Morton's Tri Tip Roast

Hi all! Not posted here yet but love the recipes. I just made (should have taken a picture but forgot and we snarfed it all down!) a meal that I've enjoyed for a few months now and is both delicious and easy.

A while back I was in Costco and kind of browsing, and this lady said to me and I quote, "That is the best thing I have ever bought at Costco" and pointed at this Tri-Tip Roast. She told me that guests were asking about her marinade and her tricks etc, and all she did was cook this thing! So I tried it...wow, its DELICIOUS!!

Only place I've seen it so far is Costco, it looks like this:









This is a frozen one, because I have to have a spare available. You just take it out of the package, put it in a cassarole dish, I usually put foil over the top for the first hour and let it cook at 425 F. Then I check it and leave off the foil for the last bit of browning if neccessary. It usually takes about an hour, maybe an extra 15 minutes depending on how much pink you like in the middle and how large your particular tri-tip is. It is savory and moist and goes well with almost any sides.

Tonight we had it with broccoli, grapes and the kids had crescent rolls. So it makes for a nice low carb meal for those of us dieting and yet it is OH so satisfying! I'd love to hear if any of you have tried it or not and if you also like it!

Pretzel Turtles

We just had a Christmas party at our house and one of my friends brought these Christmas treats that were so good, and easy enough for a young child to help do.

-20 small mini pretzels
-20 chocolate covered caramel candies (Rollo's or Dove)
-20 pecan halves DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place one chocolate covered caramel candy on each pretzel. Bake for 4 minutes. While the candy is warm, press a pecan half onto each candy covered pretzel. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. This picture shows them drizzled with melted white chocolate, but you don't have to do that.

Orange Fudge

Do any of you like orange sticks? This fudge is a variation of the usual marshmallow cream chocolate fudge recipe, but with the orange, it tastes like orange sticks. My mom loved orange sticks her whole life-we always knew we could get her a box for Mother's Day or Christmas and she would be happy, and she liked this fudge recipe, too.

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter (not margarine)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 -12 oz. pkg chocolate chips
2 tbsp orange extract
1 cup nuts
1 - 7 oz. jar marshmallow cream

Instructions:
In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips; stir until they are melted and mixture is smooth. Add marshmallow cream, nuts and orange flavoring; beat until blended. Pour into foil-lined 9 by 13 pan and chill till firm.

Toffee Bars

This is a great recipe for busy mom's at Christmas time. It is something that little children can help make and they are good(!) to eat as well. You may think the crackers are a weird ingredient, but when this done, it is similar to when you cover salty pretzels with chocolate, but this is better. This is simple to make, uses ingredients most of us have on hand and doesn't take long--kind of instant Christmas goodies....

Ingredients:
Whole Soda Crackers
1 cup butter (not margarine)
1 cup brown sugar
1 Large pkg chocolate chips
1 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts, whatever you like or have on hand), if desired

Instructions:
Put whole soda crackers 1 layer thick all over a Pam sprayed 9 by 13 pan. Boil butter and sugar together for three minutes stiring always. Pour butter and sugar mixture over crackers. Bake at 400 degrees for three minutes. Cool for three minutes. Spread with 1 large package chocolate chips. These will melt on the hot mixture as you spread the chocolate around. Sprinkle on 1 cup chopped nuts of any kind or leave the nuts off. Cool. Cut into pieces.

Creamy Pumpkin Pie

Ok I don't have step by step pictures. Give me a few weeks and if you really want them, it will have to wait for Thanksgiving. This is however a picture of the pie.





1 Cup canned pumpkin
½ Cup cold milk
1 5¼ oz. Pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1t. Pumpkin pie spice
2½ cups cool whip-thawed

1 graham cracker piecrust

Combine pumpkin, milk, pudding, & pumpkin pie spice in small bowl. Beat at lowest speed of mixer until well blended, about 1 minute. Fold in 2-½ cups cool whip (I use 3 ½ cups).Spoon into crust. Freeze until firm. About 4 hours. Top with remaining cool whip... Or just plop a spoonful on top of each pie.

Cranberry Chicken

This is one of those recipes that I love because it has very few ingredients, and you can throw it all in a crockpot.

Ingredients:
8oz Catalina dressing (I used Russian here)
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 envelope Lipton onion soup
1/3 c water in dressing bottle
chicken breasts (as many or as few as you want) (can be frozen)


Directions:
Dump it all in the crockpot. Stir if you are feeling like putting a little effort in (Probably won't effect it one way or the other). Cook on low for about 4 hours, or until chicken is done. Serve over rice. Sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product, but the kids gobbled it up before I could reach for the camera.
NOTE: You can cook this in the oven. Using thawed chicken, mix all the ingredients and bake in a dish for one hour at 350 degrees.

Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 lb ground beef
1 onion finely chopped
3/4 c shredded carrots
4 celery ribs finely chopped
1 Tsp basil
1 Tsp parsley
6 c. chicken broth
8 c cubed potatoes
3 c. milk
3-4 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
In a large pot, combine butter, hamburger, onion, carrots and celery.

Cook and stir until beef is browned. Stir in basil and parsley. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are done (about 12-15 minutes).

Add milk and cheese. Stir until cheese melts, without bringing to a boil. Serve. It will need salt and pepper, but I'm never sure how much, so I give it a few shakes while I'm cooking the soup, and then let everyone season it as they please. Makes enough for my family to have 2 bowls and still have leftovers.