Homemade Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
7oz Pasta (I used rotini, but it calls for macaroni.)
1/4 C butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 C milk
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 C cheddar cheese
1 C dry bread crumbs (I used crushed ritz crackers.)
2 Tbsp butter melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook pasta. Drain.
Over med heat: melt 1/4 C butter, and stir in flour. Cook 1 min until smooth and bubbly.
Mix in milk, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and mustard. Cook until thickend.
Add pasta and cheese.
Pour into caserole dish.
Mix bread crumbs and melted butter and spread over.
Bake 15-20 min.

*The last time I cooked this I added a little chicken bullion to add a little flavor.. It was good both ways:)

Toffee

Ingredients

* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup butter or margarine
* 1/4 cup water
* 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips {I always use more!}
* 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

Heat sugar, butter and water to boiling in heavy 2-quart saucepan, stirring constantly; reduce heat to medium. Cook about 13 minutes, stirring constantly, to 290°F on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into cup of very cold water separates into hard, brittle threads. Watch carefully so mixture does not burn.
When you're getting close to 290 degrees, the color of the toffee starts to darken. I always debate as to whether or not I should wait until 290 degrees, but I do and it turns out beautifully! Watch out though- the heat increases pretty fast, so have your pan and everything else ready to go.

Immediately pour toffee onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. If necessary, quickly spread mixture to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand about 1 minute or until chips are completely softened. Spread softened chocolate evenly over toffee. Sprinkle with almonds.
Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour, or refrigerate if desired, until firm. Break into bite-size pieces. Store in airtight container. Enjoy!

Homemade Caramels

* 2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 cup corn syrup
* 1 cup evaporated milk
* 1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream
* 1 cup butter
* 1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium size pot, combine everything except the vanilla. Monitor the heat of the mixture with a candy thermometer while stirring occasionally. When the thermometer reaches 250 degrees {also called soft ball stage}, remove pot from heat.

Stir in vanilla. Transfer mixture to a greased 12x15 pan and let the mixture cool completely. When cooled cut the caramel into small squares and wrap them in wax paper for storage.
A couple tips on making caramels:

* Line your pan with foil, then spray the foil. Taking the caramel block out of the pan is a breeze after it's cooled!
* Don't feel like you have to stir the mixture continuously. It's OK to let it boil for a few minutes in between periods of stirring.
* When cutting the caramels, err on the side of smaller pieces, especially if you have small children.

Raspberry Hot Chocolate Mix

6 Cups Nonfat Dry Milk
2-8oz. Jars French Vanilla Non-dairy Powdered Creamer
1 (16 oz.) Package Powdered Sugar (about 2 cups)
1 (15 oz.) Package Chocolate Mix for milk (such as Quick)
(about 3 cups)
1 Package Unsweetened Raspberry-flavored Drink Mix
(such as Kool-aid)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in an air tight container.

To Serve:
Pour 6 oz. hot water in a heat proof mug and add 2 1/2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa mix. Stir until well blended. Enjoy!

Recipe from Wooden Spoon

Pretzel Jell-O

2 c. pretzels, coarsely chopped
3 T. sugar
¾ c. butter, melted
1 pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
½ c. sugar (for cream cheese mixture)
1 small carton Cool Whip
2 bags (10 oz.) raspberries frozen or fresh
1 pkg. (6 oz.) raspberry Jell-O
2 c. boiling water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix pretzels, sugar (3 T.) and butter. Pat them into a 9x13 pan. Bake it for 6 to 7 minutes. Let cool. Beat cream cheese, cool whip, and sugar (1/2 cup) together. Spread over cooled crust. Separately combine raspberries, Jell-O, and boiling water until Jell-O is dissolved. Only add about 1 c. cold water to Jell-O. Let it stand in fridge until partially set. Then pour over cream cheese layer.
Refrigerate until set and firm.

FAMOUS BYU MINT BROWNIES

BROWNIE:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 Tbs. honey
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

CHOCOLATE PAN FROSTING
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

MINT ICING
5 Tbs. butter
dash of salt
3 Tbs. milk
1 Tbs. light corn syrup
2-1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt butter and mix in with cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften butter. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing.

4. Prepare chocolate frosting: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, 2-3 minutes. Stir in cocoa powder and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring, and then remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar until frosting is thickened and smooth. Pour and spread warm frosting on top of the layer of mint frosting. Let them cool before cutting.

5. Enjoy!

Symphony Fudge

The holidays just aren't complete without this VERY ADDICTING fudge! It is so smooth & yummy...it just melts in your mouth!

Ingredients

* 4 c. sugar
* 1 pt. whipping cream
* 2 giant or 4 Large Symphony toffee/almond bars (16 oz. total)
* 2 sticks butter


Directions

1. In large pot mix the sugar and cream. Stir well and bring to a boil.
2. While boiling add two sticks of butter. Do not touch the sides or bottom of pan while stirring in the butter.
3. Boil to the soft-ball stage (220 degrees).
4. Add the Symphony bars and beat in with an electric mixer.
5. Pour into a greased pan and chill for 5-6 hours.

Ryan's Yummy Pasta Dish

We didn't have a photo of the actual pasta dish, so instead we have included a picture of Jake eating the pasta! He thoroughly enjoyed it & his face surely shows it!!! :)

Ryan’s Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms in a Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients
3 tbsp butter
4 or 5 cloves of garlic finely chopped or smashed
3 tbsp flour
1.5 lbs mushrooms (I like Portobello mushrooms) cut up in ½ inch pieces
1 pint cream
1 lb penne pasta (preferably Barilla or DeCecco)
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (preferably the real stuff, Parmiggiano/Reggiano cheese)
Pepper to taste
A dash of nutmeg

Sauce:
In a skillet, melt butter, add garlic and mushrooms and cook them over medium heat for 5 minutes or so. Add flour and mix it in thoroughly. Add cream a little at a time, stirring constantly. Continue to cook over medium heat for another 5 or 10 minutes—to give the sauce a chance to thicken. If you think the sauce needs to be thicker, you can add some Parmesan cheese. If you think it is too thick, add some milk. Add pepper to taste, and a dash of nutmeg.

Cook pasta according to the package instructions. When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the sauce. Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

Optional: you can also add chicken to this if you want, cube it & cook it separately, and add it just before serving.

Frozen Berry Salad--YUM!

4oz. cream cheese
¾ c. powdered sugar
8 oz. cool whip
1 lb. frozen or fresh berries
6 oz. white chocolate raspberry yogurt

Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Stir in cool whip and yogurt. Mix well. Add berries and fold in. Keep chilled until ready to serve. This is great to chill in a round, molded dish.

Yummiest Sugar Cookies Ever!

There are two treats that scream Christmas-Time to me.....Sugar Cookies and Toffee!!!!!
Ya gotta love the way little kids decorate.....the more stuff crammed on the cookies, the better, right? LOL
This recipe for sugar cookies is my absolute favorite recipe! They turn out soft, sweet, and roll easily every time. The sour cream in the recipe makes these cookies taste BETTER than Lofthouse. :)

Sugar Cookies
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 T. vanilla

Beat the above five ingredients together until smooth. Then add:

1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3 1/4 c. flour (plus flour for counter)

Once dough is smooth, put in a bowl in the fridge (wrap the top of the dough ball in saran wrap so it doesn't dry out). Keep refrigerated until ready to roll out into cookies. Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes (they are better underdone than overdone). Frost once they are cool with cream cheese or butter cream frosting colored green or red with food coloring....homemade, of course! :)

Mock Almond Roca--YUMMY!

Real English Toffee is quite hard to perfect....however, this recipe for 'Mock Almond Roca' is the second best thing to real English Toffee in our house. I have made this recipe MANY times and have never messed it up....so, if you are a toffee lover, this is a fail proof recipe. The salty taste of the crackers makes this treat have a delicious twist that everyone will love!

Mock Almond Roca
36 soda crackers
1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 t. corn syrup
12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
4 oz. slivered almonds

Prepare a 12x15-in. cookie sheet by placing aluminum foil on bottom of pan. Lay soda crackers on foil. Boil butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Pour over crackers. Bake at 400 for 5 minutes. Take out and cool slightly. Put 12-oz. pkg. chocolate chips on top. Return to oven for few minutes. Remove and spread chocolate evenly. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and refrigerate until ready to serve. YUM!