Pomegranate-Avocado Dip

I hope it's not too late and that you can still find Pomegranates in the produce aisle. If it is too late, I'm really sorry, but put this recipe away for next year. Don't be fooled by the variety of ingredients that you wouldn't normally see together. It has just the right amount of sweet/savory to make it ADDICTING!

Ingredients:

1/4 tsp Chili Powder

1/8 tsp Cayenne (Red) Pepper

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 small Onion, chopped (I used a yellow onion)
1 Roma Tomato, chopped
1-2 Avocados, sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 Pomegranate, seeded

1. Mix the chili powder, red pepper, and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Mix all the produce well in a Medium-sized bowl.
3. Pour the lemon juice mixture over and coat well.

Serve with your favorite chips or crackers. We like it with Club Multi-grained or some other multi-grained crackers.

Source: Aunt Beth

Fire Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients:

1-1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos 

Handful serrano chiles or your choice of chiles

1 onion chopped

3 garlic gloves

1 chicken bouillon cube

Water as needed

Directions:

Take the husks off the tomatillos and wash them.

Roast them in a frying pan until they are soft and start to brown and split open.

Roast the chiles until they are browned.

Add both to the blender along with the chopped onion, minced garlic, 1 chicken bouillon cube, and some water.  Start with 1/2 cup of water and add more as needed.

Puree in the blender until it reaches your desired consistency.

Serve with chips or on burritos and enjoy! 

Source: My brother's girlfriend and some experimentation.

Snow Cream

 This my friends, is snow cream.  I can't tell you how much of a delicacy this is in the south. Whenever it begins to snow, which isn't too often in the south, you wait and hope it snows for a couple of hours. Because you can't collect the "first snow"! (I don't know why, some older people have always said it wasn't clean.  -smile-)  But, after its been snowing for a while you place really big bowls outside to collect the snow while it falls.  Then you bring it in and add the yummy stuff to it to make it into snow cream!  It is soo good!  We will actually take the risk of driving through terrible weather to get the ingredients needed to make this, because we love this stuff so much.  Everybody has a different recipe. Some people add eggs. (yuck) But, I tend to go with simple recipes and it doesn't get any simpler than this.  If it snows this winter where you live, give this a try. I promise it will make you like the snowy weather much more!

Ingredients:
Lots of Snow, (about 16-20 cups per bowl = 36-40 cups of snow for 2 cans of condensed milk)
Condensed Milk, 2-4 cans
Vanilla flavoring, 1/8 - 1/4 cup ( for 36 cups of snow.) 

   You begin this with a lot of snow!  A lot of snow! The picture below is the beginnings of our second batch.  The biggest tupperware bowls we owned were needed for this.  LOL!  This picture actually shows you there wasn't enough collected  in the bowls to use both cans of condensed milk.  The bowls have to be packed full and heaping! 
  

Then add one whole can of condensed milk and about 1/4 cup of vanilla. (I know that sounds like a lot, but trust me.)  Then stir and mash.  Stir and mash.  You are going for a creamy texture.  Add snow as you go. You will use both bowls of snow.   The bowls are equivalent to a big stock pot. The biggest one in your set. 
Add the other can of condensed milk. But not the whole thing.  Then add a Tbsp or two of the vanilla flavoring.  Stir and mash. It takes a little while to mash out the snow balls in the mixture and get it all creamy. When it looks like the picture below you are finished.  Enjoy! - and put it in the freezer to keep until its all eaten.  ;)

 

Yummy, yummy!

 

 

recipe by Niki Lewis

 

Boiled Cookies

I had a friend once who thought this was a disgusting name for a cookie.  She said in her family they called them Gorilla Poops.  Not sure why my family's title won the gross-out award over hers.  Anyhow, it's a tried and true recipe that brings back lots of memories for me.  Sunday afternoons were the traditional occasions for these quick treats when I was growing up, and it's a tradition I've kept going in my own family.

Ingredients:
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. milk
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. peanut butter
2 1/2 c. oats (quick or old-fashioned)

1.  Combine the butter, milk, cocoa, salt, and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cook for 1-2 minutes more and then remove from heat.
2.  Stir in vanilla, peanut butter, and oats.  Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper and allow to set.

Makes about 3 dozen

Notes:

• My personal favorite way to make these is to omit the cocoa from the boiling mixture, and then add in 1/2 cup or so of coconut after the boil.  Yum!
• I used to always use quick oats until I experimented with old-fashioned, which I use more often.  Quick oats give a bit softer texture, but I like them with the old-fashioned oats better.
• You can pour the mixture into an 8"x 8" pan, sprayed with cooking spray, but it takes a lot longer to set before you can cut it into bars.
• My ten-year-old made this batch and has become quite an expert at the process!
• We like to use a cookie scoop for easy portioning onto the waxed paper.

Source:  my mom, but this recipe has been around forever!

Chicken Enchiladas

One of my favorite recipes from College Days came from my roommate Robin Parks. She was from southern California and provided several yummy recipes.  There is another one for hamburgers with fried eggs and cranberry sauce on it.  Seriously good, no kidding!  These enchiladas are a little time-consuming and really end up looking like a casserole, but they are so-o-o good. These are a family favorite.

Ingredients:
1 chopped onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying tortillas
1 crushed garlic clove
2 cups stewed tomatoes
2 -3 whole chopped green chilies, or 2 small cans
1 doz. corn tortillas
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
6 bouillon  cubes, or 6 teaspoons granules
3 cups hot 1/2 & 1/2
1/2 lb. Monterrey Jack cheese, grated

1.  Saute onion in oil til soft .  Add garlic, tomatoes, chilies and chicken.  Season with salt and simmer 10 minutes.

2.  Fry tortillas in 1" of hot oil.  Do not let them crisp.  Place on paper towels to drain excess oil.

3.  Dissolve bouillon cubes in hot 1/2 & 1/2.  Dip each tortilla in this, fill with about 1/4 cup chicken filling and roll up.

4.  Arrange rolls in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Pour remaining 1/2 & 1/2 mixture over them.  Top with grated  Jack cheese.

5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


Source:  Robin Parks, Fullerton CA

Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 c. flour
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1 c. Oreos, crushed

Directions:



1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2.  In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and well-combined.

3.  Add the sugar and vanilla and mix until the ingredients are well-combined.  Add the flour and mix on low until the flour is incorporated.   Stir in the mini chocolate chips and white chocolate chops with a rubber spatula.

4.  Place the Oreo cookie crumbs in a small bowl.  Scoop the cookies into about 1 1/2 to 2 inch balls and then roll in the cookie crumbs.  Place the cookie balls on the baking sheet.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden and the tops are slightly puffed.

5.  Cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in airtight container.

Source:  Brown Eyed Baker

Puff Pastry Chicken

I made this for the first time tonight, and my family LOVED it! It was such an easy recipe too! I will definitely be making this again! YUM!

I've never cooked with puff pastry before, and I really liked it! So flaky and delicious!

Puff Pastry Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed (I bought 1 box of Philo dough, and it was enough) 
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3-4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
fresh parsley, a few sprigs, chopped
1 green onion, chopped (can use dried onions instead)
1 egg, put in bowl and whisked
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Mix together cream cheese, bacon, parsley, and onion. This is your filling.

2. Cut a deep slit into each chicken breast, and add the filling. 

*Once I got the chicken breasts slit and stuffed with the filling, I felt they were way too large, and I cut them each in half. Then I wrapped them with the dough. I am so glad I did this! They were the perfect serving size for us. A whole breast would have been way too big!

3. Generously salt and pepper the chicken.

4. If you get two large sheets of puff pastry like I did, you will need to cut them into pieces the right size to wrap around each piece of chicken. This is slightly tricky, but I made it work. 

5. Place the chicken onto the dough, filling side down. Brush some egg around the edge of the dough -  this is used to help seal the dough together. Fold the dough around the chicken and place on greased baking sheet, with the ends of the dough down.

6. Brush top with egg.

7. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until the chicken is done. 

These were truly delicious! I hope you enjoy them like we did!

Source: adapted from kayotickitchen