Creamy Lemon Pie by Laura Hromsco

Creamy Lemon Pie

 

1 ready made pie crust

14 oz sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs

1/2 cup lemon juice

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine milk, eggs, and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. Pour into crust. Bake for 15 mins. Cool completely for best flavor and serve chilled. Top with whipped cream!

 

(can be baked and frozen for up to 2 weeks....defrost and serve chilled!)

Popcorn "Balls" by Jessica Christensen

RECIPES

Popcorn Balls         ~~Jessica Christensen

2 quarts popped popcorn         ¼ cup butter

1 cup sugar                                    ½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup corn syrup                  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup water

Place popcorn in a baking pan and keep warm in a 200* oven while preparing syrup.  In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, butter, and salt.  Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly.  Continue cooking without stirring until the temperature reaches 270* on a candy thermometer.  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla, stir just enough to mix.  Slowly pour over the popcorn.  Cool just enough to handle.  Shape the balls with buttered hands.  Yields 1 dozen.

Jessica’s note- I didn’t have a candy thermometer so I just continued to let it boil without stirring for awhile.  This could be why I couldn’t really make them into balls… So I just stuck the pan in the oven for 45 minutes and stirred it every 10-15 minutes.  It still didn’t come out very firm, so then I put it in cupcake papers and it hardened up when it cooled.

Hamburger Crescent Rolls by Alesya Flynn

Hamburger Crescent Rolls

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (8oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms - I used fresh mushrooms and just saute them in butter and then cut them up
1 (4 oz.) pkg. cheddar cheese grated - I just sliced the cheddar cheese
1 can crescent dinner rolls
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. basil

Brown beef and onion. Drain and add salt, tomato sauce and mushrooms. Add seasonings.  Spread 1 Tbsp. of mixture on each triangle toll and top with a slice of cheese. Roll up each triangle from large end and place it on the baking pan (lightly sprayed).  Bake 375 degrees for 20 min.

Makes 8 rolls.

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad by Lindsay Blaise

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad 

Ingredients
12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella
12 fresh basil leaves, julienned
Directions
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

Cut the mozzarella into slices slightly less than 1/2-inch thick. If the slices of mozzarella are larger than the tomatoes, cut the mozzarella slices in half. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

Funeral Potatoes by Lindsay Butler

Funeral Potatoes:

1 small-medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp. butter
1 28-oz. bag shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 c. sour cream
1 10-oz. can cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom) soup
2 1/4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

OPTIONAL: Crushed cornflakes, seasoned bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, or crushed Ritz or saltine crackers.

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat. Add the thawed hash browns, sour cream, soup, cheese, salt, and pepper and combine well. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.
Spread the mixture into a 9×13″ (or similar) dish and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the casserole is hot in the center and the cheese is bubbly throughout.

Pecan Pie Bars by Roxanne Gabbard

Pecan Pie Bars

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease the bottom and sides of a 13"x9" pan.

Crust Ingredients:

2/3 C Sugar

1/2 C Butter, softened

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 1/2 C All-purpose Flour

Filling Ingredients:

2/3 C Brown Sugar

1/2 C Corn Syrup

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

3 Large Eggs

1 C Pecans, chopped

For the crust:

In a medium bowl, mix sugar, butter and vanilla extract.  Add flour and mix well.  Press dough on bottom and 1/2" up the sides of the pan.  Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until edges are light brown.

For the filling:

In a medium bowl, beat brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla extract, salt and eggs.  Stir in pecans and pour over baked crust.  

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until set.

Apple Berry Salsa & Cinnamon/Sugar Tortilla Chips by Jennifer Sibiga

Apple Berry Salsa

2 medium apples
1 pint strawberries
2 kiwi, peeled and diced
1 small orange
2 TBSP packed brown sugar
2 TBSP apple jelly or apricot jam

Peel, core, and slice apples.  Coarsely chop apple slices.  Dice strawberries and kiwi.  Place fruit in small bowl.  Zest the orange to measure 1 teaspoon zest.  Juice orange to measure 2 tablespoons juice.  Add orange zest, juice, brown sugar and jelly to fruit mixture; mix gently.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve with big Baked Cinnamon Chips (see below).

Yield: 3 cups (16 servings)

Baked Cinnamon Chips

8 (7-inch) flour tortillas
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Lightly spray tortillas with water.  Combine sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle evenly over tortillas.  Cut each tortilla into eight wedges.  Arrange half of the tortilla wedges in a single layer on a large round baking stone.  Big 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and crisp.  Remove from baking stone; Cool completely.  Repeat with remaining tortilla wedges.

Yield: 64 chips (16 servings)

Cucumber Tapa by Ophelia Dunk

CUCUMBER TAPA

From The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

Serves 4

Ingredients:

ü     2 seedless cucumbers (about 1 lb each), peeled if waxy

ü     2 T extra-virgin olive oil

ü     1 tsp sherry vinegar

ü     2 oz. feta cheese, diced

ü     ¼ tsp kosher salt

ü     Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

ü     1 T fresh oregano leaves, chopped

Directions:

1.     Slice the cucumbers lengthwise, and remove any small seeds.  Cut 1 cucumber half into ¼-inch dice and transfer to a small bowl.  Add the olive oil, vinegar, feta cheese, salt, and pepper, and toss well to combine.  Add the oregano, and toss again.

2.     Use a vegetable peeler to remove 1 or 2 long strips of the peel (if the cucumber is already peeled, remove a strip of the flesh) from the underside of each of the remaining 3 cucumber halves so they will sit without tipping.  Spoon the cucumber-and-feta mixture into the long trough of each half.

3.     Slice cucumbers crosswise on a slight diagonal into 1½-inch pieces, and serve immediately.