Lisa's Southern Pecan Pie - from The Lady & Sons Cookbook

4 tbsp. butter
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c. cane syrup
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pecan halves
One 9-inch pie crust

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream the butter, sugar, flour and salt until smooth. Add the syrup, eggs and vanilla, then fold in the pecans. Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 45-50 minutes or until firm to touch.

Serve the pie warm or cool...I served it up with some vanilla ice cream. :)  Delicious!!

Weeknight Cheese Quiche

I made this last night for dinner and after the first bite, my hubby exclaimed "OH BABE...THIS IS GOOD!" You know I have succeeded if I get that kind of remark IMMEDIATELY! And the best part...it was SUPER easy!

I got this off the Kraft foods website. Enjoy!!


1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
4 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 frozen pie crust (9 inch), thawed
1/4 cup OSCAR MAYER Real Bacon Bits
Make It

HEAT oven to 375°F.

COOK mushrooms and onions in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 5 min. or until crisp-tender. ( I used canned mushrooms and didn't cook my onions...just threw in with spinach and mixed with egg mixture) Remove from heat; stir in spinach.

BEAT eggs, milk and dressing in medium bowl with whisk until well blended. Add spinach mixture and cheese; pour into crust. Top with bacon.

BAKE 50 min. or until center is set and top is golden brown.

Steak Soup

Steak Soup
Plaza III Steak House

• 8 tbsp of margarine
• ½ c flour
• 40 oz canned beef broth
• ¼ c fresh carrots, med dice
• ¼ c fresh onion, med dice
• ¼ c celery, med dice
• ½ c canned tomatoes
• 1 tbsp browning sauce (Kitchen Bouquet)
• ¾ tsp seasoning salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper, course grind
• 5 oz mixed frozen veggies
• ½ lb of ground chuck, chili grind, browned and drained of fat

Place butter in a soup pot; melt without browning. Add four and stir to a smooth paste. Cook mixture (roux) over med heat without browning for 3 min, stirring constantly. Add consume and to roux (including browning sauce) and stir until smooth and lightly thickened. Bring to full boil.

Add fresh veggies, tomatoes and seasonings and return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until veggies are barley tender (20-30 minutes). (Low and slow is best on this soup!)

Add frozen veggies and browned ground chuck. Simmer at least 15 more minutes. Be sure to simmer long enough that the flavors become well blended.

I double and sometimes triple this recipe. For a heartier soup I add more 1 lb of ground chuck to the recipe instead of 1/2 lb.

Serves 4

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars

I was craving pumpkin last night and decided to try this recipe. I didn't even get a chance to frost them as they are just so good without it!  Hub's says he thinks they are even better than my banana bars I make. WOW! Now that is hard to beat!

So wanted to share with you all the recipe....makes your house smell yummy too!

Ingredients

Bars:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Friendship Casserole

Our neighbors just had a new baby girl this week and I made this casserole for them. It makes enough for two dishes, so the other one we had for ourselves. Really good and easy!

Friendship Casserole

2 - lbs ground beef
1 - 48 oz jar spaghetti sauce
2 – tablespoons sugar
1 (16 oz) - pkg medium egg noodles
1/2 - cup margarine or butter
½ - tsp onion salt (or onion powder)
½ - tsp garlic salt (or garlic powder)
½ - cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 - 12 oz pkg shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350º Brown meat and drain fat. Add spaghetti sauce and sugar to meat; simmer 20 minutes. Cook noodles as directed (AL dente); drain and toss with margarine, salts and Parmesan cheese. Spray two 9x13 pans with non-stick spray. In both pans layer half the sauce, all the noodles, rest of sauce; top with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil; bake 45 minutes.

*You can also add some sauteed green bell peppers, onions and mushrooms to the sauce. Make sure the person you are gifting this wonderful casserole to likes the veggies. If not just leave them out.
*Note: Since this recipe makes enough for two casseroles, plan one for your family and one for a friend. Think of someone who might need a reminder that they have friends who care about them - a new mom in your neighborhood, a family who’s moving, someone with an illness.

PW's Zucchini Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 whole Large Zucchini
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
• ½ cups (to 3/4 Cup) Breadcrumbs
• ½ cups 4-cheese Italian Blend (or Parmesan Or Romano)
• 2 whole Eggs
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

Wash and cut the end off of one large zucchini. Shred it using the large holes of a cheese grater. Squeeze the shredded zucchini inside of a clean towel until you’ve removed as much liquid as possible.

Place shredded zucchini into a medium sized bowl. Add minced garlic, breadcrumbs, cheese (shredded), eggs, kosher salt and pepper to taste. Stir with a fork until well mixed.

Heat olive oil (about ¼ inch deep in bottom of skillet) to a medium heat. When the oil is hot enough drop a glob of zucchini batter into the skillet and flatten it a bit. After about two minutes, turn the cakes over ( they should be nice golden-brown) and cook on the other side until done (about 2-3 minutes).

Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice and enjoy!


WE LOVED THESE!

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

I found this recipe this weekend here.  This has become one of my new favorite sites to browse for recipes. Plus they are all weight watchers related!

Love Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes!! She has such great pictures too!  These rolls were a hit...I did doctor them up a bit and added some ground beef and mushrooms...but still DELICIOUS!

Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 roll • Calories: 188 • Points: 4 ww pts

9 lasagna noodles, cooked
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Polly-o)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt and fresh pepper
32 oz tomato sauce
9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll