new year's appetizer

crab and cream cheese wontons

Crab and Cream Cheese Wontons Recipe

4 oz. Dungeness or lump crab meat
2 oz. cream cheese
1/4 t. grated lemon zest
1/2 t. lemon juice
1/4 t. Kosher salt or to taste
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 t. snipped chives

18 wonton wrappers
vegetable oil for deep frying

Egg Wash
1 large egg whisked with 2 T. water

The filling:
Pick through the crab to remove any remaining bits of cartilage and shell. Mix the crab, cream cheese, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper and chives together. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Folding the wonton:
Place a heaping half-teaspoon of filling on one corner of the wonton skin, leaving the edges clean. Moisten the edges with egg wash. Bring one set of opposite corners together and seal all the edges, making a triangle. Next, bring the long ends of the triangle together, overlapping the corners slightly and sealing with more egg wash. Turn the third corner up if it isn't already, forming a small tortellini or hat-shape.

Alternate folding method:
Cut the wonton skins in half, diagonally. Brush one side with egg wash then place a small dollop of filling a bit off the middle of the triangle. Bring the open edges together and seal, forming a small triangle.

Meanwhile, heat the oil to about 350° F. Fry the wontons until they are golden brown, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Drain well on a rack lined with paper towels.

I copied this recipe.  I really want to make these.  These are my favorite thing from the Chinese restaurant and I can make a meal out of these and sweet and sour sauce.  Soo good!

country fried steak

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Salt and ground black pepper
4 to 6 cube steaks
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup Bisquick or other buttermilk baking mix
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine the flour with salt and pepper to taste. Dredge the steaks in the seasoned flour, dip in the egg mixture and coat with the Bisquick.
Heat the oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the steaks over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the steaks to a serving platter and keep warm.  I serve this with country gravy (I use the packets from the grocery store for gravy.  I suck at making homemade gravy.  I can cook and bake many things but I cannot make a passable homemade gravy.  Oh well. We all can't be good at everything)

Twice baked potatoes

4 large baking potatoes

1/4 cup sour cream

dash of milk

garlic salt to taste

1 or 2 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Clean and scrub baking potatoes. Pierce skin with a fork once or twice. Bake at 350 degrees  for approximately 1 hour or until the potatoes are soft and firm.
3. Let potatoes cool slightly. Cut baked potatoes in half and scoop out pulp within 1/4 inch of the shell edge. Mash the pulp with sour cream, milk, garlic salt and butter to taste. Stuff shells with mashed pulp mixture sprinkle tops with grated cheddar cheese. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees  for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

bread machine pizza dough

Ingredients
1 cup water plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups of bread flour
1/2 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning
2 teaspoons yeast
dash of garlic powder
dash of oregano

 

Add everything in this order to your bread machine and set it on "dough" setting.  After it's done, shape the dough into 2 pizzas. I brush the crust with olive oil and then you need to let it set for another 30 minutes. Use a fork and poke a few holes in the dough.  Preheat your oven to 400 and preheat your pizza stone.  Put a little cornmeal down and then put your risen dough on the hot pizza stone and bake it for about 10 minutes.  Take it out and add your sauce and toppings. Bake for another 10 minutes and enjoy!

Read more from the original source:   adapted to my tastes from this recipe on this blog. 

quick and easy pizza sauce

1 6 oz. can of tomato paste

3/4 cup water-add a little more if you like it thinner

1/3 c. of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning 

1 teaspoon oregano

dash of garlic powder

 

Mix it all together and let it sit. It's better to make this earlier in the day so the flavors have time to really meld.

 

Adapted to my taste preferences from the screaming penny blog.

potato skins

6 medium potatoes

1 lb. hamburger

1/2 cup onions, chopped

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 package taco seasoning

1 (12 oz.) package mozzarella cheese

2 (12 oz.) packages cheddar cheese

onion chives

bacon bits

sour cream

Brown hamburger with onions. Add salt & pepper; drain grease. Add taco seasoning and simmer.

Bake potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out center of potato, leaving 1/4" around edges. Place potatoes in baking dish and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Add about 2 tablespoons seasoned hamburger and top with mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Sprinkle on onion, chives and bacon bits. Heat until cheese is melted.

Merry Christmas Everyone

My kitchen is closed for today. Enjoy your holiday and see you back tommorrow for a delicious potato recipe. 

Merry Christmas

~Jess~

Chocolate lovers' chocolate pie

1 package choclate pudding
1 3/4 cup chocolate milk
1 choclate crumb crust (like an oreo crust.  Found by the graham cracker crusts)
1 hershey's cookies and cream candy bar, shaved.

Prepare package of chocolate pudding using for pie instructions and chocolate milk instead of regular milk.  Pour Pudding into pie crust and sprinkle shaved candy bar on top. 

Let set for a couple hours before serving.  Can also top with cool whip before serving.

This pie looks lighter than yours would look following this recipe.  We were out of chocolate milk.

puppy chow

Puppy Chow

Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
9 cups Crispix cereal (any flavor)
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:
1. Combine peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips in a pan.
2. Continually stir over low heat to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Stir well.
3. Place the 9 cups of Crispix cereal in a very large bowl.
4. Pour the peanut butter-chocolate mixture over the cereal and toss evenly, making sure all the cereal gets a good covering.
5. Coat with powdered sugar, sprinkling evenly over the cereal and tossing as you sprinkle to cover each piece well.

ranch roasted potatoes

1 packet Ranch Dressing mix

2 lbs. small red potatoes, quartered

1/4 cup vegetable oil

 

Place potatoes in plastic bag and add oil. Toss to coat.

Add dressing mix and toss to coat again.

Place in ungreased baking pan and bake at 450' for 35 minutes or until tender.

grilled shishkabobs

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 sirloin steak
cherry tomatoes
green bell pepper
red bell pepper
orange bell pepper
whole mushrooms
vidalia onion
Other veggies or meats depending on your tastes.  You can use shrimp, etc.

marinade chicken and steak.  Grill meats until done.  Cut into chunks.  Chuck peppers into large chunk.  Spear meat and veggies alternating 1 piece of meat, a couple veggies, 1 piece of meat, couple veggies, etc.  Until stick is full.  Grill for 5-10 minutes until veggies cook.  Serve hot.  Serve with a side of rice and sweet and sour sauce if desired.

cake mix cookies

1 package of cake mix (any flavor)
1 large egg
1/4 cup of oil
1/4 cup of water
1 cup of chopped nuts, raisins, oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chips, etc. (anything you like in cookies)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine cake mix, egg, oil, and water. Beat until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredient (s).
Drop by teaspoon about 1 inch apart onto greased cooke sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes or until done.

roasted red potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds small red new potatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• garlic powder
• italian seasoning
• rosemary
• thyme

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Toss potatoes with oil and seasonings. Arrange, cut side down, on a large lipped cookie sheet or jellyroll pan.
2. Roast until tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes (check after 20 minutes). Transfer to a serving dish.

cocktail weiners in tangy sweet sauce

grape jelly
ketchup
cocktail weiners

mix equal parts grape jelly and ketchup. Stir using low heat until jelly is melted and mix has a smooth consistency.  Add in cocktail weiners and stir.  Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. 

Alternately, place weiners in a crockpot and pour sauce over.  Stir and cook on low for 3-4 hours before serving. 

I like to leave them in the crockpot and place toothpicks beside the pot for parties.

inside out burgers

• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 pound ground beef  
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  

Directions

1. Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat the broiler.
2. Combine cheeses in a small bowl
3. Gently mix beef, Worcestershire, paprika and pepper in a large bowl, preferably with your hands, without overworking. Shape into 8 thin patties. Mound 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on each of 4 patties, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Cover each with one of the remaining patties. Crimp and seal the edges closed.
4. To grill: Lightly oil the grill rack.  Grill the stuffed patties over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes per side for medium-well. (Be sure not to press the burgers as they cook or they'll split open and the cheese will ooze out.) To broil: Cover a broiler pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Broil the stuffed patties in the upper third of the oven, about 4 minutes per side for medium-well.

You can also pan fry these.  I add minced onion to the burger as well.

easy hamburger gravy

1 lb ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
1/8 cup of milk
pepper to taste.

Brown ground beef. Drain.  Dump mushroom soup in a bowl, add milk and mushrooms.  Stir.  Pour over hamburger.  Pepper to taste.  Simmer 4-5 minutes.  Serve over cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes for a filling easy dinner.

BBQ chicken pizza

Toppings:
6 oz mozzerella cheese, shredded
2 slices cooked, crumbled bacon
1/2 bell pepper diced
1 roma tomato diced
1 onion chopped thinly
sliced black olives
1/2 bottle of bbq sauce
3-5 oz left-over chicken (or cook a chicken breast and shred)

use a premade crust or buy a package of pizza crust mix.  Super cheap.  I think they are about 50 cents at Walmart. Prepare crust, top with BBQ sauce, then other toppings. Following baking instructions on package

baked pork chops

3 medium-sized onions, cut in half and sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

4 center-cut pork loin chops (about 1½ pounds total), ¾ inch thick

1 egg, beaten

1 cup Italian-flavored bread crumbs

¹/4 teaspoon salt

¹/4 teaspoon black pepper

Nonstick cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a 9" x 13" baking dish, combine the oil, and onions.
   
2. Place the egg in a shallow dish. Place the bread crumbs in a another shallow dish. Dip the pork chops in the egg then in the bread crumbs, coating completely.
   
3. Place the chops on top of the onions and sprinkle with the salt and pepper; coat lightly with the cooking spray. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the chops are cooked through.
   

cinnamon apple bake

4 large baking apples, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar mixture


Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x 13 inch baking pan.

Choose a baking type apple such as Golden Delicious for this recipe.

Peel apples and cut each apple into 16 slices. Arrange apple slices in the pan. Pour apple juice on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add butter and cut into flour mixture with a knife or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Sprinkle evenly over apples.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 50 - 60 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown

pizza burgers

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef
1 small minced onion
   minced garlic
1 tablespoon oregano
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 (6 oz) cans of tomato paste
Hamburger buns
Shredded mozzarella cheese


DIRECTIONS

Brown meat in. Add onion and garlic and cook until they are transparent and the meat is thoroughly browned. Pour off excess fat. Add herbs, tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer covered at least 1/2 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cut hamburger buns in half and brown the open halves until lightly toasted in the broiler. Remove the top half of the hamburger bun from the baking sheet and put a large spoonful of the hot pizza burger mixture on toasted bottom half. Top with some mozzarella cheese and return to the broiler long enough for the cheese to melt. Place burgers on plates, and put the top half of the hamburger bun on sandwich and serve.

Indian fry bread

1 loaf of frozen bread dough
vegetable oil
butter

Let dough rise according to package instructions.  Warm oil in pan.  Tear off 50 cent piece sized sections.  Pull dough to somewhat flatten.  Place dough in pan and cook until browned flipping once so both sides are browned but not burnt.  Brush on butter.  Serve with chili.  Sprinkle garlic powder on to serve with spaghetti or other italian type dishes.

mock big mac "secret sauce"

1/2 cup Mayo

2 tablespoons French dressing

3 tablespoons Sweet Pickle Relish

1 1/2 tablespoons finely minced Onion

1 teaspoon White Vinegar

1 teaspoon Sugar

1/8 teaspoon Salt

combine and refrigerate until ready to use.

Jess's sloppy joes

1 lb ground beef
1 can tomato soup
diced onion
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
brown sugar (to taste)
yellow mustard (to taste)

Saute diced onion. Brown ground beef and drain.  Add in can of tomato sauce, 2 squirts of mustard and sprinkle brown sugar over the top.  Stir well over medium heat, covering ground beef.  Taste test.  If it tastes too tomato-y, add in more brown sugar and more mustard. Add in relish.  Stir.  Simmer 4-5 minutes over low heat. 

onion and balsamic vinegar pot roast

3-4 pound boneless roast
1-2 T steak rub
black pepper to taste
1-2 T olive oil 1/4 cup water to deglaze pan
2-3 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1 cup beef broth, cooked down to 1/2 cup
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Trim as much fat as you can from roast, and cut if necessary to fit into Crockpot. Rub meat well with steak seasoning and black pepper. Heat heavy pan with small amount of olive oil and brown roast well on both sides. This will take a few minutes;

While roast browns put 1 cup beef stock in saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, then let cool slightly and mix in balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce. Peel onions and cut into thick slices. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup water and add to sauce mixture.

Place onions in bottom of Crockpot. Put meat on top of onions and pour beef stock mixture over. Set Crockpot to low and cook 6-8 hours, until beef is tender. The meat might be partly submerged in liquid after this much time.

Remove meat from crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm. Drain liquid from Crockpot and remove as much of the fat as you can with fat separator or skimmer. Cook down liquid by about 1/3, and serve sauce with meat and onions.

pumpkin bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9 x 13 pans. Mix all ingredients until well blended. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool and frost bars with Cream Cheese Frosting.

cream cheese frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (more for a sweeter taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

black bottom cupcakes

Cream cheese Filling:

8 ounces  cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup  granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup  granulated white sugar

1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup  water

1/3 cup corn or canola oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Filling: In your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until creamy and smooth. Set aside while you make the Chocolate Cupcake batter.

Chocolate Cupcakes: In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl mix the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until nice and smooth. Evenly divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups. Then spoon a few tablespoons of the cream cheese filling into the center of each cupcake.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until the cream cheese filling is a little brown and the cupcakes feel springy to the touch (a toothpick inserted into the chocolate part of the cupcake will come out clean). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

The cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 - 4 days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

from scratch devil's food cake

1/2 c shortening (can use butter)
1 1/2 c sugar
2 egg
1/2 c cocoa
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c sour milk or buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375.  mix together flour, baking soda and cocoa.  In a seperate bowl, beat softened shortening.  Add sugar and beat.  Add in eggs one at a time while mxing.  Add in vanilla and beat. Add sifted dry ingredient and sour milk alternately while beating.  Pour into greased cake pan and bake until tester comes out clean 25-35 minutes. 

Make your own buttermilk

just under one cup of milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar.  Stir together and let sit for 5 minutes. 

herb and garlic baked chicken

2 bone in chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
garlic powder
italian seasoning

Place defrosted chicken in a baking dish.  Push 1 tablespoon of butter under the skin of each breast.  Sprinkle chicken with seasonings. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 35-50 minutes.  I used a meat thermometer to check for doneness.  Should be 170 degrees internally when done.

microwave baked apple

1 apple (I use cortland or honey crisp. Red delicious is too soft)
brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
cinnamon

core apple.  Split skin.  Place in microwavable bowl.  Push butter down into the core and add brown sugar to fill to top.  Sprinkle cinnamon over apple and microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes before eating.

no bake cheesecake

1 graham cracker crust
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 8oz package cream cheese

Beat cream cheese until softened.  Add in sweetened condensed milk.  Beat.  Add in lemon juice. Beat until well blended and smooth.  Pour into graham cracker crust and chill for 3-4 hours before serving.  Serving with cherry, blueberry or strawberry pie filling

bread machine breadsticks

• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dry milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Preparation:

Add ingredients to bread machine.
Use the dough cycle. Remove dough to floured surface when done. Roll pieces of dough into stick shapes.  Place on baking sheet sprayed with butter flavored cooking spray.  Let rise for a couple hours until doubled in size.  Spray with butter flavored cooking spray and sprinkle on garlic powder.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Checking after 10 minutes and flipping over if bottoms are brown and tops are not.

Brush garlic butter on after baking. 

garlic butter

3 tablespoons butter

1-2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil. 

cook in a small pot until butter is melted.  Stirring constantly.

You can also use this dough recipe to make a garlic roll as pictured below.  Instead of rolling into stick shape, just pull off pieces of dough to form a roll. 

My littlest helper making "fred sticks"

Garlic roll using the above recipe

Oatmeal raisin cookies

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup butter, softened (I melted it)
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 dashes ground cinnamon (recipe called for 1 tsp but we like cinnamon so I just shook the container over the mix 3 times)
2 3/4 cups rolled oats (I used 12 packets of instant oatmel
1 cup raisins (I used 2 of the mini boxes
..

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.In large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Stir in cinnamon.  Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3.Bake 6-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool slightly, remove from sheet to wire rack. Cool completely

I just watched them until they started to turn brown on the very edge and then took them out.  I let them cool on the sheet for about 2 minutes and then removed them.  I did it all by hand and did not use an electric mixer.  Not sure if that made a difference or not.  I also used melted margarine.  I adjusted the cooking time, and flour (which I changed above) otherwise the cookies were flat. 

I soaked the raisins in hot water while I made the dough.  It made for plump juicy raisins in the last batch.