Pretzel Rolos

Ingredients:

Rolo chocolate candies
Mini pretzels
Nuts - pecans/almonds/hazelnuts/walnuts

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350

Upwrap your Rolos. Place pretzels on baking sheet. Top with a Rolo.

Bake in oven for 3-5 minutes, until the chocolate just begins to melt. The Rolo should be soft but not completely melted.

Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and immediately squish the chocolate with a nut. Watch the caramel oooze out. YUM!

The Real Scoop
by Andrew
These were so easy that one of my friends helped Mom make these.  She took some home and her mom loved them, too.  They should make these again.

Rocky Road-Peanut Butter Candy

Ingredients

• 11-oz. package peanut butter and milk chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter 
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal  (I ended up using about three cups because the mixture was really wet.)
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• 3/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped  (I used pecans.)

Preparation

1. Microwave peanut butter and milk chocolate chips in a large glass bowl on high for one to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in peanut butter until well blended.
2. Stir in rice cereal, miniature marshmallows and chopped peanuts. Spoon mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls evenly into miniature paper candy cups. Chill one hour or until firm.

The Real Scoop
by Andrew
We made these for a church group and they all loved them.  Serve with napkins because they are messy.  Or just wipe your hands on your jeans.  That works, too.

Valerie Bertinelli’s Seriously Good Sausage Bites

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 10 oz. hot Italian sausage in bulk
• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
• 1 1/4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Directions: 
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and move your two racks to the top and bottom of the oven. Spray two baking sheets with the cooking spray. Break up the sausage with a spoon in a skillet and cook on medium high until it’s cooked through and no longer pink. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Place the flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until it’s a coarse meal. Add in the buttermilk and Tabasco sauce and pulse until the dough combines. Move the dough to a bowl and fold in the sausage and cheese. Form the dough into walnut-sized balls.
Bake the balls on the baking sheets for about 12 to 15 minutes, and switch the pans halfway through. Cool the balls on the baking sheets for five minutes and then serve. Continue baking the rest of the dough balls the same way.


BOBBI'S RECIPE
I just used the Bisquick drop biscuit recipe (on the box) and added the browned sausage and cheese.  I also used Frank's Red Hot instead of Tabasco. This recipe also needs salt.



This recipe made a LOT of biscuits.  They were great warmed up in the microwave.  (Just wrap a few in a paper towel and cook for about 15 seconds.)


The Real Scoop 
by Andrew
These will be great to warm up on school mornings.  I can eat these in the car on the way.

Chicken, Bacon & Tomato Pasta

What You Need

3 cups  whole wheat farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked

1 lb.  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

3 slices  OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled

1 can  (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

4 oz.  (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed

1/2 cup  water

1/4 tsp.  pepper

3 Tbsp.  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Make It

COOK pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.
MEANWHILE, cook chicken in large skillet on medium heat 5 to 6 min. or until done, stirring occasionally. Add next 5 ingredients; mix well. Cook 3 min. or until Neufchatel is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.
DRAIN pasta; place in large bowl. Add sauce; mix lightly. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

The Real Scoop 
by Andrew

The morning Mom made this for supper, I stayed home sick from school and had it for lunch.  It was SO YUMMY!

Even the tomatoes. 

The Lady's Cheesy Mac

This is a Paula Deen recipe that I found this week while looking through library cookbooks.  It was yummy, but needed some salt.  Give it a try.  I had enough to share with the neighbors since Andrew is visiting his Aunt Robin for a couple of weeks.  Darn.  I'll have to make them again.  :-)

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, drained
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Once you have the macaroni cooked and drained, place in a large bowl and while still hot and add the cheddar. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the macaroni mixture. Pour macaroni mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Top with additional cheese if desired.

Onion Rings & Dressing

Sour Cream Onion Rings
These are both Rachael Ray recipes that sounded good.  Sure enough, they were great!

• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch-thick slices and separated into rings

Combine:
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream

Mix together:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup chives or scallion greens, finely chopped
Salt and coarse black pepper

Dip onion slices in wet ingredients, then dry ingredients.  Fry till golden.

Red Ranch Dressing
Mix together and serve on onion rings and/or cheeseburgers (which can also be topped with the onion ring - yum!).

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 large clove garlic, grated or pasted
• 3-4 tablespoons mixed fresh herbs (such as chives and parsley), finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt and coarse black pepper
• Hot sauce, to taste

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Butter, Melted
• 1 pinch Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 pinch Coarse Salt
• ½ cups Hot Pepper Sauce, Divided (I used Frank's)
• 1 pound Chicken Tenders
• ¼ cups Ranch Dressing
• 4 whole Large Jalapeno Cheddar Tortillas
• 4 slices Bacon, Cooked And Coarsely Chopped
• 2 whole Eggs, Hardboiled And Roughly Chopped
• 2 cups Shredded Romaine Lettuce
• 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 whole Roma Tomato, Diced 

Preparation Instructions

Combine the butter, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt and 1/4 cup of the hot pepper sauce in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for an hour or more.

Cook marinated chicken over medium-high, about 8 minutes total. Remove chicken from heat and roughly chop it.

In a small bowl, whisk the ranch dressing with 1/4 cup of the blue cheese crumbles. Or buy blue cheese dressing.

Heat up the tortillas in the oven or microwave and start crafting your wraps. Layer some chicken in the center of a tortilla, followed by bacon, eggs, romaine, tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, cheddar, the dressing and a few more good dollops of hot pepper sauce.

Roll up the burrito and tuck in the corners. You can throw it on the grill if you want, or if you’re a ravenous freak, go ahead and slice it in half and demolish.

OMG.

I will be using the little bit of leftovers for in a lunch salad tomorrow.

The Real Scoop 
by Andrew

This was too spicy for me.  

I focused more on the side dishes - watermelon and Mom's awesome deviled eggs.

CROCK POT BEEF STEW

3 lbs. stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large onions, sliced
1/2 lb. large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch thick coins
3 large potatoes, in 1-inch cubes
4 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour (or enough to coat meat)
garlic and onion powder (for sprinkling)
1 quart beef stock

Be sure your Crock-Pot doesn't boil; it should simmer lightly. Boiling will make the beef stringy and dry, will ruin the flavor of the broth and make the vegetables mushy - the results will be like stew from a can.

Sprinkle the beef cubes lightly with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and flour for extra flavor during browning.When using a Crock-Pot for beef stew, for extra flavor, brown the floured beef cubes in olive oil before transferring them to the Crock-Pot. Brown onions and add garlic towards the end of the browning but don't allow it to take on too much color. In a Crock-pot, add all the vegetables at the beginning; set the Crock-Pot to 170-190°F and leave to cook from 5-8 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.
If using a Dutch oven, add the vegetables during the last 35 minutes of cooking and simmer until tender. Add a few tablespoons of flour at the same time to thicken the gravy, if desired. The gravy may also be thickened by stirring a a tablespoon or so of cornstarch into cold water before adding to the stew. Be sure to allow ample time for the thickener to cook before serving time to avoid a raw flour taste.
Extra vegetables can be added if you have them on hand. Turnips, corn, sweet potatoes, fresh peas and green beans are all wonderful additions. A pinch of thyme and basil and bay leaf can be added, too.
This stew tastes even better the following day after the flavors have a chance to blend in the refrigerator.

The Real Scoop
by Andrew
This was good, but it had peas in it.  However, it was better than regular roast and potatoes.

Kale Chips

You have to reeealy like kale to enjoy this one.

Loosely wash, pat dry, and chop some kale into potato chip sized pieces.  I cut out all of the hard pieces, too.

Lay in one layer on two cookie sheets.
Admire the beauty.

Sprinkle with olive oil and salt (to taste).




Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes--till crispy.

These go bad within hours, so serve immediately.




The Real Scoop
by Andrew
These may be pretty, but do not let this fool you.  These are not fit for man nor beast.  Eeeew!

Chicken Pot Pie

I got this recipe from Trisha Yearwood's new cooking show.  I'm not sure I like the show because she doesn't always give the quantities of ingredients and she seems to be trying too hard.  I'll give her one more week.

This recipe was YUMMY.  Very filling comfort food.  It would have been better on a cold winter day, and unfortunately, it was 612 degrees here tonight. 

Now for the recipe:

Combine and boil till potatoes are done:
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup diced potatoes
1 cup frozen peas

While veggies are cooking, mix together:
1 1/2 cups of diced chicken
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 minced onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 3/4 chicken stock (or chicken broth)

Drain veggies and add to gravy mixture.  When thick and bubbly, add 1 1/4 cup of milk.

After it bubbles again, pour mixture into an unbaked pie crust.  Top with another pie crust, and cut a few holes in the top.

Brush top crust with egg wash to prevent it from burning.

Bake at 425 degrees till crust is done, about 30 minutes.

Serve with cucumbers, biscuits or whatever!

If I were to do this again, I would make it with no chicken.  I know it's chicken pot pie, but I didn't like it.  The original recipe was meatless, and I think I'll stick with that plan, much to the horror of the boys in the house.  Ok...ok...I will most likely make two small ones.  We all win that way.

The Real Scoop
by Andrew
This had waaaaaay too many peas.  Keep the meat.  Lose the peas.

Wanda's Chicken Tamale Casserole

I had this recipe at friend Wanda's house last week and couldn't wait to make it for my next meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 small cans of chicken (or if you are ambitious like Wanda, boil and de-bone one small chicken, then cut the meat into small pieces
• 12 cut up corn tortillas
• 1 chopped medium onion
• 1 7 oz. can of green chilies
• 3 cans of undiluted cream of chicken soup
• 2 teasp. cumin
• dash of southwestern seasoning (like Ms. Dash's chipotle seasoning)

Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. 
Top with shredded cheddar cheese and return to the oven till melted.

Serve with rice, beans, or salad.

The Real Scoop
by Andrew

This looked like a messy glob, but the taste was awesome!