The Cookbook

English Toffee

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup slivered almonds
1 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. light Karo syrup
5 Hershey Bars (crushed, broken, whatever)

Combine all ingredients except the Hershey bars. Cook in a heavy pan over high heat. Stir until it is a shade darker than dark brown sugar - about 10-12 minutes. Pour onto cookie sheet and spread with the back of a wooden spoon to all edges. Put crushed, smashed, obliterated Hershey Bars over the top of hot toffee. Refrigerate immediately for about an hour, until cool. When hardened, break into pieces and store in an airtight container. Best kept refrigerated.

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Lori's Special Spinach

(from Guy Fieri)

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
8 cups uncut baby spinach, raw
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. grated Parmesan

Heat olive oil in medium stock pot, when hot add spinach and chopped garlic. Cook until fully wilted, then add chicken broth and reduce. Season with S&P. Garnish with Parmesan and serve immediately.


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The Best Tortilla Roll-Ups

(appetizer)

2 - 8oz. cream cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 can chopped black olives
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 cup Medium Pace (or other) salsa
10 burrito sized (LARGE) flour tortillas

Soften cream cheese. Add all ingredients EXCEPT TORTILLAS :) and mix well. Soften tortillas for just a few seconds in the microwave right before filling them. Spread with cream cheese mixture and roll. Cover and chill overnight, cut into rounds for serving the next day.

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Winter Salad

1 small-medium head cauliflower
1 head broccoli
1 medium purple onion
1 cup grated sharp cheddar (Cracker Barrel is best)
6 slices crisp bacon crumbled

Dressing:
1 cup mayo
1/3 cup sugar (can sub. sweet n low in part or for all, but I don't know equivalent)
4 tbsp. wine vinegar

Wash cauliflower and broccoli, slice into small florets & usable stems. Place in large salad bowl. Slice or chop onion. Add to bowl along with grated cheese and crisped and crumbled bacon. Mix dressing and toss with salad. Refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving.

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Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken

1 whole chicken
Pam Olive Oil Spray
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Aluminum foil

Clean chicken and spray all over with Pam Olive Oil Spray. Sprinkle a heavy amount of Lawry's Seasoned Salt all over the chicken. Spray inside of crockpot with Pam. DON'T put any water in the crockpot. Roll 3 or 4 "wads" of aluminum foil into 2-3" balls and put them in the bottom of the crockpot. The Chicken is going to rest on these. Put chicken breast side down in the crockpot on top of the foil balls. Cook on high (definitely not on low - won't be the same) 4-6 hours. A 3 pound chicken takes 4 hours.

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Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

(from Recipezaar - VERY rich but good)

2 envelopes dry ranch dressing mix
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
12 oz. (at least) thinly sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can chicken broth
2 (10 1/2 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
S&P to taste

Mix together Ranch mix, chicken, mushrooms butter and broth in crock pot. Cook on high 5-6 hours. About 1 hour prior to serving mix in mushroom soup, cream cheese & garlic. Cook on high for 1 more hour. Season with S&P to taste and serve over rice or noodles. ***I don't see why some lite ingredients couldn't be used in this - healthy request soup, even if subbed for just one can of the real thing, lite cream cheese.

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Tilapia Parmesan

Just tried tilapia for the first time and really liked it. Wanted to share the recipe we used, it's soooo good. Use lite butter/lite mayo if you want. This is from http://www.recipezaar.com - over 100 five-star reviews.

4 servings
35 min 15 min prep

2 lbs tilapia fillets (orange roughy, cod or red snapper can be substituted)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt (I like Old Bay seasoning here)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
black pepper
1 dash hot pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In buttered 13-by-9-inch baking dish or jellyroll pan, lay fillets in single layer.
Do not stack fillets.
Brush top with juice.
In bowl combine cheese, butter, mayonnaise, onions and seasonings.
Mix well with fork.
Bake fish in preheated oven 10 to 20 minutes or until fish just starts to flake.
Spread with cheese mixture and bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Baking time will depend on the thickness of the fish you use.
Watch fish closely so that it does not overcook.
Makes 4 servings.

Note: This fish can also be made in a broiler.
Broil 3 to 4 minutes or until almost done.
Add cheese and broil another 2 to 3 minutes or until browned.
Thank you Mama's Supper Club in Wisconsin.

klh6656

Bourbon Chicken

2 lbs. boneless breasts cut into bite-size pieces (I like all chicken pounded first)
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned, remove chicken. Add remaining ingredients, heating over med. heat until well mixed and dissolved. Add chicken and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 min. Serve over hot rice and sprinkle w/ crunch rice noodles (a good alternative to chow mein noodles, in a smaller can) if desired. I usually stir fry some veggies to go alongside.

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Honey Glaze for Cornish Hens (or Chicken)

1/2 cup finely chopped red sweet pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tbsp. marg. or butter
1/4 cup apple juice (don't want a whole bottle? go to the baby food section)
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. honey
1/4 tsp EACH dried, crushed rosemary, marjoram, thyme & pepper

In a small saucepan cook the red pepper and onion in butter until tender. Combine apple juice and cornstarch; add to saucepan with 1 tbsp. honey. Stir in spices. Cook and stir over med. heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook 2 min. more. Remove from heat.

**If cooking cornish hens, you put them breast up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and cover loosely with foil: bake 30 min. at 375. Remove foil and roast another 45 min. until drumsticks can be twisted easily in the sockets. Cover with glaze and roast another 5-10 min. DONE!

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Betty-Sue's Cheesy Corn Bake

4 tbsp. butter or margarine
2 (8 oz each) cream cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 (16 oz. ea.) whole kernel corn, drained
3 small cans chopped green chilies
1/2 cup milk
1/4-1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Melt butter w/ cream cheese, add milk and seasonings, until creamy. Add corn and chilies. Bake uncovered 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

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Stuffed Green Chilies

4 (4 oz. each) cans whole green chilies
10 oz. Cracker Barrel sharp (or extra sharp) cheese, grated
2 slices white bread (cut in small cubes)
2 eggs beaten
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. oregano
salt

Rinse, wash and seed canned chilies, spread out on paper towels to dry. Layer ingredients (twice) starting with the chilies, then bread, then cheese in a rectangular pyrex casserole dish. With hand mixer, beat eggs, add milk oregano and salt - beat again. Pour liquid mixture over chilies. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. (Our family requires a double recipe - love it with steak or brisket).

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Tangy Chicken

1 large broiler fryer, cut into pieces (skin most of it to cut down on fat)
2 tbsp. butter/margarine
1/2 cup Heinz 57 sauce
1/2 cup water

Brown chicken well in butter/margarine. Combine 1/2 cup Heinz 57 with 1/2 cup water and pour over chicken. Cover and simmer 30-40 minutes until chicken is tender, basting occasionally. Remove cover last 10 min. of cooking time. Skim excess fat from sauce. Spoon sauce over chicken. Makes 4 servings (about 3/4 cup sauce). Mom served it with Wild Rice, pineapple and frozen japanese style vegetables that are probably no longer available but any veg. will do. :)

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Frito Taco Salad

1 head lettuce, torn or shredded
1 c. (or more to your liking) cheddar cheese, grated or in small cubes
3 tomatoes, diced
green onions, chopped - as many as you want
1 large can black olives
1 regular size pkg. fritos, crushed
1 can Ranch Style Beans
1 bottle Kraft Catalina Dressing

Combine all except dressing and Fritos and chill. When ready to serve mix in entire bottle of dressing and crushed fritos, reserving some for on top. Serve immediately.

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Betty-Sue's Sweet 'n' Sour Franks

(Betty-Sue is a long-time friend, another mother in fact (same goes for "Ruth" of "Ruth's Vegetable Soup"!)

3 pkgs. all beef hotdogs (sliced) OR 3 pkgs. cocktail smokies OR meatballs
8 - 10 oz. grape jelly
10 - 12 oz. Chili Sauce

Combine jelly and chili sauce in electric skillet or crockpot, stir in meat of choice, simmer 20-30 minutes.

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Salmon Loaf

(surprisingly good)

1 (15 1/2 oz.) can red salmon, drained
2 small pkg. cream cheese (9 oz. total)
1 tbsp. liquid smoke
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 small onion chopped fine
chopped pecans

Mix all of the above ingredients (except pecans) together. Mold into a loaf. Cover with chopped pecans and chill. Really good with Keebler Wheat Crackers.

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Mom's and Ruth's Vegetable Soup
(both ladies get credit - we're not sure who came up with it first!)


1 ½ cups carrots sliced (or whole baby carrots)
1 ½ cups onion, diced
½ large potato, diced (we usually leave this out, personal pref.)
1 reg. sized can stewed tomatoes w/ juice
1 can corn, WITH juice
1 can peas, WITH juice
11 oz. V-8
leftover roast, shredded
leftover gravy
3 beef bouillion cubes
1 cup elbow macaroni
3 cups water
2 tbsp. ketchup
S&P (but careful w/ salt as canning juices have a lot)

Saute onion in butter. Add carrots, potatoes and enough water to cover. Boil 10 min. (roughly) until veggies are tender. Stir in leftover gravy, tomatoes, peas, corn, V-8, Roast, ketchup, bouillon cubes, 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and then simmer at least 45 minutes. Add uncooked macaroni and bring to a boil, lower heat and cook until macaroni is almost tender (it’ll keep cooking after you turn it off).

***GREAT w/ cornbread.

klh6656

Mom's Roast

Good basic recipe – we always preferred Campbell’s canned French Onion soup to the powdered mix. Low and slow always best for Roast (and Chuck Roast works best). Mom tried putting some of the standard veggies in with her roast but we all decided we liked them cooked separately.

Place chuck roast in roaster. Dump 2-3 cans Campbell’s French Onion Soup on top (depends on size of roast). Salt. Pepper liberally.

Cook 350-375 degrees – 3 – 3 ½ hours.

Just add a bit of flour and water to pan drippings/onion soup after roast is cooked for a terrific gravy.

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Vidalia Onion Cornbread
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, chopped
1 (8-ounce) package cornbread/muffin mix
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup whole milk
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and saute the onion until tender, but not browned, for about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the muffin mix, egg, milk, sour cream, 1/2 cup of the cheese, the salt, and dill weed. Stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pan and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into squares.

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White Bean Chili
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

1 pound dried navy beans
5 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green chiles (fresh or canned)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 to 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped

Rinse beans well, cover with cool water, and soak for 2 hours. Drain. Place beans in large pot with chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat. In a saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and chiles and saute for 5 minutes. Add chile mixture to pot with beans. Add chicken, cumin, oregano, pepper, white pepper, red pepper flakes, and cilantro. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Serve with cornbread, if desired.

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Creamy Ranch Mushroom Chicken (for the Crockpot)

2 - pkgs. ranch dressing mix
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (whole or cut up)
12 ounces thinly sliced mushrooms (more if you want)
2 tablespoons butter
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth
2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
8 ounces cream cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt
black pepper

Mix together dressing mix, chicken, mushrooms, butter, and chicken broth in crock pot. Cook on high 5-6 hours. About 1 hour prior to serving, mix mushroom soup, cream cheese, and garlic; add to crock pot. Cook on high for 1 more hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve over rice or noodles (we like egg noodles or linguine).

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