Homemade Caramel

Think fall...think cider...think apples...think dipping in CARAMEL.  I had seen this "pinned" multiple times on Pinterest and was very skeptical, because it looked too easy.  Then I saw a friend make it, so I knew we had to try it.  It could not be any simpler.  We will do this over and over and over again!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Water

Crock pot

 

Instructions:

Place unopened can in the crock pot, completely cover the can with water. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove from crock pot (ummm....it will be HOT!) and put in refrigerator to cool completely.  (Or until you can't stand to wait anymore!)  Open the can and enjoy the easiest caramel ever!!! I won't ever buy the little container again.



Gluten Free Granola Cereal

A friend of mine, Lisa, attended a class on cooking gluten free. She came away with several great recipes. Here is one that would be great for adults and kids.

Ingredients
5 c oats (make sure they are certified gluten-free)
2 c sliced almonds
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 c mixed dried fruit (we used apricots, sour cherries, and golden raisins)
Honey, to taste
2 tbsp "light" olive oil

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the oats and the almonds. Make sure you use a large baking sheet or roasting pan for this (I prefer the roasting pan, because you can really swirl around those ingredients without spilling them on the floor.) Sprinkle the cinnamon and salt over the top. Stir it up. Toss the bite-sized pieces of dried fruit over the top of the oat mixture. To be honest, you might want more than 1 1/2 cups here. Stir it all up. Drizzle the honey evenly over the surface of the oat mixture. Do the same with the oil. Stir it all up until everything is well coated - not too sticky, but not dry either. Put in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes, then stir well. Put the pan back in the oven. Repeat this process three more times (it could be two or four times, depending on your oven). You’re looking for the granola to be not-at-all wet, golden brown, with a bit of crunch.

Note: feel free to add more seeds and nuts, and whatever mixture of dried fruit you want.

Recipe Courtesy: Lisa B. of Tennessee

Pineapple Casserole

I must admit I was a little skeptical about trying a pineapple casserole. My friend Brandee made it for a cookout we had at their house. I really, really liked it. Thanks Brandee for making it.

Ingredients
20 oz crushed or bits pineapple in juice
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
3 tbsp flour
1/2 c sugar
6 tbsp pineapple juice
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 stack regular Ritz crackers, crushed


Directions
Butter baking dish. Drain pineapple into a separate bowl to reserve the juice. In a large bowl, mix the flour, pineapple juice, and sugar. Place the drained pineapple in a 1 quart baking dish. Cover the pineapple with the flour/sugar/juice mix. Top with cheddar cheese. Toss the Ritz crumbs with the melted butter. Then cover the top of the casserole with the crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.


Recipe courtesy - Brandee G of Georgia

Angel Lush

This was dessert for Home Team tonight. I brought home an empty dish....enough said.

Ingredients
1 - 20 oz can crushed pineapple,undrained
1 - 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding
1 c non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1 round angel food cake, cut into 3 layers
Fresh strawberries

Directions
Mix pineapple and dry pudding mix. Gently stir in whipped topping. Stack layers on plate, spreading pudding mixture between layers and on top of cake. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Top with strawberries.

Red, White and Blue Salad

This recipe comes from my cousin Pam. I am the biggest fan of salads and this looks so good. The presentation is absolutely beautiful.

Salad
1:1 ratio of romaine lettuce and mixed greens
1/2 medium red onion sliced as thin as you can
candied pecans
blue cheese OR feta cheese OR Gorgonzola cheese OR goat cheese (use what you prefer)
Raspberries
Blackberries

Dressing (or buy your favorite fruit based salad dressing)
1/4 c olive oil
1 c rice vinegar
10 oz seedless raspberry jam

Mix lettuce and place in bowl. Top with thinly sliced red onions, cheese of your choice, candied pecans, raspberries and blackberries.

To make dressing, combine all ingredients in a blender and mix well. Chill at least 2 hours.

Recipe courtesy - Pam B of Arizona

Peach Cobbler by Paula Deen

A couple weeks ago I bought a very large basket of peaches from Lane Packing in Fort Valley, GA. They grow the best peaches in the world. I prepared most of the peaches for the freezer, but couldn't let all of them go without making a peach cobbler. This was the first time I have ever made a cobbler with fresh peaches. It was the best one ever! Fresh peaches do make a difference.

Ingredients
1 1/2 c self-rising flour
1 stick butter
1/2 c water
2 c sugar, divided
4 c peeled, sliced peaches
1 1/2 c milk
ground cinnamon, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt. Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes. To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Recipe courtesy: Paula Deen

Peaches cooking in the sugar & water

Cobbler right before putting it in the over

Brooke's Chewy Granola Bars

These granola bars are so good. You won't believe how good they smell while they bake. Everone in my family loved them. This recipe comes from my sister's best high school friend, Brooke who lives in OK with her husband & 3 kids.

Ingredients
1 c brown sugar
2/3 c all natural peanut butter (or any other nut butter)
1/2 c honey
1/2 c melted butter (I use Smart Balance or the 50/50 smart balance and butter blend)
2 tsp vanilla
3 c oatmeal
1 c chopped dried fruit (any kind or mixture)
6 tbsp ground Flaxseed or wheat germ
3/4 c of semi sweet or dark chocolate chips

Directions

In a mixing bowl combine brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, melted butter & vanilla. Stir in oats, flaxseed (or wheat germ), dried fruit & chocolate chips. Pat into a greased 15x11 jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until set & edges are browned. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars. The bars stay good for 2 weeks sealed in a airtight container.

Recipe courtesy: Brooke C of OK

Blueberry Crisp

Ingredients
1 qt fresh blueberries
1 c sugar
1 c self rising flour
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place blueberries in 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Mix sugar, flour, butter and salt together with fork and knife until well mixed. Sprinkle mixture over blueberries. Bake for 1 hour.

Peach Cobbler

My friend, KK, who lives on the gulf coast of Alabama, requested a recipe for peach cobbler. She absolutely loves peach cobbler. This is my way of making an easy, delicious peach cobbler.

Ingredients
2 c self rising flour
2 c sugar
1 1/2 c milk
1 stick of butter
1 large can sliced or halved peaches

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is heating, place your butter in a 9x13 pan & put in the oven to melt. While the oven is heating & the butter is melting mix all ingredients together except the peaches. Once the butter is melted pour batter into the pan. Then add the can of peaches - do not drain the liquid. Do not stir any of the ingredients. Put back in oven for 45-60 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Lukky Fish Tacos

This recipe is from my brother. It is his newest creation for fish tacos. I heard from several people that these were the best thing they ever ate. I am upset that we live too far away to sample them. He caught the fresh red snapper just days before he made these. It doesn't get any fresher than that!

Ingredients

Red Snapper

Tiger sauce

Dry fajita seasoning

2 mangoes, chopped

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/4 c Cilantro, chopped

Juice of 2 lemons

Juice of 2 limes

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tbsp Olive oil

Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Flour tortillas

Directions

Marinate fish in tiger sauce & fajita seasoning.

Make relish using mangoes, red onion, cilantro, lemon juice, lime juice, jalapeno, garlic & olive oil. Chill relish for 2 hours.

Grill fish then chop fish up.

Place some olive oil in a pan and heat tortilla. Add fish, cheese & top with relish. Fold taco & enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple French Toast

I came up with this recipe by simply combining two great things: apples & french toast!

First, make the cinnamon apples (click for recipe).

Second, make french toast (click for recipe).

Third, add some whip cream & serve. It is like breakfast, dinner & dessert all in one meal.

Cinnamon Apples

I hate when I buy a bag of apples & they start looking a little sad like 2 days after I get them home. I start eating & feeding the kids apples so I don't have to throw them away. It happened again this week so I decided to come up with a way to use all of those apples. I created this warm & delicious recipe. You can serve as a side dish to pork or chicken or you can serve with breakfast or you can simply add as a topping to vanilla ice cream. I ended up using it with my yummy french toast - Cinnamon Apple French Toast.


Ingredients
8 apples, peeled & diced
1/2 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c apple juice


Directions
Put all ingredients except apples into a large saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until butter has melted & everything is combined. Add apples. Cook over medium low heat for 25 minutes or until apples are soft. Stir frequently. Serve warm.

Fruit Dip

This is my all time favorite fruit dip. I love it with strawberries & pineapple. Actually I could eat it by the spoonful. I served it with strawberries at a baby shower yesterday.

Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese, softened
7 oz jar marshmallow fluff

Directions
Mix ingredients until well blended & smooth. Chill until ready to serve.

Refreshing Citrus Punch

This is one of my favorite drinks to serve at parties (especially bridal & baby showers). It can be used for lunch, brunch or breakfast showers.

Ingredients
1 large can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 large can pineapple juice, chilled
2 liter ginger ale, chilled

Directions
Put frozen orange juice into punch bowl. Add pineapple juice. Add ginger ale. This makes a full punch bowl.

Pear Custard Bars

This was sent to me by my friend, Brandee. She tasted them at Bunco & thought they were divine. They sound yummy.

Ingredients
1/2 c butter, softened
1/3 c sugar
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 c chopped macadamia nuts

FILLING/TOPPING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 can (15-1/4 ounces) pear halves, drained
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour to creamed mixture. Stir in the nuts. Press into a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the sugar, egg & vanilla. Pour over crust. Cut pears into 1/8-in. slices; arrange in a single layer over filling. Combine sugar & cinnamon; sprinkle over pears. Bake at 375° for 28-30 minutes (center will be soft-set & will become firmer upon cooling). Cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes. Cover & refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.