Am headed to Texas for our son’s wedding. Will not be posting until Monday, September 5th! Have a great Labor Day and get out a favorite recipe and try it out for some sweet friends.
Month: August 2011
German Chocolate Cake Truffles
These will be a hit at any gathering. Just perfect for popping into your mouth. Perfect for grabbing the whole tray of them and going over to a corner and just savoring each and every one. After all, there will be enough people to “mingle” with the other guests while you sit back and enjoy these delectable little bites of heaven. This recipe comes from the Southern Living Christmas 2011 Edition.
1 (18.25 oz) package German chocolate cake mix
1 (16 oz) container milk chocolate ready to spread frosting
2 cups toasted coconut, divided
1 3/4 cups toasted finely chopped pecans, divided
Wax Paper
4 (7 oz) containers milk chocolate dipping chocolate
Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directons in a lightly greased 13 x 9 pan. Let cool completely in pan (about 30 min)
Crumble cake into a large bowl. Scoop frosting by spoonfuls over cake crumbs. Sprinkle with 1 cup each coconut and pecans; stir gently just until thoroughly blended. Using a cookie scoop, scoop cake mixture into 1 1/4 ” balls and roll in hands making them round. Place balls on wax paper lined baking sheets. Cover and chill 1 to 2 hrs.
Meanwhile, combine remaining 1 cup coconut and 3/4 cup pecans; stir well. Melt dipping chocolate, 1 container at a time, according to package directioins; dip chilled balls in melted chocolate, using candy dipping fork or if you don’t have one use a fork with a toothpick to secure ball to fork. Allow excess chocolate to drip off. Place coated truffles on wax paper lined baking sheets. Sprinkle tops with coconut pecan mixture and chill 30 min or until set. Place truffles in small baking cups to serve or a platter.
*I used Duncan Hines German Chocolate Cake mix, Betty Croker Frosting and Bakers Real Milk Chocolate Dipping Chocolate
Pecan Pie Cobbler
Doesn’t the title even make you just stand up and say, “YUM”? When I read this new recipe in a new Christmas Book that I received, I just knew it was going to be one of my favorites for 2012…..there is nothing better than hot cobbler with ice cream, and to have it with the gooey pecan filling, well, it just combines two of the most yummy desserts. Hope your Thanksgiving orChristmas menu will include this at least once..I think you will add it to your favorites also.
2 1/2 cups light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 tble vanilla
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 (14.1 oz) package refrigerated piecrusts (or make your own)
Pam cooking spray (preferably butter flavored)
2 cups pecan halves
Honey or Cinnamon Ice cream
Preheat oven to 425. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in coarsely chopped pecans.
Unroll 1 piecrust. Roll into a 13 x 9 in baking dish. Spoon half of filling mixture into pastry. Unroll remaining piecrust. Roll into a 13×9 in rectangle. Trim sides to fit pan. Place over filling in pan. Coat with cooking spray.
Bake at 425 for 14-16 min or until browned. Reduce oven temperature to 350.
Carefully spoon remaining filling over baked pastry; arrange pecan halves on top in a decorative fashion. Bake at 350 for 30 min or until set. Cool 20 min on a wire rack; serve warm with ice cream. *If you are a chocoholic, you could add 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips to the filling before pouring over the crust, giving you ANOTHER favorite, chocolate with pecan pie filling.
A Step Back in Time
Yesterday was just one of those days that I cannot let go by without writing about. We went with some friends to eat mexican food after church. They invited us back to their home after lunch so we went, promsing them that we would only stay for a minute. We ended up staying for a couple of hours. They had just bought a 3D TV and we ended up putting our feet up, sitting with a bowl of M&M’s and nuts and watching a 3-D movie. Joe, the Lou’s husband has taught himself to play the fiddle and they had a keyboard, so we ended up laying some songs together and just had a great afternoon. On our way home, Randy and I talked about how long it had been since we had just gone to someone’s home and sit and visit and watch a movie or sing along while playing a piano much less the added fiddle. It was like our growing up years when we use to go to peoples homes after church and just sit, visit and talk….brought back so many memories. Thank you Jo and Lou for a precious afternoon.
Today, I went to the grocery store to buy some rib eye steaks to make Philly steak sandwiches for dinner. When I asked the butcher to slice one very thin, he replied, “we don’t have any machines that will do that, I would have to do it by hand.” I couldn’t believe my ears…..every grocery store in Dallas would be able to slice steaks, but then again, this is Pasadena and some of our experiences here have truly been like stepping back in time….in most ways, it is so refreshing and such a precious time of people taking the time to get together, but when I want a steak sliced, I want the convenience of being able to have that. If I had to pick between the two, I think I will take the slower, more relaxed visiting time and just slice the steaks myself. It will give my arms some exercise. Pasadena, we love your slower pace of living, but am going to add a meat slicer to my wish list for Christmas.
Brown Sugar Shortbreads
These seriously melt in your mouth. I know that right now, with the heat it is a little hard to think about “fall” but in a few short weeks, a cool breeze will blow through and you will be searching for just the perfect cookie to sit down and munch on while you sip a mug of coffee, while leafing through your new October issue of Southern Living Magazine.
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teas apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teas salt
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
Nonsitck cooking spray
Granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter on medium to high for 30 sec. Add brown sugar, apple pie spice and salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in any remaining flour.
Shape dough into 1 in balls. Place balls 2 in apart on prepared cookie sheet. Coat bottom of a glass or cookie stamp with cooking spray and dip in granulated sugar. Flatten each cookie with the glass or stamp, imprinting the pattern.
Bake for 12-15 min or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 36 cookies.
Layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container and cover. Store at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Baby Hot Browns with Spicy Candied Bacon
These are GREAT little appetizers to take to parties or serve company. Taken from a Paula Deen magazine, there are easy, yet scrumptious!
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teas ground red pepper
16 slices thick cut bacon
1/4 cup softened butter
24 (2 in thick) diagonally cut french bread slices
3 tables butter
3 table flour
2 cups whole milk
2 cups ( 8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tables freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 lbs thinkly sliced smoked deli turkey
2 tables chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 400. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray a wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place on baking sheet.
In a bowl, combine brown sugar and red pepper. Dredge bacon slices in a brown sugar mixture, shaking off excess and place on prepared rack. Bake for 15-18 min or until crisp and golden brown and caramalized. Let cool on rack. Cut each slice into 3 equal pieces.
Preheat broiler. Line another large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Using 1/4 cup of the butter, spread over 1 side of bread slices; place slices, buttered side up, on prepared baking sheet. Broil until toasted. Set aside on pan.
In medium saucepan, melt 3 tables butter over medium-low heat. Add flour, whisking until smooth. Cook for 1 min, whisking constantly. Gradually add milk, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly for 10 min or until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat; add cheeses, whisking until cheese melts.
Arrange turkey slices over toasted bread slices. Spoon about 2 tables cheese sauce over each. Broil for 2-3 min or until lightly browned and bubbly. Remove from broiler and place on serving platter. Top each slice with 2 bacon pieces. Sprinkle with chopped tomatoes and parsley if desired. Serve immediately.
Sweet Corn Casserole
2 large Eggs
1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk
6 tables butter, melted
1//2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teas salt
1/4 teas pepper
2 tables flour
1 1/2 (20 oz) packages frozen cream-style corn, thawed
Preheat oven to 375. Lighly grease a 13×9 inch baking dish with Pam. In a large bowl, beat eggs, and add milk, butter, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Stir in flour and corn.
Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake for 45 min or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
Mediterranean Veggies
This recipe is from Taste of Home and they are absolutely delish! Very easy dish.
3 large portobello mushrooms
1 ea….red, orange and yellow bell peppers
1 medium zucchini
10 fresh asparagus spears, cut into 2 in lengths
1 small onion, sliced and separated into rings
1/4 cup grape tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh sugar snap peas
1/2 cup fresh broccoli florets
1/2 cup pitted greek olives
1 bottle (14 oz) greek vinaigrette
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Slice the mushrooms, peppers, zucchini and place in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the asparagus, onion, tomatoes, peas, broccoli and olives. Pour vinaigrette into the bag; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 min.
Drain veggies and discard marinade. Transfer veggies to a grill wok or basket. Grill, uncovered over medium heat for 8-12 min or until tender, stirring frequently. Place on serving platter; sprinkle with cheese.
If you do not have a grill wok or basket, use a disposable foil pan. Poke holes in the bottom of the pan with a meat fork to allow liquid to drain over coals….
Peach Enchiladas
2 (8 oz) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
2 lbs fresh, firm, ripe peaches, peeled and quartered (about 4 large)
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 (12 oz) can citrus-flavored soft drink
Preheat oven to 350. Unroll crescent rolls; separate into triangles. Place 1 peach quarter on wide end of each triangle; roll up triangles around peaches, starting at wide end. Place point sides down, in a lightly greased 13×9 pan.
Stir together sugar, butter and cinnamon and drizzle over rolls; pour soft drink over rolls.
Bake at 350 for 45 min or until golden brown and bubbly.
For citrus-flavored solf drink, I used Mountain Dew
Post Jaden
Wow, Jaden is on the plane headed back to Dallas. We can now watch whatever we want on TV, we can go to any restaurant without worryimg about whether or not they have chicken strips or hamburgers, there is no computer battle sounds in the background, no guilt over how much I let him sit at the computer or Ipad to play video games, no trying to figure out how I’m going to get the energy to head out to either miniature golf, bowling or sitting through a cartoon movie, life is now returned to normal……….but why did I break down when he walked onto the plane? Because, no matter the trouble, no matter the exhaustion, no matter the different interests, he is our grandchild, one in which we both have enjoyed this week, more than we ever dreamed. We fell in love all over again this week withh our new “grown up” version of our first grandchild……he is beginning to grow up, to show signs of different interests: cars, TV shows, such as America’s Got Talent, sitting and reading for over an hour. So…here we both sit tonight, so exhausted, we can’t hold our heads up, but sad for knowing that Jaden’s weekly visit won’t be here again until next summer,…..we will cherish this week, the memories,the love and bonding that both Randy and I truly enjoyed between ourselves and Jaden.
Chocolate Castles 