Christmas Crack

In the event an event calls for you to have treats in tow, consider this crowdpleaser.
The trifecta of impossibility—Cheap, Fast, and Good.
Christmas Crack meets the above requirements and never fails to satisfy the tastebuds. 

PREP & COOKING TIME: 30 MIN

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Ingredients:

Saltine crackers 1 cup sugar 1 stick butter Chocolate chips Peppermint candy (I used candy canes) - crushed

Directions:

1. Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Butter the foil, and fill with saltine crackers. Place them as closely together as you can.

2. Bring one cup sugar and one stick butter to a boil. Pour this over the crackers.

3. Bake for about 10 minutes in a 400* oven.

4. Remove from oven and pour one large bag of chocolate chips over them. After a few minutes spread the melted chocolate evenly. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy.

5. Cool in refrigerator, and mark in squares. (Do this before it gets too hard.)

Sausage & Peppers

Sausage & Peppers is an easy-peasy one pan recipe that is sure to please!

SERVINGS: 6

TOTAL COOKING TIME: 30 MIN

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Ingredients:

2 Tbsp oil

1 pkg Sweet italian Sausage (links or bulk)

1 large Onion (I prefer sweet)

3 Bell Peppers **

splash of cooking wine to deglaze

1 can diced tomatoes w/ Basil, Garlic & Oregano

Directions:

1. Coat large skillet with oil on med high

2. Slice links into bite-sized pieces and brown in pan. (If you are using bulk sausage, just break up into large chunks.) Brown.

3. Halve and slice onion into thick slices. Throw them in the pan once the sausage is browned.

4. Slice peppers thickly, roughly same as onions. If you have multi-colored, start with green, then yellow, orange and red, last.

5. Throw in a splash of cooking wine if you need to deglaze. Scrape up any stuck bits off the bottom of the pan before they start to burn.

6. Stir in the tomatoes. Cover and cook for another 5 min or until the vegetables are tender enough for you.

**frozen veggies can do in a pinch, but instead of cooking them, thaw in a sieve under hot tap water. This helps avoid over-mushy veggies.

I like to serve this with crusty Chicago rolls from Publix's bakery, but it's also great over rice or your favorite pasta.

Beef & Broccoli

Some days you just want some comfort food. Beef and Broccoli does the trick for me.
Here's a tweaked recipe - Enjoy!!

SERVINGS: 4

TOTAL COOKING TIME: 30 MIN

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Ingredients:

1 pound broccoli florets or crowns (slice peeled stems--so delicious!)

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp minced garlic**

1 tsp grated (fresh) ginger**

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp cornstarch, divided

1 tsp baking soda

1 pound flank steak (or sirloin, whatever you have)

1/2 cup beef or chicken stock

2 tsp rice wine (sherry works too)

1/4 cup oyster sauce

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Microwave fresh broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl covered with plastic wrap, (poke holes for ventilation,) for 1-2 minutes. (**Frozen will work, but just toss them in the finished product.)

2. Slice the beef against the grain into 1/4 " thick strips and rub well with sugar.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, baking soda and 1 tsp cornstarch. Add scallions, and beef to your marinade and let it sit for at least 20 minutes, then add the sesame oil and mix well. (This can sit up to overnight in the refrigerator.)

4. In a separate small bowl, stir together the stock, rice wine, oyster sauce and remaining 1 tsp cornstarch until the cornstarch is fully dissolved.

5. Heat a wok or large skillet on high heat and add the oil. When a wisp of white smoke appears, toss the marinated beef and garlic into the pan. Cook for about 1 minutes, continually moving the beef so it browns on all sides, but is still rare. Once the beef is seared, add the broccoli and cook for an additional minute.

6. Stir in the sauce and keep it all moving. scrape up any stuck bits off the bottom of the pan before they start to burn. Throw in a splash of sherry if you need to deglaze. Once the sauce has turned into a nice thick glaze, about 1 minutes, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

**keep minced garlic and tube ginger in the fridge, its serves as well for fresh in these preparations without the work or waste.

**frozen veggies can do in a pinch, but instead of cooking them, thaw in a sieve under hot tap water. This helps avoid over-mushy veggies.

This is my adaption of Jet Tila's Beef and Broccoli Food Network recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/beef-and-broccoli-3872568

Blueberry Delight

One of the many amazing things about my mom was her love of cooking, especially for people she loved.  It was important to her that the food not only taste wonderful, but it had to look beautiful too. One of her Fourth of July standards was Blueberry Delight, a no-bake cream cheesecake on a graham cracker crust with blueberry pie filling on top.  It's a  pretty standard recipe, but special to me nonetheless.  I lost my card and searched her recipe boxes in hopes of finding her original recipe.

My efforts were not in vain, yielding not only the recipe, but Mom's source for this dessert.  So thank you Ellie Haugauer, wherever you are.  (I sometimes have difficulty deciphering Mom's handwriting, so that last name is really iffy.)  I think she got this recipe in the early 1970's.  Which means we were either going to the AOG or the Evangelical Lutheran church at the time.  I suspect the Lutheran church, it was full of Norwegian ladies that made great desserts.

Blueberry Delight

Mix and press into 9 x 13 pan:

• 2 1⁄4 c graham crackers, crumbled (1 pkg)

• 1⁄4 c sugar

• 1⁄2 c margarine, melted (I use butter)

Bake @ 350° for 8 min.  Cool.

Combine:

• 1⁄2 c sour cream

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened

• 1⁄3 c powdered sugar

Fold in gently:

• 2 c dream whip, whipped (I just made some whipped cream - added confectioner's sugar & vanilla)

Spread gently over cooled crust.

Chill until firm.

Spoon blueberry (or cherry, strawberry, whatever you want!) pie filling over top, return to fridge.

Serve chilled.

It's a really easy recipe, and a very light dessert (to eat, probably not calorie-wise.)

Leave a comment here if you try it.  let me know how it comes out!  If you can keep the hounds at bay, send me a pic!  Mine always gets devoured before I can get to a camera!