Fluffy French Toast

Recipe given to Candice by Suzanne P.

4 eggs
2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. Bisquick
4 tsp. sugar
Cinnamon to taste, optional
1 loaf Texas Toast
Crisco, for frying

Beat together eggs, milk, and vanilla. Add Bisquick, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir until smooth. Melt Crisco in a heavy frying pan until at least ½ inch deep. Dip toast slices in batter and deep fry until golden brown on both sides. Place on a rack or paper towels to drain. Serve with powdered sugar, syrup, fruit, etc. Enjoy!

Mock Turkey-Pomodoro

Bread of choice
Cranberry jalepeno jelly
Thinly sliced Turkey Deli Meat
Thinly sliced cucumbers
Havarti Cheese slices
Roman Lettuce
Roasted tomatoes - found in grocery store deli's, ie. Harmon's.

Black Bean Salsa

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. frozen corn, thawed
2 tomatoes, chopped
½ onion, chopped
2 limes, juiced
cilantro, chopped to taste
1 pkt. Italian dressing mix
¼ c. oil
2 Tbsp. water
¼ c. vinegar

Combine all ingredients. Serve with tortilla chips.

Candice's Sticky Bun Bites

12 Rhodes rolls, microwave thaw for 1 min. 15 sec. (turn halfway through), cut into 48 pieces
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
¾ c. brown sugar, unpacked
2 tsp. cinnamon

Melt butter, set aside. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon, set aside.
Prepare caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce:
1 c. brown sugar, packed
½ c. butter
¼ c. Karo syrup
1 c. pecans, chopped (optional)
Bring sugar and butter to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and add Karo syrup. Pour into an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle on pecans. Set aside.

Dip each piece of roll dough in melted butter and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place in baking dish on top of caramel. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and let sit for a minute to let the caramel sauce drip over rolls. Serve warm.

Parmesan Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally to make 8 thin pieces
3/4 c. mayonnaise
6 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 c. Panko

Prepare chicken pieces. Combine mayo and Parmesan. Spread each piece of chicken with the mayo/cheese mixture (like you're frosting a cookie). Dip in Panko and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Jalapenos

9-10 large jalapenos
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. dry Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing seasoning
9 slices of bacon, cut in half

Slice jalapenos in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove seeds and ribs, set aside. Combine cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and ranch seasoning. Fill each jalapeno half with cream cheese mixture. Wrap each jalapeno with a half slice of bacon. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
* If you would prefer to not have bacon, sprinkle the tops with a little Panko bread crumbs instead.

Beef Croquettes

This is a traditional Dutch Christmas dish that my husband craves this time of year.
I cook a 2-3 pound chuck roast in the crock pot on low for 8 hours to get the meat. Save 1 cup of beef broth for the sauce. Put left over pot roast in your food processor and shred until you have 4 cups. I had about 2 cups of leftover meat that bulked up to 4 cups processed.
Sauce:
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 c. beef broth
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Continue to cook, stirring, for a minute or two to combine the butter and flour. Whisk in beef broth and cook, stirring continually, until thickened into a paste. When thick, combine with beef and mix until it is all combined and the consistency of cookie dough. Spread in a 1/2 inch thick layer on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with the seasonings you like. We like to use a little ground nutmeg, black pepper, onion powder and garlic salt. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Shape into logs, about 1/4 c. each. Dip in a beaten egg and then roll in bread crumbs, we prefer Panko. Deep fry. Enjoy!

Pot Roast

2-3 lb. chuck roast
Salt
Pepper
Seasoning Salt
3 bay leaves
5 beef bouillon cubes
2 c. water

Sprinkle both sides of the roast liberally with salt, pepper, and seasoning salt. Put into a Crock pot with bay leaves, bouillon, and water. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Peppermint Meltaways

1 c. butter, softened
½ c. powdered sugar
½ tsp. peppermint extract
1 ¼ c. flour
½ c. cornstarch

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Shape into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Frosting
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 ½ c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
¼ tsp. peppermint extract
2 to 3 drops food coloring (optional)
½ c. crushed peppermint candies or candy canes

Beat butter until fluffy. Add the sugar, milk, peppermint extract and food coloring. Beat until smooth. Spread over cooled cookies; sprinkle with crushed candies. Store in an airtight container.

Turtles

grid shaped pretzels
Rolos
pecan halves

Place pretzels on an ungreased cookie sheet and top each with a Rolo. Bake at 350 degrees for 4 minutes. Quickly place a pecan half on each pretzel and Rolo. Chill until set.

Peanut Butter Kisses

1 c. peanut butter
1 egg
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
24-30 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped

Combine first four ingredients. Shape into 1 inch balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes. Remove from oven, place a kiss in each cookie center, then move to a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

1/2 c. butter, room temperature, plus 2 Tbsp. melted
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
3/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 pkg. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 c.)
2 c. coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking pan with aluminum foil. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 1 stick room temperature butter, brown sugar, flour and salt until coarse crumbs form. Pour mixture into prepared pan; press firmly into bottom.
Bake until lightly browned, 25-30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in the same large bowl, mix eggs, corn syrup, granulated sugar, and melted butter until well combined. Add chocolate chips and pecans; spread over crust. Bake until set, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely in pan before lifting out (using foil to lift). Cut into 32 bars (8 rows by 4 rows).

Creamy Italian Chicken

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 Italian salad dressing packet, dry
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, frozen

Soften cream cheese. Combine soup, cream cheese, and Italian dressing packet. Place chicken breasts in crock pot and top with soup mixture. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve over rice.

Dad's Christmas Fudge

Every Christmas, Dad makes this fudge by the ton.

1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. evaporated milk
7 oz. jar of Jet Puff marshmallow cream
3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter over medium heat. Add sugar, evaporated milk, and marshmallow cream. Bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until melted then add nuts. Pour into a buttered 9x9 or 11x7 pan. Refrigerate overnight until set. Take out an hour before cutting.

Candice's German Chocolate Brownie Cups

1 Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie mix
1 container of coconut pecan frosting
Chocolate chips for melting

Mix brownie mix according to package directions. Pour batter into greased mini muffin tins (about 1 Tbsp. each). Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Let cool in pans. Top with coconut pecan frosting and drizzle with melted chocolate chips.
Makes about 40.

Candice's Shortbread and Jam Thumbprint Cookies

1 c.butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Your favorite berry jam

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add flour and mix until well blended. Roll dough into balls (about 1 Tbsp. of dough each). Place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Quickly press your finger into each warm cookie to make an indent. Let cool for a few minutes and then roll each cookie in powdered sugar. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack and then roll one more time in powdered sugar. Top each cookie with about a 1/2 tsp. of jam. I love seedless blackberry or raspberry.
Makes 30 cookies.