Real Life Recipes

[Zanzier]

Banana Cinnamon Sugar mini-muffins.
(Can also use apple bread or ginger bread)

Grab your favorite brand of Banana Bread/Muffin mix.
For this I used two boxes of Pillsbury brand 14oz each. (makes about 100 mini-muffins, total)
You can use the type with or without nuts. It doesn't matter. It's all in your preference.
You will NOT need mini-muffin paper cup-liners.

Whenever possible, use milk instead of water if the directions call for it. (my belief, your option)
I used one tablespoon of Pure banana extract per box to give it a little extra added banana flavor.

Use Pam spray (or whatever brand) on the mini-muffin pans from 6inches away. This gets the metal on top because you might have batter drop between cups. No biggy. They fall right off when you do this.

Try to find GRANULAR cinnimon sugar (about 2-3 oz.)cause that powder stuff just doesn't work as good.

I try to make mine 'light golden'. The cooking directions said 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I experimented with the first batch and they came out a tad darker than what I was shooting for. So I tried for 12 minutes and the next batches came out near perfect.

If you can get your hands on a couple of sufflet cups, (or very shallow/small bowls) fill one with fully melted butter. The other one you will put the cinnimon sugar. Note: you will use about 3 times as much cinnimon sugar as butter for this. 

When you take out the muffins, let them cool about five minutes (they need to be somewhat warm when you do this next step). Dump the pan contents onto a sheet of wax paper. Dip each muffin top into the butter (The sides should not have butter on them) and gently rake the excess off on the rim of the sufflet cup. (Put a paper towel under the sufflet cup to catch any butter running outside of it). The butter is only there to make the sugar stick, not add extra flavor.

Next, dip the buttered muffin top into the granular cinnimon sugar, turning a quarter turn in each direction and  setting it over onto another plate/serving tray.


I cooked 3 sets of 36 at a time and the twelve minutes it took for one batch to cook was plenty of time to  top one batch and prepare the area for the next round.


Enjoy and add your favorite recipes to this string. Maybe it can be it's own thread.

[Benggal]

My personal recipes are all top-secret, because if anyone else learns how to bake my cookies and such, there won't be much of a demand for me anymore...

So here's someone ELSE's recipe that I've made a couple times.  I try not to do it too much, because then I'd weigh 20 lbs more.

The Cadbury Cream Egg recipe

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups powdered sugar
4 drops yellow food coloring
2 drops red food coloring
12oz bag milk chocolate chips
2 tbsps. vegetable shortening

Combine the corn syrup, butter, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Beat well with an electric mixer until smooth.

Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing by hand after each addition. Mix well until creamy.

Remove about 1/3 of the mixture and place into a small bowl. Add the yellow and red food coloring to make orange and stir well to combine. Cover both mixtures and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm.

When mixtures are firm, roll a small, marble-size ball from the orange filling, and wrap a portion of the white filling around it that is roughly twice the size. Form this filling into the shape of an egg and place it onto a cookie sheet that has been brushed with a light coating of shortening. Repeat for the remaining filling ingredients, then refrigerate these centers for 3 to 4 hours or until firm.

Combine the milk chocolate chips with the shortening into a glass or ceramic bowl. Microwave chocolate on high for 1 minute, then stir gently and microwave again for 1 more minute, and stir gently. Be very careful not to overcook the chocolate or it could seize up and become unusable.

Use a fork or long toothpick to dip each center in the chocolate, tap the fork/toothpick on the side of the bowl, then place each candy on wax paper. Then place in the refrigerator to chill.

After 1 to 2 hours of chilling, dip each candy once more and chill for several hours, or until completely firm.

[KyndaSortah]

Alrighty, here's a couple of mine--one is my favorite cooke recipe, the other is Chris' favorite thing for me to bake (not a dessert).  Neither of these are for anyone on a diet, although I'll add in some tips I use to make the cookies a bit more waist-friendly and still taste yummy =D

Mom's cookies:
2 1/4c. flour   (or 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour, 1 c. white flour)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. shortening
3/4 c. sugar (or Splenda for baking, but only 3/8 c {6 T})
3/4 c. brown sugar (I think there is Splenda brown sugar, but not sure if it's 1:1 or 1:2)
1 t. vanilla
1 t. water
2 eggs
1 c. chocolate chips (Guittard if you can actually find them, or Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips--not a diet tip, these just taste better than Hershey's or Nestle)
1 c. Nestle butterscotch chips
1 c. pecans, chopped

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in separate bowl, set aside.  Mix shortening, sugars, vanilla and water in large bowl and blend well.  Add eggs to sugar mixture and mix well.  Add flour mixture about 1/2 c. at a time, mixing well.  Fold in chips and pecans.  Drop by spoonful onto a baking sheet or stone and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Stromboli:

1 loaf of frozen bread dough
Gulden's spicy brown mixture
1/2 lb. sausage, browned and crumbled
shredded mozzarella
pastrami, 2-3 slices
ham, 3-4 slices
hard salami 4 slices
provolone cheese, 3 slices
margarine or butter, melted
oregano
garlic salt

Place frozen bread dough on a greased cookie sheet, cover with a large sheet of wax paper; let thaw and rise.  Press flat to edges of cookie sheet.  Cover with mustard to edges.  Spread sausage, cheeses  and meats down the center.  Fold the sides over the center, making sure it is closed; turn seam side down, with ends pinched.  Bake at 350 until lightly browned.  Brush melted butter on top of loaf, Sprinkle with oregano and garlic salt and place back in oven to finish browning.

[Kaelianna]

This is not my recipe as in i created them but these cookies go fast and are easy to make.

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg any flavor oreos or other sandwich cookie.
1 pkg cream cheese
8 pieces Semi sweet baking chocolate or other meltable/dippable chocolate.

Crush 9 of the cookies and set to the side.
Crush the remaining cookies until fine and mix in a bowl with the cream cheese until wel blended.  Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

While cookies are refrigerating place wax paper on a cookie sheet and melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave til smooth.  

Roll cookie mixture into 1 inch balls and drop into melted chocolate covering completely.  I usually use 2 forks to lift them out of the chocolate to let the excess drip off then set on the wax paper.  

Sprinkle tops with remaining crushed cookies (if you have kids, this is a fun step for them to help.)

Continue 'til done.  I usually make a double batch.  These last very well if frozen in a tightly sealed container and soften up quickly once out.

Warning:  These are not a diet cookie.  Cookie crumbs do have calories (damn it).  Once you eat one it is hard to stop, they are a one-bite cookie that pack a lot of flavor.

[papalovebear]

Well last night I made some food for x-mas.  I made pasta and meatballs.

This is my pasta recipe:

6 cups of sifted flower
8 large eggs

Put the flower on a board or a big bowl.  You make a big volcano and crack 4 eggs into the volcano.  Fold the flower into the eggs and start needing the dough until it's a consistent color and nice and doughy.  It could take like up to 20 min. of needing and most people give up or think it's not coming out right so give up.  Add a sprinkle of flower on your hands if needed.  So needs the dough until it

[Brio]

Haystacks

1 regular size back of Butterscotch chips.
1 small bag of chow mein noodles
1 small can of peanuts (optional)


Melt butterscotch over medium heat in a double boiler.  Once the chips are smooth and of a thick liquid texture, mix in the chow mein noodles (and peanuts). 

Dip approximately one tablespoon of the mixture onto a pan covered in waxed paper.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Serve the candy. :)

[Benggal]

Dip approximately one tablespoon of the mixture onto a pan covered in waxed paper.

Okay, but what do you do with the rest of it? :D

[Zanzier]

Reese's Three Layered Chocolate Cake

1-2 Boxes of your favorite brand of chocolate cake mix.
Ingedients on said packaging (I use milk when water is called for. My preference, your choice)
1 four-pack of Reese's Peanutbutter Cup
16oz of 'whipped'-'milk' chocolate frosting (you choice of brand name)
8oz. of Soft/Whipped cream cheese
8oz. of creamy peanutbutter (I use Jif brand becasue it's not as stiff as ofther brands)
eletric mixer (you just can't blend it by hand effectively)
up to three 9inch round cake pans (You can use less and repeat the steps if needed)

Step one: Put the pack of Reese's Cups in the freezer when you start this. No more than one hour total.

Spray the pan(s) with Pam cooking spray (or an equivalent brand). Use original, not butter, flour, etc.
Pre-heat oven.
Mix the contents as directed on the box. For a more moist cake, I use a little more milk and oil than called for (1/8th cup each)
Make sure that the batter is anywhere from one-third to one-half to the pan depth. (I prefer one-third to increase chances of a flatter top of cake layer)

While the cake is baking, using an electric mixer, combind 8oz. of whipped cream cheese and 8ox. of creamy peanutbutter. This is the peanutbutter cream.

Take out the cake layers and allow them to cool completely. This will prevent the cake from sticking to the pan during removal.

If the cake layer rises too high in the center, take a bread knife (preferred, but optional) and cut to where the top is more level. (It dosn't have to be perfect, just not dome-shaped).

Remove on layer and place it  upside-down on a large plate. The most flat side should always be on top.


Take the peanutbutter cream mixture and spread a thin, but complete layer over the top of each layer. Do this, again, for the second and third layers.  Try to portion the cream evenly between the layers.

Take the Reese's cups from the freezer if it has been one hour since they've been placed inside there.

Use the whipped frosting on the top and sides of the cake to the best of your ability (mine is 'accpeptable' at best).
Dice the Reese's cups into small pieces and place evenly on the top and sides of your cake. ( I place each of mine by hand cause throwing them at the sides just makes a mess.  ;))

Enjoy.

[papalovebear]

Italian Beef Bresole

I'm not sure if it's spell correctly but I make it for x-mas with my grandmother whose pure Italian and she pronounces it Bre-zhole.

You add this to homemade sauce.  We cook chicken, sausage, meatballs, and bresole in a bunch of pots with sauce for x-mas along with many many other things.  But this isn't hard to make and people really love it.

All you do it the following:

3-4 lbs of steak (buy decent steak, not too fatty though or else your sauce gets really greasy)
1/2 cup of roasted garlic (roast the garlic in the oven with some oil until it's soft) chopped, diced onions, minced flat parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 -1/3 cup of bread crumbs
some black pepper
1 egg
Cooking string

Cut the steak up into 5 or so pieces.  Once you do this one you will get a better idea on the size.  Pound the hell out of it until it's really thin and rollable.
Mix up all the ingredients in a bowl.  Take the bowl mixture and spread evenly on the steak.  Then roll up the steak really tight like you were rolling an illegal substance in rolling papers.  But don't be confused and lick the end of the steak to close up the roll . . . Then you just take the string and tie it all up.

Throw the Bresole into a pot of sauce.  Make sure it's in there for like 45 minutes to an hour so it gets cooked but not over cooked.  Usually it's more like 45 minutes.  Then you take it out, take off the string, and cut it up like sushi and put on a plate so people can put it on their pasta.

The good news is that it tastes great.  Also, people who aren't familiar with not recognize it and might not eat it which means you have more for yourself.  Personally i make it up and tell no one and hope no one remembers that I make it every year so that way I get it all.  But it's a lot so people helping is a plus.

[papalovebear]

I want a good stuffed bread recipe.  Anyone got one?

[Beorngar]

Emeril does Papa :

Sausage stuffed bread:

Ingredients
2 (15-inch) French breads
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
2 tablespoons chopped jalapenos
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped green onions (green and white parts)
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces grated sharp Cheddar
1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
Corn or tortilla chips, for dipping, optional
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Using a serrated knife, trim the upper quarter off the length of the top of each loaf. Hollow out the center of the loaves, leaving about a 1/2-inch shell. Set aside.


Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring to break up any clumps. Add the jalapenos, bell peppers, and green onions. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and cheddar cheese and stir until completely melted, about 2 minutes. Add the Essence and remove from the heat.


Fill the hollowed-out bread loaves with equal amounts of the sausage-cheese mixture and wrap each in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, unwrap, and sprinkle with parsley.


Serve warm with chips for dipping, if desired, or cut the bread crosswise into 2-inch slices.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William and Morrow, 1993.

[~Aster Blaster~]

Uber hot chili recipe.

Use with caution or leave some of the more spicy ingredients out/replace if your not tolerant to hot things.

12 oz. Tomato Paste
16 oz. Tomato Sauce
3 - 24 oz cans of beans of your choice (I personally like pinto beans + black beans)
6 tablespoons garlic powder (I usually add more)
3 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin (I usually add more)
2 tablespoons parsley
2 teaspoons oregano
dash of salt
dash of black pepper (I usually add more)
3 tablespoons hot chili powder (or any chili powder you like, more or less, I again usually add a little more)
1 chopped onion (I typically leave out because my husband hates them)
6 chopped up habeneros
6 chopped up Jalepenos (deseed if you like)
2 Mexican chilies chopped up
1 lb. sirloin (or another cut if you like something else)
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 can of beer

Mix all the beans and seasoning together and slowly warm while at the same time cooking the steak and browning the pork/beef.  The steak doesn't need to be fully cooked or even cooked ahead of time if you don't want to since you'll boil it later on.  Saute the onion in some oil if your going to use one.  Once the meat is cooked add it into the batch and start warming it up while adding all of the peppers at the same time.  Mix and let it slowly come to a boil, typically it will look a little dry at this point, that's when I add the can of beer, maybe two cans if I need to drink one.  I personally found a strong ale tends to add some good flavor to this, but a can of bud worked out ok too.  Bring it up to a boil again after adding beer, if it still looks to dry a little water won't hurt anything, make it as watery as you like.  Keep it at a boil for about 45 mins and keep an eye on it to make sure the moisture doesn't get to low.

Serve with some cheese on top, or a LOT of cheese if its to spicy since the cheese will bring it down.

Enjoy, every time I've made this people have said how good it was.  Makes about 4.5 lbs. worth of chili total, so you can feed quite a few.

[daryy]

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[Howad]

Since its really cold in Wisconsin soup seems like a good thing to share-

Old Timey Potato Leek Soup

you'll need:
Potatoes, i like Russets best but its totally your preference
Leeks, peeled and cleaned
Chicken Stock
Salt Pork or Bacon (optional, if you want a vegetarian soup substitute chicken stock for veggie stock and bacon for something thats not nearly as good as bacon)
Heavy Cream
White Pepper
Cheap white wine
Garlic (fresh is best, if you know how to roast it and make paste thats even better better)
some time...not thyme..ok maybe a little thyme

so anyway if you're making the vegetarian kind ignore the first steps and use oil or butter instead

cut up bacon or salt pork and throw it in a hot stockpot until it starts rending a little fat
if its really lean add a bit of olive oil or butter
chop garlic to desired garlicness (too finely cut and it will burn)
cut up potatoes into 1/2 - 1 inch cubes
cut ends off leeks and chop (make sure they're clean.. and i only use the white part and some of the newer green parts, they have better flavor)
combing leeks and potatoes and garlic in stockpot and cook them in the mix a little.
when the mixture is hot and crackling add 1/2 cup or so of white wine and stir. this deglazes the pot and makes sure its delicious
when the alcohol has cooked off add the chicken stock, depending on how much soup you want you adjust your ingredients...
add your spices at this time, little bits of pepper and salt here and there for taste...

here is where it gets difficult for my recipie, but i have all sorts of kitchen gadgets and doodads...
i have an immersion blender, its kinda like a blender blade on a stick.
i stick it in and puree my soup up. what it does is thicken the soup up and give it a different consistency
you dont' have to puree the soup at all, but when you do it makes it a little different.

after the broth is hot and simmered for a while (make sure potatos are tender and leeks are limp and slimyish) add the heavy cream
you'll generally want about one part heavy cream to two parts broth.
when the cream is mixed in add the smallest bit of nutmeg, just so you can barely taste it when you eat the soup.

its really friggin good!

[Beorngar]

That sounds really yummy except for the cheap wine part.
Never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink  ;D