A New Year

We brought in the new year in our usual way by gathering with two other couples for games and good food. Our favorite game is Pictionary, the guys against the girls. We got off to a great start this year, but the guys made a stunning comeback and ended up beating us.

As always, we had way too much food. One of the dishes I took was a new recipe for pumpkin pie dip. I thought it was great and so did two of my kids who stopped by the house earlier that day. It didn't go over that well at our gathering, though. Still....I consider it a "keeper" and want to share it here with you.

Pumpkin Pie Dip

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Gingersnap cookies

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, sour cream, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and ginger until blended. Serve with gingersnaps. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 4 cups.

Pear Pie

I'll close the year with this recipe for pear pie that I found at Allrecipes.com. I made a few alterations in the preparation, but it still turned out great!

Pear Pie

1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest
5 cups peeled and sliced pears
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon rind in mixing bowl.

2. Arrange pears in layers in a 9-inch pastry lined pan, sprinkling sugar mixture over each layer. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Roll out remaining dough; cut slits for escape of steam. Moisten rim of bottom crust. Place top crust over filling. Fold edge under bottom crust, pressing to seal. Flute edge.

3. Bake at 450 degress F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes.


Wishing all my blogging friends a very happy and prosperous new year!!

Gingerbread

We had a very nice Christmas at our house. Bingo was fun on Christmas Eve with everyone winning at least twice. As the "caller" I don't get to play, but since I keep the unclaimed prizes and they were things I would have chosen for myself...I felt like a winner too!

In recent years Christmas Day has been a fairly quiet, low-key day at my house. This year I decided to try yet another recipe from the Delicious and Suspicious mystery I read this summer. Although mine turned out a little dry, the flavors were quite good. Maybe I cooked it just a tad too long.

Lulu's Early Morning Gingerbread Treat

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg and 1 egg white
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Beat sugar and butter at medium speed until well blended. Add juice, molasses, and eggs. Beat well and set aside. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup. Level with knife. Combine flour ginger, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to molasses mixture. stirring until well blended. Pour batter into an 8-inch square pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool gingerbread in pan on a wire rack. Sift powdered sugar over cooled gingerbread.

Bark at the Bazaar

It was a very busy week!

Each year the craft group at my church (I organize more than I craft) hosts a holiday bazaar. (click here for past entries) It's held from 7:00 until 11:00 a.m. on the second Thursday in November and offers a variety of items for sale: jewelry, handmade ornaments and holiday decorations, scarves, wreaths, decorative trees, baby gifts, and much, much more. Our "Trash & Treasure" section is always overflowing with items. In addition to a bake sale section (cakes, cookies, breads, jellies, pickles, etc.) we offer breakfast items for dine-in or carry-out (with free coffee for those dining in).

In addition to the usual goodies I prepare for the bake sale, I always like to try something new. This year it was a treat called "Cookie Pretzel Peanut Bark". I didn't plan to post the recipe, but my son and his girlfriend liked it so much they wanted me to.


Cookie Pretzel Peanut Bark
contributed to Simple & Delicious by Peggy Detjen of Lakeville, MN

1-1/4 pound white candy coating, coarsely chopped
3 cups pretzel sticks, broken into pieces
1-1/2 cups dry-roasted peanuts
14 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies, broken into chunks

In a microwave, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Stir in the pretzels, peanuts and cookies.

Drop by tablespoonfuls into miniature paper liners or onto waxed paper. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

Fruit Filled Cupcakes

Today is our younger daughter's birthday and last night the entire family gathered here for a birthday meal.

Several years ago I tried a cupcake recipe from Simple & Delicious which made a big impression on her. This was the first birthday in quite some time that she's been able to come home to celebrate, so she specifically requested these cupcakes instead of a cake.

They are moist, delicious, and quite simple to make.

1 pkg. strawberry cake mix
2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream (I use "lite")
2 eggs
strawberry preserves
white frosting

Combine first three ingredients in a large bowl. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds then an additional 2 minutes on medium speed. Fill 24 baking cups about half full with batter. Spoon approximately 1/2 teaspoon preserves into the center of each cup. Top with remaining batter. Bake at 350F for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Frost when cool.

Pops and photos

Here's another recipe from Aarti Sequeira, the newest Food Network star. I knew when I made this that probably no one in my family would eat it, but it looked so good I just had to try it anyway. I think I used too many pistachios, but other than that it tasted quite good.

Creamy Pistachio Pops

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
4 Earl Grey tea bags
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
Handful finely chopped pistachios, plus extra for garnish

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring evaporated milk to a simmer until small bubbles form around the circumference of the pot. Meanwhile, snip the tops of the tea bags and add to the milk. Whisk in cardamom. Once the milk is simmering, turn the heat off, cover and let sit and steep for 30 minutes.

Strain the evaporated milk into a large bowl. Whisk in the condensed milk, heavy cream and pistachios. Either pour the mixture into ice pop mold, small bowls or a large bowl. Cover the bowls with a piece of plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn and the formation of a "skin". Pop them into the freezer and freeze overnight.

When you're ready to serve, run the ice pop mold under hot water to loosen it. You can do the same thing for the smaller bowls if you'd like to serve it as a little kulfi half dome. Garnish with more nuts if you like and serve.


I don't have any photos of the pistachio pops, so instead I'll share some photos I took on a return trip to the farm this weekend.

Butterfinger Ice Cream

My younger daughter and I teamed up on the dessert for our family gathering Sunday night. Everyone enjoyed it, but several folks said they prefer creamier, richer ice cream.... the kind made with eggs and cooked to make a custard before freezing. Personally, I much prefer something like this which is more of an "ice milk".

Butterfinger Ice Cream
Contributed to Simple & Delicious by Tammy Drost of Cheyenne, WY

1/2 gallon whole milk
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 carton (16 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
6 Butterfinger candy bars (2.1 oz. each) crushed

In a large bowl, whisk milk and condensed milk. Whisk in whipped topping until combined; stir in crushed candy bars.

Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze.

When ice cream is frozen, transfer to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.

A trio of recipes

Here are the recipes we tried over the weekend. Sorry I don't have photos of the first two.

Balsamic-Garlic Chicken Breasts
(Southern Living, July 2010)

4 (6-oz.) skinned and boned chicken breasts
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1-1/2 tsp. honey

1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken, and cook 6 to 7 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken, and keep warm.

3. Add chicken broth and next 4 ingredients to skillet, and cook 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Serve chicken with sauce.


Creamy Spinach Noodle Toss
(Simple & Delicious - Josie Smith, Winamac, IN)

1-1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 bacon strips, diced
2 tsp. finely chopped onion
6-1/2 tsp. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt-free seasoning blend
1/8 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1-1/4 cups 2% milk
1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh baby spinach
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon and onion over medium heat until bacon is crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain.

Stir the flour, seasoning blend, salt and pepper into drippings until blended; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add spinach, cook and stir until spinach is wilted.

Drain noodles; transfer to a serving bowl. Add spinach mixture and cheese; toss to combine. Sprinkle with bacon mixture.


Sour Cream Raisin Empanadas

One refrigerated pie crust

2 Tbsp. sour cream
2 Tbsp. golden raisins
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. sugar
melted butter

extra sugar

Cut pie crust into circles using a 3-in. cookie cutter and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. (approx. 13 to 14 circles) In a small bowl, combine sour cream, raisins, vanilla and sugar. Place a small amount of mixture into center of each pastry round. Gently fold over and seal with a fork.

Brush tops with melted butter then sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake at 425F for about 10 minutes.

Tres Leches Cake

Okay...so I picked a traditionally Mexican dessert to make for American Independence Day. Maybe I should have served it with some fresh strawberries and blueberries. Then it would have at least looked like a dessert for the 4th of July!

I clipped this recipe from a newspaper supplement several months ago. Every time I've considered making it I've thought about how terribly fattening it is and changed my mind. (sliced into 16 pieces, each has 440 calories!!) I finally decided to give it a whirl yesterday and here are my thoughts:

Very dense, moist, and sweet. Very, very rich!! Too rich, in fact. I only had a small piece yesterday and I think I've had my fill. Wish I could share it with some of you!


Tres Leches Cake

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
5 eggs
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 (24 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon of rum or liqueur
Fresh berries for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9-in. baking dish.

2. Combine butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well.

3. Combine flour, baking powder and cream of tartar. Add to butter mixture slowly and beat well. Spread batter in pan. Bake 24 to 30 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

4. Stir together milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk. Pour 3 cups over cake. Reserve remaining milk mixture to serve with cake. Refrigerate cake.

5. Combine heavy cream, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and run. Beat until think and spread over cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

6. Pour leftover milk mixture onto dessert plates. Sliced chilled cake into squares and place on dessert plates. Garnish with fresh berries, if using.


Okay.....I have to be honest here. It wasn't until I was typing out the recipe that I realized I left out the baking powder when making mine!!! No wonder it seemed like such a flat cake!! However, fluffier wouldn't change the fact it was entirely too calorie-laden for my taste.

Pecan-Peach Cobbler

Think you can stand one more recipe from me this weekend?

My daughter and I picked up some peaches in Ruston, LA this past week (some of the best in the world!) so I had to try a recipe I saw in the June issue of Southern Living Magazine.

Click here for the recipe.

I cut it in half and prepared it in an 8x8" baking dish. Mine doesn't look nearly as nice as the one they show with the recipe, but I'd be willing to bet it tastes just as good if not better than theirs! I think this would be good made with other kinds of fruit, too.

Apple Pie

My daughter decided to make an apple pie from scratch this weekend. She looked through several of my cookbooks and decided on a recipe from my 1974 church cookbook. For the pastry she used the recipe I posted here. It wasn't a bad pie, but the apples didn't get quite done enough and it came out "juicer" than she wanted. I think we know what to do next time to make it better. Still...it tasted good, especially with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!


Apple Pie Filling:
5 or 6 golden delicious apples. Peel and slice thin. Sprinkle generously with lemon juice.

Mix together:
1 cup light brown sugar
1-1/2 to 2 Tbs. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash nutmeg

Mix with apples and put in pie crust. Dot generously with butter. Criss-cross with strips of pastry on top. Moisten pastry on top with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 325F for 30 or 45 minutes.

Oreo Truffles

Our older daughter's lack of culinary skill has always been a bit of a family joke. For that reason we were all surprised and delighted with one of the dishes she brought for our Christmas Eve celebration this past year. It was delicious and we knew if she had made it, it couldn't be too difficult. Since then, our middle child has made the recipe for a variety of occasions including a bridal shower we hosted this weekend for one of her friends. Commonly referred to as "Oreo balls" around our house, I've tried to class things up a little here by naming them "Oreo truffles"!

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. Oreo cookies
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

Vanilla Almond Bark

Chocolate Almond Bark

Crush the cookies very finely and mix in a bowl with the cream cheese. Roll by hand into small balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes to an hour.

Melt the Almond Bark. Dip each Oreo ball into the melted bark and return to the parchment paper. Drizzle with the opposite flavor bark. Store truffles in the refrigerator. Makes approximately 60 - 80 balls depending on size.

Helpful hints: Don't try crushing the cookies in a ziplock bag since the cream filling will stick to the sides. Crush them in a large bowl then add the cream cheese. Bring the cream cheese to room temperature rather than using the "soften" setting on the microwave. Melt the Almond Bark on the stove rather than in the microwave. Finally, use tongs for dipping and a fork for drizzling.

Peanut Butter Pie

Our middle child is the one who loves to cook. Now that she's home again for awhile we're trying some new recipes. Here's the latest. I think it came out of the Simple & Delicious magazine, but I'm not sure and can't credit who submitted it. I can say that it was quite yummy! We ate it all before I thought about taking a photo, so you'll just have to use your imagination as to what it looked like.

Peanut Butter Pie

3/4 cup peanut butter
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 carton (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 graham cracker crust (9 in.)
Salted chopped peanuts

In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping; pour into prepared crust. Sprinkle with nuts. Chill until serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

We added some mini-chocolate chip morsels while folding in the whipped topping. It tasted better the second day after it had time to really chill and firm up.

Walnut Molasses Pie

Pecan pie is a staple of Southern Cuisine. I've tried numerous recipes and always have trouble getting mine to "set up". If my husband is the only one eating it, that's fine... he can use a spoon. That won't do, though, if I'm baking for others.

I'm always on the lookout for the "perfect" pecan pie recipe. That said, here's a recipe I found last fall. I'm not sure, but I think I clipped it from the American Profile newspaper insert. It's not traditional pecan pie, but it's similar enough that I decided to try it. Not only did it set up properly, it was delicious!

Walnut Molasses Pie

3 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1/4 cup mild molasses

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 (10-inch) unbaked piecrust

1. Preheat oven to 325F.

2. Beat eggs. Add melted butter, vanilla, salt and nutmeg; blend well. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and molasses. Mix thoroughly.

3. Sprinkle nuts in unbaked 10-inch piecrust; pour egg mixture over nuts.

4. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until filling is set. Serves 8.

Christmas 2009

What a wonderful Christmas we've had !! Things got off to an iffy start. The weather system working its way across the south decided to stop over us and dump more than 6 inches of rain in just a few hours. We seriously feared for our pond since the area we had just repaired from the flood this fall started washing again! So far, though, things are holding.

The bulk of our celebrating takes place on Christmas Eve and by mid-afternoon everyone had gathered at our house to begin the festivities. The afternoon and evening were filled with lots of laughter, game playing, gift opening, photo taking, and of course.... eating.

There were several new recipes on the menu, but my younger daughter's cookies were the hit of the holiday. I'll leave you with a photo and the recipe:

Gingerbread Sandwich Trees

contributed to Simple & Delicious by Steve Foy of Kirkwood, MO

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup molasses
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
M&M's miniature baking bits
3/4 cup vanilla frosting
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Green food coloring, optional

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, ginger and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Gently press baking bits into half of the cookies.

Bake at 325F for 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

In a small bowl, combine frosting and confectioners' sugar until smooth; tint green if desired. Spread over the bottoms of plain cookies; top with decorated cookies. Store in the refrigerator.

Pre-holiday snacking

My younger daughter enjoys cooking and when she's home from college we like to try new recipes. Here are some recent efforts, all "keepers". She prepared the sweets and I did the party mix.

Lemon Square Bars

Submitted to allrecipes.com by RCOMP

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter, melted

4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5/8 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and confectioners' sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven.

Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Kickin' Snack Mix

Contributed to Simple & Delicious by Kim Vogt of Creighton, NE

3 cups Crispix
3 cups Wheat Chex
2 cups cheddar-flavored snack crackers
1 cup pretzel sticks
1 cup almonds
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup pistachios
1/2 cup butter-flavored popcorn oil
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 tsp. dill weed
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the oil, dressing mix, dill, garlic powder and cayenne. Drizzle over cereal mixture, toss to coat.

Transfer to two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake at 250 degrees F for 45-55 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3 qt.

Pecan Pie Bars

Great American Brand Name Recipes Cookbook

2 cups unsifted flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup cold margarine or butter
1 (14-ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (6-ounce) package almond brickle chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F (325F for glass dish). In medium bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in margarine until crumbly. Press firmly on bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla. Stir in chips and pecans. Spread evenly over crust. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator. Makes 36 bars.

Another cake

The holiday is over and we only have a sprinkling of Thanksgiving fare still in the refrigerator, the majority of leftovers parcelled out yesterday.

Let me look back for a moment to the delicious meal prepared on Tuesday night. In addition to the Bacon Wrapped Chicken dish and accompanying sides, I tried a new cake recipe a friend shared over the phone last week. She told me an old man in her church always brought this cake to potluck functions up until his death at age 103. Supposedly, the critical factor is to use a Duncan Hines brand Butter Recipe Yellow cake mix. The only way I altered the recipe was to sub fat-free half & half for the milk. Once the cake cooled, I drizzled it with chocolate and caramel syrup. The result was a delicious, dense poundcake type dessert.





Duncan Hines Butter Yellow Cake Mix
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 milk
1 stick butter, melted
3 eggs
8 oz. carton of sour cream


Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Eggless and more (or less)

Think you know about Southern cooking? See how well you do at this Southern Food Quiz that caught my eye on the MSN page today. I scored 10 out of 10 and would have been disappointed in myself if I hadn’t. After all, I’ve lived my entire life in the South!

I don’t normally post recipes that I haven’t tried first. However, I was “talking cakes” with a friend on the phone this morning and was reminded that she won’t eat anything with egg in it. So, I’m posting this recipe for her. I copied it from the August 2009 issue of Guideposts magazine. It was submitted by Rosemary Marbach of Boston, MA and looks like it would be delicious.

“Violet”, this is for you. Let me know what you think if you try it!

Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1½ cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups dark raisins
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons water
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Combine sugar, water, oil, raisins and spices in a saucepan, and boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Take pan off heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Dissolve baking soda and salt in 2 teaspoons of water and add to raisin mixture (it will foam). Blend in the flour and baking powder. Mix well, Pour batter into a greased 9-inch-square pan and bake for 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Serves 10 to 12.

Cooking for the Bazaar

Tomorrow we will have the annual Holiday Bazaar at our church. Sponsored by our “Wednesday Worker” craft group, we offer all sorts of handmade crafts and holiday decorations, a big spread of baked goods and preserved items, lots of jewelry, and a huge selection of “Trash & Treasure”. In addition, we serve a breakfast of muffins, cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, etc. One of the items I provide for the breakfast is this pear cake:

Pear Bundt Cake
1 can (15-1/4 ounces) pears in light syrup
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix
2 egg whites
1 egg
2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar

Drain pears, reserving the syrup; chop pears. Place pears and syrup in a mixing bowl; add dry cake mix, egg whites and egg. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high for 4 minutes.
Coat a 10-in. fluted tube pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour. Add batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 16 servings.

I always make a few things for the bake sale area including my Van Gogh cake and bags of these crackers:

Seasoned Oyster Crackers
16-20 oz. plain oyster crackers
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Original Buttermilk Recipe salad dressing mix
¼ tsp. lemon pepper
½ to 1 tsp. dill weed
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¾ to 1 cup vegetable or canola oil

Spread crackers into a jelly roll pan. Combine remaining ingredients and drizzle over crackers, stirring to coat well. Place in a warm oven (lowest setting) for 15-20 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

This year I also tried a new recipe. Of course mine don’t look like the picture in the magazine, but they still taste okay. Not the best, but good enough to sell. From a recipe submitted to Simple & Delicious magazine by Rebecca Clark of Warrior, AL., they're called Oatmeal Surprise Cookies.

1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 ¾ cups quick-cooking oats
1 ½ cups chocolate-covered raisins

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and raisins.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly. Bake at 350º for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3 dozen.

Here's hoping for a successful day!!

I Like Pie

I found this recipe in my Great American Brand Name Recipes Cookbook. I substituted a cup of peach pie filling for the applesauce and it became Peach Chess Pie.
Delicious!

Apple Chess Pie

1 (9-inch) unbaked pastry shell
4 eggs
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE® Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 cup applesauce
½ cup margarine or butter, melted
¼ cup REALEMON® Lemon Juice from Concentrate
2 tablespoons cornmeal

Preheat oven to 425º. Bake pastry shell 8 minutes; remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350º. In large mixer bowl, beat eggs. Add remaining ingredients except pastry shell; mix well. Pour into prepared pastry shell. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool. Serve warm or chilled. Refrigerate leftovers