Grams Made Filled Peanut Butter Cups

In looking over my blogs for the past few weeks, I realized that I promised you a recipe for the Peanut Butter Cups that I made for Christmas. They are so simple that it's hardly fair to call it a recipe. They are made with a mix and pieces of candy and they are delicious. I will definitely make them again.

The recipes were adapted from recipes I found at both Betty Crocker and Pillsbury.

I made three different kinds of cookies using the same basic cookie. They came out so good that I used them for gifts. I will definitely make them again.

FOR THE BASIC COOKIE

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 egg

Heat oven to 375ºF. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, oil, water and egg until soft dough forms. Form dough into thirty-six 1-inch balls (about 2 teaspoons each); press into ungreased mini muffin cups.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Remove from oven.



PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

36 Bite-Size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Make the basic cookie. While cookies are hot and straight from the oven, press one peanut butter cup into each muffin. Cool in pan about 20 minutes before removing. (I think it goes without saying, but you must remove the paper wrapper from each Reese's Cup before pressing into cookie.)

SNICKERS CUPS

 

18 Bite-Size Snickers (1" x 1")

Make the basic cookie. While the cookies are baking, cut Snickers in half and press half of a Snickers bar into the peanut butter cookie cup when cookies are still hot and straight from the oven. Cool in pan about 20 minutes before removing.

SALTED CARAMEL COOKIE CUPS

 

1 bag of Brach's caramels

1 Tablespoon water

2 Tablespoons of sea salt

Make the basic cookie. While the cookies are hot, use the end of a wooden spoon to carefully press into center of each baked cookie to make an indentation.

In medium microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and water on high 1 minute. Stir; repeat until caramels are completely melted and can be stirred smooth.

Fill each cookie cup with about 1 tablespoon melted caramels. Sprinkle a few granules of coarse sea salt on top of each. Cool in pan about 20 minutes before removing.



I'm planning to make these again for Valentine's Day and fill them with chocolate fudge frosting which I will top with heart-shaped sprinkles. I can't wait to try them.

Grams Made 1965 Huguenot Torte with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

My mother-in-law had five children, three boys and two girls. The oldest boy and the oldest girl share September 12 as their birthday, twelve years apart. We traditionally gather for a dinner in honor of their birthday. This year I made dessert.

A couple of weeks ago I was watching The Food Network and someone mentioned this recipe and said it was an old recipe from The New York Times. I don't remember what show I was watching, but I did an internet search and found that it was indeed published in The New York Times back in 1965. It sounded really delicious, so I decided to give it a try. It was a huge hit. The original recipe called for whipped cream with almond extract. Instead I made cinnamon whipped cream. Delicious!

I will warn you that the recipe says it serves 8, but those are not generous servings. Next time I make it, I will double the recipe. It is supposed to sink in the middle and be gooey with a crisp top. By the way, the cinnamon whipped cream was a huge hit with the family. It was just the right touch for the torte.

1965 Huguenot Torte

2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup peeled and chopped tart cooking apples (I used Pink Lady Apples)
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat eggs and salt with until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar.

Using a hand-held whisk, fold in apples and pecans. Add vanilla, flour and baking powder. Pour into a well-greased 9" x 12" baking pan at least 2 inches deep. Bake for 45 minutes, until sunken and crusty. Serve warm or chilled, with whipped cream. Serves 8.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chill bowl and mixer's beater attachment in freezer for 10 minutes. Beat whipping cream on high speed until it begins to thicken. Slowly add sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Do not over-beat or cream will begin to separate and break down.

Grams Made Slow Cooked Moroccan Chicken

Grandad has been on the South Beach Diet for just over two weeks now. I'm not complaining. I've lost eight pounds. It's a great eating plan and, mostly, I don't mind it. But the first two weeks are very restrictive when it comes to carbohydrates. That means for the past couple of weeks I haven't been cooking any of my usual rice, orzo, ziti, capellini, sweet potatoes, or potatoes of any kind, etc. You get the idea.

Taking those items completely out of my cooking severely limits my meal planning. As of today, he is officially through the two-week induction period of the diet so now I can slowly begin adding a limited amount of healthy carbohydrates back to our meals.

One of the emails I subscribe to is a Healthy Recipes publication from Better Homes and Gardens. As luck would have it, yesterday's edition had a recipe for Slow-Cooked Moroccan Chicken. It looked really good to me and pretty healthy. I will admit that it was a little unconventional. Yes, it has carrots and chicken cooked with dried plums prunes. I was afraid that Grandad would balk, but he said he was game to try it. I put it in the crock pot about mid morning and it cooked for 10 hours on low. It smelled wonderful all day long. I served it over brown rice with a side of sauteed yellow squash and onions. It was as good as it smelled.

The original recipe called for eight bone-in chicken thighs. I substituted four boneless, skinless chicken breasts because Grandad doesn't eat dark meat.

Slow Cooked Moroccan Chicken

Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (½ cup)
8 oz. baby carrots with tops, trimmed, or baby carrots, halved lengthwise if large
½ cup pitted dried plums (prunes)
1 14-oz. can reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1¼ teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker combine onion and carrots. Add plums and broth. Top with chicken. In a small bowl combine curry powder, salt, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over chicken.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. Remove chicken, fruit, and vegetables from cooker with a slotted spoon. Spoon some of the cooking juices on each serving. Makes 4 servings.

Be brave ... try this recipe. You won't regret it. It's delicious!

Grams Made Tea Party Sandwiches

 As I told you in a previous post, Grams, Katy and Bylinda hosted a tea party last weekend. When we sat down to plan the menu, we wanted to be sure we had a variety of food that would appeal to a variety of tastebuds. Add to those considerations that Grams lives in South Texas and it's already hot here. (The heat index today is around 105 degrees.) We didn't want to have to heat up the oven which in turn would heat up the house.

We decided to focus mainly on finger sandwiches, but we didn't want them to be ordinary sandwiches. We were aware that many of our guests would be young ladies who would be having their first high tea experience and we wanted it to be something special and out of the ordinary.

The first one was easy; we settled on chicken salad right away. Katy made the chicken salad, which was absolutely delicious. Here's the recipe.

Chicken Salad

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 rotisserie chicken, deboned and chopped
2 cups red seedless grapes, halved
1 cup pecan pieces

Stir mayonnaise, sour cream and lemon juice together to make a dressing. Toss dressing together with remaining ingredients and chill.

The next choice was pretty easy too. We made cream cheese, cucumber and sunflower seed sandwiches. These were my personal favorite. This sandwich was inspired by one that was served at a restaurant that used to be in the central business district of Corpus Christi. Here's how we made it.

Cream Cheese, Cucumber & Sunflower Seed Sandwiches

2 packages Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
roasted, salted sunflower seeds
2 English cucumbers sliced very thin
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Stir the garlic powder into the cream cheese and spread on bread.  Put the sunflower seeds in a wide, shallow bowl. Dip the bread with cream cheese (face down) in the sunflower seeds. Top with one or two slices of cucumber and another slice of bread.

The restaurant where I used to eat this sandwich added alfalfa sprouts to the top of their sandwich. We opted not to include them.

We knew we wanted to offer a third kind of finger sandwich but couldn't decide what kind. We ruled out tuna salad as too ordinary. Then, after looking around on the internet for ideas here is what we came up with. Katy did the internet search and I don't know where she found the idea, although I would gladly give them credit if I knew. We made apple and cheddar sandwiches. The recipe couldn't be easier. I have to tell you that I didn't love this sandwich at first. The sharp cheddar, the strong mustard, and the apples have a very tart bite. But by the second bite, I was sold. I liked it so much that had the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Apple and Cheddar Sandwiches

Extra sharp cheddar cheese, shaved very thin
Granny Smith apples, washed, cored and sliced thin
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Whole grain mustard

Toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice to slow down discoloration.

Then just spread a very small dab of the mustard on bread, place a little stack of cheddar cheese on top, then top it with two slices of apple.

All of these sandwiches were made on a variety of bread from Central Market in San Antonio. We used dense, whole wheat, nutty breads as well as sour dough.

In addition to the sandwiches, Bylinda made homemade brownie bites with dark chocolate chunks and chocolate icing. We served cinnamon scones which also came from Central Market. Then we added lemon bread and three flavors of cheesecake bites which came from Sam's Club.

We filled my punch bowl with unsweetened iced tea and Sonic ice. And, we offered three kinds of hot tea -- Earl Gray, Chamomile & Bavarian Wild Berry Black Tea.

There were not a lot of leftovers, so I guess they liked the food.

Grams Made One-Dish Dinner Scramble

Grams has made this one-dish dinner a couple of times now. It's quick, easy, high in protein, and delicious. Grandad really likes it. I especially like that it doesn't make a big mess in the kitchen and you can throw it together in just a few minutes. I got this recipe from Food.com. The original recipe called for scallions, but I don't keep them on hand so I substituted onions.

1 lb ground turkey breast
1/2 of a sweet onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 (10 ounce) bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
5 eggs
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup salsa

Cook turkey in a little olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet, stirring occasionally, until the meat is almost done, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in scallions, red pepper, mushrooms and spinach.

Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs with the garlic salt and pepper. Stir the eggs into the skillet with the meat and vegetables. Cook, stirring until the eggs are firm and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Stir in salsa and serve.

Grams Made Sopapilla Cake

Grams has found that one of the joys of substitute teaching is the teachers' lounge. In most schools you'll find that this room is a refuge from the noise and clatter of classrooms filled with noisy and demanding children.

Teachers are a sociable bunch. Someone is always bringing food to share. I've been fortunate enough to be on several campuses when the PTA members hosted appreciation luncheons for teachers. Sometimes it's catered, but more often it's potluck with dishes brought by parents. Whichever it is ... it's always delicious and always appreciated.

This recipe came from one such luncheon. The PTA furnished the meal and the teachers contributed desserts. My very good friend, Brenda, who teaches second grade at Wood River Primary School, made Sopapilla Cake. Coincidentally, Brenda's parents are our next-door neighbors. I've known her since she was a teenager. Last weekend, we attended her daughter's 18th birthday party. She is a beautiful and talented woman who has raised an amazing daughter. She's also a great teacher!

If you've never had a sopapilla, you should eat one at your next opportunity. It's a fried pillow-like pastry made from sweet quick-bread pastry dough. It's usually coated in cinnamon and sugar and often comes with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream. Seriously, if you see it on the menu at your local Mexican food restaurant, order it.

But, in case you don't have the opportunity, this is an easier and quicker alternative. Brenda's original recipe called for a little more sugar and I added the vanilla extract. It was a big hit at the Vanecek family Christmas party Saturday night.

2 cans of crescent rolls
1½ cups of sugar

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick butter, melted
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll one can of crescent rolls on bottom of pan 9” x 12” baking pan. Mix both packages of cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and vanilla extract. Spread mixture on top of crescent rolls.

Roll the other can of crescent rolls on top. Pour melted butter on top. Mix remaining ½ cup of sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Grams Made Southern Pecan Pie

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I've been making my shopping list. If I don't get called to work tomorrow, I'll be going to the grocery store early in the day. Hopefully, some people will still be working and it won't be overly crowded. I can always hope, right.

I'll be doing my baking on Tuesday evening. We're going to my sister Bylinda's home in Seguin for Thanksgivng Day. She's doing the turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, homemade dinner rolls, and macaroni and cheese. Knowing Bylinda as I do, I know she's making a couple of desserts too. I'm taking broccoli rice casserole, deviled eggs and pecan pie. Katy will bring her mile-high apple pie and Nick is bringing honey-baked ham. Travis is making home-made cranberry sauce.

Just a personal note here ... I'm so proud that my children always go to family dinners with a dish in hand. So many of the younger family members just show up and eat. Grandad and I worked hard to instill this responsibility in our kids and it's so rewarding to see them follow through on things that we taught them.

It's always been interesting to me how family members seem to get assigned to bring certain things to family gatherings. In our family at least, once you make a dish, you own it. I got this pecan pie recipe from a co-worker more than 30 years ago. Ever since the first year I made it, I am always assigned to bring pecan pie. Everyone in the family considers this the best pecan pie they've ever eaten. One year I tried a different recipe and my family was not happy about it. The next year I went back to this old reliable recipe.

In the South, pecan pie is as important to Thanksgiving as pumpkin pie. Most cooks use pecan halves in their pies. I chop the pecans because they stay tender and the pie is easier to cut. I have also discovered that the pie filling does not set if I use a metal pie plate. Be sure to use a glass or Pyrex pie plate for best results.

1 prepared pie crust (I use Pillsbury All-Ready)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup margarine
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 teaspoon salt

Place prepared pie crust in pie plate and flute the edges.

Blend sugar, syrup and margarine in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Blend hot mixture slowly into beaten eggs. Stir in vanilla extract and salt. Pour into pie shell. Top with pecans.

Cover the edge of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. Remove it after 20 minutes. Bake at 375º for 30 minutes.

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Grams Made Granny's Oatmeal Cookies

Grams had a wonderful visit this past weekend with Our Little Princess and her mom. Unfortunately, about the time they arrived, I came down with a nasty cold. I'm still hopeful that maybe they won't get it. It's been miserable and I'm not feeling much better yet.

In preparing for their visit, I decided to bake cookies. When considering what kind of cookies to bake, I remembered that, when we cleaned out my Mom's belongings, I ran across a copy of my Granny's recipe for oatmeal cookies. These are the cookies I grew up eating. They are so good! To this day they are the only cookie that has ever tempted me to eat the raw cookie dough. They are that good.

The original recipe came from the back of a package of Mother's Oats, which I don't think they make any more. The only change I made was to use butter instead of the shortening called for in the original recipe. Since I don't buy or keep shortening, I always substitute unsalted butter.

I have magical memories of eating these cookies as a child in my Granny's kitchen. If I close my eyes, I can still see her bending over to take them out of the oven in her little country kitchen. She always wore her hair in a bun on the back of her head and always wore homemade shirtwaist dresses that buttoned in the front. And she had so much love for all of her grandkids. She was the quintessential grandmother who always had time and patience for all of us. She was the adult in my life who gave me consistency and unconditional love.

This is, without a doubt, the best oatmeal cookie recipe I have ever made or eaten. Our Little Princess liked them too, with one exception. In the future, I'll be omitting the raisins, Our Little Princess picked them out rather distastefully.

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sifted enriched flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda
3 cups uncooked oatmeal
1 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place shortening, sugars, egg, water and vanilla in mixing bowl; beat thoroughly. Sift together flour, salt and soda; add to shortening mixture, mixing well. Blend in oats. Stir in raisins, if using.

Drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes.

Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Grams Made Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Grams and Grandad are off to Houston later this week. It's time for Grandad's three-month follow-up visit with the electrophysiologist who did his cardiac ablation. I'll update on that after we see the doctor.

After that, we will meet up with other family members for one of my favorite weekends of the year. On Saturday, Grandad's family has it's annual golf tournament at Bluebonnet Golf Club in Navasota.  While they play golf, my sisters-in-law will join Katy, Marie and me for a day in Round Top for the Texas Antique Festival. Watch this space next week. I promise there will be lots of photos.

Katy, Travis and Our Little Princess will join us at Nick and Marie's house in Houston on Friday. In preparation for the trip, I spent this evening baking cookies which will be a nice treat for Our Little Princess. I doubled this recipe and it sure did take me a long time to bake them. (Note to self -- buy another sil-pat. It takes too long with only one.)

This is a very old recipe that's been around for years. The only change I've made is that I now use unsweetened all-natural peanut butter.


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Beat together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour mixture.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, or about 2 to 4 hours.

Take tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into balls with hands. Place about 3 inches apart on greased baking sheets. (I use a sil-pat instead of greasing the cookie sheet.) Using a dinner fork dipped in flour, lightly press cookies, flattening and forming a criss-cross pattern on each cookie.

Bake at 375° until golden brown, or about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen peanut butter cookies. 

I couldn't resist a taste test as they came out of the oven. They are delicious. Now I'm going to have to resist them for the next several days. It would be a shame if there were none left for Our Little Princess.

Since we'll be traveling, I probably won't be posting any new blog entries for the remainder of the week. Word is that we'll be having our first cool front of the season sometime this weekend. I can't wait for that first glimpse of fall when the air smells of promise. I hope you get a little bit of fall in your neighborhood too.

Grams Made Pumpkin & Sausage Soup

Grams woke to a rainy day and rain-cooled temperatures in the seventies this morning. It feels a little like autumn has arrived. I know that I'm only dreaming. The cooler weather is only the result of the overcast skies. As soon as the sun comes out it'll be back in the nineties. But this respite from the heat motivated me to make soup.

This is a low-carb pumpkin and sausage soup recipe. Warning: low carb does not mean low fat! I've had this recipe a couple of years and, I'm sorry, I don't remember where I got it. I've altered it a little. The original called for five cups of chicken broth, but I reduced it to two because I like the soup thicker.

16 ounces country-style breakfast sausage
½ cup onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
15 ounces pumpkin, canned
1 can low sodium chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup sour cream
½ cup water

Over medium heat brown the sausage breaking into small bits. Drain fat. Add the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning and mushrooms and sauté until vegetables are cooked.

Add the canned pumpkin and the broth, stirring to mix well. Cook at a low simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream, sour cream and water.

Servings: 8

Notes: Per 1-cup serving: 376 calories. 15 grams protein, 32 grams fat (14 saturated) and 9 grams carbohydrate (2 grams dietary fiber).

Grams Made Sweet & Saucy Slow-Cooked Pork Chops

Grams and Grandad love pork chops, but we really prefer them sliced wafer-thin and fried almost to a crisp. Other than the obvious fact that they're not healthy, the other problem with that is that Grams doesn't like standing in the kitchen and frying anything. It's too labor intensive and makes too big a mess.

I recently bought a large pork loin at our local Sam's Club. Do you know that Sam's Club will cut meat to your order? I didn't know that until my friend and neighbor Diane (who works at Sam's Club) told me. I have half of the pork loin cut into chops and the other half makes two small loin roasts. Since there are only two of us to cook for, we can usually get at least five meals out of one large pork loin.

Yesterday morning as I was trying to find a new recipe for pork chops. I searched the internet and finally ended up combining several recipes and altering them to make them lower in sugar and healthier. This dish was delicious! I highly recommend it. And, even though it's done in the slow-cooker, it doesn't have to cook all day. It only takes three-and-a-half hours.

4-6 boneless pork chops (about 3/4" thick)
1/2 of a large onion, cut into rings
1/4 cup Brown-Sugar Splenda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup reduced-salt soy sauce
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 cup ketchup
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water

Place pork chops in slow cooker and top with onion rings. In a small bowl whisk together brown-sugar Splenda, ground ginger, soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and garlic. Pour over pork chops and onions.

Cook on low setting for 3 hours.

Dissolve cornstarch in water and stir into slow cooker. Cook 30 minutes longer on low.

The sauce is kind of an Asian-inspired barbecue sauce and is absolutely delicious. I served this with brown rice and mixed vegetables.

Grams Made Pulled Pork

Grams has gotten several of her best recipes from the ladies of my book club, The Book Snobs.  This one comes from fellow Snob, Sandra Leeton.  It's easy, moist, tender and very tasty.

Since I had gastric bypass surgery 3 1/2 years ago my diet is "protein first."  This means I eat more meat than anything else.  There is only one catch, it is absolutely imperative that meat be moist and tender.  Anything dry or overcooked comes right back up or, worse yet, gets stuck.  Having a dry piece of meat stuck on its way into or out of my pouch (reduced stomach) is extremely unpleasant and sometimes painful.  Therefore, I'm always on the lookout for recipes similar to this one. 

2-3 pound Pork butt roast
1 can Coca-Cola
Salt, pepper, garlic to taste
1 onion, sliced very thin
Barbecue sauce to taste

Combine all ingredients except barbecue sauce in a crock-pot and cook for 8 hours on medium setting.

Shred pork, drain excess liquid, and stir in barbecue sauce.

Serve on foccacia rolls with Cole slaw and sweet pickles.

Note: I use a package of pork called "carnitas" that our local H-E-B sells.  It's scraps of meat left from over when the butcher trims butt roast and costs about half as much as a Pork butt roast.  It does require additional trimming at home, but I find it's worth the effort.

Grams Made Asian Chicken Wraps

One of Grams favorite places to eat when we go to San Antonio is P. F. Chang's China Bistro. And, creature of habit that I am, Grams always orders the same thing, Chicken Lettuce Wraps. These are so good that I practically dream about them. But since it's a two and a half hour drive from my house, I haven't eaten them very often.

The good news is that Corpus Christi now has it's very own P. F. Chang's China Bistro at La Palmera Shopping Center (formerly known as Padre-Staples Mall). It's scheduled to open on June 28. The bad news is that it will probably be months before you can eat there without a very long wait. That's how it always is when a new restaurant opens in Corpus Christi.

In an effort to satisfy my yen for Chicken Lettuce Wraps, I searched online for a copycat recipe. The recipes I found were widely varied and had way too many ingredients for me to mess with. So after reviewing all the recipes, I decided to create my own version. I made sure to keep it simple, I omitted a LOT of ingredients that the other's used, and tried to keep it healthy. I was very pleased with how it came out.

3 H-E-B Sweet Chili Seasoned Chicken Breasts
1 head Lettuce
½ bag of Matchstix Carrots (julienne cut)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 yellow bell pepper, diced pea-size
1 red bell pepper, diced pea-size
1 small can button mushroom slices, drained
½ cup Newman’s Own Low-fat Ginger Sesame Salad Dressing
1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

Grill chicken breasts and set aside. (I use my George Foreman Grill.) When they are cool enough to handle, dice them into pea-size pieces.

Separate lettuce into individual leaves. Wash, dry and set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, sauté bell peppers in olive oil until crisp tender. Stir in carrots and chicken and sauté another 3-5 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir together salad dressing, Hoisin sauce & soy sauce. Pour over chicken mixture and cook until heated through.

Serve wrapped in lettuce leaves.

Grams Made Olive Cheese Balls

Of all the finger food I make for parties, this seems to be everyone's favorite.  In fact, if I'm expecting certain guests, I always double the recipe.  I've been making them for years and don't remember where the recipe came from.  They're easy to make and very tasty.  Serve them warm from the oven.

2 cups finely grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup all-purpose flour
approximately 36 pimiento-stuffed green olives (well drained)

Thoroughly mix cheese, butter, hot pepper sauce, salt, paprika, and flour.  Form a portion of dough around each olive.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Note:  Olive balls can be made ahead of time and frozen.  Then just pop them into the oven and cook them just before serving.