Christmas Toffee

2 cups sliced almonds

12 ounces milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 sticks butter, cut into bits

1 & 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325º. Spread out almonds on a baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Let Cool.

2. Coarsely chop chocolate chips in food processor, pulsing on and off. Transfer to medium bowl. In same processor bowl, coarsely chop almonds, pulsing on and off. Add to chocolate chips, tossing to combine. Spread half of mixture evenly over bottom of a well-greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

3. In a heavy medium saucepan, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil, stirring constantly, over medium heat. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until syrup is light golden-brown and just reaches the hard crack stage (300ºF on candy thermometer). At that point, a bit of syrup, when dropped into a boil of ice water, should separate into threads that are hard and brittle.

4. Pour hot syrup evenly over nut mixture. Top with remaining nut mixture, smoothing and pressing down gently with a spatula. Refrigerate until toffee is set and chocolate is firm, about 1-½ hours. Cut into squares or irregular pieces. Store in a tightly covered container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Yield: 6 (1-cup) servings

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, smashed

2 fresh sage leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 medium canned plum tomatoes

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, halved, seeded, and diced

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, sage, 1 teaspoon of the salt and season with pepper, to taste. Cook, covered stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high, add the tomatoes, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the tomatoes break up and the onions brown slightly, about 7 minutes.

Add the squash and the remaining teaspoon salt, and continue to cook Butternut Squash Soup, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 12 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until the vegetables tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender, or with an immersion blender. Return the soup to the pot and reheat over medium heat. Stir in the vinegar.

Serve the soup in warm bowls with a touch of Parmesan cheese if desired.

Nutrition Information

Nutritional Analysis per serving

Calories 155

Fat 9 grams

Saturated Fat 1 gram

Carbohydrates 19 grams

Fiber 1 gram

Protein 5 grams

Squash Ginger Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Famous Recipes – Southern Collard Greens

Southern Collard Greens

Makes 6 servings.

Printed from Allrecipes, Submitted by Tina V. Hare

——————————————————————–

1 1/2 quarts water

1 1/2 pounds ham hocks

4 pounds collard greens,

rinsed and trimmed

1/2 teaspoon crushed red

pepper flakes (optional)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1 Place the water and the ham hock in a large pot with a

tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to very

low and

simmer covered for 30 minutes.

2 Add the collards and the hot pepper flakes the pot.

Simmer covered for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

3 Add the vegetable oil and simmer covered for 30 minutes.

Famous Recipes – Hot Crab Canape

Hot Crab Canape

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook

Serves 6 to 8

one 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon milk

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons horseradish

8 ounces crabmeat, picked free of shell (I used imitation crabmeat)

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer, mix all ingredients in a bowl. Place mixture in a shallow ovenproof casserole dish. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or microwave until warm (2 to 3 minutes). Serve with crackers. This may be frozen for future use.

Famous Recipes – Salmon and Cheese Pie

500g [ 1lb ] potatoes, peeled

125g [ 4oz ] grated cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 1/4 cups [ 10 fl oz ] milk

250g [ 8 oz ] can salmon

50g [ 1 1/2 oz ] butter or 1 cup margarine

salt & pepper

1/2 cup [ 2 oz ] grated cheese

3 spring onions, finely chopped

——————

Boil potatoes and mash with a little butter and milk.

Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat, stir in the flour

to make a smooth paste. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and slowly

pour in the milk. Stir gently. Return to heat and stir until

the sauce thickens. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese

and stir through the sauce. Add salmon and spring onion

until well mixed. Place in casserole dish and spread

the mashed potato on top. Sprinkle the remaining

cup of grated cheese over the top and place on

centre shelf of the oven and for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Or until golden brown.

Famous Recipes – Gourmet Guacamole Dip – Guacamole Dip

Gourmet Guacamole Dip

1 ripe avocado

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Juice of half a lemon or lime

1 cup sour cream

1 can refried beans

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Shredded lettuce

Diced tomatoes

Chopped black olives

In a bowl, mix the can of refried beans with the envelope of taco seasoning.

Set aside.

In a nonreactive bowl, mash the avocado until smooth and creamy. Add lemon

or lime juice, garlic powder and mayonnaise and mix very well. Spread the

refried bean mixture in an 11 x 7-inch pan. For the next layer, spread the

sour cream. For the next layer, spread the avocado mixture. Sprinkle the

lettuce on that layer, and the cheese and tomatoes and olives on top of that

Refrigerate until 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Gourmet Guacamole Dip

Famous Recipes – Green’s

1 – 16 oz. bag of frozen turnip greens

1 can of Ro-Tel tomatoes & peppers

1 – 15 oz. can of tomato sauce

1/4 lb. of diced ham

1/4 lb. of bacon or salt pork

1 small onion, chopped

Cook greens, bacon or salt pork and onion according to

package directions. Drain, add Ro-Tel, ham and tomato sauce.

Remove bacon. Cook 10 to 15 minutes longer on stove top or

2 to 3 minutes in microwave on High. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes.

Famous Recipes – Black Eyed Peas with Sausage

3 – 15 oz. cans black-eyed peas

1 lb. of sausage, sliced

2 tablespoons of oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 – 4 oz. can of diced green chilies

1 – 14 oz. can of whole tomatoes

Salt and pepper, to taste

Place black-eyed peas in large stew pan to simmer. Fry

sausage in oil until well browned. Drain all but 2

tablespoons of oil from skillet. Saute onion in remaining

oil. Add onions with oil and remaining ingredients to peas.

Simmer for 30 minutes over a low heat. Serve with corn bread

and tossed salad.

Famous Recipes – Oriental Beef and Broccoli

ORIENTAL BEEF AND BROCCOLI

INGREDIENTS

¾ pound beef top round steak

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon molasses

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 to ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 cup thinly bias-sliced carrots

6 cups fresh broccoli flowerets

1½ teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS

Partially freeze meat. Thinly slice meat across the grain into bite-size strips. Set aside. In a 2-quart casserole stir together soy sauce, vinegar, molasses, garlic, and red pepper. Stir in meat. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Cook meat mixture, covered, on 100% power (high) for 3 to 5 minutes or till meat is no longer pink, stirring every 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove meat from casserole; set aside. Reserve juices in casserole. Add carrots to juices in casserole. Cook, covered, on high for 1 minute. Add broccoli and cook 4 to 6 minutes more or till vegetables are nearly crisp-tender, stirring every 2 minutes. Stir together cornstarch and water; stir into vegetables. Cook, uncovered, on high for 2 to 3 minutes or till slightly thickened, stirring after every minute. Stir in meat. Cook, covered, on high for 1 minute or till heated through.

Serves 4.

Blend Of The Bayou

Blend Of The Bayou

1 package 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 large onion chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
1 large green pepper chopped
1 pound cooked medium shrimp peeled and devined
2 cans ( 6 ounces each ) crabmeat, drained flaked and cartilage removed
1 can ( 10 3/4 ounces ) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 jar ( 4 1/2 ounces ) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 teaspoon garlic salt
3/4 teaspoon ( or more if you wish ) Hot sauce of your choice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup cooked rice
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crushed butter flavored crackers ( about 12 crackers )

In a small saucepan, cook and stir the cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of
butter over low heat
until melted and smooth. In a large skillet saute the onion, celery and
green pepper in remaining butter until tender. Stir in cream cheese mixture.
Stir in the shrimp, crab, soup, mushrooms, garlic salt, hot pepper sauce,
cayenne and rice.
Transfer to a greased 2 quart baking dish. Combine cheese and cracker crumbs
and sprinkle over the top.
Bake uncovered at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield : 6-8 servings