SNICKER'S SALAD

One bite of this delicious apple creation and you'll wonder why it's called a "salad!"  But.... mine is not to question why. :-) All I know, is every time I take this dish to a potluck or make it for company, it is one of the first things to be devoured! Everyone asks for the recipe. It's so simple, you could make it with your eyes closed and one arm tied behind your back!

SNICKER'S SALAD

6 Apples (your choice - but some prefer Granny Smith. I am not a tart apple fan, so I use Gala)
6 Snicker's candy bars, chopped into bite size pieces
2 bricks cream cheese, softened
2 (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed
1 cup sugar

With mixer, cream softened cream cheese w/ sugar. Stir in Cool whip and mix until combined.  
Cut UNpeeled apples into 8 wedges and remove core. Dice each wedge into 4 or 5 bite size pieces. Add apples & Snickers pieces to cream cheese mixture. Fold all together until it is well combined.
Chill until ready to serve. Have several copies of recipe ready to hand out!

STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM

It's that time of year again! Strawberry season is upon us! For you folks in the cold North, you still have another month to wait for berries! Someone gave me a bunch of "leftover" berries the other day and it was so many that my first thought was to make freezer jam with them! I ended up making 20 (1/2 pint) containers and still had enough left over to make a batch of strawberry shortcake! WooHoo!
Strawberry freezer jam is so quick and easy to make! And makes such a nice gift when you pair it w/ a loaf of homemade bread or biscuits. To make preparing the berries quicker, I chop mine in my food processor. But you could mash your berries with a potato masher or just mash them with your hands even. At any rate, any work that goes into making the jam is WELL worth the effort!

STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM

2 cups  crushed strawberries (buy 1 qt. fully ripe strawberries)

4 cups  sugar, measured into separate bowl

3/4 cup  water

1 pkg.  SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin

 

RINSE 5 (1-cup) plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly. Discard stems. Crush strawberries thoroughly, 1 cup at a time. Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.  

 

MIX water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until most the sugar is dissolved. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)

 

FILL containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or in freezer up to 1 year. (If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before using.)

 

*I'm still trying to master the low sugar version. I made both kinds yesterday. The regular one set up quite nicely but the low sugar one did not. I'm working on fixing it and figuring out what I did wrong. 

If I can't fix it, I'll have 8 jars of ice cream topping to give away as gifts! When life hands you runny jam, make ice cream sundaes!  :-)   

FAVORITE SCOOP

Cupcakes are all the rage right now, aren't they?! I don't know about you, but I find it annoying to try to fill the muffin papers with a spoon. You never know how much batter to put on the spoon and once you get all the papers filled, you go back through adding to each one, to make them all the same size. At least that's what I used to do! I'm a bit anal that way! haha When I started cooking for Summer Camp I discovered the joy of using measured scoops!! It was exactly what a CDO (that's OCD, except the letters are in order like they should be!) person like me needed!

This No. 20 scoop - 1 5/8 oz (if you scoop your cupcake batter out in even scoops) makes exactly 24 cupcakes, all perfectly the same size! There! Now isn't that better?! :-)

BANANA CINNAMON WAFFLES (Low Carb-GF)

Breakfast can be a real challenge when you are trying to eat Low Carb - GF. I try to rotate different meals so we aren't just eating eggs every morning. For a while now I have been making Cream cheese waffles that, if I remember right, have roughly 2 carbs each. These have a few more, but are still only 6 carbs each. I have been seeing this recipe all over Pinterest and decided to give them a try this morning. It received a thumbs up from hubby so that's all I needed to add them to my blog. I keep over ripe bananas in my freezer, and just popped a couple in the microwave to thaw, so this went together super quick and easy!

BANANA CINNAMON WAFFLES
Yield: 2 waffles

1 over ripe banana
2 large eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp Splenda (optional)

Heat waffle iron until your light says it's ready.
The easiest way to mix this up is to throw everything in a food processor or blender. Start by adding eggs and banana to the processor, blend until thoroughly combined. Add in remaining ingredients and give it another whirl until it's smooth and creamy.
Spritz hot waffle iron w/ Pam cooking spray. Add half of the batter to the hot iron and close cover. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until medium golden brown. Remove and drizzle with melted butter.

6 carbs each

FLOURLESS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Here I am again, still on the quest to get hubby off his insulin. The apple fritters were a brain freeze. I didn't technically make them for home, but to take to a new family that had visited. But anytime there is any baking going on, hubby seems to sniff it out! :-) So I will be a good girl and bake things that 'if' he does come sniffing, and he will, the thing he devours, won't serve to kill him! Recently I tried a flourless chocolate cookie for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised! So I thought if that was so good, then I wonder if there is a flourless version of the good ol' PB cookie and voila! Didn't take much searching to find one! I did not have Sucanat on hand (have actually never used it) but I did have bulk Splenda, so I used that. Personally when I make these again, if I use Splenda again, I will knock the amount down to 1/2 cup rather than 3/4. They were amazingly tasty though. It's crazy how you can still make these yummy little treats w/out flour or sugar! Who knew? :-)

FLOURLESS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE
(Low Carb - Gluten Free)

3/4 cup Sucanat (if using bulk Splenda, reduce that to 1/2 cup)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (I used my PC stone sheet pan, so didn't need the parchment paper).
Place sucanat, egg and vanilla in mixing bowl and mix well until smooth. Add in peanut butter and baking soda and mix until combined.
Using a small cookie scoop, scoop up dough and drop on cookie sheet. I put 8 on each pan so they would have room to bake and not run into each other and it was plenty of space. Roll each ball with your hands, and flatten slightly with the tines of a fork, in two directions, giving it the classic " Plaid PB cookie design."
Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until desired doneness. I baked mine for exactly 8 minutes and when I removed the pan from the oven, I left the cookies on the stone for another 5 minutes before I removed them to my sheet of foil to cool completely.

Optional: If you want to make them PBJ thumbprint cookies, roll dough into balls, do not flatten with fork, but instead make slight indentation with thumb. Fill with about 1/2 tsp sugar free jam and bake as directed above.

Yield: 16 cookies

As best I could figure, these were 4 carbs per cookie

APPLE FRITTERS

Whenever we have a new family visit in a church service, hubby and I make a visit to their home and I take a homemade treat to them. This time I decided to try my hand at apple fritters. It was a super easy recipe to mix together and they were DEElicious! I had to make my family members all "cup bearers" the night before as I fried up a trial batch. (I know..... poor things! They live such sacrificial lives!) I was being overly cautious about the fry time in the cast iron pot, as I didn't want to burn them. The first batch came out looking all lovely and golden brown. We quickly dunked them in the glaze and with mouths watering, we dug in, only to have them OOZE out their uncooked middles all over the plate! :-) Glad it was the "trial" batch! 2nd batch I fried a couple minutes longer. We all stood around the stove watching them sizzle in the hot oil and magically flip themselves over when one side was done! Once I got the knack of it down, I flew right through the whole batch. I could fry up about a dozen at a time. I'm planning on making these for prayer breakfast this weekend. I'm thinking they'll go over fantabulously!

APPLE FRITTERS

1 heaping cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
dash salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 T. butter, melted
1 egg
1/3 cup milk + plus more if needed
1 – 1 1/2 cups diced apple (your favorite kind)

oil for frying

milk and powdered sugar glaze for dipping or just powdered sugar for dusting
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T 1/2 & 1/2 (or milk)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients together, slowly add the wet ingredients minus the apple. Carefully mix until well combined. Gently fold in apple pieces. The batter should be the consistency of a light cake mix. Heat oil in cast iron pot over Medium to Medium high heat. Perfect temp to fry donuts is 375. Once the oil is ready (I always test it by sticking the handle of my wooden spoon in the oil. If it sizzles, it is ready) then using a cookie scooper place balls of dough into the oil. Be careful not to overcrowd (my cast iron dutch oven easily held a dozen fritters) and watch carefully for the underside to turn golden brown, then gently flip over and continue frying until done. I cooked mine about 2 minutes per side, but they were the size of golf balls – adjust cooking times based on size of fritters and temperature of your oil.
It's a good idea to do a trial run so you can gauge the temp of your oil and the fry time needed. Make your family or friends guinea pigs to taste test!
ENJOY!

FRIED CABBAGE W/ BACON

For years, when my children were growing up, every St. Patrick's day I would color as much of our food green as I could! My kids are all grown now and have families of their own. So this year, I decided to go a little more old world, authentic and make corned beef & cabbage for dinner. This fried cabbage was a huge hit with everyone! Go figure. It goes together in a snap. I will be making this again and again.

FRIED CABBAGE W/ BACON

1 large head of cabbage, cored and sliced into thin strips
1 pound of bacon, diced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

 

In a large frying skillet, fry diced bacon until crisp. I use kitchen shears to cut my bacon up over the hot skillet. Leave bacon and bacon fat in skillet. Add in the cabbage, salt & pepper. Stir until the cabbage starts to cook down a bit. Cook until desired tenderness. Some people like it completely cooked down, others like it tender-crisp. I prefer it cooked down. Serve with your favorite entree.
ENJOY! 

OLD FASHIONED BROWN BREAD

With bread at almost $3 a loaf, I figured it was time to try my hand at learning the skill of bread making. This is one area that I have not ventured into much. I suppose it's because with the carb content, we don't eat a lot of it. But we constantly have need of it since we often have family and guests in for fellowships and meals. This was an easy recipe to make, although a little dense for my taste. It has molasses and oats in it, which gave it a delicious flavor. I was hoping it would have risen and had a lighter texture. I think I either added too much flour at the start or it may have been in my kneading "technique." At any rate, I will make it again though, just so I can "master" this recipe! The first time I made cinnamon rolls I wasn't happy with them either. But now I can make them with my eyes closed! You learn as you go - what to do and what not to do, to get a good product.

OLD FASHIONED BROWN BREAD

2 1/3 cups boiling water
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup soft butter, cubed
1/3 cup molasses
5 1/2 - 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
5 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, pour boiling water over oats. Stir in butter and molasses. Let stand until mixture reads 120 to 130 degrees, stirring occasionally.
In another bowl, combine 3 1/2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Beat into oat mixture until blended. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a SOFT (not stiff) dough. Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic (about 6 - 8 minutes). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. About 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto LIGHTLY floured surface and divide in half. Shape into loaves. Place in 2 greased loaf pans . Cover and let rise until doubled - about 30 minutes.
Bake at 375 for 35 - 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Brush tops with butter to soften crust.
ENJOY! 

4 INGREDIENT CRUSTY BREAD

Well as my debut into the world of food blogging I think BREAD is the best choice to start out with!! I mean really... who in their right mind doesn't love a big ol' slice of homemade, fresh out of the oven, slathered in butter, bread to enjoy in some dark corner! "Let it cool completely! BAH!  Bread is always great to make, because as long as you have flour and yeast you are good to go!
This bread is so easy to make! I can't take the credit for it because it's been around for years, but it's new to me.This is great if you love homemade bread but don't have the time to stand and knead for 10 minutes, then wait for another rise. Just a little thinking ahead and you can have this wonderful bread on your taste buds! This bread comes out with the similar consistency & chewiness of Ciabatta.

4 INGREDIENT CRUSTY BREAD

3 cups of flour
1 3/4 tsp. of salt (I used kosher and love it!)
1/2 tsp. of yeast
1 1/2 cups of water

In a medium-large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients then stir in the water. This dough will be very, very sticky! This is what you want. No special kneading or dough whispering skills are necessary for this bread! lol
Once you have this all mixed together all you have to do is let it sit  covered in plastic wrap for 12-18 hours. That's why I mentioned thinking ahead a little. All I do is mix it together before I go to bed.
Preheat your oven to 450. Once that is done preheat your pot. You will need one that is about 4-5 quarts and that has a lid. I like my Le Crouset! Plus it's purple and pretty!

Any kind of cast iron pot or one that's covered in ceramic will work.
Preheat your pan with the lid on in the oven for 30 minutes. While that is heating drop your very airy, very sticky dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for the same 30 minutes.
CAREFULLY remove your hot pot from the oven and place the bread down in it. It will still be very sticky, but that is the purpose of giving it that extra coating of flour - so you can more easily handle it while placing it in the hot pan. Cover and bake at 450 for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. When it's done, immediately remove your bread from the pot (or else it will continue to bake on the hot cast iron) and place bread loaf on cooling rack for 5 - 10 minutes (or however long you can manage to not drool all over your glorious creation!

INTRODUCING SARAH BEADLES

A couple of years ago I introduced my youngest daughter to you (Hannah Flaugher) as another host on my blog. I think she was newly married at the time. They now have 2 little ones. Where does the time go? Now, long overdue, I am introducing my oldest daughter, Sarah, to you! She is married to Tim Beadles and they have one 3 mo old little boy (Lucas). Sarah loves to cook AND photograph what she makes! haha I have trained my daughters well! At least once a week I will get a picture text from her of a new dish that she has made for her hubby. They are still basically newlyweds. I was just looking through her pics on FB today and saw at least a dozen food pics that she has tried and I said to her, "You need to post these on my blog!" haha I will get her all set up to start posting. I'm so excited to have them both on here with me!

OVEN SLIDERS

I know, I know.... Don't grill me on the meaning of "slider." I've read all the debates on the true meaning of a slider. The trend now though, is that any mini sandwich can be called a slider, so the name stands. You've probably seen this recipe circulating on the internet. Some are calling them "funeral" sandwiches. They are way too good to be saddled w/ such a sad name though. When I first ran across this recipe, I was intrigued but also a bit skeptical because of the sauce recipe that gets poured over the top. My skepticism won out and I second guessed the sauce recipe. I timidly "brushed" the sauce over the top of the buns, rather than pouring it over the top. One warm, delicious bite and I immediately regretted not using all of the sauce! I have made these several times now and every time, I get asked for the recipe. I've made them for a Superbowl party, 2 funerals, a birthday party, etc... They are just a good all around, easy sandwich to fix and it serves a large group easily. I have used different varieties of meat and cheese to make these. The roast beef and provolone is a good one! Turkey and cheddar. Ham and swiss, etc... Plus..... one of my favorite features - you can prep them the night before! Oh yeah! A Pastor's wife's dream recipe! :-)

OVEN SLIDERS

1 package of King's Hawaiian Rolls

1/2-1 lb. deli ham, turkey or roast beef

Swiss cheese, Cheddar or Provolone, sliced thin

1/2 c. butter, melted

3 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. mustard

2 T. brown sugar

dash of onion powder

Cut rolls in half and lay bottoms on baking pan. Layer the deli meat slices, then cheese and place the top half of the buns back on.Make sure the rolls are separated a bit on the pan, so the sauce can run down the sides of the sandwiches.

 

Mix together the melted butter, Worcestershire, mustard, brown sugar and onion powder. Pour the whole works over the buns, drenching each one. Cover tightly and marinade anywhere from 4-24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes,uncovered,or until cheese is melted and bun tops are a bit golden. 

 

Lastly - have recipe printed and ready to hand out! :-)

BACON BREAKFAST CUPS

It doesn't take much to make my hubby happy - especially when I say the word, "BACON!" He got so excited when he saw me putting these together this morning. They turned out extremely delicious! These don't go together in a snap, however, like I am so used to saying about many of my recipes. Although they take a little time, they are WELL worth the wait! These would be so fun to fix for a big family breakfast! Pair them w/ a big ol' batch of hash browns and some fresh fruit and you will have yourself a breakfast feast!
The amounts listed here are to fill a 12 cup muffin tin. But you can easily pair it down to the number you need.

BACON BREAKFAST CUPS

12 slices bread
24 slices bacon, fried until almost crisp (will finish cooking in oven)
12 eggs
Butter
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly fry bacon and drain on paper towels. Butter muffin cups. With rolling pin, roll each slice of bread until thin. Using kitchen shears, hold bread and cut off crusts, shaping into circle as you go, keeping as much of the bread as you can. Butter the top side of the bread. *Using your hands and fingers, form the bread into a 4 leaf clover shape. Carefully position it into the muffin cup. Gently open the bread up so it will hold the remaining ingredients. Take 2 slices of bacon and form an X on the bottom of the bread cup w/ them. The bacon will hang out over the top of the cup. (I know mine barely look like that, but it is because hubby wanted to help put them together and he started breaking the bacon up into the bread cups! haha) Now crack 1 egg into each muffin cup, on top of the bacon. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake at 375 for 20 - 25 minutes, or until whites are set.
*NOTE* Don't try to force the buttered bread circle into the muffin cup w/ a tart shaper. Tried it, it doesn't work! :-)