Christmas Baking 2013

I know, I know. Each year after I bake I swear that I'm not going to do it again, because of rude comments that have been said. I've heard, "Well, you're not getting anything from us", "We gave them to our neighbors", and I've even received some of them back, re-plated of course. And I'm not a bad cook, honest!!

I really, really love to bake, and more than that, I love to share. It's just part of who I am. I had toyed around with the idea of donating it all to the homeless shelter or the airman's cookie drive. But when I mentioned it to a friend that I wasn't delivering them, she told me that she'd miss them. So I sat down and went through my list and found six families that I thought would really appreciate them, and I got to baking.

I think I managed five oldies, but goodies, and five new recipes that all shined. And of course, I didn't take pictures again, so I'll have to steal them from the other blogs where I got the recipes. (Shhh, don't tell them!)

Oldies: (all found in my cookbook)
Christmas Delight
Oreo Balls
Cherry Almond Shortbread cookies
Rolo Pretzel Turtles
Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate

Newbies:
Almond Joy Truffles: http://www.highheelsandgrills.com/2013/09/almond-joy-truffles.html



Carmelitas: http://luluthebaker.blogspot.com/2010/10/carmelitas.html


I do believe that these were my favorites of the new ones. Oh, they are to die for! I had to freeze them so I wouldn't eat the whole pan. But I sneak in the kitchen frequently and pull one out and warm it up in the microwave. Ahhh....think I'll go get one now!

Reese's Peanut Butter Fudge: http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2013/04/reeses-fudge/



Mint Brownie Bites: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/07/chocolate-mint-brownie-bites/


I'm not a mint fan, so I didn't even try these. But my mint-loving hubby took one bite and started moaning, "Ohhhh, these are sooooo good!" It was quite funny to watch.


Salted Caramel Brownie Bites: http://makinglifewonderful.blogspot.com/2010/12/ummwhere-have-these-been.html


The original way says to use Rolos. I think this site said to use Hershey's caramel kisses. We used both and compared. Definitely like the kisses ones better as they are softer to bite into.

I think the only problem I ran into was that I didn't buy enough chocolate bark, and that I couldn't distinguish between my oreo balls and my almond joy truffles, once they were dipped. So I ended up doing white chocolate lines across the almond balls and swirls on the oreo ones.

Did you bake up something tasty!?!?!

Dinnertime!

YUM...that's all I can say about dinner tonight! And everyone else agreed, even my youngest, who is pickier beyond belief. If it just looks wrong, he won't try it.

Found this recipe on Pinterest. Yes, I'm on there still, but you see, it's not all for crafts. I have to browse it to find delicious, HEALTHY meals to feed my family. (wink!)

Spaghetti with Sauteed Chicken and Grape Tomatoes

Ingredients:

2 skinless chicken breast halves, diced in 1 inch cubes

cooking spray

1/2 tsp each of dried oregano and dries basil

kosher salt and fresh pepper

8 oz Ronzoni Smart Taste high fiber spaghetti

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

6 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped

4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

4 tbsp chopped fresh basil

 

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Coat the cubed chicken with the salt, pepper, oregano and dried basil. On high heat, heat a large skillet When hot, spray with oil and add chicken. Cook until no longer pink. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions.

Heat skillet on high heat and and olive oil. Add garlic and saute until golden brown (do not burn).  Add tomatoes, and reduce heat to medium-low. Sauté about 4-5 minutes.

Once pasta has cooked, pour into colander to drain and rinse with hot water (to remove the starch). Gently toss with a little olive oil, then add pasta to tomatoes and toss well. Mix in fresh basil and chicken and toss well. Serve and top with good grated parmesan cheese.

 

We ate this with a spinach salad, and that awesome "everything" french bread-you know, the one that has poppy seeds, sesame seeds, roasted garlic and salt. Just thinking about it makes me want to go and fetch another piece of bread.

 

I adapted this recipe from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/08/spaghetti-with-sauteed-chicken-and.html. She has you use part of the water to pour on the noodles, but I tried it and didn't like it. And she doesn't rinse her pasta, which I think is a must-otherwise it's mushy!

 

This one is going into my normal rotation of recipes. I love that it's lighter and doesn't make me feel like I just stuffed myself, even though I just downed over 7 grams of fiber-just from the pasta dish.

 

 

Bread Baking

The aroma of freshly baked bread just sends my head spinning! There's nothing like a hot loaf of bread just out of the oven.

I've been on a quest to find a tasty recipe for italian bread. The first recipe I tried came from a friend, Kari, when I tried it at her house-delicious! The recipe comes from the blog, "The Sisters Cafe" and you can find the link here: http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2008/03/macaroni-grill-bread.html

Bread from Macaroni Grill(This is a recipe intended to approximate that awesome chewy bread that they bring out at the Macaroni Grill. The kind you dip into the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and cracked garlic.)

1 Tbsp. Dry Yeast

1 Tbsp. Sugar 1 cup warm water (105 – 115 degrees)

2 ½ cups white flour, divided

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. rosemary, chopped, (I used about a tablespoon of dried rosemary and it worked great.)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Coarsely ground salt

Put the yeast, water and sugar into a blender. Mix it until it is frothy.Turn the oven onto 200°. (You just need to warm it up; you’re not baking yet.)

To the mixing bowl of yeast mixture, add two cups of the flour, salt, and half of your chopped rosemary. Keep the other half cup of flour close at hand. Knead the dough for a few minutes. Add the rest of the flour as needed to get the dough to the right consistency (soft and stretchy without being overly sticky).Turn the oven off

Lift the dough out of the mixing bowl. Add the olive oil to a bowl and swirl it around. Roll the dough in the olive oil so it is well coated and let it sit in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and place it in the oven (the oven should be off by now, if you missed that step). Leave the door cracked so it isn’t too hot in there.Let the dough rise for about an hour. It should be approximately doubled in size. Punch the dough down and knead it again. Divide it into two equal sized lumps and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.( I just made one big loaf–but I am thinking it would have been easier to cut–not smash so much if the loaf was smaller–so I think I will follow these directions next time)

Prepare your baking pan. I use a ceramic stone, but a cookie sheet will work. If the surface is not naturally non-stick, spray it with the cooking spray, or use parchment paper. Shape the dough into two oval-shaped loaves and arrange on the pan. Melt the butter or margarine. Use a brush to paint the surface of the loaves with butter. Use all of the butter. The loaves will be quite saturated when you’re done. Take the rest of the chopped rosemary and sprinkle it over the loaves. Pat it down gently to set it into the dough. Return the loaves to the oven. Don’t turn it on yet. Let the dough rise again, for about 45 minutes. Remove the loaves and preheat the oven to 450°. Sprinkle a little bit of coarse(kosher salt is perfect) salt over the loaves. Return the dough to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light brown.Makes two loaves. Best enjoyed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic.

 

I loved the rosemary in this bread, though I'm not usually a rosemary fan. It seems to give it just the right amount of flavor. I also loved that it didn't take too much time to make this recipe. My only complaints are that the recipe called for a lot of butter (the couple times I've made this there has been no way that I could drizzle that much butter on top-I usually used 1/2 the amount), and that the loaf isn't crusty. I don't know, maybe it's me, but I love a crusty loaf.

 

So I searched again and found a recipe for ciabatta bread (love to get a sandwich on ciabatta bread from Panera's!). Found a video on YouTube that taught me how to make it:

(Can't seem to figure out how to make the video larger-you can copy and paste this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX_6l2bmvQI)

LOVED this recipe!! It was so chewy inside and had the perfect crust. What blew my mind was that it only takes 4 ingredients and that you don't knead it. I thought it was so easy that I taught some 9-10 year old girls how to make it. The only drawback to this recipe is that you have to let it sit forever-well, not forever, but for 18 hours! Yes, I said, 18 hours! But that's what it takes to make the long gluten strands that give you the chewy center. Another drawback is that this recipe doesn't have as much flavor as the first one. It's great for dipping in balsamic vinegar/olive oil, but I'm not always in the mood for that. But it's still a great recipe!

So, as soon as it's cool enough to heat the oven, I'm going to attempt to combine these two recipes. I'm hoping to get the chewiness/crunchiness of the second one, but have the flavor of the first.

I bake both of these recipes, and put my loaves in the freezer for future use. It's easy to pull one out and pop it in the oven for 5-10 minutes and heat it up-makes the house smell fabulous and my family thinks that I've been slaving in the kitchen baking all day. The last time I made bread, my son was in the kitchen as soon as it came out of the oven, and he stood over it and just kept saying, "I can't control myself-I need a piece!" It was hilarious! He could down a whole loaf just by himself, if I let him!

Do you have a favorite italian bread recipe?!?

Try it Tuesday-Oreo Cookies and Cream Cake

I know my picture isn't the best, but that's ok. The first piece of this is always the hardest to remove, and as I was taking this to church, I didn't want to cut out any more from it.

It got rave reviews at our dinner!

Oreo Cookies and Cream Cake

Crust

1 (16 oz.) pkg. oreo cookies crushed (Can reserve 5 for garnish)

2/3 cup margarine (melted)

Mix crushed oreos and melted margarine, and press into a 9x13 buttered pan

1st layer

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened

Spread ice cream over crust and place in freezer

2nd layer

4 (1 oz.) sq. baker's unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. margarine

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups of evaporated milk (almost all of a 12 oz. can)

Cook above ingredients until thickened, stirring continuously.

Cook chocolate sauce and spread evenly over top of ice cream.

3rd layer

Spread 12 oz. container of cool whip on top of sauce and sprinkle 5 crushed oreo's on top. Freeze.

Remove 5-10 mins. before serving.

Here's my step-by-step instructions with pictures, and my two cents worth....

Gather your ingredients....

1. I used my food processor to crush 1/2 a package at a time

2. This is what it looks like crushed. I did reserve 5 for garnish-but I didn't inform the "family" that they were not "leftovers" so they were eaten by the time I got back to use them!

3. Add the butter and mix. This is where I am going to change my recipe next time. I thought it was too much butter. I'll probably melt a 1/2 cup and mix it slowly to add just enough to make it all stick.

4. Press the mixture into the bottom of a "buttered pan". When I used the entire 2/3 cup, there was literally butter sitting on the top of this-so I took a paper towel and soaked up the excess. That's why I would say cut it down to at least 1/2 cup, if not less. But make sure you do "butter" the pan, or it will stick-trust me!

5. Spread the softened ice cream on top of the crust. (I just let my ice cream sit out while I was making the crust and that worked fine-and mine wasn't 1/2 gallon-it was 1 1/2 quarts, which was enough) Get it back in the freezer ASAP or you'll develop large crystals and your ice cream layer won't be smooth)

6. Add all the ingredients for the sauce into your pan and cook it.

7. I'd tell you how long to cook it, but I'm on an electric stove and it takes a lot longer than gas. But I probably cooked it for about 2 minutes after it started to boil and then it thickened nicely. (I think next time I'll do this step first, so it can be cooling while I do the other steps-would save a little time)

8. Once the chocolate sauce has cooled (yes, it needs to be cool or you'll melt the ice cream), spread it on the ice cream layer quickly and return to the freezer.

9. Add the whipped topping and return to the freezer until 5-10 minutes before serving. (The recipe called for cool whip, but I'm not a fan of that, so I used 1 cup of whipping cream-whipped it and added 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar)

I'm not a chocolate "cake" fan, but this is the perfect mixture of chocolate, vanilla, ice cream

and the cookie layer-delicious!!

We FONDUE, do You?!?

We had some dinner guests over this week and decided to have a "fondue" night. I don't think we've ever done fondue with our kids before, but have done it several times for adult nights, etc. Tried a couple new cheese recipes and were quite pleased. Here's how we fondue....

First course: Cheese fondue with broccoli, cauliflower, grape tomatoes, carrots, apples and bread

I didn't think the boys would eat the "white" cheese, so I made them this one from www.allrecipes.com

Cheese Please Fondue

Ingredients

• Fondue:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Salad Dressing
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• Paprika (optional)
• Sliced green onion (optional)
•  
• Dipper Ideas:
• Thick Pennsylvania-style pretzels
• Toasted garlic bread
• Apples or pears
• Saltine crackers
• Favorite veggies (celery, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers)

Directions

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle flour in melted butter and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Whisk milk into flour mixture and constantly stir until mixture thickens and begins to boil.
2. Lower heat to simmer; stir in Ranch and cheese until smooth. Pour into a fondue pot and sprinkle with paprika or green onion, if desired. Serve with dippers.

This is a white cheese made from swiss. It didn't melt as smoothly as I would have liked (but I rushed it so it may have been my fault) But it tasted great!

Non Alcoholic Cheese Fondue

1 pound Swiss cheese
2 cloves of Garlic
3 T. All-Purpose Flour2 T. Butter
1 1/2 cups Milk
½ T. Lemon Juice
1/8 tsp. ground Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste


Peel garlic and slice the cloves in half the long way so the most inner surface is showing. Rub a heavy saucepan with two halves of the garlic for flavoring. Rub the fondue pot with the other two garlic halves.Grate the cheese and mix with 1 T. of the flour.

Melt the butter in saucepan over medium-low heat. Add rest of flour. Stir well till smooth. Add about ½ cup of milk and stir till smooth. Slowly add the rest of the milk, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to about the consistency of light cream. Add a handful of cheese and keep stirring. Let the cheese melt and then add another handful and stir until it melts. Repeat the process until all the cheese is melted.

Once all the cheese has been added and the mixture is smooth, you can stir in the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Finally, add the lemon juice. Stir well till the mixture is smooth once again.  Light the sterno and add cheese mixture to the fondue pot. Eat immediately!

Course 2-Potatoes, mushrooms, chicken and New York Strip steak

Since the potatoes take longer, we just opted to throw all the potatoes and mushrooms in at once, while we were cooking our meat. This was vegetable broth-with a little seasoning that my husband added-not sure what he used...

This picture doesn't want to rotate, lol. It's our dipping sauces: barbeque, sweet and sour, dijon mustard and garlic cucumber sauce. The first three just came from bottles. The cucumber one I made. Here's the recipe:

Garlic Cucumber Sauce

125 ml	(1/2 cup)	Plain yogurt
125 ml	(1/2 cup)	Sour cream
125 ml	(1/2 cup)	Mayonnaise
125 ml	(1/2 cup)	Cucumber, thinly chopped
15 ml	(1 tbsp)	Green onions, thinly chopped
15 ml	(1 tbsp)	Garlic, crushed
5 ml	(1 tsp)	Parsley, thinly chopped
5 ml	(1 tsp)	Sugar
		Salt and pepper

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cucumber, thinly chopped
1 Tbsp. green onions, thinly chopped
1 Tbsp. garlic, crushed
1 tsp. parsley, thinly chopped
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper

125 ml	(1/2 cup)	Plain yogurt
125 ml	(1/2 cup)	Sour cream
125 ml	(1/2 cup)	Mayonnaise
125 ml	(1/2 cup)	Cucumber, thinly chopped
15 ml	(1 tbsp)	Green onions, thinly chopped
15 ml	(1 tbsp)	Garlic, crushed
5 ml	(1 tsp)	Parsley, thinly chopped
5 ml	(1 tsp)	Sugar
		Salt and pepper

1. Mix all ingredients.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Keep refrigerated if prepared in advance.
4. Serve.

---

Course 3-Chocolate fondue with strawberries, bananas, fresh pineapple, marshmallows and brownies.

The chocolate sauce is really easy-I think it's 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips to 1 cup whipping cream. Heat and eat!

Other dessert that's great in the chocolate is toasted coconut marshmallows (I couldn't find them in our store) or cheese cake bites.

It takes us about 2 hours to get through the three courses-lots of good conversation, and a belly full of food. Usually about 2 hours after I eat, I'm hungry again, but not here-I was good till bedtime!

Do you have a favorite recipe for fondue?

Pork Chops Primavera

I really think these need another name....when I hear "Primavera", it usually conjurs up a red, tomato-based sauce. These aren't anything like that. Think of the sweet aroma of apples, mixed with a little bacon on the side and you'll have this dish. What I love is that it's quick, easy, doesn't take many ingredients, and it's basically a one-dish meal.



Pork Chops Primavera

Makes 4 servings
Start to finish: 15-20 minutes

3-4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
12-oz. frozen green beans
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 pork chops
1/3 cup apple butter
1/2 cup water
1 cup grape tomatoes

In 12-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp; remove. Reserve 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels.

Meanwhile, in 2-quart microwave-safe bowl, cook beans in 2 Tbsp. water, covered, on high, for about 4 minuts. Drain and set aside. Brush pork chops with soy sauce. In skillet, brown chops on both sides. Add apple butter and 1/2 cup wate; reduce heat. Simmer, covered 10-15 minutes. Uncover, add beans, tomatoes and bacon; cook uncovered another 3-5, until sauce thickens and chops are done.

Here's a step-by-step:

Step 1: Cook bacon. You can either cut it into 1-inch pieces before you cook it, or after-doesn't matter. After it's cooked, I place the bacon on some paper towels to drain the grease, and then take one paper towel and lightly soak up most of grease in the pan. I leave just enough grease so the pan is lightly coated so my chops don't stick to it.

Step 2: Lightly brush each pork chop with soy sauce-both sides of each.

Step 3: Halve your tomatoes if you want.

Step 4: Brown your chops on both sides.

Step 5: Add the apple butter and water, and then cover 10-15 min. While they are cooking, put your beans in a bowl with a little water, cover them, and microwave for about 4-5 min. Then drain them and set them aside.

Step 6: Add your cooked, drained beans into the skillet.

Step 7: Add the tomatoes

Step 8: Add the bacon and cook until the sauce is thickened-about 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately! It's that easy....

Orange Rolls

If your my family, you're probably saying, "It's not Thanksgiving. You can't have these!" Orange rolls are a "Thanksgiving" tradition-and in my personal house, a Christmas one too. However, this year I'm shifting my focus and trying to make the most of every day. In the past I've always said, "when this happens, we'll..." or "someday". Why do we save the "best" things for special occasions? Why do we pull out our "best" dishes to use only on holidays, or save our "favorite" recipes for special occasions? Don't our families deserve the ''best" everyday? Yes, I know if we have the "best" everyday it may "lessen" it's "wow" factor. But frankly, life it too short to be saving our "bests" for those few and far between occasions. So I pulled out my son's favorite "baked good" recipe yesterday, orange rolls, and just "lived for the moment"-he was sooooo excited!!

Orange Rolls

From the kitchen of Grandma Moore

2 pkgs yeast (4 ½ tsp.)                        ½ cup shortening

½ cup warm water                              ½ cup sugar

½ cup sugar                                          4 orange rinds

1 cup scalded milk

½ cup shortening

2 eggs

Pinch salt

In a saucepan, scald milk. In kitchen aide, add scalded milk and shortening. Set aside. In a ceramic bowl, mix yeast, water and sugar. Let sit 15 min. After 15 min, add yeast mixture to milk mixture. Mix. Add eggs and salt. Blend. Add enough flour to make a soft dough (5-6 cups). Cover and let rise till double. Roll out, spread orange mixture on top, roll and cut. Place in greased muffin tins. Let rise again. Bake at 400 for 10 min. Makes 2-3 dozen.

Here is my best attempt at step-by-step directions (towards the end I was just so excited that I forgot to take pictures!)

Step 1: First, get your eggs out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. I recently learned that when baking anything, like breads or cakes, your eggs should be room temp. Next, scald the milk-heat it on the stove until it just starts to develop small bubbles around the edge-DON'T BOIL IT! (You may ask why we do this-I questioned it too. I guess in the old days they scalded milk to kill the bacteria in their raw milk. So supposedly now you don't need to as our milk is pasteurized. I still do it because it melts my shortening)

Step 2: While your milk is warming, in a ceramic bowl (because it will hold heat), proof your yeast-mix the yeast, warm water (105-115 degrees) and sugar and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Step 3: Once your milk is scalded, add it to your mixer bowl with the shortening-this will melt the shortening. I used my wire whisk and mixed this up for a couple minutes to help it cool faster. It made a nice creamy mixture. Make sure this mixture is WARM TO THE TOUCH, or cooler,  before you add your yeast mixture or you'll kill the yeast!

Step 4: Combine the yeast mixture with the shortening/milk, add the eggs, salt-mix for a minute until your eggs are incorporated, and then start to add flour. You don't want to go overboard on the flour-just until it's a soft dough. It should pull from the sides of the mixer when it's just right. This picture may look like it needs more flour, but it doesn't.

Step 5: I oiled my hands lightly and turned the dough onto my Silicone mate. With a little working (but no additional flour,I got this soft ball)

Step 6: Lightly grease a ceramic bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap (spray underside of saran wrap with cooking oil so it doesn't stick) and place somewhere warm so it can double in size (I placed my by the fireplace, cuddled up in a chair, and read for an hour)

Step 7: Just before my dough has doubled, I grate my orange peels and make the filling. Mix the grated orange peel with the shortening and sugar, in a small bowl.

Step 8: Didn't get a picture of this one. Divide the dough in two and roll out one. I roll it out on my cutting mat so I have a guide how large to roll it.  My mats are 12 x 15, and the dough is usually around 1/4" thick. Once you've got it rolled out, spread half of the filling over the top. Then roll the dough up, starting with one of the long ends, and pinch the ends when you're done. Then cut the "log" about every 1 1/4". DON'T cut on your silicone mat! Transfer your "log" to a cutting board first!

Step 9: Grease your cupcake tins and place one rolled section into each tin. Then cover with a dish cloth and let them rise again (back to the fireplace and your book!)

Step 10: I forgot to take a picture before they went in the oven so I quickly opened the door and snapped a shot. This shows you how large I let them rise. Then pop them in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until the tops are nicely brown.

Step 11: I let them cool just for a minute in the pans, and then remove them and place in a bowl that's lined with a kitchen towel. Then enjoy! They do freeze well-just place in ziploc bags after they have cooled-mine are usually eaten before I can get them to the freezer!

Holiday baking

Shhhh....don't tell Gordon I'm on here. I'm suppose to be cleaning the house! lol But frankly, I'm not in the mood. So, let's talk "holiday baking", though, technically I didn't "bake" anything!

I'm still in the process of trying new recipes to find the "ultimate" Christmas favorites. I was talkin with G last night, telling him of my quest, and I said, "hopefully by the time we're old, I'll have my list." Then I quickly said, "Wait, we're already old!" I do feel that way somedays!

I do have two recipes that have made the list-they are Oreo Balls (thanks Leigh!) and Fantasy Fudge (thanks to the Jiffy Marshmallow jar!). They are Gordon's favorites. To supplement these, I tried a couple others this year: Gourmet Bird Food (my grandma's recipe), Christmas Delight (my Aunt Danene's recipe), "My Mom's Famous Caramels" from www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com, and pretzel turtles (my friend Beckie's recipe).

I have the recipes already posted for the Oreo Balls and the Fudge. You can find those here:

http://fourinohio.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/12/day-7baking-for-our-friends.html

As for the Caramel, well, I'm not sure that I'm a candy making person! But I tried! I'm guessing  had the heat up too high because I totally burned the bottom of my pan and, two days later, it's still soaking, trying to get this off of it! (And I have nice, heavy duty, expensive pans). The recipe says that you don't stir it at all, once it starts boiling, and that's how I burned my pan. The caramel tastes all right, but has some spots in it (not sure if it's part of the burn or if it's the vanilla that had a hard time incorporating in it). I cooked it between soft ball and firm ball, but it's still, frankly, a mess. I managed to get them rolled up (using a lot of butter), but I just went to unwrap one and it's a sticky, gooey mess. So unless someone wants to show me how to make caramel, it's off my list!

Gourmet Bird Food-this tastes ok. It wasn't a huge "wow" to me, but I'll eat it. But my kids and hubby won't so it's getting scratched off my list. In case you like it, or want to try it, here's the recipe-it's SUPER easy!

Gourmet Bird Food

1/2 bag colored miniature marshmallows

1/2 bag pretzel sticks (mine were really long so I actually broke them in half)

1/2 15oz. box of Fruit Loops cereal

1 small jar dry roasted peanuts

1 pound white chocolate

Mix all the ingredients except the chocolate in a LARGE bowl. Put chocolate in microwave and melt according to package directions. Pour chocolate over mix and stir well. Spread on wax paper to cool. After it has cooled, breat up into small pieces and place in an airtight container.

If there is one thing that I did learn this year, I don't have a big enough bowl for some of these recipes! I'll have to add it to my "to get" list for next year's baking.

Gordon likes the Pretzel turtles and I like how easy they are so they will be back next year too. I'm just not sure, though, if I like the Butter snaps for these, or if I'd prefer just regular pretzels. I may just try both next year and compare them side-by-side-that's the rational way, right?!?!

EASY Pretzel Turtles

 

1 bag Rolos

1 bag Butter Snap pretzels (or regular pretzels if you prefer)

1 bag Pecan halves

 
Place pretzels on baking sheet. Unwrap Rolos and place one on top of each pretzel. Then bake at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes. The Rolos will get shiny but still need to hold their shape.

 
Then remove from oven and place a pecan half on each one, and press down slightly.

 
Then I took some of my left over white chocolate (from the Oreo Balls) and put the melted chocolate in a small ziploc bag-snipped a very small hole in one corner of the bag, and squeezed it over the top of these puppies-delicious!

And I saved the best for last-the "Christmas Delight"-oh baby, this is sooooo good. There is a funny story that goes with it, though, that I'll tell first. My aunt emailed me this recipe several months ago, and told me that it's one food, that when she takes it places, that she gets asked for the recipe. In fact, she keeps laminated copies of the recipe in her purse, so when she takes it, she can say, "Here's the recipe". Wow! Ok, in my dreams I'd be that organized. She puts me to shame!!! Ok, but that's not the story-so I called her up the day I was making this because the recipe calls for Karo sugar, and I only know Karo syrup. When I talked to her and got it clarified that it is Karo syrup, she tells me, "If you don't just LOVE this when you eat it, something must be wrong with you." So I get cooking and it's suppose to cook for 15 minutes (according to her recipe). I'm at it for 30 minutes and FINALLY, after making me late for an appointment, it gets done. I throw it together and run out the door. When I get back, I taste some, and call my aunt back. I'm like, "It's ok, but it didn't 'wow' me". I think I crushed her feelings! Well, as soon as I'm off the phone, I start feeling sick. I end up sick in bed for two days. When I do get out of bed, I find myself in the kitchen, munching on this stuff (as it's sitting under a cloth on the counter). By the time I'm feeling better, I can't stop eating the stuff. Oh, man, it's THAT good! I took 1/2 a recipe into the school for the staff, and the other 1/2, well, my hubby and kids don't care for it, so frankly, I've finished it! That's so bad!!! And then I go and make another batch for all the neighbors! Aghhhhh!! Ok, so here's the adapted recipe:

Christmas Delight (Adapted from my Aunt Danene's)

1 cup butter

2 cups cream

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 cup karo syrup

 

4 cups Wheat Chex cereal

4 cups Rice Chex cereal

4 cups Corn Chex cereal

13 oz. Golden Grahams cereal

2 cups mixed peanuts (your choice)

1/2 package shredded coconut

Melt butter, add sugars, cream and karo syrup in large pot. Cook to soft ball (cook on medium-high heat, wait for it to boil. Let it boil for about 15 minutes-stirring every couple minutes, and check to see if it is at a soft ball stage. Test with water or use candy thermometer)

Mix last 6 ingredients in a big bowl and pour the liquid mixture over it. Mix up well and place on a cookie sheet to cool. Do not store in a sealed container (I left mine on the cookie sheet and just draped a towel over it or place in a container that's not air tight)

What I learned is that stoves vary GREATLY. She cooks on a gas stove-so 15 minutes gets it to the softball stage. I'm on a glass, flat top electric. It took 30 minutes to reach soft ball stage. So if you're using electric too, expect it to take a lot longer and just be patient-but it's worth it!!

And I don't care if the hubby or kids won't eat this one-I'm still adding it to my "ultimate" list and I'll just have to share it with all of you!

  Here's pictures if you need them:

 
Here's it cooking on the stove. (Make sure you use a pretty big pan as it really bubbles up while cooking-the first time I made it my pan was a little small and it just about flowed over the rim)

  
Here are the dry ingredients mixed-note, I had to do it in two large bowls as I don't have a HUGE bowl. Don't fill the bowls full or you'll have no room to mix it up.

 
I poured the hot mixture over the "cereal mix"

 
Final product, cooling on my jelly roll pans (note it fills up 2 pans)

It's that easy!