Ritz Meringue Cookies

I discovered these cookies while trying to find a recipe that uses egg whites since my favorite pound cake recipe uses 6 egg yolks. I usually double this recipe to use al 6 egg whites I have left, and they are gobbled up in no time. You can't distinguish the crackers though, they just become part of the cookie for a delicious combination that just melts in your mouth. Yum!

Ritz Meringue Cookies

20 buttery round crackers (like Ritz)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Crumble crackers finely in mixing bowl and add pecans. In another bowl, add 1/2 cup sugar to beaten egg whites slowly and beat until very stiff. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar slowly. Add vanilla. Fold this mixture into crackers and nuts. Spoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350* F until light brown, about 18 minutes. Makes 2-3 dozen cookies.

Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake

This cake has recently become my new favorite, even surpassing the Chocolate Sheet cake, oh how I love it! It's so moist and delicious, with lots of peanut butter flavor and an incredibly yummy peanut butter fudge frosting. Heaven!

Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour cream, reg., light or fat-free
 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup butter 'or' shortening 'or' 3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water

frosting:
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
6 TBSP. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400* F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
Combine the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl combine the eggs, baking soda and sour cream. Mix well and set aside. In a medium saucepan combine the peanut butter, butter and water. Bring to a boil. Stir the boiled peanut butter mixture into the flour mixture. Mix well. Add the Mix in the sour cream mixture. Mix well. Pour the batter into a greased cookie sheet. Bake @ 400* F for 20 minutes or until toothpick near center comes out clean.
For the Frsoting: While the cake is baking, combine the butter, peanut butter and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix well. The frosting witll be thick, mix well. Pour and spread over cake while both are still warm. Let the cake and frosting cool completely. Cut into pieces and serve. Serves 16-24.

Honey White Bread / Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I modified my sister-in-law's incredible cinnamon roll recipe just slightly to make this insanely delicious Honey White Bread. It' makes the most soft, light and fluffy bread, as well as an incredibly delicious Cinnamon Swirl Bread. I love adding raisins to the swirl bread, it makes it even more divine. Truly a winner!

Honey White Bread / Cinnamon Swirl Bread

 Combine in your mixer, stir to combine and let sit for about 5 min.:
2 TBSP. yeast
4 1/2 cups very warm/hot water
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
 Then mix in:
2 TBSP. dough enhancer
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 scant TBSP. salt
12 - 16 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

Mix in enough flour to make a soft, but only slightly sticky dough. Let rise for about 1 hour or until double in size. Punch dough down and shape into 5 loaves (for 9x5 pans) or 6 loaves (for 8x4 pans). Let rise for 1 hour until doubled in size. Bake @ 325* F for 30-40 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from pans and let cool on dish towels.

***To make Cinnamon Swirl Bread, after the first rise, roll each loaf portion out into a rectangle. Brush the surface with water or melted butter. sprinkle sugar cinnamon mixture over top, and finish with a light dusting of just ground cinnamon. Roll up from the long side, pinch seams, seal ends and place in pan to rise and bake as directed.

***If you want Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread, add 1-2 cups of raisins to the dough after you mix in the last cup of flour, letting them knead into the dough. Then proceed as directed for the Cinnamon Swirl Bread.

Homemade (Slow Cooker) Pinto/Refried Beans

Not only are these insanely easy to make, but they taste incredible! Nothing beats homemade refried beans! I like to make a big batch and use half for enchiladas and then freeze the other half for future use. Another tasty way to serve them is if you only slightly mash a portion of the beans and use it in place of ground beef on tacos, topping them with tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and salsa, yum!.

Homemade (Slow Cooker) Pinto/Refried Beans

2 lbs. dried pinto beans (4 cups)
5-6 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 small sweet onion (no need to dice)
1/2 cup butter (optional)

The night before, place the beans in your slow cooker crock (or a large pot) and cover generously with water. Cover and leave to soak overnight. In the morning, drain the beans, and place them back in the slow cooker crock and generously cover them with water again. Add the bouillon, salt, garlic and onion, cover and cook on 'Low' for 8-10 hours or 'High' for 6-7 hours. Stir occasionally throughout. You may need to add more water as the beans cook, so make sure to check on them at least half way through. When ready, drain the beans, reserving a good portion of the cooking liquid. Add the butter to the beans if desired and using a stick blender of food processor, mash the beans, adding enough of the reserved liquid from the beans to get the desired consistency. The beans need to be slightly more runny than you want as they will set up quite quickly after mashing. Puree as much or little as you want leaving some or no whole beans in your mixture. Store in the fridge, covered. You can freeze leftover beans as needed.

"Pan Goop" or "Homemade Bakers Joy"

This stuff really works! In fact it works even better than any of the other stuff in the can that has flour added to the pan release mixture (such as Bakers Joy, Pam w/ Flour etc.) All you have to do is brush the mixture onto your cake pans, muffin cups, bread pans etc...and your baked goods will truly slide right out, no sticking! Oh I love it!

"Pan Goop" or "Homemade Bakers Joy"

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer, mix on 'High' until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain (about 2 minutes). The mixture should be silky looking with a slight sheen to it. Store at room temperature in your pantry in a tupperware with an airtight lid.
(*Note* - This recipe basically calls for equal parts of the three ingredients, so if you find yourself using the Goop at a fairly fast pace, for your next batch just increase each measurement to 1/2 cup each of oil, shortening and flour.)

To Use: Using a pastry brush, coat your pan with the mixture. Pour your batter in and bake as directed.

Streusel Topping

I like to have this on hand so that I can easily pull it out of the freezer and have it ready to use whenever I need it. It's great for muffins, coffee cakes, pound cake, etc...

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

Toss everything into a food processor and pulse until everything is combined and the butter is incorporated. Pour streusel topping mixture into a freezer ziploc bag and store in the freezer to use as needed to top muffin batter, coffee cake batter etc...
Makes about 3 cups.

Pineapple Muffins

I was surprised just how delicious these muffins turned out, wow! They would be great for breakfast, and make a super easy afternoon snack. My kids love coming in the door after school to see these cooling on the counter, ready to eat.

Pineapple Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour  
1/2 cup white sugar
1 TBSP. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved
1 egg, beaten 

1/2 -3/4 cup milk 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Streusel Topping

  

Preheat the oven to 375* F. Grease and flour muffin pans, or line with paper liners. In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 - 1/2 cup of  juice in a glass measuring cup. Pour in enough milk to the juice to make 1 cup of liquid. you can use as much milk or juice as you prefer. (I use about 1/2 cup juice, 1/2 cup milk). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the crushed pineapple, juice/milk mixture, egg, and oil. Mix just until blended. Spoon batter into muffin cups, then sprinkle with the Streusel Topping. Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the crown of the muffin comes out clean or the tops spring back when lightly touched. Remove from pans to cool on racks.

-Makes 16 muffins.

  

Granny’s Taco Lasagna

This is a recipe my Granny gave to me, and she said it’s the most requested dinner from her three grandchildren in Indiana. I got to try it when she made it during a visit a few months ago and it was delicious, I loved it! If you want a less spicy version (my little ones can’t take “spicy heat”) then substitute 1 1/2 cups extra mild salsa in place of the Ro-Tel.

Granny’s Taco Lasagna

6-8 large soft flour tortillas
16 oz. can refried beans
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1 pkg. taco seasoning
14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes w/ onions and green chilies (Ro-Tel)
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1 cup shredded taco cheese 'or' cheddar cheese
1 large egg
toppings:
shredded cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce,
chopped tomato, black olives, sour cream,
salsa, guacamole

In a greased 9×13 baking dish, place two large tortillas (or enough to cover bottom of pan). Spread refried beans over tortillas. Mix the browned ground beef, taco seasoning and canned tomatoes; mix well. Spread beef mixture over beans in baking dish. Add a second layer of tortillas. Mix together the cottage cheese, taco cheese and egg. Spread this mixture over tortillas. Top with final layer of tortillas, trimming edges to fit. Bake @ 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cut into squares and garnish each serving with toppings of your choice.

 

Granny’s Bread Pudding

I have always loved Granny’s bread pudding and I was thrilled when she shared her recipe with me so that I could make it too. Although it never tastes as good as when she makes it, I still try. Granny really does it best though.

Granny’s Bread Pudding

3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
about 3 cups of dry bread or day old bread, cubed
cinnamon if desired

Combine eggs, sugar and salt. Stir in milk and vanilla. Place cubed bread into a baking dish and pour the egg mixture over top. Let the egg mixture soak in for a few minutes. If desired sprinkle the top with ground cinnamon. Then place dish into a shallow pan and pour hot water into pan, 1-inch up the sides of the outside of baking dish. Bake @ 300 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!

 

Aloha Fruit Dip (also known as “Cookie Dip”)

I got this recipe from a family member, and it has been a HUGE favorite whenever and wherever I serve it. In fact, I have even seen people eat it plain by the spoonful, with no fruit dipped in it, it’s that good! And no one guesses the “secret” macaroon cookie ingredient until you tell them. We love to dip fresh strawberries, red grapes, fresh pineapple chunks, apple slices and watermelon in it.

Aloha Fruit Dip (also known as “Cookie Dip”)

1 (13 oz.) pkg. Mothers Macaroon Cookies, no substitutions!
1 (24 oz.) tub sour cream, light or regular
1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Crush the cookies until there are no pieces bigger than a frozen pea. In a large bowl mix the sour cream and the brown sugar together until well mixed. Stir in the cookie pieces, mixing well, until all is combined and evenly distributed. Cover and chill for at least 1 Hour. After you chill this dip DO NOT STIR the dip again! It will turn a gross color, and will look very unappetizing. When you’re ready, serve the dip cold with assorted cut up fruits for dipping, and enjoy!