Super Easy - Rustic Apple Pie

From: http://www.chsugar.com/ click on Recipes


Ingredients:
Prepared pastry for one-crust 9-inch pie.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll pastry to 11-inch circle. Transfer to foil lined cookie sheet.


Apple Filling:

Ingredients
1/2 cup firmly packed, C&H Pure Cane Golden Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 cups sliced, peeled, Golden Delicious apples (about 5 cups)
C&H Pure Cane Powdered Sugar

Instructions:
In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add apples and toss to coat well. Spoon apples into center of crust, leaving a 2-inch edge. Fold pastry up onto apples, pinching edge at 2-inch intervals.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake 30 minutes longer, or until apples are tender. For a special touch, sprinkle the top with fresh blackberries. Before serving, dust with powdered sugar.

Quick Tip:
When you bake a pie, you need to choose an apple variety that can stand up to the heat. Other varieties good for baking include Rome Beauty, Cortland, Stayman, Granny Smith and Winesap.

Serving Size: 6

Buttermilk Biscuits with Fresh Chives

Funny thing: I had to order the biscuit cutters when I had my Pampered Chef party. How often do I make biscuits??? Never. I don't know what got into me but I had to have them. Now that I ordered them I'm so glad I did, they are so versatile, and I made biscuits! This recipe was included with the cutters, so I tried it. YUM!


4 tbsp cold butter, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp vegetable shortening
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450°F. Place 2 tbsp of the butter in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH 30-45 seconds or until melted; set aside. Combine flour, chives, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large mixing bowl; mix well. Cut remaining butter and shortening into flour mixture using Pastry Blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in center of mixture; pour in buttermilk. Mix just until dough comes together. (Dough will be very sticky).

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; sprinkle with flour and gently fold dough over onto itself 5-6 times. Pat into a 1/2-inch-thick round. Cut out biscuits with floured (2 1/2-in.) Biscuit Cutter, pushing straight down through dough. Arrange biscuits on Cookie Sheet, spacing 3/4 in. apart. Gather scraps of dough into a 1/2-inch-thick round, handling as little as possible; cut out and arrange remaining biscuits. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.

Yield: 12 - 18 biscuits

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I made this for dinner tonight. Its always a big hit in my house so I thought I'd share.

2 chicken breasts, 1 T oil, 2 Carrots sliced, 1 glove garlic minced, 1 C sugar, 4 T cornstarch, 1 1/3 C water, 3 T oil, 2/3 C vinegar, 4 T soy sauce, 1 onion-chunked, 1/2 red pepper-chunked, 1/2 green pepper-chunked, 1 small can pineapple chunks-drained.

Cut chicken in 1 inch cubes. Saute in oil with carrot and garlic until no longer pink. Remove from heat. combine sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. stir in water. Add oil, vinegar and soy sauce. Cook and stir until thick and has turned a darker color. Add chicken, vegetables and pineapple. Serve with steamed rice.

If you are planning freezer meals this recipe is a good one.

Decadent Chocolate-Hazelnut Torte

This recipe is from the Fall/Winter 2010 Pampered Chef Catalog. It was so good that I had several requests for the recipe. Jenn suggested I post it here - good thinking!

3/4 cup whole blanched hazelnuts without skin (I couldn't find any in Winslow so I used chopped mixed nuts instead)
1 small package devil's food cake mix (9 oz.), or 1 & 2/3 cups out of a regular size cake mix.
1 jar chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella, it's usually next to the peanut butter)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 8 oz. container cool whip

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a cake pan or 8 1/2 x 11 Pyrex baking dish with nonstick cooking spray with flour. In a mixing bowl or Kitchenaid stir together 1/2 cup of the nuts, cake mix, 1/3 cup Nutella, sour cream, and egg. Mix well. Bake 12 - 14 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Mine took around 20 minutes)
Let cake cool a few minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to your serving platter of choice (or I guess you could just leave it in the Pyrex pan).
For icing/filling, combine remaining Nutella and 1 & 1/2 cups of cool whip. Mix until smooth. Spread icing evenly over cake, top with remaining cool whip in any fancy/cute way you want to, and sprinkle remaining nuts over cake.

I'm not usually a chocolate fan, but this cake was GOOD, fun, very pretty to look at, and super easy to make!

Campbells Chicken Scampi & Rice

1 can Campbells cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 c. water
2 T. lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced or 3/4 t. garlic powder
3/4 c. uncooked white rice
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Stir the soup, water, lemon juice, garlic, and rice together in a 11x8 inch (2 quart) shallow baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Top with chicken. Cover.

Bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender. Stir before serving and garnish with lemon slices.

We love this recipe! I got it from a Campbells Casseroles cook book that I have. I always add a little more rice, water, and lemon because we like the rice so much. It also takes my oven about 50-60 minutes to cook, so just keep an eye on it and take it out when it is done.

Creamy Cheesy Chicken 'n Noodles

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 BIG can cream of chicken soup
1 package cream cheese
1 tbsp dry Italian dressing mix

Mix all together in crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. Shred chicken and serve over egg noodles, pasta, or rice with shredded cheddar cheese on top.

Butternut Squash Soup

6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 small onion, chopped
4 T. butter or margarine
3 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 t. dried marjoram
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. ground cayenne pepper (I use chili powder sometimes)
1 - 8 oz. package of cream cheese

In a large pot or saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Puree squash mixture and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to sauce pan and heat through. Do not allow to boil. Yum!!!!!

Hot Spinach Dip

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced, optional
2 pounds fresh spinach, cleaned and coarsely chopped, OR two 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces cream cheese
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3 dashes Tabasco sauce, or more if you like it spicy
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper
baguette slices, breadsticks, crackers, or tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 425. Saute onion and garlic till tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Add spinach and cook until completely wilted, 5 to 8 minutes, or add frozen spinach and heat through. Drain any liquid remaining from the spinach. In a separate pan warm the milk over high heat, whisk in cream cheese till melted, add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and 1/4 cup mozzarella; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a lightly greased 1-1/2 quart shallow baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake until bubbly and browned, 20 - 25 minutes. Serve hot.
From delish.com courtesy of Martha Stewart

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

from: Amy Arend

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling dough
36 mini peanut butter cups, chilled and unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream peanut butter and butter in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat until combined, scraping down bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.
Scoop off dough by the tablespoon; roll into balls. Place granulated sugar on a plate; roll balls in sugar, coating completely. Place 2 inches apart on a nonstick insulated baking sheet.
Bake until cookies begin to puff up slightly, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven. Press one peanut butter cup in center of each cookie. Return to oven; continue baking until cookies are golden brown and chocolate has begun to melt, about 6 minutes more. Let cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to rack to cool completely.

Heidi's Mice

from: Taste of Home, December 2004

Peanut Butter Christmas Mice

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup peanut halves
2 tablespoons green and red M&M miniature baking bits
4 teaspoons mini semisweet chocolate chips
Cake decorator holly leaf and berry candies
60 - 66 pieces red shoestring licorice (2 inches each)

In a large mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Pinch each ball at one end to taper. Insert two peanut halves in center of ball for ears. Add one M&M baking bit for nose and two chocolate chips for eyes. Arrange holly and berry candies in front of one ear.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until set. Gently insert one licorice piece into each warm cookie for tail. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: about 5 dozen.

LeAnn's Rocky Road

by: LeAnn Moss

LeAnn writes,
"I really don't have a recipe for it. I just fill a bowl full of marshmallows and some peanuts. Then mix them a bit. Melt my dipping chocolate then mix it in with the marshmallows until they are covered pretty good. Then put onto tinfoil and shape into a log and wrap the tinfoil around it and refrigerate until it hardens. Then slice and enjoy."

Almond Joy Candy

by: Crystal Murdock

3/4 cup instant mashed potatoes, prepared with water but without butter or salt
1 teaspoon Almond flavoring
1 lb. coconut
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
Almonds
Dipping Chocolate
White Chocolate, optional

Mix almond flavoring in mashed potatoes. Add coconut and powdered sugar, mix well. Roll mixture into small balls and place on waxed paper. Place an almond on each ball and slightly press down. Dip each ball and almond in chocolate and return to waxed paper to dry. Drizzle with white chocolate if desired.

Dipped Cracker Snacks

by: Stephanie Westover and Jackie Payne

96 butter-flavored crackers (Ritz)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup marshmallow cream

2 pounds milk chocolate candy coating, melted

Spread half the crackers with peanut butter, the other half with marshmallow cream. (I used a plastic baggie with the tip cut off and squeezed it on, it was much faster). Place together to make a sandwich. Dip cracker sandwiches in melted candy coating allowing excess to drip off and place on waxed paper. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles if desired. Makes 4 dozen.

Jam Crumb Bars

The cookie party was lots of fun last night! I have a few recipes now, and will continue to post as more come in. I'll start with mine:

Jam Crumb Bars
Corri Havlicek, from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook
Jam suggestions: raspberry, strawberry, peach, or apricot

3 sticks butter, softened, cubed
2 ¼ cups almonds, finely ground
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups jam, light colored is best

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 10 x 15 cookie sheet, set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together almonds, flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or work in with your fingers until the mixture resembles pea-size crumbs with a few larger clumps.

Transfer half the crumb mixture to prepared baking sheet; set aside remaining mixture, cover. Using the back of a large spoon, press dough evenly into the pan, then with a rolling pin, roll along the dough to smooth and even. Dough should be firmly packed, with no holes or cracks. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until lightly golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Evenly spread jam over cooled crust. Scatter with remaining crumb mixture, squeezing some of the mixture so that large clumps are visible and evenly distributed over the top of the jam. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the topping begins to turn light golden brown, 20 – 22 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen, cut into 2 x 3 inch bars.

Cranberry Pretzel Salad

This recipe and the following one were served at the Relief Society Christmas Party and were requested to be posted here. They're yummy...


Crust:
¾ cup butter
2 ½ cups pretzels, broken up into small pieces, but not crushed
¼ cup sugar
Melt butter, mix with pretzels and sugar. Press into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool completely before adding cream cheese layer.

Cream Cheese layer:
1 – 8oz. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tub Cool Whip
Whip cream cheese and sugar until creamy, fold in Cool Whip. Spread on top of cooled pretzel crust. Keep cool in preparation for next layer.

Cranberry topping:
6 - 12 ounces fresh cranberries, crushed in a blender, but not liquefied (I've never done it, but you could probably use the whole cranberry sauce in the can)
1 orange, peeled and diced
1 – 15oz. can crushed pineapple, plus juice
1 apple finely diced, with or without peel
1 large box Tropical Fusion jell-o (6 ounces total), dissolved in 2 cups boiling water. I have found this jell-o only at Wal-Mart
½ cup chopped nuts, optional
Prepare jell-o, add all fruits and their juice, and chill until just syrupy. Stir, then pour over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set. Just before serving sprinkle with nuts.

This is a combination of recipes from The Essential Mormon Cookbook and the Worldwide Ward Christmas Cookbook.

Spinach Salad

Salad:
2 pounds spinach, washed, then cut or torn to bite-size pieces
(You can substitute Romaine for all the spinach or go half and half)
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 cup craisins
1 cup cashews, roughly chopped
½ - 1 cup grapes, halved (optional)
Toss salad ingredients together just before serving.

Dressing:
Do not add to salad until serving time.
1 cup mayonnaise
2 – 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar, according to taste
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Mix together well with hand mixer. Toss with salad mix. Serve immediately. Sprinkle with poppy seeds if you like them.

This is a combination of two recipes, one from Sue Hancock, the other from The Essential Mormon Cookbook.

Do you plan on serving CRANBERRIES this Thanksgiving?

400 million pounds of cranberries are consumed by Americans each year, 20% during the week of Thanksgiving.

1912 was the year cranberry sauce was first marketed.

5,062,500 gallons of jellied cranberry sauce is consumed by Americans each holiday season.

94% of Thanksgiving dinners include cranberry sauce.

1683 was the year cranberry sauce was first made by American settlers.

If you have a yummy recipe for cranberry sauce, chutney, salsa, pie, jello, or whatever please post it (or let me know and I'll post it for you)! YUM!

~Cranberry facts from LDS Living Magazine

Apple and Pear Crisp

Ingredients:
-2 lbs of ripe pears (about 4)
-2 lbs of apples (about 6)
-2 T. orange juice
-2 T. lemon juice
-1/2 c. sugar
-1/4 c. flour
-1 t. cinnamon

Topping:
-1 1/2 c. flour
-3/4 c. sugar
-3/4 c. brown sugar
-1/2 t. salt
-1 c. old-fashioned oatmeal
-1/2 lb cold unsalted butter, diced (2 sticks)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add the juices, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pour into a 9x13x2 inch oval baking dish.

For the topping:
Combine the flour, sugars, salts, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in crumbles (don't over mix). Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place the baking dich on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm. YUM!!!!!!

Bar-b-que Pork Salad

From: Kim McCrary, my Aunt

Place a 3-4 lb. pork roast (the inexpensive picnic pork roasts or country style boneless ribs work best) in crock pot with a 20 oz. can of coke. Cook on high for 1-2 hours, then turn to low for several hours or until tender. (I put mine in the crock pot in the evening and cook overnight or in the morning and cook it all day--super tender!)

Shred pork with two forks and add:
1 teaspoon garlic salt
¼ cup bar-b-que sauce
¾ cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar


SALAD
Layer the following:
Romaine lettuce
bar-b-que pork
black or pinto beans
cheese
tomatoes or pico de gallo
dressing, sour cream and/or guacamole
tortilla strips or Fritos


Stephanie’s Dressing: so fresh and tasty!
Pulse in blender until mixed thoroughly:
1 cup mayo
1 cup milk
1 package ranch dressing mix
2 tomatillas
1 serrano pepper
½ bunch cilantro

Double-Crusted Chocolate Covered Sweet Surprise Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for Terri's birthday the 24th of September. Don't ask her how old she is...it's a touchy subject. LOL! Just kidding.
This recipe seems hard with lots of instructions, but it's super easy, I promise. It's just written out to make it easy to understand and prepare, so it looks long. And you don't need a springform pan, a PYREX 9-inch round would be fine.

Ganache Topping:
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla

Oatmeal-Pretzel Crust:
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups oats (I used instant)
1 ½ cups pretzels (crushed coarsely)
1 ½ sticks butter (melted)

Filling:
2 blocks cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 ½ cups plain yogurt
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 bag (10 ounce) miniature Snickers bars

Directions
1. Make Ganache: Put chocolate chips in a glass or steel bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream and butter to a boil and pour it over the chocolate chips. Leave chocolate and cream alone for 5 minutes, then stir to combine; mix in vanilla. At room temperature the ganache is the perfect consistency to "frost" the cheesecake.

2. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Use a fork to combine all ingredients for the crust. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with butter. Pour half crust mixture (2 1/2 cups) into greased cheesecake pan and reserve other half of crust mixture for later. Use a glass to help you firmly press the mixture down evenly. Bake crust for 8 minutes. Once the crust is out of the oven, turn the oven down to 325°F.

3. Chop candy bars into bite-sized pieces. Use a mixer to blend together cream cheese and yogurt; once they’re fully incorporated, mix in one egg at a time; add sugar and vanilla and mix until everything is just incorporated. Fold in chopped candy and pour mixture into pre-baked crust. Bake for 40 minutes, then remove cheesecake from the oven and evenly sprinkle remaining crust mixture on the top; bake for another 20 minutes.

4. Allow cheesecake to cool completely, then refrigerate for 2 hours. Pour the room-temperature ganache over the cooled cheesecake and spread it out in an even layer (some chocolate will drip down the sides of the cheesecake, but don't worry about spreading it evenly over the sides). Refrigerate for another 2 hours.

Original recipe from www.delish.com