POPCORN BALL CREATURES
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp. White vinegar
3/4 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Light (clear) corn syrup
1/2 cup Water
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup(1 1/2 sticks) Butter
8 cups Popped popcorn
Equipment:
Medium saucepan
Candy thermometer
Large bowl
Wax paper
Spray oil/butter/shortening
1. Stir all ingredients except popcorn and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the mixture reaches 260 degrees on a candy thermometer (hard ball stage).
2. Reduce temperature to low; add butter.
3. Put popcorn in a large bowl. Pour the mixture over it, coating the popcorn. Cool slightly.
4. Butter your child's hands and let him/her mold the popcorn into animal shapes. Place the shapes on wax paper until ready to eat.
Yield: Depends on size of creations
Creative Cooking
By
Lydia Critchley
creativecook@creativecookingbylydia.com
For class information, click on the “Calendar” icon and contact me for details.
Print Recipe
Popcorn Creatures
Yum
1 lb. Hamburger
5 cups Water
1 (16 oz.) can Tomatoes, cut into pieces
2 med. (1 cup) Onions, chopped
2 med. (1 cup) Carrots, chopped
2 stalks (1 cup) Celery, chopped
1 cup (Pearl) barley
1/4 cup Catsup
1 Tbl. Beef bouillon granules
2 tsp. Seasoned salt
1 tsp. Dried basil, crushed
1 Bay leaf
To taste Salt
To taste Pepper
Brown meat and add all other ingredients. Cook one hour. This soup can be frozen for serving at another time.
Creative Cooking
By
Lydia Critchley
creativecook@creativecookingbylydia.com
For information on classes, click on the “Calendar” icon. Contact me for more details.
Print Recipe
Hamburger Soup
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To convert recipes for slow cooker usage, usually 1 hour of conventional cooking at 350 degrees equals to 8 hours of slow cooking on low setting or 4 hours on high setting.
Creative Cooking
By
Lydia Critchley
creativecook@creativecookingbylydia.com
For class information, click on the “Calendar” icon and contact me for details.
Deep fryer basket is a handy tool to use when cooking pasta. Place the basket in your kettle before adding the pasta and it will lift out the pasta for draining, rinsing or serving quickly and with less mess than trying to drain with a kettle cover or lifting out with a lifter spoon.
Creative Cooking
By
Lydia
creativecook@creativecookingbylydia.com
For class information, click on the “Calendar” icon and contact me for details.
THIRTY-MINUTE PIZZA
Vegetable oil or spray
2 pkgs (8 oz. each) Refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 can (7-8 oz.) Spaghetti sauce
1/2 can (about 3 or 4 oz. can) Sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup Sliced pitted ripe olives
1/2 tsp. Leaf oregano, crumbled
1/2 pkg. (4 oz.) Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 pkg (8 oz.) Brown 'n'serve sausages
14″ pizza pan
Sharp knife
Cutting board
Spreader for sauce
Lightly oil 14-inch round pizza pan. Open crescent rolls following label directions. Unroll and separate dough triangles. Fit triangles into pizza pan.
Spread spaghetti sauce on pizza. Sprinkle mushrooms and olives evenly over sauce; sprinkle with oregano. Sprinkle cheese over pizza.
Slice sausages diagonally; arrange in a pattern on the cheese.
Bake in a hot oven (400?) for 20 minutes, or until crusts are golden brown. Garnish with a sprig of fresh basil or parsley, if you wish.
Yield: One 14-inch pizza pie
TO REHEAT FROZEN PIZZA: Bake at 400? for 30 minutes, or until filling is bubbly.
Creative Cooking
By
Lydia Critchley
creativecook@creativecookingbylydia.com
For class schedules, click on the “Calendar” icon and contact me for details.
Print Recipe
Thirty-Minute Pizza
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INDIVIDUAL APPLE CRISP
1 small Apple, peeled and sliced
1 Tbl. All-purpose flour
1 Tbl. Brown sugar
1 Tbl. Quick-cooking oats
1/8 tsp. Ground cinnamon
Dash Ground nutmeg
Dash Salt
1 Tbl. Cold butter or margarine
Optional: Half-and-half cream or ice cream
Place apple in a small greased baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients; cut (pastry blender works best) in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apple. Bake, uncovered, at 375? for 30-35 minutes or until apple is tender. Serve warm with cream or ice cream if desired.
Topping can be doubled for better coverage and appeal.
Yield: 1 Serving
Creative Cooking
By
Lydia Critchley
creativecook@creativecookingbylydia.com
For class information, click on the “Calendar” icon and contact me for details.
Print Recipe
Individual Apple Crisp
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CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER BANANA LOLLIPOPS
1 cup Cheerios cereal
1/4 cup Almonds, sliced
3 or 4 Bananas, firm
2 Tsp. Shortening
? cup Peanut butter chips
? cup Milk chocolate chips
1. Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
2. Chop cereal and almonds together on a cutting board. Set aside.
3. Peel bananas. Cut across each banana to make 2 halves. Put an ice-cream stick in center of each banana half. Set aside.
4. Heat shortening in a small saucepan over low heat until melted. Add peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. Heat over low heat, stirring all the time, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove pan from heat.
5. Spread mixture all over 1 banana half with knife. Roll in chopped cereal and almonds. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat with other banana halves. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Yield: 6 or 8 lollipops
For class information, click on the “Calendar” icon. For more details, contact me.
Creative Cooking
By
Lydia Critchley
creativecook@creativecookingbylydia.com
Print Recipe
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Banana Lollipops
Yum
When cleaning the windows and mirrors of your home, etc. use the window washer fluid (as used in your vehicle) in a spray bottle. This is an inexpensive cleaner that is very effective (after all it cuts road and bug dirt and oil) and saves one more bottle of cleaner on your shelf. The window washer fluid is not strong odored as most household cleaners are, so you do not need to air out your rooms after cleaning your windows.
Creative Cooking
By
Lydia Critchley
creativecook@creativecookingbylydia
For my cooking class schedule, click on the calendar icon and contact me at the above email address or leave a message for additional details.
When your banana cake recipe calls for 1/2 cup oil, substitute with 1/2 cup applesauce for the oil. Cake may not be quite as high or light, but is still great and much healthier. If desired add an 1/8 tsp. more soda or baking powder which ever the recipe is using to improve height of the cake.
Print Recipe
Oil substitution in banana cake
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ROLY-POLY BREAKFAST BALLS
1/2 lb. Ground sausage
1 8-count pkg. Crescent rolls
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
Optional:
16 slices Bacon
Vegetable bits
In a skillet, brown sausage until thoroughly cooked. Drain and pat with a paper towel to get rid of any excess grease. (This step may be done the night before. Refrigerate cooked and drained sausage in a covered container.)
Remove crescent roll dough from package and spread each piece on a sheet of wax paper.
Place one spoonful of cooked sausage and one spoonful of grated cheese in the center of each piece of dough.
Roll dough into a ball and place on a cookie sheet. Bake according to package directions.
Optional – for an extra special breakfast, decorate the cooked breakfast balls with faces, using small pieces of vegetables or fruit. You might even try adding a bacon bow tie when you serve the breakfast balls. ; For each bow tie take two pieces of bacon, fold and twist together in the shape of a bow, and then cook in the microwave until very crisp.
Yield 8 breakfast balls
Creative Cooking
By
Lydia Critchley
creativecook@creativecookingbylydia
