Baked Maple Bars

Maple Bars

1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)
4 Tablespoons  granulated Sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 cup lukewarm water

2  (1/4 ounce) envelopes yeast
2 large eggs, beaten

4 3/4 cups flour

Maple Icing

1/3 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons mapleine (found by the flavor extracts and seasonings)

For the dough:
In a medium saucepan scald milk; add shortening, 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine and set aside to cool to lukewarm.

In a large mixer bowl, add the lukewarm water and the yeast (remember the water should be just lukewarm, too hot and it will kill the yeast) Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of sugar to the yeast and water and whisk to combine. Let sit for about 5 minutes until it starts to bubble and become foamy.

After the yeast is foamy and the milk mixture is luke warm. Add the eggs to the yeast and stir to combine, then add the milk mixture to the yeast mixture , and gradually add the flour in. You may need to add more ( I added another 1/2 a cup) Knead for 3 to 5 minutes. I let my kitchen aid do the kneading for about 5 minutes.
Spray another large bowl with non-stick spray, place dough in the bowl and let raise for an hour or until double in size. 

Punch down and roll out into a large rectangle about 1 inch thick.

Cut into rectangles, I cut the rectangle in half, and then each half into 6 pieces to make 12 bars, then place on a greased baking sheet. Let raise for about 20 minutes.

While bars are raising,  preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Bake the bars for 7 to 8 minutes or until light golden brown, Watch carefully. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before icing.

Make the icing while the bars are raising:

In a small saucepan mix butter, brown sugar and milk. Bring to boil for medium heat and simmer 3 minutes.l Remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes. Add the mapleine and powdered sugar and blend well with a hand mixer. Add a little more powdered sugar if needed (I added about 1/4 cup more)

Spread on maple bars and enjoy!  Sarah and I did!!! Yummo!

Jennifer's Teriyaki Dressing Salad

1/3 C Hoisin or Teriyaki sauce

Dressing:

3 T rice vinegar

1/4 C canola oil

1 T sesame oil

1 T sugar

1/2 t pepper

1 t salt

Salad:
1 head iceberg lettuce

2 bunches green onions

1 C slivered/toasted almonds

2 T sesame seeds

6-7 Boneless chicken breasts marinated in teriyaki sauce

1 Pkg won ton wrappers (fried and salted)

Caesar Salad Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 (10 ounce) can pizza dough, refrigerated (I use homemade)
• 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated (divided)
• 1/2 cup caesar salad dressing
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 cups chicken breasts, cooked diced and cooled
• 4 cups romaine lettuce, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1 (3 1/4 ounce) can black olives, pitted drained and sliced (or sub pitted kalamata olives for even more zip!)
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. 1
   Roll out and bake pizza crust according to package directions.
2. 2
   In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup parmesan cheese with the Caesar dressing, lemon pepper seasoning, and garlic. Mix well.
3. 3
   In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and half of the dressing mixture. Mix well. Fold in half of the diced chicken.
4. 4
   Place lettuce, bell pepper, and olives into a bowl and add remaining dressing mixture. Toss to coat.
5. 5
   Spread cream cheese mixture onto cooled pizza crust. Top with lettuce mixture, then arrange remaining chicken over the salad. Sprinkle on the remaining parmesan cheese and top with freshly ground pepper.
6. 6
   Slice with a pizza cutter and serve immediately.  Serves 8.

Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Serves: 8   Prep time: 15 min   Cook time: 20 min

You can make Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup just like the Olive Garden does. Just a few ingredients and you can enjoy this famous soup at home.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons extra virgin oil
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 quart half and half
• 1/2 cup celery, finely diced
• 1 cup onion, finely diced
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 2 14 ounce cans of chicken broth if you enjoy thick soup, use one can
• 1 cup carrots, finely shredded
• 1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (you can use a rotisserie chicken)
• 
  
• 1 package gnocchi, cooked  (you can find these in gourmet/pasta section of the grocery store - you may want to cut the gnocchi in half if it is large, or purchase the mini size if available)
• 
  
• 1 cup of fresh spinach coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

Instructions

Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add the flour and make a roux. Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 quart of half and half.

Cook gnocchi according to package directions.

Into the roux, add in the carrots and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick, add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasoning; simmer until soup is heated through.  Before serving season to taste by adding additional salt.

Island Pork

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 pork tenderloin (or two small) - I bought the two pack at Costco - each pack has two smaller loins and so I just used one pack

2 Tblsp olive oil

1 cup brown sugar

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce

2 fresh mangoes, chopped (can also use 1/2 bag of frozen mangoes from Trader Joes)

Mix salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and cinnamon in medium bowl. Trim fat from tenderloin and roll in spices, coating completely. Brown tenderloin in olive oil for 1-2 minutes on each side. Put in 9x13 pan. Mix brown sugar, garlic, Tabasco sauce and 1-2 Tblsp water. Pour sugar mixture over tenderloin. Place chopped mango over sugar mixture. Bake 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until internal temperature of 155 degrees.

Coconut rice

White rice (Indian basmati) - I used a brown basmati

One can of cream of coconut - This is what they use to make pina coladas and has added sweetner. I found it in the liquor section in a squeeze bottle and just added enough until it seemed right.

Cook rice as directed and when done stir in desired amount of cream of coconut. The original recipe recommended about 1/4 - 1/3 cup per one cup of rice.

As a side note, the USDA lowered its recommended temperature for whole meats to 145 degrees (it used to be 160 degrees for pork) - and then let it rest for a minimum of 3 minutes - the internal temperature will continue to rise as it rests. I checked the temperature before pulling them out and it said 155 and then I let it rest about 10 minutes before we ate. I later realized I had checked the smaller of the loins so I'm guessing the larger loin was a little lower temp. The meat was very moist and was still a little pink. Do not overcook the meat or it will not be as good.

Salmon Chowder (best I've made)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 cups diced potatoes
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 2 (16 ounce) cans salmon
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn
• 1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, and garlic powder until onions are tender. Stir in potatoes, carrots, broth, salt, pepper, and dill. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
2. Stir in salmon, evaporated milk, corn, and cheese. Cook until heated through.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions

1. Place water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough/Knead and First Rise Cycle; press Start.
2. When cycle finishes, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle, spread 1/4 cup softened butter over entire round. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

• 3/4 cup flour


• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder


• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

• pinch of salt (my addition, optional)

• pinch of red pepper flakes (my addition, optional)


• 3/4 cup whole milk


• 1 egg, lightly beaten


• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


• 1 cup cubed pepperoni


• 1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) ; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

NOTE: All my batter did not fit into the 24-mini muffin pan. So I made a full size muffin with the leftover batter. Some pans are larger than others so you may not have have an issue.

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound shredded, cooked chicken


• 1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed


• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce


• 1 medium onion, chopped


• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 cups water


• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth


• 1 teaspoon cumin


• 1 teaspoon chili powder


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper


• 1 bay leaf


• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn


• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro


• 7 corn tortillas


• vegetable oil

Directions

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.


2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).


3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.


4. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

by Grandma Peterson from "The Girl Who Ate Everything" Blog

40 salted saltine crackers or enough to line your pan
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
(optional) 3/4 cup chopped pecans

*You can either use salted butter or salted saltines but not both. I used salted crackers and unsalted butter in this one.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Line saltine crackers in a single layer on the cookie sheet.

In a small pot combine sugar and butter and bring to a boil. Once mixture is at a boil, continue boiling for 3 minutes. Mixture should be a deep caramel color. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.

Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes. It will get all bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and let sit a couple of minutes to melt. Sometimes I melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for about 1 minute then spread it on. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts if desired. Cool completely and break into pieces.