Monday, July 30, 2007

Snickers Pie

1 stick butter, cut up
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
13 fun-size Snickers
garnish: additional cut up Snickers and chopped peanuts

Spray a 9 inch glass pie plate with nonstick spray.

Melt butter and brown sugar in large saucepan over medium heat until it starts to bubble. Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes.

Into mixture, stir in 1 egg and the vanilla until blended. Stir in flour and baking powder until smooth.

Put 3/4 cup of mixture into prepared pie plate. Don't try to spread it now. Freeze for 10 minutes or until firm.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Stir melted chips, the remaining egg, and the cocoa powder into the remaining batter.

Take pie plate from freezer and press chilled batter evenly over bottom and halfway up sides of pie plate. Top with the 13 whole Snickers. Pour chocolate batter evenly over the top.

Bake for 24 to 27 minutes. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips in middle. Let stand 5 minutes until chips become soft, then spread to near the blond crust. Top with garnishes.

Let cool before cutting.

Berry Freeze

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups mini marshmallows
16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
few drops of red food coloring, if desired
8 oz. tub Cool Whip, thawed

In large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. Stir in marshmallows, cranberry sauce, pineapple, nuts, and food coloring. Fold in Cool Whip.

Spoon into a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Freeze until firm (4 hours or overnight). Cut into squares and serve.

Sweet Potato Bread

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold mashed sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp. milk
1/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg; mix well.

In separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Add to creamed mixture just until blended. (Batter will be thick.)

Combine sweet potatoes and milk. Stir into batter until blended. Fold in raisins.

Spoon into 2 greased 5 3/4 in. x 3 in. x 2 in. loaf pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Tropical Fruit Salad

15 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup mini marshmallows
20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp. brown sugar

In bowl, combine the oranges, coconut, marshmallows, pineapple, and sour cream. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, sprinkle with walnuts and brown sugar.

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat over to 400 degrees.

Combine oatmeal, brown sugar, buttermilk, egg, and oil.

In separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add to wet mixture and mix lightly.

Mash banana. Stir into mixture.

Fill greased muffin tins. Bake 25 minutes.

Makes 12.

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins (a.k.a. Blueberry Hat Muffins)

Muffin batter:
1/3 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup fresh blueberries

Topping:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.

In separate bowl, combine four and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk and sour cream. Fold in blueberries. Spoon into greased muffin tins.

Make topping: Mix brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until topping resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle on muffins.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

Makes approximately 12-14.

Italian Skillet Dinner

16 oz. box rotini
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes
6 oz. can tomato paste
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta.

Meanwhile, in large skillet or Dutch oven, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomatoes, including juice, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove all but approximately 1/2 cup of sauce to a bowl.

Drain pasta. Place half over the sauce in the pan. Layer with half of the reserved sauce and 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat with remaining pasta, sauce, and cheese. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Orange Freezies

6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 tsp. vanilla
20 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in blender.

(Original recipe called for twice as much sugar, but I think they're delicious this way. In fact, I may try skipping the sugar entirely next time. Worth a try.)

Friday, July 20, 2007