Easy Fudge

I've had very little time for keeping up these other sections of the blog, but Patrick just sent me this recipe and confirmed it is both easy AND delicious.  I think he should send some of the finished product my way so I can judge for myself!

Here's the recipe:


2 packages (11.5 or 12 oz package) of choc chips (1 milk chocolate, 1 dark or semi sweet chocolate)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 or 16 oz)
3 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans or peanuts(this is optional)

Combine first three ingredients in a microwaveable bowl.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes.
Stir everything up and add the nuts if you are using them.
Pour into a 9 by 13 pan (for thinner fudge) or a 9 by 9 pan for the ticker version shown above.

A French Treat

In 7th grade I took French (and 9th grade and 10th grade).  I loved that class.  The teacher remains one of my all time favorites and she did her best to include cuisine into our curriculum whenever possible.  One day when we showed up for class she had a baguette and a bar of chocolate.  She told us it was a common snack for kids when they got home from school.  A chocolate sandwich. 

Now, it's rare that we have a yummy piece of bread AND a plain chocolate bar laying around our house at the same time, but when we do, you can be sure I will make this:

My guess is that true French children have fresh baguettes from the local market and some sort of savory Belgium chocolate.  But, croissants leftover from one of my mom's parties and a Hershey's bar does the trick.  It might seem an odd snack but it's super delish!

Deep Fried Pickles

Another State Fair favorite of ours.  Another recreation from our party.  I know, they sound disgusting...or at least I thought they did.  Maybe you think they sound delish!  As a side note, if you haven't already, try these at the State Fair.  Only, order the ones that also have cream cheese in them.  We'll have to investigate this year how they accomplished this addition. 

To save myself some time, visit the onion ring recipe.  Now, instead of onion slices, use pickle slices. Dredge them in the flour mixture, just the same, and then the batter, and then the Panko bread crumbs.  Into the fryer, onto the paper towels, dipped in ranch.

Tedious, but another favorite from the party.

Deep Fried Snickers

About five years ago the State Fair introduced their latest stick creation.  Deep fried candy bars on a stick.  I had to try one.  If it's made with Snickers, there is a chance I will love it.

My thoughts were mediocre.  While tasty, it was WAY too much breading and just fell like a brick into the bottom of my stomach.

At our State Fair party we decided to try them ourselves.  Only, I suggested we just use fun size Snickers because I didn't want anyone feeling sick after trying it.  The results were outstanding.  I think I had four.

Ingredients
Snickers (pick your size, but the fun size worked well for us!)
1.5 c flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c milk
2 T white vinegar
1 T vegetable oil (I used olive oil).

1. Freeze your candy bars.  Rock hard.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Whisk in the wet ingredients.
4. Coat the frozen candy bars in a thin layer of flour (or cornstarc).
5. Dip them in the batter, shaking off the excess but ensuring the candy bar is completely covered.
6. Fry until golden brown and then just a touch longer to make sure the inside is all melted and gooey.
7. Sprinkle with powdered sugar
8. Eat, repeat.

State Fair Corn Dogs

We recently hosted a "State Fair Warm Up" party with our neighbors.  We tried corn dogs, cheese curds, fried pickles, onion rings, and fried snickers.  Some recipes worked better than others.  The following was Riley's favorite (and Amy's too).  Riley worked her way through two large corndogs in a matter of minutes.

Ingredients
1 c flour
2/3 c yellow cornmeal
1/4 c white sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 c buttermilk
1/2 t baking soda
2 pounds hot dogs; room temperature
cornstarch
disposable chop sticks (wooden, found in your Asian section of your grocery store)

1. In a bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar baking powder, and salt.
2. Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg, buttermilk and baking soda.  Mix until everything is smooth and well blended.
3. Pour the batter into a tall glass and place in the refrigerator for about an hour.
4. Pat the dogs dry and coat them in a thin layer of cornstarch.
5. Insert a chopstick into each dog, leaving about 1/2 inch at the top.
6. Heat the oil to 365
7. Dip the dogs into the batter a couple times for a nice thick coating of batter. 
8. Place in the fryer.  The longer sticks should serve nicely when you want to flip them around (since they will stick out of the oil).
9. Drain on a paper towel and serve!

Onion Rings

I've recently decided that onion rings might be one of my favorite foods.  But, I'm very picky about them.  I don't like them too thick, or too greasy.  We have made the following recipe a few times and these onion rings are my absolute favorite.

Ingredients
Yellow Onion, sliced into rings (you decide the thickness)
1 1/4 cups flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
Italian flavor Panko bread crumbs (the Panko part is mandatory)
fryer

1. Heat the fryer up to 365 degrees. 
2. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Dip the onion slices into the flour mixture until they are all coated, set aside.
4. Whisk the egg and milk into the flour mixture. 
5. Dip the floured rings inot the batter to coat, shake off excess.
6. Coat battered rings in bread crumbs.
7. Deep fry the rings 4-5 at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. 
8. Remove and drain on a paper towl.

Serve with ketchup or ranch, or your favorite sauce!  Delicious!

Beef and Brocolli

I stole this one off the internet and tried it for the first time on Tuesday.  I'm sold.  It's good.  It's something I used to order every time at P.F. Chang's and this recipe is not far from the restaurant version.

I had to make a few changes, but I'm guessing if you follow the recipe it would only be better.

Jaden's Beef and Brocolli


1 lb (500 g) top sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced into 1/8-in (3-mm)-thick strips
11/2 lbs (750 g) broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
1 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil (I just used olive oil)
1 tablespoon minced garlic

BEEF MARINADE

1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cooking oil (again...olive oil here)
Freshly ground black pepper to season the beef

STIR-FRY SAUCE

3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)  (I had rice vinegar and used 1 tsp of this and 1 tsp of red wine)
2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)

1 In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the Beef Marinade. Add the beef and let mari- nate for 10 minutes at room temperature.

2 In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the Stir-fry Sauce.

3 In a wok or large sauté pan, add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green, crisp tender and you should be able to pierce the stem with a fork. Drain.

4 Discard the water in the pan and dry the pan well. Set the pan over high heat and when hot, add the high-heat cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and fry for 15 to 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer and fry 30 seconds. Flip the strips and fry the other side.  (I did my meat in three batches to prevent overcrowding)

5 Pour in the Stir-fry Sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 30 seconds. Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and toss to coat well.

I served it with plain brown rice, but some asian noodles of some sort would have been delicious!

Better Than Anything Cake

Rob's birthday was yesterday and he requested this cake for his special day.  He had it at our niece's first communion party and never stopped talking about it.  True to his word, it is delicious.  And, best part is that it is super easy to make.  Here's the recipe...excuse me while I go deliver pieces of the cake to all my neighbors so it is not sitting in my house where I will consume every last piece.

1 German chocolate cake mix
1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 20oz container Caramel topping
1 contatiner Cool Whip
3 Heath bars (chopped up)

Bake the cake according to the package directions.  When it is done, set it aside to cool slightly and in a bowl, mix together the sweetened condensed milk and the caramel topping.  Now, take the handle of a wooden spoon and poke holes into the still warm cake.  About 20 holes is what I did.  Now take that milk/caramel mixture and pour it onto/into the cake.  I spread it around to make sure the holes were full.  Refrigerate for an hour (or longer).  Spread the cool whip on top and sprinkle with the Heath bars.  Super easy and super delicious!

Taco Puffs/Muffins

It's about time I post a new recipe on here.  I cannot take any credit for the creation of these delicacies.  My neighbor found them in some random magazine, and they have become a neighborhood favorite.  I call them Taco Puffs.  She calles them Taco Muffins, and yet a third neighbor calls them Muffin Tacos.  Call them what you want, but they are delicious. 

You'll need:
Wonton wrappers
Taco meat
Picante sauce
Shredded cheese
Tomatoes
Olives
Sour Cream

(I skip the olives...yuck.  But you get the point, whatever you would put on a taco, you should have on hand)

Brown up the meat and mix in your taco seasoning as directed.  Take a mini muffin pan and stuff a wonton wrapper in there to make a little bowl.  Spoon in some taco meat, cover with a tablespoon or so of picante sauce, and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake these up at 350ish for 20-25 minutes.  I get by with about 300 for 20 minutes.  Don't want to burn the wontons.

Take them out, garnish with some tomatoes, sour cream, and whatever else your heart desires, and then eat 6 of them right in a row and decide if you should make another batch.

Which, of course, you should.

Red Lobster Copycat Crab Legs

One of my favorite meals has always been snow crab legs from Red Lobster.  I can rip through a pound of those before the rest of the people at the table can enjoy their first bite.  Delicious!  And, I do prefer snow crab to king crab.  Also, I'm not a big fan of the claw meat.  Just a little too tough for me.

Anyway, you can imagine my delight when my mom announced she had the recipe for making crab legs identical to Red Lobster's.  My delight was compounded on Christmas last year when I tasted her fresh out of the oven crab legs and they were just as great as Red Lobster's.  Perhaps even better since they were fresh of out of the oven and not sitting under a heating lamp waiting to be served.  You're in luck because she is sharing the secret.

Red Lobster Snow Crab Legs
6 cups water
1 cup vinegar (plain white vinegar)
Old Bay Seasoning (look for a yellow/blue/red can)
Snow Crab Legs

Heat oven to 350.  In a large roasting pan, combine water and vinegar.  Generously sprinkle Old Bay seasoning over the surface of the water.  Heat the water mixture up in the oven.
When water is warmed, place a rack over the roasting pan, lay the crab legs on the rack, and cover with the roasting pan lid (or make a cover with tinfoil).  Steam the crab legs for 20-25 minutes.  Remove, cool slightly, and enjoy!

We just made these last night.  So good!  Whip up some cheddar biscuits (recipe on the back of a Bisquick box) and there is no reason to ever go to Red Lobster again!  Thanks mom!

Taco Casserole

This is one of two recipes I have memorized.  When Rob and I got married, my sister had everyone included in our wedding party design a quilt square for us.  One of our host and hostess (my 2nd parents at the time) put the recipe for Taco Casserole on their square because I called her at least once a month to request it.  Then, after we were married, I'd run down the stairs at least once a month to read the recipe off our guest bedroom quilt.  I'm happy to report, I have finally memorized it.

Anyway, onto the recipe.  For what it's worth, I'm not a big taco fan, yet this remains one of my favorites.

Taco Casserole

1 lb ground beef
3/4 c water
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
2 cups shredded cheese (I find regular works better than "finely" shredded)
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 pk crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350.  In a 9x13 pan, unroll the crescent rolls and press them onto the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Bake this for 7 minutes then set aside.  Meanwhile, brown the hamburger in a skillet.  When browned, add the water and the taco seasoning.  Mix in the refried beans and remove from heat.  In a seperate bowl, mix together the cheese, egg, and sour cream.  Now, pour the meat mixture onto the semi-baked crescent rolls, spread it out.  Put the cheese mixture on top of the meat mixture and spread to the best of your ability (never seems like enough to cover it...but it works).  Bake this for 20 minutes.  Let it cool for about 10 minutes before serving.  We usually dribble a little taco sauce on our pieces.

Finding a side dish to go with this is difficult.  We have settled on either Fritos (yes, that counts as a side dish in our house) or corn. 

Also, I split a regular recipe into two seperate square 8 or 9 inch pans.  Just divide everything in half and make two seperate pans at the same time.  Before the final baking wrap one in cling wrap, then aluminum foil, then seal it in a gallon size bag and put it in the freezer.  I thaw it out the night before I'm going to cook it for dinner and just cook it the same as the other (350 for 20 minutes).  One night of work, two nights of dinner!

Sausage and Peppers over Pasta

I'm not even going to attempt to post a picture of this dish because most pictures of food I take give me the exact opposite reaction than they should.  But, trust me, this is delicious.  It has now become my favorite meal.  Since Tuesday was my birthday, I requested our in-house chef make this for me.  I don't know where he found the recipe.  Maybe he didn't find it, maybe he created it out of thin air, he's been known to do such things.  What I do know is that this is absolutely delicious, and absolutely not fat free.  Try it today!  Or, shop for the ingredients today, and try it tomorrow.  It's probably not stuff you have lying around. 

I strongly encourage you to read this recipe through before you make it, as I am kind of a random recipe writer and probably have things out of order.  As for measurements, well, our personal chef is more of a "visual" guy so these are his best estimates.

1 lb mild Italian sausage
1/4 c onion (whatever your favorite kind is)
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 can diced tomatoes (of course fresh is always better, but a can will do)
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
2 cloves minced garlic (we like garlic...maybe this is too much for some)
salt and pepper to taste

In one large pot, brown the italian sausage with some salt and pepper.  When completely browned, remove from pot.  In a seperate skillet, start heating some olive oil and garlic.  Add onions to this skillet and sautee until the onions are translucent.  Add the can of diced tomatoes (juice and all) and heat this all together.  Meanwhile, in the large pot, start heating a bit of olive oil and throw in the peppers.  We do these seperately because we like our peppers a little crisp yet browned and if we added them with the rest of the stuff, they would not get browned and might be overcooked.  Add the heavy whipping cream to the tomatoes mixture and heat through.  Throw the sausage back in with the peppers (in the big pot) and add the tomatoe mixture to the sausage and pepper mixture.  Mix this all up and serve it over your choice of noodles.  We like whole wheat thin spaghetti.  We also like to serve this up with garlic bread.

Yum!