Peanut Brittle

2 C sugar
1 C light corn syrup
1/2 C water
1 C butter
2 C unsalted roasted peanuts
1 teas baking soda
candy thermometer

Combine 1 st 3 ingredients in a large pan.  Measure the rest of the ingredients out and have ready to add to boiling sugars.  Butter two cookie sheets.  Cook & stir sugars until dissolved.  When syrup boils, blend in the butter.  Stir frequently after 230 degrees, add nuts at 280 degrees and stir constantly until 305 degrees.  Remove from heat, quickly stir in baking soda. Pour onto 2 buttered cookie sheets.  I'm not sure if my thermometer is off, but I didn't get to 305 degrees before I saw scorching on bottom of pan....I went as long as I could, stirred in the baking soda and dumped on cookie sheets.  It is good to have another person in the room for help pouring if needed, the brittle gets hard very quickly.  I remember why I haven't made this too often.....it's tricky :)

Molasses Cookies

1 C shortening (or coconut oil)

1/2 C softened butter (1 stick)
2 C sugar
2 eggs beaten
1/2 C molasses
Mix this first part together in a mixer.  Plug your nose, it stinks.

4 C flour (1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat or all white)
1 1/2 tablespoon ginger
4 teas baking soda
2 teas cinnamon
1 teas salt
Mix the dry ingredients together, then add to the moist mixture above

Roll the dough into balls in your hands, then roll in white sugar.  At Christmas, I use colored sugar. Place the cookie on a greased cookie sheet or parchment paper.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

makes about 4 dozen

Black Bean, Corn and Chicken Soup

• 1 Tb olive oil
• 2 C or 2 large onions diced
• 2 Tb minced garlic
• 2 large celery stalks diced (1 C)
• 2-3 cups cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken from the store)
• 6C chicken broth
• 1 teas dried thyme
• 2 (16 ounce) cans black beans
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn or small can
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced or small can diced chilies
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Serve with tortilla chips
• Add grated Monterey Jack cheese on top
• Optional fresh lime wedges as garnish

Directions

1. Add oil to large soup pan, then onions and celery. Saute until soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add chicken, broth and thyme. Bring
2. Add beans, corn, tomatoes, pepper, cumin and chili powder.  Do not drain any of the cans.  Simmer for 30 minutes or more.
3. Before removing from heat, stir in: 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro.
4. Final touch: Add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve soup with tortilla chips, grated Monterey Jack cheese and fresh lime wedges.

White Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil

1-2 C cubed chicken or turkey

1 onion, chopped

2 cups chicken broth (1 can)

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies or jalapeño

1 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 Tb minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans (or any white bean)

Optional chopped bell pepper and or chopped mushrooms

2 green onions, chopped for garnish

2 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook onion and other veggies in oil 4 to 5 minutes, or until tender.  Stir in remainder of ingredients.  Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or more. Garnish with green onion and shredded cheese.

Servings Per Recipe: 4

Calories: 362

Cheeseball

2 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 jar  (5 oz.) KRAFT ROKA Blue Spread

1 jar  (5 oz.) KRAFT Old English Spread

1/2 tsp. garlic powder +

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper +

1 Tb. minced dehydrated onion +

MIX ingredients until well blended. I use my mixer with the small bowl.  Refrigerate 2 hours if you can wait that long.  I waited overnight and used a large ice cream scoop to make the ball shape/

If you want an old fashioned cheese ball, you can roll it in nuts and fruit, but I never have...I just serve as a dip with RITZ Crackers. 

Kraft discontinued Blue Roka for a couple of years.  After many protests and cracker burnings, they brought it back for the holidays.  I was told it was at Meijer's, but good luck, I bought quite a few of them.  

for Ball:

3/4 cup  chopped PLANTERS Pecans

1/4 cup dried cranberries

on wax paper and shape into a ball

  

Glazed Salmon - maple, ginger and brandy

Marinade (can be used for pork tenderloin or boneless chicken also):

1/2 C maple syrup
1/4 C liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
1/3 C C M brandy
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons grated ginger or 1/8 teas ginger powder
1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas pepper
2 crushed garlic cloves

Combine in a large zip lock bag.

Add about 8 (6 oz 1" thick) salmon fillets, chicken or pork tenderloin filets.

Marinade for about 30 minutes, turning bag at least once.  Remove meat from bag and discard.

Preheat broiler pan coated with cooking spray.  Broil 11 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.  I usually cook on foil on the grill.  The marinade should sizzle and be a little caramelized on the tin foil for the most flavor.

Minestrone with Roasted Vegetable

mmmm  I've been on vacation and wanted something home-made and healthy!  This was a winner!

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
1 Large onion (fennel bulb is what the recipe called for and what I used) quartered, cored and cut into 3/4 " pieces
3 inner ribs celery, cut into 2 " pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
3 Tb olive oil


Toss veggies and oil in large bowl, season with salt and pepper.  Spread out on a cookie sheet lined with foil.  Roast for 10 minutes, turn and toss, then roast for another 20 minutes, turning veggies every five minutes, until nicely browned and tender when pierced with a fork.  Let cool about 15 minutes and chop coarsely.

While veggies are roasting, combine the following in a large pot.

1 -14.5 oz can cannellini beans - not drained (any white bean will do)
1 - 14.5 oz can kidney beans - not drained
1 - 28 oz petite diced tomatoes
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary
3 Tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley (I only had dried parsley)

1/4 lb. dried small pasta - cooked, drained and set aside  (a bit of olive oil will help it not stick together)

Let soup simmer and add roasted, chopped veggies when they are ready.  Add about a cup of water if needed for right consistency.  Add cooked pasta to each bowl when it's time to serve, mix and garnish with cheese.

1/4 lb. dried small pasta - cooked and drained (a bit of olive oil will help it not stick together)

1/2 C finely grated Parmegiano-Reggiano or Parmesan

Enjoy!  Healthy and filling!

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Ingredients

• 1/4 C real bacon pieces 
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups light cream
• (instead of eggs and cream, I used 1 1/4 C egg beaters)
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top
• 1 ready made pie crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet with the spinach, onion, mushrooms, water, olive oil and garlic. Cook over medium high heat until veggies are tender. Drain any excess liquid and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whip together eggs, cream, (or egg beater) salt, and pepper. Stir in veggie mixture and Swiss cheese. Transfer to the pie crust. Top with remaining cheese.
4. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 35 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

I served this for dinner with steamed broccoli and whole cranberry sauce.  It was colorful, healthy (don't count the crust) and delicious!  I found this online and simplified and lightened it up:  http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/Belle-and-Chrons-Spinach-and-Mushroom-Quiche/Detail.aspx

Tod was really excited about this dinner and couldn't wait.

My empty nest still has a child in it :)

Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence of the Food Network with my Changes

• 2 - 13 oz. cans chicken or (1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast or rotisserie chicken)
• 1 teas. pepper
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Taco Seasoning
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tb. chopped garlic
• 1 sm. can corn drained (or 1 C)
• 2 cans chopped green chilies (4 oz.)
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 16-18 corn tortillas (one pkg.)
• 30 oz. (3 cans) enchilada sauce - heat level is your choice, I had two hot, one mild
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses
• Garnish: cilantro leaves, chopped green onion and sour cream

Directions

Drain one can of the chicken, then add the drained can and the entire second can into large fry pan. Add pepper, cumin, garlic powder, Taco Seasoning, onion, chopped, chopped garlic, corn, chilis, tomatoes, bell pepper. Stir well to combine. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.

Spray pan with oil.  I used a catering pan, but you could use two cake pans if needed.  Spoon in some enchilada sauce in bottom of pan.  Layer the tortillas in the pan. Spoon all chicken mixture onto the tortilla layer. Cover with the remainder of the tortillas. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro, green onion and sour cream before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans. I used a pizza cutter to cut the enchilada layers up to look like individual enchiladas. I tried to fold them, but it broke, therefore the layers were born. Serves 8...left overs needed another can of enchilada sauce as the tortillas seemed to dry up the sauce overnight....mmmmm it was very good.

Rhubarb Pie (or BlueBarb Pie)

425 degree oven, 40-50 minutes

Spray pie pan with Pam, line with a pie crust

¼ C water in sauce pan if using fresh rhubarb (if using frozen, add thawed out rhubarb here, it will have water in it)

1 2/3 C sugar (1 cup for tart)

1/4 C flour

½ teas cinnamon

Stir  until smooth (you can heat it up here if you need to get it smooth, but this is optional, if it gets all mixed up without heat)

Add 4 C diced fresh rhubarb

Stir until rhubarb is coated, if heating until bubbly, watch for scorching. Fold in a Cup of fresh blueberries for a variation.

Pour into Pillsbury crust, top with another crust, slit crust, wet top of crust with milk on top, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.

Bake 40-50 minutes, until brown and bubbly around the edges. Glass or ceramic pie pan works best for me.  *NOTE Strawberry Rhubarb takes less time than the plain rhubarb...look for the boil over levels or fork test doneness of the rhubarb.

***********************************
Optional Crumb topping instead of top crust:

1C flour

½ C firm butter or margarine

½ C brown sugar

Cut with pastry cutter until crumbly and put on top of pie

I always use Pillsbury pie crust, it is just easier. I probably would make one pie a year if I made the homemade crust.

Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwich

2-3 # Pork Loin

1 C. Chicken Broth

2 Tb. crushed garlic

1 teas. pepper

1/2 teas. salt

Place Pork Loin in baking dish, pour chicken broth over the meat, coat with garlic, then sprinkle with generous salt and pepper. Cover with tin foil and bake in 300 degree oven. Go shopping for five hours. Pull out roast place on cutting board, wipe away any fat from the outside of roast, discard. Shred the roast by pulling it apart with two forks, set aside in lg. pan.

Add 1/2 C. drippings from roast to pan with shredded pork. Add up to two bottles (15. oz.) of Sweet Baby Rays or your favorite BBQ sauce. It's ok to add water to the bottle, rinse it out by shaking and adding to mixture. It's what we do! Mix all together and serve on your favorite bun. Whoo, that was easy! My friend Diane let me in on this one!

Smoked Sausage GUMBO

1/2 c. olive oil optional
2 c. chopped onion
2 c. chopped green pepper
1 c. chopped celery
2 T chopped garlic
1 lb. smoked sausage, thinly sliced (I've used the Jeanie O smoked turkey sausage - less guilt and taste good)
1 small can corn
1 c. frozen okra or collard greens
2 cans chicken broth (4C)
1 qt. water

1/4 c. Quinoa (optional, but why not)

2 C. peeled, chopped tomato (or one can)

1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. catsup
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. hot sauce and/or ¼ teas red pepper (or more depends on how spicy you like)
1 tsp. dried whole thyme
1 tsp. dried whole oregano

8 Cups of hot cooked rice

Combine oil in a large pan with onion, green pepper, celery and garlic, continue cooking until vegetables are tender. Add sausage and all ingredients except rice; bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2 hours. If you can wait that long.

You can also stir in shrimp, crabmeat, and cooked chicken if you wish and continue cooking 10 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve gumbo over rice, season to taste with salt & pepper. Yield 11 cups

Stuffed Cabbage

I have to give credit to Sherry Gray for helping me make these the first time. I know I have probably changed some things that she has done, but that's what will make it a "Tuttle" recipe to pass on.

Ingredients

2 heads cabbage (three make it easier to find nice leaves, but you have leftovers)

FILLING

2 cups uncooked long grain rice, scalded

3 lbs lean ground beef

1 lb lean pork sausage (I prefer "Old Folks Sausage-Medium")

1 pound ground Veal

1 C onions, minced

1 C bell pepper minced

1 C celery minced

4 eggs, beaten -

1 cup water

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

1 garlic clove, minced (1 Tb minced)

STEWING SAUCE

2 (28 ounce) cans canned diced tomatoes

2 (28 ounce) cans canned crushed tomatoes

4 cups tomato juice or V8

1 C minced onions

1 C minced bell pepper

1 C minced celery

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 lb bacon, cooked (I bake this in the oven on a cookie sheet till crispy, drain on a paper towel then crumble up)

2 lbs sausage, smoked

Directions

Core cabbage, heat in salt water in a large soup pot till leaves separate.

Remove each leaf and drain in colander or on a towel.

FILLING--(2nd ingredient group):

To scald rice: Heat a generous amount of water in a heavy pan that will hold the heat. Make sure that the water will be more than enough to cover the rice. Make sure the water is at a rolling boil, if rice is not scalded enough it will be crunchy! Add the 2 C of rice to boiling water, pull off the heat. Let stand for at least 5 minutes. Rinse with cold water, draining with sieve. Add rice to the rest of the filling ingredients in a very large bowl and mix well.

Now fill the cabbage leaves with filling mixture; folding leaves like a burrito. I'm a sissy and used an ice cream scoop, but the piggys were a bit too fat.

While husband is rolling pigs (ha), start cooking the stewing sauce in another pot.

STEWING SAUCE--(3rd ingredient group):

Mix group together, bring to a boil, then simmer 5 to 10 minutes.

TO ASSEMBLE:.

Line the roaster with: layer of pigs, sauce, sprinkle with left over cabbage cut up into chunks, sauce, layer of pigs, layer of sauce, cabbage, smoked sausage chunks and the rest of the sauce.

Set oven at 350°F.

Cover roaster, and once all comes to a kind of a boil-probably about an hour, reduce temperature to about 300°F so it doesn't boil over.

Cook about 2 more hours. It's actually taste better on the second day, so I make it ahead of time. The recipe is so large, I usually end up with zip lock bags full of piggys for a lazy day to put in the freezer.

Chicken Marsala

A dinner this good probably should have been served at a table. Sadly, we don't always use the table as you can see this plate presented on Tod's lap...He was impressed anyway and said "you need to take a picture"

Chicken Marsala and Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients
8 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless - Cut across so you have thin pieces
1 cup flour
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 teas Dried oregano
8 Tbsp oil
8 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups Marsala wine

Procedures

1. POUND chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap until about 1/4" thickness.
2. COMBINE flour, salt, pepper and oregano in a mixing bowl. Dredge chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off any excess.
3. HEAT 2 Tb oil and 2 Tb butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken breasts on medium heat for about 2 minutes on the first side, until lightly browned. Turn breasts over to cook other side. Set the chicken aside and continue to sear the outside of the remainder of chicken, adding oil and butter as needed. When all the chicken has been seared (or browned) then add mushrooms. Add Marsala wine around chicken pieces. If you want a stronger Marsala taste - which Tod does - I'll reduce 4C of Marsala to two cups before adding to chicken by simmering in a pot first.
4. COVER and simmer for about 15 minutes or until chicken reads 180 degrees or higher.
5. TRANSFER to serving plate.

To complete this "Olive Garden" style dinner, I would add the Roasted Potatoes. I put 6-8 potatoes (punctured) in the microwave, covered and hit the baked potato button. This quickly pre-cooks them. I then slice up the hot potatoes into chunks, place in a large zip-lock bag with a package of French onion soup mix, 1/4 C olive oil, 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and some chunky veggies like onions and bell peppers. Shake it all up, place on a cookie sheet and brown the potatoes and veggies in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

Grilled Salmon with Zucchini Relish

Relish Ingredients:

1		cup chopped zucchini
1/2		cup chopped onion- red was best
1		tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves or rosemary
4 1		tablespoons chopped bell pepper small tomato diced
2		tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 1/8		crushed garlic clove -or a teaspoon crushed garlic teaspoon salt
1/4		teaspoon pepper

Sauce Ingredients:

3		tablespoons light butter, melted
2		tablespoons chopped fresh basil or rosemary leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1		tablespoon lemon juice

Salmon Ingredients:

4

(6 ounces each) salmon filets

Combine all relish ingredients in medium bowl; mix well. Cover; refrigerate until serving time.

Make aluminum foil pan.

Stir together all sauce ingredients in small bowl. Brush both sides of salmon with sauce.

Place fish on grill in pan. Cover; grill, turning and brushing with sauce once, until fish flakes with fork (10 to 12 minutes). Serve with relish.

A version of this recipe was found on LandOLakes.com. This is with my changes and my picture. Very healthy and it was very tasty on a February day reminding me of a summer meal.