Chocolate

Microwave Chocolate Fudge

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Tomorrow is Valentines. If you are in a crutch for a last minute gift for a teacher, neighbor or just didn’t get the kind of chocolate you were hoping for, this will fit the bill. It is so chocolatey and smooth and the sweetened condensed milk gives it that wonderful sweet flavor that is so addicting.

Makes 3 dz squares
3 cups milk chocolate morsels
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand)
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
Combine all ingredients in a 2 qt glass bowl. Microwave chocolate mixture at medium (50% power) stirring at 1 1/2 min intervals. Pour into a greased 8 in sq dish. Cover and chill 8 hours. Cut into 1 1/2 in squares. Store in fridge.

Daily Thoughts

Wednesday Thoughts

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The middle of a new week and once again, God is showing me how faithful He is. When moving here, I didn’t know anyone and yet, God in His infinite love and wisdom knew exactly what to give me; friends. Last week, a lady who I had never met, only through Face Book, being told to contact her through another friend, and I had lunch. What a precious Christian lady who I knew immediately, she was God’s gift to me. The conversation just flowed. We had so much in common, even our husbands share the same name, Randy. We laughed and talked for 3 hours. We talked about our kids and grandkids, our husbands, our faith, our friends and both of us felt like we had known each other for years. It really touched my heart to know that God was looking down and had blessed my life with such a sweet lady who I can laugh with, pray with and explore this new area. She assured me that even though she doesn’t cook a lot, she loves to eat, so I told her that would be perfect. I can bake and she and her husband can be the recipients of what I bake. So now I’m off to another new adventure with Shirley, who we met in Sunday School. She is from Louisiana and has been here a year. We keep being amazed at the gifts that God is bestowing on us, and yet, why do we continue to be surprised. He tells us that He is faithful to give us what we need, if we will only trust Him. Sometimes, isn’t it easier to trust Him in big things, but a little harder to give him the everyday “needs”? This should be a reminder to myself that He cares for me and for you, no matter the need, big or small. He is a most wonderful and awesome God!

Soups

Taco Soup

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The Recipe below was just sent to me by Micah Reis, a sweet friend who continues to encourage me to “get that cook book done.” She is a newly married young lady who continues to amaze me in the recipes she attempts, and does such a great job at cooking. Thanks, Micah for sending this, am going to make it this weekend.
Below is a recipe from Cooper Clinic for a “famous quick and easy Pronto Taco Soup”. Trudy, I know it isn’t cold where you are but you can turn your AC up really cold pretend with us!

Pronto Taco Soup – serves 12; serving size 1 cup (please, who can only eat 1 cup?) HA

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey (or ground round or a mix of both)

1 large onion, diced

¼ cup water (if needed)

1, 15 oz can low sodium whole kernel corn, not drained

2, 14 ½ oz cans chopped tomatoes, not drained (any type)

1, 14 ½ oz can yellow hominy, not drained

1, 15 oz can pinto beans with jalapeno, not drained

1 package reduced sodium dry taco seasoning mix

1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

½ cup light sour cream (optional as garnish)

Directions

Spray large skillet with no-stick spray. Brown turkey in skillet until done. Set turkey skillet aside. Spray soup pot with non stick spray. Sauté onion until transparent. If onion begins to burn, add water and continue cooking until done. Add cooked meat and all remaining ingredients. Simmer 15-20 minutes. Stir in cilantro. Garnish each cup with a small dollop of light sour cream. (optional)

Nutritional Analysis (per 1 cup serving)

134 calories; 1 gram fat (0 sat); 6 grams protein; 650 mg sodium; 28 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram sugar; 1 mg cholesterol

Exchange = 2 Protein; 1 Starch

Variations

Add 4 ounce canned chopped chilies. Trying adding one more can of tomatoes and/or delete the meat and add one more can of beans.

Low Sodium Method – drain and rinse all canned vegetables and beans. Replace liquid with no-salt added V8 Juice. Use only half of the dry mixes due to their high sodium content.

Chicken

Chicken & Artichoke Ole

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I admit it, I am addicted to Mexican food. Since moving out to California, I am on a mission to find Mexican food that resembles Tex-Mex the most, so far, we haven’t found one that just makes me sit back and say, “ah….this is it, greasy spicy enchiladas, just like at home”. But….I’m not giving up. We have found two places that have actually great chips and hot sauce, but the faitias are just stir fried with onions and green peppers, not thrown over an open fire and grilled to perfection, like we have in Texas. We have been cooking here at the house more Mexican food than ever before. When I came across this in Southern Living, it sounded like a great new kind of different Mexican dish. Tried it and it is great. Combines two of my favs, enchilada flavor (without the cheese or fattening tortillas) and artichokes.

4 skinned and boned chicken breasts
1/2 teas each salt and pepper
1 tables veggie oil
1 (14 oz) can quartered artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
1 (10 1/2 oz) can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup Salsa
1 teas ground cumin
1/2 teas ground chipolte pepper seasoning
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1 (2 1/4 oz) can sliced ripe black olives drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Brown chicken in hot oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove from skillet and place chicken in a 11 x 7 in baking dih. Top with artichoke hearts.
Stir together soup, salsa, cumin, chipotle seasoning and bell pepper. Pour sauce over chicken; sprinkle with sliced olives.
Bake at 350 for 30 min. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

Chocolate

Cracker Candy

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This is so easy and sooooo good.
2 1/2 cups miniature Ritz crackers (the round buttery ones)
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups milk chocolate morsels
Chopped pecans
Place crackers in a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined 12 x 9 inch pan.
Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in medium saucepan, stirring constantly; cook, stirring often, 3 min. Pour mixture over crackers.
Bake at 350 degrees for 5 mins. Turn oven off. Sprinkle crackers with chocolate morsels and let stand in oven 3 mins or until chocolate melts. Spread melted chocolated evenly over crackers. Top with pecans. Cool and break into pieces. Stor in refrigerator.

Chicken

For All you Snowed In Texans-Chicken Mushroom Wild Rice Stew

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If you can get to the store or have these items in your stocked pantry, this stew is deliious for another cold night in Texas!
1/4 cup butter
2 tables olive oil
1 cup chopped celery
1 tables minced garlic
2 (8 oz) containers sliced mushrooms
6 tables flour
2 teas garlic powder
1 teas salt
1 1/2 teas pepper
2 qts chicken broth
3 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tables chopped fresh thyme (or used dried, but only 1 tables if so)
4 cups chopped cooked chicken

In large dutch oven, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat until butter is melted. Add onion and celery and cook for 5 mins. Add garlic and cook for 2 mins. Add mushrooms and cook for 10 mins, stirring frequently. Add flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cook for another 2 mins, stirring constantly.
Gradually add chicken broth, stirring until smooth. Bring to a simmer; add chicken and rice and cook for 20 min, stirring occasionally. Add cream and thyme and return to a simmer, and cook for 10 min. Garnish with thyme if desired. Serve with hot french bread.

Cakes

Miniature Spice Cakes

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As many of our family and friends are “iced in” back in Texas, I thought this sounded like a warm cozy recipe that would smell so good coming from the kitchen, if your power stays on long enough to bake them.
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups applesauce
1/2 teas baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teas salt
1 teas baking powder
1 teas cinnamon
1/2 teas cloves
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour miniature bundt pans. In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugar. Add egg and mix well.
In a small bowl, combine applesauce and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate small bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves. Add applesauce to butter mixture. Blend in sifted flour. Pour batter into prepared bundt pans, filling 2/3 full. If you don’t have miniature bundt pans, use cupcake pans, and fill to 1/2 full. Decrease your baking time to 15 to 18 min, or until center tests done.
Bake 25 to 35 min or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 min. Remove from pan and cool in wire rack. Cakes can be wrapped and frozen for 4 to 6 weeks. Right before serving, sprinkle powdered sugar over the tops. Serve with cinnamon ice cream or butter pecan and drizzle caramel sauce over cake and ice cream.

Breads · Daily Thoughts

Broccoli-Cauliflower Fritters

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1/2 lb fresh broccoli clorets
1/2 lb fresh cauliflower florets
2 cups boiling water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 teas salt
Vegetable oil
Cook florets in 2 cups boiling water in a medium saucepan until tender, about 10 to 12 min. (you can also cook these in microwave until tender)
Drain; then mash florets with a fork or potato masher in a large bowl. Stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients. Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 in into a large skillet; when oil is hot, drop broccoli mixture by spoonfuls into hot oil for 1 to 2 min on each side. Remove from oil to a wife rack on with a paper towel under the rack. Keep warm until ready to serve. These are delicious to serve with dips or soups and a great way to get the kids to eat more veggies without them knowing it. You could even use zucchini and carrots or any combination of vegetables. Just be sure they are not vegetables that have lots of water in them, such as spinach as you would need to adjust the amount of flour/egg in them.

appetizers

Chile Con Queso

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Oh boy, just what I need to do; find another dip that I cannot live without. I had remembered this dip from the 70’s when one of our distant relatives made it for us one night. I didn’t have his recipes, so thought I would try to recreate it as best I could remember. I served it Fri night to our kids who were visiting us from Austin and we all decided it was wonderful. Takes a little more time and effort than the traditional one you make with just velveeta and a can of diced tomato with green chiles, but it is so worth it.

6 oz of velvet cheese
5 oz of casero (quasi fresco-whole milk cheese, I used El Mexicano brand
1/2 large green bell pepper
1/2 large red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green chiles
1/2 cup milk
1 teas cumin
1 teas garlic powder
1/4 teas red pepper (ground)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tables oil
Heat oil in skillet and saute green and red pepper with onion until veggies are tender.
If needed, you can add about 2 tables water to this and continue cooking until the peppers and onion are tender. Add the cheese which you have cut up into cubes and the green chiles, seasonings and milk. Cook on top of stove until mixture is bubbling and completely mixed and cheese is melted. Fry your own flour tortilla and corn tortillas instead of buying them. When each batch is friend and crisp, sprinkle a little salt and garlic salt (not powder) over them while hot. Serve with dip.
(If you live neat a Kroger, they make their own tortillas and we buy the salsa flavored ones and fry them up as chips. Just cut the round tortillas up into 8ths and fry in oil until crisp).

Beef

Country Fried Steak with Creamy Salsa Gravy

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1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 (1.25 oz) packet chile seasoning mix
1 to 1 1/2 pounds cubed sirloin steaks
1/3 cup veggie oil
2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, 1 can drained and 1 can undrained
2/3 cup whipping cream
Whisk together milk and egg in a medium bowl. Stir together flour and chili seasoning packet in a shallow bowl. Dip steaks in egg mixture; dredge in flour mixture, shaking off any excess.
Fry steaks in hot oil over medium high heat in a large skillet (if you have a cast iron skillet, get it out of the closet for this, it is worth it) 4 to 6 min on each side or until golden brown. Drain on a wire rack in a jelly-roll pan. Keep steaks warm in a 220 degree oven.
Stir indrained and undrained tomatoes and green chiles, and cook 1 to 2 min; stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Whisk in cream. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. reduce heat and simmer 5 min. Serve with steaks.