Honey Crunch

3 cups Quaker Corn Bran or Oatmeal Bran cereal

1 cup Quaker oats (quick or old-fashioned)

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup butter or margarine

1/3 cup honey

¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup raisins, optional

Heat oven to 325 degrees. In large bowl, combine cereal, oats, nuts, cinnamon and salt.

In small saucepan, combine butter, honey, and brown sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and ingredients are well blended. Pour over cereal mixture; mix until thoroughly coated.

Spread evenly into 15x10 inch jelly roll pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Immediately spread mixture onto waxed paper covered cooling rack. Stir in raisins, if desired. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container in cool, dry place.

Makes about 7 cups.

Note: I used 1/2 c. walnut halves, 1/2 c. chopped pecans. I also added 1/4 c. roasted soy nuts.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.

Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

(Thanks to my friend, Gina, for this tasty recipe perfect for fall!)

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Need to make tacos but don't have one of the seasoning packets from the grocery store for your meat? I recently found this homemade taco seasoning recipe at Tammy's Recipes.

1 clove minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground chili powder
Your favorite hot sauce, to taste

Brown a pound of ground beef with garlic and onion. Drain and return to pan. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and some hot sauce.

Easy Cheesecake Bar

I recently helped several ladies at church give a wedding shower for one of the young men in our church and his fiance. It was a fun affair with summer decor and a music theme (since both the bride and groom-to-be love music). The vision for the shower came from the April 2010 Southern Living Magazine. This recipe was a hit and came from the magazine as well.

1 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. butter, softened
3 (80z) pkgs cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 c. sour cream
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 (15.5 oz) container ready-to-spread chocolate frosting (optional)
garnish: fresh raspberries

Beat flour, brown sugar and butter at medium-low speed with an electric mixer until combined. Increase speed to medium, and beat until well blended and crumbly. Pat mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla, beating just until blended. Pour over baked crust.

Bake at 350º for 25 minutes or until set. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Cover and chill 4 to 24 hours; cut into bars.

If desired, spoon frosting into a zip-top plastic freezer bag. (Do not seal.) Snip 1 corner of bag to make a small hole. Pipe a frosting monogram on each bar. Garnish, if desired.

Southern Living, APRIL 2010

Homemade Hamburger or Hotdog Buns

This yummy recipe is from the $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook. I won this cookbook recently from BeCentsable and have had a lot of fun discovering new and economical recipes.

1 c. hot water
2 c. white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. or pkg. active dry yeast
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1 T. canola oil
1 T. butter, melted
2 T. milk

Place all ingredients, except butter, in bread machine bowl. (The instructions that came with my bread machine say to put liquids in first, then other ingredients, yeast last) Set machine to dough cycle.

Once dough cycle is complete, flour your fingers, remove dough and place on floured surface. Shape into hamburger or hot dog bun sizes. Place buns on a greased baking sheet. Set aside and let the buns rise for at least 30 minutes in a warm place. Preheat oven to 350.

Bake buns in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until slightly golden on top. Remove the buns from the oven, brush tops with melted butter, and return to the oven for 2 minutes. Remove and let cool on a rack. Cool slightly before slicing.

Valentines Cookies

Happy Valentines!

The special day is just a week away, but I am already in the mood to cook something pretty. That is why I made these cookies yesterday. This recipe is not original with me. I have seen it posted here and here and here.

It is definitely a fun and yummy recipe, and I know I will be using it often!

Cookie Recipe:

1 box red velvet cake mix
1/2 c. oil
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix ingredients until well combined. Drop spoonfuls of cookie batter onto baking sheet about two inches apart. Using a spatula, flatten the dough slightly. This helps make uniform cookies.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool


Cream Cheese Filling:

1/2 c. butter, softened to room temperature
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 (1 lb.) box of confectioner's sugar
1 t. vanilla

In a mixer, cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Gradually add sugar and mix until smooth.

Spread cream cheese filling between two cookies. Use heart shaped cookie cutters to create valentines cookie sandwiches.

Pizza Casserole

2 lbs. ground beef
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 jars (28 oz. each) spaghetti sauce
1 (16 oz.) pkg spiral pasta, cooked and drained
4 c. (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz. sliced pepperoni

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and pasta. Transfer to two greased 13X9 in baking dishes. Sprinkle with cheese. Arrange pepperoni over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Can be frozen (before baking) for up to 3 months.