Fancy Fruit Pizza

What You Need:

Crust:
1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cup flour

Filling:
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
fruit comb ination (strawberries, peaches, pineapple, kiwi, etc)

Glaze:
1 1/2 T cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp lempn juice 1 cup pineapple juice (add water to make 1 cup if needed)

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 300*. With pastry blender, mix crust ingredients. Pat mixture into lightly greased 12 inch pizza pan. Bake 13-20 minutes until brown. cool completely. For filling, combine cream cheese, vanilla and sugar; spread over crust. Arrange fruit over filling. To make the glaze, combine cornstarch and sugar in a saucepan. add juices and cook until thickened. Cool and drizzle over and around fruit. Chill until set.

Cream Cheese Squares

What You Need:

2 pkg crescent rolls
1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar (oor more if you want it sweeter) 1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
cinnamon sugar

What To Do:

In a 9x13 pan cover the bottom with 1 pkg of the rolls. Mix together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. spread evenly on top of rolls. Layer again with other pkg of rolls to cover the filling. top with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes at 375*. Cool. refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. keep refrigerated.

Cheesecake Ball

What You Need:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 T brown sugar
1/2 T vanilla
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

What To Do:

Mix cream cheese and butter together; mix in sugars and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips. Put mixture on a plate and form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap. refrigerate for 1 hour then roll in pecans. serve with graham crackers or graham cracker sticks.

Recipe Note: I usually form the ball by putting saran wrap over the mixture and mold into shape.

Orange Poppy Seed Bread

What You Need:

2 cups unbleached or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 T poppy seeds
1 cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp satl

What To Do:

Mix all dry ingredients, then add orange juice and vanilla. Stir just until dry ingredients are noistened. Grease 8x4 inch loaf pan, bake at 325* for 45 minutes. Makes 16 servings. Preparation time: 10-15 minutes.
(84 Calories, 0.5 g fat)

Macaroni Grill Bread

What You Need:

1 T dry yeast
1 T sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp salt
2 T rosemary, chopped (or 1 t dried rosemary)
1 T olive oil
2 T butter or margarine
coarsely ground salt

What To Do:

Put the yeast, water and sugar into a blender, mixer or food processor. Mix it until it is frothy. turn the oven onto 200*. (You just need to wamr it up, your not baking yet.) find a mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of the flour, the tsp of salt and half of your chopped rosemary. Keep the other half cup of flour close at hand. add the yeast mixture to this and knead away. Don't be shy. Fold it over itself plenty of times to get those gluten strands good and stretched. Add the rest of the flour as needed to get the dough to the right consistency (soft and stretchy without being overly sticky). Turn the oven off. lift the dough out of the mixing bowl. Add the olive oil to the bowl and swirl it around Roll the dough in the olive oil so its well coated and let it sit in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and place it in the oven (the oven should ve off by now, if you missed that step). Leave the door cracked so it isn't too hot in there. Let the dough rise for about an hour. It should be approx. douvled in size. punch the dough down and knead it again. divide it into two equal sized lumps and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. Prepare your baking pan. I use a cermaic stoe, but a cookie sheet will work. If the surface is not naturally non-stick, spray it with the cooking spray. Shape the dough into two oval shaped loaves and arrange on the pan. Melt the butter or margarine. Use a brush to paint the surface of the loaves with butter. Use all of the butter. the loaves willbe quite saturated when you're done. Remember the part about shooting your inner fitness freak. Take the rest of the chopped rosemary and sprinkle it over the loaves. Pat it down gently to set it into the dough. Return the loaves to the oven. don't turn it on yet. Let the dough rise again, for about 45 minutes. Remove the loaves and reheat the oven to 450*. sprinkle a little bit of coares salt over the loaves. Return the dough to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light brown. Makes two loaves. best enjoyed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic.

Recipe Note: I found this recipe online and it really does taste like the real thing. The submitter said : "This is a recipe intended to approximate that awesome chewy bread that they bring out at the Macaroni Grill. The kind youdip into the olive oil and cracked garlic. No, it is not healthy in the slichtest. Shoot your inner fitness freak and let your inner gourmand rule."

Cinnamon Rolls

What You Need:

d1 envelope (2 1/2 tsp) yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/3 vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup scalded milk
3 cup flour
lots of cinnamon and sugar

What To Do:

Mix yeast, sugar, and water- let bubble. In separate bowl, combine oil, egg, salt, and milk. Then add flour. let rise then roll out onto floured surface. Spread with butter or margarine. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll up and cut into desired sections. Bake in slightly gresed pan for 15-20 minutes at 350*.

Icing:
Canned milk
softened butter
powdered sugar
cherry juice (from maraschino cherry jar)
vanilla

mix together according to taste.

Banana Bread

What You Need:

1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
1 cup plus a little more mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
3 T milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 350*. Cream sugar, egg, and butter together in large bowl. Beat until fulffy. set aside. combine bananas, milk and vanilla in small bowl. Set aside. combine flour, baking powder, and bking soda together in small bowl. Alternate adding flour and banana mixutre into reserved creamed mixture stirring by hand until flour is just moistened. Do not over stir. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans if desired. Grease one 9x5x3" loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Squash and Stuffing Casserole

What You Need:

6 cups cubed squash
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded carrots
1 pkg stuffing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 350*. In a pot of water, add squash, onion and carrot; bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Drain. Combine cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Gently add vegetables. Make stuffing according to package directions. Put squash mixture in the bottom of a 9x13" pan, top with stuffing. Bake for 30 minutes.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

What You Need:

Winter or Summer vegetables
3 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

What To Do:

WINTER VEGETABLES: Potatoes, Turnips, Carrots, Squash, Pumpkin, Sweet Potatoes,
SUMMER VEGETABLES: Eggplant, Green Bell Pepper, red Bell Pepper, Purple Onion, Zucchini, Whole Mushrooms (don't slice).
Preheat oven to 400* for winter vegetables, 350* for summer veggies. Cut up moderate amounts of vegetables. (The denser the vegetable, the smaller you need to cut it up.) Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, put the vegetables on it. Sprinkle veggies with fresh or dried basil leaves. In a jar, mix olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper; shake well. Drizzle mixture over vegetables: roast until tender about 30-45 minutes.

Onion Roasted Potatoes

What You Need:

1 envelope lipton onion soup mix
4 medium all purpose potatoes cut in large chunks
1/3 cup olive oil

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 450*. In a 13x9 inch baking dish, combine all ingredients. Bake uncovered, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown.

Eggplant, Tomato, and Mozzarella Mountains

What You Need:

1 eggplant, cut into slices
2 beefsteak tomatoes, skinned then cut into 8 slices
6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 slices
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 c pesto

What To Do:

broil the eggplant until browned on both sides. Place 4 eggplant slices on baking sheet. Put tomato slice and a mozzarella slice on each, sprinkling salt and pepper as you go. Then make a second layer of eggplant, tomato, and mozzarella. Skewer it with a toothpick to hold in place. Bake 10 minutes at 375*. Remove and drizzle with olive oil and pesto.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

What You Need

3 lbs. boiling potatoes
1/2 cup milk
1/4 lb unsalted butter
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
salt

What To Do

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water and 2 T of salt to a boil. Meanwhile cut the potatoes into 1 1/2" cubes and add them to the boiling water. Bring the water to a boil again, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes fall apart easily when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan, making sure it doesn't boil. Set aside until the potatoes are done. As soon as the potatoes are tender, drain them in a colander. Place a food mill fitted with a small disc/blade over a heatproof bowl. Process the potatoes through the food mill, turning the handle back and forth. As soon as the potatoes are mashed, stir in the hot ilk/butter mixture with a whisk or rubber spatula. Add enough buttermilk to make the potatoes creamy. add 2 teaspoons of salt and the pepper to taste, and serve hot.

Tony Roma's Potato Soup

What You Need:

2 med baked potatoes (bake before hand)
3 tsp butter
1 cups diced white onions (can use less)
2 tsp flour
4 coups veggie broth
2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp basil
1/8 tsp thyme
1 cup half-n-half
garnish cheddar cheese and green onions

What To Do:

Melt butter and saute onion until light brown. Add flour to onion and stir to make roux. Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. cut potatoes and scoop out. Discard skins. cut potatoes into 1/2 inch chunks. Add chopped potatoes and half-n-half to saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer 5 minutes.

Tangy Greek Lemon Soup

What You Need:

1 (32 oz) carton veggie broth
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 beaten egg
2 T lemon juice
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill

What To Do:

In large saucepan combine broth and rice. Bring to boil. reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Gradually add egg in a slow, steady stream to simmering soup, stirring to create shreds. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle with dill. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

Southwestern Pumpkin Soup With Cheddar Cheese

What You Need:

3 cups veggie broth
1 cup whipping cream
4 T packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cans pure pumpkin (about 23 oz)
1 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cups grated sharp cheddar
chopped fresh cilantro

What To Do:

Bring broth and whipping cream to boil in heavy medium pot. Whisk in canned pumpkin, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, coriander and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until soup thickens slightly and flavors blend, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Eugena Gunderson's Nearly Orgasmic Salad

What You Need:

1 box mushrooms
1/2 sweet onion
garlic (as much as you want)
2 fresh tomatoes
1/3 cup feta cheese
3 large handfuls of spinach

What to Do:

Saute a box of mushrooms (sliced) in olive oil. when they are pretty soft and you have some mushroom juices in the pan, throw in about a half of a sweet onion, cut lengthwise on an angle from outside to core (so they make triangle strips). Add sliced garlic (as much as you want) Cook the onions until they are done enough for your taste. Add 2 cubed fresh tomatoes. Add a bunch of feta cheese (at least 1/3 cup- the more the merrier). and three large handfuls of spinach. Cook until the spinach is just wilted.

Boston Clam Chowder

What You Need:

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 qt. half-and-half
2 (6.5 oz) cans minced clams
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 T red wine vinegar
Pepper to taste

What To Do:

Drain clams and reserve liquid. Pour liquid over prepared vegetables. Add water to cover. Simmer over medium heat until vegetables are almost tender. In a saucepan, melt butter and add flour, making a roux with a whisk. Stir while adding half-and-half. Cook and stir until smooth, without boiling. Add the roux to the vegetables and add clams, salt, vinegar, and pepper. Makes 8 servings. Serve with biscuits or rolls.

It's Not Just A Soup, It's A Meal- Potato Soup

What You Need

1 lg carrot cubed
2 stalks celery cubed
3/4 cup flour or cornstarch
1/2 lg onion diced
5 med to lg potatoes diced
4 cups milk
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper

What to Do

In a large sauce pan, saute the vegetables and garlic. Add spices. Add oil to keep from sticking. Cover and cook over medium heat until veggies are soft. Combine 1 cup milk and flour. Once veggies are soft, add 4 cups milk and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for abbout 45 minutes. Stir every few minutes to prevent milk from scorching. Reduce heat further if soup boils too hard. After soup has cooked for about 45 minutes, puree with a hand mixer. Serve with grated cheese and croutons over top.