Caramel Topping for Sundaes

2T. butter
1T. karo or corn syrup
1c. brown sugar
1/2c. milk or light cream
1t. vanilla

Melt and cook over medium heat butter, syrup, and sugar--stirring enough not to let it stick.  Let boil briskly for about 1 min., then remove from heat and stir in the milk and vanilla.  If the milk and vanilla don't dissolve, may place back on low heat until dissolved.  Don't boil as it will curdle.  Store in refrigerator.

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Ice Box Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 lb. (4 cubes) margarine
1c. brown sugar
1c. sugar
2 eggs
2t. vanilla
5c. flour
1t. baking soda
1t. baking powder
1c. chopped nuts (optional)

Combine eggs, margarine, and both sugars in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder.  Stir in the nuts and flour, mixing well.  Shape cookie dough into long loaves about 2 inches thick.  Cover cookie dough loaves with plastic wrap and place in the freezer.  When time to bake, pull a loaf of cookie dough out, slice off some cookies and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375℉ for 8-10 min.   Bake as many cookies as you like and place the uncooked part of the cookie dough loaves back in the freezer.

**Note:  All cookie dough may be stored and baked in this way--following the baking instructions for each recipe. 

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Wedding Cookies

2&1/4c. margarine or shortening
1&1/2c. sugar
3 eggs
6t. vanilla
5c. flour
1&1/2t. salt
2c. chopped nuts (optional)
2c. chocolate chips

Combine eggs, sugar, and margarine together in a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients (vanilla, salt, flour, nuts, and chocolate chips).  Shape into 1 inch balls.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1&1/2 in. apart.  Bake at 350℉ for 15-18 min.  Cool partly and roll in powdered sugar.  Makes 120.

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Spice Substitutions

From: BH&G's New Cook Book

For more spices and their substitutes, visit this BHG webpage

Spice	Flavor	Common Uses	Substitution
Allspice (ground)	Blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves	Baked goods, jerk seasoning, stews	Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves
Anise seeds	Licorice-like flavor	Cabbage dishes, meats, fruit desserts	Fennel seeds or a few drops of anise extract
Cardamom (ground)	Spicy-sweet with peppery and ginger-like tones	Curried dishes, bean dishes, baked goods	Ground ginger
Cayenne pepper	Hot, pungent, smoky	Stews, barbecue rubs and sauces, and bean, meat, egg, and cheese dishes	Use 2-3 drops bottled hot pepper sauce for 1/8 to ¼t. cayenne pepper
Chili powder	Hot, spicy, peppery taste and aroma	Soups, stews, marinades, meat dishes	Dash bottled hot pepper sauce + equal measures of ground oregano & cumin
Cinnamon (ground)	Strong, spicy-sweet flavor	Meats, breads, pumpkin and fruit desserts, hot coffee, tea, chocolate	Ground nutmeg or allspice (use only ¼ of the specified amount)
Cloves (ground)	Strong, pungent, almost hot flavor	Baked beans, barbecue dishes, chili, mulled wine, fruit desserts, cakes	Ground allspice, cinnamon, or nutmeg
Cumin (ground)	Pungent, spicy, slightly bitter	Indian and Mexican cooking, meats, poultry	Chili powder
Curry powder	Fragrant, mild-to-hot blend of up to 20 ground spices	Meats, sauces, stews, root vegetables; often used in Asian & Indian cooking	Combine = parts ground spices common in curry such as cumin, coriander, red & black peppers, ginger, turmeric
Fennel seeds	Mild licorice-like flavor and aroma	Meat, sausage, poultry dishes, baked goods, fruit desserts, coleslaw	Anise or caraway seeds
Ginger (ground)	Sweet-hot flavor, nippy aroma	Stir-fries, marinades, meats, baked goods	Ground allspice, cinnamon, mace, or nutmeg
Mustard (dry, seeds)	Dry mustard attains hot flavor when mixed with water; seeds are hot & spicy	Dry—salad dressings & egg, cheese, & meat dishes; seeds—pickling, relishes, & boiled vegetables & meats	In cooked mixtures, 1T. yellow mustard for ea. 1t. dry; no substitutes for mustard seeds
Nutmeg (ground)	Slightly sweet and spicy flavor & aroma	Baked goods, white sauces, custard, eggnog	Ground cinnamon, ginger, or mace
Paprika	Hungarian paprika is generally more pungent than Spanish & can be labeled sweet (mild) or hot; Spanish paprika is slightly sweet & bitter	Vegetables, beef, fish, chicken, salads, egg dishes	Cayenne pepper, but use sparingly because it’s much hotter
Pepper, black or white	Black pepper is more pungent than white	Savory foods, spiced desserts	White may be substituted for black, but it’s milder in flavor

Learn about Asian herbs/spices at this website.
Learn about herbs/spices from south of the border on this spice site and this site.
Learn about Mediterranean/tropical herbs/spices at this site and this spice site.

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Oriental Rice

Ingredients	10 Servings	20 Servings
Bacon	¼ lb.	½ lb.
Onion, diced	1c.	2c.
Carrots, diced	1/2c.	1c.
Celery, diced	3/4c.	1&1/2c.
Green pepper, diced	1 sm.	1 lg.
Cooked meat, diced	2c.	4c.
Soy sauce	3T.	6T.
Cold, cooked rice	3c.	6c.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove from skillet.  Add onions and stir-fry one min.  Add carrots and stir-fry one min.  Add celery and green pepper and stir-fry one min.  Add meat and soy sauce and heat through.  Break up cold, cooked rice.  Stir gently into meat and vegetables, taking care that each grain of rice is coated with oil and liquids that have formed in the pan.  Heat through; add crumbled bacon and serve immediately.

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Chocolate Cake Roll

1c. flour
1/4c. cocoa
1t. baking powder
1/4t. salt
4 eggs at room temperature
1c. sugar
1/3c. water
1t. vanilla
12 oz. cool whip

Line baking sheet with waxed paper, greased and floured.  Beat eggs in a mixing bowl until thick and lemon colored.  Gradually add sugar, water, and vanilla in that order.  Then add the rest of the ingredients, except cool whip, saving flour for last.   Pour batter into pan and spread into the corners.  Bake at 375℉ for 12-15 min.  Loosen cake from edge and invert on towel coated with powdered sugar (generously).  Remove waxed paper and trim off stiff edges.  Roll hot cake and cool in the refrigerator about 30 min.  Get aluminum foil and line with plastic wrap.  Unroll towel, then roll cake up by itself to remove towel and place cake on plastic wrap.  Without completely unrolling cake, glob whipped cream on the top (generously) manipulating it into the unrolled part and re-roll cake with whipped cream in.  Wrap with aluminum foil and plastic wrap and freeze until served.  Freeze leftover. 

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Fudge Sauce

3/4c. sugar
3T.  unsweetened cocoa powder
dash of salt
2T. water
2/3c. (6 oz. can) evaporated milk
2T. butter or margarine
1t. vanilla

In a saucepan on medium heat, combine sugar, cocoa, and salt.  Blend in water, stirring until cocoa dissolves.  Add evaporated milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to avoid burning.  Boil gently for 3-4 min. until sauce thickens, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla.  Makes 1c. sauce.  Serve warm or cold.

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Marvelous Fruit Dip

8 oz. cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
12 oz. container cool whip
1/8t. lemon juice
1t. vanilla
food coloring

Combine all of the ingredients except the cool whip and the food coloring.  Fold in the cool whip and stir in a little food coloring as desired for color.  Make ahead and refrigerate to thicken.  Pour over fruit or use as a fruit dip.

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Sugars (brown, powdered, molasses, honey, corn syrup) and Reducing Sugar Intake

When you read the ingredients label on any food item in the store, any ingredient with the -ose suffix is a sugar.

Common sugars in the human diet:

Sucrose (table sugar)

Fructose (found in fruit and honey--much sweeter than sucrose)

Glucose (human blood sugar)

Maltose (found in beer)

Lactose (found in milk) 

Beet Sugar

Brown sugar substitute from joy the baker:

1c. sugar

1T. molasses

Mix thoroughly.  Store in airtight container.  Makes 1c. brown sugar

Powdered sugar substitute from this do it yourself site:

1c. powdered sugar = 1c. sugar + 1T. cornstarch ( if making icing with it)

Combine in a blender and blend at high speed until powdered.  Store in airtight container.  

Corn syrup substitute from this food.com page:

(A simple syrup recipe that's a great substitute for corn syrup especially if you're allergic to corn.)

2c. sugar

3/4c. water

1/4t. cream of tartar

1 pinch salt

Combine all ingredients above in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 3 min.  Then uncover and simmer, stirring often until it reaches a soft ball stage.  Cool and store in a covered container at room temperature.  Makes 2 cups of syrup.

Another corn syrup substitute:

1c. corn syrup = 1c. sugar  + 1/4c. liquid (same type of liquid as specified in recipe)


Honey substitute:

1c. honey = 1&1/4c. sugar + 1/4c. liquid

Try these other honey substitutes.


Molasses substitutes:

dark corn syrup
brown sugar
honey
pure maple syrup (most pancake syrups in grocery stores are not maple syrup)

For more information on molasses and molasses substitutes, please visit Alan's kitchen or the gourmet sleuth.


How to reduce sugar in your diet:

Most dessert (and even some pastry) recipes call for more sugar than is needed for the recipe to taste good.  Try reducing the sugar in 1/2c. increments (or 1/4c. increments) each time you make your recipe until you find the desired taste for you and your family.  

If you are using fruit in the recipe, very ripe fruit is high in fructose which is sweeter than sugar.  If you're making a dessert recipe that calls for fruit, try using very ripe fruit and try reducing the sugar you add in the recipe even more (1c. or more).  See recipe mentioned in the next tip.

Need some help believing you can cut out sugar in these recipes?  Check out the Banana Nut Cookies (with chocolate chips) recipe on this site.  Below the original Mrs. Field's recipe is a healthier version of the recipe with less sugar and fat.    

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Scalloped Potatoes (2 versions)

First Version:

6 med. potatoes
3T. butter or margarine
2T. flour
3c. milk
1t. salt
1/4t. pepper
2T. chopped onion
1c. grated cheese (optional)

Wash and slice potatoes thin.  In a large saucepan, melt butter, then add flour and blend together.  Add milk and cook until smooth and thickened, stirring constantly.  Stir in salt, pepper, onion, and cheese.  (You may add your own favorite seasonings.)  Put half the potatoes in a buttered casserole dish.   Cover with half the sauce.  Add remaining potatoes, then remaining sauce.  Cover and bake at 350℉ for about 1 hour.  Uncover and continue baking until top forms brown crust.

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Second Version:

6 med. potatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4t. pepper
2T. chopped onion
1c. grated cheese (optional)
1/2c. chopped ham (optional)

Wash and slice potatoes thin.  In a buttered casserole dish, add the potatoes and cream of mushroom soup and stir.  Add the pepper and onion (you may also add any of your favorite seasonings).  Stir in the cheese and ham.  Cover and bake at 350℉ for 45-60 min. or until potatoes are soft. 

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Carrot Cake

A Lion House recipe

1c. sugar

1/2c. cooking oil

2 eggs

1&1/2c. grated carrots

1c. flour

1/2t. salt

1t. baking soda

1t. cinnamon

1/4c. coconut

Combine eggs, sugar, and oil in a mixing bowl.  Add salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Mix well.  Stir in carrots, coconut, and then the flour.  Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x9-inch pan and bake at 400℉ for 20-30 min. or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

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