Bridal Shower Goodies, Part 1

I am always up for a good party - because good parties mean good food!  Last summer, my lovely cousin Courtney got married, and we had the honor of hosting a family bridal shower for her prior to the wedding.  Though the desserts were the main star of the show, we had some snack foods for a light meal, as well.  Since Courtney is a self-proclaimed frequent spill-er, we decided to choose foods that were especially hard on her - dips!  We served queso, Chalupa Dip, fresh veggies with Ranch dip, and Frozen Fruit Salad. Chalupa Dip is a layered dip that my mom often brings to our family Christmas for snacking, and the platter is almost always scraped clean.  Frozen Fruit Salad is also made for holidays occasionally, although the storage and transportation of the fruit cups is a bit more difficult.  Portioning the salad into individual plastic cups makes them easy for guests to pick up and carry - and it also prevents the problem of fruit salad juice running all over your plate.

Chalupa Dip

Ingredients

16 oz. can refried beans

9 oz. can bean dip

8 oz. sour cream

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise

3 Tbsp. Picante sauce

10 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tomato, diced

1 head lettuce, shredded

2 green onions, chopped

Tortilla chips for serving

Directions

1. Mix refried beans and bean dip; spread on large round serving platter.

2. Mix sour cream, mayo, and Picante sauce; spread over bean layer.

3. Sprinkle on half of grated cheese, followed by lettuce, onion, and tomatoes. Top with the remaining cheese.

My Notes: The platter that we usually use for this dip is about 15" diameter.  With all of the toppings, it is usually piled very high on the platter, so you may have to slightly press the lettuce into the sour cream layer for it adhere well.

Frozen Fruit Salad

Ingredients

3/4 cup (6 oz.) frozen lemonade concentrate

3/4 cup (6 oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate

15 oz. can crushed pineapple

2 1/4 cups water

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/4 cup (10 oz.) frozen or fresh sliced strawberries

4 bananas, sliced

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. Use a ladle to portion into individual serving containers.  Freeze.

3. Remove from freezer about 30 minutes before serving.

My Notes: We typically serve this in 6 oz. clear plastic cups.  However, if you have leftover salad after portioning into the cups you need or do not have freezer space for storing small cups, you can freeze it in a larger serving container and scoop out your own portions. This recipe makes about 12 servings.

Go-To Dessert Bars

I remember the first time I made this bar recipe: I had convinced my mom that she should let me try a new recipe for the summer family reunion with her cousins and their families.  Of course, we have our classic dessert bar recipes, like Double Chocolate Crumble Bars and Peanut Logs, but I decided it was time to mix things up.  So, I headed on to one of my favorite sources for delicious recipes, the Taste of Home website, and ran across this recipe.  From reading my blog, you will quickly realize that I cannot resist any food that has peanut butter and chocolate in it, and these bars were no different.  They were a hit at the reunion, and my mom had to send out multiple e-mails the next day with the recipe.  We have made them countless times since and they never disappoint!

Peanut Butter Blondies

Ingredients

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1 cup peanut butter chips

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup baking cocoa

2 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. light corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup peanut butter chips

Directions

1. Cream the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.

2. Combine flour and baking powder.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.

3. Stir in peanut butter chips.

4. Spread into a greased 13"x9" baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

5. For the frosting, combine the butter, baking cocoa, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla.
6. Gradually add the powdered sugar; beat until smooth.

7. Frost brownies.  Sprinkle with peanut butter chips. Cut into bars.

My Notes: I find that my bars are usually done in 25-30 minutes - make sure to check them earlier so that the edges do not get too dark. Also, I am usually generous with my peanut butter chips - both the amount I stir in and what I sprinkle on top.

Mennonite Foods, Part 2

Verenike and New Year's Cookies are vital to any good Mennonite celebration, but there are a few other foods that are important to sample at the MCC Sale.  Cherry Moos is a sort of cherry pudding that can be eaten chilled or warm.  Bohnne Beroggi are simply sweet pockets of deliciousness - don't bother asking what is in them until you have tasted how good they are!  Finally, zwieback are a type of stacked roll that brings back many good memories for me.  My grandma and aunt prepared zwieback for nearly every family holiday gathering when I was growing up, and I began making them frequently myself in high school.  You can often tell who brought the zwieback to a church function based on their unique shape, size, and texture.  And, of course, everybody thinks their own recipe is best!

Cherry Moos

Ingredients

1 quart cherries & juice

3 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

red food coloring

Directions

1. Mix sugar, flour, and salt.  Stir in evaporated milk.  Set aside.

2. Combine cherries & water and bring to a boil.

3. Add a small amount of boiling cherry to evaporated milk mixture, then slowly add all back to the cherry mixture, stirring constantly.

4. Return to stove and heat until almost boiling.

5. Remove from heat and add almond flavoring and a few drops of food coloring.  Stir well.

6. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally.

My Notes: I usually prefer my cherry moos chilled, though I will not reject a warm bowl of it.  It can also be prepared as pluma moos using plums, but I have not ever tasted this flavor variety.

Bohne Beroggi

Ingredients

2 cups milk

1 cup cream

2 sticks butter

3/4 cup + 1 tsp. granulated sugar

1 cake yeast (= 2 1/4 tsp. active yeast)

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1 egg, beaten

9 cups flour

1 Tbsp. salt

Filling

2 cups cooked pinto beans, liquid drained off & mashed

2/3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup cream

Sauce

1 quart half-and-half

1 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. milk

Directions

1. Scald milk & cream.  Add butter and 3/4 cup sugar; cool to lukewarm.

2. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water; add 1 tsp. sugar. Add to milk mixture.

3. Add egg, flour, and salt to yeast-milk mixture. Mix well. Knead.

4. Let rise until double in bulk. Punch down. Let rise again until double.

5. Form into small buns the size of a walnut or larger, if desired.  Let rise and flatten with hand.

6. Combine all filling ingredients; mix well.

7. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each bun.  Seal edges.
8. Place on a greased pan and let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until browned.

9. For the sauce, dissolve the cornstarch in milk.  Combine with the sugar and half-and-half in a saucepan; simmer.

10. Whisk until thick.  Pour sauce over buns.

My Notes: This recipe comes from myslys on food.com.  She also states that the buns can be placed in the crockpot and sauce can then be poured over top to keep them warm.

Zwieback

Ingredients

3 cups milk

1 cup vegetable oil

2 Tbsp. salt

6 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

5 tsp. yeast

9-11 cups flour

Directions

1. Proof yeast in water.

2. Scald milk.  Add oil, salt, sugar, yeast, and flour.

3. Let rise about 1 hour.  Knead.  Let rise another hour.

4. Shape by stacking large and small balls of dough. Let rise 1 hour on pans.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

My Notes: I "scald" the milk in the microwave - I don't know if that's a necessary step, but it is at least warm when I add the yeast mixture.  I usually end up using about 10 cups of flour, depending on the stickiness of the dough that day.  The bottom parts of the zwieback are usually about 3" balls, while the toppers are about 1" rolls - the size I make them often depends on  what occasion I am making them for and how far I am trying to stretch the recipe. (This recipe typically makes a little more than 4 dozen) I haven't really mastered the shaping, as I still sometimes have a few of the tops roll of during baking, but I'm getting better!  I usually bake them for about 12 minutes.

Mennonite Foods, Part 1

         Since I am posting my food photos in order, it's time for a brief interlude from foods that I have cooked in my cozy apartment.  That's right - it's Kansas Mennonite Central Committee Sale time!!  These photos were from the 2014 MCC Sale.This is one of the only times of the year that I get these traditional Mennonite foods - so you can bet that I prepare my stomach to indulge days in advance.  I have not actually made most of the Mennonite food recipes at home, but my family does usually fry up a batch of New Year's Cookies each New Year's Day.  I do have the recipes, though, so making verenike is definitely on my "someday" cooking list (when I can find somewhere that sells dry curd cottage cheese...).  Feel free to beat me to it!

New Year's Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1/4 cup warm water

3 cups raisins, soaked & drained

7 cups flour

5 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

2 1/2 cups warm milk

2 tsp. baking powder

2 1/2 tsp. salt

Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside.

2. Mix together 2 cups flour, eggs, sugar, butter, milk, baking powder, and salt.  

3. Mix in yeast mixture.

4. Combine raisins with 1 cup flour.  Stir into batter mixture.

5. Add 4 additional cups of flour.

6. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.  

7. Heat vegetable oil in pan or deep fat fryer.  Use cookie scoop to dip batter.  Deep fat fry cookies until browned.

8. Drizzle with glaze, roll in granulated sugar, or dust with powdered sugar.

Glaze Recipe:

Mix 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar with 3 Tbsp. of milk.  Add more milk as needed to reach desired consistency.  

My Notes: These are so addictive-ly delicious, especially if they are eaten hot and fresh! More than one recipe of glaze will be necessary to coat a whole recipe of New Years' Cookies. This version of the recipe is from my church's 200th anniversary cookbook.  

Verenike

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups dry-curd cottage cheese

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

4 eggs

3 3/4 cups flour

1/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup water

4 tsp. vegetable oil

Gravy

3 Tbsp. butter

1 cup cubed ham

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

2 1/2 cups warm millk

Directions

1. Blend cottage cheese, black pepper, and 2 eggs until smooth.  Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, milk powder, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

3. Beat together remaining 2 eggs, water, and vegetable oil.  Combine with flour mixture.

4. On a floured surface, knead dough about 10 times.  Divide dough in half and roll each portion to 1/8" thickness.

5. Cut out rounds with a 4" round cutter.  

6. Place 1 Tbsp. of the cottage cheese filling at the center of each circle.  Moisten the edge and fold it over to form a half-moon shape.  Pinch to seal.

7. Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add half of the verenike and cook 8-10 minutes or until tender.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.  Repeat with the other verenike.

8. For the gravy, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.  Stir in the ham and cook until browned.

9. Add the flour, salt, and black pepper.  Stir.

10. Pour in the milk all at once, whisking constantly. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.  Serve over the verenike.

My Notes: This version of the recipe came from myslys' post on food.com.  The more gravy (and the more ham in the gravy), the better - so adjust the recipe as necessary to satisfy your tastes.  A trick for cooking the verenike is that they should begin to float when they are cooked through.

Throwback Thursday

           I moved into an apartment with a friend for my junior and senior years of college.  Though the new-found independence is exciting, what I really love is grocery shopping and cooking for myself!  I have documented some of my cooking accomplishments on my iPhone (my first smart phone that I got for Christmas my junior year - LIFE-CHANGING!!).  Instead of just having an album full of delicious-looking foods, I decided I should go a step further and actually record what the recipes are that I have made.  It's going to take me awhile to catch up for the last year and a half, but hey - delicious food never goes out of style (which brings one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs to mind...)!
        So, first up are some delicious treats I made for last year's Super Bowl party (2/1/2014).  On the right are Patterned Cheesecake Squares from the  Taste of Home website.  On the left is Lovin' Peanuts Chex Mix (party mixes are always a personal weakness of mine!).  Finally, the container in the back holds Southwest Chicken Wrap filling (which wasn't actually for the Super Bowl party, but still made the picture...); this recipe  is one that my mom makes frequently out of our church's cookbook. 

Patterned Cheesecake Squares

Ingredients

1 tube (16.5 oz.) refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups chocolate ice cream topping, divided

Directions

1. Cut cookie dough into 24 slices.  Arrange side-by-side in a 13" x 9" baking pan; press together to close gaps.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the sour cream, egg, and vanilla; mix well.  Spread 3/4 cup chocolate topping over warm crust.  Carefully spread cream cheese mixture evenly over topping.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.  Cut into bars.

4. Optional: Place remaining chocolate topping in a heavy-duty releasable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of a bag.  Pipe patterns on bars.  Refrigerate until serving.
Yield: 2 dozen

My Notes: I only had to bake the cookie dough crust for 10 minutes.  I used a little bit more than 1/4 cup of sugar.  I used milk chocolate ice cream topping (more similar to hot fudge than chocolate syrup).  I drizzled the chocolate over the whole cheesecake instead of making patterns.

Lovin' Peanuts Chex Mix

Ingredients

2 cups Corn Chex cereal

2 cups Honey Nut Chex cereal

2 cups Chocolate Chex cereal

1 cup honey-roasted or dry-roasted peanuts

1/4 cup margarine or butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup peanut butter chips

Directions

1. In a large microwaveable bowl, mix cereals and peanuts.

2. Microwave butter until melted, about 30 seconds. Stir in peanut butter and brown sugar.  Microwave about 30 seconds or until boiling.  Pour over cereal.

3. Microwave on high 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every minute, until browned.  Spread on a wax paper or foil-lined baking sheet.

4. Microwave peanut butter chips in small microwaveable bowl 40-50 seconds or until they can be stirred smooth.   Pour into small zip-type bag, snip a tiny corner, and drizzle over top.

My Notes: I used 3 cups of Honey Nut Chex & 3 cups of Chocolate Chex instead of buying Corn Chex (I mean, how many boxes of Chex does a person really need to have around?). I cut the hole in the corner of my bag a bit large, so the drizzling didn't go very well - cut a very tiny hole!

Southwest Chicken Wraps

Ingredients

1 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa (Picante sauce)

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

2 10-12 oz. cans chicken breast, drained & shredded

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Flour tortillas for serving

Directions

1. Combine sour cream, salsa, and mayonnaise in a large bowl. Stir in chicken and cheese.

2. Serve cold on tortillas with additional toppings and salsa, if desired.

My Notes: This is one of my favorite meals ever!! I typically use colby jack cheese because that's what I keep on hand, but I'm sure it would be delicious with any kind of cheese.