Candy Corn Munchy Mix

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Homemade Puppy Chow(Instructions Below)

1 bag salted pretzels

12oz can salted roasted peanuts

1 bag candy corn

 

Mix puppy chow according to directions. Pour out puppy chow mix on wax paper to cool.

When puppy chow mix becomes solid, mix all of the ingredients above in a LARGE bowl and enjoy.

(This makes a huge amount of snacks. We like to divide the mixture into individual Ziploc bags for ready to go snacks.)

 

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Homemade Puppy Chow

(This recipe is an old tradition. You can find it on the side of your Chex cereal box.)

 

4 1/2 C Rice Chex Cereal

4 1/2 C Corn Chex Cereal

1 C semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 C peanut butter

1/4 C butter

1-2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 C powder sugar

1.) Into large bowl, measure cereal;

set aside

2.) In 1 quart microwavable bowl,  microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2 - 1 gallon Ziploc bags.

3.) Add powder sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

 

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I saw this idea at A Southern Soul . My mix is just like hers except that I added peanuts. Please, stop by her blog and browse around. She features some great comfort foods and beautiful home ideas. 

 

Merry Christmas

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. I have found myself overwhelmed by how blessed I have been. We had a simple Christmas. The kids served us breakfast in bed - a custom they started about 12 years ago. They bring breakfast to me and Mark, then they all huddle up on the end of the bed and talk to us while we eat. Good Times!

 

Speaking of eating

My parents came over for lunch today. It's always good to spend time together but it's especially good when there's a table full of good food! We had taco soup, potato soup, spinach dip and rolls...yum!

I also made one of our family favorites. I do not remember where I first saw this recipe, but I've made it a couple times a year for about 16 years now.

 

 

Mexican Cornbread Casserole


Ingredients:
2 -boxes Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
2 - eggs
3/4 C milk
3 or 4 - boneless chicken breast(cooked and shredded)
2 - 10.5 oz cans Cream of Chicken soup
2 - cans of chili peppers (drained)
2 -  10.5 oz cans of sweet kernel corn(drained)
1/2 - tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
green onions (chopped)
cherry or grape tomatoes (chopped)


Preheat oven 350* - Boil or bake chicken breast and shred it. Then set it aside for later. Mix Jiffy mix, eggs and milk. When the mixture is smooth add in 3/4 cup cheese. Spread this mixture into bottom of a greased 9 X 13 baking dish, and set it aside. In a large bowl mix shredded chicken breast, cream of chicken, chillis, corn and cayenne pepper. Place this mixture on the corn bread bottom. You will want to start in the center and work your way toward the edges. Just pile it on, stopping about an inch from the sides of the dish. Place this in the oven and bake until it is golden brown on the edges and the center is lightly set.

Allow the casserole to cool for 3-5 minutes then garnish with tomatoes, green onions and remaining cheese.
 (see photo above)

Give Your Turkey A T-shirt

 

No, seiously. Give the turkey a t-shirt!

I can not tell you, how many times I have begun to cook a holiday meal, only to realize that I had failed to purchase ONE important ingrediant. Grrr...

I absolutely refuse to go back to the store to pick up said item. I refuse and refuse, until finally I cave and talk my sweet husband into running the errand for me.

Thank you "hunny"!

This year however, I had been told the night before, "Now make sure, you have everything you need for Thanksgiving. I AM NOT going to the store Thanksgiving morning." So, a list was made and items purchased; and, of course, I forgot one important item... aluminum foil! 

NOoooooo.......

In my early morning drowsy mind a memory seeped in like gravy over a pile of cornbread dressing. On my first visit to meet Mark's family, I had noticed a strange anomily being lifted from his grandmothers stove. I was not sure why her turkey looked like a foul covered in grave clothes, but it did. I asked, "Mark, what on earth is that?" "Oh," he replied, "it's a tshirt. Grandma always cooks her turkey in a tshirt." He smiled broadly at the doubtful expression on my face. Sure enough, that turkey was dressed in a t-shirt. I gracefully turned down a slice that day. I could not believe what I saw.

I filed the shirt memory away, deep in the recesses of my mind. Actually, it was more like I buried it there, hoping to never remember it again. Then, on Thanksgiving morning, 2012, I found myself standing in my own kitchen, staring at a spiced and stuffed turkey and grasping one of my husbands clean white t-shirts in my hand.

Common, don't judge me! I was desparate! OK?!?

I wasn't really sure how to proceed, but it seemed like I remembered hearing that Grandma Swanson had soaked her t-shirts in vegetable oil. So, I melted a stick of butter and poured in 1/4 cup vegetable oil and soaked my t-shirt. Then I proceeded to dress my turkey - literally. Every half hour to 45 minutes, I pour the drippings from the pan over the turkey to keep the tshirt moist, hoping to also keep my turkey moist. Four hours later, his little done button popped out and it was time for the great reveal.

I had to immediately cut the tshirt away. I was so anxious, but look how golden brown and crispy. It was beautiful. I did not even need to remove the covering 30 minutes before cooking time was over, as I usually do with foil. Golden brown is gorgeous!  After 30 minutes of cooling, it was time to carve the turkey. I wondered how dry it would be, but I was pleasantly surprised, again. The meat was so moist and Thanksgiving dinner had been saved...

By a T-shirt! 

A Fall Tradition

Do you have a favorite fall memory or fall tradition? I have so many. This time of year reminds me of how blessed I am.

One of my favorite things about fall is the food. Yes, the food! The spices and rich flavors that permiate this season are just amazing. One of our family favorites is the sweet roasted peanuts that my mom makes. Every year she gifts them to the men in our family in special tins that she hand picks for each of them. Sweet memories...except that all of us girls wish we had our own tin of sweet peanuts too...Hint Hint...

Today, I shared this recipe on the She Etsy Team Blog. To read more and get the way simple, scrumpdelicious recipe go HERE.

Strawberry Shortcake

This is one of my very favorite recipes. Every time I eat strawberry shortcake, I am transported back in time to my childhood and Sunday dinners at home...usually with guests who have joined us.

I am not sure where this recipe
originated because I never saw my mom use a recipe. The steps were rote memory for her.In fact, when I got married and wanted to make a strawberry shortcake of my own, I called my mom. On the other side of the phone line (yes, they were all ground lines then) I could here Mom getting all the ingredients out of the cupboard. She had to put the ingredients together and guess what the measurements were as she worked.

"Let's see, I think that's about 2 cups. Yeah, write down 2 cups of self rise flour. Now let me get the sugar." [pause] "Hm, I think that's about..."

No lie, that is exactly the way she taught me to make strawberry shortcake. Now that I think about it, that is the same way she taught me to make great big southern buttermilk biscuits.

Hopefully you will enjoy this recipe as much as we have.



For this recipe you will need an 11" Flan Pan. You can order them from any bakery supply store, Amazon.com, Walmart(sometimes), or Pampered Chef.



Strawberry Shortcake:

Strawberry Filling
You will want to prepare the strawberries at least two hours in advance(overnight is best).
2 pints of fresh strawberries
Sugar

Rinse the strawberries and cut them into thin slices. Place the strawberry slices in a large bowl and sprinkle a layer of sugar over top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set them in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.



Shortcake Bottom
1 Egg
3/4 Cup Crisco
1 Cup Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
1 3/4 Cup Self-Rise Flour

With a sturdy mixer combine crisco and sugar until creamy.
Blend in egg and vanilla. Slowly add flour.

Press dough into flan pan and bake at 350 until lightly browned.

Topping
1 Large container of Cool Whip (thawed)


Putting it all together
Once the cake bottom is cooled, pour out the strawberries onto the cake bottom until it is completely covered. Use the juices and the strawberries. You won't be sorry! Promise!!!

Top it all off with cool whip and chill until you are ready to serve.

Warm Yummy Reuben's

My sister actually taught my second oldest how to make these oven crisped sandwiches. They have become a favorite in our house so I thought we would share them with you.

                                              

 

Ingredients List:

8-10 French rolls from the local deli

3-4 sweet large onions

10-12 ounces thinly sliced deli ham or turkey

8 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese

1/3 C mayonnaise

1/3 C Dijon mustard

Preparations Instructions:

First slice the onions into thin rings and lightly sauté in butter or olive oil. There is no need to season the onions. While the onions are being sautéed slice the rolls into halves and set the tops and bottoms open faced on a cookie sheet.  Set aside for later. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

To Prepare the bottom portion of the French Rolls.

In a small dish, mix 1/3 cup Dijon mustard with 1/3 cup mayonnaise. Using your fingers, scoop out a small portion of the bottoms of the French rolls and into the holes place 1 tablespoon of the sauce mix. On top of that place one slice of Provolone cheese and set this back on the cookie sheets.

To Prepare the upper portion of the French Rolls.

On the top portions of the rolls layer 1 piece of deli sliced meat and a good portion of the sauteed onions. Place these back on the cookie sheets.

Place both cookie sheets in the oven and allow the sandwich halves to cook until lightly golden. Serve while hot. YUM!

 

~VeryVerdant

Swongers Sizzling Summer Salsa

I find myself in a new season of life. A season where my children are more independent and my time is slowly being given back to me(in small increments of course). So what to do with this time of mine? First of all I began sewing again, which resulted in a small business and craft fairs. That was fun, but now I am delving into something I have wanted to do since I first got married and realized I really enjoyed being a homemaker...canning. Yes, the old time art of canning has been a dream of mine for sometime and now it is becoming a reality.

PAUSE FOR A MOMENT WHILE I ASK MYSELF - How is it that I can walk into a store and choose the most expensive item without any effort? It is just effortless. And how is it that I choose such time consuming hobbies and lifestyles? Answer me that question!

OK, back to the salsa-



This recipe is from a wonderful family who lived in our area and attended our church years ago. The salsa is a bit spicy but also surprisingly sweet because of the apple cider vinegar and the local honey. Delectable? Mm, yes!

Begin with
30-40 medium ripe tomatoes(about 2 - 2 1/2 gallons)
2Tbs Salt

Easy peel process: Rinse tomatoes and place into a plugged kitchen sink. Poor boiling water over the tomatoes and allow to soak in the hot water until the skins begin to crack. Place tomatoes in cold water and gently peel skins off.

Chop peeled tomatoes and place into a boiler with salt. Bring tomatoes to a boil then lower heat. Simmer on medium low for four - six hours. This will cook off the excess water. You can tell tomatoes are ready when they have cooked down to half the size.

Now add remaining ingredients. I have included a sizzling recipe as well as a mild.


Remaining Ingredients for Sizzling Salsa:
2C chopped Cayenne Peppers
2C chopped onions
1C local honey (If you do not have a local honey supplier, you could use 2C store bought honey or 2C sugar.)
2T garlic salt
1C apple cider vinegar
1/4C lemon juice
1T chili pepper
1T black pepper



If you prefer a mild salsa use these ingredients:
1C chopped banana peppers
1C chopped jalapeno peppers
2C chopped onion
1/4C lemon juice
1C local honey (see substitution suggestions above)
2Tbs garlic salt
1C apple cider vinegar


Add remaining ingredients to your cooked down tomatoes and boil on high for thirty minutes.Pour salsa into quart jars and seal according to canning procedures for tomatoes. (Makes a little more than 4 quarts)


VeryVerdant

But What About The Purse?

Yes, I know I should have it done already, but I have spent quality time with my children and husband today. The purse will be finished and in time to be opened on Christmas morning. Today I did finish several gifts with my children and cleaned house and went shopping with my husband plus went on a little drive with my husband, so to count today a total loss would simply be a sad misrepresentation of a perfect day.

Here are a few of the items that did get finished.


In the jar is a drink mix I have always called Russian Tea. I was first introduced to this drink when I recieved a jar of the mix from a dear friend at church. Since that first hot sip of Russian Tea, I have enjoyed it as a staple in my kitchen every fall and winter.

Here is the recipe as it was passed on to me:

2 Cups Tang
3/4 Cup instant tea
1 Cup Sugar
3 oz Lemonade Mix
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Allspice

Mix all the ingredients together then divide the mixture into two pint sized jars - one for you and one to share.

When you are ready for a nice warm cup of tea just add 2 heaping teaspoons of the mix to one teacup of hot water. YUM YUM!!

This jar of spice tea will be given to a friend of mine tomorrow along with these lovely little cards I purchased from KatieMayFlowers. They are the perfect size to use as gift tags, lunch box "love notes" for the hubby, "you're special because.." notes for the children or ...so many options.



The other gifts from our kitchen are these amazing Raspberry Truffle Brownies.

The children and I always love to gobble these up around the holidays. The recipe comes from one of my favorite cook books in my collection. I hope you will enjoy these also. One pan of these brownies will be divided up among our friends and ourselves the other is going to a Christmas party at my husbands work place.

BROWNIE LAYER
1 1/4 C ~ semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C ~ butter or margarine
3/4 C ~ packed brown sugar
2 Large eggs
1 tsp ~ instant coffee dissolved in 2 Tbs water
3/4 C ~ All-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ~ baking soda

1.) Heat oven to 350* . Grease a 9X9 inch baking pan
2.) To make brownie layer, melt chocolate chips with butter. Cool slightly. Beat brown sugar and eggs in a large bowl. Add chocolate mixture and dissolved coffee. Mix well. Stir in flour and baking powder. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes. Cool

TRUFFLE LAYER

1 C ~ semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 tsp ~ instant coffee
8 oz ~ package cream cheese, softened
1/3 C ~ seedless red raspberry preserves
1/4 C ~ powder sugar

1.) Beat cream cheese and preserves until smooth.
2.) Melt chocolate chips with instant coffee.
3.) On low speed beat powder sugar with chocolate mixture then add to cream cheese mixture and beat on low speed until fluffy.
4.) Spread over brownies.


GLAZE

1/4 C ~ semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp solid vegetable shortening

1.) Melt chocolate chips with shortening.
2.) Drizzle over filling.
3.) Chill for 2 hours.
4.) Cut into bars.

Yes, a lot of instructions but well worth the effort and the two hour wait for them to cool!

VeryVerdant


One more thing, I am not sure where to find the original recipe for Russian Tea but the Raspberry Truffle Brownies are from a small spiral bound book called Prize Winning Cookies published by Current, INC. Colorado Springs,Co 80941 (1990)