Vicki's Pickle Dip

Ingredients:

8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened

3-4 Vlasic Farmer's Garden Kosher pickle spears, diced

1/3 cup pickle juice from pickle spear jar

1 tsp. garlic powder or garlic salt, or to taste

Preparation:

1. Mix pickle juice and softened cream cheese, and stir until smooth.

2. Add diced pickles (can add some of the red pepper pieces from the pickle mix, if desired) to cream cheese mixture and stir.

3. Add garlic powder/salt, as desired.

4. Continue adding pickle juice, if desired, until dip is at preferred consistency.

5. Serve with chips or crackers.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:

4 Tblsp. butter
1 medium chopped onion, pureed
4 cups chicken stock
1⁄3 cup flour

1⁄2 lb fresh broccoli, chopped into tiny, bite-sized pieces
2 cups half-and-half or cream

2 cups milk
1/2 of a large block of Velveeta cheese, cut into 1" cubes
1⁄4 tsp nutmeg
4 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Preparation:
1. Sauté onion in butter. 

2. Once onion is sautéed, add chicken stock and stir.

3. Turn heat down to medium and add flour, using a whisk to incorporate.

4. As soon as stock begins to thicken, add the broccoli.

5. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until broccoli begins to get tender (about 5 minutes). 

6. Remove half of the mixture and pulse in a food processor to puree the broccoli, then add the pureed mixture back to the pot. (Alternately, can use an immersion blender to puree).

7. Add the half-and-half/cream, as well as the milk. 

8. Turn heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the mixture from scorching.

9. Add Velveeta cubes, and stir until fully melted.

10. Add nutmeg, plus salt and pepper, to taste.

11. Continue to cook the soup on low heat for another 10 minutes (or until ready to serve), then, just before serving, slowly add the grated cheese a handful at a time, stirring to avoid clumps. 

12. Once all the cheese has been added and is (mostly) melted, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Roast Beef Debris

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
3 cups beef broth
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon hot sauce
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon instant roux

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. In a medium Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.

3. Sprinkle one side of beef with half of salt and half of black pepper; place beef, seasoned side down, in skillet, and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle unseasoned side with remaining salt and remaining black pepper. Turn, and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from pot.

4. Add broth, bell peppers, onion, tomato paste, hot sauce, and thyme to pot, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until beef is fork-tender and falling apart, about 3 hours. Discard thyme. Reserve cooking liquid. Remove beef, and shred using 2 forks.

5. In a small bowl, stir together instant roux and ½ cup cooking liquid until smooth. Add to pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in shredded beef.

Pineapple Casserole

Ingredients:
2 (20-ounce) cans pineapple chunks
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
½ cup shredded white Cheddar cheese
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 sleeve buttery round crackers, crushed
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Drain cans of pineapple well, reserving ¼ cup liquid.

3. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cheeses, pineapple, reserved pineapple juice, and salt. Pour into prepared baking dish.

4. In a small bowl, mix crushed crackers and melted butter until combined. Sprinkle over pineapple mixture.

5. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve warm.

Crockpot Ramen with Crispy Chicken

Ingredients:
2 yellow onions, very thinly sliced 
3-4 large chicken breasts (can also use thighs or pork)
10 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup tamari (can use soy sauce) 
3 Tblsp. white miso paste 
2 Tblsp. Gochujang chili paste
1 Tblsp. Chinese 5 spice (or less, if you don’t want the cinnamon flavor) 
1 1/2 Tblsp. ginger 
Honey and/or brown sugar 
1 can coconut milk
2 Tblsp. toasted sesame oil 
5 squares ramen noodles 
For garnish: soft or hard boiled eggs, candied jalapeños, green onions, chili oil, lime, etc.

Preparation:
1. Place the onions in the bottom of the crockpot.

2. Mix together the chicken broth, tamari, miso, chili paste, 5 spice and ginger, then pour over chicken.

3. Cook in crock pot on medium-low for 6-8 hours.

4. Remove chicken from crockpot and place on 2/3 of foil-lined cookie sheet. Pull apart into pieces and/or shred.

5. Preheat oven to broil. 

6. Strain the onions, and place them on the other 1/3 of the cookie sheet.

7. Drizzle chicken and onions with honey, then sprinkle evenly with brown sugar. The goal is to lightly dust the food so that it will caramelize, but don’t use so much sugar that it makes the chicken sweet.

8. Transfer the broth to a large stockpot, and add the sesame oil and coconut milk. 

9. Bring broth to a boil, then add the noodles. Turn heat down to medium-high.

10. Cook noodles for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

11. While noodles are cooking, put cookie sheet in the oven, and let chicken and onions caramelize (about 5 minutes). If chicken is layered, toss it, so that most of it caramelizes and becomes crispy.

12. Once noodles are cooked, ladle into bowls. Top with chicken and other toppings, as desired.

Source: Half-Baked Harvest (adapted)

Jack's (Video) Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 lb. elbow macaroni

1/2 stick butter

1/2 block Velveeta cheese, cubed

~2 cups milk

2 cups canned Parmesan cheese

4 Tblsp. granulated garlic

Pepper

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 cups shredded Gouda cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook macaroni in salted water.

3. Mix together shredded cheeses in a large bowl.

4. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter and Velveeta with 1/2 cup milk in heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly to keep milk and cheese from scorching.

5. When Velveeta is melted, add 3 cups of the shredded cheese mixture. Continue stirring to melt cheese. Add another 1/2 cup of milk (as needed) to get the cheese sauce to a consistency that will pour off of a spoon, then remove from heat.

6. Drain cooked pasta, then put it into a 13"x9" baking dish.

7. Add Parmesan cheese, garlic and pepper (to taste), and stir to mix evenly.

8. Add 3 cups of the shredded cheese mixture to the pasta, and stir to distribute.

9. Add 1 cup of milk to the pasta and stir, then pour in the cheese sauce and combine.

10. Top pasta with remaining 3 cups of shredded cheese mixture.

11. If there are not 6 to 8 Tblsp. of milk visible in the pasta, add a little more milk.

12. Cover casserole dish with foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until cheese on top is slightly brown.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Frosting Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 tsp. vanilla 

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1-2 Tblsp. milk

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease an 11.5" metal cookie cake pan, or line the bottom with parchment paper.

3. Place half of the chocolate chips in a plastic bag, and use a rolling pin to break them into small pieces.

4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, melt butter until just barely melted.

5. To melted butter, add both sugars, and stir until combined. DO NOT USE A MIXER.

6. Add egg and vanilla, then stir (again, by hand).

7. Add baking soda, baking powder and salt, and stir (still, no mixer!)

8. Add flour, and stir until all of the flour disappears into the dough.

9. Add the chocolate chips (whole and chopped) into the dough, and stir. Immediately begin pressing the dough into the pan using a spoon or your hands. The best way to do this is to drop the dough into the pan in small chunks, so that it is dispersed evenly, then use a spatula, your hands or even the butter wrapper to press the dough down into a smooth layer. Be sure to make sure the chocolate chips are evenly dispersed through the cake. Work quickly, so the dough doesn't sit so long that the butter starts to set.

10. Bake for 12-14 minutes, but be careful to not overbake, if you want the cookie cake to actually stay soft. It should be very slightly brown on top and actually look slightly underbred when you take it out.

11. Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting or removing.

12. For the frosting, cream the butter, vanilla and salt using a mixer. Add the powdered sugar, thinning with milk as necessary until a piping consistency is achieved.

13. Use a knife to go around the edges of the cooled cookie cake, then place an inverted plate or platter on top of the cake. Flip the pan over to remove the cake from the pan, then flip it again, so that the right side is up for decorating.

NOTES:

• Recipe makes enough frosting to pipe around the edges of the cake. Double the recipe if you want to write or decorate the rest of the top.
• Breaking 1/2 of the chocolate chips helps to disperse the chocolate throughout the cake to keep it from having large clumps of chocolate in one spot and breaking while cutting.