Baked Cheddar-Broccoli Rice Cups

 photo credit: http://fountainavenuekitchen.com

Baked Cheddar-Broccoli Rice Cups

original recipe: http://fountainavenuekitchen.com/baked-cheddar-broccoli-rice-cups/

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quick-cooking rice, like Minute Rice (can substitute about 2 cups regular, cooked rice and omit the 1 cup stock below)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 10-oz. box frozen, chopped broccoli, thawed and excess water squeezed out
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup Homemade Ranch Dressing (see recipe), or store bought
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

Prepare rice as directed on package, substituting stock for water.  Place cooked rice in a large bowl and let cool slightly.  Add the remaining ingredients, using only 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese, and stir until combined. Transfer mixture to eight well-greased muffin cups–I like to use an ice cream scoop–and top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.  Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until tops are lightly browned and edges are starting to get crispy.

Cheesy Sweet Potato Crisps

 photo credit: http://carrotsncake.com

Cheesy Sweet Potato Crisps

original recipe: http://carrotsncake.com/2010/07/so-cheesy.html

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup liquid egg whites
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425. Set a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Spray rack with non-stick spray.

Peal sweet potatoes.

Grate sweet potatoes and then squeeze the moisture from them. (I just used my hands to press out the liquid.) The more moisture you remove, the crispier they get in the oven.

To the grated sweet potatoes, add the egg whites, cheese, pepper, and rosemary. Mix until combined.

Scoop out potato mixture and set on wire rack. (I used an ice cream scoop.)

Press sweet potato mixture as thin as possible. Repeat until potatoes are gone.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are dark around the edges and crispy.

Pumpkin Bars

 photo credit: http://bakeitandloveit.blogspot.com

Pumpkin Bars

original recipe: http://bakeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2010/11/pumpkin-bars.html

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg *
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 eggs
• 1 and 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1 can (15oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Instructions:

Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & soda) and set aside. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients, gradually. Mix well.

Spread batter in a greased 15x10x1 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.

Frosting:

• 1 8oz. package of cream cheese *
• 1/3 cup softened butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp milk

Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.  Mix on high speed until smooth creamy.

* i added nutmeg to the recipe because i think pumpkin + nutmeg belong together

* the original frosting recipe only calls for 3 oz of cream cheese.  i like a good frosting to bar ratio, so i made a large batch of frosting + included it in this recipe

Fried Green Tomatoes with Vidalia Onion Relish

 photo credit: http://www.pauladeen.com

Fried Green Tomatoes with Vidalia Onion Relish

original recipe: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/fried_green_tomatoes_with_vidalia_onion_relish/

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 large firm green tomatoes
• Salt
• 2 cups vegetable or peanut oil, for deep-frying
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• Freshly ground black pepper

 Vidalia Onion Relish:

• 2 white onions, diced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Instructions:

1. Slice the tomatoes 1/4-inch thick. Lay them out in a shallow baking pan and sprinkle with salt. Place the tomato slices in a colander and allow time for salt to pull the water out of the tomatoes, approximately 30 minutes.
2. In a skillet, heat the oil for deep-frying over medium-high heat.
3. Dip the tomatoes into buttermilk, then dredge them into flour with a dash of pepper. Deep-fry until golden brown. Keep warm.
4. For the Vidalia Onion Relish:
5. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for a few hours.

Cranberry Cake

 photo credit: http://www.thekitchn.com

 Cranberry Cake

original recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-cranberr-1-16000

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into chunks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 1 tablespoon kirsch (optional)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 cups cranberries (1 bag)

makes one 9x13-inch or one 10-inch springform cake

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan or a 10" springform pan.

Beat eggs and sugar together for at least 5 minutes — probably as long as 7 or 8 minutes — the egg and sugar mixture should double in volume and turn pale yellow, leaving ribbons on top of the batter when you lift the beaters.

Add the butter and flavorings and beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in flour and fold in cranberries. Pour into greased pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes for a 9x13, or a little over an hour for the springform. You made need to tent the cake with foil in the last 15 minutes or so to keep the top from browning.

Cool completely before serving.

Optional pecan topping:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pecans, toasted

Heat the butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and stir. Add the toasted pecans and cook for several minutes, stirring, until the butter and sugar mixture is shiny and smooth and the nuts smell toasted. Spread over the cake batter and bake as above.

Apple Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

 photo credit: http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com

Apple Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

original recipe: http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com/2010/09/apple-cinnamon-roll-cupcakes.html

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 cups milk
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2 cups finely chopped apples (I used Golden Delicious apples)

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, heat milk to about 110 degrees.  Add yeast and sugar to bowl of a stand mixer and pour in the milk, stir to dissolve.  Add salt and two cups of flour and beat for two minutes.  Beat in eggs and butter.  Stir in the remaining flour half a cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Switch to dough hook and knead about five minutes, until smooth and elastic.  Spray a large deep bowl with cooking spray, shape dough into a ball, put it in the bowl, turn once to coat and cover it with a clean towel.  Set in a warm place and allow to rise for about 40 minutes or until doubled in volume.

Meanwhile make the filling by combining the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and apples in a small bowl.  Melt remaining butter in a small dish. 

Dust counter top with flour and roll out dough into a long rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Brush with about half of the melted butter.  Top with the apple mixture, sprinkle evenly over the dough, leaving about an inch empty on all sides.

Line cupcake pans with 24 liners.  Roll dough into a log beginning on the long side of the rectangle.  Trim off both ends to remove the uneven part that doesn't have any filling.  Slice the log into approximately 24 even pieces.  Place each piece in a cupcake liner, folding the ends together to make a “C” shape. The pieces should come to about the top of the liners.  Cover the cupcake tins with a clean towel and set in a warm place to rise for another 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Brush the tops of the cupcakes with remaining melted butter.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• About 2 tablespoons milk

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk until combined.  Start with one tablespoon of milk and add more as necessary until you have a glaze that is thick but runs easily off the spoon.  Drizzle over warm cupcakes and serve.  Store in an airtight container and reheat leftover cupcakes in the microwave for about 20 seconds before serving.

Skillet Fried Apple Pie

 photo credit: www.pauladeen.com

Skillet Fried Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• Oil, for frying
• 2 cans large buttermilk biscuits
• 1 (21-ounce) can apple pie filling
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon plus more for dusting
• Flour, for rolling
• Whipped cream, for garnish, optional
• Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish, optional

Instructions:

1. Pour the oil into a large cast iron skillet about 1/2-inch up the sides and heat to about 350 degrees F. Remove biscuits from cans, flour them and roll each 1 out to a 5-inch round. 
2. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of fruit filling on a round leaving a 1/2-inch edge all around.
3. Place another rolled out round on top of the filling, pressing around the edges to seal. You should dip your fingers in water and wipe around the edge of the bottom biscuit to enable it to stick to the top biscuit. 
4. Dip end of dinner fork in flour and press continuously around edge to insure a proper seal. Repeat with remaining biscuits. 
5. Makes 8 or 10 pies depending on the amount in your biscuit can. 
6. Place 3 or 4 of the pies in the preheated cast iron skillet. 
7. Fry for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.
8. Transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar while still hot. 
9. Serve with whipped cream and confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

original recipe: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/skillet_fried_apple_pie/