The Amazing Cucumber.......

I'm looking forward to trying some of these things when I have all those buckets full of cucumbers that I don't know what to do with.
Here is "Jake the Snake", pretending his cucumber is a snake. In 2008 we started growing these Yard Long Armenian Cucumbers. They are the best eating cucumbers I have found. And yes they do grow to be a yard long and they aren't bitter at all. Speaking of snakes....I better tell you how Jake got that name. When he was about 4 we ran into Kasey's 5th grade school teacher, Mr. Diggs (his favorite teacher ever). I told him he needed to come meet Kasey's son. He shook Jake's hand and asked him what his name was. Jake without even hestitating said, "I'm Jake the Snake". It was so out of the blue.....we had never called him that before.....but we sometimes do now.

This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems. Pass this along to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems.

The Amazing Cucumber

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Chocolate Stuffed Sticky Bundt

Rhodes Chocolate Stuffed Sticky Bundt has a sweet little surprise hidden inside each delicious bite! This recipe could be used with Cool Rise Roll Dough too.

Chocolate Stuffed Sticky Bundt
-Powered by Rhodes

24 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold�
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans or toffee bits
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Instructions
Cut rolls in half and flatten each half. Wrap each half around 1 teaspoon chocolate chips and completely enclose. In a bowl, mix granulated sugar, cocoa and cinnamon. Dip each roll half in sugar mixture until well coated. Place in a large sprayed bundt pan. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture along with pecans or toffee bits over rolls. Combine butter and brown sugar in a small bowl and microwave 30 seconds. Stir well and pour over rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost to the top of the pan. Remove wrap and bake at 350°F 35 minutes. Cover with foil last 10 minutes of baking. Invert immediately onto serving platter

Cinnamon Chips

These are fun to make. A good way to use up a family pak of tortillas.

Cinnamon Chips

6 large flour tortillas
4 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine cinnamon and sugar in small bowl. Using water spray bottle, lightly spray tortillas and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Using pizza cutter, cut each tortilla into 8 wedges. Place tortilla wedges on baking sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes or until crispy. Remove from oven and cool.

Carmellow Corn........AKA: Karmelo Malone Corn

You guessed it!! This recipe came from my "UTAH JAZZ FANS". Thanks Ellen & Sue!!! They say they make this before every Jazz game....

Speaking of Utah Jazz, I think I should share this story first. When Katie was playing basketball at Snow College and spending quite a bit of time with my sister Kristen and her family this happened one day. Tyler, Josh and Kelsey are in the driveway playing basketball. Josh says, "I'm John Stockton", Tyler says, "I'm Karl Malone", Ben says, "I'm Michael Jordan", Kelsey says, "I'm Katie". That story makes me smile.....I love IT!!!!!
Katie and Kelsey still to this day share a special relationship that goes even deeper than basketball.

So here is the recipe.......

CARMELLOW CORN.........AKA: KARMELO MALONE CORN
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 c. miniature marshmallows
2 qt. popped popcorn
nuts, optional
Microwave butter & sugar 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in marshmallows. Cook 1 more min. Pour over popcorn (and nuts). Make into balls or serve in bowls.
FAST, EASY, and GOOD!!!

YW Zion's Camp Menu & More......

Young Women Camp 2009 (148 girls, 31 adults)

Tuesday
6:00 Dinner (30 people) Haystacks (curry chicken x 3)
Mandarin Oranges (1 gal.)
Pineapple Tidbits (1 gal.)
Olives (1 gal.)
Cheese (5 lbs.)
Chow Mien Noodles (1 gal.)
Rice – 6 cups

Snack Popcorn – Peanut Butter / Carmel

Wednesday
Breakfast (30 people) Biscuits x 8
Sausage Gravy (3 lbs.)
Sunny Delight (2 gallons)
Milk (2 gallons)

Snack Otter Pops (2 boxes – 400)

11:30 Lunch (70 people) Pigs in Blanket
Broccoli Salad x 5
Berry Fluff x 3

5:00 Dinner Hamburgers / Buns (200)
Sliced cheese – 125
Tomato
Grilled Onions – 10 lbs.
Ketchup – 1 gal.
Mustard
Pickles – 2 gals.
Macaroni Salad x 20
Orange Dream Fruit Salad x 20
Chips – 5 bags

7:45 Snack Cinnamon Rolls (10 batches)
(3 pkgs. Br. Sugar, 6 lbs. margarine)
(frosting – 3 pkgs. Pwd. Sugar, 3 ¾ lbs. Margarine)

Thursday

8:00 Breakfast French Toast x 25
Bacon (2 boxes)
Eggs (9 flats)
Syrup (1 gal. maple, ½ gal. boysenberry)
Butter
Orange Juice ( 5 gal.)
Hot Chocolate (10 gal.)

12:00 Lunch Tacos (40 lbs. hamburger, 2 bottles taco seasoning)
Lettuce (4 bags)
Sour Cream (10 lbs.)
Olives (1 ½ gals.)
Cheese (10 lbs.)
Onions - 2 ½ lbs.
Tomatoes
Salsa
Shells (240)
Jell-O (5 lrg. Pkgs.)

5:30 Dinner Turkey Enchiladas
Salsa (2 gals.)
Watermelon (6)
Cantaloupe (9)
Grapes (4 pkgs.)
Carrots (4 bags)
Broccoli (3 bags)
Dip (2 bottles)
Leftover Salad

8:00 Snack Brownie Pizza x 20
(5 lrg. Pans, cut 5x8)

Friday
8:00 Breakfast Pancakes (25 lbs.)
Sausage
Eggs (9 flats)
Syrup (1 gal. maple, ½ boysenberry)
Butter
Orange Juice (5 gals)
Hot Chocolate (10 gals.)

12:00 Lunch Sandwiches (200)
Ham (200 slices)
Turkey (200 slices)
Miracle Whip
Mustard
Pickles (1/2 gallon)
Lettuce – 4 heads
Chips – 5 bags
Grapes / Bananas - leftover salad, vegetables

5:30 Dinner Pork Roast (75 lbs.)
(230 people) Cheesy Potatoes (x11)
Pistachio Salad (x 16)
Frog Eye Salad (x 4)
Carrots (3 bags)
Broccoli (3 bags)
Dip (2 bottles)

8:00 Snack Rice Crispy Logs (x 12)

Saturday
8:00 Breakfast Egg McMuffins (150)
English Muffins (150)
Ham (3 lbs.)
Eggs (6 flats)
Cheese, sliced (150)
English Muffins / Toast (45)
Jam (2 bottles)
Peaches (5 gals.)
Hot Chocolate (10 gals.)
Orange Juice (5 gals.)

11:30 Sack Lunch Pop
Grandma’s Cookies
Fruit Snacks
Crackers with cheese
Lunch Sacks

All the salads have been posted already, see: "SALADS FOR A CROWD.....AKA: YW CAMP SALADS".
Here are the other recipes:

CURRY CHICKEN
1 c. chopped onion or onion powder to taste
1 1/2 t. curry powder
1 t. margarine
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 c. cooked cubed chicken
1/2 c. sour cream
milk - as need to thin to desired consistency
3 c. hot cooked rice (2 c. uncooked rice)

X 4
onion powder
6 t. curry powder
4 t. margarine
4 cans cream of chicken soup
4 cans cream of mushroom soup
6 c. cooked chicken
2 c. sour cream
milk - as needed
8 c. uncooked rice

PEANUT BUTTER POPCORN
3 qt. popcorn
1 c. sugar
1 c. karo
bring to vigorous boil and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat & add:
1 c. peanut butter
1 t. vanilla
Pour over popcorn and stir.

CARMEL POPCORN
1 cube butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. karo
Mix and boil in heavy pan. Cook to softball (228). Remove from heat, slowly add:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Pour over popcorn and stir.
Linda & I were roommates at Rick's college. This recipe came from our roommate, Tracy Stosish. We called it Nanny's Carmel Corn because her Grandma made it for us often and shared her recipe with us. This is good stuff!!!!

COOL RISE ROLLS
X 3
6 c. flour
6 T. yeast
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. oil
4 1/2 c. hottest tap water
6 eggs
1 1/2 c. dry powdered milk
9 - 12 c. flour
(If you need further instructions you can see pg. 30 of the Atkinson Family Cookbook)

for the cinnamon rolls, spread dough with butter/margarine, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up into rolls. We put 24 on one cookie sheet.

FROSTING
8 lbs. powdered sugar
2 1/2 lbs. margarine
3 T. Vanilla
1 T. Salt
2 1/2 c. milk
Mix & frost while slightly warm.

Linda makes this triple batch in a big metal bowl. She uses her hand mixer to get things started and then she finishes up by mixing and kneading it my hand. She makes 3 or 4 batches of this X3 recipe. Then we used some of the dough for Pigs in a Blanket and made the rest into Cinnamon Rolls. Are these girls spoiled or what???

FRENCH TOAST
2 eggs - beat well and then add:
1 c. milk
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
Mix well and then dip:
10-12 slices of bread
Cook on sprayed grill.

X25
50 eggs
1 1/2 gallon milk
salt
9 T. Vanilla
25 c. flour
3/4 c. baking powder
9 T. cinnamon
13 loaves of bread

This is more of a battered french toast. It is relly good and a little more filling for hungry girls...

SALSA
2 green anaheim peppers, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
cilantro, chopped
Add and pulse, til chopped:
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. crushed red pepper
1 qt. tomatoes

X8
16 green anaheim peppers, chopped
3 bunches green onions, chopped
cilantro
8 t. garlic powder
8 t. crushed red pepper
2 gal. diced tomatoes
For this big batch we didn't have a food processor, so Linda purchased diced, tomatoes and we just stirred it all together. GOOD Stuff!!! Make sure you bring along a couple of bags of chips. The kitchen help will need them for taste testing!! (You wouldn't want to serve this without tasting it on a couple of bags of chips first) And then you will understand why Linda doesn't just go buy a couple of gallon of salsa. This is much much better!!! This is to serve with the tacos and chicken enchiladas.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
Mix together:
1/2 c. chopped onion or onion powder
4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 T. water
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. pepper
1/8 t. salt
4 c. chopped, cooked turkey or chicken
Spread on & roll up: (You may want to mix in a little of the sauce with the meat too)
12 - 8 inch flour tortillas
SAUCE
1 can reduced sodium cream of chicken soup
8 oz. light sour cream
1 c. skimmed milk
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

X20
chopped onion or onion powder
10 lb. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
water
7 T. cumin
pepper
salt
70 lbs. chopped, cooked turkey or chicken
Spread on & roll up: (You may want to mix in a little of the sauce with the meat too)
240 - 8 inch flour tortillas
SAUCE
215 oz. reduced sodium cream of chicken soup
10 lbs. light sour cream
1 gallon skimmed milk
5 lbs. shredded cheddar cheese

BROWNIE PIZZA
Beat together:
1/2 c. margarine
2 T. oil
2 eggs
Add:
6 T. cocoa
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour
Mix well and spread onto a greased pizza pan. Bake at 350 for 14 minutes. Cool completely. Frost & decorate.

X4 = 1 pan (18x26x1)
2 c. margarine
1/2 c. oil
8 eggs
1 1/2 c. cocoa
4 c. sugar
3 c. flour

X20
10 c. margarine
2 1/2 c. oil
40 eggs
7 1/2 c. cocoa
20 c. sugar
15 c. flour

FROSTING
1 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
2-3 T. milk
Beat well and spread on pizza. Top with goodies.....M&M's, chocolate chips, marshmallows, peanuts, etc.....

X20
20 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. vanilla
7 c. peanut butter
2 1/2 to 4 c. milk
Be careful with the milk.....I got too much because Linda didn't have an amount, she just dumps.....and we ended up with lots of frosting.....but it was really good!!!

Another recipe that Linda made that they really love, is the Rice Krispy Logs. My version of this recipe can be found on page. 179 in the Atkinson Family Cookbook. Linda made 20 of these up ahead of time at home and froze them and wrapped them in foil. We just sliced them and served them. They each got 1 slice and you have to police the serving tables because they will want more than one.....

The CHEESY POTATOES that Linda refers to on her menu can be found in the Atkinson Cookbook on page 139. We would X5 the recipe to fill each roaster oven. I think we filled 3 roaster ovens.

It is a lot of work but rewarding as well. We were often brought notes and candy and even a bouquet of wild flowers Linda has changed the menu some thru the years so this menu has been tried and perfected. The real favorites have stuck and it was fun to see the girls anticipate their favorites. The real trick to success is don't get stressed. Linda is very easy going, she knows her stuff, and she is well prepared, the rest just happens and she really doesn't stress. She is great to work with. She does have a few rules that she absolutely doesn't bend on. In the cold mornings she likes to serve hot chocolate. They are never allowed to get any until the blessing is said and breakfast is ready. Otherwise it will be gone before breakfast. They only get one when it comes to the treats. She tells them if you take 2 that means your friend won't get one. She tells them if they know they won't eat it don't take it. It is funny how they think they should take it because it is there and then they throw it away. This is not like school lunch where it has to go on your tray. It is not fun to watch the food you worked hard to cook go in the trash. Especially when some went without. Portion control is sometimes a problem, once again, they have to be reminded that a friend or leader will not be eating if you take their share. We have what we have and when it is gone it is gone. They is not a store nearby. No one is going hungry but please be respectful of others. She was never harsh but firm. If someone stopped by the kitchen and said they were hungry we always managed to find something they wanted to eat. We saved our leftovers until the last day and then they were thrown away. Don't put all the food out at once. Keep some back because the leaders are usually the last ones to eat. We never allowed seconds until everyone had eaten. Sometimes we would put out a sign by the item that said PLEASE TAKE ONLY ONE. After awhile they seem to figure it out. For some reason the morning that we served the McMuffins we ran out and we shouldn't have. Since they were individually wrapped in foil they were sneaking and putting an extra in their pocket. I think they were surprised that they were so filling. Leaders did not get any and then too many to count ended up in the garbage. We should not have put them all out at once. Then we had to come up with something for the leaders to eat.

Another thing that we would do. In the evening we would crack all the eggs for breakfast into gallon pitchers so we would be ready in the morning. It really takes along time to crack 200 eggs. But I also learned that if you do get an egg shell in there you do not have to worry about it. It will settle to the bottom and stay there unless you shake it up or dump them out really fast. So don't try to fish it out, because you can't fish an egg shell out of a gallon of eggs even when you try.

Our day usually started at 6:00 am and we usually closed the kitchen at about 10:30 or ll:00. Since I am in the Young Women's I had girls up there and I did sneak away and went on a couple of their activities. But Kim & Linda pretty much stayed in the kitchen all day long. There wasn't much down time. If we sat down we were stitching baby blocks for the humanitarian project that the girls were working on. We each made one block, so there wasn't much down time.

The Priesthood brethern and our camp hosts were good to stop in and ask what they could do to help at meal time. In the morning especially you will need help with heavy stuff, like the hot chocolate and juice. (last year it was cold and they did not drink much juice) We also had 6 to 8 girls that were assigned to help put the food out and fill the water jugs before each meal. It was nice that we would have girls stop by and ask if we needed anything on occasion. When they were all supposed to be doing service we had a leader that came in and washed dishes for us for over 2 hours. She even returned a couple of other times to do it again. There are a lot of dishes to wash!!! Just like at home the kitchen is the heart of camp!!! Enjoy your time in the kitchen, it is time well spent!!! That is all I can think of right now!!

Krista & Jordan's Wedding Salad

Krista Walker got married this weekend. This salad is her new husband, Jordan's favorite salad. His family calls it Aunt Jessie's Salad because his Aunt makes it. But I call it Krista & Jordan's Wedding Salad. It was really good!!!

KRISTA & JORDAN'S WEDDING SALAD
1 head of iceberg lettuce - torn into bite size pieces
Drizzle 1 - 2 capsful of oil over lettuce and toss.
Microwave a fresh lemon for 1-2 minutes, then juice the lemon. Drizzle the juice over the lettuce and sprinkle with garlic salt and toss again.

Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookies

Here is what $1 Million Dollars tastes like.......
The 2008 Pillsbury Bake Off Winner by Carolyn Gurtz!!!
98% out of 154 people said they would make these cookies again.

When Connor and I made them I found I needed more filling for the center balls. Next time I would use 1 c. peanut butter and 1 c. powdered sugar instead of 1/2 c. of each. Connor and Great Grandpa Atkinson really liked them!!!

DOUBLE DELIGHT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1/4 cup Peanuts, finely chopped  (originally called for dry roasted, I don't like dry roasted)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF® Creamy Peanut Butter (I use 1 c.)
1/2 cup powdered sugar  (I use 1 c.)
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well chilled  OR   make the Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe on pg. 175 of the Atkinson Cookbook and use 2 1/2 c. peanut butter & powdered sugar for the filling & drizzle with melted chocolate  (see details below)
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.  (1/2 a scoop with my smallest cookie scoop)
Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.
Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/2-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.
Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

Now when I make these I use Craig's recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies found in the Atkinson Cookbook on page 175.  This makes a big batch so when I make the filling for the middle I use about 2 1/2 c. peanut butter and 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar.  I roll them into balls using 1/2 a scoop of my smallest cookie scoop.  I don't usually add the peanuts.  They are good but don't seem to stay on the cookies real well.  These are a bit time consuming but they are very good.  Last time I melted a few chocolate chips, stirred in a little oil to thin it and then put it in my pastry bag, then I drizzled a little chocolate over the top of them.  It was a great finishing touch!!

Menu for a week.....

Menu and recipes for DINNER for one week. A new update to the cookbook I have and love, "What's for Dinner?" by Jana Schofield. The cookbook ends with Week 29. Jana just sent me this addition to add to my cookbook. So I'm posting it so I don't lose it!!! I can't wait to give them a try!! Thanks, Jana

If you want to check out her cookbook or order one here is her blog.
www.whatsfordinner1.blogspot.com
They are on sale for the month of May.

Week 30

Sunday
Barbecue Beef Brisket
Stuffed Potato Balls
Asparagus with Lemon
Frozen Fruit Salad
Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Monday
Creamy Zucchini Soup
Vegetable Medley Salad
Parmesan Toast
Candy Bar Fudge Pie


Tuesday
Hot Buffalo Chicken
Potato Skins
Celery Sticks
with Bleu Cheese Dip
Chocolate Molten Cake


Wednesday
Italian Meatball Sandwiches
Roasted Zucchini Sticks
Italian Crepes

Thursday
Creamy Tarragon Chicken with
Brown Rice
Carrots Elegante
Spinach Pear Salad
Vanilla Chocolate Torte


Friday
Left overs, go out, or try new recipe


Saturday
Chicken Pasta Salad
Sweet Potato Chips
Nutty Baklava

Recipes

Barbecue Beef Brisket
4 pounds beef brisket 1 ½ cups apple cider
salt and pepper 1 sliced onion
1 package onion soup mix 2 cups barbecue sauce, purchased
12 ounce can lemon lime soda or use recipe on page 9

Place brisket in foil-lined baking dish or crockpot. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with onion soup mix and pour cola and cider over top. Arrange sliced onions on top. Cover with heavy-duty foil. Bake at 375 for 3 hours, or 6 to 8 hours on low in crockpot. Remove brisket from liquid and place on another foil-lined baking dish. Cover with barbecue sauce. Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes, basting every 15 minutes with sauce. Remove from oven and let rest 20 minutes before slicing. Make sure to slice across the grain not with the grain.

Stuffed Potato Balls

6 potatoes 6 slices mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Bake potatoes. Half potatoes and remove pulp from skins, leaving 1/8-inch potato around peel. ( Do not discard peels. Save for Baked Potato Skins on Tuesday). Grate and toss with salt and pepper. Form into 3-inch patties. Sandwich ¼-inch thick slice of mozzerela cheese between two patties. Cook about 3 minutes on each side in hot olive oil. Remove from pan and place on baking sheet. Top with grated mozzarella and bake in oven about 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Asparagus with Lemon

1 pound asparagus salt and pepper to taste
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese olive oil
1 teaspoon dill 1 lemon

Cut asparagus into 2-inch pieces. Place in boiling water and cook for 4 minutes, or until they are just crisp-tender. Drain. Add Parmesan and spices and stir. Drizzle asparagus with olive oil and juice from lemon. Toss gently to combine.

Frozen Fruit Salad
1 cup sour cream ¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup sugar ¾ cup raspberries or blueberries
1 cup drained crushed pineapple ½ cup chopped walnuts
2 mashed bananas
Mix all together and spoon into muffin tins lines with cup cake papers. Freeze. Remove from pan and place in freezer bags. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

½ cup butter ½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup shortening 1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg ½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 bananas, mashed 2 cups oats
1 ½ cups flour 1 cup chocolate chips

Mix butter, shortening, egg and bananas together until smooth. Add flour, soda and spices. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes.


Cream of Zucchini Soup

3 cups zucchini, peeled and grated 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
½ cup water ½ teaspoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon dried onion 2 teaspoons chicken bullion

Place all ingredients in saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes. While it is simmering make the following white sauce.

2 tablespoons butter 1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour 2 cups half and half

Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and stir until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking until smooth and thickened. Stir in half and half. Pour into zucchini mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.


Vegetable Medley Salad
1 cup frozen peas ¼ cup sour cream
1 cup chopped carrot ½ cup ranch dressing
1 cup drained corn
2 tablespoon chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped bacon

Thaw frozen peas between paper towels. Combine vegetables and bacon into bowl. Stir together sour cream and ranch dressing. Mix into vegetable mixture and stir well.

Parmesan Toast

6 slices Texas bread or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
hamburger buns ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup butter, softened

Beat together butter, garlic and cheese. Spread on bread or bun halves. Place on baking sheet and broil until browned.

Candy Bar Fudge Pie

½ cup fudge sauce (page 4) 1 quart chocolate chip ice cream, softened
½ cup chocolate chips 1 cup coconut
2 cups crispy rice cereal 1 cup caramel sauce (page 26)
¼ cup sour cream

Combine fudge sauce and chocolate chips in small bow. Microwave on high until hot, about 45 seconds. Stir until smooth. Reserve ¼ cup of the chocolate mixture. Combine remaining chocolate mixture and cereal in large bowl and mix to coat cereal. Press mixture over bottom and sides of lightly buttered pie plate. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Combine reserved chocolate mixture and sour cream and mix well. Stir coconut into softened ice cream. Spread half the ice cream mixture in pie plate. Drizzle with half the chocolate mixture and half the caramel topping. Top with remaining ice cream and drizzle with remaining chocolate mixture and caramel sauce. Freeze pie, covered, until firm.

Chicken Tenders with Buffalo Sauce
6 boneless chicken breasts salt and pepper to taste
½ cup butter, melted 1 cup Franks Red Original Hot Sauce

Brush chicken with butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut into strips. Place on foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Arrange chicken in serving dish.

Stir together remaining butter and hot sauce. Pour over chicken.

Looking Ahead
Bake 2 extra chicken breasts for Chicken Bowtie Salad on Saturday.

Potato Skins
6 baked potatoes bacon bits
salt and pepper sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese

Half potatoes and scoop pulp out, leaving 1/8-inch potato around peel. Lightly salt and pepper inside. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

Bleu Cheese Dip
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup crumbled bleu cheese

Mix together.

Chocolate Molten Cake

1 ¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips 6 large eggs
10 tablespoons butter 6 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon cardamom (optional) 1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon coriander (optional) 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon ½ cup flour
¼ teaspoon cloves
Melt chocolate, butter and spices over low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Whisk eggs, yolks and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Stir in powdered sugar, then chocolate mixture and then flour. Pour into well-greased cupcake pan, filling to top. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Batter should rise slightly above pan, top edges turn dark brown and centers are soft and runny. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Let rest 5 minutes. Place cookie sheet atop muffin tin and invert to remove cakes. Place on individual plates and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Italian Meatball Sandwiches

1 pound ground beef 3 8-oz cans tomato sauce
1 cup bread crumbs 1 can water
½ cup Parmesan cheese ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning ½ teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons parsley 1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt ½ cup Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon pepper 6 deli buns
1 egg 6 slices provolone cheese
½ cup milk
Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, cheese and seasonings in large bowl. Beat together egg and milk and pour into beef mixture. Mix well and shape into meatballs the size of a walnut. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.*

In a saucepan, mix together tomato sauce, water, spices and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Add baked meatballs.

Slice provolone cheese in half diagonally, forming triangles. Arrange 2 cheese triangles on each bun. Place on baking sheet and broil for a few minutes until cheese is starting to melt and buns start to brown. Remove from oven and place 3 to 4 meatballs on bun. Spoon sauce over meatballs

*To cook in crock pot, use extra lean ground beef. Spoon half the sauce in crock pot. Add meatballs and pour remaining sauce over meatballs. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high 3 to 4 hours.

You can substitute canned spaghetti sauce in place of the sauce ingredients, if desired.

Roasted Zucchini Sticks

2 medium zucchinis
cooking spray
seasoned salt

Wash and quarter zucchinis. Coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle generously with seasoned salt. Place on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 15 to 20 minutes until browned.

Italian Crepes
3 eggs Nutella (this is a chocolate and hazelnut mixture
1 cup milk found in a jar by the peanut butter.)
1 cup flour 3 bananas, sliced
1 tablespoon sugar whipped cream
1 teaspoon vanilla chocolate syrup

Beat together eggs, milk, flour, sugar and vanilla. Heat skillet on medium heat. Coat bottom of pan with butter. Pour about ¼ batter in center of pan. Lift pan and move downward and around to spread batter around bottom of pan. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until lightly browned. Carefully turn and cook on other side for 30 seconds.

Warm Nutella in microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until soft. Spread Nutella over crepe. Arrange bananas over half of crepe. Fold in half. Top with whipped cream and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Creamy Tarragon Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 tablespoon tarragon
¼ cup flour
1 ½ cups cold water
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup cream

Melt butter in skillet. Add chicken breasts. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat about 5 minutes on each side. Sprinkle onion , garlic and tarragon over chicken and cook for another 5 minutes. Whisk together flour and water until smooth. Pour over chicken. Add mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes until mixture thickens. Stir in cream and cook until mixture just starts to bubble. Serve over brown rice.

Brown Rice
1 cup brown rice
3 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon olive oil

Measure rice and water into large microwave safe bowl. Stir in salt and olive oil. Cover and microwave for 40 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork


Carrots Elegante
5 carrots 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoon water

Peel and slice carrots diagonally 1-inch thick. Melt butter in small saucepan. Stir in orange marmalade and water. Add carrots and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for 7 to 10 minutes until tender.


Spinach Pear Salad

6 cups baby spinach ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
1 green pear, chopped ¼ cup pomegranate seeds or craisins
½ cup candied pecans
Toss all ingredients in large bowl. Drizzle with Pomegranate Dressing when ready to serve.

Candied pecans
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup pecans
On medium heat, melt butter in small skillet. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add pecans and stir, coating pecans. Continue to cook and stir for 5 minutes.

Pomegranate Dressing
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon poppyseed
¼ cup Pomegranate juice* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Measure all ingredients in bowl and whisk until well blended.

*Pomegranate juice can be substituted with cranberry or orange juice.

Vanilla Cream Chocolate Torte

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips ¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons milk 4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon rum extract 2 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon butter, softened

Combine chocolate chips, milk and rum extract in small saucepan. Melt on low heat, stirring frequently. Remove immediately from heat and stir until smooth. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add ¼ cup sugar, beating for 1 minute. Set aside.
Beat together butter and ½ cup sugar. Add egg yolks and beat 1 minute. On low speed, mix in melted chocolate mixture until combined. Add cocoa and beat until mixed in. Gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture.

Spoon into 9 x 9-inch baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Bake at 300 for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. (You will want it to be slightly soft in the middle)

To serve, cut the torte into squares. Spoon a couple tablespoons of custard in the bottom of a bowl. Place a piece of torte on top of the custard.

Custard
1 ½ cups evaporated milk
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten dash of salt
½ cup sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla

Whisk together milk, eggs, sugar and salt in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until bubbly and slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.

Chicken Bowtie Salad

2 cups bowtie pasta 1 lime
1 mango, diced* 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 avocado, diced ½ cup coleslaw dressing
1 cup grapes ¼ cup mayonnaise
3 green onions 2 teaspoons basil
1 cup celery, diced
¼ cup slivered almonds

Cook bowtie pasta according to package directions. Drain and place in large bowl. Add fruits and vegetables. Grate rind of lime into salad. Squeeze in lime juice. Add chicken and toss. Mix together coleslaw dressing, mayonnaise and basil. Pour over salad and mix well.

*Mangos have a thick, hard center core. The easiest way to dice is to cut slices from top to bottom around the core. You can then cut each section to the skin in squares and trim away the skin.

Sweet Potato Chips
1 medium sweet potato

Cut sweet potato into 1/8-inch thick slices. Layer on foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Spray tops of potato slices. Bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes until tender and starting to turn brown.




Nutty Baklava
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 cup flaked coconut (optional)
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 lb. phyllo pastry (found by the frozen pie crusts)
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
½ cup water
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Spray 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Combine, pecans, coconut, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir well. Layer 5 phyllo pieces, brushing each with butter, in pan. Spread a layer of nut mixture over phyllo. Repeat 2 more times. Top with another layer of 5 phyllo pieces. Cut into diamond shapes. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. Heat honey, water and syrup. Pour over baked phyllo. Let set for at least 2 hours.

Truffles by Alisha.......

Hey Karla,

I was so excited to see so many new recipes on your website today. The truffle one reminded me of this really yummy mint truffle recipe. It is a lot like Laurie's.

Alisha

Thanks for sharing Alisha.....it sounds yummy too!!

Chocolate Mint Truffles

2 cups Milk Chocolate Morsels 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels 1 tablespoon peppermint extract

Place milk chocolate and semi-sweet morsels in large mixer bowl. Heat cream to a gentle boil in small saucepan; pour over morsels. Let stand for 1 minute; stir until smooth. Stir in peppermint extract. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate for 35 to 45 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir just until color lightens slightly. (Do not over mix or truffles will be grainy.) Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet with wax paper; refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes. Shape into balls, freeze for 30 to 40 minutes. Dip truffles into milk chocolate if desired.Place on foil-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes or until set. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Truffles by Laurie....

Laurie makes wonderful truffles, so I requested her recipe....

Laurie says, "My truffle recipe is really easy. Whip 1 cup cream until almost butter, add 2 cups melted chocolate. 1/2 tsp extract and a sprinkle of salt. I put the mixture into the fridge for an hour or so then I scoop balls with my mini cookie scoop and roll them into uniform balls. If it sets in the fridge too long and is too hard to scoop just let it set at room temp for awhile.
For the wedding, she wanted coconut flavor so besides the extract I also blended coconut until really fine and then toasted it and added to the chocolate then dipped them in white chocolate. Also when I make almond flavor, I blend toasted almonds until really fine and roll the centers in it before dipping them in chocolate.
Have fun!"

Karla says,
Thank you so much!! What specific type of chocolate (milk, semi-sweet, etc.) do you use??? How long does it take them to set up after the final coat of chocolate??
How many do you think you get out of a batch???
Do you use vanilla extract?? or do you change it with the flavor???

Laurie McCormick Charley says, I use milk chocolate, usually ghirardelli, but I would think any kind of chocolate would work....if you prefer semi-sweet. I usually use white almond bark for dipping, and it is set up in about 30 min. I use my small pampered chef cookie scoop. It makes a nice size truffle and I get 40-45, but you could make them smaller if you need to get more than that out of one batch. I would use vanilla if I wanted a plain chocolate flavor, but I usually use almond, rum, or cherry. I saw rasberry the other day and thought that would be yummy!

Salads for a crowd.....AKA: YW Camp Salads

Last summer Kim Jensen and I were Linda Savage's helpers in the kitchen at YW Zion's Camp. We cooked 3 meals a day for 150 to 200 people. We made lots of salads....here are the recipes. Don't worry that the directions are not really specific, this is a guideline as we just kinda dumped them together and they all turned out great. We would make a couple of salads every morning right after breakfast and then put them in the cooler for later on in the day. We made these in mid sized tucker totes and then stored them in ice cream buckets with a lid on them. We always tried to have 4 of everything as we had 4 serving lines. Yes, we did use a lot of ice cream buckets. The buckets were my idea. Linda asked me to bring containers with lids because they never have enough big containers with lids for everything. I always save my ice cream buckets so I had a big stack of them. They worked perfectly as they hold a lot but don't take up too much room and they stack nicely in the walk in cooler. We made the largest recipe of each one. It was amazing to watch them disappear. Everyone had a different favorite. Any leftovers were served at the next meal along with whatever was planned. It was fun to see someone get excited to still find one of their favorites wasn't gone.

Linda has done this for many years and she feeds the girls well. She goes to a ton of work and everything is pretty much made from scratch. THAT MEANS NO MIXES. Instant pudding is about as close to a mix as you will get. They had homemade dessert every night and Cinnamon Rolls are an absolute tradition.

BROCCOLI SALAD
10 c. broccoli
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
2/3 c. chopped red onion

SAUCE
1 c. mayo
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. vinegar
Pour sauce over broccoli and refrigerate 1 hour or more.
Then add:
6 slices cooked diced bacon
1/4 C. sunflower seeds

For a bigger crowd …….x3
2 1/2 bags broccoli
2 c. or more cheese
1 large red onion
1 1/2 c. raisins
18 slices bacon
3/4 c. sunflower seeds

SAUCE
7 c. mayo
3 c. sugar
10 T. vinegar (5/8 c.)


BERRY FLUFF
2 lg. (32 oz) vanilla yogurt
16 oz. Cool whip
2 small pkgs. Vanilla instant pudding
2 pkgs. (6 cups) frozen berries, blueberries, raspberries, or even mandarin oranges

X3
6 lg. Yogurts (3 vanilla & 3 berry)
3 lg. 16 oz. Cool whip
6 small pkgs. Vanilla instant pudding
3 large pkg. frozen berries

MACARONI SALAD
2 c. uncooked salad macaroni
2 1/2 oz. sliced olives
2 c. diced celery
1/4 c. green onions
10 oz. frozen peas
1 can shrimp
2 c. salad dressing
3 t. milk
1 t. salt 1 t. pepper

X20
10 lbs. Salad macaroni
1/2 gal. sliced olives
1 bundle chopped celery
1 bunch green onions
5 lbs. frozen peas
2 lbs. Shrimp
1 gal. + 60 oz. miracle whip
Milk
Salt & Pepper

ORANGE DREAM FRUIT SALAD
Mix together in large bowl:
20 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained (save juice to soak bananas and apples in)
29 oz. can peaches, drained & cut into chunks
11 oz. mandarin oranges, drained
3 bananas, sliced & soaked in pineapple juice
1 diced apple, soaked in pineapple juice
Dressing
Combine and beat for 2 minutes:
1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1/2 C. frozen orange juice concentrate
1 1/2 c. milk
After beating fold in:
3/4 c. light sour cream
Pour over fruit mixture and chill.

X20
4 gallons pineapple
4 gallons peaches
2 gallons mandarin oranges
20 bananas
15 apples
DRESSING
51 oz. vanilla instant pudding
60 oz. orange juice
1 gallon milk
5 1/2 lbs. sour cream

PISTACHIO SALAD
14 -16 oz. Cool Whip (208 oz)
2 lg. Pistachio Instant Puddings from Cash & Carry/Restaurant Size
3 gal. Crushed pineapple, drained
3 pkg. mini marshmallows

FROG EYE SALAD
1 c. sugar
4 T. flour
2 1/2 t. salt, divided
3 1/2 c. pineapple juice
4 eggs, beaten
4 T. lemon juice
16 oz. Acini de Pepe Pasta
1 T. oil
3 - 11 oz. cans mandarin oranges
2 - 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits
Combine in saucepan sugar, flour & 1/2 t. salt. Gradually stir in pineapple juice and eggs. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until thickened. Add lemon juice & cool to room temperature. Bring water to boil, add 1 t. salt & oil. Stir in pasta and cook until done. Rinse with water, drain & cool. Combine sauce & pasta, mix thoroughly. Add fruit & chill until serving time.

X4
4 c. sugar
1 c. flour
2 t. salt, & 4 t. salt - divided
14 c. pineapple juice
16 eggs, beaten
1 c. lemon juice
4 - 16 oz. Acini de Pepe Pasta
1 T. oil
132 oz. cans mandarin oranges
160 oz. can pineapple tidbits

Apple Pear Salad

In our family, we love Costco for many reasons. The most recent reason? This recipe. Came across it in The Costco Connection magazine. Made this for the first time last night and oh. my. goodness. We are so hooked. Absolutely, positively our new favorite salad. Thank you, Costco.

APPLE PEAR SALAD

[ dressing ]

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. orange juice
3 Tbsp. pecan halves, chopped (we prefer glazed pecans)
2 Tbsp. honey
Sea salt
Black pepper, ground

[ salad ]

6 c. loosely packed baby mixed greens
1 apple pear, halved, cored, and sliced into thin wedges
*NOTE: can use a pear and an apple, which works just fine too
1/3 c. pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries
1/3 c. feta cheese

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Found this on a scrapbooking website.....These are supposed to stay fat and moist, not spread out flat.

MOM'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2/3 c. shortening
2/3 c. butter (not margarine)
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped nuts
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix thoroughly first 6 ingredients. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop on ungreased baking stone. Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees. This is a single recipe which makes about 7 dozen. Mom always makes a double batch.

I just finished baking a batch. They are definitely best when baked on a stone. They taste great!!! I was once again practicing with my convection oven. Baked 3 trays at once. The ones on the stones turned out best. The ones on the bottom are too brown on the bottom. The middle ones were on the cookie sheet and they flattened out more (I did spray the pan and that could be the problem). The ones on the top still needed to be baked some more, but turned out great after a little more baking. I only got 50 cookies out of a batch, so I obviously made a larger cookie. I did put a tray in the freezer to bake later. I think I will only bake one tray at a time in the future.

For the record.....I have found that I can successfully bake 3 Home Town pizzas at once using the convection setting and they turn out great. I bake them about 18 minutes and take out the bottom one first, by the time I have it cut the middle one is ready to come out and be cut, and after that I take out the top one.

Buttermilk Pancakes and Butter Syrup

Was looking for a handout for my YW lesson tomorrow....and I found this instead....It looks really yummy....especially the syrup!!!

BEST BUTTERMILK PANCAKES (Makes nine 6-inch pancakes)
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 c. buttermilk
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter or reserved bacon fat onto griddle. Wipe off excess. Using a 1/2 cup ladle, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in 175 degree oven. Serve warm.

"The key to fluffy pancakes is not to overmix the batter; it should not be beaten smooth. If serving these pancakes with bacon, reserve half a teaspoon of bacon drippings to grease the griddle instead of butter."

---

And here's a perfectly complimentary -- and equally healthy (ha!) -- recipe to top those pancakes.

BUTTER SYRUP

1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 stick butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Melt together whipping cream, butter and sugar over low heat. Slowly increase heat until the mixture barely comes to a boil. Add vanilla & baking soda. Turn off heat while whisking continually until ready to serve.

Chocolate, Carmel or Strawberry Cake Filling

Marcia was asked to fill some wedding sheet cakes with chocolate, carmel and strawberry. As we talked about how to do it, I suggested she make it kinda like a mousse, light and fluffy by using whipped cream. This is what she came up with.
Everyone loved it!!!

HOT FUDGE SAUCE/FILLING
converted into cake filling with the addition of whipped cream

2 cup sugar
6 T. cocoa
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup flour

whisk together, add

1/2 cup butter
1 can evaporated milk

Boil over med heat, reduce heat and cook 5-8 mins, til thick like pudding.

Add 1 t vanilla

Blend til smooth. Chill. Whip 1 pint of whipping cream (no sugar or vanilla) and fold in when ready to spread on cake.

Carmel Filling
Same as above except, use brown sugar instead of white sugar; and omit the cocoa.

Strawberry Filling
Thaw 1 quart of strawberries and drained off the juice (you need about 2 cups,add water if needed). Mix the juice with 1/2 c. cornstarch and cook until thickened. Add about 1 c. sugar to the berries and pulse in food processor or blender. Then stir together the berries and thickening. Chill. Then whip 1 pint of whipping cream (no sugar or vanilla) and mix in when ready to spread on cake.

"I added enough real whip cream to each to be able to smooth easily. Yum Yum. Good to eat by themself too." Marcia McCormick

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut, if desired, may add 1 t. vanilla instead
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated chocolate chip cookies

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in coconut.
2. In ungreased, 9- or 8-inch square pan, break up half of cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. Spread cream cheese mixture over dough. Crumble and sprinkle remaining half of dough over cream cheese mixture.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store in refrigerator.

Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Pillsbury Bake off 2000 recipe......
Hints: Pour over the milk mixture and smooth carefully with a spatula or you may want to allow cookie to cool before spreading the milk mixture and then finish baking. Try using peanut butter cookie dough. May want to refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours.

Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 can (14 oz) Eagle Brand® sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 cup JIF® Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg yolks
1 bag (12 oz) Hershey's® semi-sweet baking chips (2 cups)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Cut cookie dough in half crosswise. Cut each section in half lengthwise. Press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust.
2. Bake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix condensed milk, peanut butter, vanilla and egg yolks until smooth. Spoon milk mixture evenly over partially baked crust; carefully spread.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until set. Sprinkle with baking chips; let stand 3 minutes to soften. Spread evenly over top. Cool completely, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows.

Ooey Gooey Turtle Bars

A Pillsbury 2008 Bake off recipe.....by Gretchen Wanek

Ooey Gooey Turtle Bars
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
3 cups Fisher® Chef's Naturals® Chopped Pecans
1/2 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 jar (12.25 oz) SMUCKER'S® Caramel Ice Cream Topping
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (16 squares)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Press cookie dough evenly in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan.
2. Sprinkle 1 cup of the chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups of the pecans over dough; lightly press into dough. Set aside.
3. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Stir in brown sugar, caramel topping and graham cracker crumbs. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Pour over crust in pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups pecans.
4. Bake 25 to 32 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown and pecans are lightly toasted. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes; loosen sides from pan, but do not cut. Cool completely, about 3 hours longer. (For firmer bars, let stand an additional 2 hours.) For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.

Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups

This is the 2010 Pillsbury Bake Off Million Dollar Winner!!!! A sweet treat by Sue Compton of New Jersey.

I'm going to make them with my own cookie dough....

Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups
INGREDIENTS
1 package (16 oz) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ refrigerated sugar cookies (24 cookies)
4 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup Fisher® Chef’s Naturals® Chopped Walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup Hershey’s® semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
1/4 cup Smucker’s® Seedless Red Raspberry Jam
1 1/2 cups vanilla bean ice cream, softened
24 fresh raspberries

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Place 1 cookie dough round in each muffin cup. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Place 2 teaspoons of the sugar in small bowl. Dip end of wooden spoon handle in sugar; carefully press into center of each cookie to make 1-inch-wide indentation. Cool completely in pan, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix walnuts and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds, until smooth.
4. Run knife around edges of cups to loosen; gently remove from pan. Dip rim of each cup into melted chocolate, then into walnut mixture. Place walnut side up on cookie sheet with sides.
5. In another small microwavable bowl, microwave jam uncovered on High about 15 seconds until melted. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jam into each cup. Freeze cups about 5 minutes or until chocolate is set.
6. Spoon ice cream into cups, using small cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon. Top each cup with fresh raspberry. Store in freezer; let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin.....in the freezer

Patricia Whiteley commented:

Hey Karla, Your mom had an awesome pumpkin pie recipe in her book! I made it with my frozen pumpkin yesterday, and it turned out wonderful! She is right when she said that she liked the double spices.......awesome! Thanks to all of you! Hugs.

Karla asked:
Pat, so glad you liked it!!! So what do you do when you freeze your pumpkin??? Would love to know???

Pat's reply:

"Wash, cut into large pieces, pressure cook, cool down, scrape from skin, drain off the water or squeeze with cheesecloth, mash it up, measure into 4 cup batches, put into freezer bags, pull the air out, double bag, then freeze. I just can't throw away a beautiful pumpkin!!! It's also ready for pumpkin bread, smoothie (healthy) and anything else needing pumpkin! You may want to cook it in the open to thicken up the puree. I don't, cause we like it as it is."