How to Dehydrate Apples

Well it is that time of year, when there is plenty of food to be had, more than plenty in  my case and some of it needs to be preserved. My family has been canning, freezing, and dehydrating lots of food. Today I'm focusing on dehydrating apples, because I keep getting them by the bushel from the apple trees out back.

I use a food dehydrator to dehydrate my apples, my grandfather still uses the sunlight and screen method. Kinda like this one from Blindguru.com:

I just feel like using the dehydrator is a little quicker and I don't have to rely on sunny weather. So if you are interested in dehydrating your apples, here is the method I use:

I peeled, cored, and sliced my apples (no thicker than 1/4", but I try to do them as thin as I can)
I soaked my apples in a mixture of 1/4 cup pineapple juice and 1 cup water.
I then placed my apples in the dehydrator being sure not to overlap them.  
Dry them 6 to 12 hours until they are pliable.

Now, for those of you who are new at dehydrating, here are a few tips on storing your dehydrated foods:

Wait for your dried food to be completely cool to the touch before you store it.
With apples, they will need to be conditioned before you can store them, as with other fruits. To do this you will need to put your apples into a jar, being sure they are very loosely packed. Shake once a day for 7 to 10 days to be sure that remaining moisture is evenly distributed. If you see any condensation on the jar then your fruit needs to be returned to the dehydrator.
Once the conditioning period is up and your apples are ready to go, then you can store them air tight containers or freezer bags.
I prefer to store them in small pint size canning jars, storing in small batches also helps to maximize freshness and keep down cross contamination.

Hope all this info helps you out in your dehydrating endeavors!

On a search for new and untried (by me) recipes

Since I don’t get paid until Monday and money is low and there is a weekend in between, I think I am going to stay in this evening and cook something for me and my girl. (Cooking is almost always cheaper than dining out as my mother constantly reminds me.)

I am tired of the same old dishes so I’ve been perusing Food Network to see if I can find something fun and unique to make for dinner.

I still haven’t found anything that seems to sit just right. I’m in the mood for something, but I can’t quite put my finger on what…



I need something to fill that blank space on my plate…

Anyone know of any good websites for unusual food fare recipes? Help a man out if you do!

How to Make Comfort Food with a Pressure Cooker

My allergies have been bothering me (all this pollen I guess). :/ and that always makes me feel run down and in dire need of some of mom’s home cooked comfort food. But alas, mom is on vacation (and I was not invited! the horror!). So I dropped by her house, rummaged through her recipes and cabinets, borrowed her pressure cooker and headed home.

Honestly, I think I might have made the soup almost as good as she does and on the first try too. Or else my head is so stopped up my taste-buds aren’t operating correctly. Which the 2nd possibility is most likely in this particular situation.

Now for those of you who are suffering from colds, allergies, etc. and need some good comfort food, grab a pressure cooker and try out my mom’s Potato and Cheese Soup:

Mom’s Potato and Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
4 large peeled potatoes, cut into 1” cubes
4 small onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups of water
4 cups of milk
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp. chopped parsley

Directions:
Put potatoes, onions, salt and water into pressure cooker. Close the cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat. Reduce your heat and cook for 3 minutes Remove cooker from heat. Allow to cool naturally, till there is no pressure inside cooker Open cooker. Mix the mixture smooth (I use a cake mixer). Return soup to pressure cooker. Add milk and pepper. Place cooker on medium heat and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add cheese and stir until it melts. Serve immediately and garnish with parsley.



If you try this comfort food recipe I guarantee that you will love it! It’s easy and with all that cheese it’s gotta be bad for you! Yumm!

Pizza Dough Recipe

I think since I have two days off of work that are stretched before me in all their beauty and splendid amounts of free time, that I am going to take the time to make a pizza by scratch. And instead of using the Presto Pizza Pizzazz today, even though I really love that thing! I am going to use my Lodge Pro Logic Pizza Pan. It is a cast iron pizza pan, and it gives pizza a little something extra. I couldn’t quite tell you what that extra is, but I know my pizzas always taste amazing when baked on this thing. Maybe the secret is my recipe I use for the dough, if it is then I cannot be selfish and keep it to myself now can I? (well I guess I could, but I like to help people out). So here is my favorite pizza dough recipe:

Quick Pizza Dough

Ingredients
3 cups bread flour divided
1 packet (1 1/4 ounce) active dry rapid-rise yeast
1tsp salt
1 ½ teaspoons honey
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

In large mixing bowl, mix half cup of the flour with the yeast and salt. Dissolve honey in lukewarm water and add to mixture. Add olive oil and in the bowl of a mixer or using a wooden spoon mix for 3 minutes. Mix in the remaining flour (dough should be slightly sticky) knead dough on a floured surface until smooth around 5 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap Let rise for 10 minutes in a warm place. Punch down and divide in half. Allow to rise for 10 additional minutes and punch down and spread one of the halves by hand or roller onto your Lodge pizza pan. Add topping of your choice and place in a preheated 450 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool and serve.


Now I have added a little garlic powder to this in the past. Not a lot just enough to add a tiny tiny hint of flavor. Now I am off to the grocery store to get all my toppings, then I’m getting out my cast iron pizza pan and going to town with the baking. Have fun if ya’ll try to make your own pizza. Trust me it is always better when you do it yourself!

Weston Hamburger Press

My roommate has a few kitchen gadgets in his repertoire, and occasionally if he is out of town, I like to fool around and play with them. He is always the one in charge of making hamburgers whenever we have get togethers because ONLY he can work the hamburger press. Well, while the cat is away the mouse will play. So after making some burgers last night, here is my input on how to use the hamburger press:

Using Weston Single Hamburger Press

Step one: Prepare your meat.
You can use this press on any type of ground meat.  You can season the meat with any type of sauce, marinate, or any dry ingredient.  In this project I left my meat plain.  I like to add my ingredients when I cook.

Step two: Get your supplies ready.

You want your press clean and dried, and you will also need the patty paper, I recommend the Weston Patti Paper.  I also use wax paper on my counter top because it cuts down on some of the clean up time.


Step three: Time to make the patties.
You need to adjust the press to make whatever thickness that you prefer.  I use it at the ¼ inch thickness in this project.  When you get the thickness remember to screw down the wing nut on the top of the press so that it won’t change itself in the middle of making your patties.


Place a sheet of the patty paper on the bottom part on the press.
*Remember to put the smooth side on the top so that the bottom of the patty will be touching that side.  This makes it easier it get them apart if you are going to freeze your patties*.



Make up a ball of meat and set it in the center of the press.  It you make it too small, you can add to it and vise-versa if you make it too big.

Place another piece of the patty paper on the top of the roll of meat and put it with the smooth side down.  Pat it just a little bit so that it doesn’t slide or blow away.






Now it is time to close the press.

*Note to you: the first time that I did this I had to adjust the meat to center it just a little bit better.  You will know when this happens because the meat will come out the front of the press.

Open the lid and there you have it.  You can keep doing this over and over again.  It took about 3 ½ minutes to do 3lbs of meat.

And the finished product:

Electric Skillet Date Night Meal

My sweetheart has had a rough week at work this week (the higher ups are debating layoffs so she's stressing). Tomorrow she has the night off and I told her that I would cook a nice romantic meal for us. (luckily my roommate has a date, so it’ll just be the two of us). I called my mom and asked what would be a good meal for a romantic, relaxing dinner. Mom told me to find the Presto Skillet that she gave me when I moved out. Then she told me to check my email for her recipe, below is what she sent:

Billy,

Here are my suggestions for your date night!

Recipe for a Romantic Meal:

Items Needed (not for recipe):
Candles
Lighter or Matches
Table Cloth
Cloth Napkins
NICE Plates (if you need some Billy, come over I have some in storage that aren’t nearly as chipped as yours are, and NO you cannot use paper plates)

Recipe #1

Chicken Milano

Ingredients:

• 1 c. cooked regular or possibly Minute rice
• 2 whole boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 med. onion sliced
• 2 teaspoon garlic pwdr
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce.) can condensed tomato soup
• 1 sm. can liquid removed mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional

Directions:
In your skillet cook the onion & garlic in butter over medium heat, cook until the onion is tender. Stirring occasionally. Add chicken & cook until it is lightly browned on both sides, stirring frequently. Stir in tomato soup and remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling on high. Reduce to low, cover and simmer for 20 min, stirring often. Spoon mix over rice.

Recipe #2

(This one will be easy for you)

Get a nice looking Cesar Bag Salad. Get some Cesar Dressing. Put in a nice bowl that looks like you made the salad. Dispose of bag so that she will not find it.

Dessert:

Come by when you get the plates. I’ll have some red velvet cupcakes for ya’ll.

Love,
MOM

Oh yeah that’s right, I have the best Mom ever. (Free cupcakes are always awesome, and she makes them just right). And it doesn’t hurt that she loves my current girlfriend and keeps reminding me not to mess things up with this one.  LOL.

So Presto Skillet, I’m dusting you off and we are breaking bad and cooking tomorrow.

Popcorn Poppers & Recipe for Spicy Popcorn

Today is a great day to break out my horror fest type movies and get some popcorn going. Of course there are several ways to pop those little corn kernels, but I prefer a popcorn popper over a bag of microwave popcorn.  I don’t know if it is because it brings back memories of my dad and my grandpa or if it really does taste better, but I definitely have a craving for some salty, buttery goodness.  The other reason I prefer these types of poppers is simple economics.  I eat a lot of popcorn.  I can eat a box of the microwave stuff in just a couple of weeks.  Buying the bag of popcorn kernels without the oil and butter is much cheaper in the long run.  I’m all about saving some money.  I decided to do a little research into popcorn poppers for those of you who are looking to switch from the bagged deal and go with the real deal.

The first popper is the Prest PopLite Hot Air Corn Popper.  This one is a small counter top popper that uses hot air, not oil.  This is supposed to be healthier and better for you.  According to the website this popper pops 18 cups of corn in less than 2.5 minutes.  That is a whole lot of popcorn!  There is a butter melter cup in the top that can be use as a measuring cup too!

The second popper is the Presto PowerPop Microwave Multi-popper.  This one works with oil or without so I can get that buttery greasy goodness with this one!  It pops up to three quarts in about 2.5 minutes…again that is a lot of popcorn!  This whole popper is dishwasher safe too!  The popper is about 10” wide and 6” tall so it should fit in our little microwave pretty good. 

Finally, the third popper is the Presto Orville Redenbachers Stirring Popper.  Now this is a popcorn popper for the serious popcorn connoisseur.  This popper will pop 6 quarts of popcorn and will make kettle corn!  I love me some kettle corn!!!  This is a counter top model that has a stirring arm inside.  There is a built-in melter to distribute butter while it is popping.  You can even use the transparent lid as your bowl.  There is a non-stick surface for easy cleaning and the lid can be washed in the dishwasher.

For those of you who are wondering which one I own, I use the Orville Redenbachers Stirring Popper. As much popcorn as I can devour in one sitting it is the best one for me. Plus I love butter, and the fact that it distributes it while the corn is popping is superb for my tastes.

Whenever I want a little spice in my life while watching a good ol' flick here is a recipe that came with the Orville Stirring Popper that I love:

Sassy South of the Border Popcorn
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon popcorn salt
1⁄8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1⁄3 cup popcorn
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter, thinly sliced

Mix garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, salt, and red pepper in a small bowl; set aside. Pour popcorn into the popper base, distributing it evenly around the loading area. Drizzle vegetable oil over the corn. Place the popper cover/serving bowl over the popper base. Place butter in butter melter and pop corn according to instructions in the How to Use section. After flipping popper, remove base. Shake bowl to distribute butter. Sprinkle seasoning evenly over popcorn; shake to distribute.

Presto Skillet Desires

I’m thinking about buying myself a new Presto skillet, I have found several different brands, but it seems to me that Presto has a large variety to choose from at decent prices (plus I already own some Presto products and haven’t had any trouble with them). I feel that having one of these little cooking machines would come in handy. Easier to clean than the stove, and handier than a regular skillet it seems. In case you are curious here is what what Presto has to choose from:

Presto Electric Skillet 11 Inch
Presto Electric Skillet 16 Inch
Presto 12 Inch Electric Stainless Steel Skillet
Presto Electric Skillet 16 Inch with Glass Cover

They are all good looking to me but the one that interests me the most is the Presto 12 Inch Electric Stainless Steel Skillet.  The first reason is because it is stainless and would match my other appliances, my personal opinion is that it looks more expensive and attractive than the others…anyway it has such a smooth surface, the food should just slip and slide with ease no sticking! Also, because it is stainless steel, I don’t have to worry about that nonstick stuff flaking off in my food and while washing. It even says in the description that it is fully immersable with the heat control removed and that it is dishwasher safe, and very easy to take care of.  It fries, grills, roasts, stews, bakes, makes casseroles, one-dish meals, and who know what all else this bad boy can do (ever seen Transformers? LOL). This particular one impresses me because it has a glass cover so that I can keep an eye on it which is easier than needing to lift the lid every time and letting heat escape. The Control Master heat control keeps accurate cooking temperatures automatically, neato!
And to top it all off I’ve already found a deliciously sounding bad for the arteries recipe for whichever electric skillet I decide to purchase. 
Yumm:

Oriental Hamburger Casserole

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (10 1/2-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (10 1/2-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup uncooked instant rice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup chow mein noodles

Preheat electric skillet at 325°. Add ground beef and onion. Brown well. Add remaining ingredients except noodles. Bring to a boil. Turn heat control down until pilot light goes out. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chow mein noodles. Heat through.

Presto Pizzaz Pizza Oven Semi-Review

So how do you feed yourself when your stove is out of commission? (And you don't want to waste money on fast food)

That is a question that I had to answer for myself yesterday…

Actually, I had gotten a weird gift from my aunt during Christmas (which oddly enough turned out to be a stroke of luck with this impeding needing food adventure). One of those gifts you kinda sit on a shelf and don’t think anymore about. I know a lot of people fight the crowds and return these gifts, but I keep a collection of them. And I’m glad I did, because one of those gifts turned out to be my newest kitchen hero.
Even without my oven, I was able to cook myself a frozen pizza (and no I did not eat it while it was still frozen.)

My aunt had bought me a Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven. It has an open design so I was like, “yeah that’s not an oven”. (see below)  But hell if it didn’t work.



So I discovered that this little pizza cooking machine makes a mean frozen pizza.  Seriously, better than the oven.  Even my cheapo pizza tasted better than delivery.  This little thing is fun to watch rotate the pizza around while it cooks it (ok so I might be easily amused but I thought it was neat).  And it cooked everything evenly, no cold spots, no doughy spots, no burnt spots.  I think next time I might try making my own pizza on this Presto Pizza Oven.  Also the directions say it can heat most frozen foods, chicken nuggets, quesadillas, jalepeno poppers, chicken wings.  Hello this mean machine would be perfect for heating snacks on game day!  You can even use it to make fruit pizzas, but since my blog is about artery clogging foods, I’ll leave the fruit pizza recipes to other people to blog about.

I might have to go dig through that shelf of weird Christmas gifts and see if there are any more items that are hidden treasures…hmmm.

Oh, and I did call my landlord, the stove should be fixed within a week (I hope).

Microwave Bacon Cooker, Should I get One?

It is my day off, and this morning when I woke up I had a craving for bacon.  However, I do not have a craving for a big ole mess, grease popping on my hands, or all that grease.  I don’t care for nuking my bacon on a plate since it really doesn’t get as crisp as I prefer it.  A friend of mine told me about a new product I need to try.  Here is what I found out about it online.

Presto makes a microwave bacon cooker and it goes by the name of: Presto Powercrisp Microwave Bacon Cooker. The particular one that I am talking about is model number 05100.  It fully cooks bacon in approximately 40-90 seconds per slice on the highest setting.  The microwave bacon cooker is fully immersible and dishwasher safe (all parts) sweet!  There is a one year limited warranty on this product.  The cooker comes apart to make it smaller for storage. You can make the bacon as crisp or as floppy as you like, just make sure you fully cook it! I don’t want any of my readers getting sick.  The Presto Powercrisp Microwave Bacon Cooker cooks the bacon in a more healthy way than pan frying. It lets the grease run down into drip tray instead of letting the bacon stay in the pan in the grease which contains the fats.

I would like to get one of these bacon cookers because I think it would be so much easier and faster than pan frying.  Also, I wouldn’t have the hot grease popping up on my hands and fore arms when I am flipping the bacon.  I wouldn’t get small grease spots on my clothing either (sure an apron would help, but I think that’d look rather goofy on me).  I also would not have to clean up the grease that pops out over on my counter and stove.  The instructions say to put a paper towel over it to contain the grease.  This bacon cooker holds ten slices of bacon. It has a wide lip all the way around the bowl so that you can easily handle it. I could cook my eggs on the stove while I am cooking the bacon in the microwave.  I don’t have to do one at time, a quick, easy delicious breakfast. I may even use it to make my own bacon bits.  They would be so much better than those that I get from the grocery store in the little plastic bottles (much fresher).  I wouldn’t even need to dirty another dish.  When you cook it in a frying pan you have to either dump the grease into another pan or get a plate and put a paper towel on it to dry up the grease, I would just leave it on the little racks and have one less dish to wash. 

I think I might have to go purchase one of these right now…

Griddle for Breakfast

Have you ever woke up in the morning and your stomach is starving for an old fashioned country breakfast?  The special kind of breakfast only grandma would make?  We would always leave Granny’s with a full, satisfied belly. I can remember waking up on Saturday morning, no vacuum cleaner running at 8:00am or lights that would be flickering on and off with someone telling you its time to get up! I knew if I spent the night at Granny’s house I would not be bothered. She would let me sleep in as long as I wanted to; even tell noon if I chose to. When I was ready to wake up, Granny would always ask, “Honey what would you like for breakfast?”  She gave me choices, a sausage egg biscuit, waffles, or pancakes. Thinking back to those days, I never had a thought of how long it took Granny to make breakfast until I was older. Some mornings it seemed to take longer to fix breakfast. I’m a mess, always have all my pots and pans mixed up, so I got real excited when I found some griddles that I could cook an entire breakfast on.

.

1.      The Presto Liddle Griddle is perfect for small meals 1-2 people.

2.      The Presto Cool Touch Tilt n Drain is square which helps to holds more eggs, pancakes, bacon and sandwiches. Also has a cool touch base around the front and back sides which provides you with added safety. With a master heat control you can maintain a steady cooking temperature automatically. This makes a bit more food than the Liddle Griddle.

3.      Next there’s a Presto Cool Touch Foldaway Griddle that has a 14-15 inch grilling surface and this one is also square to hold more eggs, pancakes etc.  It folds up for compact storage.

4.      Or if you are a sandwich Queen or King you would love the  Big Cool touch Griddle that is  10 ½ by 20 ½ cooking surface ,which is not only great for cooking eggs, pancakes, or bacon but you can use it for  making sandwiches.

5.      Last there is the Presto Professional Griddle that has an extra large nonstick cooking surface, and is very easy to clean. There’s a slide out tray which catches your drippings and is less messy.

Always remember, if you are purchasing a Presto Griddle, please read your Presto Griddle instruction manual thoroughly and get familiar with your new appliance.

Some Safety Tips to remember are:

.

• Read all instructions
• Always remember to keep hot appliances out of reach around children
• Do not immerse your control cord or plug in water
• Do not use these appliance’s outdoors

All of these griddles are easy to clean and maintain, they conduct heat more evenly, easy to store, and you can cook two or three different foods all at the same time. No fuss and no messy pans to have to clean up. Now you can fix a down home country breakfast just like grandma used to make.

Yumm, I reckon I’ll go have some bacon and eggs myself.

Time for Ice Cream!

About two summers ago, I acquired a White Mountain 6 Quart Hand Crank Ice Cream Maker from the Blue Ridge Mountain Ice Cream Maker Store's website; it is owned and operated by Red Hill General Store. I absolutely love the freezer! It makes delicious ice cream every single time and my whole family loves it too. (I tote it around with me to all our cookouts in the spring and summer). We all get together and make the ice cream and devour it. In case you want to know how the ice cream is made the book tells, but I will tell you what it says now "Ice cream is made by freezing-while stirring- a pasteurized, homogenized mixture of cream, milk, sugar, and other ingredients and flavoring to produce a countless variety of ice cream creations." It's really a simple process.

All of the ice cream makers come with a little instruction booklet on how to use it and it includes recipes for different ice creams, it also has some helpful hints such as: "The Old-Fashioned method to harden the ice cream: It is best to make a cooked recipe the night before, so it has plenty of time to chill.  

Step 1: Leave the ice cream in the canister. 

Step 2: Place a sheet of waxed paper across the top of the can, place the canister cover over the waxed paper.

Step 3: Drain water and repack freezer with 5 parts of ice and 1 part of salt.  Do this until entire canister and lid are covered with the ice and salt mixture. 

Step 4: Cover with a burlap bag or some suitable material for insulation. Let stand until frozen hard."

The ice cream maker booklet also gives a little history of the White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer Company, important safeguards (number 1. is "Read all instructions."), the features of the ice cream maker/freezer, how to make the ice cream, and some recipes such as: 

Maple walnut ice cream in the 6 quart Ice Cream Maker:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups pure maple syrup
• 3 cups whole milk
• 6 cups heavy cream
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups chopped walnuts

Mix syrup in a heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until reduced by 1/4 (5 to 10 minutes). Stir in cream and milk and bring to a boil. Mix eggs in a large bowl and slowly add the hot cream mixture to sauce pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is slightly thickened or temp reaches 170 degrees F. Do not boil.  Chill mixture at least 3 hours. Begin to freeze, add walnuts in the last 5-10 minutes of freezing.  (Egg substitutes can be used in place of real eggs.)  For the four quart recipe it is 2 cups pure maple syrup, 2 cups whole milk, 4 cups heavy cream, 4 eggs, and 1 cup chopped walnuts.

Just in case you are forgetful or unorganized like I am you can visit the Blue Ridge Mountain Ice Cream Maker Store at www.brm-icecream.com and download another copy of the instruction and recipe book (its only 8 pages if you need to print it). I know I just love the White Mountain Ice Cream Makers.

Snowy Day Cooking

Last week I was snowed in with nothing to but cook.  So, I plan on sharing some recipes that I played around with while stuck in the apartment that I’m sure you will love to try:

I have had my Presto deep fryer for 10 years now and I still love it.  My mother gave it to me when she received another one for her birthday, so I really don’t know how old it is.  I use it at least twice a week and my roommates love it.  The one that I have is the Frydaddy.  From what I can tell they have not changed this style in years.  It only uses 4 cups of oil to fry.  I still have the scoop that came with it originally and with Presto making them with a non-stick surface on the inside and out it is so easy to clean.  And since neither me or my roommates enjoy cleaning, this is a bonus!

I was looking at the different kinds that are being made now and you would be surprised at the different sizes that are being made available.  You can find them to fit any need from two people or eight generous servings. I have listed some recipes that you might find interesting and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Banana Deep Fried Ingredients
4 Tbs honey
6 Tbs water
1/2 cup flour
1 banana quartered
4 cups cooking oil
2 tsp double action baking powder

Banana Deep Fried Method
Put your deep fryer on to heat up. While it is heating prepare the bananas. First thing to do is roll the banana pieces in flour and then mix the baking soda with water to make a paste and roll the banana pieces in it. Put the bananas in the deep fryer a couple at a time and deep fry them for 4 minutes or until they are golden brown. Drain them well. Arrange each Banana Deep Fried on a dessert plate and pour 1 tablespoon of honey on each banana piece and serve with ice cream.

Deep Fried Twinkies Ingredients
1 Tbs oil
1 cup milk
6 twinkies
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs vinegar
flour for dusting
6 Popsicle sticks
4 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder

Deep Fried Twinkies Method
Chill or freeze Twinkies for several hours or overnight. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in deep fryer to about 375 degrees. In a bowl mix together milk, vinegar and oil. In another bowl blend flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk wet ingredients into dry and continue mixing until smooth. Refrigerate while oil heats. Push stick into Twinkie lengthwise leaving about 2 inches to use as a handle then dust with flour and dip into the batter. Rotate Twinkie until batter covers entire cake. Place carefully in hot oil. The Twinkie will float so hold it under with a utensil to ensure even browning. It should turn golden in 3 to 4 minutes. Depending on the size of your deep fryer you might be able to fry only one at a time two at the most. Remove Twinkie to paper towel and let drain. Remove stick and allow the Deep Fried Twinkies to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.