Merry Middles

MERRY  MIDDLES                    

½ cup butter                                           2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter flavored shortening        ½ tsp baking powder
1 egg                                                      ½ tsp salt
2 egg yolks                                            2 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar

Beat butter and 1/4 cup shortening with a mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add the egg, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, baking powder and salt.  Beat till combined.  Beat in flour.

For the middles

Transfer 3/4 cup dough to a small mixing bowl.  Add the flowing and beat well:

3/4 cup of yellow dough                      2 tsp almond extract
1/3 cup sifted powder sugar                1 Tbl melted butter
2 Tbl unsweetened cocoa powder                   

Roll the chocolate dough into 1 inch balls.  For each cookie, mold about 1 Tbl. of the yellow dough around each cocoa ball.  Roll gently to make a smooth round balls.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Cover and chill 1 hour.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or till bottoms are lightly browned.  Cool for 1 minute; transfer to racks. Cool.

Chocolate drizzle

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips        2 tsp butter flavored shortening

In a heavy saucepan, combine chocolate pieces and shortening.  Heat and stir over low heat till chocolate begins to melt.  Remove from heat; stir till smooth.  Drizzle chocolate icing over cookies.  Makes 30 cookies.

For Freezer instructions: let thaw out on a cookie sheet for 15 to 20 minutes. Cook until the bottoms are lightly browned for 8 to 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven (the cookies will be very light in color). When cooled Drizzle with Chocolate drizzle.

Pasta Fagioli Soup

1+ lb. ground beef and sausage
1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
1 large carrot, sliced (1 cup)
3 stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 15 oz. can great northern beans (with liquid)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 12 oz. can V-8 juice
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt   (I tend to over salt, so I left the salt out, since it was in the sausage.  Add salt to taste.)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 pound ditali pasta

Brown the sausage/ground beef. Drain off most of the fat.  Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute for 10 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, except pasta and simmer for 1 hour.  Cook the pasta in a separate pan of boiling water for 10 minutes.  Drain and add to the soup.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes more.  Serve with bread sticks and salad.  Serves 8+

Freezer Meal Directions:  Thaw soup. Warm in a large pot.  Add the V-8 can and any additional water, salt, or chicken broth to taste.  Boil the ditali pasta in a separate pot or add to the soup plus some additional water for the last 10 minutes  Simmer until warm and flavors are mixed.

Hot Ham Hoagies

2-3 lbs thinly sliced ham
2 cups apple juice
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. paprika

Separate ham slices and place in crock pot.  In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and pour over ham.  Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until ham is heated through.  Place 2-3 slices of ham on toasted rolls or hoagie buns.  Serve with additional relish and swiss cheese if desired.

Freezer Instruction:
Thaw and dump in crock pot. Cook on low 4-5 hours or until heated through.
Place 2-3 slices of ham on toasted rolls or hoagie buns.  Serve with additional relish and swiss cheese if desired.

Sorry I didn't supply the rolls!!!  I didn't want them to be old by the time Monday rolled around!

CAESAR CHICKEN

2 lbs. Chicken
 1 C favorite Caesar Dressing

Defrost chicken - place in crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shred and serve on rolls as sliders topped with shredded Parmesan and lettuce.

Johnny Carino's Festival Bowtie Pasta

2 oz. melted butter

2 tsp. minced fresh garlic

1/4 c. diced red onion

1/4 c. diced cooked bacon

1/2 c. diced Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 lb. sliced, cooked chicken

2 oz. heavy whipping cream

6 oz. Alfredo sauce (recipe follows)

1/4 c. Asiago cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 lb. bowtie pasta, cooked

In a heated saucepan, combine butter, garlic, onions, bacon, tomatoes, chicken, and spices.

When onions begin to turn translucent, and heavy cream and Asiago.

Once cheese and cream have reduced by half, add alfredo sauce and bowtie pasta. Toss until well-combined and remove from heat. Allow to cool for a few minutes so the cheese and sauce can thicken.

Alfredo Sauce

2 c. Heavy whipping cream

1/2 c. parmesan cheese

1/2 Tbsp. black pepper

1/8 c. whole milk

Bring heavy cream, milk, and black pepper to a consistent boil. Remove cream mixture from heat and fold in parmesan cheese. Store completed sauce in fridge until use.

If you have extra alfredo sauce (which you should) you may want to serve it as a dipping sauce for some french bread or breadsticks. (You could also half the recipe for the alfredo sauce.)

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Crispy Cheddar Chicken (August)

Chicken:

4 large chicken breasts

2 sleeves Ritz crackers

1/4 t salt

1/8 t pepper

1/2 C milk

3 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 t dried parsley

Sauce:

1   10 ounce can cream of chicken soup

2 T sour cream

2 T butter

1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks. 

2. In a small food processor grind up the ritz crackers. 

3. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.

4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk…then the cheese. Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Some of it will fall off when you add it to the cracker crumbs, don’t worry about it.  Press the cheesy chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in. By the time you are coating the last piece of chicken, the dish you are using for the crumbs will be full of cheese. Don’t let it get you down. Once the cheese melts in the oven it will adhere nicely to the crumbs and the crackers.

5. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan. 

6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken. 

7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy. 

8. Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken. 

Enjoy!

Boneless Country Style BBQ Ribs

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. boneless pork country-style ribs
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce
salt and pepper

Directions:

Lightly salt and pepper your boneless pork ribs on both sides.  All all ingredients to your slow cooker.  Gently mix it all up.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Remove meat from slow cooker.  Option:  Can top with 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce once removed.  Serve.

We like to serve it with potatoes, green beans and salad.

From Freezer instructions:

To cook thaw then add to slow cooker as directed above.