Cooking with Caprece - Warm Bacon Cheese Spread

The first time I had this recipe was on a visit at Christmas time with Caprece and her still small but ever so sweet family. It was the holiday season and we were all the time whipping up yummy things to snack on while we visited with family and friends. This wonderful one landed on the New Year's Eve Menu - we love snack foods for New Year's Eve fixins. It was comfort food at its finest, warm, bread, cheesy and bacon to boot. How can you go wrong with that combination? We ate it with everything...celery, carrots, crackers, chips, and pieces of warm crusty bread until it was gone...every last warm cheesy bite. Note* This was over several days - it re-heats really well - not all at once :) Although it was yummy enough to do just that.

I have since made it several more times for parties and celebrations and it is always a hit. I love it when something is easy AND DELICIOSO! Que Rico!

(I didn't take pictures when I made it....silly, silly me :) I'll post some the next time I make it.

Warm Bacon Cheese Spread

• 1 round loaf (1 pound) sourdough bread
• 1 pkg. (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) sour cream
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese (I use sharp but it is your preference)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled (I am not a fan of cooking bacon - the smell lingers far too long - so I use pre-cooked bacon pieces - you can find them in the salad fixins section of the grocery store)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

Assorted Crackers, vegetables, and chips.

Cut the top fourth off the loaf of bread; carefulliy hollow out the bottom, leaving a 1-in. shell.

I cut the bread crosswise like this and then pull each piece out gently. You want to be gentle because you are going to cube the bread to be used for dipping. After I remove the pieces then I just continue to hollow out the bread until I have a 1-in. shell. Cube the removed pieces and place in a ziplock to keep fresh until later. Take the lid (the top of the bread that you sliced and cube it as well so it can be used for dipping).

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese. Add the sour cream, cheddar cheese and Worcestershire sauce until combined; stir in bacon and onions. Spoon into bread shell. Place lid pieces back on the top of the shell. Wrap the shell in a piece of heavy-duty foil or double wrap with regular foil, Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Serve with crackers, veggies and reserved bread cubes. Yield: 4 cups.

Cooking with Caprece - White Chicken Chili

Caprece won a chili cook-off in her stake with this recipe and I have wanted to make it every since - nearly 4 years.  Everyone is always asking if I have this recipe of hers and so here it is in all of it's glory.  I do have to say that it is a KEEPER.  My whole family loved it. We served it with sweet yellow cornbread.  I loved the contrast between the spicey and the sweetness of the bread. Tip - if you have younger children just make sure to use mild green chilies and go super easy on the cayenne pepper.

Recipe courtesy of Andrea Shumway and Caprece Curtis

1.5 lbs chicken breast, cubed

1 medium onion, diced

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

3 TBS oil

2 cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 can chicken broth

2 - 4 oz cans chopped green chilis - you decide the heat factor

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper - remember you control the heat so you can put less!

Saute the first 3 ingredients in 3 TBS of oil (I used a canola/olive oil blend) in a soup kettle or dutch oven.

Add the Great chicken broth and stir making sure to get all those yummy bits stuck to the pan.

Now add the Great Northern beans, green chilis - Quick Tip - high quality chilis are best.  Others tend to have a great deal of stems and husk like pieces.  Even the quality chilis can have bad bits.  Check them before you add them to the soup and remove any unwanted bits.  - salt, oregano, ground cumin, pepper, cayenne pepper.  Mix together and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for one hour until thickened.  It will be similar to a thick batter.  Add 1 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup whipping cream.  Whisk together and serve.

Cooking with Caprece - Glazed Carrots

Yesterday I made a family favorite "3 envelope roast" and I was trying desperately to figure out to serve with it.  I didn't want the same ole same ole.  So I dove into Caprece's recipes and came across this one that looked delicious.  It didn't disappoint although I think I like my friend Christina's recipe better.  I also served wild rice and roasted asparagus that was out of this world good.

Glazed Carrots recipe courtesy of Sharlee Bates

Ingredients:

• 2 pkg (16oz) fresh baby carrots
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 envelopes of ranch dressing mix

Cook carrots as desired and set aside.  Combine all ingredients except carrots in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Stir til butter is melted and everything is well blended.  Add carrots cook and stir for 5 minutes until carrots are glazed.  Serve warm.

Cooking with Caprece - Homemade Pancakes and Syrups

Waking up to the smell of sugar, maple, butter, and batter were a common and favorite experience on my visits with Caprece. She made a warm breakfast nearly every day of her life as mother and wife. Maybe because we grew up in a home of working mother and grandmother and rarely had a hot breakfast it spurred us to give this to our own families but whatever the reason it is a glorious thing! She made things other than pancakes like waffles, French toast, and scrambled eggs but my favorite was her pancakes. They are so simple to make that whipping them together takes about as much time as putting together a bowl of cold cereal. Now if I have a choice between cold cereal and hot fluffy, melt in your mouth pancakes well…I am sure you know the choice I would make. The syrups are just as easy and ohhhhhhhh so yummy!

Pancakes

• 2 cups flour

• 2 TBS baking powder

• 2 TBS sugar

• 2 TBS oil

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 eggs

• Milk

Grease your griddle or skillet. Heat your griddle to 350 degrees or a skillet on your stove to medium-low heat. Mix all ingredients together adding milk a little at a time until you reach the desired thickness – this depends on whether you like thick or thin pancakes…the more milk you add the thinner the batter and therefore the thinner the pancakes. We like ours thick and fluffy so we add about 1-1.5 cups of milk. Pour batter onto heated surface using ¼ measuring cup and cook flipping once. Makes approximately 10 pancakes.

Buttermilk Syrup

• ½ cup buttermilk

• ½ cup butter

• 1 cup sugar

• ½ tsp baking soda

Mix the first 3 ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. Serve warm over pancakes, waffles, French toast etc… NOTE** Due to the amount of butter in this syrup I don’t put any butter on my pancakes when I use it. Makes about 2 cups. Doesn’t keep well so only make what you think will be used at meal.

Maple Syrup

• 1 cup water

• 2 cups sugar

• ½ tsp Mapleine

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and serve warm over pancakes etc… Makes about 2 cups and keeps very well in a mason jar or something similar.

Cooking with Caprece – Spanish Rice

Caprece was a member of a recipe club when they were in Logan, UT while Matt was completing his MBA. She acquired many of her best recipes from her participation in this club. Last night we had Carnitas and I knew this was just the recipe to compliment them. I have my own recipe for rice that I usually serve with Mexican dishes but this was a wonderful change and tasted superlicious!

Recipe courtesy of Keesha Halbrook

Spanish Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups long grain rice
• 1 TBS oil
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 cups water
• 80z can of tomato paste
• 1 chicken bullion
• Salt and pepper
  

Directions:

Fry rice onion and garlic in oil until lightly brown. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in water, tomato sauce and chicken bouillon. Cover tightly and simmer for 15 min on low heat.

Sugar Cookies “Precie” Style

Years ago Caprece and I began a tradition of making sugar cookies during the holidays. We always involved the girls – Chancey, Lilah, and Livvy. We would roll them out, cut out fun holiday shapes, and bake them. Caprece would whip up a bowl of her specialty frosting and we would decorate them. Of course, we always kept a bit of the frosting and a few undecorated ones just for Matt. They kept fresh longer that way. They made a great late night snack for him thoughout the week. That is if he didn't eat them all at once...they are very hard to resist.

It never seems quite like Christmas until I’ve made a batch. This year is no exception. I was thinking about her and all the fun times we had. How blessed I am to have not only a best sister but a very best friend! I want my boys to grow-up hearing about their Aunt Caprece. So it was decided F.H.E. it would be and this time I involved my boys. They loved it especially my Zeke who is only 22 months. See for yourself. Oh, and although it goes without saying. These cookies are melt in your mouth, can’t stop with just one…good.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies (Nicole White - Precie's friend)
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
5 cups of flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp nutmeg
Directions:
Cream butter and sugar; add beaten eggs and sour cream. Beat well. Add dry ingredients. Chill for 30 min to hour. Roll and cut out. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 min or until lightly brown.

Caprece's Cream Cheese frosting
8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1 stick of butter (softened)
1 box of confectioners sugar (3 3/4 cup)
cream together

Spaghetti Sauce – Charla Recipe - Caprece Specialty

(you gotta love the fine china - Spider Man Style :)

The first time I ever tasted this sauce was at my Aunt Charla's home. At the time she was living in a mobile home on some property that my grandmother owned in Marianna, Florida. This sauce is just one of the many wonderful Memories I have of my Aunt Charla, affecionately known to me as "Charly". It was splendous, like no spaghetti sauce I had ever before tasted. Granted I was only about five or six at the time but still it was amazing. I think it had a lot to do with all the extras (Which I haven't listed here because I thought it best to stick with the base...you are welcome to dress it up any way you like.) The extras I am specifically referring to are the olives. I was unfamiliar with just what they could do for a meal til that indelible moment. It of course followed that once my sister Caprece married, she called Charla for her spaghetti recipe. It was immediately a favorite and served regulaly at her table. She had it down to a science. I of course lean on her experience and Charly's genius when I create this sauce...

(Please ignore the brown sugar...I took pic in front of my canisters...ooops!)

Ingredients:
© 2lbs fresh ground beef (80/20 works best)
© 1 TBS Olive Oil
© 1 large onion, chopped
© 6 cloves garlic
© 3 teaspoons oregano
© 3 teaspoons garlic salt
© 2- 6oz cans tomato paste
© 1- 15oz can tomato sauce
© 4 cups of water
© 1- 14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes (optional)*
© ½ jar of kalamata olives or 4 oz can of sliced black olives (optional)*

*Caprece didn’t use olives because her family doesn’t like them but she added petite diced tomatoes. Charla uses black olives but not petite diced tomatoes. And I use kalamata olives and petite diced tomatoes. This sauce tastes yumilicious whatever way you dress it up.

Directions:
Chop onion and garlic. Drizzle olive oil in skillet and place skillet on burner set to medium high heat. Place onion and garlic in skillet. Add 1 teaspoon of Oregano and 1 teaspoon of garlic salt. Cook onion and garlic until they begin to soften about 3 minutes. Add ground beef, the rest of the Oregano and garlic salt and brown. Place tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, petite diced tomatoes, and olives in dutch oven. Add the ground beef mixture and salt to taste (Please note if you are using kalamata olives DO NOT add any salt! The olives add additional salt.) Cook covered over medium low heat for at least 30 minutes. Serve over your choice of pasta…our’s is Angel hair or as the Italians call it – Capellini with salad and lots of garlic bread.

FRUIT PIZZA

Caprece was a great collector of recipes. She was always on the look-out for a good one and she passed the bug on to me. Matt allowed me to copy all of her recipes a couple of years ago and they get plenty of use!

This is a recipe from her collection. Once while visiting our cousin in Kentucy she served this light refreshing dessert and Caprece had to have the recipe. I decided to make it after suffering from a craving for a dessert with fresh fruit. It is easy to make and tastes wonderful.

From Caprece's collection by Raina

Ingredients and Instructions:

CRUST

4 cups flour

2 sticks of butter

1/2 cup pecans

1 cup brown sugar

Mix all together. grease texas sheet pan and spread evenly over the pan(will not be smooth). Pat with hands. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 min(the longer it cooks the harder it gets so cook it to desired firmness) I like it on the softer side so I cook it for 6 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

TOPPING

1 large tub cool whip

2 8oz cream cheese

1 small box powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese then add coolwhip. Add sugar 1 cup at a time and mix well. Spread over cooled crust. Top with seasonal fruits. I used strawberries, blueberries and kiwi on this one.

Broccoli Salad

As I was searching for a good salad for a recent pot luck I rediscovered this recipe among my sister's "tried and trues". It is quick and easy and tastes like it took you all day to make. It is always a hit wherever we take it. Sorry it doesn't have a picture but it got gobbled up before I could find my camera. I will make it again soon and add a picture.

Broccoli Salad

Recipe courtesy of Sonia Goodwin and Caprece Curtis

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 3 heads of broccoli chopped
• 8 oz of shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups)
• 1/2 to 1 cup of cooked or pre-cooked bacon (I always use pre-cooked...hate what cooking bacon does for the smell of my kitchen)

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar

Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl mix the salad ingredients and toss. *2 hours before serving pour dressing over salad and toss again making sure to cover salad well. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

*Although it is better if you let it marinade in the dressing for 2 hours, it tastes perfectly wonderful marinading only for 30 minutes.

Classic Ground Beef Tacos

I so named these tacos because they are a hodge podge of recipes from friends and family who live south of the US border. We take tacos very seriously in our home. It is a family favorite. I am certain that my children craved beans, rice, lemon, avacado and corn tortillas from birth as they are the mainstay of my pregnant diet.

As you can see from the picture we don't pre-prepare our tacos before sitting down to eat but, our plates serve as mini buffets for preparing our tacos as we like, once we are all seated. Above is our typical "latin american taco plate".

The picture below beginning shows each dish - Clockwise (starting at the noon postion) Black beans (my husbands favorite), flour and corn tortilla, arroz nicaraguense, avocado chileno, pico de gallo mexicano, center(taco meat americano) and radishes or rabanos chilenos. (all recipes are posted here on my blog).

The recipe below all serves 4-6.

Classic Ground Beef Tacos

by Caprece Curtis

1 TBS of olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef

1 TBS of chile powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground red pepper (commonly called cayenne pepper)

1 can tomato sauce

Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook until onion is softened. Add beef and cook. Add chili powder, salt, cumin and red pepper; cook stirring one min. stir in tomato sauce and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 min.

serves 4.