Rolo Pretzel Treats

This is so easy and such a wonderful little snack!

Rolo Pretzel Treats
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 bag of Pretzels (twisted or squares)
Rolo Candies
Pecan or Walnut halves OR M&Ms

Preheat oven to 300º

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels on cookie sheet. Place unwrapped Rolo on the pretzel. Place in oven for 3-4 mins. Remove from oven and place pecan half or M&M on top of soft Rolo candy and press down. Let sit to cool.

I removed the cookie sheet from under the parchment paper and allowed them to cool on a cooling rack on top of the parchment paper.

DO NOT REMOVE the Rolo covered pretzels from the parchment paper prior to the candies setting! (Can you say HUGE mess?!?)

Aunt Carol's No-Fail Pie Crust Recipe

My mother made the BEST pies EVER!! Her crust was always light and flaky, melt-in-your-mouth, good-to-the-last-bite wonderful. I cannot tell you how many pie crusts I watched my mother make and how many pies my mother baked in her lifetime, but every single time, the crust was pure perfection!! Try as I may, I've never been able to master the art of the pie crust until a woman on a cross stitch message board shared her secret recipe. I've made this a couple of times, and every single crust has been wonderful. Not quite as light and tasty as Mom's but it's a close second.

AuntCarol’s Pie Crust-Never-Fail Type

This pie crust recipe is one that SUPER easy to roll out – one that never gets soggy – leaving that last piece of pie as good as the first – it’s the only pie crust recipe I’ll ever use – it’s the BEST –

Ingredients

1 egg
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon WHITE vinegar
7 tablespoons water
1 cup shortening (CRISCO)
3 cups flour

BEAT egg.

ADD salt, vinegar, and water.

ADD CRISCO. BLEND with fork, while ADDING flour, about a cup at a time.

FORM into one big dough ball. THEN DIVIDE into 3 equal-sized dough balls (or you can divide it into 2 equal-sized dough balls like I did just today).

ROLL OUT thin on a lightly floured surface and then PLACE into pan of your choice.

Note: Prepared pie shell should be put into the refrigerator 30 minutes before filling – and REMEMBER all fruit pies must be baked on the lowest rack in your oven –

ENJOY -

After you've put your crust into the pie plate, trimmed and fluted it, take all the little leftover pieces and roll them into a ball. Roll out with a rolling pin, cut out shapes with cookie cutters, if you like, or cut into strips, then put onto a piece of foil. Prick the crust with a fork (to allow steam to escape) and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on the top. Cook at 350º (or whatever temperature your pie recipe calls for) until nice and brown. Some of my fondest memories are when Mom would let us use her cookie cutters and make "pie dough cookies". She also allowed us to decorate the tops however we wanted, with sprinkles, colored sugar, and all those fun baking toppings we didn't use often!!

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

As a rule in our house, we're not mayonnaise eaters. We're Miracle Whip kinda people, so if I have to have mayonnaise for a recipe, I try to use it up or else it'll sit in the fridge til it's past its "use by" date. Since money is tight right now, I went looking for some creative, yet tasty uses for the mayo I currently have on hand. (I had used some of it in a pasta salad, but had more than half a jar left.) This is what I found, and it was perfect for just the 2 of us.

This cake comes from a time in American life when eggs and sugar were rationed and any kind of dish including them was a treat. The mayonnaise takes the place of oil and eggs and makes the cake moist and tasty.

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3/4 C mayonnaise
1 C sugar
1 t vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C baking cocoa
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 C water

Frosting:
2 T butter, softened to room temperature
1-1/2 C powdered sugar
2 T baking cocoa
2 T warm milk
1 t vanilla extract
pinch salt

In a large bowl, beat mayonnaise, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; add to mayonnaise mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition.

Pour into a greased 9" square baking pan. Bake at 350º for 25-30 mins or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Frosting: In a small bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, cocoa, milk, vanilla, and salt. Frost cake. Store in the refrigerator.

As you can see, I sprinkled some chopped nuts on top of my finished product because it looked too plain without them!

Cowboy Cookies

Cowboy Cookies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1/2 C butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 C light brown sugar, packed
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 C flour
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1 C rolled oats (I used Quick Oats, what I had on hand)
1 C (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Beat butter with sugars in large bowl until well blended. Add egg and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda in small bowl; stir into butter mixture. Add oats, chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2" apart onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake 10-12 mins or until lightly browned around edges. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Makes about 4 doz. cookies

Absolutely delish!! You can't eat just one! LOL

Alfredo Sauce

I don't know where I got this recipe, but it's absolutely delicious! Don't ruin it by using too much garlic and invest in real parmesan cheese so it's not grainy. Don't skimp on the butter, either. Been there, done that and it's not good. Believe me!!

Alfredo Sauce
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese (optiona, but I use it)
1-¾ cup Parmesan cheese
1-½ cups heavy cream (go for the good stuff!)
3 cloves garlic minced (2 large cloves or 3 small cloves)
salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
In a saucepan, melt butter add heavy cream and cream cheese. Simmer
this until melted and stir until well blended. Add Parmesan and garlic
powder. Simmer for about 15 minutes on low add salt and pepper. Serve
immediately with your favorite pasta.
1 cup of chopped cooked chicken or turkey can be added. 1 small onion
finely chopped can be added when melting butter and sautéed until
transparent.

I usually serve this without meat over fettuccine noodles with Garlic Bread and a salad. Very yummy!! It's best to prepare your pasta first, drain it, then put it back in the pot with a bit of olive oil mixed in so the pasta doesn't stick together. Add the entire batch of sauce to the pasta and you're good to go.

Mexican Chicken (or turkey)

I make this whenever I have leftover chicken from cooking a whole chicken. You can also use turkey when you have leftovers at Thanksgiving or Christmas. You can use both white and dark meat. Personally, I think the dark meat tastes better in this particular recipe. This is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day, after it's had time to marinate overnight in the fridge. Serve with a nice salad and you've got a great, easy, one-pot meal.

Mexican Chicken (or Turkey)
---------------------------
1 pkg corn tortillas (about 8 or 10)
4 C turkey or chicken, cut or torn
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 t garlic salt
8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
1 can (10 oz) Rotel tomatoes (any speed)
2 cans (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 t chili powder

Line an 8" square baking dish with some of the tortillas (4 or 5). In
a large bowl, mix the turkey pieces, onion, cheese, and garlic salt.
Add the remaining ingredients. Pour into baking dish on top of
tortillas. Cut several tortillas into fourths and push them down into
the mix. Top with more cheese. Bake for 30 mins at 350º.

*I always dip the corn tortillas I'm going to put on the bottom of my dish in hot oil to make them more pliable and not stick to the bottom of the dish. I don't dip in hot oil the ones I put on the top. I also have made it both with the chili powder and without. It tastes great both ways.

Lemon Pound Cake

My husband LOVES lemon cake. If he had a choice between lemon and chocolate, he'd take lemon. Don't know what's wrong with that boy, but I love him anyway! For the past several years, I've been on the hunt for a light, lemony cake for him. I think I've finally found the perfect cake.

LEMON POUND CAKE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 (16-oz.) box Betty Crocker or Pillsbury lemon or yellow cake mix
1 (3-oz.) box instant lemon pudding
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. lemon extract (optional) –or- juice of 1 lemon
1 lemon, zest of or 1 tsp. lemon zest spice
1/2 cup oil

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T. milk
1 T. butter, melted
1 tsp. lemon extract or juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients and bake for 35-40 minutes in a greased and floured bundt or tube pan. Prepare glaze and pour over hot cake.

Here are some notes:

>Zest-the rind of the fruit and only the rind.

>I used fresh lemons since I actually had some on hand. If you don't have one of those fancy schmancy zester grater things, you can use your regular cheese grater, but use one of the sides with the teeny tiny holes. If you have a toothbrush or a pasty brush, you'll need that to get the zest out of said teeny tiny holes. It really makes a big mess, but it'll do in a pinch. You can also peel the rind (not the white icky tasting pith or membrane) then finely chop it with a knife. Next time, I think I'm going to thoroughly clean and sanitize one of the files my husband uses out in the garage and use that. (That's what a zester sorta looks like!)

>Let the cake sit for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a plate. If you need help learning how to turn out a cake, please let me know and I'll take step-by-step pics for you. :) During this time, prepare your glaze.

>Prior to glazing, I poked some holes in the top of the cake so that the cake could absorb some of the glaze.

>The glaze recipe makes a TON of glaze. Too much really, for this cake. I'd cut the recipe in half unless you want to eat what you don't pour on the cake.

>If you use sugar to coat your pan instead of flour, you'll get a nicely crunchy outside to your cake.




Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Brownies!

Yesterday morning, I woke up craving brownies. Not just any out-of-the-box kind of brownies, but my own homemade, from scratch brownies. We just LOVE these and between me and my husband, we can eat the whole pan in a day. They're great for breakfast, morning snack time, lunch, an afternoon perk-me-up snack, dinner, and a before bedtime snack. So, quickly, before I left for work (I worked the later shift.), I whipped a pan of these delectable treats. Here they are, right out of the oven. (Please disregard the baked on dough on the sides of the pan. Really, who cooks neatly and tidy?)



Just before leaving for work, I cut them to take one to work & to snap a pic of...seriously! But since I had to snap a pic of it, I couldn't leave it on the plate and I definitely couldn't leave it out for the husband!!! So I just had to eat it. And it was absolutely yummy!!



Please note that the chocolate chips had not "set" yet when I took this picture. See them slightly melted???? Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!! They were still just a tad warm and absolutely delish!!

Thanks for letting me share. We even have some left, but if you want some, get here quick because they'll be gone by the end of the day, I'm sure!

Oh! You want the recipe??? Of course you do! Just because I'm being nice today, here it is. It's actually one of those gift-in-a-jar recipes, so you can even whip up the mix and give it as a Christmas gift.


Sand Art Brownies

Contents of Jar (Brownie Mix)
1/3 cup cocoa
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup Holiday M&Ms (red & green)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/8 cup flour
½ cup chopped pecans
½ tsp. salt

Additional Ingredients Needed:
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Empty contents of jar and add vanilla, oil, and eggs in a mixing bowl. Stir until well blended. Pour into a greased 9 X 9 pan and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350º.
Enjoy with a glass of cold milk!!

If using as a gift, mix cocoa and sugar, & salt together. Pour into glass jar. Layer each additional item. Attach recipe to the jar with a ribbon and you're good to go!