Recipes for the Refreshments Served to the Williamson County Master

Gardener Classes

2

Mexican Caviar 2 - 14 oz cans petite diced tomatoes

1– 14 oz can white shoe peg corn

1 - 14 oz can yellow corn

1 - 14 oz can black beans

1 - green pepper, diced

1 - yellow pepper, diced

1 - red onion, diced

1 - 8 oz bottle Zesty Italian dressing

1 - package Ranch dressing

Drain tomatoes and corn (reserve juice from tomatoes just in case you need extra liquid). Drain black beans and rinse well. Mix dressings together, then add all other ingredients. Mix well Refrigerate overnight Serve with chips Note* You can additional ingredients, such as jalapeno peppers, minced garlic, cilantro, hot pepper sauce, to taste. Can also use Rotel tomatoes with green chilies along with the regular tomatoes.

3

Reuben Dip

8 oz cream cheese ½ cup Thousand Island dressing 16 oz sauerkraut, drained and squeezed (I actually patted dry) 8 oz shredded corned beef 16 oz shredded Swiss cheese Place ingredients in crock pot and heat on low for 2 hours. Serve with rye bread or Triscuits. Thoughts…..don’t rinse the sauerkraut as you want some of the tanginess to re-main. I used corned beef from the deli and asked them to slice it as thin as possi-ble because it practically shreds at that point. I also have made this in a 9 x 13” pan in the oven, but didn’t like it as well. It really needs to be kept warm or else it will harden and become gooey.

CHEESE KRISPIES 2 sticks butter 2 cups flour ½ lb. sharp cheddar cheese ½ tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. red pepper 2 cups Rice Krispies Mix first five ingredients well. Add Rice Krispies.. Make into small balls size of a marble. Flatten with hand on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or until lightly brown.

4

Strawberry Pretzel Salad 1 cup crushed mini pretzels ¾ cup sugar, divided ¼ cup butter or margarine, melted Vegetable cooking spray One 8-oz. package cream cheese 1 tsp. vanilla One 8-oz. container Cool Whip One 6-oz. package strawberry Jell-O 2 cups boiling water Two 10-oz.packages frozen strawberries 1 (16 oz.) sour cream ¼ cup chopped pecans, toasted

Combine pretzels, 3 Tbsp. sugar and ¼ cup melted margarine. Spray bottom of 9 x 13 dish with vegetable cooking spray. Press pretzel mixture on bottom of pan. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Beat cream cheese, 5 Tbsp. sugar, and vanilla at low speed until sugar dissolves. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread over pretzel layer.

Stir together water and Jell-O until dissolved. Add strawberries. Chill 1 hour or until partially set. Spread over cream cheese mixture. Chill 8 hours or until set.

Stir together sour cream and remaining ¼ cup sugar. Spread over top of strawberry layer. Sprinkle with pecans.

Pineapple-Lime Salad 1 3-ounce package lime gelatin 1/2 cup nuts, chopped 3/4 cup boiling water 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 cup evaporated milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 cup small curd cottage cheese 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Cool slightly; stir in milk. Chill until thick but not firm. Fold in remaining ingredients and pour into an 8-inch square pan or 8 individu-al molds. Chill until firm. Cut into squares, or un-mold, and serve on lettuce leaves. Note: I doubled the recipe for a 9 by 13-inch pan.

5

Lemon Bars 1 package yellow cake mix 2 eggs 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 package 8 oz cream cheese -- softened 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1/3 cup sugar Beat 1 egg and oil together and add to cake mix. Lightly mix with fork until crum-bly. Reserve 1 cup of this crumbly mixture; set it aside. Mix the remainder of cake-mix mixture until it has the consistency of dough. Press by small amounts into a 13x9 inch pan to make a bottom crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Mix together cream cheese, egg, sugar and lemon extract and spread on top of the crust. Sprinkle the reserved cup of crumbly mixture on top of cheese mixture.

Pea Pickin’ Cake

Yellow cake mix with pudding (Pillsbury or Duncan Hines) 1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges (juice and all) ½ cup canola oil 4 eggs Mix cake mix with oil and eggs (add eggs one at a time). Add oranges and juice and mix well. Bake at 350 degrees (baking according to directions on box for a 9” x 13” pan).

Icing 1 (13 oz.) container of Cool Whip 1 (15 oz.) can crushed pineapple 1 (3 oz.) box of instant vanilla pudding After cake has cooled, drain pineapple and pour juice by spoonful over cake (punch holes with toothpick). Mix Cool Whip, drained pineapple and pudding together. Spread over cake and re-frigerate.

6

Old-Fashioned Teacakes 1½ cups sugar 1 cup butter or margarine 2 eggs (beaten) 4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla Unsalted butter or margarine Preheat oven to 350º. Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs. Beat well. Combine and sift flour, soda, and baking powder. Fold into batter. Add vanilla. Chill dough for 30 minutes. Roll out dough on floured (combine ½ tsp. baking powder and ½ cup flour) board to your desired thickness, cut out, and place on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until done. As soon as cakes are removed from oven, immediately brush with unsalted butter and cool. If spices are preferred, omit vanilla and add 1 tsp. cinna-mon and ½ tsp. nutmeg to dry ingredients. Breakfast Cookies 1 cup butter 1 cup light brown sugar packed 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups flour sifted 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 cups uncooked oats( do not use instant oats) 1 cup chopped dried apricots 1 cup dried cranberries 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes 1 cup chopped pecans Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Cream butter and sugar together until creamy Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Sift together flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to sugar mixture. Add apricots, cranberries, coconut, oats and nuts. Blend with spoon. Allow to sit for 1 hour to soften oats. Pinch dough up with fingers and slightly roll in into 1½ inch ball and place on a slightly greased cookie pan 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown. MAKES 80

7

Bing Cherry Salad

2 (15 oz.) cans Bing Cherries (dark, sweet pitted cherries) 4 (8 oz.) cans crushed pineapple in juice 2 (6 oz.) packages cherry flavored Jell-o 2 cups cold water Mayonnaise (optional) Drain cherries and pineapple, reserving 1 ½ cups juice in a saucepan (If necessary, add water to equal 1 ½ cups). Bring juice mixture to a boil over medium heat: stir in Jell-o, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until Jell-o dissolves. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 cups cold water. Chill until consistency of unbeaten egg whites (about 1 ½ hours). Gently stir in drained cherries and pineapple. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Cover and chill 8 hours or until firm. Dollop with mayonnaise, and gar-nish, if desired.

Texas Sheet Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour ¼ cup baking cocoa 2 cups sugar 2 eggs, slightly beaten ½ t. salt ½ cup sour cream 1 cup (2 sticks) butter/margarine 1 t. baking soda 1 cup water Icing (below)

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together. Combine the butter, water and baking cocoa in a 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the dry in-gredients. Beat in the eggs. Beat in the sour cream and baking soda. Pour into a greased 10 x 15 inch baking pan (jelly roll). Bake at 375 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Pour the icing evenly over the hot or cooled cake.

Chocolate Nut Icing

½ cup (1 stick) butter/margarine 1 t. vanilla extract ¼ cup baking cocoa 1 (16 oz.) package confectioners’

6 T. milk sugar 1 cup chopped nuts Combine the butter, baking cocoa and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. Let stand until slightly cool.

8

BLOND TEXAS SHEET CAKE 1 pkg. white cake mix 4 egg whites (or 4 whole eggs) 1 cup buttermilk ¼ t. almond extract 1/3 cup butter, melted Caramel-Pecan Frosting Beat together 1st five ingredients at low speed for 2 minutes or until blended. Pour bat-ter in greased 15” x 10” jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. Prepare Caramel-Pecan Frosting. Pour immediately over cooled cake in pan and quickly spread over cake.

CARAMEL-PECAN FROSTING (3 CUPS) 1 cup chopped pecans 2 cups powdered sugar ½ cup butter 1/2 t. vanilla extract 1 cup light brown sugar 1/4 t. almond extract 1/3 cup buttermilk Place chopped pecans in single layer on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes or lightly toasted. Bring butter and sugar to a boil in 3 ½ qt. saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly for 2 minutes. Remove and slowly whisk in butter-milk. Return and bring to a boil. Gradually add sugar and extracts, beating until smooth. (1 minute) Add pecans. Use immediately.

WEDDING COOKIES

Cream I Lb. margarine and ¾ cup sugar. Add 5 cups plain flour, 2 tsp. vanilla and a cup of chopped nuts. Form in crescent shapes and bake in an 350 degree oven on an ungreased pan for 18-22 minutes. Cover with sifted powdered sugar while still warm. These cookies keep well in a covered tin for weeks.

9

Coconut Cake

1C butter 2 C Sugar-less 2 TBS 3 C Flour 4 Whole Eggs or 6 Egg Whites 3 tsp Baking Powder 3/4-1 C Whole Milk ½ tsp Salt Sift together flour and baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs to sugar mixture one at a time beating well after each. Add alternating to the sugar mixture milk and flour, beating well after each addition. Add Vanilla and mix well. Bake in 3 layers in a preheated oven at 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Whole eggs will make a more moist cake. Filling: 1 Cup Sugar 1 #2 C Crushed Pineapple 1 Cup Water Cook water and sugar until it threads from end of spoon. Stir in well drained Pineap-ple. Spread on top of each layer. Frosting: Never Fail Three-Minute Frosting 1 C Sugar ¼ tsp Salt ½ tsp Cream of Tartar 2 Egg Whites 3 TBS Water 1 tsp Vanilla In top of double boiler combine all ingredients except vanilla. Cook over hot water ; beat for3 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Remove from heat and beat in Vanilla. Frost the cake and sprinkle with generous amounts of fresh or frozen grated coconut.