Grandma Dorothy's Popcorn Balls

I was cleaning out my recipe file and came across this recipe from my Grandma Dorothy McCrary, my Mom's Mother. It is the best recipe for Caramel Corn! To make this recipe even sweeter, my Grandma was born today, July 31, 1923. She died when I was 12 and in 7th grade. Enjoy...


1 cup Karo Syrup
2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
1 cube butter
10 quarts (40 cups) popped corn, remove all the un-popped kernels or you'll break a tooth.
(A full-size bag of microwave popcorn is 5 cups)

Pop the popcorn first and remove the un-popped kernels.
Have a large mixing bowl ready that has been lightly coated with cooking spray.

Caramel:
Combine syrup and sugar in heavy saucepan and stir together well. Cook on medium heat until it boils. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved and keep the sides of the pan clean to avoid sugary caramel later. Add milk and butter, cook and stir until it forms soft ball in cold water (about 236 degrees). Cool slightly while putting the popped corn in the prepared bowl, then pour caramel over popped corn and stir, stir, stir.
Spray your hands with cooking spray. The popcorn can now be formed into balls and bagged, or left loose and put in large Ziploc bags. Makes about 18 popcorn balls.

This is her original recipe card in her handwriting.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

From: http://www.excellenteats.blogspot.com/

½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup ketchup
1 pound of ground beef
1 pound sausage
¾ cup milk
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped, OR 2 tablespoons onion flakes
¾ cup oatmeal, regular or instant

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a bread pan. Mix ketchup & brown sugar, put half in the bottom of the loaf pan. Save the other half to put on the top. In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the ketchup/brown sugar mixture in the loaf pan. Top with ketchup/brown sugar and bake for about 70 minutes or until juices are clear.
I usually put potatoes in the oven at the same time and bake till tender.

Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie Bars

1 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, divided (optional)
1 pkg. (10oz) peanut butter chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup melted butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add flour, cocoa and milk; beat until blended. Stir in 1 cup pecans. Pour into a greased 13x9 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or just until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine remaining butter and peanut butter chips, stirring constantly. Stir in sweetened condensed milk until smooth; pour over baked layer. Place chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirrring after each heating, just until chips are melted. Drizzle bars with melted chocolate; sprinkle with remaining pecans. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Cut into bars. Yield 2 dozen.

Sausage Pasta Dish

1 box Rigatoni Pasta
Jimmy Dean sausage
1 jar spagetti sauce
1 can sliced olives
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Boil pasta, brown sausage. combine pasta, meat, sauce and olives in 13x9 pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 min.

Spiced Pork Tenderloins with Mango Salsa

We had this for dinner tonight and LOVED it. It is so summer-fresh and tasty.

Mango Salsa:
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ripe mangoes, peeled, and diced
2 kiwi fruit, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon green onion, minced
Saute onion in olive oil until lightly browned. Toss all ingredients together gently. This will be spooned over the prepared pork when served AND it can also be eaten with tortilla chips.


Spiced Pork Tenderloins:
2 pounds pork tenderloin, sliced 1/2 inch thick (have the butcher do this)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander (I didn't have any of this so didn't use it)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
Coat both sides of the pork with the flour/spice mixture. This recipe can now go two ways. You can either grill the pork on your BBQ grill until no longer pink in the middle OR put it in a single layer in a 9 x 13 baking dish, cover with foil, and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes until no longer pink in the middle. Remove the foil and broil till top of pork is crisp. Serve with Mango salsa over the top.

Both recipes are from www.delish.com and I tweaked the Mango salsa with a recipe from The Essential Mormon Cookbook.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Stephanie! I found you a soup recipe that is so GOOD! You may have already found one by now, since you asked back in October, but here's a good one if not. Now really isn't the season for soup, but it won't be long...


5 quarts water - (4 cups = 1 quart)
4 to 5 chicken breasts
1 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon Bon Appetit seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
3 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf - (remove this when the chicken is done)
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup each carrots and celery (to your taste)
Any other veggies you like in chicken soup
2 cups (or more) Country Pasta, Homemade Style Egg Pasta, this can be purchased at Walmart


Directions

Place water, chicken, seasonings, sugar, bouillon and bay leaf in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer until chicken is done. Remove chicken from broth. Allow chicken to sit on a plate until cool enough to handle. (Sometimes a foam will form on the surface of the broth, simply skim the foam off with a spoon and discard) This is caused from cooking the chicken on too high heat. Use medium low heat when cooking the chicken breasts. When cool enough, shred chicken into coarse pieces. Add milk and butter to the chicken broth. Add shredded chicken to broth, then let simmer (with lid on) on very, very low heat, for at least 1 hour. Add noodles. Cook soup over medium heat, stirring often until noodles are done, & juice has thickened.
If you want thicker soup, simply mix well:
1 tablespoon flour with 1/4 cup milk, and slowly whisk into soup....stirring often, so that it doesn't form lumps. When the noodles are done to your taste (about 1 hour of simmer time, after adding the noodles), serve & Enjoy! It's delicious to serve the soup ladled over mashed potatoes.

I got this recipe from http://www.getoffyourbuttandbake.blogspot.com/ The original recipe is a little different and also demonstrates HOMEMADE noodles.
It's called Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles.
http://getoffyourbuttandbake.blogspot.com/2008/09/creamy-chicken-noodle-soup-with.html

BBQ Jack Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

4 slices pepper jack cheese

1 cup BBQ sauce

Carefully cut a pocket in each chicken breast half. Fill with cheese, secure with metal of soaked wooden skewers. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-8 minutes on each side of until juices come clear, basting frequently with BBQ sauce. Remove skewers before serving.

Serves 4.

Taco Puffs

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 c. Chopped onion

1 envelope taco seasoning

2 tubes large refrigerated flaky biscuits

8 c. shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Cool slightly.

Flatten half of the biscuits into 4-in circles, placed in greased baking pan. Spoon 1/4 cup meat mixture onto each; top with 1/4 cup cheese. Flatten remaining biscuits; place on top and pinch edges to seal tightly.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serves 8

I got this recipe from a Taste of Home cook book. It was a hit with the kids, and Cris. We dipped them in sour cream and hot sauce.

Broccoli Salad

Anna loves this salad. Look on my blog she's eating it!

2 bunches fresh broccoli (about 1 pound) cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium purple onion, finely chopped (optional, I don't add it because I don't like onion)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
6 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1/2 cup sunflower seeds OR cashews
1/2 cup Craisins
In a large bowl combine broccoli, onion, and cheese. Refrigerate. Just before serving, stir in bacon, nuts, and craisins. Add cold dressing and serve right away.

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (however sweet you like it)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Mix well and chill at least one hour before tossing with salad. I don't ever chill this dressing for an hour before serving. I never think that far ahead! I just make it first and put it in the fridge, then I do the rest of the salad, get dinner ready, then put the dressing on the broccoli and serve. It's still Yum-o.

from: The Essential Mormon Cookbook

Chicken Roll-ups

From: my Grandma Jean Sommers
Rigby, Idaho

1 - 8oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken, I used canned
1 cup grated cheese, cheddar is good
1 package stuffing, prepared as directed on box
3 - 4 tubes crescent rolls

Prepare the stuffing according to the package directions and set it aside. In a separate bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter until soft. Add celery, chicken, cheese, and stuffing. Mix well.
Preheat oven to 375.
Open crescent rolls and flatten onto a baking sheet. Fill each crescent roll with approximately 1/4 cup of chicken mixture and fold dough over. It will be quite full.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until rolls are well-browned.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool and keep the bottom of the crescent rolls crisp.

Makes 32 Roll-ups.