Breakfast Cookies!

Marking my spot for something I want to try. this Sounds yummy!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Carson came home last weekend after going to Ashlyn's birthday party with about 40 hershey kisses. They had a pinata that was FULL of them. So, I set out to find a recipe for peanut butter cookies. Surprisingly, I had never made these. I've eaten plenty of them from time to time, but never made them. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. I changed it a bit like some of the comments suggested (less flour and add a little milk) and they were yummy. Although, Carson started asking for a cookie everyday at about 7am. Yeah, they are already gone!

Apple Pie

I made apple pie with apples from our inlaws. Diane showed me how to make it one time and now I just remember the recipe. So, bear with me!

About 5-6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 stick margarine
1/2 cup sugar
Ummmmm, some cinnamon. Just add it until it's the right color. :)
Pillsbury pie crust (I know you can make these from scratch, but WHY?)
heavy cream

Cook the apples in the margarine in a saucepan until they are tender. I like them to sort of brown.
Add the sugar and cinnamon. Add a little splash of cream. About 2-3 tablespoons.

Pour it into a pie crust. Put the second crust on top and seal it up. Cut the little slits to release the steam. Then pour another splash of the cream on the top and smear it around. Bake at about 325 for an hour. I love my pie crust sheilds! Use one for the first 45 minutes then remove so that it can brown.

That's it!

Oh and be sure you top it with ice cream!

KIM UPDATE: It's also really good if you sprinkle raw sugar on top of the top crust!

Fun finger foods!

Last night, Matt and Kim Mauck came over to watch America's Got Talent (weak!), and we had a fun finger foods dinner! I served Crash Hot Potatoes (which I love--have made them four times now I think!), Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps, and Fried Asparagus. YUM!

The chicken recipe is courtesy Paula Deen, and you wrap chicken chunks in bacon and then dredge it in a mixture of brown sugar and chili powder. FYI: I thought the dredge mixture needed a bit more flavor after I made it the first time, so I added seasoned salt and lemon pepper.

The fried asparagus is a fun way to eat veggies--dip the asparagus in a very sticky beer batter, and then deep fry. Serve with Ranch dressing to dip!

Sweet squash casserole!

I should have posted this a little earlier when it was the peak of squash season, but my mother-in-law is still giving me some from her garden, so maybe you can still use this. It's from one of my favorite little cookbooks, Requested Recipes from Granny's Pink Rose Tea Room. This lady used to operate a cute little tea room in her Victorian-style home. I went there once, and everything she served was so different from the kind of stuff you usually eat, but so delicious!

Ingredients
2 lbs yellow squash: cooked, drained, mashed. (I dice three or four medium-sized squash and boil for 6 minutes, then mash with a fork in the colander. Just a rough mash will do.)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped (I sometimes leave out the peppers and onions if I don't have them on hand; it's still great!)
1/4 cup butter (If you don't do the peppers and onions, you won't need the butter either.)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (Here's where the sweet comes in!)
4 eggs
1 t. seasoned salt
1 pinch plain salt
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Topping: 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Saute onions and pepper in butter. Put cooked, mashed squash in casserole dish. Mix milk, brown sugar, egg, salts, and cheese, and pour over squash. Make sure onions and pepper are cool before adding them to the casserole (I have scrambled my eggs before--when I didn't have any back-up ingredients to start over, and had to strain out all the scrambled bits. Not pretty.)

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until the center doesn't jiggle anymore. Melt butter and add bread crumbs, and bake for 10 more minutes.

This is great as leftovers!