Fudge Cookie Bars

This recipe is from my second mom Nyla.

"Cookie" mixture:

1 c shortening

2 c brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 c quick oats

Chocolate mixture:

1 pkg chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Grease large cookie sheet.

Reserve 2 cups oatmeal mixture and press rest into bottom of cookie sheet.

Melt chocolate chips, and then combine with butter, salt, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk. Pour over crust. Sprinkle/lay reserved oatmeal mixture on top of chocolate. Bake for 15 minutes at 350*.

Lemon Cheese Bars

1 pkg yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 c vegetable oil

8 oz cream cheese

1/3 c sugar

1 tsp lemon extract

In a bowl, combine mix, one egg, and oil until crumbly. Sit aside 1 cup for topping. Press crumb mixture into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350* for 15 minutes.

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, one egg, and extract. Spread over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

Delicious Apple Pie

This is from Rosa Young. We made these for YW on Tuesday night. For each recipe we made 4 mini pies. And each girl got to take home 2 mini pies. We made a total of 24 mini pies in about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425*

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 3/4 + 1/8 C. Flour
1/4 + 1/8 tsp. Salt
3/4 C. Shortening
5 Tbsp. Water

Combine Flour, Salt, Shortening and Water. Toss mixture with fork to moisten. Create a ball. (Can use your hands to mix it better.) Wrap ball in plastic. Chill for 15 mins. in refrigerator before rolling.

Filling:
4 big apples (use your favorite) Core, Skin and Cut apples into bite size pieces
1/2 C. Butter
3 Tbsp. Flour
1/4 C. Water
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1 Tbsp. Vanilla

Melt Butter in a saucepan, add flour to create a paste. Stir well. Add water, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Stir. Add apples. Let simmer.
Roll out dough. Grease a 9" pie plate. Place dough in pie plate. Leave some dough to make a lattice for the top. Pour filling into pie plate. Roll out remaining dough and cut into thin strips and place on top of the pie (to make a lattice design).

Bake for 15 mins. at 425* and then for 35 minutes at 350* until apples are soft.
For golden crust, beat an egg and brush the egg on the crust.

Strawberry Pie Bars

Adapted from http://www.recipegirl.com/

CRUST:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoon brown sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

FILLING: the recipe came from this webpage

2 cups fresh strawberries, mashed

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup sugar

2 cups strawberries, cut in to pieces

TOPPING:

3 cups quick-cooking oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled*

1. Prepare the crust: Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a 15-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. At low speed, beat in the flour, spices and salt until a soft dough forms. Press the dough over the bottom of the prepared pan and 1/2 inch up the side in an even layer. Bake in the center of the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden and set. Let cool on a rack.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: In a saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Add mashed strawberries and cook slowly for about 10 minutes until thickened. Let cool.

3. Prepare the topping: In a large bowl, mix the oats with the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Using fingers (wash your hands and take off your rings first!), squeeze the butter into the oats & sugar and crumble together until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press the mixture into clumps.

4. Assemble the bars: Spread the strawberry filling over the crust. Scatter the crumbs on top, pressing them lightly into an even layer. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the topping is golden; rotate the pan halfway through baking, and keep an eye on it to make sure the top isn’t getting too browned. Let cool completely on a rack before cutting into 2-inch bars.

*It is important the butter is chilled otherwise the butter makes more of a paste than crumbs.

Makes 4 dozen bars

Autumn Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies taste and smell just like Autumn!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2-3/4 cups quick-cooking oats
1-1/2 cups chocolate-covered raisins (we tried it once with just chocolate chips and that was good too)

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and raisins.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly.

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 3 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Yield: 3 dozen. (I used my pampered chef scoop and it made more than three dozen.)

altered slightly from "Simple & Delicious" magazine

Cheesey Chicken Chowder

I got this recipe from Amy L and April H from church. It was a hit at my house!
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat and add vegetables and seasoning. Cover and simmer until tender. In another saucepan over med. low heat melt:

1/4 c. butter
add 1/3 c. flour and mix well.
Gradually add in 2 c. milk and cook until thickened over low heat.
Gradually add 2 c. grated cheddar cheese and stir until melted.
Add this to mixture to broth/veggie mixture along with
1 can of cream of chicken soup and
2 c. of diced cooked chicken.

Tara's Sausage dip

I think that this is Tara's sausage dip. Well, this is how I made it for the BYU game party.

1 log of Jimmy Dean ground sausage
2 blocks cream cheese, softened
1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained

Brown the sausage. Drain. Add the cream cheese and can of tomatoes and green chilies. Heat until cheese is melted. Keep warm and serve with Frito chips or cubes of diced bread. (I kept it in a crock pot to stay warm.)