Cheesy Spinach and Bacon Dip

This recipe comes from Kraft Foods. Everyone needs a really good dip recipe. Kraft suggests serving the dip with cut-up fresh vegetables or Tortilla chips. Of course, I'll always go for the chips. I know it's not the most nutritional but they are my weakness.

Kraft also suggests that when you serve this dip at a party, pour the prepared dip into a small slow cooker and set the temperature on low. This keeps the dip warm for several hours. Just be sure to stir it every now and then to avoid hot spots.

Cheesy Spinach and Bacon Dip

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 lb. (16 oz) VELVEETA, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz pkg) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1 can (10 oz) RO*TEL diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
8 slices OSCAR MAYER bacon, cooked, crumbled

Microwave ingredients in microwaveable bowl on HIGH for 5 minutes or until VELVEETA is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 3 minutes.

And it's only 70 calories per 2 tablespoons (not counting the chips!).

Jif Peanut Butter Cookies

I am a recipe collector. I have all these scraps of paper, newspaper clippings, magazine pages and handwritten notecards. Some have nothing more than a list of ingredients and, perhaps, an oven temperature. Others are so old that I have no idea where they originated. But there they are, valuable to me for the endless possibilities.

This recipe comes from the Jif peanut butter people. I think it was an ad, probably around Christmas. The photo reminds me of the peanut butter cookies I ate as a child. I can almost taste them. I guess that means I'm off to bake a fresh batch. How about you?

Irresistible Jif Peanut Butter Cookies

3/4 cup Jiff Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine Jif, Crisco, light brown sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie baking sheet. Flatten slightly in criss-cross pattern with the tines of a fork.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Hershey's Perfect White Chip Chocolate Cookies

It all started with an amazing sale on white chocolate chips. I can never resist a really good buy. And I love white chocolate. Oh, I know. It's not really chocolate. Maybe that's why I love it so much.

There are so many wonderful things to bake with white chocolate. But I needed something quick and easy and yummy. And there's nothing quite like the recipe on the back of the bag. My only complaint? Make the words LARGER folks!

The cookies are wonderful and have a taste that makes you want to eat another one and another one and another one and...well you get the picture. Give them a try. You'll love them.

Hershey's Perfect White Chip Chocolate Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12-oz package) Hershey's Premier White Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gradually beat into the butter mixture.

Stir in white chocolate chips.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I recommend spraying lightly with Pam!)

Bake 8 to 9 minutes (8 minutes in my oven).  Do NOT overbake. Cookies are supposed to be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten when cooling. Let the cookies cool slightly, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Store in an airtight container.

Grandma's Cookie Jar Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe comes from the Land O'Lakes butter company. They have a wonderful website with some super recipes. I love oatmeal-raisin cookies! Give this recipe a try.

3 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup Land O'Lakes Butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine all ingredients except flour and raisins in a large mixer bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping the bowl often, until well mixed. This will take 1 to 2 minutes. Add flour. Continue beating until well mixed, another 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in raisins by hand.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Greek Pasta and Beef

I clipped this recipe from a magazine more years ago than I can possibly remember. Naturally, I have no idea which magazine it came from. This is just one of those recipes you hold on to. I like that it feeds alot of people.

Greek Pasta and Beef

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 taspoon pepper
1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Sauce
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain.

Stir in tomato sauce, water and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine macaroni, egg and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Sauce: In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cinnamon, until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in cheese.

In a greased 3-quart baking dish, spread half of the macaroni mixture. Top with beef mixture and remaining macaroni mixture. Pour sauce over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

 I found this recipe on Mary Kay Andrews website. She writes fiction and she can cook. Who knew? She apparently uses this recipe to bake poundcakes and sendv them to New York. Can't believe they don't have poundcakes in New York. She says folks up there think of poundcake as a Southern Thing. She may be right. I've been trying to remember but I don't think I ever saw poundcake listed as a dessert option. They sure are missing out!

Here's what Mary Kay Andrews says: Turn off the phone and shut out any other distractions when making this cake. It’s a bit of work, but the results are definitely worth it. I usually bake two cakes at a time when I get started, one to serve (or give as a gift) and one to pop into the freezer. Since it’s such a large cake, you can always slice and serve half, and freeze the other half for later. Another note: the whipped egg whites mean the cake batter may spill over the edges of the pan, so make sure you have a large bundt pan--or place your pan on a cookie sheet to catch any overflow.

LEMON CREAM CHEESE

POUND CAKE

Preheat oven to 325.
Spray bundt pan with floured baking spray

2-1/2 cups unsalted butter
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese
¼ cup vegetable oil
3-1/4 cups granulated sugar
5 egg whites
7 egg yolks—yes, this means you’ll discard the two extra egg whites unless you’ve got plans for ‘em.
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups cake flour
¼ tsp. salt

Beat five egg whites until stiff and set aside

In mixing bowl, beat together butter, cream cheese and vegetable oil. Add in sugar and cream well. Beat in lemon extract and vanilla. Add egg yolks one at a time and beat well. In smaller bowl combine flour and salt, beat into batter, adding flour mixture by thirds. Fold in beaten egg whites, pour into prepared bundt pan and bake for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes—check for doneness with wooden toothpick. Let cool 5 minutes, then remove from pan onto cooling rack and finish cooling.

Wrap tightly with plastic wrap or store in large ziplock bag for freezing.

You may choose to add a lemon glaze, made with one cup of confectioner's sugar and 1-2 Tbsp. of fresh lemon juice.

Apple Biscuit Custards

This is another one of those awesome Pillsbury recipes. I love that it only makes two servings. You can, of course, double that easily. Sometimes I only want something for one meal. This is perfect.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Pillsbury® Grands!® Frozen Buttermilk Biscuits (from 25-oz bag)
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup diced peeled tart apple
1 teaspoon sugar
Dash ground cinnamon


DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 (10-oz) custard cups or ramekins with cooking spray.

Place biscuits on microwavable plate. Microwave on Medium (50%) 30 to 45 seconds, turning over halfway through microwave time. (Biscuits should still be cold for easier handling.) Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces. Place 8 pieces in each custard cup.

In small bowl, beat cream cheese, 1 tablespoon sugar and egg yolk until smooth. Beat in milk and vanilla; stir in apple. Pour mixture over biscuit pieces in custard cups; stir gently to mix well. In small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over custard mixture.

Bake 23 to 25 minutes or until custard is set and tops are light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Makes: 2

Triple-Threat Coconut Cream Pie

This recipe comes from the Pillsbury website. They have wonderful recipes. It was apparently submitted by Angie Battle of Des Moines, Washington. And, yes, that is Washington. She won the state farm pie competition in 2010. I can understand why.

Triple-Threat Coconut Cream Pie

Filling

1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
1 can (13 1/2 oz) coconut milk, shaken well
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sweetened shredded or flaked coconut, toasted
1 cup whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into four pieces
 
Topping
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, well chilled
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2teaspoons dark rum (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)
1/4cup sweetened shredded or flaked coconut, toasted
1oz white chocolate, shaved
 
Directions

Heat oven to 450°F
 
Unroll pie crust onto cooking parchment or wax paper. Brush a small amount of coconut milk onto dough (just enough to moisten it). Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of the toasted coconut evenly on dough, then press it lightly into dough, just enough to make it stick.
 
Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon toasted coconut onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate, then form dough into plate. Prick bottom and side with fork. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown. Cool.
 
Heat the remaining coconut milk, the whole milk, 1/2 cup toasted coconut, vanilla bean, 1/3 cup of the sugar and the salt to a simmer in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes to dissolve sugar.
 
In a separate large bowl, with whisk, beat the egg yolks, remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the cornstarch until well combined. Gradually beat the simmering liquid into the yolk mixture to temper it, then return the entire mixture to saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Discard vanilla bean.
 
Heat the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, beating constantly with whisk, 5 to 6 minutes or until mixture is thickened.
 
Remove from heat; beat in the coconut extract and butter. Pour into the cooled crust; press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling and refrigerate until the filling is cold and firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
 
Just before serving, beat the cream and sugar in a chilled bowl using electric mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the rum and continue to beat until slightly stiff peaks are formed. Spread or pipe the whipped cream over the chilled filling. Sprinkle 1/4 cup toasted coconut and shaved chocolate over the top. Store in refrigerator.
 
Serves 8.

Two-Layer Fudge

The Kraft foods website has some of the best recipes around. This is one of theirs. I needed a recipe that used white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate. What can I say? The grocery store had a huge after-Christmas sale on chocolate. I couldn't pass it up. Besides, who needs an excuse to create something yummy? I copies the recipe from the Kraft site however I prefer pecans over walnuts. It's what we do in the South.

Two-Layer Fudge

prep time 20 min
total time 2 hr 20 min
makes 24 servings

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


MICROWAVE semi-sweet chocolate and 3/4 cup milk in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

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

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

Refrigerate 2 hours.

Kraft Kitchens Tips Special
Prepare and refrigerate as directed above. Place 1 additional square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate in small resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute or until chocolate is melted. Fold down top of bag tightly; snip tiny piece off bottom corner of bag. Holding top of bag tightly, drizzle chocolate through opening over uncut fudge. Let stand until set.

How to Prepare Dried Beans

I found this wonderful info bit in Relish magazine. I'm the one who usually soaks beans overnight to prepare them for cooking. Of course, that requires that I actually think ahead. I can usually accomplish this on New Year's Eve so that I can eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. So I was excited to find there's an alternative for the other days of the year.

Dried beans must be soaked before cooking. I hope everyone already knows this. I don't know what happens when you don't do this. I've never tried it. I wouldn't imagine anything edible would come from it though.

Soak beans overnight. You want to first rinse and check the beans. Sometimes there are discolored or broken beans in the bag. Remove those. Then place the beans in a large bowl with cold water. Let them stand (or sit?) overnight. Relish suggests 6 cups of water for 1 pound of beans. I simply make sure that the beans are fully covered. Be sure to drain the beans before you cook them.

Quick-soak beans. Rinse and check the beans. Remove the discolored or broken beans. Place the beans in a large pot with 6 cups of cold water. Cover, bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, 1 hour. Drain. I look forward to trying this method. I just hope the water doesn't boil over. That would be a mess.

Pie Crust Tips

I wanted to pass on these tips for making a wonderful pie crust. The Crisco Pie Hotline offers lots of help. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions, as reported in Country Living magazine.

Is there a trick to making my crust extra-flaky?
Cold ingredients. Refrigerate everything -- from flour to shortening to your rolling pin -- for at least an hour before you start.

What can I do to prevent my crust from shrinking too much in the oven?
Roll our the dough two inches larger than your pie plate, the position it in the plate. Let the unbaked crust settle for 10 to 15 minutes before you trim. Then leave a half-inch border to fold over the edge of the pan.

How can I avoid a soggy pie crust?
Well, it's going to happen to some extent because of the fruit juices. It helps to thicken up your filling by cooling it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before using it.