Thursday, January 27, 2011

Rotel Dip

With the Super Bowl coming to Dallas, and only a week away, I figure we all need some Party foods that are easy to make. This is a staple at any party that I am going to or hosting for a large crowd that is a appetizer party or hamburger and brats.


ROTEL DIP

Ingredients:
1 large block of Velveeta cheese
2 cans original Rotel diced tomatoes
1 log ground sausage

Directions:
First cut cheese into 1 inch cubes.
Place cheese in crock pot and melt on medium heat.
When cheese is almost melted, add undrained rotel tomatoes.
Now in a medium sauté pan brown sausage until done.
Add the sausage to the cheese mixture, then cover and simmer until thoroughly heated.
Serve with Tostada chips at parties or any group occasions.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Oven Porcuipines

I also seem to have ground beef on hand in my freezer. These are a great little meal to cook up and is great served with crusty bread. The first time I ever had porcupines was my first Thanksgiving with the Newby’s in Illinois.


Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
½ uncooked regular rice
½ cup water
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 tsp salt
½ tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 tsp Worchestershire

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix meat, rice, ½ cup water, onion, salts, garlic powder, and pepper.
3. Shape mixture by rounded tablespoons into balls.
4. Place meatballs in an ungreased baking dish (8x8).
5. Stir together remaining ingredients and pour over meatballs.
6. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes.
7. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer.

Friday, January 14, 2011

The Newby's Wedding Cake

Five years ago I married my best friend in the whole world. Brian, before becoming a financial guy, went to school to be a chef. As our wedding present to each other, we made each other's wedding cake. Happy Anniversary my love!

Here is the recipe for my Bridal Cake! Enjoy.

Newby Wedding Cake

Cake:

The cake was Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe classic white cake. Prepare like the box directs.

Filling:

Light Raspberry Mousse

Make & refrigerate the mousse at least one day, even up to 3 days, ahead. This gives it time to firm. You can also make this to serve as a low fat dessert on its own, maybe with fresh raspberries sprinkled on top.

Defrost the raspberries in the refrigerator overnight, in the bags in a bowl of warm water, or on low in the microwave.

Makes about 10 cups.

Three 12 oz pkg individually quick frozen, unsweetened raspberries
3 Tbsp unflavored gelatin (one packet is just short of 1 tablespoon)
1 cup cold water
1 cup cranberry-raspberry juice
3/4 cup superfine sugar
3 cups lowfat vanilla yogurt

Defrost the raspberries. Place the berries & any juice in the container of the food processor fitted with the metal blade & puree for about 15 seconds. Strain out the seeeds, if desired.Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a small pan & stir to combine. Let sit 5 min. until the gelatin has softened. Add the cranberry-raspberry juice & heat on very low heat. Stir until the gelatin dissolves. Do not boil. Add the sugar & continue to heat, without boiling, until the sugar dissolves. Stir it a few times to facilitate the process.Remove from the heat & pour into a bowl that is set in a larger bowl filled with ice & ice water. Add the puree & whisk into the gelatin mixture. Cool the mixture, stirring over the ice until it is as thick & viscous as an egg white, for about 30 minutes.When the mixture is thick, pour off any liquid whey from the yogurt & stir the yogurt into the gelatin mixture gently, but thoroughly, with a whisk. Cover the bowl & chill overnight or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Frosting:

Equal amounts of butter and crisco (If you use margarine, it will make the frosting yellower looking, but it work just as well if you want to use it. I imagine that butter flavored Crisco would work too, but I've never tried it)

Cream these together with 1 tsp vanilla (you can use clear vanilla because of the color - but it doesn't really matter.)

After mixing, keep adding powdered sugar until it is the consistency you want. Usually takes most of a bag.

Voilla! Vague, but very easy.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Potato Soup

This recipe is written for my sister. At Christmas, she asked for my recipe. Unfortunately, I don’t (didn’t) have one. So I made my potato soup last night, and wrote a recipe (the first for me). Here you go April. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
10-12 medium Potatoes (depending on how many potatoes you want in the soup)
1 medium onion
Salt
Pepper
4 cups milk

Roux:
10 ½ Tablespoons flour
2/3 cup milk + 4 tablespoons milk.

Toppings:
Cheese
Sour Cream
Bacon

Method:
Scrub your potatoes and dice. (you can also peel the potatoes if you want, we leave the skin on)
Wash potatoes one more time and place in your soup pot.
Cover with water and boil until they are fork tender.
While the potatoes are going, dice up your onion and sauté with butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
Once the potatoes are fork tender, put 4 cups of milk in with the potatoes and water.
Add salt and pepper to taste. (I used 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of my pepper mill)
Simmer for five minutes.
You will now need to add the roux to the mixture to start thickening the soup. To do this, place flour and milk into a jar with a lid and shake. Pour the mixture into the soup pot.
Simmer 5-10 minutes, do not let it boil (if you do, a skin will appear on the top and you will need to skim it off).
At this point, based on your consistency that you want you can add more milk (Slowly).
Season one last time with salt and pepper to taste.

Top with cheese, sour cream, and bacon. Enjoy!


As with all recipes, this is just an example. You can add more herbs to the soup (which we have done).

**Last night it was a great consistency, but when I opened a container this morning, it looked a little thick. When I microwaved it at work, it was fine for me. If this happens with your leftovers, then feel free to reheat with a little milk to the consistency that you like.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Chicken Corn Soup

In the winter months, I love to make soup. This recipe came from my mother-in-law when I was in need of another meal for our small group. This is a great quick soup that can serve an army or can be adjusted to serve a family. This was for a group of 8-10. This is also great as leftovers since the flavors get the mingle a little longer.

Ingredients:
5 chicken breasts
3 Tablespoons of Butter
2 cloves of garlic
5 cans chicken broth
3 cans corn
2 cups picante sauce
Cumin (for taste) I don’t use

Directions:
Cube and sauté chicken in butter and minced chicken.
In a pot place chicken broth, corn (with liquid) and corn in and let simmer. Add picante sauce and cumin. Let simmer until warm and flavors have married.
Serve with sour cream and cheese. You can also add corn chips and avocado.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Ande Mint Cookies

I love trying new recipes. This is a new dessert recipe that I originally got from the Pioneer Woman Cooks and then adapted to fit my needs. They were originally called Cleta Bailey's Toffee Squares, but I prefer to call them Ande Mint Cookies (thanks to Jen). Enjoy!

Ande Mint Cookies

Ingredients
2 sticks Butter
1 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 whole Egg
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 cups All-purpose Flour
2 cups Chocolate Chips (milk Or Semi-sweet)
¾ cups Finely Chopped Candy Canes (you could also use any nuts, toffee, or any other topping that you can think of on these cookies--then you need to rename them something different).

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and flour and mix until combined. Spread on cookie sheet with an offset spatula until thin (It helps to spray the spatula with a cooking spray or dust it with flour). Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle on chocolate chips. Return to oven for 1 minute. Remove from oven and spread chocolate thinly over the cookie layer.
Sprinkle with chopped candy canes. Cut into squares.