Scotcheroos

Scotcheroos
Recipe courtesy of Amy Baron

½ cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
½ stick butter

Melt above ingredients together in a large pan. Stir 5-6 cups Rice Krispies cereal into mixture. Put into greased 9x13 pan. Melt together 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup butterscotch chips and spread on top.

Incredible, incredible, incredible! Definitely worth making again!

Strawberry Fruit Dip

Strawberry Fruit Dip
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 (8 ounce) package Light Strawberry Cream Cheese
1 (7 ounce) jar Marshmallow Creme
2 Tbs. Orange Juice
1 Cup Cool Whip

Using an electric mixer, blend cream cheese, marshmallow creme and orange juice until mixed thoroughly. Fold in the cool whip and refrigerate until serving.

This fruit dip was really quite delicious. It was light and fluffy, and had a lovely flavor. It complemented the fresh strawberries nicely. I will definitely make this again.

Garlic and Herb Chip Dip

Recipe courtesy of Williams and Sonoma

4 heads garlic 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 1/2 c. sour cream
6 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
3 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the tops of the garlic heads and rub the cut surface with the olive oil. Put the garlic in a garlic roaster or on a baking sheet. Arrange the rosemary and thyme sprigs on or around the garlic. Cover the garlic roaster with the lid or the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Roast until the garlic cloves are soft and lightly browned, about 1 1/4 hours. Let cool completely (I usually make this the night before before it smells up the whole house)Squeeze the pulp from the garlic cloves into the container of an immersion blender or into a bowl of a food processor. Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, chopped rosemary, thyme and parsley, the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend until well combined. Cover the dip with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Serve the dip with potato chips.

This dip was incredible! It was so easy to make, although a bit time consuming, and it did smell up the entire house, but it was well worth it. I only used 3 heads of garlic, and I found it to be plenty garlicky. Next time I make it, I think I'll cut back some on the salt, as (especially as it ages) it gets extremely salty. But I'll be making this again for sure. Simple, and delicious!

Cheesy Bacon Dip in a Bread Bowl

Cheesy Bacon Dip in a Bread Bowl

Recipe courtesy of Kendra Beutler

1 Round Loaf (1 pound)
1 Package (8 ounces) Cream Cheese
1-1/2 cups Sour Cream
2 Cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1-1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3/4 Pound Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Assorted Crackers

Cut the top fourth off the loaf of bread. Hollow out bottom, leaving a 1-inch shell. Cut the removed bread into cubes to use with dip.In a bowl, beat the cream cheese. Add the sour cream, cheddar cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in bacon. Spoon into bread shell. Wrap in a piece of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until heated through. (or microwave while still in bowl and spoon into bread). Serve with crackers and bread.

The best in the world. So yummy! A definite addition to my permanent recipes! Thanks, Kendra, for sharing!!

Cherry Limeade

Cherry Limeade

Recipe courtesy of KellysKornerRecipes

1 Can Frozen Limeade Concentrate
1 Bottle Sprite
1 Jar Maraschino Cherries
1 Lime
Put Limeade in a punch bowl and pour Sprite over it. Pour in juice from the cherries. Add Cherries and Sliced up limes for look and taste.


I thought this punch was absolutely delicious! It was light and refreshing and SO easy to make. I'll definitely make it again, though I will not add the cherries to the punch (I will add the cherry juice, however), as they merely sink to the bottom and really don't add to it at all. The sliced limes were a nice touch, though.

Swedish Tea Ring (aka Cinnamon Roll Wreath)

Swedish Tea Ring (aka Cinnamon Roll Wreath)

1 Cup warm Milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4-1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2-1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

1) Place ingredients in a warmed bowl in the following order: milk, yeast, eggs, margarine, flour, salt, sugar. I use my kitchenaid mixer and turn it to speed 2 with the bread hook attached. Mix until well blended together and is no longer very sticky.

2) Place dough in greased bowl, cover with damp cloth and place in draft free place. Allow dough to rise - about 1 hour.

3) After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.

4) Roll the dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and make a long rope. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and form into a circle and pinch the ends of the rope together. Take scissors and cut 3/4 of the way through every inch or so. Take each loop and turn to the side to lay flatly against the loop beside it. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degress F.

5) Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Place Maraschino cherries around the rolls decoratively and drizzle with frosting. Voila!

You absolutely HAVE to try these! Sooo good!

Breakfast Sausage Casserole

For Christmas Breakfast, I made this yummy Breakfast Sausage Casserole. It was a hit, and so easy to make, though a bit time consuming. Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 pound ground pork sausage

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

6 slices white bread, toasted and cut into cubes

8 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded

1) Crumble sausage into a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown; drain.

2) In a medium bowl, mix together mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk. Add the sausage, bread cubes, and cheese, and stir to coat evenly. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.

3) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

4) Cover, and bake 45-60 minutes. Uncover, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until set.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ready in: 9 hours, 50 minutes

Yields: 8 servings

This casserole was definitely a keeper, if you're a sausage lover. My little family for 4 almost finished the entire casserole in one sitting! I'll definitely be making this again. It was great to just pull it out of the refrigerator the next morning and all I had to do was pop it in the oven. Lovely breakfast.

12.20.08 Christmas Breakfast

Turkey Cheese Ball

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

While the real bird is roasting, how about presenting your guests with this creative little turkey??? It was so cute, and sooo very easy to make. I must admit, I cheated and purchased Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cracker Spreads (I got the one with roasted red peppers in it, and I purchased 2 packages), formed it into a ball and chilled it in the refrigerator for a couple of days. But it definitely had the same effect, and tasted delicious, too.

2 packages (8 ounces each) reduced-fat cream cheese
6 ounces deli smoked turkey, finely chopped
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Decorations:
3 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons milk
Brown, orange and yellow paste food coloring (I couldn't find this, so I used regular food coloring and made my own brown color by mixing red, yellow and blue. Be careful - blue goes a long way. If it is too grey or black, add more red or yellow).
6 large oval crackers
1 large sweet red pepper
1 small yellow summer squash
1 cup pecan halves
Assorted Crackers

In a small mixing bowl, beat the first six ingredients until combined. Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Divide among four small bowls. With food coloring, tint one brown, one dark orange and one yellow. Leave one bowl plain. Transfer each mixture to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. For Turkey tail feathers, decorate the top halves of the large oval crackers with the tinted cream cheese.

Using the red pepper, form the turkey head, neck and snood. For the beak, cut a small triangle from summer squash; attach with cream cheese (I had to use a toothpick). Insert the pecan halves and decorated crackers into the cheese ball. Serve with assorted crackers

This was absolutely delightful! It was so much fun to make, all the guests ooohed and ahhhed over it, and it was quite simple (especially since I used a pre-made cheese spread!). I will give a word of warning - do not put the tail feathers in until just before serving as they do get soggy and will break off.