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.