Enjoy the holidays with these recipes from our KENS 5 family to yours...
Grandma Cora’s Tamales
Audrey Castoreno
Pork Roast: Boil for several hours till tender. Reserve broth. Chop roast and place back in the broth and add spices to taste. Salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, chile powder, Chopped serranoes (optional).
OR
Chicken: Boil 6 chicken breasts till tender and reserve broth. Chop chicken breast and place back in broth. Add spices to taste. Salt, pepper, chicken bouillon cube, garlic and chopped serranoes (optional). No chile powder.
Corn Husks: To get corn husks ready place in large plastic bowl and let soak in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and repeat. When they are soft remove and let air dry.
Masa: 10 pounds of masa add:
- 3 tablespoons of salt
- 7 lbs of Manteca
- 3 tablespoons of baking powder
- 4 cups of broth from pork meat
- Add chili powder to taste
- Mix together with hands or heavy duty mixer.
Once masa is spread on corn husks and filled with meat steam the tamales on high for 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
Easiest Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies Ever (makes 1 dozen)
Erica Zucco
Ingredients:
-1 cup peanut butter
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1 egg
-12 unwrapped Hershey’s kisses
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Mix ingredients.
-Let mixture sit for 10 minutes- do not skip this step!
-Scoop out dough. It will be softer than normal cookie dough.
-Use a fork to make an “X” in each cookie.
-Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies may not be brown on the sides- let them finish baking on the pan.
-As soon as you take them out, press a Hershey’s kiss in each!
-Let cool before stacking on a plate or the Kisses will melt.
Notes: You can add some flour to make them less sweet, a dash of vanilla extract for flavor or a dash of salt if you like! I use creamy peanut butter, but chunky works too if you like some texture. Feel free to switch up the Kiss flavors you use. And if you have a peanut allergy in your house, gingersnaps or sugar cookies work great for a base, too! You can also roll the cookies in granulated sugar if you want to make them look a little prettier.
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Brandon Roddy
Ingredients:
One cup of butter
One cup of packed light brown sugar
Half cup of white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
Half a teaspoon of baking soda
One teaspoon of salt
Three cups of quick cooking oats
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
1 and a quarter cup of all purpose flour
Mix together, separate cookies
Bake: 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees
Jalapeno popper wonton bites
Leah Durain
- 12 wonton wrappers (I found them in the produce section of my local grocery store)
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened • 1/2 c. sour cream • 12 oz. bacon cooked & crumbled (reserve 2 Tbsp.) • 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese reserve 2 Tbsp.
- 3-4 jalapeños seeded and chopped (**for more spice, do not remove all the seeds)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.
3. Place one wonton wrapper in each muffin cup; bake 8 minutes or until lightly browned.
4. Remove from oven and cool slightly.
5. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese, and chopped jalapeños.
6. Spoon filling into wonton cups, then sprinkle with reserved bacon and cheese.
7. Return to oven and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, until wontons are golden brown and cheese is melted.
Family-Friendly Eggnog
Stacia Willson
4 cups milk
5 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups light cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine milk, cloves, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and cinnamon in a saucepan, and heat over lowest setting for 5 minutes. Slowly bring milk mixture to a boil.
In a large bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk together until fluffy. Whisk hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs. Pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until thick. Do not allow mixture to boil. Strain to remove cloves, and let cool for about an hour.
Stir in rum, cream, 2 teaspoon vanilla, and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight before serving.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jeremy Baker
Ingredients:
1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Reindeer chow
Roxie Bustamante
Ingredients:
- 1 box of Chex cereal
- 7 oz of semi sweet chocolate chunks
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups red and green M&Ms (or throw in a whole bag. You can also add peanuts and pretzels)
In a large microwave safe bowl melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter for 30 seconds and then stir. Continue microwaving in 15 second increments, stirring after each time, until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in vanilla.
In a mixing bowl put in the pretzels and Chex cereal. Pour the liquid goodness over it and mix with spatula ( don't pour all at once. Mix up and keep adding )
1. Add powdered sugar to a large zip top bag and then add cereal mixture. Seal the bag and shake well until each piece is evenly covered with powdered sugar.
2. Put chow back to a clean mixing bowl and throw in M&Ms. You can freeze it too if you like it cold.
Green Bean Casserole
Joe Reinagel
- 6 to 10 cans of cut green beans
- 3 to 4 cans of cream of mushroom soup
- Large can of fried onions
- Cajun seasoning
- Dust bottom of large casserole dish with Cajun seasoning
- Add three cans of cut green beans
- Layer cream of mushroom soup over green beans and add more seasoning
- Layer with fried onions. Repeat for larger serving.
- Cover with foil and cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees
- Remove foil and cook another 10 minutes until onions are brown
- Serve hot, enjoy
Cranberry Orange Nut Bread
Deborah Knapp
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 eggs, beaten lightly
3 TBS butter, melted
1/2 cup shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped
1-1/4 cups cranberries, coarsely chopped
2 tsp grated orange rind
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 8 x 4 ½ x 3 inch bread pan.
2. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
3. Pour in orange juice, eggs and melted butter. Mix well without overmixing. Fold in walnuts, cranberries and orange rind.
4. Pour batter into the prepared pan and set on the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 45- 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove bread from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove bread from pan and allow to cool completely on rack. Wrap and put away for 1 to 2 days before serving. Freezes well.
Fran’s Green Bean Salad (Bill’s Mom)
Bill Taylor
Fresh Green Beans
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
Fresh Mint
Simply blanch the beans… (boil for about 4-5 minutes, then run cold water over strained beans)
Refrigerate for an hour
Add ingredients and toss
Aunt Mollie’s Banana Pudding
Marvin Hurst
At least three bananas
3-1/2 package of Vanilla pudding (Package size may vary. Please adjust as necessary)
14 ounce can of Eagle Brand Milk
1-1/2 cups of cold water
Cups of heavy whipping cream (Can be lighter if you choose. Each cup is 8 ounces)
Box of Vanilla Wafers (Some cookie monsters prefer two)
* Grandma adds a dash of Vanilla extract but it’s not necessary. The recipe is great either way.
Layer sliced bananas and cookies in serving dish.
In a bowl combine the water and the milk.
Add the Vanilla pudding. Use a mixer to blend. Stick mixture in the fridge for five minutes.
Remove mixture, add whipping cream, stir until mixed in.
Fold the mixture over bananas and cookies. Dish is ready to serve or depending on how you like your BP stick it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so.
Christmas crackers
Henry Ramos
Ingredients
16 oz. package of saltine crackers
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 Tbsp. (about 2 packages) ranch dressing mix
3 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
2 cups olive oil
Instructions:
1. Using a large gallon Ziploc bag, pour in the olive oil, seasonings, and spices. Close the bag and knead to thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
2. Place all 4 sleeves of crackers in the bag, re-seal, and gently turn the bag over several times to coat the crackers with the spice mixture. The more times you do, this the better the coating.
3. Let the bag sit overnight.
4. Remove crackers and lay out on a baking sheet. Bake at 250°F for about 15 minutes.
Note: If you are short on time, the crackers still taste great skipping the baking in Step 4.
Cranberry tamales
Jeff Brady
It's really simple. Just add fresh cranberry sauce on top of your favorite tamales!
