Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Pina Colada Sorbet

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water

Make into a syrup by heating together until mixture is clear. Cool.

In a blender combine:
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup lime juice

Stir until combined and smooth. Combine with syrup and stir until smooth. Let chill for at least 3 hours.

Pour into ice cream maker and follow directions. Store, covered in freezer.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Cincinnati-Style Chili Party Dip

This recipe came from Elizabeth Green. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

1 8-ounce cream cheese

1 can or 1 frozen package of Cincinnati’s Skyline Chili (it can be substituted with 12 ounces of the chili recipe shared above!)

8-ounce package of shredded mild cheddar cheese

Diced tomatoes

Chopped lettuce

Black olives

Diced onions

Spread cream cheese on the bottom of an 8-by-8 inch casserole dish. Pour heated chili over cream cheese. Cover with shredded cheese. Top with tomato, lettuce, diced olives and onion. Serve with nacho chips or corn chips.

Asparagus and Crab Meat Soup

This recipe came from Denise Harker. Don't let the name fool you. She is from Vietnam and an excellent cook of all foods. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited. (Soup măng cua) a Vietnamese dish


Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
3 tsp of nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
6 shallots - chopped
2 garlic cloves - chopped
8 ounces lump crab meat -
picked over and drained
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot - mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
1 egg - lightly beaten
15 oz white asparagus spears
1 tbsp shredded coriander
1 scallion - thinly sliced Cut into 1 inch sections with canning liquid reserved

Directions:
Combine broth, 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce, sugar and salt in a 3 quart soup pot. Bring to a boil . Reduce the heat and simmer. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the shallots and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant . Add the crab meat, the remaining 2 teaspoons fish sauce and black pepper to taste. Stir fry over high heat for about 1 minute then set aside Bring the soup to a boil . Add the cornstarch mixture and stir gently until the soup thickens and is clear.

While the soup is boiling, add the egg and stir gently, continue to stir for about 1 minute. Add the crab meat mixture and asparagus with its canning liquid and cook gently until heated through. Transfer the soup to a heated tureen . Sprinkle on the coriander, scallion and freshly ground black pepper.
Makes about 4 to 6 servings

Rick Green's Famous Cincinnati-Style Chili

From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

6 1-pound cans of tomatoes

2 large onions, diced

3 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons allspice

4 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons cayenne red pepper

2 tablespoons vinegar

5 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons garlic chips

5 pounds cooked and drained ground beef

Boil tomatoes and chop in blender. Add tomatoes to cooked and drained ground beef. Add remaining ingredients and cook slowly for 3 hours. Serves 8. FOR A CINCINNATI THREE-WAY: Pour finished chili over cooked spaghetti and top with shredded mild cheddar cheese. FOR A CINCINNATI FOUR-WAY: Same as the 3-way, but add diced onions. FOR A CINCINNATI FIVE-WAY: Same as 4-way, but added cooked kidney beans.

Wagon Wheels Pasta Salad

This recipe came from Kylee McGee. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

½ lb. wagon wheel shaped pasta

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup mild salsa

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

3 scallions, sliced

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

½ tsp salt

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain well. In large bowl toss hot pasta with beans, salsa, corn, scallions, cilantro and salt.

Mexican Meatballs

This recipe came from Coral Johnson. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

1 ½ lb extra lean ground beef

½ cup chopped onion

1 egg

1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs

¼ cup low fat milk

1 ½ teaspoon cumin

1-teaspoon oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1 ½ cups salsa

Sliced green onions as garnish

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, smush together all ingredients, except salsa and green onions, using your very clean hands.

Shape into about 24 meatballs. Place meatballs in an ungreased 13x9 inch-baking dish. Bake uncovered about 25 minutes, or until no longer pink in center. Drain on paper towels. Just before serving, heat meatballs with salsa in a saucepan until hot. Sprinkle with green onions.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Buttered egg noodles Spaghetti Squash

Steamed Broccoli Refried Beans & Tortillas

NUTRITION (per serving)

350 Calories; 21g fat; 26g protein; 13g carbohydrate; 3g dietary fiber; 126mg Cholesterol; 505mg sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain; 3 ½ Lean Meat; 1 vegetable 2 1/2 Fat.

Beef & Rice Casserole

This recipe came from Kylee McGee. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

1 lb. ground beef (it’s also great with leftover steak)

1 med. white onion, chopped

garlic powder

seasoning salt

sour cream, 16 oz.

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Hot, cooked, white rice

Combine ground beef (or leftover steak), onion, garlic powder and seasoning salt in a large pan. Cook until brown, drain. Add sour cream, cream of mushroom soup and can of cream of celery soup to meat and heat until bubbly. Serve over rice.

Chili Cheese Bars

This recipe came from Kylee McGee. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

2 – 7 oz. can of diced green chiles

1 lb cheddar cheese, grated

1 lb monterey jack cheese, grated

6 eggs

garlic salt

Coat a 13” x 9” glass casserole dish with cooking spray. Then layer 1 can of chiles, ½ each of the cheeses in dish and pat down. Layer with other can of chiles and rest of cheeses. Pat down again. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Beat eggs and pour over cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for ½ hour to 45 minutes until brown. Cut into squares and serve warm.

Brunch for a Bunch

This recipe came from Kylee McGee. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

(needs to be prepare the night before)

4 qt. casserole

loaf of egg bread, sliced

1 lb cheddar cheese, grated

1 lb jack cheese, grated

½ lb. mushrooms

3-4 green onions

1 green pepper

2 ½ c. milk

butter

18 eggs

Lightly sauté mushrooms, green onions and green pepper in butter. Butter casserole. Remove crust from loaf of egg bread. Butter both sides of bread. Line bottom of casserole with bread. Place ½ of the cheese on top of the bread, add another layer of egg bread and top with remaining cheese. Add sautéed mushrooms, green onions and green pepper to casserole. Beat eggs with milk, pour over top. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serves 12 – 15. Recipe can easily be cut in half.

Chili's Queso

We all love Chili's. In fact it is a genetic requirement to satisfy the Caress DNA. I happen to love it also, or else I could not join the family. Their queso is our favorite. I cannot remember who taught this to me or if we just came up with it on our own, but it is as close as you can come to the real thing. Adding a little more cheese or a little less to your taste. Madison is our official queso maker.

Ingredients:

1 can Hormel chili “no beans”

1 small package velveeta cheese

Cut cheese into small cubes. Mix with chili in microwave safe bowl. Put in microwave and cook on high for 1 minute and then stir. Continue cooking for 1 minutes and stirring until mixture is smooth. Serve with tortilla chips.

Kentucky Cornbread

This recipe came from Elizabeth Green. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited. Ellie (as we call her) and her family moved from Cincinnati just about a month before we did. They have three girls and a boy. Rick and Laura became dear friends and some of our best out here in the desert. Every time we think we are busy, I think of Laura and realize there ARE families busier than we are.

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

1 egg

¼ cup oil

½ cup milk

Mix ingredients and bake on 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe came from Michael Redick. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

Ingredients:

2 large cans of sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup cream

½ cup melted butter

½ tsp. vanilla

Mash sweet potatoes and add remaining ingredients. Pour into 9 x 13 casserole pan. Make topping:

1 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup flour

1 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup melted butter

Mini-marshmallows

Mix brown sugar and flour. Toss in pecans w/ melted butter. Spread over casserole. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Place marshmallows on top and bake until golden brown.

Veggie Pizza Appetizers

This recipe came from Chloe Sykes. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

Ingredients:

1 can crescent rolls

1 8 oz package soft cream cheese with veggies

2 cups finely chopped fresh broccoli

1 cup finely grated carrots

1 cup finely diced red peppers

1 cup thinly sliced green onions

Tools needed: rolling pin

paring knife, 2 small silpats

2 small perforated baking sheets

  1. Using the rolling pin, roll out the crescent rolls on the silpat on one piece making sure to seal the edges.
  2. This should cover the 2 small silpats (roll thin since this type of pastry dough puffs).
  3. Bake at 400 degree for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
  4. Let cool
  1. While it bakes, chop up the veggies.
  2. When cooled, spread the cream cheese onto the top.
  3. Remove the crescent roll from the oven.
  4. Sprinkle the chopped veggie all over the top of the crust start with broccoli, then carrots, then red peppers, then green onions.

Egg Rolls

This recipe came from Elizabeth Cruz. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground pork or chicken

¼ lb. shrimp, macerated

½ med cabbage, cut

1 med carrot, cut

4 sticks of celery, chopped

½ napa cabbage, cut

2 pre-packed bean sprouts

Garlic & onion minced

Menlo wrappers or Melipia’s eggroll wrappers

Brown meat. Sauté garlic and onion. Add meat then shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage, carrot, celery, then cabbage. Toss. Add bean sprouts last. Toss for a minute. Turn off heat.

Wrap eggrolls tightly. Fry in oil.

Sweet Crepes

This recipe came from Kylee McGee. From the Mrs. Ivy 4th grade cookbook that I edited.

½ cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup water

butter for cooking

sugar

lemon juice

Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Break the eggs into center of the flour. Wisk together. Mix the mild and water in separate bowl, then gradually stir into the flour mixture. Whisk until batter is smooth. Heat a little butter in frying pan, when it’s melted, put in 2 tablespoons of batter. Tip pan quickly so that the batter spreads evenly and thinly over the pan. Cook for about 1 minute, until golden. Turn crepe over with spatula and cook the other side. Tip out onto a large plate and sprinkle with a teaspoon each of sugar and lemon juice. Starting on one side, roll up the crepe and transfer it to the serving dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice and a little more sugar. Keep warm in low oven.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is a pass on from Kristi Fletcher. In some ways they are better than Cinnabon. But only with the proper care. Knead with love.

Roll ingredients:

One ¼ oz. package active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk (105-110 degrees)

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup margarine, melted

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

4 cups flour

Filling ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 ½ Tbsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup margarine, softened

Icing ingredients:

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

¼ cup (2 oz.) cream cheese

½ tsp. vanilla

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix together the sugar, margarine, salt, and eggs. Add the flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until doubled. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough flat until it is approx. 21” long and 16” wide. It should be about ¼” thick. Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the margarine evenly over the surface of the dough and then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly. Roll the dough up. Cut the dough in 1 ¾ inch slices and place six at a time, evenly spaced, in a greased baking pan. Let the rolls rise again until double in size ( about 30 minutes.) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until light brown on top.

While the rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy. When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each generously with icing. Makes 12 rolls.

German Pancakes

This is another Megan Chugg recipe. She made these with just powdered sugar and lemon juice. Either way, it is delicious. This is McKayla's favorite breakfast food. Look for it on her birthday and any other time she gets to pick. The texture is amazing.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. butter

3 eggs

½ cup flour

½ cup milk

¼ tsp. salt

Place butter in a 10 inch ovenproof skillet. Place in 400 degree oven for 3 to 5 minutes or until butter melts. In a bowl beat eggs with a rotary beater till combined. Add flour, milk, and salt. Beat till smooth. Immediately pour into the hot skillet. Bake about 25 minutes or till puffed and well browned. Serve with fruit sauce or maple syrup.

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli is my favorite vegetable. This salad is from my friend Dionne Liddiard who is an amazing cook and collector of recipes. She has many of the same recipes we all have, but for some reason, her versions always are a little bit better than the others. She is an incredibly creative person with limitless energy. She is the only stay-at-home mom that I think deserves a nanny (although she does not have one, I could justify her getting one.)

Ingredients:

4 cups small broccoli florets

1 cup seedless green grapes, quartered

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped purple onion

½ cup raisins

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup bacon, cooked, drained and torn into small pieces

Combine in large bowl. Mix together: 1 cup mayonnaise and ¼ cup brown sugar. Toss with salad. Chill until served.

Funeral Potatoes

I insisted upon calling this Hasbrown Casserole for years, resisting the morbid name. Then one day, I was skimming through a Nigella Lawson cookbook and she had a similar recipe called Funeral Potatoes and identified it with Mormon women. I decided that I had to own it. This version of the recipe originally came from Marjorie Clark.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. frozen hash browns

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 pint sour cream

½ cup chopped brown onion

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Topping:

1 cup of crushed corn flakes OR saltine crackers

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Stir together soup, sour cream, onion, butter, cheese until blended. Mix in hash browns. Spread into a 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with topping cheese. Mix butter and crackers (or corn flakes) and then loosely sprinkle over cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until cheese is melted and topping in crunchy.

Gooey Butter Cakes

This recipe is pure Paula Deen. I am embarrassed to share, but it is incredible.

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus 8 more tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus additional butter, for greasing pan
1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 egg, plus 2 eggs
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered sugar. Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the remaining 1 stick of melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread filling over cake mixture in pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

Snickerdoodle Salad

When we were first married, our ward in Valencia was known for having incredible enrichment evenings. The food was always amazing and creative. One night the theme was cooking with candy bars. This recipe was devised after way too late a night, we were getting a little loopy. This was the result. It tastes more like a caramel apple salad. It is technically a dessert, but the name always gets peoples attention. It is Yum-o. A little caramel, a little nougat, some peanuts, some chocolate, mixed with apples and cool whip. Can it get any better?

Ingredients:

4 large Granny Smith apples

4 king-size Snicker bars

½ tub of Cool Whip

Chill and cup up apples and candy bars into ½ inch chunks and mix with Cool Whip. Chill for ½ hour before serving.

Mexicali Casserole

My BYU roommate Megan Chugg used to make this. I loved that is was too easy and so yummy. Major comfort food. There is absolutely no way that is would ever pass for haute cuisine.

Ingredients:

1 dozen flour tortillas, torn into ½ inch pieces

1 lb. hamburger, cooked, crumbled, with grease drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can red enchilada sauce

Mix together until combined. Bake in 9 x 13 pan at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Optional add ins: 1 can corn, 1 small can chopped olives, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese sprinkled on top before baking.

Limeade

This recipe is from Brooke Jensen. Brooke is another one of those incredibly talented people who also has an incredible recipe collection. She would make this for every shower party and recital. it is light, not too tart, and very similar to Hot Dog on a Stick limeade; but better.

I made one adaption. If you combine all the sugar with 1 quart of water and cook and stir until it is dissolved, you don't have to worry about stirring the sugar. It mixes better. Because the mixture is hot, add ice water to make the rest of the gallon of water. Everything else just gets mixed together.

1 gallon water
3 cups sugar
1 Tbsp citric acid
1 Tbsp lemon extract
1 pinch of salt
2 limes; squeeze the juice then toss the rest of the limes in. These can be removed before serving or left in for decor.

Scotchies

This recipe is from Kirsti McCleary who always makes all the best food. She brought this over for one of our Superbowl parties in Valencia. Everyone went nuts. Since we got the recipe we always make it for the Superbowl, General Conference weekend (a great munchie) and then if we need to bring munchie food to parties. We always become very popular when we walk in with this.

1 1/2 cup light karo syrup
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 large box rice chex cereal

1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Boil together karo and sugar. Add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Pour over cereal in a big bowl. Mix it stirring in sweeping motions from the bottom so as to not smash the chex. Stir until completely mixed. Spread on two cookie sheets lined with wax paper. Spread out (the thinner the layer, the more chocolate each piece gets.) on the cookie sheets. Melt chips together (microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes.) Fleck over the chex mix. Let candy harden and chocolate become solid. Break up and serve.