Baked Potato with Toppings

Mmmm.  This meal is a crowd-pleaser.  And quite appropriate, since we live in Idaho.  I'm filing this under the Pork section, because we use Lil' Smokies and bacon as part of our toppings.

Baked Potato with Toppings

Wrap your potatoes with foil before putting them into the oven to cook. Otherwise, your skins will be hard as rocks.  Cook for one hour at 350 degrees, unless your potatoes are huge.  You may have to do another half an hour to another hour if you've got really big ones.

Toppings we like on ours:
Sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped broccoli
Summer sausage (if we can get it cheap enough) or Lil' Smokies pre-cooked sausages, chopped
Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Yummmers.

Company Fruit Salad

I got this recipe off of allrecipes.com - It calls for two kinds of grapes and two kinds of apples, but I didn't want to go to the store, so I just doubled up on the grapes and apples of one kind each. :)  It was still fantastic.  But I do think it would be prettier with the two kinds of grapes and two kinds of apples.

Company Fruit Salad

Ingredients

• 4 medium Golden Delicious apples, diced
• 4 medium Red Delicious apples, diced
• 2 cups seedless green grapes, halved
• 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
• 1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
• 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
• DRESSING:
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions

1. Combine all the fruit in a large bowl. In a mixing bowl, beat dressing ingredients until smooth. Pour over fruit; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Rigatoni with Brie, Grape Tomatoes, Olives, and Basil

I had a bunch of brie cheese leftover from this meal, so I hopped onto epicurious.com and typed in "brie" to see what I could see. This meal looked fantastic, so I gave it a shot and looooved it. I love me some pasta.

And, by the way, I've noticed that recipes have longer names of late. Get a load of this one! It's huge!!! Why, back in my day, it would have been called something like Tomato Rigatoni, or something. And we would have eaten it while we walked uphill both ways, through snow, for five miles each way, to and from school...

Rigatoni with Brie, Grape Tomatoes, Olives, and Basil

• 1 (12-ounce) wedge Brie, rind removed, cheese cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
• 1 (12-ounce) package grape or cherry tomatoes, each halved
• 1/2 cup quartered pitted Kalamata olives
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon (generous) dried crushed red pepper
• 1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped, plus sprigs for garnish
• 3/4 pound rigatoni

Off heat, place cheese, tomatoes, olives, garlic, and crushed red pepper in large skillet. Stir, separating cheese pieces. Mix in chopped basil.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid.

Add hot pasta and 1/4 cup reserved pasta liquid to skillet with cheese mixture. Place over medium heat and toss until cheese is partially melted and sauce coats pasta, adding more reserved pasta liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry, about 5 minutes. Season pasta to taste with salt. Transfer to large shallow bowl. Garnish with basil sprigs and serve.

Caramel Brownies

Holy Shnikeys, you guys. Kay. I am NOT much of a chocolate girl. I mean, give me a pie any day, but with brownies, I'm usually like, meh. But duuuuuude. Something about this recipe called out to me when I saw it at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. So I tried it and just about fell off my chair when I took the first bite. A. maz. ing.

Caramel Brownies
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version

*Note: I found that an hour or so of chilling the brownies after they had cooled completely helped the caramel layer set up and become more pronounced.

*Makes about 24 brownies

INGREDIENTS:
For the brownies:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1½ cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the caramel filling:
14 ounces caramel candies, unwrapped
1/4 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil and grease the foil well with butter or cooking spray. In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine the chopped chocolate and butter. Microwave in intervals of 1 minute at 50% power until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth, stirring in between intervals. Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Stir in the flour and salt just until combined. Spread about half of the brownie batter in the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven (keep the oven on!) and let the brownies cool for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the chopped pecans (if using) to a medium skillet over medium heat. Toast, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and light golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside. To make the caramel filling, combine the caramels and cream in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power. Stir. Repeat the process, keeping a close eye on the mixture as it can burn very easily (make sure you use low heat in the microwave). Continue the microwave process until the caramels and cream are melted and combined. Stir in half of the pecans to the caramel mixture. Immediately spread the caramel mixture over the bottom brownie layer. Scoop the remaining brownie batter in spoonfuls over the caramel layer and spread it evenly across the caramel layer (spooning the batter in piles over the caramel will help to get an even layer of batter over the caramel). Sprinkle the chocolate chips and the remaining pecans on top of the final brownie layer. Bake for 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving. I found the brownies sliced easier once they had been cooled and refrigerated for an hour or two.

Lift the brownies from the pan using the edges of the foil. Remove the foil and cut the brownies into individual squares. Store in an airtight container.

*Kar's note - I've changed the cook time for the final brownie layer to 40 minutes. The original recipe called for 20 minutes, but maybe my oven isn't powerful enough? Mine hadn't set enough at 20 minutes.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I am a pineapple addict. "Hi, I'm Karlenn, and I'm a pineapple addict." "Hi, Karlenn..." I must say that the best part of Disneyland, for me, is the Tiki Room. Why? Because of the pineapple you can buy and eat while you're waiting in that little bamboo-lined waiting area. Or have one of those pineapple smoothies. Yummmmm. And what kind of fragranced candle do I keep buying, over and over? Pina colada. Or pineapple-cilantro. I'm in love with pineapple.

And, by the way, pineapple is amazing this time of year. I cooked up some pineapple upside-down cake for a friend who was feeling low last week - I've made it over and over again, and it's definitely shimmy-worthy.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 can pineapple slices in syrup (I had a can of pineapple chunks on hand and used that instead.)
maraschino cherries

Use an 8" square pan or a round cake pan. Drain the can of pineapple, reserving the syrup. Place butter in the pan, melt it in the oven while preheating it to 375 degrees. Sprinkle brown sugar over the melted butter. If you have pineapple slices, arrange them and cherries (with cherries in the centers of the pineapple slices) over the brown sugar in the pan. [If you have chunks or tidbits, just throw them in the brown sugar with the marschino cherries and arrange them how you like.] Cut remaining pineapple slices into half circles, then line the sides of the pan with them (standing up). In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, softened butter, milk, egg, vanilla, and 2 T of pineapple syrup. Pour batter into the pan, being careful not to disturb the pineapples and cherries. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until cake is golden and has pulled away from the edges slightly. Remove from oven, allow to stand for a few minutes to set, and then turn it upside-down onto a serving dish. Serve while still warm.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

A fun little factoid for ya - for my senior thesis in high school, I read and wrote a paper on The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. My teacher made me read the unabridged version. Mama mia, that's a long book.

We have a cafe/bakery in town called Babe's Bakery, and I always order the Monte Cristo sandwich from them. It's to die for. Several years ago, I got a recipe from about.com under Southern U.S. Cuisine for Monte Cristos, and it's been fantastic.

I remember when my sis, Nat, had her fourth child, I went to her house and made these. She asked for the recipe, and it has become a staple in her house ever since. Maybe a month or so ago, her son, Brock, informed me that they had Monte Cristo sandwiches for dinner, and then he went on to tell me how you make them. I listened politely. :)

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

18 slices bread
softened butter for spreading
6 slices ham
6 slices turkey
12 slices swiss cheese
a little mustard for spreading
6 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt

For each sandwich, use 3 slices of bread. Butter one side of bread first, then cover the buttered side with a slice of ham and a slice of turkey. Butter both sides of the second slice of bread and spread with a little mustard. Place the second slice over the turkey.

Place two thin slices swiss cheese on top of the second slice of bread. Butter the third slice of bread and place it on top, butter side toward the swiss cheese. Cut into halves diagonally.

Beat eggs, milk, and salt in a cake pan. Dip sandwich halves into the egg mixture and fry on a hot skillet or griddle in butter. Brown on all sides, adding more butter when necessary. This part is tricky, because sometimes the pieces fall over. I just kind of lean them onto each other when I'm browning the thin edges. You can use toothpicks if you like, but I find them to be a pain in the butt.

Makes 6 sandwiches, 12 cut.

Mango-Jalapeno Salsa

Oh, can I tell you how much I love mango salsa? There is this salad I loooove getting at Costa Vida with mango salsa in it - I think it's called the Mango Chicken Salad, maybe? And it's ADDICTIVE. And, since a small salad costs a good $7 or so, I have resolved to use my mango salsa and try to make my own version at home. That is my plan.

Last week, I made this just to go with tortilla chips. And then I decided to blend it up, because I like my chips to dip into a more liquid-ey substance:

It's yummy either way, believe you me.

I got a recipe book when I was married called The Well-Filled Tortilla. I am a big, big fan of Mexican food, so this recipe book is really beaten up. The Well-Loved Recipe Book. :)

Mango-Jalapeno Salsa

2 ripe but firm mangos
1/2 tsp. minced jalapeno pepper
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp crushed coriander seed

1. Peel the mangos, slice around the large seed, and chop up the slices.
2. In a bowl, mix together the mangos, jalapeno, cilanto, lime juice, and coriander.