Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Southern Fried Cabbage

There are several ways to make this dish and I assure you, they are all yummy!

 

3 slices bacon, cut into thirds

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground black pepper,

or to taste

1 head cabbage, cored and sliced

1 white onion, chopped

1 pinch white sugar

 

Place the bacon and vegetable oil into a large pot over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until bacon is crisp. Add cabbage, onion, and sugar to the pot; cook and stir continuously for 5 minutes, until tender.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Poor Man's Steak

3 lb hamburger

1 c cracker crumbs

Salt & pepper

1/4 c chopped onion

1-2 cans mushroom soup

 

Mix well and press onto cookie sheet. Chill overnight to set. Cut in squares, roll in flour and brown both sides. Place in baking dish. Pour soup over meat mixture. Bake at 350°F. for 1 hour.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Fluffy Nutter Bites

 
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup nonfat dry milk
36 mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped peanuts
 
In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, honey and dry milk. Stir until well combined and resembles cookie dough.2 Take 1/2 Tablespoon of dough and wrap around each mini marshmallow creating a ball with a marshmallow center. Roll each ball in crush peanuts to coat

Zucchini Patty Sandwiches

 
1 15.5-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 zucchini, grated
1 small red onion, grated
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 whole-wheat pitas, toasted
1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
8 leaves tender lettuce
1 cup fresh mint leaves
 
Directions
1.Mash chickpeas in a bowl until smooth. Stir in breadcrumbs, zucchini, onion, egg, and salt. Form into eight 4-by-1/2-inch patties.
2.Saute patties in oil until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
3.Halve pitas and stuff with patties, yogurt, lettuce, and mint.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Nutty Broccoli Slaw


1 (3 oz) pkg Chicken Ramen Noodles
1 pkg. (10 oz) Broccoli slaw mix
2 cups green onions (2 bunches)
1-1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 can (6 oz) sliced ripe Olives, drained
1 cup sunflower kernels, toasted
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup Olive, Vegetable, or Canola oil

Set aside the noodle-seasoning packet: Crush the noodles and place in a large bowl. Add the slaw mix, onions, broccoli, olives, sunflower kernels and almonds. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the sugar, vinegar, oil and contents of seasoning packet: Shake well. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Yield 6-8 servings

BREADED CAULIFLOWER


1 head cauliflower
3-4 eggs beaten
2 cups bead crumbs
3 tbl parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp sweet basil

Cook cauliflower pieces until just tender. Do not overcook. Drain well. When slightly cool, dip in egg and then into crumb mixture. Fry until golden brown in enough oil so that pieces float. Do not crowd. Drain.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Chocolate Caramel Cookies

 

2 cups flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup caramel bits or chopped up caramel squares
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Set oven to 350°F. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar. Add eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in caramel bits and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until set. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

 

 

Carrot Cake Cookies

 

1 carrot cake mix

1/2 c butter, melted

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 c white chocolate chips

1/2 c Kraft caramel bits

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon. Beat until combined. Stir in the white chips and caramel bits by hand. Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Form dough into 1- 1 1/2 inch balls and place on baking sheet. Bake at 350°F. for 10-11 minutes. Let cool on pan 2-3 minutes. Gently remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely. Store in airtight container. Note: Use a metal spatula to remove the cookies from the baking sheet. The caramel will start to stick to the pan if you leave it cool too much.

 

Burrito BLT Wraps

8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

2 cups bite-size pieces lettuce

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 ounces)

1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup)

1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing

6 flour tortillas (8 inches in diameter)

Toss all ingredients except tortillas. Spread one-sixth of bacon mixture on each tortilla. Fold up bottom third of each tortilla; roll up to form cone shape with folded end at bottom. Tips:  Tortillas fold easier when warmed slightly; follow package directions for heating.   For a new flavor twist on this favorite, try ranch or French dressing in place of the mayonnaise.  Have bagged salad greens in the fridge? It's a quick way to get to the lettuce you need for these sandwiches.  Spread each tortilla with 2 Tablespoons guacamole before adding the lettuce mixture.

Southwest Cornbread Salad

3/4 cup ranch dressing

3/4 teaspoon curry powder

15 slices packaged precooked bacon

8 cups cubed (3/4 inch) cornbread

1 medium tomato, diced (3/4 cup)

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 can (11 oz) Green Giant® SteamCrisp® Mexicorn® whole kernel corn, drained

In 1-cup glass measuring cup, mix dressing and curry powder; let stand 5 to 10 minutes to blend flavors. Meanwhile, cook bacon as directed on package until crisp. Drain on paper towels; crumble. In large bowl, combine cornbread, tomato, onion, cilantro and corn. Add bacon and dressing mixture; toss gently to coat.

Makes 15 servings (1/2 cup each)

Saturday, October 6, 2012

MarkX ~ Cheeseburger Soup


2 lb 96% lean ground beef

Hamburger seasoning or salt/pepper

1 large onion, diced

1 Tb light butter

1 box (32 oz) Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth

~1/2-3/4 of a 2 lb log (so, approx 1-1.5 lb) of 2% Velveeta Cheese (On the show, she used Cheese sauce from a can, but all I found was Cheese Wiz, and thought Velveeta would work better)

1-1.5 pint Fat Free Half & Half

1 Tb flour

1 Tb cold water (may take a bit more)

3 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 head of lettuce, shredded

Directions:

In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, brown the ground beef. Season with your choice of hamburger seasonings—I used McCormick Hamburger seasoning. Drain and set aside.

In a large soup pot, add 1 Tb light butter, and diced onion. Allow the onion to sweat over medium heat. When the onions become translucent, you are ready to continue.

Add the chicken broth (she used a chicken base–like bouillon + water–but I think it is just easier to use broth), the diced Velveeta and the half & half. Allow the velveeta to melt into the mixture.

In a small bowl or ramekin, mix the flour and water to make a slurry. You may need a bit more of water–just add enough to make a smooth mixture, somewhat thin, but not watery (if that makes sense). Once mixed well, add to the cheesey mixture. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly (the cheese likes to stick).

Add the ground beef to the soup pot, turn down to medium low heat.

Dice tomatoes and shred lettuce and then add to the mixture. Stir to combine and turn to low heat until ready to heat.

I NEVER would have thought that lettuce in a soup would be good, but it really, really is!

This is comfort food at its greatest, ladies! MMMMMMMMM

Now, what's the damage you may ask? Well, it's not horrible, really!

Nutritional Information:

Servings: This makes about 14 cups of mixture—so 9 servings

Per serving (1.5 cups);

Calories: 359

Fat: 12 g

Fiber: .9 g

Friday, October 5, 2012

Dixie's Favorite' Corn Fritters

2 cups   flour
2            eggs, beaten
1 tbsp.   baking powder
1 cup     milk
1/2 tsp.       salt
1/4 cup       (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
4 tbsp.  sugar
1 cup     whole corn, drained

       Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a small bowl.  Combine eggs, milk and butter-blend; fold into dry ingredients.  Stir in corn; mix well.  Melt butter over medium-high heat until bubbling.  Drop corn by tbsp. into hot butter.  Fry about 5 minutes, turning them once, or until golden brown.  Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
Serve warm.

French Bread Pudding

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
5 eggs, beaten well
1 pint (2 cups) half and half
Dash of cinnamon
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup raisins
12 slices stale French Bread (sliced 1 inch thick)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream together the sugar and butter. Add eggs, cream, cinnamon, vanilla and raisins, mixing well. Pour into a 9-inch square pan (1 3/4 inches deep). Arrange the bread slices in the egg mixture and let stand for 10 minutes to soak up some of the liquid. (You can tear the bread up into pieces and pour the above mixture over and press down lightly to get it to soak up the liquid either way is great). Let the bread slices sit another 10 minutes and push them down so that most of the bread is covered by the egg mixture. Set the pan in a larger pan filled with water to 1/2 inch from top. Cover pudding with foil. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, uncovering the pudding for the last 10 minutes to brown the top. When done, the custard should still be soft not firm. Serve slightly warm with Lemon Sauce.