Caramel Popcorn

Best caramel popcorn recipe. I'd have a picture but we ate it all before we could take one. This recipe makes quite a bit so be sure to share it with family or friends!

CARAMEL POPCORN

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup light corn syrup

pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot. Bring to a boil and cook until small ball stage.

Pour over 5-6 bags of popped popcorn. (Or just pop a whole bunch if you don't want to use the bag microwave popcorn. We popped our own and filled a huge bowl. I think it was about 2 1/2 cups unpopped popcorn. And it was just right)

Enjoy!

French Crepes with Strawberry-n-Cream filling

This recipe comes from the cookbook "Cooking for Two" by Debbie Harman.

FRENCH CREPES

2 eggs

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

Beat eggs. Melt butter in microwave. Stir milk, melted butter, vanilla, and salt into eggs. Add flour and beat until creamy. Heat and lightly butter or oil small skillet. Use a measuring cup to pour 1/4 cup of batter into skillet. Quickly swirl pan to spread batter. Cook until edges are brown. Flip crepe and cook other side. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and roll up.

STRAWBERRY AND CREME FILLING

4 oz. cream cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup strawberries

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

Slice strawberries and sprinkle with sugar. Meanwhile, beat softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until soft and creamy. Spread cheese mixture and fresh strawberries on crepes and roll up. Spread more strawberries on top and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

CRUNCHY CARAMEL APPLE PIE

1/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

5 1/2 cup peeled and thinly sliced apples

Pastry for one 9 inch pie.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Mix apples with mixture. Pour into pie crust. Combine crumb topping (listed below) and sprinkle over apples. Bake at 375 fro 20 to 30 mins. Then cover with foil and bake for another 20 mins, until apples are tender. Remove from over and sprinkle with 1/2 cup chopped pecans and drizzle with 1/3 cup butterscotch caramel ice cream sauce (Mrs. Richardson's is excellent)

Crumb topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup butter

Blend ingredients together with a pastry blender until crumbly.

Pomegranate Salsa

Photos courtesy of Russell Jack

This recipe comes from Gayle Broadhead. She brought it to work one day and it is AMAZING. This is definitely my kind of salsa.

POMEGRANATE SALSA

2-3 ripe avocados, coarsely chopped

1 tomato, chopped

4 tbsp. finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp cayenne (I used chili powder and it was good)

Seeds of one ripe pomegranate

Mix all ingredients together. Serve with large Fritos corn chips or tortilla chips (i love tortilla chips).

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Dip

Tis the season! This recipe comes from Kelsey's Kitchen that I got from a Relief Society Meeting my sophomore year at BYU.

PUMPKIN DIP

8 oz. cream cheese (room temp)

2 Cups powdered sugar

1-2 cups pumpkin puree (to taste. one recipe i have calls for 1, another calls for 2, so maybe 1 1/2 should be right?)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp orange extract (optional)

Chocolate chips (optional 1/2 to 1 cup)

Gingersnaps (or any other good dippers--pretzels, animal crackers, Nilla wafers, etc)

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar. Blend on medium speed until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree along with the cinnamon and orange extract. Blend until smooth and creamy. Stir in chocolate chips.

Place several gingersnap cookies in a plastic bag and crumble them using a rolling pin. Sprinkle the gingersnaps over the pumpkin dip. Serve with remaining dippers.

Enjoy!

Italian Style Cheese Fondue

I love Fondue. Love. It. The Melting Pot is amazing. But instead of spending a *cough* hundred bucks *cough* for every time I get a fondue craving, we have our own little fondue recipe we love that is super easy to make and you don't even need a fondue pot for--it's microwave cooked! I also purchased The Melting Pot cookbook so I might have to post some of their recipes from it too. But here is the Creer family fav cheese fondue recipe for your enjoyment!

ITALIAN STYLE CHEESE FONDUE

4 cups shredded cheese (we like 2 cups Italian cheese blend and 2 cups Colby Jack, but any kind works)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

4 tsp. cornstarch

1/4 cup margarine/butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 clove (or more to taste) garlic, minced

1 large car Italian style diced tomatoes

1 tsp dry basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/8t tsp pepper

In a small bowl, stir together cheeses and cornstarch. Set aside.

In a 3 quart casserole dish, microwave butter for 1 minute. Stir in onion and garlic. Microwave covered with wax paper for 3 minutes. Stir. Microwave (covered) for 3 more minutes. Stir in tomatoes and spices. Cover and microwave for 2 minutes or until steaming. Gradually* add cheese mixture. Stir until cheese is completely melted. Microwave covered for 2 minutes. Beat vigorously with a fork. Microwave uncovered for 4 minutes, beating after 2, or until fondue is thick and bubbly.

Serve with French bread cubes, carrots, zucchini, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, or even little chunks of cooked chicken or sausages.

To reheat, heat in microwave on 1/2 power, stirring every 30 seconds.

*It might be kinda annoying to gradually add the cheeses and stir until melted, but it makes the consistency so much better so I highly advise it! :)

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Bars

Photo courtesy of Russell Jack. These are my actual finished products.

This recipe comes from Jared's 9th grade foods class. I was impressed by it. :)

PEANUT BUTTER BARS

1 package semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups oats

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with peanut butter. Beat in sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add flour, soda, and salt. Add oats. Press about 3/4 of the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Spread melted chocolate chips over the top. Crumble remaining peanut butter mixture over the chocolate. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 mins.

Makes about 24.

Enjoy!