Chicken Alfredo: To Die For

Ya, this sauce is an something to kick the bucket for. The picture is actually vegetarian Alfredo sauce because I sadly didn't have any chicken in the house. (Don't tell anyone, but I think it's actually better without chicken!) I never have any of the ingredients it asks for, but I make do with what I have, and nobody can tell. HOORAY for poor college students! You can see my little college notes/basic ingredients on the side.

24 oz dry fettuccine pasta (or pene)
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups (3/4 pint) heavy cream (or just milk)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper (or just a LOT of pepper)
1/8 tsp garlic salt

3/4 cup grated Romano cheese (or mozarella cheese)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or from the can)
2 cups chicken, diced
1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli

Cook fettuccine until al dente (8-10 minutes.) Drain. Cook chicken in a skillet until golden brown. In a large saucepan melt the butter into the cream over low heat. Add salt, pepper and garlic salt. Stir in cheese over medium heat until melted; this will thicken the sauce. Add chicken/broccoli to sauce, then to pasta. Serve immediately.

Homemade Carmel Corn

It's not the sticky homemade stuff you make and not that the stale stuff you get in a tin for Christmas from your estranged cousin. This is caramelized goodness and akin to county fair kettle corn, but much better because it's homemade and you don't have to pay 6 bucks a pop! :)

1 cup margarine
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup unpopped corn

Preheat oven to 250'. Pop popcorn and take out any unpopped kernals. Spray a big roasting pan with Pam. (I didn't have a roasting pan, so I used an oversized soup pot. Worked pretty well!)

In 2 qt saucepan melt margarine, stir in brown sugar, pour in syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium, and let boil for 5 minutes. Take pan off heat. Quickly stir in vanilla and baking soda. Once creamy, thick and puffed up, it's done. Immediately put corn in a big roasting pan and stir in the caramel fast or else it will clump pretty bad. Pour a little, stir a little. You might want to get another set of hands to help you stir and pour.

Bake 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. When it's first out of the oven, stir once per minute for 10 minutes. Enjoy the carmelized goodness!

Cinnamon Crispies

These cookies have an unexpected kick. They melt in your mouth! They crisp up after a while of being out of the oven and trust me, you'll want a LOT of milk.

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 cup oats
1 cup chopped nuts
1 1/4 cup shortening
2 1/2 TBSP molasses
2 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 TBSP vanilla
2 large eggs

Preheat to 350'. Blend dry ingredients in one bowl. Cream the shortening, molasses, sugar, vanilla, eggs in another bowl. Blend together dry and creamy ingredients. Using a round spoon, place cookies on a greased cookie sheet. Press flat with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes. Cookies are soft when taken out but harden a little after cooling.

Funnel Cake

You know that fried cake of goodness dusted in powdered sugar you always begged your parents for when you went to the city carnival? Well guess what? It literally only takes 5 minutes to make and is totally fun!

1 egg
2/3 cup milk
3 TBSP sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

In a small skillet, heat 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil over medium heat until hot. You can test the temperature by chucking a pinch of flour into the hot oil. If it sizzles right away without smoking, it's ready. Beat egg and milk until smooth, then add all other ingredients and beat until smooth.

Now, unless you ACTUALLY have a funnel, scoop the batter in a quart or gallon sized freezer bag, snip off a corner and squeeze it into the hot oil in any pattern you want. You probably want to keep in condensed though, because if you don't, when you try to flip it, it will fall apart. When I was a kid, we made designs or wrote our names with the batter as it fell into the oil. Hey! It's kid friendly!

Cook for about 1 minute and then flip to the other side. Carefully remove when it has turned golden brown. Pat the oil off with a paper towel (or else when you bite it, oil will squeeze into your mouth. I'm not kidding.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar and/or strawberry/raspberry jam. Jam adds a nice hint of fruit.

YIELD: About 3 large cakes

Peach Cobbler

This is yummy for a dinner side dish or a dessert with some ice cream on the side. It's best made with fresh peaches of course, but because I'm a poor college student, I use canned peaches (drained of all the syrupy goodness and washed with cold water) and NOBODY could tell the difference. Not even me. And that's a feat.

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
4 cups sliced peaches (about 6 med peaches) or 3 cans, rinsed
1 tsp lemon (or lime) juice

Dough Topping:
3 TBSP shortening
1 cup flour
1 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Heat oven to 400'. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Stir in peaches and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 2 qt casserole dish. Keep the peach mixture hot in the oven.

Cut shortening into flour, 1 TBSP sugar, baking powder and salt until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto hot peach mixture. Make sure the goop isn't touching, because the biscuits will spread. Bake until the topping is golden brown, usually 25-30 minutes. Serve hot hot hot! And with ice cream if you're feeling desserty.