Thursday, January 1, 2009

Family Fave - Cranberry Ring Mold


(Doubled Recipe - may be cut in half)

1 - 3oz package Cherry Jello
1 - 3oz package Black Cherry Jello
1 cup sugar
1 - 18oz can Crushed Pineapple
2 cups hot water
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 cups ground fresh cranberries (whole bag - frozen)
Large orange - seeds removed

Drain Pineapple - reserve syrup. Add enough water to syrup to make 1 cup.
Dissolve Jello & sugar in hot water.
Add reserved syrup & lemon juice.
Chill until partially set.

In a food processor - grind entire orange (skin & all)
add frozen cranberries - continue grinding until all finely ground

Add pineapple, cranberries & orange to partially set jello into a 10 cup ring mold. Chill overnite. makes 8 to 10 servings.

Notes: original recipe called for 2 cups of sugar - we cut to 1.
Jello flavors can be changed to what you like, but cranberry jello makes it kinda boring.

Family Fave - Garlic Bubble



We do a triple recipe - this could be cut to 1/3rd but, it works well toasted as leftovers.

3 loaves Rhodes frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 cup butter - melted
1/4 cup garlic infused olive oil
1/2 head of garlic cloves crushed - or more (to taste)
3 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt

Thaw and soften dough (usually a day or 3 in the fridge -follow package directions)

Blend butter, olive oil, eggs, garlic, parsley and salt.
Cut off pieces of dough (kitchen shears work best) about size of a walnut and dip into butter mixture. Place in greased pans - two 8" x 8" may contain the blob. Or original recipe calls for a loaf pan for one bread loaf - so 3 should do it.
This year I tried some in muffin tins - grease well, - they turned out yummy!
Let stand and rise until doubled in size
Brush with melted butter.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Family Fave - Mrs Rathjen's Baked Beans

6 slices bacon
3 med onion (rings)
2 #3 cans Pork & Beans (or one 53oz size)
2 #2 cans butter beans (or lima beans)
2 #2 cans kidney beans
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar - cider or wine
1/2 tsp dry mustard

Fry Bacon, cut into pieces. In bacon grease, melt sugar, then add vinegar, mustard - stir until blended. Combine with beans and onions in crockpot. Cook on high until bubbly (4-5 hours), then low until ready to serve. Can bake at 350F 1 1/2 hrs or microwave.


How I have changed it up.
Start from dry beans the evening before. Place in crock pot to soak overnight - without the heat on.
1 part Lima Beans
1 part Baby Lima beans
1 part kidney beans
2 parts Navy beans
2 parts great northern beans

Work it out backwards from how large your crock pot is. beans are going to at least double in size. so if your measure (part) is 1/4 cup, it will give you at least 1/2 cup.
Following day - put on high for about 3 hours (check tenderness do not overcook - & it varies with the crock) or low for about 6 hours.
Last couple hours of cooking - add the sauce below.

Since this is not using a standard pork & beans, you need to also make the sauce. I've put together the following.

cook up bacon as above.
Slice 1 1/2 large vidalia onion into rings, cut in half or quarters to be better bite size. Add to bacon grease.
5 to 7 cloves of garlic - sliced or diced - add to bacon grease
1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Chipotle barbeque sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
dash Worcestershire sauce
If you want more spice, add some Sriracha garlic chili sauce

Family Fave - Party Potatoes



Servings | 16

side dishes | original recipe calls for regular sour cream. We have used bran flakes for corn flakes, they look much darker! and make you think it's done before it is.



Ingredients
  • 24 oz frozen hash brown potatoes
  • 1 tsp table salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup onion(s) chopped
  • 1 can canned condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free sour cream
  • 2 cups Cheese Sharp Cheddar - grated
  • 1/2 cup(s) butter-melted
  • 2 cup(s) corn flakes - crushed
  • 1/4 cup butter-melted
Instructions

    Preheat oven to 350ºF. Thaw potatoes and combine with next 7 ingredients. Pour into a 9"x13" baking dish. Top with mixture of corn flakes and 1/4 cup melted butter. Bake 45 minutes uncovered. Can substitute cream of chicken or celery soup