Fruit Pizza

Fruit Pizza

20 oz refrigerated sugar cookie, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP milk
4 oz cool whip

Heat oven to 350°. Press dough into cookie sheet or pizza pan or baking stone about 1/4 inch thick. Bake 12 minutes...don't try to get it golden, it will be too hard. Cool in pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in milk. Gently stir in 4 oz cool whip. Spread onto cooled cookie crust.

Garnish with toppings as desired. E.g. Strawberries, kiwi, banana, halved grapes, blueberries, pineapple, apples, chopped nuts, cherries, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, etc.

Refrigerate leftovers. (As if there would be any °Ü° )

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Hot Cocoa Mix

1 Cup baking cocoa

4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups instant powdered milk

Combine ingredients. To use: mix approx 1/4 - 1/3 cup with mug of hot water.

Scalloped Potatoes

Also commonly referred to as "Funeral Potatoes"

1 24oz bag frozen hashbrowns
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup onions
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix together and bake for 45 minutes in a 9 x 13 pan at 350°.
*Optional- Sprinkle 1-2 cups crushed corn flakes or crushed pretzels on top and dot with butter before baking for a crunchy topping. Also, chopped ham can be added to make this a main dish.

Apricot Jello

Apricot Jello

(You can substitute cherry, raspberry, orange or strawberry for the apricot jello.)

6 oz. apricot jello (unmade)

1/2 Cup water

1 Cup sugar

1 large can crushed pineapple- undrained (15 oz ?)

Bring these ingredients to a boil and completey dissolve jello and sugar.

Chill, stirring occasionally, but do not allow mixture to gel.

Once cool, in separate bowl cream 8 oz. of softened cream cheese. Add 12 oz of whipped cream (cool whip, etc). Mix into the jello/pineapple mixture. Chill 2-4 hours.

THE Best Meatloaf I've Ever Eaten/Made

Meatloaf

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds extra-lean ground beef
3 slices bread, toasted and crumbled (I used wheat bread)
7 buttery round crackers, crushed
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 1/2 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, divided
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons ketchup



Preheat oven to 350°.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion and garlic 5 minutes, until onion is tender. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, mix the onion and garlic, crumbled bread, crushed crackers, egg, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 can tomato sauce and the milk. Add the meat and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a 5x9 inch loaf pan.

Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 40 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400°, and continue baking 15 minutes, to an internal temperature of 160°.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining tomato sauce and ketchup. Pour over the top of the meatloaf, and continue baking an additional 10 minutes.

PS-Lately I've also been adding chopped celery. Super yummy!

Salad Dressing like Olive Garden's

Salad Dressing like Olive Garden's

1/2 Cup white vinegar
1/3 Cup water
1/3 Cup vegetable oil
1/4 Cup corn syrup
2 1/2 TBSP grated parmesan/romano cheese
2 TBSP pectin
1 egg- beaten
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1 pinch dried oregano
1 pinch red pepper flakes

--Combine all ingredients in blender on medium speed for 30 seconds to a minute. Blending well is key to a smooth, thick dressing. Under-blending will result in a runnier dressing. Chill 2-4 hours shaking occasionally. Keeps for 2 weeks, approx.

All-purpose Seasoning

Emeril's Baby Bam

3 TBSP paprika
2 TBSP salt
2 TBSP parsley
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp (+/-) cayenne

(Honestly, I really don't like thyme, so I never add it.) This all-purpose seasoning is super yummy on grilled chicken, grilled salmon, in hamburgers, BBQ chicken wings, etc. I love it! Make up a double or triple batch so you always have plenty on hand.

 (Thought I'd add this cute 4x6 recipe printable.)

Or if you want to print it on colored card stock, here it is in black and white:

Candied Pecans

I saw this recipe on a random blog. I have to say...these were extremely easy to make. My husband came home from working overtime and ate about half of them right then and there. The rest he took to work the next day. I got a phone call requesting that I immediately email the recipe to several of his co-workers. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did. Next I need to locate the old recipe I had for making orange flavored candied pecans. *Yummy*

Candied Pecans

1 teaspoon cold water

1 egg white

1 pound large pecans (4 cups)

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Beat water and egg white until frothy. Pour over pecans and mix well. Combine sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pour over pecans and mix well. Spread on a cookie sheet. Bake at 225 degrees for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. ( I stir every 15 minutes.)