Scotch-A-Roo's

This has been one of my all time favorite recipes! I hadn't made it for awhile but my daughter in law made it the last time she came to the cabin. Thing was, hers tasted better than mine! I hate to admit that but I had to take a cooking lesson from my 22 year old daughter in law. Hers were soft and chewy and mine were harder. In comparing our recipes, she just cooked the karo syrup mixture a shorter time. I'm giving you directions for her recipe. These are easy to make and EVERYONE loves them. Great for picnics.

1 cup karo syrup

1 cup white sugar

1 cup peanut butter

5 to 6 cups Rice Krispies, depending how gooey you want them (Usually I add 5 to 5 1/2 cups or so)


Topping:

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Combine karo syrup and sugar. Mix and bring to a boil for 30 seconds or so. Take off heat and add peanut butter. Stir. Add Rice Krispies. Put mixture into a buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. (If you like a thicker bar, you can put in a 9 x 9 pan.)


Melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips for 45 seconds in the microwave or until melted so you can mix chips together. Add to the top of warm krispies. Let cool and enjoy! Yum!!!

Thanks for the great recipe!

Debbie

Pulled Pork

So Delicious and Feeds a Large Crowd!














This is one of our families favorite recipes! It is so easy to prepare and everyone likes it! Use it to make filling for burritos, tacos, or even drain juice and put of a hard roll. It is perfect for "Cafe Rio" type salads. I will post the Cilantro Dressing that goes so well with the salad on my next post.

This is a great option for family reunions as it can be done in large roasters and easily served from the roaster.

1 Boneless Pork Roast (Costco has great pork roast, 2 to a package)

1 Pkg. McCormick Southwest Marinade

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together. Pour over meat and cook on high in crock pot for 4-5 hours or until a fork will pull meat apart easily. Shred pork and keep in juices until you serve it. Serve with Zatarains's black beans and rice (made to instructions on box) Costco's Tortillas (the type you have to cook), and lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, and green onions.

This is a wonderful recipe for family reunions because you can make it in large roasters and serve right from the roaster.

I hope you find joy with your families this summer!

-Debbie-

Twice Baked Red Potatoes

Nothing is better than a new red potato dug fresh from the garden!












I like red potatoes no matter how they are fixed but this little recipe is especially tasty and I like them warm or even the baked leftovers eaten cold for a picnic. (Be sure and refrigerate leftovers) The combination of spices and cheeses in the potato filling are really delicious and complement each other.

1 1/2 lbs. small red potatoes

2 to 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar/Jack Cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 pkg. (3 0z.) cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup minced green onions

1 tsp. dried basil

1 garlic clove minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 lb. sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled or 1/3 cup Hormel precooked Real Crumbled Bacon

Wash the potatoes well and then dry. Pierce the potatoes and rub skins with oil. Place in a baking dish and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 50 min. or until tender. Allow to cool to touch.

In a bowl, combine Cheddar/Jack Cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, onions, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and bacon. In another bowl. scoop out the potato pulp with a melon baller. (Leave enough potato in the shell so it can stand up.) Mash up the potatoes and then stir in cheese mixture. Fill the shells and sprinkle a little parsley on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven until heated well through.

Note: These can be made the day before and then refrigerated and baked fresh when you need them.

Happy 4th!

-Debbie-

Artichoke Rice Salad

A Great Summer Salad!


Light and Refreshing!










I love this salad. It is a little sour and has a slight bite with the green olives. It makes such a nice summer dinner with a crusty bread or rolls. I often double this to take to a group picnic.

1 pkg. chicken Rice-A-Roni

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 green pepper chopped

8 to 10 green olives with pimento, chopped

2 jars marinated in oil artichokes (abt. 8 to 10 oz jars) Dice and reserve liquid

1/4 tsp. curry powder

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Optional: I like to add cooked diced chicken breast when I use it as a main dish salad.

Make rice per package instructions. Cool completely and then combine rice, onion, pepper, olives and artichokes.

In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise, oil reserved from the artichokes and curry powder. Pour this dressing over rice mixture.

Refrigerate overnight to let flavors mellow.

Happy picnics!

- Debbie -

Crockpot Beef Sandwiches

My son just got married in April and this Mother's Day my new little Daughter-in-Law gave me a very special gift. Being newly weds, they are on a very limited budget so she hand wrote 25 recipe cards of her families favorite recipes. For me, this was the highest form of recipe sharing and I will treasure these 25 recipes forever. Thanks Amy!

1 3 to 5 lb. rump roast
2 cans beef broth
1 pkg. Italian Dressing Mix
1 pkg. Au Jus Sauce Mix

Brown meat on all sides in a small amount of oil. Put in a crock pot and add broth, dry Italian dressing mix, and Au Jus sauce mix. Cook on high for 8 to 10 hours. You may serve on hard rolls and it is also good to add grated cheese and broil until melted.

A few years ago, I bought a cookie sucker mold but I had never used it. I thought it would be fun to pat some dilly bread dough in them and make buns. It worked very well and we enjoyed our sandwiches on this delicious bread. The recipe for the bread was on my last post, June 11, 2009.
I liked how all of the buns were pretty uniform in size. You should be able to get the mold at any major craft store that carries Wilton products.






This is a great recipe for your family picnics that will be coming up.

Happy Summer!


Debbie

Picnic Carrot Cake

A Great Picnic Cake!

This is a fabulous cake to take on picnics. It 's not crumbly and when the frosting dries, it's not sticky. We love the rich, full flavor that is reminiscent of chuckwagon spice cakes served on old cattle drives. One preparation item to note on this recipe is that it must be started the night before you plan to make it. The carrots, raisins and spices like to get friendly together overnight in the frig. It keeps very well and cuts into nice, clean bars of cake.

This cake is also unusual in that it doesn't have any eggs in it. So, if you run out of eggs and need a cake for Sunday dinner, this is the perfect choice!

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup raisins

1 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

2 large carrots, grated

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Icing:

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. water

2 Tbsp. butter

Combine, sugar, water, raisins, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and carrots in a saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes, cool, and then put in a covered container and refrigerate overnight.

Next day: Mix together flour, salt, soda, baking powder and walnuts. Add this mixture to the refrigerated mixture, stirring well.

Pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan sprayed with Pam.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.

Icing: Put brown sugar, water and butter together in a saucepan and warm on low heat until sugar dissolves. Pour over the warm cake and then let cool before cutting.

-Debbie-

Chicken Oriental Salad

I make this up about 1/2 hour before serving to let the dressing flavor the cabbage. This is the only cabbage dish my children will eat. It can make a meal by itself, especially during the summer-very light meal.



2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 Tbsp. slivered almonds
4 cups green cabbage, chopped
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
2 green onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. margarine

In a skillet, melt margarine. Add green onions and almonds. Cook until almonds are almost browned. Add sesame seeds and cook until sesame seeds are browned. Remove all from heat. Mix together chicken and cabbage. Add green onions, almonds and sesame seeds.

Dressing:

1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. black pepper

3 Tbsp. vinegar (rice vinegar is also good to use)

1 pkg. Ramen noodle chicken flavored season packet

In a glass jar, shake until well blended and pour over salad and toss. Break up the package of Ramen noodles and add to the salad and toss.

Contributor: Debby

Baked Potato Soup

Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 Greg and I went on a "Snowshoe Picnic" and this soup is what we packed to eat. It was so much fun! With all of the crazy things that are going on in the world today, it was a healing balm to our souls to sit on a rock with our faces turned to the sun and just listen to natures peace!

4 large baking potatoes

2/3 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup all purpose flour

6 to 7 cups milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper (or less)

1 1/2 cup (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

12 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled, and divided

1 (8oz.) carton sour cream

Wash potatoes; prick several times with fork. Bake in 400 degree oven for 1 hour or until done. Let cool. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out and reserve pulp. Discard shells. (Unless you're me and then you salt and butter the shells and eat them. Yum!)

Melt butter in Dutch oven over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.

Gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in potatoes, salt, pepper, 1 cup cheese, 1/2 cup bacon, and 2 tablespoons green onions; cook until heated (do not boil). *Stir in sour cream; cool just until heated (Do not boil) Serve with remaining cheese, bacon, and green onions. Yield: 21/2 quarts.

* I do not add the sour cream. I like the soup just as well without it and I save a few calories. You can put the sour cream in a dish and let each guest add it if they choose to.

Contributors: Greg and Debbie