Filipino Fruit Salad

The Filipino Fruit Salad is a staple dessert to most Filipino parties. The usual ingredients are canned fruit cocktail, condensed milk and Nestle cream. However, I don't suggest using Nestle cream. It curdles and the liquid separates. I use the refrigerated Heavy Cream (the same one used in making whipped cream). To cut the sweetness of the condensed milk and to give it a thick and creamy consistency, use cream cheese. The fresh apples provides texture to the soft fruit and gives it a necessary crunch.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 6 pound can or 10 cups Tropical Fruit Cocktail
• 2 cans mandarin oranges
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 Granny Smith apples, cubed
• 1/2 cup plain cream cheese
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, cubed
• 1/4 cup Maraschino Cherry Halves (optional)
• Shredded Coconut/Macapuno (optional)

1 Drain the Fruit Cocktail thoroughly.

2  Whip the condensed milk, heavy cream and cream cheese together. Make sure it's well blended. (You may omit the cream cheese and just add more cheddar cheese to cut the sweetness of the condensed milk if desired.)

3 Add in the drained fruit cocktail and cheddar cheese.

4 Peel and cube the apples one at a time, putting the apples directly into the salad as they are cut. (To prevent browning of the cut apples, immediately integrate it in the cream mixture or soak in a lemon ice water solution ‘til mixed.

5 Garnish with cherries. (You can add some Macapuno or soft shredded coconut meat, if desired.)

6 Refrigerate and serve cold.

Apple Dumplings in Lemon sauce

Pie Crusts:

For Single Pie crust:

1 ½ cup flour                            

½ teaspoon salt

7 ½ Tablespoon shortening

2 ½ Tablespoon Ice water

For Double pie crust:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

15-16 Tablespoons shortening

5 Tablespoons ice water

Mix flour salt and shortening till you have a crumb mixture. Add ice water – mix by hand into a ball. If using Double crust recipe, divide in half after you mix the ingredients. Roll out bottom pie shell and put in pie plate. Add filling and then roll out remaining crust to top pie.

For apple Dumplings:

Peel and core apples. Roll out pie crust into circle. Divide in quarters. Wrap ¼ around apple. Place in low sided baking dish. Bake 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

For Lemon Sauce for apple dumpling, mix in small saucepan:
½ cup sugar

1 Tablespoon corn starch.

Add, stirring constantly,

1 cup boiling water

Boil 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Stir in:

2 Tablespoons butter

1 ½ Tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

And a pinch of salt.

Makes about  1 cup of lemon sauce for apple dumpling.

Here's a less homemade version of Apple Dumplings(ready made dough):

Chicken Cacciatore w/ Spaghetti

Ingredients:Vegetable oil

2 ½ pounds boned chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes

1 ½ Tablespoon flour

¾ cup dry white wine or chicken broth

4 Tablespoons butter

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

2 green bell peppers, cut into ½ inch strips

1 cup beef broth

1 garlic clove, pressed

6 ounces tomato paste

1 (35 oz.) diced Italian tomatoes (or diced tomatoes with garlic onion, & green pepper), undrained

¼ pound pepperoni, sliced

1 teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon rosemary

Salt and pepper

2 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Pour enough oil into a large flame-roof casserole to cover the bottom. Add chicken and stir over high heat until browned. Sprinkle on flour. Continue stirring over high heat until flour is lightly browned. Pour on wine/chicken broth. Stir to release any cooked on meat particles and bring to a boil. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Add butter to the pan. Melt over medium heat, then add mushrooms, onions and peppers. Toss to coat. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook for 10  minutes or until the onions are tender.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Pour on beef broth. Stir in garlic and tomato paste. Add tomatoes, breaking them up. Add pepperoni. Blend in basil, oregano and rosemary. Return chicken and wine to the casserole and mix. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Stir in the parsley and cover the casserole. Place the covered casserole in a cool oven and set to 325 degrees. Bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Cook spaghetti and pour Chicken Cacciatore on top of spaghetti

Freeze leftovers! Still tastes great.

Another version of Chicken caccitorre (Click here for ingredients): 

A-Pizza-Teaser

This recipe is from: The Pampered Chef

1 (12 ounce) package refrigerated buttermilk flaky biscuits
Olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 cup tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 ounce (1/4 cup) fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Separate biscuits in half horizontally to form 20 biscuits. On 13-inch Round Baking Stone, arrange six biscuits, with edges touching, in circle. Arrange remaining biscuits, edges touching, in another circle around center ring of biscuits. Gently press biscuits together with fingers to seal, leaving outside edges scalloped for petal effect. Using Kitchen Spritzer, lightly spray biscuits with oil.

Using Garlic Press, press garlic over biscuits; spread evenly. Using Food Chopper, chop tomato, green pepper and onion; sprinkle evenly over biscuits along with oregano and basil. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until edges are golden brown; remove from oven. Using Deluxe Cheese Grater, immediately grate cheese over warm biscuits.

To serve, pull biscuits apart. 

Italian Herb Braid

INGREDIENTS:

6 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 envelope Fleishchmann’s quick rise yeast

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups water

½ cup milk

3 tablespoons shortening

1 tablespoon shortening, melted

1 tablespoon poppy seeds or additional dried herbs

DIRECTIONS:

Set aside 1 cup flour from total amount. 

In large bowl, combine remaining flour, sugar, salt, undissolved yeast, basil, oregano and thyme. 

Heat water, milk, and 3 tablespoons shortening until hot to touch, 125-130^oF.  Stir hot liquids into dry mixture.  Stir in enough reserved flour to make soft dough. 

Turn out onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. 

Cover; let rest 10 minutes.  Divide dough in half.  Divide one-half of dough into 3 equal pieces. 

Flatten each piece into a rectangle.  Roll each piece into a long strand the length of baking sheet, tapering the ends.  Place each strand on greased baking sheet and braid the 3 strands, pinching the tips of the braid together to seal.  Repeat with other half of dough. 

Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. 

Bake at 400^oF for 25 minutes or until done.  Brush with melted shortening; sprinkle with poppy seeds or dried herbs, if desired.  Remove from baking sheet; cool on wire racks.

Servings: 24; Yield: 2 braids; www.breadworld.com/index.html

Oatmeal Lunch Rolls

1 c. oatmeal                                                               1-1/2 t. salt

2 c. boiling water                                                      2 pkg. yeast

3 T butter                                                                   1/3 c. warm water

2/3 c. brown sugar, packed                                    5 c. flour

1 T white sugar

Bring water to a boil, remove from heat and add oatmeal, butter, brown sugar & salt.

Cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Add to oatmeal mix. Stir in flour & knead. Let rise until double in bulk. Shape into rolls and let rise again. 

Bake @ 350^o for 20-25 mins.

Tips on making bread with yeast:

White Chili (another recipe)

2 boxes Swanson's chicken broth  (I usually get the broth in the cans as it is cheaper;

       I think it is a total of 64 oz of broth--more or less is good too!)

1 jar salsa of your choice

2 cans Navy or Great Northern beans (I prefer the Great Northern)

Chicken, cooked, deboned, cut into chunks

     (I get the frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts when on sale to have available;

      I use a couple of those in this recipe)

Italian seasoning--I start with about 1/4 tsp. and add more if I think it needs it

Garlic salt--I also start with about 1/4 tsp and add more if I think it needs it

Combine in the crock pot and let blend together on low 4 or 5 hours.

Serve with sour cream or cheddar cheese on the side for your guests to stir in as they desire.

White Chili

In large pot or crockpot combine:

3 chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into small pieces

64 oz chicken broth (low sodium if using purchased broth)

16 oz jar mild salsa (or hotter if you prefer!)

2 cans great northern beans (or navy beans if you prefer)

¼ to ½ tsp Italian seasoning

¼ tsp garlic salt

(There is salt in the salsa so sample first before adding any additional salt according to your taste)

Bring to slow boil, then lower heat and let simmer for an hour or so to let the seasonings mature.  Stir occasionally.  If I use the crockpot, I bring it to a boil on the stove first, then transfer it to the crockpot, set at low.

Serve with sour cream and/or shredded cheddar cheese.

Crab Artichoke Dip

Private Selection, The Entertainer Crackers

Serve hot with an assortment of crackers.

Ingredients

14 ounces artichoke hearts, chopped

1 cup crab meat

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ cup Romano cheese, grated

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 garlic clove, minced

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

paprika, to taste

Directions

Rinse and drain artichoke hearts, then chop.  Mix with all of the other ingredients, blending well in a 1 ½ quart casserole dish.

Dust top with paprika.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.

Servings: 12

Nutrition Information:

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 161 Calories; 13g Fat (71.7% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 30mg Cholesterol: 224mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1Lean Meat; ½ Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 ½ Fat.

Here's another Artichoke Crab dip recipe from the Food Network:

Hot Fudge Sundae Pudding Cake

Cake:

1 c flour                                      

3/4 c white sugar

2 Tbsp cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c water 

2 Tbsp cooking oil

1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

1 c packed brown sugar

1/4 c cocoa

1 3/4 c hot water

In a bowl, mix together the dry cake ingredients.

Add the liquids and mix well.

Pour batter into an ungreased 9x9 cake pan.

In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar and the cocoa and sprinkle over the top of the cake batter.

Pour the hot water (not boiling - just hot from the tap) over the sugar mixture. DO NOT stir.  As this bakes, the batter rises to the top and the sauce will be on the bottom.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  Let stand for 15 minutes before serving with ice cream.

Easy Veggie Pizza

INGREDIENTS:

2 8-oz. cans Pillsbury^® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

½ c sour cream

1 tsp dried dill weed

1/8 tsp garlic powder

½ c small fresh broccoli florets

1/3 c quartered cucumber slices

1 plum (Roma) tomato, seeded, chopped

¼ c shredded carrot

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 375^oF. Separate cans of dough into 4 long rectangles.

In ungreased 15x10x1-in pan, place dough; press in bottom and up sides to form crust.

Bake 13-17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In small bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic powder until smooth. Spread over crust. Top with vegetables.

Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving. Cut into 16 squares; cut each square in half diagonally.

For the best results, keep the crescent roll dough in the refrigerator until you ready to use it.  Cold dough bakes the best!

Coconut Pound Cake

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

3 cups flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

1 cup coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon coconut extract

¼ cup confectioner’s sugar (as a garnish)

1 pint whipped cream, whipped

Fresh fruit (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Grease and flour a tube pan (angel food cake pan). Cram butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix flour, soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Stir in coconut, coconut extract, and vanilla. Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes in tube pan. Test at one hour and 10 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool in pan. Remove carefully to cake plate. Serve sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and a dollop of whipped cream! Add fresh fruit, such as peaches or strawberries, if you like.

Another variation. Click here for transcript:

Picnic attire

September 27th, 2012

Remember to chose your attire as if you were taking your husband out on a picnic.
Attractive yet modest enough to do what you need to do in making and serving a picnic basket.
Have fun!


Here's tons of recipes to stir your creative ideas for future picnics:
Taste of Home Picnic 
Get out and enjoy the fall weather with family and/or friends!

Poor Man's Pound Cake

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Cream eggs, margarine, and sugar together.
Add other ingredients to creamed mixture  and mix well.
Pour into greased and flour loaf pan
350 degrees Fahrenheit - 1 hour or until done.

Just add fruit, jam, and whip cream.

Here's another variation of homemade pound cake:

Meatballs

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs ground beef

1 lb ground sausage

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 grated carrot

1 egg

¾ c bread crumbs

1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 finely chopped onion

¼ c of ketchup or the spaghetti sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Mix well and roll into 2” meatballs

Place in 9x13 pan and bake @ 350^o for 30 mins or until done 


1) Pour sweet and sour sauce over them and serve them with toothpicks.

2) Add them to spagetthi sauce and pasta.

3) Make them in bulk. These freeze well. 

P.S. Same ingredients if add more bread and put into a loaf pan, can be made into a meatloaf!

Spaghetti Sauce

Just cook pasta and add spaghetti sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

1 jar Ragu Garden Vegetable or Chunky Tomato, Garlic & Onion

3 12-oz. cans tomato paste

2 14-1/2-oz. cans diced tomatoes with green pepper & onion

1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

2 chopped onions

2-3 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp oregano

1 Tbsp sweet basil

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1-1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together in crock pot or medium-size roaster, covered

Cook 4-5 hrs In oven; start @ 300^o for 1 hr; stir – turn down to 250^o

Stir every hour.

Sausage Snack Wraps

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury^® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

48 fully cooked small smoked sausage links

Ketchup, if desired

Prepared horseradish, if desired

Yellow mustard, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 375° F.

Separate dough into 16 triangles. Cut each triangle into thirds lengthwise.

Place sausage on shortest side of each triangle.

Roll up, starting at shortest side of triangle rolling to opposite point.

On ungreased cookie sheet, place roils point side down.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm with ketchup, horseradish and mustard.

Ham Rolls

INGREDIENTS:

3 sticks softened butter

1 Tbsp poppy seeds

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp regular yellow mustard

2 tsp minced onion

Rolls (purchased or make your own - see note)

Thinly sliced ham

Sliced Swiss cheese 

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the first 6 ingredients in a bowl.

Split the rolls in half and spread the butter mixture on both sides.

Layer each roll with the ham and cheese.

Replace tops, place on a cookie sheet and cover with foil.

Bake at 400^o for 10 - 15 minutes till warm.

Note - these rolls can be as large or small as you wish.  Kaiser or sandwich rolls make a "man size" sandwich while small rolls can be used for an appetizer.  I usually use a dinner roll size.

Left over seasoned butter may be frozen for future use.

Broccoli Salad

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups broccoli florets

8 slices crisp bacon – crumbled

¼ cup chopped onions

¼ cup raisins

¾ cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

¼ cup sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Mix broccoli, bacon, onion, and raisins.

In a separate bowl mix the dressing well: mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar.

Let sit for several hours; add dressing right before serving. 

White Chocolate Mousse Tarts

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (14oz.) sweetened condensed milk

6 squares (1 oz. each) white chocolate, chopped

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 cups whipping cream

2 packages Keebler Ready Crust Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crusts

Garnishing Optional: raspberries/blueberries/strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

1) Chill large mixing bowl and beaters of electric mixer

2) In medium saucepan combine sweetened condensed milk and chocolate. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

3) Meanwhile, in chilled bowl whipping cream on medium speed of electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Fold into chocolate mixture. Spoon into crusts. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or until set.

4) Garnish as desired (i.e. Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries...) Store in refrigerator.