Fudgy Bonbons

I can't really remember the year that I got this recipe.  I think maybe the first Christmas that we flew home from El Paso, Texas--maybe 1996 or 1997.  Anyway, we were at my mother-in-law's house and I was trying to find something sweet to eat.  There were some holiday cookies and stuff over on top of her chest freezer and so I picked up something chocolate.  I thought it tasted pretty good, although it was dry from sitting out a long time. I asked Verna where they came from and she said her sister, Gertie Sutton, had brought them over.  So I contacted Gertie and she sent me the recipe.  The first time I made them I thought I was in Chocolate Heaven!  These have wowed my friends and family for years.  This recipe, from Mary Anne Tyndall of North Carolina, won $50,000 in the 1994 Pillsbury Bake-Off.

WARNING: Side effects of this product include addiction and sheer pleasure!

Ingredients:

60 milk chocolate Hershey's Kisses or Hershey's Hugs, unwrapped

1 (12-oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

1.  Heat oven to 350.  In medium saucepan combine Hugs and butter.  Cook and stir over very low heat until chips are melted and smooth.

2.  Add sweetened condensed milk to chocolate mixture and mix well.  Remove from heat.

3.  Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off before putting in stand mixer bowl.  Add chocolate mixture and vanilla.  Mix well on medium speed.

4.  Shape 1 tablespoon of dough around each Hug, covering completely.  Place bonbons 1 inch apart on UNGREASED cookie sheet (I use parchment for ease of release from pan for cooling).

5.  Bake for 6-8 minutes.  DO NOT OVER BAKE.  Cookies will be soft and shiny but will become firm as they cool.  

6.  Cool bonbons completely on cooling racks.

7.  Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave according to package directions.  You can add a little shortening to thin, if necessary.

8.  Dip the tip of each bonbon into the white chocolate or drizzle over .  Get creative.  You can even color the white chocolate to go with your event. 

SECRETS TO SUCCESS:

• This is an easy recipe, but time-consuming.  
• Try to work quickly as the dough will become harder to form around the Hugs toward the end of the batch.  
• I just pinch off about a tablespoon of dough, roll it into a ball and then flatten in the palm of my hand, then place the Hug in the middle and fold the dough up and over the Hug.
• The parchment I use is actually a reusable sheet and "shimmies" easily off of the cookie sheet.
• The original recipe included nuts and used white baking bar/white candy coating melted in a saucepan with the shortening or oil.  I find using the chips and microwave more efficient and just as good.
• Store the bonbons in an air-tight container to prevent drying out.
• When I first tasted the bonbons, Hugs were used so they are my preference.  I did try Hershey's Kisses with Almonds and those were really good.  Experiment with your candies.  I bet caramel would be interesting...

Source:  Mary Anne Tyndall, Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner, 1994.

Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe comes from my favorite cookbook! Better Homes and Gardens, fifth edition, printed 1968. It's pretty awesome

Ingredients:
3 large chicken breasts, on the bone and with skin
3 cups chicken stock (this will remain after chicken has been boiled)
2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil chicken in a large pot.
2. When chicken is almost tender, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Combine milk and oil; add to dry ingredients; stir just until moisten.
4. When chicken is fully cooked, discard all bones and skin. Coarsely chop the white meat in to 1-2 inch pieces. Set aside.
5. Place chicken back in your large pot. Allow only enough chicken stock in the pot to just cover the chicken pieces.
6. Return chicken and stock to a boil.
7. Use a large spoon to drop batter into the pot. For best results, drop batter directly on to chicken, not into the liquid.
8. Cover tightly and reduce heat to a simmer.
9. Allow dumplings to steam for 12 minutes.

Easy Breakfast Casserole

This is so easy and delicious! It is a very modified version of a Bisquick Recipe. This works well with sausage, ham, shredded beef, or hamburger and can be used as a main dish. Garnish this with chopped tomatoes and a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese and use as an Appetizer. I often get requests to bring this dish to events and activities.

Ingredients:

1 lb Bass Farms Mild Sausage
1 large onion chopped
1 1/2 cups baking mix such as Bisquick
2 cups milk
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups grated baked potato or frozen hash browns (optional)
1/2 medium red pepper finely chopped (optional)

If using as an Appetizer:
2 large Roma Tomatoes finely chopped
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

1. Heat oven to 400. Spray 13x9 cake pan with non stick spray and set aside.
2. Brown sausage in skillet and drain off excess fat
3. Return sausage to skillet and add chopped onion and pepper. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes or until onion starts to soften - stirring often.
4. Mix baking mix, milk, and eggs together until well blended.
5. Fold cheese and grated potatoes into egg mixture.
6. Layer Sausage and veggies into prepared pan.
7. Pour egg mixture over sausage
8. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes

For Garnish:
Sprinkle top with chopped tomatoes and cheese

Source: Adapted from Original Bisquick

Meatballs with Brown Rice

Sorry for the generic name...this is a recipe I just put together the other night with things I had in my kitchen.  If you have a favorite meatball recipe, this may be a good way to use it.  =)

Ingredients:
2T Butter
1 stalk celery chopped*
1 clove minced garlic
1tsp dried onion, or about 1/4 c chopped fresh onion
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 c Beef broth
2 lbs meatballs (I used frozen Italian style)
about 6-8 servings of cooked brown rice

1. Prepare meatballs and rice
2. Melt butter in a medium/large sauce pan
3. add celery, garlic and onion.  Saute' until celery is tender
4. Add soup and broth.  Stir until smooth and well blended.  
5. Stir meatballs into the sauce, and serve over brown rice.  

* The celery taste is bold.  If you are not fond of celery, I think green peppers would work well too.  The  soup/broth base is very basic and could really be used with a variety of add-ins.  =)  Make it your own!

Stuffed Peppers

Looovvvee these! (in my singing voice) These are easy and yummy! You can add anything to this recipe! Its soo good! Try it!

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 c rice, cooked
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg
1/4 c green bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 c - 3/4 c Italian flavored bread crumbs,add as desired
1/2c Sweet Baby Rae's BBQ sauce, or your favorite
1/2 c cheese, cheddar or colby jack
salt
pepper
dash of worcestershire sauce
4 green bell peppers, halved, and cleaned

Sauce:
1/2 c Sweet Baby Rae's BBQ sauce
1/2c ketcup
1/2c-3/4c brown sugar
8 thin rectangular slices of cheese, big enough to cover the pepper

Boil a pot of water. When water begins to boil, add the halved bell peppers. Cook just to soften a bit. About, 5 min. Take them out of the water and let them cool.

In a mixing bowl, add the above listed ingredients and mix well. You may need to add more bbq sauce if mixture is to dry. Spoon the ingredients into each halved pepper and place in a baking dish. Add to the bottom of the baking dish 1/4 c water. Cook the peppers in a 350 degree oven for 35 min.

Remove baking dish from oven and spoon sauce over peppers. Add a slice of cheese on top of each pepper. Spoon a little bit more sauce over the cheese. Place back into the oven and bake for another 5-7 min or until the cheese is melted good.

*Obviously, you can also cut the top off of the pepper, clean it out and stuff the whole thing. But, so the peppers stretch farther, and so my kids can not be stressed out about seeing an entire bell pepper sitting before them to eat, I cut them in half.

Market Street Clam Chowder

This chowder takes me back to the days we lived in Monterey, California. As newlyweds, my husband and I would hang out at the wharf and feed the sea lions and enjoy free samples of the many varieties of clam chowder. This one is a definite winner. The secret is in baking the butter and flour mixture.

Ingredients:

1 cup red potatoes, finely diced
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup vidalia onion, finely diced
1 cup red pepper, finely diced
1 cup leeks, diced
3/4 cup clams, chopped
3/4 T. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. thyme, crushed
6 large bay leaves
1 t. Tabasco sauce
3/4 cup beef or chicken broth
2 cups water
3/4 cup clam juice
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 cup all purpose flour
2 qt. half and half

Directions:

1. Combine melted butter and flour in oven-proof container and bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

2. In large saucepan, combine remaining ingredients except half and half. Simmer until potatoes
are thoroughly cooked.

3. Stir butter-flour mixture into chowder and stir until thick. Mixture will be slightly less thick
than cookie dough.

4. Remove chowder from heat. Stir in half and half until blended. Heat to serving temperature,
stirring occasionally.

***I like to add more potato and sometimes carrots and mushrooms. For this particular go 'round I added a pound of shrimp. Yummers!

Source: passed to me from my good friends, The Streubers

Chicken Crepes

Crepes:

1 ¼ c. flour

3 eggs

1 c. milk

¼ c. water

½ tsp. salt

3 tbs melted butter

1-Heat 6 inch skillet lightly oiled. Pour 2 tbs batter in pan. Quickly tip pan. Cook 1 minute, turn, cook 1 minute.

FILLING

1 cream of mushroom soup

1 tsp minced onion (or onion powder to taste)

2 c. chopped cooked chicken

2-Fill crepes with 2 tbs filling.

3-Roll up & place in 9x13 inch pan.

TOPPING:

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 c. sour cream

4-Spread the topping over the crepes.

5-Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the top.

6-Stick in the freezer or cover bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Source: Wendy Starks in the Greenville Ward Relief Society Cookbook