Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

This recipe is from a friend and co-worker who even put them in our church's cookbook.

I like to make these cookies with our homemade strawberry jam instead of the raspberry.

2/3 c sugar
1 c butter, softened
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 c flour
1/2 c raspberry jam

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In lg bowl, combine sugar, butter, and almond extract. Beat at med speed til creamy. Reduce speed to low and add flour. Beat til well blended. Shape dough into 1" balls. Place 2" apart on a cookie sheet. With thumb (I like to use my pinkie finger.), make an indentation in center of each cookie. Fill each indentation with about 1/4 tsp jam. (A baby spoon works great for putting the jam in.) Bake for 14-18 min or til edges are lightly browned. Cool completely. Makes 3 1/2 dozen.

Glaze:
1 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
2-3 tsp water

In a sm bowl, stir together all glaze ingredients til smooth and desired consistency. Drizzle over cookies.

Wafflewiches

My stepmom made these for us when I was young. Now I make them, and the kids gobble them up!

even number of waffles (homemade or thawed frozen storebought, NOT belgian waffles)
bacon or sausage patties
shredded cheese

Cook the bacon or brown the sausage patties. When meat is done, break bacon pieces in half and put 3 bacon halves on a waffle OR put 1 sausage patty on a waffle. Top with shredded cheese, and cover with another waffle. Wrap each wafflewich individually in foil and put in 300-350 degree oven for 5-10 min or til wafflewich is warm and cheese is melted. Unwrap and eat.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I made a double batch of this for my husband's annual work picnic and came back with an empty bowl!

1 pkg fresh spinach
2 c strawberries, sliced
2 Tbsp butter
salt to taste
8 oz pecan halves
1/4 c light virgin olive oil
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c raspberry vinaigrette dressing
salt to taste

Clean spinach, removing stems. Slice strawberries. Toss pecans with melted butter and salt to taste. Spread on baking sheets in single layer. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 min or til crisp; cool. Mix dressing ingredients in blender or shaker: oil, sugar, raspberry vinaigrette, and salt. Shake well; assemble salad ingredients, pour and toss dressing on right before serving.

Cheddar Taters

The first time we had this recipe, I was teaching my 10 yr old daughter E to cook, and she helped me make it.

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 c (8 oz) sour cream
1/2 c butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp minced onion
1 pkg (32 oz) frozen Tater Tots
1 1/2 c (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 c crushed potato chips

In a lg bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Gently stir in the Tater Tots. Transfer to a greased 9x13" baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and potato chips. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 min or til bubbly. Makes 8-10 servings.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I baked this pie for the first time this summer using strawberries from our own berry patch and rhubarb from my grandparents' garden. I may have found a new favorite pie!

2 pints strawberries cut into about 1/2" pieces
1 lb rhubarb (without tops), cut into 1/2" pieces or 16 oz pkg frozen rhubarb
1 1/4 c sugar
1/3 c flour
2 Tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
pastry for 9" double crust pie
1 Tbsp butter, cut into bits

In a lg bowl, with rubber spatula, gently toss strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, flour, tapioca, vanilla, and salt to mix well. Let mixture stand 30 min to soften tapioca, stirring occasionally so tapioca will be evenly moistened.

Line 9 or 10" pie plate with bottom pastry crust, leaving 1" overhang. Spoon fruit mixture into crust; dot fruit with butter. Cover fruit with top pastry crust, fluting edges and cutting slits in top crust, or weave a lattice-top crust.

Bake pie 50 min at 425 degrees until fruit mixture begins to bubble* and crust is golden. Cool pie on rack 1 hr; serve warm or cool. Refrigerate leftovers.

*I learned the hard way to put a cookie sheet on the rack below the rack the pie is on to catch overflow when baking it in the oven!

Rhubarb Bread

1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c oil or unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 c chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

Topping:
1/2 c sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp melted butter

Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Add egg; mix well. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, and salt, mixing just til combined. Fold in rhubarb. Pour in 2 greased 8x4x2" loaf pans. Combine topping ingredients till all is moistened. Sprinkle over bread. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 min or til toothpick comes out clean. Cut with serrated knife. Makes 2 loaves.

Rich Brownie Cake

Oh. my. goodness! This dessert should be renamed "Death By Chocolate". It's every chocoholic's dream ... ESPECIALLY chocolatey ... ESPECIALLY rich ... ESPECIALLY good!

1 1/2 c butter (no substitutes)
6 squares (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate
3 1/4 c sugar, divided
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 pkg (8 oz each) semisweet baking chocolate
4 c (32 oz) whipping cream, divided

In a microwave or double boiler, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate. Stir in 3 c sugar. Add eggs, beating very well. Stir in vanilla, flour, and salt; mix well. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9" round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 23-25 min or til a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely; remove from pans.

For frosting, melt semisweet chocolate in a heavy saucepan over med heat. Gradually stir in 3 c of whipping cream til well blended. Heat to a boil and stir for 1 min. Remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl. Refrigerate for 2-3 hrs til mixture reaches a pudding-like consistency. Beat til soft peaks form. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake.

Beat remaining whipping cream and sugar til soft peaks form. Serve a dollop of whipped cream on top of each cake slice.

Store in refrigerator. Makes 16-20 servings.

Delicious Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Hubby found this recipe in a book and changed it up a bit to come up with this version. It's a very simple recipe and not a fancy coffee cake, but the kids love it! In fact, they're the ones who gave it this name!

1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c wheat flour [may substitute regular flour (in addition to the previously listed 1 1/2 c)]
3/4 c sugar
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 c plain yogurt
1/2 c milk

Topping:
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp butter, melted

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, beat together eggs, milk, and yogurt. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients and beat well. Spread batter in greased 13x9" pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 min or til toothpick comes out clean.* Meanwhile, mix together first 3 topping ingredients. Immediately upon removing cake from oven, brush entire top with melted butter and sprinkle with dry topping mixture. Return pan to oven for 1 min, then cool.

*You can also make the recipe into muffins. Follow directions above except grease muffin pan or line with muffin cups. Fill about half full. (Muffins will rise quite a bit.) Bake at 425 degrees for 15 min. Continue with directions above for topping. Makes 1 1/2 - 2 dozen muffins.

Macaroon Ice Cream Torte

I made this dessert for Hubby's 35th birthday. However, I had trouble finding macaroon cookies in the store, so I used the substitutions indicated. It was still really good!

24 macaroon cookies (I used 1 pkg crushed coconut cookies and about 1 c shredded coconut.)
1 qt coffee ice cream, softened
1 qt chocolate ice cream, softened
1 1/2 c Heath candy bits or 2 Heath candy bars, coarsely chopped (1.4 oz each)
hot fudge topping, warmed

For crust, mix half of the cookies (and coconut) with about 1 - 1 1/2 c of the coffee ice cream. Spread into the bottom of an ungreased 9" springform pan. Repeat with cookies (and coconut) using 1 - 1 1/2 c of the chocolate ice cream. Sprinkle with half of the Heath bits. Spread remaining softened coffee ice cream on top of crust. Repeat with remaining chocolate ice cream. Sprinkle with remaining Heath bits. Freeze til firm.

Remove from freezer atleast 10 min before serving. Remove sides of pan. Cut dessert into wedges and drizzle with hot fudge. Makes 12-16 servings.

Baked Beef Stew

Baked beef stew is shown with cheesy garlic bread.

2 cans (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 c water
2 c beef broth
6 Tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 1/2 lbs lean beef stew meat, cut into 1" cubes
8 med carrots, cut into 1" chunks
6-7 med potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
4 celery ribs, cut into 1/2" chunks
1 med onion, cut into chunks
2 slices of bread, cubed

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, water, broth, tapioca, sugar, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Put the rest of the ingredients into a greased ovenproof Dutch oven or med roasting pan. Pour tomato mixture on top and stir to mix well. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 1 3/4 to 2 hrs or til meat and veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Serve in bowls. Makes 8-10 servings.

White Brownies

This dessert may not look like anything special, but they're definitely worth making!

6 oz white baking chocolate

1 c butter

6 eggs

3 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 pkg (12 oz) vanilla chips

1 c chopped pecans

In a double boiler or microwave, melt chocolate and butter; cool for atleast 10 min. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar til thick and lemon-colored, about 4 min. Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; mix well. Stir in chips and pecans. Pour into a greased 15x10x1" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 min or til golden brown. Cool. Makes about 4 dozen. (I don't get this many.) ;)

Chili Dip

I made and served this dip at our New Year's party to ring in 2009. It was a hit! It's a good thing I'd doubled the recipe!

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 can (15 oz) chili with meat (with or without beans, your choice)
1/2 c salsa
1 c (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips or Frito Scoops

Spread the cream cheese in an 8" square baking dish. In a bowl, mix together chili and salsa; spread over cream cheese. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 min or til cheese is melted and dip is warm. Serve with tortilla chips or Frito Scoops. Makes 8 servings.