Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake:
6 large eggs, separated
pinch of salt
1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
14 oz Nutella
1 tbsp water
scant 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
a 9-inch springform pan, greased and lined with parchment or wax paper

For the icing:
4 oz hazelnuts (peeled weight) - optional
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp water
4 oz bittersweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until stuff but not dry. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and Nutella together, and then add the water, egg yolks, and ground hazelnuts. Fold in the cooled, melted chocolate, then lighten the mixture with a large dollop of egg whites, which you can beat in as rougly as you want, before gently folding the rest of them in a third at a time. Pour into the prepared pan and cook for 40 minutes.

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until the aroma wafts upward and the nuts are golden brown in parts: keep shaking the pan so that they don't burn on one side and stay to pallid on others. transfer to a plate and let cool. This is imperative: if they go on the ganache (icing) while hot, it will turn oily. (This whole step is optional as far as I say. I don't like a lot of nuts in my food, so I left these off).

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the cream, water, and chopped chocolate, and heat gently. Once the chocolate's melted, take the pan off the heat and whisk until it reaches the right consistency to ice the top of the cake. Unmold the cooled cake carefully, leaving it on the base as it will be too difficulty to get such a damp cake off in one piece. Ice the top with the chocolate icing, and dot thickly with the whole, toasted hazelnuts.
submitted by: Amy Langford

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

2 lbs. Ground Beef (drained) (turkey or chicken may be substituted)
1 large onion
1 can pinto Beans (15 oz.)
1 can Black Beans
1 can Hominy
1 can Lima Beans
1 can kernel corn
2 28 oz. cans diced Tomatoes
(DRAIN BEANS BUT NOT TOMOATOES)
1 Small can green chili’s
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. Ranch dip
1 ½ cups water

Place all ingredients in Crock pot
Low for 6-8 hours or
High for 4 hours
submitted by: Carrie Brady

Easier Variation:
Taco Soup
Combine in crock pot for 2-3 hrs. or heat on stove 15 min:

1 lb cooked hamburger meat
2 cans drained kidney beans
1 can undrained corn
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 small can green chilis
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch seasoning
submitted by: Sherie Christensen

Summer Squash-Meatball Soup

Summer Squash-Meatball Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced to 1/2"
2 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced to 1/2"
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15 oz) drained cannelini beans
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
10 (aprox) meatballs
1 1/2 cups vegetable or beef broth
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup snipped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1/2 tsp dried marjoram

Saute vegetables in oil in large skillet about 10 minutes. Combine vegetables, meatballs, beans and broth in medium crockery pot. Cover and cook on low 4 to 5 hours or high 3 to 4 hours. Stir in the pepper, basil and marjoram.
submitted by: Saralynn Jensen

Crepes

Crepes
1 cup evaporated milk
4 eggs
1 TB sugar
1 cup flour

Put ingredients in order in blender and blend until smooth. Pour ~3TB onto an 8-9" frying pan that has been buttered or sprayed with Pam. Lift and rotate pan around so mixture spreads out in a circle (very thin). Flip crepe like a pancake as soon as edges begin to come up (less than a minute on each side when pan is hot). Fill with: Nutella and bananna slices; ham and cheese; chicken mixtures; cherry pie filling; fresh fruit of choice and/or syrup of choice; etc. Whatever you can come up with!
submitted by: Sherie Christensen

Grandma's Famous Chocolate Sauce

Grandma's Famous Chocolate Sauce
1 cube butter
1 11.5oz package chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk (12 oz. can)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter and chocolate chips. Add milk and powdered sugar. Stir until blended and smooth over medium heat. Boil 5 min. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool and refrigerate (thickens after cold). Great to dip things in, to make hot chocolate, or on vanilla ice cream (our favorite).
submitted by: Sherie Christensen

Grandma's 5 min. Fudge

Grandma's 5 min. Fudge
Microwave 2-3 min until melted:
3 cup milk chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Stir in until shiny:
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Grease 8" square pan and place waxed paper inside.
Pour and smooth out fudge in pan.
Refrigerate until firm.
Remove from pan and peel off waxed paper.
Cut into squares.
submitted by: Sherie Christensen

Mushroom Turnovers

Mushroom Turnovers

Dough:

1 cup butter, softened

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 cups flour (up to half whole wheat is good)

1/2 tsp salt

2 egg yolks (for glaze)

1 tsp water (for glaze)

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add flour and salt and blend well. Chill one hour to overnight.

Filling:

8 oz fresh mushrooms or 2 cans (4 oz) mushrooms

1/2 small onion, diced

2 Tbsp butter

salt and pepper

2 tsp flour

1/4 cup evaporated milk or cream

Blend filling ingredients together in food processor and then saut in butter until thickened into a paste.

Roll out dough and fold into thirds. Roll out again to 1/8" thickness. Cut into two-and-a-half inch circles. Moisten edges of circles, add 1/2 tsp filling to center, and fold in half, sealing edges by pressing firmly. Place on un-greased cookie sheet.

Beat together egg yolks and water. Brush tops of turnovers with yolk wash. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until just browned. Cool on wire rack.

submitted by: Saralynn Jensen