Spiced Apple Rings-NO Red Hot Candies!!

I remember the spiced apple rings of my childhood-Daddy made them and I would eat them like there would never be another one!

He never used red hot candy to make them. I searched for a recipe using real spices and finally found one.
It is located here at the The Iowa Housewife's Blog.

Apple Butter-mmmmm GOOD!

Wash, peel, core and cut up your apples-amount doesn't matter at this point.
Place them in a heavy bottomed pot.
Add 1½ cups of one of the following-apple cider(best), apple juice, water.
Cook on very low heat with the lid on.
Occasionally stir. They will break down into mush.
At this point, measure the apple mush.
For each cup of apple mush add ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. You can adjust these two ingredients to your own tastes and the type of apples you are using.
Put back in heavy bottomed pot and cook till thick.
Put in hot jars. 


Process in a water bath 15 minutes for pints.

Hot Honey Mustard

18 Small to medium hot banana peppers (or jalapenos or habaneras, or a combination)

1 Tbsp mince garlic

2c apple cider vinegar

Wash peppers & remove stems. Place in food processor with a bit of the vinegar & process till almost all liquid.  I leave the seeds. Pour pepper and vinegar mixture along with rest of vinegar and garlic in pot and slowly bring to a boil. Keep at a boil 7-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and add:

2c honey

2c prepared yellow mustard

2tsp Worcestershire sauce

 1½tsp ground Cayenne pepper

1½tsp onion powder

Stir well with a fork or use a wire wisk. Return to heat. Do not boil again but cook well to blend flavors about 20 minutes.

In small bowl combine:

¼c corn starch

¼c water

Stir till smooth.

Wisk mustard mixture  while slowly pouring in corn starch/water mixture. Cook just until thickened.

Pour into hot sterile jars (pints or half pints) and seal.

Makes 3½ pints.

This will be great as a mustard based barbecue sauce for pork or chicken. It will go well as a sauce for sliced roast beef or with the addition of a some horseradish for Corned Beef Brisket. Fish comes to mind also-maybe add some dill for fish.

Oreo Cookie Truffles-YUM! YUM!

I have a newly discovered sweet wonder! A lady came through my check-out line at Wal-Mart in Dickson, TN and told me about making truffles with Oreo cookies. At the next break I got online and discovered the easy recipe and proceeded to buy the ingredients when I clocked out that night.

Many thanks to this un-named lady!!!

Here is my recipe with variations:

While shopping I bought the Great Value brand of regular Oreo type cookies and the Oreo Berry Burst Ice Cream (strawberry) and Oreo Mint and Cream flavors.

I also procured strawberry Flavoring, Mint Flavoring, 1 8 ounce package of cream cheese per bag of cookies and various sprinkling toppings (finely crushed pecans, colored sugar, coconut) and Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips, regular chocolate chips for melting and dipping.

You will also need wax or parchment paper.

At home I took one flavor of cookies (strawberry), crushed them in my non-electric food processor (it is very similar to the one seen here.) Then I dumped it into a mixing bowl, added a teaspoon of strawberry flavoring and the room temperature cream cheese. After trying to mix this with a wooden spoon, I decided to put a disposable exam glove on and mixed with my hand.

I sat the bowl in the fridge for about an hour while the cookie sheet lined with wax paper was in the freezer getting cold.

Then I used a small ice cream scooper/cookie dough scoop-it looks like this-to scoop the dough out onto the cold, lined cookie sheet.

I then set the balls in the freezer and proceeded to melt a bag of Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips-adding just a touch of paraffin.

I took the very cold truffle dough and rolled in the melted chocolate and paraffin, placed back on the cold, lined cookie sheet then sprinkled with red, white and green candy sprinkles from the cake decorating department. Do the sprinkles while the chocolate is still warm and sticky!

These were then placed back in the fridge to harden.

I will be making these smaller--most recipes I found on the Internet said "walnut sized balls"--I think about half that size is better for party trays or even to give as gifts.

I used regular, alcohol based flavorings but feel that the oil based ones sold in the cake decorating section would be better.

You could use white chocolate for dipping and add food colorings to suit your taste or the occasion.

The plain ones, just regular Oreo cookies will have coconut sprinkled over some and finely chopped pecans sprinkled over some.

Colored sugar doesn't look exactly right on dark chocolate but may on white chocolate.

You could also dip in melted peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips.

You could dip in dark or sweet chocolate, let harden then drizzle with melted white, dark or milk chocolate, peanut butter or butterscotch chips. Please-if anyone could have a peanut allergy do not even consider opening anything with peanuts or a peanut warning on the label in your kitchen for several days before you make these or until after you have removed these from your kitchen.

I can see these in so many ways! This just may become as popular and famous as my Two Handed Oatmeal Cookies!

Oatmeal Cookies

I started making these cookies for our first daughter's first Christmas. We have done them ever since. The men and children in the family start requesting them in October. I always make these the last of my Christmas baking and make at least 5 batches. I buy all the ingredients but I use up the left over dried and candied fruits from the other items to make up the 2 cups of chocolate pieces. My brother had not been home for a Christmas, in years. I gave him a bunch of these the year he made it home for Christmas. He called me in January asking for more. He had taken ice cream and softened it, spread a thick layer between two cookies and frozen them!


6 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons real vanilla
8 cups regular oats (I use organic oats the real big ones.)
1-cup candy-coated chocolate pieces
1 6-ounce package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate pieces

In large mixer bowl beat eggs. Add sugars, peanut butter, butter, baking soda and vanilla; mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Drop dough from an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with bottom of glass dipped in sugar or, you can spray the bottom of the glass with a non-stick spray instead. Bake in a 350° F oven for 14-16 minutes. Cool cookies slightly before removing from cookie sheet; cool completely. Makes about 40 (4-inch diameter) cookies.


I have made this using shortening instead of butter and I had to start using soy butter when my eldest developed a severe and deadly allergy to peanuts.  

French Vanilla Ice Cream

This recipe makes 2 quarts.

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups cream (or undiluted evaporated milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a medium saucepan beat eggs and milk. Add sugar mixing well.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. It should coat a metal spoon. This will take 10-12 minutes.

Cool. I cool mine by pouring into a mixing bowl and setting in freezer.

Add cream or evaporated milk and vanilla.

Leave in refrigerator overnight.

Freeze in your ice cream machine or you can sit bowl in freezer and stir every 2-3 hours, very well. As it starts to freeze you will to shorten the intervals between stirrings.

Grannie's Oatmeal Drop Cookies

I love these cookies. Used to make them for my children all the time.

2 cups sugar
6 Tablespoons Cocoa
1½ teaspoons cinnamon powder
½ cup milk
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 ¾ - 4 cups Oatmeal


In a medium saucepan mix the dry ingredients well. Stir in the milk very well. Add butter. Heat over medium heat to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it boils, boil for 2 full minutes.

Remove pan from heat and add oatmeal.

Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

Let cool completely, about 4 hours.

My Tuna Casserole

I decided to fix a quick Tuna Casserole for tonight. Here's what I came up with and it's pretty good, even if it is me that's saying it!

Ingredients:

2 6ounce cans tuna in water, drained
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cups of dry small macaroni shells
1 small can mushrooms
1 stalk of celery
½ of a large onion
Worcestershire Sauce
Paul Prudhome's Seasoning Salt New Orleans Blend®
Minced garlic
Cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Cook shells according to package directions. In the meantime, mince the celery, onion and mushrooms. ( I use a Slap Chop®).

Mix everything except cheese in a bowl and then pour over in a 8" casserole dish. All seasonings are to taste.

Cover with cheese. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.

You can add fried onions or croutons to the top the last 5 minutes of baking if you wish.

You can also add dill weed, chopped bell or other peppers, canned or fresh diced tomatoes.

Cranberry Salad That is absolutley DIVINE!!

With all the holidays coming up and so many never having eaten a good cranberry salad, I thought I'd share this tradition from my childhood family.

Cranberry Salad--Easy and Sweet

My mother and I used to do this twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas, in an old hand grinder. We clamped it to the table and one of us would feed the cranberries in and the other would turn it.

I now make this all year long. If you leave the pecans off, it is great on turkey and chicken sandwiches. It goes over well at most potlucks, too.

1 bag cranberries
1 large box gelatin (any flavor)
1 whole orange
2 cups boiling water
1/2 to 1 cup sugar
nice Pecan halves

Puree cranberries and entire orange(peeling and all) in blender. Stir gelatin and sugar into boiling water until dissolved. Stir in pureed fruits. Pour in to a square pan or casserole. Chill just until set. Remove from fridge and gently place one whole Pecan half in center of each serving sized square. (Do not cut the squares until firmly set.)