Rock Candy

Do not, like me, get confused with the name of this candy. It's just a hard candy, not the rock candy that you make as a kid with a sugar solution and a stick.

Now that we're clear on that...

Rock Candy
From Mrs. Bourke's kitchen

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon flavoring (use LorAnn candy oils, not regular extracts, which aren't strong enough)
food coloring
powdered sugar

Heat the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a saucepan over high heat. Heat until the mixture reaches 320*F, the hard crack stage. Mix in flavoring and food coloring quickly, then pour into a well oiled jelly roll pan. Allow to cool slightly, until it can be handled, but is still soft. Using a pair of clean scissors, cut the candy into manageable pieces, then cut into bite-sized pieces over a container of powdered sugar. Cool completely, then sift out of the powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
One of my friends has had this tradition in his family for years, where the whole family gets together one day and makes a ton of this rock candy. This year, my friend invited a bunch of people from school to help out. Total, we made 21 batches of this stuff, in various flavors, including spearmint, wintergreen, peppermint, cinnamon, licorice, and sassafras. It was a ton of fun, and afterwards, we had a fight with all the leftover powdered sugar.

Be warned, though, once the candy starts to harden, it doesn't really stop, so you have to work fast. Thus, it helps to have a ton of people around to help cut. Like this:



Yes, we did end up having fun with all that powdered sugar :)

Pumpkin Cake

Pumpkin Cake
Adapted from All Recipes

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup applesauce (unsweetened, unflavored)
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube (or bundt) pan. In a large bowl, combine oil, applesauce, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix until well combined and smooth. Add in pumpkin and blend well. Pour batter into greased pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to cool on a wire rack.

My Notes:
This was a nice and moist cake. I enjoyed it. So did the boys. My friend even said something along the lines of "everything you touch tastes amazing!" Another win!

Enchilada Pasta

Enchilada Pasta
Originally found at Table For Two

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
1 1/4 cup enchilada sauce (I used red sauce)
1 can corn, drained
1 zucchini, diced finely
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (divided)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (divided)
12 oz egg noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook egg noodles according to package directions; drain.

Meanwhile, heat cream cheese and sour cream in a skillet over medium heat. Add chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir until well combined. Add chiles, corn, and zucchini, mixing well. Add enchilada sauce. Add 1/2 cup each of cheddar cheese and monterey Jack cheese. Heat until cheese has melted and mixture is well combined.

Toss the noodles with the sauce and pour into a baking dish (9x13 or equivalent). Top with remaining cheeses. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and bubbly. Serve.

My Notes:
My friend lives with 3 other guys. Being in a fairly large household, he and his roommates decided to do a thing where they each cook one night a week. Except, there are only four of them. There are five weeknights. Ohs noes! Whatever should they do?

Well, they developed a guest chef program. And I was asked to be one. My friend so generously reminded his roommates that I eat Kosher, so while it wasn't a perfectly kosher food week, it was good enough for me.

My contribution was this dish. I had to alter it, obviously, because I couldn't have meat with my cheese, so I just opted to go without it all together. I do need to make a few adjustments to the recipe above, as it was a little too cheesy (if such a thing is even possible), and there wasn't quite enough kick to it, but it wasn't bad. I'll also probably fry up the zucchini in a bit of olive oil first, then add the cream cheese and sour cream. Not that it was bad, I just think it'd draw the flavor of the zucchini out a little more. Probably will add some more veggies too, but I have to figure out what sort of veggies will go well in this dish.

All the guys devoured it. Along with the salad and the pumpkin cake I made (recipe coming shortly). It was a good night. And I look forward to making this recipe again.

Puppy Chow

Puppy Chow
Traditional Recipe

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 box Chex (my favorite is corn)

In a microwave-safe bowl (or double boiler), combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Heat in 15 second intervals, stirring often, until chocolate chips have melted completely. Mix well.

Pour the Chex into a large bowl (or large ziploc bag). Pour the chocolate peanut butter mix on top and toss well to coat each piece of cereal. Sprinkle the powdered sugar on top and toss to coat well.

Serve. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week.

My Notes:
This dish goes by many names. I've heard it called Muddy Buddies, Puppy Chow, Garbage, etc. It's also a very messy dish, so keep that in mind if you're making it with children. But it tastes amazing. It's crunchy candy. What can possibly be wrong with something that has chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar in it?

Exactly.

Cinnamon-Sugar Almonds

Have you ever been to the fair, and smelled those awesome cinnamon-sugar almonds (and pecans, and whatever other nuts they feel like using)? Well, when I was browsing Pinterest (I blame my stepmom for getting me hooked), I found a recipe for them. They're amazing. Absolutely amazing. As in, you should go out and make them now.

Cinnamon-Sugar Almonds
Originally found at One Charming Party

1 cup sugar
1 lb almonds (unsalted and raw is best)
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup water

In a large skillet or saucepan, combine the sugar, cinnamon and water. Heat over medium flame. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the almonds and stir, coating the almonds with the syrup. Continue stirring until the sugar crystallizes. Remove from heat and spread the almonds onto wax or parchment paper. Cool, and serve. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
I accidently put more than 1/4 cup of water into my sugar. Which was fine, it just took a lot longer for the water to evaporate out and let the sugar crystalize again. Be sure you watch carefully, as once the process starts, it crystalizes very quickly. And it would suck to burn the sugar and ruin the whole batch.