Apple Raisin Sandwiches

2 eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
4 slices raisin bread
1/2 cup prepared apple pie filling
1 tbs butter
additional butter
powdered sugar

1. In a large baking dish, whicsk eggs, milk and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Make 2 sandwiches with the bread and apple pie filling. Place sandwiches into egg mixture. Let soak until egg mixture is entirely absorbed into the bread, turning the sandwiches over occasionally.
3. On a griddle over medium-low heat, melt 1 tbs of butter.
Cook sandwiches on the griddle until brown and ehated through, about 4 mintues per side.
Cut each sandwich in half.
4. Serve with additional butter and powdered sugar if desired.

Walnute Pumpkin Pie

1 6 oz Ready crust graham cracker pie crust
1 15-oz can pumpkin
1 14-oz can eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp each ground ginger, nutmeg and salt
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbs all purpose flour
2 tbs cold margarine
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 425'. Combine pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, egg, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt; mix well. Pour into crust.
2. Bake 15 minutes; remove pie. Reduce oven to 350'.
3. Combine sugar, flour and remaingin 1/2 tsp cinnamon; cut in margarine until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle walnut mixture over pie.
4. Bake 40 minutes at 350' or until knife inserted comes out clean. Makes 1 pie.

Apple Blackberry Pie

Cooking Spray
2/3 cup cugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
4 apples, cored, peeled, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 pint fresh blackberries
1 refrigerated pie crust
1 tsp each milk and sugar


1. Preheat the oven to 375'. With the spray, coat a 9 inch glass pie plate. In bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add apples and berries. Mound in glass dish; gently press to compact.
2. Unfold crust; brush with milk; sprinkle with sugar. With 1/4 inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles 1 inch apart; bake circles along with pie for cooke snacks. Transfer crust to dish. Flute edges of crust. Place on baking sheet.
3. Bake for 50 minutes, covering edge if browning too quickly, until apples are tender, crust is golden. Let cool.

Brownie Pie A la Mode

1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs butter
2 tbs water
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup copped walnuts

fudge sauce:
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs butter

vanilla ice cream

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar, butter and water to a boil. Remove from the heta; stir in chocolate chips until melted. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture; mix well. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to chocolate mixture. Stir in walnuts. Pour into a greased 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. For fudge sauce, heat chocolate chips,milk, sugar and butter in a microwave or double boiler until chocoate and butter are melted; stir until smooth. Drizzle some over pie. Cut into wedges. Serve with ice cream and additional sauce.

Meatball Stew

1 lb ground beef
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dried basil
3/4 cup frozen peas

In a bowl, combine the beef, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepepr. Shape into 1 inch balls. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown meatballs on all sides, drain.

Place the potatoes, carrots and onion in a 3 qt slow cooker; top with meatballs. Combine the water, ketchup, vinegar, basil and remainging salt and pepepr; pour over meatballs.

Cover and cook on high for 4 3/4 hours. Stir in peas; cook 15 minutes longer or until the vegetables are tender.

Chicken Soup 2

1 -14 1/2 oz can chicken broth
1 - 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup cubed cooked chicken
1 can (8 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1/4 cup sliced fresh carrot
1/4 cup sliced celery
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup cooked egg noodles

In a 1 1/2 quart slow cooker, combine the first eight ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir in noodles; cover and cook on high for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Vegetable Chowder

5 cups water
5 tsps chicken bouillon granules
8 medium potatoes, cubed
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 tbs minced fresh parsley

In a 5 qt slow cooker, combine the first nine ingredients. Cover and cook on high for one hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 5-6 hours or until vegetables are tender. Stir in milk and parsley; heat through.

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup half and half cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp lemon extract
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the eggs, cream, oil and lemon extract in a seperate bowl. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in raspberries. Spoon into 18 greased or paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 400' for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Buttermilk Pecan Waffles

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 tbs chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until light. Add buttermilk; mix well. Add dry ingredients and beat until batter is smooth. Stir in butter. Pour about 3/4 cup batter onto a lightly greased preheated waffle iron. Sprinkle with a few pecans. Bake according to manufacturer's directions until golden brown.
Makes about 7 8-inch waffles.

Dixie Pie

pastry for 2 single crust pies
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup flaked coconut
whopped topping and additional chopped nuts, optional

Line two 9 inch pie plates with pastry. Trim pastry to 1/2 in beyond edge of plate; flute edges. Line crusts with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450' for 10 minutes. Discard foil. Cool on wire racks. Place raisins in a saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs, vanilla and cinnamon until smooth. Drain raisins. Stir raisins, nuts and coconut into creamed mixture (mixture will appear curdled). Pour into the crusts. Bake at 350' for 30-35 mintues or until set. Cool on wire racks. Garnish with the whipped topping and nuts.

Sweet Potato Pear Pie

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup finely ground pecans
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
3 tbsp cold water
2 small pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced or 1 16-oz can pear slices drained
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 18-oz can sweet potatoes or 1 16-oz can pumpkin
3 beaten eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

In a medium mixing bowl combine the 1 cup flour, ground pecans, the 2 tbs brown sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Cut in shortening til pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tbs of the water over part of the mixture, gently toss with a fork. Push to one side of bowl. Repeat til all is moistened. Form dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough from center to edges, forming an 11 inch circle. Ease pastry into a 9 inch springform pan and pat in place with fingers. Pastry should cover bottom of pan and 1 1/2 inches up sides. Trim edges if necessary. Set aside. Toss pear slices with granulated sugar and the 1 tbs flour. arrange in the pastry shell. Drain and mash the sweet potatoes. In alarge mixing bowl combine sweet potatoes or pumpkin, eggs, milk, the 3/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, and the 1/4 tsp salt. Place pastry shell with pears on oven rack; carefully pour in sweet potato filling. Bake in a 375 oven for 55-60 minutes or til a kife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes; loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more; remove sides of pan. Cool completely. Chill to store. If desired, top with whipped cream and chopped pecans. Makes 8 servings

Too many leftovers

It is official. I am sick of turkey. The funny part is that we didnt have our thanksgiving dinner until saturday and it's only monday. I only have half a breast and half a thigh left but i'm not even sure if they're going to get consumed any time soon. At least before it starts to go bad. I have been contemplating freezing whats left. I did that last year and I ended up using all the left overs in some fashion or another. I have an awful lot of other left overs tho that need to be used. Namely mashed potatoes and mashed yams. Now i've been thinking of a shephard's pie with the potatoes and turkey, not sure how it'd turn out, but cant come up with any thing for the yams. I've only ever had them solo. Never mixed with something. I will admit I am the most uncreative person when it comes to coming up with new recipes. There's a reason I have as many cookbooks as I do. The shephard's pie with turkey is simply cuz I cant think of anything else to do with the mashed potatoes.

Strawberry Bread

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
4 eggs
3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup strawberry preserves
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream butter, sugar and extracts together in a big bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with preserves and sour cream. Fold in pecans. Pour into 2 greased and flour loaf pans. Bake at 350' for 50-60 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

1 10-oz package halved strawberries in syrup, thawed
2 8-oz packages cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups cool whip
1 prepared chocolate flavor crumb crust

Drain strawberries, reserving 1/4 cup liquid
Beat cream cheese, reserved liquid, thawed strawberries, sugar and vanill auntil smooth.
Fold in cool whip. Spoon into crust.
Refrigerate several hours or over night.
Garnish with strawberry halves and kiwi slices.