Almond-Cranberry Bread with White Chocolate Glaze

From Midwest Living 

Sweet bread balances tangy cranberries in this winning recipe from the Wisconsin State Fair. Wrap and store it overnight to make it easier to slice and less crumbly.

Makes: 12 servings Yield: 1 loaf (12 slices) Prep: 35 mins Cool: 10 mins Bake: 1 hr 15 mins at 325°F

• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2/3 cup chopped almonds, toasted if you like
• White Chocolate Glaze: 1/4 cup white baking pieces
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon French vanilla liquid coffee creamer

Directions

1. Rinse cranberries in cold water; drain. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Line bottom of pan with waxed paper; grease. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and almond extract. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in cranberries and the chopped almonds. Spoon batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
4. Bake in a 325 degree F oven about 75 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.
5. Before serving, unwrap bread. Drizzle with White Chocolate Glaze and sprinkle with additional toasted almonds. Makes 1 loaf (12 slices).

White Chocolate Glaze: 6. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, microwave white baking pieces on 50 percent power (medium) for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring once or twice. Stir in powdered sugar and French vanilla liquid coffee creamer. If necessary, stir in additional coffee creamer, 1 teaspoon at a time, until glaze reaches drizzling consistency. Makes 1/4 cup.

She Love Wine's Easy & Fabulous Apple-Pecan Crisp

4 cups tart apples-sliced ( & sprinkled w/ lemon juice -opt)
3/4 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/4 cup sifted flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
 1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup butter -soft
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup pecans, unchopped

Butter 8" square pan. Spread apples on bottom. Blend remaining ingredients till crumbly... spread over apples.

Bake 350 degrees until apples are tender and top is golden brown. 30 - 45 minutes

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Roasted Fresh Red Pimento Pepper Salad

 Photo by Brad Franks

 Recipe Submitted by Brad Franks - tweaked from a recipe from on the web.... delicious! A recipe of this caliber you'd expect to find in a 5 star restaurant. Highly recommend.

8 small pimento peppers or 2 red peppers

2 red onions, peeled, root end in tact and cut into 6 pieces each from root to stem, this is so they will stay together when cooked, you should have 12 wedges

3 thin slices of prosciutto, torn into strips 

1/3 cup macadamia nuts

1 tablespoon canola oil (red onion )   

1 tablespoon infused olive oil

1 tablespoon grape seed oil

2 1/2 teaspoons good balsamic vinegar

thin slices of Manchego cheese

salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Ideally, you will have grown your own pimento peppers and picked them right before roasting them. Wash and dry the peppers. Roast the peppers over direct flame and char them. Place them in a container with a lid and let them rest for 20 minutes. Once they have cooled peel them and then put a slit in one side and reach in with a finger and remove the seeds. If you are using red bell peppers cut them into wedges leaving the seeds behind. (if you don't have gas burners use your broiler with the top rack put as close to the burner as you can get it.)
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the macadamia nuts onto a sheet tray and roast them for 8 - 10  minutes. Remove them from the oven and dump them into a clean dish towel  until cool..
3. In a saute pan add enough canola oil to coat the pan. Place the pan over medium heat and then place the onion wedges flat side down into the oil. Once they start to simmer cook them until they are good and caramelized and then turn them to the other flat side and brown it. When they are done remove them from the heat to cool.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the oils and balsamic vinegar. Season it with salt and pepper.
5. To plate: Place the peppers and onions on the plate. Drizzle each with some dressing. Crush some of the macadamia nuts  and and sprinkle them around and then a couple of whole nuts. Twist and drape the prosciutto around the peppers and onions and then shave big thin hunks of cheese onto the salad. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Kansas City Steak Soup

From Midwest Living 

Makes: 6 servings Prep: 15 mins Cook: 25 mins

 

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (sirloin)
• 1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
• 2 14 ounce can lower-sodium beef broth or 3-1/2 cups beef stock
• 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 10 ounce package frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 tablespoons steak sauce
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook beef, onion and celery over medium heat until meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain well; return to Dutch oven.
2. Stir in 1 can of the beef broth, undrained tomatoes, mixed vegetables, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
3. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together remaining can of beef broth and the flour. Stir into mixture in Dutch oven. Cook until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Makes 6 main-dish servings.

Iowa Pork Vegetable Oven Stew

Makes: 6 servings Yield: 9 cups Prep: 20 mins Bake: 2 hrs at 325°F Cook: 10 mins

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 3 medium onions, coarsely chopped (1-1/2 cups)
• 2 14 ounce can cans reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth or 3-1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 16 ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
• 1 pound tiny new potatoes, halved
• 2 cups fresh green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces or frozen cut green beans
• Warm corn bread muffins (optional)

1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, brown half of the meat in hot oil. Remove meat from Dutch oven. Add remaining meat and chopped onion. Return all meat to Dutch oven. Reserve 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Stir in remaining chicken broth, thyme, oregano, lemon-pepper seasoning and salt. Bring to boiling; remove from heat. Cover tightly and bake in a 325 degree F oven for 1 hour.
2. In a small bowl, combine the reserved 1/2 cup chicken broth and flour; stir into stew. Stir in corn, potatoes and beans. Bake, covered, for 1 hour more or until meat and vegetables are tender and mixture is thickened. If you like, serve with warm corn bread muffins. Makes 6 main-dish servings (9 cups).

Peach Upside Down Cake

 Makes: 8 servings Prep: 25 mins

Cool: 15 mins Bake: 45 mins at 350°F

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups sliced, pitted and peeled peaches or frozen unsweetened peach slices, thawed and large slices cut in half lengthwise
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk

1. Place 1/4 cup butter in an 8x8x2-inch baking pan. Warm in a 350 degrees F oven about 5 minutes or until butter is melted. (Be sure to watch carefully to avoid overbrowning the butter). Remove pan from oven. Add brown sugar, stirring until sugar is completely moistened. Spread sugar mixture evenly in pan. Arrange peach slices evenly over brown sugar mixture. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in granulated sugar until well combined. Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to beaten butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter evenly over the peaches in the pan.

3. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert onto a large serving plate. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve warm.

Makes 8 servings.

Peanut Butter-Fudge Pie

 From Midwest Living
You can double the recipe to fill a 13x9 pan and cut into squares to feed a crowd.

Makes: 8 servings Prep: 25 mins Freeze: 6 hrs

• 1/4 cup light-colored corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal
• 1/2 cup fudge ice cream topping
• 6 tablespoons light-colored corn syrup
• 1 - 2 quarts vanilla or vanilla-fudge-swirl ice cream
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
• 1 cup fudge ice cream topping
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1. For crust, in a medium saucepan, combine the 1/4 cup corn syrup, the butter or margarine, and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils. Remove from heat.
 
2. Add rice cereal and gently stir until combined. Press into the bottom and up the side of a buttered 10-inch pie plate to form a firm, even crust. Cool.
 
3. In a medium saucepan, combine creamy peanut butter, the 1/2 cup fudge topping, and the 6 tablespoons corn syrup. Heat and stir over low heat until smooth. Spread in cooled rice-cereal crust. Place crust in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours or until firm.
 
4. Scoop ice cream into the pie. Freeze at least 4 hours or overnight until firm.
 
5. Sprinkle evenly with half of the peanuts. Spread the 1 cup fudge topping over peanuts. Sprinkle with remaining peanuts. Store the pie in the freezer. Before serving, let soften slightly at room temperature. Makes

8 servings.