Suzie's Candy Bar Pie

Crust

2 c. chocolate cookie wafer crumbs (or use Oreo cookie crust)
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
Combine. Press into 13" x 9" pan. Refrigerate 10 minutes.


Filling


Beat:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
2 2/3 c. Cool Whip
Spread over crust. Cover with 1/2 c. chopped candy bar pieces.


Mix:
3 c. cold milk
2 4-oz. instant chocolate pudding
1 t. vanilla
Pour over candy bar layer. Stand 5 minutes. Add 2 2/3 c. Cool Whip and candy bars overall.


Refrigerate 2 hrs until set. Can use 2 ready-made (chocolate) pie crusts instead.

Paper Bag Apple Pie

Preheat oven to 400º F

Toss together: 

• 6 sliced apples 
• 1/2 c. sugar 
• 2 T flour 
• 1-2 T cinnamon (or according to taste - 2 tablespoons was a little strong; 2 teaspoons was too weak)

Topping: 

• 1/2 c. sugar 
• 1/2 c. flour 
• 1/2 c. margarine 

Cut with a pastry blender (or just a fork!). Add all to a pie tin. This works with or without a lower pie shell. 

  

Lay a large brown paper bag (like for groceries) and lay it on one side. Slide the pie inside. Fold it closed. I stapled the folded edge to keep it closed. I also stapled the side folds near the base to keep it from touching the top of the oven. The bag should loosely enclose the pie without touching the sides or compressing the top.

Bake at 400º for 1 hour in large paper bag. 

"OK, let’s talk science. What does baking a pie in a paper bag even do? The paper bag functions as both a steamer and a shield for the pie. It locks in moisture, which helps to make the apples tender but not mushy. At the same time, the bag provides a protective barrier from the oven’s direct heat, ensuring the pie crust bakes evenly without over-browning." https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-make-paper-bag-apple-pie/

German Fruit Salad

1 small can pineapple chunks 

2 sliced bananas 

2 oranges 

1 c. raisins 

1/4 c. oatmeal (dry) 

1 pt. plain yogurt 

1/2 c. sugar 

2 diced apples 

strawberries (opt) 

1 c. walnut halves 

  Combine all ingredients.

Waldorf Salad

2 c. diced unpared apples
1 c. diced celery
1/3 c. coarsely chopped nuts
1 c. raisins
1/2 c. mayonnaise


Combine and toss. Serves 4-6.

Banana Bread

1 c. sugar 

2 eggs 

3 mashed bananas

3 T. sour milk 

1/2 T. salt 

1 T. soda 

2 1/2 c. flour 

1/2 c. melted shortening 

1 c. broken nuts 

Mix contents in order. Let stand in greased loaf pan for 20 minutes. Bake 40 minutes at 350º.

Granola -- Annette Pierce

Annette says: Kids like it better before it's baked, but it's better cereal and stores better after baking.

Melt together in a large pan:
1 c. honey
1 c. oil or shortening

Remove from heat. Add and mix in:
1 t. salt

Then add:
1 c. powdered milk
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. wheat germ
5-6 c. oatmeal

Oatmeal should be fairly well coated, but it will be lumpy. Spread mixture 3/4 - 1 inch deep in shallow pan. Break up larger chunks.

Bake at 250º for half an hour. Don't overcook! If you want cereal, break up larger chunks again and store.

Optional ingredients:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. coconut
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. nuts
1/2 c. sesame seeds
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 t. cinnamon -- add when salt is mixed in. This is the only optional Annette usually includes.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Saute in butter until tender:
3/4 c. chopped celery
3/4 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. butter

Add:
1 3/4 c. milk
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can corn
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. salt

Heat until chowder is hot but not boiling.

Cottage Cheese Cookies

Makes 8-10 dozen.

Cream:
2 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar

Blend:
4 t. vanilla
4 eggs

Add:
2 c. cottage cheese - small curd

Sift and Add:
5 1/2 c. flour
1 c. cocoa
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda

Add:
1 c. chocolate chips

Mix well and chill until firm (2 hrs.) Place a tablespoon of dough in powdered sugar. Place in ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350º for 12-15 minutes.

Chicken Divine

Blend:
2 c. cooked chicken
1 c. mayonnaise
2 cans cream (of chicken, of mushroom or of celery) soup
1 t. curry
1 T. lemon juice

Rice:
Stir 2 c. raw rice into 5 c. cold water. Bring to boil. Turn heat to low. Cover. Cook 20 minutes.

Cook 1 bunch cut-up broccoli (or use 2-10 oz. packages of broccoli). Drain. Layer cooked rice, broccoli, chicken, sauce and top with grated cheese and/or toast crumbs.

Bake 30 minutes at 350º.

Chicken Pasta Salad

Credited to Alberta Hall, this is fabulous for gatherings and potlucks.

Cook and cube:
4 boneless chicken breasts

Cook and drain:
2 pkgs (12-oz each) multi color corkscrew pasta

Slice:
2 c. red and green grapes

Chop:
2 c. celery

Add:
1/2 - 1 c. slivered almonds
Season all (to taste)

Combine all with
1 16-oz. bottle of Hidden Valley coleslaw salad dressing

Chill.

Utah Mud

Best Fourth of July treat ever!

Soften
1/2 gal. vanilla frozen yogurt

Stir to blend
1 8-oz container low-fat Cool Whip
1 small package crushed grasshopper cookies (save some whole cookies!)

Top with whole cookies. Freeze in 9"x12" pan.

(Can vary yogurt flavors and cookies)

Red Velvet Cake

Of course we have all enjoyed Mom's oh-so-yummy red velvet cake on our birthdays, traditionally served on the pink depression plate. As an interesting aside, Elaine (our neighbor on the corner in Provo) was the daughter of Charlie and Priscilla Jenson who had lived there for some time. The plate was Priscilla's, and after she passed away, Elaine gave Mom the plate. Here is Mom's version of the recipe...

Cream:
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs

Mix the following into a paste, then beat into the creamed mixture:
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 oz. red food coloring
2 T hot water

(In a glass measuring cup) mix together:
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 c. buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute - stir 1 T. vinegar into 1 c. regular milk)

Alternate adding the salt/vanilla/buttermilk mixture and 2 1/2 c. flour to the cocoa/cream mixture, beating together each time.

Mix together then fold into cake batter:
1 t. baking soda
2 T. vinegar
Prepare three 8" (or two 9" Note to Alison, 2020 edition: those crappy pans you have are 9" so use only two unless you buy new ones) round pans - spray with Pam and sprinkle with flour. Then pour cake mix evenly into the three pans. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

Red Velvet Frosting:
Cook the following on the stove on medium-low setting, whisking constantly until very thick:
5 T. flour
1 c. milk

Put in fridge or freezer until cold.

Cream:
1 c. sugar
1 c. butter
1 t. vanilla

Add to flour mixture and beat until it looks like whipped cream.

Let the cakes cool on racks, then ice and stack!

Thayne's Classic Tater Tot Casserole

Here's a classic and quick casserole that is a favorite of Thayne's:

Ingredients:
Tater tots
1/2 onion
Ground beef
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 can of milk
Spices
Cheese

Put 1 package of tater tots into a 9x13 dish to bake at 450 degrees for a bout 15 minutes or while you are sauteing onions and cooking some ground beef on the stove top.

Mix two cans of cream of mushroom soup in a large bowl with 1/2 a can of milk. Add cooked meat and onions and season with your favorite spices (I used some Mrs. Dash, chili powder, garlic salt, and curry powder).

The tater tots should be nice and crispy by now to add into the bowl and mix up. Put back into the 9x13 pan and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Serve with a side of veggies and you have a complete dinner!

Baked Potato Soup

This is probably the first soup I ever made that didn't come from a can because I durned well felt like making soup from scratch one night. The recipe came from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Eat At Home, but I left out the bacon because I didn't feel like getting frostbitten fingers searching for it in the freezer. I also added broccoli because Thayne loves it on his baked potatoes. So my rule is - put whatever you usually like on baked potatoes!

4-6 baked potatoes
1 onion, chopped
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
6 cups milk
1-2 cups cheese
Steamed Broccoli (frozen California blend veggies work, too)
Seasonings of your choice

Bake the potatoes (microwave or oven is fine) and scoop out the pulp. I got tired halfway through and just ended up cutting the rest into chunks instead.
Melt butter and saute onion, add milk, WHISK in flour. DO NOT BOIL!
Add potatoes, cheese, broccoli.
Season to taste with what you generally like to put on baked potatoes. We like Mrs. Dash, garlic salt, and pepper.
Mmmmm, this soup is tasty! I don't know how healthy it may be but I don't always care about that. Bad me!

Alison's Late Night No-Bake Cookies

One of my favorite and fairly quick cookies to make late at night when the chocolate cravings hit hard and can't be easily satiated are No-Bake Cookies. They're a relatively healthy and filling cookie due to the quick oats and are easy to pack for a school day snack for dear hubby the next day. I won't tell you the nickname we've given them until after you've tried them for yourselves! (Thayne says if you can't seem to guess what it is, then you don't know me well enough.) This recipe comes from an old ward compassionate recipe book. 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup baking cocoa 1/2 cup milk 1 stick margarine 1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy is just fine) 3 cups quick oats Combine the sugar, cocoa, milk, and margarine into a saucepan. Put on medium heat, stir often and bring to a boil. Take off of heat and stir in peanut butter and then the oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets covered with wax paper. Cool in refrigerator. Eat up!

Chocolate Gut Busters

Kathryn Monson says: This is a recipe from my mom (Marilyn Leale). I think the first time I ever tasted it was when we went to Palmyra and she made it there. She did not like to say the name, but it sure was good.

Mix the following and spread in a 9"x12" pan. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Let cool.

1 c flour
1 package butterbuds (mixed - makes 1/2 c)
1/2 c chopped nuts

Beat the following. Fold in 1 1/2 c low-fat Cool Whip. Spread over crust.

1 c powdered sugar
8-oz package of cream cheese

Beat the following until thick. Spread on top.
1 small package of chocolate instant pudding
1 small package of vanilla instant pudding
3 c skim milk

Top with remaining Cool Whip. Sprinkle with nuts or chocolate curls or nothing at all. Refrigerate or freeze until pudding sets.

Halloween Pumpkin Dinner

This is such a good fall food! I made this for Alison's baby shower. The time before I made it for my roommates -- I had scooped all the dinner out of the pumpkin into a bowl and turned to place it on the table. I dropped it and it went everywhere -- floor, cupboards, fridge, and ceiling! Oops.

Mom used to make this when we were kids. Very yummy on a cold evening.

Clean and scrape out:

A mid-sized (baking) pumpkin -- carefully cut the top off so that it will easily fit back again but you can throw away all the guts unless you want to make the pumpkin seeds. I haven't done that before though. Alison?

Combine and fry:

2 lb ground beef
2 1/2 t salt
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 t black pepper
2 t oregano
1 t vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 8-oz can tomato sauce

Be creative - you can leave stuff out or add more. Yum yum.

Spray the outside of the pumpkin lightly with pan spray and replace the top. Bake at 375 -->⁰ for 1 hour.

Cherry Cherry Yum Yum

I loved this as a kid.. I still remember one day when we were going to a picnic in Canyon Glen with all sorts of good food -- and a freshly made Cherry Cherry Yum Yum. Well someone (probably me) was supposed to hold on tight, but there was a quick stop and the glass casserole dish went sliding away -- all over the van. Oops.

Mom has confirmed this -- the van and we kids were covered with hot dessert so we turned around and went home. That was that!

Here's the recipe:

Spread 2 cans cherry pie filling at the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan. Mix a box of yellow cake mix with a melted cube of butter.

Bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Crockpot Chili

Well the past few months I've been eating a lot of chili, so this is an approximation of what I make on the weekends & freeze it -- it seems the longer it's frozen, the spicier it gets. (Or maybe it just depends on the temperature outside...?) I should add - It makes about 12-14 1-cup servings.

The night before:
Soak 1/2 pound of kidney beans and 1/2 pound red beans overnight. (If you don't remember to do this the night before, there are instructions on the bag on how to do a quick soak -- boil them then let them sit for an hour, I believe. Or of course you can buy the cans.)

In a skillet, fry the following:
1 lb hamburger
2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced or smashed (to taste)

Throw the beans and hamburger mix into a crockpot with:

2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes (the kind with green chiles is good)
2 sweet peppers, diced (I like to get the yellow to add color, but green peppers are fine)
1 bunch celery, diced
1 t ground cumin
1 t thyme
1 t oregano
2 t black pepper
2 T chili powder (ok, I really don't know - I just dump it in, but this seems about right)
2 t red pepper

Now sit back and let it cook... I usually leave it in the crockpot on high for about 3 hours and then turn it to low another 2 hrs (at least until the veggies are cooked). This is excellent with fresh rolls.