Caramel Crunch Cake

• from Light and Tasty Magazine
  
• 
  
• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) devil's food cake mix
• 1-1/3 cups water
• 5 egg whites
• 1 can (14 ounces) fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup fat-free caramel ice cream topping
• 5 fun-size Butterfinger candy bars, crushed
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water and egg whites; beat on low speed for 30 minutes. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into a 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
With a meat fork or wooden skewer, poke holes about 2 in. apart into cake. Slowly pour condensed milk and caramel topping over cake; sprinkle with two-thirds of the crushed candy bars. Spread with whipped topping; sprinkle with remaining candy bars. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 18 servings.

Taco Salad

Oh, what to fix for dinner. This one is so fast and easy and everyone loves it.

2 lbs ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
10-3/4 oz tomato soup
15 oz diced tomatoes, Mexican seasoned
1 small tomato sauce
1 can sliced olives
1 small pkg Doritos
3 C Cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef and season to taste with seasoning salt and garlic salt. Drain off fat. Add taco seasoning to meat and mix well. Add tomato soup, tomatoes, (pour off a little liquid before adding), and tomato sauce to meat mixture. Add olives, stir and then spread mixture in large cookie sheet with sides. Mix in chips and 1 C of grated cheese. Spread evenly in cookie sheet. Top with 2 C of cheddar cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for approx 10 min.--just long enough to melt cheese on top. Do not overcook! Serve meat mixture over lettuce salad which has been topped with ranch and/or Catalina dressing.

Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods

Another recipe from Judith's blog. We tried these on Christmas Eve eve. The caramel was so beautiful. The texture was smooth and creamy and spread really well on the pretzels. Unfortunately, when we sampled the final product, the caramel had hardened like a rock! If you could bite through it and be patient, it softened in your mouth and the flavor was really good, but not so good for your teeth. I think my candy thermometer may have been off a bit, so next time I'll stop a few degrees under the soft ball stage. This recipe is too good to give up on, though:


"We love these pretzels- When I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs with such great detail on the techniques for great looking pretzels I wanted to post it and share it with others. "We all know it's all about the presentation" and my pretzels before were lacking. So here's to better looking pretzel rods and many thanks to My Kitchen Cafe for the tutorial!"

Chocolate and Caramel Dipped Pretzel Rods
adapted from A. Marilyn

Makes about 40 dipped pretzel rods

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
14 0z. can sweetened condensed milk
dash of salt

pretzel rods

chocolate for dipping and drizzling (I used about 10 ounces of semi-sweet to cover the pretzels and for additional drizzling and 6 ounces of white chocolate for drizzling)

Mix ingredients in order over medium heat. Come to a rolling boil to soft ball stage (use a candy thermometer or test in a bowl of cold water - a drop of caramel in the cold water should roll into a soft ball in your fingers). Take caramel off heat and use a spatula to smooth caramel over pretzels. I laid the pretzels on parchment paper after coating them in caramel and after they had set for about 10 minutes, I rolled each one along the parchment paper to eliminate the pool of caramel on the side they were laying on.

After caramel has set on pretzels (about 20 minutes), melt desired chocolate in microwave or in a bowl over simmering water. I poured my melted chocolate into a tall glass and dipped each caramel pretzel into the glass to coat the caramel pretzel in chocolate. Again, lay the pretzel to dry on a tray covered in parchment paper. I put them in the refrigerator to set fully before drizzling with white chocolate and more semi-sweet chocolate. For drizzling, use remaining melted chocolate and pour into a ziploc bag. Cut a tiny tip off one corner and drizzle across pretzels. The lady who gave my aunt this recipe had a great idea for Christmas and drizzled the chocolate and caramel covered pretzels in red and green colored chocolate (I believe she used the Wilton candy pieces for the red and green). They were adorable (if you can call pretzels adorable).

Don't worry (like I did) that there is a flat side to the pretzel or that the chocolate may pool underneath the pretzel. Once the chocolate has set, you can easily shave off any unwanted pooling or excess chocolate for a prettier pretzel using a sharp knife.

Baked Chicken Breast Supreme

6 chicken breasts
2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. lemon juice
4 tsp. paprika
1/4 c. worchestershire sauce
4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. celery salt
2 c. dry bread crumbs
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 c. melted butter
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cut chicken breasts in half. In large bowl combine sour cream, lemon juice, worchestershire sauce, salts, paprika and pepper. Add chicken, coat each piece well. Let marinate in fridge overnight. Remove from mixture, roll in bread crumbs, coat evenly. Arrange in shallow pan, lined with tin foil. Spoon some melted butter over chicken, bake 45 min. 350. Spoon rest of butter on chicken and bake 10 min. longer. (Until tender and nicely browned)

Spaghetti Sauce

No more bottled spaghetti sauce for us! This tastes so much better, and hardly takes any more time. Thanks to Marilyn Johnson, as published in the Lindon 11th Ward Cookbook.

2 cans crushed tomatoes (I used diced, and blended in food processor)
2-1/2 t basil
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 c. sugar
1 pinch of celery seed
1 lb ground beef, browned
1 small can tomato paste
1 t garlic powder
1/2 chopped green pepper (I left this out for my picky husband)
1/2 T salt
1 t oregano

Combine and simmer 10 to 30 minutes.

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

Thanks to my friend, Judith, for this recipe. We ate this for Sunday dinner tonight. Delicious comfort food on a cold winter evening, and it made the house smell soooo good all day!

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 stalks celery chopped
1 1/2 C. sliced carrots
2-4 C. chicken broth
1 onion finely diced
1 bay leaf
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2(10 oz.) packages refrigerator biscuits(Grands) torn into 4 pieces.
1 t. poultry seasoning
1 C. frozen peas and carrots
dash of sage & thyme

mix all ingredients together in a crockpot except the biscuits. cover and cook for 5 to 6 hours on high, remove chicken and shred. Return to the crockpot, now add the biscuits and cook for 30 more minutes until the dough is no longer raw in the center. A few minutes before serving add the frozen peas and carrots.

Leftover Turkey Soup

This is my friend Marilee's recipe. So tasty, no one will ever know how quick and easy it is!

1/2 C chopped onion
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 large stalk celery, sliced
2 cans chicken broth
3 C water
1 (.7 oz) env Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix
2 C cubed cooked turkey
1/2 t chicken bouillon
3/4 C bite sized pasta (uncooked)

Cook onion, carrot, and celery in small amount of oil in large saucepan for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth, water, dressing mix, and bouillon. Bring to boil. (Optional: add a peeled, cubed potato or a handful of dehydrated potato here) Add turkey and pasta; cover. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 o 12 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Two Beautiful Jello Recipes

I made both of these for Thanksgiving, and they tasted as good as they looked.

Pretzel Salad

Bottom Layer:
2 cups broken pretzels
3/4 C melted butter
1 T sugar

Mix together, pat in bottom of 9x13 cake pan.
Bake at 350 for 8 min and cool.

Middle layer:
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
12 oz tub cool whip
1 C sugar
Mix together until smooth and creamy; spread over cooled pretzel crust.

Top layer:

2 pkg small strawberry Jello (or 1 large)
2 C boiling water
20 oz frozen, sliced strawberries
Stir together until jello is dissolved. The cold strawberries will help to make it set faster. Refrigerate until it begins to gel but do not allow to solidify. Pour over the creamy layer.

Refrigerate until set and serve.

Christmas Jello

1 sm pkg. lime jello
1 sm pkg lemon jello
1 sm pkg strawberry jello
1 sm cool whip
1 sm can crushed pineapple
Approximately 20 miniature marshmallows
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 C nuts

Bottom layer: Mix lime jello, 1 C hot water and 3/4 C cold water. Set until firm.

Middle layer: Mix lemon jello, 1 C hot water and 3/4 C cold water. When thickened, mix in separate bowl cool whip, pineapple, marshmallows, cream cheese and nuts. Add to lemon jello, chill for 30 minutes.

Top layer: Mix strawberry jello, 1 C hot water and 3/4 C cold water. When thickened, add to top of other layers. Let set.

Note: I make top two layers in the evening and refrigerate over night. I add the last layer in the morning.

JNae's Crockpot Apple Butter

I haven't actually made this recipe, but I have tasted the yummy results from my friend JaNae.

fill 6 pt crockpot with peeled and sliced apples (adjust the ingredients proportionately if your pot is bigger or smaller)

add 4 cups sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp allspice

Turn crockpot to low or medium heat.

Leave it to cook for 4-6 hours. How long depends on the size and power of your crockpot and how thick you like it. Stir occasionally to help break up the apple chunks - it gets easier the more it cooks. Toward the end of cooking I use my stick blender to break up the last few chunks and smooth it out.

I let mine cook overnight. It will reduce in volume by about half.

Fill the prepared jars to within 1/4" of the top.

Process the jars in a hot water bath - 10 minutes for pints and 15 minutes for quarts.

Golden Graham Smores

3/4 C Light corn syrup
3 T butter
1 pkg milk chocolate morsels
1 t vanilla
1 pkg Golden Graham cereal (9 C)
3 C miniature marshmallows

Grease 9 x 13 inch pan. Heat syrup, butter, and morsels to boiling stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal in bowl, toss until coated. Fold in marshmallows 1 cup at a time. Press into pan with buttered back of spoon. Let stand 1 hour. Cut into 2 inch squares. Store at room temperature.

White Bean Chicken Chili

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound diced, cooked chicken meat
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 jar salsa verde
  
• 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilis
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (15 ounce) can white beans
• 2 ears fresh corn (or canned or frozen)
  
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 lime, sliced

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil, and cook onion and garlic until soft. Stir in broth, salsa verde, tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Add corn, chicken, and beans; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with these toppings for people to choose from: limes, cilantro, cheese, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Coffee House Cookies

A little twist on chocolate chip cookies. These look as delicious as they taste!

1-1/2 C flour
1/2 t soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 C butter, softened
3/4 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 C chopped walnuts or pecans (opt)
1 C semi-sweet choc chunks
2 bars (1.5-2 oz) favorite candy bar (Snickers or Reese's work well)

Heat oven to 350. Beat butter and bworn sugar till creamy. Add eg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour, soda, and salt.

Sitr 2/3 C nuts and 2/3 C choc chunks. Cut candy bars into small pieces; set aside. Drop dough into scoops about 3 in apart. Press remaining nuts and choc and candy onto tops of cookies. (I mix all the chocolate and nuts into the batter and only press the candy pieces onto the top) Bake 12 - 15 min or till cookies are almost set. (Center will be sort. Do not overbake.) Yield 1 to 1-1/2 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Brownies

Melt and then cool:

1 C butter
1/2 C cocoa

Add:

2 C sugar
4 eggs (1 at a time)
1-1/4 C flour
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
1 C walnuts (optional)

Pour into gresed 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Double Recipe: Use wheat flour, except for 3/4 C white flour. Bake in 10x15 inch pan for 45 minutes.

Recipe by Karen Acerson

This is a good basic brownie recipe. You can add nuts or chocolate chips. They are good with or without frosting.

French Dip

• 1 (4 pound) boneless beef roast
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove and discard all visible fat from the roast. Place trimmed roast in a slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, bouillon, bay leaf, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder. Pour mixture over roast, and add enough water to almost cover roast. Cover, and cook on Low heat for 10 to 12 hours, or until meat is very tender.
3. Remove meat from broth, reserving broth. Shred meat with a fork, and distribute on bread for sandwiches. Used reserved broth for dipping.

Honey Molasses Drumsticks

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 6 chicken drumsticks, skinned
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine first 7 ingredients, stirring with a whisk.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan, browning on all sides. Add honey mixture to pan, turning chicken to coat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken every 5 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 1 minute or until mixture is thick and a mahogany color, and chicken is well coated. Remove from heat; cool 15 minutes. Cover and chill. (I prefer to serve them warm with rice - Kim)

From cookinglight.com

Pumpkin Cobbler

3 eggs, beaten
15-oz. can pumpkin
12-oz can evaporated milk
1 C sugar
1/8 t. salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
2 t vanilla
18-1/4 oz pkg. yellow cake
1-1/4 c butter or margarine, melted (I'm a butter girl so I used butter. I cut the butter down to 1 C and it was still very rich. I think next time I would cut it to about 3/4 C)
1 c. chopped pecans

1. Mix the first 8 ingredients together; pour into an un-greased 13"x9" baking
pan. Sprinkle cake mix over the top; drizzle with margarine.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes; top with nuts. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Makes 15 to 18 servings.

Recipe courtesy of http://tastethejoy.blogspot.com/

Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder

1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 C chopped onion
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T butter or margarine
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 C hot water
1/2 to 1 t ground cumin
2 C half and half
2 C shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 can cream-style corn
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilis, undrained
1/4 to 1 t hot pepper sauce
1 medium tomato, chopped

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. In a Dutch oven, brown chicken, onion and garlic in butter until chicken is not longer pink. Dissolve the bouillon in hot water. Add to pan along with cumin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add half and half, cheese, corn, chilies and hot pepper sauce. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted. Stir in tomato. Serve immediately; garnish with cilantro if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings

Magic Syrup

This is so good and easy, you won't believe it!

Magic Syrup

1 C. sugar

1 stick of butter (1/2 C.)

½ C. buttermilk

(Sometimes I substitute ½ C. skim milk with the juice from ½ a fresh lemon. You could use bottled lemon juice as well. You need the acid in the recipe to activate the baking soda.)

Melt and cook sugar, butter and buttermilk. Bring to hard boil. Remove from heat and add:

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda (This makes the syrup frothy.)

Oh Boy Pancakes or Waffles

I can make these about as fast as using a mix. They always turn out perfect!

1 1/8 C flour (can use half whole wheat flour)
2 tsp baking powder
3/8 t salt
3/4 T sugar
1 egg
1/4 C oil
1 1/8 C milk

Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a small bowl. Combine together and use pancake or waffle batter. (When making waffles I separate the eggs, beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the batter at the end) I triple this recipe for my family.

Cinnamon Cream Syrup

1 C sugar
½ C light corn syrup
¼ C water

5 oz evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in saucepan. Bring to boil on med heat; cook and stir for 2 min or till thickened. Remove from heat. Add milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. I use a whisk to get the cinnamon mixed in well.

Recipe courtesy of http://tastethejoy.blogspot.com/

Taco Soup

From Judith

• 1 lb Hamburger
• 1 sm. chopped onion
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
• 1 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 1 can corn (with juice)
• 1 can Black beans (with juice)
• 1 can Kidney beans (with juice)
• 1 28 oz. stewed tomatoes
• 1-2 T. sugar

1. Brown hamburger and onion, place in a large pot and add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, corn, black beans, kidney beans, stewed tomatoes & sugar.

2. Simmer for 2-4 hrs or cook in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hrs. Garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, avocado, and tomatoes.

Favorite Sloppy Joes

This is our favorite sloppy joe recipe.  I usually use ground turkey and season the meat with garlic and onion salt instead of cutting up fresh.  I also leave out the green pepper because my family doesn't like it.

1-1/2 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 C chopped onion

1/2 C chopped green pepper
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t pepper
1 C catsup
1 small can tomato sauce
1 T dark brown sugar
1-1/2 T lemon juice
1-1/2 T worchestershire
1-1/2 T mustard

1/4 t ground pepper

Brown meat with onion, garlic salt, and pepper. Drain grease and add remaining ingredients. Simmer 10 minutes before serving.