Grandma Sillitoe's Greek Cookies

The story goes that a little Mexican lady taught my mother-in-law how to make Greek cookies.  I took a few to her and they passed the Donna test so I guess this is my new Christmas assignment.

1 pound unsalted butter*
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
3 or more cups flour
powdered sugar

Melt button on low heat.  Pour into another bowl and refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours.  Whip butter until creamy.  Put in egg and whip some more, then add vanilla.  Put all dry ingredients in sifter and add to mixture.  Bake 15 - 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Upon removing from the oven immediately drown them in powdered sugar and let them cool.  Gently place them in an airtight container with powdered sugar on the bottom.

* It has to be real butter.  If you use salted butter, skim salt off of the top after melting and before refrigerating.

Homemade Crescent Rolls

A Sunday meal never feels quite complete with out bread.  Rhodes rolls are okay but homemade is so much better.  Yesterday I wanted rolls but it was getting late so I checked my handy Pinterest account and found this recipe.  The original recipe called for bread flour which I didn't have so I used all purpose flour and they turned out great.  This recipe is definitely a keeper and I think I might try to use half whole wheat and half white.

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup water, warm (100-110F)
1/2 cup milk, warm (100-110F)
1 tbsp sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter, room temperature


In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or in a large bowl if you prefer to mix by hand, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy. Add in bread flour and salt and mix well with a dough hook. Cut the softened butter into three or flour pieces and drop them into the dough, letting the mixer blend them in.

Knead (with a mixer or by hand) for about 2 minutes. Cover the bowl and let rise for 45 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Turn risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press it out into a circle with your hands, then use a rolling pin to roll it out into an even, 10-inch circle.

Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to divide the circle into 12 triangles (just like slicing a pizza).
Starting with the outside edge of one of the triangles, roll the edge towards the center of the “pizza.” Once rolled, curve the roll slightly into a crescent shape and place on a parchement-lined baking sheet. Repeat with all rolls. Cover rolls with a clean dish towel and let rise for 20 minutes.

Melt additional 1 tbsp butter in a small bowl. Brush tops of rolls with butter butter.

Bake for 14-18 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 rolls.

Mini Apple Pies

Four Granny Smith apples were in my Bountiful Basket and Steve will eat about every apple on the earth except these.  I like Granny Smiths with salt on them but pie sounded better.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and I like individual portions to help control what I put in my mouth but I have to remember to stop at one.

Pie Crust I made homemade but you could use store bought, I did have left over dough which I froze
4 cups apples, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

Mix apples with flour, sugar and cinnamon.

Roll out pie crust and cut 4" circles.  I have a graduating set of cookie cutters so these worked great because I used the smaller 3" circle for the tops.  Line each muffin tin with a crust.  Fill the crusts with your apple mixture, they will be mounded.

Divide the butter into 12 pieces and place one piece on top of each apple mound.  Cover with dough and bake at 400 for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.

Especially good served warm with vanilla ice cream. 

If you want just a little larger pie you can use the Chicago Metallic Nonstick Cup Pie Set.  The portions below will make 2 mini pies with tops.

 1 cup apple, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon & 1 1/2 teaspoons flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons butter

Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Pear Bread

Received a lot of pears in my Bountiful Basket and needed to do something with them.  I found this recipe and I really like it.  I sliced pears and placed them on top but most descended into the bread.  Steve liked the bread just not the chunks of pear.  Next batch they will be omitted. 


Handy tip - to shred pears, peel the pear while it is whole and grate until you get to the middle.  You will end up with a square core when you are done but it is better then having your fingers in the grater.  I finally figured this trick out when I was on the last pear, up until that point I was coring and peeling and trying to grate the slippery pieces.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups peeled and finely grated ripe, firm pears
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or two 9″x 5″loaf pans.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of this mixture and combine it with nuts to coat. Stir back into the flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine butter, eggs, sugar, pears, and vanilla. Add the pear mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until flour disappears and batter is evenly moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until bread is browned and firm on top. A pick inserted into the center should come out clean.

Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pan and place top side up on a plate or wire rack to cool completely.

Baked Cream Cheese Wontons

I have always eaten these with Sweet and Sour sauce and they are great.  Tonight I tried them with Jamie's Pomegranate Jalapeno Jelly and they were delish!  Since we don't have Jamie's Jalapeno Jelly recipe here is mine.

Wonton wrappers
Cream cheese
Pam

Preheat oven to 425.  Place a small amount of cream cheese in the center of the wonton wrapper.  Moisten edges with water and fold as directed in the picture below.  Place on a baking sheet coated with Pam.  Lightly spray wontons with Pam.  Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

When I saw this picture I knew that I had to make this recipe because it was so pretty.  It tastes as pretty as the picture.  I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and I hope that the owner forgives me because I borrowed her picture so you could see how pretty it really was.  Below you will find her exact recipe.  Sleepycathollow your recipe and picture are awesome!

1 cup Jalapeno, Seeds And Membranes Removed, Finely Diced

2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar

½ cups Red Or Orange Bell Pepper, Seeds & Membranes Removed, Finely Diced

6 cups Sugar

2 envelopes Liquid Pectin, 3 Oz Each

½ teaspoons Unsalted Butter

Prepare canning jars and lids as directed by manufacturer’s directions. This recipe makes 6 8-oz 1/2 pint jars…so have at least 8 jars ready, just in case.

Do not use seeds in your jelly (if you’d like it hotter then put seeds into a piece of cheesecloth or muslin packet and put into the sugar mixture…BUT TAKE IT OUT BEFORE you put the pectin in!). You can mix up the peppers if you’d like…habanero, jalapenos, bell peppers.

In a large stainless-steel pan combine the vinegar, peppers and sugar. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. (add the unsalted butter here if you want to use it…it helps to keep the foam down to a minimum)

Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a full boil, at this point stir constantly. Once a rolling boil has been reached, pour in the pectin. Return to a full boil and stir constantly for 1 full minute. Remove from heat.

Immediately ladle the jelly into your jars leaving about 1/4″ head space. Wipe rims off and screw on bands.

4 to 8 oz jars need to be processed for 10 minutes. 1 pint jars for 15 minutes. ADJUST FOR ELEVATION!

I live in Northern Nevada at 4400+ feet so I need to add an extra 10 minutes to the bath process.
Remove from canner and place on paper or cloth towel.

Wait about 15-30 minutes and then carefully twist or tilt jars to distribute the pepper pieces throughout the jelly while cooling.

Rustic Pot Pie

I love pie!  They aren't always easy but this one is.  The fun part about this is that you can make them personal size and customize the filling for each member of your family if needed.  The instant potatoes keep the filling from being runny.  You could also make a bunch of these and freeze them before you bake them for a fast and simple dinner.

Make or buy a pie crust.

1 jar gravy
Chicken, beef or pork
Vegetables - I usually use frozen mixed vegetables but I had a leftover baked potato and carrots
Instant Potatoes

Preheat oven to 450.  Pour jar of gravy in a pan and add enough instant potatoes to thicken but no too much that you end up with mashed potatoes.  Stir in meat and vegetables.  Heat.

While the gravy mixture is heating roll out you pie crust and place on cookie sheet.  Place the gravy mixture in the middle of the pie crust leaving 1 - 2 inches of space around the edge.  Fold the edges up, pleating if necessary.  Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until the crust is brown.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Zucchini Cookies

I have a lot of zucchini and I was trying to figure out what I could do with besides make zucchini bread or bake them like Jamie's Onion Rings.  I did a Google search and came across this recipe on When Harry Met Salad.  Step 2 had you drain your zucchini and I couldn't believe the moisture that came off, I got a 1/2 cup from 1 cup of zucchini.  I do have to admit that I did not press the zucchini between paper towels, I just took a spoon and pushed the zucchini against my strainer.

½ lb. zucchini
¾ c.  lightly packed dark brown sugar
2½ c. old fashioned oats
2/3 c. + 2 T. sugar
1¼ c. flour
¾ t. salt
½ t. baking soda
¼ t. nutmeg
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 egg
2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. chocolate chips
2 c. chopped pecans (or walnuts)

1) Preheat your oven to 375°F and lightly butter two cookie sheets.

2) Grate the zucchini using a food processor or box grater to yield 1 c. grated zucchini.   Toss the zucchini with 2 T. of sugar, transfer to the mixture to a fine-mesh strainer and set it over a bowl to drain for at least 30 minutes.  This draws moisture out of the zucchini and prevents the cookies from becoming cakey and slimy, so don’t skip this step.

3) Meanwhile, place the brown sugar, 2/3 c. sugar and ½ c. oatmeal in the bowl of a food processor and process for 2 -3 minutes until the oatmeal is finely ground.  (you could also do this in a blender)

4) In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients and set aside.

5) In the bowl of your food processor (or of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), process or mix the butter until it’s light and fluffy.  Add the oatmeal-sugar mixture in three stages, mixing well after each addition.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well incorporated.  Add the dry ingredients in three stages, mixing just until blended.  If you’ve done all this in the food processor, transfer the batter to a large bowl and stir in the chocolate chips and nuts, otherwise just stir the chips and nuts into your mixing bowl.

6) After the zucchini has drained, squeeze it between several layers of paper towels or cheesecloth or a dishtowel to absorb excess moisture.  You want to remove as much moisture as possible, so you’ll have to work at it a bit.  Fold the shredded zucchini into the cookie batter.

7) Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about an inch or two apart.  They’re not going to spread much so they don’t need a whole lot of room.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.  Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the sheets for 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I was given the cookbook Chocolate Never Faileth which included this recipe.  It hides the zucchini really well so you can fool your kids and tastes good too!  If you look at the picture closely you will notice that it looks really dry around the edges.  The recipe says to bake about an hour, I would recommend checking at 45 minutes.

1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups zucchini, grated and drained (see note)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup cocoa
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Coat two 8-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.  Cream sugar and butter.  Add eggs and mix well.  Mix in sour cream, vanilla and zucchini.  Add all the remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips in the order listed; mix well.  Add chocolate chips and stir.  Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.  Bake for about an hour.  Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

Note: if possible, grate the zucchini ahead of time and let it sit for a while so the moisture settles and drains it off.

Cupcakes For Two

I have been waiting for my mom to post this on the blog because she emailed it to me a while ago and I have to keep going to my email to get the recipe :)

This is a recipe for just 2 cupcakes! I recently bought a Cake Pop maker, and the two cupcakes makes one batch (12 cake pops). It's so handy! I tried to use a cake mix out of a box and it kept making cake pops, and cake pops, and more cake pops! Way too many! 

Anyway, there is a vanilla and a chocolate recipe. (I have only tried the vanilla)...here are the yummy recipes:

Well Jamie, I finally did it!  I have been waiting to try the recipes myself.  I made 4 cupcakes, 2 white and 2 chocolate.  I made a few changes to the chocolate recipe but I sure that the original recipe works fine.  I used the egg yoke in the chocolate cake, used butter like the vanilla recipe instead of oil and used chocolate milk because I had it in the house.  Luckily I didn't need very much chocolate milk since it is Christopher's favorite.

One Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes for Two

1 egg white

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup flour

1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 2 liners. Bake for 10-12 minutes. (May take more like 15 minutes)

Chocolate Cupcakes for Two

1 egg white

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons of chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with 2 liners. Melt chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Set aside. In a bowl, add egg white and sugar and whisk until combined. Add in extract and oil and stir until mixed. Add in melted chocolate. Scrap into bowl with spatula since the amount isn't much. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in milk. Divide batter equally into liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20, or until cake is set.

Frosting for Two Cupcakes
2 tablespoons butter
Splash of vanilla
Splash of milk
Powdered sugar

Cream butter, vanilla and milk.  Add enough powdered sugar to make the frosting the consistence that you want.  Frost

Plum Crumble

We picked up our Bountiful Basket on Saturday and we had 12 plums, some very ripe. I needed a way to use them quickly. I found this recipe on Tartelette and have scaled it down so that you could make one or how ever many you might need. 319 calories per serving

For the plums:
1 plum
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the crumble topping:
1/4 cup flour
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Prepare the crumble topping:

In a bowl, stir together the flour and cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and pinch of salt. Add the butter and sugar and start mixing everything together with your fingertips. You want to form a few large clusters of dough. It will be easier to grate once cold. Freeze the mixture while you prepare the fruit.

Preheat the oven at 350F and position a rack in the middle.

Prepare the plum:

In a bowl, combine the plum and the rest of the ingredients. Toss well. Spoon into a ramekin and place on a baking sheet as the fruit is most likely to release its juices, causing a spill. When ready to bake, grate the crumble over the ramekins (use a box grates) and bake for 30-35 minutes. Serve with whip cream or ice cream.

Oven Baked Onion Rings

If you don't have a Pinterest account yet I highly recommend it! I love getting recipes from there, like this one:
4 cups Ritz crackers
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup low-fat buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk you can do a sub of 1 T Lemon Juice and 1 C Milk)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 to 2 large Vidalia onions, peeled

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking sheet slightly with oil and set aside.

Place Ritz crackers into a food processor and process into crumbs, or place in a sealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Transfer to a shallow bowl, add cayenne, and set aside. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of flour, salt and pepper and set aside. Slice onions into 1/2-inch circles and separate into rings.

Place the remaining flour in a sealable plastic bag, then add onions, and shake to coat. Dip onions 1 at a time into the buttermilk mixture, then into cracker crumbs and place on baking sheet.

Spray cooking spray evenly over rings and bake for 20 minutes, or until coating is crisp. Season with salt and serve immediately.

Apple Oat Muffins

Found this recipe on the Internet. It is a tasty little morsel that is very filling. The original recipe was for 12 muffins, I cut it to 6. It said to shred the apple and I left it in chunks. I also substituted almonds for walnuts. 202 calories per muffin

1 cup oats
1/2 cup & 2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 & 1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk - used less so I could use the whole egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup apple - I used Gala
1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake papers. In large bowl combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in apple chunks and nuts.

In medium bowl beat buttermilk, oil and egg until well blended. Stir liquid into dry ingredients until moistened, batter will be very thick and lumpy.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin-pan cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until muffins begin to brown and toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Immediately remove muffins from pan. Serve warm or cool on wire rack to serve later.

Ice Cream Cake

This is a super simple dessert. Taking off the wrappers of the ice cream sandwiches is what takes the longest. The best part about this is that you can use as many or as few sandwiches as you would like. I used 36 sandwiches, 1 large cool whip and 1 small cool whip to serve 22 people. You can change this up by using different flavors of ice cream sandwiches and using crumbled Oreos, chocolate chips or any other favorite toppings.

20 ice cream sandwiches
1 large tub cool whip
hot fudge sauce
caramel sauce
2 Heath or Skor bars, chopped up

Place 10 ice cream sandwiches side by side on a cookie sheet, platter or in a 9x13 pan. Frost with 1/2 the tub of cool whip. Repeat last layer. Drizzle hot fudge and caramel over the top and sprinkle with candy bars. Freeze at least 1 hour. Serve with hot fudge and caramel.

Cornbread Croutons

Jamie commented the other day about the cornbread croutons on her salad so when I knew that she would be home for dinner I thought I would try and make some for her. I halved the recipe but I won't do that again just because they are so tasty you don't need a salad to enjoy them.

Mix up Donna's Delicious Cornbread.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on large cookie sheet and spray with Pam. Pour into prepared cookie sheet and bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Cool 5 minutes then run knife around edge and turn cornbread out of the pan and remove parchment paper. Turn the heat up on the oven to 425. While oven is heating up cube cornbread. Spread cubes on cookie sheet and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.

Spread browned cubes on cooling rack and cover with towel. Let air dry overnight or until crunchy.

Lemonade Cupcakes

If you like lemon then you will like these, they almost make you pucker. Some other options that I have been thinking about are use either raspberry lemonade or strawberry lemonade and make raspberry or strawberry cream cheese frosting. I ended up with leftover lemonade and I should have used it in the frosting. I think that will be a for sure thing next time. This would also work well as a cake.

Lemon cake mix
Instant lemon pudding
1 can (6 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
3/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
4 drops yellow food coloring
Powdered sugar

Make cake according to the directions on the box but add lemon pudding. Bake according to the directions on the box as well.

Mix lemonade concentrate and powdered sugar. Pierce top of warm cupcakes every with long-tined fork or skewer, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking. Drizzle lemonade mixture evenly over top of each cupcake. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.

Cream butter, cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice and food coloring together. Add enough powdered sugar to create the frosting consistence that you want. Frost cupcakes and enjoy!

Tortellini Salad

Another tasty potluck recipe.

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 shallot, minced
1 lb. asparagus
2 - 9 oz. packages fresh tortellini
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 oz. Parmesan cheese

Whisk the olive oil, basil, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Cook asparagus, boil 3 minutes, don't discard water. Transfer asparagus and cut and mix with vinaigrette.

Cook tortellini according to package in asparagus water. Drain and mix with asparagus and vinaigrette. Chill 30 minutes.

Toast the pine nuts in small skillet over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Slice tomatoes into halves.

Just before serving stir the nuts, tomatoes and Parmesan into salad.

Cookie Bars

These were so good and I don't like coconut but it didn't bother me in this recipe.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Melt butter in microwave then pour into a 9x9 pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter. Evenly pour condensed milk over the crumbs. Sprinkle on the coconut, chocolate chips and walnuts. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 350. Let pan completely cool before removing bars.

Ranch Potatoes

This was another delicious recipe from the potluck.

1 pkg Ranch dressing seasoning
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
3 lbs. Red potatoes
Seasoned salt
Oil

Wash and cut potatoes into quarters. Dip potatoes in oil then put them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the mixture of ranch dressing, bread crumbs and a dash of seasoned salt on the potatoes. Bake until soft at 350 for about 40 minutes.

Chicken Wonton Cups

When Mom and I were visiting Jamie, Beau and Christopher in Oklahoma the wives had a potluck because they all felt like they were in a rut with what they fixed. This was my favorite that wasn't a dessert of course.

24 Wonton skins
12 oz Chicken, cut into bite size pieces
Fajita dry packet
Onion, diced
Red bell pepper, diced
Ranch dressing
Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray and place one wonton skin in each tin. Bake until slightly crisp, about 3 minutes. While wonton skins are baking, cook chicken with fajita packet.

Fill each cup with 4 - 5 pieces of chicken, onion, red bell pepper, 1 tablespoon ranch and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted, about 4 - 5 minutes.

Breakfast Quiche

We had a Relief Society breakfast the other day. We meet in Bobbette's backyard and got a chance to just visit. It started at 7:30 and went until 10 so that everyone could come when it was convenient. This breakfast quiche was served and I found it tasty and it works great when you need to feed a crowd but works great if you don't as well.

16 ounce frozen cubed hash browns
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1 cup diced ham
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
Crumbled bacon

Put potatoes in 9 inch pie plate. Pour melted butter over potatoes. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Alternate ham and cheese on potatoes. Beat eggs and milk and seasoning salt together. Pour over ham and cheese. Optional, cooked bacon can be crumbled on top. Bake 30 minutes.

Can make day before. As soon as cool enough, refrigerate. Heat when ready to use the next day.

Lindsey's Best Pasta Salad

I love this salad that Lindsey makes, she is always required to make this salad when our friends get together because it is so good!

12 oz Bowtie Pasta
12 oz Raditore Colored Pasta
1-20 oz can Pineapple Tidbits, drained
2 cups Celery, chopped
4 Green Onions, chopped
1 cup Cashews
1 cup Red Grapes
1 cup Mayo
1-16 oz Kraft Coleslaw Dressing
4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and seasoned

A recommendation: I would cook the pastas separate, I did mine together and one got done before the other so one was too soft.

When I make my salad I leave out the celery and onions, I don't like the crunchy, and I used 'chewna' (canned chicken).

Blackened Beans & Grits

Jacques from South Africa first introduced me to Grits and of course I would love them. I love cornbread so why not? I do add corn when I make them. When I saw this recipe on Cooking During Stolen Moments I thought it would be a simple side dish for dinner. I didn't have all of the ingredients that she used so this is my version.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
Paprika
Oregano
Cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Black pepper
Coarse salt

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until tender. Stir in beans and tomatoes. Add seasoning to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer at least 15 minutes.

3 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cup corn meal
Corn - optional

Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Mix corn meal with remaining water in a small bowl. Add corn meal mixture slowly to boiling water, stirring constantly. Add corn now if desired. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until thickened.

Cheeseburger Bake

Unsure where I picked this recipe up but I used to make it quite often when the kids were little. If you don't like your biscuits soft on the bottom cook them on a cookie sheet and serve along side the meat mixture.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup chopped onion
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheese

Combine ground beef and flour. Brown with onion in skillet. Stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper; heat. Turn into 8 or 9 inch square baking dish. Top with cheese and baking powder biscuits. Bake at 425 for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Sloppy Joe Biscuit Pizza

Found this recipe on Cooking During Stolen Moments. It is very simple and tasty. A single recipe fits nicely on my half cookie sheet. When I doubled the recipe and cooked it on my large cookie sheet I learned that I needed to allow for more cooking time because the middle was still a little doughy. Omitted the 1/2 teaspoon cumin, didn't have it and I don't know that it needed it.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup milk - I found this to be a little dry and add just a bit more
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef with onions in a large skillet. Drain. Stir in ketchup, mustard, brown sugar and seasonings. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until flavors are combined. Remove from heat. Refrigerate until using.

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and slat. Cut in butter or margarine until crumbly. Add 1/2 cup milk and combine. Add remaining milk if needed. Knead dough for 1 minute, until it holds together. Press onto the bottom of a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes, just to prebake. Refrigerate until using or assemble as below and then refrigerate, baking just before eating.

+about 15 minutes baking time. Spread the sloppy joe mixture over the biscuit crust and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until crust is golden brown around the edges and the cheese is fully melted.

Double Fudge Brownie Quart Jar Gift

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder (clean inside of jar with paper towel after this layer)
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Optional - chopped nuts

Layer the ingredients in the order given. Place lid on jar

The card attached reads -
1 jar Double Fudge Brownie mix
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 325. In a large bowl, cream the butter and eggs. Add the Double Fudge Browning mix and stir until the mixture is well blended. Spread batter into a lightly greased or sprayed 9 x 12 inch pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan.

Oatmeal Cookie Quart Jar Gift

1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups quick rolled oats

Layer the ingredients in the order given. Place lid on jar.

The card attached reads -
1 jar Oatmeal Cookie mix
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 375. In a large bowl, cream the butter, eggs, vanilla and water. Add the Oatmeal Cookie mix and stir until the mixture is well blended. Drop the cookies by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Cookie Dough Quart Jar Gift

Change the M&M colors to suit the holiday.

2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup red and green M&Ms
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Mix flour, salt and baking soda. Pour mixture in jar and tap lightly to evenly distribute. Layer the brown sugar, sugar and the M&Ms, tapping after each addition. Place lid on jar.

The card attached reads -
Cream 1 cup butter, 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Add ingredients from jar and mix well. Drop cookie dough by the teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Hot Chocolate Quart Jar Gift

3 cups hot chocolate mix
2 cups mini marshmallows

Pour in a layer of 1 1/2 cups hot chocolate mix in the jar, then 1 cup marshmallows. Repeat to layer the remaining ingredients. Place lid on jar.

The card attached reads -
Place 1/4 cup hot chocolate mix in your mug, then slowly add 1 cup hot water. Stir and enjoy!

Caramel Corn

Not exactly sure who belongs to this recipe but I found it with my Girl's Weekend papers.

1 pound brown sugar
1 cup white corn syrup
1 square margarine
1 15 oz. sweetened condensed milk
3 1/2 to 4 poppers full of popcorn

Combine margarine, sugar and syrup. Bring to boil. Add milk. Simmer, stir constantly until it forms a soft ball.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Lisa shared this recipe and I love it because it is so simple. I have used a chocolate cake mix and Christopher never knew that these cookies were semi-good for him.

Spice cake mix
1/2 can pumpkin
Optional - raisins or chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Easy Lower Fat Cake

This is a recipe from Lisa.

Take one cake mix and add a diet drink. Bake as instructed on the box, i.e. chocolate cake with a Diet Cherry Coke, cherry chip cake with Diet Sprite.

Oreo Cookies

These are the best cookies and they never last long when Becky shares them with us.

2 Chocolate or Devil's Food cake mixes
1 cup shortening
4 eggs

Mix together with mixer. This will be very thick. Roll into small balls. Put onto cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350. When you take them from oven, bounce pan on cabinet or stove to flatten. Cool completely.

Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup soft margarine
4 cups powdered sugar

Mix and refrigerate. Frost when cool. Put 2 cookies together. Freeze or refrigerate.

Fruit Smoothie

Remember sitting in the hot tub with the light snow following and enjoying Becky's smoothies at our cabin in the woods, Girl's Weekend 2003. It was so awesome!

12 oz. Sprite
10 ice cubes
8 oz. fruit of choice
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar

Mix in blender.

Apple Crisp

Another recipe from Becky from Girl's Weekend 2003.

4 cups sliced pared apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup melted margarine

Place apples in greased 8x8x2" pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and oats. Add melted margarine. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 375 for 25 - 30 minutes or until apples are tender and top is golden brown.

Chicken or Turkey Haystacks

This is a recipe that Becky introduced to me when we had Girl's Weekend at the cabin in Heber in 2003.

Mix a 16 oz. can or chicken or turkey with a can of cream of chicken soup, warm. Serve with your choice of the following:

• Hot rice


• Diced celery


• Chinese noodles


• Chopped tomatoes


• Grated cheese


• Crushed pineapple


• Almonds


• Shredded coconut

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

I have been experimenting with cupcakes this month and I think that they have turned out pretty well. My favorite would have to be the chocolate ones I made at Mom's. Steve wasn't fond of the frosting that I used, he prefers buttercream.

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 cup Sour Cream
4 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

To keep the chocolate chips from sitting on the bottom stir some dry cake mix into the a bowl with the chocolate chips. After you have mixed your cake according to the directions on the box fold in the chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 15 to 18 minutes.

Chocolate Whip Cream Frosting

1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
12 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup Powdered Sugar or more to taste

Melt chocolate chips into whipping cream. Chill in the refrigerator. Whip to soft peaks.

Enchilada-Zagna

This recipe I found in the Sunday paper among the coupons. I thought that this recipe lacked flavor so next time I will add Frank's Hot Sauce or use medium enchilada sauce and serve with salsa.

3 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed
28 oz. mild enchilada sauce
8 oz. sour cream
1 can evaporated milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can diced green chilies, undrained
12 corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13x9-inch baking dish.

Combine enchilada sauce and sour cream in medium bowl. Combine evaporated milk, cheese and chilies in medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until cheese has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

Spread 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture on bottom of prepared baking dish. Layer with 4 tortillas, 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture, 1 1/2 cups chicken, 1 cup cheese sauce; repeat layers one more time, starting with tortillas. Top with remaining tortillas, enchilada sauce mixture and cheese sauce. Cover with foil.

Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; cook for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Sour Cream Substitute

For baking -

• 7/8 cup buttermilk or sour milk plus 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup yogurt plus 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup sour milk plus 1/3 cup butter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk plus 1/3 cup butter

For cooked sauces -

• 1 cup yogurt plus 1 tablespoon flour plus 2 teaspoons water
• 1 cup evaporated milk plus 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice. Let stand 5 minutes to thicken.

For dips -

• 1 cup yogurt - drain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve for 30 minutes in the refrigerator for a thicker texture.
• 1 cup cottage cheese plus 1/4 cup yogurt or buttermilk, briefly whirled in a blender.
• 6 ounces cream cheese plus 3 tablespoons milk, briefly whirled in a blender

For lower fat -

• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus 2 tablespoons skim milk, whipped until smooth in a blender
• 1 can chilled evaporated milk whipped with 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Found this information at about.com

Pico de Gallo

Beau and I LOVE this pico! I have made 3 batches this month! I forgot to take a picture before we ate it all but you get it :)

8 Roma Tomatoes (I used 6 because I'm not a fan of too much tomatoes)
1/2 White Onion
1 Jalepano (We use 2, we like it spicy)
1/2 Lime, Juice
Pinch of Sugar
Cilantro, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper....to taste (we use quite a bit of season salt)