Grilled Chicken

 Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs Chicken or Turkey

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup 7-Up

1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

Combine soy sauce, oil, 7-Up and garlic powder in a sealable container or bag.  Marinate the chicken in the mixture for 4-6 hours (keep refrigerated).  Grill using your preferred method. 

Cinnamon Rolls (from Tammy Hulse)

 Cinnamon Rolls

From the kitchen of Tammy Hulse 

1 cup softened butter 

2 ½ cups warm water 

¾ cup sugar 

2 TB yeast 

2 ½ tsp salt 

4 eggs 

8 – 8 ½ cups flour 

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, margarine and eggs. Mix in flour,  blending well. Knead in mixer for 5 minutes. Put in a large bowl and place in fridge  overnight. Generously grease cookie sheet. On lightly floured surface, roll out ½ dough  to 20x12 inch rectangle. Spread with ¼ cup softened butter. In small bowl, combine ½  cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon; blend well. Sprinkle over dough. Starting with 20-inch  side, roll up jelly roll fashion; pinch edges firmly to seal seams. Cut into 1 inch slices.  Place cut side down in prepared pan. Cover, let rise in warm place until double. Bake  at 350 F for 20 minutes in warm place until double. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.  

Brown Sugar Glaze (for Cinnamon Rolls) 

1/3 cup butter 

¼ cup milk 

1 cup brown sugar 

3 cups powdered sugar 

5 oz canned milk 

Boil first 3 ingredients together for 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar and canned milk.  Spread icing on cinnamon rolls while hot. Sprinkle top with crushed walnuts if desired.

Alternative method:

Mix up the roll dough on Christmas Eve morning.  Place dough in large bowl with a lid and put in the garage.  (The garage is usually cold enough this time of year to be an extension of my fridge :) 

On Christmas Eve, roll out the cinnamon rolls and put on baking trays.  Cover with plastic wrap and towels and put back in garage.  This will keep it cold enough overnight so they will not rise too much. 

When the children wake up on Christmas morning, bring the rolls in from the garage and allow to warm up and rise for a couple of hours.  They are ready to bake after we enjoy our Christmas gift opening in the morning.   While the rolls are baking, I make the brown sugar glaze and pour it over the hot cinnamon rolls just as they are coming out of the oven.  This is a family favorite!

Candy Cane Cookies (from Lisa Turner)

 Candy Cane Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup soft shortening

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups flours

1 tsp. salt

Directions:

Mix shortening and sugar, add egg, almond extract, vanilla, and salt, then add flour.  Cut dough in half and color half with red food coloring and refrigerate.  Cut into fourths and roll into logs.  Put logs side-by-side and cut into 1 1/2 inch sections.  Take each section and roll like a snake and braid together.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

 CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE PIE

(THIS IS SOOO GOOD AND EASY, ESPECIALLY IF YOU USE A PRE-MADE FROZEN PIE CRUST)

FROM MELSKITCHENCAFE.COM

INGREDIENTS

•  1 unbaked pie shell (to fit a 9.5-inch deep dish pie plate) - my favorite pie crust recipe here

•  2 large eggs

•  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

•  1/8 teaspoon salt

•  1/2 cup (2.5 ounces) all-purpose flour

•  1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) granulated sugar

•  1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) brown sugar

•  3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 12 tablespoons) butter, softened

•  1 to 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

•  1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Place the unbaked pie crust in the deep dish pie plate, trim and crimp the edges. Place in the freezer while the filling is made.

3. For the filling, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle or whisk attachment or with a handheld electric mixer, beat the eggs until foamy and lightened in color (pale yellow).

4. Add the vanilla, salt, flour, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Mix until well-combined.

5. Add the softened butter and mix until combined.

6. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts (if using) with a spoon or spatula. The mixture will be fairly thick.

7. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pie crust.

8. Bake for 45-60 minutes until the top is golden in color evenly across the top and a knife inserted halfway between the edges and the center comes out clean. It's ok for the pie to still be slightly gooey in the center.

9. Remove from the oven and let the pie cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of hot fudge sauce, if you dare.

NOTES

Pie Plate: this pie may have a tendency to bubble over while baking if using a regular 9-inch pie plate. This is the 9.5-inch deep dish pie plate I have. If you only have a 9-inch pie plate, reduce the filling just slightly or place it on a sheet pan to catch any spillage.

Make Ahead: I forgot to mention this initially, but this pie is a great make-ahead option. Make it, bake it, and refrigerate it (probably up to two days). Warm it on low in the oven (maybe 250 degrees until warmed) or piece by piece in the microwave, or eat it chilled or at room temp.

HTTPS://WWW.MELSKITCHENCAFE.COM/CHOCOLATE-CHIP-COOKIE-PIE/