Tag: Snacks

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Chile Cheese Fries Casserole

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Maybe because it is cold outside, and maybe because Randy and I went to Snuffers a couple of weeks ago to pig out on their amazing fries that have melted cheddar all over them with bacon bits and green onion with Ranch Dressing to dip them in (as if they needed extra flavor?), this recipe caught my eye when I was going through a pile of magazines last night. But, At Mr. Please Get Rid of Some of The Magazines So We Don’t Have to Move Them, suggestion, I decided to go through them and cut out the recipes I wanted to keep and throw the rest away. That is so hard to do. I keep thinking, “what if my taste change and in 5 years, the recipe I’m throwing away today, might actually sound good to me and then I don’t have it anymore”. But I guess that is why Google was invented. Anyway, back to this recipe, it sounded like a dish that would be so fun to eat on a Friday night when you are sitting having dinner in the Living Room watching a movie. So here it is…see what you think. It is taken from Cooking with Paula Deen. Please do not tell her I threw out some of her magazines. I would hate to ruin my chances of one day meeting her and telling her that she is the best cook EVER!

1 lb ground chuck

2 (15.5 oz) cans chile beans

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chiles (mild or regular)

1 tables Worcestershire sauce

1 (2 lb) bag of crinkle-cut frozen fries

4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Garnish: diced green onion, pickled sliced jalapeños, and my suggestion, green onion and Ranch Dressing

In a large Dutch oven, cook the beef over medium heat until browned and crumbly. Drain well. Stir in the beans, tomatoes and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 450. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with for. Spray foil with Pam. Spread the frozen fries onto prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Reduce oven to 400. Reserve 2 cups of the fries, but place the remaining fries in the bottom of a greased 13×9″ baking dish. Sprinkle 2 cups of the cheese over fries. Using a slotted spoon, spoon chile mixture over cheese. Now spread the rest of the fries over this and use remaining cheese to sprinkle over the fries.

Bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let stand for about 5-10 minutes and garnish as desired.

Chocolate · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Uncategorized

Mrs. Fondren’s Brownies

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Back in the 70’s I use to attend a church which had a great music program. There were 4 men who sang in a quartet which would have given the Blackwood Brothers some serious competition. For those of you who did not grow up with Gospel music, this was a serious type of music that made you feel like dancing in the pews, but also that you were almost at Heaven’s Door. One of the men in the quartet at church was named Herb Fondran. (Yes, I’m getting to the point) and his wife was famous for her brownies which were requested at every gathering at the church. I don’t remember ever going to a fellowship or event hosted for the youth at their house that these brownies were not the main attraction. There is no way to count how many times I have made these through the years. They are a very simple brownie that just has the best chocolate flavor. Because I’m sure I don’t get enough sugar during the day from my M&M’s and pieces of cake or pie which is eaten every time I walk through the kitchen, I always sprinkle sugar on top of these brownies, just in case, I’m short on my sugar quota for the day.  I just found a few left over ones in the freezer from a couple of months ago that I thought I would freeze and use to make ice cream sandwiches, but Randy and I have eaten most of them while unloading groceries. I’m so thankful I bought a new 10 lb sack of sugar when we were at the store, now I can make more. Last night a friend texted me to ask if I would bake her 2 dz brownies for her tomorrow so guess I’ll have to bake a double batch.  After all, what would we do if there were none for us to snack on while watching Kevin Can Wait? IF you have not watched that sit com yet on Monday nights, do yourself a favor. It feels so good to sit and laugh for 30 minutes instead of hiding your eyes trying to watch CSI. Seriously! These brownies freeze very well.  I wrap them in Press and Seal and then put them in a baggie to freeze.

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

2 teas vanilla

4 eggs

8 Tablespoons cocoa

1 cup flour

1 cup nuts, chopped (if desired)

About 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to sprinkle over the top. OR if you prefer, dust with powdered sugar.

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs, add cocoa. Stir in flour and nuts. Pour into a 9″ square pan or a 9×13 if you like them a little thinner. Bake in preheated 325 oven until they are still a little fudge. They will finish baking as they cool. You don’t want to bake them until they are completely done, as they will be a little dry. As soon as you take them out of the oven, sprinkle a little granulated sugar over the top.

 

appetizers · Breads · Desserts · Fruit · Holiday Fare · Uncategorized

Caramel Apple Grapes

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img_2946This is another recipe which we got in the class last Thursday, when we leavned about the Monster Cookies. These are so perfect to have on a platter, which can be picked up and pop in your mouth (with toothpicks). Great little party food. We had them in class and they were delicious.

Ingredients

As many seedless green grapes as you need, washed and dried

toothpicks

1 cup caramel bits

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 cup salted peanuts or pecans, crushed very fine

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine the caramel bits with the heavy cream. Stir until melted. Keep warm on lowest setting, till you have the grapes ready to begin dipping.

Dip the grapes into the caramel sauce and then into the crushed nuts. Place on a sheet of waxed paper to set.

That’s it! Pop those babies in your mouth and enjoy!

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Little Debbie Intervention

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OK, I admit, I am now addicted to Little Debbie Snowballs, Peanut Butter Creams, Gingerbread Cookies & last, because I just haven’t had the chance to try any of the others, the Oatmeal Cream Sandwiches Cookies. Honestly, you would think that any lady who always keeps a minimum of 6 lbs of butter in the fridge just in case she wakes up with a goal to bake  chocolate chip cookies before 8 a.m., would have a little higher standards than to pop open a box of cellophane wrapped baked goods that have enough preservatives in them to keep them fresh for 3 months. But no, I am totally addicted to the Peanut Butter Creams and the Gingerbread cookies. Since the gingerbread cookies aren’t available again until next Christmas I am resorting to making my own. Two days ago, I woke up determined to bake some gingerbread cookies to have with my morning Dr Pepper. When I went to the fridge to take out butter to allow it to soften to room temperature, I just stood there in totally disbelief. There was no butter in the house. I ran to the fridge in the garage, thinking that surely I just had not brought in another lb of the butter I had just bough at Costco. After all, could I have really gone through 8 lbs of butter in the last month? But as I opened the garage, my heart sank. It too, was void of any cholesterol laden butter that flows through our veins.

When Randy woke up that same morning and walked through the kitchen, with his hand held out for his morning cup of melted butter (just to be sure he gets his daily quota), I had to tell him that he was just going to have to get dressed and head to the store because our home was in a state of crisis. No butter anywhere to be found. It is now clear to me how coffee drinkers feel when they wake up and discover that there is no coffee in the house. Just to calm our nerves we both went to the pantry and grabbed the first box of Little Debbie cookies we could get our hands on.

Randy just informed me that since we now have butter in the house, I have to go back to cooking dinner as he is finally getting tired of having Snowballs for dinner. So if the dinner I cook tonight turns out half as good as a LD, I will post my recipe for it tomorrow, in between bites of Peanut Butter Creams!

Little Debbie cookies are the best that can be found, our pantry is loaded with them from the ceiling to the ground.

The variety is amazing and the cream filled are so grand, it seems that every few hours, we have one in our hand.

So grab a box and get your coffee brewing, you’ll be addicted before you know what your doing! So start your day with a cream filled delight, but be oh so careful to save some for watching tv at night.

I’m a writer, not a poet!