87. Crawfish or Shrimp Stew-fay

INGREDIENTS (yield 8 servings, I quartered it)
2 pounds peeled crawfish tails or shrimp
1 stick (8 tbsp) butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup of chopped green bell peppers (I used red and yellow)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
steamed rice

DIRECTIONS
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions, bell peppers and celery and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and golden, eight to ten minutes.
2. Add the crawfish tails or shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until they throw off some of their liquid, six to eight minutes.
3. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to the mixture.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, four to five minutes.  Season with salt and cayenne.
4. Serve immediately over steamed rice.  Garnish with a sprinkling of green onions and parsley.

86. Caramel Baked Popcorn

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon and 1-3/4 teaspoons corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups popped popcorn (about 1 bag)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a very large bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.
3. Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

85. Peanut Butter Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup white sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup peanut butter


DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt. Add mayonnaise, vanilla and peanut butter. Mix together very well.
2. Shape into walnut sized balls. (The dough will be crumbly). Mash with a fork, sprinkle with sugar. Bake 12 minutes in a 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven.

84. Oatmeal Apple Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS (yields 2 loaves)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter or shortening
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 eggs
• 1 mashed banana
• pureed mixture of: 
•       1 apple,1 small mixed fruit cup, and 1 small applesauce cup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/3 cup corn meal
• 1/3 cup cream of wheat
• 1/4 cup barley oats, plus more for garnish if not doing a streusel on top
• optional: 1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choosing
• 
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the banana, apple mixture, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Beat into creamed mixture. Stir in oats, corn meal, cream of wheat, and barley oats.  Add optional nuts. Pour into prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

83. Buttercup Squash and Asparagus Soup

INGREDIENTS
roughly 2 cups baked buttercup squash
a few sprigs of roasted asparagus with almonds
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a blender, combine squash, milk, syrup, cinnamon, garlic, onion, oil, and salt and pepper.  Blend well and heat in microwave.  Garnish with sprigs of asparagus and nuts.  Can be served hot or cold.

82. King Cake

INGREDIENTS

• PASTRY:
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly nutmeg
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•  
• FILLING:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup melted butter
•  
• FROSTING:
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS

1. Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
5. To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and 1/2 cup flour. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
6. Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners' sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

81. Baked Corn

INGREDIENTS
3 cups cooked whole kernel corn (I used grilled corn off the cob)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup butter
1 8-oz package Jiffy corn bread mix


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine the whole-kernel corn, cream-style corn, sour cream, melted butter or margarine, beaten eggs and corn muffin mix. Mix well and pour into one 9x13 inch baking pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes.