CrockPot Pot Roast

Crust your roast with salt, pepper, and minced garlic and brown in a saucepan.

Slice onions, potatoes, carrots and any other vegetables you want and put them at the bottom of the crock pot. (Note: I do not recommend broccoli. If you want it for supper, steam it right before you serve.)

Place roast over vegetables.

Deglaze your saucepan with a little water (1/3 - 1/2 cup) and pour over the roast. Cover.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8.

Cherry Squares

Cream together:
1 Cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar

Add:
4 beaten eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Sift into mixture:
3 scant Cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix well, then spread 2/3 mixture in a 15 x 10 pan.
Spread with 2 cans Cherry Pie Filling

Drop the rest of the dough by spoonfuls over top of the pie filling (dough will be quite stiff.
Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes, or until top is light brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Drizzle with Lemon Glaze:
2 Tbs butter melted in 2 Tbs milk in microwave
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
vanilla

I made these for Thanksgiving for the first time this year, and they turned out really well. Ches actually made the glaze for me (since I was busy with the baby!), and he said you could do with about half a cup less of the powdered sugar, and he added more lemon juice.

Apple Pie

Bottom Crust:

Mix 5 cups of flour, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of sugar, and 2 tbsp of baking powder. Cut in 1 lb (2 1/3 cups) of lard or shortening until fine. In a 1 cup measure, put 1 egg yolk, 1 tbsp of vinegar. Fill cup with cold water. Stir in enough liquid to make dough into a ball. Chill at least 1 hour. Separate and roll or freeze for later.

(Variations: I've used both white and apple cider vinegar and they both work. If you are of the group that feels that white flour is of the devil you can make substitutions. If you're going to use smelt use half spelt and half flour (plus a little more spelt) to make it work.)

Filling:

After you core, peel and slice as many grannie smith plus one more firm, tart variety apples to fit your pie plate, add the following to taste: white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, all-spice, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Of course freshly grated is best but the jarred spices work, too. Coat each apple piece well by stirring with a wooden spoon. By the end of the mixing process there will be a dark liquid at the bottom which is a tasty combination of apple juice and plenty of sugar and spices! Yum!

Pour apples into crust in pie plate, spreading evenly and packing down to fit them well.

(Note: filling apples must be firm and tart, otherwise you'll end up with a tasteless sugar-added applesauce filling. Having grannie smith plus another adds depth to the taste. I recommend gala or fuji as a complementary apple, but keep it mostly grannie smith.)

Crumb Topping:

Combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, and 1/4 cup rolled oats until smooth. Spread over top of pie.

(Variations: can substitute spelt completely in crumb topping.)

Bake pie in oven at about 425 degrees, covering the topping after 20-30 minutes to avoid burning. Total baking time is about 40 minutes. Let set.

Seven Layer Bars, and "Dream Bars" variation

When I saw this recipe for Seven Layer Bars, I immediately thought of the Dream Bars we used to make at Christmastime when I was a kid. Because the Seven Layer Bars seem fancier, I decided to make them this year instead of the old standby.

It worked out well, except my graham crust turned out a little mushy. There are a couple of reasons why this might have happened. For one thing, I was trying my new 9 x 9 silicon baking pan. For another, I was using the microwave. I just have to say I love the silicon baking pan! (Even if it might have been the cause of the mushy crust.)


SEVEN LAYER BARS

½ cup butter or margarine
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
8 oz. chocolate chips
8 oz. butterscotch chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Melt butter in 9 x 9 pan. Sprinkle graham crumbs over melted butter, press down. Sprinkle coconut then chocolate chips then butterscotch chips. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over all. Sprinkle with nuts; press lightly. Bake 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

This recipe freezes well.


Notes:

Cook 6-8 minutes in microwave oven, turning often.
I used peanut butter chips instead of butterscotch chips.



DREAM BARS

1 cup graham crumbs
1 pkg (6 oz.) chocolate chips
1 pkg (3½ oz.) coconut
1 can condensed milk

Combine all ingredients. Place in 8 x 8 baking pan. Cook 8 minutes in microwave, turning often.

Notes:

For the microwave, I recommend cooking in one minute intervals, turning the pan a quarter turn each minute. 8 minutes works for a lower-wattage microwave oven. In both recipes, watch for bubbles in the outside corners. Once you start to see that, it's just about done. The outside squares (especially the corners) will be crispy and the middle ones will be soft and gooey. Sometimes it's hard to get the balance just right so that the outside isn't overdone and the middle isn't underdone. If it gets a little crispy, eat the corners yourself and freeze the rest.

Easy Shredded Pork

Cook a pork shoulder roast in the crock pot for most of the day on low. (You don't have to do anything to the roast. Just stick it in there. If you want to experiment with different spices, that makes it even better.) About 3 or 4 hours before the roast is done, get rid of the juices from the crock pot, shred the pork, and then add your favorite BBQ sauce. Continue to cook on low. Serve, and enjoy!!

Broccomole Dip

2 Cups finely chopped fresh broccoli
1/4 cup light sour cream OR plain yogurt
1 - 2 Tbs. minced onion
1 Tbs. light miracle whip
2 - 3 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. chili poweder

In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for several hours. Serve with fres veggies or baked tortilla chips.

I found it's easiest to "finely chop" your broccoli in a mini food chopper. I got this recipe at church in Preston, and trust me, it is SO good.

Souper Chicken & Rice Bake

I got this recipe from Ches' aunt Jerylyn. It's super easy to make and tastes really great, too. I know there are a lot of variations out there, but we pretty much stick to this one.

2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
3 Cups Water
1 1/2 Cups uncooked long grain rice
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. pepper
8 chicken breast halves -- thawed

In shallow baking dish, mix soup, water, rice, paprika, and pepper. Place chicken on mixture. Sprinkle with additional paprika and pepper. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes -- covered. Uncover and cook for 15 minutes.

Ches hates mushrooms, so we actually use Cream of Celery soup, and because there are so few of us, we cut the recipe in half and only use 2 chicken breasts instead of 8. The cooking time can be dropped down by about 5 minutes both covered and uncovered then, too.

Sweet Marie Bars

I got this recipe from Better Safe Than Sorry. It is laughably easy to make ― a no-bake holiday treat. I made them yesterday. They are delicious, too.


SWEET MARIE BARS

½ cup brown sugar
½ cup corn syrup
½ cup peanut butter
1 tbsp. melted butter/margarine
2 cups rice krispies
¼ cup semi sweet chocolate

Combine first five ingredients in bowl, mixing well. Press into an 8 x 8 inch pan. Ice with semi sweet chocolate. Cut into squares.

A few tips:
Use fresh brown sugar. (I had some old stuff and it ended up making a few crystallized lumps when it mixed with the corn syrup.)

Refrigerating before cutting into squares makes it a bit easier to get them in a container for freezing.

For the icing, use more chocolate than the recipe states. I like a thicker layer, plus a lot of chocolate gets left behind in whatever you melt it in. Go for one-third to one-half cup for good coverage.

Fajita Stir Fry

I never liked stir fry as a kid. I think that it was because I don't really care for soy sauce or typical asian flavors... That said, when I was first married, I made Fajita's quite a lot because they were easy. One day, I was making these and realized that I was out of Tortillas! I decided to be creative and put it all over rice. What materialized was one of the most tasty dinners that I still make on a regular basis. Without further adu, here is my recipe for Fajita Stir Fry:

Cook Time 30 minutes Serves 4
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper*
1 Yellow Pepper*
1 Medium sized Onion
2 Cups Rice (uncooked)
1 Pkg. McKormic Fajita Seasoning
1 LB. Meat (Stewing Beef is best. Chicken, Turkey, or Ground Meat of any kind will work.)
1 Tbsp. Oil
1/2 Cup Water

Place uncooked rice into a pot with 4 cups of water (or your typical way of making rice). On high heat, bring rice to a boil then reduce heat to Medium Low and cover. Meanwhile slice Peppers and Onion. Saute vegetables in oil over Medium heat. When they are soft, remove them from pan and place aside. In the same pan that you cooked the vegetables, now brown your choice of meat. If you have chosen stew meat, you may want to add a little salt or the tenderizer of your choice as it tends to be a little tough. When meat is cooked through, add Seasoning Packet and Water, let simmer over Medium heat for about 5 minutes until a gravy has formed. Add cooked vegetables back into pan and stir gravy and meat into vegetables. Serve over cooked rice.

*yellow and red peppers are optional. They make the stir fry pretty and add a little sweet flavors into it as well.

"Buckeyes"

To get into the Holiday Spirit.

Buckeye’s (a.k.a. peanut butter bon bons)


INGREDIENTS:
2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cake paraffin wax


DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine peanut butter and butter, stir until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls. Place on a waxed-paper lined rimmed baking sheet and chill 1 hour (or until no longer sticky). In a double boiler over medium heat or in a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips and paraffin wax until smooth. Stick a toothpick in the center of peanut butter ball and dip 3/4's of the way into chocolate mixture coating all sides except the top ¼ of the ball. Place on waxed paper lined rimmed baking sheet and remove toothpicks. Use your finger to fill in the hole left by the toothpicks. Cover and chill or freeze until ready to serve.

I found this recipe in a "Better Homes and Garden's" Magazine when I was living in Phoenix. The first time I made it was for a work christmas party. It took a long time for the peanut butter balls to freeze, and I thought the parafin wax gave the chocolate a strange taste. Karen asked for this recipe so I sent it to her, she and I have been talking, and we have decided that there are many dipping chocolates that could work for this.

I was newly married, and a full-time employee. I wasn't into the whole cooking scene like I am now, and I am sure that WHEN I make them again I will be able to make them so they look much better than they did the first time.

Recipe Exchange

I wanted to start a cooking blog. A place where I can talk about the recipes I make, a little history behind them, and what I've done to the recipe to alter it to our tastes. When I mentioned the idea, so many people were interested in partcipating that I created a multi-member blog where we can all post about our favorite recipes, learn some cooking tips, and enjoy recipes from friends. I had no idea that wanting to write about my recipes would have evolved into something like this!