Creamy Potato Soup

Inspired by this recipe from All Recipes

Ingredients:

8 unpeeled potatoes, cubed 1 onion, chopped 3-4 stalks celery, diced 2 Tbs chicken bouillon

2/3 cup sour cream 1/2 cup crumbled bacon bits 1  can  cream of mushroom soup 1 can condensed cream of celery soup (or sub mushroom soup) 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.	In a large stock pot combine potatoes, onions, celery, bouillon cubes and enough water to cover all ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat until potatoes can be pierced with a fork.
2.	Add sour cream, bacon, cream of mushroom soup and stir until creamy. Add cheese and stir until completely melted. Simmer on low until potatoes are done.

Yummy Frosting

2-3 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp milk

Mix all ingredients and add powdered sugar until desired thickness.
Great for frosting cookies, cupcakes, & cakes.

Beef Stew

1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat or cubed roast. Coat in flour and brown in 2-3 Tbs canola oil.

Add: 1 or 2 chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
Saute with meat until onions are translucent (but not burned!)
Add:
6 large potatoes, washed and cubed
5-6 medium carrots, cut into chunks

1 can beef broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3-4 cups water
1 can tomato sauce
1 pkg lipton onion soup mix
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp Thyme
1 Tbs red wine vinegar

Simmer till veggies are tender, or cover tightly with foil and put in a 325 oven for 2 1/2-3 hours.
Cook peas and add before serving, as desired

Spooky Taco Salad

This gem is from Taste of Home

Bone bites

I found this fun idea on iVillage:

36 pretzel sticks and rods of various sizes

1 (12-ounce) package white chocolate chips (2 cups)

72 mini-marshmallows (about 1 cup)

Directions:

Makes 36 bones More fun with pretzels and melted chocolate! Like the pretzel lollipop ghosts, these are a tasty mix of sweet and salty. With the white chocolate coating on them, they are uniformly charming. For the best effect, heap and jumble the little bones in a bowl rather than laying them on a plate. (Although I call for white chips, this is one place where lower grade white "coating" chocolate or bark is so easy to work with that it might be worth the trade-off in taste.) 1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. 2. Place the chips in a double boiler over just-simmering water and melt, stirring frequently. As soon as the chips are just melted (there may even be a few solid ones left), remove the pan from the heat and remove the top section of the double boiler so the chocolate's temperature doesn't keep rising. 3. Stick marshmallows onto both ends of the pretzels, with the marshmallows' flat sides parallel to the pretzel. 4. Dip each pretzel in the chocolate and lift out with a fork, letting the excess drip back in the bowl. Lay the bones on the baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at a cool room temperature. Recipe courtesy of Ghoulish Goodies by Sharon Bowers Copyright © 2009; photo courtesy of Kevin Kennefick Used by permission of Storey Publishing LLC All Rights Reserved

Chicken Enchiladas

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 small can diced green chiles

1 1/2  cups grated cheddar cheese
an additional 1/2 cup cheese for topping
2-4 chicken breasts, cooked & diced
1 cup sour cream
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (may include as filling or serve on the side)

Combine soup, chiles and sour cream to make filling. Reserve 1 cup for topping.
Add chicken, rice, and cheese to filling mix.
Spread some of reserved soup mix in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spoon filling into large tortillas, roll and lay in pan. Top with extra mix and sprinkle with extra cheese. Sprinkle with chopped green onions if desired.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes

Shortcut Enchiladas: 
Same ingredients as above, but heat reserved soup mix for topping.  Spread filling between two tortillas, lightly butter the outsides, and cook till crisp on a griddle or in a skillet.  Garnish with warm soup mix, sprinkled cheese, and chopped onions.

Scary Puddin'

This is a Kraft original

Easy Cornbread

Mix together dry ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Add:
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup oil
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 8-9" pan.  Mix wet and dry ingredients until just moistened.  Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bread has lightly golden edges and toothpick comes out clean.

Serve with honey butter.

Honey Butter

Mix together until smooth:


3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey

Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Eyeball soda & Jello Worms

Check out this post on Dabbled.org for instructions on these creepy bubbles.

For an extra slimy treat, try these Jello Nightcrawlers! I get shivers just looking at them. Here is a second link on making them.

Banana Nut Bread

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening or margarine ( I do 1/4 cup each)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2-4 bananas

Cream together sugar & margarine.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and vanilla, then beat into cream mixture.

Mix separately: Flour, baking soda, and salt.

Mash bananas to make 1 cup

Alternately add flour mixture and bananas to the sugar mix. Pour into greased pans and bake at @350 for 1 hour.

Maple Syrup

2 parts sugar  (3 cups for us)
1 part water (1 1/2 cups)

Mix in saucepan, stirring frequently over medium heat. Bring to a full boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add drops of maple flavoring until desired flavor is reached. For a rich flavor, add 1 tsp.

Homemade Pancake Batter

2 cups flour
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

blend dry ingredients together, then add:

2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 Tbs oil (or applesauce)
3 tsp vanilla

Cut back the milk for thicker pancakes or waffles.  Top with homemade syrup. Yum!

Cake mix cookies

1 box cake mix
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
2-3 tbs water
chocolate chips or nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets

Use a liquid measuring cup to measure oil & applesauce, add 2 eggs, then fill to the 1 cup line with water (or applesauce?).

Mix liquids together then add to cake mix. Stir well. Fold in desired fillings.

Scoop the dough into walnut sized balls. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Variation ideas:
add 2/3 cup oatmeal to any recipe
Chocolate/devils food cake with peanut butter chips
Chocolate/devils food cake, balled and rolled into powdered sugar to make crinkle cookies
Chocolate/devils food cake with mint chocolate chips
Chocolate/devils food cake balled with a rolo candy in the center of each cookie
Lemon cake mix with 1 tsp lemon extract, balled and rolled into powdered sugar to make crinkle cookies
White cake mix with butterscotch chips and toasted pecans
M&Ms
Caramel bits

Apple spice BBQ Sauce

For the original post, go here.

1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 cups brown sugar
6 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (I didn't measure this I just did 6 grinds from my pepper grinder)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To prepare sauce:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix applesauce, ketchup, brown sugar, lemon juice, salt, ground black pepper, paprika, minced garlic and cinnamon. Stirring frequently, bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and use to baste the meat of your choice. (The recipe says the applesauce gives the sauce a nice thick texture, and coats well on the meat and that the sweet spicy flavor is excellent on chicken or pork.)

To serve with shredded pork:

1 pork loin (around 3 pounds)
1/2 cup apple juice

Place pork loin in crock pot with 1/2 cup apple juice and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove from crock pot and shred. Remove any juice or fat let in crock pot. Place meat back in crock pot and add prepared applesauce bbq sauce. Heat until warm. Serve over rice or as sandwiches

Caramel Apple Bites

Thanks to Family Fun and EHow.com for this great idea!

You will need:

• Granny Smith apples -One apple makes around 6 bites
• Cookie scoop or large melon baller
• Wooden skewers or lollipop sticks
• Caramel or melting chocolates
• Toppings* such as chopped nuts, nonpareils, sprinkles, coconut, crushed candy bars or cookies, etc
  
• Small paper candy cups

1. Melt the caramel in a saucepan over medium heat.

2. Wash off the apples.

3. Cut into the apples with the cookie scoop or melon baller, making circular scoops to create little balls of apple. The peel should serve as a flat base to rest the ball. (But I like the look of them at the top, so you can tell it is an apple) You can get about four to six balls out of one apple.

4. Pat the apples to remove any excess juices from the fleshy part of the ball.

5. Insert the wooden skewers or lollipop sticks into the center of the top of the apple ball. If you're using skewers, don't allow the tips to pierce the skin on the bottom of the apple, or the apple will slide down when it's picked up.

6. Give the apples another pat to dry off any juices that may have run out while inserting the sticks. Dip in powdered sugar, then tap off the excess.
   

7. Dip the apple balls into the caramel, twisting to make sure you cover the whole thing.
   

8. Set dipped apple on paper candy cup. Then place on a dish or tray, and place in the refrigerator for about half an hour. This will allow the caramel to set.

9. Serve immediately. If you are unable to serve the apples right away, make sure to leave them in the refrigerator until you are ready for them. Unlike on a regular caramel apple, the flesh is exposed and so the apple will spoil much faster. Serving them immediately will make sure they are still crisp

*Check out these sites for gourmet topping ideas
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
Amy' s Decadent Chocolates

Miss Debbie's Specialty Apples

Zucchini Soup

I think this may be the recipe that appeases my love of zucchini and my husband's love of crumbled bacon! I can't wait to try it. I found the original at The Sisters' Cafe, check them out for more yummy recipes.
1 cup chopped onions
1-2 Tbsp. butter
3 cups sliced zucchini
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
½ cup half-and-half or milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, then crumbled

In a large saucepan saute onions & zucchini in melted butter. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender (about 15 min.) Add salt and pepper. Cool slightly. Pour mixture into blender and puree it. Stir in half-and-half (or milk). Return to saucepan and reheat, but do not boil. Garnish with grated cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits. Makes 6 servings.

Breaded Zucchini Fries

I have some serious zucchini love. You have to love it to commit the proper spelling to memory...anyway... I first learned how yummy it could be when my mom made fried zucchini.

Now I still love the stuff, but not the frying it in butter part, so I wanted to share this recipe posted by Erica at Favorite Family Recipes that takes some of the guilt out of this tasty indulgence:


1-2 large zucchini, cut into spears or circles (the zucchini we had was HUGE so we just used one)
2 eggs
1-2 Tbsp. milk
1 c. Italian-style bread crumbs or croutons blended up finely in a blender (we ran out of bread crumbs so we did the crouton thing)
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Butter or cooking spray

First, line a baking sheet with foil and spray evenly with cooking spray. Next, combine eggs and milk in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and salt & pepper. Dip each zucchini piece into the egg mixture, then dip into bread crumbs until evenly coated in crumbs. Place zucchini on baking sheet, spray each with cooking/butter spray and then bake in the oven at 425-degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. For an added crisp, turn the oven to broil and cook for about 30-45 seconds longer (don't let em' burn though, watch them closely). Remove from oven and serve hot with ranch dressing or marinara/pizza sauce.

Zucchini Boat Casserole

This is my favorite zucchini dinner. I used to bake it in the zucchini shells, but now for the sake of time I just cook it all in my biggest frying pan. You could bake as a casserole as well.

Ingredients:
1 large zucchini, chopped: 10-12" long and 2-3" around
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg (if you will be baking it, not for the fry pan method)
1 cup cooked rice (substitute a seasoned rice for more flavor)
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Brown beef, add veggies and saute till tender. mix in rice & mozzarella, sprinkle top with Parmesan. Place lid on pan and heat on med/low until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy

Zucchini Boat Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cut zucchini lengthwise, scoop out insides & chop them, leaving the shell whole.

Brown beef, remove from pan and then use pan to saute onion, pepper, and chopped zucchini. Cool slightly

Mix meat and veggies with 1 beaten egg, rice, and mozzarella. Spoon into shells, sprinkle with Parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until shells are soft. Slice into 3" sections to serve.

Lemon Spritz Punch

This can be made in large quantities, just double away!

2 cans of lemonade concentrate
2 liters of ginger ale.

Premix the concentrate with half as much water as you would normally, add it to the punchbowl with LOTS of ice, pour in the ginger ale and garnish with lemon slices and strawberries

Thanks 7 Layer Studio for sharing this one. Check her out, she did some fabulous reception food & decor with this one.

Chopped Spaghetti

Tired of chopping spaghetti to serve to the under 2 crowd? Check this out!

Strawberry Jell Topping

This is a perfect topping for strawberry shortcake, angel food cake, cheesecake, anything that tastes good with sweet, juicy, strawberries.

Mix together in medium saucepan:
1 pk strawberry kool-aid
3/4 cup sugar
4 Tbs (1/4 cup) cornstarch

Add 2 cups cold water, mix well. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool. Add sliced strawberries.

Orange Julius

3/4 cup cold water
1- 6 oz can orange juice concentrate (3/4 cup)
10 ice cubes
3 Tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Add all ingredients to blender and grind or pulse till no large chunks remain.

Lime Slush

Mix together in large bowl:
12 oz limeade concentrate (1 12oz can)
16 cups water
4 cups sugar

Pop it in the freezer, and don't forget to thaw it for 2-4 hours before serving.
To serve: (Thaw as stated above)
Break up with large fork
add 2 to 3 liters of Squirt brand soda pop or Pomegranite 7-up for the holidays
Ladle into cups and enjoy!

Easter Egg cookies

Prepare cookie dough, dividing into equal parts. Tint each part with food coloring. Roll into long ropes, 1 inch in diameter. Lay them side by side, with a quarter inch space in between. Roll out to 1/4 inch, and cut with egg shaped cutters. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake as directed, thanks for the idea, Betty.

Sweet Roll Glaze

1-2 Tbs melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbs milk
a few drops of almond extract, if you have some
Powdered sugar

Mix together milk, vanilla, and melted butter. Add powdered sugar to thicken to desired consistency.

Drizzle over sweet rolls, toasted cinnamon swirl bread, etc.

Cinnamon Shamrock Rolls

Put a loaf of frozen bread* dough in a sprayed pan, cover with sprayed plastic wrap and leave in fridge the night before. You want the dough to be thawed but still cold.

Flour your clean surface, grab a pizza cutter or knife.

Slice loaf into strips. Pat and stretch them into a flat breadstick shape, then let them rest while you gather your ingredients. 1-2 Tablespoons of melted butter and basting brush
1/4 cup brown sugar
cinnamon sugar

Work the bread into long flat strips, laying them side by side.
Brush the dough with melted butter
Sprinkle heavily with brown sugar and cinnamon sugar
Roll up each breadstick starting on each end and meeting in the middle, making somewhat of a heart shape. Place three heart rolls on sprayed pan. Fold one of your shorter breadsticks in half, keeping the sugars on the inside. Place this at the base of the three hearts to form the stem.

Make the rest of the shamrock rolls following these steps.
Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and allow to double in size. Remove wrap and bake at 350°F 12-15 minutes.

When cooled drizzle with green tinted glaze.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Heat oven to 350. spread the following ingredients on jelly roll pan and toast in oven, stirring occasionally until lightly toasted:
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 packages chicken ramen, broken to bite size
1/2-1 cup slivered almonds

Mix in bowl:
1 head chopped cabbage
2 cups diced cooked chicken
3 stalks green onion, chopped
toasted ingredients

Make dressing by blending together:
1/2 cup vinegar
1 Tbs soy sauce
2 pkts chicken seasoning from ramen
3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

Add dressing to salad, let sit in fridge for 3 hours if possible.

Shamrock Rolls

Put a loaf of frozen bread* dough in a sprayed pan, cover with sprayed plastic wrap and leave in fridge the night before. You want the dough to be thawed but still cold.

Flour your clean surface, grab a pizza cutter or knife.

Slice loaf into portions, I did mine pretty big so they could serve as sandwich buns. You could do thinner slices for more rolls.

Tip slices to flat side, then pat into a smooth circle.

Use knife to cut two parrallel lines in the bottom 1/2 to form the stem.
Then make two more slices on the top to create the 3 leaves of the Shamrock
From here I put short slices in each leaf and tucked the points under to create rounded leaves.

You may dust each piece with flour, then place on a sprayed baking sheet. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and allow to double in size. Remove wrap and bake at 350°F 12-15 minutes.

*this would work just as well with frozen roll dough if you don't need large shamrocks. Just skip the slicing step.

Lime Pie

Thanks to Studio 5 for this yummy recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 package (3 oz) lime flavored Jello
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (2-3 fresh limes)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime zest
• 1 can (14 oz) fat-free sweetened cond. milk (not evaporated)
• 1 package (8 oz) fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 9-inch graham cracker crust*

Method:

Dissolve Jello in 1/2 cup boiling water; stir until sugar is completely dissolved in Jello. Add 1/2 cup cold water to Jello, then remove 3/4 cup and set aside. Stir lime juice and zest into remaining Jello and set aside to cool and thicken, but do not allow it to set.

Pour the 3/4 cup reserved Jello into a flat, non-stick 9-inch cake pan, cover and refrigerate. This Jello may be used as a garnish later.

Beat softened cream cheese until smooth; add sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) and stir to blend.

Whip cream until stiff peaks form.

Beat together cream cheese mixture and Jello-lime-juice-zest mixture (product should be thick and light - but not setup). Fold in whipped cream; spoon filling into prepared graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until set (2-3 hours).

Cut pie into 10 pieces. To garnish, use a small cookie cutter to cut shamrock or other fun shapes from set Jello and carefully place shapes on each slice of pie. If desired, add curls of lime zest or thin slices of lime.

Optional garnish: whip additional cream and pipe swirls of cream on each slice, add thin slices of lime.

Optional crust variation: (not included in nutrition analysis)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread approximately 2 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut out in a shallow baking pan. Toast coconut in oven, stirring every 30 seconds, until lightly browned (about 2-4 minutes). Cool coconut and mix with 1/3 cup softened butter. Press coconut into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate until crust is firm.

Today's Version Sweet Pork Burritos

Sweet Pork:
Put pork roast into crockpot with 1-2 cups of Dr Pepper. (Not diet) Sprinkle with 1/4 cup brown sugar. Cook on low until pork separates easily with fork. (Plan on 5-6 hours) Remove roast from pot, then drain and discard juice. Shred the pork and return to pot. Put in 2 cups of green enchilada sauce (Medium), 1 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup Dr Pepper. Cook on low for 1-2 hours. Serve with lime rice & black beans.

Chili-Lime Rice
2 cups rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 teaspoon lime zest

2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

combine rice, garlic salt, lime zest, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice.

Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup sugar

Chill metal bowl, beaters, and heavy cream.

In chilled bowl, whip cream 2-3 minutes on high, or until soft peaks form. Beat in vanilla and sugar 2 minutes more, until fluffy. Take care not to overbeat.

Mom's Sugar Cookies- Even Better than Before!

2 Cups Margarine or Butter
3 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add in the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition. Cream well. Stir in vanilla. Mix salt, baking soda, baking powder into flour. Add flour into batter. Divide dough and form into flat disks. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour. I usually chill overnight. This dough freezes beautifully. Roll dough out ¼ inch thick and cut into shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes. I bake until edges are slightly golden.

Sweet Pork Salads

Yeah for Janet Eyering and her Living for Less recipes!

Sweet Pork

Ingredients:

• 1 (3-5 lb.) sirloin or boneless pork loin roast
• 1 cup salsa (**sale** Don Julio 16 oz. $1.79)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar

Method:

Place ingredients in a greased 3 ½ - 5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 8-10 hours. Shred pork with a fork or potato masher before serving. Use meat in salads, burritos, or tacos.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked converted white rice
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated lime peel (zest)
  
• 1 can (15 ounces) chicken broth
• ¼ cup water
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 Tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

Method:

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime zest, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice. Serve warm.

Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 envelope Ranch Salad Dressing
• ½ envelope Fiesta Ranch Salad Dressing
• 6 tomatillos, husked and cut in half
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice from 2 freshly squeezed limes
  
• ¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender. And blend until smooth. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week.

Ice Cream balls

I found these instructions on a fun site called Grandmas modern day trunk of treasures. Yummy.
This is a really easy recipe that is delicious and fun to make. I created the recipe myself and it has become a family favorite. It is a good dessert to follow mexican food.

Recipe: Ice Cream Balls yields 3 dozen

8 Cups Frosted Flakes, 4 Cups Honey Bunches of Oats with almonds, 1/2 C. brown sugar, 3 tsp. cinnamon, 14 oz. sweeted coconut, 1 & 1/2 gallons vanilla ice cream.

In a large mixing bowl place cereals, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Crush mixture with hands to a rough crumble and mix ingredients well. Add coconut and toss to blend.

Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper and make room in the freezer for them to sit flat.

Allow Ice Cream to slightly soften. Make scoops (rough scoops okay) of ice cream and set 3 or 4 in the bowl of cereal mixture. Use your hands to pat coating onto the scoops and round the scoops with your hands. Place on cookies sheets. Repeat working quickly until first pan is filled. Place in freezer to freeze. Fill the second sheet the same way.

Allow to freeze at least 3 hours before serving.

To serve: Place the ice cream ball in a bowl. Top with a nice drizzle of honey, top with whipped cream and sliced almonds. You can garnish with a triangle of deep fried flour tortilla coated in cinnamon sugar.

Once the balls are frozen hard you can store them in plastic ice cream buckets or any other freezer safe container. They keep for about 6 weeks in the freezer.

It is hard to mess this recipe up. You can easily make any size batch you would like.

Lemon Cake

Quick link to a recipe that looked yummy.

Tres Leches Cake, Potluck Style

This is a variation of Betty's Recipe. It is best to make it a day in advance so the milks can soak in .

1 box white or yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 can evaporated milk, coconut milk, or 1 cup whole milk

For topping
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease and flour or spray bottom and sides of a 13 x 18 jelly roll pan. (Also known in my house as a cookie sheet)
  
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
• Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Poke top of hot cake every 1/2 inch with a serving fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking.
• In large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Carefully pour evenly over top of cake. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight when possible to allow mixture to be absorbed into cake.
• Frost with whipped cream or Cool whip frosting
  
• Top with toasted coconut, fresh fruit, or cinnamon.
  

Used the vanilla pudding, milk and whipped topping frosting and served with fresh strawberries

Basic Omelet Recipe

Incredible Egg.org is the organization that taught me eggs get fluffy by adding water, and rubbery by adding milk! Here is their recipe for a basic omelet
(Multiply the recipe by as many servings as you need and use 1/2 cup of the egg mixture for each omelet.)

things you'll need

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, optional
• Dash pepper, optional
• 1 teaspoon butter or cooking oil OR cooking spray

getting started

1. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and water with the salt and pepper, if desired, until blended.
2. In a 7- to 10-inch omelet pan or skillet over medium-high heat, heat the butter until it’s just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water.
3. Pour in the egg mixture. (The mixture should set immediately at the edges).
4. With an inverted pancake turner, carefully push the cooked portions at the edges of the pan toward the center so the uncooked portions can reach the hot pan surface, tilting the pan and moving the cooked portions as necessary.
5. When the top of the omelet is thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, fill the omelet, if desired.
6. With a pancake turner, fold the omelet in half or roll it.
7. Invert the omelet onto a plate with a quick flip of the wrist or slide the omelet from the pan onto a serving plate.

Orange Bundt Cake

Preheat oven to 325° F. Carefully grease and flour Bundt pan. Or save some effort and use pan spray with flour, like Baker's Joy. Turn pan over to drain any puddled spray

Combine ingredients in a good size bowl:
1 box white or yellow cake mix
1 cup milk
3 oz cream cheese, softened (the foil has measurements on the side, like butter)
2 teaspoons grated orange peel (avoid grating down to the white pith, it'll taste bitter)
3 eggs

Mix on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.
Pour carefully into pan, tapping edges when finished to remove air pockets.

Combine all ingredients and mix for 2 minutes. Carefully pour or spoon batter into pan. (Fill no more than ¾ full) Tap on countertop to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for precisely 10 minutes. Lift pan and shake from side to side. You should hear the loose cake shifting from back and forth. Then put on serving plate on top of pan and flip over to easily place it. Make sure it is where you want it, after it cools it may be stuck on the plate pretty well. Remove pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Thanks Betty Crocker!

Yummy Cream Cheese Glaze

4-5 ounces cream cheese, softened (The rest of the 8 oz brick from the cake recipe)
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
2 Tablespoons milk

Blend well, color as desired, and pour over cooled cake.

Cheesy bread

Set oven to broil.
Arrange on cookie sheet:
Sliced french bread, buns, or even regular old slice bread, spread with butter or margarine
Sprinkle with garlic salt, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses
Put under broiler until cheese is bubbly and edges are golden brown.
(Don't forget they are in there, or you will surely be putting your smoke detector to the test!)

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Mix together in sauce pan:
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup sugar
¼ cup vinegar

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Make thickener by mixing together:

2 Tbs cornstarch
¼ cup cold water

Add to hot mixture while stirring. Once cornstarch is mixed in, raise heat and stir till thick.

Cinnamon Bundt Cake

18 ounce vanilla, yellow, or white cake mix
4 serving size instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
3/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° F. Carefully grease and flour Bundt pan. Or save some effort and use pan spray with flour, like Baker's Joy. Turn pan over to drain any puddled spray.

Combine all ingredients and mix for 2 minutes. Sprinkle bottom of pan with toasted walnuts (optional) Carefully pour or spoon batter into pan. (Fill no more than ¾ full) Tap on countertop to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for precisely 10 minutes. Lift pan and shake from side to side. You should hear the loose cake shifting from back and forth. Then put on serving plate on top of pan and flip over to easily place it. Make sure it is where you want it, after it cools it may be stuck on the plate pretty well.

Caramel Sauce
In a saucepan combine:
½ cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup milk

Melt together over medium heat, bring to boil, stir constantly while boiling for 2 minutes.

Stir in 1 tsp vanilla. Let frosting cool to room temperature. Beat in ¼ cup powdered sugar for sauce type consistency. Increase powdered sugar to 1 ½ -2 cups to create frosting.

Carefully remove cake from pan directly onto serving plate. Evenly pour glaze over top, using a spoon or pastry brush to reach undersides and crannies until cake is completely covered. Garnish with toasted walnuts, if desired.

Cool completely before covering.