Snickers fudge

OK.  Save this recipe for a day that you spent 4 hours cleaning up the tree that blew down in the windstorm nearly a month ago and has been ignored by the strong member of the household (but when pressed about it, he did actually cut it into pieces that I could handle).  Do the tree project while he is gone.  When he comes home and complains the laundry is not done, but does not even notice the beautiful tree-free lawn that Bob and I spent HOURS of backbreaking work cleaning up, you have my permission to eat the WHOLE PAN.  But I digress.............

Snickers Fudge:

     There are a lot of steps to this, but don't panic.  It does not take long for each layer to set up in the fridge.  Here is what you are going to need:

1st layer:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup peanut butter

2nd layer:
4 Tablespoons butter (That is 1/2 stick) or margarine
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk (OK.  I did not want to open a whole can of evap milk for 1/4 cup of it,
                so I used heavy cream instead)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow cream.  (I guessed--- have you ever tried to measure this stuff??)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup chopped (not too fine) salted peanuts

3rd layer:
14 oz. package caramel candies, unwrapped
1/4 cup heavy cream

4th Layer:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup peanut butter

OK.  How to do it:

Butter a 9" x 13" pan

1st layer:
In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt all 3 ingredients together until smooth. Spread over the bottom of the pan. (the INSIDE, Dennis)  Put in fridge until hard.

2nd layer:
In a  heavy pan  (We just used the same pan without washing it but we had cleaned it out pretty good....  OK.  yes, we licked the pan--- for every layer we made.....and we are not ashamed!!), melt butter over med. heat.  Mix in sugar and milk.  Bring to a boil and let boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. (keep stirring.... it WILL burn if you do not... if your arm gets tired, switch hands) It will start to caramalize when it is ready.  Remove from heat and quickly stir in the marshmallow cream, peanut butter and vanilla.  When that is smooth and fully mixed, add the peanuts.  Pour it over the set chocolate layer and spread evenly.  Return to the fridge.  Visit with the kids and grandson for a while while it sets up.  (Watch Loony Tunes with the grandson)

3rd layer:
Mix the caramels and cream in a heavy saucepan (sorry, you want a clean pan this time).  Cook over low heat, stirring until caramels are melted and smooth.  Pour into pan and spread on top of 2nd layer.  It helps to use an ofset spatula to do these layers.  (and if you are working together, with one person pouring, and the other spreading, be careful not to overlap and pour boiling hot sugary stuff all over your sister's hand.  I will never forget that even though it happened 40 some years ago.  Everytime I work with someone pouring and spreading, the memory comes screaming back.  Sorry Carol... I STILL feel bad about that one)

4th layer:

Now, if you have a glasstop electric stove like I do, as soom as you have licked the last of the caramel goodness from your pan, you can wash it, dry it out and put the ingredients in for the 4th layer.  Put it back on the stove (turned OFF) and go chill while the 3rd layer sets up.  By that time, It will be all melty, and all you have to do is stir it and spread it over the 3rd layer.  If you use a gas stove, you will need to put all 3 ingredients into a pan and stir them over low heat until they are melted.

The instructions said to refrigerate at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.  BAH.  When it looks set, just go ahead and cut yourself a big piece.  Remember, this morning you worked off all those calories and whatever calories will show up in your dinner tonight doing SOMEONE ELSE's work.  Did I mention my back hurts?  I think I will have another square................

Double Stuffed Goodness

So it went a little something like this......

Madi: "Dad I'm bored..."

Me: "What would you like to do?"

Madi: "DAAAAAAANCE PARTY!!!!!!"

 

Me: "Uh.. No. How about we make cookies and post them on "Bob's" blog?"

Madi: "You had me at cookies......"

Okay Chef Madison is ready for Double Stuff Goodness.

Shhhhh.... Don't tell aunt Barbara I use a knife....

We cheated and used store bought cookie dough, but they make it with just as much love as homemade cookie dough.  Madison cut the cookie dough into disks.

Now place an Oreo sandwich cookie on top of one of the cookie dough disks.

Place another cookie dough disk on top of the Oreo sandwich cookie.

Roll the Chocolate Chip / Oreo Sandwich cookie sandwich into a ball

Place on a grease cookie sheet.

Place in the oven and bake as per instructions on pre-made with love cookie dough.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Madi removes the cookies from the still warm pan

Opened up so you can see the Double Stuffed Goodness.

100% of taste testers agree.... Double Stuffed Goodness is mmm...mmm...GOOD!

Oink and Cluck Cups

CLICK ON THE PHOTOS to enlarge...

Bake Bacon at 400˚ until slightly crisp, but flexible.

Line one muffin cup with a whole strip of bacon and use a half strip to line the bottom

Crack and drop the internal contents of one egg in each bacon cup. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Bake at 300˚ for 15 - 25 minutes until eggs is done to your liking (over easy to charred nugget.)

Remove from oven and sprinkle minced parsley and Parmesan Cheese on top.

Served with Mini-French Toast and Citrus Fruit Cup.

Egg-cellent Bacon-ing to one's day....

First Try at Cooking Singaporean

So, I love the food in Singapore. It is a kind of fusion between Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, and Indian. Not exactly something for which there is a recipe and even if there are recipes, I cannot recall the names of anything. So, I just decided to try to put these ingredients together in a Singaporean way:

So, for serving one person, gather up some chunks of chicken breast, some celery, some onion, some red and green pepper, and two cloves a garlic. The key ingredient in this will be some fresh basil from my own countertop garden.

So, I took the tall stalk - about 10-12 leaves of fresh basil. I used olive oil, but put a little sesame seed oil in for flavor (you can't cook with sesame oil - too low of a smoke point). The little brown color in the oil in the bottom of the wok is the amount of sesame oil that I added.

Heat the oil and toss in the garlic. Cook it just until it starts to smell garlicky. Then, toss in the chicken. Stir fry until cooked. It only takes a few minutes. Don't do it too long or it will dry out.

Add the veggies and stir awhile. I like them crispy...so, I only cook them until they release smells.

Then, make a little hole in the center and add some sauces - I used 2 T of Thai chili sauce and 2 T of fish sauce. I was out of soy sauce in a bottle, so added a packet from take out - that is probably about 1/2 teaspoon. Stir that until veggies and meat are evenly coated. Then, toss in the basil leaves. Stir them in and serve.

Here's the finished product with a little basil garnish for pretty. One would typically serve with rice, but I ate it without rice - personal preference. It was a close second to Singaporean fare. I was happy with every bite.

Wyoming Attempt at Uncle D's Wierd Nebraska Fruit

OK.  We started the process by memory instead of looking up Uncle D's post from February 19, 2012 entitled Nebraska Citrus Fruit.  We had lots of oranges that were going to go bad if we did not make some juice. (Those cute little wrestler boys who sell boxes of fruit are impossible to say no to)  Even though we remembered that D had eaten all the insides of the oranges he used (yeah--- we Googled Vitamin C poisoning) we decided to cut these and juice them.  Which we did.  Well, WE did until Bob sliced her finger really bad, and I was left to finish alone.........

Then we looked up the instructions to see how to make the jello.  One of the first instructions is to get a sharp knife and not tell Uncle D's sister (me).  Huh.  Maybe I should have kept the knife to myself---- seems Bob is related to Uncle D.  Never give either one of them a knife!!!!!  I told Bob that we already had 2 blood oranges in our mixed box of fruit..  We did not need DIY ones.....

Anyway, we read the instructions.... not only did Bob mishandle the knife, she cut the oranges the wrong direction (equator vs. north to south).  After we ran them on the juicer, they looked a little like this: 

Then  we I  had to dig the membranes out.  This was not easy, and I cursed my brother for making this look so good that I had to try it.  6 oranges later (well, we juiced a good 20, but I only used the ones with the thickest skin because they were easier to clean) I had a pile of membranes like this:  (ewww)

 (Believe it or not, I did not make spoon sweets or anything out of the rest of the peelings this time.  I THREW THEM AWAY...... OH MY OH MY!!!)

We started following instructions after that, but only used one flavor of jello--- a "Tropical Fusion" flavor.  Whisk for 3 minutes???  Are you kidding me?  You really did not do it that long, did you, D?  Admit it.  That is like FOREVER.....  OK.  I sat down at the counter and did it. When I poured it into the shells, two of them leaked into the bottom of the muffin tin, through their navel.  Thus the instructions to cut them north to south, duh.  Oh well, we only lost 2.  Some of the others are not quite to the top because I jiggled the pan putting it into the fridge and spilled some.  What?? ......You will get old someday too.  Just. you. wait.

The next day, we trimmed the tops and cut them into wedges.  Sorry D, no kids to fool at my house, we just cut them.... right out in the open... in front of everyone...  D said use a serated knife and "saw" the jello.  My knife is SHARP enough to not need serations or the sawing motion.  (As evidenced by the slice taken off Bob's finger). 

Yeah. Yeah.  Mom cut up another sticker............But D, you have to admit  THAT is a knife!

We got cute little wedges. 

 And a sliced finger does not prevent the eating of the finished product.

Thank you Uncle D for the experience..........

A Rainbow of Deviled Eggs

First---- How to cook a perfect egg without getting that awful gray/green ring around the yolk.  Most of the eggs pictured above were NOT done this way, and are wierd shaped because I tried a baking method I saw on the internet.  Don't do that.  It makes them rubbery and funny shaped.  The yellow one right in front and the pink ones were done the way I am going to describe: 

Do it this way:  Start with room temperature eggs.  Put them into a pan and cover with cold water (about an inch over the top of the eggs.)  Add some salt to the water just in case one of them is cracked.  Put them on MEDIUM heat on the stove.  When they come to a good rolling boil (this actually takes quite a long time especially with a huge pan of eggs like we did), take them off the heat, put a lid on and leave them alone for 12 minutes. (This is for our altitude at about 3500 to 4000 feet.  You will need to ajdust according to your altitude.  The higher you are, the longer you need to let them sit.  Christopher--  I would try 15 minutes to start.  Carol-- probably 8-10)   Pour the hot water off and immediately put them into very cold water.  This stops the cooking process.  Some people say to use ice water, but I just run the cold water from the tap into the pan and let it run out until it stays cold-- instead of warming up in the pan.  At this point, they peel really well.  (Oh-- hint.  Older eggs peel better)

Anyway, after you peel the eggs, carefully cut them lengthwise and pop the yolks out into a bowl.  Do little containers of food color the same way you do for coloring eggs--  about 1t. vinegar to 1/2 cup water, and as many drops of food color as you desire.  We used neon food color to do these.  The more vinegar you put in, the brighter the egg would be.  However, with 1teaspoon, there was not a vinegary taste to the eggs.  I don't know what would happen if you used more.  As with whole eggs, the longer you leave the egg in the color, the brighter it will be.  You need to handle them carefully with a spoon to keep from tearing them.  Drain them on a paper towel.  Use a new spot on the paper towel each time, or they will pick up the color from the last egg that was there.  Oh, and no-- ours did not turn our teeth blue or anything.

While they dry (I turned them over once to dry both sides) Mash up the yolks.  I cannot give you a recipe for the yolk mixture, I just do it to taste, but add a blob of mayonaise (enough to moisten them up good), as much mustard as you like, salt and pepper.  I also put hot dog relish in mine because I like the chunks of pickle and whatever else they have in there.  I always run the mixture through a pastry bag to make them look pretty, but you can just grab a spoon and smear it into the holes left by the yolks.

Next year, I will try to improve upon this.  This was our first attempt.

nOne: Waffle for Solo Diner

Trying out a title for my recipe book for households with an n of one. nOne doesn't seem to work - looks too lonely. Will keep thinking.

Anyway - waffle recipe. One of the problems with cooking for one is the egg. One cannot easily divide a recipe that calls for one egg. This recipe is perfect in that respect.

Waffle for Solo Diner Basic Recipe

3.5 T. flour
1/8 t. soda
1/8 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
1 egg
1/4 c. yogurt

Mix together and cook in waffle iron.

Tips: I use my homemade yogurt which has no sugar. I add 1/4 t. vanilla for fun. However, the yogurt is where things with this waffle can get interesting, if you don't have an aversion to "store bought" yogurt. Any flavor of yogurt that is on the market will work. So, one could have a mandarin orange waffle, a lemon waffle, a key lime pie waffle....you get the idea.



I did not realize that the picture of the waffle quantity did not turn out until the waffle had been consumed. So, I tried to touch this up - this is the best that I can do. You get the idea - this is the size of the waffle that one gets from this recipe.