I love Susan Branch! Please click on the link below for a fun surprise: ( click on your favorite cookie and it will show you the recipe)

http://www.susanbranch.com/newsletters/2011-12/

White Queso.....Kerby Lane style!

Kerby Lane in Austin Texas serves a delicious Queso. The following is a close copy.

Layer 1. Guacamole. Buried at the bottom of the bowl is 1/2 cup of freshly smashed avocados, garlic salt, and ground black pepper. Don’t knock it ’til you try it.

Layer 2. Wonderful, magical cheese. Lightly sauteed onions, and fresh jalapenos are suspended in a delicious queso blanco. You could make a reasonable substitute at home but stay away from the yellow box on this one (though there’s nothing wrong with the yellow box if you’ve got Rotel handy)but HEB does have boxed 'white cheese'which works well. I use White American Cheese (available at the deli counter)to get that smooth, melty queso. It's easy to melt in a crock pot. Thin it down with milk.

Layer 3. Pico de gallo. Rough chopped tomatoes, red and white onions, fresh jalapenos, cilantro, and some salt sit on top.

Enjoy!

Pancakes....the best!

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and ginger

pinch of nutmeg and cloves

Combine the above dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup milk

1/2 melted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix eggs and 1 cup of milk. Beat well. Add remaining liquids and mix until combined.

Stir liquids into the dry ingredients until just moistened.....will be lumpy. Pour onto a hot greased griddle. Flip when edges bubble. Serve with soft butter and warm syrup.

Varieties:

Add one of the following fruits for a delicious change: fresh blueberries, bananas, peaches, etc. to the batter.

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 1 head kale, washed and thoroughly dried
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt, for sprinkling

 

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and salt.

 

 

Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serve as finger food.

Fried Pies

Fried Pies .......................................................... Linda Allen

________

1 pkg. dried peaches, apples or apricot

½ t. salt

¼ c. butter

1 ¼ c. sugar

2 Tbl. flour

1 Tbl. Lemon juice

Cover fruit with water, in a sauce pan and simmer until fruit is soft and mushy. Drain off any remaining liquid and stir in all other ingredients.

Crust

______

2 c. flour

½ c. shortening

1 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

4 Tbl. Cold water or more if needed

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt & sugar, cut in shortening, add water, mix for rolling. Pinch a ball of dough about the size of a walnut and roll thin on a floured board, put a round Tbl of fruit on half of the dough and fold over the fruit and pinch edges. Shut and fry in deep medium hot fat (don’t let it get too hot, it will burn easy) turn when brown, remove and drain on paper towels.

Pumpkin Delight!

1-16 oz. can of pure pumpkin

1-12 oz. can of evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Using mixer, mix together all of the above ingredients and pour into a 9x13 ungreased, pyrex dish OR fill baking cups 2/3 full.

Top with:

2 cups yellow cake mix (not the kind with pudding) sifted evenly over the pumpkin mixture.

1 stick butter, melted and drizzled over cake mix

1 cup of chopped pecan pieces sprinkled on top

Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes, until slightly firm. Chill overnight,serve cold and top with whipped topping.

Thanks Jo Carol for sharing this delicious recipe.

Milk Fudge

These colorful little gems caught my eye as I was scrolling thru Style At Home. What are they?! Cake, brownie, cookie?

Fudge. Milk fudge, to be exact and I can’t wait to try this recipe! Think how fun – you can color coordinate to your dessert table! Here’s the how-to:

Ingredients

2 (14 oz.) cans condensed milk
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated goat’s or cow’s milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Directions
1 Lightly grease a 9 by 9-inch square pan. Line the pan with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving about a 1-inch overhang on all sides.

2 Combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk, butter, vanilla, and salt in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, until the mixture has thickened and starts pulling away from the sides of the pan, 20 to 30 minutes. When ready, it will slide easily out of the pan when tilted.

3 Pour into the prepared pan and allow to set, about 2 hours. Cut into rectangles or desired shapes.

Double the flavour
You can mix and match flavors as you like, and you can do it quite simply. Pour half of the mixture into the prepared pan, stir another flavor—such as coffee extract or any kind of flavored oil with a few drops of food coloring—into the other half, then pour that on top. Alternatively, you can make two separate flavors and make half a batch of each.

Variations

Chocolate
Add 6 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder (preferably Dutch processed) along with the other ingredients.

Lime
Replace the vanilla with 1 teaspoon grated lime zest and add 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice and a few drops of green food coloring (if desired) once the mixture has been removed from the heat, making sure you add them slowly and stir well so it doesn’t separate.

Coffee
Add 2 teaspoons coffee extract along with the other ingredients.

Coconut
Replace the evaporated milk with the same size can of coconut milk.

Tequila
Add 1 tablespoon white or reposado tequila once the mixture has been removed from the heat, making sure you add it slowly and stir well so it doesn’t separate.

Makes about 2 dozen