Tuesday, December 21, 2010

January's Meeting of the Pioneers

To start off the new year we will be making Comfort Foods. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on January 12th at DeeAnn's home.

Be sure to email DeeAnn your recipe.

December's Recipes-Appetizers and Desserts

Mary brought Texas Crab Grass from Carol Hawkins
1/2 cup butter
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 pkg frozen, chopped spinach (cooked and drained)
1 7-oz can crabmeat
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Melba rounds or crackers

Slowly melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Add onion and saute until soft. Add spinach to onion mixture. Add crabmeat and cheese. Transfer to chafing dish and serve with Melba rounds or crackers.

Sybil brought Sweet Snowballs from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Magazine
In the container of a food processor, process 1 (18-ounce) package golden cream-filled vanilla sandwich cookies, Golden Oreo® Sandwich Cookies, until crumbly. Pour into a large bowl. Add 1 (8-ounce) package of softened cream cheese. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer until well combined. Using hands, shape into 30 (1-inch) balls. In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt 2 (6-ounce) packages of white baking chocolate, Baker’s®, according to package directions. Dip balls in white chocolate, and place on a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm.

AND Two-Layer Fudge from Kraft Foods

1 pkg. (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, divided 1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS Walnuts 1 tsp. vanilla 1 pkg. (6 squares) BAKER'S White Chocolate Make It
MICROWAVE semi-sweet chocolate and 3/4 cup milk in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

ADD nuts and vanilla; mix well. Spread onto bottom of foil-lined 8-inch square pan.

MICROWAVE white chocolate and remaining milk in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Spread over semi-sweet chocolate layer. Refrigerate 2 hours.

AND Parmesan Puff Pastry from Paula Deen

Ingredients
1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.


On a lightly floured surface, unfold pastry sheets. Cut each sheet into 13 strips, about 3/4 by 10-inches apiece.


In a shallow dish, combine cheese, basil, and garlic. Brush pastry sticks with melted butter. Roll pastry in cheese mixture, lightly coating each side. Gently twist pastry sticks, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

DeeAnn brought Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn from OurBestBites.com
Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn
Recipe by Our Best Bites


2 bags of Simply Salted (or similar) popcorn (or about 20 cups of popped popcorn)
2 c. honey roasted peanuts
3 c. peanut butter chips (I used Reese's)*
2/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips *
1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or oil
*I LOVED this suggestion from one of our readers. If you want more chocolatey flavor in your popcorn, substitute 1 c. of the peanut butter chips with 1 c. of chocolate chips and then still drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn at the end.

Place the peanuts popped popcorn in a very large bowl. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the peanut butter chips and vegetable oil or shortening and heat for 2-2 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Drizzle the melted peanut butter chips over the popcorn and peanuts and toss to combine.


Spread the popcorn onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet. In a Ziploc bag, heat the semi-sweet chocolate chips until just melted and smooth (about 1-1 1/2 minutes, mashing the bag every 20-30 seconds). Cut a small corner in the Ziploc bag and drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn. Allow to stand long enough to become solid (you can transfer the pan to the fridge or freezer to hurry this step along). When done, break the popcorn into small pieces and enjoy!

AND

Pepper Popper Dip modified from Jalapeno Popper Dip at OurBestBites.com
2 8-oz pkgs Neufchatel cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 4-oz cans fire roasted green chilies
Crackers or sourdough baguettes, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients and spread into a 9-inch pie plate or small baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until dip is bubbly and golden brown.