Nana's Pound Cake

from Sylvia, submitted by Betty

• 2 sticks butter (1 cup)
• ½ cup Crisco
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup milk

Cream the butter and Crisco. Add sugar, eggs one at a time then add lemon juice. Alternately add the cake flour, baking powder and milk.

Bake in greased and floured tube or bundt pan for 1 hour at 370 degrees.

Sylvia's Chopped Apple Cake

from Sylvia, submitted by Betty

• 1 ½ cup sifted flour
• ¾ teaspoon soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup cooking oil
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups coarsely chopped apples
• ½ cup nuts or raisins

Grease and flour loaf pan 8 ½" x 4 ½" x 2 1/2"
Sift all dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stir in apples and nuts.

Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour or longer, cool 10 minutes before turning pan
over. If using pyrex loaf pan, bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 min.

Two Breakfast Casseroles

submitted by Betty
The second recipe was featured at Bo's birthday brunch at Arlene's

Virginia's Breakfast Casserole

• 1 loaf sandwich bread, cut off crusts and quarter
• 1 pound ham, cubed
• 8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
• 8 ounces grated Swiss cheese
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups milk
• Crumbled cornflakes
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Spray 9" x 13" pan with Pam; line with 1/2 of bread. Layer ham and cheese on top. Dip remaining bread in milk mix and put on top of cheese. Pour remaining egg mix over top. Top with crumbled cornflakes and 1/4 cup butter. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Take out for 20 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes more.


Egg & Sausage Breakfast Casserole

• 6 eggs, slightly beaten
• 5 slices bread, cubed
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 pound hot or mild ground sausage, fried and drained

Butter 9" x 13" casserole dish. Mix all ingredients and pour into dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Can be prepared a day before. Add 10 minutes to bake time.

Farmhouse Vegetable Soup

from Marie, submitted by Betty

serves 4 - 6

• 4 tablespoons unsalted Kerrygold Irish butter (you can use any butter, but if you want to use Kerrygold, Safeway often has it at the best price)
• 1 small onion
• 2 leeks, white part only, washed and sliced
• 2 parsnips, peeled and sliced
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 4 cups of vegetable stock (gluten free chicken stock will work, too)
• 2/3 cup half and half (you can use fat free too, soup won't be as thick, but flavor is still the same)
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh flat leaf parsley
• Salt and black pepper to taste

In a stock pot or large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and leeks, cover, and cook, stirring once or twice for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft but not browned.

Add the parsnips, potatoes, carrots and stock , cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Working in batches, transfer the soup to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. You can use an immersion blender and puree in the pot if you have one.

Return the soup to the pot and add the half and half, season with parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer until heated through.

Sometimes, depending on the size of the parsnips and carrots, I will cut back and use only 1 of each but I add a couple of extra potatoes. The parsnips and carrots have a very strong flavor and sometimes taste very sweet. I also don't puree the soup until it is really smooth. We like a little texture to it.

Potato Leek Soup

from Marie, submitted by Betty

• 2 tablespoons unsalted Kerrygold Irish Butter
• 3 leeks, white part only, washed and sliced
• 1 large onion
• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch pieces
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 1 1/4 cups half and half
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parsley to garnish

In a large pot, melt the butter. Add the leeks and onions, cover and cook stirring once or twice, for 5 - 7 minutes until the vegetables are soft but not browned.

Add the potatoes, and stock, cover and cook for 35 to 40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 - 15 minutes. Working in batches, transfer soup to food processor and puree to the texture you like.

Return soup to pot, add half and half, season with salt, pepper and parsley. Simmer until heated through.

If you use fat free half and half, add another potato to thicken the soup.

Green Apple and Cranberry Salsa

from Teri (we think), submitted by Betty

• 3-4 tablespoons red onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced cilantro
• 1 jalapeno, minced (remove seeds)
• 1 cup Granny Smith apple, chopped (no need to peel)
• 1/2 cup chopped pear
• 1/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon cunim
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon raspberry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• juice 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon chopped red pepper
• 2 teaspoons oil
• pinch cayenne

Combine all ingredients and mix well

"Baked" Potato Soup

first tried by Teri, submitted by Betty

For a SLOW COOKER PREP: 21 min COOK: 4 hours or 8 hours
Makes 12 cups

• 6 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes (about 3 ¾ Lbs)
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
• 3 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth with roasted garlic
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 ¼ teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup whipping cream or half and half
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 (8 ounce) container of sour cream (optional)
• 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
  
  
  Combine first six ingredients in 5 qt slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours or until potato is tender.
  
  Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened.
  
  Stir in cream, cheese and chives. Top with sour cream, if desired, and sprinkle with bacon and Cheddar cheese before serving.

Bisquick Sausage Cheese Balls

posted by Jim

The title of this recipe is also the ingredients

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 2 cups shredded cheese (Sharp Cheddar is what I usually use.)
• 1 pound bulk sausage (Basic country sausage is good. Use hot sausage if you prefer.)
  

Mash all the ingredients together until well blended. Using your hands works well. This is also one of those rare times you can use the dough hook that came with your mixer if you can remember where you put it.

Form into balls about the size of a shelled walnut.

Place on a couple of cookie sheets or jellyroll pans lined with foil. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or so until browned. These brown unevenly and will be darker on the bottom.

Slide the foil off the cookie sheets and let cool for five minutes or so before removing to a serving dish or rack to cool. They pop off the foil more eaily this way.

These are better served warm but room temp is OK. They refrigerate and reheat well. They would probably freeze OK but I haven't tried that.

The Best Sugar Cookies

Posted by Jim

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup 10x sugar
• 1 cup margarine or butter
• 1 cup oil
• 4 cups flour, unsifted
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• dash of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter. Add the sugar and then the 10x sugar. Mix well. Add the oil slowly, scraping the bowl often. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add the dry ingredients and beat at high speed until well blended.

Drop tablespoonfuls of batter on cookie sheets. Dip the bottom of a flat glass in granulated sugar and press the cookies down slightly.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

These cookies are light and crisp. Keep them in a sealed container – especially in the summer when it’s humid – or they’ll go stale.

These babies aren’t flashy to look at but everyone seems to love them.