Kettle Corn

Kettle Corn
(you are going to want to have all ingredients prepped because things move quickly)
1/4 Cup Canola Oil
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Popcorn Kernals
Salt to taste

In a large soup pot, heat the oil on medium high heat until shimmering.
Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the oil and give it a quick stir. Add the popcorn and cover with a lid. Slide the pot back and forth over the burner while you hear the kernals popping. This will take a few minutes and you are going to want to use hot pads so you don't burn your hands. Once you hear the kernals slowing down remove the pot from the heat and sprinkle in a little salt. Toss well, taste and add more salt if needed.

Jeanine

Chocolate Mousse Trifle

Ok, so I really can't take any credit for how delicious this dessert turned out. Once you see what it consists of you'll see it just had to be pretty amazing. I wanted to make a trifle for home evening treat last night; a good amount of the fam involved doesn't love fruit so I knew I needed a non-fruity trifle. I LOVE chocolate mousse so I decided to kind of combine a few recipes to come up with this chocolate mousse brownie concoction. This simple mousse recipe could be eaten plain or with anything else that mousse generally goes with. Also I made the whole thing and let it chill for about two hours before serving, but it was even better today because the mousse had really set up, so if at all possible I would recommend preparing it the day before serving. I'm sure this trifle would also be good if you substituted chocolate pudding for the mousse (but not as good). Also I'm sure you could use chocolate pound cake (or yellow pound cake for that matter) instead of brownies.



Chocolate mousse (8 servings)
1 C semisweet chocolate
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla
2 C heavy whipping cream
2 Tbs sugar

Melt chocolate (I prefer double boiler method for melting chocolate, but how ever you do it just make sure not to scorch chocolate); stir until smooth. Stir a couple large spoonfuls of melted chocolate into beaten egg yolk - mix well (this is to ensure that the yolk doesn't turn into scrambled eggs when you add it to the hot melted chocolate); add chocolatey yolk to melted chocolate. Cook on low-medium heat (again, double boiler method) and stir for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Cool, stirring several times.
In a mixing bowl, beat whipping cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Fold cooled chocolate mixture into the whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate. The longer the mousse is refrigerated the better it sets up.

Trifle:
Bake a 9x13 pan of brownies. Let brownies cool. Cut into 1 inch squares.
Place half of the brownie squares in trifle dish (or other tall bowl if you don't have a trifle bowl).
Spread half of the mousse mixture over the brownies.
Chop up some chocolate (I used Symphony chocolate, but anything would work...even chocolate chips) and sprinkle over mousse mixture.
Spread whipped cream over mousse. I had some Cool Whip left over from something I made a while back so I used that, but I think it would be OH SO GOOD with fresh whipped cream. I don't know exact measurements on the cream and the chocolate chunks because I just winged it, but just use how ever much you want and it will turn out just fine.
Repeat the layers with the other half of the ingredients...brownies - mousse - chocolate chunks - whipped cream; and then top off with some shaved chocolate to make it look pretty. Cover and refrigerate. (You want the mousse to set up for 2-24 hours; it doesn't matter if it sets up before putting the whole thing together or after, but just make sure you give it some time in the fridge one way or the other).

I'm telling you, this is rich and it is good. It sounds like a lot of work, but the most time-consuming part was letting the chocolate and the brownies cool. The actual hands-on work wasn't bad at all. Prepare for some clogged arteries and enjoy :)

Chicken Salad (For you Stace)

Combine and refidgerat:
3 cups cooked shell macaroni (I don't usually put this in when I'm doing chicken salad sandwiches, but you can add pasta and then just serve it as a salad to eat alone)
3-4 cups cooked and diced chicken
1 big can pineapple tidbits (very well drained)
2 cans drained water chestnuts (optional, good if you like them)
2 cups red seedless grapes
2 cups diced celery

Then mix these for the dressing and refidgerate:
12 oz Kraft coleslaw dressing (I've used hidden valley brand, worked fine)
1 cup mayonaise
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Then add to the dressing:
2 cups diced apples (any kind)
2 cups cashews (whole can)

Mix it all together the night before or a few hours before if you don't want the cashews too crunchy. Be sure and get the apples in the dressing right after cutting them and the lemon juice will keep them from turning brown. Enjoy! Yummy

Aisan Beef Kabobs

I've made these many times and they're always a crowd pleaser! I've used a different cut of meat, but flank steak is definitely the best to use.

Asian Beef Kabobs

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons sherry
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon barbeque sauce
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 1/2 pounds flank steak
skewers

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together hoisin sauce, sherry, soy sauce, barbeque sauce, green onions, garlic, and ginger.
Cut flank steak across grain on a diagonal into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag. Pour hoisin sauce mixture over slices, and mix well. Refrigerate 2 hours, or overnight.
Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Discard marinade, and thread steak on skewers.
Oil the grill grate. Grill skewers 3 minutes per side, or to desired doneness.

Lemon Herb Chicken & Zucchini Fettuccine

Ok so it seems that we're definitely in a chicken rut and I really wanted to post a non-chicken recipe next, but I made this recipe for the first time a couple of nights ago and I thought it was so good, I just had to put it on here. I just cut up my chicken and zucchini and cooked it in a skillet on the stove because it was too hot for me to venture outside and fire up the grill, but I bet it would be super tasty if they were cooked on the grill. I pretty much followed the recipe just as it is written. It turns out pretty lemony so be prepared for that, but it was goo-ood.

Lemon Herb Chicken & Zucchini Fettuccine
recipe by Our Best Bites

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 lemons
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
1/2 lb Fettuccine
2 medium zucchini
1 C shredded parmesan cheese
5-6 cloves garlic
Fresh Basil (about 1/2 C)
Fresh Oregano (about 1/4 C) If you don't have fresh oregano, just add a little dried.
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Prepare grill. You could also do this on the stove top in a skillet, or a grill pan.

Place chicken in a zip-lock bag with the juice of one lemon, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and a couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Smoosh around and set bag aside while you get your other things ready. (If you've got time to spare, let the chicken marinade for 30 minutes, if you don't, just take what you can get. I did mine for 15 min and it was great.)

Put the pot on the stove to boil water for the pasta. While you're waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half length-wise. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Press, or finely mince garlic cloves. In a small sauce pan on the stove, place 1/4 C olive oil and add garlic. Turn burner onto low-med heat. It shouldn't be popping and frying, it should just slowly warm, infusing the oil with the garlic and removing that zing fresh garlic has.

When water boils, add pasta and a spoonful of salt.

Remove chicken from bag and salt and pepper both sides. Place chicken, and zucchini on grill.

While chicky and zuchs are grilling and pasta is boiling, chop herbs and get out cheese. Zest both lemons and juice the one that hasn't been juiced.

See, now you're all ready. When everything is done cookin' you can throw it together! Keep an eye on that garlic. You DON'T want it to get brown and crispy. It should still look nice and white. Give it a stir. If it starts really cooking, just take it off the heat and set aside.

When zuch and chicken are done take them off the grill and chop 'em up.

Reserve about 1/2 C pasta water. Drain pasta and immediately place in a big bowl. Place chopped zuch and chicken on top. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, herbs, and garlic-olive oil mixture. Just pile it all in there. Then stick your face up real close and inhale. Ahhhh, heaven.

Now take some tongs and give everything a big toss. If you feel it needs more moisture, add a little of the pasta water, or a little more olive oil. This will make 4+ generous servings.

Garnish with a little more Parmesan on top and another squeeze of lemon if you have any left.

Coffee Cake

This one is always a crowd pleaser and it's super simple; all of the ingredients are normal things that you'd usually have on hand. It's delicious for breakfast, dessert, snack or whenever.

Cake:
3 C flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 C sugar
1 C shortening or butter, melted
1 1/2 C milk
2 eggs

Topping:
1 C brown sugar
1 Tbs butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry cake ingredients together. Then add the wet cake ingredients and mix well (by hand or with a mixer) until there are no chunks. Pour mixture into a greased pan (either cookie sheet or 9x13 cake pan). Set aside.
Mix the topping ingredients together well and then sprinkle evenly over the entire cake batter. Bake the cake until the center doesn't jiggle/toothpick comes out clean (about 20 minutes for a sheet cake or 30 for a 9x13 pan). Eat it warm or cooled off with a nice glass of milk :)

Sherry Brown's Marinated Chicken and Green Salad

For Chicken:
1 lb of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or tenders cut into bite size strips

Marinate over night in Soy Sauce, Brown Sugar & Lemon:
3 Tbs Soy sauce
3 Tbs Brown Sugar
Juice of 1/4-1/2 of lemon

Bake chicken at 350 in covered casserole dish for 30-40 minutes until well done (can also fry in a little oil until done) and add to remaining salad ingredients

For Salad:
2 oranges- peeled & cut into bite size pieces
1 head Romaine Lettuce or sub.
2 or 3 Tbs Almonds- toasted or reg- sliced or slivered

For Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar
2 rounded Tbs mustard- any kind
1 Tbs veg. or olive oil
Combine in jar and shake dressing until blended