Baked Caramel Corn

Always a hit and easy to make.

2 sticks butter
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup (light or dark)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
6 qts popped popcorn

Melt butter and stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, & salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Boil without stirring for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in baking soda and vanilla.  Gradually pour over the popped popcorn, mixing well.  Turn into a LARGE, shallow pan (roasting ) .  Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from over and cool slightly.  Break apart.  Store in airtight container

Apple Pie Spice

I 4x the recipe and stored in old cinnamon jar.  great for pies as well as overnight oats in a jar!

To make 1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice use:

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

If using cloves, ground dried ginger, or both, add just a dash or to your liking. Allspice already has a clove-like flavor, with a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon, also, with the cloves being more pronounced.

Ginger Apple Cider Martini (tried - awful!)

from tradingcardioforcosmos

• 2 oz Bootlegger Vodka 
• 3 oz Fresh Apple Cider
• 2 Tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Fresh Grated Ginger (more to taste)
  
  Shaken over ice and strained. Garnished with a slice of honey crisp apple.

Pan Roasted Salmon

Pan Roasted Salmon

Ingredients

• 2 (6-8oz) filets of center-cut salmon
• 2 tsp. ghee
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp. olive or avocado oil

Instructions

• 1
  Preheat oven to 350.
• 2
  Heat a cast iron skillet (or oven safe skillet) over medium-high heat.
• 3
  Season the flesh side of the salmon with salt and pepper, to taste.
• 4
  Add olive oil to skillet. When the oil is hot, add salmon skin-side down. Sear until the skin is golden brown and crispy, about 4 minutes.
• 5
  Flip and top each salmon with 1 tsp. of the ghee.
• 6
  Transfer to oven and cook until desired doneness-- about 5 minutes for medium-rare and 9 minutes for fully cooked through.
• 7
  Let rest for 2 minutes and serve immediately with the squeeze of lemon or whatever sauce you are serving it with!

the defined dish http://www.thedefineddish.com/

Pierogi Dough - best and easiest to work with

perogi dough
4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
4 egg yolks

1 cup hot water
2 tbsp vegetable oil

To make the dough, mix the dry ingredients together. Add the rest and mix with a wooden spoon (or your clean hands) until the dough is smooth, cover it and let it sit at room temp for 30 min.

Divide the dough into quarters, roll it out to about 1/8th of an inch thick (a pasta machine works well for this), then cut out circles with a wine glass, put a tsp or so of filling in the middle, fold it and pinch it closed. Boil the perogies until they rise to the top, toss them with more butter. Serve them of course with sour cream and caramelized onions.
If you want to freeze them, after boiling put one layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and after theyre frozen stick them into some ziplock bags.

Makes 6 dozen Pierogi

Mojito pitchers

1 1/2 cup simple syrup
1 cup vodka
1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup club soda
sprigs of ming

Banana Bread

No need for a mixer for this recipe! Clean-up is easy too, if you want, you can mix everything in one mixing bowl.

The best bananas to use for banana bread are those that are over-ripe. The yellow peels should be at least half browned, and the bananas inside squishy and browning.  From Simply Recipes

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 55 minutes

Yield: Makes one loaf

INGREDIENTS

• 2 to 3 very ripe bananas, peeled
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup if you would like it less sweet, 1 cup if more sweet)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

2 In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.

3 Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

4 Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F (175°C), or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

5 Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan and let cool completely before serving. Slice and serve. (A bread knife helps to make slices that aren't crumbly.)