Easy Brunswick Stew

If you are southern, it's a tradition for you to serve Brunswick stew for the holidays. My family expects it and it is tradition, not one to buck tradition here is an easy recipe that is tried and true. It will also save time just put it in the trusty crockpot.

Easy Brunswick Stew

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours, 30 minutes
Yield: Makes 14 cups

Ingredients

·         1 large onion, chopped

·         1 celery rib, chopped

·         1 large green bell pepper, chopped

·         1 cup frozen sliced okra, thawed

·         4 cups frozen cubed hash browns, thawed

·         3/4 pound barbecued pork, chopped

·         1 cup chopped cooked chicken

·         1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

·         1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

·         1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained

·         1 (15 1/4-ounce) can lima beans, drained

·         2 cups chicken broth

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon pepper

·         1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker. Cook, covered, at HIGH 6 hours and 30 minutes.

NOTE: For testing purposes only, we used Ore-Ida Southern Style Potatoes adn Texas BBQ Southern Style Pulled Pork Barbeque with sauce.

Easy Pecan Pie

• I made a few change for those of us that are diabetic in this simple but good pie
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar (splenda  brown sugar)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup light corn syrup (karo lite)
• 2 tablespoons butter (I can't believe it's not butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups pecans
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked frozen pie shell (thawed)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, gently beat eggs. Stir in sugar and flour, then the syrup, butter and vanilla.
3. Fold in pecans. Pour mixture into pie shell.
4. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes; knife inserted in center of pie should come out clean.

Variations
Some prefer to toast their pecans first for a more rich, nutty flavor.
If you find that your crust becomes too dark, you can use a pie shield or sculpted aluminum foil to cover the exposed pie crust edges and prevent them from burning.

Walnut-Stuffed Slow-Cooked Apples

Serve these apples warm from the crockpot with low-fat frozen yogurt.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 apple and 1/4 cup cooking liquid)

Ingredients

·         1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

·         3 tablespoons dried currants

·         2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

·         3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided

·         4 medium Granny Smith apples, cored

·         1 cup packed brown sugar

·         3/4 cup apple cider

Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, stirring to combine. Peel top third of each apple; place apples in an electric slow cooker. Spoon walnut mixture into cavity of each apple.

Combine the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup brown sugar, and apple cider in a small bowl, stirring to combine. Pour over apples. Cover with lid; cook on LOW 2 3/4 hours. Remove the apples with a slotted spoon. Spoon 1/4 cup cooking liquid over each serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

310 (14% from fat)

Fat:

4.9g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.7g,poly 3.6g)

Protein:

1.9g

Carbohydrate:

70g

Fiber:

3.8g

Cholesterol:

0.0mg

Iron:

1.6mg

Sodium:

23mg

Banana Pudding Trifle

Yield:  10 to 12 servings


1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk
8 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) package vanilla wafers
1/4 cup bourbon
2 tablespoons rum
6 ripe bananas, sliced
6 (1.4-ounce) English toffee candy bars, crushed
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Combine first 3 ingredients ina large heavy saucepan; whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove mixture from heat.
Beat egg yolks until thick and pale. Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot mixture into yolks; add to the remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in vanilla.
Layer one-third of wafers in the bottom of a 4-quart baking dish. Stir together bourbon and rum; brush over wafers. Top with one-third of banana. Spoon one-third of custard over banana, and sprinkle with 1/3 cup crushed candy bar. Repeat procedure twice.
Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream over trifle, and sprinkle with remaining crushed candy bar. Cover and chill 3 hours.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe

Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 pound of carrots
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk (or add a teaspoon of lemon juice to regular milk and allow to stand for 10 minutes)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of orange zest
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 350F. Toast the walnuts in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
2 Rinse the carrots and peel the rough skins off, then grate the carrots.
3 Place the carrots, buttermilk, oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and orange zest together in a bowl and whisk thoroughly.
4 In another bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon.
5 Fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture, being sure not to overmix. Fold in the toasted walnuts until evenly incorporated.
6 Scoop into cupcake papers about 1/2 to 3/4 full and bake for 19-21 minutes at 350F, being sure to rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes of baking. Afterwards allow to cool for 5 minutes before taking the cupcakes out of the cupcake tin and allowing them to fully cool on a wire rack. Frost cooled cupcakes.
Makes 24 cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
• 16 oz of Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until well combined. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix. Spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

• 2 cans (40 ounces each) sweet potatoes, drained
• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Spice Islands®, All Natural, No Corn Syrup Added, Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup cold butter

Directions

• In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes. Add the eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
• In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and pecans; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture.
• Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 60-70 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (3/4 cup) equals 361 calories, 15 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 152 mg cholesterol, 326 mg sodium, 52 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Corn Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped

• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 pounds fresh corn (or frozen corn, thawed)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

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Instructions

1.     Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the bacon, then chop it into bite-size pieces and set it aside.

2.     Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, celery, and peppers until soft. Stir in the flour, then the sour cream, until well combined. Add the corn and most of the bacon bits and season with salt and pepper.

3.     Pour the mixture into a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and sprinkle on the remaining bacon bits and the parsley. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until lightly browned. (Note: for a lower-fat version of this casserole, use half the bacon, butter, and flour). Serves 6 to 8.