Nut Clusters

1 (12 oz) pkg milk chocolate chips
1 (12 oz) pkg butterscotch chips
12 oz nuts (can use mixed nuts, cashews, peanuts, dry roasted nuts, honey roasted peanuts etc...)

Melt chips in the microwave stirring every 15-30 seconds. Stir in nuts and drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper lined cookie sheet. These take a few hours to set completely. You can put them in the fridge but turn out much better when left at room temp to set up. They look prettier too.

Easy Milk Chocolate Frosting... Perfect for Brownies!

From Brandy's kitchen

3 Tbl butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbl milk
2 Tbl cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in small saucepan.add cocoa and remove pan from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients until smooth. Spread over brownies or cake. (9x13 pan)

Old Fashioned Goulash!

1-2 lbs ground beef
3 tsp minced garlic
1 large yellow onion diced
3 cups chicken broth (or 3-4 chicken bouillon cubes with 3 c. water)
1-2 Tbl olive oil
1-2 Tbl butter
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 Tbl Italian Seasoning
1 Tbl Adobo Seasoning (recipe below)
3 bay leaves
1 Tbl Seasoning Salt
1/2 tsp pepper
16 oz. elbow macaroni
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredder cheddar cheese


In a large skillet, heat olive oil and butter. Add onion, cook for a few minutes. Add hamburger and season with salt and pepper. When hamburger is almost done, add in garlic and cook until meat is done. Add broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, seasoning salt, pepper and adobo. Mix well. Lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally. Add in the uncooked macaroni. stir well until everything is combined making sure the macaroni is covered in liquid. Cover again and cook an additional 8-10 minutes or until the macaroni is tender. Remove the bay leaves and stir in only the cheddar cheese. Serve with mozzarella. Enjoy!


This recipe was fantastic! We used to have goulash when I was growing up and trust me, this is nothing like it. We loved it!!! I loved the cheese melted in but Glen did not. He would have preferred to have it when it was served for anyone who wanted cheese. Personally, I cannot imagine anyone not wanting cheese! I also added 4 chicken bouillon. It gives it so much flavor.


I couldn't find any adobo seasoning so I found this recipe on allrecipes. I had all of the ingredients on hand and It worked great!


Traci's Adobo Seasoning from Allrecipes.com
2 Tbl salt
1 Tbl paprika
2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder


Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

Bread Sticks

36 frozen Rhodes roll dough
1/4-1/2 cup of melted butter
Salad supreme seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Divide rolls onto 2 cookie sheets to thaw. Cover with towel or plastic wrap. When thawed, roll each roll into a rope and arrange on cookie sheet 9 on each side. They will overlap a little in the middle of the pan. Spoon butter over each breadstick. Sprinkle with salad supreme seasoning and then sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Cover loosely with towel and let rise until double in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

These bread sticks are delicious! They have been a family favorite of ours for years! Enjoy!!!

Oreo Surprise

1 regular pack Oreo cookies
1 cube margarine
1 small jar hot fudge topping
1 8 oz cool whip (thawed)
1 1/2 gallons vanilla ice cream (partially softened)

Crush 2 rows of Oreo cookies and mix with melted margarine. Press into the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. Layer softened ice cream over crust. Pour 2/3 jar of hot fudge over ice cream. Spread cool whip over hot fudge sauce. Rough chop the last row of Oreo cookies and sprinkle on top. Freeze 2-3 hours before serving. Serve with a drizzle of remaining hot fudge sauce if desired.

Pecan Pie Surprise bars

CRUST
1 pkg yellow cake mix (reserve 2/3 cup)
1/2 butter or margarine melted
1 egg

Grease bottom and sides of 9x13 pan. Combine above ingredients until crumbly. Press into pan. Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven.

FILLING
2/3 cup reserved cake mix
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup

Mix all ingredients, pour over crust. Return to oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until filling is set. cool and cut into squares.

Baked Rice Pudding

Recipe from the kitchen of Leah Smith

1 cup water
1/2 cup long grain rice
4 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bring water to a boil in saucepan. Reduce heat to low, add rice and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain rice. Return rice to saucepan adding milk, sugar, salt and vanilla. Heat just until warm. Pour into 1 1/2 quart greased baking dish. Bake for 1 3/4 -2 hours stirring every 30 minutes until rice is tender and pudding is creamy.

You can add raisins before putting mixture in oven. My mom used to make rice pudding quite a bit when I was growing up. It still brings back so many good memories... Comfort food for sure!

Surprise Cookies

Recipe from the kitchen of Carol Berlin

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp ginger
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup margarine
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

Sift first 6 ingredients together. Cream sugar and margarine. Add egg, molasses and dry ingredients and mix well. Form into balls and roll in sugar. Bake @ 350 for about 10 minutes. Makes approx 4 dozen cookies.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 lg bunch broccoli cut into small pieces
1/4 cup butter (1/2 cube)
2/3 cups diced onion
2 Tbl flour
2 cans chicken broth
2 cups milk (or half & half)
3/4 tsp salt (if needed)
1 cup of shredded cheese

Cook broccoli in 1 1/4 cups water with 1/2 tsp salt until tender. Drain, Reserving liquid. Set aside.
Melt butter in saucepan. Add onion and cook until soft. Blend in flour. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth. Cook stirring constantly until mixture boils. Stir in 2 cups milk (can use half & half) plus one cup of the reserved liquid from the broccoli. Add 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 3/4 tsp salt (I always use 1 chicken bouillon cube to 1 cup water for the chicken broth. If you use the boullion, you probably won't need any additional salt). Add the broccoli. Heat but do not boil. Stir in cheese. Makes 2 quarts.

Rosy Grape Jelly

2 cups cranberry juice
3/4 cup grape juice
1 pkg powdered pectin
3 1/4 cups white sugar

Pour the juices in a saucepan and stir in the pectin until completely dissolved. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Stir in sugar and return to a full boil stirring constantly for 1 minute. Skim off any foam. Pour jelly into sterilized jars leaving 1/4 head space. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes 3 1/2 cups. It will fill 7 of the 5 oz glass jars. You can change up the juices for any combination of flavors that you like. Just make sure to use 2 3/4 cups juice in the recipe. This is a recipe that came from Joan. It's makes a beautiful yummy jelly! Pretty enough for gift giving.

Perfect cupcake frosting and filling

3 Tbl flour
1/2 c milk (whole works best but I have used skim and it still works)
1/2 c good quality butter
1/2 c granulated sugar (not powdered)
1 tsp vanilla (or almond)
Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in small sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Cook until it looks like thick pudding. It should come together and you should be able to see the bottom of the pan. Let it cool completely. I usually refrigerate it. You can push it through a mesh strainer to remove any lumps. I never do. It has to be completely cooled before you move onto the next step. In an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar for a couple of minutes until well combined and fluffy. You'll want to use the whisk attachment, not the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the milk/flour mixture and the vanilla. Beat it on the highest speed that you can without it flying all over the place. Beat for 7 minutes! Maybe even longer. It goes from looking like a weird gloopy mess to a thick, velvety smooth and perfectly fluffy frosting. You can't go wrong with this frosting/ filling. I ALWAYS double it. The original recipe will frost about 12 cupcakes using a pastry bag and tip but that is never enough for me. This frosting pipes beautifully! Not too rich or sweet... Just perfect!

Jewish Sweet Bread

1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c oil
2 eggs
4 1/2 c flour
1 cube butter, divided

Put yeast in warm water with a little sugar to activate it. Set aside. In mixer, add salt, sugar, oil, eggs and 2 cups of the flour. Mix well and add in yeast mixture mixing again. Change to dough hook and add remains flour or enough flour until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Move dough to a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in size. When doubled, punch down and divide dough in half. Divide each half into thirds. Roll each third into a rope and braid. Do the same with the remaining half (makes 2 loaves). Place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled. Melt half of the butter and pour over braids. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven. Melt remaining butter and pour over hot loaves. Enjoy!