Coconut Almond Joy Easter Eggs

An easy candy to make; the mixer does most of the work for you! These can be made ahead and then stored in the freezer. Use either the milk chocolate or semi-sweet morsels for dipping them in-they're both good.

Coconut Almond Joy Easter Eggs

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 (16-oz.) box confectioners' sugar
1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 c. flaked coconut
Whole almonds
1 (12-oz.) package chocolate morsels

In a bowl, using a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese and coconut; mix well.

Shape into walnut-sized egg shape, or use candy molds if available. Plunge a whole almond into center of eggs making sure almond is covered with coconut mixture. Place on waxed paper.

Melt chocolate morsels in double boiler. Dip each egg in chocolate and allow excess chocolate to drip off bottom of egg. Carefully place egg on waxed paper and allow to set, usually about 1 hour. When set, place each egg into a pastel colored bonbon cup.

Makes about 5 dozen eggs.

Oven Barbecued Spareribs

Boiling the meat first removes a lot of the grease, so don't skip that step. Adjust the spices and seasonings to taste. I know adding the sweet pickle relish sounds weird, but try it. Freezes well.

Oven Barbecued Spareribs

4 lb. pork spareribs
2 T. butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 c. parsley, finely chopped
1 c. ketchup
1 c. water
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. cider vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 c. sweet pickle relish
4 T. brown sugar
salt & pepper, to taste
1 teas. mustard
1 teas. celery seed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut ribs into serving pieces and place in large pot. Cover with water and simmer for 30 minutes over medium high heat.

To make sauce, place butter, onion and garlic into medium-sized saucepan and saute until golden. Add remaining ingredients and cook sauce for 15 minutes over medium heat. Set aside.
Remove ribs from pot. Place in large roasting pan and pour barbecue sauce over ribs. Bake covered for 1 hour in preheated oven. 6-8 servings.

To freeze: After baking, cool completely, then pack into freezer bags squeezing out as much air as possible. Use within 3 months.
Defrost overnight in refrigerator, then reheat in oven or microwave.

Barbeque Turkey Meatballs

Using 1 pound of ground turkey will serve 3 to 4 people. This also freezes very well. Serve over rice or noodles.

Barbeque Turkey Meatballs

1-lb. ground turkey
1 onion, minced
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. soft bread crumbs
1 T. milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. ketchup
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Combine first 6 ingredients; mix well. Form into 12 balls, set aside.

Add remaining ingredients into a large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Add meatballs; cover and simmer until meat is browned and cooked through-about 30-40 minutes.

To freeze: After dish has cooled, pack into freezer bags squeezing out as much air as possible. Use within 3 months.
Defrost overnight in refrigerator, pour into microwave-safe dish and reheat at 50% power until hot.

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

Another version of a great American classic...this time made with cream cheese!

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

8 oz. elbow macaroni
4 T. butter
3 T. flour
2 c. milk
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
2 teas. spicy brown mustard
salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 c. crushed Ritz crackers

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add in milk. Bring to a boil, cooking and stirring for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; add cheeses, mustard and salt & pepper. Stir until cheeses are melted and sauce is smooth. Add drained macaroni to the cheese mixture and stir to coat.

Pour into a greased 3-quart baking dish. Sprinkle top with cracker crumbs. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

You can freeze this unbaked. Defrost overnight in refrigerator and sprinkle cracker crumbs on right before you toss it into the oven. Add on a few extra minutes if still partially frozen and cover with foil the first half of baking time.

Huntington Chicken

Good way to use leftover chicken-or turkey! You may use any kind of cheese: Velveeta, cheddar, provolone, etc. This freezes well, but you will want to under cook the macaroni so it doesn't turn to mush.

Chicken Huntington

4 c. chicken broth
8 T. flour
1/2 lb. cheese, grated or cubed
2 c. macaroni (measured after cooking)
2 to 3 c. cooked, cubed chicken
salt & pepper, to taste
buttered bread or cracker crumbs.

Heat broth. Take 1 cup of broth and blend with flour to make a paste; add back in to pan of broth to make a gravy. Stir in cheese until melted. Add macaroni and chicken. Place in a large baking dish. Cover with the buttered bread crumbs or cracker crumbs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbly and browned.

To freeze: assemble casserole without the buttered cracker crumbs. Cover and freeze. Allow to thaw overnight in refrigerator, then add bread or cracker crumbs to the top and bake, adding on a few extra minutes if still icy.

Stuffed Green Peppers

This recipe will make about 16 stuffed peppers. If you don't need that many, consider freezing them. They store well and you'll have some future dinners all prepared for you. Instead of just cutting the tops off of the peppers, halve them lengthwise. That way, they lay better in the pan and you don't have to worry about them tipping over. I don't blanch the peppers first, but if you want to, that's fine. Personally, I think it makes them too mushy. Don't forget to make mashed potatoes!

Stuffed Green Peppers

3 lb. lean ground beef
2 eggs
1 c. white rice, uncooked
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
salt & pepper, to taste
8 lg. green peppers
2 lg. cans tomato sauce
2 lg. cans (family size) tomato soup
beef broth or water

Mix together the ground beef, eggs, rice, onion, cheese and salt and pepper until well combined.

Stuff the mixture into cleaned, halved green peppers. Place into a large roasting pan. (You'll need more than one. The disposable aluminum ones work well with a cookie sheet underneath.)

Whisk together the tomato sauce, tomato soup and enough water or beef broth for a thin consistency. Pour over peppers to cover completely.

Bake at 325 for about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

If freezing, allow to cool, then package, seal and freeze. Keeps for 3 months.

Ice Cream Nut Rolls

These are the flakiest cookies I've ever eaten. In place of the nut filling, you can use apricot, poppy seed, pineapple or any other pastry filling. Use real butter, not margarine, and make sure it's cold.

Ice Cream Nut Rolls

1 pound butter, cold
4 c. flour
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened, not melted
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. finely ground walnuts
1 c. sugar
Ground cinnamon, to taste
Confectioner's sugar

In a large bowl, cut butter into flour as for pastry. Add softened ice cream and vanilla. Mix well, until a heavy, smooth dough forms. (Easiest if you use a stand mixer.) Divide dough into 8 portions and shape into balls. Cover with wax paper. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Combine walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

Sprinkle a flat surface with confectioners’ sugar. Roll out each ball into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Cut each circle into 12 pizza-like wedges. Sprinkle each wedge with nut mixture or any other pastry filling. Roll from wide end to narrow end. Place on prepared cookie sheets, and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Remove immediately from cookie sheets, and dust generously with confectioners' sugar. Place on wire racks to cool completely. When cool, dust again with additional confectioners' sugar.
Do NOT store cookies in an airtight container. Instead, store them in a gift box or container with a loose-fitting lid and lined with wax paper, because it will allow enough air in to keep them from getting soggy. They may also be frozen. Makes about 100 cookies.

Sandwich Cookies

People have different names for these: Whoopie Pies, Gobs, Monster Oreos...My mother always called them "sandwich cookies"; so do I. This is an insanely easy recipe, you just don't have to tell anyone that. If you want to bring something for a bake sale that will fly off the table; these are your answer. I wrap each one in waxed paper and sell them for $1.00 each (it's a huge cookie). These freeze really well.

Sandwich Cookies

1 box of Devil's Food cake mix

2 c. milk

10 T. flour

2 c. Crisco

2 c. sugar

4 tsp. vanilla

Prepare cake mix according to package directions except decrease the amount of water to a scant 3/4 cup. On a parchment lined cookie sheet, use about 2 tablespoons of batter per cookie (depending on what size cookie you want). Allow room for them to spread out, I can fit 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for about 8-11 minutes, until tops spring back.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the milk and flour. Whisk constantly over medium heat until very thick. Remove from heat and let cool. Using electric mixer, beat together the Crisco, sugar and vanilla. Add in cooled flour mixture and continue to beat until doubled in volume, about 5 minutes.

After cookies have cooled, sandwich the icing between two of them. Honestly, I am generous when it comes to the icing, if you feel you don't want that much, just half the icing ingredients ; you'll still have plenty.

Spoonburgers

Much better than canned Sloppy Joe mix; make it as hot as you want by increasing the chili powder and adding some red pepper flakes. This is for the crock pot, but you can also make it in a frying pan if you need it in a hurry. Serve on toasted buns or over hot, buttered noodles. Also freezes well if you find yourself with a lot of leftovers.

Spoonburgers
3 lb extra-lean ground beef
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
16 oz tomato sauce
16 oz stewed tomatoes, undrained
8 oz can chopped green chilies
2 T chili powder
2 teas paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients into a greased crock pot and mix well, breaking up stewed tomatoes with the back of spoon. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Freezer Apple Pie Filling

Early Autumn is the time of year when apples are in great abundance and can be found at farmer's markets and supermarkets inexpensively. I found this delicious recipe for apple pie filling years ago and have made it every season since. This makes it so easy to always have a pie ready quickly to bring to a potluck, for guests or just a family treat. To make it even easier on yourself, make up a few batches of pie crust and prepare whole pies instead of just freezing the filling. When needed, simply throw a frozen pie into the oven! Another idea is to use the apples as a side dish-they're great with pork chops! This recipe makes enough for 5 (9") pies.

Freezer Apple Pie Filling
20 c sliced, peeled baking apples (6 lb)
3 T lemon juice
2 c brown sugar
1&1/2 c white sugar
1 c cornstarch (level off)
3 teas ground cinnamon (I use more)
1 teas salt
1 teas ground nutmeg
10 c apple juice or water

Wash, peel, core and slice the apples. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice and set aside. In a large kettle, combine the sugars, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the apple juice or water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add apples and return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until apples are tender. Allow to cool off for 30 minutes or so.

To freeze: spoon into ziploc bags or freezer containers leaving 1/2" of head space. Freezes well for 12 months. When needed thaw over night in refrigerator or in a microwave on a low power setting.

-OR-

Use as a filling for double-crusted pies. Flash freeze the pies, then wrap in several layers of plastic wrap. To bake: place frozen pie on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 90 minutes, cover crust with foil if it begins to brown too quickly.

Note: If using metal pie pans, place in a pre-heated oven. However, if you use glass pans, then start in a cold oven and increase the baking time a little.

Italian Shredded Beef

This makes AMAZING sandwiches or you can thicken the juice with a little cornstarch and serve over noodles. The house smells so good while this is cooking with all of the herbs and spices. If you use a 5 lb roast, you will end up with filling for about 24 hamburger bun sized sandwiches, which is OK since this freezes very well. Place individual portions in sandwich bags along with a little of the juice, then place all of those into a gallon size freezer bag. For a super quick meal, just pull out one of the bags, empty into a bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. We like ours on toasted buns with provolone cheese and some of the dipping sauce on the side.

Italian Shredded Beef
5 lb chuck roast
3 c water
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1 teas each:
salt
pepper
oregano
basil
onion powder
garlic powder

Place roast in crockpot. Mix together water and seasonings and pour over roast. Cook on low for 10-12 hours. Shred meat. Use a slotted spoon to serve on rolls. Serve juice on the side as a dipping sauce, if desired.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

The approaching Autumn weather whets my appetite for hearty, rib-sticking meals. The following is a favorite; consider making a double batch since it freezes very well and will give you a worry-free, dinner's in the freezer day. No one will ever guess that the secret ingredient for these meatballs is cookies!

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
2 lb ground beef
5 slices day old bread, torn
2 eggs
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 grated onion

Mix together well and roll into balls ( I use a 1/4 cup for each one). Put on a cookie sheet with sides and brown at 350. Pour off grease.

1 qt. stewed tomatoes (do not drain)
1/4 c vinegar
1 c packed brown sugar
1 teas salt
10 ginger snaps

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until liquefied. Pour sauce over browned meat and bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.

The sauce is great served over mashed potatoes.