Green Bean Bundles

A standard veggie, in a holiday dressing!


Ingredients
10 slices bacon
1 pound fresh green beans
1 cube beef bouillon
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until partially cooked. Drain, cut each piece in half, and set aside.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the green beans on a rack or special steamer basket over the boiling water. Cover with a lid so that the steam does not escape. Steam for a few minutes until the green beans are done. Set the green beans aside. Reserve about 2 cups of the water and dissolve the bouillon cube in it.
4. Take a bundle of green beans (4 or 5) and wrap them with a piece of bacon. Secure with a toothpick if necessary. Place the bundles in a shallow baking dish.
5. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the reserved stock with the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, butter, brown sugar, and garlic powder. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
6. Pour the sauce over the bundles and bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes or until the bacon is done.

*The website I found this on suggested letting the beans marinate for a while before baking.

Chicken (or turkey) and Dressing Cassrole

Hey, everyone! Well, if you are like me, you are sitting at home very full at the end of the day. I am also sitting wondering what to do with all of the left-overs. Well, this recipe was from a friends at school. She made it for our 6th grade potluck. It was fabulous! It will use a lot of the leftovers sitting around right now, and will be something different in the days to come. It is a favorite for another reason too, it is a dump casserole. Mix, bake, and serve! Can't get much better than that! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!



2 boxes of Stove Top cornbread dressing mix (I usually use Wal-Mart brand or whatever one is cheapest)
2 large cans of chicken (drained) or 3 cups of chopped turkey
2 sticks of butter
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of pet milk

Mix butter, soup, chicken broth, and pet milk together. Add chicken and then dressing mix. Bake at 350 for 30 min. I usually make this up ahead of time and let it sit for awhile. If you mix it up the night before and refrigerate, it may take a little longer to bake. Enjoy!!

Phish Food Recipe

Okay, so here's the Phish Food Ice cream recipe. The chocolate ice cream recipe is from the Ben and Jerry's Ice cream Dessert Book. The rest is stuff that I thought to put in it to make it taste like the Ben and Jerry's brand Phish Food.

Jerry's Chocolate Ice cream Recipe--

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup milk

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup heavy or whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Melt the unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling water. Gradually whisk in the cocoa and heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. (The chocolate may "seize" or clump together, Don't worry, the milk will dissolve it.) Whisk in the milk, a little at a time, and heat until completely blended. Remove from the heat and let cool.

2. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and vanilla and whisk to blend.

3. Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 to 3 hours, depending on your refrigerator.

4. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

Ingredients for Phish Food--

1 cup chocolate pieces (of your choice)

1 jar Marshmallow Fluff (marshmallow cream might work too)

Caramel Ice cream topper

1 to 2 minutes before the ice cream is finished mixing, add the chocolate pieces, marshmallow fluff and caramel. Don't mix too much so that the ingredients don't all go to the bottom of the ice cream. Freeze and enjoy!!

Beer Bread

This will be the final homemade mix in the basket. I am going to make the bread, and attach the recipe to the loaf of bread. This goes great with the homemade pickles I will have in the basket.

Ingredients

• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
• 3 cups self-rising flour (* or 3 cups all purpose flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• Optional: 1 tablespoon of your favorite herb (Oregano is great)
  

Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Add beer and continue to mix, first using a wooden spoon, then your hands. Batter will be sticky.

2. Pour into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes. The top will be crunchy, and the insides will be soft. Serve topped with butter or a cheese spread.

Scones

Another good mix to give. This one requires only two ingredients. I will divide out the directions like I did on on the shortbread cookies.


Dry Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder


How to make Scones:

Ingredients:
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup cold heavy cream


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Using a pastry blender or your hands, blend butter into dry ingredients until mixture is consistence of course meal.

3. Add cream; stir until blended.

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly until a smooth dough is formed. Pat until about 1 inch thick. Cut dough with a biscuit cutter into circles. Repeat until all dough is used.

5. Arrange 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Cool and serve with the mix berry preserves on the side.

Shortbread Recipe

The holidays are coming up, and it is one of my favorite times of year! I love to cook, share recipes, and give homemade gifts. Most of my gifts will be homemade this year. My first run of things will be at the church Merry Mission Fair next week. Every year the church hosts the event to raise money for mission projects in the coming year. I am putting together a basket of homemade goodies to auction off. I started listing my things tonight. Over the next week, as I put it together, I will post the recipes for things on the website. My first one is a mix for shortbread cookies. This simple cookie is great with preserves (blueberry to be exact). It also includes very simple ingredients. I am packaging it as a mix, so the person who purchases the basket can make them at home. So, I will break it down into at home mix and then directions for the person who makes it.

Prepackaging Mix:
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar

Directions to Make:

Add 1/2 cup of butter

1. Combine dry mix with butter. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling. Form mixture into a ball; knead until smooth.

2. On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a 8 X 6- inch rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

3. Using a knife, cut into twenty-four 2 x 1 inch strips. Place 1 inch apart on a ungreased cooking sheet.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until bottom just starts to brown and center is set.

5. Allow to cool completely before serving. Serve with warm blueberry preserves.