Curry Mac n Cheese

Ingredients:
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1-1 1/2 Cups Elbow Macaroni, Uncooked
1 Cup Milk
1 1/2 Cups Cooked chicken, chopped
2 t Curry Powder
2 Cups Cheddar Cheese

Spray small casserole dish with Pam. Mix ingredients. Cover with Foil. Bake for 45 min-1 hour @ 350 degrees.

(sorry, no photo on this one)

I got this recipe from my friend Kim. It's so EASY. Jeff and I didn't know if we liked curry...until now! This recipe is so scrumptious that I made it twice in a week and doubled it the 2nd time! I can't wait to see if Cade likes it!

Pumpkin Oat Scones

Ingredients :
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons cold butter
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons cold milk
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk, or as needed
1 pinch ground ginger
1 dash ground cinnamon, or to taste

Directions

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Whisk the flour, oats, baking powder, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, and cloves together in a mixing bowl. Cut the cold butter into the mixture with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs the size of peas or smaller. (I used a kitchenaid mixer. Whisk the pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons cold milk, the egg, and vanilla together in a small bowl; fold into the flour mixture until just blended.
Divide dough into two sections on a lightly floured surface. Gather each into a ball and knead about 10-12 times. Flatten balls to 1/2-inch thickness on a non-stick baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between the rounds. Cut rounds into sixths with a butter knife, but do not separate the wedges.
Bake in the preheated oven until the bottoms and edges are just golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Set aside to cool.
While the scones cool, mix the confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, remaining pinch of ginger, and dash of cinnamon together in a small bowl. Add more milk to thin the frosting as needed. Spread over scones and serve.


I thought these were a little tough. Not sure if I over mixed or over kneaded them. The actual scone part didn't have any sweetness, which seemed strange, but the sweet icing was a nice contrast. All in all they were OK.

Appetizer-Easy Artichoke Dip and Hot Wing Dip

EASY ARTICHOKE DIP

Ingredients:

2 small or 1 large jar of marinated artichokes (drain and chop to your preferred size)

1 brick of cream cheese (softened)

1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (or add by taste and texture)

Directions:

Combine all using a food processor. You can do it by hand, but it is easier with a processor. Put in a bowl and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 until warm, about 15-20 minutes. Serve with veggies, bread, chips and/or crackers.

HOT WING DIP

Ingredients:

16 oz cream cheese

3/4 c hot sauce

1 c ranch dressing

1 c cheddar cheese

2 cups diced, cooked chicken

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and spread into 9×13 dish and bake 350 for 30 minute. Serve with chips.

Cherry Pie

Crust Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Directions
Cut the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to an hour (the longer the better) so that they become thoroughly chilled. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter.

Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again.Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs.

Knead the dough just enough to form the discs, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days. Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate.

Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.

Add filling to the pie.

Roll out second disk of dough, as before. Cut into strips for lattice and even get creative, like making a heart! Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_pie_crust/

Ingredients for filling
I really wanted to make the filling from scratch, but couldn't find tart cherries anywhere. Soooo, I used canned pie filling and added a few things.
1 can cherry pie filling
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp cheesecake pudding mix
1 tsp salt

Directions for filling
combine all ingredients and pour into shell!


Bake pie at 425 for 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown

This pie was delicious, especially the crust! I wouldn't change anything there. Flaky and tasty. The filling was tasty but the consistency was weird, probably because of the pudding mix. I think next time I would make cheesecake pudding and put it in the bottom of the pie, separate from the cherry part. I don't know, something different. We'll see. In any case, it was a pretty good turnout for Jeff's birthday "cake." :)

Phantom Canyon Queens Blonde Ale and Smoked Gouda Soup

Phantom Canyon is one of my favorite restaurants in town. And the reason: THIS SOUP! It is delicious AND they have shared the recipe. For some reason I also equate this place to Fall, so clearly it was time to partake of this deliciousness. It's pretty easy, too!

Ingredients:
2 (12-ounce) bottles of blond ale or light beer (I used Blue Moon. I bought a 24 oz bottle and felt REAL classy leaving the liquor store ;)
6 cups chicken stock
1 to 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced small (I found mine to be a bit too potatoey in texture, so I'd probably use less next time)
Bay leaf
1 quart heavy cream
1 1/2 pounds smoked Gouda cheese, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a large heavy soup pot, bring ale or beer, chicken stock and potatoes to a boil; add bay leaf.
Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until potatoes fall apart (about 90 minutes).
Puree in blender and pour back into the pot once mixture is smooth and creamy.
Slowly whisk in the heavy cream and allow soup to gently boil, uncovered, until it starts to thicken, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf.
Add the shredded cheese and whisk briskly until it melts.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Voila! Serve with cracked pepper crackers OR soft pretzels and mustard.
18 thumbs up! ;)

Pita Pizza

Make your pita bread then top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Easy peasy!

Pesto Pizza

Ingredients:


(pesto)
1/3 c. fresh basil leaves
1/3 c. pine nuts
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c. olive oil
1 t. lemon juice
salt to taste

(pizza)
pizza crust (premade or baked as necessary)
mushrooms
fresh mozzarella

Directions:

Bake pine nuts at 400 degrees until light brown. Blend all pesto ingredients in a food processor using more or less oil to reach the consistency you desire. Spread over pizza crust. Top with sliced cheese and mushrooms. Bake according to premade or homemade crust instructions. Enjoy!