White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

I know I posted this fudge in October http://animalsfaithmiddleearth.blogspot.com/2016/10/five-minute-fudge.html  but I had to post it again.  This time I made it with white chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.  Even better than the pumpkin!  So good Mel & I love it so much I will make it again and again and...

Apple Danish

I decided to make apple Danish for our pre-Thanksgiving feast (we had a 2nd meal on the actual date at the American Legion).  I've been making this for about 30 years! I added maple syrup to the butter I poured over the apples for the first time. It is very good, easily a 10!  Sorry this is so brief, I'm in a hurry. 

Garbanzo Bean, Marshmallow, & Butterfinger Cookies - Really!

I did not get a pic of the ingredients b/c they were going to be basic oatmeal, pumpkin cookies w/ Butterfinger baking bits in them.  But when I opened the can of pumpkin, it was full of rust.  I already had the butter, sugar, and dry ingredients mixed, so I had to think of something that was moist.  I had very little options, so I took a gamble and cooked and mashed garbanzo beans and added a handful of marshmallows.  Believe it or not, these are really good, easily a 9 or 9 1/2!  I don't think I would do that again, but it was a good alternative! 

Pumpkin Praline Bars

I got this recipe off the back of a box of pumpkin cookie mix (in first photo).  It is very easy to make and not a lot of ingredients.  This is so super good and better than just plain pecan pie.  A new favorite of ours, a huge 10; I will make this again!

Five Minute Fudge

You can tell by the cover of the cookbook that it's an old one. My Aunt Paula gave it to me in the early 1980's.  This is the first time I have used this particular fudge recipe.  It is by far, the best tasting as well as the easiest fudge I have ever made!  Since these recipes were submitted by local people in Accord, NY (where my aunt lives), the cookbook is not flawless.  This recipe mentions sugar in the directions, but fails to put it in the ingredient list.  My guess on how much worked just fine.  Anyway, the recipe calls for chocolate chips, but they have pumpkin spice chips this time of year, and I had to try it!  (I also bought butterscotch chips for later!)  As I just wrote, this is the best fudge Mel and I have ever had!  If you walked into a place that sold fudge, it would easily be a minimum of $7 a pound, but I made this for about $6, and it's at least a pound (I think).

I don't usually take the time to post the recipes, but this is so amazing, I want you all to try it (with any flavor baking chip). 

Five Minute Fudge (submitted by Pat Atkins)

1 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Evaporated Milk
1 1/2 Cup Mini Marshmallows
1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts
1 1/2 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (or any flavor)
1 tsp Vanilla (or any flavor)

Combine milk with sugar in a large saucepan.  Heat to boiling.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add remaining ingredients.  Stir until marshmallows are melted.  Remove from heat.  Pour into 8 or 9 inch square (or round) pan.

Julie's Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, and Sweet Potatoes & Tex-Mex Meatloaf

I made these items a few days ago.  I didn't take a picture of the ingredients because I didn't think I was going to put them on my blog.  But the dish looked too good not to share!  The roasted veggies were: Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potato puffs, onion, seat salt, & dill.  The meat loaf was: hamburger, onion, egg, bread crumbs, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, and smoked paprika,  sea salt.  The basting on the top of the loaf was a mixture of ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire, and then topped w/ a fried egg.  I gave the veggies a 10, but Mel is not a huge fan of any of these sprouts of cauliflower, but he said for vegetables, they were "not bad"!  Mel have the meatloaf a huge 10 and said it was the best he ever had.  I gave it a 8 1/2 only because I'm not too crazy about cumin or chili powder (I seasoned it the way I did mostly to suit Mel's taste anyway).  Overall, this diner was a yummy success for our individual tastes!  

Peanut Butter Cracker Truffles

 

I got the above "Food Network Magazine" as a free example a few days ago.  All the recipes look extremely yummy.  Unfortunately, I only had the ingredients for one recipe.  There was a middle section of a smaller cookbook with "50 Late Night Snacks."  There are some  amazing recipes I can't wait to try (Just look at those yummy looking photos in the 2nd picture!)  such as fried meatloaf bites and bacon nachos.  These peanut butter balls were in that section.  I was missing the "truffle" ingredient of chocolate sprinkles (I don't have any sprinkles of any kind) to roll them in.  I followed the recipe exactly, but it was way too crumbly and would not form into a solid ball.  I added vanilla extract through the portal in the food processor until it became useable.  They are pretty good; Mel and I each give them a 7 1/2 - 8 as they could be much better. They were only 4 I ingredients (counting the vanilla) and super easy to make.  Therefore, I will make them again.  However, I would make one big change, I would dip them in either melted white chocolate or (as Mel suggested) melted butterscotch chips - or maybe both.  If I do, I'll blog about the improved version. 

Sticky Lemon Chicken

I made this Gordon Ramsay recipe for Mel's birthday on Thursday.  It was a gamble for me because, believe it or not, I have never cooked raw chicken before.  However, I knew that Chef Ramsay's recipes are easy to follow and always delicious!  The picture looks gross, but this was the best chicken either one of us ever had - very easily a huge 10!  I served it with a side of mashed potatoes and white sausage gravy.  Honestly, this was a huge pain to make because the olive oil (and other ingredients) splattered all over the place and made a greasy mess to clean up, and as it cooks, it turns into a sticky mess that was very difficult to clean out of a cheap frying pan (I'm sure if  I had a nice, expensive one, it would have been better).  Because it was so good I made it again on Friday with a side of brown rice (I had to substitute lemon juice for real lemons as I only had one - but this made the flavor stronger), but I do not think I will ever make it again because of the messiness.  I substituted soy sauce for Worcestershire sauce, and the spices listed for a pre-packaged blend of McCormick spices for basil chicken.  I used red wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar and I only had a little bit of honey to use.  Anyway, Mel's birthday dinner was a success!     

Menu Board

It's been a while since I've created a menu board.  Mostly pretty basic stuff.  The pork roast we had yesterday and today was super yummy though.  I made it with a balsamic vinegar, olive oil, peppercorn, garlic, and onion baste.  Yum!!  We both thought it was the best roast we have ever had. 

I'm really looking forward to trying to "Sticky Lemon Chicken" at the top of the menu board.  I'm making it this Thursday for Mel's special birthday dinner.  It's a Gordon Ramsay recipe, and I can't wait to try it!

Julie's Chicken, Bratwurst, & Blue Cheese Lasagna

This dish was inspired by a Blue Cheese Hamburger I had on Tuesday at  "The Pancake House" in McCall.  It was such a good burger - just a burger, Swiss cheese, blue cheese, and a tomato - that I got to thinking what that would be like in a lasagna.  I was originally going to use feta cheese, but it was $2 more expensive, so I went with the original cheese that inspired this idea.

This was alfredo sauce, noodles, diced chicken, bratwurst, green bell peppers, onion, diced tomatoes (veggies sautéed in olive oil and blood orange balsamic vinegar, oh, and minced garlic), ricotta cheese, an egg, Italian cheese blend, and the blue cheese. (sea salt and Italian pepper grinder too)

This was very good, but we both gave it a 9 instead of a 10.  Maybe next time I'll try it with ground hamburger since that burger was a huge 10.  Anyway, overall, it was excellent, and a good experiment!