Fluffy Pear Jello & Recipe Round-Up

Jello is alright on it's own, but anytime I make it I jazz it up. I will sometimes just make it according to the package directions and pour it into little Tupperware containers for the kids as an after school snack. Even then I usually put some fruit in it like mandarin oranges or fruit cocktail. With whipped cream on top. See? That's not even basic Jello. I just can't do it. 

Today I have a favorite Jello recipe that I got from my sister-in-law, Heather. She has some great recipes and I'm always getting them from her. This is made in the blender, so it comes together in literally seconds. The hard part is waiting for it to set up.

1 (6oz) pkg. lime Jell-O (or 2 small pkg)

1 c. boiling water

1 (29 oz) can pears

1 c. pear juice

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. Cool Whip

Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Put in the blender and add the pears, pear juice, and cream cheese. Blend till smooth. Put into a bowl and add the Cool Whip. Whisk it until it's all incorporated. Refrigerate a couple hours or more until set.

Printable Version

Now I thought I'd round-up my other Jello recipes and share them here. Also I want your Jello recipes linked up.

Broken Glass Jello

Mandarin Orange Jello

  Bavarian Peach Jello

 Raspberry Pretzel Salad

I linked this to Sweet Indulgences Sunday

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10 Vegetarian Christmas Recipes

Here are a hand-picked few of my favorite gluten-free vegetarian recipes.

Winter Solstice has blessed us with a turning point. Daylight now grows longer inch by inch. Or is that minute by wintry minute? In spirit, I suspect, it is both. Christmas is almost here, and the season celebrating rebirth, light, and sliding into credit card debt is in full swing. Carolers are caroling. Gift wrappers are gift wrapping. Egg noggers are nogging. The shiny New Year crouches right around the corner.

And recipes are flooding my in-box for... ham. Roast beef. Rack of lamb. Wait a duck fat glistening minute, here.

Where are the vegetarian Christmas recipes?

I can't be the only person not forking a slab of meat on Christmas day. I can't be the single solitary soul who doesn't treasure bacon fat like it's a princess tiara. I'm not alone in my imaginings of a fresh and lively meatless Christmas dinner--- am I?

Okay. Okay. I get it. I honestly do. I realize I'm in the minority here. That to most folks celebrating the winter holidays in all their myriad and nuanced diversity, meat is the centerpiece of celebration. I acknowledge that. I even accept that. Just because I've been a vegetarian 78% of my life doesn't mean I bury my head in the sand of denial. I cope. I deal.

I go with the flow.

But just so you know? The UN thinks vegetarianism is not only a cool idea, it may be necessary to save the planet. So here's ten of my favorite vegetarian and vegan recipes for Christmas. With love.


Read more + get the recipe >>

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Easy Cinnamon Rolls with Eggnog Buttercream Frosting

I am in love with this treat. I created it and it's fantastic. If you don't like the flavor of Eggnog (rum), then you can can use milk instead of the eggnog and vanilla extract (or other flavor) in place of the rum extract. The great thing about this recipe (other than the frosting) is that it uses Rhodes frozen bread dough. Just put the loaves in a greased loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and stick into the fridge overnight or at least 12 hours to thaw. Then just pull it out and roll out and you're ready to go. It is great for Christmas morning or if you have company. I also used the speed rise method on the package so that went fast too. Win-win-win!

Cinnamon Rolls:

2 loaves of frozen Rhodes bread dough

1/2 c. brown sugar, divided

4 Tbsp. cinnamon, divided

1/2 c. softened butter or margarine, divided

Let the dough thaw in the fridge overnight (at least 12 hours). Remove and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Spread 1/4 c. butter over each rolled out dough. Sprinkle with 1/4 c. brown sugar and 2 Tbsp. cinnamon on each piece. Roll up length-wise and cut with a serrated knife or string into 2 inch rolls. Place on a greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Let raise.*

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and frost.

Eggnog Buttercream Frosting:

1/3 c. butter, softened (use real butter, it is called buttercream frosting, you know)

3 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. rum extract

2-4 Tbsp. eggnog

Beat together the butter and powdered sugar. Add the extract and eggnog. Beat, adding more eggnog until you reach your desired consistency. Spread over cooled rolls. This is great for sugar cookies or white cake as well.

*Quick rise method: Place 2 qts. boiling water into an oven safe dish. Place in the oven. Place rolls into the oven and heat oven to 200 degrees. Turn off the oven and let rolls raise until doubled. Remove the water dish, turn oven on to 400 degrees and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Printable Version

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Pillsbury Potluck Part 2

A few weeks ago I asked you what I should make for the Pillsbury Potluck Party. The winners were the Bacon-Cheddar Pinwheels, Easy Slow Cooker Ham, and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza. 

So that's what I made. Great choices!

I didn't get a picture of the ham (it got too dark), but I did get the others. Simply Scrumptious.

I loved trying these new and easy recipes from Pillsbury. Even though they were new to me and I had never tried them before, I had total confidence in making them for others. 

There were other goodies brought as well from the Ideas Made Easy site. 

Thanks to Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark for this opportunity.

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Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Christmas is this week! I can hardly believe it. We will be leaving for sunny CA on the 28th so this will be the last TTT of the year! It will resume in January, so watch for it. I will show the featured recipes from this link up then. So link lots of recipes up this week! 

We are surprising our kids (9, 7, and 3) with a trip to Disneyland, Universal Studios, Sea World, and the San Diego Zoo. They don't know about it. We will tell them on Christmas morning and I can't wait to see their reactions. You know those commercials from Disneyland where the parents tell their kids that they are going there? I cry all the time at those. Well now we get to make our own video and I am anxiously awaiting the moment. 

On to the awesome features...

Chocolate Candy Cake
from The REAL Housewives of Riverton

You just know I  would feature this baby! I mean really. I've also seen this done with white Kit Kats and pastel M & M's for Easter/Spring. Love it.



Cookies n' Cream Fudge
from Chef in Training

I'm not a fan a traditional fudge. It's just too much for me. Crazy, I know. But I love all the different varieties out there now like my S'mores Fudge (hanging out on the sidebar) or this version. Now that I can handle!



Serendipity 3 Frozen Hot Chocolate
from Something Swanky

For heaven's sake.

There are too many delicious link to choose from so I did my best. Just know that I'd come and eat your dish with each and every one of you.
Thanks for being such awesome peeps this year and always supporting Mandy's Recipe Box.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your's!

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Gingerbread Recipe

Delicious chocolate gingerbread loaf. Gluten-free yum.

Holiday Gingerbread, Gluten-Free Goddess Style

As the song says, Let it snow / let it snow / let it snow. Icing sugar that is. In a soft, sifted whisper of white. A dusting of tongue-melting sweetness to accent the solstice dark moon taste of a classic ginger spiced chocolate tea bread.

In the deep midwinter, I cheer my fragile spirit by baking. I put on Yo Yo Ma and stir cocoa laced batter with a wooden spoon, imagining my fellow gluten-free bakers- all of you- out there- standing in your humble kitchens, beating strange flours and non-traditional ingredients with an odd blend of dread and hope. Crossing fingers and scooping tea bread, cake and muffin batter, rolling cookie dough between nervous palms, praying to the kitchen gods.

In a mere two days- perilously close to the Winter Solstice- I will celebrate my tenth anniversary of living gluten-free. December 19, 2001 was the day I decided to shun gluten forever. What timing. Right before Christmas. I could have waited until December 26th. Or even the New Year. But I didn't. I couldn't. As soon as I connected the dots- from my plague of symptoms to their instigator gluten- I couldn't wait to begin my new life. If I had eaten my very last buttery croissant, so be it. If I had unknowingly crunched my last iced sugar cookie, so what. I was done.

Few of us have to make such choices.

Millions of Americans can eat pizza and bagels and Fruit Loops till the cows come home. Donuts and Ding Dongs and frozen pie crusts? No problem. Gluten isn't on their radar, never mind in their daily nomenclature. It's a punch line in a TV sit com. Something chefs and foodies either kvetch about or flirt with, eyeing the growing gluten-free awareness trend as a dietary bandwagon. Or maybe an opportunity to garner a little extra revenue. They're mildly interested, but non-committal. Privately? They're amused.


The fad aspect will fade. Eventually. And those of us with certain genes and blunted villi will still be here. Living gluten-free. Baking gluten-free. Day after day. Wrestling with creative ingredients and conjuring kitchen magic for our families, or ourselves, our newly diagnosed best friend.

Keeping the faith, one recipe at a time.

On my tenth gluten-free anniversary I salute YOU- dear reader. The home cook. The intrepid baker. The mother of a celiac child. The loving parent of an ASD angel. The undiagnosed but obviously sensitive to gluten cake maker. The wheat intolerant cupcake lover. The brother, the sister, the Dad, the grandmother looking for a way to include your celiac loved one in on the festivities, welcoming everyone to your table.

This anniversary recipe is for you.

A rich dark gingerbread infused with cocoa.

~GFG

Read more + get the recipe >>

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Crescent Cookies

These cookies just scream "Christmas!" to me. My aunt's family is from Germany and she makes these for us all every Christmas. Only her way takes one week. Yes. One whole week. She doesn't use any spoons, mixers, nothing. Just her hands. And she makes a ton of them. Then they have to sit in the dark for a week. I look forward to them every year. She also makes another kind called "Linzer Cookies" They are similar to these Crescent Cookies only they are two layers with a cutout on the top and a jam filling. So easily my very favorite cookie on earth. No lie. I found this recipe in Gooseberry Patch's Quick and Easy Christmas.

I made them and they taste just like my aunt's. Almost. You know her's has that love all in it. But I think mine have some love, too. Case in point: It makes 4 dozen. I gave one dozen to my elderly neighbors and my 3 little kids and I ate another 1 dozen in about 43 seconds flat. I had to put the other 2 dozen out of reach so my husband could have a fighting chance at tasting at least one cookie. But come naptime/quiet time, I make no guarantees that will come true.

They are so buttery that they melt in your mouth. Literally. That's why we ate a dozen in 43 seconds. Maybe less.

1 c. butter. softened

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. finely chopped pecans

Garnish: additional powdered sugar

In a bowl, blend butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed  until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour with mixer on low speed. Add in the pecans. Place in the fridge about 30 minutes until dough is easy to handle. Shape into crescents by tablespoonfuls. Place onto baking sheet (I coated mine with Pam). Bake at 275 degrees for 38-40 minutes. Cool slightly, then roll in additional powdered sugar. Put on wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Note: Don't even think about halving this recipe. You'll regret that so much.

Printable Version

I linked these to Seasonal Inspiration, Sweet Indulgences Sunday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Tuesday Talent Show

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Totally Tasty Tuesdays

I'm so excited to show you the featured recipes this week. Holiday baking is my favorite kind of baking. When I saw all the goodies this week, my jaw dropped many times. Like with the first feature. I told her she couldn't post stuff like that unless she was coming to share them with me. Just wait and see...

Eggnog Truffles

from Shugary Sweets

I mean, really. She also has some Eggnog French Toast you must see.

Snickers Fudge 

from Somewhere in the Middle

Holy. Smokes.

Pinwheel Jello Flowers

from The Better Baker

These caught my attention from the second I saw them. I love Marsha's site and she always has such tasty recipes.

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Crumb Cake

A light, pumpkin coffee cake for your holiday brunch.

The Winter Solstice will be here soon. The holiday frenzy of gift buying and light stringing and cookie making is officially upon us. Everywhere I cast my gaze I am pummeled with messages. SHOP! BAKE! SPARKLE! And that's okay. Because I understand the hoopla. I know where this urge comes from. The itch to make a ruckus in the dark. To sing, brave and clear, cupping our tiny flames against Midwinter's long night.

The California sun hangs soft and low in the sky, as pale as ice cream. Hours feel clipped. Afternoons are shorter and shorter. Night creeps ever closer. Darkness will soon reign over light.

But only for a moment. One single, solitary, longest night of the year.

No wonder we gather to celebrate. The rebirth of light is no small thing. And a brand new year awaits. Front loaded with promise, and changes hoped for.

I had hoped to finally conquer gluten-free sugar cookies. But after tasting more than one middling batch (I also have to bake without butter, remember) I became more interested in reading a new book than wrestling with sugar cookie dough. Yes, I miss rolling out sugar cookies. And yes, I would be (more than!) thrilled to sign on here today and boast about the best gluten-free sugar cookie ever. But. It's not gonna happen. This week anyway.

I had two sad, cracked (and complaining) teeth yanked this week. (Celiac disease is not kind to teeth and bones. My childhood was riddled with amalgam and the torture inducing whine of belt-driven drills, cementing a lifelong terror of dentists.)

So that gave me the perfect excuse to nap. And read in bed.

I am reading Carolyn G. Heilbrun- The Last Gift of Time. I read a chapter on memory- and the seduction of nostalgia (a favorite subject of mine, you may remember). And I read this...

"Every time those of us in our last decades allow a memory to occur, we forget to look at what is in front of us, at the new ideas and pleasures we might, if firmly in the present, encounter and enjoy."

Carolyn (in her seventies when she wrote this book) urges us to stay present in the here and now as we age, and not drift into the mental trap of nostalgia and memories. I wholeheartedly agree. I love learning something new- every day- turning not to an assumption, a belief or a habit, but toward the thrill of a new skill, and new technologies (iphoneography is a new passion of mine- an art form in its infancy). Keeping myself open, engaged in the here and now means keeping things fresh. Letting go of the old, the stale past, the so-called good old days. Because as good as they were, they are not now. And as bad as some days may have been, today can be different.

Now is new.

And in this spirit, Steve and I baked a pumpkin crumb cake instead of recreating cookies. A new Christmas tradition, perhaps? Why not?

Cake for breakfast.

Sweet.


Read more + get the recipe >>

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Copycat Almond Roca

I have never made much candy come the holidays. I make baked goods, but not a lot of candy. I have made peanut brittle and peanut clusters and caramel, but that's about it. I wanted to find a recipe for toffee of some sort. So I did a search and came up with this Almond Roca recipe. Oh. goodness.

It tastes just like the real thing that you buy in the canister. It was so easy as well. So easy that I wasn't sure I did it right. That's it? I thought. Yup. So make loads of this and give it to your neighbors and co-workers. You'll be their favorite person. 

Now this isn't break-your-tooth toffee. It's a softer hardness. Not caramel-y, don't get confused. It's hard, but a soft hard.

 Just make it and you'll get it.

1 lb. butter (not margarine)

2 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

6Tbsp. water

1 c. finely chopped almonds

1 (11 1/2 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips

Over Medium heat, melt butter in a large pot. Add corn syrup, water and sugar to pot and cook until temp reaches 290 degrees (about 15-20 minutes), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (mixture will rise and bubble quite a bit).

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 of the almonds. Turn mixture onto a greased cookie sheet WITH EDGES! While the mixture is cooling, melt the chocolate over low heat until all the chips are gone, and chocolate is smooth. Don't burn it. Pour the hot chocolate over the almond mixture and spread evenly. Sprinkle with remaining almonds and allow candy to cool completely and chocolate to harden. I put mine in the fridge overnight.

Break apart and serve.

Note: I used a 9x13 dish. Don't do this. See how thick my candy is? Next time I will use a cookie sheet so it's thinner. If you want thick chunks, use the 9x13. 

Recipe Adapted from: Food.com

Printable Version

I linked this up on Seasonal Inspiration, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Chef in Training, Crazy Sweet Tuesday, This Chick Cooks, Foodie Friday

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Guest Blogger: Edesia's Notebook

Hello there, friends. I have another guest here today. She's such a cute gal with great recipes, that I couldn't resist asking her to guest blog for me. So here she is...

Hi, I'm Lesa, author of Edesia's Notebook. I am a SAHM to two little girls (ages 1 and 3) and the wife of an awesome guy. I love to cook and I get really bored making the same dishes over and over again (no matter how good they are!), so I have become slightly obsessed with trying new recipes. I am constantly scouring magazines, cookbooks, tv shows, and the internet for new recipes to try. Whenever I try a new recipe, I post it (including any alterations I made) and pictures of the finished dish that I took myself. When I find a good recipe, I want everyone in the world to try it! My recipes are simple, great for busy weeknights. I usually avoid recipes that have a long list of ingredients or multiple complicated steps. If you are looking to add to your weekly dinner rotation, stop by sometime. I hope you find something that you would like to try.

Slow Cooker Sesame Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

½ cup flour

4 chicken breast cutlets, cubed

⅓ cup teriyaki marinade

1 cup orange marmalade

¾ cup orange juice

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp sesame seeds

4 servings hot cooked rice

Directions:

Place flour in a large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken and toss to coat. Transfer chicken to slow cooker, shaking off excess flour.

In a medium bowl, combine teriyaki marinade, orange marmalade, orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken and stir gently to coat. Cover and cook on low heat 4-5 hours or until meat is tender.

Sprinkle in sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Thanks, Lesa, for sharing this great recipe. I will be making it soon! Be sure you visit her and say "hey" for me. Also check her out on Facebook.

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Totally Tasty Tuesdays

This week I'm featuring some cozy goodies, being flippin' freezin' outside and all. Really. If it's gonna be this cold, the least it could do is snow and make it pretty. Enjoy these tasty treasures!

Lasagna Soup

from What's Cooking, Love?

Easier Fried Chicken

from Eat Cake For Dinner

Eggnog Pancakes with Eggnog Glaze

from Forkful of Comfort

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Guest Blogger: Chef in Training

My countertops were installed yesterday! (or 83 exclamation points)

I am so excited! As soon as I get it all put to rights, I will post some before and after pics for you all. Today I have an amazing gal visiting us. She's got some drool-worthy recipes on her site and I hope you all give her a happy welcome...

My name is Nikki and I am the face behind Chef in Training.  I am so excited to be here at Mandy's Recipe Box!  I have come to know Mandy a little bit better through the blogging world and I just think she is awesome!  She did a guest post a few months ago on my blog when I had my baby boy so I am happy and honored to be returning the favor!  I adore her blog!  Doesn't she seriously have some of the best recipes?!

Here is just a little bit about me.  I am married to the love of my life and have two very beautiful kids, one boy and one girl.  My family is my whole world.  I am a stay at home mom who has discovered a love for cooking and baking.  The kitchen is one of my favorite places to be!  Besides cooking and baking, some other hobbies of mine include sports, crafting, and having fun with my family.  I come from a long line of fabulous cooks and bakers and my goal to to become one myself.  My blog is a place to store some of my favorite recipes and share them with you!

Now that I have showed off my cute kiddos, I am going to share recipe that is both simple and delicious.  Aren't those the best kind?  This recipe is one that comes from my grandma's cookbook that she gives each grandchild when they graduate high school.  I have had mine for quite a few years now and am slowly picking out my favorites.  This happens to be one of them.  Everytime I have made this for a party or an event with a lot of people, everyone always asks for this recipe.  It looks and tastes like you put in a lot of work, but believe me when I tell you it whips up SO quick!

It only has 3 ingredients with an optional 4th ingredient!  It doesn't get easier than that!

ICE CREAM SANDWICH CAKE

• approximately 22-24 ice cream sandwiches
• 1 pint of butterscotch caramel ice cream topping
• 12 oz. cool whip
• slivered almonds (optional)

Unwrap and line bottom of 9" x 13" pan with approximately 11-12 ice cream sandwiches.  Trim to make layer smooth and even.  Spoon on and spread about 1/2 pint of butterscotch caramel ice cream topping.  Spoon on and spread half of the cool whip.  Repeat layers of ice cream sandwiches, butterscotch caramel topping, and cool whip.  Sprinkle top with slivered almonds.  Freeze until serving.

Enjoy!

Thanks Mandy for letting me be here!

Feel free to come visit me at Chef in Training and say Hello!

I also host a link party every Tuesday, "Tuesday Talent Show" so be sure and come link up!

Hope to see you soon!

-Nikki

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Gluten-Free Gingersnaps Recipe

Gluten-free gingersnaps- a classic holiday cookie.

This time of year simply begs for gingersnaps- the classic and humble cookie that tastes old fashioned and elegant and post new wave all at once. A subtle, spicy, gingery bite that snaps with a crunch to awaken satiated taste buds soaked in a holiday sea of egg nog, cheese logs and peanut butter balls. Fancy cookies, these are not. Slathered with green icing and star sprinkles? Not exactly. Though, you could, I suppose. Slather these. And sprinkle with abandon. If you're of a mindset that more is more, and nurture not the minimalist mantra of Less.

The choice is yours.

Go old fashioned and let the gingersnap goodness tingle on its own.

Or go wild.

And get your frosting on.

It's your party.


Read more + get the recipe >>

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Pillsbury Potluck Party

Originally I had posted this as a giveaway, but apparently I misunderstood. So sorry! I will make it up to you some how! Please forgive me and don't send hate notes!


To celebrate the upcoming holidays, why not try out some of the quick and tasty ideas for easy appetizers, desserts and more with friends and family by hosting your very own Pillsbury potluck party?

That's what I'm going to do! And I need your help. I will post  3 categories with 2 recipes in each and I need you to vote on which recipe I should make out of each category. 

Ready?

Appetizers:

Bacon-Cheddar Pinwheels

or

Parmesan Crostini with Spinach-Pesto Spread

Main Dish:

Easy Slow Cooker Ham

or

Slow Cooker Pulled-Beef Sandwiches

Dessert:

Berries and Cream Dessert Triangles

or

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza

There we are. My dinner's fate is in your hands. Don't fail me. 

Well, how could you, really? With these choices, I can't go wrong.

"Disclosure: The Pillsbury product, information and food ideas have been provided by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark."

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