In the recipe box

Lemon Chicken Soup

fragiletearz — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 09:30:59 -0800

Lemon Chicken Soup
Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee
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3 (10.75-ounce) cans condensed chicken and rice soup (recommended: Campbell's)
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (recommended: Swanson's)
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cooked, store-bought roasted chicken breast, shredded
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a medium pot, over medium-high heat, add condensed chicken and rice soup, chicken broth and lemon juice. Bring to simmer.

In a small bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Slowly stir in 1/4 cup of the hot broth into the egg yolks to prevent curdling. Gradually pour the egg yolk mixture into the soup, stirring constantly. Stir in shredded chicken and heat through. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a pinch of fresh parsley.

Pizza Soup

fragiletearz — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:17:56 -0800

Pizza Soup
8 oz.(2 small cans) sliced mushrooms
1 Can black olives sliced
4 Cups water
15 oz. pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
Add the following ingredients together in soup pan. Stir together. Then you can add other pizza ingredients you would like such as chopped pepperoni, chopped Canadian bacon, or chopped green peppers. Simmer 15-20 minutes. If desired serve with bread sticks or slices of French bread.

Candied Espresso Walnuts

fragiletearz — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 12:15:27 -0800

From Epicurious

Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons finely ground espresso coffee beans
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 large egg white
4 cups walnut halves (about 12 ounces)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Whisk sugar and next 4 ingredients in small bowl. Whisk egg white in large bowl until frothy. Add walnuts; toss to coat. Sprinkle walnuts with espresso mixture and toss to coat. Spread coated walnuts on prepared sheet in single layer.

Bake 5 minutes. Slide spatula under walnuts to loosen from baking sheet and stir, rearranging in single layer. Bake until walnuts are dry to touch, about 5 minutes longer. Loosen walnuts from sheet again; cool on sheet. DO AHEAD: Candied walnuts can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Rachel Ray's Tangy Cherry Chicken

fragiletearz — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:37:46 -0800

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 oz. each
• 2 Tbsp. chopped thyme leaves, about 6 sprigs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup pine nuts (or a couple of handfuls)
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 4 Tbsp. cold butter
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 3 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup dried cherries (or a couple of handfuls)
• 2 cups plain couscous
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey (or a healthy drizzling)
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 3 Tbsp. flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Directions

1. Heat 3 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts liberally with half of the thyme, salt and pepper; add to hot skillet and cook 5 to 6 minutes on each side, or until inside is no longer pink. Remove chicken to a plate and cover it with foil to keep warm.

2. Toast pine nuts in a medium saucepan over medium heat; remove and set aside. Add 2 cups stock and 1 Tbsp. of the butter to pot, and bring to a boil.

3. Put the chicken skillet back on the stove over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Add the onion, celery, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and sauté 3 to 4 minutes, or until celery and onions are tender. Add white wine and let it simmer until pan is almost dry, 1 minute. Add the 2 cups of hot chicken stock and the dried cherries, and continue to simmer, about 5 to 6 minutes, or until about 1?2 cup of liquid is left in the pan. Remove pan from heat, add remaining 3 Tbsp. cold butter in small pieces and whisk until it’s completely melted.

4. In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining 1 cup chicken stock to a boil. Add couscous, allspice, cinnamon and a little salt. Cover pot and remove from heat. Let it stand 5 minutes. Drizzle honey over couscous and add pine nuts, scallions and parsley. Toss and fluff with a fork to combine. 5 Serve chicken whole or sliced, with cherry sauce poured over and couscous alongside.

English Toffee

fragiletearz — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 09:32:31 -0800

This is a family recipe from my MIL I make it every year for my husband, he loves it, it's one of my favorites too.

ENGLISH TOFFEE

1 c. sugar
1 c. butter
3 tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla
4 or 5 Hershey chocolate bars
1/2 cup Chopped nuts (we use pecans)

Chop 2 of the hershey bars into chunks and sprinkle in buttered 9x9 pantop with half of the chopped nuts then Combine sugar, butter and water in heavy saucepan. Cook to 300 degrees (hard crack stage) stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add vanilla and pour over the chopped chocolate in the 9 x 9 inch pan, chop and sprinkle the rest of the chocolate over the top While still warm sprinkle chopped nuts over the top. Cool thoroughly and break into pieces. (the freezer works the best)

Chicken Wontons

fragiletearz — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:53:56 -0800

Chicken Wontons
This is one that can either be baked or fried...We make these around Xmas time for family parties...SOO good
Won Tons
1/2 lb ground chicken
4 chopped green onions
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 pkg wonton wrappers, thawed
vegetable oil
In a skillet over medium heat, combine first 5 ingredients and stir cook until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven* to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put 1 tsp of ground chicken mixture in the middle of a wonton wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with water. Fold wrapper in half to make a triangle and press edges together to seal. Brush two tips of the triangle with water and press tips together to seal. Place on parchment. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.

Lightly brush each wonton with oil. Bake 20-30 minutes or until wontons are golden and crisp. Serve immediately with Raspberry Szechuan Sauce, Sweet and Sour Sauce or the dipping sauce of your choice. Makes about 40 wontons.

*To deep-fry, heat 3 to 4 cups of oil to between 360 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Deep-fry the wontons a few at a time, sliding them carefully into the deep fryer so that the oil doesn't splatter. Deep-fry until they turn golden. Drain on paper towels.

Rocky Top Brownies

fragiletearz — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:17:45 -0800

Source: Southern Living - Recipes & More!

Prep: 10 min., Bake: 25 min. Executive Foods Editor Susan Dosier came up with this fun recipe. Substitute an equal amount of your favorite chocolate-covered candy for the peanut butter cups, if desired.
Ingredients

1 (19-ounce) package brownie mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 (13-ounce) package miniature chocolate-covered peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped
1/2 package miniature marshmallows
Preparation
Stir together first 3 ingredients until blended. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 13- x 9-inch pan.

Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven, and sprinkle brownies evenly with chopped candy and marshmallows. Return to oven, and bake 2 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool completely on a wire rack. Cut brownies into squares.
Yield

Makes 32 brownies

Cranberry Clusters

fragiletearz — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:35:14 -0800

Cranberry Clusters
*Recipe courtesy The Cookworks, 2003*

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water plus 2 tablespoons
1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cups chopped best-quality white chocolate

Special equipment: a candy thermometer

Combine the sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and, without stirring, cook until the syrup is golden amber or until a candy thermometer reads between 250 to 265 degrees F (hard-ball stage), about 10 minutes (see Cook's Note*). Promptly remove the saucepan from the heat.

Working quickly, drop 3 cranberries into the caramel. Use 2 forks to coat the cranberries completely in the syrup and pull together into a cluster. Place the cranberry cluster on a waxed paper lined baking tray. Repeat with the remaining cranberries. Reheat the syrup briefly over low heat if it starts to thicken. Let the clusters cool to harden.

Melt the white chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl over barely simmering water. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the white chocolate is almost completely melted. Be careful that no moisture gets into the chocolate, or it will harden. Remove the bowl from the heat and allow the white chocolate to cool slightly.

Dip the bottom of the cranberry cluster into the white chocolate and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet to set for approximately 20 minutes. Place clusters in paper candy cups and store in an airtight container.

*Cook's Note: To determine hard-ball stage without a candy thermometer, remove the pot from the heat and dip the bottom of the pot in water to stop the mixture from cooking further. Carefully spoon a drop of the hot syrup mixture into ice-cold water. It should mold easily into a ball in the water and should retain its shape when removed from the water. The ball should be sticky and fairly resistant to pressure outside the water but not crunchy.

Gingerbread Cookies

fragiletearz — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:42:37 -0800

Gingerbread Cookies
INGREDIENTS

* 1 1/2 cups dark molasses
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 2/3 cup cold water
* 1/3 cup shortening
* 7 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground allspice
* 2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 (16 ounce) package White frosting

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one cookie sheet.
2. Mix together the molasses, brown sugar, water and shortening.
3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Add to sugar mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
4. Roll dough 1/4 inch thick on floured board. Cut with floured gingerbread cutter. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool and decorate with frosting.

Cinnamon Heart Popcorn Balls

fragiletearz — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:04:11 -0800

Cinnamon Heart Popcorn Balls
(haven't tried yet)

Ingredients:

* 16 cups popped corn
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/2 cup corn syrup
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon oil, optional
* drop or two red food color, optional
* 2/3-1 cup red cinnamon heart candies

Method:

Preheat oven to 250F.

Butter a large metal bowl (must hold approx 2 gallons popped corn). Fill bowl with popped corn; place in oven to keep warm while preparing syrup.

Butter sides of heavy pan; combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and butter. Stirring, bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Cover with a lid to wash down sugar crystals from sides of pan. Cook, without stirring, to 248-2500 F or a softer hard ball stage.* Remove from heat and stir in optional food color and cinnamon oil.

Remove popcorn from oven, sprinkle with cinnamon candies; pour syrup over popped corn and gently stir to coat. Cool until popped corn is cold enough to handle. Shape into 3-inch popcorn balls. Allow to cool. Wrap each ball with plastic wrap.

* NOTES: Hardball stage is reached when a small amount of syrup dropped in cold water maybe formed into a firm but still pliable ball with fingers. Makes approximately 12 popcorn balls