Savory Bread Cases

I doubled the recipe on this one. I am so glad I did! It was a huge hit with the family! The leftover filling also makes a very tasty sauce for macaroni and cheese! This recipe comes from my teammate mummamills from Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. I made this for the July 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap.

Savory Bread Cases

24 slices bread - store bought works best

margarine

8 oz bacon (this equals 1/2 lb), diced

1 lg onion, diced

2 cups shredded cheese - I used cheddar and mozzarella

3 tsp minced garlic

8 TBSP flour - you may not need it all

5 cups milk

1 pinch dry mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Cut crusts from bread slices. Spread very lightly with butter or margarine. Press, butter side down into muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes - until bread cases are dry. (These can also be frozen for use at a later time.)

Spray frying pan with vegetable oil. Add diced bacon and onion. Saute over a high heat until bacon is cooked. Add garlic and saute a minute longer.

In same skillet- add in flour - 1 TBSP at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until it is completely absorbed. Keep stirring and gradually whisk in milk. Stir until thickened and there are no lumps. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add cheese and mustard. Stir until cheese is melted.

Refrigerate mixture until serving time.

Put bread cases on a large cookie sheet. Fill with cheese mixture. You may want to sprinkle additional cheese on top. I sprinkled parsley for color. Bake ato 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Aussie Style Chocolate Chip Biscuits

This recipe comes from my July Aussie/NZ recipe swap team member mummamills from Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. These cookies are not anything like the American chocolate chip cookies. There is a distinct flavor with these. Not to mention - these are eggless! The kids really like these with a tall glass of cold milk. I also learned "biscuits" are cookies in Australia!

Aussie Style Chocolate Chip Biscuits

2 cups butter or margarine, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

5 cups flour

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips - I prefer mini ones

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts - optional

Cream butter and sugar. Add condensed milk and keep beating for 2 minutes. Fold in flour and chocolate chips and nuts. The mixture will be tacky. Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheets and flatten slightly with a floured fork. Bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Uncooked Lemon Cheesecake

This recipe is a favorite with the family of my team mate Jen T from New Zealand. I made this for the July Aussie/NZ recipe swap. It's a favorite with my family too! Super easy to put together. Gone in a flash!

Uncooked Lemon Cheesecake
1 graham cracker crust

Filling:
1 (14 1/8 oz) evaporated milk ( I made my own ) well chilled
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup hot water
5 TBSP lemon juice - may not need it all
3 oz lemon jello

Dissolve jello in hot water and make up to 1 cup with lemon juice. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla well. Beat evaporated milk until very thick in a large bowl.
Add cheese and sugar mixture and beat in well. Add in lemon jello and beat well. Pour into graham cracker crust and refrigerate overnight - or at least 8-10 hours.

I am thinking some other tasty variations could include:
orange, raspberry, lime or strawberry

English Muffin Pizzas

Mom2Rose had this recipe to choose from during my last recipe swap. Donovan actually was the one to make these for dinner. All you need are a few ingredients and you have a kid pleaser, teenager pleaser, adult pleaser and crowd pleaser! These are fun to make for sleepovers and birthday parties.

English Muffin Pizzas
Enough english muffins for the people eating them - approximately 2-3 per person
pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
pepperoni

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Open the english muffins. Top with sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Be careful not to overdo the sauce as it will make the muffins become soggy on the bottom. Bake 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and muffins are toasted. Cool slightly and serve!

Homemade Hot Pockets

The idea goes to Mom2Rose - my teammate for the June 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. She is from Michigan. Her original recipe I believe uses these as an appetizer. She uses 3 inch circles which I found to be hard to work with. So....I made my circles bigger - but I have an even better idea. Read on....

Homemade Hot Pockets
pie crusts - either homemade or store bought
your favorite fillings such as but not limited to.....
black forest ham, honey ham, pepperoni, chopped chicken, broccoli, etc
your favorite cheeses such as but not limited to...
sharp cheddar, cheddar, pepper jack, monterey jack, muenster, mozzarella, etc.
If you go the pepperoni route you may want pizza sauce as well.
1 large egg, beaten

Roll out your pie crust or lay out the store bought one. Put your fillings and cheese on half of the crust. Pull the other gently over. Brush inside edges of pie crust with beaten egg. Carefully seal edge. Brush top with beaten egg. Bake at 425 until light golden brown. I don't remember how long it took. Maybe 20 minutes? Let cool and cut into 3 wedges.

Applesauce Oatmeal Cake

I've had this recipe in my cookbook for years. I don't know where it came from. It's a great afterschool snack for the kids though. Especially with a cold glass of milk. You can do this either in a bundt pan or a 9x13 cake pan.

Applesauce Oatmeal Cake
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup milk
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3/4 cup applesauce (I like to use my homecanned sauce - store bought will work well too)
1 cup regular oats

Mix all ingredients well in a mixing bowl. Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt pan or 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. If using the bundt pan - cool for 15 minutes then invert onto a plate for serving.

Fruit Kabobs

Want a showstopper? Take this to a potluck or other gathering and it will have that effect! We had dinner with some friends and took this and their 4 year old son was so excited about these! This was part of the May 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap I am part of. My team mate is magpie diner from Fraser Valley, B.C. The nice thing about this recipe is you can make it as simple or as elegant as you would like. I am all about frugality so went with the least expensive fruit I could find.

Fruit Kabobs

1/2 whole seedless watermelon

assorted melons such as cantaloupe or honeydew

1 pineapple

assorted smaller fruits such as grapes, blueberries or strawberries if desired

Ball the watermelon and other melons. For the watermelon, scoop out all the watermelon on the half you are going to use to hold the kabobs. Let it air dry for a few hours.

Peel and cube the pineapple.

Arrange fruit on skewers any way you like. Leave about 3 inches of space at the bottom so the skewers can be poked into the shell of the watermelon.

This recipe can be prepared ahead of time. Prepare skewers and lay flat on a cookie sheet and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies

A recipe from my mom - Marie Rogers. She made these for the boys when we lived in Arizona. I was in the hospital in Phoenix and Mom and Dennis graciously came down from Utah to watch the boys for about a week while I was having back surgery. Apparently they inhaled them she said. I like this recipe because I can incorporate my food storage rotation into it.

Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies
1 1/2 cups margarine or butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups applesauce
6 eggs
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tsp vanilla
**6 cups flour, maybe more if dough feels runny still
1 TBSP baking soda
1 TBSP salt
**3 cups oatmeal

**Feel free to change these amounts around if you want more oatmeal in your cookies.
Mix all ingredients well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 11 minutes.

These also taste good with chocolate chips and/or chopped nuts added as well.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe comes from Russell's cousin Laura Jacobson. She sent it to me years ago. We (I mean I) make these a lot during the year. I will triple the ingredients so a quart of homecanned pumpkin can be incorporated. I am always looking for ways to include my food storage in our everyday cooking.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 cups shortening
4 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 TBSP baking powder
1 TBSP baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP nutmeg
1 TBSP vanilla
7 1/2 cups flour
1 quart homecanned pumpkin, drained and mashed
2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until light brown and firm to the touch.

Coconut Chocolate Bars

This recipe is one I chose as part of the May 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. Russell and the boys inhaled these. My teammate for this recipe is Seasoned Cook from Eastern North Carolina. I've made some of her recipes before and we've enjoyed them so far.

Coconut Chocolate Bars
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup baking cocoa
2 TBSP butter, melted

Topping:
2 cups milk chocolate chips
2 TBSP butter, melted

In a medium bowl beat eggs and add sugar. Blend in melted butter and vanilla. Add in flour, baking powder and salt.
Pour 1/2 the batter into another bowl. In one batter bowl add cocoa and 2 TBSP melted butter. In the other batter bowl add coconut.
Pour the chocolate batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Spread the coconut batter on top. (I noticed the coconut batter was really runny - don't know if it's supposed to be that way or not.)
Bake at 325 degrees. I had mine in the oven for around 45-50 minutes. Cool.

For the topping:
Melt chocolate chips. Add melted butter and mix. Spread onto cooled bars. Let cool completely and cut into bars. These are very rich so they don't need to be big. I thought they tasted similar to either a Mounds or Almond Joy candy bar.

Carrot-Apple Bars or Muffins

This recipe actually comes from Taste of Home. I have had it for many years. The original recipe calls it Teddy Carrot Bars because they use Teddy Grahams. I changed some things in the actual recipe to make it work for our jars and jars of food storage.

Carrot-Apple Bars or Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 pint carrots, drained

1 pint applesauce

4 eggs

4 TBSP vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. You have enough batter here to do a couple different things. You can make 2 9x13 pans OR lots of muffins OR 1 9x13 pan and 12 muffins.

Spray your pans and divide the batter evenly. Bake at 350 degrees. About 20 minutes for the muffins and closer to 30-35 minutes for the 9x13 pan. Cool completely. If desired - frost with favorite cream cheese frosting. I like to frost the 9x13 pan but leave the muffins as is.

Chocolate Coconut Bars

This is part of the collection of recipes I chose for the April 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My team mate is Chickee from Sydney, Australia. She calls these Chocolate Rough Slice and her grandma used to make these. Russell says this is something he could actually get fat off of. That says a lot! If you like coconut - you will like this. These remind me of those Brachs@ Coconut Triple Layer candies - the ones that are pink, white and brown. I love those!

Chocolate Coconut Bars
Base:
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut
2 cups flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp salt

Mix all base ingredients and press into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool slightly.

Topping:
2 TBSP butter or margarine
2 TBSP baking cocoa
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups coconut
1 tsp vanilla
**Optional throw in ingredients: chopped walnuts OR pecan pieces OR sliced almonds

While base is cooking melt all topping ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat. Cool. Spread over base. Cut when cold.

If you eat one of these...
You will probably need a glass of milk to go with it....

Ice Cream Pie

Mommy Diva was on my team for the November Aussie/NZ recipe swap this time. We chose this recipe and the one below from her posted recipes.

Ice Cream Pie
2 graham cracker pie crusts
1 3/4 quarts favorite ice cream (Or use half a carton from 2 different kinds)
16 oz cool whip

Soften ice cream until soft enough to mix with cool whip. If you are using two different ice cream flavors - use 8 oz of cool whip per flavor.
Scoop ice cream mixture into graham cracker shells. Smooth evenly. Cover with lid and freeze overnight.
Garnish with favorite garnishes and enjoy!
Pictured is Mint Chocolate Chip with hot fudge sauce. I also made Moose Tracks with hot fudge sauce and caramel sauce. I didn't get a picture to share yet because the boys had inhaled their dessert before I got around to taking a picture.

Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Sauce

These are some serious competition if your kids like the occasional chicken nuggets from either McDonald's or Burger King! This recipe comes from Sage in Ontario, Canada. She found it in a Canadian Living magazine. She is on my team for the September Aussie/NZ recipe swap.

Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Sauce

Sauce:
1/3 cup regular or light mayonnaise
2 TBSP Dijon or regular mustard
1 TBSP honey

Combine well in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (I use the stuff in the can )
1 cup panko or fresh breadcrumbs ( I used breadcrumbs)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp paprika

Cut chicken into strips not larger than 1 1/2 inches wide. I don't worry about the length too much.
Whisk egg and garlic together in a pie plate.
In a ziploc type bag combine cheese, breadcrumbs, oregano, salt, pepper and paprika. Close and shake to combine really well.
Dip chicken strips into eggs and let excess egg drip back into pie plate. Toss several chicken strips at a time in breadcrumb mixture to coat well.
Place on greased baking sheets and spray lightly with vegetable spray.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes - until golden, crispy and no longer pink.
Serve with dipping sauce or BBQ sauce.

The kids absolutely loved it! I didn't think they would like the sauce either but two of them really did.

Popsicles

Tropical Popsicles
1 cup pineapple juice
1 banana
1/4 cup coconut
paper cups
popsicle sticks
Combine juice, banana and coconut in blender. Fill paper cups. Freeze until mostly solid and add popsicle sticks. The kids love them!

This popsicle is to die for. IF you love oreos and IF you love ice cream - this is for you. I dare you to eat just one. Your hips will love you for it. I promise.

Oreo Popsicles
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
20 oreo cookies

In a mixing bowl - combine cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium speed until smooth. Reduce to low speed and slowly pour cream into bowl with cream cheese. Set aside. Roughly chop oreos. Divide between 16 small dixie cups. Pour cream mixture into cups. Add popsicle sticks. Freeze until firm. To get the popsicles out - I hold the cup under warm running water for a tiny bit until I can pull out the popsicle.