Sunday, May 18, 2008

Brownie Balls


Yum! I know I've posted a lot of brownie recipes on here, but I am a chocaholic! I made these for a party the other day and they tasted delicious that night and even better the next day. The dough is to die for too. They don't take long at all to make and they're a nice finger dessert.

Ingredients
1/2 c butter
or margarine
2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

3/4 c sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
1 3/4 c flour
1/2 c chopped walnut
or pecan (opt)
powdered sugar

Directions

1Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees (F).

2Melt butter or margarine and chocolate in medium saucepan over low heat (or melt in the microwave in a glass bowl or measuring cup for 2 minutes or until butter or margarine is melted).

3Set aside to cool for five minutes.

4While you're letting the chocolate cool, stir sugar, egg, vanilla and salt together until well blended.

5Stir the cooled chocolate/butter or margarine mixture until nice and smooth. Then mix it in with the above sugar, etc. mixture.

6Now stir in the flour and nuts.

7Shape mixture into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.

8Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

9While warm, roll in powdered sugar.

10Cool on wire racks.

11Once cool, roll in powdered sugar again!


Veggie Pizza

I personally love this appetizer and think it's good enough for a meal. Jackson and Mitchell both ate it like crazy. I used my "vidalia chop wizard" to cut up the veggies because it would have taken forever by hand. I used the smallest grate. I bought generic crescent rolls this time and will never do it again--pillsbury only!

INGREDIENTS
2 (8 oz) pkgs refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c mayo
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 t dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
Desired veggies...the more the better: green onions, broccoli, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, etc.


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a jellyroll pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Pat crescent roll dough into a jellyroll pan. Let stand 5 minutes. Pierce with fork.

Bake for 10 minutes, let cool.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine sour cream, mayo, cream cheese, dill weed, garlic salt and ranch dip mix. Spread this mixture on top of the cooled crust. Arrange the veggies on top of the creamed mixture. Cover and let chill. Once chilled, cut it into squares and serve.

Tres Leches

I loved this cake, but it is a cake that some might love and some might hate. It's called "three milks" cake because of the three different types of milk. The longer it refrigerates the better, so I try to make it the night before or in the morning before I serve it (I've made it twice--cinco de mayo and with the pork barbacoa recipe). It tastes delicious with fresh fruit. This is a really gross looking picture, but I ate it too quickly and forgot to take pictures.

INGREDIENTS
5 eggs (large)
1 t baking powder
1 c white sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c unsalted butter
2 c milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid oz) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
6 T powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.

Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.

Cream butter or margarine and 1 cup of the sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla extract, beat well.

Add the flour mixture to the butter or margarine mixture 2 tablespoons at a time, mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.

Combine the milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.

Whip on high whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 6 T of the powdered sugar together until thick. Spread over the top of cake. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy!

Hawaiian Haystacks


The first time I ever had Hawaiian Haystacks (or some call them chicken sundaes) was in college. All present were shocked that I'd never heard of them before, but I'm guessing there might be someone else out there who hasn't tried them.

1.) MAKE CHICKEN GRAVY (you can buy it in a can or make to taste--see below)
2-3 cans of cream of chicken or celery
1-2 c. of milk or chicken broth (depending on taste and desired consistency)
cooked, cubed/shredded chicken (I usually cook 2 chicken tenders for each person, but that is more chicken than some would like)
1 c. of rice/person

toppings:
green onions (a must I think)
green peppers
tomatoes (for sure)
cheese
pineapple
coconut
chow mein noodles
cashews