BUTTERMILK MUFFINS

This recipe was on All RECIPES here.

See the cook's notes at the end. I'm going to try it with cheddar cheese and cooked bacon. I couldn't tell that there was any bacon in it but one family member could and said it added a little something.

BASIC BUTTERMILK MUFFINS
"This is a great basic muffin batter that can be adapted to almost anything."

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.
3. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until mixed (the batter will not be smooth). Gently stir in fruit, if desired (see Cook's Note).
4. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins; fill the cups almost to the top. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 18 minutes.

Note: I was out of butter, (when is the price of butter going to come down??) so I used about 3
Tbs. of olive oil and one Tbs. of water. They muffins tasted fine.

Cook's Note

You can add 1 cup of almost any fruit, nut, or baking chips to this recipe by folding in at the end, and adding spices to match (blueberries and lemon zest, for example, or peeled chopped apples and cinnamon).

LEMON CHICKEN -- oh so good!

I'm so sorry there is not a picture of this. We gobbled it right up. And then I went to the grocery store and bought two cans of pineapple juice at full price because I couldn't wait for juice to be on sale.

LEMON CHICKEN
Lynne Snyder

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8 small, cut into 1/2 inch thick strips
1 c flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup olive oil(start w/less butter and oil and add as needed)

Sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup pineapple juice
3 T. cornstarch
1 cup sugar
Juice from 4 lemons

Combine flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Shake chicken cutlets in flour mixture. In a large skillet, melt butter and olive oil together and cook chicken breasts slowly, until browned.

While chicken is cooking make the sauce by combining all ingredients in a medium sauce pan, heat, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly. Pour over cooked chicken in the skillet, making sure you get all the browned bits scraped into the sauce. Serve with white or brown rice.

Note: I left some of the chicken w/out the sauce for Phil because he says he doesn't like lemon chicken. He ate one of the plain ones and then ate one of the lemon ones and then he put the plain ones in the sauce and said, "Yours are better!"

APPLE PIE FILLING

APPLE PIE FILLING--Lynne Snyder

4 cups sugar
1 cup corn starch
1 Tbs. cinnamon*
1 tsp. nutmeg*
1 tsp. salt
10 cups water
3 Tbs. lemon juice

*more if desired

Peel and slice Golden Delicious apples. Put them in cold water with some salt added to keep the apples from browning.

Mix sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt well, then add
water and lemon juice. Cook until thickened. Fill quart jars half
full. Drain apples well. Fill jar with apples, pressing down to cover with syrup. Do not fill them beyond the neck of the jar. Put on lids; process for 50 minutes. Makes 7 quarts.

I have never once made an apple pie with this and I guess I have made hundreds of quarts of this through the years. We heat it and serve as a side dish with pork or any dinner that needs a little some ting extra.

Caution--if using a steam canner. Do NOT keep the temperature on high the whole time like I did with my first couple of batches this year. The pie filling will boil over, especially if you remove the lid as soon as the time is up. The filling with flow out of the bottles like a volcano and then your jars will not seal. I finally--after two disastrous batches--kept the steam escaping the steam holes at about six inches. When the time was up I removed the steamer from the heat and let it cool for at about ten minutes. Then, because I'm not full of faith, I turned the jars upside down. They all sealed this way.

If you have one of these your job will be much easier.

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP

Cream of Tomato Soup--Lynne Snyder --I adapted this recipe from one I found on the Internet and now I can't find it to give them credit.

Today was a rainy October day and I wanted a good homemade soup so I fiddled with a recipe I found online. It was very tasty. Phil said, "This is a keeper," and Elizabeth said it was good too. It was a good way to use up surplus tomatoes.

2 medium or 1 large onion, chopped

6-8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

lots of ripe tomatoes--I didn't measure but I think there were at least 8 to 12 cups

4-8 cups broth of your choice, depending on how many tomatoes you use--I used water and the "Better than Chicken" base sold at Costco, I probably used at least 2 tablespoons, maybe a bit more

1 Tbs. of olive oil

1 Tbs. butter

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

white or black pepper, if desired

the original recipe said 4 cloves. So I put four cloves in but later wondered if they meant four cloves of garlic as they also said "One onion slice" which I thought probably meant one onion, sliced. So did they mean 4 cloves? I added them PLUS garlic and took the cloves out at about 3/4 of the cooking time. You can put them in or not. I did not blend them with the rest of the soup.

1 (8 oz.) block of cream cheese

Saute the onion and garlic a few minutes, add tomatoes, broth and salt. Simmer thirty minutes to an hour or until you can tell it will be a good consistency when blended.

At this point the mixture needs to be put through a food mill or a blender but be careful if using a blender and only do a couple of cups at a time and use a thick towel to hold the blender lid on. I used an immersion blender but there were bits of tomato skin which Phil didn't mind, but I did. I later used a food mill so the soup would be smoother.

Return soup to the pot and add one tsp. of sugar, taste and add other teaspoon if it needs it. Add pepper if desired.

Add an eight ounce block of cream cheese and stir until melted. Next time I would add half of the cream cheese to the soup and mix the rest of the cream cheese with chopped basil, put a spoonful in each bowl, and pour the hot soup over. OR you could eliminate the cream cheese and add whipping cream to each bowl, even canned milk would do in a pinch.

ENCHILADAS--Hillary's Mother-in-law, Heidi, one of the BEST cooks

One large onion, chopped or two or three Tbs. of minced dried onions, rehydrated in water to cover.

One can chopped green chilies--4 oz.--I buy the whole ones and chop them myself as I've had a few cans of "chopped" that were green chili "soup"

1 can olives, cut in half--6 oz.

1 pound cheddar/jack cheese (plus a good cup or more extra for the topping)

4 hard boiled eggs, chopped fine

2 Enchilada seasoning mix pkgs.--1.25 ounces

2 cans tomato paste--6 oz.

4 cups water

14 corn tortillas

Make the enchiladas sauce using seasoning mix, tomato paste and water. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with vegetable spray. Put 1 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of the pan, Tear seven tortillas into pieces and cover bottom of the pan with them.

Mix onion, green chili's, olives, cheese and eggs. Layer on top of tortillas. Top with a layer of sauce, about 1 1/2 cup/ Tear remaining tortillas and put on top of filling. Cover with sauce. You will have sauce leftover--just throw it away.

Bake in 350 degree oven about 1/2 hour or until hot. Cover with a good layer of shredded cheese and bake about three minutes more. Serve over salad, dressed with Ranch dressing or you favorite dressing.

I loved these but Phil says they are not his favorite. His favorite? Green enchiladas. Oops, I see that recipe isn't here yet. I'll add it one of these days.

PS Buy the pkgs. of enchiladas seasoning mix on sale for 3/$1.oo and the tomato paste for the same price, then when you want to make enchiladas you will be ready. I'd much rather shop in my basement than at the store.

PEANUT BUTTER GRANOLA BARS

¾ to 1 cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup peanut butter
½ cup corn syrup or alternative sweetener like Agave or honey
½ cup melted butter
2 tsp. vanilla
3 ½ cups old fashioned oats
1/3 to ½ cup flax seeds
1 cup walnuts or some other nuts
½ cup raisins or craisins
1 cup chocolate chips if desired—we didn’t desire

Mix first five ingredients together. Add remaining ingredients, mix well and press firmly into a 9x13 inch pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until barely brown around the edges. Cut when granola bars are still warm. Let cool before re-cutting and removing from the pan. Store in airtight container. Try not to eat them all the first two days.

FABULOUS FOOD FROM TWO LUNCHEONS

I went to two luncheon's today. One at 11:00 and one at 1:30--we didn't eat until after 3:00 at the second one. Thank goodness. The food was outstanding. I will post the recipes here as I get them from my friends.

This was fabulous. We put it on French bread. She used Simply Fruit for the raspberry jam.

RASPBERRY HONEY BUTTER--brought by Marcia Ogden
From the Lion House Cookbook

1 lb of butter (4 cubes)
1 cup of honey
1 cup of raspberry jam
1 tsp vanilla
Beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the honey, jam, and vanilla beating until it is mixed in.

This unusual fudge was delicious. I was going to take my piece home but I took one bite and ate it all!

CHERRY CHEESECAKE FUDGE –brought by Marcia Ogden

1 pound white chocolate, in chunks, or real white chocolate chips
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 cup drained maraschino cherries, in halves or quarters

Carefully melt the white chocolate in a double boiler, or in the microwave on low power, stirring every 20 seconds to make sure it doesn't burn. Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute on high, so that it's slightly warm and softened.

Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl. Add the white chocolate and beat until the mixture is well-blended. Fold in cherries. Pour in an 8-by-8-inch pan that's been buttered or lined with foil or plastic wrap. Chill several hours or overnight, until firm. Makes about 5 dozen 1-inch pieces. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Very good.
RASPBERRY & DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE --brought by Marcia Ogden

12-ounces dark dipping chocolate, or a 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup regular or heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam, at room temperature

Melt the chocolate or chips in a large bowl in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds to make sure they don't burn. Marcia used a double boiler. She says she doesn’t dare do it in the microwave.

Pour whipped cream in a glass cup and heat in the microwave about 30 seconds, until it's warm. Add the warm cream to the melted chocolate, and blend the mixture together with an electric mixer. Add the jam and continue beating until well-mixed.

Pour the mixture into an 8-by-8-inch pan that's been buttered or lined with foil or plastic wrap. Chill until firm, 2-4 hours or overnight. Makes about 5 dozen 1-inch squares. Store in the refrigerator.

I was only going to eat 1/2 of the following sandwich as I had another luncheon to go to in the afternoon. I ate it ALL and thought, how can I eat another one without being obvious? I didn't do it but I wanted to. You could bake these and then keep in the fridge for late night snacking. Mmm.

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches--brought by Jo Tuckett

2 dozen small rolls
6 oz. Swiss cheese
8 oz. sliced ham
1 ½ T. poppy seeds
1 ½ T. prepared mustard
1 stick butter, melted
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. minced onion

Make sandwiches with rolls, ham and cheese. The ones I made I used Miracle Whip and a little mustard on the sandwiches. Mix the 5 remaining ingredients well with a wire whisk and pour over sandwiches. Leave uncovered until butter sets. Cover with foil. They can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or overnight.Bake 15 min. at 350. Enjoy!

The following salad was very good:

CASHEW SALAD--from Worldwide Ward Cookbook

Salad:
3 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped
4 C cashews
1 6-oz bag craisins
2 apples, chopped
2 pears, chopped
4 oz Swiss cheese, cubed

Dressing:
Prepare dressing the day before
3/4 C canola oil
2/3 C sugar
1 Tbsp red onion, finely grated
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp ground dry mustard
1/3 C fresh lemon juice

Combine all salad ingredients and toss with dressing immediately before serving. Makes 12 servings.

I brought the following. I make them every Christmas for pot lucks and then wonder why I only make them at Christmas. These aren't hot--with the cayenne--but have a tiny bit of a bite. I didn't use this much cayenne today but wish I had because there was no bite.

I got this off the food network years ago. I think I tweaked it a bit. Yup, just checked, I did. Originally called for chopped onion and it was hard to get the onion to hold together with the rest of the mixture. You could use 2 fresh garlic cloves, pressed if you want instead of the garlic powder. Original recipe called for twice the cayenne.

SPINACH PARMESAN BALLS --Food Network --brought by Lynne Snyder

1 pound package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed somewhat dryish
5 eggs
1 Tbs. onion powder
10 Tbs. butter, melted
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese—I just use the Kraft grated cheese in the green canister
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. slightly rounded cayenne pepper

1 ¾ cups Italian bread crumbs

the oven to 350°Squeeze excess water from spinach and put in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well by hand. Form into 1-inch balls. Place the balls closely together on baking sheet. Cook in top half of oven until firm to the touch and just the tiniest bit brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

This is what I took to the second luncheon. It's a very good salad and very showy. Everyone wants the recipe.

POPPY SEED SALAD DRESSING—Lynne Snyder

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup cold pressed safflower oil or any salad oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 Tbs. poppy seeds
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. dry mustard

Mix all ingredients together. ½ hour before serving pour over:

1 red onion, sliced thin
½ pound to ¾ pound mushrooms, sliced

When ready to serve pour over:

1 head lettuce, chopped
1 (10-oz.) pkg. spinach,
chopped

Note: The original recipe called for adding some crisp cooked bacon cut into small pieces and about ½ cup cottage cheese to the lettuce/spinach just before tossing with the mushrooms and dressing.

I always use red onion and mushrooms. Lately I have been adding re-hydrated dried tomatoes and chopped red or yellow or orange bell pepper and even substituting a chopped bunch of green onions for the red onion. If I do that I leave out the poppy seeds. Actually I could leave them in but I am out of poppy seeds at the moment.

CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES

This is the original version--larger cookies, mints melted on top and then spread as a glaze.This is the latest version. Smaller cookies with a Jr. Mint pressed in the middle as soon as they were taken out of the oven. This way is much easier. CHOCOLATE MINT CANDY COOKIES (I tried to find where I got this recipe but it's on all kinds of sites on the Internet--It is a keeper.)
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 (4.5 ounce) packages chocolate covered thin mints--OR Jr. Mints

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, butter and water, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate chips until melted and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and beat in the eggs, one at a time. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Grease cookie sheets. Roll cookie dough into walnut sized balls (half this size if using a Jr. Mint in the center) and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, be careful not to over bake--I baked the smaller ones for 7 minutes.

When cookies come out of the oven, Press one mint wafer into the top of each cookie and let sit for 1 minute. When the mint is softened, swirl with the back of a spoon or toothpick to make a pattern with the green filling of the mint wafer. For smaller cookies, break mints in half.

I used three Jr. Mints for each cookie but they didn't melt, so the cookies, with the Jr. Mints on top, had to go back in the oven for two minutes and then I used a knife to spread them. Four Jr. Mints would have been better. For the smaller cookies I just put one Jr. Mint in the top and didn't bother it at all. Just let it cool. Another option would be to spread when cool with chocolate frosting with a bit of mint stirred in.

These really are delicious.

APPLE OATMEAL CRISP

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com. It is good, has streusel on the bottom and the top. Serve with ice cream.

Note: I made it with the suggested amount of sugar--put over apples--and it was really sweet, too sweet. The crust and topping have plenty of sugar and that part is really good. Cut the sugar--mixed with the cinnamon--down as suggested. You could maybe even cut that part of the sugar out.

APPLE OATMEAL CRISP

9x13 pan size

1½ cups brown sugar
1½ cups rolled oats
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup butter, melted
4½ cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries, optional
½ cup white sugar (this was in the original recipe but it is a lot of sugar, especially if you use the cranberries--I would use only a fourth of a cup next time or maybe only 2 Tbs.)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 Tbs. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with vegetable spray.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour and butter. Mix until crumbly. Place half of crumb mixture in pan. Spread the apples and cranberries (if using) evenly over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Add 1 Tbs. water to remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle on top of apples.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve warm with ice cream.

APPLE OATMEAL CRISP

8 or 9 inch square pan size

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped
5 Tbs. white sugar (See above--probably too much sugar. If using any at all cut it down to 2 Tbs. or less)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 inch square pan with vegetable spray.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour and butter. Mix until crumbly. Place half of crumb mixture in pan. Spread the apples--and cranberries, if using--evenly over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Add 2 tsp. water to remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle on top of apples. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve warm with ice cream.

TERIYAKI CHICKEN BOWLS

Teriyaki Chicken Bowls--Taylor Snyder

Sauce:

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tbs. cornstarch

2 Tbs. cold water

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced, whichever is easier

1 Tbs. fresh grated ginger

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. He used about 12 to 14, depending on size.

Fresh broccoli and cauliflower steamed (other veggies if desired)

White or brown rice, cooked

Simmer all sauce ingredients together until thick. Put chicken in lightly greased 9x13 pan and dob with sauce. Cover with foil and bake in 425 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Turn chicken over, dob with sauce and bake another 20 to 30 minutes or until done. You can uncover chicken the last 10 minutes to glaze if desired. ("Dob" is a French technical cooking term, I'm pretty sure.)

Chop chicken. Serve in bowls: rice, veggies, chicken, add sauce as desired.

Note: If you want sauce with a little added heat add some red chili sauce. Taylor leaves most of the sauce as is and makes some a bit hotter.

A photo of the recipe's author. Don't you just love your kids when they won't let you take their photos?

Sauce with added heat.

Some of the partakers of the goodness.
This is excellent. I promise. Phil was home with a tooth ache and didn't get to go so Taylor sent him a humongous container full. Phil loved it. I love it. The kids love it. One of the kids wasn't home and the momma of the tribe was on another one hundred mile bike ride. She was probably glad to come home to a wonderful dinner.

WHITNEY'S NOODLES

This is a cheap, filling meal. It's named after my nephew, Whitney, who served his mission in Taiwan and learned to cook inexpensive meals. Eggs.

Bacon.

Onions and garlic.

Veggies--this is the crookneck squash. Add half of the seasoning pkgs. to the veggies as they are cooking. Boil the noodles with the other half of the seasoning pkgs. Mix everything together and serve. Delicious. Thanks, Whitney. WHITNEY'S NOODLES--Whitney Peterson

Some kind of meat. I have only ever used bacon but other meats could be used or if you're a vegetarian just leave the meat out.

Eggs
Onions and garlic
Mushrooms--I didn't have any but usually always use them.
Veggies--I used two good sized crookneck squash and one good sized zucchini
Other veggies--lots of things could be used.
Ramen noodles, one pkg for each person

Boil ramen noodles with one half of the seasoning pkg. Boil only 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain. Use the remaining seasoning pkg. in the veggies.

Cook bacon, drain well. Set aside. I add everything to an oven proof bowl in a 200 degree oven to keep things warm while I sauté the remaining ingredients.

Sauté one veggie at a time and add to bowl in the oven--or you could steam them with a bit of water. I used some of the bacon grease and it was too greasy. I couldn't find my original recipe so I sautéed the veggies for too long. You want the veggies to have a bit of crunch.

Cook the eggs and then cut them into chunks.

Add everything together and serve.

I made extra as I want to send them some to my neighbor. I told her about the recipe but she looked at me a little oddly so I want her to taste it. Her daughter has gone away to college and needs cheap, filling meals.

BUTTERMILK PIE

This doesn't look like pie, does it. It's the "for the masses" version. I took one of these cookie sheets of pie to a funeral luncheon and one to my grandson's baptism luncheon. Here's what the regular size looks like.It's delicious. Maybe you should make some. Here is the recipe for a pie size. The recipe for a cookie sheet size--which serves 20 with nice generous squares follows.

BUTTERMILK PIE--This is a very old Bisquick recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray pie plate with vegetable spray.

In a blender, mix the following (this isn't in order of quantities, but the order I put things into the blender):

1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter, cooled to luke warm
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Bisquick ( I always use pancake mix because I don't ever have Bisquick in the house. I do have a recipe for homemade Bisquick. If anyone wants it leave a message in the comments section and I'll post it.)

Blend one minute. Pour into greased pie plate and bake for 30-35 minutes.

BUTTERMILK PIE FOR THE MASSES--Makes a cookie sheet full--17x12 inches.

This is tricky in a blender. If your blender won't handle this much liquid make halfish of it and pour it into a bowl and then make the remaining halfish, mix them together and pour into greased cookie sheet.

2 2/3 cups buttermilk
8 eggs
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup melted butter--I only use 1/2 cup and it turns out fine
4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups Bisquick--I use pancake mix because I never have Bisquick in the house.

Blend really well in blender--maybe in two batches--and pour into greased cookie sheet. Bake 35 minutes.

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

Delicious.

Self – Frosting Chocolate Zucchini Cake--Muum’s Musings blog

½ c. butter
½ c. oil
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

2 ½ c flour
4-6 T cocoa
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder (Oops! I used a Tbs. of baking powder and it worked fine--maybe with one teaspoon it would have been a more dense cake, but it was delicious)
½ t cinnamon (optional--I didn't use this)

1/2 c sour cream or buttermilk (I used sour cream because that's what I had)

2 c finely grated zucchini

Mix oil, butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs. Mix well. (I did all the mixing by hand)

Sift the dry ingredients together, including the cocoa. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk or sour cream .

Add the zucchini by hand. Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 pan

Mix the following and crumble on top of the cake:

¾ c chocolate chips
¾ c chopped nuts
¾ c brown sugar

Bake @ 350º for 35-45 minutes or until done. Serves 12 (I cut the cake into 15 pieces and they were large.)

Note: Omit cinnamon to bring out better chocolate taste.

Note two: Next time I am going to replace half the oil and half the butter with applesauce and see how it turns out.

TASTES-BETTER-THAN-IT-LOOKS PASTA SALAD

I'm calling this salad '"Tastes-Better-Than-It-Looks Pasta Salad because it's so plain--kind of like a girl with a face that doesn't stop traffic. Perhaps I should change the noodles, but the family knows this salad with macaroni noodles so I probably won't. Besides that, my daughter-in-law told Phil this was the best pasta salad she's ever eaten. What better praise could you have?

This photo was taken two full days after I made the salad so it's looking a little weary. I usually forget to take food photos until we've either gobbled everything up or almost gobbled it up. This time, because I made a double batch we still had some. The peas were bright green the first day--not so much today, when I took the photo.

TASTES-BETTER-THAN-IT-LOOKS PASTA SALAD--Lynne Snyder

1 part Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
1 to 3 parts sweet cucumber chip’s pickle juice (taste and decide how much pickle juice you want to use)
chopped sweet pickles
canned tuna
shredded carrots

finely diced celery
frozen peas
finely minced green onions
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper
Elbow macaroni, cooked, rinsed and drained.

I used a one pound pkg. of pasta to one can of tuna, about 1 1/4 (or more) cups Miracle Whip, a pint of home canned sweet pickles and all the juice, 2 medium carrots, 8 oz. frozen peas, 3 stalks of celery, one bunch of green onions and then seasoned it with salt, pepper and cayenne.

MEXICAN CASSEROLE

Mmm, good. This was served at our Enrichment dinner last Tuesday. Our theme was, "What Can't You Do Without?" We had everyone bring what they couldn't do without--family and scriptures didn't count so it had to be something else. I took three things but which are all part of my one thing I can't do without. My little desk lamp which shines on my magnifying mirror which I use to pluck my chin hairs--which are actually stray eyebrows (according to Janette Barber: “I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows”). I pluck every single night, whether I need to or not. That is one of my pet peeves, women with moustaches or chin hairs. Pluck Lynne, pluck. So my one thing I can't do without were tweezers.

MEXICAN CASSEROLE--Carolyn Heaton

1 box Spanish Rice mix (Rice a Roni®)

1 (15 oz.) can chopped tomatoes—to use in Rice a Roni

½ pkg Doritos Tortilla chips
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can chopped tomatoes with green chilies
1 can Hatch’s green enchilada sauce
2 cups grated cheese, a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar

Make rice dish as directed, using the one can of chopped tomatoes. Put rice in 9x13 pan, top with 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies. Layer Doritos, crushed a bit. Top with beans, drained and rinsed. Top with enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake in 350 for 35 minutes.

Serve with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, dollop of sour cream and chopped avocado. Can add olives if desired.

OKAY, I DIDN'T EXACTLY MAKE IT LIKE THAT. THIS IS WHAT I DID.

Made the Rice a Roni as pkg. directions. I used a little more than half of a quart of diced, home-canned tomatoes in the Rice a Roni. Didn't put the extra can of canned tomatoes on top--saved it for later. Topped with a bunch of tortilla chips from Costco. Drained a can of pinto beans and black beans and mixed with one can--NOT drained--of S&W Caribbean beans--I buy them to make Cafe Rio salad so I have a bunch in my food storage--plus two Tbs. of Red Hot liquid seasoning. (I dislike kidney beans so I rarely buy them.) Topped them with the rest of the quart of tomatoes, drained. topped that with a can of green enchilada sauce--I would have made my own--I'm a home-made type girl but I'm all out of green chilies. Topped with Mozzarella cheese only as I was too lazy to hunt up any cheddar cheese in the freezer. Baked loosely covered--kind of tented so the aluminum foil didn't touch the cheese--for 45 minutes at 350°. Uncovered the casserole, turned the oven to 400° until it was a little brown on top and bubbling.

For the salad I mixed tomatoes, chopped multi-colored peppers, pepperoncini--also known as pickled banana peppers, and lettuce. I made guacamole, had sour cream and ranch dressing on the side.

Of course, I forgot to take photos until everyone was finished so no photo of the salad and guacamole and sour cream but everyone knows what salad and guacamole and sour cream looks like anyway.

It was very good. Lord Bumhampton had several servings and really liked it. We all really liked it. Go forth and bake some.

RHUBARB FRUIT LEATHER

Grow it. Wash it. Cut it.

Sugar it.

Cook it.

Blend it.

Flavor it.

Blend it some more.

Spray a cookie sheet with vegetable spray. Smooth it out.Pour the hot mixture on a cookie sheet.

Make sure it's evenly spread. Put it in the oven. Make sure the door is cracked so the moisture can escape. I use a wooden spoon.
The finished product. Peel it off the cookie sheet, cut it into rolls and eat. It's delicious. No one can tell it is not normal fruit leather and it's practically free.

The light colored one is watermelon kiwi, the red is cherry and the dark is orange with some dried cherries blended in.

RHUBARB FRUIT LEATHER –Lynne Snyder

4 cups rhubarb, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 1/3 cups sugar
¼ cup water
1 pkg unsweetened Kool Aid®

Wash rhubarb and cut into ½ inch pieces. Put rhubarb, sugar and water into a pot and bring to a boil. I cover it at first and then uncover it to boil as much liquid off as possible.

As soon as the rhubarb is soft you can blend it—I use an immersion blender—also called a “stick” or “hand held” blender. If you use a normal blender be extremely careful as hot liquids will “pop” the lid. You may want to let it cool some before blending and then hold the lid on with a kitchen towel folded to make many layers. Add pkg. of Kool Aid, blend again. Pour onto greased cookie sheet—I spray with “Pam” and then smooth it out with my hands. Try to get the rhubarb mixture as evenly spread as possible—maybe even a little thicker on the edges as they dry faster. Put in a dehydrator or an oven set to a low temperature—my oven has a dehydrator feature on it and I can get it to a low temperature and a fan continually runs so it is a more even heat. I even make yogurt in the oven which takes a 110° temperature. For the rhubarb leather I dry it at 140°. This takes at least a day.

Dehydrate until almost dry. Let cool, peel off cookie sheet, roll and cut.

Sometimes I peel off the cookie sheet and put the leather, top side down, right on the oven rack and let it dry for another hour or so. You can lightly dust with cornstarch if desired.

Years and years ago I dried the leather in a car, with a window cracked. The car smelled divine! Just make sure the cookie sheet is perfectly level. And don’t drive off when the leather is in a liquid state. You will be cleaning up a mess. I called this my redneck dehydrator.

Our favorite flavors are grape and cherry but they are all good...except lemonaid. That flavor was so sour.

If you have some fresh fruit you can blend it in the the liquid rhubarb. If you have enough you don't need the Kool Aid as your leather will take on the flavor of the fruit. Taste it before pouring it on the cookie sheet to see if it has enough flavor.