7 Layer Bars

These were served by Lauren Kammeyer at a Bridal Shower for Julia

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch-flavored chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 (325 for glass baking pan). Line a 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil, and spray with cooking spray. In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press mixture firmly into bottom of pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with the back of a spoon. Bake 22-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool. Lift out of pan and cut into bars or diamonds. Enjoy! :)

Donna's Black-Eyed- Susan Button Pies

These little button pies were created and designed by Donna for Julia's wedding. They look like a Black-eyed-Susan that had its petals fall off. They are little bites of bliss.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients of my standard pie crust recipe.

2 small boxes instant white chocolate pudding
2 3/4 cup milk
1 -- 8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened)
12-18 ounces of fresh Blackberries (rinsed and well drained)

Optional:

Almond slices
Coconut
Mini Chocolate chips
Other Raspberries, Blueberries, or whole Strawberries
Other pudding flavors can be substituted.

Directions:

Roll pie crust into 1 inch small balls, drop each ball into mini muffin pans. Or, roll dough out about 1/8th inch thick. Cut in one inch squares.  Drop a square in each mini muffin cup. Use the Pampered Chef wooden tart shaper to press down the pie centers and round the sides, or use your thumbs to shape. Dip shaper or thumbs into flour between making each tart. Prick bottoms of the button pies with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees 11 minutes or until golden. Cool pies completely.

Prepare pudding according to pie directions. Whip 2 3/4 cup milk with two small boxes of white chocolate instant pudding. Blend in softened cream cheese. Rinse and thoroughly drain berries. Drop pudding by the rounded teaspoon full into the cooled tart shells. Top with one blackberry. Chill and serve.

Optional:
Are blackberries out of season or too expensive?  These pies can be topped with any berry, kiwi, chunk of pineapple, mandarin orange section, pieces of a candy bar/ sandwich mint, coconut, almond slices, mini chocolate chip morsels, Reeces Pieces, M&Ms, a chocolate curl, or glazed fruit piece mixture.  Once topped with fruit or topping these little pies can have a drop or zigzag of melted chocolate over the top. These are really versatile little pies.

Vinegars

I have not yet attempted to make vinegar. I do know it can be made at home. I do use a variety of vinegars. All vinegars are a result of fermentation of fruit or sweet vegetables, beyond the alcohol stage, and are no longer alcoholic.

White Vinegar like Heinz White Vinegar is made from grain and clear water. I use white vinegar in baked goods like Red Velvet Cake. It has a mild flavor that works with baking soda to make a bubbling, leavening action, without leaving a vinegar taste.

Cider Vinegar also known as Apple Cider Vinegar is made from apple cider. I use apple cider vinegar in some meat dishes like Chicken Adobo because it imparts a savory flavor. \ Apple Cider Vinegar can be overpower the sweet flavor of baked goods, but blends well with seasonings to make meat dishes savory.

I also use it for medicinal purposes.

Red Wine Vinegar is vinegar that is made from red or white wine. I use this in salad dressings.

Raspberry Vinegar is a vinegar made from raspberry wine. I use it as a base for a fruity Zesty Italian and for making a fruity fajita.

Household Tips: Because vinegar is acidic it has been successfully used in a variety of home remedies and even an earth friendly solution for cleaning.

When I was young, I remember cleaning windows and mirrors with a solution of vinegar and water and using newspapers to clean the windows to a sparkle.

As a young mother I had a toddler get into a box of tide. He would scoop up tide and take it to the bathroom and pour it into a sink of running water, and then take a cup of water to the box of tide. Needless to say it was a soapy mess. I shared the story with a friend, she told me her story. Her children did the same on new carpet! The carpet cleaner told her that vinegar would cut the soap and make it easier to clean up. Her carpet was white so she used white vinegar. The day after she told me this, I dropped a bottle of bleach on a brown carpet. Remembering my friend's story I immediately I tried the vinegar, as it is acidic and bleach is base, hoping the vinegar would neutralize the bleach. and the acid in the vinegar prevented my carpet from ruin.

CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION do not combine vinegar and chlorine bleach!!!!
I have since learned that one should not combine vinegar and chlorine bleach, as it combines and creates a dangerous gas. I consider myself tremendously blessed that I did not inhale the mixture! Boy do I keep my guardian angels hopping. I could have solved one problem and created another. Using vinegar on soap bubbles or soap scum should not be an issue. Just becareful what products you use and combined in cleaning the bathroom.

I have used apple cider vinegar as a rinse on my hair to strip shampoo and conditioner build up from my hair. Wow, my hair was beautiful.

When I go to the pool I mix 1 part apple cider vinegar and 2 parts purified water into a 25 ounce spray bottle, and spray it on my body and hair to neutralize the chlorine so my hair does not turn green and so I do not smell like a pool all day. Then I wash my skin with a aloe loofa glycerine bar, and a cranberry glycerine facial bar. I was my hair with L' Oreal Kids Sunny Splash of Orange 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner. Sounds like a fruit salad I know :).

Vinegar is a must for food storage and green living.

Pulled Buttermints

My friend Joy Andrews taught me how to make these delicious creamy buttermints. These make great gifts and treats at weddings.

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup hot water
1/4 lbs. butter
2 teaspoons Karo syrup
2+ drops oil of peppermint
2+ drops color

Directions
Bring sugar, water, butter, and karo syrup to a boil. Boil 3 minutes with lid on pan, take lid off and bring to 252 degrees.

Pour onto marble slab, keep raising edges so they won't get brittle. Work until it is still hot but warm enough to handle. Work fast. Pull in ropes, fold, twist, pull again, and continue until the ropes lose their gloss and are getting stiffer. Cut quickly with buttered scissors or sharp knife. Place on wax paper in an air tight container to mellow (a tin) for 3 days. These mints get hard fast and then 3 days in an airtight tin turns them creamy and softens them.

Creamy Chocolate Nut Surprise

These are delightfully delicate, messy to make, but well worth the effort!

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. Hershey Almond Bars or 24 ounces Hershey Kisses and 1/8 cup chopped Almonds
9 ounces Cool Whip
Vanilla Wafers finely crushed

Optional Ingredients: Substitute other nuts, such as pecans, hazelnuts or macadamia nuts!


Directions
Wear food handling gloves for this one.
Melt Chocolate slowly so it does not burn.
Mix with thawed Cool Whip. If you do not thaw the Cool Whip first the chocolate will not mix thoroughly.
Chill in the fridge one hour to firm up mixture.
Drop into spoonfuls of chocolate mixture into vanilla wafer crumbs by rounded teaspoon full.
Roll into balls.
Roll in more crumbs.
Chill till set. 

This recipe freezes well in an freezer jar.

Roger's Hershey Kiss Marshmellow Fudge

Ingredients
4 1/2 cup sugar
1 large can evaporated milk
1 stick butter (1/2 cup butter), cut into half tablespoon slices
24 ounces Hershey Kisses (currently, by size, this would be about 151 kisses!)
2- 7 ounce jars of marshmallow creme
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds or walnuts
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Boil sugar and evaporated milk for 9-10 minutes. Place all of the other ingredients in the Bosch mixing bowl. Pour boiling mixture over other ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix with dough hook for 2-4 minutes, until the mixture loses it gloss. Pour in buttered jelly roll pan, cool, and cut. We actually cut it and put it in the freezer!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Tonight, my friend Alex's mom, Dianna taught us how to make tortillas from scratch. Dianna is from Corpus Christi, Texas. She used to have a family Tex-Mex Restaurant. These were flavorful and I tried my hand at making a few.

Makes 20+ 8 inch tortillas. Dough can be made ahead of time but should be used within 24 hours.

Ingredients
6 cups unbleached all purpose flour or whole wheat flour
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil (corn, sunflower, olive oil, or canola)
2 cups of very hot water (or less)

Directions
In a large mixing bowl or Bosch place flour, salt, baking powder, and mix with your hands or sifter, or in the Bosch with the wire whisk attachment until well blended. Add oil and mix with a fork, or fingers, or with the Bosch until thoroughly mixed an crumbly like pie crust.

Add hot water slowly, and mix with hands, making sure all flour mixture mixes. If using a Bosch, exchanged whisk for dough hook. Make sure you add water slowly and make sure the flour from the bottom of the bowl gets mixed into the dough. Add a little water to collect flour from bottom of the bowl. Mix until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and forms a ball. Whole wheat flour is less smooth and pulls apart easily. Place dough on un-floured board and knead until smooth, or slam on the counter about 20 times. Let dough rest about 15 minutes.

Pull the dough into approximately 20 gulf ball sized balls. Keep covered with a damp cloth. Squeeze each ball into a flatten disc shape. Then place back under the moist cloth. Remove one disc from under the towel, and roll out into a circle. Place in a medium high pan for 30 seconds, until you see small bubbles appearing on the underside. Turn tortilla for another 30 seconds.

Cool on a paper towel, serve. Fill with desired filling.