SPEEDY SZECHWAN SHRIMP

SPEEDY SZECHWAN SHRIMP Food Recipes, Szechwan shrimp is supposed to be pretty spicy, but we are "heavy-spice" cowards, so I adjusted the heat WAY down on this recipe and it was still very tasty. It is nice, light and healthy and made a great Sunday meal served over my garden rice.

Peel and devein a pound of large shrimp and set aside.

In a bowl, mix the following and set aside.
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I used a scant 1/4 tsp.)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (I used some fresh ginger)

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large skillet, over medium high heat and add 1/4 cup sliced green onions and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Saute the onions and garlic about 30 seconds then throw in the shrimp and saute them for a couple minutes or until pink. Stir in the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens up (it will just take a minute at most).

NOTE: Since I was sure that the sauce was going to be too spicey for hubby, I took the shrimp out of the sauce and put them under the broiler to crisp them up a little, but that's not necessary. The sauce was excellent tasting if you can handle the heat. I served these over garden rice.

GARDEN RICE
In a large sauce pan that has a tight fitting lid, saute half of a small sweet onion (diced) and half cup diced celery in 1 tablespoon butter or canola oil. Stir in one cup of raw long grained rice and coat the rice with the butter. Add one cup (diced) of your favorite veggies (I usually use a frozen mixed veggie) and one ear of corn sliced into one to two inch sections. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Bring to boil, stir, put lid on, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Serve shrimp over garden rice.

NOTE: We love corn on the cob "coins" cooked in chicken broth right along with the rice and other veggies. It gives the corn a wonderful flavor.

SPEEDY SZECHWAN SHRIMP FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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DARK CHERRY STREUSEL BARS

DARK CHERRY STREUSEL BARS Food Recipes, In mid-June, Tried and True Yummy Recipes posted a great recipe for Apple Streusel Bars. I tried it with a bag of frozen dark sweet cherries and it was a big hit! It really is a delicious recipe, but you will need a napkin and a big glass of milk!!

Pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup COLD butter (no substitute)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup pecan pieces (add to the reserved crumbs only)

Fruit Filling:
16 ounce bag frozen dark sweet cherries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (do not leave out)

Glaze:
2 tablespoon butter melted
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (do not leave out)


Put the first 4 ingredients into your food processor; cube and add the butter. Pulse until you get pea-sized crumbs, then add egg and mix well.

Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan and pat two thirds of your crust mixture into the bottom of the pan, set aside. To the remaining one third of the crumbs, add one cup of pecan pieces and set aside.

Chop the cherries into medium small pieces (chop in the food processor while the berries are still frozen, this will help the berries from turning into mush). Mix cherries, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour in medium sauce pan and stir & cook just until thick. Remove from heat and add extracts.

Pour fruit filling over crumb crust and sprinkle the reserved one third of the crumb-pecan mixture evenly over the top. Bake in PREHEATED 350 oven for 40 minutes.

While bars are still a little warm, mix 2 tablespoons melted butter with 2 cups powdered sugar, about 3 or 4 tablespoons of milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Whisk until smooth and drizzle over fruit bars.
NOTE: Tried and True Yummy Recipe's version of this bar was made with apples, for her recipe, please click on this link.
DARK CHERRY STREUSEL BARS FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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FRESH PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

FRESH PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE Food Recipes, This is the first time that I have used fresh pineapple in an upside-down cake and I must tell you, it makes a huge difference. I had some super sweet pineapple (left over from Fathers Day) and it produced a deliciously sweet cake; a completely different taste than canned pineapple.

Preheat your oven to 350 and cut a parchment paper liner for the bottom of a 9" round cake pan. Spray the pan and parchment paper with a light coating of cooking spray. The parchment paper is not absolutely necessary, but it helps if you have a "sticking" issue with the sweet pineapple glaze (you can use waxed paper in a pinch).

5 tablespoons of melted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
3 cups fresh pineapple cut into 1" cubes (see note)
maraschino cherries cut in half
1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 & 1 /2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup pineapple juice (or milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter extract
1/2 cup pecans chopped medium-small

Mix melted butter with brown sugar and spread evenly in prepared 9" round cake pan. Set aside.

Cut pineapple into 1" chunks and blot them dry between several thicknesses of paper towel (press on them a little to extract excess juice).

For the batter, cream the butter and sugar until it is really fluffy. Under-beating the butter at this stage will give you a poor quality cake. When it is nice and fluffy, add the eggs (one at a time) and extracts and beat until its fluffy again.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, alternately with the pineapple juice (or milk) starting and ending with the flour. Set aside.

Assembly: Nestle the pineapple, pecans and cherry pieces down into the brown sugar mixture in the cake pan (arrange in pretty fashion because this will show). Pour the cake batter over the top and very gently spread it out.

Bake in 350 oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean (my oven took exactly 45 minutes). Remove from oven and sit pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, run a thin bladed knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto a serving plate. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

NOTE: Traditionally, pineapple upside-down cake has pretty rings of pineapple with red cherries in the center of each ring. However, when the cake is baked like that, it is hard to eat. You either get a big unmanageable hunk of pineapple on your piece of cake or no pineapple at all (does that make sense?). Instead, I cut the pineapple into very small pieces (almost a dice) and arrange the cherries randomly over the cake. It is much easier to cut, serve and eat (even if it ISN'T traditional). If you use this diced pineapple style, it only takes two cups of diced fruit instead of three.
FRESH PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE Food Recipes, I made this for Father's Day. It is one of those recipes that is super quick to put together, looks and serves beautifully and everyone raves about it. It is super creamy, chocolate-y, ultra-smooth to the tongue and it has a chocolate chip cookie crust, what more can a person ask for?
This recipe makes a nice thick cheesecake that is pretty enough for company!

(1) 16 & 1/2 ounce pkg. refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (or 2 cups of home made chocolate chip cookie dough) at room temperature.
(2) 8 ounce packages of cream cheese (room temperature)
(1) cup of white sugar
(4) one ounce packets of Nestle Toll House pre-melted chocolate (see note)
(2) 8 ounce containers of Cool Whip (thawed)

For the crust:
Preheat your oven to 375. Evenly spread the cookie dough into an ungreased 9" spring form pan (2 piece pan). Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Let this cool completely (leave it in the pan ).

For the filling:
With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and pre-melted chocolate until very well blended. Beat in the two containers of Cool Whip until you see an even color throughout the filling. Spoon the filling into the cooled crust. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Frosting:
This does not have to be frosted, but it is pretty with either a drizzled frosting or a simple chocolate glaze & sprinkles.

NOTE: This recipe calls for Nestle Toll House Choco Bake which is a pre-melted chocolate. It comes in a box of eight, one ounce packets. I found it at Walmart, of all places, right with the other baking chocolate.
NOTE: Make sure the cookie dough and cream cheese are at room temperature.
NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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SOURDOUGH WAFFLES

SOURDOUGH WAFFLES Food Recipes, This is the lightest waffle you will ever eat, I guarantee. I found this recipe in an old cook book about 40 years ago and I've used it, without a single change, ever since. It involves making a basic starter, then letting it sit, covered at room temperature for at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours. The longer you let it sit, the stronger the sourdough flavor will be.

Hubby likes tons of butter and maple syrup. I like my waffles with strawberry sauce.

Twenty four to forty eight hours before you want to cook the waffles, mix the following in a two quart pitcher that has a lid: 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon white sugar, 2 cups of warm water and 2 packages of dry active yeast. Mix it well and put the lid on the pitcher (leaving a very small vent opening). Let it sit at room temperature 24 to 48 hours.

When you are ready to cook, stir the starter and add:
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
Stir well and let it sit for about five minutes. If you mix everything right in the pitcher, you can use it to pour the batter into the waffle iron. I don't grease or spray my waffle iron, but I'm not sure how yours works.

If you rather have pancakes, make the starter just like you did for the waffles, but change the rest of the ingredients:
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Mix well and let sit 5 minutes. Fry on very lightly oiled griddle.

This last minute photo is a cross section of one of the waffles. You can see all of the bubbles inside of the waffle...that tells you how light and airy they are!!NOTE: This sourdough starter expands at least 3 times its initial size before it's time to bake. Don't let the initial size of the batter fool you. It will increase dramatically, then subside. It will increase AGAIN when you add the baking soda just before cooking the waffles. I have had the best luck using a 2 quart koolaid pitcher...I haven't had it spill over yet (it comes close) but it won't.
SOURDOUGH WAFFLES FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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PEANUT BUTTER CAKE

PEANUT BUTTER CAKE Food Recipes, I love recipes that are perfect the first time you try them; this peanut butter cake is one of those recipes. It is delicious warm or cold, it is more moist on day two AND it has an intense peanut butter taste and a peanut butter-honey frosting topped with mini-chocolate chips. It is sure to please kids and adults alike.

Our next door neighbor came over, today, on his new riding mower. I sent him home with several pieces of this cake wrapped in foil. He later told my husband that he drove the mower home in slow speed so he could eat two pieces of the cake as he put-putted his way back to their house. I think that is a pretty serious thumbs-up for this recipe, lol.

2 & 1/4 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
2 CUPS LIGHT BROWN SUGAR (packed)
1 CUP PEANUT BUTTER
1/2 CUP BUTTER (room temperature)
1 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER
1/2 TEASPOON BAKING SODA
1 & 1/4 CUPS MILK
2 TEASPOONS VANILLA EXTRACT
3 EGGS

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease and flour a 10 x 15 cake pan. In a large bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients with an electric mixer; blend at low speed until crumbly. Add the next 5 ingredients and blend at low speed until everything is wet, then beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.

Pour into prepared pan and bake, in the middle of your oven, for 35-40 minutes or until the toothpick test comes out clean.

Let the cake cool (in the pan) for 10 minutes, then spread the frosting on the hot cake (recipe follows) and sprinkle one cup of mini-chocolate chips over the frosting.

PEANUT BUTTER-HONEY FROSTING

1/2 CUP PEANUT BUTTER + 2 TABLESPOONS HONEY + 1 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT + 2 CUPS POWDERED SUGAR + 4 to 5 TABLESPOONS MILK

Warm the peanut butter and honey in the microwave just until it gets soft and easy to stir, then add everything else and beat until smooth. Spread over hot cake and sprinkle with one cup of mini-chocolate chips.

NOTE: As you can see from my photo, I double the frosting (but I stick to the one cup of mini-chocolate chips).

PEANUT BUTTER CAKE FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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CANDIED APPLES

CANDIED APPLES Food Recipes, What says summer fun, more than candied apples? They are very easy to make (if you follow a few tips at the end of this post) and would be a nice addition to any summer birthday party, barbeque or even for a 4th of July picnic!

The ingredients are very basic:
10 small (snack size) apples
10 popsicle sticks
2 cups white sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
1 & 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon cherry UNsweetened Kool Aid powder

Wash any wax or soil from the apples and thoroughly dry them (remove stems). Insert wooden stick into the stem end of the apple (push about half way into the apple).

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and spray it with cooking spray (keep this close to your work station).

In a medium size, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, attach your candy thermometer and make sure that the glass tip is not setting on the bottom of the pan (it will give you a false reading). Put all of the candy ingredients in the pan and cook on medium high, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. DO NOT STIR THIS AFTER IT COMES TO A BOIL. Turn the heat down just a little, so that you have a nice gentle boil and then keep an eye on the thermometer. Cook until it hits 300 or hard crack stage; this can take up to 30 minutes, but on my stove it takes about 25. Keep a close eye on the candy after it reaches 285 because those last 15 degrees go faster than you think. DO NOT STIR!!

Remove the pan from the heat and work fast. Holding the apple by the stick, dip it into the pan (hold the pan at a tilt, so the candy will "pool". Twirl the apple and then let the candy drip off of the apple for a few seconds and then place on the prepared waxed paper. DON'T GET THIS STUFF ON YOUR SKIN!!!!! Apples will be hard and ready to use five to ten minutes after they are dipped. If you are going to add sprinkles or any decorations, you will have to add them with lightening speed because these cool off and become hard FAST (an extra person would be a big help if you are going to add sprinkles).

NOTE: Keep a bowl of ice water near your work station just in case you get some of this on your fingers (definitely not safe for younger kids).

NOTE: In the first stage of making the candy, try not to splash any liquid onto the sides of your pan (it can make crystals in the candy).

NOTE: I keep an electric frying pan, preheated to 200, at my work station. When the pan of candy comes off of the stove, I set it on the DRY, warm frying pan so that it doesn't cool down too fast and lengthens the amount of time you have to dip the apples.

NOTE: The best tip I can give you is to have EVERYTHING at your fingertips BEFORE you start dipping the apples. Once you are at that stage, you have zero time to run to the pantry and find something.

NOTE: Any candy left over can be poured out onto a pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. When it's cooled, you can break it up and eat it (tastes like cherry life savers.

NOTE: There is a teaspoon of UNsweetened Kool Aid powder in each small envelope, so you can get two batches of candied apples per Kool Aid envelope (any flavor will work).

NOTE: Clean up can be a pain if you don't have a dishwasher. If you have a dishwasher, just put all of the stuff in the hot cycle.

NOTE: These are best eaten the day they are made. If you HAVE to make them a day ahead of time, do NOT cover them because the moisture from the apples will degrade the candy coating.

NOTE: Someone told me (I haven't tried it) that you can candy grapes, cherries and other small fruit (use their stems to hold onto instead of using a stick).

CANDIED APPLES FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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