The original Alfredo Sauce

1/4 cup butter

1 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus extra to serve

12 oz fresh fettuccine

salt and pepper

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring, then add the parmesan and salt and pepper, and turn heat to low. Add the pasta and toss till covered. Serve with extra cheese.

Fried Rice

Make white rice.

While that is cooking, saute small-cut celery and carrots until soft. (Add any other veggies like peas, too.) Add the rice when it is done cooking and add butter and soy sauce to taste (I add about 1/2 a stick of butter for about 3 cups cooked rice). After mixed together scoot everything to edges of pan and scramble 2-3 eggs in the middle. Once they are cooked mix everything together.

Done!

Sea Salt caramels

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for topping
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water

1. 1Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and brush or spray lightly with oil. Set aside.
2. 2In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream, butter and salt to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. 3In a large saucepan over high heat, stir together sugar, corn syrup and water until sugar is dissolved. Boil without stirring (you can gently swirl the entire saucepan occasionally to ensure even heating) until mixture turns to a light golden caramel color.
4. 4Lower heat to a simmer and very carefully pour cream mixture into large saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a temperature of 250 degrees F, or "firm ball" stage.
5. 5Pour mixture into baking pan and allow to cool completely, about 2 hours. Half an hour after pouring, sprinkle caramel with more sea salt as desired.
6. 6Remove caramel from baking pan by lifting the parchment paper and, using a very sharp, warm knife, cut the caramel into 1-inch squares. Wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting two ends to seal.
7. 
   

Cinnamon Rolls (from Brooke S)

Cinnamon Rolls

1 Cup Warm Milk (110 degrees) (30 sec in microwave)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast


1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 TB cinnamon
1/3 cup butter softened


3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Heat Milk to 110 degrees and then add the yeast. Let sit for about 10 minutes. While it sits, melt butter and allow to cool at room temp. Combine the butter, sugar, eggs, and yeast mixture. Add in the salt and the flour. Knead with dough hook until smooth. Place in an oiled bowl and cover. Let it rise until it doubles in size.(about 1 - 1 1/2 hours)

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle. Spread the dough with 1/3 cup soft butter and sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. (use string/floss to do this for a cleaner and easier cut.) Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 30-45 minutes). Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the rolls in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. While rolls are baking combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix until creamy.

Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

If you are preparing the rolls the night before, prepare the rolls until they are put in the 9x13 pan, then instead of letting them rise, stick the pan in the fridge overnight. The next morning remove from fridge and allow to rise about an hour until doubled, and then bake as instructed.

Coconut Custard

1 cup coconut cream

2/3 cup sugar

6 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 Tbsp. butter

Fresh fruit for topping

In a large sauce pan cook cream and sugar on medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Turn heat to low and add the eggs. Stir occasionally for 10 -12 minutes or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat and add butter. Pour into six 4” custard cups and put in a baking dish.  Add boiling water to the baking dish until half way up the side of the cups.  Bake at 325° for 30 to 40 minutes or until set.  Serve warm with fresh fruit on top.

pasta with white truffle butter

8 oz tagurelli

1/2 cup heavy cream into saute pan. Turn on heat. 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. 3 oz truffle butter (tub style about $7). Add to cream and let melt.

Add parmesan cheese and chives.

Bundt pan chocolate cake (Brooke S)

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 (3.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups sour cream
1 cup melted butter
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 inch Bundt Pan

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix pudding mix. Add butter, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on low to medium speed about 2 minutes until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in oven for about 50-55 minutes. Take it out even if it looks moist and fudgy. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes before turning it onto a plate. Let cool completely and then cover with chocolate ganache.


Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup chocolate chips (or chopped up chocolate bar)

Put chocolate in a bowl. Heat cream in a sauce pan until it starts to bubble. Pour hot cream over the chocolate chips in the bowl. Whisk together until smooth and shiny. Drizzle over cake

Caramel popcorn (easy kind from Brooke S)

1 batch of popcorn from an air popper

on stovetop mix
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
16 large marshmallows
a little water to help sugar dissolve

stir over popcorn

Beef Tips

5 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1" cubes
1 1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dried thyme
4 cans cream of mushroom soup

3 cans water

3 T. onion soup mix  (Put in blender and grind until it becomes a fine powder)

1 tsp. browning sauce (Kitchen Bouquet--if you don't have, it is in any grocery store near the Worcestershire sauce)

 

1.  Combine beef cubes, salt, pepper, and dried thyme in large bowl.  Mix well so that the meat is covered with the seasoning.

2.  Place in greased 9x13 inch pan.

3.  Bake uncovered at 400 for 15 minutes.

4.  Stir.

5.  Bake 15 minutes longer.

6.  Drain well.

 

Sauce:
1.  In separate bowl, combine the soup, water, ground onion soup and browning sauce.

2.  Pour over the beef and mix well.

3.  Pour into a crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours (Don't lift lid to peek)

 

Serve over hot white rice.  (MAKES A LOT, SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO DO 1/2)

caramel brownies

50 small caramel candies unwrapped
1 small can evaporated milk
1 box Chocolate Cake Mix
1/2 c melted butter
1 c chocolate chips


Grease and flour a 9x13 in cake pan
In a sauce pan melt together caramels and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk.
Combine together, cake mix, melted butter and 1/3 cup evaporated milk.
Press half of the batter mixture into greased pan and bake at 350 for 6 minutes. Put remainder batter mixture in the fridge while it bakes. Remove from pan from oven and spread melted caramel mixture evenly over top and then sprinkle caramel mixture with the chocolate chips. Crumble remaining batter mixture over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool before serving.

Cake mix cookies

1 box cake mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix together and make into tablespoon size balls. Cook at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

chocolate cake with cool whip and toffee

1 box chocolate cake
1 can sweetened condenced milk
caramel
cool whip
toffee

Make cake according to box directions. Right after taking it out of oven, poke holes with a wooden spoon about 1” apart. Pour sweetened condenced milk and caramel into holes. Let cool. Top with cool whip and toffee chips.

artichoke dip

1 c artichoke hearts drained and chopped
1 c fresh grate parmesean cheese
1 c mayonaise
1 can green chilis

mix all and bake at 300 for 30 minutes

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 c. sugar
2/3 c. shortening or butter
2 eggs
2 TB milk
1 t vanilla
3 1/4 c. flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt


Early in the day or the day before:
In a large bowl cream the shortening and the sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk. In a medium bowl mix the dry ingredients with a wire whisk. Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl. Mix with mixer until well combined. With hands, shape dough into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Roll half or 1/3 dough at a time, keep the rest refrigerated. For crisp cookies, roll dough paper thin. For softer cookies, roll 1/8” to 1/4” thick.

With floured cookie cutter, cut into shapes. Re-roll trimmings and cut.

Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake 8 minutes or until very light brown.

*For sturdy and tasty cookies, you should use 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter. Shortening makes cookies sturdy and butter makes them tasty.

Creamy green beans

Green beans
cream cheese
cream

Add cream cheese and cream to green beans until it is thick and soupy-ish. (I'll post a picture when I make it so you can get an idea).

Pumpkin Pie in a Jar (No baking)

Graham Cracker crust

1 ½ cups crushed graham crackers (about 1 ½ packages) 

1/3 cup of sugar    6 TBS. melted butter

Mix together, press in ½ pint mason jars with fingers, and chill in fridge.  

Pumpkin Cream Pie 

1 cup pumpkin pureed

2 cups cold milk

2 boxes of instant vanilla pudding (3.5 oz)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1 cup frozen whipped topping thawed (Cool Whip) extra for top of pie

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix on low speed for 1 minute.  Spoon filling into mason jars on top of graham cracker crust.  Add Cool Whip topping.  Chill in fridge for at least 3 hours with lid on.   Makes about 12 jars. 

Shrimp Cocktail in Won Ton Cups

Bake won tons in mini muffin pan at 375 for 7 min.

Let won tons cool.  (won ton wraps by Nasoya)

1 lb. of baby/salad shrimp – Defrost shrimp for 2 minutes

½ celery stalk including green leaves (diced)

1 sweet or red onion (diced)

2 (12 oz) bottles seafood cocktail sauce (best brand Crosse & Blackwell)

Mix together in salad bowl and spoon into won tons.

Makes approximately 4 dozen

This makes a fabulous appetizer to wet your appetite for the Thanksgiving feast. 

To simplify: skip the won tons and serve in small cups with a spoon. 

Crescent Wrapped Brie

Ingredients:

1-1.5 (8-12 oz.) cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1 (19.6 oz.) round natural Brie cheese (if you use the costco one you will need to cook longer--cover with tinfoil)

1 beaten egg

Broun sugar to liking (I use ¼ - ½ cup) 

Craisins to liking 

Crackers of choice

Directions: 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll dough and separate into 2 sections: combine ½ of the dough and roll with a rolling pin into a circle.  Do the same with the other half.  Place cheese round on center of 1 dough round. 

Add brown sugar and craisins on top of brie.  

Place remaining dough circle on top of cheese round and brown sugar.  Press dough evenly around cheese, folding bottom edges over top edges; press to seal completely (make sure it is sealed really well).  Place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Brush dough with egg.  Top with cutouts; brush with egg.  Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from cookie sheet;

place on serving plate.  

Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with crackers. 

(You can use any toppings you like.  I’ve heard jam also works well.  You may also use pastry dough as a substitute for the crescent roll.)

*If you only use an 8 oz. brie round, then you only need 1 can of crescent rolls and 2-4 TBSP brown sugar. 

Herbed Roast

Ingredients
1 1/4 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (3 pound) sirloin tip roast or similar (I usually use something cheaper and with less fat)


Directions
In a small bowl, mix the paprika, kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, and thyme. Stir in the olive oil, and allow the mixture to sit about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Place the roast on the prepared baking sheet, and cover on all sides with the spice mixture.
Roast 1 hour in the preheated oven, or to a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Let sit 15 minutes before slicing.

Sweet Muffins (from Michelle Daines Bartlett)

1 egg

1 c. milk

1/4 c. oil

2 c flour

1/4 c sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

mix together, bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

TOPPING INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with the flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top (8 of them) and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture (directions below).

CRUMB TOPPING DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Mix with fork and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

BAKE for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Fresh and Simple Pizza

• Ingredients
• 
  
• 1 container refrigerated pizza crust (I like the pillsubry pizza crust classic, 13.8 oz)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 roma (plum) tomatoes, sliced (I use whatever tomato I have in the garden)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or fresh mozzarella sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Roll out pizza dough, and place on a baking sheet**. Mix mayonnaise, Parmesan, basil, and garlic in a small bowl. Spread mayonnaise mixture on pizza crust; top with sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. OR you can switch around the order of the toppings (as seen in photo)
3. Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes(you may have to cook a bit longer if you use fresh mozzarella). Cut into squares to serve.

**I make several small pizzas since I sometimes get uncooked dough in the middle if I make one large one.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 16 oz container of sour cream
10-12 oz of mayo (add the sour cream to a bow and then fill the container about ¾ full of
mayo and add that. Saves making measuring cups dirty!)
1 package of frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
1 14 oz can/jar of artichoke hearts drained
1 clove of garlic
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Finely chop artichoke hearts, spinach and garlic. Mix together all of the ingredients.
Serve cold.

Cafe Rio Salad Dressing

1 package hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
1 cup buttermilk*
1 cup mayo
1-2 tomatillos
1 clove of garlic minced
½ bunch chopped cilantro
1 tsp lime juice
1 small jalapeno (seeds removed)

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor. Store it in the fridge for a few hours
before serving.

Soft French Bread

Dissolve 2 Tbs yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar. In a large bowl combine 2 cups hot water, 3 Tbs sugar, 1 Tbs Salt and 1/2 cup oil. Add 3 cups flour. Beat well. Add yeast mixture. Stir well. Add 2 1/2 cups flour. Stir with wooden spoon until well blended. Cover with saran wrap. Let raise 10 minutes. Stir down. Repeat 5 more times. (Do not stir down dough last time before rolling out). Flour cupboard, top of dough and hands. (I split dough into 4 equal parts for smaller loaves). Roll into rectangle. Roll up like jelly roll. Place on greased pan seam side down. Let rise 30 minutes. Bake 400 F for 15-20 minutes.

Variation: brush with beaten egg white mixed with 1 tsp water and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Slash with scissors to give it a fancy look.

Playdough, lasts two months

This is great for nursery, that is what I made it for.

1 c. flour

1 c. water with food color

1 Tbsp oil

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp. cream of tarter

Stir and cook on medium until like mashed potatoes and it sticks together in a big ball. Take off the heat and put on parchment paper and knead by hand a couple minutes. Keeps aproximately 2 months.

Ceasar Salad with homemade dressing (Jeff Turley's recipe)

2 hard boiled eggs

1/3 cup olive oil

3 Tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 garlic clove

pepper

dash of nutmeg

2 heads romaine lettuce, cut to eating size

parmesan cheese

croutons

Blend eggs, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, dijon, garlic, pepper and nutmeg in a blender. Stir into romaine lettuce. Grate parmesan cheese on top and add croutons.

Zucchini Pasta

3 medium zucchinis

2-3 oz. linguine

1-2 chicken breasts

2 Tbsp. Fresh Basil or 2 tsp. Dried Basil

1/4 cup. Shredded Parmesan 

1/4 Mozzarella

When determining how much linguine to cook - do about 1/3 of what you would normally cook for a pasta dish. This meal replaces a large portion of your carbs with zucchini, and it's even more delicious! Boil the linguine for about 7-8 minutes so it's still a little firm. 

Cube your chicken in small bite size pieces. Cook on medium-high heat in a large saute pan. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Once chicken is fully cooked, remove from pan. 

Chop up your zucchini in very fine strips (as shown above). Put them in the same pan used to cook the chicken, and drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil on zucchini. Cook on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until they're starting to bend - but not too soggy and flimsy, you still want a little bit of a crunch.     

Add the chicken back into the pan. Add the basil. Then add the linguine and cheese. Combine the ingredients, heat through, and serve!

We love this recipe. It is so good! Go ahead and put more zucchini if you want, I put 5-6 zucchinis.

Recipe from beck-a-boo blog

White cheese sauce (for anything or for mac and cheese)

Heat 1 qt of milk

In another pan heat 6 TB butter. Add 1/2 cup flour. Cook together for about 2 minutes while whisking.

Slowly add the hot milk.

Add TB salt.

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)

12 oz gruyere, shredded

8 oz good cheddar, shredded

Add cheese to sauce. Combine with 1 lb macaroni for mac and cheese.

optional: put in dish and add sliced tomatoes and bread crumbs to top. Bake at 375 for 30 min.

Tomato Sauce from Alton Brown

TOTAL TIME: 2 hr 55 min

prep: 25 min

cook: 2 hr 30 min

Ingredients

20 roma tomatoes, halved and seeded (I didn't seed as you can see by the pictures)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 cup finely diced onion

2 tsp minced garlic

1 TB finely chopped oregano leaves

1 TB finely chopped thyme leaves

1 cup white wine (or substitute like water, vege broth. See LINK)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans place tomato halves cut side up. Sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper, onion, garlic, and herbs. Bake tomatoes for 2 hours. Check the tomatoes after 1 hour and turn down the heat if they seem to be cooking too quickly. Then turn the oven to 400 degrees and bake another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and process tomatoes through a food mill (or food processor) on medium dye setting over a small saucepan. Discard skins. Add white wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes

Green Smoothie from smoothie girl

1 1/2 cups coconut liquid

1 larg carrot, cleaned and cut into 3 pieces

1/4 medium beet, raw, peeled

1/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup chopped dates

2 tsp vanilla

12 frozen strawberries

flax seed

2 TB kefir or yogurt

puree all ingredients except strawberries and flax in a high power blender for 90 seconds. Add strawberries and puree on high until smooth. Add the flax for the last 5 seconds.

Add spinach or other greens if you like.

Zucchini Bread - my favorite recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3-4 cups grated zucchini (no need to peel or drain)

Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Add Zucchini and mix well. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan.

Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork
•2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
•1 Tbsp chili powder
•1 Tbsp ground cumin
•2 Tbsp brown sugar, divided
•1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
•½ tsp salt
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1 lb pork tenderloin
1.In a slow cooker, combine the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, 1 Tbsp of the brown sugar,cayenne pepper, salt, and garlic. Stir until well combined.
2.Carefully place the pork into the sauce in the slow cooker. Make sure it is all covered with the sauce. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3.Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred the pork using two forks, pulling against the grain of the meat. Pour the sauce from the slow cooker into another bowl. Add the pork back to the slow cooker and add just enough of the sauce to make the meat saucy just like a bbq pulled pork. Then mix in the remaining 1 Tbsp of brown sugar for extra sweetness.

Yellow sweet shortcake, Lindsay's recipe

1 box yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1 stick melted butter

Mix together, should be very thick. Spread in a 9x13 pan.

16 oz powdered sugar

8 oz softened cream cheese

1 egg

Mix together until well blended, then pour on top of bottom mixture and spread evenly. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Should just be starting to turn a golden color. Do not overbake.

To use this for strawberry shortcake, just do the yellow cake mix part and not the topping and bake for 25 minutes.

Easy Spinach Salad

Ingredients:
-Fresh Spinach leaves
-goat or feta cheese, crumbled (try the goat cheese if you never have, it's delicious)
-strawberries, chopped or blueberries (etc.)
-walnuts/pecans (plus sugar)
-raspberry or strawberry vinaigrette

Directions:
NUTS
In saucepan, saute nuts for a few minutes on medium high. Just barely allow to "toast". (You can do this in the oven, but the stove top is much faster and just as good). Pour sugar on top of nuts and mix constantly, until sugar melts completely. Do not allow sugar to brown. (You can take nuts off heat and finish stirring if needed to prevent burning.) Spread nuts onto plate and allow to cool. I like to sprinkle a little bit of salt on top of the hot nuts.
SALAD
Mix together all ingredients in large bowl. Only mix as much as you will eat because the salad dressing will cause the spinach to wilt overnight. Mixing salad beforehand in large bowl allows all the flavors to blend nicely before serving.

Hershey's Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Icing

CAKE INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE FROSTING INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine

2/3 cup cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


CAKE DIRECTIONS: 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.

Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.

Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

Pour into 2 greased and floured 9" round pans. Also makes around 30 cupcakes (bake cupcakes 22-25 minutes).

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes, then remove to wire racks and cool completely.

Frost with "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting (above). Also great with the cheesecake pudding frosting as seen in photo above.

FROSTING DIRECTIONS: 

Melt butter.

Stir in cocoa.

Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency.

Add more milk, if needed

Squash and Onions with brown sugar

Squash and Onions with Brown Sugar
serves 2

1 large yellow squash (or 2 medium)
2 small onions (or one medium)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

Slice the squash into 1/2-inch rounds, cutting large ones in half. You should end up with roughly 2 cups of cut squash. Cut the onions into similar-sized slices.

Add the butter to a wide sauce pan that has a lid and heat over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the onions and cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add squash, salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Stir, then cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until squash is very soft.

Remove the cover and continue to cook for about 8 minutes, just to give the juices a chance to evaporate slightly. There will be some liquid in the pan, but it should be thicker than water, almost like a glaze. Season with more salt and pepper, if needed, and serve immediately.

Moist boneless skinless chicken breasts from Joy Of Cooking

What You Need

Ingredients [OR] Materials

1 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon freshly chopped herbs (optional)
Olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter

Equipment

10-inch sauté pan with lid

Instructions

1. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness with the handle or flat of a knife.

2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breasts.

3. Mix about a half teaspoon of salt in with the flour along with a little pepper. Chop the herbs finely, if using, and mix in as well.

4. Quickly dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, so that they are just lightly dusted with flour.

5. Heat the sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the olive oil and butter. Let them melt, and swirl the pan.

6. Turn the heat to medium. Add the chicken breasts. Cook for just about 1 minute to help them get a little golden on one side (you are not actually searing or browning them). Then flip each chicken breast over.

7. Turn the heat to low. Put the lid on the pan. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and walk away. Do not lift the lid; do not peek.

8. After 10 minutes have elapsed, turn off the heat. Reset the timer for 10 minutes and leave the chicken breasts in the pan. Again, do not lift the lid; do not peek.

9. After the 10 minutes are up, take the lid off, and tada! Soft, tender, juicy chicken breasts that aren't dried out in the least. Doublecheck them to make sure there is no pink in the middle. Slice and eat.

Rachel's Meaty Zucchini Casserole

6-8 medium sized zucchini

1.5 lbs meat (I use a combination of sausage and ground meat)

2 eggs

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, chopped and sautéed

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (can use the cheepo kind too:)

1 cup colby jack, cheddar or mozzarella cheese (I use whatever I have on hand)

1.5-2 Jars spaghetti sauce (24 oz)

spices (oregano, parlsey) to taste, optional

2-4 cups cooked rice, optional

1 cup cottage cheese, optional

Cook meat. Put in 9X13 casserole dish to cool, leaving fat from cooking in pan.

Wash and trim ends of zucchini. You can also peel zucchini, which is what my family prefers. Cut zucchini lengthwise into four pieces. Then cut into inch wide pieces. Preheat oven to 350. Cook zucchini until mostly done in pan you used to cook meat. I usually cover and cook on medium low for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While zucchini cooks mix together eggs, garlic and parmesan cheese and spaghetti sauce into meat mixture. When zucchini is done cooking, drain it then mix into the meet mixture. Add more spaghetti sauce, if desired and rice and/or cottage cheese, if desired. Top with some cheese before putting in over, or right before taking out of the oven. Cover lightly with tinfoil then cook 45-60 minutes.

Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp. cream of tarter

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 TB sugar

3 tsp. cinnamon

Prehead oven to 350. Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl. Combine flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture. Chill dough, and chill and ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge. Meanwhile, mix 3 TB sugar and 3 tsp. cinnamon in bowl. Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes.

Corn Muffins from Barefoot Contessa

mix:

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup cornmeal

2 TB baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

mix:

1 1/2 cups milk

2 sticks melted (slightly cooled) butter

2 eggs

Add wet to dry ingredients.

Fill muffin tins with liners, makes 12-14

Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

Lime merange tart from Barefoot Contessa

FILLING

cream:

1/4 lb butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

add:

4 eggs and mix

add:

1/4 cup lime zest

1/2 cup lime juice (4 or so)

1/8 tsp salt

Put into saucepan on low 6-8 min. Whisk at end. Put into bowl, chill with saran wrap right on top.

SHELL

mix:

1 1/4 cup flour

3 TB sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

put in freezer 30 min

then put in food processer with:

6 TB diced cold butter

2 TB cold crisco

pulse 10 times

add: 1/4 cup ice water.

mix till dough comes together

put on counter and form together. Wrap in saran wrap and put in fridge 30 min.

Put into pie/tart dish. Cover with buttered foil and beans to hold it down. Cook 10 min at 375. Remove beans and foil. Poke all over with fork. Cook 15-20 min. Cool

MERANGE

4 egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tarter

1/4 tsp. salt

whip and while whipping add 1/2 cup sugar slowly.

Assemble the crust then custard filling then merange (can pipe it on top). Cook at 425 for 4-5 minutes till merange starts to brown.

Marinara sauce from Barefoot Contessa

SAUTE

1 cup chopped yellow onion 5-10 min

add

1 1/2 t. chopped garlic

1/2 cup wine or chicken stock

turn up heat and simmer till liquid almost evaporates

ADD

20 oz can of tomatoes, whatever sort

1 TB fresh chopped parsley

1 1/2 t. salt

1/2 t pepper

Simmer 15 min. DONE! Freezes okay.

Chocolate chocolate chip waffles from Alton Brown

chocolate waffles

1 1/2 cups flour

3 TBS sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp b powder

1/2 tsp. b soda

WHISK

3 eggs

4 TB melted butter

16 oz buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

MIX wet with dry

add 3/4 cup choc chips

Cook on high setting on waffle iron. Serve with ice cream!

Michelle's Australian Sausage Rolls

1-2lb jimmy dean pork & sage sausage
1 lb hamburger
1 small onion, diced finely
6-8 slices white bread with crusts removed
Pepperidge Puff Pastry



Place bread in bowl and cover with just enough water to soak in for 5 min (not soggy) Squish (very technical term) out excess water.
Add to meat and onion mix
Cut Pepperidge Puff Pastry in half long ways.
Pipe meat mix along pastry. (Can use ziploc bag with corner cut to pipe)
Roll pastry over meat and brush with beaten egg
Bake 425 for 10-15 minutes then lower oven to 350 bake a further 10-15 or until golden.