Apple Cake with Vanilla Caramel Sauce

2 cups chopped, peeled apples
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 t cinnamon
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

1 egg
1/4 oil
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour square pan or single layer round cake pan.

Sift dry ingredients over apples and nuts in large bowl. Stir until well coated.

Whisk together egg, oil and vanilla. Gently stir into apple mixture until well mixed. Mixture is very thick - doesn't resemble "typical" cake batter.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Cool slightly and serve with vanilla caramel sauce.

Vanilla Caramel Sauce
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 cup cream
1 t vanilla

Melt butter. Whisk in brown sugar and cinnamon; stir until sugar is melted. Whisk in cream and stir until bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

Easy Sloppy Joes

This is a favorite at our house and is so easy to make!

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onions (or 2T dehydrated onions)
1 cup barbecue sauce (I use Montgomery Inn brand)
1 T mustard

hamburger buns

Brown ground beef and onions together until cooked. Drain off grease.

Add sauce and mustard and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on buns.

Best Ever Macaroni & Cheese

This stuff is incredible. You can feel your arteries harden and your thighs widening with every bite. But so worth it!!

Rich Macaroni and Cheese

1 lb penne

6 T butter

6 T flour

4 c milk

1 cup mozzarella

1 c parmesan

3 c cheddar (reserve 1 cup for topping)

½ c Monterey jack

1 c Velveeta

(note: may substitute other kinds of cheese but do use at least half cheddar. I have also used gruyere, havarti, swiss, etc.)

2 t Worcestershire

2 t mustard

2 t hot sauce

Grease 4 quart casserole. Cook penne. Melt butter; whisk in flour. Add milk and cook, stirring until thickened. Sir in cheeses; add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and mustard. Mix pasta with sauce. Top with remaining cheddar. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I usually make this in two pans and stick one in the freezer (before baking)

Strawberry Cream Pie

This recipe came from last month's Domino magazin although I made some modifications. I brought it to book club last week and it was a hit. Very flavorful but light. I'll be making it again soon!

Strawberry Cream Pie

2 lb strawberries, reserve 3 for garnish, hull the rest
3 T lemon juice
1 ¼ cup milk
6 T Cornstarch
¾ c. sugar

Graham cracker pie shell (the bigger one)

2 cups whipping cream
2 T confectioner sugar

Puree the strawberries (not the reserved ones!) in a blender or food processor with the lemon juice. Combine cold milk, cornstarch and sugar in saucepan. Whisk until well blended and sugar is dissolved. Stir in pureed strawberries. Cook over med-high heat for 6-7 minutes until bubbly and thick. Pour into pie shell and let cool completely on counter. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Before serving, whip cream with sugar until stiff. Spread over pie and garnish with remaining strawberries (you can slice them or chop them, whatever you feel like.) Be sure to keep refrigerated until serving. It gets soft quickly.

Granola

This is one of my favorite breakfasts - Berries with yogurt and granola. And when the granola is homemade granola, it's THE BEST! My friend gave me the recipe but I think it originally came from Better Homes and Gardens. The ingredients can be modified to suit your tastes.

Homemade Granola

(Better Homes & Gardens 5/92)

2 ½ cups rolled oats

1 cup coconut

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup sliced almonds

¼ cup butter/margarine

¼ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup honey

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 t. cinnamon

½ cup toasted wheat germ

1 cup raisins (or dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 300.

Add oatmeal, coconut, seeds, nuts to greased roasting pan (I do not grease the pan.)

Bake 20 minutes, stirring several times.

In small sauce pan combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon & honey until melted.

Add vanilla.

Increase oven temperature to 350

Add wheat germ to oatmeal mixture.

Pour sugar mixture over oatmeal mixture and stir until mixed.

Bake 5 minutes more.

Add raisins, mix and press into pan with spatula.

Bake 5 – 10 minutes.

Remove to wire rack and cool completely. (I pour onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper to cool.)

Nutritional Information for ½ cup serving:

233 calories

11 grams fat

0 mg cholesterol

5 grams protein

32 grams carbohydrate

1 g. fiber

55 mg sodium

RDA 12% iron
20% thiamin

Spinach Citrus Salad

This pretty salad comes from Sandra Lee's Almost Homemade cookbook and food show website.

For Dressing:
1/4 cup reserved citrus juice
1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons orange olive oil (recommended: O Olive Oil)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper

9 ounces baby spinach
1 jar (24-ounce) sun fresh citrus salad, drain and liquid reserved
4 ounces goat cheese

In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients for dressing and 1/4 cup reserved citrus liquid. Add spinach and toss. Divide dressed spinach onto chilled salad plates. Divide citrus salad among plates and garnish with crumbled goat cheese.

Soft Ginger Cookies

This is not my recipe but one I found at Allrecipes.com. The picture is also from the website. This might be my favorite cookie. It is soft and chewy and spicy.

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

Submitted by: AMY1028 Rated: 5 out of 5 by 1343 members

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Ready In: 50 Minutes Yields: 24 servings

"These are just what they say: big, soft, gingerbread cookies. They stay soft, too. My oldest son's favorite."

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup margarine, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 tablespoon water 1/4 cup molasses 2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2.	In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
3.	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Servings Per Recipe: 24

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 142

• Total Fat: 6g
• Cholesterol: 9mg
• Sodium: 147mg
• Total Carbs: 20.9g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.4g
• Protein: 1.6g