Indoor S'Mores

Indoor S'Mores

I have never been a big fan of s'mores when I was out camping. They are messy, I usually burn my marshmallow and the chocolate doesn't melt. I sampled these at a crocheting class recently and I was hooked. These taste great and I challenge you to eat just one.

8 c. golden grahams

1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

6 c. miniature marshmallows, divided

5 T. butter

1/4 c. corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Measure the cereal in a large bowl so that it is ready. Melt butter, corn syrup and 5 c. marshmallows over low heat stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Immediately pour over cereal and stir, adding last cup of marshmallows. This sets up pretty fast so you need to stir quickly. Put in your pan and cool before cutting. Pull a little out of the corner to eat while you are waiting for it to cool.

(Everyone should probably have the ingredients for this in their 72 hr. kit)

Hearty Casserole

{I'm not quite sure where my mother stumbled across this recipe, but she made it once before I left home. Since then, I'm not sure she has made it, but I fell in love with it and will get random cravings for its delicious flavors. Making it is super easy and you will feed and fill quite a few (as the name suggests)! Sorry, I don't have a picture... but I hope you enjoy!}


{ingredients}
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. onion- chopped{i never measure onion, i just look to see if its as much as i would like...}
3/4c. milk
8 oz. (1 pkg) cream cheese {you can soften it a little by putting it foil wrap and all on the rack in your oven as you preheat it. leave it in there for about a minute}
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. green pepper- chopped
8 oz (4 c.) noodles- cooked
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 can corn- drained

{directions}
1. Brown meat
2. Add Onion and cook until tender.
3. Stir in milk and cream cheese until blended.
4. Add remaining ingredients
5. Pour into 2 quart casserole dish.{i fit it into a 1.5 quart dish but it was a little... overflowing}
6. Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes

{we use just a little green pepper cut very small. it really adds flavor but we don't really like big chunks}

Caramel Chocolate Nut Tart

In December our book group met together at someone's house for dinner. When given my food assignment, I was told to bring "something chocolate" I have been wanting to try this recipe for a long time. Even though it looks complicated, it isn't, and the results are amazing. You can only eat a small sliver of this at one time because it is so rich and decadent.

Caramel Chocolate Nut Tart

CRUST

½ c. butter, softened

⅔ c. sugar

⅓ c. cocoa

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1 c. flour

FILLING

2 c. sugar

½ c. water

¼ c. corn syrup

½ c. whipping cream

½ c. butter, cut up

½ tsp. vanilla

GANACHE

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

I used 4 oz. because the package came in that size

¾ c. whipping cream

broken salted cashews

Preheat oven to 350°

For crust: In a large bowl, beat butter for 30 sec. Beat in ⅔ c. sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add cocoa until blended. Add egg yolk, vanilla and mix well. Beat in flour. Pat dough onto bottom and up sides of a tart pan with a removable bottom. Generously prick bottom and sides with a fork. Bake for 18-25 min or until dry and tiny blisters appear on the bottom. Cool in pan.

Filling: In a large saucepan, combine the 2 c. sugar, water and corn syrup: Cook over med-hi heat, swirling pan often for 12-15 minutes or until syrup is dark amber in color (mine took longer). Remove from heat. Carefully whisk in the cream, butter and vanilla. Mixture will sputter and pop. Continue whisking until perfectly smooth. Pour immediately into tart shell. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until caramel is set, but not firm.

For ganache topping: place chocolate in a medium bowl. In a saucepan bring the cream to boiling. Pour immediately over chocolate, do not stir. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, then whisk until perfectly smooth. Carefully pour warm ganache topping over tart. Cover loosely; chill overnight. Remove sides of pan and let stand at room temperature for 10 minuets. Garnish with salted cashews.

This recipe called for a 10” tart pan but mine is 11” and there was plenty of dough. I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t make it in a pie pan, but I don’t think you would want to use all of your dough because it might not cook through. (I don’t know if it would be enough to put in two smaller pie tins) A tart pan just makes a pretty presentation because you remove it from the pan.

Chicken Spaghetti

Don't be too shocked that I am finally posting. It was time to try out my Christmas present from my son, a new cookbook, "The Pioneer Woman Cooks". If you haven't visited her web site, it is a must. This cookbook is fun because it has step by step pictures and instructions. This recipe is similar to one that I have in my recipe file, except that this one actually has some taste. The three teenage boys I fed, ate more than one helping.

Chicken Spaghetti

1 cut up chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken from Costco, but you could use any cooked chicken)

1 pound thin spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces

4 oz. jar diced pimientos, drained (I didn't use these)

1 small onion

1/4 c. finely diced green pepper

2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of chicken because that is what was closest)

2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp. seasoned salt (I used Lawry's)

freshly ground black pepper

1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper - to taste

2 c. chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350. Cover chicken with water and simmer until chicken is cooked. Remove from water and set aside to cool. Save 2 cups of the chicken broth for later. Cook spaghetti al dente. Drain the spaghetti. Remove chicken from bones or if you used boneless chicken, cut it into bite sized pieces. Finely dice the onion and green pepper. Place the cooked spaghetti into a large bowl. Add the cream of mushroom soup. Add two cups of the cheddar cheese. Next add the onion, green pepper and pimiento. Add the seasoned salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. (I went light on the cayenne pepper - just a sprinkle - and wish I had tried more)

Finally, add the chicken and broth. Stir together well and check for seasonings. Pour into a large baking pan, and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until bubbly.

I actually added the remaining cheddar cheese about 5 minutes before I took it out of the oven. I just wanted it melty and not hard.

I'm not much of a green pepper eater, but I like the flavor it adds. I like mine diced really small. I have a friend that cuts hers really big so that it can be picked out by anyone that doesn't want it. Peppers freeze really well. I take the pepper I don't use and cut into julienne strips. Then I put it in a small ziploc bag in the freezer. I have some green and red in my freezer right now. I will sometimes buy them when they are on sale and freeze them right away so that I have them when I need them.