Easy Black Bean Burritos

Black bean burritos are great.

Tortillas (white flour) or your choice. Spoon on black beans, cheese, and heat in microwave. Then add cilantro, tomatoes, onions, tomatoes, black olives, sour cream and anything else your little heart desires.

Deck with salsa, taco sauce, etc

Jessica
(4/18/08)

Read More

Judy's Appetizer

Judy's Appetizer

Hard Salami slices
Green chilies
Cream cheese

Spread softened cream cheese onto salami slices, add a strip of green chili and then wrap them up.  These go fast!!

Judy
(12/29/07)

Read More

Erin's Easy Appetizers

Erin's Easy Appetizers

The easiest thing I can think of is a fantastic spread that is made of one jar of dutch feta (sold in jars filled with olive oil and herbs) and one jar of roasted red peppers. I literally just throw both into the food processor and it comes out beautifully. If you're feeling like that isn't enough, you could throw them on some pastry shells with black olives.

Alternatively a baked brie is also impressive but low effort. You buy a round, slice it in half and fill the middle with raspberry, apricot or cranberry preserves and then bake. To take up another level, you can wrap it in phyllo and then bake (I like to arrange the dough like a bag with the top just tied up with kitchen twine which can be replaced with chives or green onions after baking). Just bring crusty bread to go along with it if you don't bake it in dough.

erin in UT
(12/29/07)

Read More

Truffles... The GOOD ones... from Aubrey

Truffles... The GOOD ones... from Aubrey

2 cups cream
1 pound good bittersweet chocolate, chopped pretty fine
2 tbsp liqueur
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Optional Fillings: whole hazelnuts or other nuts, crystallized ginger, etc.

Optional Dusting: cocoa, powdered sugar, finely chopped nuts, etc.

Take cream and heat gently just until very warm to the  touch. 

Take off the heat.  Add the chocolate to the warm cream and  whisk until smooth.  Add liqueur (I used Frangelica hazelnut, but go with your heart's desire),  vanilla, and salt.  Whisk until smooth again.  At this point it could be  used as a decadent dessert sauce.

Or, chill overnight and then make truffles. Scoop a teaspoon and roll quickly into a rough ball. (For  fun, shape around a whole hazelnut, or whatever matches your liqueur. Crystallized ginger is amazing...)

Coat in cocoa, or powdered sugar, or  finely chopped nuts, etc.  Place on wax paper lined cookie sheet. 

Chill again briefly to set.  For the advanced set, enrobe in more chocolate.  Store in the fridge, but remove an hour ahead of serving.

Hugs, Aubrey
(12/20/07)

Read More

Marta's Chocolate Mousse

Marta's Chocolate Mousse

Someone mentioned cookie recipes the other day...I'm not so good at cookies but here's something truly yummy and easy:

1 pound cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3 egg yolks
12 oz chocolate, sweet, melted
     (Debbie LFB knows the BEST kind of chocolate)
3 egg whites
2 cups heavy cream

Mix cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla, egg yolks and chocolate.

Beat egg whites and cream separately then fold into cheese mixture.

Pour into dessert glasses and chill.

You'll notice that the eggs are not cooked in this recipe...you are warned.

Marta
(12/5/07)

Read More

Great Aunt Eunice's Graham Cracker Squares (with frosting)

In case there's anyone out there who hasn't yet OD'd on holiday sweets, here's something guaranteed to send you into a sugar coma. Don't say I didn't warn you. And yes, I really did have a Great Aunt Eunice. Not a cookie, more of a sweet, but a holiday tradition in my family. Cut 'em small, they'll make your teeth sing.

Great Aunt Eunice's Graham Cracker Squares (with frosting)

1/2 lb butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
36 squares Graham Cracker
1-1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Melt butter in top of a double boiler. Add sugar, then add the unbeaten egg - be careful; if the butter's too hot, the egg will poach on contact. (Ask me how I know this.) Stir continually but gently when you're adding the egg; you don't want to scramble it or poach it.

Cook 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally. You want the water in the lower part of the double boiler just simmering. If it gets too hot, the butter-sugar mixture will turn into cement on the sides of the pan, or worse, burn. Take off the stove and cool.

Crush the graham crackers. and add them to the cooled butter-sugar mixture. Stir in miniature marshmallows and if you like 'em, 1/2 cup of chopped nuts. I skip the nuts. You don't want the marshmallows to melt, so make sure the butter-sugar really is cool before you mix everything in. It'll be hard to stir, but keep at it til everything is evenly mixed. It will seem very dry and crumbly at this point, but don't worry. All that butter and sugar will hold it all together once it's refrigerated for a bit.

Press the whole thing into an 8" x 8" pan, or a 10" x 7" pan if you have one. Frost with buttercream frosting, and put into the fridge to harden before cutting, then let it warm up a bit to make it easier to cut.. Cut into 1" squares and eat.

Frosting:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp cream
1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together until completely blended and of a good consistency for frosting. You might need to add a little more cream.

The Scullerymaid, not responsible for resulting sugar-induced coma
(12/1/2007)

Read More

Booze Balls

Booze Balls

This is the perfect time to make these, because they taste a lot better after they've been sitting around for a few weeks. No baking required

6 oz chocolate chips
3 tbsp corn syrup
1/4 cup booze (rum, bourbon, or your choice)
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cup crushed vanilla wafers
1 cup finely chopped nuts
4 oz chocolate sprinkles

Melt chips in a double boiler. Blend in corn syrup, booze, sugar, cookies and nuts.

Roll into balls one teaspoon at a time. Press chocolate sprinkles around the balls.

Place on a cookie sheet, cover and chill. After completely cold, store in a cool/cold place in a tupperware or zip lock baggie.

For a more festive look, roll some balls in chocolate sprinkles, some in granulated sugar, some in sweet cocoa powder, some in non pareils (sp?) etc.

Denise
(11/30/2007)

Read More

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup (great for leftover turkey!)

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup (great for leftover turkey!)
Serves around 12

I just got an order from them with a handful of imps, so I don't need any more. But here's a recipe anyway in the spirit of Thanksgiving feasting.......

4 to 5 (10.75 oz each) cans condensed chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup wild rice
     (I use a package of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild rice, and use their spice packet)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (I use 2 bunches of green onions)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup whole kernel corn ( I usually use a whole pkg of the frozen one - the smaller pkg)
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups half and half (the fat free one works fine)
2 to 3 cups cubed turkey or chicken (cooked)
8 slices bacon - fried crisp and crumbled
3 tbsp. diced pimento

Add the Rice ( I use original or the herb one) to the chicken broth and water in a large pan Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 min. Add veggies and turkey.

In separate pan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and stir till bubbly Add in poultry seasoning, salt and pepper and the half  & half. When smooth and bubbly add to the rice mixture, stirring constantly until well blended. Simmer 30 minutes.

christyhco
(11/22/07)

Read More

Aunt Martha's Goop

Aunt Martha's Goop

Here's my family fave:

1 can pineapple chunks in their own juice (save the juice)
2 cans fruit cocktail in their own juice (but drain this one)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp corn starch
Cool Whip

Drain pineapple juice into a sauce pot and add the egg and the cornstarch and sugar.  Stir on high heat until it boils and thickens.

Let mixture cool and then add to the fruit.  Fold in the Cool Whip and chill in fridge.

I looooooved this as a kid and still do!!!!

xoxo,
Katrina
(11/22/07)

Read More

Potato Casserole

Potato Casserole

My Grandmama made this every holiday, and I miss it SO much:

1) Slice baking potatoes to fill a large casserole when layered. I usually use about 3 pounds. This really depends on having good potatoes. The potatoes can be peeled (pretty) or unpeeled (better for you).

2) Butter the casserole dish, and heat the oven to 450° F (if you aren't already cooking something).

3) Spread 1/2 (or 1/3, if you are going to make this gooey) of the potatoes in a layer in the casserole dish. It is really pretty to overlap them in concentric circles.

4) The next step is to layer sauce. When I was really little, she made a white sauce with cream and butter, and added a jar of sliced mushrooms. As my Grandfather got diabetic, she changed the sauce to Campbell's Cream of Mushroom. At Thanksgiving,m there might be sliced mushrooms and slivers of butter in the layer as well. (Healthy Choice works fine.)

5) Spread with shredded cheddar. We liked it best when this was SHARP.

6) Repeat steps 3-5 once (or twice if company is coming).

7) Be sure to top with cheese (and if you have dried onions, add some now).

8) Bake until golden brown and the potatoes are cooked. For an 8" by 8" dish, at 450° F, I tend to need 40-50 minutes. If I am cooking at 400° F, maybe 1 hour, 15 minutes.

Shelly P.
(11/22/07)

Read More