SpruceHill

Homemade Whoopie Pies

We set out to make something new and fun this morning. Miss H picked the recipe and I have to say that she hit the jackpot! These are so easy to make and so good. Here is what you need

For the cookie

• 1 box of devil's food cake mix
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 2 Eggs

For the filling- home made marshmallow fluff

• 3 Egg Whites
• 2 Cups of Light Corn Syrup
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 Cups of Powdered Sugar
• 1 TBS Vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then mix cookie ingredients together until combined.

 

 

 Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet, a few inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes and Let cool completely.

Next separate the egg whites and combine them with the corn syrup and salt on high until it thickens, about 10 minutes.

 

Add sugar then vanilla and beat until blended.

 
If it drips and makes a mess don't worry that's what fingers are for!

Add a small spoonful of fluff to your cookie and then sandwich together. 

 
Then hold onto your skivvies!

They are full of gooey chocolaty goodness!  Enjoy
   

 

 

Southern Style Pulled Pork Barbecue

 
This recipe is the perfect weekend meal. The crockpot does all the work for you. It can't get much better then that!

The Ingredients:

• 1 whole Pork Tenderloin Or Pork Shoulder
• 3 cloves Diced Garlic
• 2 Tablespoons Lawry's Season Salt
• 1 teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
• ½ cups Apple Cider Vinegar, Divided
• 3 cups Water
• 2 cups Ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Ground Mustard
• ¼ teaspoons Liquid Smoke
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• ¼ cups Brown Sugar

 
Generously rub the pork cut that you prefer with the season salt, pepper and garlic. When I make this recipe I don’t measure the ingredients, I just sprinkle away. You can let the rub sit on the pork for as long as you like. I never remember to do it the day before but if you do it ahead your pork will taste even better. So if you think ahead warp it up after you rub it down and put it in the fridge overnight, It's well worth it.

 
After you allow the rub to sit on your pork place it into your crock pot with the water and vinegar. You may need to cut your pork in half depending how big your cut is. Let this cook on high until the meat falls apart. About 4 to 5 hours.
  
Remove about 3/4 of the cooking liquid from the crock pot. Shred the pork with a fork and remove the fatty pieces, and return it to your pot. Prepare the sauce in a small bowl, using your ketchup as your base and then adding the remaining vinegar, mustard, liquid smoke, worcestershire, and brown sugar. Add the barbecue sauce to the pulled pork in the pot, and toss together. You may need to add some of the removed liquid back into the pot, the mixture should be nice and moist. Let the pork and sauce simmer for a bit so all the flavors mix together.

 
Serve on your favorite crusty bun or bread. I love to eat this with cole slaw and home fries. It will please even a picky eater. It is also good with a nice heaping pile of mashed potatoes. Which ever way you like it is a real family pleaser. The leftovers store well and you can go back for more the next day.

Munchies for the big game

Our local football team the Baltimore Ravens are playing in the playoffs this weekend! To celebrate I am sharing a few of our favorite game day munchies.

One of our family favorites is buffalo wings, because we have three daughters I have to be a bit conservative on how hot I make my hot wings. This is our favorite way to eat these game day favorites.

Not too Hot Buffalo Wings

• 1 package Chicken Wings (enough For 8 Servings)
• 1-½ Tablespoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1 cup Franks RedHot Sauce
• 1 cup Your Favorite Barbecue Sauce

Place wings in a greased baking pan. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Combine RedHot sauce and barbecue sauces, and brush wings with sauce, leaving a little left over. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat your oven at 400 degrees. Bake wings for about 40 to 45 minutes, flipping over halfway through. Drain most of the fluid and then lightly brush a bit more of the sauce mixture on top. Cook until the edges of the wings get brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the dish and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

Serve with blue cheese dressing.

Chili Dip

Ingredients

• 1 block of cream cheese
• 1 15oz can of prepared chili ( you can use what ever chili you like, Left over homemade chili is the best in this recipe)
• 1/2 cup of grated cheese (cheddar, mexican mix or Monterey jack)

In a greased pie plate spread softened cream cheese on the bottom of dish. Add a layer of chili on top of the cream cheese. If you are using canned chili use the whole 15 oz can. Sprinkle top of chili with 1/2 a cup of cheese of your choice.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min or until it bubbles and cheese melts. Serve with tortilla chips.

This recipe is a family favorite of ours and when put out it usually does not last more then 5 minutes. Everyone loves it!

Boardwalk fries 

• 1 5 lb bag of baking potatoes
• Canola oil
• Salt to taste (for crab fries use Old Bay seasoning instead of salt)

 Using a french fry potato cutter cut your potatoes up into fries, just cut what you will eat.

Using your deep fryer (if you do not have one of these you need to run out and get one right now! It is so worth it) Fill it per the instructions with your canola oil. Set your temperature on high and allow your fryer to heat up adequately. We cooked our fries for 7 minutes per batch, trying not to cook too many at a time so that the fries are completely submerged when in the fry basket.

Remove from fryer very carefully and sprinkle with salt of Old Bay seasoning.  Serve with malt vinegar and ketchup.

We made these last weekend with the help of my brother in law, and my niece. They were the best fries we have ever had. They were well worth the effort!

Printable recipe for buffalo wings.

GO RAVENS!

Warm up with pasta!

With all the cold weather sticking around I have been in need of comfort food. Pasta is my go to meal when the cold sets in. Fettuccnne alfredo is my all time favorite. It took me a long time to find a good alfredo recipe but one of my all time favorite Italian cooks Giada De Laurentiis has one, and it made my life complete. I tweaked the recipe a bit it calls for lemon zest but I leave it out. You can add it if you like about 1 tsp. I also add grilled chicken and even sun dried tomatoes sometimes to change it up a bit.

Ingredients

• 18 ounces fresh fettuccine
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cups grated Parmesan
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper about a 1/2 tsp of each
• 2 nice sized boneless chicken breasts

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm. Drain.

Stir 1 cup of the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy large skillet to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

 
Add the cooked pasta and toss. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, and Parmesan to the cream sauce in the skillet. Add the nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Toss the pasta mixture over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

 
 
  
I  added grilled chicken to this pasta,and I season it with a bit of Lawry's season salt and grill it either in the grill or in Winter I grill it in a pan with a bit of olive oil.

 
Sprinkle a bit of fresh grated parmesan cheese on top to serve and make sure you have some nice crusty bread and a crisp salad to go along with it. This recipe is quick and easy and does not take a lot of time to make. It's a perfect weeknight dish!

Keep warm!

Just in case you have not had enough to eat!

I thought I would post a recipe because it's cold out, and you know how you like to eat when it's cold out! I made these Christmas morning. The kids were tired of eating monkey bread so I whipped up something different. PW has an awesome cinnamon roll recipe but it involves yeast and rising and it just scares me. So this is a really easy alternative.

These are Amazing shortcut cinnamon rolls, and boy are they yummy and so easy. Here is what you need.

For the rolls

• 2 cans (8 Oz. Can) Prepared Buttermilk Biscuits
• ½ cups Softened Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Sprinkled Cinnamon
• ½ cups Brown Sugar

For the icing

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream Or Half-and-Half
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla

Arrange biscuits with sides touching, in rows on a lightly floured surface. Press edges together, then using a rolling pin, roll them out to make a nice-sized rectangle. Spread evenly with a nice layer of softened butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon, however much you like. Then sprinkle with brown sugar. (You can even add raisins or dried fruit or whatever you like, experiment!)

Roll up starting with one long end; cut into 8 (about 2 inches thick) slices. Place rolls into a lightly greased round cake pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together powdered sugar, cream and vanilla. Drizzle evenly over hot rolls.

So enjoy and if you are dieting like I am for the new year because you ate too much over the holidays I sincerely apologize!