2500 Recipes Cookbook Giveaway: Hidden Pear Gelatin Salad

Sharon Reinhardt of West Bloomfield submitted this recipe and is now entered in my 2500 Recipes Cookbook Giveaway.

She says even the men in her family love this recipe and she usually doubles it.

Hidden Pear Gelatin Salad

1 16-oz. can pear halves

1 3-oz. box Jello. (Sharon uses orange)

1 Cup or 1/2 of an 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip

2 Tbl milk

1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese

Directions

Drain pears reserving juice.

Place juice in a small saucepan, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and dissolve dry box of jello into juice. Stir until dissolved.

Cool slightly.

In a medium bowl mash pears with a potato masher. Mix in cream cheese and milk. Beat with an electric mixer till smooth.

Add jello and juice mixture into above and mix again with beater.

Fold in cool whip and refrigerate.

Thank you for sharing your recipe Sharon Reinhardt of West Bloomfield!

Want to be entered in the drawing to win this cookbook, it's simple. Here's how:

To Enter:
Email one of your favorite recipes to me at Vicki.Arsenault@oakpress.com or if you prefer, you can send by mail: Vicki Arsenault, The Oakland Press, 48 W. Huron St., Pontiac, MI 48342.  If sending by mail, please include a contact number for questions or notifying the winner.
If you have a photo, please send that along with your recipe.
The drawing will be held on May 14.The winning recipe will be posted here, on the Oakland Press website and in print. 

2500 Recipes Cookbook Giveaway: Cream Cheese Broccoli Casserole

Barbara Peckham of Burton is entered in the drawing to win this cookbook

Barbara Peckham of Burton submitted this recipe and is now entered in my 2500 Recipe Cookbook giveaway.

She says she received this recipe from a friend around 30 years ago and serves it at all her family gatherings.

 She altered the recipe slightly from the original, opting for topping off with Durkee onions in place of crackers and leaving out the option of rice.

Cream Cheese Broccoli Casserole

1 30 oz. pkg. frozen chopped broccoli or broccoli florets

1 can Campbells® cream of mushroom soup

1 8-oz. pkg. Philadelphia® cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 medium onion, chopped

Durkee® fried onions

Cook broccoli according to package directions. Drain and put into 3-quart casserole dish. Sauté onion in butter. Pour over cooked broccoli and mix well.  Soften cream cheese and mix well with mushroom soup. Stir into the broccoli/onion mixture.  

Top with Durkee® onions.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes until bubbly.  Serve immediately.

Thanks for sharing your recipe Barbara Peckham of Burton! 
  
Want to be entered in the drawing to win this cookbook, it's simple. Here's how:

To Enter:
Email one of your favorite recipes to me at Vicki.Arsenault@oakpress.com or if you prefer, you can send by mail: Vicki Arsenault, The Oakland Press, 48 W. Huron St., Pontiac, MI 48342.  If sending by mail, please include a contact number for questions or notifying the winner.
If you have a photo, please send that along with your recipe.
The drawing will be held on May 14.The winning recipe will be posted here, on the Oakland Press website and in print.

2500 Recipes: Send in your recipe and win this cookbook

What would you do with a 2500 recipe cookbook?  Keep it close and visit it often.
Everyday to extraordinary is exactly what you'll find in this 600-page cookbook. Comprised of four different parts:
Part 1: The Toolbox. Takes you through basic techniques for cooking anything and the basic preparations that every cook should know.
Part 2: Cooking Basics. You'll find recipes for marinades, sauces and salad dressings and find out how to make your cooking easier using your very own kitchen machines.
Part 3: Everyday Cooking. This is the largest part of this extraordinary cookbook. Trust me when I say, you'll be here a lot! 36 chapters of recipes that will have you returning over and over again.
Part 4: Cooking for Special Occasions. Love this part and especially chapter 47 -  Chocolate Recipes for Happiness (sigh). I could live on these pages.

You'll enjoy this cookbook for years to come. With 2500 kitchen tested recipes, you'll never tuck this one away.

Want to be entered in the drawing to win this cookbook, it's simple. Here's how:

To Enter:
Email one of your favorite recipes to me at Vicki.Arsenault@oakpress.com or if you prefer, you can send by mail: Vicki Arsenault, The Oakland Press, 48 W. Huron St., Pontiac, MI 48342.  If sending by mail, please include a contact number for questions or notifying the winner.
If you have a photo, please send that along with your recipe.
The drawing will be held on May 14.The winning recipe will be posted here, on the Oakland Press website and in print.

FEATURE RECIPE: Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Loaf

Pillsbury Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Loaf - Photo from Pillsbury.com

Have you ever found yourself standing in the kitchen, holding open the refrigerator door and staring into it - wishing you could find something to fill that after dinner sweet craving?

Well stare no more, because just four ingredients and three simple steps is all you need to satisfy that sweet-tooth that just won’t go away.

These four ingredients are staples in my house, and probably yours too.

So grab a can of Pillsbury

biscuits, the sugar, butter and cinnamon and satiate that craving!

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Loaf
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 (12 oz) can Pillsbury Grands! Jr. Golden Layers refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Step 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously grease 8x4 inch loaf pan (do not use dark-coated pan). In small shallow bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; mix well.

Step 2
Separate dough into 10 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Dip each quarter into melted butter; roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Arrange in greased loaf pan.

Step 3
Bake at 400 degrees F. for 19-27 minutes. Cool 2 minutes. Loosen edges; remove from pan. Place on serving plate. Serve warm.

Recipe from Pillsbury.com where you'll find reviews and tips on this recipe and many more.

FEATURE: Cookbook Giveaway

Send me your recipe and you will be entered to win this cookbook

Spring is in the air and you can almost smell the aroma of the backyard grill.
Most people think of steaks, hamburgers, chops and hotdogs at the mention of grilling. Sounds good to me too, but how about fresh grilled marinated asparagus and sweet peppers. Or all the different ways to grill seafood, chicken and even desserts.

The Culinary Institute of America, the world's premier culinary college has assembled more than 175 recipes for grilling. They are all wrapped up in a beautifully designed cookbook - filled with one-hundred photos. And it can be yours.

All you need to do is send me one of your favorite grilling recipes (indoors or outdoors) along with a photo of your favorite dish and you will be entered in my bi-weekly recipe drawing, where some lucky person will win this featured cookbook.

The drawing will take place on April 30 and the lucky winner of this cookbook will be posted on my blog: Family: A Recipe For Life.

To Enter:
Email your recipe and photo to me at Vicki.Arsenault@oakpress.com or if you prefer mail: Vicki Arsenault, The Oakland Press, 48 W. Huron St., Pontiac, MI 48342. 
I must receive your entry by Monday, April 29 to be entered in this drawing.
Watch for details of my next Cookbook Giveaway at Family: A Recipe For Life and in The Oakland Press. Next drawing will be held on May 14.

Velveeta Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Velveeta Cheesy Broccoli Soup. Photo Kraftrecipes.com

It's quick, it's easy and it's delicious.

All you need are a few simple ingredients and about 25 minutes and you'll be sitting down to a creamy, cheesy bowl of goodness.

Can't get the kids to eat their vegetables? This recipe is sure to please even the finickiest of kids.

Ingredients
2 Tbl butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 Tbl flour
2-1/2 cups milk
3/4 lb. (12 oz.) Velveeta, cut up
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained
1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions
Melt butter in large saucepan on medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add flour; cook 1 minute or until bubbly, stirring constantly.
Stir in milk.. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 1 minute.
Add remaining ingredients. Cook until Velveeta is melted and soup is heated through, stirring occasionally.

Kraft offers these kitchen tips
Healthier version
Save 50 calories, 6 grams of fat and 4 grams of saturated fat per serving with 2 percent milk Velveeta.
Substitute
Substitute frozen chopped spinach; frozen cauliflower, chopped; or frozen asparagus spears, chopped, for broccoli.
Use the microwave

Place onion or butter in 2-quart microwavable casserole or bowl. Microwave on high  30 seconds to 1 minute or until onion is tender. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Microwave 6 to 8 minutes or until Velveeta is melted and soup is heated through, stirring after 4 minutes.