Puffed Caramel Corn

I'm sure everyone has seen the recipe for caramel corn using Old Dutch Puff Popcorn ... It's even better when you use the Chester's Butter Puffcorn. The recipe is basically the same, but I think it has better flavor. 

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Ingredients

2 (3.25-oz) bags Chester Butter Puffcorn (click on link above to see what I'm talking about)
1 cup salted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

Splash vanilla, optional

1 teaspoon baking soda (make sure your baking soda is fresh)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2. Line a large baking sheet with sides with parchment paper and pour both bags of the puffcorn onto baking sheet, and spread evenly. I like to use a large roasting pan. It makes the stirring, easier. 

3. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together over medium heat until everything has melted. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for two minutes, Remove from heat. Add a splash of vanilla, if using and stir well. Add the baking soda and stir well to combine. The mixture will foam up from the addition of the baking soda, so be prepared.

4. Pour over the puffcorn and stir very well to coat all the puffcorn evenly.

5. Bake 250 degrees for 50 minutes, removing from the oven every 10 minutes to stir puffcorn. 

6. Place a large sheet of parchment paper (may also use waxed paper if that is what you have) and spread puffcorn out on the sheet of parchment paper. Break apart the puffcorn as needed, so it is not all sticking together. Let cool completely and store in a large covered bowl, or in ziplock bags. 

The caramel mixture increases in volume by 2-3 times after adding the baking soda, so be sure you are using a large enough saucepan. 

Updated Easy Chicken Tacos

You can find my original post for these tacos here. These are delicious, and a favorite of my family. Keep a dish of chopped chipotle chilies with the sauce on the side to add to your own tacos, to amp up the smoky spice. I start with a rotisserie chicken, so they are made very quickly. I usually make one and a half to two times the sauce mixture that I allow to reduce by half. You want the sauce to be nice and thick, so that it coats the chicken well. You can serve this with lime cilantro rice, and fresh Pico de Gallo (Recipe below). The recipe for the rice can be found on my blog, here. 

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3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 cup orange juice (not frozen concentrate)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (See note below)
1 1/2 pounds of shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken
salt and pepper, to taste

12 (6-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes

grated cheese

sour cream

In a skillet, melt the butter, then add the chopped chipotle chilies and cook in the butter until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the orange juice, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 cup of the chopped cilantro. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and allow to reduce by half. Add the chicken and remaining chopped cilantro and stir well to coat all the chicken. Spoon mixture into a warmed flour tortilla, and top with desired toppings. Serve with chopped up chipotle chili peppers with some of the sauce. Serve with Lime Cilantro Rice, and Tostito chips with homemade Pico de Gallo on the side. Recipe is below.

Note on cilantro

You can cut up the cilantro with kitchen shears. There is no need to remove all the leaves from the stems, because they are tender enough that you can cut those up, too. I just don't use the thicker stems that just might be more tough. I toss those away. 

I wish I had a photo of these with the Pico de Gallo, but you can see just how fresh everything looks!

Pico de Gallo is a Mexican salsa consisting of fresh tomatoes, onion, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, and flavored with fresh lime juice (it must be the juice from a fresh lime rather than bottled, for optimal flavor), and then seasoned with salt and pepper, to taste. I find that it doesn't keep for too long in the refrigerator as it waters down, so don't make a huge batch of this. 

This recipe and photo are from the blog  Natashas Kitchen. 

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Pico de Gallo

1 pound (3-4 medium) diced tomatoes (see note below) 

1/2 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced 

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (1 lime)

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. 

Note on tomatoes

I like to remove the pulp from the tomatoes, then cut into strips and chop. This keeps the salsa from becoming too watery.

Crockpot Italian Chicken

I got this recipe from a friend at work. I've made it numerous times, and have loved it every time. The cream cheese gives the gravy a very creamy texture, and the Italian Dressing mix, gives it loads of flavor. You can serve this over any kind of noodles - I like to use egg noodles; or you can serve it over rice. The recipe can be found at the Easy Chicken Recipes website. 

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Ingredients

6 small, boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 (0.7-oz) packets dry Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix (see photo below)
1 (10.5-oz) can Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup
1(8-oz) package cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken broth

Directions

1. Place the chicken breasts into the crockpot. Sprinkle one pf the packets of the Italian Dressing mix over the chicken. Turn the chicken over, and sprinkle with the other packet of dressing mix.

2. Spread the cream of chicken soup over the chicken.

3. Add the cream cheese cubes. 

4. Pour the chicken broth over all.

5.  Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours, or on HIGH, for 3-4 hours. 

6. Remove the chicken to a plate, and shred then return the chicken to the crockpot and stir well. 

6. Serve over noodles or hot cooked rice. 

In case you haven't heard of the Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix, see photo below. 

(Luke's) Taco Dip

I got this recipe from a coworker many, many years ago. It has just a few simple ingredients and was always a hit everywhere I took it. It was an absolute favorite of my son, Luke. Before he died, I made it for him often; so everytime I see this recipe, I think of him. 

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You can make as much of this, or as little of this as you'd like. You can make it spicier by using Hot Taco Sauce, or milder, by using the Mild Taco Sauce. You can add diced onion, and if you wanted it even spicier, you could add chopped jalapeno pepper. It is best to prepare this the day before serving. Below is the base recipe.

Ingredients

4 large Roma tomatoes

1-2 Green bell peppers, seeded and diced (You may add other color bell peppers, if desired)

1-2 (8-oz) bags of shredded Cheddar cheese (do not shred your own, otherwise it will clump together too much)

1-3 (8-oz) jars of Ortega Taco Sauce (I use the medium flavor)

Directions

Chop up your tomatoes. I like to remove the pulp inside, by cutting then in half and scooping out the center pulp and seeds. This way, the dip does not get too watery. Cut the tomatoes into strips, and then dice crosswise. Cut out the centers of the green peppers, and dice. Toss everything together into a bowl that has a cover. Add the cheese and taco sauce. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight before serving, to soften the bell peppers and to allow the flavors to blend well. 

Serve with plain tostitos, or cheese-flavored doritos. 

Basic Vanilla Refrigerator Cookies (with variations)

My mom made dozens and dozens of cookies of all varieties, every year at Christmas. We would start early in the morning, and bake all day long. Us kids would give her a "helping hand"; but we were young and very may well have gotten underfoot, more than actually being any sort of help to her. She was a very good and patient mother though, and allowed us to help her make these dozens and dozens of cookies, every year.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, because it meant spending time with her, and it was something I looked forward to, a great deal. 

A "Refrigerator cookie", or "Ice Box cookie" as they are also known by, is a simple cookie dough that is typically rolled into a log, wrapped in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerated for a set amount of time. To bake, the cookie dough roll is cut into slices and baked on a cookie sheet. This is what sets them apart from "Drop Cookies", which is cookie dough that is scooped out of the bowl by a teaspoon or a cookie scoop, and dropped onto the baking sheet. 

This particular recipe is a basic cookie dough that you can then choose to add different ingredients to flavor them. What I remember making most often, are the Spice Cookies. We would press in  several  red hot cinnamon candies, on top of  the sliced dough, to amp up the flavor. I loved these cookies when I was a kid. This recipe brings back a lot of memories, and I can't wait to try it again.

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Basic Cookies

2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and beat until mixed together. Divide the dough in half on sheets of waxed paper. Roll each half into a cylinder shape, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Wrap each half in waxed paper and chill until firm, at least two hours. 

Heat oven to 425 degrees and cut rolled cookie dough, about 1/4" thick and place on ungreased cookie sheets, about 1" apart. Bake 425 degrees for 5-7 minutes, until light golden brown. Immediately remove from the cookie sheet and set onto a wire rack, to let cool completely. Store in a covered container. 

Makes 60-72 cookies

Notes

The rolled cookie dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or in the freezer, for up to 6 weeks. To bake from frozen state, follow the same directions above. May need to thaw slightly, or bake a little longer.

Variations

1. Spice Cookies  

To the flour, add:

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2. Lemon or Orange Cookies

To the flour, add:

1 teaspoon of grated peel (using an microplane) of either fresh lemon or fresh orange

3. Coconut Cookies

Add 1 cup coconut at the end

Note: If using the spiced cookie variation, before baking, top each cookie with several of red hot cinnamon candies (see photo below). Bake as directed. 

(John's) Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

My son John, loves soft chocolate chip cookies; but I personally prefer them more chewy-crisp. He found this recipe online on the cooking blog Cakes by Courtney, made them and fell in love with them. They are very good, so bookmark this page. If you prefer the ingredients to be listed by weight, she does so on her blog. 

Photo courtesy of Cakes by Courtney blogpost

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Ingredients

1 cup butter, cold
1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs (may also use extra large eggs) at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups semisweet or dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream the butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the granulated and brown sugars, and beat until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat another several seconds to mix together.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until well incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat another 30 seconds. 

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, 1/3 tp 1/2 at a time. Mix together until combined. 

5. By hand, mix in the chocolate chips. 

6. Scoop cookie dough into two-inch balls, and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are slightly golden brown. The tops may look soft, but still remove from the oven as they will continue baking on the cookie sheet once they are removed from the oven and cool on the cookie sheet. 

Snickers Bars

I found this recipe in one of those old church cookbooks, but I haven't made them in years. There is a note written on it stating that while they are a lot of work, it is well worth it because they are that good. 

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First Layer

1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup peanut butter

Melt together and spread in a buttered 9x13" pan. You might want to line the pan with parchment paper to make removal easier. Let cool and set.

Second Layer

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

1 cup marshmallow creme

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup (or more) chopped salted peanuts

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, boil the sugar, butter, and milk for 5 minutes. Add the marshmallow creme, peanut butter, and vanilla. Pour over the first layer. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts. Let cool.

Third Layer

30-40 caramels

1-3 tablespoons hot water

Melt the caramels in a heavy-bottomed skillet, and add the hot water. Stir until well blended. Pour over the peanuts.

Fourth Layer

Repeat first layer, spreading over the caramel layer.

Allow to set and cut into small bars.