Candy Pie

This is a re-post from last year, I am making it again with all my leftover candy. I think it is a very clever idea!

Candy Pie, a great way to use up all that leftover Halloween candy! I wish I could say this was my bright idea, but I saw it at Cakespy's Blog and knew I had to make it. I have a friend with a major sweet tooth and I knew they would be in love with this decadent dessert!

The bonus for me, was that this was my first time making a pie crust from scratch, I am no longer a pie crust virgin! It was so fast and easy, I could kick my own butt for cheating and buying pre-made pie crusts for all these years. I used my late Mother In Law, Margie's recipe and it rocked!

Pie Crust - Ingredients or Buy one

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 3/4 cups shortening, very cold
2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 cup very cold water
1 egg

Add the flour, salt, sugar to a bowl and mix well, add the shortening and using a pastry cutter, forks or your fingers mix them lightly till they resemble small peas

In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar, cold water and egg, mix well and pour into your flour mixture

Stir the flour mixture till well combined and moist, make into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate for 30 minutes

You will only need half of the pie dough, you can refrigerate or freeze the other half

Roll dough out into a circle, and place in your pie tin, crimp the edges

Blind bake the pie crust for about 10 to 15 minutes at 350°F.

Let the pie crust rest until it's room temperature, and then fill it with whatever mix of candy suits you. She found that a chocolate-heavy mix tasted best, I used Snickers, Kit Kats, Hershey's Chocolate Bars, M&M's, Milky Way, Reesers Peanut Butter Cups, and some Malt Balls I had laying around. Don't be afraid to fill it to the top, as the candy will flatten and lower as it melts.

Bake in a 350°F oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until the candy is melted and the crust golden. The time may vary depending on your candy mixture. Once you remove it from the oven, let it cool for at least an hour so that the filling can set

Cut, serve and get your sweet tooth on!

Krispy Kreme Milkshakes

Waiter there is a donut in my milkshake!

Just kidding! First off I apologize for the Pornographic nature of this photo, I can't stop giggling

I don't normally make fad items such as this, but my husband had this particular milkshake on a trip to Flip Burger in Atlanta Georgia and decided we should try to re-create it at home. This is the one and only time I will make it and it it was delish!

It is pretty simple and uses the plain old glazed donuts from Krispy Kreme. I must say it is the most unusual milk shake I have ever slurped. It was quite good, the chunks of the donut were yummy. It helps to use really fresh donuts.

Vanilla Ice Cream

2-3 Regular glazed donuts

1/4 cup whole milk

Place your ice cream and milk in a blender and add in one to two donuts, frappee the mixture until it is nice and creamy but with a few chunks left. (You could add the donuts after a few seconds of mixing the donuts so it will be chunkier).

You may need a spoon to eat this!

Broccolli, Cheese and Chicken Casserole

I was on Facebook one day and someone wrote Cheesy Rice, YUM!

Boom that was all it took, I could not stop thinking about making a casserole with cheesy rice and chicken and just to make it seem healthy some Broccoli. I had some Velveeta to use up and the rest I pulled straight out of my ass! Not literally of course!

It is truly one of the best casseroles I have ever come up with! We had seconds last night, which was something we DON'T DO EVER!

3 cups cooked rice

1 head of broccoli, rinsed and cut into florets

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cheese soup

1/3 of a large brick of Velveeta cubed

1 package pre-shredded cheese of your choice

1 small can fire roasted chili peppers (mild)

milk about 1/2 cup

1/2 tbl Cayanne (or less to your taste)

Salt and Pepper

1 tsp onion powder

2 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts

Cut your breasts into cubes and brown them on high heat in a non stick pan with a bit of olive oil

Assemble the rest of the ingredients (except the rice and chicken) into a large bowl and mix well, you will need to add some milk to make it a bit soupy

Add the chicken and the rice and mix well, adding more milk if needed. You don't want it too soupy, just a little

Pour into a well greased casserole pan (it makes a huge amount)

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until bubbly. If it has not browned really well on top, broil it for 3 minutes or so

Chicken Lettuce Wraps, ALA P.F. Chang's

My husband and I are huge fans of the Chicken Lettuce Wraps at P.F. Chang's Restaurant although we don't make it there nearly often enough!

The spicy chicken against the cool and crisp lettuce is a winner in my book, they are a nice refreshing appetizer or entree. I added some rice instead of the fried noodles to make it more of an Entree and a bit healthier.

Marinade
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons sherry wine or red wine
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons soy sauce

FILLING INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced small
5 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger or grated ginger
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/2 cup green onions, minced
1 cup mushrooms, minced
1 (8 ounce) can bamboo shoots, minced
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, minced
Jasmine Rice

COOKING SAUCE
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry wine or red wine
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
lettuce leaves, washed and taken off the head but left whole

Mix all ingredients for "cooking sauce" and set aside.

In medium bowl, combine marinade ingredients and mix well. Add chicken and stir to coat thoroughly. Stir in 1 t. oil and let sit for 15 minutes.

Heat wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 T. oil, then add chicken and stir-fry for about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

Add 2 T. oil to the pan. Add ginger, garlic, and onion and stir-fry for a minute or so. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts and stir-fry an additional 2 minutes.

Return chicken to the pan. Add mixed cooking sauce to the pan. Cook until thickened and hot.

Serve with the Lettuce leaves and Rice

Mandarin Rice

On occasion I look thru my recipe box, it is old, yellow and full of recipes I have accumulated during my lifetime. I often get my recipes from the Internet and Cookbooks, but on occasion I like going old school!

This recipe came to me via my Mother In Law a long time ago. It is easy, elegant and very tasty.

1/4 cup slivered almonds (I used sliced)

2 tbl chopped celery (I used 1 whole stalk)

1 small green onion sliced thinly

2 tbl butter

1 small can Mandarin Orange segments drained

2 tbl Orange Juice Concentrate

2 cups cooked rice

Saute almonds, celery, onion in butter until almonds are lightly toasted. This should take 3-5 minutes.

Combine the sauteed mixture, orange segments, orange juice concentrate and rice, tossing to mix.

This can be served hot or cold.