Holiday Recipes

The CHICKS

Bev and her cuter than ever gingerbread house.

Our November cookin night was so much fun! We had a pretty good group there this month..about 16 chicks. Bev showed us her gingerbread house making skills. She made it look soooo easy. The night before, her husband even decorated one....a redneck gingerbread single wide trailer. It was the best. Many shared some family recipes that were very close to them. Connie lost her mom last month to cancer and she shared a recipe that her mom always made for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She even brought a picture of her mom to show. The cheese balls were a hit as well. It really got us excited for the holidays...everyone wanted to go home and set up their Christmas tree when the night was done. I will post the recipes that were emailed in, that saves me from having to type them on the blog. If your recipe is not here, email it to us so I can post it.

Bev's husband's redneck house.

Connie with a picture of her mom and her fruit salad.

Le Ann made this cheese ball shaped like pine cones...it was not only cute but yummy too!

Annette made some delicious pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. That's what I call holiday tastes!

Susie made some melt in your mouth chocolate balls....so sweet and so good.

Michelle, describing her delicious cheese ball.

Mary shared a Cranberry Chutney. It was full of fresh fruit and the smells of the holidays.

Vicki also made a cheese ball. All the cheese balls had different flavors and they were all delicious.

One of our chicks, Donna, could not be there, but she sent her peanut brittle and her recipe. This candy always reminds me of Christmas.

Dixie Peanut Brittle
2 C Sugar
1 C light Corn Syrup (Karo)
½ C Water
1 pkg 16 oz RAW Peanuts
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Butter or Margarine
1 tsp Vanilla
Candy Thermometer (a must!!!)
Heavily butter a cookie sheet or pizza pan.
Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in heavy sauce pan. Cook slowly; stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook to soft ball stage (240 degrees – about 30 minutes).
Add peanuts and salt. Cook to hard ball stage (295-300 degrees). Stir constantly. DO NOT ALLOW MIXTURE TO BOIL OVER.
Remove from heat. Add baking soda, butter and vanilla. (Mixture will bubble) Stir completely.
Pour mixture evenly on cookie sheet. Spread as evenly as possible. Work quickly – mixture is hot. Once spread, soak sauce pan. (This will save you a lot of scrubbing.) When completely cool, break into pieces. Store covered.
Note: Buy your peanuts early. They only come out once a year and go quickly. I start looking for them in October. I buy my supply and put them in the refrigerator. Walmart usually has them in their Baking Aisle.
This is my Mother’s recipe and she has made this since I was a child.

The following cheese ball recipe is from Vicki--

Sharp Cheese Ball

12 oz. cream cheese softened

1 jar old english cheese spread

2 tbsp minced onion, 1/4 tsp coarse grind pepper, 1/4 tsp salt,

1/3 c. blue cheese salad dressing

Mix together, shape into cheese ball, refrigerate. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

NOVEMBER COOKIN NIGHT

Hello Cookin' Chicks!

Mark your calendar! Tuesday, Nov. 10th, 6:30pm, at Michelle's home.

Our theme is "Holiday" cooking and baking, and our demonstration will be Gingerbread Houses. We Chicks are waiting to sample all of your Yummy recipes and add them to our books! You are welcome to bring more than 1 dish if you wish. We know that you all have some delicious idea's to share.

Don't forget to invite all your chick friends too. The more, the merrier!

Don't forget to bring copies of your recipes to share or you can email them to us so we can post them on our blog.

give me 5 of fewer

Even though our numbers seem to be getting less and less...we are still having a great time getting together and sharing good company and recipes. This month our theme was recipes with 5 ingredients or less. Some of us cheated a bit and had a few more ingredients but the recipes were delicious as usual!

Vicki made apple dip. This is a recipe that is so fitting for this time of year!

1 c. brown sugar

1 8oz pkg. cream cheese--softened

1/2 bag Heath toffee Bits

Put into a bowl and mix together. Serve with sliced apples.

Michelle made something that she said did not really have a name, so we dubbed it Sammie's Shepherds Pie. She also did not type up the recipe but it is basically layered with green beans, ground beef (browned) and seasoned with taco seasoning, mashed potatoes and then cheese. Bake until warmed through. It was so good and also a great recipe for the fall weather.

Bev made Aunt Maggie's Rice What a great spin on a basic side dish. 1 c rice, browned in 1 TBS butter, add 1 c chopped onion after rice is browned. Add 2 cups water and 3 chicken bouillon cubes, 1 can mushrooms (sliced & drained) and a pinch of rosemary and 1/2 tsp marjoram. Cook at a simmer for 45 min with a lid on.

I (Paula) made grape salad. I got the recipe from my sister in law, Janna. It is a little different so people are always surprised at how good it is.

2 8oz pks. cream cheese (softened)

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 tbs vanilla

5-6 lbs red seedless grapes

2 cups chopped pecans (opt)

brown sugar for garnish

Beat together cr. cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Stir in grapes and pecans. Sprinkle with b. sugar just before serving. (don't mix the b. sugar in)

Connie made some rich, rich brownies! They were super simple and if you like chocolate...well, you will love these!

You will need 2 boxes of brownie mix--(the box will say family size for 9X13 pan)

3 symphony bars (6.8oz) any variety

Make one box of brownie mix according to pkg directions. Spread it into a 9X13 pan. Place the 3 candy bars on top of that. Make the 2nd box of brownies and spread that over the top of the candy bars. Bake at recommended temp for 40-50 min. It depends on what type of pan you use. (metal, glass, etc)

Cool before cutting into squares.

Suzi made a delicious crock pot chicken. This meal is a great one to put in the crock pot in the morning and have ready to eat at the end of your day.

Becky's Crock-Pot Chicken
1 bag of chicken breasts
1 pkg. Italian dressing mix (dry--by H.V. Ranch)
1 8 oz. cream cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Put chicken, soup, and seasoning in crock pot. Cook all day on low (8 hours). Add cream cheese for the last 1/2 hour. Serve over noodles or rice.
**You can either shred, cube, or leave the chicken whole**

Let's Get Cookin Again

Well....summers is winding down, kids are back in school and of course our schedules are as hectic as ever! That being said....it's time to start cookin again!

WHAT: COOKIN WITH THE CHICKS

WHEN: THESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

TIME: 6:30PM

WHERE: MICHELLE'S HOUSE

THEME: RECIPES WITH 5 INGREDIENTS OR LESS

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE....EMAIL YOUR RECIPE TO COOKINWITHTHECHICKS@GMAIL.COM. THAT WAY I CAN POST EVERYONES RECIPE ON THE BLOG FOR THE WORLD WIDE WEB TO SEE!

THANKS AND HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

any questions...Paula 658-8578, Michelle 658-0846, Vicki 658-1007

Banana Cookies

Hi everyone - its Paula...I know its been a really long time. Here is a recipe I tried today. Hope you like it! I had some over-ripe bananas I needed to use and instead of the old favorite, banana bread, I decided to try these cookies. They are moist and delicious - and the frosting! Well, you just have to try them for yourself--

Cookies-

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup Crisco shortening

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp banana flavoring (can omit and increase vanilla to 1 tsp)

2 lg ripe bananas - peeled and mashed

1 heaping TBS sour cream

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar. Add egg, flavorings, bananas and sour cream; beat well. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake @ 350 for about 10 min. until bottoms are just lightly browned. Cool and frost.

Frosting- (the best part)

6 TBS brown sugar

1/4 cup whole milk or half and half

4 TBS butter

powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine brown sugar, milk and butter in saucepan; bring to a rolling boil. Remove pan from heat and beat in enough powdered sugar to make frosting spreadable; beat in vanilla. As the frosting cools, it will become difficult to spread. If this happens, reheat in the microwave for a few seconds or add a bit more milk to thin it.

July Class Update

Our July cookin class has been cancelled. We will not be having another cookin night until September - due to some very busy Chicks this summer. More later on Septembers Cookin night.
Have a great summer!

Mexican Food Anyone?

Our May cookin night was smaller in numbers than previous nights, but the food was delish. We decided to do a Cinco De Mayo theme. Thanks to everyone that came and shared a dish. As always, we are glad that you choose to spend an evening with us and share your recipes and ideas.

I did not get any recipes emailed to me, I will request them from those that brought a dish and post as they come in.

We had:

Homemade tortilla chips and bottled salsa, homemade cinnamon crispers, 2 delicious soups, homemade refried beans, chicken enchilada casserole...if I forgot any, Im sorry...like I said, I hope the chicks will email me the recipes so I can post them.

Our next night will be in July and we are going to share a dish that you might have at a summer picnic or bar-b-q.