Fresh Peach Pie

Before it becomes hard to find good fresh peaches, I want to share my peach pie recipe. My mother always made this recipe; so naturally, it's the one I always make as well. You can use frozen peaches, but I prefer to use the fresh for the pie.

Fresh Peach Pie
Posted by Donna:

Slice 5 or 6 large fresh peeled peaches, enough to fill an unbaked pie crust

Mix together 2 cups sugar, 6 T. flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and 1/8 tsp. cloves.
Pour over the sliced peaches.
Put small dollops of butter on top of the peaches and sugar mixture.
Cover with the top unbaked pie crust. I always make a lattice topped crust. If you do a solid crust on top, be sure and cut slits in it.

Sprinkle sugar on top.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Be sure and have some vanilla ice cream on hand to put the finishing "yummy" touch on the pie!!!!
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Pumpkin Cookies

Posted by Kimberly:

Each year I host a cookie swap in December. Two years ago, I was having a hard time finding a recipe, so I called my mom. She recommended these cookies. A lady she goes to church with had brought them to a church function, and everyone had a fit over them. So, I tried them for my cookie swap. They were good, and my husband loved them. Last year, my son entered these in his school's cookie cook-off, and he won first place in his grade level. Although these are not the prettiest cookie you've ever seen, they are delicious.

Pumpkin Cookies:

1 cup sugar
1 cup margarine, unmelted
1 cup pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour

Cream sugar and margarine together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla. Lastly, add the dry ingredients. The batter will be more like a cake batter than a dough. Spoon the cookies onto a greased cookie sheet. (A cookie scoop makes this very easy.) Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Icing

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar


Melt the butter and sugar on top of the stove. Remove from heat and add the milk and powdered sugar. Let the icing cool somewhat to a thicker consistency. Do not add extra powdered sugar to thicken it, just let it cool. Spread on the cooled cookies.

With fall quickly approaching, these would be a great treat to serve at a party, take to someone, or just eat yourself!!

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Lasagna

Posted by Lori:
Every year on the first day of school, my family takes an evening meal to our children's teachers. The menu is the same each year: lasagna, green beans, garlic bread, and Chocolate Delight (recipe called "Pudding Cake" here) or Butterfinger Cake. It's something we enjoy doing, but our children's teachers are also very appreciative and thankful to not have to think about cooking and feeding their own families on that hectic first day. This year we fed five families the "Back to School" meal.

BEEF LASAGNA

2 pounds hamburger
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon onion powder
2 - 26.5 oz cans or jars of spaghetti sauce
1 pkg. spaghetti sauce mix (thick and zesty variety)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
6-8 lasagna noodles, regular or whole wheat (uncooked)
Cottage cheese
3 cups mozzerella cheese, grated
1 cup fresh Parmesean cheese, grated

In large skillet or pot, brown hamburger meat with garlic and onion powder. Drain meat to remove grease and wipe grease out of skillet or pot. Return meat to skillet/pot and add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occassionally.

In 9 x 13 casserole dish (or disposable aluminum pan, if desired) place three lasagna noodles across the bottom. (In some casserole dishes, the lasagna noodles don't reach the end. I break one in three pieces to fill to the end.)Spread meat sauce mixture over noodles. Spoon layer of cottage cheese over meat sauce. (I like it fairly thick, you may prefer it thinner.) Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese over cottage cheese, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated Parmesean cheese. Repeat noodle layer, meat sauce layer, and then top with mozzarella and Parmesean cheeses (only do the layer of cottage cheese one time - all the others twice).

You may bake this immediately, if desired, but I never do. In fact, I usually make them early and freeze them until I need them. If I don't freeze them, I still make them the day before - it's just easier that way for me. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, until cheese begins to brown. Let stand 10 - 15 minutes before serving so that layers will remain intact when serving.

Last week I started something new with our daughter and her friends. You can read about it here. But, in doing this new tradition, I made only one lasagna, which I never do. I'm always making five or even more at a time and don't measure out anything or know how much meat I use. So, when I made this "one" all by itself, I took care to measure it out for you (plus one of the kid's teachers has asked for the recipe for two years and I didn't have it written down!). The funny thing is that when I finished, I had 2 - 3 cups of meat sauce left over! But, I got to thinking that it would depend on how deep the casserole dish was as to how much (if any) was left over, plus it would depend on how thick you made made the sauce layer. So, if you have some left over, just freeze it and use it in a soup, make pizza cups (using biscuits in a muffin pan), or add more spaghetti sauce to thin and serve over pasta. Enjoy!!
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Butterfinger Ice Cream

Instead of posting one of my recipes today, I'm going to share with you my husband's one and only recipe he makes. I'm not sure when or why he started making homemade ice cream; but, he loves doing it, and he especially loves the compliments he gets when people eat it. I had to twist his arm to let me share it. Of course, I guess if that is the only thing you know how to cook, you would treasure it!!!!!!!! (tee hee)

Butterfinger Ice Cream
Posted by Donna via Larry:

2 cups milk
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 cups half and half
1 T. vanilla
4 cups whipping cream
5 regular size butterfingers ( Freeze the butterfingers a couple of days before you are going to make the freezer of cream.)

Crush the frozen butterfingers until they are very fine.

Scald the milk until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Stir in half and half, vanilla, whipping cream, and butterfingers. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Pour into your gallon freezer and freeze.

This ice cream is very, very good. He does also make vanilla, but this is his most requested. A friend of ours told him about seeing a recipe for ice cream with bacon in it. He's been surfing the internet and found the recipe for it. I know what he's going to do very soon!!!!!!!


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Fun Food 4 Kidz

I thought it would be fun to post "Fun Food 4 Kidz" from time to time. These aren't really "recipes", just easy and fun things that kids will especially enjoy making themselves. And, of course they'll enjoy eating their creations!

One of my favorite things to do with my own children, as well as when other children come over for birthday parties and slumber parties or sleep-overs, is to have them create their own pizza using their favorite toppings. The kids are always excited to get to create their special pizza and then get to eat it when it's done.

Either purchase small, individual pizza crusts, make your own dough, or my favorite - use frozen bread dough (I buy Rhodes brand frozen dinner rolls). Two thawed dinner rolls will make a nice sized personal pizza.

Place pizza sauce (either in one larger bowl or several small, individual bowls) and toppings where the kids can reach them and let them create their own pizza. If you're baking a lot of pizzas, it's good to mark them some way so you will remember whose each one is...or at least I have to do that to remember! It's sometimes hard for the kids to tell which one was theirs because they look different when cooked!

One more "Fun Food 4 Kidz" is "Frito Pie in a Bag". We first ate this in Sante Fe, New Mexico several years ago at a little restaurant there. They were selling them like crazy! My husband and I thought it was such a neat idea, especially for children.
Cut a one inch strip off of one side of a Frito corn chip bag. Spoon chili on the Fritos and top with cheese. Some people may also want onions, ketchup or mustard, as well. In Sante Fe, the bags were served with lettuce and tomatoes, if desired...kind of a corn chip salad.

Enjoy these "Fun Foods 4 Kidz"!
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Guacamole

Posted by Kimberly:

I am a huge fan of avocados. I love them sliced on sandwiches or cut up in a salad. To me, they just make anything better. But my absolute favorite way to eat them is in guacamole. You give me some baked tortilla chips and a bowl of guacamole, and I could make myself sick! I tried this recipe a year ago. It was actually taken out of a family cookbook. I tweaked it just a little and have been addicted ever since.

Guacamole

2 avocados
2 tbsp. picante sauce
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
a little less than 1/4 tsp. salt
Dash of chili powder

Mash avocados with fork and blend in other ingredients.

People that I have served this to really like it. In fact, my daughters even like -- They call it "broccamole". (I think because it is green, they associate it with broccoli!)

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Key West Chicken

Posted by Donna:
This recipe came to me via Facebook---orginally from allrecipes.com. You'll never know how glad I am to have this recipe. Chicken is never a choice when it comes to my husband. He's one of those beef lovers, as I think most husbands are. However, the first time I tried this, he didn't say anything negative about it. The next time I fixed it, he told me this was the best thing that ever happened to chicken!!!!!!! I wish I had stumbled across it years ago.

Key West Chicken

6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tsp. lime juice
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally (Cutting each breast in half horizontally gives you a breast that's just the right thickness. Also, instead of buying four breasts, you're saving money by only buying two.)

Whisk the sauce, honey, oil, juice, and garlic together until well blended. Pour into a shallow container. Place the chicken breasts into the mixture, and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least an hour. When you're ready to grill the chicken, discard the marinade and grill the chicken on each side until the juices run clear.

This is such a good marinade. I haven't tried it on anything else as of yet, but I do think it would be good on pork chops. I hope this recipe will also help you convince your "only beef" husband that this is the best thing that ever happened to chicken!!!!!