Caramel Papcorn Balls

Caramel Popcorn Balls

A good recipe from Aunt Lynn
Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 can (15 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
5 quarts popcorn

Combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.  Stir well, boil over medium heat until sugar is melted.  Stir in condensed milk  and bring to a simmer.  Cook until it reaches a soft ball stage (235*-238* F at about 4500 ft.).  Take off heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour over popcorn and proceed to engulf in huge mouthfuls.

Jan's Caramels

Jan's Caramels

My friend gave me some of these as a Christmas gift and I love caramel so I had to get the recipe. My daughter made some to give to her high school friends and they were a big hit there too - just a good, soft caramel chew.

1 Cup Butter plus a little more to butter pan
2 Cups Sugar
1-1/2 Cups light Corn Syrup
1 Can Sweetened condensed milk

Prepare a 10-1/2" X 6-1/2" or 8" X 8" pan by lining with tin foil and then grease generously with butter.  Melt the 1 Cup butter in a heavy pan then add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil and cook until thermometer reaches 234-235 * F (at 4500' feet elevation). Pour into prepared pan. Don't scrape cooking pan.  Cool and  cut into bite size pieces and wrap in wax paper.

Corn Souffle

Bryan found this recipe from Linda Evans of Dynasty fame.  It is really good.  He makes it for Thanksgiving.

Southwest Corn Souffle

3 cups corn kernels (you can use fresh or thawed frozen)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 C sour cream
9 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (can use pepper jack instead of jalapenos)
1/2 C cornmeal
1/3 C jalapenos, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350*. Generously butter a 2 quart baking dish (if using a 9X13 baking dish, increase proportions by 1.5).

In a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup of the corn with the melted butter and the eggs.

In a large bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients (including the other 2 cups of corn) except Parmesan.
Add the pureed corn mixture. Stir until well-incorporated.

Pour into the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan and bake for 45 to 90 (depends on batch and pan size) minutes until set and browning.  If the top isn't browned at the end of the baking time, place it under a broiler for a couple of minutes - careful not to let it burn.

Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 20 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

Chicken Bundles

Whenever I make these people ask me for the recipe.  They are a rather old-fashioned dish but still good. I serve them with rice and pour the sauce on both. It makes a nice looking plate with some colorful vegetables.

Chicken Bundles

6 oz. Cream Cheese (3 oz. with chive or green onion, 3 oz plain)
4 cooked chicken breasts, cut up in bite size pieces
1 Tbsp. butter
1 can mushrooms, drained
pkg. of 8 crescent refrigerator rolls
herb stuffing mix (like Pepperidge Farm) ( if I have the Italian Bread Crumbs on hand I just use those)

Mix the first 4 ingredients.  Put 1/4 cup of mixture into each crescent roll. Roll up and seal and dip into stuffing mix.  Cook in oven at 350* for 25 minutes. Serve with sauce on top.

Sauce

1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 Cup sour cream
1 tsp. lemon juice

Mix in a sauce pan and stir on medium until heated through.

Chocolate Trifle

An easy dessert that tastes rather decadent. It is from a neighbor - Diana Evans - who is a fantastic cook.
The Skor Bars are the expensive part so make it when they go on sale or buy and freeze the bars.

Chocolate Trifle

Brownie Bites - pkg from the store or make brownies and cut up into small cubes

1/2 of a #10 Can Chocolate Pudding ( Can Get for Sam's club)  or it equals 5-6 cups of pudding

1 pint whipping cream , whipped and sweetened

8 Skor Candy Bars, crumbled


Layer twice in a glass bowl, if you have it, so people can see the layers

Apple Bread

Sometimes I get overloaded with apples in the fall and I am looking for ways to use them.  I like this bread from Just Fruit Recipes but I have to admit that I have doubled the crumb mixture on top because I am a little bit of a sugar addict (okay maybe a big sugar addict).  You can cut the crumb mixture back in half if you like the pure bread.

Apple Bread

1 C Butter
1 C sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 lg. eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 C apples, coarsely chopped, cored and peeled

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Cream butter and sugar together.  Dissolve baking soda in lemon juice. Mix in eggs and vanilla with the lemon juice mixture. Beat butter mixture and lemon juice mixture together.  Add flour and salt.  Mix until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX. Gently fold in apples. Spoon 1/2 batter into large (9x5) loaf pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 of the crumb mixture. Spoon in remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Press crumbs gently into surface of batter. Bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool slightly in pan. Remove bread from pan and cool completely on cooling rack.

Crumb Mixture

2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C flour
1/4 cup butter, cold

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter until you get a coarse crumb texture.

Sloppy Joes

A recipe from Marian that has always been a family favorite.  Who doesn't like a sloppy joe - and they are so easy to make, too.

Sloppy Joes

 2 lbs. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
3/4 bottle ketchup (how much is this when it comes in all sizes? I usually put in 12-16 oz. I think but just go for the consistency you like)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Vinegar
Salt & Pepper

Brown beef, onions and celery. Drain off grease.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 1-2 hours.
Serve on hamburger buns.

I think it serves about 8 big buns or 12 smaller ones but that is a guess.