CARROTS IN MUSTARD SAUCE (Excellent with ham)

3 lbs. carrots
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup prepared mustard
2 T chopped chives, mint, or parsley

Wash and pare carrots and cut diagonally into 1" pieces.  In saucepan add boiling water to measure 1" and add carrots and simmer, covered 20 minutes or until tender.  Drain.  In small saucepan combine butter, sugar, and mustard.  Cook stirring until butter melts and sugar is dissolved.  Continue cooking 3 minutes.  Pour mixture over carrots and toss to combine.  Heat through and add chopped chives or parsley.  Serves 6.

I used baby peeled carrots unsliced and worked out great.  I don't usually fix cooked carrots except maybe on St. Patrick's Day with my corned beef dinner, but these carrots are really quite tasty and pretty easy to make.  A good fill-in vegetable in a pinch.

THE BIG DIPPER

1 15-oz can Hormel Chili No Beans
1-10-oz can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles diced
1-1/2 cup (approx 8-oz) pasteurized processed cheese, cubed
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 t cayenne pepper

In saucepan combine all ingredients.  Heat just until cheese melts stirring frequently.  Serve warm with assorted raw vegetable dippers and toasted french bread slices.  Garnish dip with reserved tomatoes, red peppers, and additional green onion if desired.

Makes 4 cups

This is really great with chips.  This time when I made it for some reason it turned out really spicy.  I don't know if I overmeasured the 1/2 t cayenne or what, but it still got wiped out!

PUMPKIN-NUT BATTER (for bread - muffins - cake)

6 eggs
4-1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cup salad oil
1 large can pumpkin (29 oz.)
5-1/4 cup flour
1-1/2 t salt
1 T each soda, allspice, & cinnamon
1-1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup raisins (optional)

Beat eggs.  Add sugar, oil, and pumpkin.  Mix well and set aside.  In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients.  Add to pumpkin mixture and stir just until blended.  Stir in walnuts and raisins.  Makes 12 cups of batter.  Makes 4 loaves or 12 mini-loaves or 4 layer cakes or 4 dozen muffins or cupcakes.  Grease all pans.

Loaves:  3 cups batter in 4-1/2 x 8-1/2" pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour 10 minutes
Mini-loaves:  1 cup batter in 3 x 6 pan,.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
Muffins:  3 cups batter = 12 muffins.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Cake:  3 cups batter = 9" layer or 8" square.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Cupcakes:  3 cups batter = 12 cupcakes.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Use buttercream frosting:
3 T soft butter
1-1/2 cup unsifted powdered sugar
1/4 t vanilla
1 T milk

Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

I've used this recipe a lot in the past, and after making it this time I realize that this recipe is good but not excellent.  For example, the bread never gets wiped out, whereas if you were to make a banana nut bread, chances are that it would be gone.  I just think banana is better and save the pumpkin for pie.

GENOISE

Beat 1 cup eggs (about 5) until light and fluffy.  Add gradually 1 cup sugar, 1/2 t. salt, and 1 t. vanilla.  Beat until thick and lemon colored.  Fold in 1-1/4 cup sifted flour 2 T at a time.  Fold gently but thoroughly.  Pour into 2 8" round layer pans well greased and lined with wax paper on the bottoms.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool in pan. Remove layers from pans.  Split to form four layers.  Spread cool creme au beurre between layers and on sides on cake.  Frost top with chocolate icing.

Creme Au Beurre:
Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 2 T cornstarch in saucepan.  Mix well.  Add 3 eggs (or 6 egg yolks).  Beat until light and fluffy.  Stir in 1-1/2 cup milk.  Cook over medium heat until thick stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add 1 t. vanilla.  Cool.  Blend in 1/2 cup soft creamed butter.

Chocolate Icing:
Cream 2 T butter.  Blend in 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar.  Add 1 small egg.  Beat well.  Blend in 1 square (1 oz.) melted chocolate and 1/2 t. vanilla.  Beat until smooth.

Well, this certainly was a lot of work and was very fancy when I finished with it (See picture)  However, everybody thought it kind of tasted like styrofoam, the consistency of it.  That was not good to hear after I worked so hard on it.  I guess I won't be making this again.

SUGAR PLUMS

1 cup margarine
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1-1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t almond extract
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 t salt
1 cup rolled oats
36 red and green candied cherries

Beat margaine until creamy.  Add sugar gradually beating until smooth.  Add vanilla and almond extract.  Sift flour and salt together and add to butter mixture.  Mix well.  Stir in oats and mix thoroughly.  (Dough will be quite stiff).  Shape into balls around cherries.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheets 30 minutes at 325.  While still warm, roll in sifted powdered sugar.  Makes 3 dozen.

I used jarred maraschino cherries instead of the candied ones.  It made a nice center in the cookies.  These are kind of like the mexican wedding cakes you make at Christmas, and I think I like those better.  These are okay, but I think I'll stick with the regular powdered sugar ball cookies that everyone usually likes the best.

WALNUTS (CRUNCHY SPICED)

1 cup sugar
5 T water
2 t. cinnamon

Cook gently to 230-234 (spins thread)

1 t. vanilla
2-1/4 cups walnut halves

Stir until mixture begins to harden.  Turn out on waxed paper and separate with fork.

How easy is this?!  Use a candy thermometer and turns out great.  This could be a nice gift wrapped up in a jar for Christmas.  Keeper recipe.

BEEF JERKY

1 flank steak
1 t. seasoned salt
1 t. liquid smoke
1 clove garlic pressed or 1/2 t. garlic powder
1 small onion minced or 1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. chili powder
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce

Trim away all the possible fat from meat.  Freeze meat.  Then slice with the grain into thin slices, approximately 1/8 to 1/4" thick.  Marinate overnight in a glass dish with sauce made from all ingredients.  Place meat in single layer on oven racks.  Crack open door and bake at lowest possible temperature, about 125, for six to eight hours.  Recipe makes about 1/2 pound of jerky

First of all, I've been making this for years, sooooo good.  The only problem is it doesn't make enough.  It'll be gone in a flash!  I don't freeze the meat.  I tried that once, and for sure I can't cut through that.  Just go ahead and slice it thin while it's defrosted.  Just can't improve on this I don't think!

M&Ms PARTY COOKIES

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1-1/2 t vanilla
2-1/4 cup sifted flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1-1/2 cups M & Ms

Cream sugars, shortening, eggs, and vanilla together.  Mix dry ingredients together and add.  Stir in M& Ms.  Drop by teaspoonfuls on ungreased baking sheet.  If desired, decorate tops with additional M & Ms.  Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  Makes 5-6 dozen cookies.

These are pretty, but I think the baking time may be a little off.  Mine turned out to be a little on the dark side.  Probably a different sugar cookie recipe with M & Ms added would be better, but anyway, the cookie jar was cleaned out!

THREE LAYER WALNUT BARS

1st layer:
1 cup margarine
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch

Cream margarine and sugar.  Add flour and cornstarch.  Blend well.  Pat the crumbly mixture onto an 11" x 17" x 3/4" cookie pan or jelly roll pan.  Bake 15 minutes at 300.

2nd layer:
4 eggs
4 T flour
2 t. vanilla
1 cup coconut
1 lb. brown sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
2 cups chopped walnuts

Beat eggs with brown sugar.  Add flour and baking powder.  Blend well.  Add vanilla, stir in nuts and coconut.  Pour over first layer and bake 15 minutes at 300 and 5 additional minutes at 350 to brown if needed.  Cool.

3rd layer:
1/2 cube margarine
1 4-oz package cream cheese
1/2 lb. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Beat until smooth and spread over second layer.  Chill for easier slicing.  Cut into 1" squares.

This recipe makes a whole tray of delicious bars.  Sweet and rich, really good.  Could also be nice for a Christmas cookie.

RHUBARB LEMON PIE

1 recipe of pastry (2 cups unsifted flour, 1 t salt, 3/4 cup Crisco, and completely blend with pastry blender without touching!  Add 3-1/2 or 4T water.)

3 cups diced rhubarb
1 cup sugar
1 T flour
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 t grated lemon rind
1/2 cup water

Line 9" pie pan with pastry and fill with diced rhubarb.  Combine sugar and flour and stir in egg, lemon rind and juice and water.  Cook over boiling water until slightly thickened.  Pour over rhubarb and top with strips of pastry in a lattice work design.  Bake in hot oven 450 for 15 minutes.  Then reduce heat to 350 and bake 30 minutes longer.

Yet another rhubarb pie recipe, this time with lemon instead of strawberries.  This is an interesting blend of flavors, maybe even a little better than the strawberry blend recipe posted previously.  If you love rhubarb, then this is for you.

CHEESE SPREAD FOR TOAST

Equal parts of mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, and green onions chopped fine.  Spread on french bread, rolls, etc., whatever.  Heat in oven.  Serve hot.

This is really easy and yummy.  The general consensus was mmmmmmm, different than regular french bread too.  I think this is also a great way to get rid of bread that's getting older.  I put it under the broiler on low, but keep an eye because it browns fast.

DIETERS' ZIPPY DRESSING

1 12-oz. can V-8 Cocktail
2 T cider vinegar
1 t. prepared mustard
1 t. worcestershire sauce
dash of paprika

Shake in a jar.  Use for tossed green salad or tomatoes and cucumbers.  1 T = 6 calories.

I'm not sure if I like this or not.  I mean, I'm using it, but it's like putting a bloody mary on your salad.  I'll use it up but not make it again.  Sorry, didn't take a picture, but it looks just looks reddish-orange and thin.

GERMAN BARS

4 eggs
1 lb. dark brown sugar
2-1/2 cups flour
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t. cloves
dash of salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
powdered sugar for glaze

Cream eggs and sugar.  Sift flour with cinnamon, cloves, and salt into egg mixture.  Mix well.  Add walnuts.  Spread on greased 12" x 18" cookie sheet (jelly roll pan).  Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until just done.  Remove from oven and immediately spread glaze over (1 cup powdered sugar with water).  Allow to cool and then cut into bars.

This recipe was my dad's favorite cookie recipe.  I can still remember him sneaking into these and mom saying, "Honey, keep out of there!"  These cookies have a  taste similar to a gingerbread cookie and have a really nice consistency.  I would recommend these especially around the holiday season and much easier to make than gingerbread men.