Overnight Homemade Pickles

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar
4 t salt
3 t pickling spice
2 t fresh garlic, diced
2 cups hot water
2 lbs cucumbers or other vegetable (cauliflower, asparagus, etc.), prepared

Directions:
Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat. Add vinegar, sugar and all seasonings. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Allow liquid to cool. Place vegetables in a jar and pour liquid on top of it. Place in refrigerator overnight. Pickles will be ready in time for a fresh lunch or dinner treat.

Cowboy Caviar

       Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup sugar (see notes)
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (11 ounce) can super sweet corn, drained (see notes)
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped cilantro (from 1 bunch) 
• Tortilla chips
  
  

  Directions

   Combine all ingredients, except tortilla chips, in a large bowl. Chill for about an hour to let flavors blend. Serve with tortilla chips.
  

Pineapple Tomatillo Salsa

3 Cans Crushed Pineapple (or 1 fresh pineapple)
2 Small or 1 Large Sweet Onion, chopped into large pieces
3-4 Cups Tomatillos
2 Jalapenos
1/2 Cup Cilantro
3 t Minced Garlic
Juice of 1 Large Lime
Salt to Taste

Blend all ingredients together in a blender. Serve with fresh tortilla chips (use gluten-free tortilla chips for a gluten-free snack).

Makes approximately two blenders full. 

Stained-Glass Cookies & Frosting

Betty Crocker presents Stained-Glass Cookies
{This recipe came from a little pamphlet I pulled from some magazine, probably in the 70s. See my note following this first recipe to get tips that have been perfected through many years of making these cookies. The amount here are the ones in the original recipe, but I doubled them after the first year. Same work for double the amount. If you have leftover cookie dough, roll it in a log, wrap in clear wrap, freeze it and use it for slice and bake cookies later.--clb}

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup soft butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
{1/2 tsp nutmeg -- nutmeg was my addition to the original recipe. --clb}

Mix sugar and butter. Add egg and flavorings; mix thoroughly. Stir dry ingredients together and blend into sugar mixture. Divide dough in half. color portions of 1/2 of the dough with about 5 food colors. (Refrigerate if necessary to roll.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. roll plain dough 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut with decorative Christmas cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Roll out colored doughts; cut out different shapes to fit on top of each plain cookie. Bake 7-8 minutes or until delicately golden.

(If using self-rising flour, omit soda and cream of tartar.)


OK. THIS IS HOW YOU REALLY MAKE THESE THINGS:

For 1/8 inch cookies, cut in half a regular yard stick. Place these halves on either side of the dough and keep your rolling pin on the two halves. This will insure an even 1/8 inch. If your rolling pin is too short, purchase a 1-inch or larger dowel rod and cut it as long as you need to work with cookie or pie dough. Sand the dowel rod slightly to smooth it out and it will work as well as the most expensive rolling pin.

KEEP YOUR DOUGH COLD ALL THE TIME. Between rolling, put the dough back into the fridge, better yet, the freezer if you are going to make all the cookies at once.

If the cut cookies warm up in the process of cutting and handling, put the unbaked cookies on the sheet into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until they get cold and firm again.

KEEP YOUR COOKIE SHEETS COLD. When a sheet of cookies comes out of the oven, put the sheet into the fridge or freezer to get it cold.

Keeping dough and utensils cold insures that the cookies will maintain their shape during baking. This process MAY add about a minute to the baking time, but do not OVER BAKE. Because cookies are so small, they continue baking from their own heat even after they are removed from the oven. Give them time to finish and cool slightly before removing them from the cookie sheet... about 1-2 minutes.

I have never made the colored dough for the stained glass effect. I make a lot of colors of decorator icing and fill as many pastry bags as are needed for all the helpers. -clb

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COOKIE FROSTING

{CAROL'S NOTE: For the frosting for these cookies I always used this Wilton recipe. I used regular vanilla instead of the clear. The color is not affected by the brown color or regular vanilla.}


WILTON HOME RECIPES: BUTTERCREAM ICING
Our Buttercream Icing recipe is perfect for spreading or decorating. Follow our instructions to make it the ideal consistency you need.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
* 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
* 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
* 2 tablespoons milk

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.
Buttercream Icing

Instructions:
(Medium Consistency)

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.


http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Buttercream-Icing

Popovers

(Makes 2 dozen)

4 eggs

1/2 t salt

2 c milk

4 T butter or margarine, melted

2 c all-purpose flour

1 T sugar

(For a dessert-like treat, you can add 1 teaspoon of any of the following ingredients vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg.  For a luncheon style treat, try rosemary, oregano, basil, parmesan cheese, or thyme.  Use your imagination!)

Mix all ingredients together well.  Set oven to 425 degrees and put them into a cold oven.  (If using a preheated oven, check often to be sure they do not get done early.)  Leave them for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees for an additional 10 minutes.  Prick each one with a toothpick or metal skewer to allow steam to escape and for popovers to crisp on the inside.  Leave them for 2-3 more minutes.  

GET CREATIVE!

These can be eaten plain or filled with turkey, chicken, tuna or egg salad, cheeses and/or lunchmeat, scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, jams or jellies, pudding, pie filling, melted chocolate or whipped cream.  They are a fabulous appetizer or luncheon addition, main course or dessert.  They are great way to use leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.  They work great with any meal--breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack-time and kids love them!

Stuffed Jalapenos

Fresh jalapenos

cream cheese

cheddar cheese

bacon

toothpicks

Cut off tops of jalapenos and then slice them in half lengthwise.  Remove seeds.  (Caution:  jalapeno juice is very acidic and will sting cuts, dry skin, eyes, etc.  To avoid this, wear surgical gloves during this process, avoid touching your skin and throw the gloves away when you are finished.)  Fill jalapeno halves with cream cheese, top with a slice of cheddar which covers the cream cheese, wrap in half a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.  Place them in single layers on a cookie sheet with an edge (a lot of grease will gather and you don't want it dripping in your oven) or a casserole dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until the bacon is crispy.

Pumpkin Mousse

1 eight-oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
1 can pumpkin (regular size)
½ sugar
1 tub of Cool Whip
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves
pumpkin spice


Mix first three ingredients until smooth.
Fold in cool whip.
Add spices to taste:
Lots of shakes cinnamon
Go easy on the cloves
Nutmeg
Pumpkin Spice

Serve with ginger snap cookies for dipping and on the side.


From Melissa Clark, Thanksgiving 2008, St. Petersburg FL
The gathering of Hoatson extended Family Thanksgiving and 90th birthday of O. Carl Brown.

Bugs In My Tummy!

Bugs are certainly fun to watch, but have you ever tried eating them? Well, here’s a way to have bugs as a snack – without even stepping foot in your garden!

Ingredients
Toothpicks
Large lettuce leaf
Raisins, black and/or gold
Gummy worms
Peanut butter
Melon balls (honeydew and cantaloupe)
Watermelon balls
Dried banana chips
Prunes
Melon wedges
Pretzel sticks

Directions
Place the lettuce leaf on your plate and decorate with the following creations:

Worms:
Gummy worms!

Caterpillars:
String raisins onto the toothpicks. You can have both black and yellow caterpillars!

Ants on an Anthill:
Put a dab of peanut butter on your “leaf” and decorate it with a trail of raisins.

Beetles:
Cut the melon balls in half and place flat side down.

Ladybugs:
Cut a watermelon ball in half and place flat side down. Seeds can be left in to look like the black ladybug dots!

Bumblebees:
Break a banana chip in half. Put a small slit in the prunes where the wings should be. Stick banana chip halves in the slits so that they stand up like wings.

Butterflies:
Take melon wedges (in shape of triangles) and place around a pretzel stick – two on each side – to look like wings.

You can enjoy this snack at home or on a family picnic. Studying insects at school? Take a tray of edible ones to share! Having a bug theme birthday party? Let your guests make their own party snacks!

By Yesenia, Dakota & Novik Thomas