Ring-A-Lings

I bought some old Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe booklets that someone donated to the library. This recipe is the grand prize winner from the 1955 Bake-Off!

2 Tbls. yeast (or 2 packets)
1/4 cup very warm water with a sprinkle of sugar
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. finely grated orange rind
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in very warm water with a sprinkle of sugar, let it rise at least 5 minutes. Heat the milk and butter enough to melt the butter, cool to lukewarm. Add milk/butter mix, eggs, salt and orange rind to yeast. Add flour and mix until dough pulls away from side of bowl. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare Nut Filling.
Roll out dough to a 22X12 inch rectangle on floured board. Spread half of dough along 22-inch side with Filling. Fold un-covered dough over filling.
Cut into 1-inch strips. Twist each strip 4 or 5 times. Then hold one end down on greased baking sheet for center of roll; curl strip around center, tucking other end under. Cover with waxed paper or towel. Let rise in warm place until light and doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.
Bake at 375 for 10 minutes then remove rolls and brush with glaze; return to oven for 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet immediately. Makes 18 rolls.

Nut Filling:
1/3 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup ground or very finely chopped pecans (or hazelnuts or filberts)

Cream butter then add powdered sugar and thoroughly mix. Add the nuts and mix well.

Glaze:
1/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbls. sugar
Mix well.

It is helpful to have a 4 year old do the chopping for you.

And he is also good for mixing the filling together.

My rectangle is not very square.

With the filling covering half the dough.

Cut into 1 inch strips.

Twist each strip

then curve around to make round roll.

Scoop up spilled filling and sprinkle over rolls before baking.

Add glaze after 10 minutes of baking. Ask Becky to take picture right side up next time.

Finished Ring-A-Lings!

Turkey Philly Sandwiches

These are super easy and delish.  I just noticed that it suggests adding sliced mushrooms to the pan with the onion and pepper.  Never tried that yet, but it might be worth giving it a go.  Unless your are Mom, then don't even think about ruining your onions and peppers that way!

Turkey Philly Sandwiches

1 T. butter
1 c. thinly sliced onion
1 c. thinly sliced green bell pepper
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. black pepper
3/4 lb. thinly sliced deli turkey
4 sandwich rolls
4 slices provolone or mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375.  Melt butter in a large skillet over med-high heat.  Add onion and bell pepper; saute 5 minutes or until tender.  Stir in black pepper.
Divide onion mixture and turkey evenly among the bottom halves of rolls; top each servng with 1 cheese slice.  Cover with top halves of rolls.
Place sandwiches on a baking sheet.  Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

From Cooking Light Magazine, Jan/Feb 2003.

Easy Turkey Tetrazzini

I usually make this with chicken, not turkey.  I also usually put half of it in a freezer bag (before it's cooked and minus the bread crumb topping) to freeze for a later meal.  The rest fits in a square pan for a smaller meal.

Turkey Tetrazzini
10 oz. uncooked spaghetti
1-2 c. cooked chicken or turkey, shredded or cubed
3/4 tsp. onion powder, (divided if using fresh mushrooms)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 pkg (8 oz) sliced mushrooms, or 1 small can
3/4 c. frozen green peas
3/4 c. milk
2/3 c. sour cream
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 c. dry bread crumbs
2 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375.  Cook the pasta.  Meanwhile, if you are using fresh mushrooms, combine the mushrooms with 2 T. of water and 1/4 tsp. onion powder in a skillet.  Cover and cook about 4 minutes or until tender.  Drain the pasta.
Combine all the ingredients, except for the bread crumbs and butter; mix well.  Place in a greased 9x13 pan.  Combine the bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle over the pasta.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and heated through.

This is adapted from Cooking Light Magazine, Jan/Feb 2003.

Excellent Fish Coating

I'm trying to clean out my binder of recipes I've gathered and typing up ones that were on magazine pages, etc. So I figured I'd post some of them on the blog too.  Be careful not to add too much garlic salt in this recipe or it gets way to salty.

Excellent Fish Coating
2 T. oil
2 T. water
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
Italian bread crumbs (maybe 1/2 c.)
Garlic salt, to taste
Fish fillets (Tilapia, Cod, whatever you want, but maybe not salmon)

Mix oil, water and dressing mix.  Combine bread crumbs and garlic salt in another bowl.  Dip fish in dressing mix and then in bread crumbs.  Fry in oil on the stove or bake on a greased baking sheet at 425 until done (10-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish).

Mango Salsa

We had this yummy salsa over some tilapia for dinner the other night, although the recipe originally called for salmon. It would be good over chicken, too, or any other mild fish. And I didn't use red onion in it, I just put some dried minced onion in, instead. And the recipe also said it serves 2, but this easily made enough for 4.

Mango Salsa

1 lime
1/8 C. olive oil
1 fresh mango, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 jalapeno peppers
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 C. diced red onion*
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut lime in half and squeeze juice from both halves into medium-size mixing bowl. Whisk in the oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and gently toss until well mixed. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve over grilled or baked fish (or chicken). Can be made one day ahead. Serves 4.

slightly modified recipe from the Denver Post.

Banana Cream Cheesecake

Ok, this isn't a real-deal cheesecake, but I was afraid to attempt one of those since my oven can't even cook a quiche all the way through. It really is absolutely delish though!

Banana Cream Cheesecake

Ingredients
1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted (may need to add a bit more)

Filling:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
3 to 4 medium firm bananas, sliced
1-3/4 cups cold milk
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant banana cream pudding mix

Directions
In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Set aside 1/2 cup for topping (optional). Press remaining crumb mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan or 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 5-7 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in 2 cups whipped topping. Arrange half of the banana slices on crust; top with half of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers.
In a small bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in remaining whipped topping. Pour over the cream cheese layer. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until set. Yield: 10 servings.

From tasteofhome.com

Slow Cooker Barbecued Beans

Slow Cooker Barbecued Beans

1/2 lb bacon, cooked, crumbled
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup mild flavor (light) molasses
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon onion powder, heaping
2 cans (15.5 oz each) great northern beans, drained, rinsed
2 cans (15.5 oz each) black beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved

In 3 1/2 to 4 quart crock pot, mix all ingredients, including reserved liquid. Cover, cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.

These beans are super tastey and just the right mix of sweet and tangy!

From Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2010

North Carolina Pulled Pork

North Carolina Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 lbs pork butt roast
1 cup cider vinegar
1 1/3 cups water
5/8 cup ketchup
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons liquid smoke

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix paprika, brown sugar, celery salt, garlic salt, dry mustard, ground black pepper, onion powder, and salt. Rub spice mixture into the roast on all sides. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together cider vingear, water, ketchup, brown sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, white pepper and liquid smoke. Continue whisking until brown sugar and salt have dissolved. Place shredded pork and 1/2 to 3/4 of the vinegar sauce in a large crock pot, coat pork. Cook on high for 5 hours and low for 2. Reserve the rest of the sauce in refrigerator.

3. Once pork is done, shred and remove fat. Drain the fat from the sauce that was in the crock pot. Place shredded pork back in crock pot with rest of sauce and heat through.

**Can be served alone or with bbq sauce on top.

I made this for Jeremy and he loved it! It looks like a lot of work, but really it's pretty fast and pretty easy. Also, I only used 4 lbs of pork but I didn't cut the rest of the recipe in half and it worked out well. I did have a bit too much of the sauce, though, so you might try leaving the dry rub as is and then cutting the sauce down.

White Chicken Chili

I tried this because it uses dried beans and I'm always glad to have another recipe to use food storage items. And because Dad knows that when Carrie moves away we'll be eating crock pot dinners for the rest of our lives :D The sour cream and chopped avocado really made it yummy.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 cup dried great northern beans, sorted, rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 - 1 tsp. salt
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
5 cups hot water
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chile's
Sour cream, if desired
Chopped avocado, if desired

In 3 1/2 - 4-quart slow cooker, combine chicken, beans, onion, garlic, oregano, salt, soup and water; mix well. cover; cook on Low setting for 9-10 hours.
Just before serving , stir in cumin, hot pepper sauce and chile's into chili. If desired, serve with additional hot pepper sauce. Top with sour cream and chopped avocado.

You can use frozen chicken breasts, just cut up the meat before serving. Or you can use boneless chicken thigh's instead of the chicken breast.

Recipe from a 2004 Pillsbury magazine.

Peppermint Meltaways

Another late post. I made these at Christmas time and they were delish. But be careful....they'relight and tasty, and it's easy to just keep eating them. : )

Peppermint Meltaways

1 C. butter, softened
1/2 C. confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. cornstarch

Frosting:
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 C. confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
2 to 3 drops red food coloring, optional
1/2 C. crushed peppermint candies



Ina small bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the extract. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. remove to wire racks to cool.
In a small bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk, extract and food coloring, if using; beat until smooth. Spread over cooled cookies; sprinkle with crushed candies, gently pressing candies into frosting. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 3-1/2 doz. cookies

From: Taste of Home Christmas Cookies & Candies cook booklet

"Healthified Creamed Corn

This recipe is tasty and easy. The recipe called for "fat free" half & half but I thought that sounded weird, and I couldn't find it anyway, so I guess mine wasn't as "healthified". : ) And I left out the green onions because I forgot to buy them, but Jeff was o.k. with that. ha ha.

"Healthified" Creamed Corn

1 C. water
2 bags (12 oz. each) frozen corn niblets
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
4 oz Neufchatel (1/3 less fat cream cheese) cut into small cubes
1/4 C. half and half
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 medium green onions, sliced (2 Tablespoons)

In 3-quart saucepan, heat water to boiling. Add corn and bell pepper. Cover; reduce heat to medium. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Drain; return to saucepan.
Stir in all remaining ingredients except green onions. Cover; cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until heated and mixture is well blended. Spoon into serving dish; sprinkle with green onion.

From EatBetterAmerica.com

Toffee Dip with Apples

We had this at Enrichment night back in October and I've been meaning to post it. It's sooooo yummy.

Toffee Dip with Apples

3/4 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (8 oz.) brick cream cheese or 1/3 less fat cream cheese
3/4 C. toffee bits
1 C. pineapple juice
6 Red Delicious apples cored and cut into wedges
6 Granny Smith apples cored and cut into wedges

Combine first four ingredients in a bowl, and beat with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add toffee bits, and mix well. Cover and chill. Combine juice and apples in a bowl; toss well. Drain apples, serve with dip. Makes 2 cups

Cookbook Correction - Black Bean Enchiladas

I've meant to post this correction for a long time to the Black Bean Enchilada recipe in our cookbook (pg. 49) so here it is.

The recipe says to use 2 cans of refried black beans (or regular refried beans). I've never seen refried black beans but I've also never used regular refried beans in these enchiladas and I meant to put 2 cans of "regular black beans" as the substitute. Make sense?

So, what I do is use 2 cans of regular black beans. I drain some of the liquid off, keeping some - just to reach the consistency you want. Then use a potato masher (or fork) to mash up some (not all) of the beans. And proceed with the rest of the recipe.

If you haven't tried these b/c you've been unable to find refried black beans or you've been scared of regular refried bean enchiladas - give them a try with the black beans. Super easy and deeelish!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Oh yum. This is sooooo good! If you don't like super rich chocolate things, then don't make this. It called for bittersweet chocolate, but I had semi-sweet on hand, so that's what I used. But I didn't have enough semi-sweet squares, so I used 6 squares and 1 12-oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and it worked fine. I'm sure you could substitute milk chocolate for this if you wanted to. It's very dense and very rich and very delicious. I made a raspberry sauce to drizzle over it, but I didn't like the sauce....I should've used Carrie's raspberry sauce from this blog. Anyway, this is decadent. If you have a chocolate craving, this will take care of it. : )
It would also be yumalicious served with strawberries and whipped cream. Oh. Yum.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

1/2 C. water
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C. white sugar
18 (1 oz) squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 C. unsalted butter
6 eggs

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease one 10-inch round cake pan and set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave, according to package directions. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and carefully fill the larger pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the pan.
Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

From allrecipes.com (Flourless Chocolate Cake I)

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Yummy blueberry muffins that I made for Mia's b-day. So if you make these, you have to say it like she does. "Bulloo"berry....when you say "bulloo" you have to kind of flip your tongue out of your mouth and roll it at the same time. It's quite the feat. : )
I had some finely ground almonds from another recipe, so I used that in place of the slivered almonds, because if the boys saw anything resembling a nut on the muffins, they would not have tried them. Well, Tiernan still wouldn't try them, but Joshie did and he even told me that he liked it! I'm not sure I believe him though, as he only ate part of the muffin and then wanted to "save the rest for lunch", which is a classic avoidance method for Joshie. : )

Blueberry-Streusel Muffins

1/4 C. slivered almonds
1/4 C. firmly packed light brown sugar
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, divided
3 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1/4 C. uncooked regular oats
2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp grated lemon rind
3/4 C. buttermilk
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 C. fresh blueberries

Pulse almonds, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and butter 4 or 5 times in a food processor or until nuts are chopped and topping is crumbly. (Or chop nuts, then use a pastry blender to blend ingredients til crumbly.) Stir in oats; set aside.
Combine 2 cups flour and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
Whisk together buttermilk, oil, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.
Toss blueberries with remaining 1 tablespoon flour, and gently fold into batter.
Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin pans, filling three-fourths full; sprinkle batter evenly with crumble topping, gently pressing into batter.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 14 muffins.
Can freeze baked muffins up to 1 month.
Note - for well rounded muffins, a lumpy batter is desirable. Stir gently just until dry ingredients are moistened. A smooth batter is not essential here.

From Ultimate Southern Living cookbook

Eggnog-Poppy Seed Bread

So, I made this around Christmas time, and I'm just now getting around to posting it. I called the poppy seeds "sprinkles" because otherwise, as we all know, Joshie and Tiernan never would have tried it. Is that bad? Anyway, we all liked it....especially Joshie!

Eggnog-Poppy Seed Bread

2 1/2 C. all purpose flour
1 C. sugar
1/4 C. poppy seeds*
1 1/4 C. eggnog
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp grated orange peel
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of on 9x5-inch loaf pan or two 8x4-inch loaf pans with shortening or cooking spray.
In large bowl, stir together all ingredients; beat 30 seconds with spoon. Pour into pans.
Bake 9-inch loaf 55 to 6 minutes, 8-inch loaves 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour, before slicing. Wrap in plastic wrap and store i refrigerator up to 1 week.

*I used less than 1/4 C. of poppy seeds because that sounded like way too much.

From BettyCrocker.com

Wheat Berry Breakfast Bowl

So, I stumbled upon the webiste where I got this recipe and I really like it.  The lady who writes it is vegetarian and so she has some great recipes for that type of thing, which I like because I don't always want to have meat.  I think that vegetarian cookbooks, etc. are a great resource for some of the food that we store (beans, grains, etc) because they actually like to eat that sort of thing, so their recipes actually taste good, unlike many of the yucky wheat ones that make their way around the LDS culture!  You can leave the cranberries out if you want or buy a bag and keep it in the freezer to use bits here and there. 

Wheat Berry Breakfast Bowl
1 c. Greek yogurt (or regular vanilla - Greek is very thick)
1/4 c. maple syrup

Scant T. of olive oil
Scant T. of butter
2 firm pears, cored and chopped into 1/4-inch THIN bite-sized pieces
1/2 c. fresh cranberries
3 c. cooked wheat berries* (or oat groats, barley, or any plump whole grain)
1/2 c. toasted pecans
1/2 c. assorted dried fruits, optional (I've never used these)

Whisk the yogurt and syrup together and set aside.

In a large skillet over med-high heat, saute the pear slices in the oil and butter for about 5 minutes, or until the get a bit golden. Keep an eye on them though, because they can burn in a flash.  Toward the very end, stir in the cranberries and cook far another minute or so - just until the cranberries soften up a bit and a few of them begin to split open.  Add the wheat beries to the skillet and toss gently.

Turn out onto a platter or into individual bowls.  Ladle generous amounts of maple yogurt over the top and sprinkle with pecans and dried fruit.  Serve with more maple syrup on the side if you prefer more sweetness. Serves 4-6

*To cook wheat berries: Combine 2 c. wheat berries, 6 c. water and 2 tsp. salt in a large saucepan over med-high heat.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, until plump and chewy (and after a few of th berries have split open), about an hour or so.  The berries will stay al dente, and the only way to tell if they're done is to taste a few - they have a chewy texture.  Drain and set aside. 
(I do this the night before and store them in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for longer).

From http://www.101cookbooks.com/

Lentils and Rice

Have you ever tried lentils?  I never had until I tried these recipes.  I think they're really good.  The texture and flavor kind of remind me of pinto beans.  I found these on a site my friend recommended (you'll love this) -  http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/!  Isn't that a hilarious name?  Anyway, it's a site that makes me chuckle with that hillybilly, down home style built right in.  It does however have some good ideas for food storage uses (beans, etc.)  We've liked several recipes we've tried from it.  Without further ado:

Homestyle Lentils and Rice
3/4 c. dry lentils
3/4 c. brown rice
4 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 T. dry minced onion
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. basil
4 - 4 1/2 c. water**
2 T. oil or other fat
Shredded cheese, optional

In a 2-qt saucepan, bring the water and oil to a boil.  As the water is heating, add the remaining ingredients, other than the cheese.  Bring the whole thing to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low; cover and allow to simmer for about 45-50 minutes.  The water should be mostly absorbed.  If desired, serve topped with cheese.

**My rice seems to need a little more than what most recipes call for so I use an extra 1/2 c. - don't know about yours.
Also, I always cook this in my rice cooker and it works great - just dump it all in!  The website also says you can cook in it a crockpot for 6-8 hours on low.


Taco Style Lentils and Rice
3/4 c. dry lentils
3/4 c. brown rice
4 - 4 1/2 c. water
4 tsp. beef bouillon
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Shredded cheddar

In a 2-qt saucepan, bring the water and oil to a boil. As the water is heating, add the remaining ingredients, other than the cheese. Bring the whole thing to a boil. Reduce the heat to low; cover and allow to simmer for about 45-50 minutes. The water should be mostly absorbed. If desired, serve topped with cheese.
*We really like to use it as a burrito filling.

Slow-Cooked Fruit Salad

This is so delicious.  The name seems a bit ridiculous because I have a hard time thinking of a hot salad.  I'll call it stewed fruit instead.  If you have home canned fuit (especially the peaches) it makes this about a thousand times better than store bought!

Stewed Fruit
1/2 - 3/4 c. sugar (really depends on personal preference)
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cans sliced peaches, drained
2 cans sliced pairs (it said undrained, but I drain mine because I think it's too runny otherwise - your choice)
1 jar (23 oz) applesauce, chunky or smooth
1/2 c. dried apricots, chopped
1/4 c. dried cranberries

In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the sugar, butter, spices and salt.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or until heated through.  Yield: 10 servings

From Best of Country Slow Cooker Recipes Vol. 2

Cinnamon Milk Mix

I meant to put this recipe in the cookbook years ago and never did.  This is a great way to use powdered milk!  And it's really yummy!

Cinnamon Milk
1 c. sugar
2 c. powdered milk
1 c. non-dairy creamer
1 T. cinnamon

Mix together in bowl or jar and store until ready to use.

Add 1/3 c. of dry mix to 1 mug of hot water.  Stir in a few drops (about 1/8 tsp) of vanilla.

Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

2-pound head of cauliflower

4 large green onions, chopped (or ¼ tsp onion powder)

6 chicken bouillon cubes

6 cups water

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup evaporated milk

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon parsley, dried

1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Chop cauliflower into bite-size pieces. In large pot add cauliflower, water, bouillon and onions and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, cream and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil and thicken with cornstarch (mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water first to make a paste). Add parsley. Boil about 1 minute. If desired, use a hand mixer on high to blend the soup. Lower heat and add shredded cheese. Stir until melted.

This soup tastes a lot like the cauliflower soup from Cafe Zupas (I think it's only in Utah) and it is super delicious!