Meat Loaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup dried bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the beef, egg, onion, milk and bread OR cracker crumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and place in a lightly greased 5x9 inch loaf pan, OR form into a loaf and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, and ketchup. Mix well and pour over the meatloaf.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.

Cinnasticks

1 package pizza mix, or your favorite recipe
1/4 C. melted butter (they don’t use butter, you can use margarine)
1/2 C. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
Icing
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out pizza dough to a rectangle, roughly 10 by 12 inches, cut in half across the longest side, and then cut the other sides into 8th’s. You should have 16 individual pieces now. Place pieces onto a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake for approximately 15 minutes.

While the sticks are baking, make the icing by combining the powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and 1 tbsp. of butter. You may need to add additional milk to thin down the icing. Set icing aside.

Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl, mix well. Melt the 1/4 cup butter and when the pizza dough is done brush with butter. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the freshly buttered sticks.

Potato Salad

2 lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes, peel on, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of mustard (your favorite, yellow, Dijon, stone ground)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 dill pickles, chopped into 1/4 in cubes (about 3/4 cup)
6 slices of bacon, cooked and finely chopped
Coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
1 In a large pot, cover potatoes with cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, and mustard. Add a little salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and use a rubber spatula to gently combine. Add the rest of the ingredients, again gently combining. (Include a couple tablespoons of the pickle juice for good measure.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sour Cream Apple Cake

1/4 lb. butter (unsalted) room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cup flour (unbleached)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 int regular sour cream
2 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 inch square pan. utter pan generously.

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs (one at a time) and vanilla. Beat well. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add these ingredients alternately to the batter with the sour cream. Fold in the apples.

Spread entire batter into prepared pan. Mix together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of better.

Bake 45-50 iinutes. Cool completely. Remove cake from pan and serve.

Potato Soup

1/8 cup unsalted butter
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 1/2 qt. chicken stock
4 large peeled potatoes, sliced evenly in 1/4 inch slides
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bacon cooked and diced
salt to taste

In a large saucepan, add butter, leeks and onions, and cook. (Do not brown vegetables.) Add chicken stock, potatoes, salt and fresh thyme. Cook for 40 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid scorching. Add cream, bring to a boil and serve hot. Garnish with Cheddar cheese and diced bacon.

Apple Pie Pops

Prep: 40 minutes Bake: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 large apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. apple pie spice
1 tsp. tsp. lemon juice
dash juice
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. water
1 15 oz. pkg. rolled refrigerated unbaked pie crust (2 crusts)
10 paper or wooden lollipop sticks
1 egg, separated
2 tsp. water
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. apple pie spice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a medium skillet cook apples, the 1/4 cup sugar, the 1 tsp. apple pie spice, the lemon juice, and salt over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until apples are nearly tender, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. water until smooth. Add to apple mixture; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and well combined. Mixture will thicken quickly.

3. Unroll piecrusts. On a lightly floured surface, roll each pie crust to a 12 inch circle. Using a 3 inch round or leaf cutter, make 10 cutouts in each circle of dough.

4. Arrange 10 of cutouts on the prepared baking sheet. Press a lollipop stick firmly into the center of each dough cutout. Spoon a scant tablespoon of filling in the center of each cutout. You will have leftover filling.

5. In a small bowl whisk the egg white and 1 tsp. water until frothy. Use a pastry brush or your fingers to brush mixture around the edge of each dough shape. Place a second cutout of dough on top of the filling. Use a fork to seal edges, taking care that dough is sealed around lollipop stick.

6. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yoke and remaining 1 tsp. water. Brush atop pie pops. In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. sugar and remaining 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice. Sprinkle over pops.

7. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Cool on the baking sheet.

Makes 10 pops. If you can't find wooden lollipop sticks, wooden chopsticks will also work. It's best not to overfill the mini pies. Any leftover apple filling is a treat served warm over ice cream or oatmeal.

Carmel Popcorn

1 bag popcorn
13 marshmellows
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cube butter
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Pop the popcorn and set aside. Combine the other ingredients and microwave 1 1/2 minutes. Stir. Microwave 1 minute. Add 1/8 teaspoon baking soda and microwave for 4 seconds. Pour over corn and enjoy.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

1 (6.25 oz) Jar Marinated Artichokes (drained)
1 (10 oz.) Package Frozen Chopped Spinach (thawed and drained very well)
1/2 tsp. Minced Garlic
1/3 C. Freshly Grated Romano Cheese
1/4 C. Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 C. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/3 C. Cream or Half and Half
1/2 C. Sour Cream

In food processor blend artichokes, Romano cheese, garlic and parmesan cheese for about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes. Artichokes and cheeses should be minced, but should not be pasty.

In a mixing bowl add drained spinach, cream, sour cream, mozzarella, stir well. Spoon into mixing bowl mixture from food processor. Blend all ingredients. Mixture should have a medium thick consistency. Spray an oven proof shallow serving dish. Pour artichoke mixture into baking dish and bake for 20 – 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Artichoke dip should be a little bubbly and cheese melted through. Remove from oven and serve with your favorite heated tortilla chips, sour cream and salsa and enjoy.

Applesauce

Preparation time: 45 minutes. The sugar amounts are just guidelines, depending your taste, and on the sweetness of your apples, use less or more. If you use less sugar, you'll likely want to use less lemon juice. The lemon juice brightens the flavor of the apples and balances the sweetness.
Ingredients

3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples. (Make sure you use a good cooking apple like Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.)

4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths
Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp
3 inches of cinnamon stick
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
up to 1/4 cup of white sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Directions:
1 Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

2 Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher.

Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt.

Freezes easily, lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.


Cranberry Applesauce
3 to 4 pounds of peeled, cored, roughly chopped Granny Smith apples (or other good cooking apple such as Golden Delicious, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein)
1 1/2 cups to 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1 Place all of the ingredients in a large (5-quart) pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cover. Cook 20-30 minutes, or until the apples can easily be mashed.

2 Remove from heat. Mash the apples and cranberries with a potato masher to the consistency you want.

Serve hot as a side to pork or turkey. Or serve hot or cold as a dessert with some vanilla ice cream.

Store in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Or freeze for up to a year.

Makes 1 1/2 to 2 quarts.

Garden Fresh Piza

2 cups all0purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
olive oil
1/2 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
3 to 4 cups fresh vegetables such as halved chrry tomatoes, broccoli flourets and shredded radicchio
1 cup mushrooms, halved or sliced
2 oz. chorizo sausage, cooked and drained
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese or 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. In large bowl, combine both flours, cornmeal, yeast and salt. With a spoon, gradually stir in 1 1/4 cups warm water (120 degrees to 130 degrees Fahrenheit), stirring until all is moistened. The mixture will be a soft, sticky dough. Cover bowl and let stand at room temperature 12 to 24 hours.

2. Line a 15x10x1 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Brush parchment with olive oil. Turn dough out onto prepared pan. Using well-oiled hands or a rubber spatula, gently push dough to edges and corners of pan (dough will be sticky). Cover; let rest for 1 1/2 hours or until puffy and dough pulls away slightly from edges of baking pan.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Pre-bake crust for 10 minutes. Combine tomato sauce and dried Italian seasoning, and spread over hot crust. Add vegetables (except radicchio), mushrooms, cooked chorizo, and cheese. Bake 10 to 15 minutes more or until golden brown. Add radicchio. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Snickerdoodles

1 3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 tablespoon (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 large eggs

Directions:
Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. Whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter, shortening and remaining 1 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs. Add flour mixture. Using wet hands, roll 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake for 10-12 minutes in oven at 375 degrees.

Beef Teriyaki

1 lb. beef, cut in 1 inch cubes
1 15 oz. can pineapple chunks
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. minced ginger
2 tsp. sesame oil

Directions:
Combine all ingredients, including liquid from pineapple. Marinate, cover and put in refrigerator for 3 hours.

Thread beef and pineapple alternately on skewers.

Discard leftover marinade.

Broil 8 minutes, turning once, until beef is cooked.

Larson Sweet Rolls

Dough:
Dissolve 1 package yeast in 1 cup warm water
(1 package yeast = 2 1/4 tsp)
Add:
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt
1 TBS. sugar
3 cups flour
1 cube melted butter

Makes a very soft dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. At least 2 hours before serving, roll out dough on floured surface 1/2 inch thick. Spread melted butter over dough and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and brown sugar.

Roll out dough into log shape. Cut into pieces 1 inch thick. Place in a buttered baking pan close together, but sides not touching.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.