Fruity Pasta Salad--Recipe For Murder

Love this salad.  It's the honey and mayo combo that tastes just right.  Course nothing wrong with the pasta and the mandarin oranges and the sugar peas and the green onions.  Mmmm.  Mmmm.  Mmmm. I have adapted this recipe from a Josi Kilpack murder mystery recipe.  If you like mysteries, I suggest you give her books a try.  I've read and enjoyed them all.   (Terry)


FRUITY PASTA SALAD
2 C mayo
1 tp minced garlic
½ tp celery seed
½ C honey
1 tp salt
½ tp pepper
2-3 chicken breasts, diced
16 oz tri-colored rotini
30 oz mandarin oranges, drained
¼ pound sugar snap peas, sliced diagonally
½ C chopped green onions
Chow mein noodles (optional)


Mix together: mayo, garlic, celery seed, honey, salt, pepper. Cover and set in fridge.
Dice chicken and stir fry in pan until done. 
Meanwhile, cook pasta until done and drain.
Gently combine all ingredients, except chow mein noodles, in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Sprinkle with chow mein noodles. Serves 12.
NOTE:  You can also simmer the chicken in salted water.  Let it cool a little, and then cut into bite-sized pieces.

Sopapilla Cheese--Breakfast. Dessert. Breakfast. Hmmmm.

Hmmm.  Not sure how to classify this recipe.  I have served it for breakfast, and I have served it for dessert.  But with cream cheese and sugar, how can you go wrong--any time of day?!  This is one of those Internet recipes that actually turned out.    (Terry)






SOPAPILLA CHEESE
Ingredients:
2 cans Pillsbury butter crescent rolls
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter (melted)
Cinnamon & sugar: 1/4 cup sugar and 1 TB cinnamon
Instructions:
Unroll and spread 1 can crescent rolls on bottom of un-greased 9 x 13 pan. Combine softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread mixture over crescent rolls. Unroll and spread remaining crescent rolls over mixture. Spread melted butter over the top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Cream Cheese with Jalapeno Jelly--Be Brave

   My husband belongs to a community orchestra.  Clarinet.  Two or three years ago when I was helping with one of their bake sales, someone provided samples of one of the items for sale:  Jalepeno Jelly.  They were serving the jelly with cream cheese and Ritz crackers.  Now that was one strange combination, and I wasn't about to get involved with that.  But after listening to oohs and aahs for several hours, I decided to give it a try.  Now that is one delicious combination of tastes.  So I ended up with several jars of jalapeno jelly.
   One night I took some to a taster's table at Relief Society.  No one would try it.  I assured them it was really good.  Finally, one brave soul loaded up a Ritz, and the rest is history.    Last month I decided to serve my DUP group something other than a dessert.  Yup.  The ole jalapeno thing.  Again, it took a few moments to get the thing off the ground, but by the time they left, I think I had about enough left for two crackers.
   You just gotta be brave.   (Terry)


 CREAM CHEESE WITH JALAPENO JELLY
1 C jalapeno jelly
8 oz. cream cheese
Ritz crackers
Unwrap the cream cheese and set on a serving dish for several hours so it will get to room temperature.  Stir jalapeno jelly a little to loosen up and spread over cream cheese.  Serve with Ritz crackers as dippers.

White Chocolate Puffcorn--One Cool Thing

One cool thing about family reunions is the recipes you pick up from all your relatives.  Last year at our Bateman family reunion, my cousin Kim (hmmm--ahhh--Kim---ahhh--Dang.  What's her married name?  Oh well.) nee Bateman brought a treat that disappeared in about 2 minutes.  And only 2 ingredients.  What's not to like about numbers like that?!  (You're gonna want to triple this recipe.  One recipe for you.  The other two to share with the rest of the family.  Trust me on this.)    (Terry)


WHITE CHOCOLATE PUFFCORN
Melt 3 squares (6 ounces) of white almond bark in the microwave.  Pour over 1 bag (3 1/2 ounces) of Chester's Puffcorn--Butter Flavor.  Mix well.
NOTE:  Make sure you buy Puffcorn and not popcorn.