Cake Pops by BAKERELLA

1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

1 can frosting (16 oz.)Wax paperYellow candy melts

(1 lb. pkg.)Lollipop sticksEdible ink pens

After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
Mix thoroughly with 1 can frosting. (I use the back of a large spoon, but it may be easier to use fingers to mix together. But, be warned, it will get messy. Also, you may not need the entire can of frosting, so start out by using almost the entire can and add more if you need to.)
Roll mixture into quarter size balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50)
Melt chocolate in the microwave per directions on package. (30 sec intervals, stirring in between.)
Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the melted candy coating and insert into the cake balls. (Insert a little less than halfway.)
Place them in the freezer for a little while to firm up.
Once firm, carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don't tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off, too.
Place in a styrofoam block to dry.
Once dry, draw faces with an edible ink pen and allow ink to dry!

You can use this recipe if you don't want to use canned frosting:

Cream Cheese Buttercream frosting

1 stick butter (softened)8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

4 cups confectioner's sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended.

Add sugar and vanilla until creamy.

Peanut butter & banana sandwich

Pretty self explanatory and curious to see who checks this post. But, you gotta use fresh banana then drizzle with honey. Served open faced on toasted English muffin is nice breakfast.

Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 pounds organic sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tbsps organic butter, melted
1 Tbsp organic lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Pure and simple sweet potatoes are a humble miracle of taste, texture and nutrition. Here, they’re roasted with maple syrup and just a little butter in a stand-in for oven fries that couldn’t be easier to make.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Arrange sweet potatoes in an even layer in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Combine maple syrup, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper in small bowl. Pour mixture over sweet potatoes; toss to coat.
3. Cover and bake sweet potatoes for 15 minutes. Uncover, stir and cook, stirring every 15 minutes, until tender and starting to brown, 45 to 50 minutes more.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 96 calories; 2 g fat (1 g sat, 0 g mono); 5 mg cholesterol; 19 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 2 g fiber; 118 mg sodium; 189 mg potassium. 1 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings
NUTRITION BONUS: Vitamin A (230% daily value), Vitamin C (15% dv).
EXCHANGES: 1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Just before serving, reheat at 350°F until hot, about 15 minutes.

Recipe adapted from EatingWell.com

Sausage Queso Dip

You will need:

One tube of Jimmy Dean Sausage (hot)
3 bricks of cream cheese
2 cans of rotel (original)
1 can rotel (hot)

Fry sausage and drain fat. Combine with cream cheese and rotel. Cook over medium heat until all melted. Serve with tortilla chips! Enjoy.

Carmelitas

Stacie put this on our MyFamily.com, but I've made it a few times and get rave reviews so I thought I'd put it here too.

Carmelitas
2 cups flour
2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 squares butter
1 Jar Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel
12 oz. milk chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix flour, oats, baking soda, salt and brown sugar in a bowl. Melt the butter and pour over the flour mixture and mix with a spoon. Push half of this mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan and bake at 325 degrees for 17 minutes. Pull out of the oven and then sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Warm up the butterscotch caramel in the microwave for 1 minute and then pour on top. Crumble the remaining flour mixture on top of that. Bake for 17 more minutes at 325 degrees. Let cool before cutting and serving. (Works best prepared one day prior if serving at an event!)

Lemon Bars

I cup melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
dash of salt

Mix together and press in bottom of greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

1/4 cup flour
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice

Pour on cooled crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I made these tonight and they are so yummy and so easy to make.

Pumpkin Cake Dessert

CRUST:
1 package yellow cake mix, reserving 1 cup aside
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 egg

Mix above together and press into bottom of greased 9x13 pan.

FILLING:
3 cups pumpkin pie mix --almost the whole can (**different than just "pumpkin')
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs

Mix until smooth then pour onto crust.

TOPPING:
1 cup reserved cake mix
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1/2 cup flour

Mix with fork or hands to make a streusel topping. Sprinkle on the filling evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm or cold, with or without whipped cream.

Mexican Caviar

1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
2-3 avocados
4 stalks green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup italian dressing

Mix all together and marinate several hours. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

Cream Cheese Corn

2 pounds of frozen corn (super sweet white corn from Costco)
8 oz. Cream cheese
1 stick of butter
2 T. Sugar
2 T. Water

Place in a crock pot for 3 1/2 hours on low.

This is such a yummy side dish!

Taco Soup

2 pounds of hamburger
1 onion, chopped
1 can red beans
1 can ranch style pinto beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can rotel
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 package taco seasoning

Brown hamburger and onion, drain grease. Combine hamburger and remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Top with Sour Cream, Cheese and tortilla chips.

Sherry Beef Brisket

Use a 7 pound beef brisket (a smaller one works too)

Sauce:
1 package dry onion soup
1/4 cup teriyaki
1/4 cup worcestshire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cooking sherry
1 TB lemon pepper
1 TB parsley (I usually don't put this in)

Trim fat off the brisket (I usually buy mine at Costco). Brown the meat on the barbeque grill for a few minutes on each side. Line 9 x 13 inch pan with foil, double layer. Place browned meat in pan. Mix all ingredients for the sauce together and spread over the meat. Seal the foil.

Bake at 275 degrees for 5 hours.

This is my families favorite meal!! It is good with mashed potatoes because the sauce from the brisket is a great gravy for the mashed potatoes.

Homemade Snicker Bars-Sharla's recipe

These look like they are to die for! They are from Sharla at My Little Gems who posts some of the best recipes:

1st LAYER:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
MELT together the first layer ingredients in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Spread in lightly greased 9 by 13 inch glass pan. Put in fridge to cool.
FILLING:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 and a 1/2 cups marshmallow cream
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 and a 1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped (I omitted this)
Melt butter in sauce pan on medium high heat, add sugar and milk and bring to a boil. Stir for 5 minutes. Mixture will start to follow your spoon before you add the other ingredients. If it is grainy looking (mine was not) you can use your beater to blend it and smooth it out. Remove from stove and stir in marshmallow cream, peanut butter and vanilla and peanuts. Mix until smooth. Spread over the first layer.
CARAMEL LAYER:
1 14oz. bag of Kraft caramels
1/4 cup whipping cream (you can use 1/8 -1/4 cup milk, but it won't be as thick)
Unwrap and melt the caramels w/ the cream in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Pour over filling layer.
ICING/TOP LAYER:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
Melt together in microwave stirring every 30 seconds. Spread evenly on top.
Store in the fridge until cooled. Cut into bars,and now you have made homemade snickers candy bars! Rich, delicious, a perfectly fun treat for you!

Apple Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

This is a Paula Dean Recipe:

Apple Stuffed Pork Loin Roast
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hr 10 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 45 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 6 to 8 servings

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
8 fresh sage leaves
2 cups thick-cut white bread cubes, crusts removed
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth, plus more if needed
1 (3 pound) pork loin roast, butterflied

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, apples and sage. Saute until softened. Remove from the heat and gently stir in the bread, egg, butter and salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth gradually until everything is moistened. Let the stuffing mixture cool completely before putting it in the pork loin. Spoon the stuffing down the pork, horizontally, in a line. Roll the pork over the stuffing, jelly roll style, ending with the seam down and fat side up. Lightly score the fat, in a diamond pattern, with a sharp knife. Tightly tie the pork roast up with butcher's twine, season it with more salt and pepper, and transfer to a roasting pan. Roast the pork in a preheated oven for about 90 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Garnish with apples and fresh herbs.

CROCK POT CHOCOLATE CAKE

This is from Nie Nie's sister, Jane. Nie Nie and her husband were the ones in the terrible plane crash in Arizona.

Jane--"And now I present the Crockpot Cake Recipe. Only, promise me you'll douse it with real cream. Not that fake stuff all whipped up ready for consumption, I mean straight from-the-udder cream."

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 container of sour cream (8 oz)
1 cup chocolate morsels
1 cup water
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

Spray crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Mix cake mix, sour cream, chocolate morsels, water, egss, oil and pudding mix in a bowl by hand. Pour into crock pot. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Makes about 12 servings.

KIM G's LEMON COOKIES

1 box lemon cake mix
1 egg
2 1/4 cups Cool Whip

Mix these three ingredients together and refrigerate for an hour. Roll dough into balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 11-13 min.

No measuring Potato Salad

Red potatoes - quartered and boiled - with skin on
Hard boiled eggs
green & yellow bell pepper
Red onion
Mayo
Miracle Whip
Yellow Mustard
Pickle relish
Black Pepper
Sweet basil
After spuds are done, drain & cut into bite-sized chunks. Sprinkle pepper & pour liberal amount of Wishbone Italian salad dressing, stir to coat all the potatoes. Let cool in fridge in covered bowl. Once cooled, add chopped up hard boiled eggs, (don’t be stingy with these) chopped onion and peppers. (Can add chopped celery if desired) In separate bowl mix Mayo, Miracle Whip, mustard and pickle relish - to taste. (I use more Mayo than Miracle Whip and I'm not stingy with the mustard either.) Dump this mixture onto potatoes and egg mixture, stir well and run the spoon over it to level * Slice a few hard boiled eggs and place on top of salad, sprinkle light amount seasoned salt, or paprika. Cover and replace to fridge until ready to eat. ** I didn’t measure anything, but can tell you I used 6 medium potatoes and 7 eggs; it fed 8 of us with small amount left over. The kids wanted this recipe. . . . here it is!

ALPINE VILLAGE HOUSE SOUP - CHICKEN SUPREME

This recipe was featured in the Las Vegas Review Journal after the restaurant closed. The soup was a favorite of everyone, so the owners decided to share the authentic recipe with their patrons.

2 quarts water

2 teaspoons celery salt

2 teaspoons Accent

1 pound ground chicken, cooked

1 medium onion, ground

Yellow food coloring, optional

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon

2 carrots, ground up

To prepare, boil all soup ingredients together for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and poor into a blender and process to a smooth texture. Pour blended mixture into a large pot, add roux, and cook until soup thickens.

Roux:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup all-purpose flour

To prepare the roux, heat the vegetable oil until smoking. Add the flour and stir with a wire whisk. The oil and flour roux should be the consistency of mashed potatoes. Add the roux to the soup and use the wire whisk to blend. Serve hot and enjoy.

Alpine Village served this soup in small, hot pewter kettles. When the soup was ladled into the kettles, it would sizzle. Erma and Ned had a complete set of pewter plates, mugs, and bowls from Alpine Village that they bought or received as gifts from their kids. It was one of our favorite places to go for dinner on special occasions.

Ron and Carol received a beautiful gold and flowered cake plate from Eddie, a part owner in the Alpine Village. The whole family went there after Ron and Carol’s wedding in 1972.

BOW TIE CHICKEN PASTA

I usually make this for potlucks....

What you need:

Bowtie pasta

Chicken ( I usually use Swanson Canned Chicken)

Crasins

Sliced Almonds

Briannas Poppy Seed Dressing

Cook the Bowtie Pasta, drain and then cool down with cold water

Put Pasta in a separate bowl, and add the poppy seed dressing
Then add the shredded chicken, sliced almonds, and Craisins.

Then just refrigerate salad. (Best served cold)

Other options: add green onions, or use red grapes sliced (add what you want) , I even made it once with pasta, chicken, sliced strawberries & blueberries and the dressing.

OATMEAL DOUBLE CRUNCH BARS

4 cups quick oatmeal
1 1/2 cup nuts, chopped
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup margarine, melted
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt

Combine all; mix well. Press firmly into well greased 15 1/2" x 10 1/2" jelly roll pan. Bake in preheated oven, 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool. Cut into bars.

FRUIT COCKTAIL CAKE

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans (opt.)
1 29-ounce can fruit cocktail
dash of cinnamon

Drain fruit cocktail. Sift together: flour, sugar, soda, salt and cinnamon. Add fruit cocktail and eggs. Mix until blended. Pour into greased and lightly floured 9x13 pan. combine brown sugar and nuts--sprinkle over batter. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let set for 10 minutes. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.