Mac & Squash - CEiMB

I might have been in the minority for this recipe, but it was NOT enjoyed in our house. I so wish that I had halved the recipe like I had been considering. However, I usually am a huge fan of Mac & Cheese. I made this over a week ago and it is still sitting in our fridge. The Hubster and I just don't want to look at it again. I just have to throw the rest away.

The recipe was chosen by Supplicious. It looked so good and sounded wonderful. Seriously, Macaroni and Four Cheeses....doesn't that sound delicious? It should really be called Mac & Squash. I couldn't taste any cheese. The only thing I could taste was squash. And lots of it. Before I put it away, I actually dumped about 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese into the pan. The Hubster ate some for lunch the next day and said that it did taste better. However, neither of us have touched it since then.

I doubt that I will be making this one again. If I do make homemade Mac & Cheese, it will not be with a "healthy" twist. It looks like others really enjoyed this recipe though. Check out the other Ellie Cooks for their reviews. You can find the recipe on page 168 in Ellie's cookbook.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy B-Day Cobbler

Back in June, this recipe was selected for TWD by Beth. When I told The Hubster that he could choose any completed TWD recipe for his "B-Day cake", this was the winner. Back in the day, we both loved a dessert that was served at Red Lobster. It was some kind of berry cobbler. They don't serve it there anymore, which is a shame. Red Lobster has always been one of our favorite places to frequent when we first started dating and still is, 10 plus years later. Back on track.....

You can find the recipe HERE or on page 416-417 in Dorie's cookbook.

The verdict: The Hubster really liked the cobbler which I served with vanilla ice cream. There were no complaints or criticisms. I thought that it was good too. Maybe a tad too watery though. It tasted very good the first day, however, the taste factor (for me anyway) went way down the next day. I thought that the berries almost tasted sour. Apparently this is a dessert that needs to be finished on the day that it is made. Again, no complaints from the B-Day boy!

Grammy's Bread & Butter Pickles

INGREDIENTS:
7 1/2 lbs. medium cucumbers
1 medium onion
1/2 cup salt + 1 tablespoon

Syrup:2 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 3/4 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon whole black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground tumeric

DIRECTIONS:
1) Wash and slice cukes 1/8″ thick and cover with salt. Mix well and let stand for one hour. Use enamel or porcelain pan. Slice onions and sprinkle with salt and let stand one hour. Rinse and drain well.
2) Mix all syrup ingredients in kettle to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil. Add onions and cukes and stir often to mix well. Bring to a boil. Put in jars and seal.

NOTES: This was very exciting to make. It was fun listening to the jars pop as they sealed. Great recipe Grammy! I have to note that she originally received this recipe from Great Grandma Helen and Great Aunt Karen years ago. I think that they obtained it from a McCall’s Magazine.

I originally posted this recipe on 8/19/08 on my old blog.

buckeye bars

I made these cute little bars today. They were in my most recent Kraft Food & Family magazine. I am a huge fan of this magazine. The recipes are tasty and the ingredients are so simple to find. These are no bake bars. The vanilla wafers and peanut butter bottoms are a good combination. My 2 year old didn't think so though. He liked the chocolate on the top and left the bottom portion. Oh well. More for the rest of us.

Prep Time:15 min
Total Time:2 hr 15 min
Makes:25 servings

What You Need:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
22 NILLA Wafers, crushed
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 of 8-oz. tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping (Do not thaw.)
3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Make It
LINE 8-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended. Mix in wafer crumbs. Gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition. Press onto bottom of pan.
MICROWAVE COOL WHIP and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min.; stir. Microwave 15 to 30 sec. or until chocolate is melted; stir until blended. Spread over peanut butter layer.
REFRIGERATE 2 hours. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting to serve.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Serving Suggestion
Serve in holiday-colored foil candy cups.

Make Ahead
Store in airtight container in freezer up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Size-Wise
Dessert can be a part of a balanced diet, but remember to keep tabs on portions.

Oven-Fried Chicken - CEiMB

I am one of those with an aversion to chicken bones. I would rather have a boneless skinless chicken breast. When I was prego with my kids, the sight of any raw chicken was completely disgusting to me. I literally couldn't even touch it. I have been getting better though.

The recipe this week was chosen by Lonely Sidecar. The recipe can be found on their blog or on page 213 in Ellie's cookbook. I have to say that it was a big hit in our house. I liked the kick that the cayenne pepper gave it, even though I used less than the recipe called for because I wanted my kids to eat it too. I used 4 boneless, skinless split chicken breasts and 4 bone-in chicken thighs for my husband.

For our chicken the only alteration I made was using multigrain saltine crackers and less cayenne pepper. I loved the combination of garlic powder, sesame seeds, Corn Flakes and the crackers. The chicken was dipped in a mixture of non-fat plain yogurt, egg whites, salt and Dijon mustard and then into the cracker mixture. It cooked for 45 minutes in the oven.

The result was very moist chicken with a crunchy coating and a subtle kick. My husband and older son liked it too! I will be making this one again. It was a great pick!!

And, I really should add that the new badges done by Holly and Leanne look so awesome. Holly also created a header for our CEiMB website. Thanks again girls!

Aborio Rice Pudding, White, Black (Or Both) - TWD

I enjoyed this recipe much better than the past two TWD recipes that we have had. Thank you Isabelle for choosing the recipe. You can find the recipe on her blog or on page 412-413 in Dorie's cookbook. I can say that I have ever had rice pudding before making this recipe. Tapioca, yes....but rice...I don't think so. YUMMY!!!

It was very good. I'm glad that I read the PQ section to learn that the recipe in the book is wrong and the pudding actually had to simmer for 50 some minutes instead of 30. That would have made a big difference. My pudding would have been very soupy. I made 1/2 of the pudding white and half black by using leftover mixtures of semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate. I can't say that I liked either the white or the chocolate better. They were both very tasty! The chocolate pudding did set up better and was firmer. I served the pudding topped with Dream Whip from the aerosol can.

I would make this rice pudding again. Both the chocolate and vanilla too!

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits & Apple Cheddar Scones - TWD

This weekend I pounded out two more recipes from the completed TWD list. I made the pecan brown sugar biscuits and apple cheddar scones. The biscuits were made back in February and the scones back in July. You can find the biscuit recipe HERE and the scone recipe HERE. Or the recipes can be found on pages 25 and 32 in Dorie's cookbook.

I probably won't be making either of these recipes again. Neither did much for me. The biscuits probably would tasted much better just coming out of the oven. I guess the same for the scones. I tried them after they had cooled considerably. Maybe I am just not a biscuit or a scone fan. My husband enjoyed them but he likes just about anything.

Come back tomorrow for my rice pudding assignment!