Patriotic Trifle

July 5, 2010

larsinnh recipes 3 Comments

This is a great 4th of July or summer recipe.  It’s so light and cool. Warning, this takes a LARGE bowl. The bowl I used was big, but it still overflowed a bit.

Patriotic Trifle
1 1/2 cup milk
1 4 ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 8 ounce tub cool whip
1 package angel food cake, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 cup blueberries

Mix pudding according to package directions, using only 1 1/2 cups of milk. Gently stir in 3 cups of cool whip. Place 1/2 of cake cubes in large serving bowl. Top with half of the fruit. Spread half of pudding mix over fruit. Top with remaining cake cubes, then remaining fruit. Spread remaining cool whip on top. Garnish with fruit if desired.

Here is a photo of the trifle with all of the yummy layers.

Here is my completely pathetic attempt to “garnish” the dessert with a few leftover pieces of fruit. Presentation is not my strong suit, and we just wanted to EAT IT.

This is a picture of the fruit trifle that Handy Man decorated several years ago, when I was having a group of friends over for a scrapbook party.

Showoff.

For the record, my ugly-looking trifle tasted just as good!

Meatball Recipe

June 29, 2010

larsinnh recipes Leave a comment

This is more of a recipe that is good for fall and winter, but we’ve been dying for this lately, so I made some meatballs today.  There aren’t many ingredients, they are pretty easy to make.

Meatballs
1 pound hamburg
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs (we use Progresso)
1 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/2 tsp pepper
Lots and lots of pasta sauce. (You won’t find any home made sauce recipes on this site, har har. I’m too lazy for that. I cheated and used a brand from a jar.)

Mix the meat and all the ingredients except the sauce together.  I used my Kitchen Aid mixer to make this easier.

Roll into balls, these are about 1 1/2″ in case anyone is curious.  Needless to say, they don’t have to look perfect.

Brown meatballs in a skillet.  They just need to be partially browned/cooked, not cooked all the way through.  A little pink is ok.  We just shove them around the skillet with a spatula so they don’t rest in one place for too long.

Plop the meatballs into a crock pot with plenty of sauce.  Cook on high for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so.  Then set to low and cook for about 2 or 3 more hours.  Stir about every 30 minutes so the meatballs don’t stick to the crock pot.

Test a meatball on a plate, and try not to devour them all before supper time.  Serve with pasta, or in sub rolls.  Yum!

Banana Bread

June 10, 2010

larsinnh recipes Leave a comment

Here’s a really good recipe for banana bread that I made today.

1 3/4 cup of sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup mashed ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350. Sift flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. Cream shortening until light, add sugar gradually, continuing to cream until fluffy. Beat in eggs.

Add flour mixture alternately with bananas, beginning and ending with flour. Spoon into a well-greased 9x5x3 loaf pan and bake about 1 hour, until loaf pulls slightly from sides of pan and is springy to the touch.

Cool upright in pan for ten minutes, then turn out on a wire rack and cool before slicing.

I seem to forget to take photos before we start chowing down on things…

Wicked Good Brownies

May 31, 2010

larsinnh Magdalena, recipes Leave a comment

We had a quiet Memorial Day today, and just hung around the house.  My sister-in-law Magdalena made these brownies recently, and I had to get the recipe.  I made these today.  Yummmm!

Wicked Good Brownies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8×8 pan. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat in cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. *Do not over mix this batter.*

Spread batter into 8×8 prepared pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Now eat the Best. Brownies. Ever.

Wicked Good Salad Recipe

February 24, 2010

larsinnh Magdalena, recipes Leave a comment

We went to Scott and Magdalena’s house recently, and my sister-in-law made a wicked good salad with a wicked good dressing that I wanted to share. Yum! Even Handy Boy ate it (we just recently got him to eat salad!)

Salad
mixed spring greens
apples
red peppers
carrots

Dressing
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1-2 lemon wedges
salt and pepper (to taste)

The dressing was nice and tangy and flavorful!

Holiday Cranberry Bread

January 30, 2010

larsinnh recipes 3 Comments

Recipe time! This recipe is called “Holiday Cranberry Bread.”  I usually make it around Christmas, but I didn’t have enough time in December, so I made it recently. I think I was too busy rolling balls to make this bread.

Ok, get your mind out of the gutter about the balls. Really.

This bread is not too difficult, the worst part is cutting up alllll those little cranberries.  Also, this recipe includes some weird ingredients.  Use them all.  I know it looks weird, but it works.

Holiday Cranberry Bread

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspon salt
1 well beaten egg
1/3 cup orange juice (yes, orange juice)
3 teaspoons vinegar (yes, vinegar)
water
1/4 cup melted shortening
1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
1 cup chopped walnuts

I rinse the cranberries, then cut them in half. This takes a few minutes, but it’s really better if they are halved.

I also use the Pampered Chef food chopper to chop the walnuts. You don’t want to turn them into dust, but make them small-ish:

Place flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix the well-beaten egg and orange juice together.

Take the three teaspoons of vinegar and mix it with enough water to make 2/3 of a cup of liquid. (I know this is weird, just put 3 teaspons of vinegar into a mixing cup, then sloooowly add water until it reaches the 2/3 cup mark).

Add the water and vinegar mixture to the egg and orange juice mixture. Add the melted shortening to the wet mixture as well. Mix wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir only until dampened. Add halved cranberries, chopped walnuts, and mix lightly.

Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees, in greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Ok, so it’s not all purty, we had already dug into it…so there! ;-)

Holiday Cranberry Bread
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspon salt
1 well beaten egg
1/3 cup orange juice (yes, orange juice)
3 teaspoons vinegar (yes, vinegar)
water
1/4 cup melted shortening
1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
1 cup chopped walnuts

Rinse the cranberries, then cut them in half.  Chop the walnuts. Place flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix the well-beaten egg and orange juice together.

Take the three teaspoons of vinegar and mix it with enough water to make 2/3 of a cup of liquid. Add the water and vinegar mixture to the egg and orange juice mixture. Add the melted shortening to the wet mixture as well. Mix wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir only until dampened. Add halved cranberries, chopped walnuts, and mix lightly.

Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees, in greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Wicked Good Nachos, Handy Man Style

January 15, 2010

larsinnh recipes 4 Comments

I thought it was time to add another recipe.  Handy Man and I have tried making nachos over the years, and I think he has perfected the recipe by now.

Notice that we put them onto a (VERY seasoned) Pampered Chef baking stone.  I’m not sure if the stone does anything that fabulous or different, but we’ve been making them this way for years.

There are a bazillion different ways to make nachos, but here are the ingredients that we use:

Green pepper; onion, tomato, jalepeno peppers (yowza!), black olives (sometimes), and lotsa, lotsa CHEESE. Handy Man will use whatever kind of cheese we have around.  We like to use a Mexican blend, but almost any kind of shredded cheese will do.

Chop all ingredients.  Put a single layer (this is key!) of nacho chips on the pizza stone.  Then, add some of your veggie toppings, and some of the cheese.  Put a second layer of nacho chips on top; then top with more veggies and more cheese.  We bake it in a 350 degree oven for about 10-12ish minutes, until the cheese just starts to turn brown and bubble a bit.

Making the double layer of chips/veggies/cheese helps to get more veggie and cheese taste into the nachos.  YUM.

By the way, if you like reading funny stories, check out another site I have made, called Consultant Calamities.  I used to do home parties (not Pampered Chef) for several years.  I ran into some very interesting people, and started to collect some stories about the weird stuff that happens at home parties.  I even started that web site, and asked for stories from my Home Party friends.  I haven’t received any stories lately, but the archives are definately worth reading.  I continue to seek out strange and unusual stories, so if you have any, PLEASE do tell!  I may be adding a different twist to the web site soon, so check back once in a while.  No offense to Pampered Chef or any home party consultants, but some of the stuff that goes on at these parties…!  Well, just go read the site. 

So, if you are in the mood for some Wicked Good Nachos, try making them Handy Man Style next time.  And, try them on a baking stone, if you have one.  Do you notice a difference?  Come back and let me know if you do…

Nachos, Handy Man Style

Chop green peppers, onions, tomatoes, jalepeno peppers and black olives.  Preheat oven to 350.  Place a single layer of nacho chips on the pizza stone.  Top with veggie & cheese layer.   Put down a second layer of chips, veggies and cheese.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese starts to bubble and turn a bit brown.  We serve it with salsa and sour cream.  Wicked good for a pah-ty!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

December 24, 2009

larsinnh Christmas, recipes 2 Comments

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

1 18 ounce jar creamy peanut butter
1 stick + 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 pound package confectioners sugar
3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (other kinds of chocolate don’t work as well for this, semi-sweet is best.)
2 tablespoons shortening, optional

Mix peanut butter, maragarine and sugar until well blended. Add Rice Krispies last. Roll mixture into 1″ balls. Put balls into fridge for a few hours so they become firm. We use a double boiler to melt the chocolate.

You can add 2 tablespoons of shortening to the melted chocolate for shine. You can use a cake tester, or toothpicks to dip the balls into the chocolate. Transfer to a plate or baking sheet covered in wax paper. There will be spots where the toothpicks are showing; but after the chocolate firms up a bit, you can dip a spoon into the chocolate to touch up those spots and make them look all purty.

Store these in the fridge or in a cool place. Use a plastic bag over your hand to avoid getting fingerprints all over the chocolate when putting them into containers. They look especially cute in those mini-cupcake paper cups.

The Best Christmas Cookie EVAH

December 22, 2009

larsinnh Christmas, recipes 2 Comments

These are the best Christmas cookies EVAH!  I make about a billion-and-one of these at Christmas time, because everyone gobbles them down. 

WARNING, PLEASE READ THIS: These cookies are pretty high-maintenance; the dough is heavy to mix, it needs to be refridgerated for several hours before baking; and these cookies are best eaten the day they are made, or the day after; so plan ahead!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa (make sure your cocoa is as FRESH as possible!)
4 eggs (yes, 4, and make sure they are as FRESH as possible)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
powdered sugar

In a large bowl, stir together granulated sugar and oil, add cocoa, blending well. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Your dough will look very dark and wet, like this:

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; add to cocoa mixture, blending well. Cover, refridgerate until dough is firm, usually at least 6 hours. Once all the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, it will be VERY heavy and dense, like this:

Its best to use a big Kitchen Aid mixer if you have one; your arms will thank you for it; this dough is hard to mix!

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cookie sheet.  (I use a Silpat silicone baking sheet.)  Roll dough into 1″ balls, roll in powdered sugar to coat.  Place balls 2″ apart on sheet, and bake 12 to 14 minutes or until tops are crackled.

Note: When you take these out of the oven, the chocolate parts of the cookie may look slightly wet; DO NOT PUT THEM BACK IN THE OVEN THINKING THEY AREN’T DONE, or you will OVERBAKE THEM!!

Let them cool, and watch everyone devour them. Storage note: when cool, put into an air-tight container, as these cookies will go STALE very quickly. Do NOT leave them in the open air; they are best eaten within a day or two of baking. Using FRESH cocoa and the FRESHEST eggs possible will help a bit, but they get stale and tasteless rather quickly; so be sure to devour ASAP! 

This is usually not a problem, as these cookies are WICKED good! You can also make the dough ahead of time, and keep it in a bowl, covered, in the fridge, for several days. Just take out some dough to roll and bake them a little at a time if you don’t have the time to bake them all at once; or if they won’t be eaten very quickly.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa (make sure your cocoa is as FRESH as possible!)
4 eggs (yes, 4, and make sure they are as FRESH as possible)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
powdered sugar

In a large bowl, stir together granulated sugar and oil, add cocoa, blending well. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; add to cocoa mixture, blending well. Cover, refridgerate until dough is firm, usually at least 6 hours

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet. (I use a Silpat silicone baking sheet.) Roll dough into 1″ balls, roll in powdered sugar to coat. Place balls 2″ apart on sheet, and bake 12 to 14 minutes or until tops are crackled.

Note: When you take these out of the oven, the chocolate parts of the cookie may look slightly wet; DO NOT PUT THEM BACK IN THE OVEN THINKING THEY AREN’T DONE, or you will OVERBAKE THEM!!

Storage note: when cool, put into an air-tight container, as these cookies will go STALE very quickly. Do NOT leave them in the open air; they are best eaten within a day or two of baking.

Wicked Good American Chop Suey

December 17, 2009

larsinnh recipes Leave a comment

I don’t know why this recipe is called “American Chop Suey”, I always thought that was a weird name for it, but anyway…!  This is one of those things that there are probably a million recipes for, but this is how Handy Man made it recently:

- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 green pepper
- 1 medium-sized onion
- 1 tomato
- salt & pepper
- red sauce of your choice (homemade or from a jar)
- elbow macaroni

Chop green pepper, onion and tomato into large chunks. Brown ground beef in a skillet, add salt and pepper to taste. Drain beef, add to crock pot. Add the pepper, green onion and tomato. Stir everything up to combine it. Cover it all up with sauce like this:

Cook on high for 2-3 hours…or you can cook it on low if you want to leave the house for a longer period of time while while it cooks.   This smells wicked good while its cooking in the crock pot!

When you are about ready to eat, boil up some elbow macaroni, drain it, then serve all of the sauce-y goodness over the pasta like this:

Then get irritated with Handy Boy, who will gag and sputter in disgust at the onion and green pepper, pick them out, and eat the rest… **SIGH**

Wicked Good American Chop Suey, Handy Man Style

- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 green pepper
- 1 medium-sized onion
- 1 tomato
- salt & pepper
- red sauce of your choice (homemade or from a jar)
- elbow macaroni

Chop green pepper, onion and tomato into large chunks. Brown ground beef in a skillet, add salt and pepper to taste. Drain beef, add to crock pot. Add the pepper, green onion and tomato. Stir everything up to combine it. Cover it all up with sauce.  

Cook on high for 2-3 hours…or you can cook it on low if you want to leave the house for a longer period of time while it cooks.

When you are about ready to eat, boil up some elbow macaroni, drain it, then serve all of the sauce-y goodness over the pasta.  (I don’t give exact amounts for the sauce or the macaroni, as your mileage may vary.)

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