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Home Brew Kahlua |
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Hardly a snack food but a great party item. Besides, in these times, we need to save where we can.
Here is a good recipe for a home brew Kahlua that I think is pretty good and a bunch cheaper than the real McCoy. It goes as follows:
4 cups water
3 - 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup instant coffee crystals
1 fifth of vodka
1 real vanilla bean or 1/2 t. vinailla extract
Bring water to rolling boil & add sugar. Continue to boil for 5 minutes.
Stir in coffee crystals, a spoonful at a time
Bring back to boil
Take off the heat and cool for tem minutes. Stir in vodka and pour into glass 1/2 gallon wine bottle or glass jug. Split the vanilla bean and add to the jug. Cork the jug and put in a cool place or in the frig for two weeks. Shake jug every few days. Enjoy in a glass or pour over vanilla ice cream. YUM-YUM.
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U.P. Broccoli Salad |
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1 – bunch of broccoli cut up (about 4 cups)
2 – cups red seedless grapes, sliced in half
1 – cup mayonnaise
1/3 – cup sugar
2 – tablespoons cider vinegar
1 – cup raisins
1 – cup sunflower seeds
8-12 slices bacon, fried, drained, crumbled
You can use a mixture of broccoli & cauliflower if you like. For a nice touch, add ½ cup or one small can of drained mandarin oranges. Keep chilled until served.
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Pretzel Turtle Treats |
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Here is an easy recipe that tastes great and can be a fun project to do
with a young grand child. Big “kids” will love them too. It only has
three ingredients:
1 bag of Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzel Snaps
1 box of Rolo candies
1 bag of pecan halves
Cover a cookie sheet with baking parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
Place as many pretzels as you can in rows on the cookie sheet leaving a
½” between each pretzel. Top each pretzel with one Rolo candy.
Put cookie sheet in 250-degree oven for five minutes. Remove the
pan from the oven and allow treats to set for a few minutes to cool,
but still soft. Carefully press one pecan half on each melted Rolo.
Remove from cookie sheet and transfer to a plate. Put the plate in the
refrigerator long enough for them to set completely. Remove from the
refrigerator and store in a covered container.
As a tip, Sam’s Club sells Rolo Candy in a multi-pack box, which is
cheaper than buying individual rolls. A great gift or party item.
Sooooo easy.
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World's Best Fruitcake |
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3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground clove
16 ounces mixed candied fruit (2 ½ cups)
3 cups raisins
1 pkg. (8 oz) pitted whole dates – chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz) whole red or green candied cherries
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup pecan halves
½ cup candied pineapple – chopped
4 eggs
1 ¾ cups packed brown sugar
1 cup orange juice
¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks) melted then cooled
¼ cup light molasses
Grease and sugar (as opposed to flour) two 10x3 ½ x2 ½ - inch loaf pans.
Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, allspice,
and cloves. Add fruit, raisins, chopped dates, cherries, almonds,
pecans, and pineapple; mix well until well coated. Beat eggs until
foamy. Add brown sugar, orange juice, butter and molasses; beat until
combined. Stir into fruit mix by hand. Scoop batter into two loaf pans
filling each ¾ full.
Bake in 300 degree pre-heated oven for approximately 2 hours or until
cakes test done. Best to cover pans loosely with foil after baking one
hour to keep from over browning. When done remove pans from oven and
allow them to cool on racks thoroughly before turning out of baking
pans. Wrap in wine-, brandy-, or fruit juice-moistened cheesecloth.
Overwrap with foil and store in refrigerator 3-4 weeks for a mellow
flavor. (If you can wait that long) Another tip: try making them in
mini loaf pans and give as foil wrapped gifts. Smaller pans will
shorten baking time. Have fun and enjoy!
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Layered Sweet & Sour Delight Party Appetizer |
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TOPPING
3/4 C. Cooked Chicken, chopped or shredded
½ C. Carrots, shredded
1/4 C. Unsalted peanuts, chopped
3 T. Green onions, sliced
1 T. Fresh cilantro, chopped (I used dried cilantro... 1 teaspoon)
2 T. Soy sauce
1 tsp. Fresh ginger, minced (I used powdered ginger, just a pinch I think)
1 tsp. Sesame oil
SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE
1/4 C. Brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tsp. Cornstarch
3/4 C. Water
1/4 C. Catsup
2 T. Rice vinegar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
3 drops Tabasco
BASE
8 oz. Cream cheese, softened
1 T. Milk
Combine topping ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for
several hours. Make Sweet and Sour sauce as follows: combine brown
sugar and cornstarch, mix well. Gradually stir in water and remaining
ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture
thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Cool, cover and refrigerate.
When ready to serve, make base by combining cream cheese and milk...
beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly on
bottom of 10 inch serving dish or pie plate. Drizzle with about half of
Sweet and Sour sauce. Spoon chicken topping mix evenly over cream
cheese. Drizzle with rest of Sweet & Sour sauce. Garnish with more
chopped peanuts and cilantro (I just used more peanuts and skipped the
cilantro here). Serve with assorted crackers.
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