Welcome to My Kitchen

Happy New Year! Following the holiday season take time to sort out my pantry, setting aside the items that didn’t get used and the ones with just a bit left in the package, and plan to use them up in January menus or donate to the local food bank before reaching the use by date. Rice-Chex, Stove-Top Turkey stuffing, Iced Tea Mix, Jiffy Mix, a duplicate jar of yeast and a small tin of salmon are off to the food bank.

Those who follow Welcome to My Kitchen on Facebook have already seen the assortment of opened packages. To date, two partial bags of cereal and marshmallows are already made into Cereal Treats. Additional cookies are planned with the gum drops, coconut, chocolate chips and pretzels. Skillet Lasagna is planned with the leftover noodles, pasta and tomato paste. Chicken stock and canned beans went into several soups made from left over Christmas meals, and the French-fried onions and panko have been transferred to clear jars so I will remember to use them in breading and toppings.

How do you make Cereal Treats? Use the traditional Rice Krispies Treats recipe. Measure the amount of cereal you have and adjust the number of marshmallows and butter accordingly. I had 4 cups cereal, 32 marshmallows and used 4 Tbsp butter.

Tomato products have the shortest shelf life of canned items, and small cans of tomato paste tend to get shoved to the back. Use tomato paste to make tomato sauce for your next tomato-based recipe. One can tomato paste to 1 can water makes a nice consistency sauce you can season to taste.

Numerous recipe requests came in over Christmas week and I will include the results as they come in. One recipe was for Golden Oreo Cheesecake Delight, brought to a local Christmas dinner by Lecia Fink.

Golden Oreo Cheesecake Delight

• 1 package Golden Oreo Cookies

• 1/2 cup melted butter

• 1 container, No-bake cheesecake filling

• 2 small boxes instant white chocolate pudding mix

• 3 cups cold milk

• 1 container (8 ounces) Cool Whip, thawed

• Decorating sugar or white chocolate chips

Crush the cookies into small pieces and combine with the melted butter. Press mixture into a 9 x 13-inch pan. Top with cheesecake filling and place in freezer for about 10 minutes.

Combine milk and pudding mix following package instructions. Spread over cheesecake filling and refrigerate until set.

Top with cool-whip and garnish as desired. Lecia used white chocolate chips. Yield: 12-15 servings.

Randy Heimbigner brought Baked Apples to the same dinner and shared the recipe from his mother’s collection. This old-fashioned style recipe uses winter cooking apples which are cut in half and covered with a crumb mixture and cream to create several layers to the dessert.

Baked Apples

• 6 cooking apples

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• Butter about 1/2 cup

• Cinnamon for sprinkling

• 1 pint Half and Half

• 1 pint whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel, halve and core apples. Place in 9 x 13-inch baking pan, cut side up. Place a pat of butter (about 1/2 Tbsp) in each apple half.

Combine flour and sugar and spoon over apples. Be sure to use all the flour sugar mixture. Then slowly pour the whipping cream over all in the pan, followed by the half and half. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon. Bake for 1 hour, until apples are very tender. Yield:12 servings.

Note: nearly all available apples work well except Granny Smith, which are too tart and don’t cook down as well in this recipe.

Gumdrop Bars, a recipe from McCall’s Cookie Collection book, published in 1965, can be made with traditional gumdrops, gummi bears, orange slices, any gumdrop texture candy. The recipe makes a 9-inch square pan, but doubled will fill a 9 x 13 inch pan. Don’t double the vanilla and salt, and if you are using spice drops, omit the cinnamon.

Gumdrop Bars

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/3 cup soft shortening

• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

• 1 egg

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup evaporated milk

• 1 cup small soft gumdrops, cut into small pieces

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, optional

• Powdered sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 9-inch square pan and set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and set aside.

In a large mixer bowl beat shortening, brown sugar, egg and vanilla at medium speed until mixture is fluffy.

Beat in half of the flour mixture along with the evaporated milk until smooth. Stir in the rest of the flour mixture by hand until well combined. Stir in gumdrops, and nuts if using, until evenly distributed.

Spread mixture into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes (30-35 if doubling recipe) or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Remove pan to a wire rack and cool partially. Cut into bars while still warm and gumdrops are soft. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Yield: about 20 bars.

Follow my progress in using up the pantry finds by following Welcome to My Kitchen on Facebook. I will not have room for all the recipes and tips in the column. Share your pantry progress photos there and any recipes and tips you have for your fellow readers.

Share your favorite Winter recipes with your fellow readers by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Record-Times, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them off at the Record-Times office in Davenport or Odessa. Remember when discarding cut Christmas trees and greenery, they make a good mulch windbreak for roses and other shrubs.