Our Family Secrets

I was looking for this recipe ALL OVER today and I am soooo glad I finally found it filed away in my email.  I must have sent it to someone.  I thought I better post it before I lose it again – it is one of my favorite. 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 (11 ounce) package white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup Craisins 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cream the butter & add the sugars.
3. Beat in the vanilla extract& eggs.
4. Add dry ingredients, mix well.
5. Add in white chocolate chips, nuts, and craisins.
6. Combine mixture until well blended.
7.  Drop one heaping tablespoon of dough on ungreased baking sheet (or however large or small you want your cookies to be).
8. Bake for 10 minutes.

It’s ridiculous because it is so dang GOOD!

Ingredients:

Cheesecake:
5 bricks of cream cheese
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla

Optional: Cherry pie filling

Crust:
1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 stick butter, melted

Directions:

Mix butter and crumbs and press in to pan (springform works best).  Bake crust at 350 for 5 minutes.  Cool.

Mix all filling ingredients except cherries.   Pour half of the filling in pan over cooled, prepared crust.  Pour in cherries and filling (to taste).  Pour the other half of the filling on top and swirl with a fork.

Bake cheesecake in a 300 degree oven for 45-50 minutes.  Turn off oven and leave cheesecake to cool overnight.  Chill and serve.

I got this recipe from my best friend Lisa.  I wasn’t too sure about the poppy seeds at first, but DANG this came out really good!

Ingredients:

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked (boiled) and cut up
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
1-2 tsp Poppy seeds
Salt & Pepper to Taste (You can use Garlic Salt in place of table salt)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients (except the butter, poppy seeds, and Ritz crackers).  Spray casserole dish with cooking spray, and put mixture in dish.  Sprinkle with poppy seeds (you can put some in the mixture as well if you want), then top with crushed Ritz crackers.  Drizzle with melted butter and bake at 350 until top is lightly browned and mixture is bubbly (around 30 minutes).

This freezes well for a quick weeknight meal.  Even the pickiest eater (you know who you are Derek!) loved this dish.  Thanks Lisa!

OK I don’t normally post “medicinal” type recipes, but I came across this one this AM and had to share… My youngest son was coughing today and I totally ran out of cough medicine and didn’t have any on hand.  I remember my Mom used to mix up a concoction like this one – only more alcoholic (i.e. Puerto Rican rum instead of all that water), but hey that’s how it was in the 70′s!  I tailored this one from a few I found online, and hey – it works!  So i decided to blog it so I could keep it on file. 

Ingredients:

pinch Cayenne Pepper
pinch Ground Ginger
1/2 Tbs Honey
1/2  Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbs Water

Directions:

Mix all of the above in a glass until well blended.  Drink in sips (it won’t taste that bad, but it won’t be yummy either) until done.

It really works to help a sore throat and cough.

Of course if that cough/sore throat is persistent please see a doctor. 

This is a new recipe that I adapted from the Jif Peanut Butter recipe – it is my new favorite!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs Milk
1 Tbs Vanilla
1 Large Egg
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.

2.  Add egg, beat until blended.

3.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in separate bowl.  Add to creamed mixture in three batches, mixing well between batches.

4.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased cookie sheet (or just use a Silpat if you have one).  Flatten lightly by pressing a crisscross pattern into dough with the tines of a fork.

5.  Bake 8 minutes or until just starting to brown.  Cool.  Eat! 

We LOVE using our waffle maker on weekend mornings, but sometimes the batter can be tiresome to make.  Solution:  We use Bisquick pancake mix.  I  know, I know – you can’t always get that nice crispy outside that you can when you make the batter from scratch.  Problem solved: just separate the eggs and whip up the egg whites, then fold them in – the whites are the secret to a nice crisp waffle. 

Ingredients:

2 Cups Bisquick Pancake Mix
1 1/3 Cup Milk
2 Eggs – separated
2 Tbs Vegetable Oil

Directions:

Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Beat yolks with milk and oil.  Mix yolk mixture in with Bisquick in large bowl.  Gently fold egg whites into batter.  Cook according to waffle iron directions.

We serve these with syrup, fruit and whipped cream…

We made this over the weekend and it was AWESOME.  Tastes just like a certain Italian restaurant chain’s version…

Ingredients:

1 lb ground sweet Italian sausage
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 large onion, diced
6 slices of bacon
2 tsp minced garlic
10 cups water
5 cubes chicken bouillon
1 cup Fate Free Half and Half
4 large potatoes, sliced
1 bunch of kale

Instructions:

1.  Brown the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a large pot.  Remove from pot, drain excess fat.  Set aside.
2.  In the same pan, saute’ onion, bacon, and garlic until onions are soft (10-15 min).
3.  Pour in water and add chicken bouillon.  Add potatoes and cook till soft; about 30 minutes.
4.  Add half and  half and cook until heated (about 10 minutes).
5.  Stir in sausage and kale.  Simmer for another 5 minutes and serve.

This one is super easy and it a family favorite!

Ingredients:

1 – 1-2lb Pork Roast
4-5 new potatoes, peeled (optional) and cubed
1 1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 – envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (optional – I didn’t have it on hand once and this turned out fine)
1-2 chicken flavored bouillon cubes (I use 2 if I don’t use the cream of mushroom soup)
Enough water to cover
Pepper to taste (you don’t really need to add salt because of the soups)

Directions:

Put everything in the crockpot (veggies on the bottom) and simmer on low for 8 hours (the longer the better).

Enjoy! 

This is simple, oh so good, and CHEAP. 

Ingredients:

4 beef cube steaks (4 steaks)
1 small onion, chopped
1 -2 cups sliced mushrooms (quantity is up to you – we like it shroomy)
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
16 ounce can of beef broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
flour (for dredging)
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper both sides of steaks and dredge in flour.
2. Melt butter and olive oil in pan. Saute onions and mushrooms till tender. Transfer to plate.
3. Brown steaks on both sides, transfer to plate.
4. Pour beef broth in skillet to deglaze pan. Add soup and stir to combine.
5. Add steaks, onions and mushrooms to pan. Bring to boil for one minute. Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer for one hour.

We usually have these steaks with egg noodles and it is just the best COMFORT FOOD. 

I got this recipe from the Food Network website, but tweaked it a little. The original called for hazelnuts (which I couldn’t find shelled) so I changed up the recipe a little. This one will definitely be a Christmas time favorite….

Ingredients:

2 Cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, softened (do not substitute)
1 cup powdered sugar (plus about 1/2 cup for coating)
1 tbs vanilla
1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour and salt in bowl and set aside.
2. Cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Add sugar and vanilla and mix until whipped and light – about 2 minutes.
3. Add the nuts and mix until well incorporated. Add flour/salt mixture and mix about 1 minute.
4. Shape dough into 1 Tbs balls and place on baking sheet spaced about 1 inch apart. Bake until underside of cookies are browned – about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets.
5. Place 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Once cookies have cooled, roll them in powdered sugar until coated. Tap off excess.

These are so rich and buttery. They are one of my favorite type of cookie. Enjoy!