Blackberry Bread Pudding

Recipe From: The Sister's Cafe

YUMMY! Really, really yummy! I used blackberries instead of raspberries and half&half instead of cream and halved the recipe. The below makes an 8x8 pan.

Cream Mix

1/2 - 3/4 loaf of white bread (the cheap stuff)

1/2 quart half and half

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

In large bowl combine cream, sugar, egg and vanilla. Cut bread into 1 1/2" cubes and add to cream mixture, coating bread well. Let stand 30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes to allow cream to absorb completely.

Fruit Filling
1 1/2 cups frozen blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup apple juice

Combine raspberries, sugar and apple juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Layer an 8x8 baking dish 3/4 full with bread mixture, pour fruit filling over bread mixture, spreading evenly, top with remaining bread. Bake 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve warm. Top with vanilla sauce.

Vanilla Sauce
2/3 cup butter

2 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups half and half
1 tsp vanilla

half of 1/3 cup sugar

Over medium heat melt butter, and add flour stir 10 minutes until it has a nutty aroma, do not brown. Add cream and sugar and boil till mixture is thick, remove from heat adding vanilla. Serve this wonderful sauce cold.

Spicy Orange Beef & Broccoli

Recipe From: Argo Cornstarch Cookbook

I doubled the sauce recipe to have extra.

Ingredients:

12 oz flank or sirloin steak (pound to tenderize and cut across grain into thin strips)
grated peel of 1 orange (about 2 tsp)
1 tbsp fresh ginger (grated)
5 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp orange juice (doubled to 6 tbsp)
2 tbsp soy sauce (doubled to 4 tbsp)
1 tsp beef bouillon granules (doubled to 2 tsp)
1 tbsp sugar (doubled to 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup water (doubled to 1 cup)
2 tbsp oil
broccoli
peppers (optional, cut into strips)

Toss steak with orange peel, ginger and 1 tbsp corn starch in a medium bowl to coat; set aside. Stir orange juice, soy sauce, bouillon, sugar, crushed red pepper, water and 4 tbsp corn starch in a small bowl until blended. Heat oil in a skillet. Add beef and stir-fry until nearly cooked. Add broccoli and peppers and continue cooking until tender. Stir soy sauce mixture until blended and pout into skillet. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil for 1 minute. Serve over rice.

Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas

Recipe From: Jasmin Adams
I loved these! Not so much an enchilada, but for me...the perfect bite burrito.

Ingredients:
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 cups chicken breast (cooked and shredded)
8 oz pepper-jack cheese (shredded)
2 cups white or brown rice (cooked)
10 flour tortillas
1 red onion (chopped)
28 oz medium green chile enchilada sauce

Note: this is more of an ingredient list with approximations of amount than an exact recipe; how much you need will vary by how much of each ingredient you use in each tortilla. You can sprinkle any extra cheese and onions on top. Or if I use too much cheese in each, I add some cheddar cheese or a jack cheese blend on top.

Preheat oven to 350. Layer rice, beans, chicken, onions and cheese in each tortilla and roll. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas. Bake at least 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. In my opinion, the longer the better because the onions get tastier the longer they cook.

To make this dish more kid-friendly (less spicy), use mild enchilada sauce and jack cheese.

Cranberry Pot Roast

Recipe From: Dieters Cook Book

This was so delicious! I made it in the crock pot vs the oven.

Ingredients:
2 lb beef roast
1 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 tsp dried thyme (crushed)
1 onion (thickly sliced) or 16oz pkg frozen small whole onions
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 cups fresh cranberries
3 tbsp cold water
2 tbsp cornstarch

Place meat in a crock pot and pour cranberry juice cocktail and beef broth over. Add the thyme. Cook on low for a few hours. Stir onions and brown sugar in the juices and cook for another couple of hours until meat and onions are tender. Transfer the meat to a platter and cover to keep warm. Measure 2 cups liquid into a saucepan and add the cooked onions and cranberries. Bring to a boil. Stir together cold water and cornstarch and stir into mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Pour over meat.

Pasta with Rosemary Shrimp Scampi

Recipe From: Martha Stewart
Easy and good flavors.

Ingredients
Coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces spaghetti noodles
1 lb large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tbsp fresh rosemary (coarsely chopped)
1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente; reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Add shrimp to a hot skillet with cooling oil. Cook, remove and set aside. In same skillet, heat more oil and add garlic, rosemary, and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until garlic is golden. Remove from heat; return pasta and shrimp to skillet. Add lemon juice and enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Chocolate Swirl Cookies

Recipe From: Kristin Knies

Last year for Christmas, the Knies gave us a cookie jar of ingredients. I completely forgot about it until this year! We made them yesterday and loved them. They taste like brownie bites! Yummy!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup evaporate cane juice (sugar)
3/4 cup swirled chocolate chips
3/4 cup butter (melted and cooled)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl combine melted and cooled butter with 3 eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in contents of jar (dry ingredients). Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 13-14 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute before transfer to wire rack.

Szechwan Chicken & Shrimp

Recipe From: Argo Cornstarch Cookbook

We used a bunch of different colored peppers...really good!

Ingredients:
8 oz chicken (cut into strips)
8 oz large, raw shrimp (peeled & deveined)
2 tbsp cornstarch (divided)
1 tbsp ginger (minced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp corn oil
1-3 green, red, orange or yellow bell peppers (cut into thin strips)
1/2 cup peanuts

Toss chicken and shrimp in medium bowl with 1 tbsp cornstarch, ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper. Coat lightly and set aside. Mix chicken broth, vinegar, oyster sauce, sugar and remaining 1 tbsp cornstarch in a small bowl, set aside. Heat oil in skillet. Add chicken and shrimp mixture and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Add pepper strips and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add peanuts and stir-fry 1 minute. Stir chicken broth mixture until blended, then pour into skillet. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil for 1 minute. Serve with rice.