my grandmother’s family settled was in a little steel mill town in Pennsylvania where other Scottish immigrants had settled. There were so many in the area, that the Presbyterian Church that my grandmother attended served shortbread at communion instead of wafers. Now THAT is Scottish. I can’t remember a Christmas growing up where we didn’t have shortbread. Now you, too, can channel your inner Highlander!
Sidenote: if you own a Kitchen Aid Mixer like myself, you’re going to be one happy camper because this will be a breeze. If you do not, prepare for some tired arms!

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

I recently went to Olive Garden with my family.  Since it was cold out that day I had their "Chicken Gnocchi Soup" rather than the usual Salad that I have with my meal.  It was so good and tasty, that I had seconds of it and took my main meal home with me to reheat for dinner.

I looked on the internet and found a few different versions of copies.  Here is one I tried that I found on Pioneer Woman's Site: Tasty Kitchen
(http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/soups/chicken-and-gnocchi-soup/)

Preparation:
Saute garlic, grated carrots and 1/2 chopped onion in 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil

Add cooked,chopped chicken and 4 cups of good chicken broth
(the recipe calls for 3 cooked chicken breast halves, I used an already made rotisserie chicken and cut it up into bite size pieces)

Add 2 cups of heavy cream (I did not have two cups of cream and added last 1/2 cup of half and half)

Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried Thyme and season soup with salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and it had nice flavor)

Add about 1/2 cup thawed, drained chopped spinach (the original used fresh spinach chopped, but I didn't have any on hand and this was an easy substitute

Bring to boil and boil for a few minutes then add gnocchi

Add 1 (16 oz) package of Potato Gnocchi
return to boil and allow to boil for about 4 minutes.  After that turn the heat to low and allow to simmer another 10 minutes.

I tasted it at this point and decided to add about 1 teaspoon of Knorr Chicken Bouillon granules to enhance the chicken flavor.  Turned out great.

Here is the recipe:

Chicken Gnocchi Soup


2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 peeled large carrots, grated
1/2 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 chicken breast halves, cooked and cut up (or Rotisserie Chicken)
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream (or mix of heavy cream and half and half)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
16 oz package Potato Gnocchi

Preparation:
Saute the onion, garlic and carrots in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
Add chicken, chicken broth, heavy cream, salt and pepper, and thyme.  Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi.  Gently boil for 4 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and continue simmering for 10 minutes.  Add chopped fresh (or defrosted frozen chopped spinach) and cook for additional 2 minutes. Taste and add chicken bouillon if you desire. Enjoy!  I will be adding this to our soup favorites.  It is nearly identical to the soup they serve in Olive Garden and oh so good!!

Lemon Chicken II

One of the best sites for new recipes in my opinion is http://allrecipes.com. Today I made a wonderful Lemon Chicken Recipe (Lemon Chicken II on the site: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lemon-Chicken-II/Detail.aspx)  I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out wonderfully!  My entire family loved it.

I did use peanut oil to fry the chicken because I had it on hand and it can go to a high temperature without burning.

Here is the recipe:

Lemon Chicken II
INGREDIENTS:
3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Breading:
2 eggs
2 cups vegetable oil
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
For the Sauce:
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl combine the chicken, sherry, soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix together, cover and refrigerate. Let marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, 1/4 cup cornstarch and baking powder to form a batter. In a wok, heat 2 cups oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat chicken with batter and fry in wok until browned. Cut into bite size pieces and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, broth, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix together and add lemon slices. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok and slowly stir in lemon sauce mixture. Cook, stirring, until sauce is clear. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lemon-Chicken-II/Detail.aspx

Patty's Corn Bread Pudding

As you know I made chili today.  I also like to make a corn bread pudding recipe when I make chili.  I got this from one of my dearest friends a few years back, and today happens to be Patty's Birthday -- Patty this is in honor of your 28th Birthday (That is a number we can both agree on right?) :-)

Patty's Corn Bread Pudding
Serves 6-8

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 (8.5 ounce) package dry corn bread mix   
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine butter, eggs, corn bread mix, whole and creamed corn and sour cream. Spoon mixture into prepared dish.
Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.

My kids love this dish.

As you can see the ingredients are easy- 1 stick butter, melted; 2 eggs, beaten; 1 can creamed corn; 1 can corn kernels, drained; 1 cup sour cream and 1 box of corn muffin mix (I really like Jiffy).  Just combine them all together in the baking dish after you melted the butter in the dish and bake in same vessel.  Easy easy easy and ever so yummy!

It's Chili Cook-off Time

No, before you think I enter these big National cook-offs-- I don't-- it's just some friendly rivalry between good friends.  I don't always win, but no matter what, the time of hanging out and talking with friends is great.  Today I am trying a new recipe.  I usually make Chili with beans -- this recipe did enter a real cook-off and won some nice change.  I found the recipe at:
http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipes/best-chili-recipe.html
Here is the original recipe:
Best Chili
(Their Title, not mine-- we shall see)
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
2 1/2 lb. lean chuck, ground
1 lb. lean pork, ground
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion
8 oz. hunt's tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 can beer (12 oz.)
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons instant beef bouillon (or 6 cubes)
2 Tablespoons cumin, ground
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons oregano leaves
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon warm water
Directions:
1. In a large saucepan brown 1 1/4 pounds of the ground meat (the beef and the pork), drain the fat.
2. Remove meat (the beef and the pork). Brown the rest of the ground meat, drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
3. Add the garlic and onion, cook and stir until tender.
4. Add the other half of the meat and the tomato sauce, water, beer, chili powder, bouillon, cumin, paprika, oregano, sugar, coriander, cocoa, and hot sauce. Mix well.
5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered , for 2 hours.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the cornmeal and flour, then add the warm water and mix well.
7. Stir into chili and cook, covered, for an additional 20 minutes.

I always tinker with recipes and make them mine.  I made a few minor changes.  I used 2 1/2 lbs of Beef Chuck Thin Sliced, trimmed them of most of the fat and cut them into 1/4 inch cubes.  Since I used ground pork, I wanted the texture of the beef to be different, so I cut the Thin Sliced Chuck into small cubes (smaller than bite size)
I used 5 cloves of garlic because the measurement of meat was slightly more than the recipe called for.  I love garlic. The onion I used was also slightly larger than the yield of 1 cup (probably close to 1 1/2 cups)  I used Gebharts Chili powder, because I like the flavor and I reduced the Louisiana Hot sauce to 1/4 tsp instead of 1/2 because I was not sure how hot the chili would be and my children will be eating it later for dinner and I didn't want them to not be able to eat it.

This is a departure from how I usually make chili- I typically make it with beans. I know, in cook offs that are on the National level, this is almost sacrilegious!  To finish them off, I top them with crisp bacon bits (not from the bottle!!), cheese and have sour cream on the side to cut the heat if it is too spicy.  I also bought some avocados to top the chili this time.  I love living in Southern California, avocados are easy to find and of great quality.  Another key point is to make the chili ahead a day or even two days ahead  of an event if you do not have to cook it on site.  This mellows the seasonings out.  Yum Yum.

Sorry about the soft focus on this one.  This is the trimmed, cubed Chuck Beef that I had purchased thin sliced.

I cooked the ground pork and beef in two batches and drained them well after cooking.






Browned beef- drain well.











Add chopped onions (1 to 1 1/2 cups)

Add 5 cloves garlic, chopped finely

Add 1 1/2 cups beer, 1 cup of water and 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

Add the seasonings (sugar not shown in this picture)

I added half of the Louisiana Hot Sauce that it called for because you can never remove the heat you can always add it though.

Here is a picture of the seasonings before I stirred it into the meat mixture.

The chili before I put the lid on it and reduced the heat to low, simmering for 2 hours.

After it has simmered it will be this beautiful color.  The aroma is great at this point, but there is still the thickening step to this recipe.

Combine 1 teaspoon cornmeal and 1 teaspoon flour with a few teaspoons of warm water.  I actually ladled some of the chili into the bowl and stirred it so that all the thickening agent would end up in the chili, then returned it to the pot of chili.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes longer

I ladled the finished chili into a bowl and topped with my favorite toppings.

Avocado
Crisply cooked bacon
Shredded Mexican style cheddar jack cheese

It was quite good. I do think I will use this recipe.  I will have to double it to serve the crowd.  I hope to reserve enough of this tonight so I can see how it tastes tomorrow.

I enjoyed this recipe and I am sure you will as well.

Chops in Mushroom Gravy

This is a favorite of my families too.  I originally got it from the Taste of Home Magazine.  I have made a few alterations to get it to my taste.


Chops in Mushroom Gravy - Taste of Home Magazine
Serves 6-8
Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 to 2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 to 8 boneless pork loin chops (1 inch thick)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 med onion -- chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces -- drained
2 cup milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Hot mashed potatoes

Instructions

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first four ingredients. Add pork chops, one at a time; toss to coat. Set remaining flour mixture aside. (you will use it to thicken the sauce)
In a large skillet, saute chops in butter until golden brown; transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. In the same skillet, saute the onion, green pepper and mushrooms until tender. Stir in reserved flour mixture; gradually add milk until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in lemon juice. Pour over chops. Cover and bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink. Serve with potatoes.


Becky's Recipe Notes:
Changes I have made.  I like to use Roasted Red Peppers from the jar and dice them instead of using the green peppers.  It gives it a nice flavor.  It is really important not to add the lemon juice too soon, or the sauce seems to curdle.  Whisk it in while adding it.  2 Tbsp is roughly 1 lemon's juice.  I also heat the milk up in the microwave so I am not adding cold liquid to my warm dish.


Here is what I did:
I dredged the pork chops in the flour mixure:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 to 2 teaspoons paprika (I like it seasoned well I use about 1 1/2 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

I melted 4 Tbsp of butter in my scanpan (this is my new favorite non stick pan)


Turn them after they are golden brown. When both sides are browned remove them to a baking dish.

Add the chopped onions, diced (roasted) peppers and can of mushrooms to the pan with the butter.

Stir the flour mixture into the vegetables and cook the flour for a few minutes to remove the raw taste.  It will look a little clumpy, but don't worry it will be fine after you add in the warm milk and incorporate the liquid.

Slowly add the 2 cups of warmed milk




Stir and let the sauce thicken.

Off heat stir in 2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

Pour the mixture over the pork chops and cover with foil.

Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes.  Serve with Mashed Potatoes (my favorite is Garlic Mashed Potatoes) and serve with a salad.

Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

This is a wonderful refreshing dish that I love to serve at our home.  My husband and I seem to always battle for the last bowl when the late night munchies hit.  We end up sharing!

It is an easy dish to put together, chop your veggies and such while the pasta cooks and then cool the orzo under running cold water and it is a flash to assemble.  The beauty of this dish is you can put any veggies in you want.  My mom made this with green beans once and broccoli another time. Both were delicious.  I happen to like this combination the best.  But if you did not like artichokes, or cucumbers - substitute away!

Greek Orzo Pasta Salad
Serves 6-8

3/4 lb Barilla Orzo (I have tried other brands, but I love the size and texture of the Barilla brand)
1 cucumber, peeled and diced (I like the hot house or English ones they are most consistently good)
1 can artichoke hearts
1 can black olives (Greek style if you desire, but can be made with just regular olives if you wish)
1 package cherry or grape tomatoes (chopped tomato is fine too)
fresh basil, chopped (to taste or 1 tsp of dried basil works in a pinch)
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled or cut in cubes if you like larger pieces of feta
1/2 jar roasted Red Peppers (optional)

For the Dressing:
6 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp. mint
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Cook the Pasta according to the directions.  Prepare the vegetables, and put in a large bowl.  When the pasta is cooked, drained and cooled, add to the chopped veggies.  Combine the ingredients of the dressing and pour over the pasta salad.  Combine.  Add the feta cheese last, it seems to hold together better then.  Enjoy.  This really is quite addicting.  I think you will find it is as well.

Broccoli with Parmesan Crumb Topping

Here is an easy way to prepare Broccoli that even the kids enjoy.

Broccoli with Parmesan Crumb Topping
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 bunch broccoli, washed and cut into smaller pieces
1 inch water
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 cup seasoned Progresso bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Put the broccoli in a covered pot with an inch of water and seasoned with salt.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low, cover and steam for about 10 minutes until it is a nice dark green.
Drain the broccoli and transfer to a baking dish.  Melt the butter and combine with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle over the broccoli.  Bake at 325-350 for 15 minutes until the crumb topping is golden brown and the cheese melts a little.  Enjoy.  If you wish sprinkle more freshly grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkle some lemon juice over the dish.

Shrimp Scampi

This wonderful garlic and lemon flavored Shrimp dish is always a hit around my house.  The kids and my husband both rave about it every time I make it and it is so easy to prepare.

Shrimp Scampy
Serves 5
2-3 lbs raw, cleaned and shelled large count shrimp (I used Jumbo size which is around 16 shrimp to a lb)
1 stick butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. chopped Garlic (I also like to use the garlic that is prepared and in a tube that you can find in your vegetable section of your grocery store)
Juice of 2 lemons
Parsley (dried or fresh to your liking)
dash of red pepper flakes for a little kick

Heat a large skillet with a stick of butter and olive oil.  I find the butter does not burn as easily if combined with Olive oil.  Add the garlic and cleaned and shelled shrimp.  Saute for a few minutes and turn the shrimp over when it is pink on the underside.  When the shrimp is fully pink it is fully cooked!   Do not overcook or it will be tough.  Add lemon juice, parsley, and pepper flakes.  Enjoy with mashed potatoes, or angel hair pasta.  The sauce is really good over pasta.

Pumpkin Belgian Waffles with Vermont Maple Syrup Whipped Cream

I found this great little recipe online at a Bed and Breakfast site that also had a lot of recipes posted
(See http://www.lanierbb.com/recipes/). Here is one I tried this morning and everyone loved! Enjoy Fall.


Pumpkin Belgian Waffles With Vermont Maple Syrup Whipped Cream Recipe
Brought to you by Price House Cottage B&B
Serves: 5-6

Ingredients:

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/4 Tsp Clove
1 Tsp Ginger
1 Tsp Cinnamon
4 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Milk
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree, Canned
4 Eggs, Separated
1 Cup Butter, Melted
For the Flavored Whipping Cream:
1 Cup Whipping Cream
2 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup

Instructions:
Preheat waffle iron (Belgian or regular). In a large bowl, combine first seven ingredients. Whisk together milk, pumpkin puree, and egg yolks. Stir pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients and add melted butter. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into pumpkin mixture. Ladle batter onto waffle iron and cook until steam ceases to escape from the iron, producing a lightly browned waffle.

For the Flavored Whipping Cream:
Whip the cream until peaks begin to appear. Add syrup, when peaks begin forming, and finish whipping the cream until stiff peaks form. Serve waffles with pure maple syrup and a generous scoop of the whipped cream.

This is what the batter looks like after you fold in the stiff egg-whites.  It is light and airy

Here is the baked Waffle- nice and golden brown.  Begging for Maple Syrup and Whipped Cream

















BECKY'S NOTE: In the interest of time I skipped the Flavored Whipped Cream (this time) and served it with Maple Syrup and Whipped Cream from a can.  The kids really ate it up too!  My husband LOVED them (and anything Pumpkin) they already requested it for Thanksgiving.

Garlic Herb Cheese Bread

Garlic Herb Cheese Bread

Ingredients

4 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Butter -- softened
1/4 cup Parsley -- fresh, minced
1 Garlic clove -- minced
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 loaf fresh French Bread - sliced lengthwise

Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine cheddar cheese, softened butter, parsley, garlic, garlic powder, and paprika.  Combine with a fork.  Spread on both sides of the french bread; Heat in 375 F oven for 10-15 minutes.

This recipe is great with Lasagna or any pasta.  It has a lot of garlic- which is why I love it!

Lasagna

Lasagna and Garlic Bread always is a hit in our home.  There is something about Lasagna that brings everyone to the table with healthy appetites.

 Lasagna Recipe:
1 lb shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Tbsp. olive oil
 1 lb ground beef
3/4 lb Italian Mild Pork Sausage
3 -28 oz cans Hunts tomato sauce
package of Barilla no cook Lasagna noodles
2 tsp. salt
1 (15 oz) tub Ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs

Shred the Mozzarella cheese if you have not purchased already shredded cheese.  Saute the meats (I substituted them with real meats .. none of this low fat around my house) in olive oil.  I added 1 Tbsp crushed garlic to the last minute of browning.  I drained the meat thoroughly.  I returned the meat to the pan and added the spaghetti sauce, heating it through.
I combined the Ricotta cheese, eggs, 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese and mixed them.

Pour about 1 cup of meat sauce in bottom of your lasagna pan and layer with Barilla no cook noodles (these are my favorite to work with)  Add half the cheese mixture and spread out over the noodles.  Top with enough meat sauce to cover.  Top again with Lasagna noodles, remainder of cheese mixture, another layer of sauce and finally another layer of lasagna noodles.  Top this again with sauce (remainder) and Top with remaining cup of Mozzarella cheese.

Cover and bake for 60 minutes at 350 F.  Uncover and bake another 10 minutes.  Remove the lasagna from the oven and let sit (loosely covered with foil) for another 10 minutes.  Trust me it will still be plenty hot when you sit down to eat!  Serve with Garlic Herb Cheese bread (see Recipe).

Succulent Braised Pork

I watched the series on Food Network: "The Next Food Network Star" and fell in love with Melissa D'Arabian.  To my great surprise she won.  I made her Cafe Green Salad in the past and loved the flavor that her dressing had.  Today, I slow roasted her recipe of Succulent Braised Pork.  Once again, the flavor was a winner, my husband eagerly headed in for a second helping.  Always a good sign.  I think I will use the leftovers to make my Shepherd's Pie next time!  The flavors of the gravy are wonderful.  I served them with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Mixed Vegetables to round out the meal.  The one change I did make to her recipe is that I used more than one carrot.  My family loves roasted carrots, so I put in about 7 large carrots and it cooked up just fine!  Once again Melissa -- a great recipe.  You can also find the recipe at the Food Network website.


Succulent Braised Pork - Melissa D Arabian Food Network

Ingredients
2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 6 large chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock or broth
1 bunch parsley stems, tied with string
2 bay leaves
1 cup water

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, and working in batches brown the meat on all sides until a golden crust forms. Transfer the pork to a plate. To the pan add the onion, celery, and carrot and sweat until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat another 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes to cook off the raw flavor and caramelize it. Sprinkle with the flour and cook another 2 minutes to cook off its raw flavor. Whisk in the wine and reduce it by half. Return the pork to the Dutch oven, then stir in the beef stock, parsley stems, and bay leaves. Add the water if liquid does not come up to the top of the pork. Do not cover the pork with liquid. Cover the pan and place it in the oven to braise until the meat is fork tender, about 3 hours. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 3 hr 30 min
Level: Intermediate
Serves: 4 servings plus leftovers

Aunt Helen's Strawberry Crepes

My Aunt Helen is a wonderful cook.  I had the honor of living with them briefly when I was in College and she would make these wonderful Strawberry Crepes for dessert.  This was the summer that I met my husband.  I still like to make these from time to time and now my children enjoy them too!  Today I made them for breakfast.

Strawberry Crepes
Makes 12 crepes-Serves 4 (3 Crepes per serving)

For the CREPES:
1 cup bisquick mix
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
For the SOUR CREAM SAUCE:
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup brown sugar

1-2 pints sliced fresh Strawberries

Grease a 6-7 inch non stick skillet lightly; heat until hot.  Beat baking mix, milk and eggs with a hand beater or whip until smooth.  For each crepe pour 2-3 Tablespoons batter into the skillet and rotate until the batter covers the bottom.  Cook until golden brown.  Gently loosen edge with spatula, turn and cook other side until golden brown.  Stack placing waxed paper between each; keep covered to prevent them from drying out.  Mix 1 cup sour cream with 1/4 cup brown sugar.  Hull and slice 1-2 pints fresh strawberries.  Place 1 Tablespoon sour cream mixture across center of each crepe.  Sprinkle with sliced berries.  Roll and place on plate or serving platter.  Repeat;  Top with additional sour cream and berries.  Enjoy!


For the crepes, I combined 1 cup Bisquick mix with 3/4 cups of milk and 2 eggs.

I use my favorite non stick pan.  As I pour in the batter I rotate the pan so it is as thin as possible.  I did add about 2 Tbps of milk in addition to the milk to make the batter a little thinner.
This helps the crepes to be very thin.

I have the sour cream and brown sugar mixture close at hand to fill the crepes.

And the strawberries as well

As I finish cooking the crepes I put them directly on the plates for serving, I find this  slightly easier to assemble and then later I do not need to transfer them from a platter.  While the next crepe is cooking I assemble the crepe and roll it and keep an eye on the crepe that is cooking so it does not overcook.

I put about 1 Tablespoon of the sour cream and sugar mixture down the middle of the crepe.

 

Next I put a few spoon fulls of sliced strawberries on the sour cream sauce

 

I roll up the crepe and place it to the side of the plate so I make room for the other 2 crepes.

 

After the crepes are finished I drizzle more sour cream sauce over the top of the crepes and add some more strawberries.

Set the plate aside while you finish the other three servings and present your loved ones with a treat that will keep their bellies smiling for a few hours.

This makes a great dessert for special guests, or a great brunch treat.

I did once make these for a gathering of 20 people, but my back actually started hurting from making the crepes.  I would double this recipe, but making crepes one at a time for a larger group is not something I will do again.

Enjoy!