Grandma Hazel's Peppernuts

Cream:
1 cup butter
4 cups brown sugar
Add 4 eggs beaten to above mixture.

Mix:
6 3/4 cups flour (sift with dry ingredients)
1 tblsp. soda in a little hot water
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. each of cinnamon, mace, cloves, and nutmeg
2 tblsp. ground anice ( She only used half as much)
3 cups chopped nuts
1 tsp. salt

Mix all together and make into small rolls (like making a snake with playdough) and put in refrigerator over night. Slice off and bake @ 350 degreese. These may be stored longer if desired before cooking. They are tiny cookies like the size of a nickel. These MADE Christmas for many of grandma's grandchildren....including me!!!

Scotch-a-roos

1 cup sugar
1 cup karo syrup

Bring to a boil and remove from heat and add:

1 cup peanut butter
6 cups rice crispies

Smash gently into pan and top with:

1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips
that have been melted together in microwave in 30 second intervals until melted.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups Bisquick baking mix
2 tblsp. brown sugar (I add extra sugar. I think they are better this way)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1/2 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
2 tblsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a bowl combine the baking mix, brown sugar, and cinnamon. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, pumpkin, oil, and vanilla: stir into dry ingredients and mix well.  Cook on griddle pan. Serve with syrup.

Breadsticks by Stephanie H.

Mix & set aside:
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tblsp. sugar
1 tblsp. yeast

Combine:
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
Add yeast mixture & let rise for 20 mintues. Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

This recipe is fast, easy, yummy, and very versatile!!

I spread a coating of butter over the top before baking them and they are so yummy! You also can make them into rolls.

Italian variation:
Press into pan and spread butter over dough. Sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese. Bake as above.

Breakfast Variation:
Press into pan and spread butter over dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. When it comes out of the oven and has cooled a bit drizzle with cream cheese glaze or frosting.

Cranberry Cheese Squares

This is my mom's way of having cranberries on the table at Thanksgiving. It is really, really yummy!!!

2-3oz. pkg. cream cheese
2 tblsp. mayonaise
2 tblsp. sugar
1-1 lb. can whole cranberry sauce
1-9 oz. can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Blend cheese, mayo, and sugar. Whip cream until stiff and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Add fruit and nuts. Fold in whipped cream to which powdered sugar and vanilla have been added. Pour into large pan and freeze for at least 6 hours. My mom uses a bread pan and it's easy to cut off slices. LOVE IT!!!

Chicken Pasta Salad by Paula B

1 bunch green onions
1/2 stalk celery
1 can sliced water chesnuts (I don't like these so I leave them out but if you like them knock yourself out!)
2 cups boiled cubed chicken
1/2 to 1 cup cashews
1 big bottle Kraft Coleslaw Salad Dressing
1 med. or lg. bag noodles of any kind. Paula used mini lasagna noodles but I never can find them. You can use extra wide noodles or bow ties just whatever you find.

Mix all together and chill it. I LOVE this recipe!!! It is so delicious!! Have an extra serving for me if you make it because I don't make it any more because of Matthew's SEVERE allergy to cashews. I miss it!!! Enjoy!!!

Broken Glass Salad

This is the perfect festive salad to accompany any Christmas gathering!!! It's so pretty and delicious! The kids even like it!!!

1. Orange, cherry, and lime jello
Dissolve each into it's own individual 8 inch pan with 1 cup boiling water and add 1/2 cup cold water. My mom always uses those round cake pans but use what you have.

2. Heat 1 cup pineapple juice, 1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup cold water. Dissolve lemon jello in this mixture. Put in refrigerator until thickened like syrup.

3. Whip 2 cups cream or use cool whip and fold into lemon mixture.

4. Cut plain jello into 1/2 inch squares and fold into lemon mixture. Put in 9x13 inch pan and chill.

Gingersnaps

3/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tsp. soda
2 cups flour
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar together, add egg and molasses. Add dry ingredients small amount at a time. Beat well after each addition. Form dough into balls, roll in granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees 12-15 minutes.

These are so soft and delicious! Another family favorite!

Logs, Lady Fingers, Powdered Sugar Cookies...Whatever you want to call them they are just plain GOOD!!!

2 cups flour
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup very finely chopped nuts
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. maple flavoring or syrup

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, flour, syrup, and nuts. Take small piece and roll into logs. Just pretend you are making a snake with play dough. Cut off with a knife about 1 1/2 inches long. Place on pan and bake at 375 degrees til light brown. When still warm roll in powdered sugar. A word of warning: These cookies grow whiole they are cooking so don't place them too close together.

My mom makes these every year and they are definitely a family favorite! My grandma I. LOVED these cookies! When my mom would ask what she wanted for Christmas she always said just bring me some of those powdered sugar cookies. I always think of her when I make these cookies. Fun memories!

Linda D's Old Fashion Sugar Cookies

3 3/4 cups flour                    
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk      

Mix butter, shortening, and sugar together. Add egg and cream together. Add dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk. Mixture will be very stiff. Dough hook on mixer works great. Roll out and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 400 degrees for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and frost. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Frosting:
8 oz. pkg cream cheese
3/4 stick butter
 4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. cream or milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together and frost cookies.

Lemon Squares

Cream together:
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Bake in 9x13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Combine the following and pour over hot crust:
4 eggs (slightly beaten)
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup lemon juice

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes more or until set up nicely. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool, cut, and serve.

These are delicious and so easy to make! The crust is DIVINE!!! My mom got the recipe from her good friend Donna.

Pumpkin Bars

Mix together in large bowl:
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
15 oz. can pumpkin

Mix together in separate bowl and add to egg and sugar mixture and blend well:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

FROSTING FOR PUMPKIN BARS

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
3/4 stick butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. cream or milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together and spread over cooled bars. I suppose if you like pecans you could throw some in if you wanted to but I'm not a big fan of them in pumpkin bars! I just love the simplicity and deliciousness of these pumpkin bars! I can't think of Fall and Thanksgiving time without thinking of these!

Stephanie's Cheese Soup

My sister-in-law, Stephanie is such a wonderful cook! She makes the best recipes! Eating at her house is better than eating at any restaurant I tell ya! She is awesome!

3 carrots, sliced
1/2 onion, diced
5 potatoes, diced
2 cups chicken stock
4 chicken breasts
2 cups milk
1 stick butter
1/2 cup of flour
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 lg. bottle of cheez whiz (Steph prefers the WalMart brand of this)

Put carrots, potatoes, onion, and chicken in a large pot. Salt and pepper and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil for about 15 minutes. After you cooked your veggies and chicken drain all but 2 cups of the chicken stock. Set veggies aside and chop the chicken. In same pan make a white sauce by melting the butter adding the flour to that and stirring it really well and adding the milk to that. Stir really well until thick like gravy and smooth. Then add cheeses and melt.
Next add chicken stock, chicken, and veggies. Heat through. DELICIOSO!!!!!!

Easy Chicken Stroganoff

I got this recipe from a neighbor I had when I had my oldest son. Where we lived the church didn't bring in meals when you had a baby. They said you had known you were having a baby for 9 months so you should be prepared. Well, I wasn't! Thank goodness for a thoughtful neighbor who brought this in for us to eat! I have had 3 other children and I have to say all of the other wards were wonderful to bring in food! Anyway, this is really yummy and so easy!!!

2 tbsp. butter
1 lb. chicken breasts cubed
1 medium onion
1 can cream chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
4 cups hot cooked extra wide egg noodles
parsley for garnish

Saute chicken in 1 tbsp. butter in a skillet over medium high heat until browned, stirring often. Remove; set aside. Reduce heat to medium. In same skillet put in remaining butter and cook mushrooms and onions until vegetables are tender and liquid is evaporated stirring often. Stir in soup and sour cream. Heat to boiling. Return chicken to skillet. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Serve over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley.

Clam Chowder

Let me start by saying that I used to HATE clam chowder until I had this recipe at a soup and bread dinner at our church!!! It was made by my mom's next door neighbor at the time and thankfully she shared! It is absolutely delicious!!! You can also leave the clams out for a yummy potato soup. I have also used this recipe without the clams but add ham and some cheese for a yummy ham and potato soup. Try it! You'll like it!

6oz. can of minced clams
1 cup of chopped onions
1 cup of diced celery
2 cups of diced potatoes

White sauce:
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 quart milk or half and half
few grains of pepper
1/2 tsp. sugar

Barely cover vegetables with water. Cook til done. While that is cooking make the white sauce. Melt butter, add flour & milk, stir really well until thickened like gravy and smooth. Add salt, pepper, and sugar. Don't drain vegetables. Add white sauce to vegetables. Heat it good. If too thick add more milk to your desired consistency. Serve with yummy bread, rolls, or in a bread bowl.

Hawaiian Haystacks

My mother in law made this for dinner when I was dating Brian. This just may have sealed the deal! ;)

3 cups chicken that has been boiled and cubed
1 Tblsp. chicken boullion
2 cups chicken broth
2 cans cream chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonaise

Cook till thickened. Serve over rice.

Optional Toppings:

diced bell pepper
grated cheddar cheese
diced onion
diced tomato
coconut
Chinese noodles
almond slivers
pineapple chunks

I've had several different versions of this and this one is definitely my favorite! Anyone who tries it switches to this version. It's so yummy! You can use fat free ingredients and it is still yummy!

Chocolate covered popcorn

Melt these Wilton brand vanilla melts in the microwave and poor over microwave popcorn. So yummy! And you can't get any easier that this! I used red last Christmas. I found some at WalMart in the Halloween candy stuff that was orange, black, and a slimy green color. You can find them at craft stores or in the craft section at WalMart by the cake decorating stuff.This is a bad picture but all I could find. Hint: If you don't already do this, poor your popcorn on a cookie sheet and then carefully pick it up and put it in a bowl, leaving the uncooked kernals on the cookie sheet. Then you won't be biting into uncooked kernels all the time! Save your teeth!

The Yummiest Lasagna I Ever Made

I'm not the best at taking pictures of food but you get the idea.

I've made this recipe so many times and it was always good. My husband really likes lasagna and he always likes this recipe but this time I changed it up a little and we both LOVED it!!! The recipe stayed the same I just changed up what I did so please be sure and read the INSTRUCTIONS very well if you want to give it a try.

LASAGNA
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
24 oz. large curd cottage cheese
1 tblsp. parsley1
lb. mozzarella
2 lbs. hamburger
lasagna noodles
3 lb. jar Prego Spaghetti Sauce

Brown the burger WITH A LITTLE ONION FLAKES sprinkled in (my kids hate onion and I was too lazy to wash the food chopper so I just used these and they never knew the difference) and some garlic salt. Add a 3 lb. jar of Prego Spaghetti Sauce to browned meat. LET SIMMER ABOUT 45 MINUTES to get the meat really tender and yummy! RINSE COTTAGE CHEESE IN COLD WATER(warm water will melt the cheese) AND DRAIN (won't be runny this way!). Mix parmesan cheese, eggs, cottage cheese, parsley, and mozzarella together in a bowl. Cook noodles to very al dente since they will continue to cook in oven. Spread a little sauce in bottom of pan. Layer noodles, cheese mixture, a little bit of sauce, noodles, A LITTLE MORE SAUCE,REMAINING NOODLES, remaining cheese mixture, remaining sauce, and lightly sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for around 45 minutes to an hour. So tasty!!

GARLIC BREAD
Cut a loaf of french bread in half length wise and spread butter on each half. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Broil until cheese and bread are golden brown. This is SO tasty! So easy too!

MOUNTAIN MAN BREAKFAST

This is one of our FAVORITE dutch oven recipes EVER!!! We got it from the dutch oven master...our brother in law Doug! We can't go camping without having this for breakfast one of the mornings now and we like it so much that we make it once or twice a year at home in our oven. I hope you all try it, if you haven't already and that you like it as much as we do!
MOUNTAIN MAN BREAKFAST
1 lb. of ground pork sausage8 eggsa bag of frozen hash browns2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
TO MAKE IT WHILE CAMPING:
First you cook your sausage in the dutch oven then remove it from the pan. Remove most of the grease from the pan as well. Cook your hash browns in the same pan and season with salt and pepper. Then flatten the hash browns into the bottom of the pan to form kind of a crust. Sprinkle cooked sausage over the hash browns. Break your eggs into a bowl and add some salt and pepper and whisk them and pour eggs over the sausage and hash browns. Place the lid on the dutch oven and place in coals placing some coals on the lid as well and cook until the egg is set up. Check in the middle of the pan for doneness. Once eggs have set up add cheese and cook until melted. If you add cheese on top of raw eggs it will take a really long time for the eggs to set up for some reason so after some trial and error we think it works best to just cook the eggs first and then add the cheese.
TO MAKE IT AT HOME:
We will often use tator tots at home. Just cook your sausage in the pan, remove the sausage from the pan and take most of the grease out as well. Then place the tator tots in the pan to thaw them and kind of break them up into pieces with your spoon and kind of brown them a little. They are already mostly cooked just need to be browned up so it just seems to go faster. Then either place the potatoes you choose to use in the bottom of a large pan or the square pan works great for this. Flatten potatoes to form a kind of bottom crust. Then sprinkle sausage over. Mix up your eggs with a little salt and pepper and pour them over sausage. Bake at 350 degrees until egg mixture is set up. Check in the middle of the pan to check for doneness. Then sprinkle cheese on top and cook until cheese has melted. If you add cheese on top of raw eggs it will take a really long time for the eggs to set up for some reason so after some trial and error we think it works best to just cook the eggs first and then add the cheese. It is so yummy! Matthew ate it right up the last time we made it and he HATES eggs! We've decided we'll just hide the fact that there are eggs in it from him until he's an adult if we can!

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE BY MY SISTER-IN-LAW STEPHANIE

2 cups sugar 3 eggs
1 cup oil 2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 cup cocoa
3 tsp. vanilla 2 cups grated zucchini
1/4 cup milk

Put together in order and beat flour and liquids a little at a time. Bake in 9x13 inch cake pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

HINT: Steph says she peels her zucchini and purees it so her kids can't see the flecks of green in the cake and they never know it's in there. It is a really delicious, moist cake! And so easy my 9 year old has made it twice!

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

about 3 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. milk
1/4 cup cocoa

Beat 1/2 the sugar with shortening and butter. Gradually add milk. Beat and add vanilla. Add cocoa. Gradually add remaining sugar until the right consistency.

CROCK POT STROGANOFF

1 lb. stew meat, round steak cubed, or other cut of beef you'd like to try
1 or 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
some sour cream

This is SO super yummy and EASY!! All you do is put your meat and soup in the crockpot and cook for like 5-6 hours and then before serving mix in some sour cream until you think it tastes good. Serve over mashed potatoes. Now I'm sure you could serve it over rice or noodles but you just HAVE to try it over mashed potatoes!!! Trust me it is DELICIOUS!!! My mom used to make this when I was a kid and it is still one of my all time favorites! The meat is so tender! For a bigger family just keep adding pounds of meat, cans of cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream until it will feed your whole family. For our family of 5 eaters I use like 1-2 lbs of meat and like 4 cans of soup because I like to have left overs. It's a perfect Sunday dinner recipe because you just put it in at like 7a.m. and it's ready when you get home from church. Enjoy!!!

Mexican Cheese Dip

1 two pound block of Velveeta cut into about 1 inch cubes
2-10 oz. cans Rotel Tomatoes (find these by stewed tomatoes at the store)

Melt together in a sauce pan. Serve with tortilla chips. If you don't like spicy stuff go for the mild kind because even the original is a little spicy. The hot is HOT! Good stuff!

My Yummy Sandwiches

Warm turkey or ham slices from the deli in a skillet. Remove and put on slices of bread (white or wheat both work really well) with provolone, swiss, or cheddar cheese slices. Butter the outside of the slices of bread. Sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesian cheese and grill in the skillet until golden brown.

SO YUMMY!! I liked the toast they give you at Sizzler that they do that with and decided that would make a great sandwich. I added the garlic salt too and man it's yummy. It's a great way to add a little flair to boring lunches!!

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

These are so delicious and EASY! One of my visiting teachers gave me this recipe once and it is a staple at our house!

3-4 chicken breasts
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 cup salsa

Put all ingredients in a crock pot and cook it all day.I don't even thaw the meat I just put it in frozen. How easy is that?! Shred chicken with a fork about 30 minutes before serving. Serve with tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream.

These are SOOOO yummy!! I've tried them with pork and with steak as well and they are good that way but my favorite is the chicken. If you throw all the leftover veggies,cheese, warmed up chicken, and some tortilla chips in a bowl it makes a yummy taco salad for lunch or dinner the next day. The meat freezes well also. Easy to double or triple the recipe for a croud. Enjoy!!

Mom's Coconut Cream Cake

I didn't take a good picture of this cake but hopefully you get the idea.

Cream together:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
Add:
2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks (reserve egg whites)
2 cups flour add alternately with 1 cup buttermilk which 1 tsp. soda has been dissoved into.
2/3 cup flaked coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

Beat egg whites and fold into batter, do not over mix. Pour into three 9 inch layer cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool and ice with cream cheese icing.

Icing

1/2 cup butter
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)

Put coconut on outside of iced cake. SOOOO delicious!!!

Coconut Zucchini Bread

2 large eggs 2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil 1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt 3 cups all purpose flour
3 cups grated zucchini 1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup shredded coconut 1 cup walnuts-optional (I don't add this)

Beat eggs, sugar, adn oil until creamy. Sift together and add: baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and flour. Add grated zucchini, vanilla, coconut, and nuts (if desired). Pour into 2 greased and floured bread pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. I found this recipe and tried it and I think it's the best zucchini bread I've tasted! YUMM-O!!!

Ham & Cheese Pockets

My elementary school in Kansas had THE best food EVER!!! We were so spoiled by some of the best cooks and everything was made fresh and from scratch. Their homemade rolls were to die for! One of my favorites were their enchiladas and their homemade pizza. I finally got a recipe that is the closest to their enchiladas thankfully. Well, one thing we always looked forward to for lunch were the ham and cheese pockets and the bierocks. My mom would make both for us sometimes and we just felt like it was such a treat. If you haven't ever had them they are so easy and so yummy! I decided to let the kids help (I don't do this very often) and they had a lot of fun. Zack was the dough stretcher, Matty put in the ham, Max put in the cheese, and I closed them up. They turned out to all have cheese all over the outside too but that's ok. They had fun and that's all that mattered. With all of the ingredients you just adapt it to your family there is no set amount or anything.

HAM AND CHEESE POCKETS

Rhodes Rolls that have thawed and risen for around 5 hours(squish 2 together for each pocket)

Ground up ham. I use the food processor or meat grinder. You don't want it mushy but just ground enough to have a good consistency in the pocket.

Shredded cheddar cheese

Spray your cookie sheets with cooking spray. Put your 2 rolls together and squish them out, then add some ham and some cheese. Close it off and put seam side down. Try to make a good seal or the cheese will ooze out. Mine do a lot but that's ok. You don't need to let them rise more at this point just stick them in your hot oven. Bake according to instructions on rolls package and until a nice golden brown so the dough is fully cooked. Brush with butter when they are out of the oven. Enjoy!!!

Lemon Jello Cake by Great Grandma Pray

This cake is one of my favorites! It is SO yummy! Tart...sweet...delicious!!!I just had to share!

Lemon Cake by Great Grandma Pray

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. lemon jello
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup water

DO NOT follow cake mix mixing and ingredients directions! Mix all above ingredients and beat 5 minutes. Bake as directed on cake mix box. When done punch holes in top of cake. Mix: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup lemon juice and pour on top of cake while still warm. Cool and serve with or without cool whip. Delicious!!!