Peanut butter pie

1 cup powdered sugar
8oz block cream cheese
14oz can sweetened condensed milk
12 oz whipped cream
9oz graham cracker crust
chocolate syrup

Mix together sugar, cream cheese, condensed milk, and whipped cream really well, until completely smooth. Pour into pie crust. Chill. Right before serving, top with drizzle chocolate syrup.

Lemon Bars

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
4 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preparation
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; add 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Beat until mixture forms a smooth dough. Press mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking pan.
Bake at 350° for 20 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned.
Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup flour, granulated sugar, and next 6 ingredients; pour over baked crust.
Bake at 350° for 28 to 30 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, and cut into bars. Garnish, if desired.

Yield
Makes 2 dozen

Chicken Salad Pitas

This is one of our favorite recipes in the summer time. Goes great with fresh fruit, pasta salad, or just by themselves.

Pita bread, sliced in half
6-7 chicken breasts, boiled and chunked
3/4 cup Miracle Whip
1/4 cup mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp basil, dried
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix together really well the night before you plan to eat this for dinner. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with cucumber slices, tomato slices, and lettuce stuffed inside pita halves.

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Whole chicken
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 garlic bunch

Wash chicken; place in deep baking dish. Place slices of lemon and peeled cloves into chicken. Bake on 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Banana Bread

1 1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter, soft
8oz block cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup mashed banana


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together ingredients-making an exception to only use 3/4 cup pecans in the batter. Pour into greased loaf or bundt pan. Pour remaining pecans over top. Bake for an our or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cinnamon crumb cake

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled stick margarine or butter, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Cooking spray


Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl, and cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Reserve 1/2 cup flour mixture for topping, and set aside.

Combine remaining flour mixture, baking powder, and baking soda, and add the buttermilk, vanilla, and egg. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until blended. Spoon batter into an 9x13 in. pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle reserved 1/2 cup flour mixture over batter. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool on a wire rack.

Touchdown Taco Dip

1 can refried beans
1 cup sour cream
1 block cream cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup taco seasoning
shredded cheese

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl. Pour into small baking dish;cover with shredded cheese. Bake on 350 until thoroughly warmed. Serve warm with tortilla chips and salsa.

Chocolate chip peanut butter bars

Bottom layer (standard chocolate chip cookie recipe)
2 1/4 cup flour
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
12 oz package chocolate chips

Top layer:
2 cups peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Mix together ingredients for chocolate chip cookies, saving the chips for last. Spoon about half the mixture into bottom of lightly greased 9x13 in pan. Spread evenly.
Mix together ingredients for top layer. Spoon over bottom layer of cookie dough, spreading evenly.
Bake on 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until browned and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 30 minutes. Slice into squares.

Lasagna

This is, by no means, low fat. But it is the best lasagna I've ever made.

2 lbs ground turkey
2 cans Del Monte pasta sauce
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Italian seasoning
3 lbs cottage cheese
Lasagna pasta
1 lb Mozzarella cheese

Brown meat, adding in Italian herbs while browning. When browned, pour in pasta sauce. Set aside.
In large bowl, mix together parsley, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and eggs really well.
In 2 9x13 in baking pans, layer lasagna pasta, pasta sauce, Mozzarella cheese, and cottage cheese mixes until about 3/4 full.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hour or until pasta is well done.

Overnight baked french toast

French bread, cut into thick slices
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp syrup
2 tsp vanilla


Arrange bread 1 slice deep in baking dish. Whisk together all other ingredients. Pour over bread. Chill for 8ish hours.
Remove slices from baking dish and place on lightly greased baking sheets.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until lightly browned.

BBQ Pork Chops

Large pack of pork chops (we use a 9 pack of boneless from Sam's)
1 bottle BBQ sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp paprika

Mix all together, pour over pork chops the night before you plan to cook them, allowing them to marinate overnight. You can grill, bake, or crockpot these.

Fruit Dips

What's better than fresh fruit? Fruit with creamy dips!

Creamy fruit dip
1 cup marshmallow fluff
1 block cream cheese
1 small container of yogurt-any flavor

Brown Sugar Fruit Dip
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 block cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whipped cream

Lemon Fruit Dip
1 cup sour cream
1 block cream cheese
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions for all 3:
Simply mix all ingredients really well. Serve with your choice of fresh fruit. Refrigerate after making.

Italian Meatloaf

Ingredients
3 pounds 92% lean ground beef (I use ground turkey instead)
2 cup pasta sauce, divided
1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 large egg whites
Cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine beef/turkey, 1 cup pasta sauce, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl. Shape beef mixture into a loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Brush remaining 1 cup pasta sauce over top of meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

BBQ beef sandwiches

Again, I remind anyone reading this to remember my family size. Most recipes I post, can be divided for smaller (normal) sized families.

3/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 (1-pound) flank steaks (I actually use cheap cuts of roast beef)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups tomato paste
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons ground cumin

I put the roasts in the crock for 1 full day, until they're falling apart, first. Mix all other ingredients together and after pulling the meat apart and discarding the fat, pour over the meat in the crock again (or a new crock if you're like me and have several). Cook 2-3ish hours on high. Serve with rolls and fixings.