Awesome Cheeseball

Awesome Cheeseball!
From Judyanne in NJ

2 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 Tbl. Milk
1-2 Tbl. A1 steak sauce
1-1 ½ C. smoked Gouda cheese, finely grated
salt and pepper (to taste)
chopped walnuts (or sliced almonds)

Soften cream cheese and butter. Mix with other ingredients. Form into ball and roll in nuts to cover. Chill. Serve with crackers.

Raspberry Balsamic Chicken

Here is our favorite chicken recipe:

1 tsp. vegetable oil
1/2 C. chopped red onion
- Saute' for 5 minutes then add chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
- Sprinkle thyme and salt on chicken (I add pepper too)
- Saute' chicken with onions 6 minutes each side, or until done
- Remove from pan and keep warm

Sauce:
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 cup raspberry preserves
2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
- Over medium heat, combine ingredients and melt preserves. do not let boil
- Serve sauce over chicken

** I don't do the onion part, but just skip straight to saute'ing the chicken in the pan. And I don't measure, just sprinkle each side of the chicken with salt, pepper, and dried thyme. We double the sauce, because we like it so much, but we don't double the pepper in the sauce. You can use seedless or regular raspberry jam - we're cheap so we just use the seedy kind, but we kinda like the crunch of the seeds. We also serve this with plain white rice. Everyone eats it and it is the most requested dish for special occasions.**

Variation on Mom's Pudding Fruit Salad

I was out of both vanilla and lemon pudding yesterday to make Mom's pudding fruit salad, so we used pistachio pudding instead. (We got the suggestion from a dinner group friend awhile ago.) It was yummy too and the coconut looked a little like Easter grass.

Rice Krispie Treats: Fruity Variation

THis isn't relaly a recipe, but directions for a tasty adaptation of the traditional Rice Krispie treats. Warning: Eating too many will result in a tummy-ache, and they are addictive (I speak from experience here.)

Use your favorite Rice Krispie treat recipe with the following substitutions:

Instead of regular marshmallows, use the strawberry flavored ones.
(I didn't have strawberry ones, so I just used the regular ones)
Instead of regular Rice Krispies, use Fruity Pebbles.

After you have stirred the marshmallows and krispies together and the marshmallows are mostly melted, add some of the little fruit-flavored marshmallows. (I just added a couple of handfuls or until it looked like a good amount.) You don't really want these marshmallows to melt, but they add another gooey, fruity dimension to the treats.

Good luck and enjoy!

Lemon Jello Salad

Mom requested that I put this one on the blog...it's easy and pretty yummy.

1 small can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup boiling water
1 small package lemon jello
1 cup miniature marshmallows
3 bananas cut up
1 8-oz tub of Cool Whip

Boil pineapple and sugar together for 3 minutes. Boil 1 cup water and dissolve jello into it. Stir both mixtures together. Let set partially in fridge. Add marshmallows and bananas and fold cool whip into mixture. Refrigerate for 2-3 more hours.

Crescent Rolls

2 1/2 cups warm milk with 2 TBS dry yeast
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup oil
1 Tbs. salt (I use a about 2 tsp. )
Stir together and add 2 beaten eggs. Add 6 1/2 cups flour. (I usually have to add more flour). Knead. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Divide into 4 batches.
Roll into circle and brush with butter. Cut into 12 . Roll each section up. Repeat for other 3 batches.
Let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Makes 4 dozen.

This is the recipe I got from Madge Rich in the 16th Ward and have used for ages.
When I do this in my bread maker I use 1/2 a recipe and put the yeast in last in a little crater in the flour. I can get 2 dozen on one large cookie sheet.

Caramel Pretzels

Put mini pretzels on a baking sheet.

Put a Rollo on each one.

Bake for 2 minutes at 350 degrees.

Press a walnut piece or M& M into each Rollo

Let cool. You can store these in a plastic bag. Yummy!

A teacher at school (Carol Buckles) brought them to school this week.

Devil's Food Pound Cake

This is quick and easy and from the side of the Duncan Hines Devil's Food cake mix. It's my new favorite to take to dinners for a dessert assignment.

1 pkg. Devil's Food cake mix
1 pkg. (4 serving size) chocolate instant pudding
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
(a handful chocolate chips - optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour bundt or tube pan. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Bake at 350 for 50 - 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert onto heat resistant serving plate. Cool completely.

For glaze I just use the chocolate glaze recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

4 squares (4 ounces)semisweet chocolate, cut up
3 Tbl. margarine or butter
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar.

In small saucepan melt chocoolate and butter over low heat. stirring frequesntly. Remove form heat; stir in powdered sugar and 3 Tbl. HOT water (add more hot water if needed) to make of drizzling consistency. Spoon over cake allowing excess to drip down sides. Glazes top of a 10 inch tube cake or tops of 2 8 or 9 inch cake layers.

Easy Fruit Salad

2 cans (15 0z) fruit cocktail (Drained)
1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits (juice, too)
1 small pkg. vanilla or lemon instant pudding mix
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
Mix well and refrigerate at least 1 hour
Add sliced bananas before serving (optional)

Bread sticks

Quick and easy Bread sticks:

Makes 30-40 bread sticks I think. You can also cut the recipe in half if you want.

3 c warm water
2 TBS yeast
3 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
Approximately 6 c flower

Directions:
Let ingredients raise for 10 min.
Roll out into rectangle.
Make strips. Twist or roll into long sticks fold in half and twist.
Let it raise in a 9x13 pan for 1/2 hr.
Cover bread sticks with a 1/2 cube of Melted butter.
Sprinkle garlic or Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 min.

Given to me by Heather Hochhalter

Apple Muffins

I finally have some recipes I think are worth posting.
Prep time: 30 min.
Cook time: 30min
Ready in 1 hr 30 min
Yields: 12
Apple Muffins

Ingredients:
2c all purpose flour
1/2 c white sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c apple juice
1/3 c vegetable oil or ( for healthier muffins substitute apple sauce)
1 egg
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 c apples-peeled, cored and finely diced.

Directions:
1. heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease bottoms only of 12 muffin cups or line with baking cups.
2. In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt: mix well. In a small bowl, combined apple juice, oil, and egg: blend well. Add dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy.) Stir in chopped apples.
3. Fill cups 2/3 full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan. Serve warm.

Submitted by: Jenn Hall