doo doo's, a.k.a. no-bake cookies

these are addictive. the only bad thing about these is that you have to wait for them to cool in the fridge.

1 stick margarine
2 cups sugar
3 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 - 3 cups uncooked quick oats

melt margarine in pan. add sugar, cocoa, and milk. cook until boiling, then 1 1/2 minutes longer. take off burner. add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. stir and drob by teaspoons on wax paper or pour into baking dish. cool in fridge.

cucumber dip

this came from Southern Living, and i haven't tried it yet actually! but it looks good for a summer lunch, doesn't it?

5 small cucumbers, unpeeled
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt, divided
2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
Garnish: fresh chives
Pita chips

Grate cucumbers into a medium bowl. Toss with rice vinegar, salt, and 1/2 tsp. garlic salt. Cover and chill 8 hours. Drain cucumber mixture well, pressing between paper towels.
Beat cream cheese, mayonnaise, and remaining 1/2 tsp. garlic salt at medium speed with an electric mixer 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Stir in cucumber mixture and chives. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Garnish, if desired, and serve with pita chips.

chocolate buttercream icing

this is my standard chocolate buttercream recipe.

6 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/3-3/4 c dutch process cocoa
2 2/3 cup unsifted confectioners sugar

cream butter, add cocoa & confectioners sugar alternately with milk. beat to spreading consistency and blend with vanilla. spread on cake or cupcakes immediately.

chilled strawberry soup

i first had this with my bff hannah, when her mom hosted a tea for us.

2 pints strawberries, hulled
1/2 cup dry champagne
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp honey

process the berries in blender or food processer until pureed. add remaining ingredients. process until blended. chill until serving time.

you may substitute a mix of 1/4 cup sparkling water and 1/4 cup white grape juice for champagne.

betsy's dorito casserole

i know this looks disgusting, but it is probably my favorite casserole ever. and thats saying something.
feel free to use a deli chicken if you're pressed for time... that's what i usually do. mmboy, this is delish!

4 raw chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can chopped green chiles
2 cups mixed cheese
1 bag doritos (nacho cheese flavor), crumbled


boil chicken in about 2" of water. best if water boils down and chicken browns slightly. shred with forks. mix shredded chicken with soup. layer in baking dish in the following order:

doritos
soup/chicken mixture
chiles
cheese
doritos
soup mix
chiles
cheese
doritos

bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly and crispy.

bread pudding var. 1

i made this over the summer when we had a 4th of july party and ended up with several bags of leftover hamburger and hot dog buns. it was my first ever attempt at bread pudding!

10 slices white bread, cut into cubes
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temp
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups scalded milk*
1 pinch ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter one 2 quart baking dish.
Combine bread cubes, butter, cinnamon and raisins; mix well and place in baking dish.
Beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add milk, mix well and pour over bread cubes.
Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake for 25 minutes.


*i didn't bother scalding the milk, because for these purposes its a pointless step. i just warmed it in the microwave a bit until it was about room temp, so that it wouldn't curdle the eggs. really its best if you have the time to let everything come to room temp! oh, also i melted the butter.

cobblerish

1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 large can pie filling, OR 1 large bag frozen mixed berries of your choice.


preheat oven to 350 f.

in a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, eggs, and water. stir until moistened, beat at med. speed for 2 minutes. spread into greased 13"x9" pan. spoon pie filling over. bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.

ina garten's brownie tart

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
3 1/4 cups (20 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
3 extra-large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (4 ounces) chopped walnuts
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Grease and flour a 9-inch tart pan with removable sides. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a bowl set over simmering water. Add 2 cups of the chocolate chips, remove from the heat, and stir until the chocolate melts. Set aside to cool completely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, coffee, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cooled chocolate. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and the walnuts. Fold the flour mixture into the batter until just combined. Pour into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is puffed (the top may crack). The inside will still be very soft. Cool to room temperature before removing the sides of the tart pan.

Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips with the heavy cream and drizzle on the tart.

bacon and eggs in a basket

i'm getting rid of another recipe account elsewhere, so i'll be dumping a bunch of recipes today!

2 slices toast of your choice
2 eggs
crumbled, cooked bacon (about 2-3 slices worth)
salt and pepper
butter

a glass or cookie cutter
Method using cookie cutter or glass, cut the center out of your slices of bread. heat up a skillet and melt lots of butter in it. place bread in skillet and crack eggs, put egg in center of bread. sprinkle bacon over egg immediately, as well as salt and pepper. toast bread centers alongside for dipping in yolks.

when egg has set on bottom, add more butter to skillet and flip bread. cook until yolk is at whatever stage you like.

later today i plan on making a green olive tapenade to use up all the olives i bought for holiday entertaining that didn't get eaten... i have garlic olives, jalapeno olives, and feta olives so it should be pretty salty and delicious:). i'll let you know.

the fruitcake is scrumptious, if i do say so myself... our english friend darryl says that it is an authentic english fruitcake and only needs some marzipan to make it perfect.

gorgonzola cheese ball

here is the official recipe for the gorgonzola cheese ball, which i want to share with you because it was utterly sumptuous.

1 (5.5 oz) container crumbled gorgonzola. other bleu would work well too.
1 package cream cheese, at room temp.
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped sweet nuts, either homemade or from a bag

in a bowl, mash together the cheeses until well combined and the lumps of gorgonzola are broken up. add in the cranberries and mix until well distributed, adding more if you please. line another small bowl with plastic wrap and put mixture in, and then form into a ball and refrigerate a few hours until firm. when firm, roll in the chopped nuts. place on a plate with plain crackers and spread knives and serve!

sugar & spice nuts, aka 'trusting my instincts'.

i'm bummed to have just wasted 2 cups of perfectly good nuts, but pleased that i came out on the other end with my own recipe and method for exactly what i wanted.

backing up: i wanted sweet nuts (like you'd put on a salad), and wanted to make them myself. i went on allrecipes and searched "candied pecans", found the recipe with the most positive reviews, and after i'd made a half batch (2 cups chopped nuts- i used 1 cup pecans and 1 cup walnuts) that the recipe was actually for something like divinity. it's delicious, but it's not at all what i was looking for. so, i heated up my skillet, quickly whisked together 1/3 cup brown sugar, a tablespoon of water, several dashes of salt, and several dashes of cinnamon. i stirred until everything was well coated and started to smell like delicious pecans:), and turned it out onto a greased cookie sheet to cool. voila, exactly what i wanted!

if you're curious, the nuts are going to coat another new recipe: gorgonzola and cranberry cheese ball! it came to me in a vision. the cheese ball is going to be half cream cheese, half gorgonzola, chopped dried cranberries, and it will all be rolled in the sweet nuts. i'm making that along with my mom's cranberry chutney today for Thanksgiving. and tomorrow is baking day! i'll be making a pecan pie (2 if i have enough nuts left... the thought of facing the grocery at this point of holiday madness is terrifying), 2 eggnog pumpkin pies, and a no-bake triple layer mud pie.

edited to add: i ended up popping the nuts into the oven at 300 for about 10 minutes, just to dry them out. they were a little too sticky before but the oven made them just about perfect!

a few ideas for the future

i'm really intrigued by the idea of herbs in baked goods and not just savory dishes. of course its not a new idea, but i've never attempted it, so the new possibilities are exciting! i'm going to try to make a rosemary simple syrup to add to a plain vanilla (or almond) pound cake, and i've been wanting to make lavender strawberry shortcakes for a while now. and what about a lemon basil pound cake? i suppose i go to pound cake first because its just so simple and straightforward and the taste does take the front seat.

jewish penicillin

a.k.a. matzoh ball soup

i do this by feel and taste, so amounts are only approximate.

for the soup:
1 package chicken tenders, cooked and chopped into bite-sized chunks
2 large boxes low-sodium chicken stock (i like to control the salt)
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
6 slices ginger root
ground ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste
a spash of lemon juice

-cook the chicken tenders in a skillet in an inch of water. leave whole, and chop after they're done cooking. (i avoid touching raw meat as much as possible.) while chicken is cooking, chop the veggies and combine with the stock and ginger root in a large stockpot. add cooked chicken to stockpot, and bring to a rolling boil. add seasoning to your taste, then add prepared matzoh balls.

for the matzoh balls:
1 cup matzoh meal
4 large eggs
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp stock or water
1 tsp salt

-with your clean hands, mix meal, eggs, oil, and salt together until combined. add the oil and mix again and refrigerate for 15 minutes. drop into soup and let boil for 30-40 minutes or until matzoh is cooked through. take out ginger root before serving. serve, enjoy, and then feel better!

a modern take on fruitcake

i came up with this recipe tonight after experimenting with a few others, one traditional and one not at all. the traditional recipe had nasty candied fruit, and another was waaay too soft and light. i think this is a wonderful combination of traditional texture and modern flavor. here, natural dried fruit takes the place of the traditional technicolor candied yuckiness, and i've maintained that wonderful moist denseness that is so familiar. it is spicy, rich, spiked, and most importantly, delicious.

3 cups all purpose flour
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground nutmeg, fresh if possible
scant 1 tbsp allspice
scant 1 tbsp clove
zest of 2 oranges, finely chopped
1/3 cup dried figs, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup dried sour cherries, chopped
1/3 cup dried mango, chopped
approx. 2 cup dark rum
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped



soak chopped fruit in 1 cup rum for at least 24 hours, in an airtight container at room temp

grease and flour two tube pans, and line bottom with parchment cut to fit. preheat oven to 225 degrees farenheit.

cream together butter and sugar until lightened in color and fluffy. add eggs and beat until combined.

in a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.

beat flour mixture into butter mixture until well combined. stir in fruit (which will have plumped considerably) to equal 4 CUPS, nuts, and orange zest. divide between two pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1-2 hours. the idea is to bake slow to get rid of some moisture that will be reintroduced in the form of rum during aging.

remove from oven and allow to cool in pan 10 minutes. while cooling, lay out a layer of cheesecloth soaked in rum. flip fruitcakes right side up onto cheesecloth, sprinkle approx. 2 tbsp rum onto surface, and wrap tightly in parchment and sealing in an airtight container. let age for at least 2 months, sprinkling with additional rum every 5 days.

edited to add:
i had enough leftover fruit for two more fruitcakes. i made the happy accident of adding ginger to that batch of batter, and i had run out of orange zest. again, the batter was amazing and i wanted to lick the bowl!