Christmas Fudge

Every Christmas and New Years the family pulls out the famous fudge recipe.  There is really no other fudge that compares to it.  I personally think it is the only fudge to eat, although I am enough of a chocoholic that I won't turn down a bit of chocolate that is offered to me.  As long as I can remember we have had this fudge for Christmas, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Christmas Fudge

1 lb Hershey's Chocolate bars  (I use 8 oz Symphony bar with toffee and almonds and 8 oz special dark chocolate since they have reduced the sizes it is actually 2-4.25 oz bars of each)
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 lb butter
4 cups sugar
1 16 oz package miniature marshmallows
2 oz unsweetened chocolate

Break up all the chocolate; open the marshmallows.  Set aside.  Combine milk, butter , and sugar and bring to a boil.  Boil 5 minutes (7-10 if you like harder fudge).  Take off heat and add other ingredients; stir well until all are melted and mixed.  Pour into greased 9 x 13 inch pan.  Let cool. 

Yummy!!

Banana Bars with Cream Cheese frosting

This is my most favorite banana dessert.  Soo yummy.  I could eat a whole pan, well I better not...

Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 medium, I actually used 4 and cut the butter by 1/4)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda

Frosting
1/4 cup butter softened   (In my laziness I usually use just the 8 oz bar of cream cheese and omit the butter)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners'sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs, bananas and vanilla.  (I usually put the whole very ripe bananas in, they mix up just fine.)  Combine the flour, and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Pour into a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bars test done.  Cool.
For frosting cream better and cream cheese in mixing bowl.  Gradually add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat well.  Spread over bars.  Yield 3 dozen.
Note:  to make these gluten free replace flour with 2 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix and add 1 tsp xanthan gum.  Very yummy both ways!

Salsa Chicken

The counterpart to Chicken and corn chili would be salsa chicken.  It is meant to be over rice but as soon as we tried it that way, we knew we had to try it in a tortilla.  Ahhh, heaven!!  This chicken is so very easy to make I just use the frozen breasts right out of the freezer it shreds so easy and tastes oh so good.  DH believes this recipe to be just as good as his favorite hole in the wall mexican restaurant.  The link to where I found it is here.


Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

1 cup salsa

1 package taco seasoning

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Add chicken to crockpot. Cover with salsa taco mix and soup.   Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Shred chicken and mix into sauce.  Serve on warmed tortillas with cheese and sour cream, lettuce, tomato and olives if desired.

Five Stars!

Chicken and Corn Chili

One of the things I like to do when looking for something to cook is to google it.  I find some good recipes that way.  This is one I just did a day ago.  DH says that he likes Salsa Chicken better but it is basically the same thing.  I really just liked this one.  This link is the recipe I got, and here is how I tweaked it.  I would add the chili powder and cumin to taste--DH liked it better before I added the tomatoes and beans.

Chicken and Corn Chili

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (I pulled mine straight from the freezer)
1 16 oz jar salsa (2 cups)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (I buy pre-minced in the bottle)
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can corn
4 cups pinto beans cooked as directed, or two cans beans
1 can green chilis
1 can diced tomatoes
2 t sugar

Place chicken, salsa and spices in crockpot.  Cook on high for four hours, turn to low for 6 hours and add beans, corn, tomato, chilis and sugar.  I was able to shred the chicken easily after 5 hours but you can pretty much do that as you mix it all together.  Great as just chili, with french bread on the side.  You can also use in a tortilla.  I give this 4 stars of 5.

The beginning of a new part of life

I quit my job this week. It was a bittersweet moment. I have been wanting to be a stay at home mom for sometime now, and finally all the cards fell into place. In doing this a seed was planted. You see I would always take treats into work. I love to cook and bake and taking the food to work was one way of avoiding eating it all as I invariably would. I am going to have to work on that part, but to digress, I have always been asked for the recipes. So on my last day I promised to take the family cookbook in, but a coworker said why don't you just start a blog. I thought, why don't I? Now here I am. I hope you enjoy. I like to experiment, use food storage and just cook yummy things so hopefully you will find something you like here too.