Thursday, March 8, 2012

Peanut Butter Cup Pudding Cookies

Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 T vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 (4 oz) box instant chocolate pudding
1 (10 oz) bag peanut butter chips
1 cup miniature Reese's peanut butter cups (I have also used big Reese's chopped up into small pieces)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla, mix until combined.
Put flour, baking soda, and salt into a separate bowl and mix together. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Add in pudding (do not prepare pudding, add it to mix in powder form). Fold in peanut butter chips and Reese's and mix until just combined (don't over-mix it).
Place heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes (don't overbake). Let cookies cool for about 10 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.
These taste amazing straight out of the oven and after they have cooled down

From six siters stuff

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Honey Lime Enchiladas

1.5 lbs pork or chicken, cooked and shredded
Sauce:
1/3 c honey
1/4 c lime juice
1 Tb chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce
equal parts mixed together of:
mozzarella cheese, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded
flour tortillas
Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded pork or chicken. Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes.
Lightly spray 2 pans with non-stick baking spray. (I usually use one 9×13 and one 9×9 but it may vary with how thick you stuff your enchiladas) Pour green enchilada sauce into pans to coat the entire bottom. Fill tortillas with shredded meat and desired amount of cheese. Roll and place in dish.
Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle more cheese on top – don’t be stingy! (I sometimes use more like 1 1/2 cans- you can freeze left over enchilada sauce in a baggy.) Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then turn on broiler and place enchiladas nearer the top of oven. Let it broil until cheese is slightly brown and crispy.
Recipe from Sisters Cafe

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Peanut Butter Pretzel and Toffee Bonbons

*Note: to chop the pretzel sticks, I place several large handfuls of pretzel sticks in a ziploc bag, seal, and roll over the top with a rolling pin until the pretzels are crunched up well. I measure out of the bag and continue the process until I have 2 cups. These bonbons can be made up to three days in advance. The peanut butter pretzel filling can be made and formed into balls and frozen for up to 2 months before dipping.

*Makes about 10-12 dozen bonbons

INGREDIENTS:
8 tablespoons butter, softened to warm room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups peanut butter
1 cup toffee bits
2 cups chopped/crushed pretzel sticks

1 pound chocolate (semisweet, milk, bittersweet)
2 tablespoons shortening or butter
Toffee, chopped nuts, chocolate jimmies for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until evenly combined. Add the peanut butter and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the toffee bits and pretzel pieces by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet (12X18-inches or several smaller baking sheets) with parchment or waxed paper. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1-inch or so (it doesn’t have to be exact) balls and place them on the lined baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm. At this point, the balls can be transferred to a sealed container or freezer ziploc bag and frozen for up to 2 months.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and shortening/butter together in a microwave-safe bowl or in a double boiler until completely melted and smooth (taking care not to overheat the chocolate as that can cause white streaks, bloom, to appear in the hardened chocolate).

One by one, toss a formed peanut butter/pretzel ball into the melted chocolate and using a fork, cover the ball with chocolate. Lift the covered bonbon out of the chocolate with the fork and tap the lower stem of the fork (right above where the rectangular tined fork part ends) on the edge of the bowl to let excess chocolate fall through the tines of the fork. Scrape the bottom of the fork along the edge of the bowl and transfer the covered bonbon to a parchment lined baking sheet (you can use the same baking sheet(s) used for freezing the balls if you have room). Set the bonbon very close to the parchment paper and using a second fork or butter knife, gently scoot the bonbon off the fork onto the baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle your garnish of choice on the top of the wet chocolate before it sets.

Refrigerate the bonbons until ready to serve.
From mel's kitchen cafe


I dipped half of the bon bons in milk chocolate with a handful of semi sweet choc late chips and half in white chocolate chips. we like the one's dipped in white chocolate chips better.

Freezer Biscuits

4 cups flour
2 TBs. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 cup butter
16oz sour cream
3-5 tsp water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter until there are small well blended pieces. Add sour cream and water, mix well. Knead and roll out to 1 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter. Freeze individually on a cookie sheet. When frozen solid, place in a freezer bag to store. When ready to use, place frozen biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for 15-17 minutes or until top is golden. makes 16-20.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Ham and Cheese Sliders

Ham and Cheese Sliders
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Ingredients:
For the sandwiches:
24 slider rolls
24 slices honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
Mayonnaise

For the sauce:
1½ tbsp. yellow mustard
8 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. finely minced onion (or 2 tsp. dried minced onion)
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Poppy seeds, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Split the slider rolls and spread the insides lightly with mayonnaise. Fold a slice of ham to fit on each slider bun, and top with a slice of Swiss cheese. Replace the top bun to assemble the sandwiches. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients except the poppy seeds in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Drizzle the sauce over the tops of the slider buns. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove the foil and bake 2 minutes longer. Serve warm.

Source: annie's eats

Turkey Pesto Sliders

Turkey Pesto Sliders


Ingredients:
6 slider buns
6 slices of turkey deli meat
6 slices of provolone cheese
3 tbsp. pesto
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone baking mat. Split the slider buns and lay a folded slice of turkey on the bottom half of each bun. Layer each with a slice of provolone. In a small bowl, combine the pesto and mayonnaise in a small bowl and mix until blended. Spread a thin layer of the pesto mayonnaise on the inner side of the top half of each bun. Replace the top bun over the cheese to assemble the sandwiches. Brush the tops of the buns lightly with melted butter. Bake 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sandwiches are warmed through.

Source: Annie's eats

Polka Dot Cookies

Chocolate cookies with green mint chips as polka dots
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup butter
1 ½ cups unsifted all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
½ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups (12 oz) guittard green mint chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In top of double boiler over low heat, melt the semisweet chips and butter, stirring constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
In a large bowl beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until light. Blend in melted chocolate then dry ingredients. Stir in green mint chips and chill for 10-15 minutes or until stiff. Drop by well rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes; cookies will be soft in centers but will harden as they cool.

Chicken Sauce for Hawaiian Haystacks

*Makes about 4 cups chicken sauce (enough to serve 4-6 for Hawaiian Haystacks)
INGREDIENTS:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks (or leftover cooked chicken, cubed)
3 tablespoons butter
½ onion (about ½ cup), finely chopped
3 cloves garlic; finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
DIRECTIONS:
In a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat and add the onion and raw chicken (if using leftover cooked chicken, don’t add it to the skillet now, you’ll add it later). Saute the onion and chicken, if using, until the onions are soft and translucent and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about one minute, stirring, until fragrant.
Sprinkle the flour over the onions and chicken and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for one minute – this helps get rid of the starchy, flour taste. Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium to medium-high heat. Add the salt and pepper. If you are using leftover cooked chicken, add it now. Continue simmering, stirring the sauce frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 5-8 minutes.
Serve the chicken sauce over rice with your toppings of choice, such as olives, tomatoes, celery,shredded sharp cheddar cheese, green onions, mandarin oranges or pineapple and chow mein noodles.
Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Salty Carmel Oat Bars

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cups finely crushed pretzels
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups rolled oats
1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
1 (11 oz) bag of caramel bits (if you can’t find the bits, use a 14 oz bag of wrapped caramels, minus 1/2 cup)
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped cashews
1 tsp coarse sea salt
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°
2. Line a 15x10x1 inch pan with foil
3. With your electric mixer beat butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla until incorporated.
4. On low speed add in your pretzels and flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix in your oats.
5. Set aside 1 cup of your batter.
6. Press remaining batter into prepared pan.
7. In medium saucepan combine your caramels and sweetened condensed milk over medium heat until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth.
8. Pour caramel on oat batter. Sprinkle the cashews, chocolate chips and remaining oat batter on top.
9. Sprinkle your coarse sea salt evenly over top.
10. Bake for 20-2 minutes until top starts to golden.
11. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
12. When cool lift bars from pan with foil and cut.
Quick notes
makes 60 bars recipe from cookies and cups