Fresh Cream Cheese Fruit Pie

1 Pre-baked pie shell

Mix together & spread mixture over pie crust:
3 oz pkg cream cheese soften stir in little milk to thin
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Heat on stove in pan stirring till boils approx 5min until clear consistancy:
2 C mashed fruit (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries)
1 C water
1 C sugar
1/3 C corn starch

 Remove and add:
1 T butter
1 tsp vanilla

Pour in pie. Chill in fridge. Serve with whipped topping.

From Lorie Butterworth via Jill Gray:)

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla bean scraped out of pod
1 (9 inch) pastry shell, baked
4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, melted
2 medium firm bananas. sliced
Chocolate shavings and whipped cream(optional)

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually add milk and cream until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Add a small amount to egg yolks; mix well. Return all to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil; cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Pour half into the pastry shell; cover and refrigerate. Add chocolate to remaining custard; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Do no stir. Arrange bananas over filling. Carefully spoon chocolate custard over all. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings if desired.

We use the vanilla pudding on crepes & don't know how to eat crepes without it now since it is so delicious!

Crockpot Roast w/ Veggies

Place in crock pot:
Chuck pot roast
carrots
potatoes
onion

Mix Together & pour over roast & veggies:
2 cans cream of mushroom
1 cup apple juice
1 packet dry onion soup mix

I think this recipe is originally from Juli, but I got it from Jane:)

Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 cup grated carrots
1 costco size tray of ground turkey (2 lbs?)
1 8 oz can of chopped water chestnuts, drained
3 garlic cloves, minced (I just use garlic press)
2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger (Heidi says powder is great too if you don't have fresh on hand)
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (I usually use Yoshida's instead since that is what I typically have on hand)
3 Tbs. creamy peanut butter
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup green onions
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (if you like spice...I usually omit for the kids sake:))

iceberg lettuce-wash and separate leaves

Cook turkey til browned. Add carrots and all other ingredients except green onion and red pepper flakes. Cook on medium high for 4-5 minutes. Add green onion and pepper flakes. Serve in lettuce leaf, a large spoonful in each leaf.

(I got this recipe from Heidi and tweaked it a little. Ask her if you want the original:). It has become one of our weekly staples since I can always make it in a pinch. Enjoy!)

Oreo Cream Cake

You can use a packaged chocolate fudge cake mix or use this recipe:

Cake Ingredients:

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. warm water
3 Tbl. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350. Pam spray two 8-in. round pans.  Sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda,& salt into the bowl of a mixer.  Combine on low speed for a second or two.Add eggs, buttermilk, water, oil and vanilla. Beat till smooth about 3 min.
2.  Divided batter between pans.   Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean about 35 min.  Let cool for 15 min. Turn out from pans onto wire rack.  Let cool completely.

Oreo Whipped Cream:

* make sure to only whip the cream till soft peaks form.  Once the chopped oreos soften, the cream will continued to thicken.

50 Oreo cookies (really you need 50)
4 c. heavy whipping cream
2 Tbl. granulated sugar
1 Tbl. real vanilla

Carefully cut 6 Oreos in half (for decoration on top).  Chop remaining cookies into 1/4 inch pieces; set aside.

Make the Oreo whipped cream in two batches.  In bowl of standing mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip 2 cups of cream on med. high speed to soft peaks, spoon into large bowl and refrigerate.In same mixer bowl whip remaining 2 c. cream, sugar and vanilla to soft peaks.  Fold into already whipped cream.  Fold chopped Oreos into cream.

Place 1 layer of cake on serving plate. Spread a really thick layer (3 inches or so) probably 1/3 of Oreo cream onto cake.  Top with second layer and use remaining Oreo whipped cream to frost top and sides of cake.  Chill in Fridge for at least 2 hours to allow cookies to soften. Garnish cake with reserved cookie halves.  Eat day it is made. Can eat leftovers the next day (if there are any) but you need to finish it by day 2.

Mexican Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions, or my directions listed below, and cooled
1 14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn, I use frozen and thaw it, but fresh or canned would be fine
1/2 cucumber, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 handful of cilantro, chopped
2 handfuls grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 non green bell pepper, or several small, chopped


Dressing:
Substitute any dressing you like or...
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil, roughly, or other oil you choose
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt
Pepper
2-3 tsp. honey or sweetener of choice
1-2 tsp. Mexican blend spices, I have a homemade one that includes chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, onion powder and garlic powder

Mix dressing ingredients together in a jar and shake vigorously, or make how you would make a vinaigrette. Could also be done in a blender.

To make Salad:
For quinoa, boil 2 cups of water. Add 1 cup quinoa to boiling water. Lower heat to low-med heat. Cover quinoa and simmer for 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat, leave covered and let sit for about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature or put in fridge to cool.  Mix all of the other ingredients in with the quinoa. Use the dressing to dress the salad.

Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot

I was surprised at how much I loved this. The seasonings could be changed to anything you like. The chicken turns out so tender and juicy and so delicious that it doesn't even bother me that it has bones. The sauce is a nice touch, but not necessary.

1 whole chicken that fits in your crockpot. Make sure to take out the giblets and stuff that are inside                      
        the bird. I throw that stuff out, but do whatever you do with it.
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional but delish
1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
1 onion, chopped in large pieces


Combine all the dried herbs and spices in a bowl.  Place the chopped onion in the bottom of the crockpot. Rub all of the spice mixture all over the outside and some inside the chicken.  Also great to put some under the skin as well, but sometimes I don't cause it's a little extra yucky.   Put the chicken on top of the onions in the crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until the chicken is falling off the bones.   At this point the chicken prices will easy pull away from the bones and I cut or pull the chicken into large pieces, like breasts, thighs, wings, drumsticks, etc. I have a few people in my family who like to eat the skin so I finish the chicken pieces under the broiler to crisp the skin.

Sauce, Optional:
I make this sauce when I am serving the chicken pieces

Strained juices from the crockpot
1/4 cup wine, apple juice, white grape juice, or 1/2 a lemon
2 TB butter, cold, chopped
Salt and pepper as needed

Strain all of the juices from the crockpot to have a smooth liquid. Then strain the fat off of the liquid. Put the strained, defatted liquid in a sauté pan over high heat. Cook sauce until it evaporates by about 1/2. Then add the wine or whatever you choose.  Continue cooking about 5 more minutes, or until the sauce slightly thickens. Check seasoning for salt and pepper. Turn the heat off and whisk in the butter1 tablespoon at a time. This will make the sauce silky and thicken a little bit. It's like a thin gravy so would be great if you served this with roasted potatoes also. Or any roasted veggies for that matter.

Submitted by: Kamdyn