Twinkie Cake

The name says it all. What could be better! This one does not have a shelf life of 25 years - it won't last 25 minutes on your counter.

Bake one yellow cake mix according to package directions. While warm, poke with fork in many places. Mix one can cream of coconut with one can condensed milk. Beat well and pour over the cake. Refrigerate and frost with Cool Whip.

Spaghetti Pie

This is easy and different. You can make it the night before and it heats up well for leftovers. Makes you wish you were Italian (except for the excess facial hair).

This would be good for a book club dinner to discuss Eat, Pray, Love - since the character went to Italy to "find herself". She also went to India, but I don't like Indian food.  Top it off with a HUGE hot fudge sundae to represent the self-indulgence in the book.  Obviously, not one of my favorites.

½ box cooked spaghetti
2 Tbsp margarine
2 eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup cottage cheese, drained
1 lb.. hamburger, browned and drained
1 lb. mild sausage, browned and drained
Spaghetti sauce
Mozarella cheese, grated

Mix cooked spaghetti, margarine, eggs and parmesan cheese. Place in the bottom of a greased pie plate or 8 x 8 inch pan. Press down to form a crust. Top with cottage cheese then hamburger and sausage. Add sauce and then cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes

If you are not a pumpkin pie fan, or need something more sturdy than pie to take to a dinner, these fit the bill. Good for breakfast, too. You can’t go wrong with cream cheese and Betty Crocker.

1 pkg. spice cake mix
1 3 – 4 o. pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
Prepare cake batter according to directions. Add dry pudding mix. Spoon into 24 paper lined muffin tins.
Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend int sugar and egg. Spoon over batter. Swirl gently with small soon.
Bake 18 – 21 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes then remove from pan to cool completely.

Mashed Potatoes A Day Ahead

Karen makes these at Christmas. They have about a million calories, but they are so delicious. It’s nice to get the mashing mess done ahead of time.

3 – 4 pounds of potatoes, cooked and mashed
8 oz. cream cheese
¼ cup margarine
½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
¼ cup minced onion
After potatoes are cooked and mashed, add cream cheese and butter. Then, beat in sour cream, milk, eggs, onion and some salt and pepper. Beat all until fluffy. Pour into greased casserole dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

Fruit Filled Coffee Cake

This is an easy and delicious way to start the day. It is also a great dish to take to a breakfast potluck. It is simple because it starts with cake mix. Betty Crocker and I make a good team.

1 pkg. white cake mix
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
¼ cup water
1 can cherry pie filling
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 cup powdered sugar
1 ½ Tbsp. milk
Beat first five ingredients with mixer until well blended. Pour into greased and floured 13 x 9 inch pan. Top with spoonfuls of pie filling.
Bake 35 minutes. Sprinkle with nuts. Cool about 10 minutes. Mix sugar and milk. Drizzle over cake. Cool completely.

No Fail Easy Meatloaf

Too easy-and too delicious. Makes great sandwiches the next day. It's not my Grandma's meatloaf - but it's simple and that counts for something.

2 pounds of lean ground beef
1 package Stove Top stuffing mix for chicken
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup barbecue sauce, divided

Heat the oven to 375. Mix all ingredients except ¼ cup barbecue sauce. Shape meat mixture into oval loaf in a 13 x 9 inch pan. Top with the remaining barbecue sauce. Bake one hour or until done.

Crock Pot Swiss Steak Supper

Very easy ( my style) and very good. Makes good leftovers to heat for lunch. I honestly could not live without my crock pot.

Beef boneless round steak
New potatoes
Cut carrots
Onion
12 oz. jar beef gravy

Cut meat into serving size pieces. Heat steaks in skillet until brown. Put in crock pot with other ingredients. Add ½ cup water. Cook on low 6 – 8 hours.

Country Chicken and Potato Bake

Good old meat and potatoes. Sometimes you just have to.

Arrange 4 boneless chicken breasts in baking dish. Add 2 chopped potatoes, with skin on, and 2 chopped sweet potatoes. Add ½ cup chopped onions. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Chocolate Raspberry Torte

This is for the fancy book club nights – not for the boys coming over to watch football. Why waste good chocolate on those who do not appreciate such things?

`1 pkg. devils food cake mix with pudding
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
7 oz. jar marshmallow cream
1 cup seedless raspberry preserves
Prepare cake mix according to directions. Pour into greased and floured 15 x 10 jelly roll pan and bake 18-20 minutes. Cool. Remove from pan and cut into thirds. Combine cream cheese, marshmallow cream and ¾ cup raspberry preserves. Place 1/3 of the cake on a platter and top with 1/3 of the frosting. Add second layer and repeat. Add third layer. On top, drizzle remaining preserves that have been heated. Top with fresh raspberries if desired. Refrigerate.

Cheesecake Brownies

No need to decide between them – have both! Come on - you know you want to!

1 13x9 pan size brownie mix
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup peanut butter
½ tsp. vanilla
1½ cups thawed Cool Whip

Heat oven to 350. Prepare brownies according to the directions. Spoon into 20 paper lined muffin cups. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, peanut butter and vanilla with mixer until blended. Spoon one rounded Tbsp. into the center of each cup, pressing lightly into the batter. Bake 30 minutes or until centers are set. Cool.

Breakfast Bake

So easy – and a great way to use up leftover ham. We have it often for dinner instead of breakfast. Great to use when eggs are on sale. Just don't call it "quiche" if there are any "real men" in the house.

1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup chopped ham
6 eggs
½ cup cold milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Heat oven to 350. Unroll dough in 13 x 9 baking dish. Press to cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the ham over the crust. Beat eggs and milk and whisk until blended. Pour over the ham. Top with cheeses. Bake about 25 minutes or until the center is set.

Apple Crumble Pie

This is a really different apple pie. It has a peanut butter crumb top! My mother gave me this recipe and I use it for dinners and to take to potlucks and parties. Save a piece that you can sneak for breakfast.

Fill one 8 inch pie shell with sliced apples. Sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons lemon juice and ¼ cup sugar. Top with a mixture of 4 Tablespoons peanut butter and 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into ½ cup flour, ¼ cup brown sugar and ½ tsp. cinnamon. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Do Ahead Baked French Toast

This is great for company. It will make them think you eat breakfasts like this all the time! (insert hysterical laughter here)

Place 6 – 7 slices of French bread in the bottom of a greased pan. Top with mixture of 5 eggs, beaten, 1 ½ cup milk, 2 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp. nutmeg. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
For topping, combine 4 Tbsp. soft butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and ¼ cup walnuts. Save.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread topping over the bread. Bake 40 minutes. Let set 10 minutes. Serve with syrup.

Swedish Kringler

My mother-in-law gave this recipe to me, a favorite from her Swedish ancestry (sorry, can't joke about this one) Great for a potluck breakfast. The almond taste is wonderful. Can be made ahead of time and wrapped in foil for a day or two, if it lasts that long!

1 cup butter
2 cups flour
3 eggs
½ tsp. almond extract
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. butter, softened
¼ tsp almond extract
1-2 Tbsp. milk
2 oz. melted cooking chocolate (or use ½ cup melted chocolate chips)
1 Tbsp. butter
In a mixing bowl, cut ½ up butter into 1 cup flour until the size of small peas. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. water and toss with a fork. Form into a ball – divide in half. On a cookie sheet, pat each half into a 12x3’’ strip. Set aside.
In a saucepan, combine ½ cup butter and 1 cup water and heat to boiling. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup flour until smooth. Cool 15 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Stir in ½ tsp. almond extract. Spread ½ of mixture over each pastry strip. Bake in 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes. Cool on wire rack – transfer carefully.
For glaze – combine powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp butter and ¼ tsp almond extract. Stir in enough mild to make spreading consistency. Drizzle over pastries. Melt chocolate and 1 Tbsp. butter and drizzle over top of glaze.

Strawberry Bread

This is easy, delicious and makes a great gift. Use fresh or frozen strawberries. Great with cream cheese on top (but what isn't?)

¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cup flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup strawberries – cut in half
½ cup chopped nuts
Mix all (except berries and nuts) with an electric mixer. Add berries and nuts. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Seven Layer Cookies

These are Bob’s favorite! They are kind of expensive to make so cut them into small pieces (at least the ones to share) and keep the bigger pieces for yourself.

1 stick margarine
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
Melt margarine and pour into 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs, then chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconuts and nuts in that order to make layers. Pour sweetened condensed milk over all. Do not mix. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. When cool, cut in bars.

Pretzel Salad

This is another oldie but goodie! This makes a sweet-salty dessert or salad. Great for a potluck or picnic. It will look like you've spent hours putting it together, when you really watched Ellen between steps.

2 cups crushed pretzels
½ cup sugar
¾ cup melted butter
Mix together and spread in 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool.

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
½ cup sugar
12 oz. tub Cool Whip
Combine and spread on cooled pretzel mix. Refrigerate.

6 oz. pkg strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water
10 oz. pkg. frozen strawberries, thawed, with juice
Dissolve Jello in water and add berries. Put in freezer for ten minutes to partially set. Spread over cream cheese mixture and refrigerate overnight.

Pineapple Nut Cake

My friend from Park Street Middle School in Grove City gave me this recipe. It actually gets better a day or two after baking! A dense, old –fashioned dessert.

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts
1 20 oz. chopped pineapple, not drained
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix all together until well blended. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Frost when cool. Keep covered in the refrigerator.

Frosting:
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 stick margarine
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Peanut Blossoms

This cookie recipe is a kid favorite. It tastes like a Reece’s Cup. Who are we kidding - it's an adult favorite, too.

Cream together:
½ cup (one stick) butter or margarine
½ cup peanut butter (not inexpensive brand)
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
Add:
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Blend in:
1 ¾ cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
Shape in balls about 1 inch in diameter and roll in sugar. Bake 8 minutes then put a chocolate kiss or star on each and return to the oven for about 3 more minutes. 350 degrees with ungreased cookie sheet.

Mrs. Steele's Cookies

These are another of Bob’s favorites. It is a peanut butter-chocolate combo. Not sure how they got the name, since they look like little piles of dog poop, but taste better, so I'm told.

2 cups sugar
½ cup cocoa
½ cup milk
1 stick margarine
Bring to a rolling boil and then boil one full minute.
Remove from heat and add:
½ cup peanut butter
3 cups quick oats
1 tsp. vanilla
Drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet or wax paper. Cool and store in a covered container.

Melting Moments

These were one of the cookies I remember my mom making often for holidays. She would make icing colored to match the holiday. They truly do melt in your mouth because they each probably have 500 grams of saturated fat.

1 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour

Cream margarine with sugar until fluffy then beat at medium speed after adding flour. Chill several hours.
Roll rounded teaspoonful (small size) into balls and place one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 122 minutes until firm. Cool on rack.

Frosting – cream together:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. milk
¼ tsp. almond flavor
Food color for icing
Put two balls together with icing in middle.

Fruited Chicken Salad

Nothing like chicken salad on a hot summer day. Or a cold winter day. Or a rainy fall day. Or a Tuesday. Or trash day. Or .....

4 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups diced celery
2 cups halved seedless red or green grapes
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Dash of salt and pepper

Combine the first six ingredients and toss well. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add to chicken mixture. Chill.

Five Cup Salad

So simple – double or triple for a large crowd. We had it for Easter, Emily’s church group dinners and graduation parties. Leave out coconut if the kids don’t like it- it is still great (and cheaper). So easy a chimpanzee could make it, and would probably like it!

1 cup canned pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup canned mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup miniature marshmallows, eat a few while assembling
1 cup Cool Whip
1 cup coconut
Stir gently and refrigerate.