Pizza Buns

• 1 pound ground meat
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 1  package small dinner rolls (split horizontally to make 24 tops and bottoms)
• 1 jar cheese whiz or 8 cheese slices (quartered)
• 1 jar pizza sauce
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

Place about 1 tablespoon oil in fry pan and heat. Dump chopped onion in pan and let sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add ground meat and brown as usual. In the meant time separate tops from bottoms of dinner rolls. Place on cookie sheet cut side up. Spread each bun half with Cheese Whiz or top with 1/4 slice piece of cheese. Top each half bun with a 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon of sauce (more or less) in the center of each half, until all sauce is used. top with heaping teaspoon spoon full of meat mixture in the center of each half bun on top of the sauce. Sprinkle each half bun with grated Parmesan cheese. Preheat oven to 350°F bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until buns are golden and crunchy.

Be creative, these can be topped with any type pizza toppings.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

• 1 pound sliced bacon cut into thirds
• 2 -8 ounce cans whole water chestnuts drained
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
• 1 – 2  teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Slice bacon into thirds. With round tooth picks secure 1 piece of bacon around each water chestnut.  Place in a sprayed 9″x 13″  pan.  In small sauce pan mix last three ingredients stirring just until it reaches the boiling point.  Pour on top of water chestnuts.  Cover pan with foil and bake in a 350°F oven for about one hour.  Remove from oven. ** See note

Remove water chestnuts to plate using slotted spoon allowing the grease and sauce to drain well from them.  Pour sauce into 2 cup measure and place in refrigerator so that layer of grease forms on top.  Once cooled remove the layer of grease. Add water chestnuts to crock pot pour sauce over water chestnuts and reheat on high 1/2 to 1 hour prior to serving. 

 **(If you don’t mind the grease you can serve immediately without draining.  I hate the grease so I make this ahead of time and do it in two steps.)

Mexican Tortilla Roll-Ups

• 1 – 8 pack of large tortillas
• 1/3 cup minced onion (1 small fresh or dry or about 3 green onions chopped small)
• 1 – 4.25 oz can chopped olives
• 1 -4 oz can chopped green chilli’s
• 1 – 8 oz package room temperature cream cheese
• 1 – 8 0z container sour cream
• 1 package or ¼ cup taco seasoning

Cream cheese until fluffy, blend with sour cream. Add taco seasoning blend until creamy. fold in onions, olives, and chilli’s until well incorporated.
 Put a thin spread of ingredients on a tortilla shell leaving a bit of space at the bottom for the oozing spread.
 Roll tightly making sure seam is sealed with spread.  Repeat for all shells until spread is gone.  Place in Tupperware seam side down and chill for several hours.  Just prior to serving remove roll from container and cut into bite sized pieces, placing each on a plate.  Insert toothpicks if you desire.

**I’ve also made these roll-ups in a variety of other ways placing a single piece of sliced lunch meat, such as ham, pastrami or turkey on top of an appropriate flavored herb cream cheese.  Use your imagination, mix it up and enjoy.

Easy Sweet BBQ Cocktail Meatballs

2 - 3 lbs Italian style meatballs (home made or frozen)
1 (12 oz) jar chilli sauce
1 (12 oz) jar grape jelly

Mix chilli sauce and jelly in bottom of a 1 - 2 quart crock pot. Toss with meatballs. Warm on low for about 4 hours (or high for 2 hours before lowering the temperature to low before serving).

Easy Cold Veggie Pizza

2 cans (8oz) crescent dough sheets

8 oz cream cheese softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups (approximate) vegetables of your choice chopped small **

1 to 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

Heat oven to 375°F.
Press both cans of dough into bottom and up the sides (to form a crust) of an ungreasted 15x10x1 inch jellyroll.
Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
In small bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic powder until smooth. Spread over crust. Top with vegetables. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving.

**(options might include, cucumber, scallion, sweet peppers, shredded carrot, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, etc)

Mock Liver Paté

8oz braunschweiger (softened)
8oz cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup onion (minced)
1 1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Mix ingredients together until well blended.
Serve with rye crackers or rye toast.

Skiers Toast (Make Ahead, Baked French Toast)

1 loaf french bread
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cup milk
6 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Spray a 9X13" cake pan. In a small pan, over low heat, melt butter with brown sugar and syrup just until smooth. DO NOT BOIL Pour caramel mixture in bottom of cake pan.  Cover caramel and pan bottom with layers of sliced french bread or thick cut pieces. Whip egg, milk and cinnamon until frothy. Pour over bread. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight..  Remove from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until center is firm. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar

(I've added blueberries between layers of bread, sprinkled the caramel with chopped nuts, a couple wonderful options for you or make up your own,)

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups loosely packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 15oz can pumpkin puree (or 2 cups home made pumpkin puree)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional) and/or 1 cup craisins or raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and Flour two loaf pans (or spray with baking pam) and set aside.
In large bowl whisk together flours, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
In a medium bowl add pumpkin puree, oil, apple sauce, maple syrup and water. Whisk until well blended.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Using a spatula fold them together until well incorporated making sure to get all the flour mixture bits off the bottom of the bowl. Fold in most of the optional ingredients reserving some to put on top of  the loaf before baking.
Divide the dough between two greased loaf pans and sprinkle with reserved optional ingredients.
Bake on center rack of the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven to rack. Let cool 20 minutes before inverting bread onto a cooling rack. 

Crock - Pot Beef Stew

• 1-2 lbs beef stew meat cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1/4 cup flour + 2 Tablespoons
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 lb potato peeled and chopped
• 2 or 3 large carrots chopped
• 1 (14.5oz) can beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons Gravy Master (or Kitchen Bouquet) 
• 1 bay leaf

1) Peel and chop potatoes and carrots. Place in bottom of crock pot.
2) In plastic bag or medium sized bowl combine flour, salt and pepper.
3) Add meat pieces to the flour mixture, toss to coat completely. Set bowl of flour aside.
4) In the bottom of a fry pan add oil and heat on med high until just before smoking.
5) While oil is heating and meat is cooking mince garlic and chop onion.
6) Add 1/3 meat pieces to the pan and cook until all sides of meat are browned. Remove with slotted spoon to crock pot. Repeat this process until all meat is browned.
7) Lower heat to medium, add garlic and onion to the fry pan after meat has been removed. Sprinkle lightly with a bit of salt cooking until just translucent.
8) Add 1/4 to 1/2 can of beef broth to fry pan and scrape off the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add a small amount of broth to the bowl with the remaining flour. whisk in the 2 additional tablespoons of flour.
9) Add all broth to the crock pot along with Worcestershire sauce, paprika and Gravy master.  Drop in bay leaf.
10) Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours stirring once or twice during the process. (My crock pot seems to run high so I cook mine 4 hours stirring twice.

Double Pie Crust

• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 6 to 8 tablespoons of Ice Water

In a medium bowl cut the shortening and salt into the flour by hand or with a pastry blender until it resembles the texture of corn meal. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon ice water over the flour and blend with hands just until the dough is moistened. Repeat 1 tablespoon at a time until all dough is just barely moist and clumps when squeezed together yet still breaks apart slightly. Do not over mix! Chill for several hours.

Divide dough in half and foll into a ball. Roll into a circle to fit a 9 or 10 inch pie plate leaving an extra inch or so around edges. Wrap the circle around a rolling pin so not to stretch it. Place carefully over pie dish letting it fall naturally into place. lightly press it to be sure it’s flat. Repeat for second layer.

Apple Pie

• Enough dough for 2 layer crust
• 8 to10 apples of 2 kinds cored, (about 8 cups) pealed and sliced thin (I used Golden Delicious and Gala)
• 1 cup unbleached flour (I used whole wheat instead)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon milk
• extra cinnamon & sugar to top

Core, peal and slice thin your apples. Tossing in a large bowl with a small amount (about 1 tablespoon for all apples) of lemon juice to prevent from serious browning. Toss apples and sugars, cinnamon and flour until all are well coated.
Prepare bottom crust so that it hangs over the edge of a 9″ pie plate approximately 1 inch. Fill pie with apples making sure the apple slices are laying flat in pie dish. Dot top of apples with small pieces of butter. Top with second crust gently laying it over the heaping apples pressing edges together then rolling and pinching to flute crust edge. Cut steam vents in top of pie. Place foil around the edges of pie crust to prevent from burning. Wet top slightly with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place on preheated cookie sheet (lined with foil or parchment to catch the over flow sugary juices and make easy clean up) in a 375º F oven for 25-3o minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 – 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling. Remove entire baking sheet from oven and let pie cool. If you like at this point I sometimes top it with Caramel Ice cream topping.

Chicken Noodle Soup

• 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large stalks celery, chopped
• 3-4 med. carrots, chopped
•  1 large can chopped tomatoes (I use the frozen ones I processed this autumn)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1  3 inch fresh cut sprig rosemary
• several sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon smoky paprika (eyeball it)
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 10 cups broth (either your own, store bought or 10 cups water with 10 bullion cubes)
• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 bag frozen egg noodles

Take the time to cut up the fresh ingredients (onion, celery, carrots, garlic) into small pieces.  Separate them on the cutting board but having them all cut up in advance makes life easier.
Heat EVOO on med. high heat in bottom of soup pot just until you hear a sizzle when dropping in the onion.  Toss onion into pan and Season with salt and pepper. Let onion get translucent before adding the rest of the chopped ingredients.  Top the vegetables with the sprigs of fresh herbs. Add a bit more salt and pepper.  Cook to marry flavors for about 5 – 1o minutes stirring occasionally.  Add smoky paprika and red pepper flakes at this point.
Pour in broth. Bring to a boil.  Add Chicken breasts, turn heat down to a low simmer. Cover and let cook for about an hour and a half, stirring occasionally.  Remove chicken and the  fresh herbs stems (the leaves should have mostly fallen into the soup at this point) and bay leaves.  Once the chicken can be worked with, skin it and chop it into bite sized pieces.  Add back to the still simmering soup.  Add frozen noodles.  Cover and simmer another 30-45  minutes.  Add chopped fresh parsley at the end before serving. Top with toasted garlic bread cubes.  Serve.

Overnight Baked French Toast

• 2 Tablespoons corn syrup (I skipped this)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional) (use whatever nuts)
• 1 pound loaf of day old bread (French is fine but I used cinnamon raisin)
• 5 eggs
• 1½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1) Combine corn syrup (omit if you wish), 1 stick of butter, and brown sugar, in a small sauce pan over med heat.  Cook to boiling stirring often.  Cook one minute more. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of a well greased 9X13 inch pan or casserole dish (glass pans work best for this dish).
Place bread slices over the sugar butter mixture filling the bottom of the dish, sprinkle pecans or nuts if using over the butter sugar mixture.  Top with the bread,doubling up slices to use the entire pound of bread, and covering the whole bottom of dish.
Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and salt until foamy.  Pour mixture over bread.  Cover dish and let sit in refrigerator over night.
The next morning preheat oven to 350ºF.  Uncover dish and bake 45 – 55 minutes. Allow to cool just slightly once removed from oven. Serve while hot or warm.  This dish can be reheated.

Apple Oatmeal Bread

• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ pure maple syrup
• ¾ cup vanilla yogurt
• ¼ cup apple sauce
• ¼ canola oil
• 1 egg
• ¾ rolled oats
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups apples (Peeled, cored, and cut into bite sized pieces)
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup pecans (chopped)

Mix the brown sugar, maple syrup, yogurt, apple sauce, oil, egg and rolled oats in a bowl and let them sit for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile in a small bowl mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients  along with the apples, raisins and pecans until just mixed. Spoon the mixture into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle top with a handful of rolled oats.  Bake in a preheated 375º F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean, about 40 min.

Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

• 1 can Cherry pie filling
• 1 can crushed pineapple w/ juice
• 1 package white or yellow cake mix
• 1 cup butter or margarine (melted)
• 1 cup shredded coconut (optional)
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Grease a 9×13 inch cake pan. Dump in cherry pie filling spreading it around bottom of pan. Dump crushed pineapple and juice, spread over top of cherries (they’ll mix and that’s fine). Sprinkle entire box of cake mix over the fruit mixture. Pour melted butter over entire top of cake mixture. sprinkle with shredded coconut and chopped nuts. Bake for 45 minutes or until brown and bubbly.  Can be served hot or cold, or topped with whip cream or vanilla ice cream.

Cherry Swirl Brownies

• 1 package 8oz cream cheese
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup chopped well-drained maraschino cherries
• 1 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice
• 1 egg
• 1 box fudge brownie mix prepared per box directions.

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom of an 8 or 9 inch square pan.  In medium owl beat cream cheese, sugar, cherries, cherry juice and 1 egg with spoon until smooth. Set aside.  Make brownie batter as directed on box. spread half the batter in pan.  spoon cheese mixture over batter. Spoon remaining batter on top of cheese mixture gently spreading to cover.  Bake 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool at least 1 hour before cutting. Store covered in refrigerator.

Eclair Dessert

Bottom Layer:

• 1 cup water
• 1 stick margarine
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 4 eggs

Boil water & margarine. While briskly boiling add flour. Mix until dough leaves the side of the pan. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs rapidly, one at a time, until well mixed. Spread into 9″x13″ pan. Bake at 400ºF for 25 minutes. Let cool.
Filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 small packages or 1 large package Pudding
• 3 cups cold milk

Beat cream cheese and pudding until smooth. Add milk. Beat until thick. Pour over cooled crust.
Topping:

• 8oz cool whip topping
• Drizzle fruit / chocolate/ caramel (optional)
• toppings/sprinkles/ nuts/ fruit (optional)

Spread cool whip over filling. Decorate with fruit sauce, chocolate syrup, caramel, butterscotch or other appropriate drizzle. Pull knife through to marbleize. Garnish with fruit, nuts or candies.  Keep refrigerated.

Broccoli Salad

• 1 large head broccoli cut into bite sized florets &
• 4 pieces of bacon cooked crisp drained and crumbled
• ¼ cup sunflower meats
• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Steam broccoli florets just until bright green color and still fresh crisp (about 3 minutes) then let cool. Prepare bacon, drain and crumble.  Mix all ingredients together and chill while preparing dressing.
Dressing

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/ 8 to 1/4 cup sugar (scant measure)
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
• Salt (omit if using salted sunflower seeds)
• Pepper

Mix all ingredients and chill until ready to serve.  Serves 4

[Note: Reserve broccoli stems for slaw.  Cut off tough ends and peal where the leaf come off the stem as they get tough too.  shred with a carrot or two, chop 1/2 bunch scallion make into Chinese Slaw recipe, halved]

Fresh Tomato Pizza Sauce

• 8-10 large tomatoes (or a mixture of a couple pounds) cored, blanched, skinned and chopped or blended.
• 1 medium head garlic (8-10 cloves) rough chopped.
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning or 1/4 cup of fresh Italian herbs (parsley, basil, sage, oregano)

Boil a large pot of water.
Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Set Aside.
Meanwhile; core your tomatoes and cut an X in the top of each. 
Blanch tomatoes in small batches in boiling water for 1 - 2 minutes until skins begin to wrinkle slightly.
Remove from boiling water with slotted spoon and immediately immerse them into the bowl of ice water.
Drain ice water from cooled tomatoes.  If you need to use a small paring knife to catch the skins but they should peel off easily.  Discard skins reserving the meat and juice of the tomatoes.
Chop or blend tomato meats.
Take a head of garlic and press hard with the palm of your hand until the cloves separate. Hit each clove with the side of a knife just enough to break the skins.  Peel the garlic cloves and rough chop.
Put 1 tablespoon of butter in the bottom of a medium sauce pan. Add garlic and salt.
Saute' on medium until garlic is translucent but not brown (about 2 - 3 minutes).
Add tomatoes, sugar, pepper, chilli powder and spices.
Cook on medium until boiling. Reduce heat to med. low and simmer until the desire thickness is reached stirring occasionally.  This could take an hour or more.  (If you'd like to speed up the process, you can take 1/4 cup of sauce from the pan whisking in 1 tablespoon corn starch before adding it back to the pan of sauce. It should thicken within a few minutes this way).
Save in air tight container in the refrigerator/freezer, or use immediately.

Pumpkin Bread

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 – 15 oz can pumpkin
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 3 ½ cups flour
• 2 Tablespoons pumpkin Pie season (or 1 tablespoon cinnamon & 1 tablespoon nutmeg)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or 1/2 cup craisins or raisins (Optional)

Grease and flour two large, three small or 8 mini loaf pans.
In a small bowl combine dry ingredients; flour, salt, spices, baking soda.
In a large bowl combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water and eggs beating until smooth.
Add dry ingredients mixing just until combined.
Fold in optional ingredients.
Fill pans ¼ to ¾ of the way full.
Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. (check at 45 minutes for mini pans)
Cool on wire racks before removing from pans.

Dad's Favorite Potato Salad

• 3 pounds small red potatoes (cut into bite sized pieces)
• ½ pound bacon (cooked, drained and crumbled)
• 2 celery stalks (chopped)
• 1 large onion (diced)
• 9 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
• 2 cups Hellman’s Light Mayonnaise
• 1 – 2 tablespoon(s) stone ground mustard
• 1 (or less) tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped

Fry bacon until crispy, drain and let sit until cool. Crumble and set aside. Fill large pan 3/4 of the way with cold water. Chop red potatoes into bite sized pieces placing immediately into water. Heat on high until boiling. Cook for 7 – 10 minutes until pieces are firm but tender. Remove from heat and drain. Let cool. At the same time cook hard boiled 9 eggs placing them in pan of water, heating until boiling. Boil for ten minutes. Immediately remove from heat plunging them into cold water. Drain and refrigerate. Meanwhile chop celery and onion place in large bowl. Set Aside.
In small bowl mix mayonnaise with mustard, salt, pepper, paprika and dill. Add sugar to taste.
When all ingredients are cooled peel 6 eggs and chop. Toss celery, onion, bacon, potatoes and eggs with mayonnaise mixture. Transfer to serving bowl. Slice last 3 eggs and place on top of salad. Sprinkle with more paprika for garnish. Refrigerate until cold.

Blueberry Boy Bait

(originally found at Smitten Kitchen)

• 2 cups plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk (though buttermilk, which was all I had on hand, worked just great)
• 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not defrost first as it tends to muddle in the batter)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
Whisk two cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl.
With electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about two minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down bowl.
Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of milk.
Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture.
Toss blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour.
Using rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries.
Spread batter into prepared pan.

Topping

• 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not defrost)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Scatter blueberries over top of batter.
Stir sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl and sprinkle over batter.
Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
(Cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)
Serves 12, generously

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Streusel Topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
•  1 stick unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1 cup pecan halves (optional)

In small bowl combine sugars, and spices. Stir in melted butter, then flour, and finally pecans. Mix until well incorporated and set aside.
Cake:

• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3/4 Cup sugar
• 2 extra – large eggs at room temperature ( I didn’t have extra large so I used 3 large eggs instead)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2/3 cup sour cream (I didn’t have this either so I used a 6 oz carton of vanilla yogurt, just as good and less calories)
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 pint fresh blueberries 

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour an 8" square baking pan.
In separate bowl mix dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about five minutes) . Reduce speed of mixer and add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each until batter is creamy. Add vanilla and sour cream (or yogurt) and lemon zest. Add flour mixture only until incorporated. Fold in blueberries and gently stir until all ingredients are mixed in being careful not to over mix. (The room temperature ingredients and not over mixing is what keeps the cake moist and tender.)
Pour batter into prepared baking pan, spread to edges evenly. With you fingers crumble the streusel topping evenly over the batter. Bake in 350ºF oven for 40 – 50 minutes, testing until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.

Crockpot Chicken Paprikash

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts thawed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 4 ounces sour cream
• 1 tablespoon corn starch or flour

Add onions to crock pot. Add chicken, sprinkling with seasonings. Pour chicken broth over top of everything.  Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours.
Shortly before serving, turn crock on high. Stir together sour cream & corn starch. Stir into crock pot cover and heat through (about 30 more minutes).
Serve gravy over dumplings or potatoes.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

• 4 lbs. tomatoes, cored and cut in half
• 10 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 medium yellow onion, quartered
• 3 carrot, unpeeled and chopped into large pieces or 3 beets quartered
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 375ºF degrees.
Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
Lay out the tomato halves (skin-side up), onion, garlic and carrot (or beets). Try to make this only one layer to allow for maximum roasting.
Drizzle olive oil all over.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and sugar.
Bake for 1 1/2 hour to 2 hours.
Remove from oven (be careful there will still be a lot of juice in the pan).
Using a tongs pluck the skins from the tops of the tomatoes. These should come of quite easily. Discard skins.
Carefully transfer the roasted contents to a food processor, blender, or a large mixing bowl, if using a stick blender, pulse until smooth.
Add salt and pepper, if needed, to taste.
Let cool slightly.
Fill desired sized freezer bags. Freeze flat.
When ready to cook, put into sauce pan, add appropriate spices for whatever is being cooked. Simmer for about 30 minutes. 
Will make approximately 2 1/2 quarts.

Basic Beer Bread

Cheddar - Dill Beer Bread

• 3 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder (fresh!)
• 12 ounces beer
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Heat oven to 375ºF.
Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder (**and optional ingredients)  in a large mixing bowl.
Slowly stir in beer and mix just until combined. Batter will be thick.
Spread in a greased 8″ loaf pan.
Pour melted butter over the top.
Bake about 45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick  stuck in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.
Remove from pan and cool 10 more minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

**Don’t be afraid to flavor it up with any multitude of variations. Here are some idea’s:
Herbs:  1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh. Garlic, Rosemary, oregano, thyme,  dill, chili powder just to name a few.
Cheese: 1 cup grated sharp cheddar, crumbled feta, Parmesan, Romano, Asiago
Other options: 1/2 cup chopped scallions or onion, fresh parsley, fresh basil, sun dried tomato
Replacements: in place of 1/2 cup of the flour use 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, or 1/2 cup oatmeal.

I love this recipe because it’s so versatile, quick and easy. Surely you can mix and match combination to fit with whatever you might be serving it up with.  I dig the garlic, dill, cheddar cheese version the most. Sometimes I add chili powder and bacon or infuse the melted butter with garlic before pouring it over the bread. It always comes out delicious!

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

• 4 large handfuls spinach (rinsed & dried)
• 2 large eggs (hard boiled)
• 8 pieces crispy bacon (chopped) (reserve fat)
• 4 Large white mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 small red onion (sliced thin)

Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons bacon fat (or combine fat with olive oil for 3 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt
• Pepper

Remove the stems from the spinach and wash, drain and pat dry.
Place in large mixing bowl and set aside.
Hard boil the eggs and cook the bacon until crisp.
Reserve 3 Tablespoons of bacon fat. (I reserve 1 Tablespoon bacon fat  and add extra virgin olive oil for the rest).
Slice mushrooms (hint: the egg slicer works well on mushrooms too) and onion.
Add to spinach and toss.
Peel and slice eggs, crumble bacon.
In small saucepan on low heat whisk bacon fat (olive oil) with vinegar, sugar and Dijon mustard.
Season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle warm dressing over spinach. Toss.
Top with sliced eggs and crumbled bacon.

Mushroom Fettuccine

• 8 oz  dry fettuccine
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 to 2  pounds  sliced mushrooms (baby bellas and/or cremini)
• 1/2 cup pinot noir  (or other favorite dry red or white wine)
• 1/2 grated Parmesan / Romano  cheese
• Salt to taste
• Chopped fresh parsley to garnish.

Cook pasta in salted water according to directions.
Drain reserving 1/2 cup to set aside.
Heat butter and oil in large saute pan over medium-high heat.
When bubbles calm down add pepper flakes and garlic. Cook 1 minute.
Stir in mushrooms, cooking until they release their liquid and it’s nearly evaporated (takes about 15 – 20 minutes).
De-glaze pan with wine.
Simmer until nearly evaporated.
Add fettuccine to pan.
Stir in pasta water a little at a time until sauce loosely coats pasta (1/4 to 1/2 is all you’ll typically use).
Remove from heat toss pasta with grated Parmesan cheese.
Season with salt.
Garnish with chopped parsley and more Parmesan.

Mr. D's Grilled Salmon

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh salmon (cut into 4 – 6 fillets)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup loose brown sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Lemon Pepper (Lemon zest & black pepper works also)
• Garlic Powder
• Salt

Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
In a gallon sized zip lock bag, mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved.
Place fish in plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Preheat grill for medium heat.
Lightly oil grill grate.
Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade.
Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

**You can also bake this in a 400ºF oven for 25-30 minutes by placing fish and marinade in a sprayed shallow baking dish.

Parmesan Vegetable Salad

SALAD:

• 2 Cups Cauliflower
• 2 Cups Broccoli
• 1 Small Red Onion (sliced thin)
• 1/2 head ice burg lettuce
• 1/2 pound bacon (cook crisp and crumbled)
• 1 Cup seasoned croutons

Toss together the vegetables leaving the bacon and croutons set aside for later.
Mix dressing.
DRESSING:

• 1 Cup Mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Basil
• 1/4 Cup + 1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Parsley

Add all ingredients to a small bowl.
Mix until well blended.
Add to vegetables and toss until coated.
Just before you’re ready to serve sprinkle with Bacon and Croutons. Toss & Serve.

Savory Cocktail Meatballs

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 medium onion (minced)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon Accent
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1-2 can(s) golden mushroom soup.

Preheat oven to 350ºF .
In large bowl kneed spices into ground beef.
Roll into teaspoon sized balls and place on baking sheet.
Bake approximately 45 minutes until done.
Drain off grease.
In frying pan, slow cooker, or baking dish, top meatballs with mushroom soup and toss.
Heat until warmed.

This is an excellent hot dish for a party all by itself. Serve it over mashed potatoes or egg noodles and you have a great entree. 

Cherry Brownie Bites

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 (10 oz jar) maraschino cherries (drained, dried & chopped small)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients; flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda & baking powder.
In large bowl beat butter and sugar together.
Add egg and vanilla. Beat until well incorporated.
Add dry ingredients slowly and stir until smooth.
Fold in Cherries and walnuts.
Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake about  8-10 minutes. Do NOT over bake.
(makes about 4-5 doz)
These cookies hold their shape while cooking. They should not spread.

Blueberry Bread

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 2/3 cups Milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350ºF
Grease and flour bread pan; set aside
In a medium bowl mix together the dry ingredients; flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
In a large mixing bowl, combine beaten egg, milk, oil and vanilla.
Pour liquid ingredients into well of dry ingredients.
Stir just until the batter is mixed.
Fold in lemon peel, blueberries, and pecans. dump into loaf pan.
Bake for 60 – 75 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan. Dump once cool.
Wrap and store overnight in refrigerator or freeze for up to 6 months.

Bacon Mac-N-Cheese

• 1 pound rotini pasta (any pasta will do)
• 1 pound bacon (cooked & crumbled)
• 1 Tablespoons butter
• 1 heaping Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 Tablespoon onion flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 ounces shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• 4 ounces shredded Fontina cheese
• 8 slices American cheese slices

Preheat oven to 350^o F.
Spray a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
Meanwhile; Cook bacon until crisp* and transfer to a dish with paper towels to absorb the fat.
Pour of bacon fat drippings, reserving 2 Tablespoons in the pan.
Turn pan on at medium heat and add 1 Tablespoon butter.
Whisk flour into butter and bacon fat until smooth and cook until bubbly to remove flour taste.
Whisk in milk.
Stir in onion flakes, garlic power, salt and pepper.
Simmering about 2 minutes.
Toss together cheddar, Monterrey Jack and mozzarella cheese. Taking 1-1/2 cup ready to mix into flour, milk and the rest set aside to layer with pasta in casserole dish.
Remove sauce from heat and whisk in the American cheese and about 1-1/2 cups of the cheeses.
Toss the bacon with the remaining shredded cheese.
Combine cooked pasta with the cheese sauce.
Pour half of cheese sauce pasta mixture into the baking dish.
Sprinkle with 1/2 of the bacon-cheese mixture.
Repeat with one more layer.
Bake for 30 minutes.  If refrigerated bake longer or remove from refrigerator and let sit approximately 30 minutes before baking.

* I bake the bacon on foil lined jellyroll pan @ 400ºF for approximately 15 minutes. I then set aside the noodles, empty the pan and putting the grease and butter into that pan on medium heat.  Following the next steps as they are listed. (If you prefer to fry your bacon follow the directions in the recipe).

Chinese Slaw

Salad:

• 1 package broccoli slaw or 1 package cole slaw.
• 1 pkg Ramen noodles (oriental)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (unsalted)
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 bunch scallions (chopped using some of the green)

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil (optional)
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar (white vinegar is okay too)
• 1 package seasoning from Ramen noodle package.

Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil to a frying pan.
Toast crushed Ramen noodles with almonds in a frying pan, tossing often so the almonds don't burn, until golden brown.
Remove from heat.
Add sunflower seeds.
Cool. In a large bowl toss cole slaw and scallions.
Add cooled noodle mixture and toss.
Set aside
Whisk together sauce ingredients.Reserve.
Pour over salad and toss just before serving. (serves 4)

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Topping:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (all purpose is fine too)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans (optional)

Mix dry ingredients until well combined.
Cut in the butter until crumbly.
Toss in toasted pecans if desired.
Set aside.

Cake:

• 2 cups flour ( I use 1 cup whole wheat + 1 cup all purpose)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 can (15oz) pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Butter & flour a 9"X13" cake pan (or spray with baking spray).
Combine first 7 ingredients in medium bowl. Set aside.
In large bowl combine oil, apple sauce, pumpkin, vanilla and sugars until well mixed.
Whisk in eggs.
Add flour to wet mixture stirring only until combined.
Pour batter into prepared cake pan.
Sprinkle with reserved topping.
Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
Cool.

Chicken White Bean Chilli

• 4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (seasoned with salt and pepper then chopped into bite sized pieces)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 3 stalks celery diced
• 1 green pepper diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon chilli powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 2 (15oz) cans white beans drained & rinsed
• 1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
• 2 (16oz) cans diced tomatoes (or 1 qt bag fresh frozen diced garden tomatoes)
• 1 (32oz) carton organic vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 pinches red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in bottom of dutch oven just until smoking.
Add chicken pieces.
Toss while allowing them to brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
Add onion, celery and garlic to chicken sauteing until vegetables are translucent about 10 minutes.
Toss seasonings with chicken and vegetable mixture.
Add the drained and rinsed white beans and corn.
Toss to mix with seasonings, chicken and vegetables.
Add diced tomatoes (thawed if frozen).
Toss in pan with everything else.
Add broth and bring to slight boil before covering and turning heat to simmer.
Simmer for 30 minutes to 60 minutes stirring occasionally.

Apple Butter

• 20 - 24 apples of mixed variety, peeled, cored and chopped small.
• 1 cup local honey
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon clove
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup water or apple cider

Place chopped apples in large crock pot (if you chop them small enough they will all fit. If not don't worry you can add the rest as they cook down).Top with remaining ingredients.
Toss everything together.
Cover and place crock pot on Low.
Cook whisking occasionally for approximately 20 hours.
After 8-10 hours crack lid to allow some moisture to escape.
For the last 4 hours remove cover and whisk aggressively. Leave cover off whisking occasionally until thick and you can see the whisk marks staying in the butter.
Place in freezer containers (I filled 3, 2.1 cup freezer containers), allow to cool before covering and placing in freezer.
Thaw in refrigerator when ready to use.

Green Bean Bundles

• fresh green beans (Enough to bundle into 10 packets of 6-8 beans each, depending on size).
• 5 slices bacon (center cut 30% leaner bacon is what I used but any bacon will do)
• 10 toothpicks
• 3 tablespoons butter ( the real stuff ) melted
• 3 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce (low sodium)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Bring pot of water to boil. In the mean time wash and snap ends from fresh Green Beans. When water comes to boil add beans blanching for 3 minutes.

Prepare bowl of iced water.

After 3 minutes drain boiling water from pan and immediately toss the beans into iced water to stop cooking. They'll be a beautiful bright green color.

After a minute or two, remove beans from the water and place on towel. Pat the beans with the towel until dry.

Cut five pieces of bacon in half. Wrap each piece of bacon around a bundle of 6 -8 green beans securing bacon with a toothpick. Set each bundle in a shallow casserole dish.

At this point they can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight.

If you choose to bake immediately, preheat oven to 375º F.

While oven is preheating whisk melted butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder and pepper together. Brush sauce over each bundle of beans until each bundle is coated and sauce is gone.

Bake for 45 minutes or until bacon is done. (Thick sliced bacon will take more time.). Serve immediately.

Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

• 3 cups chicken breasts cooked & diced
• 1/2 cup yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup local honey
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted cashew nuts (optional)
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix mustard, mayonnaise and honey together, adjusting honey to taste.
Fold diced chicken into sauce until well blended.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Just before serving fold in cashew nuts until well blended.
Keep refrigerated.

**This also works well as a cracker spread, or filling for baked wonton wraps.
For wraps: Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Spray mini muffin pan with non stick cooking spray. Place 1 wonton wrapper in each muffin cup. The wrapper edges may extend beyond the muffin tin cup and may need to be folded slightly. Bake 15 - 20 minutes until edges are golden brown and filling is heated through.

Chicken Parmesan

• 4 Chicken Breasts
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
• ½ cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 (2 cups) package Italian Cheese (sliced or shredded)
• 1 Jar favorite Spaghetti Sauce

Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Dry chicken breasts. Salt & Pepper.
Crack egg into a bowl, add 1 Tablespoon water and whisk until frothy.
On a large plate mix bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese.
Dip chicken into egg then into bread crumbs, then back into egg and again into bread crumbs.  Repeat with each chicken breast. Place them into a sprayed casserole dish.
Top with shredded or sliced cheese.
Bake 20 minutes on middle rack of oven.
Pour sauce over each piece of chicken and bake another 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with cooked noodles if you wish.

Tuna Braid

1 tube unperforated sheet crescent rolls ** 2 cans tuna in water (drained) 1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots (optional) 1/4 cup diced onion 1/4 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip 4 slices American cheese

Heat oven to 375ºF
Combine tuna, veggies, mayonnaise & onion.
Flatten dough into 1 long rectangle on baking sheet (approximately 9" x 13").
Spoon tuna mixture lengthwise down center of dough. Top with cheese slices.
Cut slits 1" apart on each side of rectangle from filling to edge.
To give braided appearance, fold strips of dough across filling, alternating from side to side.
Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

**If using perforated dough place on ungreased baking sheet with long sides overlapping 1/2 inch; press center seam and pinch perforations together to form one large rectangle.