New Year’s Day Dip
01 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in appetizers, company's coming!, holidays, snacks, vegetables
It’s tradition in some parts of the country to kick off a new year by eating black-eyed peas in some fashion, and for many years, we’ve tried to do this!
I know lots of people call this Texas Caviar, but I kind of think that’s a dumb name, so I call it New Year’s Day Dip. This particular recipe came from my parents!
1 can black-eyed peas
1 can red kidney beans
1 can shoepeg (sweet white) corn
1 jar diced pimentos
Put all ingredients in a colander and drain; transfer to a large bowl, and to that add:
1 cup finely chopped celery
3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly (I use the light green part, but not the stalk part)
In a small saucepan, combine:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Pour liquid over the bowl of vegetables, and refrigerate for a couple of hours. STRAIN BEFORE SERVING (so your serving bowl should not be full of liquid).
this is what it looks like before it's strained.
Serve with tortilla chips or Fritos – Scoops work best!
Soul Sweet Taters
30 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in company's coming!, holidays, side dishes, vegetables
Or, that’s what The Pioneer Woman calls it! I would call it sweet potato casserole. Either way, it got RAVE reviews at our Christmas dinner.
I followed her recipe to the T.
Recipe: Sweet Potatoes
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Ingredients
- 4 whole Medium Sweet Potatoes
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Milk
- 2 whole Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Pecans
- ½ cups Flour
- ¾ sticks Butter
Preparation Instructions
Wash 4 medium sweet potatoes and bake them in a 375-degree oven until fork tender, about 30-35 minutes. When they are finished cooking slice them open and scrape out the flesh into a large bowl.
Add 1 cup of (regular grandulated) sugar, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of salt. With a potato masher, mash them up just enough—you don’t want to be perfectly smooth.
Now, in a separate bowl, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup pecans, chopped (that means measure a cup of pecans, then chop them), ½ cup flour, and ¾ stick of butter. With a pastry cutter or fork, mash together until thoroughly combined.
Spread the sweet potato mixture into a regular baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top.
Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
***I did use whole milk because somewhere in her long description she recommended it. I also mashed the potatoes completely because I did it before I read the recipe. Other than that, I followed it to a T 
Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips
21 Dec 2010 2 Comments
in appetizers, apples, at least one kid ate it, company's coming!, dessert, fruit, holidays, side dishes, snacks
So, I was making my grocery list for hosting Christmas this weekend via this website. I didn’t realize I hadn’t posted this much requested recipe. Here it is! Great for holiday gatherings, bridal/baby showers, etc. So good!
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and diced
8 oz rasberries (I’ve used frozen)
1 pound strawberries
2 tbspn white sugar
1 tbspn brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor (I’ve used all different, really whatever I have here at home)
10 10-inch tortillas
Butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar, and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in fridge at least 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Coat one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray. Bake in oven 8 – 10 minutes. Serve with fruit salsa!
Hot Cocoa Mix & Homemade Marshmallows
17 Dec 2010 1 Comment
in drinks, holidays, there's chocolate in this!
This is a great, easy gift to give neighbors, friends, teachers…
I found a few different recipes online and tweaked them to make this one, which I think is pretty good! After it’s all mixed up, make yourself a cup of cocoa and then add to it if you think it needs to be sweeter or more chocolaty.
6 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 (5 oz) package NON-INSTANT chocolate pudding mix
1 1/4 cup powdered chocolate drink mix (I used Ovaltine)
1/2 cup powdered non-dairy creamer (you can use flavored ones, but I just used regular)
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Mix everything in a large bowl. Divide the mixture between 2 quart or 4 pint Mason jars. Seal and decorate (I just cut a square of some fabric I picked up, and used a sheer ribbon to attach the directions to the jar).
Attach a tag to the jar with these directions: Dissolve 1/3 cup cocoa mix in 1 cup boiling water.
I highly recommend making these homemade marshmallows to go with the cocoa, as they are a real treat! Seriously, they aren’t that much work (it’s an hour start to finish), clean up is really easy, and they’re much better than the packaged kind.
A couple of tips:
-When preparing the pan at the beginning, use a little melted butter in the bottom of the dish, put the parchment on top of that, and then brush a little more butter over the top of the parchment. THEN cover with sifted powdered sugar – I’d recommend using 1/4 cup or more, as the extra will just brush off.
-I wouldn’t try this without a Kitchenaid mixer.
-Cut the marshmallows with a kitchen scissors (see all of the implements in my picture? I tried everything, and a clean scissors was definitely the best. Not because I first used a dirty scissors But after you cut a few of them and the scissors get gunky, they are harder to use.)
-After you cut the marshmallows up, dip all sides in powdered sugar so that they don’t stick to each other.
-Try not to eat 16 of them.
-Don’t worry if they’re really uneven looking…I think that’s the best part! You don’t want them to look like they came from a bag.
Caramel Bars
08 Dec 2010 1 Comment
in dessert, holidays, there's chocolate in this!
Really, these should be called Turtle Bars, but whatever. Make them.
1/3 cup evaporated milk
14 oz pkg caramels (50) – I wouldn’t recommend those little caramel balls; they don’t melt as well
1 pkg German Chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup chopped pecans
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 13×9 pan. Combine milk and caramels and cook over low heat until melted, stirring constantly. Keep warm. Combine remaining ingredients except chocolate chips in a large bowl and stir by hand. Press ½ of the dough into the pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Then, sprinkle chocolate chips over baked portion and spread caramel over that. Scatter reserved dough over caramel and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool, and cut into squares.
Cookie Dough Truffles
07 Dec 2010 1 Comment
in dessert, holidays, there's chocolate in this!
After I heard from a friend that these existed, I had to try them! And lucky for me, Kelli made them first! They were delicious…as in, I ate them as my dinner at small group. Kelli’s dough turned out a bit too sticky to roll the dough into balls, so she suggested more flour, which I used. Since then, she heard from a pastry-chef friend on Facebook that letting the dough sit for half an hour at room temperature allows the flour to fully hydrate. So, that might make it work better, too!
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (or, I think it’s ok to use an extra 1/4 to 1/2 a cup if you want to roll them into balls immediately)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate morsels
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (I omitted, but this would be good)
1 1/2 lb chocolate bark candy coating, melted (I like the chocolate bark from Walmart)
In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add milk. Add chocolate morsels and pecans, mixing well. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on waxed paper; chill 2 hours or longer (I made them late at night and then dipped them the next afternoon).
*Cook’s Note: Since the dough is sticky, roll your fingers into flour. This will make it easier to roll. Or, just know that even if the dough is a little sticky, it will still form into balls.
Melt chocolate bark candy coating in the microwave. Dip dough into chocolate and remove with tongs or two forks. Place on waxed or parchment paper and chill to set. Store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
**IMPORTANT: keep the dough balls cold while you’re dipping them. Keep them in the fridge and remove a few at a time for dipping.
Makes approximately 50 truffles.
THE Pumpkin Dessert
09 Nov 2010 2 Comments
in company's coming!, dessert, holidays, pumpkin
I’ve seen this recipe several places but never made it until last weekend. And it’s a keeper! It’s definitely NOT low-fat, so it’s a good one to make with lots of company so that there aren’t leftovers.
I found it here and will only make one tiny change next time I make it, and that’s just reducing the nuts in it.
15 oz. can pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 c. sugar
4 t. Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus (or 2 tsp. cinnamon and 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice)
1 yellow cake mix
3/4 c. butter, melted
1 1/2 c. chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) – I used pecans, and I’ll use about a cup next time. 1 1/3 cups (what was in the bag) seemed like too much to me.
Preheat oven to 350. Combine first 5 ingredients. Pour in a greased 9×13 pan. Crumble yellow cake mix on top. Pour butter evenly over all. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake 1 hour. Serve with whipped topping.
Caramel Apple Pie
09 Jan 2010 2 Comments
in apples, at least one kid ate it, dessert, fruit, holidays
I made this for our Christmas dinner this year. I’ve only made it one other time so it was a much requested item for Christmas. My mother-n-law actually said, “I really think this is the best apple pie I have ever had.” Maybe you’ll like it too!
2 large jonathan apples
2 large fuji apples
1 granny smith apple
Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 unbaked pie crust
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup flour
1 stick butter
caramel ice cream topping
Dice the apples. Yes, I said dice. We prefer them this way versus just slicing them really thin. Mix together the apples, sugar, 3 T flour, cinnamon, and salt. Pour into an unbaked pie crust.
Combine brown sugar, oats, 1/2 cup of flour, and butter. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle the coarse crumbs onto the pie filling.
Line the top edge of the pie crust with foil and bake at 400 for 25 – 30 minutes (25 for me). Remove the foil and bake an additional 30 minutes. Drizzle the caramel topping over the top of the pie while it’s still warm (but not too hot or it will just pour off onto aluminum foil that you placed under the pie, not that that’s happened to me or anything!).
*Both times I have made this, the top of the pie started to burn (I think from the crumbly butter). We didn’t seem to notice because of all the caramel. BUT, the next time I make this, I’m going to put the oven rack as low as it will go and hope that will help.
Double Onion Dip
22 Dec 2009 3 Comments
in appetizers, holidays, snacks
My sister Hayley made this last year at Christmas time, and I requested it again this year! It’s from Kraft’s website.
2 Tbsp. Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 cup mayo (or Miracle Whip if you like it)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions
Wheat Thins or other chips/crackers for dipping
HEAT Italian dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Add yellow onions; cook 15 to 20 min. or until browned and caramelized, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper. Cool.
MIX mayo and cream cheese in medium bowl until well blended. Add caramelized onions and the green onions; mix well.
The folks at Kraft say to serve at room temperature with the crackers, but I (and reader/commenter Julie) think that it’s better when cold.
Turtle Pumpkin Pie
08 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment
I made this for the first time a couple of years ago, and it got rave reviews! I do like traditional pumpkin pie, but this is good if you want to change it up a bit, too.
It makes 10 servings, and is no-bake and very quick to put together.
1/4 cup plus 2 T caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 graham cracker crust
1/2 cup plus 2 T chopped pecans, divided
2 pkg (3.4 oz each) Vanilla instant pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip Lite, thawed, divided
Pour 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans.
Beat pudding mixes, milk, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended. Stir in 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip. Spoon into crust.
Refrigerate 1 hour. Top with remaining Cool Whip, caramel topping and pecans just before serving.
