Mini-Ham and Cheese Pies

Submitted by Marnie Ellis

1 cup ham, chopped fine
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 8oz pkg crescent rolls
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

In bow, mix ham, onion, mustard, and egg. Mix well unroll crescent dough and press into one large rectangle. Cut into 24 squares, fold each square into quarters, and press dough into a lightly oiled mini-muffing pan with a floured dowel end. Spoon filling inot shells and bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes.

Cheese Ball

Submitted by JoDee Leahy

Mix together with hands:

2 8 oz pkg of cream cheese
1 lb grated cheddar cheese
1 jar cheese spread with pimento
1 small can deviled ham
1 Tbsp minced onion
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Form into 2 medium balls. Roll into crushed walnuts until it is completely coated. Refrigerate.

'Tis the "C"-son Celery Sticks

Submitted by Nicole Sizemore

Celery
Cream cheese
Craisins
Cinnamon

Mix as much cinnamon as you like in your softened cream cheese. Spread cream cheese mixture on celery & cover with craisins. Enjoy this Holiday version of ants on a log!

Halloween Foods Cooking Club

We had a great time sampling all these great & creative Halloween treat ideas; and of course just getting together to enjoy each other's company! Sorry, everyone, these did not get posted before Halloween, but then again, who says we can only enjoy these treats in October? Have fun and enjoy the following recipes!

Colored Popcorn Balls

Submitted by Heather Sheehan

Official recipe pending...

Basic idea: Pop popcorn of choice. Melt marshmallows and butter together in a "rice krispy" style way. Add a packet of jello (color and flavor of choice: orange used here for Halloween). Pour over popcorn and with buttered hands, form into balls, and allow to cool.

Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispy Eyeballs

Submitted by Janet Schlosser

Box of Rice Krispies
Bag of marshmallows
Block of butter
White chocolate chips/block for melting
Red chocolate chips/block for melting
Brown M&Ms/Cocoa Puffs/Other small round dark candy for pupil of eye

Make rice krispy treat according to recipe on box. Butter hands and form into small balls, instead of pressing into a pan.

In a double broiler, melt the white chocolate. Dip the krispy balls in the white chocolate and set on sheet of wax paper to cool/harden. Melt the red chocolate and drizzle over eye balls using a pastry bag or sandwhich bag with a tiny corner clipped out. Add the pupil candy to top.

Halloween/Fall Rice Krispy Treats

Submitted by Nicole Sizemore

Box of Rice Krispies
Bag of marshmallows
Block of butter
Reeses Pieces

Make rice krispy treats according to recipe on the box. Add Reeses Pieces at the same time as the rice krispies to make them fall/Halloween colored. Enjoy!

Fun & Icky Halloween Snack Ideas

Submitted by JoDee Leahy

Finger Dogs

Slice 3 cuts for each knuckle, and shave off the tip for the nail. Broil in the oven until hot, toasted, and all cuts bulge. Serve with sourkraut (brains) and catchup (blood).

Lunch Meat Skull (not for the squeemish)

Wash a plastic skull decoration really well. Cut a dime sized hole into the center of the eyes.

Use very thin sliced lunchmeat of choice to cover the skull with meat. Tip: Be patient and apply meat one slice at a time, overlapping in a patchwork fashion. It will stick better to the skull this way. Insert a stuffed green olive into each eye hole (pimiento pointing out) for the eyes.

At this point you can cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate till later or serve immediately. Serve with crackers cheese and a relish dish.

Ghoul Aid (from recipezaar.com)

Submitted by Sarah Terry

Ingredients
1 package grape kool-aid
1 package orange kool-aid
3 quarts cold water
2 cups sugar

1 (1 liter) bottle ginger ale

Directions
1Mix all together, will be dark brown, black in color.
2Refrigerate.

Crescent Mummy Dogs (from allrecipes.com)

Submitted by Sarah Terry (Sarah used refrigerated biscuit dough so that they would be less "poofy". They were quite tasty!)

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) can Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations™ refrigerated flaky dough sheet
2 1/2 slices American cheese slices, quartered
10 large hot dogs
Cooking spray
Mustard or ketchup, if desired

Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Crescent Rolls: Unroll dough; separate at perforations creating 4 rectangles; press perforations to seal. Recipe Creations: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles.
With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each rectangle lengthwise into 10 pieces, making a total of 40 pieces of dough. Slice cheese slices into quarters (1/2 slice cheese, cut in half).

Wrap 4 pieces of dough around each hot dog and 1/4 slice of cheese to look like "bandages," stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. About 1/2 inch from one end of each hot dog, separate "bandages" so hot dog shows through for "face." On ungreased large cookie sheet, place wrapped hot dogs (cheese side down); spray dough lightly with cooking spray.

Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. With mustard, draw features on 'face.'

Footnotes
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 15 to 19 minutes.

Snake Strombolli

submitted by Tricia Schroeder

1 refrigerated pizza crust, tube style
favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce
pizza toppings
shredded cheese
1 pepperoni or bell pepper strip for tongue
2 olives for eyes

Preheat oven to 425. Grease baking stone or cookie sheet. Divide pizza crust in half. Roll into rectangle, about 5" x 18". Place toppings, then sauce, then cheese on middle third. Fold sides over to enclose toppings. Roll over so seam is down and shape dough into snake. Taper one end for tail and shape opposite end for head. Using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut a strip of pepperoni or pepper into forked tongue shape. Insert into "mouth" and press dough to keep in place. Add olive slices or other leftover topping for eyes. Bake at 425 for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Pizza Bianca (The original from Cooks' Illustrated)

submitted by Julia Jutras

Serve the pizza by itself as a snack or with soup or salad for a light meal. Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter. Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick. This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

INGREDIENTS
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
1 2/3 cups water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (whole leaves)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3. Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4. One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

5. Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.

6. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes, sprinkling rosemary over top and rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Brush dough lightly with remaining tablespoon oil. Slice and serve immediately.

Harvest Recipes Group Meeting

The Harvest Recipes edition of the cooking club was a great hit! We met at Janet's house in September and enjoyed fantastic food and equally fantastic company! We had so much fun, I forgot my camera there, and hence, wasn't able to post these recipes forever. Thank you everyone for remembering to bring your written recipes that month!!

Sorry for the delay, but enjoy these recipes. They really are incredibly tasty!

Squash N' Cheese

Submitted by JoDee Leahy

1-2 zucchini
1-2 summer squash
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper

Shred squashes using a cheese grater into a large skillet. Cover skillet and cook/steam over medium heat until tender. Sprinkle cheese and salt & pepper over top to taste. Serve hot. (This dish recommended even by the most finicky eaters!)

Chicken Pot Pie

Submitted by Abigail Rich

3 whole chicken breasts
2 potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 package sliced mushrooms
2 yellow squash, diced
1/2 cup peas
2 cups chicken broth + 4 Tbsp
2 Tbsp flour
1 pkg ready-make pie crust (top & bottom)
1/2 tsp thyme, tarragon, and sage each

Preheat oven to 375. Cube chicken into 1 inch pieces and saute in olive oil with herbs. Add all vegetables except peas to pan. Add chicken broth. Simmer until potatoes are tender. Add peas. Mix flour with 4 Tbsp chicken broth and add to pan to thicken sauce. Pour into prepared pie dish. Cut vent holes in the top of the pie crust, and place pie dish on a baking pan before placing in oven. Bake for approx. 45 minutes until crust is golden. (be creative with the vegetables you use - sweet potatoes, zucchini, etc. are also delicious.) Enjoy!

Zucchini Fritters (from Cook's Illustrated)

Submitted by Julia Jutras

Makes 12 fritters, serving 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lbs zucchini (about 2 medium), trimmed
1 tsp table salt
8 oz feta cheese, crumbled (about 2 cups)
2 scallions, minced
2 Tbsp minced fresh dill
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tsp)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges (for serving)

Instructions:
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Following the illustration below, shred the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the shredding disk. Toss the shredded zucchini with the salt and let it drain in a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl for 10 minutes. Wrap the zucchini in paper towels and squeeze out the excess liquid. (Be sure to squeeze until it is completely dry, or the fritters will fall apart in the skillet. Don't let the squeeze-dried zucchini sit on its own for too long or it will brown.)

2. Combine the dried zucchini, feta, scallions, dill, eggs, garlic, and pepper together in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir until uniformly incorporated.

3. Heat 3 Tbsp of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Drop 2-Tbsp-sized portions of the batter into the pan, then use the back of a spoon to press the batter into 2-inch-wide fritters (you should fit about 6 fritters in the pan at a time.) Fry until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

4. Transfer the fritters to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Wipe the skillet clean with paper towels. Return the skillet to medium-high heat, add the remaining 3 Tbsp oil, and repeat with the remaining batter. Serve warm or at room temperature with the lemon wedges.

Pizza Bianca (adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

Submitted by Nicole Sizemore

3 cups all purpose flour
13-oz water, room temperature
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
3 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 tsp coarse/kosher salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, water, and salt. Mix together well until no streaks of flour remain, about 4-5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as you work. Let stand for 20 minutes to rest.

Once the mixture has rested, mix in yeast and sugar. Turn mixer to high and knead for 8-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and seems to pull towards the dough hook, rather than just reach for the sides of the bowl, as the mixer turns. Dough will immediately relax when mixer is turned off.

Pour dough into a large, lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 2-2 1/2 hours, until almost tripled in size.

Preheat oven to 450F

Pour 2 Tbsp of olive oil into a 13-17 inch sheet pan and spread evenly. Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Place parchment in pan. Turn over to coat both sides with olive oil and press into place.

Pour risen dough into pan. Pour remaining Tbsp of olive oil onto your hands or onto the top of the dough (I find that fingers are the easiest) and press the dough towards the sides of the pan and into the corners. Let dough rest for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown all over. Corners or edges may be darker, but should not be burnt.

Immediately remove bread from pan and place on a wire cooling rack. Enjoy warm, or when cooled. Serves 6-8

Note: If you wish to add cheese, add 1-1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese to the top of the pizza before baking.

Quick Coconut Pudding (Very Fresh Tasting)

Submitted by Shirley Parr

Pour 2 pkgs coconut cream instant pudding into 2 cans COLD coconut milk, plus enough cow's milk to equal 4 cups liquid into large mixer bowl. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes. Cover and place bowl of pudding in fridge for an hour to set pudding.

Pumpkin Tomato Soup

Submitted by Janet Schlosser

2 cans tomato soup - large
1 can pumpkin puree
6 carrots
1 onion
8 medium tomatoes
1 cup cream
1 Tbsp dill
salt & pepper to taste

Saute onions, chopped carrots, diced tomatoes in butter add herbs, salt & pepper until soft. Add to soup and pumpkin and heat through. Add cream and let simmer for an hour until ingredients meld together.

Zucchini Bread with Cranberries

Served at the provident living fair

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1 Tbsp oil
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cloves
1 egg

Heat oven to 400 degrees, spray muffin tins.

In large bowl, combine sugar, zucchini, milk,oil, and egg. Mix well

Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and dried cranberries.

Spoon into sprayed mini muffin tins.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Banana Muffins

1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup quick oats
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt

Mix butter, eggs, and sugar. Stir dry ingredients together. Mix all ingredients, put into muffin or loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour (loaf) 24 minutes for muffins.

Orange-Cranberry Mini Muffins

Served at the Provident Living Fair

1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 evaporated milk
1 tsp orange extract

Take cranberries and orange juice, out in bowl and microwave for 2 minutes to plump. Mix wet ingredients first, add salt, baking powder and fold in flour. Fold in Cranberries. Bake 375 for 15 mins... makes 40 mini muffins.

Granola

Served at the Provident Living Fair

6 cups oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar (or 3/4 cup of honey)
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup dry milk
1 cup raisins
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Mix together

Blend:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp maple extract
1 Tbsp salt

Mix the two blends together. Spread on cookie sheet and bake at 250 for 1 1/2 hours, stirring half way through. Occasionally stir until cool, then put into Tupperware container.

Sunday Brunch Casserole

Served at the Provident Living Fair

1 package sausage
1/2 cup onion chopped
1/2 cup green pepper
16 oz hash browns
1 cup shredded cheese
12 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dill

Brown sausage, stir in ionion and pepper. Beat eggs and milk, combine all ingredients and transfer to a greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes (until knife comes out clean).

Orange/Lemon Yogurt Muffins

Presented by Janet Schlosser at Provident Living Fair

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp finely shredded orange (lemon) peel
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1 8-oz orange (lemon) yogurt
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tsp orange (lemon) juice

In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, orange peel, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture.

In another bowl, mix egg, yogurt, oil, and vanilla. Add all at once to the dry mixture, until moistened. Will be lumpy.

Pour in tins, and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. (375 degrees for 15-17 minutes for mini muffins.)

Stir powdered sugar & orange juice to make glaze & drizzle on top.

Penne with Spinach Sauce

Presented by Janet Schlosser at the Provident Living Fair

Ingredients
1 lbs whole wheat or multi grain penne
3 garlic cloves
2 oz goat cheese
1 oz reduced fat cream cheese
3//4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 oz fresh baby spinach leaves
2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.

Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside.

Meanwhile, place the remaining spinach leaves in a large bowl.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Spoon the pasta atop the spinach leaves in the bowl. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.