Friday, March 30, 2012

NO-BAKE TIPSY COOKIE BALLS

NO-BAKE TIPSY COOKIE BALLS

3 cups chocolate or vanilla or ginger snap cookie crumbs
¾ cup miniature semi-sweet or milk chocolate pieces (optional)
¾ cup finely chopped pecans or English walnuts or cashews or peanuts (optional)
½ cup dark rum or bourbon or brandy or orange or almond or coffee liqueur, or orange juice (see note)
4½ tablespoons light corn syrup
3 cups sweetened white chocolate morsels or semi-sweet or milk chocolate pieces (optional)
3 tablespoons cooking oil (corn, canola, or safflower, but not olive oil) (see note) (optional)
About 1 each (.68-ounce) tube red, green, and yellow decorator gels (optional)
Sifted confectioners' sugar as needed (optional)



In a large bowl, combine cookie crumbs, semi-sweet or milk chocolate pieces of choice, nuts of choice, if used, rum or other liquor or orange juice (if using orange juice, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon orange extract to mixture), and corn syrup, mixing well to form a stiff dough. Shape mixture into1-inch diameter balls. Loosely cover with wax paper and refrigerate 1 hour.

In a small glass bowl, combine white chocolate morsels or semi-sweet or milk chocolate pieces and oil; loosely cover with plastic wrap and microwave, at HIGH power, for 30 to 45 seconds or until chocolate is melted, stirring once during microwave process. Or, combine white chocolate and oil in the top of a double boiler over very hot, not simmering or boiling, water over low heat until chocolate is melted. Dip cookie balls in warm melted chocolate, coating each ball well; set coated cookie balls aside on wax paper until chocolate is firm. Decorate cookies with red, green, and yellow gels to form poinsettia flowers, if desired. Or, omit melted chocolate and decorating gels; roll each cookie ball in confectioners' sugar, coating each well.

Note: If using semi-sweet or milk chocolate as dipping chocolate for cookie balls, only use 1 tablespoon oil.

Variations: Omit decorations completely; leave as white or dark or milk chocolate-coated cookie balls.

If using brandy or bourbon or orange liqueur or orange juice, may soak 1 (3-ounce) package dried cherries or berries in liquor of choice or orange juice to thoroughly for several hours or until fruit is plumped. Drain fruit thoroughly; reserve liquid for cookie mixture.

If using brandy or rum or whiskey or coffee or almond liqueur, may add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, if desired.
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Thursday, March 29, 2012

“Grandmother’s cake

Ingredients “Grandmother’s cake”:
Pine nuts

For the pastry:
300 gr flour without gluten (or gluten-free pastry ready)
150 g sugar
100 g butter
1 egg yolk
1 egg
1/2 sachet baking powder

For the Filling:
1 liter milk
120 g sugar
6 egg yolks
1 lemon
50 grams of 00 flour gluten

Preparation “Grandmother’s cake”:
Prepare the cream:
Boil the milk in a saucepan with a twist of lemon in the meantime worked in a bowl the egg yolks with the sugar and flour, pouring slowly to mix it well. When the compound and ‘homogeneous mixing, pour the boiling milk.

Put this mixture into the pan that cooked milk avte making him go on a low heat stirring constantly. It must become a thick cream. Let the cream cool.

Prepare the pastry:
On a pastry board or in a bowl put the flour and baking powder then stir in the butter at room temperature to pieces, until the mixture is crumbled, after that ‘you add the whole egg, egg yolk sugar and a pinch of salt. It must become a smooth and homogeneous.

Let rest in refrigerator covered with plastic wrap for about half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 °, and when ‘take half an hour past the compound to pull dough and place on a baking sheet and place in pie cream, sprinkle with pine nuts and cook in oven for about 40 minutes. And the grandmother’s cake is ready.

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Rose apple pie

Ingredients “Rose apple pie”:
For the dough:
500 grams of flour
1 packet of active dry yeast or one cube of fresh yeast
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
100 grams of sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of salt
80 g of butter
130 ml of milk

For the filling:
3 apples
a tablespoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of sugar
100 ml dry white wine
juice of one lemon

For the buttercream:
100 grams of butter
100 grams of sugar

For the final brushing:

Preparation “Rose apple pie”:
Put the ingredients for the dough in the basket of PD, and run the program MIX, including the rise.
Alternatively, knead by hand or in the robot and let rise until doubled in volume.
Meanwhile, peel the apples, cut into chunks and cook with a little butter, cinnamon, sugar, lemon juice and white wine. Cook until they reach a certain size, type jam.
Then go around to the mixer and let cool.
Once risen, roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a rectangle about 50×30 cm.
Prepare the butter cream salve working on the butter and sugar, then spread it on the pastry.
Spread the butter cream also now cold applesauce, roll the dough and cut into pieces of about 4/5 cm wide adagierete in a pan lined with parchment paper, a bit ‘spaced from each other.
Let rise another hour, brush the top with a little ‘milk and bake at 180 degrees for 50 minuti.ora.

Preheat the oven to 180 °, and when ‘take half an hour past the compound to pull dough and place on a baking sheet and place in pie cream, sprinkle with pine nuts and cook in oven for about 40 minutes. And the grandmother’s cake is ready.

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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Recipe For No-Tomatoes-Required Italian Seasoned Stir Fry

Recipe For No-Tomatoes-Required Italian Seasoned Stir Fry

Ingredients

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat – cut into cubes
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing

Directions

Mix flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper together in a resealable plastic bag. Add cubed chicken to the bag and shake until well coated.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken; cook and stir until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in the bell pepper, onion, zucchini, mushrooms, chicken broth, and Italian dressing. Cover and simmer until vegetables and meat are tender, about 10 minutes.

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

3 Cheese Potato Casserole Recipe

3 Cheese Potato Casserole Recipe

Ingredients

1 (28 ounce) package frozen potatoes O’Brien with peppers and onions (thawed)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup shredded Muenster cheese
2 tablespoons dry Panko breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons butter (melted)

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the bread crumbs and butter until well mixed.
Spoon the mixture into the casserole dish. Mix the bread crumbs and melted butter; sprinkle over the potatoes.
Bake the casserole for 50 to 60 minutes or until bubbly and potatoes are tender.

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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Bolognaise lasagne

Bolognaise lasagne

Ingredients (serves 6):

1 onion
700g minced beef
5 tomatoes
1 carton pasata/ tomato purée
250g pre-cooked lasagnes
salt & pepper
About 20 leaves fresh basil


Method:
Bolognaise lasagne


1-Brown the onion in butter, dice and peel the tomatoes and add to pan. Add meat and brown, finally add pasata/purée.

2-Line the bottom of a lasagne dish with noodles, add mixture and alternate for 5 or 6 layers. Adda couple of leaves of basil to each layer of bolognaise.

3-Finih with a layer of lasagna noodles, cover with a small glass of water and add plenty of grated cheese to top.

4-Cook at 425°F (235°C)for 30 mins.

If you are in a hurry try this recipeCrock Pot Lasagna>

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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Basic Meatloaf

Basic Meatloaf

Note: If you want to add some spice, substitute 1 pound of the ground meat for 1 pound of hot Italian sausage. Just remove the casing and crumble the sausage meat before mixing. Or, substitute 1 pound turkey to make a healthier version.

3/4 cup onion, diced

5 large white mushrooms

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until evenly combined.

Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Make one large loaf or two small loaves from the mixture. Place the loaf/loaves onto a baking sheet and cook for 1 hour for the large loaf, or 45 minutes for two smaller loaves.

Makes » 6 to 8 servings

Source: Maureen C. Petrosky, www.foodrepublic.com



Mashed potatoes

3 large Russet potatoes

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup milk

About 1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground white pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Peel the potatoes and cook until they are tender when pierced with a knife.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the butter, cream, salt and 7 grinds of pepper. Set aside.

Drain the water and put the potatoes through a potato ricer or mash with a masher in the bowl with the butter-cream mixture. Slowly fold the ingredients until they are combined. Taste and season with salt, pepper, cream or butter, as needed.

Makes » 4-6 servings

Source: Lesli J. Neilson

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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Italian Stuffed Shells

Italian Stuffed Shells

Ingredients
12 links Italian sausage, mild
Large Jar spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
Box jumbo shells

Directions
1
Cook Jumbo Shells according to package
While shells are cooking, take Italian Sausage out of casings. Crumble up sausage and cook.
2
Use spaghetti. sauce of your choice. I use the family size of spaghetti. sauce or two of the next to largest size. Here add what ever you would like, I always add more spices like basil, oregano, garlic, and onion powder. Let simmer for about 30 minutes for herbs to cook.
3
Drain shells and set aside when done. Drain Italian sausage and add about 1 to 2 cups of cheese. My family likes lots of cheese so I use about 2 cups. I chop up some mushrooms and add to the meat mixture as well.
4
Use about half of the spaghetti sauce and put in 9x13 baking dish. Mix the other half of the spaghetti sauce in the meat mixture. Take the meat mixture and stuff the jumbo shells. Place stuffed shells on top of the sauce in baking dish. After stuffing all the shells and they are in the baking dish, put a layer of cheese over the top of the shells. Bake 350 for about 20 minutes.
5
I'm sorry the recipe is not exact, I do not measure when I cook. I just throw stuff in and say that looks good. This recipe is very versatile and easy to add or take away from to fit your family's taste.

Recipe By: Just A Pinch

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Saturday, March 10, 2012

Crisp cabbage and potatoes

This Italian seasonal recipe is like bubble and squeak and one of my favourite dishes. I make it with fresh potatoes and cabbage - I prefer Savoy - and leave them chunky rather than making a fritter. The secret to a full flavour is to sauté the potatoes and cabbage in plenty of olive oil and to leave them to turn really golden, almost burned. A non-stick frying pan is essential.

Time: 30 minutes; Serves 6 as side dish.

Ingedients

● 4 potatoes (King Edward or Maris Piper), peeled and cut into 2cm dice
● 1 Savoy cabbage
● Approx 100 ml of extra-virgin olive oil
● 4 finely sliced cloves of garlic
● 2 anchovy fillets (optional)
● 1 fresh chilli deseeded and finely diced or a pinch of dried chilli (optional)
● Splash of white wine
● Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

● Rinse the potatoes and briefly soak in cold water to get rid of the starch.
● Quarter the cabbage, removing the hard root, then cut it into long strips 2cm wide. Rinse.
● Add a tablespoon of salt to a large pan of water and bring to the boil. Add the potatoes, and after 5 minutes add the cabbage. Stir and parboil, uncovered, for a further 5 minutes until just tender.
● Meanwhile prepare the soffritto (base). Warm the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. You may need two to fit all the vegetables comfortably. Add the garlic, anchovies, red chilli, and after a couple of minutes, the wine. Don't burn the garlic, or it will taste bitter.
● Drain the vegetables and add them to the soffrito over medium heat, season and stir thoroughly. Leave to sauté for 10-12 minutes on medium-high heat until a golden crust forms underneath. Stir only occasionally and add more oil if necessary.
● Serve warm or at room temperature.
cookingforthesoul.com

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Friday, March 09, 2012

CAKE POPS 101

CAKE POPS 101

Cake pops are literally popping up everywhere, from the corner coffee shop to the grocery store baked goods case to the best bakeries.

Cake pops are replacing cupcakes this spring as the baked good with which to experiment.

For those who want to make their own cake pops there are YouTube videos showing how and all sorts of recipes to try.

Cake pops can be customized for any holiday with a variety of decorations, colors of coatings and flavors to combine for any time of year.

It is also easy to make them for any taste, chocolate lovers, those who prefer fruit flavors like strawberry or lemon, or a combination of flavors.

For those who would like to try their hand at making cake pops, here are some simple instructions to get started.

Basic Cake Pops

Ingredients:

1 box (about 18 ounces) favorite cake mix

1 box (3.4 ounces) instant pudding and pie filling mix

4 eggs

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

½ cup purchased tub frosting

1 14-ounce package candy melts

1 teaspoon shortening

48 craft sticks

Sprinkles or other edible decorations

Tools:

9 x 13 in. baking pan

Cookie scoop

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray one 13 x 9 inch baking sheet pan with vegetable pan spray.

In large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil; beat at medium speed with electric mixer 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling grid and cool completely. Divide cake in half; freeze one half for future use.

In large bowl, use hands to crumble cake until no large chunks remain. Add icing; mix with fingers until well combined. Form mixture into cake balls using cookie scoop. Chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours. Melt candy melts according to package directions. Stir in shortening.

Dip sticks into melted candy melts and insert into cake balls; let set. When all cake balls have sticks, gently swirl 1 cake ball in melted candy to coat well; allow candy to drip back into bowl.

Dip ball into candy sprinkles to decorate; place on waxed paper or stand upright in foam to allow candy to harden.

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Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Arancini: incredible Italian rice balls recipe

Arancini Ingredients

2 cups of cooled risotto
1 egg
1 cup cubed mozzarella
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup ground beef
1/2 cup mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sweet peas
salt and pepper to taste

So, how do you make arancini?

Step 1: begin by preparing 2 cups of your favorite risotto. It helps to make it an hour (or even a day) in advance, and simply let it sit in the fridge.

Step 2: saute the mushrooms, onion, and ground beef in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Do not allow the mushrooms to burn, but make sure your beef is cooked. Set it aside.

Step 3: mix in the sweet peas into your risotto.

Step 4: Let's begin rolling the rice balls! Scoop up two table spoons of risotto mix into your hand, create a dip with your thumb. Fill in the dip with a teaspoon of sauteed beef and mushrooms, and add a cube or two of mozzarella. This will be the middle of our arancini.

Step 5: cover up the filling with more risotto, and roll it into a shape of a ball with your hands.

Step 6: beat the egg, and roll each rice ball in the egg, and then in the bread crumbs. Set aside on a dish. As you are rolling the arancini - preheat a frying pan with 1/2 cup of olive oil.

Step 7: once the oil is heated, and the arancini are shaped into balls, dip them into the oil. Fry them, consistently rolling them around the frying pan. "Wash" them with olive oil as soon as you set them into the pan. It will help the rice balls to keep their shape.

Step 8: once all sides are browned, pull out the arancini. They are best served with a red meat sauce!

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Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Three-Ingredient Sofficini

What will you need?

One 12 oz bag of shredded mozzarella
One roll of frozen dough (you should use flour to dust the surface, once you start working with the dough)
Olive Oil for frying

Step 1: Roll the dough and cut the squares.

You can't mess this up. If you are using prepared, frozen dough, you will need to pull it out of the freezer and leave it in the fridge to allow it to thaw about 24 hours before you are planning to make the sofficini. Once you are ready, simply flour the counter surface, stretch the dough out by hand, and roll it to about 1/8 of an inch thick. If the dough begins to stick to the rolling pin, simply brush some flour on the pin.

Then cut the dough into 3-4 inch squares, and don't worry if the squares do not come out perfect. To prove the point, in the image to the right, you can see two distinctly different sizes, but I assure you, the result tasted just the same.
Step 2: Fill each square with cheese and seal it.

Cup each square in your hand, add cheese, and seal the edges. Try to stuff as much cheese as the square can hold, but make sure the edges are sealed tight, or your sofficini will fall apart during step 3 of this process.

Step 3: Preheat the oil and fry the sofficini.

Once your sofficini are filled and sealed, you are ready to fry them. Be sure to prepare a dish that will hold finished sofficini before you begin.

Preheat 1-2 inches of olive oil in a pan (do not skip the preheating part!), and toss the sofficini in. Try to make sure they don't touch. Give each one about 30 seconds on each side, until golden brown. They will sizzle and expand right before your eyes. This process goes by very quickly, so make sure once you start, you have the time to finish, or your meal will be burnt.

If you would like to give it a twist...

Consider other fillings for this recipe.

Fry chopped mushrooms and onions, and use it as a filling instead.
Spread tomato sauce seasoned with basil on the inside of the dough square, before adding mozzarella, peas and chopped ham.
Thinly cut up a peeled apple and fry it for a few minutes with sugar, until soft. If you use it as filling, you will end up with a delicious dessert.
Stick a cup of chopped up strawberries covered in sugar into a microwave, drain the juices, and get a strawberry variation!
Recipe By: Beautiful, Authentic and Easy Italian Recipe

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Monday, March 05, 2012

Ricotta Gnocchi

Ingredients
8 oz ricotta cheese
2 lg eggs
1 tsp garlic powder
half c parmigiana cheese
1 c flour
1 pinch pepper to taste
SAUCE FOR GNOCCHI
4 Tbsp olive oil for sauteing
6 clove garlic finely chopped
1/2 onion finely chopped
pinch red pepper flakes
1-15 oz can(s) tomatoes, diced
pinch Italian seasoning
1/2-1 c pasta water

Directions
1
In a large mixing bowl~mix ricotta cheese, eggs, parmigiana cheese, garlic powder, pepper
2
Add flour to dough until combined. Do not over mix! Take out about 1/3 cup of dough at a time. Roll dough on to floured surface. Add small amounts of flour,so dough is not sticky. Roll dough into snake like patterns about the thickness of a very large pencil. Cut into small pieces about 1/2 long, place on cookie sheet add more flour to prevent sticking together. DON'T TOUCH IT TOO MUCH! Set aside until sauce is done and water is boiling.
3
Sauce: 1/2 onion finely chopped, 6 garlic cloves finely chopped, enough olive oil to saute Italian seasoning to taste, regular pepper, red pepper flakes to taste, 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, about 1/2-1 cup of pasta water after gnocchi is cooked & removed from pot.


make sauce before cooking gnocchi it cooks really quick!
4
Sauce~saute onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes, pepper, in olive oil until onions & garlic are softened. Add tomatoes and simmer. Boil gnocchi in Huge pot of salted boiling water, when it floats to the top it is done. Use a slotted spoon to remove gnocchi from pot. After gnocchi is done add some pasta water to sauce and stir, serve sauce over gnocchi and top with mozzarella cheese or parmigiana cheese. yummy!
Recipe by Just a Pinch
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Friday, March 02, 2012

Food Safety Tips For Rookie Cooks

Cooks who are new to the kitchen are usually far more concerned with making sure their recipes turn out right than with making sure they follow all food safety tips. In their desperation to make sure their cake, sauce or roast turns out right, they can create a bacterial danger zone that will leave their diners fondly remembering a time when their intestines didn't feel like they were tied in knots. A few food safety tips can help prevent such disasters.

Wash, wash, wash: Make sure that all tools and food contact surfaces are washed thoroughly with soap and water after each and every step in the cooking process. Keep a spray bottle filled with a mix of 1 tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water to sterilize counter tops...Read More
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Thursday, March 01, 2012

Can You Make A Career Out Of Food History

Everyone knows the stereotype of historians, they're dusty old fellows with patches on their jacket elbows that smell faintly of book mold and are forever squinting at something tiny scribbled in the margin of an old book. Let's face it; historian is not one of the sexiest career choices in the world. Whatever kind of history you pick, be it military history, government history or that popular catchall "world history," there's just not a lot of glamor. Food history, however, is a different kettle of (poached) fish entirely...Read More
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