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!

Julie's Baked Bean, Onion Ring, & Fried Egg Burger

Yesterday I said to Mel, "I know this sounds crazy, but what would you think of a burger with homemade onion rings, baked beans, and a fried egg?"  He said, "Sounds good to me."  So today I made this for our lunch.

I have never made onion rings before, but they were easy enough.  Just egg (dipped there first) and bread crumbs mixed with smoked paprika (bath #2).  Then I fried them in olive oil, red wine vinegar, and butter (because I didn't have enough oil left).  Mel says these were the best onion rings he has ever had.  They could have been a little more tender, but, yes, they were yummy!

I cooked the burgers in the oven (store bought, not made myself this time) because they were so thick and I was afraid I would burn them or not cook them enough if pan-fried (unfortunately, no BBQ grill).  They were perfect!  So, it went bread (not even needed), mustard, mayo, ketchup, burger, baked beans, onion ring, and fried egg (Mel topped his with hot sauce, of course).  Yummmmmm!  We both think this is one of the best burgers we have ever had.  Mel gave it a 12, and I give it a 10!  I will be making these again tomorrow (no bread though).

Yesterday's tuna was obviously much healthier, but this was better!!

Julie's Lemon-Dill Crusted Tuna & Orange-Vanilla-Peach Water

Two months ago, I cooked salmon for the first time: http://animalsfaithmiddleearth.blogspot.com/2016/03/julies-super-simple-salmon.html .  Today was the first time I have ever cooked tuna not from a can!  I just made up a recipe off the top of my head an hoped it worked!  I put 3 eggs, juice from 1 lemon, and blood orange balsamic vinegar in one bowl and dipped tuna first in there.  In the next bowl were the bread crumbs, salt, lemon pepper grinder, zest from 1 lemon, dill, and dried onion.  They fish swam there next.  Wrapped it in foil and baked (I never used the olive oil in the picture).  Plated on the multi-grain medley minute rice (best rice ever).  I'm not a huge seafood fan, but I loved this - ) give it a 9!  Mel gave it a huge 10!  Mel added salsa to his, and I added cheese to mine.

I recently read that both lemons and fish are good for asthma, so I think I'll be making this more often.

Boring water again - sorry!  This one was peach, lemon, oranges, and vanilla extract - my creation. Just as good as the mint-lemon-strawberry.

Fast & Easy Breakfast Cups

This was our lunch today (even though it says "breakfast" in the title - ha ha).  This is another huge 10 that is going to become another favorite made often.

I got this recipe from an Albertson's flyer.  It is not "fast" as the title suggests because cooking hash browns is time consuming, but it is easy and it is also very yummy!

I didn't change much.  I sautéed my onions in butter, olive oil, and blood orange balsamic vinegar (yum!!!) and then added the hash browns to them and cooked them all together.  The recipe just called to put the onions in without sautéing first.  Also, instead of just salt and pepper, I used sea salt, garlic pepper grinder, and sage.  I think I followed the rest of the recipe the same expect that I didn't measure the onion (just used it all) or hash browns (used them all too). 

Mel topped his with Taco Bell hot sauce and I topped mine with sour cream.  I will be making these again!!

Layered Chicken Enchiladas

I made this for our lunch today.  Yum yum yum!!!   I can't remember where I even got this recipe, but I think it was off a bag of breaded chicken strips - I can't remember which brand.  That's about the only thing I changed about this recipe: it called for breaded chicken strips, but we both thought grilled chicken strips would be much better.  I also used corn tortillas, instead of flour.   Instead of using a large pan, I used to pie plates so I could make Mel's and mine a little different.  We both had the tortillas, grilled chicken, black beans, diced green chilies, and cheese.  The only difference was that Mel's salsa was a medium and mine was mild and mine had sour cream.  I usually don't plug grocery stores, but they have recently opened an Albertson's in our county and they sell this amazing salsa brand called "Signature Select."  They are a great price and have a large variety of flavors - they are truly the best salsas we have ever had. 

Anyway...  we both give this dish a gigantic 10!!  It is layered like the Mexican Lasagna I have made in the past http://animalsfaithmiddleearth.blogspot.com/2013/02/mels-favorite-foods-mexican-lasagna.html  but so much better!!  We have found a new favorite that will be made often! 

Fruity Marshmallow Treats & Lemon, Strawberry, Mint Water

Instead of Rice Krispie treats, I decided to try these.  I used a generic version of Fruity Pebbles, the mini fruity marshmallows, and butter and vanilla and just followed a typical krispie treat recipe.  I know this seems boring to blog about, but they are so good!  Mel says they are the best marshmallow treats he has ever had!  They are very sweet so that makes it easy to eat them in moderation!

When I worked in dispatch (back in 1999-2001), I used to make rice krispie treats a lot for those of us on night shift.  I used to experiment with the normal recipe by adding things like chopped up: cinnamon bears (everyone's favorite by a mile), caramel squares, gum drops, and even dried fruit.  There is a lot of creative things to do with these including adding peanut butter, and any flavor chip (butterscotch is the best).  So as good as these are, I have had flavors I liked better - probably the cinnamon bear was my favorite as well.

This seems just as boring, but is also so good I have to share it.  This is (so far) the best fruit water I have ever made.  It's supposed to have fresh mint, but they didn't have any at the store and also no mint in the baking aisle (weird!), so I decided to take a chance and try real mint extract.  Yummmmmm!!  This is so good and refreshing - Mel and I can't seem to drink enough of it.  It's 2 large lemons and 1 package of strawberries and about 1/2 - 1 teaspoon mint extract (I didn't measure). 

I am on another fruit water kick, so I'm sure I'll be sharing more ideas soon.

P.S.  Water & treats both get big 10s from Mel and me!

Julie's Sausage-Stuffed Shells

Has it really been a month since I last posted?  Wow! 

I made this today for our lunch.  Super easy, and pretty good, but not great.  The flavors were all good, but I chose the wrong kind of sausage for this dish.  Mel gave this a 9, but I gave it an 8.  Here is what would have made it a 10:  As I said, using a different kind of sausage such as ground instead if links.  The brand is a very yummy brand, but the texture is more like a hotdog, and I'm sure you can see that is the wrong texture for stuffed shells.  I was originally going to use chicken, which also would have been better, but the sausage was a lot cheaper.  I was going to use spinach, but changed my mind at the last minute - that also would have been good.  Also, finely chopped onion and green pepper in either the sauce or the shells would have been yummy too.  Overall, they were not bad, but could use some improvement.  Next time I make these, I'll do better!! 

Julie's Cheesy Hash Brown & Gravy Casserole

Tonight I made one of those dishes that was a spur-of-the-moment-off-the-top-of-my-head dish.  (Not pictured is a pound of hamburger.)  I was just going to make spaghetti w/ hamburger and bacon (crumbled in like Mel loves), but I saw the yummy hash brown rounds thawing in the fridge.  I was originally just going to cook them this weekend as a side dish.  I asked Mel if spaghetti sounded better, or a hash brown casserole with gravy.  Guess which one he chose!!  I layered it with hash browns on the bottom, then hamburger (cooked in the spices you see), then 2 kinds of cheese, then country gravy.  I then repeated and added a little more of the dehydrated onion.  The 2nd layer had peppered gravy since there was not enough country gravy for the whole pan.  Anyway, we both loved it, Mel gave it a 12 out of 10, and I give it a 9!  Mel added Sriracha to his & I added salsa to mine.  I still have some potatoes left and Mel wants me to make this again in a few days (Tomorrow I'm making a roast - basic stuff, I won't blog about it. But do your hubby a favor, don't add carrots to a crock pot roast, instead use potatoes and onions.  Unless he likes mushy carrots, I am sure he'll love it this way much better! )