Coconut Cream Pie

Ingredietns

1 C. White sugar

1/2 C. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3 C milk 

4 egg yolks

3 Tbs. butter

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 C flaked coconut

1 (9 inch) pie pastry, baked

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt over a medium heat; gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from heat. Place a strainer over a clean mixing bowl; set aside. Beat the egg yolks slightly. Gradually pour 1 cup of the hot custard mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and bring the entire mixture to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes before removing the pan from heat. Immediately pour custard through the strainer. Stir butter, vanilla, and coconut into the hot mixture. Pour the hot filling into the baked pie crust. Cool and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Makes 8 servings.

Note: custard is delicious warm and can be served in custard bowl without pie pastry. 

Cranberry Pineapple Sauce

• Ingredients:
  1(20 oz.) can crushed pineapple in juice
  2 C. sugar
  5 C. fresh or frozen cranberries
  1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  ½ tsp. ground cloves
  1 Tbs. grated orange peel
  Directions:
  Wash 3 pint jars in hot soapy water, rinse. Keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs. Drain Pineapple reserving juice in a 2 cup measure. Press to remove as much juice as possible. Add water to make 2 cups liquid.
  In a large saucepan, combine juice and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add drained pineapple, cranberries, and remaining ingredients. Return to boil, reduce heat to low. Cover, simmer until cranberries stop popping, about 15 minutes.  
  Ladle hot sauce into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving ½ inch headspace. Release trapped air. Wipe rim of jar with a clean damp cloth. Attach lid. Place in canner. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling water bath. Pints 15 minutes. Serve warm or cold with poultry or use in cranberry nut bread. 

Refreshing Lemon Pie

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed milk

½ C lemon juice

1 TBS. grated lemon peel

2-3 drops yellow food coloring

1 carton frozen whipped topping

1 graham cracker or paked pie crust

Mint leaves and lemon peel strips (opt.)

In a mixing bowl combine milk, lemon juice, lemon peel, and food coloring (if desired). Mix until smooth. Mixture will thicken. Fold in whipped topping; fold in whipped topping; spoon into pie crust. Chill until ready to serve.  If desired, garnish with mint leaves and lemon peel strips. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield 6-8 servings.

Nana's Banana Bread

Ingredients:
5 Tbs. Butter
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites (I just use 3 eggs total)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 C mashed, very ripe bananas
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 C heavy cream
1/3 C chopped nuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray bottom only of 9x5x3" loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Beat butter in large bowl with an electric mixer set at med. speed until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat well. Add eggs and vanilla; bet until well blended. Add mashed banana, beat on high speed 30 seconds. Combine flour, soda, salt, and b. powder in med. bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with cream, ending with flour mixture. Add walnuts to batter; mix well. Pour batter evenly into prepared loaf pan. Bake until browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 min. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 10 min. Remove bread from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Slice and serve with butter and jam.
Note: I'm not that particular about how I add the ingredients, and my bread always turns out wonderful. Because I have children that don't like nuts, I don't add the nuts to the bread mix, I just top it with the nuts to give a yummy nutty crust. It's DIVINE!
WARNING: Be prepared to have this bread gone fast. It never makes it very long in our house! Bon Apetit!

You can find the origional version of this recipe as I have it HERE.

Messy Giuseppes

This particular dish is one of my sister Melinda's favorite meals. I just copied it straight from the Rachel Ray website---Bon Apetit!

Sloppy Joe's Italian cousin!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 pound ground, 90 percent lean sirloin
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 5 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 medium portobello mushroom cap, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon (eyeball it) allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup (a couple of glugs) red wine
• 3/4 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup (a generous handful) flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 5-8 fresh basil leaves, about 1/4 cup, chopped
• 1/4 cup (a small handful) grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 4 individual ciabatta rolls or any kind of crusty hoagie rolls
• 1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 slices

Yields: 4 servings

Preparation

Preheat the broiler to high.

For the meat sauce, heat a deep skillet or a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of EVOO, twice around the pan. Add the ground beef and cook until lightly browned, breaking up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon. Add green pepper, onion, 3/4 of the garlic, mushrooms, allspice, red pepper flakes and a little salt and pepper to the beef and cook for about 5-8 minutes.

Add the wine and cook another minute then add the beef stock, Worcestershie and tomatoes. Bring the mixture up to a bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Finish it by stirring in a handful of chopped parsley.

While the meat is simmering, combine the remaining garlic with the soft butter, basil, parmesan cheese and a little salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Split the rolls in half lengthwise without cutting all the way through and separating the halves. Press open the rolls by flattening them out a little bit. Slather the insides with the butter and place 2 slices of the mozzarella on each roll. Toast until golden brown under the broiler, about 2-3 minutes.

Top one side of the cheesy garlic rolls with a heap of meat and get prepared to get sloppy with Messy Giuseppe!

Corned Beef and Cabbage (St. Patrick's day dinner)

1lb. lean beef round
1/8 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp. black pepper, or to taste
1 tbsp. yellow mustard seed
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. corriander seeds
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 pieces bay leaf
6 red potaotes (cute into rounds)
16 baby carrots
1 med. head green cabbage coarsely shredded
bake at 250 degrees for 4 hrs. add veggies last hour. Make drippings into gravy

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups blueberries

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, chilled

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.
Stir the flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over unbaked muffins.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Apple Pie Filling

6 qts. Sliced fresh Apples
5 1/2 C. Granulated sugar
1 1/2 C Clear Jel (not instant)-*this may be commonly found at cake & candy stores
1 Tbs. Cinnamon
2 1/2 C. Cold Water
5 C. Apple Juice
3/4 C. Bottled lemon juice
1 tsp. nutmeg
7 drops Yellow food coloring (optional-I never use this)

Directions:
Wash, peel, and core apples. Prepare slices 1/2" wide ( I use a pampered chef peeler, corer, slicer) and place in water containing ascorbic acid to prevent browning (I use lemon juice in a bowl as I am preparing them). For fresh fruit, place 6 cups at a time in 1 gallon of boiling water. Boil each batch 1 min. after the water returns to a boil. Drain but keep heated fruit in a covered bowl or pot. Combine sugar, clear jel, and cinnamon in a large kettle with water and apple juice. If desired, food coloring and nutmeg may be added at this point. Stir and cook on med. high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil 1 min., stirring constantly. Fold in drained apple slices immediately and fill jars with mixture without delay, leaving 1-inch head space. Adjust lids and process immediately. Process HOT pie filling in pints or quarts for 35 min. in a boiling water canner. Makes 7 quarts.

Apple Crisp

1 Qt. Apple Pie Filling (see canning recipe)
1/2 C. Oatmeal
1/2 C. soft butter
1/8 tsp. soda
1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. packed brown sugar

Pour pie filling in 9x11" pan and spread evenly. Combine remaining ing. in a bowl and crumble over the top of apple mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 min. or until golden and serve warm or cold. *Great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Pumpkin Whoopies

Ingredients for Cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. For cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or line four baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla extract; beat until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until combined. Drop by heaping measuring teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets. (A total of 72 cookies are needed for the recipe.)
3. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes or until springy to the touch. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire

Nestle Chocolate Bread

For my first post of the New Year, I thought I would share a recipe that I just tried for the first time EVER and it was DELICIOUS! I was looking on Pinterest for a bread with ingredients I had on hand to give as a gift to a friend I was going to visit. You can find it straight from the Nestle Toll house site, but I first found it via Pinterest on A Daily Dose of Toni. These directions are modified in accordance to how I made it. I haven't shared a recipe in a long time, so it's long over-due. Enjoy!

               Image from Nestle Toll House Site

Ingredients:                                                                                                          Preheat oven to 350 

1-1/2 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 C Cocoa

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 C softened butter

1 C Sugar

2 Lg. eggs

1 C buttermilk or sour milk (1C milk to 2tsp. vinegar)

1/2 C chopped pecans, divided (opt)

1/4 C Semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels

Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. Mix Sugar and butter til creamy and add eggs and milk. Sift in dry ingredients and mix. Add chocolate mini morsels. Pour in greased pan and bake at 350 for 20 min. Top with pecans and mini morsels as desired, bake another 30-35 min. Let cool before cutting. Serve with chocolate honey butter.

Chocolate Honey Butter:

Microwave 1/2 C. semi-sweet mini morsels in small bowl (uncovered) on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Morsels may still retain shape. If necessary, microwave an additional 10-15 second intervals until melted.  DO NOT OVER HEAT! Let cool and beat with 1 stick (1/2C) butter and 2 Tbs. honey in small mixer until fluffy. Makes 1 cup. ENJOY