Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients:
3 eggs lightly beaten
4 cups of chicken stock
1 Tbsp of cornstarch
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 tsp white pepper
3/4 cup of mushrooms, chopped

Directions:

Reserve 1/2 cup of chicken stock and mix with cornstarch until dissolved.

Place the chicken stock, ginger, soy sauce, green onions, mushrooms, and white pepper in a pot and bring to a boil.  Ad the cornstarch and stock mixture and stir.  Reduce heat to a simmer.

Slowly pour in the beaten eggs while stirring the soup.  The egg will spread out into ribbons.  Turn off the heat and garnish with a few more chopped green onions.  Serve immediately. 

Creamy Cranberry Salad

Ingredients:

12 oz fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 6 oz raspberry jello mix
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple
3/4 cup orange juice
1 apple with peel, grated
1 cup whipping cream
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Process cranberries in blender or food processor.  Pour sugar over cranberries, stir to dissolve.
Bring 3/4 cup water to boil.  Stir in gelatin and cool.  Stir cooled gelatin into cranberries, add pineapple, Orange juice, grated apple.  Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Whip cream and beat in cream cheese and powdered sugar.

In glass serving dish layer half the cranberry mixture, then the whipped cream mixture, Then the remaining cranberry mixture.

Bacon Pie Crust

We had a bacon Thanksgiving so a friend gave me this awesome recipe for a bacon pie crust.  It was perfect for this cranberry apple pie.  I'm thinking it would also be good in a chicken pot pie.

Ingredients:

1 tsp Kosher salt

2/3 cup cold water

4 oz thick cut bacon; finely diced and frozen (4-5 strips)

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices and chilled

Directions:

• For the Crust: In a small bowl, stir the Salt into the Cold Water until it dissolves. In a separate bowl, use your hands to toss the Bacon with Flour until well coated. Pulse the Flour and Bacon in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Return mixture to large bowl. Add the Butter to the Flour mixture and then press in the Butter with your fingertips until coarse crumbs form with a few bigger pieces remaining. Add the Salted Water all at once, and quickly gather the dough with your hands into a large, shaggy clump. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, shape into disks, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Cranberry Apple Pie

Ingredients:
1 9 inch deep dish pie crust
6 apples peeled, cored, and chopped
1 12 oz pkg fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup quick cooking tapioca

Topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.  Invert pie shell over another pie pan of equal size.  This will keep the crust from shrinking down into the pan.  Bake in this position for 10 minutes, until partially baked. Turn right side up, and remove the extra pie pan from inside the crust.

In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries, and sugar.  Cover, and set aside for about 20 minutes.  Mix in tapioca, and set aside for 15-20 minutes, until tapioca has absorbed fruit juice.  Spread mixture into the partially baked pie shell.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and butter.  Work mixture with fingertips until crumbly.  Spread mixture over the apple-cranberry filling. Brush exposed pie shell with lightly beaten egg. 

Place the pie on a cookie sheet to catch drips.  Bake 45-60 minutes on the bottom rack of the preheated oven, or until apples are tender when tested with a wooden pick.

Brown Sugar Smokies

Ingredients:
1 pound bacon
1 16 oz  pkg little smokies
1 cup brown sugar, or to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Cut bacon into thirds and wrap each strip around a little sausage.  Place the wrapped sausages on toothpicks.  Arrange on a baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with brown sugar.  Bake until bacon is crisp and the brown sugar melted.

Easy Sausage Stuffing

Ingredients:
1 lb savory sage or original recipe sausage roll
1 lg onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 14 oz pkg cubed stuffing
1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, crumble sausage.  Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally until sausage is brown.  In a bowl combine the sausage mixture with the cubed stuffing. Add the poultry seasoning, broth and butter.  Toss to combine.  Pour into a 13x9 inch pan.  cover.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

Kayli's Brownies

Ingredients:
 

8 (1oz) squared unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup butter
5 eggs
3 cups white sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups white sugar

1 cup heavy cream
5 (1oz) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Place 8 oz of baking chocolate with 1 cup of butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high until the chocolate is soft and the butter has melted, about 2 minutes. Sitr to mix. Place the eggs, 3 cups sugar, and 1 Tbsp of vanilla in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the melted butter-chocolate mixture. Beat in the flour until just combined (do not overmix). Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs, about 35 minutes. Cook in the pan before frosting.

To make frosting, combine 1 1/4 cup of sugar with heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and let hte mixture simmer for 7 minutes without stirring. Remove the cream mixture from the heat, and stir in 5 oz of baking chocolate and 1/2 cup butter, stirrin gto melt and blend the chocolate. Add 1 tsp vanilla; whisk until smooth. Place the frosting in the regrigerator and stir every few minutes until the frosting is chilled and thick about 30 minutes. Frost the cooled brownies and cut into squares. (I have yet to be able to make this work--I can never get it to thicken--so I just add in some powdered sugar until it's as thick as I want)

Kayli Chocolate Chip PB Cookies

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by Tbsps on to lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 min in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Ben's Super Secret Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp  chopped onion
4 Tbsp butter
6 cups of pumpkin or squash
3 cups water
4 cubes of chicken bullion
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp cayenne
2 pkgs of cream cheese
Optional: Super Secret (gives soup a sweet and spicy flavor)Add:
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup agave syrup

Directions:

Saute onions and butter.  Add all other ingredients except cream cheese.  Remove from heat and add cream cheese (do not cook the cream cheese).  Blend everything in a food processor or blender.  Serve.

New York Cheesecake

Ingredients:
For the crust:
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 additional tbsp., melted for greasing the pan
4 oz (approx. 8 whole) graham crackers, broken into rough pieces and processed into fine, even crumbs  Its a good idea to weigh them on a kitchen scale if you have one.
1 Tbsp sugar

For the cheesecake:
2 1/2 lb (5 8oz pkgs) cream cheese, cut into 1 inch chunks, at room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks plus 6 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions:
to make the crust, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 F.  Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan with 1/2 tbsp. of the melted butter.  In a medium bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, 5 tbsp. melted butter, and sugar.  Toss with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened.  Transfer the crumbs to the springform pan and use the bottom of a ramekin to firmly press the crumbs evenly into the pan bottom.  Bake until fragrant and beginning to brown around the edges, about 13 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack while preparing the filling.

Increase the oven temperature to 500F.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium-low speed to break up and soften it slightly, about 1 minute.  Scrape the beater and the bottom and sides of the bowl well with a rubber spatula ; add the salt and about half of the sugar and beat at medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute.  Scrape the bowl; beat in the remaining sugar until combined, about 1 minute.  Scrape the bowl; add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla.  Beat at low speed until combined, about 1 minute.  scrape the bowl; add the egg yolks and beat at medium-low speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute.  Scrape the bowl; add the remaining eggs 2 at a time, beating until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute, scraping the bowl between additions. 

Brush the sides of the springform pan with the remainng 1/2 tbsp. melted butter.  Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any spills in case the pan leaks.  Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake 10 minutes; without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and continue to bake until the cheesecake reads to about 150 degrees on an instant read thermometer inserted in the center, about 1 1/2 hrs.  Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool until barely warm, 2 1/2-3 hrs.  Run a aring knife between the cake and the springform pan sides.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours. 

To unmold the cheesecake, remove the sides of the pan.  Slide a thin metal spatula between the crust and the bottom of the pan to loosen then slide the cake onto a serving plate.  Let the cheesecake stand at room temperature about 30 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.