Pumpkin Pie

INGREDIENTS
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Comments:
I used 3tsp pumpkin spice and 2tsp cinnamon instead of the nutmeg. I was told that the pie had no real pumpkin flavor although it looked and held up very well. I think for future baking it needs to have actual pumpkin spice added to it as well.

Golden Crescent Rolls

INGREDIENTS
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 eggs
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Stir in sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in remaining flour until smooth. Scrape dough from side of bowl. Knead dough, then cover it and let rise in a warm place until double (about 1-1/2 hours).
Punch down dough. Divide in half. Roll each half into a 12-inch circle. Spread with butter. Cut into 10 to 15 wedge. Roll up the wedges starting with the wide end. Place rolls with point under on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double (about 1 hour).
Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 12-15 minute or until golden brown. Brush tops with butter when they come out.

Comments:
Used this to make the Chicken & Broccoli Braid. It was sorta like a sweet bread and very good. Also very easy to make. We'll be using this for Thanksgiving as regular crescent rolls as well.
**These were good although much heavier than I think a crescent roll should be. I always think they are light and fluffy and these are much more like a regular roll.

Chicken Broccoli Braid

INGREDIENTS
2 cups diced, cooked chicken meat
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove crushed garlic
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
1/4 cup diced onion
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls or use the Crescent Roll Recipe Here
1 egg white, beaten



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees F).
In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, red bell pepper, garlic, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, dill weed, salt, almonds and onion.
Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side. Spread the chicken mixture along the center strip. Fold the side strips over chicken mixture, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal.
Brush braided dough with the egg white. Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown.

Comments:
Made this for dinner tonight and it was YUMMY!! I did not have red pepper or almonds so those were left out. Used 1tsp Celery Seed instead of Dill Weed. Also, I cooked the chicken in the garlic and onion then added the broccoli in at the end to soften it so it wouldn't be crunchy. I used the homemade Crescent Roll recipe found HERE instead of the packaged ones. They gave it a bit of a sweet flavor that was really good. Just note on the crescent roll recipe you will skip the last step for rising. You will only let it rise the 1st time, then seperate it and roll it out and then add the ingredients from this. This will definitely get used again!

Double Chocolate Pie

INGREDIENTS
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in milk gradually. Add chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.
Place egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl. Gradually pour half of chocolate mixture into egg yolks, whisking constantly.
Whisk egg yolk mixture back into mixture in saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract.
Pour mixture into baked pie shell. Press a layer of plastic wrap onto filling. Refrigerate at least 4 hours but no longer than 48 hours. Remove plastic wrap before serving and top with whipped topping.

Comments:
This was by far the favorite pie of our holiday dinner. just a warning...it is VERY sweet. Just a small slice would do or you get a major sugar rush. The filling actually gave more than a single pie worth. Also, it really does not hold up well after 2 days.

Savory Turkey Gravy

INGREDIENTS
5 cups turkey stock
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery salt



DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, bring the turkey stock to a boil. In a small bowl, dissolve flour in water. Gradually whisk into the turkey stock. Season with poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, and celery salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.



Comments:
This was very good and so easy to make! Definitely something we will keep on hand for future turkey meals.

The Perfect Turkey

INGREDIENTS :
1 (18 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
2 cups kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine

DIRECTIONS:
Rub the turkey inside and out with the kosher salt. Place the bird in a large stock pot, and cover with cold water. Place in the refrigerator, and allow the turkey to soak in the salt and water mixture 12 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Thoroughly rinse the turkey, and discard the brine mixture.
Brush the turkey with 1/2 the melted butter. Place breast side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 onion, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1 sprig of thyme, and the bay leaf. Scatter the remaining vegetables and thyme around the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover with the white wine.
Roast uncovered 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Carefully turn the turkey breast side up about 2/3 through the roasting time, and brush with the remaining butter. Allow the bird to stand about 30 minutes before carving.

Comments:
We will never make a turkey another way but this again! It was so moist and delicious. Definitely more work than just using an oven bag but so worth it for the flavor.

Sweet Potato-Marshmallow Casserole

Ingredients:
3 ½ to 4 pounds fresh sweet potatoes, scrubbed well
¼ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup evaporated milk or heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch ground mace
Pinch ground cloves
¼ cup finely chopped toasted pecans
3 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Bake the sweet potatoes on the foil-lined baking sheet until a thin, pointy knife inserted in the center meets no resistance, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Once cooled, remove the skins and mash until smooth. (If you have a potato ricer, this works well in helping to remove any stringy fibers, as does a food mill.) In a large bowl combine the potatoes (you should have about 4 cups), sugar, evaporated milk, butter, orange juice, vanilla, salt, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and cloves and beat until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Arrange the marshmallows in an even layer over the top and bake until the marshmallows are lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes. This can be made a day ahead, covered, and refrigerated, then returned to room temperature and baked 35 to 45 minutes before serving.
Makes 8 to 10 servings

Comments:
I'm told this was very good as well. it had a nice flavor too it. Just be sure to get the sweet potato completely mashed up as having chunks throws off the texture.

Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 cup pureed pumpkin or 15oz can Pumpkin puree
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspon salt

3oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the pumkin mixture until thoroughly combined.
3. Spread the bater evenly into an ungreased 10x15 jellyroll pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes in preheated oven. Cool before frosting.
4. To make frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add confectioners' sugar a little at a time, beating until ixture is smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cooled bars. Cut into squares.

Comments:
These were a big hit. I used the canned puree and baked it in a glass cake pan. It really came out more like a pumpkin cake but it was still good!

Maple-Garlic Pork Tenderloin

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin

DIRECTIONS
Combine mustard, sesame oil, garlic, pepper, and maple syrup. Place pork in a shallow dish and coat thoroughly with marinade. Cover, then chill in the refrigerator at least eight hours, or overnight.
Preheat grill for medium-low heat.
Remove pork from marinade, and set aside. Transfer remaining marinade to a small saucepan, and cook on the stove over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
Brush grate with oil, and place meat on grate. Grill pork, basting with reserved marinade, for approximately 15 to 25 minutes, or until interior is no longer pink. Avoid using high temperatures as marinade will burn.



Comments:

Made this for dinner tonight using chicken and baked it in the oven instead of using the grill. Not much I can say about it. The sauce wasn't bad. Served it over rice and it reminded me of like a peanut sauce. The chicken...was just ok. The meat wasn't nearly as tender as you would expect after marinating for 24hours. I think we may give it a shot just once more except using the pork this time and cooking it on the grill. I'll update comments if/when that happens!

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:
1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 (12 oz.) container (4 1/2 cups) frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
1 prepared chocolate pie crust
1 (11.75 oz.) jar Smucker's® Hot Fudge Spoonable Ice Cream Topping, divided



Directions:
1. BEAT together 1 cup peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium, until well combined. Gently mix in 3 cups whipped topping until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into pie shell. Using a spatula, smooth mixture to edges of pie.
2. RESERVE 2 tablespoons of hot fudge topping into the corner of a resealable food storage bag; set aside. Microwave remaining topping on HIGH (100% power) for 1 minute. Stir. Spread topping over pie, covering entire peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until set. Spread remaining whipped topping (1 1/2 cups), over hot fudge layer, being careful not to mix the two layers.
3. CUT a small corner from bag containing topping. Squeeze bag to drizzle topping over pie. Place remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter in a resealable food storage bag; cut bag corner and squeeze to drizzle in opposite direction from topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Parmesan Chicken

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup butter
2/3 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
2/3 cup converted long-grain white rice
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup milk
1-1/3 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste



DIRECTIONS
Mix together onion soup mix, milk, cream of mushroom soup, and rice in a medium bowl.
Lay chicken breasts in the bottom of a lightly greased slow cooker. Place one tablespoon margarine on each chicken breast and pour soup mixture over all. Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours, or on High for 4 to 6 hours.

Holiday Bark

Ingredients:
1 12oz package Nestle Toll House morsels, any flavor
Either Peanuts or Peppermint candies crushed


DIRECTIONS
LINE baking sheet with waxed paper.
MICROWAVE morsels in medium, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70 percent) power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth.
PLACE peppermint candies or peanuts in heavy-duty plastic bag. Crush using rolling pin or other heavy object. While holding strainer over melted morsels, pour crushed candy/nuts into strainer. Shake to release all small candy/nut pieces; reserve larger pieces. Stir morsel-peppermint/nut mixture.
SPREAD mixture to desired thickness on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with reserved candy/nut pieces; press in lightly. Let stand for about 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Comments:
I usually do both versions of this. Salted nuts with chocolate morsels and peppermint candies with white chocolate. it's always a hit at get togethers.

Extra Easy Fudge

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
2 cups milk chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups prepared chocolate frosting
1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Line one 8x8 inch square pan with foil. Lightly butter the foil.
In a small saucepan melt the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and stir in the frosting and the nuts stirring until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm. Once firm cut in small squares.

One Dish Chicken Bake

INGREDIENTS
1 (6 ounce) package chicken-flavor stuffing mix
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup milk

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl combine the seasoning packet from the stuffing mix with the hot water and butter. Let stand until butter melts. Stir in the stuffing crumbs, just to moisten, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Place the chicken down the center of a 8x12 inch baking dish. Mix together the soup and milk and pour mixture over the chicken. Spoon some of the stuffing over the chicken breasts, then spoon the rest along the sides of the chicken. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and the juices run clear.

Comments:
Before pouring the soup over the chicken I sprinkled them with garlic salt and thyme. Then put shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the soup before putting on the stuffing. It turned out really good. The stuffing will look a bit mushy but it tastes really good. I put this together last minute tonight and we all enjoyed it.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour, sift or stir before measuring
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Preparation:
Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars; beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour mixture, blending well. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls; place on greased baking sheets. Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork; dip fork in flour periodically to keep it from sticking to the peanut butter cookie dough.Bake peanut butter cookies at 375° for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Comments:
I used between 3/4 to 1 cup of peanut butter to give it a stronger flavor. They turned out really good! The dough was kinda crumbly but the cookies still turned out good. I do suggest putting the dough in the fridge between batches to keep it from getting too warm.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Mix together cream cheese, butter , confectioners' sugar, and vanilla. Spread over cooled cake.

Chicken Biscuit Potpie

INGREDIENTS
1 2/3 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup biscuit/baking mix
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, combine vegetables, chicken, soup and thyme. Pour into an ungreased deep-dish 9-in. pie plate. Combine biscuit mix, milk and egg; pour over chicken mixture. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Comments:
Made this for a friend as an "after baby meal" and was told it was very good. I did add just a bit more veggies than it called for to give it more filler but it still turned out great. Also added just a bit of shredded mozzarella in between the veggies and the biscuit mix.

All American Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cold milk
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 Fuji apples, cored and sliced
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
To Make Crust: In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, oil, milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and salt until evenly blended. Pat mixture into a 9 inch pie pan, spreading the dough evenly over the bottom and up sides. Crimp edges of the dough around the perimeter.
To Make Filling: Mix together 3/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle over apples and toss to coat. Spread evenly in unbaked pie shell.
To Make Topping: Using a pastry cutter, mix together 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar and butter until evenly distributed and crumbly in texture. Sprinkle over apples.
Put pie in the oven on a cookie sheet to catch the juices that may spill over. Bake 45 minutes.

Comments:
Really good!! You may need to cook it longer than the 45 minutes. The tip I got was that if you touch the topping and it gives then you need to cook it longer. Otherwise it will be kinda doughy.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1.5lbs boneless chicken breast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
1/2 green pepper chopped
1/2 red pepper chopped (not the flakes)
1/2 orange pepper chopped
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
garlic salt as needed for flavor in flour


DIRECTIONS:
Place flour & garlic salt in a large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown the chicken in oil; transfer to an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
Drain skillet, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. In the drippings, saute peppers until tender. In a bowl, combine the ketchup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; add to vegetables. Bring to a boil. Pour over the chicken. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Serve over rice.

Comments:
This dish is absolutely amazing! It tastes a lot like a sweet & sour chicken. We served it over rice and it was just like having chinese for dinner but for much cheaper.