Seafood Ramekins (a.k.a. The Way to a Man's Heart)

The Way to a Man's Heart

Rated: Submitted By: Carolyn Photo By: KAITCH Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour Servings: 8

"Layers of luscious seafood in individual ramekins make this dish perfect for elegant gatherings. Start with white fish baked in wine, sprinkle crabmeat over the fish, add a creamy layer of mushroom sauce, top with cheese and bake until bubbly."

Ingredients:

1 pound halibut 1/2 cup white wine 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms 1/4 cup minced onion 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper

2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup evaporated milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper 1/2 pound crabmeat, flaked 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter 8 small ovenproof ramekins.
2.	Cut fish into 8 pieces, and arrange in a shallow 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour wine over fish, and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper.
3.	Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily; keep oven on for final step.
4.	Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute mushrooms, onion and red bell pepper until tender; remove from heat and set aside.
5.	Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the saucepan over low heat. Mix in flour, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly until smooth. Gradually add milk and increase heat to medium; stir constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly.
6.	Stir in mushroom mixture, salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper to saucepan, stirring until well combined. Remove sauce from heat and set aside.
7.	Remove fish from wine carefully with a slotted spoon, and place 1 piece into each ramekin. Sprinkle crabmeat evenly on tops, followed by 2 tablespoons sauce and 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese in each dish.
8.	Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly; serve immediately.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 3/11/2010

Cherry Vanilla Smoothies/Popsicles

Ingredients:

Large tub of vanilla yogurt (I choose organic, or Greek yogurt!)
Bag of frozen, pitted cherries
Vanilla protein powder (optional)

Directions:
Blend all ingredients.
Enjoy!

Variation:
My kids LOVE these poured into molds, and frozen as popsicles!  They are full of antioxidants, vitamins, protein, and calcium!

Fried Pickles (Southern Living)

Fried Pickles (Southern Living)

Fried pickles have always been a favorite of mine! When I mention them to some people, they reply with "EWWWWW!!!" I guess they're not for everyone, but most people that have tried them at my house are fast fans. Try this recipe for yourself, and let me know what you think!

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:
2 (16-oz.) jars dill pickle sandwich slices, drained **I like to use the slices instead of the spears, but many restaurants serve the spears.***
1 large egg
1 (12-oz.) can beer **quality is not as important here as it is when making beer bread, etc**
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
And, it's nice to have some Ranch Dressing to dip them in! YUM!

Directions:
1. Pat pickles dry with paper towels.
2. Whisk together egg and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; add 1 1/2 cups flour, and whisk until smooth.
3. Pour oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches into a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven; heat over medium-high heat to 375°.
4. Dip pickle slices into batter, allowing excess batter to drip off. Fry pickles, in batches, 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. Drain and pat dry on paper towels; serve immediately with Ranch Dressing.

Southern Living, JULY 2007

AMAZING Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I LOVE my chocolate chip cookies. And these are hands-down the BEST I've ever had. The pudding added makes the perfect texture, and everyone will love them!

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla
pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown, but do NOT overcook! They're best when left a little tender!

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 325

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup sugar
1 stick margarine or butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts
2 Tbsp. buttermilk

Blend first 3 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Bake 1 hour 20-30 minutes or when toothpick comes out clean.

****NOTE: I bake bread 1 hour then loosely cover the top with aluminum foil so it won't burn & bake the remaining time. Also, to pack more vitamins in, change the 2 cups of all-purpose flour to: 1 cup all-purpose flour, and 1 cup whole wheat flour. Then, substitute 1 mashed ripe banana for 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana and 1/2 cup pureed sweet potato!****

HERSHEY'S Easy Fudgey Pudding Cake

HERSHEY'S Easy Fudgey Pudding Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose biscuit baking mix
1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk), divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Syrup, divided
3/4 cup hot water
Whipped topping or ice cream(optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Combine baking mix and cocoa in medium bowl; stir in 1 cup sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 cup syrup and vanilla until blended. Spoon evenly into prepared pan.
3. Combine remaining sweetened condensed milk, remaining 1/2 cup syrup and water in small bowl. Pour liquid mixture carefully over top of mixture in pan; do not stir.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Let stand 10 minutes; spoon into dessert dishes, spooning pudding from bottom of pan over top. Serve warm; garnish with whipped topping, if desired. Cover; refrigerate leftover dessert. 6 to 8 servings.

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground pork sausage
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
6 slices white bread, toasted
and cut into cubes
8 ounces mild Cheddar
cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:

1.Crumble sausage into a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown; drain.
2.In a medium bowl, mix together mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk. Add the sausage, bread cubes, and cheese, and stir to coat evenly. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.
3.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4.Cover, and bake 45 to 60 minutes. Uncover, and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until set.

Drunk Deer and Chicken Chili!

Drunk Deer and Chicken Chili!

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter
1 pound ground venison
1 pound cubed beef stew meat- optional (I use shredded)
1 pound shredded pork stew meat (I use shredded)
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, with juice
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cubes beef bouillon, crumbled
1/4 cup Kentucky bourbon
2 (12 fluid ounce) cans pilsner-style beer
2 cups water

DIRECTIONS:

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the venison, beef, and pork in the melted butter until completely browned. Add the onion; cook until tender. Season with chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cumin.
Stir in the stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic and beef bouillon. Pour the bourbon, beer, and water into the mixture and stir. Bring the chili to a boil; cover and reduce heat to medium-low; simmer about 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Healthy Ribbon Loaf

Chocolate Peanut Butter Healthy Ribbon Loaf

From Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking Magazine. Submitted by Sharon Giljum of San Diego, CA.

"With chocolate, bananas, and peanut butter, this bread has it all. At less than 275 calories per slice, it's perfect for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack."

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium)
1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup peanut butter chip
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Directions

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the bananas, yogurt, and vanilla. Combine the flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; gradually beat into the butter mixture. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Remove 1 cup batter to a small bowl; stir in chocolate until well blended. Pour half of remaining batter into a 9x5 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; top with half of the chocolate batter. Repeat layers. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

**** NOTE: I like to change these up a bit. Sometimes I don't make them "ribboned" at all. Sometimes I will add chocolate chips instead of melted chocolate, and pour the batter in mini muffin pans. Very often, I will cut the banana amount in half, and substitute pureed carrot for the rest! The kids have no idea, and EVERYONE loves them!****

Vidalia Onion Dip

Vidalia Onion Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped Vidalia onion
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese or shredded Swiss cheese (about 4 oz.)
1 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (optional)
Hot pepper sauce to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine all ingredients in 1-quart casserole. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with your favorite dippers.

Tomato Mozzarella Bites

Tomato Mozzarella Bites

Ingredients:

20 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
20 fresh basil leaves
20 small balls fresh mozzarella cheese (often
labeled bocconcini)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
20 toothpicks

Directions:

Using a toothpick, spear a half of a tomato, a piece of basil, a mozzarella ball, and another half of a tomato. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Place on a serving dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix the vinegar and oil together in a small bowl to serve as a dipping sauce.