Easy Hot Fudge Sauce

I may never buy bottled hot fudge sauce again. This hot fudge is so easy to make! And most importantly it is ridiculously yummy! I got the recipe from Our Best Bites. You can store this sauce for a week in the fridge... if you have any leftovers.:)

Easy Hot Fudge Sauce

1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1, 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a saucepan combine butter (that has been cut into pieces) and sweetened condensed milk. Heat over medium heat stirring until butter melts and milk is warm. Add the chocolate chips and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and serve over ice cream.

Classic Meatloaf

I really like meatloaf. I think meatloaf and mashed potatoes is one of the yummiest comfort food meals. And this meatloaf is great, especially the beautifully glazed crust. Mmmm. The recipe is from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I modified it very slightly using 1/2 pound of ground pork and 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (the recipe calls for 2 lbs meatloaf mix - which my grocery store didn't have) and cayenne pepper instead of tabasco. It turned out moist and wonderful.

Classic Meatloaf

Meatloaf:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 lb ground pork
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2/3 cup crushed saltine crackers (or quick cooking oats)
1/3 cup fresh minced parsley

Glaze:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons cider vinegar

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 375 degrees.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add onion and saute on medium heat until softened. Add garlic and thyme and heat for about 15 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a bowl mix together eggs, milk, dijon mustard, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Set aside.

In a large bowl mix meats together. Add cracker crumbs, cooled onion mixture, egg mixture and parsley. Mix well and form into a loaf. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and finish forming into a 9x5 inch loaf.

Combine glaze ingredients an spread half of this mixture on the meatloaf. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and spread the rest of the glaze mixture over the meatloaf. Put back in the oven and bake for an additional 20-35 minutes, until center of loaf reads 160 degrees on a thermometer. Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Belgian Waffles with Strawberry Sauce

This is a great yeasted or Belgian waffle recipe. I am reposting it because I made it last night and replaced the whole milk with evaporated milk and I think the waffles came out even better. Strawberry waffles are a favorite breakfast-for-dinner meal in my house and this recipe is great because the batter only needs an hour to proof. You can, however, make it the night before if you want to have it for breakfast; just prepare as listed and then place it covered in the fridge overnight, stirring well before making the waffles.

Belgian Waffles with Strawberry Sauce

1 1/2 cups water, divided
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (1 packet)
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, separated + 1 egg white
1, 12 oz can evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl combine yeast and 3/4 cup water and a pinch of sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve yeast.

In a separate bowl combine flour and salt and set aside.

Add 3 egg yolks, 1 egg white, and 1/3 cup of sugar to yeast mixture; stir to blend. Add 3/4 cup water, milk, oil, and vanilla; stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in melted butter slowly so as not to cook the eggs. Stir in the flour mixture and stir briskly until smooth.

Beat 3 egg white until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the batter. Let batter stand for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Preheat waffle iron and follow manufactures directions for cooking. For my waffle iron (it's a classic round Belgian waffle size waffle iron) I use 2/3 cup of batter and use setting 4 so I guess that's kind of medium high heat. This recipe makes about 10 large waffles for me. Serve with warm strawberry sauce and whipped cream.


Easy Strawberry Sauce:
1 small container + 1 large container frozen sweetened sliced strawberries (16 oz + 24 oz)
3-4 tablespoons Carnet Foods Ultra Gel (a cornstarch like thickener)

Pour strawberries and juices into a saucepan. Mix in Ultra Gel with a whisk (I assume that cornstarch would also work). Bring to a boil, stirring and boil for a couple minutes on low heat. Remove from heat and allow sauce to cool for 45 min. to an hour before serving so it is just warm.

Turkey Tetrazzini

This is one of my favorite dinners. I love tetrazzini. This recipe is a slightly modified version of my friend Kellie's chicken tetrazzini. Oh it is so good! And this is a great way to use up leftover turkey, which we have lots of in our freezer from our Christmas Eve dinner. Of course chicken works just as well as turkey in this recipe.

Turkey Tetrazzini

Topping:
1/2 cup bread crumbs
pinch salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
6 tablespoons butter, divided
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (white or cremini)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
salt and pepper
3/4 lb spaghetti, strands snapped in half
1/4 cup flour
1 can, or 2 cups, chicken broth
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon lemon juice (fresh is best, but bottled works in a pinch)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 - 2 cups frozen peas
3-4 cups cooked cubed turkey or chicken
1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

In a bowl mix together topping ingredients with a fork and set aside.

In a skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add chopped onions and mushrooms and saute until onion softens and mushroom liquid evaporates. Season mushrooms and onions with salt and pepper as they cook. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until cooked to al dente (10-11 minutes). Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water. Drain spaghetti and return to pot with reserved cooking liquid.

In a large saucepan melt remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Add flour and whisk for about 1 minute. Add chicken broth slowly and whisk until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 cup Parmesan, nutmeg, lemon juice, and thyme. Add this sauce to the spaghetti. Stir in peas, turkey, and shredded Italian cheeses.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Turn tetrazzini mixture into a buttered or non-stick sprayed 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and then top with topping/bread crumb mixture and bake at 400 for about 20-25 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned and sides are bubbly.

Easy Grasshopper Pie

I love a good easy dessert recipe and this is definitely one. You have to make sure you make it a day ahead so that it has enough time to freeze to the right consistency, but other than that this pie is a breeze to make. And it's super yummy. It ends up tasting a lot like mint ice cream. Yum. We had it for FHE yesterday and everyone liked it a lot.

Easy Grasshopper Pie

pre-made or bought Oreo cookie crust
7 oz jar marshmallow fluff
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (I used a little less than 1/2 teaspoon)
8 oz Cool Whip, thawed
green food coloring
a few crushed Oreos for topping

In a mixer combine marshmallow fluff and milk and beat until combined. Add Cool Whip and peppermint extract to taste and whip until smooth. Add green food coloring until mint green in color. Spread into prepared pie crust. Top with crushed Oreos. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 day (it needs that long to freeze through and set up).

French Bread Rolls/Buns

This recipe is from My Kitchen Cafe and it's great! A really really great roll for sandwiches. Last night we had them with sloppy joes and they were the perfect texture and had a backseat kind of flavor so you taste the sandwich filling rather than the bread. I think I might try to flatten the dough balls a little when forming to use them as hamburger buns as well.

French Bread Rolls/Buns

4 cups flour (give or take 1/4 cup)
2 1/4 teaspoons SAF or other instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups hot tap water
2 tablespoons canola oil

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix a little just to combine. Add hot water and canola oil. Mix. Add flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl when mixed (I used about 3 3/4 cups total). Dough should be soft and smooth but still feel a little sticky to the touch. Knead with dough hook for 5 minutes on medium high speed (or by hand for 8-10 minutes). Lightly oil or grease a large bowl. Form dough into a smooth ball and place in bowl. Cover and allow to raise for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and form each into a ball. Place on a greased baking sheet (I use a stoneware jelly roll pan) and allow to raise for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes. You may need to cover the tops of rolls with foil and allow to cook on the bottom rack for the last 5 minutes to allow bottoms to bake.

*You can also make pull-apart rolls with these by baking in a 9x13 baking dish - you might need to adjust the baking time - pull-apart rolls take longer to bake through.