Sandi Huang's Seven Layer Bean Dip

Ingredients
2 avocados- peeled, pitted and diced
1 1/2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup salsa
garlic salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 (8oz) container sour cream
1 (1 oz) package taco seasoning mix
2-4 roma tomatoes, diced (depends on how much you like tomatoes)
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
1 (16 oz) can refried beans
2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese blend
1 (2.25 oz) can black olives drained and finely chopped

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, mash the avocados. Mix in lime juice, cilantro, salsa, garlic salt and pepper
2. In another medium bowl, blend the sour cream and taco seasoning.
3. In a 9x13 inch dish or large serving platter, spread the refried beans. Top with sour cream mixture. Spread on guacamole. Top with tomatoes, green onions, Mexican-style cheese blend and black olives.
Refrigerate until time to serve.

Tammy McKissick's Hershey Pie

Crust
1 ¾ C. graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup walnuts chopped
½ cup butter (melted)
2-3 TBL sugar

Mix together. Press into pie pan. Refrigerate.


Filling
8 oz. Hershey Bars
4 Tbl milk
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
4 Tbl sugar
2 8 oz containers Cool Whip

In a small pan: melt chocolate with milk.
Ini a seperate bowl beat together cream cheese and sugar.
Fold the chocolate mixture into the cream cheese mix.
Then fold in cool whip and pour the entire mixture into cooled crust.

Grate chocolate on top

Tammy McKissick's French Madelines

4 eggs
2 c sugar
2 c flour
1 1/2 c clarified butter
1 Tbsp vanilla
confectioners' sugar

Stir eggs and sugar into top of double boiler until creammy and lukewarm. Remove from heat and beat until cool (it takes FOREVER, you may consider using a stand mixer).
Add flour gradually, mixing well.
Fold in butter and vanilla... there is a lot of butter, so it takess a while to fold in, and you may think you are doing it wrong, but it will all mix together.

Use special shell-shaped madeline molds that have been buttered and floured (or small 1 1/2 inch muffin tins). Fill molds 2/3 full. Fill muffin tins less than 1/2 full.
Bake in a 425 defree oven for ten minutes or until lightly browned.
Dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar (or, like I did for the shower, dip in melted semi-sweet chocolate chips).

Yields: 5 dozen

Sandi Huang's Lemon Cake

1 box lemon cake mix
1 small box instant lemon pudding
1/2 c. oil
1 c. sour cream
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. lemon juice

Mix everything together. Pour into a bundt cake pan. Bake at 350 (325 if pan is dark) until toothpick comes out clean. (I use the time on the back of the cake box, but start checking it 10 minutes before so I don't overcook)

Frosting
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cube butter softened
1 cube cream cheese
powdered sugar
fresh lemon juice

Cream together butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Alternate powdered sugar and lemon juice until desired consistency and sweetness is achieved. (I add yellow food coloring to the frosting to make it extra pretty)
Frosting should be slightly runny so it can be heavily drizzled over the top.

Amy Wiederhold's Bundt Cake with Ganache Topping

Yellow cake cooked in a bundt pan

Ganache Topping for Cake
½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup real milk chocolate chips

Heat heavy whipping cream on stove top to a rolling boil.

Remove pot from heat. Add chocolate chips and shake

pot handle to make chips settle evenly. Do not stir. Let sit for 5 minutes. Take a

whisk and gently stir until mixture becomes shiny and is evenly mixed. Pour

topping onto unmolded, cooled cake.

Jenny Heyman's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies

1 Box of Spice Cake

1 can of pumpkin

chocolate chips

cream cheese frosting

Mix the spice cake mix with the can of pumpkin. Add chocolate chips and drop spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet (the batter will be ooey gooey). Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, or sometimes I cook them even a bit longer. Once they're cooled off, frost the bottoms of the cookies and make into sandwiches. Whoopie! You're done :) Easy, right?

A couple notes: Don't actually make up the cake mix and add an egg and all that. Just use the mix that comes in the box and stir it in with the pumpkin. Usually the only can of pumpkin I am able to find at the store is the large sized cans of it. So the amount isn't exact, I just add about half the can or a little more sometimes. If you can't find regular canned pumpkin, the pumpkin pie mix works fine too.

Dyan Johnson's Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars

Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

These aren’t, as the recipe notes warn, actually “crumb” bars, with the streuselly topping you might see on crumbles or coffee cakes. Instead, they’re more like a raspberry sandwich cookie, yet less sweet than a typical dessert, and more earnest somehow.

I think you could easily swap the raspberries with blackberries.

For the crust and crumb:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the raspberry filling:
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Make the crust and crumb: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.

Reserve 1 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. (Note: The book suggests you reserve one cup only. My gut told me that was too little, and I upped it. I wanted to make sure the top of the raspberries were mostly covered, at least for packing purposes, and was glad I had changed it.) Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hans or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.

Make the raspberry filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated.

Assemble and bake the bars: Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.

Melita Garmon's Grilled Roast Beef Sandwiches

4 Servings

Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, sliced

1 medium green pepper, sliced

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

8 slices sourdough bread

16 slices Colby-Monterey Jack or Swiss cheese, divided

8 slices deli roast beef

1/2 cup butter, softened

Garlic salt, optional

Directions

In a large skillet, saute the onion, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic in oil until tender; sprinkle with salt and pepper. On four slices of bread, layer two slices of cheese, two slices of beef and a fourth of the vegetable mixture. Top with the remaining cheese and bread.

Butter outside of bread; sprinkle with garlic salt if desired. On a hot griddle or large skillet, toast sandwiches for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Yield: 4 servings.

Melita Garmon's Basil Tomato Soup

Total: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Yield: Makes 15 cups

Ingredients

2 medium onions, chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 (35-oz.) cans Italian-style whole peeled tomatoes with basil

1 (32-oz.) can chicken broth

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (16-oz.) package frozen breaded cut okra

Preparation

1. Sauté onions in 2 Tbsp. hot oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat 9 to 10 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Process mixture with a handheld blender until smooth.

2. Process basil, next 4 ingredients, 1/4 cup water, and remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Stir basil mixture, sugar, and pepper into soup. Cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

3. Meanwhile, cook okra according to package directions. Serve with soup.

from Southern Living, OCTOBER 2010

Melita Garmon's Banana Pudding

This is definitely a cookie lover's version. Serve right away if you like crispy cookies, or chill overnight for softer texture. Delicious served warm, at room temperature, or chilled. If you omit the meringue, you won't need to bake the pudding.

Total: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

Pudding

1 (12-oz.) package vanilla wafers

5 ripe bananas, sliced

2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar*

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 egg yolks

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Meringue

3 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

Preparation

1. Prepare Pudding: Preheat oven to 325°. Arrange one-third of vanilla wafers in a medium-size ovenproof bowl (about 2 qt.); cover with one-third of banana slices. Repeat layers twice with remaining vanilla wafers and bananas.

2. Whisk together milk and next 4 ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 15 minutes or until pudding-like thickness. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Pour over vanilla wafers and bananas in bowl.

3. Prepare Meringue: Beat egg whites at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until sugar dissolves and stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pudding, sealing to edge of bowl.

4. Bake at 325° for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately, or let cool completely (about 30 minutes), and cover and chill 1 hour before serving.

**1/2 cup no-calorie sweetener may be substituted. We tested with Splenda No-calorie Granulated Sweetener. (Do not substitute sweetener in meringue.)

Sandi Huang's White Chicken Chili

from Cooks Illustrated

Adjust the heat in this dish by adding the minced ribs and seeds from the jalapeño as directed in step 6. If Anaheim chiles cannot be found, add an additional poblano and jalapeño to the chili. This dish can also be successfully made by substituting chicken thighs for the chicken breasts. If using thighs, increase the cooking time in step 4 to about 40 minutes. Serve chili with sour cream, tortilla chips, and lime wedges.

3	pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves , trimmed of excess fat and skin
1	tablespoon vegetable oil
3	medium jalapeño chiles
3	poblano chiles (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
3	Anaheim chile peppers (medium), stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces
2	medium onions , cut into large pieces (2 cups)
6	medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1	tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2	teaspoons ground coriander
2	(14.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
3	cups low-sodium chicken broth
3	tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
1/4	cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
4	scallions , white and light green parts sliced thin

Instructions

1. 1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and lightly brown on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; remove and discard skin.

2. 2. While chicken is browning, remove and discard ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños; mince flesh. In food processor, process half of poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions until consistency of chunky salsa, ten to twelve 1-second pulses, scraping down sides of workbowl halfway through. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining poblano chiles, Anaheim chiles, and onions; combine with first batch (do not wash food processor blade or workbowl).

3. 3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven (adding additional vegetable oil if necessary) and reduce heat to medium. Add minced jalapeños, chile-onion mixture, garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.

4. 4. Transfer 1 cup cooked vegetable mixture to now-empty food processor workbowl. Add 1 cup beans and 1 cup broth and process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add vegetable-bean mixture, remaining 2 cups broth, and chicken breasts to Dutch oven and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken registers 160 degrees (175 degrees if using thighs) on instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes (40 minutes if using thighs).

5. 5. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large plate. Stir in remaining beans and continue to simmer, uncovered, until beans are heated through and chili has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

6. 6. Mince remaining jalapeño, reserving and mincing ribs and seeds (see note above), and set aside. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones. Stir shredded chicken, lime juice, cilantro, scallions, and remaining minced jalapeño (with seeds if desired) into chili and return to simmer. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.

Dyan Johnson's Baked Risotto with Butternut Squash, Sage and Almonds

from America's Test Kitchen
Serves 6 to 8
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

1.5 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion minced
Salt
2 cups Arborio rice
3 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads (optional)
½ cup dry white whine
1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh sage
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cups)
¾ cup toasted sliced almonds

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bring the broth and bay leaves to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cover and keep the broth warn over the lowest possibly heat.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until lightly browned, about 9 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until the edges begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, nutmeg, sage and saffron (if using) and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until it is completely absorbed, about 2 minutes.

Spread the rice mixture and butternut squash into a 9x13 dish. Pour warm broth over the top. Bake until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 25-35 minutes.

Stir in Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: I don’t use wine and add ½ cup more broth.

Anna Halverson's Pumpkin Roll

Here is the recipe for the Pumpkin Roll. It's basically the Libby's Pumpkin recipe but I've made some changes and included some tips that work for me. Note: I always double the recipe and make two rolls, because one small can of pumpkin will make two and then you don't have to wonder what to do with less than a cup of pumpkin puree. The recipe below is for ONE roll.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on dish towel...this will keep the cake from sticking to the towel)
• CAKE:
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle dish towel with powdered sugar.
2. COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. To get the batter to spread perfectly flat, slam (not too hard) the jelly roll pan on the kitchen counter until it looks completely even. You may want to put a towel down on the counter so it's not so loud!
3. BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.
4. BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Sarajane Houghton's Pumpkin Bread

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs,
oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk
together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and
ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just
blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven.
Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Laura Linton's Sweet Potato Casserole

This is for an 8 X 8 inch pan....

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (heaping)----- (Boil potatoes with skin on and then when you can put a fork through them, drain off water and peel off skin and mash)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter (melted)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup canned milk

2 eggs

Mix well with mixer. Pour into greased casserole pan.

1/3 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup butter

Mix and crumble on top of potato mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Jenny Heyman's Caramel Corn

Note: I make my popcorn using popcorn kernels in an old school popcorn popper. It's more fun for the kids that way. If you use microwave popcorn make sure to get the kind without added butter or it might taste different.

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup Karo syrup

1 cup butter

1/2 tsp. baking soda

candy corn (optional)

mini marshmallows (optional)

6 quarts popcorn

Bring brown sugar, Karo syrup, and butter to a boil. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Mix with the popcorn (and candy corn and marshmallows if desired). My family made this growing up when we would watch a movie together for FHE. Enjoy!

Kris Judd's Turkey Wild Rice Soup

1 ½ cups wild rice-dry
2 cups chicken broth (to cook wild rice in)
1 large onion, diced
2-4 ribs celery, diced
3 carrots, grated or sliced
½-1 pounds mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup butter
¾ cup flour
8 cups chicken broth
2-3 cups half and half
2 cups cooked turkey
Chicken bouillon to taste
Salt and pepper to taste


Prepare rice in 2 cups broth (make sure to rinse rice before cooking—I usually use a little more rice and broth). While rice is cooking, cut up veggies and sauté in butter adding mushrooms last. When veggies are done, add 8 cups broth and rice. In a separate bowl, mix flour with same amount of water until there are no lumps – add to soup. Add turkey and cook till warm. Let simmer until thick and bubbly, add more flour if needed. Add half and half just before serving.

Tips: I try to cook a turkey on a day that I know I am going to be home then de-bone and bag/freeze meat in 2 cup portions. I use this meat for this soup, pot pie, enchiladas, etc. Also, when I cook the rice, I double the portion and freeze half of it when cooked (it freezes great!). Then with frozen bags of rice and turkey, I can cook this soup really fast—under 20 minutes! Enjoy.