Monthly Archives: November 2010

Magic Pretzels

I have made these for several years around Christmas time for teachers, neighbors, our librarian, etc. They are SOOOO good!!! They are the kind of snack that I don’t even take a teeny tiny nibble of because if I do, I will have another bite and then another and then another….

Ingredients:
1 cup corn or canola oil
1 envelope (1 ounce) dried ranch salad-dressing mix
1/2 of a 1-ounce envelope dried garlic-flavored salad-dressing mix (pour the envelope into a measuring cup and spoon out half)
1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 pound hard sourdough “beer” pretzels, broken into pieces (“hard” or “beer” pretzels are in the snack section of your grocery store; if you can only find a 13-ounce box, that’s fine to use instead of 1 pound)

Instructions:
Put pretzels in a gallon-size ziplock back and break them into smaller pieces with a hammer…don’t hit them too hard. You still want them to look like pretzels, not pretzel dust.

Put oil, salad-dressing mixes, lemon-pepper seasoning, and dill into another gallon-size ziplock bag, seal it, then shake hard to mix. Add pretzels and toss until they’re completely coated. Allow the pretzels to “marinate” for at least 1 hour, giving them a shake whenever you think of it.

Heat oven to 300. Spread pretzels and their flavorings on a large, rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes.

Let pretzels cool completely, while stirring often. Store them in an airtight container (they’ll keep for 4 to 6 weeks).

What did the family think? These are SOOOO good! They are especially yummy when they have been out of the oven for just a little bit…when they have cooled off, but they are still warm.

from Wondertime magazine

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Vegetarian

Italian Sausage Baked Ziti

Warm, yummy and perfect for a chilly rainy night…

Ingredients:
1/2 pound Ziti pasta
1/2 onion, chopped
1 pound Italian sausage
1 jar spaghetti sauce
4 slices Provolone cheese
8 ounces Ricotta cheese
6 ounces Mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain when done.

Brown the meat and onion and drain fat. Return the meat and onion back to the pan and add the spaghetti sauce simmering for 15 minutes.

Layer ingredients in a square baking dish. Pour 1 cup of the meat mixture on the bottom of a casserole dish.

Next, put half of the pasta on top of the meat mixture. Top with provolone cheese slices and ricotta cheese spread over the provolone cheese. Then add the remaining pasta and top with to the remaining meat mixture making sure to cover all of the noodles.

Top with mozzarella cheese and parmesan.

Bake for 30 minutes and you may want to bake it on a cookie sheet to prevent splatters in your oven.

from bigoven.com

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Italian

Parmesan Sole

Hubby likes to have fish at least two times a week. Usually it’s salmon, but today I decided to try something else.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. lean fish fillets
2 T olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Heat oven to 450 F.

Place oil in 13X9 inch baking pan. Heat pan in oven for 5 minutes.

Place fish in pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 5 minutes; turn fish over. Sprinkle with lemon juice and white wine. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake until fish flakes easily at thickest part, about 5 minutes.

We had this with green beans, grapes, a baguette and apple cranberry pie.

What did the family think? It was a nice change of pace from salmon. I like salmon as much as the next person, but…

from sparkrecipes.com

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Filed under Easy, Fish, Lent

Salmon with Honey Mustard Pan Sauce

We love the salmon at Trader Joe’s and it’s even better that there are recipes like this one on the back.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
2 T whole grain Dijon mustard
Black pepper, to taste
1 lb salmon, defrosted
1 T honey
1/8 c water

Instructions:
Add olive oil and butter to 12 inch skillet and cook over medium heat to melt better.

Add mustard, stir to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes to toast mustard seeds.

Add fish to pan, sprinkle with pepper and saute until lightly browned, about three minutes per side.

Turn fish, mix in honey and cover with lid to complete cooking.

Remove fish, add water to deglaze pan and heat over high to reduce the sauce by about half.

Pour sauce over fish and serve.

We had this with a salad and bread and butter.

What did the family think? We liked this fish, but I had some trouble with the sauce. I think I had the burners on too high and the mustard seeds got too burnt. So, we had no sauce. I liked it without the sauce. My hubby made his own sauce of equal parts mayo and Dijon mustard.

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Filed under Fish, Lent

Buttermilk Syrup

I had never even heard of Buttermilk syrup until my friend and former neighbor, Valerie, wrote about making it on her blog. Valerie is an awesome cook, so I knew it had to be good.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c buttermilk
3 c sugar
1 t vanilla
1 T baking Soda

Instructions:
In large saucepan (make sure it is big enough to accommodate the syrup foaming when the baking soda is added), combine butter, buttermilk, and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly.

Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and baking soda (it will foam up at this point.) It is now ready to serve.

Did I change anything? No, but I will tell you this makes A LOT of syrup. Next time I am only making half. Also, once you make it, let it set for about 15 minutes. It needs to rest and thicken up a bit. It’s kind of weird at first while I was waiting for it to cool off a bit…it’s thick and kind of bubbly… and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it AT ALL, but it was awesome! Trust me. It’s good. You can thank me later. ๐Ÿ™‚

What did the family think? Heavens to Betsy this stuff is good!

from whiteonricecouple.com

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian

Pumpkin Pancakes

Dad was out of town so we had breakfast for dinner last night.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar

Instructions:
In a medium bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt.

Stir the dry mixture into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

We had these with scrambled eggs. I also made some Buttermilk Syrup to go with them.

What did the family think? They loved it!

from allrecipes.com

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Filed under Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Lent, Vegetarian

Calzones

We used Italian sausage and spinach, but you could use pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers… whatever you like to have on your pizza could go in this calzone.

Ingredients;
2 cans Pillsbury pizza crust
8 ounces Italian sausage
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan
1 egg
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Pizza sauce OR marinara sauce

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cook sausage in skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through using a wooden spoon to crumble.

Add spinach and water to skillet; saute 1 to 2 minutes until spinach is wilted; drain.

Combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan and egg in a mixing bowl. Stir in Italian herb seasoning and garlic salt; set aside.

To make calzone, unroll one pizza crust on a non-stick cookie sheet. Use a knife to cut the pizza dough into four equal rectangles. Put 1/4 of the ricotta mixture in the center of each rectangle then put 1/4 of the sausage mixture on top of the ricotta mixture.

Place the second pizza crust on top of calzone fillings. Use a knife to cut it into four rectangles. Press the edges down with a fork or your fingers so the filling won’t leak out.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until dough starts to get golden.

What did the family think? This was a huge hit in our house.


image from yumsugar.com

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Vegetarian

Stuffed Shells

We are a pasta lovin’ and a cheese lovin’ house, so I knew these would be a hit!

Ingredients:
1 (12 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
2 eggs, beaten
1 (32 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce, divided

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and run cold water over them too cool them off.

In a large bowl, mix eggs, ricotta, half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan until well combined.

Cover bottom of 9×13 dish with thin layer of spaghetti sauce.

Stuff cooked shells with ricotta mixture and place in baking dish.

Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over shells and then sprinkle remaining mozzarella and Parmesan on top.

Bake in preheated oven 45 minutes, until edges are bubbly and shells are slightly set.

We had these with a salad, but I wish I would have made some nice warm yummy garlic bread to go with it, too.

Did I change anything? I actually ended up using two jars of sauce. I used just a little bit of the second one to finish off the top of the noodles. I just felt like it needed a little bit more sauce.

What did the family think? It was a hit! There was a little bit leftover and I was already dreaming about having the leftovers for lunch. Apparently, so was our oldest. He asked me if he could have the rest in his lunchbox for the next day. I reluctantly said yes. Next time I will have to make more. ๐Ÿ™‚

adapted from a recipe on allrecipes.com

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian

Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies

These cookies are so much fun! The best part is you can mix and match any way you want…so you might have an M&M and Milky Way cookie or just keep it simple and stick to Snickers or put three or four different kinds of candies in one cookie.

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks/chips
Halloween Candy (e.g. M&Mรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs, Rolos, Snickers, etc.)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Beat in baking soda and salt. Add flour and stir until it is mixed in.

Stir chocolate chunks/chips into the dough.

Scoop 1/4 cups of dough onto cookie sheet and flatten slightly into mounds. Leave about 3 inches between cookies because they will spread as they bake. Press candy (decoratively) into cookie mounds. Mix and match it any way you would like.

Bake 14-16 minutes or until cookies are almost set. Do not overbake; centers should be slightly soft. Cool on baking sheet for about 7 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes about 12 cookies.

Did I change anything? Yes, I reduced the amount of chocolate chips…I figured there’s enough chocolate in the candy, but then I actually tasted the cookies and realized I should have put the whole cup in. Live and learn. ๐Ÿ™‚

What does the family think? They are all at work and school right now, but I don’t think they are going to object to fresh, warm, whimsical cookies…although the kids might be a little ticked that I got into their candy. Oh well! ๐Ÿ™‚

from Coffeehouse Cookies

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Filed under After School Snacks, Desserts, Easy, Vegetarian