Chocolate Cherry Bars

I made these for my book club the other night and everyone asked for the recipe. So I thought I'd share them here too.

Chocolate Cherry Bars

1 cup butter
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup flour, divided
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped maraschino cherries, drained

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Generously grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat; stir in cocoa until smooth. Remove from heat. Add sugar, 3 eggs, 1 1/2 cups flour and almonds; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together remaining 1 egg, remaining 1/3 cup flour; sweetened condensed milk and almond extract. Pour over baked layer; sprinkle chocolate chips and cherries over top. Return to oven.
4. Bake additional 20 to 25 minutes or until set and edges are golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate until cold, 6 hours or overnight. Cut into bars. Cover; refrigerate leftover bars.

Makes about 48 bars.

Chocolate-Lemon Truffle Fudge

I got this from Cooking Pleasures magazine and it is amazing. I modified it a little bit, but not much--I beg you to eat this.

1 1/3 C sugar
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream (fluff) (I make my own fluff--it is much cheaper and tastier than the storebought stuff. Just google homemade marshmallow fluff)
2/3 C evaporated milk
1/4 C butter
1/4 t salt
1/4 C lemon juice
12 oz bittersweet chocolate (the original recipe used semi-sweet)
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate (the original recipe used milk)
1 T lemon zest
(The original recipe used 1 t lemon extract, but I chose to omit this because I don't like the fakey taste)

Line 8" square pan with foil, folding excess over sides for handles
Combine sugar, fluff, milk, butter, salt in large saucepan over med heat until melted, stirring occassionally
Increase to med-high heat and add lemon juice. Bring to a fast boil; boil for 5 minutes or until temp reaches 212 degrees, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Stir in chocolate, until melted. Stir in zest. Pour into pan and refrigerate overnight or until firm

Butternut Squash Risotto

This is a new recipe I tried recently and really liked.

Butternut Squash Risotto
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: about 40 minutes

2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped butternut squash
3/4 cup arborio or short grain rice
32 oz chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add garlic and shallot; cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in squash and rice; cook and stir until rice grains are coated with butter. Slowly stir in broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, cooking over low heat and stirring until broth has been absorbed before adding more. When all of broth has been absorbed, stir in cheese and sage; cook for 1 minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Enchilada Soup

My grandmother only refers to any soup that tastes even slightly Mexican as "Sopa." You can do that, if you want, and feel all West-Jordan-Authentic.

This makes a ton--you can halve it if you want, but really, just freeze the leftovers and feel all righteous when people ask you to bring some lady dinner when she has sprained her spleen or something. It also tastes better each successive day.

½ c oil--I use olive
¼ c Chicken base (base is different than stock. It looks like a paste. I get mine from penzeys. I have also used Pork stock when I wanted to be faboo.) I suppose you could use stock or powder or granules, but you would have to fiddle with the consistency. I would do at least 1/2 the recommended water to make the stock thicker when you add it.
3 c Diced yellow onions--about 1 1/2 big onions
Cumin--at least 2 T, I just dump a bunch in because I loves me the cumin
Chili powder--same as above
Granulated garlic or garlic cloves all chopped up--same as above
Cayenne pepper--same as above.
***When I am feeling lazy I just pour in Penzey's pork taco seasoning and omit all of the other spices except for the Chili and Cumin. It works better, I think.**
2 c Masa harina--I use Harina Pan, which is finer. I would not use just plain corn meal, though.
4 qt Water (divided)
2 c Crushed tomatoes
½ lb Process American cheese; cut in small cube
3 lb chicken,
Cook and cube chicken.
In large pot, place oil, chicken base, onion and spices. Saute until onions are soft and clear, about 5 minutes In another container, combine masa harina with 1 quart water. Stir until all lumps dissolve. Add to sauteed onions, bring to boil. Once mixture starts to bubble, continue cooking 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. This will eliminate any raw taste from masa harina. Add remaining 3 quarts water to pot. Add tomatoes; let mixture return to boil stirring occasionally. Add cheese to soup. Cook stirring occasionally, until cheese melts. Add chicken; heat through. Makes 1 1/2 gallons or 16-20 servings.

Garlicky Tortellini, Spinach and Tomato Soup

Soup weather is here! This easy-to-prepare recipe is a favorite of ours. If you like garlic...this soup is for you!

Garlicky Tortellini, Spinach & Tomato Soup (Serves 2 to 3)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 to 8 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups (1 quart) homemade or low-salt chicken broth
6 oz. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini (I've used ravioli also)
14 oz. canned diced tomatoes, with their liquid
10 oz. spinach, washed and stemmed; coarsely chopped if large
8 to 10 leaves basil, coarsely chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese, preferably parmigiano reggiano

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook halfway, about 5 minutes for frozen pasta, less if using fresh. Add the tomatoes and their liquid, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook just until the pasta is tender. Stir in the spinach and basil and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with the grated cheese. Easy!

More Fall tastes...

Here is a recipe I make every Fall after we go to Apple Hill. It is easy to make and so delicious all through the Fall!

All Day Apple Butter

5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix well.
Cover and cook on high 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Use an immersion blender to make it extra smooth after it's done cooking.

Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate or freeze.

What fall should taste like

Pumpkin-Apple-Spice Bread

For topping:
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
5 Tbs sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
A shake of Pumpkin pie or apple pie sasoning
1 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
For bread:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt2 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon---*
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg---*
1/4 tsp ground cloves---*
1/4 tsp ground allspice---*
(--*OR 3 t of pumpkin pie or apple pie seasoning)
1 (15-oz) can solid-pack pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie in a can)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (2 cups) OR whatever apples you have OR take two cups of the food storage dried apples and soak them for 5 minutes or so and add them in
MAKE THE TOPPING: Blend together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.
MAKE THE BREAD: Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 9 X 5 inch loaf pans.
Combine all ingredients, fold in apples at last
Divide batter between buttered loaf pans. Sprinkle half of topping evenly over each loaf.
Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of bread comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.
Cool loves in pans on a rack for 45 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, about 1 hour. Or eat right away and burn your tongue. Whichever.

Rasberry Cream Cupcakes

This is what we had to celebrate Kalea's 2nd Birthday... the cupcakes are fluffy and light. I love that it uses fresh rasberries and strawberries (I used both...)

Raspberry Cream Cupcakes Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 18 cupcakes

1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix (recommended: Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)
1 1/3 cups water
3 large eggs whites
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (6-ounce) containers fresh raspberries, cut in half or 1 (16-ounce) container fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting

Line 18 muffin cups with muffin papers. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, water, egg whites, melted butter, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a large bowl for 2 minutes, or until the batter is well blended. Using about 1/3 cup of batter for each cupcake, spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake the cupcakes until they are very pale golden on top, about 15 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely on a cooling rack.

Using a fork, coarsely mash 1 1/2 containers of raspberries in a medium bowl. Beat the cream and 1/3 cup of powdered sugar in a large bowl until firm peaks form. Fold the mashed raspberries into the whipped cream.

Remove the muffin papers from the cupcakes and cut the tops off of each cupcake. Spoon the raspberry whipped cream atop the cupcake bottoms. Place the cupcake tops on the cupcakes. Dust with more powdered sugar and serve with the remaining berries.

Episode#: EI1F06
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Beef and Veggies

I recently got a mailer about a company that was delivering organic fruits and veggies to homes. So I signed up for this month. My first delivery came with 3 bananas, 10 Gravenstein apples, salad greens, a baby pineapple, a mango, 10 little potatoes, green onions, swiss chard, a tomato, red grapes and a spaghetti squash.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the swiss chard...but I went online to figure out what to do with the spaghetti squash and found a great recipe on allrecipes.com (click on the title to go to it - I added mushrooms)- and... there's something fun about discovering why a squash is called a spaghetti squash... this is what it looks like when you shred the pulp after it's been baked.



And this... is what we had for dinner tonight... delish.


...any ideas on swiss chard???

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

I got this recipe in 2004 from the San Jose Mercury News. They said this is the same recipe used at the famous Serendipity 3 (http://www.serendipity3.co/food.htm) cafe in New York. But if you go there, a glass of this costs $8.5o...you can make it for much less!

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

3 ounces of your favorite chocolate

2 teaspoons store-bought hot chocolate mix (good quality)

1½ tablespoons sugar

1½ cups milk

3 cups ice cubes

Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Chocolate shavings

Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in top of double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Add chocolate mix and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup milk, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature. In blender, place the remaining 1 cup milk, room-temperature chocolate mixture and ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy with a spoon or a straw.

I see your cookies, Jill of all trades, and I raise you these.

Number of Trader Joe's Cocoa Joe Joe's I can eat in a day: 7
Number of these I can eat in a day: 300

8 T (one stick) butter at room temp
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 firm brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 C flour ***I use pastry flour and it makes a HUGE difference. They stay oven soft for days longer. Regular flour will be just fine, too, and you won't notice it unless you try the pastry flour and then you will smack your head and say "She was right!"***
2 rounded (really rounded, I say) t cinnamon. (you can also add 1/4 t of cocoa if you want, to make it spicier.)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 c oats
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c chocolate chips

Preheat 325
Cream butter, sugar, egg until light and fluffy
Add vanilla
Add dry ingredients, except for oats and crans and chips. Stir until just combined, then add the rest. blend well.
Drop by roundend spoons onto your baking sheet and bake for 20-22 minutes. They will crisp up a little after they come out of the oven, so make sure that they are still soft a little.

I got this from the Hay Day Country Mkt Cookbook, but tweaked it to my liking.

Pig Picking Cake

The title comes from the south. Something about BBQ, I think. Yes, the name is grody, but the cake is amazing, perfect for the summer. Trust me.


INGREDIENTS:
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 - 8 inch pans.
2. Prepare cake mix according to package directions with the addition of mandarin oranges and nuts. Pour into 3 - 8 inch pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
3. To make the filling: In a large bowl, combine crushed pineapple with juice and pudding mix. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread between cooled cake layers. Chill in refrigerator

Or, if you don't feel like doing a layer cake, just put the thing in a 9x13 and put the filling on top for frosting. Not as pretty, but much simpler in the heat.

2 EASY Summer Recipes to help beat the heat!

Hey everyone! Been keeping meals simple and cool for the summer. Here are two easy faves we've been enjoying. Both very adaptable to what you have on hand.

Romaine Caeser Wraps
(Courtesy of the the Tanimura & Antle bag at Costco!) ;-)

• 2 heads of romaine hearts
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken (approx. two 8oz boneless chicken breasts-- but canned chicken is so worth it for summer-- who wants to spend time cooking in a hot kitchen??!)
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (mmm Parmesan! Actually, I substituted mozzerella once and we fell in love with it so we use that a lot instead)
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup creamy Caesar dressing (I usually use Ranch just cuz we have it on hand.. of course, then you can't call it a "Caeser Wrap")
• 8 9-ince flour tortillas, plain or flavored
• Anything else you have on hand that sounds good and doesn't require cooking! Last night we had avocado in ours-- thanks Tia for the avococado tool-- freakin' amazing!!!!!! ;-)

1. Chop Romain hearts into bite-size pieces: place in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except tortillas, and toss well to coat.
2. Soften tortillas in microwave oven (about 20 seconds on high)
3. To make wraps, place tortillas on plates and spoon Casear salad along center. Drizzle with additional dressing if desired. Roll tortilla from one side, burrito style, folding bottome up and in to hold in salad. Repeat for remaining tortillas. Makes 4-6 servings.
4. Eat 'em up while they're nice and crunchy!
   

If you want to turn some delicious summer fruit into something a little more special:

Lime-Ginger Honeydew

• 1 lime
• 1 tsp finely grated, peeled fresh ginger
• 1 large honeydew melon, cut in chunks (approx 10 cups)
• 1/3 cup Sugar & 3 Tbsp water

1. Bring 1/3 cup sugar and 3 Tbsp water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; stir to dissolve sugar. Refrigerate 5 minutes to cool.
2. Grate zest and juice lim. Stir 2 tsp zest, 1 Tbsp lime juice and the ginger into the sugar syrup. Pour over melon chunks and stir gently with a rubber spatula to mix and coat.
3. INDULGE! =)

I rarely have everything on hand for this (fresh ginger and limes). For a cheater version of this I will just blend up some honey, bottled lime juice and powdered ginger, then toss in the honeydew and coat. A bit different, but very tasty. I love honey on fruit! The lime zest really does add a nice dimension if you're choosing between buying lime or fresh ginger.

Sort-of Cafe Rio Steak Salad

Dying for the Cafe Rio, I adapted a recipe from ~j for the dressing. (Because I am lazy and do not want to measure.)

So, take a good cut of steak--strip or skirt or whatever, but not very fatty. Cut it into strips. Put a round of Olive Oil in a skillet, and put the strips in. Sprinkle about 3 T cumin and a package of Sazon on top. Fry over medium heat intil done as you like. (We likes the rare, so we cooks for about 4 minutes.)

In a blender mix:
1 block of cream cheese (we used the fat free ghetto kind)
2 T sour cream
7 oz (the little can with the pop top) of tomatillo salsa. You can get this in the salsa section--don't need to be fancy, just get the one that costs 67 cents.
1 pkt of Sazon
as much cilantro as you want

Add water if you want it watery-er. Add spices if you want it spicier.

Get your lazy bag of salad, throw it in a bowl, add some black beans and some choppy vegies if you have them, the steak, and the sauce.

15 minutes max.

Dill Vinaigrette

Here's a great dressing with just a hint of sweetness (due to the honey). Perfect for your next green salad. Enjoy!

Dill Vinaigrette

¼ cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

2 tablespoons honey

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dill weed

½ tsp dried parsley flakes

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp celery seed

Salad greens and vegetables of your choice

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the first ten ingredients; shake well. Serve with salad. Refrigerate leftovers; shake well before serving. Yield: 1 cup.