Chocolate-Orange Cream Brownies

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup cocoa
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tsp. Grand Marnier liqueur or 1/2 tsp orange extract
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 3 TBS butter
  
• Orange Cream Frosting (recipe below)

Instructions
Beat eggs with a wire whisk until thick and frothy. Add sugar; stir well. Combine flour and cocoa; gradually stir into egg mixture. Stir in 1 cup melted butter and liqueur (or orange extract). Pour into a greased 15x10-inch jellyroll pan.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Heat chocolate squares and 3 TBS butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted. Cool.

Spread Orange Cream frosting over uncut brownies. Drizzle cooled chocolate over frosting. Dip a small spatula in hot water; wipe dry. Using warm spatula, spread chocolate thinly to cover frosting completely. Let stand until chocolate is set. Cut into thin bars. Store in refrigerator.

Orange Cream Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp grated orange rind
• 2 1/2 TBS orange juice
• 1 TBS Grand Marnier or 1/4 tsp orange extract

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating well. Add orange rind, juice and liqueur (or orange extract); beat until blended.

I used orange extract instead of Grand Marnier.
Tricia Ann

Fresh Strawberry Pie

We usually do strawberries or peaches with this pie recipe, but I think I've had it with blueberries too. It would probably work with most fruits. Grammy usually makes it, and she complains every time about how long it takes. She does admit that it's easy though. In the end, though, it's worth all the time it takes! This pie is delicious!

• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons of strawberry jello

Bring water, sugar, and cornstarch to a boil. Add the jello and set to egg white consistency. Put fresh strawberries in cooked pie shell, and pour the set mixture over the berries. Top with whipped cream.

Saltine Cracker Candy

• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• saltine crackers
• 12 oz of chocolate chips (recipe calls for milk chocolate, but we've done it with semi-sweet and both. We never measure either, but put however much we want.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil (we usually use parchment now because we found that the foil tended to tear with the candy). Completely cover with crackers. Melt the butter and brown sugar. Boil three minutes, stirring constantly. Pour boiled mixture over crackers. Put in oven. Cook five minutes. Remove immediately and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Refrigerate until cool. Lift foil (or parchment). Candy will break into different shapes (depending on how hard and long the butter and sugar mixture boiled, the candy may need some help breaking into manageable pieces.).

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 3 LB beef round steak, cut into strips
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 10-1/2 oz. beef broth or beef consumme
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1-1/2 cups sour cream
• 1/4 cup flour
• hot buttered noodles, cooked according to package directions
• 3 TBLS. fresh minced parsley

Preparation:
Combine 1/2 cup flour, salt, pepper, and dry mustard; toss with steak strips to coat thoroughly. Place coated steak strips in crockpot. Stir in onions slices and mushrooms. Add beef broth and wine. Stir well. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. Just before serving, combine sour cream with 1/4 cup flour. Stir into crockpot. Serve stroganoff over hot buttered noodles, and garnish with minced parsley.

~Trish

White Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups warm milk
• 2 scant TBS (2 pkg) active dry yeast
• 3 TBS sugar
• 6 TBS butter, melted
  
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 5-6 cups white bread flour

Optional Egg Wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 TBS water (or milk)
  

Heat milk in a saucepan over low heat (or heat it in the microwave) until warm (but not hot). Stir in the sugar and yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl (or bread mixer), stir together 2 cups of the flour and the salt. Add the yeast mixture and butter. Stir well. Gradually add the remaining flour. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a buttered bowl and cover with a cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Punch down dough and let rest 5 minutes.

Shape as desired. Place on greased baking sheet and let rise. Preheat oven to 350. Wisk together 1 egg and 1 TBS water. Brush egg mixture on rolls just before placing them in the oven. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

I usually begin making these rolls about 3 hours before dinner, so they'll be hot when we're ready to eat. If you're having company, be sure to double the recipe! Bon Appetit!

~Tricia Ann

Clarabelle's Egg Scramble

1. Prepare Cheese Sauce. Blend butter and flour; stir in remaining ingredients; cook and stir until thickened over medium heat:
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup raw milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons worcesterchire sauce

2. Stir in cheese to melt:
1 cup firmly packed grated raw milk cheddar cheese

3. Prepare Toasted Bread Crumb Mixture. Mix together:
1 cup toasted whole grain bread crumbs (I used Tricia Ann's oat bread.)
1 1/2 teaspoon melted butter

4. Butter bottom and sides of 13 x 9 casserole dish.

5. Prepare Scrambled Eggs. Combine eggs and onion; scramble in butter until lightly done:
12 large farm-fresh eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 oz. can diced green chiles ( I'd like to try fresh ones from the garden this summer.)
3 tablespoons melted butter

6. Cover bottom of casserole dish with Scrambled Egg mixture. Spread Cheese Sauce over the top; top with Toasted Bread Crumb Mixture.

7. Garnish with paprika and minced parsley.

8. Refrigerate until ready to bake. Bake and 325 for about 45 minutes.

This is the casserole that I served the Bradshaw's for breakfast the day they picked up Clarabelle, their new milk cow. I adapted it from Sue Gregg's Breakfasts cookbook p. 228. It's a good "company" breakfast recipe because it can be made a day or two in advance and kept in the refrigerator until time to bake.

~Trish

Turnip Greens

Ingredients:

1. a big bunch of fresh turnip greens (rinsed well)
2. a bit of water
3. Mrs. Dash
4. Black Pepper
5. 1 cayenne pepper
6. a couple of cubes of beef boulion (more or less to taste)

Preparation:

Cook the above ingredients in the pressure cooker for about 10 minutes. After the ten minutes are up, remove the lid and let the greens simmer while you finish up the rest of the meal.

Tip:

You really do need a big bunch of greens, even if there are only a few people planning to eat them. Turnip greens (and other greens - mustard, collard, etc.) cook down a whole lot, so we usually pick enough to fill an ordinary grocery bag. It should fill up the pressure cooker at first, but once they're done cooking, you'll just have a nice bowl full.

Hot Chocolate Mix

• 8 quarts of dried milk (10 ⅔ cups, or 25 ounces)
  
• 6 ounces powdered creamer (approximately 1½ cups)
• 2 pounds of instant chocolate milk
• 1 pound of powdered sugar (approximately 4 cups)
• Approximately 4 ounces of cocoa for extra chocolate flavor

Mix all ingredients together. Makes about a gallon of dry mix.

Put ⅓ cup (or a little more...) of dry mix into a mug, add hot water (and cream, and coffee, etc.). You can also use flavored creamer, though we usually don't.

Pickn' Parlor Club

This is really a simple sandwich, but there is a lot involved. Unless otherwise ordered toast two pieces of thick white bread. While these are toasting it is a good idea to be preparing the rest of the sandwich. Set out a piece of American cheese and a piece of white Swiss American cheese (I don't really know what it is but that is what we use I think probably any white cheese would work). Take out your ham and turkey and place three slices of turkey on the regular American, and three slices of ham on the white American. On the turkey place a slice of tomato and a piece of lettuce. On the ham put three pieces of bacon placed diagonally. By now your bread should be ready. Put mayonnaise on one side of both slices of bread. On one piece of bread place the American and turkey, on the other piece put the white American and ham. Carefully put the sandwich together; I generally take the turkey side and place it on the ham side because I can use the lettuce to hold it together. Cut the sandwich in half diagonally in the opposite direction of the way the bacon is going. Place both halves upright on a plate with the insides facing out. Take four frill picks (toothpicks) and put two in on each side to hold it up. Add a pickle.

Haaaaalllloooo........

Is anybody here?

Christmas Jam

• 12 ounces of fresh cranberries
• Two 10 ounce packages of frozen strawberries
• 4 cups of sugar
• 3 ounces of liquid pectin
• wax (optional)

Slightly chop the cranberries in the food processor. Mix chopped cranberries, strawberries, and sugar in bowl on the stove top. Bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Add pectin, and boil additional 1 minute. Put jam into warm jars and boil in a water bath for 5 minutes. As an alternative to the water bath let the jam cool after being placed in the jars and pour hot wax over the top. This does just as good a job of sealing it as the water bath (sometimes better), and it doesn't cook the jam any more. Yield: 6 half pints.

This stuff is GREAT! We make more batches of it every year, but we always run out before we can make it again. It is very pretty, and we like to give it away as gifts. I would be more likely to joyfully give it away if we knew for sure there was plenty for us (Yes, I like it that much)! Around here you can only obtain cranberries (at a reasonable price) around Thanksgiving and Christmas, thus the name: Christmas Jam.

Green Chile Chicken Casserole

Again, I can't take credit for this recipe as it's another one of my grandmother's.

1 1/3 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth

1 cup canned chopped green chiles, drained

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup fat-free sour cream

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 (10 1/2 oz) cans condensed 98% fat-free cram of chicken soup, undiluted

1 garlic clove, minced

24 (6 inch) corn tortillas ( I used 20 and if I make it again, I'd use 16)

4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)

2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Spread 1 cup soup mixture in a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas over the soup mixture, and top with 1 cup chicken and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese. Spread remaining soup mixture over cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 12 servings

~Kaliste~

Goulash

INGREDIENTS:
Bacon
Corn
Tomatoes
Bell Pepper
Onion
Okra
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Most of the ingredients could be optional, such as the bell pepper and/or onions. If you don't like a certain ingredient, leave it out (unless of course you don't like corn. I don't know what you could use in place of it, though). But if you wish to prepare a country goulosh like we do it, feel free to try it something like this:

1. Take a fairly deep pot (the size of it depends on the amount of food that you plan to cook).
2. In this pot, fry a bit of bacon (according only to your family's desire).
3. Remove the bacon, but keep the fat in the pot. In this fat, you may saute a little onion and a little bell pepper (to your family's taste or desire, of course)
4. When this is complete, you may add your tomatoes (however many are wanted) and corn. We generally do one of two things. 1 - take a box or two of corn that we froze in the summer and use them, or 2 - use fresh corn by cutting the corn off of the cobs and scraping the cobs with the back of the knife to get the juice. Either way works very well. Since the bulk of the goulash is the corn, be sure to get quite a bit.(You may want to start preparing your biscuits now, in order to have them ready when the goulash is done. Also, make sure you have the table set and things almost ready for the meal.)
5. As soon as you are ready to serve the meal, you may add fresh, sliced okra and the bacon that you fried earlier. Make sure that the bacon is torn in small enough pieces that, if you have little ones eating it, they can handle it as well.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Your biscuits should be ready and the drinks poured. Set the butter on the table and ring the dinner bell.

I give all credit to my gradmother and Mama for this delicious recipe. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Chocolate Gravy

This recipe is from one of our old church cookbooks. There is really only one problem with it in that it makes a very small amount; we usually double or triple it.

• ½ cup of sugar
• 1 heaping tablespoon of flour
• 1 heaping tablespoon of cocoa
• 1 cup of milk
• ⅛ stick of butter (or so)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix first three ingredients in a pan, and add the milk. Cook, stirring constantly until thick. Add butter and vanilla. Serve on top of hot biscuits; we usually use left-over biscuits that we have toasted.

Hawaiian Chicken Salad

This is a recipe that my grandmother sent me, so I can't take much credit for it other than that I actually posted it here! I'll try to come up with something else, too, Claire, but for now, hope this helps!

2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken

1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits, drained

1 cup seedless red grapes, halved

3/4 cup sliced celery`

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup navel orange segments (I use Mandarin oranges)
3/4 cup slliced bananas

1/3 cup peanuts

In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Fold in oranges. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Just before serving, fold in bananas and sprinkle with peanuts. Yield: 8 servings

~Kaliste~

Lunch Ideas

(HELP!)

Giant Ginger Cookies

I thought it was about time for a sweet thing, so here is my first sweet contribution.

• 4½ cups of all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons of ground ginger*
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon*
• 1 teaspoon of ground cloves*
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 1½ cups of butter (3 sticks), room temperature
• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup of molasses
• ¾ cup of coarse or regular sugar
• candied ginger

*You can substitute the ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves for a equal amount (6½ teaspoons) of pumpkin pie spice.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside

In a large mixing bowl beat together butter and sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses. Beat in flour mixture.

Shape dough into small rounds and add a small piece of candied ginger. Roll into little balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are light brown. Do not mistake the candied ginger as uncooked dough.

I do not really know how many this recipe makes. I have made it several times, and each time I have gotten a lot of cookies. I added the candied ginger to this, but lately I have not been able to find it at Wal-mart. However, I have found, and used, a bottled ginger. It seems mashed. I personally liked the candied better.

Daddy gave me this recipe to try, and now we all absolutely love them. Because it makes so many, it takes a while. I do not do them very often, but they are delicious each time I do!

Chicken Salad with a Twist

• 1 (8 oz.) corkscrew macaroni
• ½ cup of mayonnaise
• ½ cup of Italian salad dressing
• 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of mustard
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 3 cups of cooked, chopped chicken
• 1 cup of peeled cucumber, chopped
• ¾ cup of sliced ripe olives

Cook pasta, drain, mix with other ingredients, and chill at least 2 hours (or until you're ready to eat, as we do). Says it serves 10 to 11, but that depends on the serving sizes. It does fix quite a bit for us, though. The recipe also has 1 medium onion, chopped, but we don't put that in. Daddy raves about this every time we fix it!

Pepperoni Macaroni

2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz) pizza
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/3 cup milk
1 package (3 1/2 oz) sliced pepperoni, halved
1 jar (4 1/2 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzerella cheese


Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, cook sausage and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Drain macaroni. In a large bowl, combine pizza sauce, tomato sauce and milk. Stir in sausage mixture, macaroni, pepperoni, mushrooms, and olives.
Transfer to a greased 13in.x9in.x2in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes longer or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Yield: 8-10 servings


~Kaliste~

Basic Pie Crust

Makes enough for one 8-, 9-, or 10-inch double-crust or lattice top pie, or two 8-, 9-, or 10-inch single-crust pies.

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

Ingredients:

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 t. salt
• 2 T. sugar (for sweet pies)
• 2/3 c. shortening
• glass of ice water

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with a fork until the pieces are about the size of small peas. Add a bit of ice water to the mixture and stir gently.

Tips:

This is a 'dry' dough, so it should only take a few tablespoons of water to make it wet enough. I've found that when you're first adding the water, everything still looks quite dry. Check to see if it's wet enough by gently pushing all of the mixture together in a ball with your hands. If, when you do this it crumbles, it's still too dry. If it all sticks to your hands, it's too wet. You might add a little more flour if it's too wet.

Hints:

This dough should not be worked with much at all. The more you work and handle it, the tougher it gets.

To Bake:

Fit rolled out pie crust dough in the pie plate. Trim excess dough from around the edges leaving about a 1/2 inch to fold under or to create a fluted edge. If you are pre-baking the pie crust you will need to prick the crust with a fork before placing it in the oven. If you are making a double-crust or lattice-top pie, you won't need to prick it, though the top crust will need to be pricked or cut in a few places. For pre-baked crust, bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned.

If the edge of the crust is browning too quickly, place a strip of foil around it, covering it.