Mac and Cheese

Ukrop's Macaroni and Cheese

• 5 cups cooked macaroni (2 cups, raw)
• 2 cups small curd cottage cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
• 8 ounce shredded cheddar
• 1/4 cup Parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cottage cheese, sour cream, egg, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir in cheddar cheese. Gently add cooked macaroni. Spoon into a greased 3-quart baking dish. Top with Parmesan and paprika. Bake about 40 minutes or until set. Do not over bake. Serves 8-10.

Cherry Snowballs

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 36 maraschino cherries, well drained
• COATING:
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups flaked coconut, finely chopped

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, water and vanilla. Combine flour, oats and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each cherry, forming a ball. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until bottoms are browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Combine sugar and enough milk to achieve smooth dipping consistency. Dip cookies, then roll in coconut.

Giant Turnover

Nothing beats a warm dessert on a cold day! Here is a recipe for a giant fruit turnover, big enough to share!

Ingredients:

1 lb (total) apples and pears, peeled and cored
1/4 dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped nuts
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dry bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (about 8 1/2 oz)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
1. Cut fruit into small cubes. Toss with cherries, nuts, sugar, bread crumbs, and cinnamon
2. Don't unfold pastry, but roll it into a 14 inch square on parchment lined baking sheet. Spoon filling onto bottom half of dough, leaving at least an inch border to close the turnover. Wet the edges with water, fold over and seal the edges with a fork. Brush the top with beaten egg. Prick turnover in 3 places.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

All of the fruit for this recipe can be found at The Red Barn. You can also buy a fruit corer/slicer/peeler there as well!

Recipe by Dorie Greenspan.

Cherry Granola Bars

Homemade Granola Bars

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup peanut butter
3 tsp vanilla

3 cups krispie rice cereal
3 cups other cereals {I used 1.5 cups of two different kinds}
3 cups quick cooking oats
4 TBSP flax
1 1/2 cups raisins, craisins, etc.
3/4 cup chocolate chips {optional}

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, leaving out the chocolate chips. Line a large jelly roll pan with foil and spray the foil lightly with non-stick spray.

Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, honey and salt in a saucepan. Heat until just boiling. Remove from heat and add in vanilla and peanut butter. Mix until smooth.

Pour over the cereal/ oat mixture and stir until combined. If you're adding chocolate chips, I suggest waiting about 5 minutes, until it's cooled slightly, then add them in. {I was in a time crunch here, so I just added them. They melted slightly, but it worked out just fine!}

Once mixed well, transfer to the foil-lined pan. Spread mixture evenly, pressing firmly with the back end of a spoon or your hand. I just take one of those little sandwich baggies and put it on my hand, then spray the bag with cooking spray and use my hand to press the mixture in. It's very effective and no clean up as you just discard the bag!

Cool completely before cutting. I stick the whole tray in the freezer for an hour or two. Once cut, you can individually bag them and store them in the freezer.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin patch pancakes

Pumpkin Patch Pancakes

Mix up your favorite pancake mix according to package directions. For every cup of dry mix used, mix in the following:
¼ cup canned pumpkin
½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice (If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand you can make your own. See recipe below.) Cook pancakes as you normally would.

Apple Cider Syrup

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
4 cups Red Barn apple juice

In a sauce pan mix together, sugar, cornstarch, and pumpkin spice. Stir in apple juice. Bring to a boil, remembering to stir occasionally. Boil until desired thickness. Remove from heat and serve over Pumpkin Patch Pancakes or give it a try over regular pancakes.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Mix and store.

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup diced apples, softened in microwave {2 minutes worked for me}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with oil. Mix ingredients and spoon into muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. I like to make mini muffins because they bake in less time and they're fun for my kids to eat. Mini muffins take about 13 minutes to cook. Regular sized muffins take about 18-20 minutes to cook.
Cool and enjoy!

Apricot Fruit Leather

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 cups pitted and diced fresh Red Barn apricots
• 1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees F (165 degrees C), or the lowest setting you have.
2. Combine the lemon juice, apricots and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.
3. Cover an 11x17 inch pan or cookie sheet with a layer of plastic wrap. Pour the pureed fruit onto the plastic and spread evenly to within 1 inch of the edge.
4. Bake for 4 to 6 hours in the preheated oven, using a spoon or a pair of tongs to keep the door slightly ajar, or until the puree has dried and is no longer sticky. Once dry, you can cut it into strips and store in an airtight container.