Overnight Rolls

For Brendan's Pack meeting he has to take a favorite treat and share the recipe. This month they are learning about nutrition and the food pyramid. He picked "Overnight Rolls" This recipe can be made at night before you go to bed and baked as soon as you get up for an easy quick breakfast.

Overnight Rolls
1 3 ounce package butterscotch pudding (cooking pudding, not instant)
1/2 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c nuts, optional
18-24 Rhodes frozen rolls

Grease Bundt pan. Place rolls loosely in pan, layering. Sprinkle with dry pudding. Dissolve sugar and butter, add nuts. Pour over rolls. cover with foil. Let sit on counter overnight. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes in the morning.

Chilled Strawberry Soup

4 cups fresh strawberries
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
12 sprigs fresh mint

Rinse strawberries with cool water to clean and then pat dry to absorb excess water. Remove strawberry stems and set aside 12 for later use.

In a large bowl, combine remaining strawberries, whipped topping, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and sugar. With an electric mixer, mix on low speed for 5 to 7 minutes or until sugar has dissolved completely and mixture is smooth. Add sour cream and mix 1 minute. Place in refrigerator to chill.

Serve soup in chilled bowls and garnish with whole strawberries and fresh mint sprigs.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

This is fantastically delicious, and a nice twist on pumpkin pie.

Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

(Or, use two prepared graham cracker pie crusts that you buy at the store).

Filling:
3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pumpkin (please use real pumpkin, even though this recipe calls for canned)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

For crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix crust ingredients together and blend well. Press evenly onto the bottom of a 10" springform pan (or deep pie plate). Bake 10 minutes. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

For filling:
Beat cream cheese with sugar and salt. Add 3 eggs and vanilla and beat. Pour 1/2 the batter into prepared crust. Stir pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and 1 egg into remaining batter. Beat well. Gently spread pumpkin cheescake batter over regular cheesecake batter. Bake at 300 degrees for 60 minutes or until set in center. Chill before serving.

Frog Eye Salad

I don't know what it is about this salad, but I can't stop eating it. It has such a pleasing texture and lovely light flavor. If you're not from Utah, you might not know what this salad is. I admit--it has an odd combination of ingredients, but somehow, they work so well together. Just trust me :)

1 1/3 cup (8 oz.) Acini di pepe, uncooked (this is a type of pasta that looks like little tiny balls and I have only ever found it in boxes, not in plastic packages)
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained (save juice)
1 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 (3.4 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineappe, drained
1 (11 oz.) cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 cups non-dairy whipped topping
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Cook pasta for 11 minutes. Rinse with cold water, drain well. In a large bowl, beat 1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice, milk, sugar, and dry pudding mix for 2 minutes. Gently stir in pasta and remaining ingredients. Cover. Refrigerate 3 hours, stir and refrigerate 3 more hours. Makes 12 servings.

Layered salad

I first had this salad at my friend Jana's house, and it is fantastic. It's so fresh and yummy and has such a great mix of flavors. You have to make it a day ahead of when you plan to serve it, which is actually a good thing for days like Thanksgiving. Making it early means you have more time to wrestle with a turkey that never seems to be entirely thawed out by Thanksgiving morning!

About half-a-head of shredded lettuce
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 chopped onion (green or red)
1 small can sliced water chestnuts
4 boiled eggs, sliced
1 small package frozen peas
1 pint mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bacon bits

At least 8 hours before serving, fill bowl 1/2 full of shredded lettuce, then layer with celery, green pepper, onion, water chestnuts, boiled eggs, and frozen peas. Make topping by mixing mayonnaise, sugar and cheese. Sprinkle top with bacon bits. Do not mix. Cover and refrigerate until time to serve. You can also wait until just before serving to sprinkle with bacon, and you can add shredded cheese to the top at the same time if you wish.

I have found the topping to be a little excessive, so I'll not make quite as much as it says. I also like to layer this in a glass see-through bowl so it will be all pretty :)

Chocolate Pecan Pie

If you like pecan pie and you like chocolate, this is the perfect marriage of the two. I LOVE this pie and make it every Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.

Ingredients: 1 pie crust
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
6 oz. package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Prepare pie crust according to package directions (or make your own). Heat oven to 325 degrees.

In large bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, margarine, vanilla, and eggs; beat well. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Spread evenly in pie crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until deep golden brown and filling is set. Cover edge of pie crust with strip of foil during last 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. (I sometimes put the foil on before putting it into the oven and then take it off toward the end so the crust can get a little brown). Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Classic Thanksgiving pumpkin pie

This is the recipe my mom has always used, and it gets rave reviews (but only if you use REAL pumpkin, as described in the previous post).

Mix two slightly-beaten eggs into  1 1/2 cups pumpkin.
Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar.
Then add:
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
After blending into pumpkin mixture, add one can (1 1/2 cups) evaporated milk. Mix well and pour carefully into a 9-inch pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then another 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees or until knife inserted 2 inches from edge comes out clean. Makes one pie.

How to make your own pureed pumpkin

I admit it. I'm a snob when it comes to pumpkin. I won't eat it if it comes in a can. This means that every year, I buy a pumpkin, cook it, puree it, and freeze it. Yes, this takes some time and effort, but it is well worth it, both in money saved and taste enjoyed. Here's how you do it:

Method 1: Cut a pumpkin in half and place each in a pan with about an inch of water, cut side down. Bake in oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Scoop out flesh and puree in batches in food processor. Put 15 oz. (about 2 cups) in plastic bags and freeze.

Method 2: Cut a pumpkin up in pieces and cut off the rind. Then cut into 1-2 inch pieces and boil in a pot of water until very soft. Drain water and then puree in batches in a food processor. Put 15 oz. (about 2 cups) in plastic bags and freeze.


Now whenever you have a recipe that calls for a can of pumpkin, you can just whip out one of your bags in the freezer, and voila! You have real pumpkin that makes such a difference in every recipe.

All that candy...

I'm not sure if you'd call this a recipe... more of a general tip or idea for what to do with some of your leftover candy from Halloween.

Crush chocolate candies and candy bars in a food processor. Use the mixture in the place of chocolate chips in cookies or brownies. You can also use it for ice cream topping in the place of sprinkles.