Karin's Monday Munchies
FOOD!

I have some great recipe's I'd love to share.

The first is Corn Chowder.  My husband's boss was having a ''soup cook-off' and my husband told me I *had* to come up with something competitive.  Well, I have never done much with soups, but I knew the basics of chowder, so this is what I came up with.  I ended up tied for first place in the cook-off too!

 Corn Chowder
 
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 lb bacon - cut small, fried crisp
  • 3 small cans of chicken stock (or one large can)
  • 1 cup whipping cream (or half and half)
  • 1 bag frozen corn
  • 1 bag frozen hashbrowns (au gratin ones are best! they have small bits of peppers)
  • 1 cube melted butter mixed with 1 cup flour for thickener
  • plenty of fresh ground black pepper, and salt to taste
Instructions:
In a large pot, mix together bacon, chicken stock, cream, corn, and hashbrowns.  Bring to boil.  Slowly add the butter/flour mixture.  It will be in clumps at first, but will work it's way in as the chowder cooks. Season with salt/pepper (fresh ground pepper makes a HUGE difference - put lots!) Simmer for about 20 min. or longer stirring occasionally.  You can thin with milk if need be.


I am the queen of candy at Christmas time, so I thought I'd share some of my tried and true recipes that I make for gifts every year.

 Peppermint Patties
Ingredients:
  • 2 cubes butter/margarine, melted
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 T. Karo
  • 3 lb. + powdered sugar
  • 1 small bottle peppermint extract
Instructions:

Mix together melted butter, sweetened condensed milk, Karo, and extract in a large bowl.  You will be able to mix in the first 2 - 2 1/2 lbs with a mixer, but will need to fold in the last bit by hand.  You want to mix it until it's thick thick - about to the point where you can't fold anymore powdered sugar in anymore.  On a lined cookie sheet, place approx 3/4"-1'' balls of the dough and flatten to about 1/4" thick.  Place in freezer.  While those are freezing, melt together 3 bags of chocolate chips and 1/4c. paraffin in a double boiler.  The paraffin is located in the canning isle of your grocery store.  It makes the dipping easier because it thins the consistency of the chocolate, but also leaves a nice sheen on the candy when it's cooled.  Once the chocolate/paraffin is melted, dip each of the flattened balls in the chocolate and place on foil lined cookie sheets.  It will set up pretty quick if you are quick in your dipping and don't allow the candy center to thaw out too much.  I use small baby spoon to do my dipping - a fork works well too.  These taste a lot like (shhhh) York Peppermint Patties.  Eat them room temp, refrigerated, or frozen.  Any way is yummy.  Variations:  use a bottle of cherry extract and a half bottle of almond extract for cherry patties - yum!  You can make them similar to ''mountain bars'' if you add finely chopped nuts to the melted chocolate  :)

 Easy Almond Roca

Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup real butter
  • 1 c. packed brown sugar
  • 3/4c chopped almonds
  • 1 c. choc chips
Instructions:

In 2 qt. glass microwavable bowl, melt butter and brown sugar together on high for 1 min.  Whisk together well.  Microwave on High for 4 min.  Wisk VERY well with half the almonds.  The butter ''breaks'' at this point and the oils are separated.  Mix it until the oils are re-incorporated.  Microwave on High for 3 more minutes.  Pour onto a foil lined and buttered cookie sheet.  Spread out carefully  - doesn't have to be pretty.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.  Wait for a few min for them to melt (color changes as they melt).  When they are melted, spread them carefully and then sprinkle on remaining almonds.  SO easy and so tasty.  If you find that the 'roca' part is grainy and not very crunchy, then you need to up your cooking time by maybe a minute or so in second half of cooking.


Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients and instructions:
  • 3/4c. margarine
  • 1 1/2c. peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
  • (melt together in large pot on low heat)
  • Take off heat and add 1 lb. powdered sugar
  • Roll into small balls (like 3/4"-1")
  • Dip in melted chocolate (same as for peppermint patties).
  • A favorite of the kids in my family, especially those that are addicted to Reese's  :)

And, finally, my FAVORITE salsa.  Fresh salsa blows away store-bought salsa anyday.

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:
  • 6 pieces of fruit (tomatoes, mango's, peaches - any variation of those 3 work best, I usually do 4 peaches and 2 mangos myself) Chopped coarse
  • 1 clump fresh cilantro, chopped fine, remove most of stems
  • 6 small jalapeno's (remember with jalapeno's, the more then look like the color of a green pepper, the mellower they are usually - the ''ugly'' ones tend to be hotter) Seeded and chopped very small
  • 6 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2c red onion, chopped fine
  • juice from one lime
  • 1/4c. sugar (unless you use only tomatoes, then omit this)
  • fresh black pepper and salt to taste.
Instructions:

mix together - adjust sugar and salt/pepper to your liking.  Better if it has a couple hours to sit in the refrigerator and have flavors mingle with each other  :)   Will get ''juicier'' as it sits.  Excellent with corn chips, on taco's or even with a fish dish.  YUM.

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