Cadbury Eggs

I don't like the Cadbury Eggs that you buy at the store, so I don't know how these compare. Shane says they're good, but not quite the same. I like these but they are sweet! They are a pain to make, so don't get in a hurry. Plan pleanty of time. And when you're using the frozen stuff, only use a little at a time, as it thaws VERY fast!! But they are lots of fun!!



INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Yellow food coloring
Chocolate candy melts or almond bark


DIRECTIONS
In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter, corn syrup and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat on medium low speed until well mixed.

Spoon about a third of the mixture into a separate bowl and color it with yellow food coloring. Refrigerate the white and yellow mixtures for at least an hour, for easier handling.

Roll the yellow mixture into balls and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes or so. Remove from freezer and cover with white candy and form into an egg shape. Freeze eggs for about 30 minutes.

Melt your candy melts or almond bark according to package directions. Place eggs in the chocolate and coat completely. Remove and place back on wax paper lined baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator until chocolate has set.

If you want these runny like traditional Cadbury Eggs, keep at room temperature. The candy mixture in the eggs softens very quickly.

Peanut Butter Eggs

These taste almost just like Reese's! I will make them again!!

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
2-1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
Pastel sprinkles


Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter; gradually add the confectioners' sugar, cracker crumbs, peanut butter and vanilla. Shape into 16 eggs; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip eggs in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Decorate with sprinkles; return eggs to waxed paper. Chill until set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Yield: 16 eggs.

Toffee

I don't like toffee, but my family really liked this and its really easy to make!

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 pound milk chocolate candy coating, melted

Directions
In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and vinegar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Cook without stirring until the temperature reaches 300° (hard-crack stage) on a candy thermometer. Do not overcook.
Remove from the heat and quickly stir in baking soda. Pour into a buttered 13-in. x 9-in. pan. Do not spread candy; mixture will not fill pan.
When cool, break into bite-size pieces. Dip into melted chocolate; place on waxed paper until the chocolate is firm. Store candy tightly covered. Yield: 1-1/2 pounds.

Angel Food Torte

First off, I am an newly recruited supporter of angel food cakes from scratch and will never go back! It tastes better and isn't as spongy. So I made my own cake. I used Betty Crocker's recipe and folded in shaved chocolate. I also used orange flavoring instead of almond, but I'm eager to try coconut. Then again, you could just use vanilla.

Ingredients
1-1/3 cups cold whole milk
1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 tsp. instant coffee granules (optional)
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped, divided
1 angel food cake mix (8 to 10 ounces)
2 Heath candy bars (1.4 ounces each), crushed

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the milk, pudding mix and coffee; beat on low speed for 2 minutes or until thickened. Fold in half of the whipped topping.
Cut cake in half horizontally; place the bottom layer on a serving plate. Spread with half of the pudding mixture. Top with remaining cake.
Fold remaining whipped cream into remaining pudding mixture; spread over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with crushed candy bars. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb

A side note, the sauce for this is REALLY strong, but it is really nice to dip the meat in!

At a traditional Greek Easter dinner, lamb is served medium to well done. If you like it rare, roast it for a shorter amount of time.

Ingredients
2 legs of lamb (9 pounds each), bone in, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium head garlic
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brandy
1 1/2 cups Homemade Chicken Stock Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat

Directions
1.Let lamb stand at room temperature for one hour. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove all but a thin layer of fat from the lamb. Rub lamb with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place on a rack in a heavy roasting pan.

2.Meanwhile, rub head of garlic with 1/4 teaspoon oil; wrap loosely in foil. Bake until garlic is very soft, about 1 hour. Let cool.

3.Cut off top of garlic head; squeeze roasted garlic into a bowl. Using a fork, mash garlic to a paste. Add extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, parsley, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; mix well.

4.Rotate pan after lamb has roasted 1 1/4 hours. After 30 minutes more, slather lamb with roasted-garlic paste. Roast an additional hour (for a total roasting time of about 2 3/4 hours), or until an instant-read thermometer inserted at the thickest part reads 160 degrees. Remove from oven, and let rest 20 minutes.

5.Transfer lamb to a carving board. Pour off fat from roasting pan; place over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with flour, and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour in brandy; scrape up brown bits from bottom of pan. Lower heat to medium; let liquid reduce by half. Add stock, stirring until incorporated. Add rosemary and salt and pepper to taste.

6.Slice lamb; serve with sauce on the side.

Twice Baked Potatos

Everyone has a twice baked potato recipe. This was really good!

Baked potatoes
Milk
Sour Cream
Chives
Salt & Pepper
Cheddar cheese
Goat cheese
Cream cheese
Bacon

Mash the potatos. Add everything else except bacon. Mix and stuff back into potatos. Topp with bacon. Bake at 400 until about 20 min. or until warm.

Fruit Salad

Use any combination of fruit you like with whipped cream. Here's what I did.

Strawberries
Raspberries
Bannana
Kiwi
Pineapple

Whipped Cream

Whip cream in a bowl. Gradually add powdered suger and 1/4- 1/2 tsp. vanilla until taste.

Fold fruit into whipped cream.

Butter Maple Carrots

I just kind of threw stuff together. So I really don't know the ratios. But I'll guess. (Believe it or not, Shane loves this and requested it!)

2 cups thin sliced carrots sticks
3 Tblsp. butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. parsley

Put butter and carrots in pan and salt and pepper. Cover and steam over medium heat. Stir occasionally so they don't burn. When softened but still firm, add everything else. Cover and simmer about 15-20 min. Serve hot.

Thai Wraps

Wonderful recipe from Leah's friend!  We made a half recipe tonight and have enough leftovers for two more dinners.  They're fairly spicy, but the sauce really mellows that out.  We'll surely be making these again!

Filling

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup white vinegar

6 Tablespoons sugar

6 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 cups chopped cilantro

4 Tablespoons salsa

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapeno chiles, minced

1 1/2-2 heads green cabbage, cubed

1-2 carrots, grated

6 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

8 green onions, chopped

Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce

1/3 cup white vinegar

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup green chiles

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

1. Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce together in a bowl. Stir in the salsa, garlic, jalapenos, and cilantro. Set aside. 

2. In a very large bowl, stir together the cabbage, carrots, chicken, and green onions. 

3. Pour the vinegar/cilantro mixture over these ingredients. Stir well and marinate in the fridge for a few hours. (The longer you marinate, the better.) 

4. For the dipping sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in the blender and puree until smooth. 

5. For the wraps, place a spoonful of filling in the middle of a wrap. Place any type of white cheese in the center (Leah and I omit this step). Tuck and roll. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes. Place wrap(s) on a baking sheet and toast on broil for about 1 minute, until lightly browned and toasty. Serve with dipping sauce. 

Mrs. Field's Triple Layer Lemon Bars

I love these! I had a friend over the other night who doesn't like traditional lemon bars (she doesn't like lemon)but loved these. She said they kind of taste like lemon cheesecake!


Yields: 12 servings

CRUST:
½ cup salted butter - (1 stick) softened
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon lemon extract
LEMON CURD:
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup water
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
¼ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons salted butter softened
TOPPING:
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325.

Prepare the shortbread crust: Cream butter and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer set on high speed. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour and mix at low speed until fully incorporated.

Press dough evenly into bottom of an 8- by 8-inch baking pan. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 30 minutes.

Prick shortbread crust with fork and bake for 30 minutes or until crust turns golden brown. Cool on rack to room temperature.

Prepare the cream cheese filling while the crust is baking: Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth in medium bowl with electric mixer set on high speed. Add egg and lemon extract and beat on medium speed until light and smooth. Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate.

Prepare the lemon curd: Blend the egg yolks with cornstarch and sugar in medium non-aluminum saucepan. Place over low heat and slowly whisk in water and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add lemon peel and butter and cool for 10 minutes.

Assemble the bars: Sread chilled cream cheese filling evenly over cooled shortbread crust with spatula. Spread lemon curd evenly over cream cheese filling. Place pan in center of oven. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until edges begin to turn light golden brown. Cool to room temperature on rack. Chill in refrigerator 1 hour before cutting into bars. Dust top with confectioners’ sugar.

This recipe yields 12 bars.