In a saucepan combine chicken stock, onion, and vegetable of choice. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Place half the vegetable mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl. Repeat with remaining vegetable mixture. Set aside. In the same saucepan, melt the butter. Blend in flour, salt, pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook ad stir till mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in the blended vegetables. Cook and stir till soup is heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Season soup with your choice of thyme, garlic powder, basil, parsley, nutmeg, sage, curry powder. Garnish with croutons and bacon.
Combine sugar and water in pan and bring to boil. Add cranberries and bring to boil again then take right off the heat. Let cool then add the almond extract.
This chocolate cake is a dark chocolate cake with a layer of raspberry jam, whipped cream filling and chocolate frosting. It has been a family favorite for birthdays and other special occasions for over 30 years.
Print Recipe
Chocolate Cake That is Absolutely Perfect!
This chocolate cake is a dark chocolate cake with a layer of raspberry jam, whipped cream filling and chocolate frosting.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cocoa, coffee and water and cool. Sift dry ingredients. In a bowl beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla at high speed for 5 minutes. At low speed add ¼ of the flour mixture alternating with 1/3 cocoa and ending with flour. Do not over beat. Divide into 1 - 9” square pan and a 12” rectangle pan, greased and floured. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a wooden toothpick stuck into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
For the frosting
Combine chocolate cream and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar, cool.
For the filling
Beat the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until stiff.
To assemble
To assemble: When the 8” cake comes out of the oven, let it rest for 30 minutes then remove it to a plate. Spread the raspberry jam over it while it’s still warm and refrigerate it for an hour.
Spread the whipped cream filling over the raspberry jam. Cut the other cake so it’s 9”x9” and set it on top of the filling. Run a thin coat of icing around the entire cake and refrigerate ½ hour. Add the rest of the icing and refrigerate.
You can stop here for a delicious cake, however, if you want to decorate it, roll out some fondant in a large square.
Decorate to look like a gift-wrapped present as seen in the picture.
This texas-style chili con carne recipe was adapted from the Arkansas Razor Back chili team and provided to me by Nancy and Wes Fetzer. It is rich and spicy without the beans.
After making your chili con carne, try a “slinger”: two cheeseburger patties, hash browns, and two eggs, all smothered in chili. Other great chili combos: french fries and chili, hot dogs and chili, baked potatoes smothered in chili and cheese
Print Recipe
Chili Con Carne
A rich and spicy chili con carne that's perfect for a cold, rainy day or any football game.
Brown the meat in the oil. Add onions and green peppers and sauté until translucent. Add other ingredients and simmer on low, uncovered, for a minimum of 2 hours add more beer if necessary.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pound the chicken breasts to 1/4 inch and cut into thirds. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge them in the flour. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add butter and sauté chicken on both sides, 2 minutes each. Place chicken in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven.
Meanwhile, add garlic to pan and cook for 30 seconds, then deglaze the bottom of the pan with wine stirring to scrape up the bits of fond on the bottom. increase the heat, and cook until reduced by about half. Add the thyme and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in orange juice, and zest; Heat through. Drizzle the chicken with the orange sauce.
Place a whole chicken in a stock pot and add water to an inch over the chicken. Add onion and garlic skins, parsley stems and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook a couple of hours until pulling on the leg, it separates from the rest of the chicken. Remove chicken from stock. Let cool. Meanwhile, make noodles. (see "tender, buttery, egg noodles" recipe) After chicken is cool, take all the meat and fat off the bone and set aside. Reheat stock.
While stock is heating, make a roux by melting 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan. Add 6 T of flour. Cook until golden brown. When stock comes to a boil, add the rue and stir a couple of minutes. Add the noodles and cook 7 minutes. Add the chicken back in. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle over mashed potatoes and sprinkle with parsley.
For the mashed potatoes
Peel the potatoes. Cut into a 1 inch dice. Add to a pan. Cover with water. Cook until tender. Mill the potatoes through a food mill into a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 inch round baking pan.
For the topping:
Combine the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.
For the cake:
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl for 5 minutes until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. If you are using fresh berries, fold them in. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Pour the topping evenly over the batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes until golden brown.
Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, letting the ends hang over the sides. Spray evenly with cooking spray. Combine water, sugars and syrup in medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook until it turns an amber color. Remove from heat. In a 2nd sauce pan, combine the cream, butter, vanilla, and kosher salt. Heat over medium heat. Once the mixture reaches a simmer, remove from heat and set aside. Slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. It will bubble violently so be careful. Turn the heat back on and continue cooking until the mixture reaches 245 degrees on a candy thermometer. If your mixture becomes any hotter the candy will be too firm, any cooler – it won’t set. Watch it closely. It takes about 12 minutes. Pour out the mixture into the prepared pan and pop in the fridge for a few hours to cool. Once firm, turn the caramel out onto a cutting board and cut into 1 inch slices lengthwise. Roll into logs and cut ¾ inch pieces. Roll into balls and wrap.
Put cookies in a food processor and chop finely then add the marscapone cheese and mix thoroughly.
Shape into 1 inch football shapes. Freeze 10 minutes.
Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Using 2 forks, dip cookies in chocolate. Place in a single layer on parchment paper-line cookie sheet. Use icing to draw laces on footballs. Refrigerate until firm.
For the icing
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth. Put the icing into a pastry bag with a fine tip and draw laces on the footballs.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Blanch the haricot vert until they are al dente, about 3 minutes. Melt 3 T butter in a dutch oven. Add flour. Stir and cook until the flour is a light brown color. Stir in the salt, onion, sour cream and green beans. Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish.
Spread cheese over top. Add 1 T melted butter to bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, mixing thoroughly. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.