Category: RECIPES

CAPPUCCINO CRÈME CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE PIE

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1/4 cup sugar
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1 – cup semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
2 – eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups ground ginger snaps
1 1/2 cups ground vanilla wafers
4 tablespoons butter, melted
CAPPUCCINO CRÈME (recipe below)
Cherry cordial Hershey’s milk kisses

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a small saucepan melt thebutter over low heat.
  • Stir in cocoa and sugar.
  • Add the sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips and eggs.
  • Stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Pour into crust.
  • Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until center is almost set.
  • Cool completely.
  • Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  • Just before serving, prepare and spread CAPPUCCINO CREME over top.
  • Garnish with chocolate pieces, if desired.
  • Cover and refrigerate leftover pie.

CAPPUCCINO CRÈME
1 cup (1/2 pint) whipping cream

1 1/2 teaspoons powdered espresso
2 teaspoons Hershey’s Cocoa
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine whipping cream, powdered espresso, Cocoa and powdered sugar. Beat until stiff. Makes about 2 cups.

SAUER PULLED PORK

SAUER PULLED PORK
2 cups sauerkraut, rinsed and drained*
2 pound pork tenderloin
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard mayonnaise mixture
1 cup beer**
salt and pepper, to taste

  • Place sauerkraut on the bottom of your slow cooker.
  • Cut tenderloin in half and lay on top of sauerkraut.
  • Generously salt and pepper meat.
  • Spread Dijon on top of meat.
  • Pour beer over around meat.
  • Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4-5 hours.
  • Remove meat to cutting board and shred using 2 forks.
  • Serve on thick toast layers with sauerkraut and with sliced red onion.

*I used a local organic sauerkraut as is without rinsing or draining
**I used a pumpkin ale and used ALL of it

GRILLED CHEESE & TOMATO SOUP CASSEROLE

GRILLED CHEESE & TOMATO SOUP CASSEROLE
adapted from TasteofHome.com                         
serves 4
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
8 slices sourdough bread
4 slices provolone cheese
4 slices extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 slices mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons Classico sun dried tomato pesto
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 JUMBO egg, beaten
1 cup whole milk
1/2 +/- cup shredded mozzarella cheese

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Spread butter on 4 slices of bread.
  • Place in baking dish butter side down.
  • Spread cream cheese on top side.
  • Add 1 slice of each cheese on top of cream cheese.
  • Butter the 4 other pieces of bread and place butter side up on sandwiches.

  • In a small saucepan whisk together the tomato pesto, garlic, salt and pepper until well combined.
  • Over medium high heat add milk gradually, whisking until well blended.
  • Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 5 or so minutes until begins to thicken.
  • Pour a small amount of the tomato mixture into the beaten egg to begin with (do it too fast and egg will curdle) whisking constantly until well blended. Gradually add remaining tomato mixture, whisking constantly.
  • Pour over sandwiches.
  • Top with half of shredded cheese.
  • Bake 15 minutes, flip and top with remaining cheese and bake another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

BACKGAMMON SOUP

This soup got it’s name because I was off my feet for 2 days battling a knee issue during a cold rainy weekend and all we did was play backgammon.

BACKGAMMON SOUP
1 pound country sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup (3.5 oz pkg) sun dried tomatoes pieces
2 tablespoons Classico sundried tomato pesto
2 tablespoons quick cook tapioca
6 cups water
1 KNORR beef bouillon gel
1 1/2 cup white beans
1 cup baby carrots

  • Soak and cook white beans according to directions.
  • Whisk water with bouillon gel until well blended.
  • Whisk in tapioca, pesto, salt and pepper to taste.
  • Bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer.
  • Add carrots, simmering for 30 minutes.
  • While carrots are simmering to tender, brown sausage and onion until a small crumble and drain off fat.
  • Add sausage and onion to pan along with beans.
  • Simmer another 30 minutes.

MEAT LOVER’S CASSEROLE aka SPANISH RICE & MEAT

This recipe started out as Baked Rice with Chicken and Lemony Meatballs from a Cook’s Illustrated Skillet Dinner Magazine, but became something entirely different before I was done. Hubby was still raving about this recipe this morning and even considered having leftovers for breakfast so I think it was a hit!

MEAT LOVER’S CASSEROLE
MEATBALLS
1 slice sourdough bread
1 tablespoon milk
1/4-1/3 cup Panko crumbs
1/2 pound fresh ground pork
1 large egg
2 tablespoons fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
zest from 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

  • Using your hands mix everything together until well blended.  Use only as much Panko crumbs as needed to keep mixture from being too “wet”.
  • Roll into 1 inch meatballs.
  • Cover and chill meatballs while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

CHICKEN & BACON
1 pound chicken breast tenders, salt and peppered to taste
4 slices bacon, browned crisp and crumbled*

*I prepare the bacon in the microwave on paper towels while browning the chicken pieces to save time and absorb the grease to make the bacon crispier.

SAUCE & RICE
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large hot house tomato, cut into pieces
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 KNORR chicken Gel bouillon
1/2 cup hot water
2 cups water
1 cup Jasmine Rice

PREPARATION
6 tablespoons avocado oil

  • Heat oil over medium high heat in large skillet.
  • Add garlic and saute until golden and fragrant.  Remove to small food processor with a slotted spoon.
  • Add chicken to pan and sear both sides. Remove to paper towels to absorb any excess grease.
  • Add meatballs, cooking, turning and rolling until browned on all sides.
  • Prepare bacon in microwave while the other meats are being prepared.
  • Add bouillon gels, tomato pieces, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup hot water to the garlic in the food processor and process until smooth.
  • Add rice and broth mixture to pan stirring until rice is translucent.
  • Add 2 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens and rice is tender.

ASSEMBLY
Parmesan Cheese

  • Spray 2 quart casserole dish with non stick cooking spray.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  • Layer a small amount of the rice mixture on the bottom of you baking dish.
  • Top with a small handful of Parmesan cheese.
  • Layer chicken pieces on top of rice.
  • Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top of chicken.
  • Put another layer of the rice mixture.
  • Top with meatballs.
  • Top with remaining rice.
  • Sprinkle another handful of Parmesan cheese over everything.
  • Bake 20-30 minutes to heat through.

BACON CHEDDAR PANCAKES

I found this recipe in a magazine and found it just intriguing enough to try. I made just a few very small changes:

  • It called for regular cheddar and I used white.  
  • It called for 3 slices of bacon and I used 4.
  • It had you serving with just butter which we tried and then we added maple syrup which was a serious plus in our book.
  • It also said it would make 8 pancakes and I got 11.

BACON CHEDDAR PANCAKES
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 LARGE egg
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup grated white cheddar cheese
Maple Syrup

  • Preheat skillet and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well blended.
  • Whisk together the egg and buttermilk.
  • Add wet ingredients to dry, whisking only until incorporated well.
  • Fold in bacon and cheese.
  • Using 1/4 cup measure scoop batter onto prepared skillet.
  • Turn when you see bubbles on the entire pancake surface.  If you wait for the bubbles you will need to only flip once and pancakes should be golden.
  • Cook until golden.

CHOCOLATE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

I collect old recipe boxes. I am always on the look out when I browse antique stores. In one of those boxes I found this scrap of a recipe that was for Chocolate Upside down cake. If you turn it over it appears to be a flyer or insert from Pyrex.

This cake was amazing! It doesn’t rise a lot and is almost torte like, but the cake is light and fluffy. It is super rich and makes it’s own icing!  It is best served warm. I can also see a bunch of variations such as espresso powder, white chocolate…

CHOCOLATE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
1 1/4 cups cake flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ounce square bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup broken nut meats (I used HEATH English Toffee Bits)

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  • Melt together the butter and chocolate together until smooth.
  • Fold together the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture with the nut meats.
  • Pour into a well greased deep 9 inch baking pan.

2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar

  • Mix together the cocoa, sugar and brown sugar until well blended.
  • Sprinkle over cake evenly.

1 cup boiling water

  • Pour boiling water slowly over the sugar layer.
  • Bake 1 hour.
  • Cool 5 minutes.
  • Invert carefully to serving platter.

CARAMELIZED LEMON & GREEN CHILE VERDE WHITEFISH

CARAMELIZED LEMON & GREEN CHILE VERDE WHITEFISH
4 white fish (cod, snapper etc…) 6 ounce fillets
1 large bunch green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lemon, sliced about 1/8-1/4 inch thick
2 teaspoons sugar divided
2 tablespoons green chile verde sauce
fresh ground salt and pepper to taste

  • Melt coconut oil and butter in skillet over medium high heat.
  • Saute onions a few minutes until tender.
  • Add lemons around the edge of the pan.
  • Sprinkle lemons with 1 teaspoon of the sugar.
  • Generously salt and pepper the fish fillets and place in the center of the pan.
  • Cook 3-4 minutes (depending on thickness) until opaque and then turn.
  • Turn the lemons and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
  • Add chile verde sauce over the lemons.
  • Add lid to the pan and cook another 3-4 minutes.

PORK CHOPS with PEANUT BUTTER GREEN CHILE CREAM GRAVY

I ran across a little blurb of a recipe in an old pamphlet and thought about trying it.  It was just weird enough that I figured it must really be good. I found it a bit plain when I first combined the ingredients and made some adjustments for us, but I’ll give you both versions (original in black with my changes in red) and let you decide.

PEANUT BUTTER PORK CHOPS
PORK CHOPS with PEANUT BUTTER GREEN CHILE CREAM GRAVY
6 large pork loin chops
1 stick butter
2 cups peanut butter 1/2 cups JIF peanut butter
seasonings to taste Hawaiian pink salt & fresh ground black pepper
2 cups milk 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup green chile verde sauce (Las Palmas or Old El Paso)

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • In a large skillet melt butter over medium high heat.
  • Season pork chops with salt and pepper.
  • Add pork chops to butter and brown, searing both sides. Remove pork chops to a prepared baking dish and cover.
  • Bake 30 minutes.
  • Add peanut butter to butter drippings, stirring to blend well.
  • Add chile verde sauce, blending again.
  • Add milk blending together until you have a creamy gravy. Add whipping cream gradually blending until you have a creamy gravy.
  • Pour gravy over pork chops. DON’T DO THIS! Instead make this gravy while pork chops are baking.  Gravy will be creamier and tastier without going into the oven.
  • Bake 30 minutes.
  • Enjoy.

RACING DIP aka KRAB ENCHILADAS, YOU CHOOSE

This is a great dip for ANY tailgate party. Serve it fresh out of the oven… hot and bubbly and served with tortilla chips.

RACING DIP 

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 clove garlic, minced
4-5 LARGE  green onions, chopped
1 can Rotel original tomatoes, DRAINED VERY WELL
2 tablespoons sour cream
8 ounces Flaked Krab, chopped small
15-ounce can black beans, rinsed & DRAINED VERY WELL
Frank’s Original Hot Sauce to taste
Sea salt to taste
1 cup Colby-Jack mixed grated cheese
tortilla chips for dunking
  • In a large bowl, soften cream cheese by beating until smooth with an electric mixer. 
  • Add garlic, green onions, tomatoes, sour cream, chicken pieces and black beans stirring by hand until combined. 
  • Add hot sauce and sea salt until you reach desired taste. 
  • Arrange ingredients in an oven safe dish and top with grated cheese.
  • Bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees until cheese is brown and bubbly.
  • Serve with chips.
NOTE: Dip can be served cold but we like it best warm.

The leftovers are then perfect for making seafood enchiladas.  

  • Roll into tortillas. 
  • Top with chile verde sauce and more grated cheese.  
  • Bake and enjoy.

TEX MEX STEW

I had such good luck with throwing together the Tomato Bean Soup that I’d try another round with different ingredients and was not disappointed!  Tonight’s offering I made with chicken, but it could easily be made with stew meat, cubed pork or chili grind beef.

TEX MEX STEW
2-4 chicken breasts (or meat of choice)
10 ounce green enchilada sauce
10 ounce Rotel original tomatoes and green chiles
1 large onion, chopped large
2 large celery ribs, chopped
1 cup baby carrots
1/3 cup white wine
1 package Taco Bell Seasoning (1/8 cup homemade)
2 cups egg noodles

  • Whisk together the wine, enchilada sauce and seasoning.
  • Spray crock-pot with non-stick spray.
  • Place meat in bottom topped by chopped veggies.
  • Pour sauce over.
  • Cook 4-6 hours on low. I started with frozen chicken breasts so did the first 2 hours on high and then 3 hours on low. During the last hour I added egg noodles.

I also found some locally made tortillas that are half flour and half corn that are excellent accompaniment for this stew.

TOMATO BEAN SOUP

Hubby had dental work the other day and I didn’t realize how much he was going to need a soft menu so I was scrambling to make a soup with what I had on hand.  This soup turned out so well that hubby asked for thirds!  The best part was how simple it was.

TOMATO BEAN SOUP
1 1/2 cups great northern (white beans)
1 can Bush’s seasoned black beans
1 can Hunt’s diced tomatoes (I used basil, oregano and garlic flavored)
1 KNORR beef gel
6 ounces Sprite
1 ham steak, cubed into bite size pieces

  • Whisk the bouillon with sprite until well blended.  
  • Add everything to crock pot.
  • Cook 4-6 hours on low.