Tortellini Spinach Bake -- Amber Williams

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce
Recipe by Our Best Bites

12 oz bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini (find them in the dry pasta aisle)
4 oz bacon or pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)*
3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¾ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or more if you like spicy)
1 medium lemon
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat.  Cook until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain.  Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest.  Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute.  Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth.  Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon.  Then cut lemon in half and remove juice.  Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce.  (Note:  I really love lemon so I added this to my tastes.  If you don’t want as strong of a lemon flavor, I suggest cutting it down to 1 teaspoon zest and 2 teaspoons lemon juice) .  Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture.  Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.  Add sauce and gently stir to combine.  Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

* For a vegetarian meal, omit bacon.

Serves 4-6

Pumpkin Curry -- Corrie Perkins

Pumpkin Curry

1 small can of pumpkin puree

1 can of coconut milk

3T honey or agave

1/2 c cranberry juice or pomagranate molasses

2 cloves of garlic crushed

1 T butter

2 t curry powder

1 t ginger powder

1/2 t cinnamon

1-2 lbs. chicken breasts cubed

add peas, green beans, cauliflower whatever sounds good

cilantro

lime juice

S&P

Make the sauce and then simmer chicken in it for at least 30 min. Add vegis toward the end. Serve over basmati rice with cilantro and lime .

Curry Chicken and Orzo Soup -- Rebecca Anderson

curry chicken and orzo soup

1 tablespoon veg. oil

1 lb. chicken breasts, diced

1 sm. yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1 qt.(32-oz.) reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup apple juice

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undefined

2 lg. Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced

1/2 c. uncooked orzo

1/2 c. craisins

Heat oil in lg. saucepan over med. heat. Add the chicken, onion, garlic, bell pepper, curry powder, ginger, cayenne pepper and salt. Sauté until chicken is no longer pink and the onion is tender.

Stir in the chicken broth, apple juice and undrained tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then add apples, orzo and craisins. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is al dente. Serve.

Pasta Salad -- Amber Perry

Pasta Salad

6 green onions

1 lb bacon (cooked, broken up)

1/2 lb grated swiss cheese

16 oz pasta (I used penne)

mix together and refrigerate

Whisk together:

2 C mayonnaise

1/2 C sugar

4 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Add to pasta mixture, may add vegetables such as frozen peas, broccoli, snap peas.

*I left out the bacon the night of book club. Men are much more fond of bacon than the ladies in my experience.

Cranberry - Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip -- Melissa Mills

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces fresh cranberries
4-5 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 (8 ounces each) packages cream cheese, light or regular, softened
Crackers, for serving

DIRECTIONS:
Pulse the cranberries in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped (alternately, you can do this task by hand). Add the green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, sugar, cumin, lemon juice and salt and pulse until the ingredients are well combined and finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a covered bowl or tupperware and refrigerate for 4 hours (or up to overnight) so the flavors have time to develop and the cranberries lose a bit of their tartness.

When ready to serve, spread the cream cheese in an even layer on a serving plate or 9-inch pie dish. Top with the cranberry-jalapeno mixture, spreading evenly over the top of the cream cheese.

Refrigerate for up to an hour before serving. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

Peanut Butter Popcorn -- Shirley Morris

Peanut Butter Popcorn

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup Karo syrup

1 cup sugar

Bring ingredients to a boil.

Pour over popped popcorn.

Roasted Vegetables -- Shirley Morris

Roasted Vegetables

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

• 1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut in 2-inch pieces
• 1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
• 1 large red onion, peeled, halved, and cut in 1-inch wedges
• 1 lb. red or russet potatoes, cut in cubes
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 16-oz. can chick peas (garbanzos), rinsed and drained
• 2 to 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil or olive oil
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 tsp. packed brown sugar or granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1. Position an oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Place all vegetables, garlic, and chickpeas in a large shallow roasting pan.

3. In a small bowl combine the oil, rosemary, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Drizzle over vegetables; toss well to coat.

4. Roast, uncovered, about 45 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, stirring twice.

Asian Grilled Salmon -- Julianne Clark

Asian Grilled Salmon (Barefoot Contessa recipe)

Found on sisterscafe.blogspot.com

1 side of fresh salmon, boned, but skin on-cut into 6 servings

(about 3 pounds) * I use frozen wild salmon from Costco—individually wrapped-skin on

For the marinade:


2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard


3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce


6 Tablespoons Olive Oil


½ tsp minced garlic

Light BBQ and brush grilling rack with oil to keep fish from sticking. (I use tin foil)

While grill is heating, prepare marinade by whisking ingredients together. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon (skin side down) and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Place salmon skin-side down on the hot grill; discard the marinade the fish was sitting in. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn carefully with a wide spatula and grill for another 4 to 5 minutes. The salmon will be slightly raw in the center, but don’t worry, it will keep cooking as it sits.

Transfer fish to a flat plate, skin side down, and spoon the reserved marinade on top. Allow the fish to rest for 10 minutes. Remove skin and serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Butternut Squash Soup -- Misha Bradford

Butternut Squash Soup

2 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled,

seeded, and cut into 2-inch chunks (about 7 cups)

2 T. unsalted butter

1 leek, white and light green parts only, quartered lengthwise, sliced thin,

and washed thoroughly (about 1 1/2 cups)

Salt and pepper

4 cups vegetable broth (Misha used chicken stock instead)

1-2 cups water

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

Pinch cayenne pepper

Sour cream

1. Place squash in bowl, cover, and microwave until paring knife glides easily through flesh, 14 to 18 minutes, stirring halfway through. Carefully trasfer squash to colander set in bowl (squash will be very hot) and drain for 5 minutes; reserve liquid.

2. Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add squash, leek, and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until squash pieces begin to break down and brown fond forms in bottom of pot, 10 to 13 minutes.

3. Add 2 cups broth and scrape bottom of pot to loosen and dissolve fond. Add remaining 2 cups broth, reserved squash liquid, 1 cup water, thyme sprig, bay leaf, and cayenne. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until leeks are fully tender, 6 to 7 minutes.

4. Remove and discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Working in batches, process soup in blender until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Return soup to clean pot and bring to simmer, thinning with up to 1 cup water to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve with dollop of sour cream. (Soup can be made up to 2 days in advance.)

*** Misha roasted the squash instead of microwaving it.

Also instead of vegetable broth she used chicken stock.

She also made rosemary garlic bread croutons on top.

Oreo Truffles -- Christy Young

OREO TRUFFLES

• 1 package Double Stuffed Oreos
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened (you can use up to 8 oz., I just like this consistency better)
• Dipping chocolate

Chop Oreos up finely in a food processor. Save some of the finely crushed Oreos for garnish later and set it aside. You don't need too much.

With hands (or a spoon, I just think hands are faster), mash softened cream cheese and crushed Oreos until well combined.

Roll into 1" balls and place on a wax covered cookie sheet. Put in freezer for 15 minutes.

While balls are in freezer, melt chocolate according to directions.

Pull the Oreo Truffles out of freezer, and dip into chocolate. Garnish with reserved Oreo crumbs before the chocolate sets up.

Let chocolate set, refrigerate and enjoy!

Favorite Frosting and Filling -- Amber Williams

Perfect Cupcake Frosting

by ourbestbites.com

I will do the conversions for you to make it easier. I usually make the last one.

For filling 24 cupcakes only or frosting big tops on 12 cupcakes:

3 T all purpose flour

1/2 c. milk (whole milk is best but I have used skim and been fine)

1/2 c. real quality butter (***Land O Lakes always works best for me)

1/2 c. granulated (not powdered) sugar

1 t. vanilla, or any other flavoring you want

For frosting big tops on 24 cupcakes:

6 T. flour (1/4 c. + 2 T.)

1 c. milk

1 c. butter (2 sticks)

1 c. sugar

2 t. vanilla

For frosting big tops on 24 cupcakes PLUS filling each one with frosting:

9 T. flour (1/2 c + 1 T.)

1 1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. butter (3 sticks)

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 T. vanilla (sometimes I do 2 1/2 t vanilla + 1/2 t. almond extract)

Put your flour and milk in a sauce pan - I use a large flatish one that has more surface area to heat up. It makes this step go super quick. Whisk together before turning on heat. Then turn heat about to medium. Whisk continuously and it will start to thicken. This is crucial that you cook the flour enough! I keep slowly whisking (scraping the pan) until it is the consistency of nice smooth thick vanilla pudding. Then let it cool to room temp. (I let it rest on a cool burner for a few minutes then stick it in the fridge, because who wants to wait!) It needs to be cooled completely or it will kill the butter.

While it is cooling, beat the butter and sugar in a mixer with the whisk attachement, scraping sides if needed, for about 2-3 minutes until it is well combined and fluffy. Then it usually sits there until the flour/milk mixture is cooled.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, along with your vanilla. Here is the magic - beat on the highest speed you can without stuff flying out--- for like 8 minutes. It is long, but oh so worth it. After 8 minutes, the goopy mess you started with turns into velvety fluffy frosting. Stir in food coloring if you wish.

*** Important tips:

1) For some reason this frosting only works with high quality butter. NOT even Costco butter. It stays lumpy and weird. I always use Land o Lakes. Good butter is totally worth the extra dollar anyway.

2) If you beat if for 8 min and it still looks strange, try to go a minute or two longer and on a higher speed if you can. This takes a little patience!

3) Store at room temperature in a sealed container. It may separate in fridge. (I did it once and it was fine though.) Can be made a day ahead and left at room temp in well sealed container, and will still come out looking great next day.

Skillet Lasagna -- Misha Bradford

Simple and Meaty Skillet Lasagna

from melskitchencafe.com

3 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, minced

Salt

3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (these do not add spice – just flavor!)

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground beef (I used 80% lean)

12 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 1 inch lengths

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup ricotta cheese (do not use fat-free)

Pulse the tomatoes with their juice in a blender or food processor until they are coarsely ground and no large pieces remain (in a food processor, that is about 12 pulses0.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking apart the meat, until it is lightly browned and no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes.

Scatter the broken lasagna noodles over the meat and then pour in the ground tomatoes and tomato sauce over the pasta. Stir in the basil and oregano. Cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer, until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in half the mozzarella and half of the parmesan. Dot heaping tablespoons of the ricotta over the noodles, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and let stand off the heat until the cheese melts, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve.

Easy (not too fattening) Alfredo Sauce -- Amber Williams

Easy Alfredo Sauce from Our Best Bites

3 oz. cream cheese

2 cups milk

2 T. flour

1 t. kosher salt

1 T. butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup real parmesan cheese, grated

Put cream cheese, milk, flour, and salt in blender until smooth.  Melt butter in medium saucepan.   Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds stirring constantly so not to burn.  Whisk in milk mixture and mix until bubbly and thick – can be about 4 to 7 minutes depending on your stove.  Take off heat and mix in shredded cheese.  Yummy over chicken and noodles with peas, or on homemade pizza, with bread sticks, or on veggies.

Rotel Chicken -- Amber Williams

Rotel Chicken

2-3 lbs. frozen chicken

8 oz cream cheese (not nonfat)

1 can of Rotel (Mexican diced tomatoes)

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 can corn (drained)

Put all in crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Stirring every 2 hours and shredding chicken at the end.  Serve over rice or in tortillas.  (It is a little spicy, so for kids add some sour cream.)

Gretel's Cafe Rio Chicken

Café Rio chicken

5-8 chicken breasts

1 lg. can green enchilada sauce

1-2 cups brown sugar

Add salsa to taste if desired

Mango Chutney Dip and Peanut Sesame Dip

These are the recipes from the last book club, which was hosted by Shirley Morris.

Sorry, it took so long to post. I actually moved the recipes and then totally forgot where I put them.

Doh! Anyway, here they are! Enjoy!

Mango Chutney Dip
8 oz. jar of mango chutney (used half of jar)
8 oz. whipped cream cheese
1 stem of green onions sliced

Mix together and serve with Fritos Scoops.


Peanut Sesame Dip
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sweet chili sauce
2 Tbl sesame seeds
1/2 cup water

Mix ingredients and just enough water to make creamy but not too runny.
Serve with fresh green beans, snap peas, and sliced red pepper.

Lime Cilantro Ranch Dressing (Cafe Rio dressing) -- Suzanne Kingsford

This is the salad dressing recipe that was used on the pork salads at RS the other night. It's good on a Cafe Rio type salad, or any other southwest salad. I even like to use it in burritos or to dip quesadillas in. (For those of you like me that get sick of eating the same things that your kids eat for lunch - this is a great addition!)

Lime Cilantro Ranch Dressing (Cafe Rio dressing)
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
juice from one lime (or if you're lazy like me, about 2 Tbsp of lime juice from the bottle)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 cup green salsa
hot sauce to taste

Here's the hard part - throw all ingredients into a blender and blend. Add hot sauce to taste after everything has been blended. You won't need more than a few shakes unless you like things really spicy. Refrigerate for awhile to thicken. This is the closest to the Cafe Rio dressing and easiest to make ie: no chopping tomatillos. You won't be disappointed.

Coconut Syrup -- Julianne Clark

If you like coconut at all, you really need to make this syrup. Carl calls it the sweet nectar of life. It's so good, you could drink this stuff. Seriously. You might want to double the recipe.

COCONUT SYRUP

7-8 Tb. butter

3/4 c. buttermilk

1 cup sugar (I usually put in 3/4 c. to make me feel better)

1/2 tsp.

1 tsp. coconut extract

Place first 3 ingred. in saucepan on medium heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat and add soda and flavoring. It will fizz, so give it a few minutes to settle down--the foam eventually settles. Store in the fridge--I usually heat it up a little in the microwave before using. YUM!

Christmas Casserole

1 pound Jimmy Dean sausage

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 slices bread, chunked

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

1 small can diced green chilies

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown sausage and drain.

Beat eggs.

Beat together milk and sour cream.

Mix eggs, bread, green chilies, cheese, and milk mixture.

Fold in sausage. Add salt and pepper.

Pour into ungreased 9"x9" baking dish.

Cook uncovered for 45 minutes at 350.

Serve immediately.

I usually double the recipe and use a 9"x13" dish. The cook time increases - to an 1 hour or even 1 1/2 hours. See what works for you, your altitude, and your oven. We take this to Bear Lake and it takes longer to cook there. Also this dish is great for trips or busy mornings because it can be made ahead of time and just refrigerated until the morning.

Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas

This is one of my favorite meals I have ever eaten.

Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas

from Keeping Up Cookbook

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. lime juice

1 T. chili powder

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 1/2 pounds chicken, cooked and shredded

Stir together honey, lime juice, chili powder, and garlic powder until combined. Add chicken and let sit in marinade for at least 30 minutes.

2 (10-oz.) cans green enchilada sauce

1 cup half and half

flour tortillas - (we love to cook our own from Costco)

shredded colby jack cheese

Mix enchilada sauce with half and half. Spread roughly 3/4 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish. Fill flour tortillas with marinated chicken and shredded cheese, roll-up, then place side-by-side in baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with more cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Awesome French Toast Casserole and Buttermilk Syrup

This is an awesome breakfast!! One of the best parts is that you make it the day ahead and pop it in the oven in the morning. The worst part = I hate cutting/touching cream cheese, but I love eating it. It is good with regular syrup, but AMAZING with buttermilk syrup (which by the way, would make anything smothered in it amazing. I'm just saying.)

French Toast Casserole

from Keeping Up Cookbook

10 slices of French Bread, crusts removed (I like Country French Bread in the bakery)

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, cut into small cubes

12 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 t. cinnamon, more for sprinkling on top

1/2 t. salt

Cut bread into cubes or strips. Layer bread and cream cheese cubes in a greased 9"x13" baking dish. Whisk together eggs, milk, syrup, cinnamon and salt. Slowly pour egg mixture over bread and sprinkle with additional cinnamon. Refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until casserole is puffed and center is set. Slice and serve hot with buttermilk syrup.

Buttermilk Syrup

from Our Best Bites cookbook

3/4 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 cup real butter (no substitutions - why would you want to?)

2 T. corn syrup

1 t. baking soda

1 t. vanilla

1. Combine buttermilk, sugar, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda in a 4-quart pan. (It will grow, so it needs to be a big pan.)

2. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low(ish) - just make sure it's still bubbling. Cook, stirring very frequently, for 7-9 minutes or until the syrup reaches a rich golden brown. (I doubled the recipe for YWs and it took about 15 minutes.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

3. Put on any breakfast food, muffin, fruit, ice cream, cake, dessert, or licked off a spoon. Yummy!

Marshmallow Fondant

(I just cut and pasted this from a blog I StubbledOn. I think it looks awesome! I think the kids would like to help with it. Oh, marshamallows - what can't you do?)

How to Make Marshmallow Fondant

Marshmallow fondant is easy to make and pretty fun to use. You can cover cakes and cookies with it to give them a smooth professional-looking finish or you can cut out shapes and designs to decorate your icing with. Its cheaper to make your own fondant than it is to buy it pre-made plus the pre-made stuff tastes a bit like cardboard unless you are willing to pay for a very high end product.

All you need is:

1. Marshmallows - they can be big marshmallows or mini ones, either one works fine.
2. Icing sugar - You'll be mixing the icing sugar into the marshmallows to make a dough so I usually make sure that I have an entire bag on hand.. but I rarely use the whole bag.
3. Food colouring
4. Flavoring oil - This is optional. If you don't add this your fondant will be sweet and flavorless which works well if your got all the flavors your want in your cake already

This time I decided to make it with those mini fruit flavored marshmallows. I had to sort them by colour first. I figured they would add a little bit of flavor to the fondant so I wouldn't have to add much flavoring oil.

I use gel colours to dye my fondant but regular food colouring will work too. You won't be able to get really dark colours without making your fondant sticky, but for lighter colours you can just even it out with more icing sugar.

I also had lemon oil and coconut flavoring on hand.. oh la la the value brand (which still works fine).

Step One:

Take a couple of handfuls of marshmallows and put them in a microwave safe bowl. Add a couple of drops of water and toss the marshmallows in it until they are all a bit damp. If you are going to just make one colour then put the whole bag of marshmallows in the bowl and add a couple of teaspoons of water. If you're going to put flavoring oil in, add it now and add less water

I like to make smaller batches because its easier to add the colour to the melted marshmallow than it is to work the colour into the fondant later.

Step Two:

Stick the marshmallows in the microwave for ten seconds at a time until the are puffed up and easily stir into a goo with a wooden spoon. Tip: Grease your spoon with butter, things can get a bit sticky.

Step Three:

Add food colouring to the melted marshmallows until you get the colour you want. Remember that you're going to be adding icing sugar which will lighten the colour so make it a bit brighter than you need.

Step Four:

Start folding icing sugar into the marshmallow goo until it becomes a soft and fluffy dough. Grease your hands with a bit of butter and turn the marshmallow out onto a table sprinkled with icing sugar. Continue to knead in icing sugar until the fondant is stiff enough to roll out.

If you add too little icing sugar the fondant will be very sticky- Just add more icing sugar

If you add too much icing sugar the fondant will be very stiff and hard to roll out - knead in a little bit of butter

Fondant with the icing sugar kneaded in.

Finished fondant!

For this batch of colours I made larger batches of lighter colours and then worked some extra gel colouring into the already made fondant to make smaller batches of darker colours. The dark purple and dark green were made from the a light pink and light green.

All you need to do is knead the gel colour in.. it takes a while to get it all mixed in which is why I only do it for smaller batches.

To store your fondant wrap them in pieces of lightly greased plastic wrap and keep them either in a big ziplock bag or a tupperware container. The fondant is essentially a sugar paste (its just marshmallows and icing sugar) so it has a shelf life of three or four months. If it feels a bit stiff and hard to use after being stored for a long time you can soften it up by kneading a bit of butter in or putting in the microwave one-two seconds at a time.

Now its ready to roll out and use to decorate your cakes and cookies!

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies -- Amber Williams

** These are my new favorite cookies! So yummy!! I have had them for breakfast everyday since I made them. I didn't add the peppermint extract to the dough - I think the kisses give it just the hint of mint it needs.

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening

1/2 c. real butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

optional: 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 c. flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife

1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips

48 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Meanwhile, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the centers are set but still soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss. Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden. If necessary, after the cookies have cooled, they can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to re-solidify the Kiss.

Cranberry Relish -- Gretel Sampson

1 12oz package fresh cranberries

3/4 cup sugar

1 jalapeno, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1-2 T fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp cumin

Chop the cranberries, pepper and onions. Add the other ingredients and serve over cream cheese with crackers.

(I mixed mine in the food processor... it chopped and blended everything perfectly.)

Hot Corn Dip -- Megan Archibald

Hot Corn Dip

· 1 (15 ¼ oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained

· 2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chilies, drained

· ½ C. chopped sweet red pepper

· 1 C. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

· 2 Tbsp. chopped jalapeno pepper

· 1 C. mayonnaise (not light or low fat)

· ½ C. grated Parmesan cheese

· 2 Tbsp. sliced olives

· Tortilla chips

In a bowl, combine the corn, chilies, red pepper, Monterey Jack cheese, and Jalapeno pepper. Stir in mayonnaise and parmesan cheese. Transfer to an ungreased 2 quart baking dish. Cover and bake @ 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with olives. Serve with tortilla chips. Yield: about 3 cups.

Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding -- Erin Massey

Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 1/2 cups ice cold water

• 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)

• 3 cups heavy cream

• 1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!)

• 4 cups sliced ripe bananas

1. In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

3. To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, but no longer! - before serving.