I've seen this sort of recipe around and think it is a great one when you are low on cash yet want to make something special for your family or friends during the holidays. The combination of sweet and salty has gotten to be a classic.
Poor Man's Candy
16 or so saltine crackers
1 stick butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 white chocolate chips
1/2 cup slivered almonds, chopped walnuts or pecans
Line and grease an 8-inch baking pan with foil and grease with vegetable oil spray. Place enough saltine crackers to cover the bottom of the pan, one cracker deep. Set aside.
Bring the butter and sugars to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook for 3-4 minutes. Pour the butter/sugar mixture over the crackers in the pan. Bake at 375 for five minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the milk chocolate chips over the top and bake another minute. Remove from oven and scatter on the white chocolate chip and when they soften spread out the chocolate and white chocolate to give a marbelizing effect. Scatter the nuts over the top, chill, and cut into squares.
Ideas . . .
Instead of nuts, you could scatter a small candy of choice over the spread out chocolate.
Toasted coconut and dried pineapple (diced finely) would make a good substitute for the nuts.
Crushed peppermint would be a good finale.
All white chocolate chips and crushed pretzels would be quite different.
Peanut butter chips and crushed peanuts could be a favorite.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Leftover . . . turkey and/or ham!
If you are blessed, you have leftovers from your Thanksgiving turkey. Some people don't feel that way but turkey can provide a number of great meals just from what was left from the feast the day before.
Our turkey was over 20 pounds so we have three freezer bags of turkey carcass to boil down into broth. The bits of meat still clinging to the bones provide enough turkey to fill out the soup along with added vegetables. Add some rice or noodles and you have a very inexpensive meal.
We also saved a good amount of meat which I plan to chop and turn into turkey salad sandwiches. All you need is the turkey, a bit of mayo or cream salad dressing, pickle relish, mustard, and a freshly-baked roll to encase the creation. This will work with ham or turkey although you might want to cut the richness of the ham with some chopped celery in the sandwich mix.
Still have leftover meat? Heat it up with a can of undiluted cream of mushroom soup and serve it with mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta. My son like to add a sprinkling of chili flakes for some spicy sparkle.
Got leftover gravy? Combine it with bits of meat, lots of mixed frozen vegetables and put it in a pie shell. You can save time by buying the premade crusts from the freezer section of the store. You can make your own pot pies.
My family enjoys seeing what I come up with when we have leftovers. My husband has been known to ask, "So, how many meals did you cannibalize to create this dish?"
If you think about it, we served ten people for dinner on Thanksgiving with three or them going back for thirds. That makes 16 meals. I can come up with three batches of soup from the leftover bones, etc., which should provide four to six meals. Making turkey salad sandwiches will provide six lunches. I have enough to make a pot pie for four people. I might even scrape enough together to make a creamed turkey over rice for another four dinners. I only paid $10 for the turkey, in the first place. I think I stretched the budget pretty well.
Our turkey was over 20 pounds so we have three freezer bags of turkey carcass to boil down into broth. The bits of meat still clinging to the bones provide enough turkey to fill out the soup along with added vegetables. Add some rice or noodles and you have a very inexpensive meal.
We also saved a good amount of meat which I plan to chop and turn into turkey salad sandwiches. All you need is the turkey, a bit of mayo or cream salad dressing, pickle relish, mustard, and a freshly-baked roll to encase the creation. This will work with ham or turkey although you might want to cut the richness of the ham with some chopped celery in the sandwich mix.
Still have leftover meat? Heat it up with a can of undiluted cream of mushroom soup and serve it with mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta. My son like to add a sprinkling of chili flakes for some spicy sparkle.
Got leftover gravy? Combine it with bits of meat, lots of mixed frozen vegetables and put it in a pie shell. You can save time by buying the premade crusts from the freezer section of the store. You can make your own pot pies.
My family enjoys seeing what I come up with when we have leftovers. My husband has been known to ask, "So, how many meals did you cannibalize to create this dish?"
If you think about it, we served ten people for dinner on Thanksgiving with three or them going back for thirds. That makes 16 meals. I can come up with three batches of soup from the leftover bones, etc., which should provide four to six meals. Making turkey salad sandwiches will provide six lunches. I have enough to make a pot pie for four people. I might even scrape enough together to make a creamed turkey over rice for another four dinners. I only paid $10 for the turkey, in the first place. I think I stretched the budget pretty well.
Back from Black Friday . . .
We ventured out into the Black Friday mobs after lunch today and figured things would have calmed down a bit. I suppose you could consider it merely crowds and not mobs at this point. Walmart was crowded at certain points of the store like electronics, toys, and Christmas items. The check-out lines, however, stretched down the aisles. We didn't find anything we felt was worth waiting in line to buy. My husband had never been out on this shopping day and was a bit shocked. He couldn't believe the 40 carts filled with items that were parked around the clothing section. I explained that each heaped cart was filled with items people had broken, opened, or misplaced in the store. We left.
We stopped by JoAnn's Fabric Store as we needed some Christmas gifts for one of our children and onl they carried the item. There were a lot of fantastic fabric sales going one but the line-up around the cutting table was four deep and slow. We found what we were looking for, had a 40% and 50% coupon on the items, paid, and very happily left.
The Dollar Store was next door and quiet as a tomb with no one milling around in the store. I guess when you base price is one dollar, there isn't any reason to waste Black Friday shopping time in there!
With a quick stop for a frozen yogurt treat, we came home and now knew that any kind of shopping on the day of Thanksgiving wasn't worth the effort.
We stopped by JoAnn's Fabric Store as we needed some Christmas gifts for one of our children and onl they carried the item. There were a lot of fantastic fabric sales going one but the line-up around the cutting table was four deep and slow. We found what we were looking for, had a 40% and 50% coupon on the items, paid, and very happily left.
The Dollar Store was next door and quiet as a tomb with no one milling around in the store. I guess when you base price is one dollar, there isn't any reason to waste Black Friday shopping time in there!
With a quick stop for a frozen yogurt treat, we came home and now knew that any kind of shopping on the day of Thanksgiving wasn't worth the effort.
A pretty quote for the ending of the week . . .
A
relationship is like a rose, How long it lasts, no one knows; Love can erase an
awful past, Love can be yours, you'll see at last; To feel that love, it makes
you sigh, To have it leave, you'd rather die; You hope you've found that special
rose, 'Cause you love and care for the one you chose.
- Rob Cella
Something to take to the voting booth in 2012 . . .
Quote Richard Lamm, former Democratic Governor of Colorado:
"Christmas is a time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell the government what they want and their kids pay for it."
"Christmas is a time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell the government what they want and their kids pay for it."
Chocolate Biscotti
Time to get serious about Christmas preparations. Today, I'm cleaning out the freezer in order to have room to store my Christmas baking. I usually bake cookies that freeze and defrost well so I can have a good variety on the cookie plates I give out to friends. Last Christmas, I had frozen two, huge tins of cookies for friends who decided not to be friends anymore. Hey, it happens! Anyway, I forgot about them until June of this year. I was about to just toss them when my son opened one and discovered the cookies were still fresh and tasty even after the long ice age in the freezer. He and my husband enjoyed Christmas in June. Proof positive that cookies can be baked and frozen ahead of time!
I've informed my family that we will be living out of the freezer until I can make space for my baking. They usually enjoy this as I come up with some creative meals. I already have my baking ingredients on hand. Yes, I freeze my chocolate chips and dried fruit! Actually, I'm kind of at an impasse as I will have room in the freezer once I use the stocked away ingredients but I can't really get into baking until I make room in the freezer.
At the after-Christmas sales, last year, I purchased a lot of cookie tins for 25 cents each so I'm set for the gift-giving side. Besides, my husband would dearly like to get them cleared out of the closet. They are plastic and don't hurt that much when they fall on your head!
My goal today is get rid of the turkey leftovers this weekend aka eating them and drawing up my cookie lists. To start off the Advent/Cookie Baking Season, here is a favorite of mine.
Chocolate Biscotti
2/3 cups butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon brandy
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups unsweetened baking cocoa
4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped chocolate chips
½ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Add eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla and brandy. Combine the flour, cocoa, and baking powder and stir into creamed mixture until well-combined. Dough should be stiff, so mix the last of the flour by hand. Fold in the chocolate and nuts.
Divide the dough into four equal parts. Shape into long loaves, approximately ten inches long, two inches wide and about 3/4 to one inch thick. Forming them directly onto the greased baking sheets is easier. You will need more than one baking sheet.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Cool on baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, slice the loaves diagonally into one inch slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes more. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Makes about 45 cookies.
I've informed my family that we will be living out of the freezer until I can make space for my baking. They usually enjoy this as I come up with some creative meals. I already have my baking ingredients on hand. Yes, I freeze my chocolate chips and dried fruit! Actually, I'm kind of at an impasse as I will have room in the freezer once I use the stocked away ingredients but I can't really get into baking until I make room in the freezer.
At the after-Christmas sales, last year, I purchased a lot of cookie tins for 25 cents each so I'm set for the gift-giving side. Besides, my husband would dearly like to get them cleared out of the closet. They are plastic and don't hurt that much when they fall on your head!
My goal today is get rid of the turkey leftovers this weekend aka eating them and drawing up my cookie lists. To start off the Advent/Cookie Baking Season, here is a favorite of mine.
Chocolate Biscotti
2/3 cups butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon brandy
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups unsweetened baking cocoa
4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped chocolate chips
½ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Add eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla and brandy. Combine the flour, cocoa, and baking powder and stir into creamed mixture until well-combined. Dough should be stiff, so mix the last of the flour by hand. Fold in the chocolate and nuts.
Divide the dough into four equal parts. Shape into long loaves, approximately ten inches long, two inches wide and about 3/4 to one inch thick. Forming them directly onto the greased baking sheets is easier. You will need more than one baking sheet.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Cool on baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, slice the loaves diagonally into one inch slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes more. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Makes about 45 cookies.
Always some truth in the wittiest of quotes!
"I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much
jollier than the people who have to wait for them."
-- E. V. Lucas
-- E. V. Lucas
"You can pretend to be serious; you can't pretend to be witty."
-- Sacha Guitry
-- Sacha Guitry
"Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said
nothing."
-- Robert Benchley
-- Robert Benchley
Black Friday is Not For Me!
I have yet to hear of a sale on Black Friday that would have me camping outside stores, waiting for the doors to open, and then chancing being trampled as people push and shove to grab whatever sale item has brought out the greed in them. Walmart seems to get the brunt of this day but I imagine it is because there are so many stores so their chances of having an incident are higher.
I still remember the after-Christmas rush that killed an employee at Walmart. He opened the doors and the people poured in, knocked him down, and then stomped all over him as they raced to whatever product they just couldn't live without. The report said the police had a difficult time with the crime scene because people would not stop their frantic shopping. The people whose feet had made deadly contact with that young man had to know something was amiss yet they didn't care. They lowered their standards to save a few bucks and acted like animals.
I read in the news, today, that, what has been termed 'a competitive shopper', used pepper spray to get what they wanted and cause other shoppers to back off. Twenty people were hurt, some seriously, with pepper spray directly to their face. To me, that is a case of assult and I hope they catch the person and he/she has to do time and make retribution to all the injured people. I do have to wonder, however, if some of the crowd thinks, "Pepper spray! Why didn't I think of pepper spray!"
I was discussing an exorcism class I had taken at our parish. Not to do them but to understand them. The person I was talking to said that the' imagination' of possession and such disappeared with the electronic/computer age. There is no such thing as that sort of evil. Seems to me that if people die or are hurt by rampaging shoppers who care only for grabbing a bargain, something evil is still a foot!
If we venture out today, the wildest we will go would be a stop at Costco. They keep normal hours regardless of the day, they don't put up with nonsense, and they don't have elaborate Black Friday advertisement/sales. Besides, we only need fruit and cheese!
I still remember the after-Christmas rush that killed an employee at Walmart. He opened the doors and the people poured in, knocked him down, and then stomped all over him as they raced to whatever product they just couldn't live without. The report said the police had a difficult time with the crime scene because people would not stop their frantic shopping. The people whose feet had made deadly contact with that young man had to know something was amiss yet they didn't care. They lowered their standards to save a few bucks and acted like animals.
I read in the news, today, that, what has been termed 'a competitive shopper', used pepper spray to get what they wanted and cause other shoppers to back off. Twenty people were hurt, some seriously, with pepper spray directly to their face. To me, that is a case of assult and I hope they catch the person and he/she has to do time and make retribution to all the injured people. I do have to wonder, however, if some of the crowd thinks, "Pepper spray! Why didn't I think of pepper spray!"
I was discussing an exorcism class I had taken at our parish. Not to do them but to understand them. The person I was talking to said that the' imagination' of possession and such disappeared with the electronic/computer age. There is no such thing as that sort of evil. Seems to me that if people die or are hurt by rampaging shoppers who care only for grabbing a bargain, something evil is still a foot!
If we venture out today, the wildest we will go would be a stop at Costco. They keep normal hours regardless of the day, they don't put up with nonsense, and they don't have elaborate Black Friday advertisement/sales. Besides, we only need fruit and cheese!
Advent is almost upon us . . .
It almost makes you dizzy the way time speeds up once Halloween is over. Yes, the stores are prone to stocking masks and pumpkins right next to Christmas decorations but they don't control the speed of time. Time, however, seems to speed up itself. Wednesday, we were running around getting ready for a company Thanksgiving dinner and today it is the day after Thanksgiving. Makes you almost afraid to blink in case you come upon a living room strewn with unwrapped gifts and discover Christmas has come and gone. No time to lose but we have to keep in mind the reason for the season and find time to savor it to the fullest.
At dinner, yesterday, my friend and I looked down the long table at our collective children and then remarked to each other, "Where did all those grown up children come from?" The youngest in the group is seventeen, one is a college graduate, three are going to college . . . Let's just say, we don't shop in the toy section at the store any more. And I miss it!
Our Thanksgiving, however, as great as we enjoyed and shared it with some of our best friends. Sigh . . . I was missing two or my children, who couldn't get home for the holiday. My friend was missing her oldest son who is in the seminary. Times change and all I can advise parents is to double their efforts to enjoy the 'now' as it soon turns into 'remember when'!
At dinner, yesterday, my friend and I looked down the long table at our collective children and then remarked to each other, "Where did all those grown up children come from?" The youngest in the group is seventeen, one is a college graduate, three are going to college . . . Let's just say, we don't shop in the toy section at the store any more. And I miss it!
Our Thanksgiving, however, as great as we enjoyed and shared it with some of our best friends. Sigh . . . I was missing two or my children, who couldn't get home for the holiday. My friend was missing her oldest son who is in the seminary. Times change and all I can advise parents is to double their efforts to enjoy the 'now' as it soon turns into 'remember when'!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)