Broken Glass Jello Cubes

INGREDIENTS:

8 small boxes of jello (3 oz), different colors
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 envelopes unflavored knox gelatin
water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Dissolve each box of jello separately, using just 2 cups of boiling water per flavor. Pour into individual containers (I used 9X9 glass pans) and chill overnight.

Once solid, cut the flavors of jello into small blocks and mix together carefully in a glass 9×13 pan.

In a separate bowl, dissolve 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin in 2 cups hot water. Let cool a bit and stir in the condensed milk. Cool to touch and pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.

Cut into squares and serve.

Paska

From Mennonite Girls Can Cook (my adaptations in bold)

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon sugar

1. In a large bowl, put your yeast, sugar and warm water. Let sit 10 minutes. .if it hasn't poofed up . . either your yeast is old, or dead . ..if that happens, start again. There is no point in going on without nice poofy yeast.

• 1 medium lemon
• 1 medium orange

1. Take your citrus and peel it very thin. I use a vegetable peeler. (I use my microplane to shave off or zest as much of the peel as possible) You don't want to use any of the white part of the peel. Put the thinly sliced peel in the blender.
2. Once you have removed and discarded the white pith of the citrus.. .chop your lemon and orange . .removing all the seeds. Add the chopped lemon and orange to the blender.(I add the zest right into the yeast mixture but add the inside pieces to the blender.)

• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup of real butter

1. In a microwave safe bowl, heat the butter and milk until the butter melts. .or do it in a saucepan on the stove.
2. Once it is melted .. .add it to the blender. Start the blender .. and begin to puree.

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt (I do not add the salt)

1. Start the blender on high and allow the citrus, peel and milk, butter mixture to run for about 2 or 3 minutes.
2. Add the eggs, sugar and salt.
3. Continue to run the blender for another minute or two until very smooth.
4. Measure the milk/citrus and sugar mixture. . it should be about 4 1/2 cups. If you have a bit more or less that is fine. .you will just adjust the flour likewise. (My Kitchen Aid doesn't accommodate this full recipe so I just measure half of the yeast mixture and 2 1/4 cups of the blender mixture into a separate bowl and do the flour part in 2 batches)
5. Pour the mixture, along with the yeast mixture into a large bowl .. or the bowl of your kitchen machine, which has a dough hook.
6. Add flour. . .one cup at a time until you have a smooth soft dough .. .it will be sticky. I think about 7 cups of flour (or 3 1/2 cups if you are making it in the kitchen aid in 2 small batches) should be right. . but it will depend on the size of your eggs and the size of your lemon and orange. With a plastic bowl . .it is easy to tell when the dough has enough flour because it will stop sticking to the side of the bowl ..but with a metal bowl you really do need to stop the mixer often and touch your dough before adding additional flour. It really is best to stop the machine once it is getting close. . and knead the last bit of flour by hand. . .a little at a time until it is smooth. Do not add more than 7 1/2 cups flour. . allow it to remain sticky. If you measured the milk mixture and had 4 1/2 cups. .7 cups of flour will be enough. . .sticky but enough.
7. The amount of flour is a guide. .if your dough is still super sticky add a little more flour a dusting at a time. Look at the picture in the collage of my dough .. .that is how it should look. It should be able to hold its shape. There will be several factors in how your dough could be different than mine. . .the flour you purchase or how you fill your cup of flour. . I scoop and shake to level. Or. . it could be that you have slightly more liquid. Don't despair if you think it is still too sticky. . .go slow. . add a dusting more. .turn the dough on the counter and knead until you are out of flour again. .and then give it another dusting and continue this way until. . .it looks like mine in the picture.
8. After kneading it by hand or with the machine for about 8 - 10 minutes. . .transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, a tea towel and allow to rise until doubled. This should take about an hour. .to an hour and a half.
9. At this point, give it a bit of a punch down and let rest at least 10 minutes or up to another hour.
10. During this time prepare your pans. I spray mine with Pam. Make loaves and let rise until doubled in bulk .. .or about an hour to an hour and a half.
11. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the loaves about 20 minutes. .but again it totally depends on the size of your pans.
12. Allow to cool on cooling racks.  I put them in the freezer unless we are eating them the same day . 

Paska Icing

• 1 cup of soft real butter
• 4 pasteurized egg whites (young children, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems should avoid raw egg whites)  I often  use egg white powder  and water.
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• enough icing sugar to make a soft icing. It will harden again in the fridge.

1. Beat all together until light and smooth....and spread on each slice .. .and sprinkle with colored sugar.

Blueberry Glazed Pork Medallions

Ingredients

• 2 pound pork tenderloin
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ½ tsp garlic powder

Sauce:

• ¼ cup water
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 cup blueberries

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine Italian seasoning, pepper, and garlic. Rub over tenderloin.
2. Pan fry in a large frying pan until outside is browned.
3. Slice pork loin into medallions and cook until barely pink.
4. Serve with blueberry glaze sauce.

Sauce:

 1. In a small pan whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, balsamic vinegar, water and soy sauce. Heat over medium and stir until mixture thickens, about 4 minutes. Add blueberries and simmer until warm, about 2 minutes.

Can also be made in a crockpot:

1. After seasoning, pork loin, pour ½ cup of water in the slow cooker and add the tenderloin. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
2. When tenderloin is done, remove from slow cooker and let rest 5 minutes. Drizzle glaze over tenderloin.
3. Slice and serve.

White Cake and Best Icing Ever

Cake:

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• Sprinkles, if desired

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
5. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
6. Stir in the milk until batter is smooth.
7. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.
   

Icing:

Ingredients

• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 package instant pudding mix
• 1 tsp extract
• food colouring, if desired
• Sprinkles, if desired

Directions

1. Whip whipping cream in a kitchen aid mixer until stiff peaks form.
2. Add in pudding mix and extract of your choice and continue whipping, add a bit of milk if icing becomes too thick to spread.
3. Mix and match pudding flavours and extracts for variety. (examples: vanilla pudding mix and vanilla extract, chocolate pudding mix and peppermint extract, lemon pudding mix and lemon extract, white chocolate pudding mix and vanilla extract. 

 I made this cake in 2 long 9X13 pans and then cut them into pj shapes when my girls' school did "The Pajama Game" as their musical. This was their "cue to cue" treat. I used white chocolate pudding mix, vanilla extract, purple food colouring, and yellow and mint candy melts to decorate. The purple outline was done in purple candy melts-melted and piped in a ziploc bag.

Apple Nachos

3 granny smith apples (sliced)

3 red delicious apples (sliced)

1/2 cup chocolate caramel sauce (I used this recipe but when it didn't thicken up at all, I threw in some milk chocolate chips and stirred them in. You could easily used bought chocolate or caramel sauce)

2 tbsp slivered almonds

1 tbsp Epicure selections Vanilla sprinkles

1 tbsp Epicure selections Chocolate sprinkles

1 hand full of M&Ms (I used limited edition cherry ones)

Place apple slices on a platter. Pour on sauce and add desired toppings. Serve immediately to hungry blogger friends.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole (with canned soup)

1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tbsp flour
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
or creamy poblano & queso soup (bought in the US)
4 oz can green chilies (optional)
6-8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cup grated cheese, Monterey Jack or Cheddar

Saute onion in butter. Mix in flour. Add next 4 ingredients. Stir until it boils. Add chicken and mix.

Tear 2-3 tortillas into pieces. Place in the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Spoon 1/2 chicken mixture on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese.
Tear 2-3 tortillas into pieces and place on top of chicken mixture. Add remaining amount of chicken mixture and top with 1/4 cup cheese. Top with remaining torn tortillas and top with 1 cup of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese bubbles.

Perogy Rollups (Using Leftover Potatoes)

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

8ish cups mashed potatoes (leftovers are perfect!)

8 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

10-12 lasagna noodles (cooked)

grated cheddar cheese

sour cream and more bacon, for garnish

Directions:

Sliced onion into very thin small pieces. In a frying pan, cook in brown sugar and butter until onions caramelize. Add in potatoes and heat through. Add bacon and cheese and heat until cheese begins to melt. 

Lay cooked noodle out on a flat surface and place slightly less than 1 cup of filling. Roll up and tuck end under. Continue with remaining noodles and filling. 

At this point, you can bake these topped with some additional cheddar cheese and then top with sour cream and bacon and serve. 

Or...you can freeze after rolling up on a tray and then transfer to a air tight container or ziploc bag. To cook after freezing, place frozen rolls in a baking dish and top with a small amount of white gravy (1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp flour cooked in a sauce pan and then add about 1 1/2 cups milk. Season with salt and pepper as desired). Bake covered until rolls are cooked through and then top with cheese and uncover until cheese is melted. Serve garnished with sour cream and bacon.