Michael's Burger Creation

Michael created a new burger last night. He grated two apples into 1 pound of ground beef. Added extra sharp cheddar cheese and made two huge patties.

He glazed them with maple syrup and grilled them. Meanwhile, he took apple rings and carmelized them in syrup. Then he toasted some onion buns. He put raddichio and baby lettuce on the bun, then the burger. Topped that with bleu cheese and some raspberry walnut dressing and the apple rings.

He said it was THE BEST burger he ever ate.

I say.......... it sounds............ kind of interesting..... I think I'd omit the bleu cheese.

Homemade Twix bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup Butter plus 2 additional tablespoons butter

Mix and bake in 8 x 8 pan for 20 minutes.

Caramel:

2 TB corn syrup

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and continue to stir/whip in pan for additional two minutes until it becomes a little bit thicker. Then pour over crust and allow to cool.

Chocolate:

Melt 2 cups white or milk chocolate chips and pour over the caramel. Cool. Cut and enjoy!

UPDATE: WEDNESDAY

I made these last night and used 1 cup of melted white chocolate which I spread on half of it, and I used 1 cup of semi-sweet choc on the other half. I did NOT like semi-sweet and would definitely encourage using MILK CHOCOLATE chips instead. The original recipe called for semi-sweet, but I have changed it now to say white or milk chocolate.

Also, do not store them in the refrigerator or you will break your teeth on them because the caramel will harden like a brick. After I spread the chips on, I did put them in the fridge for only ten minutes so the chocolate would harden up enough for me to cut them and try them.

Keep them at room temperature, covered well so they don't dry out. (If they last that long. )

Holidays Have Begun....

Well, I tried to cook my turkey in my broken oven. Why did I try? I don't know. I ended up transporting it to Karin and Brett's apt and using their oven. But I overcooked it....and so it was rather dry. Nobody complained, but it wasn't my best.

Friday I "attempted" to shop. What a JOKE. I hate crowds. What I wanted was sold out anyway. So I ended up ordering it online and paying way too much for it. Story of my life.

I spent a couple of hours putting my tree up and then guess what? This morning I discovered the bottom of the half of the tree has lights that are not working! They were working last night. But are not working now. GRRRRR.

I was going to make turkey and biscuits for my Sunday dinner tomorrow but then realized (after buying the ingredients) that I STILL DON'T HAVE A WORKING OVEN!!!

So I guess it's spaghetti.

On the positive side, I am done Christmas shopping. I think.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Sauce:
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
2 cans of milk
2 pkgs chicken or turkey gravy mix prepared as directed on pkg
4 chicken breasts, cooked, cubed (or the equivalent amount of leftover TURKEY)


Prepare gravy as directed on pkg. Add soup, milk and turkey. Warm through. Serve over rice and add toppings; (Use your imagination!)

Rice Chopped Onion Sliced Mushrooms
Chopped Celery Diced Tomatoes Slivered Almonds
Grated Carrots Coconut Grated Cheese
Pineapple Tidbits Green Pepper Sliced Radishes
Chopped Boiled Egg Chow Mein Noodles Soy Sauce

My favorite is to do the rice, pour the chicken/turkey gravy mixture on top then put lots of grated medium cheddar (so it melts) followed by pineapple tidbits, then coconut, then celery and green peppers, mild onion, chow mein noodles, almonds, tomatoes. It sounds weird, but it tastes oh so good all together!!

Enjoy!!!

Ain't she sweet?

My daughter is too gorgeous for words.

Lucky her, she and her hubby are heading off to the Mexican Riviera on a cruise for Thanksgiving. It better be good --- tough choice between Mom's stuffing and a cruise.... ha ha ha.

She's playing the piano in church this Sunday too. Looking forward to hearing it.

So the response from David and Michael when I told them that Karin and Brett would not be with us for Turkey day: "Yay! More Food For US!"

Yeah... that's what it's all about folks.... the food. Not the family time.... just who gets MORE stuffing, more PIE and MORE TURKEY!! LOL.

I goofed somewhere along the line raising them. OH well.

Shh... don't tell anybody but I'm thinking of just getting a Marie Callendar's ready made meal this year. Do you think anybody would notice?

My Favorite COOK -- MY MOM.

Everything I learned about cooking and baking I got from my mom, my dad, my grandmothers. My mom was a very good cook and she made the most AWESOME stuffing for thanksgiving.

I've debated whether to share her recipe or not... but really it's sooo incredibly SIMPLE and there is no secret to it.... that I guess I should.

TIPS TO HAVE A THANKSGIVING MEAL LIKE MY MOM USED TO MAKE:

Turkey: Use Norbest or Butterball. Always buy frozen and let it thaw for several days in your refrigerator. The night before baking you can rinse it thoroughly with ice cold water, remove the giblets and cook them if you want to put them in your stuffing. (Mom did that sometimes, but I don't usually do it.)

Stuffing: For a 20 pound turkey I use 2 packages of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing. I chop up sweet onion (whatever it suggests on the back... I think it's a cup per package) and I sautee the onions in butter. I bring the amount of WATER called for to a boil. I prefer water. I tried it with chicken broth and it was too salty. I put unsalted butter (I think it's a stick per package) and just make it according to the directions ON the package. What makes this stuffing is that you have to be sure you use PEPPERIDGE FARM HERB SEASONED in the BLUE bag.

Mix it up. Pack it loosely in balls and stuff it up the turkey, both sides, the neck area and the cavity area. Allow for expansion so you don't want to pack it real tight inside. And you will have some left over, so just pack it into balls and put it around the OUTSIDE of the turkey. It will absorb the drippings and be awesome.

For my Turkey, I do not put ANYTHING on it except basting it with melted butter. Seriously. I know people who load it with spices. But I don't do ANYTHING to it. And it's always terrific. I put my spices in the gravy and use the gravy for good flavoring.

Those are my two secrets... my two "family secrets" for good turkey and stuffing. It's so easy that anybody can do it!!!

Welcome To My Home.....

Welcome Family and Friends to my corner of the blogging world. Please feel free to comment anytime you want. Share recipes, photos, whatever.

This is my on-line journal.

Cool picture isn't it? Michael took it with his cell phone.