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RICE CRISPIE BARS

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INGREDIENTS:
  • 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
— OR 4 cups miniature marshmallows
  • 6 cups Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal

DIRECTIONS:
1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. 
2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:
In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP RICE CRISPIES

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2 tbsp butter
5-oz marshmallows (1/2 large bag)
3 cups rice krispies/puffed rice cereal

Peanut Butter Filling
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (natural or regular)
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp milk

Chocolate Topping
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup semisweet/dark chocolate chips

Lightly grease a 9×9-inch pan.
In a large, microwave safe bowl, combine butter and marshmallows. Heat until butter is melted and marshmallows are soft. Stir to combine. Fold in rice cereal with a spatula, then pour mixture into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Allow to cool and set at room temperature.
For the peanut butter layer, combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. The consistency should be like frosting. If it is too crumbly (consistency may vary slightly by type of peanut butter used), add an additional tablespoon or two of milk until filling is spreadable. Spread onto cereal layer.
For the chocolate topping, melt chocolate chips and butter in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Stir until smooth. Pour over peanut butter layer and, using an offset spatula or regular spatula, spread chocolate to cover entire surface. Let chocolate set up at room temperature before slicing.

Makes 20 rectangular candy bars.

SUGARED ALMOND CRUNCH

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½ cup water  
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon  cinnamon
1 lb almonds w/skins  (see note below)

Bring water, sugar, cinnamon to boiling, stirring constantly – add Almonds
Remove almonds with a slotted spoon.  Put on a greased jelly roll pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min. – basting twice with remaining syrup.
Cool – store in airtight container.

NOTE:   I doubled the water, sugar and cinnamon and used three (3) lbs. of almonds.  Be sure you take them out of the oven when it says—because, all of a sudden, they get very hard and it’s hard to get them out of the pan.  I just flipped it over on another pan.  Break them up—let them cool—DON’T EAT THEM ALL!  :)


PEANUT BUTTER WHITE CHOCOLATE CRUNCH

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3 cups    Corn Chex  (I used 4 Cups of all 5 ingredients)
3 cups    Rice Chex
3 cups    Fritos
3 cups    Mini Pretzels(I used small pretzel sticks too)
3 cups    Popcorn (or puff corn)
1 bag     Peanut Butter Chips
1 bag     White Chocolate Chips (I used half of a 24 oz. bag of White Bark)   
1 tsp  oil (mix this into the chips)

Melt the chips together.  Mix the other items together,  pour the chips over them and mix well.  Pour all on to cookie sheets which are covered with parchment  or wax paper.  Cool, break apart.

PUMPKIN BREAD

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3 Cups Sugar 
1 Cup vegetable oil 
4 eggs, lightly beaten 
16 ounce can pumpkin 
3 ½ Cups flour 
2 t salt 
2 t baking soda 
1 t baking powder 
1 t nutmeg 
1 t allspice 
1 t cinnamon 
½ t cloves 
2/3 Cup water 

Preheat oven to 350 
Spray 2 9x5 loaf pans with Pam 
Stir together sugar and oil. 
Stir in eggs and pumpkin. 
Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. 
Blend dry ingredients and water into wet mixture, alternating. 
Divide batter into disposable loaf tins. (Target has them for 5 for 1.44.) 
Bake 30-40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Because the smaller loaves are less dense, start checking the little loaves at about 2/3 of the bake time for the full loaf. I find that somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of the time is right. I'm also pretty careful about scaling the loaves so that they will all bake evenly - leaving 2" of space between the little loaves. 
Leave bread in tins, -- it helps keep their shape while shipping.  
Cover with plastic wrap, label it: 
Pumpkin Bread—WITH NUTS 
or 
Pumpkin Bread—Without nuts 


Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

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1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup raw sugar or brown sugar
1/8 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
2 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup fruity olive oil
1/2 cup milk or eggnog
1/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 cup pumpkin puree
Cinnamon sugar mix, as needed. (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and nutmeg.  After mixing, add pecans and cinnamon chips then stir again.  Set aside.
In your mixer’s bowl, place eggs, olive oil, maple syrup, yogurt, milk, and pumpkin, mix until well combined.  On low speed gradually add your dry ingredients and mix until incorporated, but do not over mix.  Divide batter evenly into mini loaves and smooth the tops.  Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar, if desired.  Bake for 35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove and let cool for 5 minutes in pan.  Invert over a clean cloth or counter space and let loaves fall out.  Place loaves on a cooling rack to let cool completely.  Do not wrap up loaves for freezing until completely cool.  Enjoy!

CRISPIX MIX

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  • 2 boxes Crispix Cereal (Regular size)
  • 2 cups pecan halves (I break them in lengthwise quarters again)
  • 2 cups slivered almonds
Coating mixture
  • 1 cup butter (don’t substitute margarine)
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup corn syrup
  • 1½ tsp. vanilla
* Over low heat… melt butter, stir brown sugar into; add corn syrup and bring to a boil and add vanilla. (Reminds you of making puffed wheat squares).
Spray roaster pan with cooking spray (needs to be big, I use my turkey roasting pan) and fill with your mix.
Drizzle over cereal/nuts mixture and mix as you go along to coat evenly. (Hint: I sometimes do one box of crispix, 1 cup pecans & 1 cup almonds and then coat and repeat as it is easier to evenly coat mixture).
Bake at 225 degrees for a total of one hour but stirring every 15 minutes. The stirring every 15 minutes is important to prevent mixture from burning at the bottom and to coat evenly. Be careful so you don’t break the crispix too much.

Spread onto a cookie sheet (or two) to cool. Hide in the freezer (put in ice cream pail but mark it with “spinach & turnip soup”) until ready to munch! This will freeze forever, unfortunately it doesn’t last since it tastes great frozen and if your family finds it, they will sneak it right from the freezer and all you will find is an empty pail!

Cornflake Easter Nests

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1/3 cup butter                  
1 (10 oz) package regular marshmallows or 4 cups miniature marshmallows
1 teaspoon green food coloring
6 cups cornflakes

In large saucepan, melt butter over low heat.  Add marshmallows & stir until completely melted.  Remove from heat, stir in food coloring, then add corn flakes & mix well.On parchment paper or wax paper, quickly split into 6 nests.  Using buttered fingers, quickly shape into rounds and make a ‘well’ in the middle, pulling the sides up to make a nest.


***For any who want to be a ‘little more creative’, try using 4 cups of cornflakes & 2 cups of shredded wheat (crushed), instead of all cornflakes – Shredded wheat sounds like a ‘nest’  'Sprinkles’ can be added to the tops while still warm.



Magic Cookie Bars

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