Malibu Chicken

This recipe isn't an original as it turns out, although I didn't know that until just recently.   For some time now, I had been wanting a particular item that I remember my mother making.  As it turns out, this came from a restaurant we used to go to when I was younger.  Keller's not a huge fan of using frozen chicken patties, and that's ok, but I really wanted this chicken and ham and cheese concoction.  As it lucked out, I went to Indiana a couple weeks ago to help my folks move.  It was a perfect time to ask my mother if we could have some for dinner one night.  She was more than happy to fulfill my request.  Along with the  Malibu Chicken, she added some sweet potato tots and regular tater tots.  It was exactly what I wanted. 

Earlier this week I asked Keller if I could make some of the chicken one night for dinner and he agreed he'd give it a try.  This is an easy recipe.  You need three things-frozen chicken patties, lunchmeat ham (not a sweet variety-we used smoked ham), and Swiss cheese slices.   First, bake the chicken patties as directed.  A few minutes before the chicken patties are done, pull them out of the oven and add your ham slices and cheese.  Place them back in the oven for the last few minutes to finish baking the patties, heat the ham and melt the cheese.

If you'd like the mustard sauce, that's almost as easy-just mix equal parts of mayonnaise and yellow mustard together.  Since the sweet potato tots were so good, and Sam liked them as well, I thought I'd do those again, with the regular tater tots.  

Again, I know it's a simple dish, but sometimes the simple dishes are great for that night of the week when you don't want to do a lot of work.  

 

I've seen it also offered as a sandwich, Monte Cristo style.  Maybe that's an option since we still have a half bag of chicken patties...maybe....

Chex® Lemon Buddies

Chex® Lemon Buddies

Okay, this came straight from the Chex website, but I wanted something besides the normal "People Chow" and the already yummy White Chocolate Cherry Chex mix.  I like lemon bars and thought to myself this sounded good, so I gave it a shot.  Yum.  It was so good!  

I made this recipe for a bake sale at my work, along with the White Chocolate Cherry mix.  They both were a hit!

Ingredients

9	cups Rice Chex® cereal
1 1/4	cups white vanilla baking chips
1/4	cup butter or margarine
4	teaspoons grated lemon peel
2	tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2	cups powdered sugar

Directions

1.	Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2.	In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3.	Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.

Coming Soon...

• McBride Pecan Sandies
• Green Bean Casserole
• Goulash
• Brownies
• Pickle Wraps/Pickle Wrap Dip
• Keller's Cole Slaw

Macaroni Salad

This has been a staple in my husband's family for as long as I've known them.  I didn't think I'd like it at first, but now it's one of my summer favorites.  This recipe is an easy recipe and one not many of us can mess up, however better saved than forgotten somehow in time.

The vegetables are an approximation as they vary based on size and how many vegetables you like in your salad.  The Miracle Whip is also a range, depending on how "wet" you like your salad.

1 pound macaroni elbows 
1 large cucumber
2 large tomatoes
1 bunch of green onions
1-1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip
salt 
pepper

Boil the macaroni in salted water.  Boil about an extra minute longer than the directions to make it soft.  Soft, not mushy.  Drain and cool with running cold water.  Put to the side.

Peel the cucumber and cut into slices and then into chunks-or however you'd like them.  Some people might like diced, others bigger chunks.  Keller usually makes them about the size of a piece of macaroni. Cut the tomato into chunks, sized to your liking.  Rinse and clean about 2-4 stems of green onions and slice thinly.  Your preference will determine how much you will want to use.  

Put the macaroni into a large bowl along wiht the vegetables.  Start adding the Miracle Whip to the vegetables and macaroni, mixing as you go.  Continue adding Miracle Whip until you have a consistancy you want.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate for a while to marry all the flavors.  Frequently, we will make it a couple hours ahead of time, but my husband's Aunt Sue makes it the night before.  This is a dish that gets better the second day.  If it's been treated well (not left unchilled too long) it can even be good a 3rd day possibly.

Great potluck dish if you can keep it cold and not get warm.

 

Mike's Rudolph's Noses

So my father-in-law's family is spread literally from coast to coast of this nation.  I try to keep his mom in the loop and I let her know about our blog and one I created for Samantha's drawings and creations.  Turns out she was having difficulties getting onto the sites.  Enter Uncle Mike, John's older brother.  Mike was helping Grandma get online and asked if I was taking an guest recipe submissions, to which I of course said, "Why not!?"  And so here we are ladies and gentlemen, Mike's Rudolph Noses, with his own notations and directions. 

Rudolph's Noses
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Ingredients (this recipe makes 45 noses)
45 mini philo shells (3 boxes)
seedless raspberry jam (1 lb with some in reserve if you have a heavy hand)
chocolate chips 2x12 oz bags
1 fresh raspberry per nose
2 oz (or so) whipping cream
2 oz raspberry liqueur (optional for adults, not recommended for children and grandfathers)

Notes: I use Athens brand mini fillo shells because they are available locally.  There are 15 shells/box. Use any brand you can find.  Use good quality seedless raspberry jam but a top line jam isn't necessary.
Same with chocolate chip quality.  I use the Costco house brand.  You can use any type of milk.  The more butter fat, the smoother the result is.  But you MUST use some type of milk.

You may have to experiment with the chocolate chip/cream/liqueur combination to get a good result.  You want a soft set.  To runny and its messy.  Too hard and they are a pain to eat.

Melt the jam in a pan over low heat.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or equivalent), mixing in the liquid ingredients.
Following instructions on the box, put the shells in the oven for 4 or 5 minutes to crisp up.

Let the shells cool a bit after taking them out of the over.
Fill each shell about half full with the melted jam.
Fill each shell the rest of the way with chocolate.
Top each filled shell with 1 raspberry, open end down.

Let cool and enjoy.

This is my own recipe and has always been very well received.

White Chocolate Cherry Chex Mix

The recipe for this is one that sort of got piggy-backed if you will.  That's where you find something and tweek it a little to make it right for you.

I was looking for a sweet Chex Mix for the holidays to take to a party one year and I went to the Chex website and found a few options.  The original called for sesame seeds,dried cherries, equal parts of Rice and Honey Nut Chex, and no white chocolate chips.  I hate using only a partial box of two separate boxes of cereals and dried cherries were terribly expensive, so I used majority of the Honey Nut Chex so the box was emptied and the remainder the Rice Chex.  Also, we don't have sesame seeds around here, so I threw in some white chocolate chips since they seemed to go well with cherries.

A nice bonus to this recipe is that it is Gluten Free-make sure to check the ingredients you purchase!

 White Chocolate Cherry Chex Mix

 Ingredients:
6 cups Honey Nut Chex® cereal
3 cups Rice Chex® cereal
2 cups whole cashews
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup craisins
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preparation Steps:
In large microwavable bowl, mix cereal and cashews.  In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and honey and salt uncovered on High about 1 1/2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir butter mixture. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.

Microwave uncovered on High 4 minutes, stirring every minute. Stir in cherries and 1/4 of the white chocolate chips.  Microwave an additional 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. After a few minutes cooling, pour the remaining chocolate chips over the mix so they won't melt.  Store in airtight container.

I made this along with the Lemon Buddy Chex mix and packaged them for a bake sale at work.  Both of them sold out!

Chewy Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

Unfortunately, I can't remember where this one came from either, but I remember making it for work and the ladies went nuts--coconuts--for these cookies!

 

Chewy Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

2 ¾ C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 C. butter, softened

1 ½ C. white sugar

1 large egg

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Zest of 1 large lime

3 TB fresh lime juice

½ C. toasted coconut

½ C. white sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt; set aside.  Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.  This will take a couple minutes.  Beat in the egg, vanilla, lime juice & zest.  Mix until combined.  Gradually add the dry ingredients & toasted coconut.  Don’t over mix.  Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of cookie dough into balls.  Place ½ C. sugar in a bowl or tray & roll cookie dough balls to coat.  Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 ½ inches apart.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  The cookies will start to crack a little bit.  Let stand on cookie sheet 2 minutes, then move to cooling rack.  Makes about 3 dozen.

Texas Sheet Cake

Yet another work potluck recipe that never failed to please many people all at once!

Vicki’s Texas Sheet Cake

Cake:

 1 cup butter

1 cup water

¼ cup cocoa

2 cups sugar

1/8 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

½ cup sour cream

1tsp vanilla

Chopped pecans, optional

Combine butter, water and cocoa in saucepan over medium heat; heat until butter melts.  Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, soda, sour cream and vanilla; mix well.  Pour into a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.  Spread frosting over hot cake and sprinkle with chopped pecans if desired.

Frosting:

½ cup butter

¼ cup cocoa

¼ cup milk, plus 2 TB

1 lb powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

 

Combine butter, cocoa and milk in a saucepan: bring to a boil.  Add remaining ingredients with electric mixer.  Spread over hot cake and sprinkle with chopped pecans if desired.

Cheesy Potatoes

For the longest time, I worked in "The Box."  This  was what we lovinginly referred to our account specific room within the East wing of our building.  We had quite the potluck loving community in The Box.  We were all about sharing food with everyone and getting new recipes.  Here is another recipe from a former Team Leader.

Sue's Cheesy Potatoes

 1 package frozen hash browns

1 package shredded cheese (Sharp or Co-Jack)

8 oz. sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

½ cup butter

Salt & pepper to taste

-This can be cooked in a crock pot for a creamier version or baked in the oven.

Combine or layer the cheese and hash browns in a buttered casserole pan or crock pot.  In separate sauce pan, combine remaining ingredients and heat until butter is melted.  Pour heated mixture over potatoes and cheese.  If baking, put foil over pan and bake at 350F for 1 hour.  The last 15 minutes, remove foil.  If using crock pot, cook on high for 4 hours.  Make sure to stir on occasion. 

Yummy fluffiness

I wish I could remember where I found this recipe, but I don't.  I'm glad I found it though-they are fabulous and even John, my father-in-law, who hates marshmallows, likes these!

I don't make them often, but maybe once every couple years.



Homemade Marshmallows

Vegetable shortening (Crisco recommended) for preparing the pan
1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons (3 envelopes) unflavored gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar (for coating the marshmallows)

Instructions
1. Prepare a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan as follows. Invert the pan. Cut a piece of aluminum foil long enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the foil over the inverted pan and fold down the sides and corners just to shape. Remove the foil and turn the pan right side up. Place the foil in the pan and press it gently into place. With a pastry brush or crumpled wax paper coat the foil thoroughly but lightly with vegetable shortening. Set aside.

2. Place 1/2 cup cold water in the large bowl of an electric mixer, Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and set aside. If making strawberry-use strawberry puree with a little water instead of all water at this stage.

3. Place the sugar, corn syrup, salt and the other 1/2 cup water in a heavy 1-1/2 quart or 2 quart saucepan over moderately low heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil. Cover for 3 minutes to allow any sugar crystals on the sides of the saucepan to dissolve. Uncover, raise the heat to high, insert a candy thermometer, and let the syrup boil without stirring until the temperature reaches 240 degrees. Do not overcook. Remove from the heat.

4. Beating constantly at medium speed, pour the syrup slowly into the gelatin mixture. After all the syrup has been added, increase the speed to high and beat for 15 minutes until the mixture is lukewarm, snowy white, and the consistency of whipped marshmallow, adding the vanilla a few minutes before the end of the beating. (During the beating, occasionally scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. The marshmallow will thicken and become sticky -- if the mixture crawls up on the beaters as it thickens, carefully wipe it down with a rubber spatula.) If adding flavor (such as mint, lemon, etc) add now, also any coloring. For mint flavoring, just use 1/4-1/2 tsp of "mint extract" and 1/4 tsp of vanilla.

5. Pour the slightly warm and thick marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and, with your forefinger, scrape all the mixture off the beaters. Smooth the top of the marshmallow.

6. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours or longer if it is more convenient.

7. Then sift or strain confectioners sugar generously onto a large cutting board to cover a surface larger then your pan. Invert the marshmallow over the sugared surface. Remove the pan and peel off the foil. Strain confectioners sugar generously over the top of the marshmallow.

8. To cut into even 1 inch strips use a ruler and toothpicks to mark it every 1 inch.

9. Prepare a long, heavy, sharp knife by brushing the blade lightly with vegetable shortening. Cutting down firmly with the full length of the blade, cut the marshmallow into 1 inch strips. (After cutting the first slice, just keep the blade sugared to keep it from sticking.)

10. Dip the cut sides of each strip into confectioners sugar to coat them thoroughly -- you should have enough excess sugar on the board to do this.

11. Now cut each strip into 1 inch squares. (You may place three strips together and cut through them all at once.) Roll the marshmallows in the sugar to coat the remaining sides. Shake off excess sugar.

Cream cheese mints

Until I moved to Iowa, I don't remember ever having a cream cheese mint.  I don't think I had even heard of them until one day at work during a Cinco de Mayo potluck, I tried one.  Wow!  I've had some good, some bad-too dry, too minty, too sugary, etc.  The recipe below is the recipe that I used to make mints for a client of mine years ago to accompany their wedding cake.  While they are simple to make, they are very time consuming. 

I have found it handy to first find out how much your mint mold will hold of the 'dough' and playing around with that first (after the mint and coloring have been added).  Then, put a large flat container down and coat the bottom with a cup or two of granulated sugar.  You may want to put on kitchen gloves to avoid coloring your hands.

Roll out about 10 dough balls, letting them sit in the granulated sugar, shaking to coat occasionally.   At this point, press one ball at a time into the mold and gently lay on a sheet pan or table to dry.  When those 10 balls are pressed and unmolded, repeat until all the dough is used.


Cream Cheese Mints 8 oz. cream cheese
2 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. mint flavoring
Paste food color Mix with pastry blender. Knead and form into little balls. Press into mint mold and unmold immediately. Add more powdered sugar if it sticks to mold. Roll balls in granulated sugar before molding if using a rigid mold.

The Best Sugar Cookies Award goes to....

Okay, I can't lie-these sugar cookies are not mine-at all.  Thanks to the previously incarcerated  Martha Stewart, I have found a recipe that I love, and so do many others!  Keep in mind that you will want to make the dough ahead of time so it can chill in the fridge for an hour before rolling and cutting.

The cookies are soft yet solid enough to hold the frosting, which is the best royal icing I've met to date.  It has a sort of 'snap' at first bite, but then it softens and melts in your mouth.  So great!

I made wedding cookies cut out in leaf shapes and iced them before packaging and traveling 8 hours for the wedding.  They held up during the drive, which in itself is a miracle, but they also got rave reviews from everyone at the reception.

Sugar Cookies(Martha Stewart's recipe)

Makes 2 dozen

2 cups all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk (or brandy)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated. With mixer running, add egg, milk (or brandy), and vanilla; mix until incorporated.
2. Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
5. Decorate with Royal Icing, optional.  If using icing, allow plenty of time to dry (overnight is probably a good time)

***********************************************

Royal Icing for Sugar Cookies (makes 2 1/3 cups)
(Martha Stewart's recipe)

1 pound confectioners’ sugar

5 tablespoons meringue powder

1. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine sugar and meringue powder.  Mixing on low speed, add a scant ½ cup water.  For a thinner consistency, usually used for flooding (or filling in the outlined cookie) add a little more water until desired thickness.  A thicker consistency is used for outlining and adding details.  Mix until icing holds a ribbon-like trail on the surface of the mixture when you raise the paddle.

McBride Apple Crsip

This is the go to recipe for summer and fall desserts. I love it and the recipe makes a large dish of the yummy dessert.  We usually have leftovers, but not for long!  I'm not sure of the origins of this recipe other than it came from my mother-in-law and her family.  If you like apples, try this-you must!  

Oh, and for apples, I usually go for a range of Granny Smiths or a mix with those and another type, like Braeburn or Gala-just don't use red or yellow delicious!

McBride Apple Crisp

Cut and slice apples until 9x13 or 8x14 pan is 2/3 full.

  

Mix 1 ½ cups sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, a dash of salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and sprinkle over apples.

Topping:

          1 ½ cups quick oats

          1 ½ cups flour

          1 ½ cups sugar

          1 ½ cups brown sugar

          ½ teaspoon baking soda

          ½ teaspoon baking powder

          1 cup softened margarine

Mix the topping ingredients until they become big crumbs, sprinkle over apples.  Bake at 350F for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

 

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

I'm not sure really where this came from, but I believe it was from a Pampered Chef site.

I've taken this work a few different times and everyone loved it!  It's very much like a coffee cake made with crescent dough instead of a bread dough or batter.


Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
2 packages crescent rolls
2 8oz. packages of cream cheese
3/4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 melted butter
Pampered Chef cinnamon sprinkles

• Unroll 1 pkg of crescent rolls in 9 x 13 baker, prepped with baker's joy.
• Mix the powdered sugar, cream cheese and vanilla in 2 qt batter bowl until smooth. Spread over the crescent rolls. 
• Top with the other package of crescent rolls. Pinch the seams together and roll out a little to make it fit. 
• Pour melted butter over crescent rolls, top with sweet cinnamon sprinkles. 
• Bake at 350 until done, about 25 to 30 minutes.

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Grandma Rachel's Sugar Cream Pie

To me, Grandma's Sugar Cream Pie will always be a trip down memory lane.  When I was little, this was one of my favorite desserts at Grandma and Grandpa's house (besides the Raspberry Ripple ice cream from Schwann's).

At some point, she switched over from making the pies herself and started buying Mrs. Wick's Sugar Cream Pie, without me knowing until I was in college.  That's how good Grandma's pie was. 

Sugar Cream Pie
1 Cup sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of half and half

• Cook on stove top until thickened. 
• Pour in baked crust. 
• Sprinkle with nutmeg and dab butter. 
• Bake at 350 until lightly golden.

Grandma Rachel's Pineapple Cheese Cake

This recipe happens to be one of my dad's favorites.  I personally am not a huge fan of cheesecake, but this is a nice, quick dessert that reminds me of Grandma and my dad.

Grandma Rachel's Pineapple Cheese Cake

• Dissolve 1 pkg of lemon jello in 1 cup boiling water and let set.

• Crush 2 packages of graham crackers. Mix with 1/2 C. sugar and 1 stick of margarine or butter. Pat into bottom of pan, reserving some for garnish

• Mix 8 oz package of cream cheese and mix with one cup of sugar and a can of crushed pineapple. Mix with cooled jello. Add one can of whipped evaporated milk (or just whipping cream).

• Pour into pans & garnish with crumbs.