Caramels

 Caramels

- All Recipes 

I make these every Christmas. They are a great addition to a cookie tray.

• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
  2 cups white sugar
  1 cup packed brown sugar
  1 cup butter
  1 cup corn syrup
  1 cup evaporated milk 
  1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
• Grease 12x15 inch pan. Attach a candy thermometer to a medium pot.
• Put the whipping cream, sugars, butter, corn syrup and evaporated milk into the pot. Over medium heat, stir until it reaches 250 degrees F. Remove pot from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour into greased pan. Let cool completely. Cut into small squares. Wrap in waxed paper.
• I usually put these in a ziplock bag into the deep freeze until it is time to package as gifts or put in a tin for enjoying.
• Yield 60 caramels.
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Party Mix

 Party Mix

- Ree Drummond (with a couple of additions)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. 

I melt the butter on low in a small saucepan and measure the other spices into the saucepan while the butter is melting:

1 stick (8 T) salted butter, melted

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon seasoned salt, such as Lawry's

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

6 to 12 dashes hot sauce. I use Cholula

3 to 5 cloves minced garlic

Meanwhile, into a large roasting pan, measure out the following:

3 cups Corn Chex

3 cups Wheat Chex

3 cups Rice Chex

2 cups thin & salty pretzel sticks

2 cups mixed nuts

2 cups rye crisps

2 - 3 cups Bugles

When the butter is melted, add the spice/butter mix into the cereal/ snack mix. Mix well.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. 

Cool completely then store in an airtight container. 

Texas Sheet Cake

Texas Sheet Cake

- Taste of Home

Cake

1 c butter

1 c water

1/4 c baking cocoa

2 c all-purpose flour

2 c sugar

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/2 c sour cream

In a large saucepan, bring the butter, water, and cocoa to a boil. Remove from heat. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; add to cocoa mixture. Stir in the sour cream until smooth. Pour into a greased 15"x10"x1" baking pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Icing

1/2 c butter

1/4 c plus 2 T milk

3 T baking cocoa

3 3/4 c powdered sugar

1 t vanilla extract

In a saucepan, melt butter; add milk and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pour over warm cake. 

Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Yield: 15 servings

Molasses Crinkles

 Molasses Crinkles

- Jan & Lisa Diller

 Blend

3/4 c butter, softened

1 c sugar

1 egg

1/4 c molasses

Add (don't overmix)

2 c all-purpose flour

2 t baking soda

1 T ground ginger

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t salt

1/2 t ground cloves

Roll into balls and then roll in sugar. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Don't overbake. Cool on cooling rack. These freeze well!

Cheddar Cheeseball

 Cheddar Cheeseball 

- Grandma Billie Stuckey

2 8-oz blocks Philadephia cream cheese
16 oz Kraft shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 jars Old English cheese spread
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t garlic powder
1 T dry minced onion
pecans, chopped 

Allow cheese to come to room temperature. Mix all ingredients with electric mixer. Chill. Shape into balls and roll in chopped pecans, if desired. 

May be made ahead and frozen. (Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.)

Chicken and Noodles

 I was in the mood for chicken and noodles and it took me a long time to locate the recipe that I made a long time ago, but it's the best chicken and noodles I have made. It's a recipe from the late Wichita chef, Tanya Tandoc. 

Chicken and Noodle Soup

2 T butter
1 small onion, diced small
4 stalks celery, sliced thin

3 carrots, diced

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

8 cups chicken stock

diced meat from one chicken

One recipe fresh noodles (see below)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

optional - 1 cup frozen peas

optional - 1 cup frozen corn

Melt butter in a large pot, add onions, and saute until transparent. Add celery, carrots, and garlic and sweat vegetables a little. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes until carrots are tender. Add the chicken and bring back to a rolling boil. Add noodles and boil until tender, about 15 minutes. (Add peas and corn at this time, if using.) Lower heat and season to taste. Simmer 15 minutes longer, then serve. Tanya noted that they serve this dish over mashed potatoes. (So do I, because yum.)

Homemade Noodles

2 cups flour

3 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

extra flour for kneading

In a large bowl, pour flour into a mound. Make a crater in the flour, and add eggs and salt. With a fork, begin to beat eggs into the flour a little at a time until it forms a batter. Keep incorporating the flour until the batter becomes a dough ball. When the dough becomes stiff, use your hands to knead the dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead until elastic and smooth, about 5 minutes. Let the dough relax 10 minutes, then roll out very thin. Cut the dough into noodles, about 1 1/2 inches thick and as wide as you like. Flour well, then add to the boiling soup.

Strawberry Shortcake

 Wayne's Grandma, Billie Stuckey, gave me this recipe early in our marriage. (She titled it "Mom's Strawberry Shortcake" so it may have been passed down from her mom.) In any case, it's my go-to for strawberry shortcake. It is more like a light vanilla sponge cake, rather than a biscuit, which I prefer.

Strawberry Shortcake

from Grandma Billie Stuckey

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 to 1 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

Whipped cream

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs on medium speed for three minutes. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until thick and lemon colored. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; beat into egg mixture. Heat milk and butter just until butter begins to melt. Beat into batter with vanilla. (Batter will be thin.) Pour into greased 8" square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for at least 10 minutes. 

To serve: 
Just before serving, cut cake into serving size pieces. Cut each piece in half horizontally. Combine strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar and spoon between cake layers and over the top of each serving. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with mint leaves, if desired.

Ice Cream

While I love homemade ice cream with eggs, it's not Wayne's favorite. We have made different recipes of ice cream over the years, but this one has stuck. It's simple to make, I nearly always have the ingredients on hand, I don't think it could be quicker to put together, and most importantly we all like how it tastes.  We've added other mix ins or flavors and it is perfect for that too. 

Vanilla Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

pinch salt

Whisk together and churn in your ice cream maker. Scoop into a storage container and freeze. 

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Blackberry Ice Cream

2 cups blackberries 

Blend blackberries in food processor with 1/2 cup of sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Strain. Discard the seeds/pulp. 

Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the other remaining ingredients from above. 

Whisk together (or blend in food processor) and churn in your ice cream maker. Scoop into a storage container and freeze. 

*******

We use this Cuisinart ice cream maker.  If I make a recipe that is a little too big for it, I scoop some out once it's frozen (and keep in the freezer) and then add the rest until it's all ready to put up.

Garden Tea

I tried to pull all of the garden mint out of my flower bed a few years ago... some always pops up and this year it is back more full than ever. While I don't like how invasive it is, I do like garden tea, mojitos, mint in salads, etc. Teneesa Stuckey also gave me the idea to throw in about 5 stems worth of leaves into my Lipton iced tea, which is also very good.

Garden Tea
3 1/2 quarts water (14 cups)
2 cups packed fresh mint
1/2 cup sugar

Bring water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in mint. Let steep around 3 hours. Strain. Refrigerate. Serve over ice (options - with lemon slices).

Credits to this recipe.

These two crack me up. Check them out, re-enacting a scene from Lazy town.