Chili Cheese Dip

This one has a funny story. My brother's girlfriend Gina made this and it was the first time I heard about it. Then my sister made it where she got the recipe from her. Then my friend MaryBeth mom's gave me the recipe in her sexy hand writing not knowing I heard of it. Then in my Effective Speaking class a girl made it for our end of the semester party. Then I wanted to make it for New Year's Eve which we are having at Matt's house in the Poconos.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

My mom had a new obsessive liking to Silk Milk, I like it too. I was in Whole Foods and I saw the holiday Silk Milk flavor of Egg Nog and Pumpkin Spice so I got them for the house knowing the holidays were coming up.

This was the first time I made pancakes and was successful. I think the secret is using a grill pan, a proper recipe, and using non-stick spray. This fixed all my problems because the pancakes kept shape and the grill pan made it for the perfect angle to flip them.

Also, I only had a 1/2 cup of Silk to I just cut the recipe in half. Everything was easy to cut in half except the egg, for obvious reasons but I managed. They did not taste much like pumpkin but I wanted to make them.

Ingredients

1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup Silk Pumpkin Spice
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large egg

Directions

Whisk together dry ingredients. In another bowl whisk together remaining ingredients. Combine dry and wet, mixing gently. Cook on a preheated skillet. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Source- on the side of the Pumpkin Spice Silk Milk

Peanut Butter Apple Pie

Last Christmas I took a classic staple of pumpkin pie and made peanut butter pumpkin pie. This year I did the same with apple pie and made peanut butter apple pie. Both recipes are from Lee Zalben, who wrote the Peanut Butter and Company Cookbook which I love!

I did not venture to making my own crust because I am not that ambitious yet so I took help from the Pillsbury Dough Boy. One day I will make my own crust, maybe after if I decide to go to culinary school, which I was brainstorming the idea with my mother.

If I went to culinary school I would want to study in France or NYC, big difference. I could make this into a hobby, or second career when I retire, I am not entirely sure but it is something I would be interested in.

The peanut butter filling was heaven when I tasted an apple dipped in it. What else can be any more great than melted peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar? Peeling the apples was the worst but cutting them was a lot of fun. The sound of the crisp cool apple being cut by the knife was therapeutic.

Ingredients

6 Granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup natural peanut butter (I used PB&Co. Old Fashioned Smooth)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 pkg. pre-made pie crustr

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 450°F.

2. Place the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and heat on a very low flame and stir until well combined. Remove from heat and add the cream. Mix until smooth and set aside. Let cool.

3. Place the apples in a large bowl and sprinkle the flour on top of the apples and toss with your hands until the apples are well coated.

4. Place the peanut butter filling in the pie shell. Place the apples in the filling one at a time, pressing down so that they become immersed in the filling. Periodically press down on the apples to allow the filling to rise. Continue until all of the apples are incorporated into the filling. Sprinkle the granulated sugar on the top of the pie.

5. Place the pie in the oven and bake at 450°F for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 50 to 60 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Note: Cover the edges of the crust with strips of aluminum foil to protect the crust from burning. Remove the strips during the last 20 minutes of baking.

Source

Cheddar Potato Pierogi Lasagna

I wanted to make this because I love pierogies and I love lasagna so it is the best of both worlds.

I know with regular lasagna my family does not cook the noodles to save time and effort and they come out soft. I tried this same technique but as I am typing this I am worried that the noodles may still be hard. Although, my favorite texture in food is crunch so it may not be a bad thing, but we shall see!

Also, this is my first recipe from Food2. I am a little skeptical because these reviews are not reviewed by chefs in the Food Network even though it is a sister site of them. Plus there was no comments for the recipe.

Ingredients

1 lb lasagna noodles
4 lbs red or white potatoes
1/4 c sour cream (optional)
1/2 c milk
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 c butter (1.5 sticks)
1 onion, sliced in rings

Directions

Cook the noodles. Chop potatoes into cubes, place in pot of cold water (enough to cover), and allow to come to a boil. Continue boil until potatoes are soft enough to yield to a fork stab. Drain, mash, blend with a mixer. Toss in the optional sour cream and milk, mix some more. Add salt to taste. Stir in cheddar.

Melt all the butter over medium-high heat, then sautee onion until the rings no longer hold their shape.

Preheat oven to 375. Grease the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with some of the onion-butter. Lay noodles on the bottom of the dish, then spread the potatoes, a dollop at a time, along the length of each noodle. Once done, smooth the potatoes, then spread about a quarter of the onion on top, and drizzle a small amount of butter as well. Repeat this twice (or more if your dish can accommodate), then top with noodles and the remainder of the onions and butter.

Pop in the oven for 20 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Source

Macaroons

I always wanted to make macaroons and I found this recipe at Lambert Castle in Paterson, NJ when they had their Christmas sale in the castle. If you live nearby Paterson take a visit to this castle it is so beautifully and breath taking! If you plan on going when the sale is going on becareful if you are claustophobic because there is so many things packed in the rooms, I almost had a panic attack.

On the other hand, the macaroons are very very easy. All you do is mix in the egg whites, suagr, vanilla and mix. Then you add the flour and coconut and mix more. Spoon them on a baking sheet. I like really big ones because they look like royalty.

After I melted some chocolate and dipped when end of them in they look good to be in a bakery in France. Also, the remind me of Ina Garten quality food, and we all know she is over the top but also such a great food socialite in her mansion in the Hamptons.

Ingredients

4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups suagr
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
14 oz. coconut

Directions

1) Mix egg whites, suagr and vailla well. Add flour and mix, then add coconut.
2) Line cookie sheet with foil abd drop cookies.
3) Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 15 - 20 minutes.
4) (optional) If you are a chocolate lover, melt 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate in a small saucepan, stir until smooth. After cookies are completely cool, dip one end of each cookie into chocolate. Place on waxed paper and let set.

Source-Holiday newsletter from Lambert Castle in Paterson, NJ (2009)

Jell-O Shots

This is like my third or fourth time making Jell-O shots and every time I do I need to look up the recipe, and every time it is a different one. The reason is I am always unsure how to make them so I am sure to follow the directions very carefully because a strong unshotable Jell-O is gross!

I make this connection of being unsure to I feeling like a chemist mixing together a powder artificially flavored with chemicals to make one batch taste like raspberry and the other orange with hot boiling water heated up by a Bunsen Burner and letting it cool to room temperature in a beaker. Then, I carefully measure out each shot in a glass 1.5 oz. beaker then transfer it to another plastic 3 oz. beaker being careful not to drip any of the strong homogenous liquid that has an uncanny effect of making you do things you otherwise would think twice of.

Ingredients

1 (6-ounce) box of raspberry Jell-O, or other flavor of your choice
2 cups boiling water
2 cups vodka

Directions:

In a bowl, pour the boiling water over the Jello and stir until thoroughly dissolved. Cool to room temperature, then stir in the vodka. Pour the mixture into shot glasses or Jello shot cups. Refrigerate until well-set, at least 6 hours. Makes 32 1-ounce jello shots, give or take.

Source

Banana Pudding

So this recipe is kind of a hybrid, very appropriate since the earth is going to flood itself because of global warming. As I was making it for a Christmas party potluck I disregarded the directions a little bit. I combined the idea of a recipe that I saw in my Effective Speaking class and the recipe for Lorna Doone Spoon Pudding on the back of the shortbread cookie box of Lorna Doone. I just call it Banana Pudding because it simpler.

So I started to lay the shortbread cookies on the bottom of an aluminum pan, that I happened to get a two for one deal unintentionally and dishonestly. I was at Shop Rite and I put the pans on the conveyor belt, but they were inside of each other and I was only charged for one. It took me five seconds to realize this and I wanted just to use quarters to pay so I let it slide. Thanks for the free pan!

I then mixed vanilla pudding mix from Trader Joe's and let it sit for five minutes. Now I have Trader Joe's pudding because I just like an excuse to buy things from other food stores besides the major chains. I was in there last weekend for who knows what reason. I wasn't sure how much Cool Whip to mix in with the vanilla pudding so I just did a cup, the recipe from Effective Speaking says 1/4 cup but what does it matter?

I realized I almost forgot the banana but I wanted another layer and I did not have enough shortbread cookies, because Marybeth and I ate them all, so I used some graham crackers from the S'mores bites from the other night and put a layer of those on top of the pudding. Then I sliced the banana and put a layer of Cool Whip on top adding peaks with the back of spoon. Then for garnish I crushed some shortbread cookies and sprinkled on top. Looks quite nice for all store bought food items. As I type it is sitting in the refrigerator chilling before the party at 8pm with some friends.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups cold milk
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding
24 short bread cookies
1 large banana, sliced
1 container of Cool Whip
some graham crackers if you do not have enough cookies (optional)

Directions

1. Pour Milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix and beat for two minutes or until it is well blended.
2. Arrange the cookies on the bottom of an 8x8 pan, covering the whole bottom.
3. Pour the pudding on top of the cookies.
4. Add a layer of cookies, (if not enough cookies the graham crackers, break them up so when you serve they are small) on top of the pudding.
5. Slice the banana and put on top of the cookies.
6. Add a layer of cool whip covering the bananas completely.
7. Using the back of your spoon add peaks and garnish with crushed up cookies.

Source- back or Lorna Doone box