Candy Making 101 - Marshmallow Cream Fudge by Terri

Over the last few weeks I have written several posts sharing our "family traditions".  This year Lori really got busy making candy for their friends and co-workers so I truly feel I am succeeding in passing down these traditions.

Today's family tradition I would like to share with you is one of my very favorite recipes.  This recipe is for Marshmallow Cream Fudge.  This is one of those "back of the bottle" discoveries, for I actually discovered it on the back of a Marshmallow Cream jar many, many years ago.  This is one recipe I make every year during the holidays, even those years when our funds are stretched to the limit I manage to make a double batch of fudge.  I am giving you the recipe as it was written on the back of the bottle, however, I have never made just a single batch.  I always make a double batch probably because for years you could only get Marshmallow Cream in large jars and I wasn't about to waste any of it! I think you'll discover that this fudge recipe is truly the best fudge recipe out there!

Marshmallow Cream Fudge

From the kitchens of:  Terri Fonville

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 - 12oz. pkg. mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 - 7 oz. jar  Marshmallow Cream

1 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp. vanilla

Line 9x13x2 inch pan with parchment paper leaving sides long & loose to enable easily removing fudge from pan.  Set aside.

Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a heavy saucepan.

Melt this butter mixture at medium high stirring constantly.

Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on a medium high setting, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips stirring until melted.

Add marshmallow cream.

Stir until well mixed.

Add chopped nuts.

Beat well.

Add vanilla. (Note: I'm using my homemade vanilla!!!) Beat until smooth.

Spoon into two 9x13 pans being carefully not to displace parchment paper.

Smooth the tops of the pans until your fudge is level.

Allow to cool on cake racks until bottom of pan is cool to touch.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator over night.

Remove from pan and cut into small pieces.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator for several weeks.

Enjoy!

Walk with God!

Terri

Candy Making 101 - Carmel Corn by Terri

Another family holiday favorite is homemade Carmel Corn.  My recipe comes from Jerry's mom and is hard to beat.  We've made a few modifications to the candy making process and I will share these with you as I describe it.

Carmel Corn
From the kitchen of: Leta Fonville

2 gallons popped popcorn ( I buy mine already popped at the Poppin' Place.)

Pour popcorn evenly in one giant aluminum disposable baking container or 2 9x13x2 inch metal cake pans. Set aside.

Mix following ingredients in heavy saucepan.  I use my aluminum pressure cooker:

2 cups light brown sugar or Splenda Brown sugar blend

1 cup light Karo Syrup

2 sticks butter

2 cups broken pecans or walnuts

Boil at medium temperature for 5 minutes stirring frequently:

Remove caramel mixture from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon soda and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir thoroughly.

Pour over popped popcorn.

Stir carefully.

Place in oven and bake at 250degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and stir.

Note: Jerry cut up a box for me to place on top of the baking dish to keep the popcorn in the pan.

Remove the cut box and return popcorn to the oven and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Take out and stir. Repeat process until popcorn has cooked 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.  Be careful not to burn yourself!

After one hour remove from the oven and dump out onto waxed paper or parchment paper until cool.

Let completely cool before breaking into chunks.

Enjoy!

Walk with God!
Terri

Pretzel Jell-o Salad by Terri

One Christmas dinner, not long after Jerry & I were married, Mark's girlfriend (later to be his bride), Kim, made her mom's Pretzel Jell-o Salad as her donation to our meal.  She generously shared this delicious recipe and it became another family favorite for each special holiday.

Thanksgiving morning Pretzel Jell-o Salad was the first dish I started preparing even before I put the turkey in the oven.  I thought you might like to try this yummy unusual salad.

Pretzel Jell-o Salad

From the kitchen of: Kim Roberson Fonville

Crust:

2 cups broken or crushed pretzels

3/4 cup melted lite butter

3 T Baking Mix Splenda

Pam the bottom of a large rectangle Pyrex dish.  Cover bottom of dish with pretzels.  Sprinkle Splenda on top.  Drizzle lite butter over top.  Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

Fourth layer:

1 6oz. box Sugar Free Strawberry Jell-o

2 cups boiling water

Mix Jell-o and water.  Set mixture in refrigerator until almost congealed. (Do not pour onto top of strawberries until totally cool or your crust will get soggy!)

Second layer:

8 oz. softened fat free cream cheese

1 cup baking mix Splenda

8 oz. Fat free Cool Whip

Cream together these 3 ingredients.

 Spread over top of cooled pretzel mixture.

Third layer:

1 10oz. pkg frozen strawberries

Slice frozen strawberries in half (Do not thaw first!)

Place on top of cream cheese layer.

Spoon Jell-o over strawberry halves. Place in refrigerator and let Jell-o continue to set.

I think once you give this recipe a try it will soon become a family favorite for your family too.  Enjoy!

Walk with God.

Terri

Pie Making 101 - Pecan Pie by Terri

Lori and I began our holiday baking today.  We started by making 2 pecan pies.  Pecan pies are so easy as long as you have a great recipe.  Several years ago Martha, a friend from church, shared her Pecan pie recipe. It was so delicious that it quickly became a family favorite. I thought you might like to try it for yourself.

Pecan Pie
From the kitchen of: Martha Wright

3 eggs, the fresher the eggs the better the pie
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light Karo Syrup
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 tablespoon lite butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1 1/2 cups broken pecans, completely cover bottom of pie crust
1 9 inch unbaked pie crust

Roll out pie crust into pie pan.  Crimp edges.

Pour broken pecan pieces into bottom of pie crust.

Mix together all the remaining ingredients and stir well.

Pour egg mixture over top of pecans.

Bake at 400 degrees for ten minutes then turn oven down to 325 degrees. Continue baking for 10 minutes.  Cover pie crust with pieces of aluminum foil and continue to bake for 15 more minutes.  Check at the end of 35 minutes.  Some ovens cook hotter than other.  Pie is done when egg mixture firms and appears a golden brown.  Be careful not to overcook!

Enjoy!  Happy Holidays!

Walk with God!
Terri

Candy Making - Oreo Truffles by Terri

One of my favorite traditions of the holidays is candy making.  Each year Jerry & I try to make candy for our family and friends.  This year Aunt Delpha asked me to make candy for her Sunday School Class Christmas party so we are beginning our candy making a little early. She asked us to make Butterfingers, Texas Millionaires and Oreo Truffles.  As soon as mom heard we were making candy she asked us to make Carmel Popcorn - her favorite - so looks like we'll be busy this holiday season.

On Sunday we began making Aunt Delpha's candy.  The first candy we made was Oreo Truffles. We made a triple batch in order to get the 80 pieces of each type of candy Aunt Delpha needed. This is a new recipe for us.  I first saw this recipe in the Kraft Food & Family magazine last December.  Not long after I saw it in the magazine Kim, a friend from church made it for our Lifegroup Progressive Dinner.  It was delicious!  Each time I try a new recipe there is a little trial and error that goes with it and invariably I usually make a few changes when I make it the second time.  This is one of those recipes.  I followed the  recipe fairly closely the first time but wasn't really happy with the way they looked once we had dipped them in the vanilla almond bark (the Oreo center shows through the Almond Bark). They tasted incredible - but looked a little messy. For the next batch we plan to try the double stuff Oreos and  use chocolate almond bark to dip them in.  I'll let you know which we like best.

Oreo Truffles
From the kitchen of Kim Crawford & Kraft Kitchens

2 pkg. Oreo Cookies, finely crushed, divided

3 pkg. (8oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

3 pkgs. Vanilla Almond Bark

Crush 2 pkgs. of Oreos, measure out 9 cups and place in mixing bowl.

Add 3 pkgs. cream cheese.

Mix until well blended.

Using a small cookie scoop form 80 balls place on waxed paper - covered baking sheet.

Place in refrigerator for 1-3 hours.

Dip balls in melted Almond Bark.

Place in an air tight container with parchment paper between layers and store in refrigerator.

Any leftover melted almond bark can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.

I hope you take a little time out of this busy season to start some new traditions for your family. Candy making has truly been a fun tradition that Jerry and I started on our first Christmas together 32 years ago. You can find my butterfinger recipe by looking at my earlier post about family traditions. Happy Holidays!

Walk with God!
Terri

Love to Cook Thursdays - Rice Cooker Jambalaya by Terri

Several months ago Kim,a friend at church introduced me to Jambalaya. Kim is from Louisiana and fixed her grandmother's Jambalaya for our Lifegroup. The first time she fixed it I must admit I took a very small portion since I'm not crazy about spicy Cajun seasoning. Needless to say I went back for more after tasting this delicious dish. She generously shared her recipe with me and I have already made it twice. It is quickly becoming one of our favorite dishes. With the cold weather we've been experiencing lately, I thought it would be the perfect recipe to share with you.

Rice Cooker Jambalaya

From the kitchen of: Kim Crawford

2 cups raw rice

1 can beef bouillon (beef broth)

1 can beef consommé

1 stick butter or margarine

1 lb. smoked sausage (I prefer skinless smoked sausage)

1 lb. raw shrimp (optional)

1 can mushrooms

1 medium chopped onion

1 bell pepper (chopped) (I use mini orange and yellow peppers)

1 bunch green onions (chopped)

Place rice, beef broth, beef consommé & mushrooms into rice cooker.

Thinly slice the smoked sausage.

Add sausage to rice cooker.

Thinly slice a stick of butter & a green onions and stir into rice cooker.

Finely chop bell peppers and stir into rice mixture.

Top with Cajun seasoning. (I added about one and a half teaspoons.)

Add Worcestershire Sauce. (I added a couple tablespoons.)

Mix all ingredients together.

Press Cook. (On my cooker you have to choose white or brown rice.)

Cook until buzzer goes off.

Serve straight out of cooker or spoon into serving dish.

Enjoy!

Walk with God!

Terri