Fresh Fruit Edible Arrangement

Pretty much pick your favorite fruits in season and use cookie cutters, mellon ballers, decorative cutters, and knives to achieve variety in flowerish shapes. Attach the fruits to kabob scewers using a longer and a shorter to give different lengths.

Special Notes:
I wish I had looked at my sample while actually putting together my arrangement. I would have attached the flower pieces of fruit on an angle instead of putting it in the side. I looked online for samples to follow using Eddible Arrangements and it brought up a bunch. The mount for the scewers I used was a Granny smith apple dipped in lemon juice. It was a great firm foundation and gave great support. Using a taller container to put them in also rather than shorter is good. This is my first attempt at something like this and It was tall and the sticks were in full view. Play around with this when it isn't for a special occasion and then you can spike the fruit pieces more than once to adjust if necessary to achieve the look you want then when the real occasion comes you will have worked out the flaws.

Make your own Butterfinger bars

Listed at ask.com as Nutterfingers
Homemade version top pictured with real Butterfinger bottom

Not even close to a butterfinger so go into it expecting something different. They were okay. Kids were thoroughly disappointed since they LOVE Butterfingers. I'll have to keep looking. However I did make the mistake of not adding the Corn Syrup until after it reached 300 degrees and I wonder if it made that much of a difference because mine weren't the texture nor hardness of a butterfinger. I recommend not doubling just to make sure you like it first.

These candy bars are covered with chocolate and filled with a light peanut center that shatters into thin, crispy layers when you bite into it. They resemble the popular Butterfingers candy bar. This recipe yields 10 4-inch bars, but can be easily doubled and made in a 9x13 pan.

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 pound chocolate candy coating
Preparation:
1. Prepare an 8x8 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place the peanut butter, baking soda, and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside for now.

3. Place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Bring the sugar syrup to a boil, and stir in the corn syrup. Insert a candy thermometer.

4. Continue to cook the syrup, boiling it without stirring, until it reaches 300 degrees on the thermometer. Watch the pan carefully, as the sugar can quickly rise in temperature and burn at such high heat.

5. Once it candy reaches 300 degrees, immediately remove it from the heat. Quickly stir in the peanut butter, baking soda, and vanilla and stir until it is smooth.

6. Pour the candy into the prepared 8x8 pan, and allow it to sit for about two minutes minutes. While it is still warm and pliant, take a large knife and score it into ten pieces: make a cut down the center, then cut each half into five pieces, for a total of 10 candy bars. Allow the candy to set at room temperature, for at least 4 hours or overnight.

7. Once the peanut candy is completely set and firm, prepare the chocolate for dipping. Place the chocolate candy coating in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave it until melted, stirring after every minute to prevent overheating. Stir the melted chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to cool it slightly. Line a baking sheet with foil and set it nearby.

8. While the chocolate is cooling, carefully cut or break the peanut candy into bars along the scored lines.

9.Using two forks or dipping tools, submerge one bar in the melted chocolate. Remove the bar from the chocolate, allowing the excess chocolate to drip back down into the bowl. Place the dipped bar on the foil-lined sheet. Repeat the dipping with the remaining bars and chocolate, and place the bars in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to set the chocolate. Once set, the bars can be served immediately. Store remaining bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

The Perfect Pound Cake

Well don't go by the name it is truly hard to class something as perfect, but a pound cake this is. I found the outside to be a little dry. I acquired the recipe from http://sweetmelissasundays.wordpress.com/ and you can go there for the complete text if you wish.

In large bowl combine:
3 eggs room temperature
1 cup sugar
whip until smooth

In medium bowl combine:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
wisk until well blended

In small bowl combine:
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt and cool to warm:
6 Tbsp unsalted butter

Take 1/3 of the flour and sift onto the egg mixture and wisk in gently until blended then pour 1/2 of the cream mixture and again mix until blended, repeat until flour and cream are mixed in. Be careful not to overbeat and add in the butter gently folding. Once well blended pour into greased and floured loaf pan or other baking pan.

Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. If doing mini cakes cut time in half.

German Chocolate Frosting

YUMMY! This is from the Lion House Cookbook
1 cup can milk
1/2 cup butter
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 tsp rum extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups coconut (flaked)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)(not pictured)

Heat all in a heavy saucepan until it thickens aprox 10 minutes. Stir constantly to avoid scalding the frosting. Add coconut after the frosting thickens. When cooled place on a chocolate cake frosted with chocolate frosting. Yummy.

Rainbow Birthday Cake

Courtesy of The Hungry Huntley's

1 yellow cake mix (follow directions on package)
Food coloring (I used the type for frosting so it didn't add more liquid to batter)
1 pkg skittles (for the rainbow)
1 cup miniature marshmallows (for the clouds)

If you use 6" cake pans and a muffin tin you will only need 1 cake mix.

Seperate batter into bowls for the desired amount of colors and color each bowl with the color to the depth you desire with food coloring

Pour into greased 6" cake pans. Decrease cooking time to aproximately 10 minutes.

When each layer is cooled frost them and stack in your desired order. Freeze after all stacked which will make frosting the outside much easier.

Place the skittles in a rainbow pattern on top of cake and use remaining ones around the top edge of the cake. Marshmallows are placed at the bottom of the rainbow and on the cupcakes.

Churros

Mix in saucepan and boil
1 cup water
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter

Remove from heat and add
1 cup flour

In seperate bowl mix:
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
add this to the flour mixture and stir until smooth.

Place in a cookie press or a decorating bag with the largest star tip.
Squeeze a 4" length of dough into hot oil and fry until golden on each side. Place on paper towel and while still warm sprinkle with cinnamin and sugar.

Spanish Rice

2 cups long grain white rice
1/4 cup oil (to give more flavor fry in 2 to 3 Tbsp jalepeno olive oil instead)
1 yellow onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 8 oz can tomato sauce or 3/4 cups pureed tomatoes
2 tsp sea salt

Brown rice in hot oil, add garlic and onion and saute 10 min. Add broth, tomato sauce, and salt stir well and allow to simmer on low heat aprox 15 to 20 minutes to thicken.

Bottled Peaches

Sugar Syrup equal ratio water to sugar
7 cups sugar
7 cups boiling water
Pour the sugar into the boiling water, remove from heat and stir until dissolved. Pour 2 1/2 inches deep into the quart jar. (after jars are full of peaches pour to cover the top peaches leaving about 1 inch of space at the top of the jar)

1. Assemble and clean quart jars with the narrow neck. Set out on counter.
2. Clean and peel fresh ripe peaches. (a 5 gallon bucket full of medium size peaches does aprox. 14 jars which is 2 batches)
3. Slice in half and place halved peaches into clean jars filled 2 1/2 inches w/ sugar syrup.
4. Place as many peaches in the jar leaving only 1 inch space at the top and make sure top peaches with the liquid.
5. Wipe the rim of the jars with a clean moist paper towel making sure they are clean.
6. Boil canning lids for 2 minutes and remove from water with tongs then place them on to each bottle. Turn the ring lids on till they tighten then loosen a half a turn to allow for expansion as they cook.
7. Fill bottom of canner with luke warm water not to the top.
9. Place the metal platfrom onto canner and place 7 jars on that making sure not to cover the holes allowing for even steam movement. Put the cover over the jars and start the heat high.
10. Watch for the steam to escape from the small hole at the base of the lid. Once this happens turn down the heat to the point where it is the lowest for the steam to still come out steady and time for 25 minutes.
11. After 20 minutes carefully remove the lid and remove the hot jars with hot pads taking concern to not bump the lids which will hinder the jars ability to seal.
12. Allow jars to sit on the counter as they cool. The jars will make a popping noise as the lid seals. You can test them after they cool by touching down gently on the lids if there is no give the lid is sealed. If there is give to the lid you will need to place those jars in the refrigerator and eat soon.
13. Store jars in a cool dry place for up to 2 years. Fruit may darken with time and they are still okay to eat as long as seal hasn't been broken.
14. The peaches will rise in the jar leaving the syrup at the bottom.

Rosemary Salmon with Hollindase sauce

Soak salmon in lemon juice and top with crushed rosemary. Bake 350 degrees 30 minutes. Top with Hollindase sause.

Fresh Peach Pie

1 9" pie crust

4 to 5 peaches slices lining pie crust

2 large peaches mashed
1/2 tsp almond flavoring
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold water
cook 5 minutes to thicken then add:
2 Tbsp butter

Pour over sliced peaches in crust and place in refrigerator until set.

Salmon with peach salsa

Salmon fillet baked 350 degrees with lemon juice for 30 minutes. Top with peach salsa.

Fresh Peach Salsa

2 medium tomatos diced
2 medium peaches sliced
1 tsp lime juice
1 green onion stalk thinly sliced
1 tbsp cilantro sliced fine

Combine all and chill until ready to serve.