Oreo Truffles

Am I the last person in the world to eat/know how to make these?  Dangerously delicious and dangerously easy.

1 package Oreos
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
Almond bark

Crush the Oreos. (food processor is much easier and you'll want a fine, consistent crumb)
Stir cream cheese into crushed cookies. (Use your hands to combine it, trust me).
Roll cookie mixture into 1" balls, place on cookie sheet.
Freeze for 10 minutes or put in fridge.
While the balls are hardening, melt the Almond bark, half the package at a time. (Do this according to package directions).
Dip cookie balls into melted almond bark (I use a spoon) & put back on the cookie sheet.
If you feel so inclined, drizzle melted chocolate (chocolate bark, chocolate chips nuked with a little cream) or sprinkle with crushed Oreos.

There are SO many variations to this! PB Oreos with chocolate outer, mint Oreos + peppermint extract added to the almond bark, etc.

I like to keep them in the fridge and eat them out of the fridge (if stored overnight keep them in the fridge bc of the cream cheese).

Try not to eat less than 17.

herb stuffed mushrooms

If you're looking for the stuffed mushroom recipe. This. Is. It.

24-36 mushrooms (small to medium)
6+ T butter
1 sm onion, chopped fine
~1/4 tsp garlic powder
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 T grated Parmesan cheese
2 T fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 C herb-seasoned croutons, chopped into crumbs
4 T pesto

Clean mushrooms. Remove stems & chop finely (in the food processor is great).  Keep ~1 C of chopped stems.

Melt 2+ T butter in a saute pan. Roll mushroom caps in butter (top and bottom) and place top side down in a baking dish.

Heat remaining butter (4+ T) in same saute pan. Add chopped mushroom stems, onion and garlic powder - cook until tender.

Over low heat, stir in cream cheese until combined. Add Parmesan cheese, parsely, croutons & pesto. Mix thoroughly.

Spoon mixture into mushroom caps OR put it in a large ziploc back, cut off a corner and squeeze it in like frosting (much easier to control).

Bake @ 350 until heated through and mushrooms are browned. 15+ minutes (check them).

This filling is so good you'll want to eat it off the spoon. You can also make it ahead of time and keep the filled mushrooms covered in the fridge until cooking.

I eyeball the croutons and save some to sprinkle on the top before baking.

Butterbeer

1 can of Cream Soda
1 teaspoon of Rum Extract
1 teaspoon of Butterscotch Extract
1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar
1 cup of Vanilla Ice Cream

Chocolate Dump Cake

3 C. flour

2 C. Sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 Tb. Vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

¾ C. oil

2 C. water

1/3 C. cocoa (if chocolate)

Bake at 350 for 25-30 min. in 2 round cake pans, then cut each in half.

Frosting:

1 stick butter (softened)

2/3 C. cocoa

3 c. powder sugar, sifted

1/3 C. milk

2 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp salt

Beat butter and cocoa together first, and then beat in everything else. Beat entire mixture for 2-3 minutes on medium speed.

Grandma Wonnacott's Christmas Corn Pops

10 cups Corn Pops
1 1/3 cubes butter
2/3 cups sugar
2 Tb. water and 1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in pan. Add sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Boil fast 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour over corn pops in a large bowl and stir until evenly coated. Spread out on cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes at 225 degrees.

So good, so addictive and so a tradition!

Biscuits with Turkey Gravy-sooo Yummy!

Ingredients

• 1 tube (16.3 ounces) large refrigerated flaky biscuits
• 1 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2-1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

• Bake biscuits according to package directions. Meanwhile, crumble sausage into a large saucepan; cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain and keep warm.
• In the same saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, mustard, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
• Stir in sausage; heat through. Place two biscuits on each serving plate; top with gravy. Yield: 4 servings.

Strawberry Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

To sugar the almonds:

Melt two Tbsp butter and ½ cup sugar with ½ tsp vanilla over medium heat until blended together. (Note: sugar will NOT liquefy so don’t wait too long or mixture will turn darker and actually start to look less like it is blending together). Then add 1 cup shaved almonds and stir until coated (does not look glazed). Spread on wax paper and sprinkle with a dash of salt. Allow to cool then they are ready to mix in salad. May have to break them up some but they don’t really harden.

Salad: Mix to desired portions

Lettuce greens of your choice

Avocado (I only used 1 large for the batch I made)

Celery (I omit because Tyson detests celery)

Strawberries

Dressing:

1 cup olive oil

¼ cup white wine vinegar

¼ cup white sugar

2 TBSP dry ground mustard

2 TBSP poppyseeds

Whip vinegar, sugar, dry mustard and poppyseeds until smooth, then slowly add oil. Mix desired amt on salad. (Personally I end up adding a little bit more sugar to the dressing but not much. When I taste the dressing solo, it is kind of funky to me. But mixed with the sweet salad and combined with the sugared almonds it is superb.) I usually don’t add the almonds and dressing until ready to serve because the sugar in both start to break down the strawberries and make them mushy if they sit too long.

Salad de Maison

Like a Salad Served at the Dodo Restaurant

Dressing:

Juice of 1 lemon (3-4 T.)

½ t. pepper

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

¾ c. oil

1 t. salt

Salad:

¼ c. bacon bits

½ c. slivered almonds, toasted

2-3 heads romaine lettuce

salt & pepper to taste

1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes

1 c. croutons

1 c. grated Italian blend cheese

To make dressing, combine lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper & vegetable oil. Let stand 3 hours.

In a large bowl, combine torn romaine lettuce, tomatoes cut in half, cheese, almonds and bacon bits.

Toss with dressing, salt and pepper. Garnish with croutons.

Raspberry Bread Pudding

1 ½ loaves white bread (dried and cubed) 3 c. sugar

1 qt. heavy cream 1 t. vanilla

3 eggs

Mix cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry bread cubes and soak for 30 minutes.

Raspberry Sauce:

5 c. raspberries

1 c. sugar

½ c. apple juice

Spray a 9 x 13 pan. Put ¾ of bread/egg mixture in pan. Top with raspberry sauce.

Top with remaining bread/egg mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Butter Cream Sauce: 1 1/3 c. butter (melted)

5 T. flour

3 c. cream

2 t. vanilla

½ c. sugar

Melt butter and wisk in flour, then cream. Add vanilla and sugar. Stir and cook

until thick.

Hot Fudge Sauce

Okay here is the recipe for the Hot Fudge Sauce. It is soooo delish but I am not promising you it is healthy. We eat it with Tyson's homemade Peppermint Ice Cream at Christmastime. Here goes:

Ingredients:
1 pound butter (yep a pound)
2 cups granulated sugar
2- 12 oz cans of evaporated milk
dash salt
1/3 cup dark karo syrup (I always use light because that is what I have)
1 12 oz pkg chocolate chips
1 pound caramels
1 tsp vanilla

Put everything except vanilla in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave stirring every few minutes on high power until all is melted and fluid. Remove from microwave and add vanilla. Beat with mixer 2-3 minutes. Makes 2 quarts. Keep in fridge 6 weeks or may be frozen and it will keep for longer.