Recipes Loved, Lost, or Always Wanted!

susiestar

Roll With It
I think it would be fun to post our favorite holiday recipes, and even post requests for recipes we would like, or that we lost, or for restaurant items we would love to try at home. I have a number of the Top Secret Recipe books and will share recipes from that via PM if anyone wants them.

Even recipes for gifts in a jar are cool.

When we rehomed Goldi, Jessie's bird, the woman brought us the most amazing brownies. They truly were incredible. I think frozen they would keep well - if they ever made it to the freezer.

These can be put in jars to give as gifts, or just kept for yourself at home.

Ingredients


Directions


  1. To make the mixing as painless as possible, I often take 1 cup of sugar and blend it with the baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. This breaks up all the little clumps before you tackle the monster-big bowl of dry ingredients. I've found a whisk to be most helpful for this task.
  2. Once you've got a clump-free mixture, mix in the rest of the flour and sugar, being very careful that no pockets of un-mixedness remain.
  3. I put mine in quart-sized ziploc bags, 2 1/4 cups per bag. (sandwich bags can be used, but they don't come in the heavey-weight freezer-caliber plastic -- the last thing I want all over my pantry is a batch of brownie mix. Also, the freezer weight has a label on it already) Label each bag with the recipe which is as follows:.
  4. 1 bag of brownie mix, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine. Blend well (mixture will be very thick). Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts if desired (I've never tried the walnuts due to allergies).
  5. Pour mixture into a cooking-sprayed 8x8" inch pan. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.
  6. For a very fudgey brownie, turn the heat down to 325° and cook for 35 mins, until a toothpick tests clean. Be sure to refrigerate extra-fudgy brownies.
  7. To serve, I cut 1/4" off of each side (while still in the pan) and remove the "brownie sticks" before cutting and removing individual pieces. My family loves the brownie sticks, and the serving pieces are much more clean. Store them covered. These brownies never need frosting (in my opinion) and make a great source for emergency chocolate.

I don't put it in bags, just write the directions down and tape them on the outside of the container.



I also just found the Top Secret Restaurant book with Outback bread's Bushman bread, Mimi's corn chowder and their onion soup and carrot raisin bread. It even has Olive Garden soups and chocolate lasagna!

So, what recipes have you loved, lost or always wanted??
 
M

ML

Guest
I'll be pming you! In the meantime, I'll look through my recipies to see if I have any good enough to share. This brownie mix looks really good. I think I may do this gift in a jar for work friends. Thank you!
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
I make a mean jerk chicken. I use an easy recipe, rather than the traditional way, which involves a LOT of work! Anyone interested? Let me know and I'll post it.

Trinity
 

klmno

Active Member
difficult child called last night and said he had eaten the best cheesecake ever with his TG meal at Department of Juvenile Justice. It must taste a lot better than it sounds- Pumpkin cheesecake.

Does any one have a good recipe for this?

Great idea for a thread, Susie!
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I think I do have a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. It truly sounds awful but is awesome. One year in OH husband's boss put on a HUGE party because over 100 people RSVPd. Only 15 showed up, so there was a LOT of food left. I ate one of each dessert cause I am a piggy, but I didn't drink alcohol so I daved those calories, LOL!

The pumpkin cheesecake was incredible. We ended up taking 3 whole ones home, along iwth a lot of other stuff. It was a big hit at the table everywhere we took one.

Trinity, I would LOVE the jerk recipe. Easiest is best, in my opinion!

I will try to find that recipe.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Oh, ML, I forgot one thing in my PM to you. Top Secret Recipes has a Low Fat Restaurant Recipes book - easily available at the link I sent problem for under $5 shipped. The Olive Garden Salad dressing is amazing. I had some salad from Olive garden and made that to compare and everyone picked the low fat version as being the one from Olive Garden and the best one.

Just a thought.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Our unusual but "loved" recipe is dill dip for a vegetable dip. Even my daughter in law who
doesn't cook loves that recipe enough to mix it up and take to events where she has to contribute. DDD
 

klmno

Active Member
That reminds me- if anyone likes garlic this dip goes real well with chips, especially doritos- Small pack of cream cheese, milk, portion milk to typical dip consistency, add a ton of garlic (taste to get desired amount), and stir well. It has to set outside of the refrigerator a few mins in order to get soft enough to eat with chips.

ETA: This one is good for teens- they usually like it and it's easy for them to make themselves.
 
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donna723

Well-Known Member
Here's a Food Network video 'recipe' of Paula Deen making a pumpkin cheesecake. :D

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mYG8fYht7s"]YouTube- Pumpkin Cheesecake-Food Network[/ame]
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
No fave recipe here--I spent several hrs making homemade berry pies, incl crusts made from gluten free flour.
I WON THE UGLY PIE CONTEST!
Okay, I was the only contestant ... but difficult child ate the entire blueberry pie last night (I got a sliver) and he's halfway through the cherry pie.
He didn't care that the crust never completely made it onto the center of the pie ...

I also bought Pet Ritz crusts and pumpkin pie filler in a can, and made the most decadent, old fashioned, high calorie pumpkin pie ever made--straight off the recipe on the side of the can. easy child, a friend, and I pigged out.
husband won't eat anything unhealthy, and difficult child hates pumpkin pie.
Everybody was happy. Woo hoo!
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
difficult child called last night and said he had eaten the best cheesecake ever with his TG meal at Department of Juvenile Justice. It must taste a lot better than it sounds- Pumpkin cheesecake.

Does any one have a good recipe for this?

Great idea for a thread, Susie!
Just Costco...
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
LOL Witz...I was going to say they sell them at Sams...lmao. I love Cheesecake...any cheesecake.

But dont you think its hilarious that difficult child called to say he had the best "whatever" while residing at Department of Juvenile Justice? LMAO
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
As requested, the jerk chicken recipe. As mentioned, I do it the "cheater" way. MUCH easier, but turns out very well.

Ingredients:
1) Rotisserie chicken, cut into approx 2 inch x 3 inch pieces. You can substitute chicken thighs, chicken breasts, a whole chicken, etc. Make sure it's bone in, skin on, and baked beforehand. (I use the rotisserie ones from the supermarket when I feel lazy) Quantity based on how many people you plan to serve.
2) 2 bottles Jerk marinade. This is the one I use.
http://www.presidentschoice.ca/LCLO...ords=Montego&_requestid=142405&productId=9352
I'm not sure if President's Choice products are available in the U.S., but I can look into equivalents.
3) A mild barbecue sauce. I tend to use Kraft or Diana. About 1/2 bottle, to take the edge off the jerk sauce.
4) Garlic powder
5) Onion powder
5) OPTIONAL: About 1/4 bottle of Dry white wine. I usually have a glass of it while the chicken is baking.

Cooking instructions:
1) Place the chicken pieces in a shallow baking dish.
2) Combine all of the other ingredients. Blend well until they make a sauce.
3) Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken pieces. Spread with the back of a spoon so that all the chicken is evenly coated.
4) Cover the baking dish with aluminium foil and let it stand.
IMPORTANT: The longer you let the chicken stand in the sauce before baking, the hotter it will be. I let it stand overnight once and nearly blew my head off when I ate some the next day. I recommend an hour to start with, then you can gauge how hot you like it.
5) Once the chicken has been standing for the desired length of time, preheat the oven to 350 F, and bake for 2 hours.
6) Turn on the broiler and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes.
You're done. The chicken is ready to serve.

Make sure that you have something cooling on hand to serve with it.

I usually do a cucumber and tomato salad, but dairy products work well too. Whatever you do, don't drink water to cool your palate. It just spreads the capsaicin oil around and makes the burn that much worse.

Trinity
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
I'm always the big cookie baker and will be taking along several kinds when we go to my daughters house in S. Carolina at Christmas. I always make the same four or five kinds that I've made for years ... and then I found THIS:

http://www.southernliving.com/food/...st-cookies-recipes-00400000057478/page53.html

OMG! We're going to be in cookie heaven! They all look so good I'm having a hard time trying to narrow it down to just a few! My son will probably have to drive back because I'll be too porky by then to fit behind the steering wheel!

Something else I'm going to try this year ... saw this last year but I don't remember where - maybe here? If you have a pan that makes the little mini muffins, all you need is a package of store-bought refrigerated cookie dough and some Hersheys Kisses. Cut the cookie dough in 1-1/4" slices, then cut each slice into four pieces and push down into the muffin cups, then press a Hersheys Kiss into the center each one and bake as usual! There are so many varieties of cookie dough and so many kinds of Hersheys Kisses, the possibilities are almost endless! They come out very neat and elegant looking, like you went to a lot of trouble, but you didn't!
 
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jal

Member
klmno -

I have a recipe for pumpkin cheese cake. 3 layers, just made it at Thanksgiving and it is good!

1 1/2C graham cracker crumbs
1/3C ground almonds
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3C butter melted

Prepare crust: Mix together crumbs, almonds, ginger and cinnamon. Add melted butter, stir well. Press into even layer on bottom of 10" springform pan. Bake 425 for 10 min. Set aside.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

4 (8oz) Pgs. cream cheese - softened
1 1/4C sugar
3 Tbs. brandy
3 Tbs. maple syrup
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
4 eggs
1 C canned pumpkin
1/4C whipping cream

In large mixing bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy and light. Add brandy, maple syrup & spices. Blend well. Add eggs one at a time beating thoroughly after each one. Add pumpkin and whipping cream. Mix well. Pour into prepared crust. Bake 325 for 45 min. Turn off oven. Do NOT open door during baking tim or for 1 hour after oven is turned off. Remove & cool.

Topping:

2C sour cream
1/4C sugar
1 Tbs. maple syrup
1 Tbs. brandy
1C whipping cream
1/4 slivered almonds (toasted)

Beat sour cream, sugar, maple syrup and brandy. Carefully spoon over top of cake. Bake at 425 for 10 min. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover & chill @ least 4 hours.

Before serving whip cream. Sweeten with-sugar, if desired and pipe around edges (I don't do the piping, just a dollop on top). Sprinkle with-toasted almonds. Freezes WELL! Serves 12.

YUMMY!
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
I'm pretty sure there are several threads in archives with Christmas recipes.

Donna, I am the baker in the family too. I have easy child and in laws for Christmas and they will be replaced on the same day with 2 sisters, 1 brother, 1 brother in law, mother, 2 nephews and 1 toddler niece. They all love the holidays when we are together. It's been a few years since we have been together during the holidays.
Anyhow, after all of that, I am saying thanks for the recipes. I love to try new cookies.

Trifle is a regular dessert and a big hit.

by the way, Donna, when going home, you should stop by and introduce your puppies to my puppies.
 
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