Buffalo Chicken Dip

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves,
     boiled, drained and shredded with 2 forks
1 (12 ounce) bottle Frank’s Hot Sauce
16 ounces cream cheese
1 (16 ounce) bottle Ranch dressing
1/2 cup minced celery
8 ounces shredded Monterey jack or sharp Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, combine the shredded chicken meat with entire bottle of Frank’s hot sauce, spreading to form an even layer.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream cheese with entire bottle of Ranch dressing, stirring until smooth and hot. Pour evenly over the chicken mixture. Sprinkle celery over top. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, then sprinkle cheese over top and bake uncovered for another 15 or 20 minutes until just hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving with celery sticks or any sturdy dipping chip.

buffalo chicken dip

Categories:
appetizers
hot appetizers

Monique Van Vooren’s Carbonnades Flamandes

1 (3 pound) chuck or bottom round
    beef, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons fat rendered from fresh or salt pork
5 large onions, peeled, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 pint beer
1 cup beef stock or canned bouillon, undiluted
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped parsley (for garnish)

Brown beef on all sides in rendered fat in large skillet. At same time in another pan, slowly fry onions in butter until golden.

Combine onions and beef in a 4-quart casserole. Add flour to pork fat remaining in pan and mix into smooth paste. Pour in beer and beef stock and bring slowly to a boil. When sauce is thick and smooth, stir in garlic, vinegar, sugar, thyme and bay leaf. Pour mixture over onions and beef in casserole; gently mix together. Taste sauce to boil, then transfer to casserole. Cover tightly; bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 2 hours, or until meat is tender.

Strain sauce (Belgians don’t) and sprinkle stew with parsley. Serve with plain boiled potatoes.

monique van vooren’s carbonnades flamandes

Categories:
celebrity
beef

Italian Casserole

5 ounces medium egg noodles
Salt, to taste
1 pound ground chuck
1 large onion, chopped
6 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 cup sour cream
6 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
Cheddar cheese, shredded

Cook noodles in salted boiling water; drain.

In a large skillet brown meat and onions; drain. Add cream cheese; stir until melted. Remove skillet from heat and add sour cream and tomato sauce.

Combine sauce mixture and noodles. Pour into 2-quart greased casserole and cover with Cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F until bubbly.

Yields 6 servings.

italian casserole

Categories:
casseroles
beef casserole

Fruit Pillows

2 cups sifted flour
8 ounces salted butter (room temperature)
6 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
Raspberry, strawberry, apricot preserves or seedless jam

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix butter and cream cheese with a pastry blender until evenly blended. Do not overwork the dough, as the less light and flaky the dough will become. Blend in the flour a little at a time with the pastry blender or two knives until dough is uniform in color. Separate into 2 balls; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour or until firm enough to roll.

Roll one of the balls out on floured pastry sheet or board to "pie crust" thickness (keep the second ball in the refrigerator). Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (metal is best), cut out circles. Roll up the remaining dough and re-roll and cut out circles until there is no more of the first ball left. Place all the circles of dough 1/4 inch apart on foil-covered cookie sheet. In center of each circle, put about 1/4 teaspoon jam or preserves. Roll out second ball of dough and cut out circles as above. Using a clean floured thimble, cut out a tiny circle in the center of each. Re-roll the discarded centers, etc. of the dough and cut out into circles, making half the "bottoms" and half the ones with the thimble hole the "tops". Do the same with these new bottoms as above. Place a cut out "top" on top of each of the circles with the jam or preserves, so the jam shows through the center of the top. Press down the edges of each cookie so the cookie is sealed. Bake in center of oven for about 10 to12 minutes, until tops of puffed-up cookies are very slightly browned.

Cool cookies; dust lightly with sifted confectioners’ sugar.

NOTE: Strawberry, apricot or seedless raspberry preserves look the prettiest and taste good; jellies tend to ooze and lose the pretty color because they melt faster. The preserves should not have "lumps." Take big fruit pieces out first. Preserves should take up all of the cut-out circle from the thimble in the top of the cookie but do not overfill or they will run over the top of the cookie and burn.

fruit pillows

Categories:
cookies

Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

3 pounds beef boneless chuck roast
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup apricot, orange or peach preserves
2 tablespoons red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
1 small onion, sliced
12 Kaiser or hamburger buns, split

Remove excess fat from beef. Cut beef into 4 pieces. Place beef in a 4- to 5-quart crockpot.

Mix remaining ingredients except buns; pour over beef. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or until beef is tender.

Remove beef from crockpot. Cut beef into thin slices; stir back into sauce. Cover and cook on LOW for 20 to 30 minutes or until beef is hot. Fill buns with beef mixture.

Yields 12 sandwiches.

Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

Categories:
sandwiches

Avocado Pizza

1 avocado, peeled, sliced
2 pounds tomatoes
6 tablespoons canned tomato sauce
12 ounces low-fat mozzarella cheese, grated
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup diced green bell peppers
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen pizza dough
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Follow directions for use of pizza dough. Place all ingredients on pizza, with the exception of the avocados. Bake in a preheated 325 degree F oven on a rack or cookie sheet for approximately 20 minutes.

Makes 2 servings.

Avocado Pizza

Categories:
pizzas
pizza

Scalloped Potatoes and Franks

5 cups thinly sliced potatoes
1 1/4 cups thinly, sliced onions
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound frankfurters
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1/4 pound Cheddar cheese, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Cook potatoes and onions with 2 teaspoons salt in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Slice franks; mix potatoes, onions, franks, flour, salt, butter, 1 can of the tomato sauce, cheese and parsley together. Spoon into 2-quart casserole. Pour remaining can of tomato sauce over. Bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Makes 6 servings.

scalloped potatoes and franks

Categories:
casseroles
misc

Nutmeg Muffins

Makes 24 muffins.

3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tins well.

Mix 2 cups of the flour and brown sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Remove and reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture for topping. Add remaining 1 cup flour, baking powder, nutmeg, baking soda and salt to mixture in bowl and mix well. Add buttermilk and eggs, stirring just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Top each muffin with 1 1/2 teaspoons of reserved topping. Bake muffins about 20 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve warm.

Nutmeg Muffins

Categories:
muffins

Cranberry Cream Salad

1 small box cherry gelatin
1 cup hot water
1 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream

Dissolve gelatin in water. Break up cranberry sauce with fork, then add to gelatin. Add pecans. Fold in sour cream and put mixture into a 1-quart mold. Chill.

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

cranberry cream salad

Categories:
jello

Lemonade Syrup

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of 8 to 10 lemons)
Peel of 1 lemon, cut into fine slivers (yellow part only)

In a 3-quart microwave-safe dish, combine sugar and the water. Microwave on HIGH until mixture boils and sugar dissolves (6 to 8 minutes), stirring every 2 minutes. Let cool completely.

Stir lemon juice and lemon peel into cooled syrup. Pour into a clean jar, cover, and store in the refrigerator.

For each serving, in a 12-ounce glass combine 1/2 cup lemon syrup and 1/2 cup water. Fill glass with crushed ice and serve immediately.

Lime Syrup
For lime syrup, substitute the juice of 12 limes and the peel of 4.

lemonade syrup

Categories:
syrup