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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Scrumptious Apple Pie


PASTRY INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
⅔ Cup plus 2 Tablespoons shortening
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

FILLING INGREDIENTS:
1/3 to ½ Cup sugar
¼ Cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon salt
8 Cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (8 medium)
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425°

2. In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

3. Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half; shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

4. With floured rolling pin, roll one pastry round into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

5. In large bowl, mix sugar, 1/4 cup flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir in apples until well mixed. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate.

6. Roll other round of pastry into 10-inch round. Fold into fourths and cut slits so steam can escape. Unfold top pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.

7. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Serve warm if desired.

BBQ Meatballs

I made BBQ Meatballs for my Holiday Open House. These were my first time making these, but they were soo easy. I will definatly be making these again.

All I did was take a huge bag of meatballs and then this really cool award winning BBQ sauce. I put the whole bag of meatballs in with a bottle and half of the BBQ sauce and cookied it for 5 hours on medium heat in the crock pot. It then stayed on warm until the open house was over.

Monday, December 10, 2007

MEXICAN DIP

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese
16 ounces refried beans
12 ounce jar Picante’ sauce
1 small onion, chopped
¼ teaspoon seasoning salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese ( I usually use more)

Cooking Instructions
Spread cream cheese in a glass pie pan. Top with refried beans. Place Picante’ sauce over beans. Sprinkle chopped onion over sauce. Sprinkle with seasoning salt. Cover with grated cheese.

Bake at 325 for 20 – 25 minutes.

Buffalo Chicken Dip "Crack Dip"


INGREDIENTS
4 boiled chicken breasts
8 oz. Franks Red Hot Original sauce
8 oz. Ranch Salad Dressing
8 oz. shredded Cheddar Cheese
16 oz Cream Cheese

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Shred chicken, mix all ingredients, bake at 325 for 40 minutes, Serve with celery and tortilla chips

This Dip was amazing. We had 15 people over for a Holiday Open House and they went through this like it was a drug. Everyone asked for the recipe. I got this from the Nest Board "What's for Dinner"

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Saltine Cracker Candy


Ingredients:

40 square (about 2 inches) saltine crackers
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup butter (do not use margarine)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup mini-twist pretzels, broken in small pieces
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
1/3 cup candy-coated chocolate miniature baking bits
1/3 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil

2. Line the foil with saltine crackers.

3. Combine brown sugar, butter and vanilla in 2 quart saucepan cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with whisk until mixture comes to a full boil across the surface. Boil stirring constantly, 4 minutes.

4. Immediately pour sugar mixture over crackers and spread evenly. Bake 10-12 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. Remove pan from oven to cooling rack.

5. Immediately sprinkle baked crackers with chocolate morsels. Let stand 3 minues allowing morsels to soften, then spread evenly over surface. Sprinkle with pretzels, peanuts, baking bits and raisins, if desired. Lightly press toppings into melted chocolate using back of a large serving spatula. Let stand at room temperature to cool completely. Refrigerate 20 minutes to firm chocolate Cut into squares. Yield: 40 squares.

Chicken Parmisan



Ingredients:
Boneless Chicken breasts or chicken strips
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/8 cup garlic powder
1/2 cup parmisan cheese
Italian Seasoning
marinara sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese

Cooking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and Italian seasoning in a bowl
Rinse chicken breasts and dunk in beaten eggs
Cover with bread crumb mixture
Cook for 30 minutes
Top with sauce and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes
Add Mozarella and cook for five more minutes

Monterey Chicken


2 Chicken Breasts
4 pieces of Bacon
4 TBSP Barbecue Sauce
4 TBSP Monterey Jack Cheese
1 Tomato (Diced)
Oil

1. Turn Oven to Broil
2. Fry chicken breasts in a little bit of oil until cooked throughly.
3. Cook Bacon in Microwave (use directions on box)
4. Place chicken breasts in 9x9 glass dish
5. Put 2 TBSP of barbecue sauce on each chicken breast. Then place two pieces of bacon of each breast. Finally place the cheese on each breast.
6. Place chicken in the oven until cheese melts.
7. Put the tomato on top of the chicken and serve.