Dumplings

Hello.  I made Chicken 'N Dumplings yesterday.  I have always used the Betty Crocker recipe for my dumplings.  Here it is, if anyone would like it.

Dumplings

  3 tablespoon shortening                         

  1 1/2 cups self-rising flour                 

  3/4 cup milk                    

 

 Cut shortening into flour until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk.

 

Roll out dough on floured surface. Cut into strips.     

Sassy Tailgate Sandwiches

One of the ladies at work made these for our Christmas party.  They were great.

  12 count hawaiian rolls                    
  1 lb ham; sliced
  12 slices Swiss cheese                      
  1/2 tablespoon onion flakes                      
  1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce              
  1/2 cup butter; melted
  1/4 cup parmesan                          

Cut all 12 rolls in half. Place roll bottoms in 9X13 pan. Place equal amounts of ham on each roll bottom. Top with swiss cheese.

On each of th roll tops spread a generous amount of cream cheese. Return the tops to the bottoms. Making a sandwich.

In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, worcestershire sauce, onion flakes and parmesan cheese. Pour over sandwiches and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. (You can make these ahead of time and allow to sit in fridge overnight.)

Place sandwiches, covered in foil, into a preheated 350°F oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until warmed through.

Cheesy Salsa Pull-Apart Bread

There are so many recipes for the pull apart bread these days.  This is a definite keeper.

Cheesy Salsa Pull-Apart Bread

1 can refrigerated biscuits; quartered

  3 tablespoon Butter; melted

  1/2 cup parmesan                           

  1 1/2 cup mexican style cheese               

  1 1/2 cup Salsa                            

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Toss biscuit pieces with butter in large bowl. Add grated cheese, then shredded cheese, mixing lightly after each addition. Also add some chopped jalapeno peppers.

Place in greased pan. Bake 35 to 40 min. or until golden brown. Run knife or spatula around sides of pan to loosen bread; cool 5 min. Remove bread from pan to heatproof platter or cutting board. Serve warm with salsa for dipping. 

Mexican Beef & Rice Casserole

Hello.  I am going to try and post more recipes.  I found this one on the Kraft Recipes site.

Mexican Beef & Rice Casserole

  1 lb ground beef                       

  1 1/2 cup mexican style cheese; shredded

  1 package taco seasoning mix                 

  1 cup rice; uncooked

  14.5 oz  rotel tomatoes                     

  1 cup salsa                            

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Brown meat in large nonstick skillet; drain. Reserve 1 cup cheese. Add remaining cheese and all remaining ingredients to meat in skillet; mix well.

Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover. Bake 40 to 50 min. or until rice is tender. Top with reserved cheese; bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until melted. 

Kitchen Tips

Hello.  I know it has been a while since I posted any thing.  I am going to try and get better.  So to that end, I thought I would post these kitchen tips.  I have seen them before but hopefully you will find something new.

#1 Grate Butter - I need to try this.  It would make making garlic bread so much easier.  I am going to stick a stick of butter in my freezer. 

#2 Scooping up egg shell - I knew this.  My Mother showed me this when I was learning to cook.

#3 Testing Eggs -  I am afaid to check mine.  Depending on how busy things are, eggs can stay in my refrig for a while.

#4 Freezer Pops - I don't have these in the freezer any more.  I did however see at the grocery store the other day, that you can buy ziplock bags to make your own freezer pops.

#5 Peel an Orange - I am going to try this.

#6 Freezing Leftover Sauces - I am going to buy some ice trays so I can do this next time.

#7 Peeling Garlic - My son will love this.  He had started using fresh garlic a lot.

#8 Reheating Pasta - I don't know if I will use this.  I don't normal have pasta leftover.

#9 Storing Ice Cream in a Bag - I am doing this today.  I hate trying to scoop out ice cream when it is so hard.

#10 Sliding cutting boards - Once again, another great idea.  I will be using this.

#11 Travel Cup - Since my son is grown, I can't see myself using this, but it is a great idea.

#12 Cutting up Watermelon - I do something similar to this already.

#13 Repurpose Pizza Cutter - I can't see myself using this one either.

#14 Yogurt Pops - No, wouldn't use this one either.

#15 Fresher Lettuce - I am going to use this at work.  Our lettuce goes bad so quick. 

#16 Pitting Cherries - I have done this, but it is easier to just use a knife I think.

#17 Cutting soft foods - I have seen this but never use it.

#18 Rolling Citrus Fruits - I do this.  Especially when making lemonade.

#19 Chilling wine - I need to buy some grapes. 

#20 Parchment Paper - I think I will try this next week with my husband's birthday cake.  I hate it when the cake sticks to the pan.

#21 Muffin Liners - I can't see me doing this.  Depending on what kind of muffins, I am making I don't use muffin liners.  I hate peeling them off.

#22 Shredding Chicken - I have never thought of this.  I may have to try it.

#23 Peeling Ginger - I must admit that I have never used fresh ginger.

#24  Cutting a Bell Pepper - I am going to try this one.

#25 Coating Measuring Cups - Another one to try

#26 Boiling Water - I have seen this, but I always forget to do it.

#27 Saving your cake - This is just odd.  But then again, I leave a slice of bread in my brown sugar container.

#28 Saving Honey - Since my Dad is a beekeeper, I knew this.

#29 Freezing Herbs - I thought about doing this, this year, but I have been drying my herbs.

#30 Opening Jars - I have a jar opener that looks similar to a rubber band, but it has a handle.

#31 Slicing Cherry Tomatoes - I am the only one here that easts tomatoes so I can't see me using this.

#32 Clear Ice - The next time, I make a punch, I want to do this.

#33 Ripening Bananas - I will have to remember this some times when I want to make banana pudding

#34 Cooking Fish - I don't think I would use this one.

#35 Freezing Lemon Slices - I may have to try this, when my in laws come.  My Mother-in-laws looks lemon slices.  I may even boil the water so the ice is clear.

#36 Fresh Fruit - I knew this.  Don't do it often, but I have done it.

That is it.  Thank you for looking and reading my comments.  I hope you find something you can use.

Have a great afternoon.

Cajun Spiced Popcorn Seasoning

I don't have a picture for you, but I make this alot.  I usually make a huge batch of it every few months for my son to take to college with him.  He eats alot of popcorn and this is is favorite seasoning to put on it.

I don't know where the recipe came from.  I have had it for a couple of years.  You can make it more or less hotter with the cayenne.
 

    Cajun Spiced Popcorn Seasoning

2 teaspoon Paprika
2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients.  Store in an airtight container.

Hello

I know I haven't been posting a lot of recipes lately and I am going to try harder after the new year.  I have so many recipes I want to try and I need to enter all of my old recipes back on my computer. 

I thought I would start with a basic fudge recipe that my Mother used for one of our Christmas parties.  It is easy to make and you can change it to your likes.  I wish I had taken a picture of it.  Maybe next time.

Basic Fudge

16 oz Chocolate Chips
10 oz Sweetened Milk

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.  Once chips are melted, added milk.  Pour into a lined with wax paper 8" square pan.  Let harden.

Note:  You can add nuts, marshmallows, etc after the milk.  You could also use peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, etc.  Easy to change to your favorite.

Also  place a glass in the middle of an 8" cake pan and pour around the glass.  Makes a good wreath for the holidays.