Homemade Mint Oreos

Homemade Mint Oreos

2 boxes Devil Food Cake Mix
4 eggs
2/3 C. vegetable oil
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
4 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. butter (one stick), softened
1 tsp. peppermint extract
sprinkles or crushed candy cane

    Mix both boxes of cake mix with all four eggs and 2/3 C. vegetable oil, you may want to mix by hand as it is a stiff dough. Roll into one-inch balls. Place on cookie sheet and flatten a little. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes.
    Mix entire package of cream cheese with butter until completely blended. Mix in 4 C. powdered sugar, a little at a time, mix in peppermint extract and mix until smooth.
After cookies have cooled, place frosting on one cookie and press another cookie on top of it to form a sandwich. Roll in sprinkles or crushed candy cane.
    Store in fridge in airtight containers.

Steak, Asparagus and Shrimp with two sauce choices

Steak, Asparagus and Shrimp with A-1 Butter Sauce
    Celebrate a romantic dinner with this decadent dish! This recipe makes 6-8 servings, so invite friends over or share it with the family. This would also be delicious with a creamy garlic sauce, instead of butter sauce – see below. I used a less expensive cut of meat, and broccoli could be used in place of asparagus.

A-1 Butter sauce:

2 stick unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (1 lime)
3 Tbsp. A-1 sauce
4 dashes of Tabasco sauce, or to taste
1/4 C. fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 C. olive oil, divided
6-8 beef chuck boneless mock tender steaks (or your preference for steaks)
salt and pepper
32 small stalks asparagus, trimmed and blanched (could use broccoli)
2 C. frozen cooked shrimp
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
    Melt butter over low heat. Meanwhile mix other ingredients in blender and add melted butter. Keep warm until ready to serve.
    Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a skillet (cast iron, if you have it) over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Pat steaks dry with paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper. Sear on one side, about 4 minutes and on the other side, about 3 minutes (this will depend on the thickness of your steaks). Place in oven for 4-6 minutes. Check for doneness, remove from oven when slightly less done than you like, cover loosely with foil.
    Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil. Add the asparagus and stir and cook about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and remove from pan. Add shrimp and saute until warmed through. Remove from heat and sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
    Place steaks on separate plates and top with 8 asparagus spears, 1/4 C. shrimp, and drizzle with sauce, serve immediately.

Garlic Cream Sauce
    This sauce could be used in place of A-1 Butter sauce.

2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
2 C. cream
salt and pepper
1 cube bouillon

    Crush peeled garlic cloves in a garlic press to mince the cloves. About eight cloves from a medium-sized bulb of garlic will yield 2 Tbsp. Add the garlic to a saucepan and saute over medium heat with the butter until light brown. Add the 2 C. of cream and continue stirring over medium heat. Season the sauce with sea salt and cracked peppercorns to taste. Add a cube or two of beef bullion if the sauce will be ladled over a grilled steak. No salt may be needed if using beef bouillon.

German Pancakes with Butter Syrup

German Pancakes

    From the kitchen Mandy (Woodbury) Nielsen, who grew up in John Day, is this fluffy and satisfying breakfast of German Pancakes. It’s so easy and so good – perfect for your Valentine.

1 cube butter
6 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
3/4 tsp salt

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place butter in 9X13 baking dish and melt down (watch not to burn).
    Combine eggs, flour, milk and salt. Beat until smooth. Pour batter into hot melted butter pan. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.
    When you take the pan out of the oven let it sit on stove top. It will collapse as it cools.
    Serve with powdered sugar and butter syrup below, or your favorite pancake syrup.
Tip: To avoid lumps, add the milk gradually, stirring in between additions.

Butter Syrup

1 C. melted butter
1 C. buttermilk
2 C. sugar
2 Tbsp. corn syrup
2 Tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda

    Mandy usually makes half of this syrup recipe. Use a larger sauce pan as the syrup will raise when you add the baking soda.
    Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 min. Let it cool slightly before serving.