Breakfast Dogs on a Stick

Ingredients:

• 16 breakfast sausage links
• 3 cups pancake mix
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1 whole egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups water
• Canola oil, for frying
• Warm pancake syrup, for serving
• Special equipment: chopsticks

Directions:

Cook the breakfast sausage links in a cast-iron skillet, turning occasionally until done.

In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, cornmeal and cinnamon. Stir to combine.

Add the eggs, vanilla and water, adding more water as needed for the batter to become slightly thick (but not overly gloopy.) Start out by adding 1 cup, then work your way up to 3 cups or more.

Heat some canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat to about 350 degrees F. Drop in a bit of batter to see if it's ready; the batter should immediately start to sizzle but should not immediately brown/burn.

Insert chopsticks into the cooked breakfast sausages so that they're two-thirds of the way through. Dip the sausages into the batter and allow any excess to drip off for a couple of seconds. Carefully drop into the oil (stick and all) and use tongs or a spoon to make sure it doesn't hit the bottom of the pan and stick. Flip it here and there to ensure even browning, and remove it from the oil when the outside is deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve with warm pancake syrup.

Grilled Banana Split

Ingredients:

* 1 small banana in peel * 10 mini marshmallows * 1 tbs mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Leave the banana in the peel. Slice it carefully lengthwise without cutting though the bottom side of the peel. 

 

Pull the halves of the banana about 1/4-1/2 inch apart, leaving it in the peel. 

 

Fill opening with marshmallows and chocolate chips. 

 

Place on a microwave safe plate and cook for 20 sec at a time until the chips and marshmallows are slightly melted. 

 

The peel will turn dark - that's OK. Grab a spoon and eat it right out of the peel. 

 
Modifications:  

If you're camping, wrap stuffed banana in foil and place on hot coals for about 5-10 minutes.  

 

Increase/decrease chocolate chips and marshmallows to meet your nutritional requirements.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 box favorite cake mix
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 24 flat-bottomed ice cream cones

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine cake mix and 1/2 cup cold water. Beat 1 minute. Beat in eggs, water, vanilla and oil. Mix well. Place ice cream cones in muffin tin or on cookie sheet and fill each 1/2 full with batter. Bake 15 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch. Frost and decorate when cooled.

Homemade Tootsie Rolls

Ingredients

• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon water, warm
• 1 3/4 teaspoon orange extract
• wax paper or colored foil for wrapping

Directions

Line a baking tray (with sides) with plastic wrap and set aside.
In a medium microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate. Stop to stir every 5-10 seconds so chocolate will not burn.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.  Scrap mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and press down with the back side of a spatula to a 1” thickness. (Paula’s Note: It will not completely cover the pan).

Cover mixture with another piece of plastic wrap and let it set overnight at room temperature.  The mixture will be stiff, but still moldable and flexible the next day.
Peel off the plastic wrap and cut into strips (about 1/2”-3/4” wide). Form each strip into a log and roll out the logs between your hands or on your work surface until they are about 1/2” in diameter. 

Cut into sections as long as you like and set aside for a few minutes to harden up again after you have heated them with your hands.  Wrap in waxed paper or colored foil squares.

Starbucks Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp apple cider vinager
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt (increase to 1/2 tsp if using oil instead of vinegar)
• 1/2 non-hydrogenated margarine, softenened, or 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp espresso (I used instant)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Whisk the almond milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to get good and curdled. If using margarine: Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix. In a separate large bowl, use a handheld mixer at medium speed to cream the margarine and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. (Don’t beat past 2 minutes.) Beat in the espresso and vanilla, then alternate beating in the almond milk mixture and dry ingredients, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.

If using oil: Beat together the almond milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla, and other extracts, if using, in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until no large lumps remain.
Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.

Caramel Sauce 

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 2 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 10-oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cut butter into evenly sized cubes and melt over low heat in large 3-4 quart saucepan.

Once butter is fully melted, add brown sugar, being careful to avoid the sides of the pan. If any stray sugar crystals fall onto side of pan, carefully brush off with a wet pastry brush.

Once butter and sugar are fully combined, add corn syrup and condensed milk. Clip on candy thermometer to side of pan.
Cook mixture on low heat (still continually stirring) for about a minute or two. Increase heat to medium and continue to cook/ stir until mixture reaches 225 degrees. Once the mixture is removed from heat, stir in vanilla extract.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 3 sticks unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Heat sugar, egg whites, and salt in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisking until sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. Return bowl to mixer, and whisk, gradually increasing speed from low to medium-high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla. Switch to a paddle attachment and beat until air bubbles are gone, 2 to 3 minutes more.

Banana Split Bites

Ingredients:

Bananas
Chocolate (melted) -- or substitute with Nutella.
Candy sprinkles or chopped nuts
Ice cream
Whipped cream
Maraschino cherries

Directions:

Use firm bananas (put them in refrigerator of 20 minutes to help firm up) and cut into 1 inch sections. Leave the peel on for easy handling, and with a melon baller, dig a well in the middle of each banana section. Remove peel.

Melt chocolate in the microwave and dip the bottom portion of the banana in chocolate and then dip it once again in either candy sprinkles or chopped peanuts.

To quickly harden the chocolate, place dipped bananas in the freezer for five minutes.

Fill each well with ice cream and top with whip cream and a maraschino cherry.

Deep-Fried Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ingredients:

1/2 pound lean ground beef

2 tablespoons minced yellow onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 egg white

2 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs

Salt and pepper, to taste

5 cups plus 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 pound cooked spaghetti

2 cups marinara sauce

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

8 Popsicle sticks

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Line a baking sheet and a shallow baking dish with parchment paper.

Make the Meatballs: Place all meatball ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until well combined. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Warm 3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook, turning to brown all sides, until just cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool.

Gently toss meatballs, spaghetti, marinara sauce, and Parmesan in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Place mixture in the prepared baking dish, cover, and refrigerate at least 12 hours and up to overnight.

Preheat the remaining 5 cups of oil to 350F. Cut chilled pasta mixture into 8 equal squares. Remove squares from baking dish and insert a pop stick into each. Carefully place spaghetti sticks in pot, one at a time, and fry about 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm.

Angry Bird Mini Pizza

Ingredients:

1 ball pizza dough (enough for 1 large pizza) – split into two balls
1 cup white cheese
2-3 Tbsp olive oil

Toppings/Faces:

pepperoni
black olives, sliced (eye center)
mozzarella (eye whites)
orange bell pepper triangle (beak)
red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Make according to dough direction or your favorite pizza recipe.

Halloween Haystacks

Ingredients:

1 package of chow mein noodles (12 oz.)

1 package of butterscotch chips

1 package of white chocolate chips

1 package of toffee bits

1 jar of crunchy peanut butter

4 tablespoons shortening (do not use butter, spread or oil)

Directions:

Put noodles into large mixing bowl. Line two baking sheets with wax paper.

Place butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter and shortening in the microwave-safe bowl. Heat for two minutes. Stir. Heat for a minute. Stir. Repeat process until mixture is smooth. Add toffee chips and mix well.

Pour mixture over noodles and gently fold together until noodles are completely coated with the mixture. Using ice cream scoop, spoon out stacks onto the wax-covered baking sheets. Refrigerate for at least two hours.