Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

I haven't made these since we made them in our cake class last summer, but they are so GOOD! 

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

12 tsp. Pink colored sugar

1 pkg white cake mix

water and oil (based on cake mix instructions)

3/4 cup frozen pink lemonade mix thawed (undiluted)

1 Tbsp. lemon peel finely chopped

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Preheat oven to 350°. Spray pan with vegetable pan spray; sprinkle 1 tsp. colored sugar into each cup. Add water to pink lemonade mix to total amount of water called for o cake mix package directions. Follow cake mix package directions to prepare cake, adding chopped lemon peel. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on rack; remove and cool completely before decorating. 

Yellow Squash Casserole

This is a recipe I got from a gal at work. We tried it once, but squash isn't my favorite thing. When JoLynn gave me the recipe, it was written on the back of an envelope. It has floated around my kitchen since then. Since March of 2008 according to the postage stamp on the envelope. So in trying to clean my kitchen up I'm posting the recipe here so if I ever want it, I can find the recipe, without looking for that old envelope.

Yellow Squash Casserole
7 cups squash sliced
1/2 cup onion
1 cup shredded carrots
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
Stove Top Stuffing, divided
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Cook squash and onion in microwave until tender. Mix i carrot, soup, sour cream.  Put Stove Top Stuffing in the bottom of a casserole dish. Add squash mixture. Put more Stove Top Stuffing on top. Bake at 350° until bubbly.

Strawberry Fondue

Strawberry Fondue
1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed
1/4 cup half and half cream
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
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Combine all in food processor or blender and process until smooth. Pour into saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 mins. or until slightly thickened. Transfer to fondue pot or mini slow cooker. Serve with angel food cake cubes and fresh fruit. 


*When I poured the sauce out of the blender, it fit in a small sauce pan, but then it boiled over so next time I will use a bigger pot.

Parmesan Fondue

Parmesan Fondue
1-1/2 to 2 cups milk
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, cubed
1-1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
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In a large saucepan cook and stir milk and cream cheese over low heat until cheese is melted. Stir in Parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Cook and stir until heated through. Transfer to fondue pot or mini slow cooker. Serve with French bread cubes and fresh vegetables. 

Cider Cheese Fondue

Cider Cheese Fondue

3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 loaf French bread, cubed

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In a large saucepan, bring cider to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Toss the cheeses with cornstarch and pepper; stir into cider. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Transfer to a small ceramic fondue pot or slow cooker; keep warm. Serve with bread cubes and vegetables.

Carrot Supreme

Every year my employer does a Thanksgiving lunch the a few days before Thanksgiving. They provide the turkey and rolls and then everyone else signs up to bring a dish. A few of the employees don't get to choose what to bring because in years past they brought something so amazing that no one would forgive them if they didn't bring it the next year. Before the sign up sheet even gets to their desk, their names and signature dish have been added. I am one of the employees who gets to bring whatever I want each year because I've never made something THAT amazing. But one of the dishes that is a must each year is my supervisors Carrot Supreme dish. It is so YUMMY! Each year I ask him for the recipe, but then I usually loose it. So here it is so I can be able to find it and so you can enjoy it.

Carrot Supreme
2 cups carrots, sliced and cooked
3/4 cup liquid drained from carrots
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1-1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. green pepper, cut fine
1 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. cream or canned milk
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Cook onion and pepper in butter. Add flour, cream and liquid. Stir well until it boils (salt to taste). Place carrots into buttered casserole dish. Pour cream sauce over carrots. Cover top with buttered bread crumbs and bake at 20 minutes at 375°.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

Its not quite as good as the Olive Garden, but this is the best recipe for Alfredo sauce that I have been able to find. In my small town grocery store, I can't always find Romano cheese. If that is the case, I just double the Parmesan cheese. The only time I have found Romano is in the spaghetti section where they keep the Parmesan cheese that can be sprinkled over spaghetti. I bought all 5 containers and I'm glad I did because they haven't had any since.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
1-1/2 cups milk
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup Romano cheese, grated
6 egg yolks
salt and pepper to taste
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Heat milk and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan until it begins to simmer. Turn off heat. Slowly whip in cheese, then remove from heat.

Place egg yolks in a separate bowl and slowly whip in a portion of the hot milk and cream mixture. Slowly add egg yolk mixture back into remaining cream mixture. Place back on very low heat and continually stir until simmering. Take sauce off heat so it thickens.

Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Grape Salad

I posted this recipe about a year ago, but decided it needed to be changed a little bit because it taste better one way with red grapes and another way with green grapes. 


Grape Salad w/ red grapes
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1 cup brown sugar
8 - 16 oz. cool whip
red grapes
slivered almonds
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Remove stems from grapes and rinse well. Lay out on a towel to dry. Cream the cream cheese and brown sugar. Add the sour cream. Fold in cool whip. Mix well. Add in grapes and slivered almonds.


Grape Salad w/ green grapes
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
7 oz. marshmallow cream
8 - 16 oz. cool whip
green grapes
slivered almonds
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Remove stems from grapes and rinse well. Lay out on a towel to dry. Cream the cream cheese and marshmallow cream together. Add the sour cream. Fold in cool whip. Mix well. Add in grapes and slivered almonds.
*I found two different recipes. One called for the same amount of cool whip as cream cheese & sour cream. The other recipe called for it to be doubled. I made it using low fat ingredients and the low fat cool whip came in containers of 12 oz. so I just went with that. I also sometimes double the cream cheese because I like cream cheese so much. :)

Snickerdoodles

When I think of cookies, I almost always think of Chocolate Chip Cookies. When I don't think of those, I will think of Sugar Cookies. I like lots of cookies, but of course I get comfortable and only make a few. Today I decided to make a cookie I have always liked, but have never baked. I found a few recipes online and liked this one the best because it didn't require refrigeration and it called for butter and shortening. More fat, but also hopefully softer.

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2-3/4 cup flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

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Preheat oven to 400°.

Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Blend in with the creamed mixture. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.

Mix the 2 Tbsp. sugar and cinnamon. Rolls balls of dough in the mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from cookie sheets to wire racks.

When I made this recipe I doubled it and now I have a TON of cookies, probably like 8 dozen so I think a regular batch would have been plenty.

Swedish Meatballs

I got this recipe from Grandma Vonne.

Swedish Meatballs
2 lbs. hamburger
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. milk
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 slices bread, as dried bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 tsp. nutmeg
Mushroom soup
Soup can full of milk
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Lightly beat eggs. Mix in with hamburger. Add milk, onion, bread crumbs and seasonings. Mix well. Form meatballs.

Fry in a skillet until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes a side. Drain grease and put meatballs in a casserole dish. In the grease pan, combine the mushroom soup and a then fill the can with milk and add the milk. Cook until combined. Pour over the meatballs.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until no longer pink. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.