BUTTERMILK RANCH FRIED CHICKEN

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2 1/2-3 lbs frying chicken pieces
vegetable oil
2 ¼ cups flour
1 ¼ tbs dried dill weed
1 ½ tsp salt
¾ tsp pepper
2 ½ cups buttermilk

Rinse chicken and pat dry; set aside. Fill a large deep-fry pot or electric skillet to no more than half its depth with oil. Heat oil to 325 degrees to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, dill, salt and pepper. Fill another bowl with buttermilk. Place chicken, one piece at a time, in buttermilk; shake off excess liquid. Coat lightly in flour mixture; shake off excess flour. Dip again in buttermilk and flour mixture. Fry chicken, a few pieces at a time, skin side down, for 10-14 minutes. Turn chicken and fry 12-15 minutes longer or until juices run clear; drain on paper towels. Let stand 7 minutes before serving.

4-6 servings

BEG ME BABY BROWNIES

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1 stick butter
2 ½ oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 ½ tbs instant espresso

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease and flour an 8” square pan. Shake out excess flour.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a 3 qt saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cardamom and coffee. Stir into the chocolate mixture, combining just until the flour disappears. DO NOT OVER STIR!

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the pan on a wire rack completely before cutting into squares.

Serve with your favorite coffee, cappuccino or espresso!

CHICKEN & WHITE BEAN STEW

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1 tbs olive OR vegetable oil
4 medium carrots, sliced (about 2 cups)
3 ribs celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves OR thighs, cut into chunks
1 (26-28 oz) jar pasta sauce
2 (15 oz) cans cannellini OR white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

In a 12” skillet, heat oil over medium heat and cook carrots, celery, onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove vegetables and set aside.

In the same skillet, thoroughly brown chicken over medium-high heat. Return the vegetables to the skillet. Stir in the pasta sauce, beans and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Garnish, if desired, with fresh parsley and serve with toasted Italian bread.

6 servings

FOUR-INGREDIENT CHEESY TREATS FOR DOGS

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1 (8 oz) bag shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups)
2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup oil
½ cup milk

Place cheddar cheese and flour into a medium mixing bowl. Blend with a whisk.

Add oil and milk. Mix.

Place dough on waxed paper. Knead 1 minute.

Roll to 1/4” thickness. Cut with 2 1/2” cookie cutters or cut into rectangles.

Place on a sprayed baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Makes 24-30 treats

DEVIL’S FOOD

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If angel food cake is the gentle and soft dessert you bake for ladies’ luncheons and children’s teas, then its opposite – the devil’s food cake – seems the right dessert for every other occasion. For naughty devil’s food is built on deep chocolate flavors and has a big coarse crumb. Nothing for the timid! Slather it with a frosting of more deep chocolate, milder white chocolate, caramel or, my favorite, peanut butter. And the only thing more delicious than a devil’s food cake is another slice of devil’s food cake.

Fortunately for cake doctoring, it’s easy to improvise and improve on a devil’s food cake mix. Add up to 3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder for a more decided chocolate punch. Or do the trick with a (1 oz) square of unsweetened chocolate melted with ½ cup boiling water. You can also add a tbs of instant coffee powder for an extra kick, especially if you are frosting the cake with a sweet, fluffy, mocha-infused buttercream frosting. But you absolutely MUST add buttermilk to this cake. It assures you a moist cake and compensates for your addition of cocoa, which can dry out the cake batter. Plus, the acidity in buttermilk naturally compliments chocolate.

There you have it. A naughty but delicious chocolate cake worthy of one slice, two, even three. So sell your soul to the devil.

SPAGHETTI BAKE

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1 lb link sausage (regular OR italian)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained
½ tsp salt
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp oregano
6 oz spaghetti, cooked according to pkg directions and drained
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
fresh basil leaves and tomato slices (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut sausage links into bite-size pieces. Cook in a medium skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring occasionally. Drain off any drippings; set sausage aside. Combine tomato sauce, tomato paste, mushrooms, salt, dried basil and oregano in a large bowl. Add spaghetti and reserved sausage; mix well. Spoon into a lightly greased 1 ½ qt casserole dish; sprinkle with cheeses. Bake 20-30 minutes or until heated through. Garnish with fresh basil and tomato slices, if desired. Serve hot.

4 servings

PIE PLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP TOFFEE COOKIES

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1 ¼ cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 lg egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup toffee bits OR chopped up heath bars
additional toffee bits OR heath chunks for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9” pie plate with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until blended. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standard mixer, add the butter and brown sugar. Beat with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until blended.

On LOW, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix just until the flour is incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and toffee. Mix until just combined.

Scrape the dough into the prepared pie plate. Spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle additional toffee over the dough.

Bake for 27-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Cut cookies into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS

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6 oz uncooked egg noodles
3 tbs butter OR margarine
¼ cup flour
1 (14 ½ oz) can chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
2 tbs dry sherry
2 (6 oz) cans sliced mushrooms, drained
1 (7 ½ oz) jar roasted red peppers, cut into 1/2” stirps
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 ts dried italian seasoning
½ cup (2 oz) grated parmesan cheese

Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain well.

While noodles are cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Add chicken broth; bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat. Gradually add whipping cream and sherry; stir to combine.

Combine mushrooms, red peppers and noodles in a large bowl; toss to combine. Add half the chicken broth mixture the noodle mixture. Combine remaining chicken broth mixture, chicken and italian seasoning in a large bowl.

Spoon the noodle mixture into a serving dish. Make a well in the center of the noodles and spoon in the chicken mixture. Sprinkle cheese over the top.

6 servings

SALTED PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL TWIX BARS

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FOR THE SHORTBREAD CRUST:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup 10x sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
½ cup creamy peanut butter

FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER:

1 cup plus 2 tbs sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
5 tbs water
½ tsp salt
½ cup heavy cream
1 ½ tsp vanilla

FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER:

3 cups chopped dark OR bittersweet chocolate
1 tbs butter
sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

PREPARE THE CRUST:

Line a 9”x13” pan with foil, spray or butter, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla. Gradually add the flour, about ½ cup at a time, and mix until the dough comes together.

Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Prick the crust all over with a fork.

Bake the crust for 30-35 minutes or until the top is light golden in color and the edges are browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Spread the peanut butter over the still-warm crust. Set the crust aside and cool completely before adding the caramel.

PREPARE THE CARAMEL:

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt. Over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Once it boils, STOP stirring, and cook the mixture until it turns a golden caramel color. Depending on the intensity of the heat, this can take 10-20 minutes. If you are new to caramel, I would do this on a lower heat setting. It will take longer, but you will be able to see the amazing process and are less likely to burn it. (Swirl the pan as needed so the caramel cooks evenly). Remove from the heat and carefully add the cream and vanilla. The mixture will bubble and spurt so don’t stand too close to the pan. Once everything has settled down, stir until the caramel smooths out into a beautiful, rich sauce. Immediately pour the sauce over the cooled crust.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the caramel to set.

PREPARE THE CHOCOLATE LAYER:

Place the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water (double-boiler style.) Stir the chocolate from time to time, until it’s completely melted and smooth. Don’t allow it to become to heated or it will separate.

Pour the chocolate over the hardened caramel layer. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

HEARTY TORTELLINI SOUP

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1 small red onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14 ½ oz) can chicken broth
1 (15-19 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 (9 oz) pkg refrigerated tortellini pasta
2 tbs oil
½ cup water

Heat oil in a 6-qt saucepot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add veggies, tomatoes and garlic. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender.

Add broth, water, beans and worcestershire sauce. Heat to boiling. Stir in pasta. Return to boiling. Cook 5 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve with crusty bread and grated parmesan cheese, if desired.

4 servings