Pina Colada Upside Down Cake

The Pampered Chef ®
Piña Colada Upside-Down Cake
Recipe

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter 
1 cup packed dark brown sugar 
1 medium pineapple 
1/2 cup maraschino cherries (15-20 cherries) 
1 pkg (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix 
3 eggs 
1 can (13.25 oz) unsweetened coconut milk 
1 tsp rum extract 
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in Executive (12-in.) Skillet over low heat (do not use stainless cookware). Brush sides of Skillet with butter using Chef's Silicone Basting Brush. Remove from heat; sprinkle brown sugar over butter and set aside.


2. Cut off top and bottom of pineapple, creating a flat base; slice off rind from top to bottom. Cut pineapple into 12 slices; remove core using The Corer™. Cut slices in half. Arrange 22 of the pineapple slices around outer edge of Skillet; place two pineapple slices in center, forming a ring. Place one cherry in center of pineapple ring and additional cherries around outside of ring.


3. Combine cake mix, eggs, coconut milk and rum extract in Stainless (4-qt.) Mixing Bowl; whisk with Stainless Whisk until well blended. Carefully pour batter over pineapple in Skillet.


4. Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Meanwhile, place coconut into Small Micro-Cooker®; microwave on HIGH 2-3 minutes or until toasted, stirring after each 10-second interval. Remove cake from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack; cool 5 minutes. Invert cake onto Simple Additions® Large Round Platter; gently press coconut around top edge and sides of cake.


Yield: 16 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 310, Total Fat 12 g, Saturated Fat 6 g, Cholesterol 45 mg, Carbohydrate 49 g, Protein 4 g, Sodium 250 mg, Fiber less than 1 g

Cook's Tip: If desired, 14 canned pineapple slices (one 20-oz can and one 8-oz can) can be substituted. Cut slices in half; proceed as recipe directs.

Chicken Noodle Soup

3 chicken breasts
3 cans of chicken stock
½ bag of carrots, chopped
6 celery stalks, chopped
1/3 bag of egg noodles
2 cans of biscuits
2 cups of milk
1 tsp approx of rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil chicken in four inches of water in a stock pot. Once done, set aside. Add the carrots, celery, and cans of chicken stalk and boil. After ten minutes, add the biscuits pinched smaller than a quarter to the boiling mixture. Slightly stir after the biscuits get their form. After five or ten minutes, add the egg noodles. Once they are almost ready to eat, add the two cups of milk and seasoning. Enjoy!

Seasoned Oyster Crackers

Ingredients

3/4 cup vegetable oil1
(1 ounce) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (12 ounce) package oyster crackers

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

In a mixing bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, ranch-style dressing mix, dill weed, lemon pepper and garlic powder. Pour this spice mixture over the crackers in a medium bowl, and stir until the crackers are coated. Arrange the crackers on a large baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated 275 degrees F (135 degrees C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

This was full of flavor and Denver and I both gave it a two thumbs up! I have made several versions of this before, but this is my new favorite kind! I stole it from Southern Living February 2008 issue (including the picture!) Doesn't it just look like some cheesy mexican goodness!

Ingredients

3 Chicken breasts
2 1/2 to 3 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of chicken soup
2 (10-oz.) cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican-style chili powder
1/8 teaspoon red pepper
3 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
12 (6-inch) fajita-size corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips


Preparation

1. Rinse chicken.

2. Place chicken and salt in a large Dutch oven with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 50 minutes to 1 hour or until chicken is done. Remove from heat. Remove chicken from broth; cool 30 minutes. Remove and reserve 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Strain any remaining cooking liquid, and reserve for another use.

3. Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 6 to 7 minutes or until tender. Add bell pepper and garlic, and sauté 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in reserved 3/4 cup cooking liquid, cream of mushroom soup, and next 5 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes.

4. Skin and bone chicken; shred meat into bite-size pieces. Layer half of chicken in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Top with half of soup mixture and 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Cover with half of corn tortilla strips. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.

5. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.



Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

I always make this at Christmas time... and I haven't yet, so I guess I will be cooking these real soon!





 48 Hershey Brand Milk Chocolates
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Poppy Seed Chicken

2 or 3 chicken breasts, boiled and cut in small pieces
1 16 oz sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken
2 tbls of poppyseeds (I don't measure - I just shake a ton in)
Ritz crackers
1 stick of butter

Mix the first 4 ingredients and put in a baking dish. Cover with crushed up ritz crackers. Melt a stick of butter and pour on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350.

Spinach Dip

I stole this Spinach Dip from Kelly's Recipes Blog and have found it to be my new favorite kind!

Spinach Dip

1 pkg frozen spinach

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz Monterrey jack cheese

6 oz Parmesan cheese

1 can Rotel

Cook the spinach according to package. Add cheeses and melt in microwave for 3-5 minutes until liquid form. Add rotel and mix together. Serve with crackers or bagel chips or melbatoasts.

Dried Beef Dip

Some of our family friends always made this and I finally got my hands on the recipe! This stuff is so addictive!

Dried Beef Dip
1. Cut up six medium to large green onions

2. Chop two jars of dried beef

3. Soften two 8oz boxes of Phil. cream cheese (not melt)

4. Thoroughly mix (1) 8oz sour cream with the cream cheese

5. Mix in 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce

6. Add a dash to 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt

7. Add green onions and dried beef. Stir and mix until
green onion begins to separate.

Wonton Appetizer

Wonton Appetizers
1 lb sausage, cooked, drained and chopped up

8 oz bag of shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese

1 small can of diced black olives

1/2 cup red bell pepper - minced

1 cup Ranch Dressing

1 pkg fresh Wonton wrappers (usually in produce section cooled case)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. In a bowl mix everything together except wrappers
Set aside. Spray mini muffin tins with Pam and gently press wonton wrappers
in the tins. Make sure you mold them so they will be easy to fill with the 
mixture later. Spray them lightly before you put them in the oven. Bake for 5 
minutes. Take out and fill them with the mixture. Put back in the oven to heat 
for five to seven minutes.

Serve immediately.

Oreo Truffle Balls

Oreo Truffle Balls

I made some similar to this but thought I would post this recipe so I can have it for next year.
Chocolate or Vanilla Almond Bark1 pkg (8 oz) Creme Cheese, softened1 pkg of Oreo Cookies
Melt chocolate in double boiler, add solid vegetable shortening, 1/2 tsp at a time as needed to make the mixture smooth. Chop the entire pkg of Oreo cookies with the food chopper. Mix with creme cheese. Scoop out balls of mixture using the small stainless steel scoop. Place balls in freezer until firm (30 min to 1 hr). Dip in melted chocolate, one at a time and place on parchament paper or wax paper until set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Tips: White chocolate ones are the best, plus you can drizzle dark chocolate over them to make some designs!

Cranberry, Almond Crunch

Cranberry, Almond Crunch

1 pkg of vanilla flavored almond bark

3/4 c chopped almonds

1/2 c cranberries

2 c crisp rice cereal

Melt the almond bark for one minute, stir, thirty seconds a time until totally melted, add remaining ingredients and stir---spread onto a frozen rectangle stone covered with parchment paper to cool quickly--once cooled, pick up and drop (just the parchment paper and candy) to break into pieces

Arkansas Caviar aka Hog Caviar

This is a weird combo, and I promise, mix it all up and let it chill in the fridge for the flavors to mix. It tastes so much better the next day! I always thought the girls at work who made this was crazy, until I tried it. After that I couldn't keep from sneaking a bite!

1 Can of Rotel, drained
1 Small can of Shoepeg Corn, drained
8 oz Zesty Italian Dressing or what you think it needs to cover it all in it
2 tbsp Garlic minced
1 Onion Chopped
1 Bell Pepper Chopped
2 Cans Blackeyed Peas, drained
Salt and Pepper to taste

Serve it up with some big scoop fritos! Please give it a shot and tell me what you think! The good thing about the recipe is you can adjust to your tastes!