Sunday, October 19, 2008

Double dipped caramel apples

Ingredients:

4 or 5 medium apples
Wooden sticks
2 (14 ounce) packages caramels (96 pieces), divided

First Caramel Layer:

Wash and dry apples; insert stick into stem end of each apple.
Microwave 1 package of the caramels and 2 tablespoons of the water in a small deep
microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring every minute.

If caramel sauce is too thin, let stand about 2 minutes before dipping apples.
Dip apples into hot caramel sauce; turn until coated. Scrape excess sauce from bottom of apples. Place on greased wax paper. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.
Second Caramel Layer After refrigerating, repeat microwave and dipping directions with remaining the remaining package of caramels and 2 tablespoons water.

Decorating ideas:

Decorating ideas for warm caramel apples:

Roll in chopped pecans or nuts of your choice; drizzle with melted apples. Decorate with non-pareil covered semi sweet chocolate chips; drizzle with melted white chocolate. Roll in graham cracker pieces and miniature marshmallows; drizzle with melted chocolate. Roll in macadamia nuts or premium mixed nuts; drizzle with melted white and semi-sweet chocolate.

Decorating ideas for chilled caramel apples:

Dip apple in melted chocolate, several times, waiting for chocolate to harden a little between each dip. Use white or semi-sweet chocolate or marbleize.
Dip bottom of apple in melted chocolate; decorate with toasted coconut and slice almonds. Decorate with melted white or semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkles.
Any of these apples can be decorated with anything you choose, such as raisins, chopped malted milk balls, peanut butter chips, chopped potato chips or
pretzels.

WHAT A YUMMY FALL TREAT!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins



Prep time: 30 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

FILLING
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

MUFFINS
1 (14 oz.) package Pillsbury® Pumpkin Quick Bread
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preparation Directions:

1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Spray 12 muffin cups with no-stick cooking spray.
2. BEAT cream cheese in medium bowl with electric mixer until soft. Add egg, sugar and lemon peel. Beat until smooth.
3. PLACE pumpkin bread mix into large bowl. Remove 3/4 cup dry mix and set aside in small bowl to make topping. Add milk, oil and egg to remaining bread mix in large bowl. Stir 50 strokes or until blended.
4. FILL each muffin cup with about 1/4 cup batter. Make indentation in batter with small measuring spoon sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. Put 1 heaping tablespoon cream cheese mixture in center of each muffin.
5. ADD melted butter to reserved dry mix. Stir with fork until crumbly. Add pecans. Crumble about 1 tablespoon over each muffin.
6. BAKE 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove muffins from pan. Place on baking rack to finish cooling.

THANKS FOR SHARING RACHELLE!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Monterey Pumpkin Dip

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 15 oz. canned pumpkin
  • 2 oz. chopped canned green chilies
  • ½ t. garlic salt
  • ½ t. cumin
  • sour cream
  • chopped tomato
  • chopped green onion
  • diced red onion
  • tortilla chips (Lime tostitoes Recommended)

Blend cream cheese, pumpkin, green chilies, garlic salt, and cumin. Spread into 8 X 8 in. pan. Top with sour cream, tomato, green onion, and red onion. Chill. Serve with chips.

Thanks Rachelle for sharing this great recipe!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Spiced Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are beautiful; eat them while they're warm, and they'll melt in your mouth. This recipe is adapted from the one that won Brittany Ayers her first blue ribbon when she was just eight years old. Fresh berries are best for these muffins, but you can also use frozen.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Lightly spoon 2 cups of flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour and next 6 ingredients (through cloves) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture.

Place blueberries in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over blueberries; toss to coat.

Place butter and cream cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed 1 minute or until blended. Add milk, eggs, and vanilla to butter mixture; beat to combine. Add butter mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Gently fold in blueberry mixture. Spoon batter into 14 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar evenly over batter. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pans 5 minutes on a wire rack. Remove muffins from pans; place on a wire rack.

Yield

14 servings (serving size: 1 muffin)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 192(26% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 3.1g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.4g); IRON 1.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 46mg; CALCIUM 124mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.9g; SODIUM 327mg; PROTEIN 5.5g; FIBER 1g

Monday, August 25, 2008

Orange Julius

1 small (8oz) can orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 trays ice cubes

Put in a blender and blend until ice is chopped up finely and the mixture is thick and slushy.

Yummy Baked Beans

2 (28 oz) cans of Bush's Baked Beans - drain some liquid
1 med Onion
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
BBQ sauce to taste
1 (15 oz) can crushed pineapple (well drained)

Mix all together and bake for 1 hour. (Or put in Crock pot for a few hours.)

Optional: add 1/3 can fried onions and sprinkle rest of can on top.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Blueberry Jello with Cream Cheese Topping

1 large package strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water

***Dissolve jello in water.

Add:
15 oz. can blueberries, undrained (not pie filling)
20 oz. can crushed pineapple (undrained)

***Chill in fridge until set

Topping:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar

Spread over set Jello and Top with chopped walnuts (optional).

Thank my mother-in-law for this great recipe!