LEMON PIE SUPREME

Makes 1 Pie

Frozen deep-dish pie shell

Lemon Filling:
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
4 to 5 drops yellow food coloring, optional
1/2 cup lemon juice

Cream Cheese Filling:
2 packages (one 8 oz., one 3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups whipped topping
1 tablespoon lemon juice


For pastry shell:  Line unpricked pie shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

For lemon filling, combine 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in water until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; add the remaining sugar. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat; stir in butter, lemon peel and food coloring if desired. Gently stir in lemon juice. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.

For cream cheese filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Fold in whipped topping and lemon juice. Refrigerate 1/2 cup for garnish. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture into pie shell; top with lemon filling. Refrigerate overnight. Place reserved cream cheese mixture in a pastry bag with a #21 star tip; pipe stars onto pie. Store in the refrigerator.

Loaded potato soup

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups milk, or more, as needed
• 6 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
•  salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.

1. Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in potatoes and green onions.
2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.
3. Serve immediately, garnished with green onion, cheese and bacon, if desired.

Italian Sausage Orzo Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound hot Italian sausage or regular
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 small yellow onion diced
• 3 14 ounces EACH cans beef broth
• 1 14.5 ounces can Italian-style diced tomatoes
• 1 14.5 ounces can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup (~2) carrots sliced
• 3/4 cup (~2) stalks of celery sliced
• 2 cups (~1) small red potatoes diced
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 - 1 tablespoon full dried basil
• 3/4 cup Orzo pasta uncooked
• 2 cups packed fresh spinach
• Parmesan Cheese freshly grated

Instructions

1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, add in the Italian sausage, minced garlic, and diced yellow onion.
2. Crumble the sausage as you brown it.
3. Once the sausage is cooked through and onion is tender, add in the broth, both cans of tomatoes (UNDRAINED), sliced carrots, sliced celery, diced red potatoes (cut pretty small), and chopped bell pepper.
4. Add in the seasonings: Italian seasoning, oregano, and basil (to taste). I add in salt and pepper to taste here. (Depending on the saltiness of the broth, you might want to completely omit salt).
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Cover the pot and simmer for 20-25 minutes, OR until all the veggies are crisp tender.
6. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, follow package directions to cook the Orzo to al dente. Drain and rinse in cool water.
7. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the cooked and drained orzo. Then, stir in the spinach gently.

Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup

Cook Time: 3 hours

 About 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk
• 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 5 cups small diced broccoli florets*
• 1/8 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 12 oz sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded (or more to taste)
• 2 oz parmesan cheese, freshly & finely shredded

Directions

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until they begin to soften, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add garlic, flour and season lightly with salt and pepper then cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. While whisking, slowly pour in evaporated milk (whisk well to smooth). Cook mixture, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken then pour into a slow cooker along with chicken broth, diced broccoli and thyme. Cover with lid and cook on HIGH heat for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or low heat for 6 hours.
• Turn heat to warm (or off) and stir in heavy cream, then add in shredded cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese and stir to blend. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.
• *From about 20 oz broccoli crowns, large stems cut off and discarded (or reserved for another use), florets diced into small pieces.

BANANA PUDDING CUPCAKES

FOR THE CUPCAKES


1 box of yellow super moist cake mix
1 banana
follow instruction on the box
 instead of adding water use milk
bake cupcakes on 325 for 12 to 15 minutes
fill cupcakes halfway for best results
1 box of vanilla wafers for decoration


for the cream cheese frosting

8 oz of cream cheese
1 stick room temperature  butter
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract


place cream cheese in a bowl and beat until smooth
add butter continue beating, then add sugar and vanilla
beat until well combined and smooth
(I used a piping bag with a star tip) you tube will show you how to decorate a cupcake and also how to use a piping bag- which can be purchased at walmart or hobby lobby
make your frosting first and place it in the fridge, before you bake your cake

for the banana pudding

1 box of instant vanilla pudding
1 banana- I smashed a banana and mixed it in with my pudding
follow instructions on the box
once I mixed it all- I placed it in the fridge until all of the cupcakes were done, it was nice and thick
I also used a squirt bottle I picked up at the dollar store to add the pudding to the cupcakes once they were done.

Decorating
once your cupcakes have cooled
pipe on the frosting by putting the tip in the middle of the cupcake and squeezing- starting at the very center of the cupcake and let go after 2 seconds.
drizzle on the pudding
and add a cookie

MINI HASH BROWNS

INGREDIENTS

• 5 small potatoes
• ⅓ cup plain flour
• 1 egg
• ½ cup cheddar cheese grated
• salt to taste I used 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt
• pepper to taste
• vegetable oil for frying- just enough to cover bottom of pan

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Boil a pot of water over a high heat. Peel and wash your potatoes, then add them to the water and boil until they are parboiled (about 6-7 minutes, they should be hard to touch but easy to grate). Drain them in a colander, and run them under cold water until cool enough to hold. Grate the potatoes. 
2. Beat your egg in a bowl. Add the grated potatoes, flour, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper and then combine. Using your hands, form the mixture into patties (I made 6 but it depends on how small or large you want them.)
3. Place some vegetable oil in a frypan  and heat on medium-high. Add the patties (I cooked 6, and then another 6
4.  and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. Once cooked, let cool on a paper towel for a few minutes and then serve.

APPLE CIDER PORK CHOPS

Ingredients

4

center-cut pork chops 

Salt and pepper, to taste 

2

tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2

cups apple cider

2

tablespoons packed brown sugar

Directions

1. Pat 4 center-cut pork chops dry with paper towel; sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. In 10-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons canola oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook pork chops in oil about 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from skillet.
2. In same skillet, add 1 1/2 cups apple cider and 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar; cook to a thick, syrupy glaze and until reduced by about half. ; season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour glaze over pork chops for serving.

NOT MY ORIGINAL BANANA PUDDING

Ingredients

• 1 (12 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups milk- any kind
• 1 (5 oz) box instant French vanilla pudding mix
• 6 to 8 bananas, sliced
• 2 bags chessmen cookies

Preparation

Line the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (about 30 minutes)

YELLOW RICE AND LEFTOVER TURKEY SOUP

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) chicken broth*
• ⅔ cup YELLOW RICE ALREADY COOKED ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTIONS
• 2 ½ cups water
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 8 ounces cooked, diced leftover turkey (or chicken)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften (about 3 minutes).
2. Add chicken broth, and water.Add carrots and celery Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer (covered) for about 35 minutes.
3. . Return to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until vegetables are tender (about 10-15 more minutes). Stir in cooked turkey AND COOKED RICE  and simmer just until heated through.
4. Season soup with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Serve immediately, or allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.