Peas and Prosciutto

This is a recipe from the Food Network show, "Everyday Italian," with Giada De Laurentis. I make it fairly often as my kids love green peas and so do I. Prosciutto is an Italian ham that you get at the deli counter. I use Boar's Head brand.




Peas and Prosciutto

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis


Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: Family Favorites

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Yield: 6 servings



2 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (1-pound) bag frozen peas, thawed
4 ounces (1/8-inch-thick slices) prosciutto, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots, garlic, salt, and pepper, and sauté until tender, about 1 minute. Add the peas and sauté until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the prosciutto and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the parsley and remove from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

Paula Deen's Lemon Blossoms

I've been making these for quite some time and Alyssa decided to start making them too.
She now calls this her" signature" dish because she loves making them so much.

Paula Deen's Lemon Blossoms

18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix

3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix

4 large eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Glaze:

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 lemon, zested

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a tea towel

To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.

With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

* the glaze seems to run out before the blossoms do so we make a double batch.

**it is hard to get the portions of raw dough right so that they don't bake out of the cups and overflow so I would fill the cups no more than halfway and even a third is good. Very small spoonfuls.

Hoecakes or Fried Cornbread

I saw this recipe for the first time in Southern Living Magazine sometime before 2004-05.
That led me to Paula Deen- my cooking HERO!!
Her restaurant was featured in that issue of Southern Living and the more I learned from her the more I wanted to learn.
I now own all of her cookbooks, her brother's and son's cookbooks and my first piece of her cookware.
This is the first Paula Deen recipe I ever made.

Hoecakes Recipe courtesy Paula Deen



1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup self-rising cornmeal, or from a mix (recommended: Aunt Jemima's)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup vegetable oil or bacon grease
Oil, butter, or clarified margarine, for frying

Mix well all ingredients, except for the frying oil. Heat the frying oil or butter in a medium or large skillet over medium heat. Drop the batter, by full tablespoons, into the hot skillet. Use about 2 tablespoons of batter per hoecake. Fry each hoecake until brown and crisp; turn each hoecake with a spatula, and then brown the other side. With a slotted spoon, remove each hoecake to drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Leftover batter will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 days.

*I always use bacon grease in my hoecakes.
**I fry in peanut oil and use a cast iron skillet.
***my hoecakes are thicker than Paula's. I drop one heaping spoonful of batter in the oil. My skillet holds 4 hoecakes at a time.

Paula Deen's Gorilla Bread

Everyone who has this
raves
over
it!

Gorilla Bread Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside.

Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan.

Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts.

Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.

Place a plate on top and invert.

*I always use Baker's Joy Flour non-stick spray.

Basic Cake Mix Cookies

Have always made these for my gift baskets (McNew Kitchen Creations)
and for school/youth group functions
and Christmas gifts.
The recipe comes from a cookbook entitled Cookery New Orleans Style that was a gift from my first husband.
That cookbook has some of the best recipes I have ever made in it.....

BASIC CAKE MIX COOKIES


1 Cake Mix (your choice)
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
½ C oil
1 C or more mix ins (nuts, chips, raisins etc)
2 Eggs, Beaten


Blend ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 min.

*I always use parchment paper on my cookie sheets. They never stick and cook evenly.

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

This recipe is from the butter flavored Crisco can, doubled. One batch never seemed to go far so I always doubled it....I was turned on to this recipe by my Mom, Linda Dukes. Sometime in the late 80's, early 1990's I believe......

She started making these as Christmas gifts in the 80's. They are unbelievably good and disappear fast at our house.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 ½ cups butter flavored Crisco
2 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
4 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 ½ cups self rising flour
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups coarsely chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts-optional)
**if nuts are omitted add 2 more cups of chocolate chips**

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cover cookie sheets in parchment paper

Combine Crisco, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed til well blended.

Add eggs and mix well.

Gradually add flour and mix well.

Stir in (by hand) the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for (Chewy Cookies) 8-10 minutes (Crispy Cookies) 11-13 minutes.

*Do not overbake*
**Bake only one cookie sheet at a time**

Cool on sheets 2 minutes and remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Butter Pecan Peach Schnapps Cake

**Alyssa requested this cake for her birthday. Had to make four to have enough for everyone....



For Monica and Hannah!

This recipe was given to me by a lady named Leah Reagan in late 1995 or so...She was a dear friend.....

Butter Pecan Peach Schnapps Cake


1 c. Pecan halves
1 (18 1/2 oz.) pkg. yellow cake mix
1 (3 3/4 oz.) pkg. instant French vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. Oil
1/2 c. Peach Schnapps

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 10 inch tube pan or 12 cup Bundt cake pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. Mix all ingredients together and pour over nuts. Bake 1 hour. While still in the pan prepare the glaze. Prick top. Drizzle smooth glaze evenly over top and down the inside of the pan sides right after the cake comes out of the oven. Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat until the entire batch of glaze is used. Cool, then invert onto a serving platter.

GLAZE:
1 stick butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. peach schnapps


Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in peach schnapps. Pour over cake while cake is still hot from the oven.


*I use Baker's Joy only to grease/flour all of my cake pans.

** ALWAYS use real butter, not margarine.

***this recipe can be divided and make 2 smaller Bundt cakes.

****I peel the bottom crust closest to the center of the pan off so that the glaze sinks in better.

Layered Mexican Dip!

Another favorite among friends and family.

This recipe was given to me by Jan Smith in the early 90's. It's been a hit every time I have ever made it.



Layered Mexican Dip


2 16 oz cans refried beans

3 ripe avocados
2 tsp lemon juice

8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 packet taco seasoning

1/4 C onion, chopped
3/4 C cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 small can sliced black olives
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Spread refried beans into a baking dish. Mash ripe avocados and mix with lemon juice. add salt and pepper to taste. Spread over beans. Mix may, sour cream and taco seasoning, spread over avocado. Sprinkle green chilies, then onions, then tomatoes then olives over sour cream. Top with shredded cheese.

Refrigerate til ready to serve.

My own tweaks to this recipe:

*I buy already prepared quacamole at the store and sub that for the avocadoes and lemon juice

*I double the sour cream/mayo mix. Never seems to be enough unless doubled.

I fry soft corn tortillas at home until crispy, shake fresh ground sea salt on them and use them with this dip. TO DIE FOR!!!

My Mom's Nanner Pudding!

Yes, this is the recipe for the most requested dessert I have ever made!

5 C. Milk

2 lg. boxes Vanilla Instant Pudding

2 lg containers of Cool Whip, thawed

1 Can Condensed Milk

1 large box Vanilla Wafers

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

5 bananas

**a VERY LARGE mixing bowl

**a VERY LARGE serving dish

Mix the pudding and milk in the mixing bowl for two minutes and set aside.

Pour and spread out all but 10 vanilla wafers in the bottom of the serving dish and slice all 5 bananas over them. Set aside.

To the pudding add the can of condensed milk and 1 tbsp vanill extract, mix well.

Mix in 1 container of thawed cool whip and pour over the wafers/banana mix.

Spread the last container of cool whip over the op of the pudding mix and crumble the reserved vanilla wafers over the top for decoration.

It is ready to eat at this point or keep in the fridge til ready to serve.

*Sometimes I make this and break it down into 3 smaller pans because it makes A LOT. In that case I put more bananas in each pan.