The following recipes are not simply recipes that I pulled out of a cookbook. They are tried and true recipes and considered family favorites.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Tart
1 tube (18 ounces) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Press cookie dough onto the bottom of an ungreased 9-in. springform pan. Bake at 350° for 20-24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter and butter until smooth. Beat in confectioners' sugar. Remove sides of springform pan; place crust on a serving plate. Spread cream cheese mixture over crust to within 1/2 in. of edge. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set.

Turkey Egg Rolls

 
1/2 pound ground turkey
2 cups coleslaw mix
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
10 egg roll wrappers
Oil for deep-fat frying
Sweet-and-sour sauce
Directions:
In a large skillet, cook turkey over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the coleslaw mix, soy sauce, ginger, onion salt and garlic powder.
Place 1/4 cup in the center of each egg roll wrapper.
Fold bottom corner over filling; fold sides toward center. Moisten remaining corner of wrapper with water; roll up tightly to seal. Repeat.
In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fry egg rolls, a few at a time, for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown, turning often. Drain on paper towels. Serve with sweet-and-sour sauce.

Spicy Mexican Salad
1 (10 ounce) package chopped romaine lettuce
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar and Monterey cheese blend
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 (16 ounce) package corn chips
1 (16 ounce) bottle Catalina salad dressing


In a large bowl, combine the romaine, cheese, pinto beans, black beans, and tomatoes.
Add the corn chips and enough dressing to coat; toss and serve.
 

BBQ Beans

2 15-ounce cans pinto beans (with liquid)
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons diced onion
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded pork or chopped bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour entire contents of the can of pinto beans into a casserole dish (with a lid).
Dissolve the cornstarch in a small bowl with the 2 tablespoons of water. Add this solution to the beans and stir.
Add the remaining ingredients to the dish, stir well and cover. Bake for 90 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
Stir every 30 minutes. After removing the beans from the oven, let the beans cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
 

Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches
2 onions, quartered
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4-6 lbs boneless pork butt
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (Spice it up a bit with 1/2 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon of chopped jalapeno pepper

Barbecue Sauce
1 cup prepared mustard
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon liquid smoke


Place the quartered onions in a crockpot.
Combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper: rub over the roast.
Place the roast over the onions in the crock pot.
Combine the vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne; stir to mix well.
Drizzle about 1/2 of the vinegar mixture over the roast and cover. Refrigerate the remaining vinegar mixture.
Cook on low up to 18 hours, but at least 12 hours. Drizzle the other half of the vinegar mixture over the roast during the last 1/2 hour of cooking.
While the meat is cooking, prepare the barbecue sauce. Mix all ingredients except soy sauce, butter and smoke. Simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 more minutes. Set aside to cool.
Remove the meat from the crockpot and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.
Remove the onions and chop to a fine consistancy.
Pull apart the meat with a couple of forks. Meat should have a shredded look to it.
Mix chopped onions and shredded pork along with a little bit of juice from the crockpot to taste. Add sufficient barbecue sauce to the mixture to achieve desired taste. Meat should have distictive barbecue flavor.
To serve, spread barbecue sauce on bottom of a hearty bun.
Put layer of pulled pork on bun. Spread barbecue sauce over meat.
Add layer of your favorite cole slaw on top of meat. Layer some more barbecue sauce over cole slaw.
Spread top of bun with more sauce.
Grab a fist full of napkins, and enjoy.
 

Coca-Cola Barbeque Sauce

1 can (12 oz.) Classic Coke
1 ½ cups ketchup
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
hot pepper sauce to taste


In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered for 30-45 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.
Strain if desired. Season with hot pepper sauce.

This recipe is a new one that I tested out around the Christmas holiday. I deemed it a "keeper".

Chocolate Caramel Bars

2 1/4 cups plain flour, DIVIDED
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cold butter or maragrine
12 ounce package of semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1 jar (12 ounces) caramel ice cream topping

In a bowl, combine 2 cups flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Set half aside for topping.

Press the remaining crumb mixture into a greased 12" x 9" x 2" baking pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips and pecans. Whisk caramel topping with remaining 1/4 cup of the flour, until smooth. Drizzle over top. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack until cool. Cut into 2" x 2" squares.

Yummy but decadent!

Busy Day Cobbler

1 stick margarine
1 cup sugar
1 quart can peaches or your favorite fruit (you may use fresh, just add some sugar and cook down for a few minutes)
1 cup milk
1 cup self rising flour
(if you don't have self rising flour  use all-purpose flour and add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.)

Preheat oven to 350

Place butter stick into a 9 x 9 casserole dish and place in oven until melted.
Combine sugar, flour and milk.  Pour into butter. Add fruit on top of flour mixture. DO NOT STIR.

Bake about 30-45 minutes or until golden.

My husband and mother believe that the Christmas meal is not complete without this dish.

Watergate Salad

1 package (4-serving size) JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped pecans
8 ounce container whipped topping, thawed

Combine pudding mix, pineapple with juice, marshmallows and nuts in large bowl
until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping.

Chill at least 3 hours or until ready to serve

1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar

Prepare the brownie mix as directed by manufacturer. Preheat oven to temperature indicated on box. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
Spread the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, egg and sugar until smooth. Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter. Swirl together using a knife or skewer.
Bake according to manufacturer's instructions. Brownies will be done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan, then cut into bars and serve.
 

Cheesy Potatoes

2 lbs frozen southern style hash brown potatoes
2 (10 ounce) cans cheddar cheese soup
1 (13 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (6 ounce) can French-fried onions
salt & pepper


Combine the hashed browns, soup, milk and half of the onions in a bowl.
Mix well and pour into a greased crock pot.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook 8 to 9 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
When cooked, sprinkle the remaining onions over the top and serve.
 

1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced
1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
4 medium tomatoes, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped red onion
3 tablespoons olive oil

In a medium bowl, combine the mango, avocado, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro, and garlic.
Stir in the salt, lime juice, red onion, and olive oil. To blend the flavors, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.
 

Artichoke Rice Salad

1 Box of Graham Crackers
3 cups milk
2 packages vanilla instant pudding
12 oz tub cool whip
16 oz chocolate fudge cake frosting

Layer graham crackers in 13x9 pan. Pour milk & pudding mixes in bowl - beat 2 min. Gently stir in cool whip.Spread 1/2 mixture over graham crackers. Add another layer of graham crackers and then spread the remaining pudding mixture. Top with one more layer of graham crackers. Microwave frosting one minute (this will be hot) and pour over graham crackers, spreading to the edges. Refrigerate over night to soften graham crackers.