Chocolate Covered OREO Cookie Cake

This is a great summer time cake because it is simple to make and should be refrigerated so is so cool and yummy to eat.

What you need:

1 package devil’s food cake mix

4 squares BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

¼ cup butter

1 package(8 oz) cream cheese, softened

½ cup sugar

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

12 OREO Cookies, coarsely crushed

To make:

Prepare cake as per directions and cool completely.

Microwave chocolate and butter in small bowl until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixed until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP and crushed cookies. Place 1 cake layer on plate, spread with cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread top with chocolate glaze. Let stand 10 minutes or until firm. Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Ramen Noodle Salad

Ramen Noodle Salad

1 Pkg. Cole Slaw

3 Scallions chopped

1 Cup Sunflower Seeds

1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts

2 Pkgs. Ramen Noodles (Oriental Flavor)

1/2 Cup Craisins

1 Can Mandarin Oranges (cut)

Dressing:

1 Cup Veggie Oil

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/3 Cup Red Wine Vinegar

Flavor packets from noodles

1/2 Teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil

St. Patrick's Day Recipe: Irish Soda Bread, Corned Beef and Cabbage

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, ‘tis the time perhaps to provide some background on this worldwide celebration.  

St. Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland and is known for bringing Christianity to this country.  St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagans and the shamrock has since become the national flower.  Legend also has it that he drove the snakes out of Ireland but there may never have been snakes in Ireland as the island separated from the rest of Europe following the Ice Age.

The celebration of St. Patrick’s day is on March 17^th  as it is believed that this is the day that St. Patrick died.  This holiday began in Ireland but it has spread throughout the world as the Irish moved to other locations and brought their history and traditions with them.  The main celebrations of course take place in Ireland where all businesses close on this day, except for restaurants and pubs.  Even in America, cities with a heavy Irish population have large celebrations with parades, “wearing of the green”, Irish food and drink, etc.

In honor of this holiday, below are some hearty Irish recipes:

Irish Soda Bread       

4 cups all-purpose flour	6 tablespoons cold butter or margarine
3 tablespoons sugar	1 ½ cups raisins
3 teaspoons baking powder	1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon salt	2 eggs, beaten
¾ teaspoon baking soda	1 ½ cups buttermilk

                                                                                                                

 

 

In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. 

Cut in butter until                                                                          

mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Stir in the raisins and caraway

seeds. 

Set aside 1 tablespoon beaten egg.  

In a bowl, combine buttermilk and remaining eggs; stir into crumb mixture just until

flour is moistened (dough will be sticky).  Turn onto a well-floured

surface; knead about 10 times.  Shape into a ball.

 

Place in a greased 9-in. round baking pan.  Cut a 4-in. x ¼-in. deep

slit in the center of the ball.  Brush the top with reserved egg.  Bake

at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a toothpick

inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cover loosely with foil

during the last 20 minutes if top browns too quickly.  Cool for 10

minutes before removing from pans to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Corned Beef and Cabbage

 

3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet

10 small red potatoes

5 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces

1 large head cabbage, cut into small wedges

 

Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water.  Add

the spice packet that came with the corned beef.  Cover pot and bring to

a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer approximately 50 minutes or

until tender.

 

Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost

tender.  Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes.  Remove meat and

let rest 15 minutes.

 

Place vegetables in a bowl and cover.  Add as much broth (cooking liquid

reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want.  Slice meat across

the grain.

 

Enjoy the meal and the day!

Winter Recipe: Stuffed Shells

A simple recipe that can be prepared ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to cook.  Always a plus to have the oven on in the winter-time to heat the house a little more.  They make excellent leftovers!!

Stuffed Shells:

1 Package Large Shells – partially cooked

1 Pound Ricotta Cheese

2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella      

1 Package Frozen Chopped Spinach

Sauce to top with

 

Prepare Spinach per package directions.

Mix with the Ricotta and Mozzarella Cheeses.

Stuff Shells with Cheese Mixture and place in 13 x 9 pan.

Cover with Sauce and sprinkle any leftover Mozzarella Cheese on top.

 

Bake in 375 oven for 30 minutes.

Recipe for Healthy Smoothie

During the holidays, most of us pay less attention to our diet than we should. The solution that works for me is to eat more healthy food to minimize the tempting stuff.

But with all the hustle bustle of the holidays, taking time to eat well, and consistently, can be its own challenge.  A healthy smoothie is my solution.  I make a batch by the liter and keep  the smoothie in a liter nalgene bottle for the day or two it lasts.

Here’s what you need: a blender.  You can spend a little or a lot depending on your budget and your objectives.  Amazon’s top blender is this bad boy:

 

You can get a very good blender that will do the trick for a lot less:

 

Ingredients

 

The ingredients are key: you want to get all the healthiest stuff, while still making the final product taste great.  But I also like a little variation (Most chefs to not: I’m not going to profess that I’m a chef)  Having been making healthy smoothies for a while, this recipe is a guide… so experiment off this basic starting package

If you go  online and google “top Ten healthiest foods”, you’ll find Kale on every list out there.   Kale also tastes better in a smoothie than its green cousins, broccoli and spinach.    So put 2-3 cups of slightly chopped kale.

Carrots: loaded with beta carotene, and sweet.   Add either a cup of baby carrots, or a few regular sized carrots. 

Frozen fruits:  go to the freezer section and get a large bag of “fruit medley”.  These usually include strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and half the other items on the top ten lists fo best foods.   Add 1-2 cups.

You’ll need a stock.  Get any kind of 100% juice from the juice aisle, but not “juice drink.” A juice drink will have ‘high fructose corn syrup’, so avoid.  If you’re not sure, check the ingredients on the label.  This ingredient is what we try to keep our kids from consuming; so should we.  Fill until the blender shows 2/3 full.

Optionally add a little yogurt.  Just plain yogurt works for your purposes of smoothing the smoothie, but any time you add more fruit to this concoction, you aren’t hurting it

Last Optional: you can add a quarter or half cup of Wheat Germ, but this gives the smoothie a texture that isn’t as appealing as without.  If you need fiber, go ahead and bury it in your slurpee.  Or, eat more salad at dinner or lunch.

Blend and adjust ingredients or add other if you want to get some variation on taste, texture or general appeal.   Then try a glass of your super – healthy smoothie before your next big holiday food temptation.

After your smoothie, check us out at www.agordon.com for great insurance resources.

Chocolate Covered Candy Coated Rice Krispies Treats

If the name isn’t a mouthful, this holiday treat certainly will be! Now, usually messing with a classic recipe can be dangerous, especially when time and time again Krispies Treats have proven themselves delicious. However, this form of Rice Krispies Treats I experimented with before the holidays last year and it proved a hit among teenagers (and teachers). Takes about 45 minutes to make and serves 10-14.

Ingredients: 

The entire recipe is almost word for word what the Rice Krispies website says with a twist.

• 3 tablespoons butter
• One package (10oz.) regular marshmallows
• 6 cups Rice Krispies
• 1 bag chocolate chips
• Candy Bar of choice (I’ll usually use heath bar, but in the holiday spirit, candy canes would be an excellent alternative. Any candy that can be crushed is a good option)

Directions:

again, the same, until the end

1. In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat adding marshmallows while stirring till melted, take off the burner.
2. Add Rice Krispies cereal until fully coated.
3. Press mixture into 12x8x2-inch pan coated with cooking spray using a buttered spatula. When it cools, cut into even squares.
4. In a plastic bag, crush up a few candy bars with hands or a meat hammer; pour into a bowl big enough to dip Rice Krispies Treats in.
5. In a different saucepan melt 2 to 3 cups of chocolate chips on the stove or place in a microwavable bowl and melt using a microwave.
6. When the Rice Krispies are cooled, dip them into the melted chocolate (this must be done quickly before the chocolate cools) then dip the chocolate covered treat in the crushed candy. Place on a cooling rack until chocolate cools, then serve and enjoy!

This recipe can be used with any type of chocolate and any type of crushable candy. For the holiday season, I would recommend white chocolate and candy canes to provide that festive crunch. Plain chocolate can be just as good. Although I figured this variation recipe on my own, food.com has a similar recipe (and also is where the above image is from).

After dessert, check out our website www.agordon.com and learn from our insurance resources.

Caramel Apple Dip Recipe

Core and slice approximately 4 lbs of granny smith apples.  Soak these for 2 hours in cold water with lemon juice.

Drain and layer the apples around  the edges of a platter.  In the middle of the apples, empty a tub of whipped cream cheese.  On top of the cream cheese, empty a tub of T Marzetti’s caramel dip or similar caramel dip product (which has been microwaved to be soft and spreadable).  Cover the caramel with chopped walnuts (and chocolate chips if desired).

Donna B, Andrew G. Gordon, Inc. Insurance & Risk Management

We hope you enjoy this delicious fall recipe, and for insurance information and competitive quotes, visit the A.G. Gordon website.

Fall Recipe- Chicken Broccoli & Ziti

A great fall recipe. You can even freeze it and send it with your college students back to their dorms. They’ll be eating something halfway decent 

Ingredients:
1 lb box of ziti (no lines)
2 bunches of broccoli (or a large, frozen bag)
2 lbs of chicken tenders (cut into bite-size pieces)
1 qt of heavy cream (or 2 jars of Paul Newman’s Alfredo Sauce)
2 cups of grated romano cheese
3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
flour
garlic powder
olive oil
black pepper & salt
very large bowl, baking pan
aluminum foil 

1. Boil water for ziti in a large pot
2. Boil water for broccoli; add garlic powder
3. Add oil to a large frying pan (enough to cover the chicken)
4. On a plate, mix flour, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder 
5. Roll the chicken in the mixture and then fry both sides lightly in the pan
6. Mix cooked ziti, broccoli, chicken, Paul Newman’s alfredo sauce, mozzarella,  and romano cheese together in a large bowl. Mix well. If you use heavy cream, pour on top after contents are in baking pan.
7. Transfer the mix into a baking pan and cover with foil.
8. Bake 30 mins, remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

As an insurance company, we encourage safety in the kitchen tackling any kind of cooking project. Here are some quick tips: 

1. Don’t leave food cooking unattended. This is the #1 cause of kitchen mishaps.
2. Never use water to put out a grease fire; it can splash the grease and spread the fire. Use the lid of a pan or a dry chemical fire extinguisher to safety put out the fire. Note: a fire extinguisher will ruin the food.
3. If an oven fire starts, close the oven door and turn it off. Always call the fire department, even if the oven fire seems to have gone out.
4. Turn pot and pan handles to the center of the stove. This will prevent accidental spills and is a great young child safety tip.
5. Keep napkins, dish towels, etc. away from cooking areas in the kitchen.
6. If a fire starts in a microwave, CLOSE THE DOOR and unplug the microwave. The fire will lose oxygen and burn out.
7. Cool all burns with cool water. Know the difference between first, second, and third degree burns.

For more insurance information and relevant resources, visit the A. G. Gordon, Inc. Website.

Related Articles

• 7 Tasty Low-Salt Recipes (lifescript.com)
• Two meals for teens (thefrugalcook.blogspot.com)
• 7 Fall Fare Favorites (lifescript.com)

Lori's Cranberry Crisp- Fall Recipe

The following recipe was published in the Pembroke Express newspaper this week, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Lori’s Cranberry Crisp

1 bag of fresh cranberries (3 cups)

2 large unpeeled pears or apples, chopped

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1Tbsp. flour

Mix everything together and place in a shallow casserole or quiche dish.

 

For the topping:

¼ cup flour (minus the tablespoon used above)

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup softened butter

¾ cup rolled oats

¾ cup chopped walnuts

 

Mix the topping until clumpy (fingers work best) and spread over the cranberry mixture in the casserole dish.  Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degree oven.

Visit Amazon's Baking Store for Holiday Cooking Products