PIMENTO CHEESE

PIMENTO CHEESE
8 oz. Sharp cheddar cheese 8 oz. Monterrry Jack cheese
4 oz diced pimento, undrained 1 Tablespoon sugar
3 Tablespoons whole grain mustard 1/4 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Grate both cheeses. In small bowl, mash pimento, so there are no large lumps. Mix in sugar, mustard, and manyonnaise (start with 1/4 cup and add more to taste). Pour mixture over cheese, mix well and season to taste.

I grate cheese into mixer bowl. Then place all other ingredients in food processor and pulse a couple of times; then pour mixture into cheese. Mix until thoroughly blended

Pork Tenderloin, Pear and Cranberry Salad

OH MY! This salad is delicious! Good thing it's not many calories, because I ate two helpings!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic, divided
1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme, divided
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/4 cup sliced shallots
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup cranberry juice cocktail
6 cups baby spinach leaves
1 ripe red Anjou pear, thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Combine vinegar, mustard, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon thyme; set aside.

2. Combine pork and remaining 1 teaspoon garlic, remaining 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; toss well to coat. Sprinkle pork mixture with flour; toss well. Let stand 5 minutes.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots to saucepan; cook 3 minutes or until shallots are tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add cranberries and juice; cook until liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 2 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low. Add vinegar mixture; cook 1 minute. Gradually add 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, stirring well with a whisk. Cover and keep warm.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of pork to skillet; cook 3 minutes or until browned, turning once. Remove pork from skillet. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining pork. Toss pork with 1 tablespoon warm cranberry mixture.

5. Combine spinach and pear in a large bowl. Drizzle with remaining cranberry mixture; toss well to coat. Arrange about 2 cups spinach mixture on each of 4 plates; top evenly with pork.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

360

Fat:

17.7g (sat 3.3g,mono 11.6g,poly 1.9g)

Bacon, Ranch, and Chicken Mac and Cheese

I got this from the Cooking Light Marcy 2010 issue. Better than previous Mac and Cheese. Of course, I added more bacon than it calls for.

I'm also not a big fan of pan frying anything. It says to cook the chicken in the bacon fat, which sounds good, but what a mess! Grease spewed everywhere! Any tips on how to better pan fry things would be appreciated.

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
1 slice applewood-smoked bacon
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/3 cup condensed 45% reduced-sodium 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded six-cheese Italian blend (such as Sargento)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded colby-Jack cheese

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Finely chop bacon; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add chicken to drippings in pan; sauté 6 minutes or until done.

3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk; gradually add milk mixture to saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155°. Add Italian cheese blend, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, and salt, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in pasta and chicken.

4. Preheat broiler.

5. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and colby-Jack cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

4 servings, 497 calories, 17g fat

Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes

I made these for Halloween this year. I just randomly looked for a pumpkin cupcake recipe online and found this one. They are SO DELICIOUS. Even without the dulce de leche filling - I made a mini batch without the filling and they were equally as tasty.

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Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
7.5 ounces pureed pumpkin

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Once cooled, using the cone method, fill each cupcake with a dollop of dulce de leche and frost with dulce de leche buttercream. If desired, decorate cupcake with spiderweb design using 3 tablespoons chocolate chips melted together with 1/4 teaspoon shortening.


Dulce De Leche
Adapted from Recipe Girl
Makes just enough to fill cupcakes and use in frosting

Ingredients
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
boiling water

Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Open up the can and pour the sweetened-condensed milk into a pie pan. Cover tightly with foil. Place into a larger pan and pour boiling water in larger pan & around pie plate (level of water should be about halfway up the pie plate). Don’t let any water seep up and into the pie plate.

Place in oven and bake for 1 hour. At the one hour point, peel off foil and check for progress. If the mixture has thickened and turned a caramelly color, it’s done. If it doesn’t quite look thick enough or dark enough, cover it up and bake it a little longer (mine took 75 minutes).

When the mixture appears to have turned into a nice, thick caramel, remove from the oven. Let sit for a few minutes, and then beat with an electric mixer until smooth.

Dulce De Leche Buttercream
Adapted from Joy The Baker
Makes enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons prepared dulce de leche

Method
Cream together softened butter and powdered sugar on low using an electric mixer. Add cream and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth and no lumps appear. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the prepared dulce de leche and beat to incorporate.

Bacon Mac

I made this for my second (of four) Thanksgiving this year. You can tell it's "light", but it's pretty good.

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Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients
3 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
12 ounces strozzapreti or penne pasta
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk, divided
2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
Cooking spray

Preparation
1. Preheat broiler.

2. Bring 6 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta; cook 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cup milk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until it cools to 155°. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, onions, hot sauce, pepper, and bacon; stir. Add pasta; toss. Spoon into a 2-quart broiler-safe dish coated with cooking spray; top with 1/2 cup cheese. Broil 7 minutes.

Nutritional Information
Calories:399
Fat:13.8g (sat 8.5g,mono 4g,poly 0.8g)
Protein:20g
Carbohydrate:48.7g
Fiber:2g
Cholesterol:44mg
Iron:2.1mg
Sodium:544mg
Calcium:358mg

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2009

Homemade Samoas

I haven't made this recipe myself yet but enjoyed the outcome at a book club meeting earlier this week. They are better than the real thing!

Homemade Samoas Bars

Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust.
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.
When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).
Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.

Ginger Cookies

Mariposa decided to start a new Christmas tradition: the cookie contest. I intend to win with this entry.


Shown on the cover of the November 1998 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, these cookies prompted scores of calls from readers saying they were the best ginger cookies ever.

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups shortening
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup course sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat shortening for 30 seconds. Add the 2 cups granulated sugar; beat until combined. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in half of the flour mixture. Stir in remaining flour mixture. Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, shape dough into 2-inch balls; roll in the coarse sugar. Place balls 2 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are light brown and puffed. Do not overbake or cookies will not be chewy. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to wire rack; cool. Makes 25 4-inch cookies.

Hillary's alterations:
1. Double the amount of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. I like spicier cookies.
2. Make smaller cookies rather than big ones. They don't flatten well on their own, so you get small poofed up balls. If you do want flatter cookies, pre-flatten.
3. This recipe makes A LOT of cookies. Halving it still gives you a good number of cookies, especially if you make them smaller.