Butter Cookie Snowmen

found this recipe here...can't wait to try it...CUTE!!!
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Butter-Cookie-Snowmen-2?keycode=ZFB

THIS ONLY MAKES 1 DOZEN COOKIES....YOU MIGHT WANT TO AT LEAST DOUBLE IT!!

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon Spice Island® Pure Vanilla Extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Blue and orange paste food coloring
Miniature chocolate chips
Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour. Remove 2/3 cup dough to a small bowl; tint blue. Repeat with 1 tablespoon of dough and orange food coloring; set aside.
For snowmen, shape white dough into 12 balls, 1-1/4 in. each; 12 balls, about 1/2 in. each; and 12 balls, about 1/8 in. each. For bodies, place large balls on two ungreased baking sheets; flatten to 3/8-in. thickness. Place 1/2-in. balls above bodies for heads; flatten.
Shape half of blue dough into 12 triangles. Place triangles above heads for hats; attach 1/8-in. white balls for tassels. Shape orange dough into noses; place on heads. Divide the remaining blue dough into 12 pieces; shape into scarves and position on snowmen. Add chocolate chip eyes and buttons. Bake at 325° for 13-16 minutes or until set. Cool for 2 minutes before carefully removing to wire racks. Yield: 1 dozen.

English Muffins

This is such a simple recipe, it is great for everyone, even beginners...

1 cup milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup melted shortening, butter or oil
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tsp Salt.

Directions
1.Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2.In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise.
3.Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.
4.Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Shortbread Cookies

1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup butter, softened ** do not use margerine!!!

sift together corn starch, powdered sugar and flour. With wooden spoon, blend in butter until soft dough forms. If dough is too soft to handle, cover and chill 30-60 minutes. Shape into 1" balls. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. flatten with lighly floured fork.

OR

roll dough to 1/4"; cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Decorate with candied cherries, coloured sprinkles or nuts if desired.

Bake at 350F for 15 - 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen.

Tom Turkey Gobbler

I found this at Aprils Home Cooking http://aprilshomecooking.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-will-be-here-soon.html




apples or pears
ring-shaped fruit oat cereal
mini marshmallows
large marshmallows
whole cloves
candy corn
toothpicks
To make Tom's tail feathers, set apple or pear on its side and then stick a few toothpicks into one end, as shown. Stack cereal rings on each toothpick until it's nearly full and then place a mini marshmallow on each end. Break a toothpick in half (Mom, you can snip with scissors for little ones.) and insert into apple or pear where you'd like the head to be. Press a large marshmallow onto this toothpick and press cloves in for Tom's eyes. Using another half toothpick, secure a piece of candy corn to the front of the marshmallow for Tom's beak. Insert 3 toothpicks into the bottom of the apple so Tom can stand up. Stick 2 more pieces of candy corn on the front 2 to make Tom's feet.

Iron Skillet Butterscotch Pie

2 cups milk

2 egg yolks

2 ½ tbsp. flour

2 tbsp. butter

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup boiling water

1 baked 9-inch pastry or graham pie shell

In a bowl, stir together milk and yolks. Whisk in flour a little at a time until smooth.

In a large cast-iron skillet or a thick aluminum saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has melted. Add boiling water. Stir in flour-egg-milk mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened and smooth. Pour into pie shell and chill. Top with meringue or whipped topping. (I like using an electric skillet to make my fillings)

Corn Casserole

1 - 14 1/4 oz whole kernel corn, drained
1 - 14 3/4 oz cream corn
1 - 8 0z pkg corn muffin mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1. preheat oven to 350* F
2. in a large bowl, stir together the first 5 ingredients
3. pour into a greased casserole dish and bake for 45 min.
4. remove from over and top with the cheese
5. return to the oven for 5 - 10 min or until the cheese is melted
6. let stand at least 5 min and serve warm

Soft Gingersnaps

Found this recipe on Taste of home facebook page!!! yumm!!!!


Soft gingersnaps embody the tastes and smells of the season. Enjoy cloves, cinnamon and ginger blended into one delicious cookie. These are perfect for Thanksgiving and fall gatherings. —Lara Pennell, Mauldin, South Carolina

36 Servings
Prep: 15 min. + chilling
Bake: 10 min./batch

Ingredients
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup sugar
Directions
•In a large bowl, beat brown sugar and butter until blended. Beat in
egg, then molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon
and cloves; gradually add to brown sugar mixture and mix well (dough
will be stiff). Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

•Shape dough into 1 in. balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on
baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 9-11
minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to
wire racks. Yield: 3 dozen.

Spiced Apple Rings

SPICED APPLE RINGS

6 large apples (I use Braeburns)
Peel, core and slice into rings, putting the rings immediately into cold water with lemon juice.

In a large pot: 3 cups water, 1 cup sugar,1 cup cinnamon candies, like Red Hots.
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 - 3 TBSP of whole cloves.

Bring syrup to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Drain apple rings and add to syrup. Let come back to simmer and cook until almost tender, gently stirring occasionally.
Let cool in syrup.

Just a note,to get the apple rings as red as the bought ones,try adding red food coloring

Ham Broccoli Hot Dish

1 1/4 cup dry elbow macaroni
1 1/2 c broccoli fresh or frozen, cooked
1can cr of mushroom soup
1 cup cubed ham
1 cup shedded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella shredde cheese
1/c cup milk
1/2 tsp dried onion
1.2 tsp peppper

Cook macaroni and broccoli, separately.
Combine soup, ham,cheeses, milk onion & pepper.
Drain macaroni & broccoli, add to other ingred.

Put in 8 X 8 pan, Top with crushed potato chips or buttered Ritz cracker crumbs. Bake uncovered in a 350* oven for 25 - 30 mn.

Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Found this recipe at Copykat.com hope it's as good as Olive Garden's http://www.copykat.com/2010/02/28/olive-garden-chicken-and-gnocchi-soup/
Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
Yield: 8 servings.
1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (you can use a rotisserie chicken)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 quart half and half
1 14 ounce can chicken broth
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup carrots, finely shredded
1 cup onion, finely diced
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon parsley
Freshly grated parmesan cheese – optional
1 pound potato gnocchi – can buy this in the gourmet section of many supermarkets
Sauté the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil, over medium heat when the onion becomes translucent, add the flour, and make a roux, let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 quart of half and half.

Cook gnocchi according to package directions.

Into the roux add in the carrots and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasonings, simmer until soup is heated through.

Comments about this recipe: You can add more chicken if you like. While you could use left over cooked chicken breasts, I really think using the rotisserie chicken that are found in many grocery stores is the best way to get the optimal flavor of this soup. If you want to make the soup lower calorie you can use milk instead of half and half. Half and Half, does taste better, and it also reheats better than milk does.

Chocolate Pie

ANOTHER RECIPE FROM The Post it place http://thepost-itplace.com/2009/09/chocolate-pie/

6 Hershey Almond Candy Bars
1/2 cup milk
20 large marshmallows
1 tub cool whip
1 graham cracker crust
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt the marshmallows, chocolate bars, milk and vanilla in a double boiler. Allow to cool and then fold the cool whip into the mixture. Pour into the pie crust and the chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
.

Apple Brown Betty

I found this recipe here...I just love Southern Plate!! http://www.southernplate.com/2010/11/apple-brown-betty-guest-post.html

Apple Brown Betty

•1 quart apple sauce
•1/4 cup sugar
•2 cups graham cracker crumbs
•1/2 cup butter
•1 teaspoons cinnamon
•1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Mix apple sauce and 1/4 cup sugar and pour into a baking dish. Melt 1/2 cup butter and mix with 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and nuts. Spread over the top of the apple sauce and bake at 400 degrees until brown (about 10 minutes).

Cowboy Breakfast

I found this on this blog!!! http://thepost-itplace.com/2009/09/the-breakfast-to-beat-all-breakfastes/

5 pounds red potatoes, diced once cool
1 pound thick-sliced bacon, diced
3/4 cup green bell peppers, diced
1 onion, diced
8 ounces shredded cheese ( I used mexican blend)
6 large eggs

Boil the potatoes in a large pot of water until they start to feel soft, but not too soft. You want them to hole their shape when you dice them. before they cool completely you want to peel the skins off. Then dice them and set aside.

Fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat until the fat is rendered. You want to drain off some of the grease, but not all of it.

While you continue to brown the bacon add the green pepper and onion and cook thoroughly.

Add the potatoes to the pan and heat until the mixture is hot throughout.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top, letting it melt down into everything.

Stir in the eggs cooking them till done.

Mmmmm, trust me, you don’t need anything to go with it. Just serve it like it is. Well, unless you are like some people I know and have to have bread with every meal. Then you can throw some toast or a good old southern style biscuit on the side.

Meatball MOJO

Put premade meatballs(frozen is fine) in a saucepan add one small can of V8 juice, a 1/2 cup of wine, and a jar of Ragu Cheese Creations Double cheddar sauce (or cheese whiz if you can not find that Ragu) add 1/2 cup grated Colby jack cheese. Stir up well and heat till meat balls are heated through and sauce is thick and bubbly.

Take a large loaf of soft fresh French bread. Slice open from the side. Remove a channel of the bread from the very center of the bottom part of the loaf. Put loaf in foil lined baking pan.

Pour meatballs and sauce into the bottom section of the loaf evenly. Top with more shredded cheese. Place top section of bread loaf on. lightly spread top of bread loaf with melted butter( or garlic butter).

Pull up alum foil in the pan to wrap the loaf. Heat for 10-15 mins at 350. Remove and divide into individual serving pieces.

I use the store bought frozen meatballs that are Italian style, how many you need will depend on how big your loaf is but you don't want to skimp. If you prefer you can use some spaghetti sauce in place of the v8.