Great Grandma Rose's Pierogi Dough

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
(1/4 cup cold mashed potatoes if desired)
(small amount of water as needed for additional moisture)
ridiculous amounts of butter as desired for coating pierogi

Directions:
Mix all ingredients by hand in a large mixing bowl. Knead until elastic and smooth. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into 4 inch circles. Place rounded ball of filling in the center of each circle. With water, moisten the edge of half the circle. Fold the circle over and pinch the edges well to seal. With a fork, crimp the edges. Boil in batches of about 12 pierogi for about 7 minutes or until tender. (Can throw a scrap of dough into the water with the pierogi - then test this for tenderness.) Place in a tray coated with melted butter and drizzle more melted butter over the top of the pierogi as they come out of the water. Continue cooking your batches until all are cooked. Can cool and reheat with more butter later or serve hot. Sauteed onions in the butter topping are optional but delicious.

Pistachio Chicken

Ingredients:
handful of shelled pistachios (I use salted ones)
fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts
olive oil

Directions:
In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until finely chopped - some small pieces and some "pistachio flour." Pour this onto a plate. Dredge chicken breasts in the pistachios and pan-fry in a little olive oil until cooked through.

I have found it works best to pound your chicken breasts to about 1/4" thick - that way the pistachios and chicken cook at an even rate.

Coffee Creamer

Ingredients:
2 cans evaporated milk
2 cups powdered nonfat milk
3/4 cup french vanilla syrup
3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar

Directions:
Blend well. Store in refrigerator. Shake well before each use.

Note: This doesn't have quite the same feel as store-bought creamers. It ends up making your coffee taste much more like a latte or a cappuccino.

Broccoli Chicken

Ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts
1-2 small cans of cream of broccoli (or cream-of-whatever)
Fresh broccoli

Directions:

Place the chicken breasts in the crock pot, pour the cream of broccoli on top, if too thick, thin it w/some milk and cook on high for 4 hrs. After that add the broccoli florets on top of everything for another 15-20 mins (depending on how hard/soft you like your broccoli) and it's done.

Serve over rice, super yummy and quick.

Spicy Hot Wings

Ingredients:
4 lbs chicken wing pieces (cut apart)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tbsp Tobasco sauce
3/4 tsp garlic salt
dash paprika

Directions:
Place wings in 15x10x1 pan. Combine next 4 and pour over wings. Bake at 375 for 30 min. Turn wings and bake 30 - 35 minutes. Drain wings and serve with celery sticks and ranch dressing.

Peanut Butter Apple Dip

Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1-2 tbsp milk

Directions:
Mix well and serve with red and green apple wedges.

Dried Beef Dip

Ingredients:
2 1/2 oz package dried beef, diced
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tbsp horseradish

Directions:
Blend well, chill. Serve with rye bread or crackers.

Brie Star

Ingredients:
brie
honey
slivered almonds

Directions:
Cut the brie into four or six big wedges (depending on the size of the brie). Then, turn each wedge around so it looks like a star and the cut sides are facing out. Then, drizzle honey over the whole plate and sprinkle sliced almonds over everything. You can put a little pile of almonds in the middle of the "star" to make it look pretty too.

Serve with crackers-- wheat ones tend to be the best.

Sesame Chicken

Ingredients:
chicken breasts
soy sauce
honey
sesame seeds

Directions:
Cut up chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.

In a non-reactive bowl, marinate the pieces in soy sauce for at least 2 or 3 hours (make sure they are well covered in the soy sauce.)

Drain the soy sauce, then pour tons of honey in the bowl, mixing the pieces so that the honey is distributed.

Lay all the pieces one-layer deep on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Shake lots of sesame seeds all over the chicken.

Cook at 350 until done...usually around 20ish minutes. You'll just have to cut open the big ones to see if they're still pink.

Serve hot/warm with toothpicks.

Bellinis

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen peaches
1 can frozen peach daiquiri mix
A few cups champagne (add one cup at a time until a smooth consistency)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Enjoy!

Cranberry Punch

Ingredients:
2 quarts cranberry juice
6 oz frozen lemonade concentrate
2 quarts 7-up or Sprite
1 jar maraschino cherries, undrained
orange slices

Directions:
In a punch bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring to mix. Float a block of ice and orange slices on top.

Sunny Citrus Cooler

Ingredients:
1 can (46 oz) pineapple juice
2 cans (12 oz each) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3/4 cup lemonade concentrate
6 cups ginger ale, chilled

Directions:
In a 1 gallon pitcher, combine pineapple juice and concentrates. Add soda and mix well. Serve over ice. Refrigerate leftovers.

Orange Raspberry Smoothie

Ingredients:
3 cups orange juice
3 cups frozen (individually) raspberries
3 tbsp. white sugar
1 1/2 cups milk (good with soy, rice or almond milks)

Directions:
In blender, blend juice, raspberries and sugar. Pour through a strainer to remove seeds. Stir in milk and serve. Garnish with an orange slice.

Cranberry Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 cup cranberry juice
8 oz vanilla yogurt
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 banana, sliced

Directions:
Blend until smooth.

Hot Apple Cider

Ingredients:
1 gallon apple cider
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 tsp. whole allspice

Directions:
In stockpot or slowcooker, blend cider and sugar. Stir till sugar is dissolved. Place cinnamon, cloves, and allspice in a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners and tie with a string to form a small bag. Cut off excess and add spice
bag to cider. For stockpot, heat and simmer 5 minutes. For slowcooker, cover and cook on low for 2 to 5 hours. Remove spice bag before serving.

Can float orange slices on top.

Notes:

• can add 4 cups dry red wine for Wassail.
• can use 1/2 gallon apple cider and 1/2 gallon cranberry juice, proceed as above.

Cream Cheese Mints

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1 to 2 tsp peppermint extract
powdered colors (not liquid food coloring)
2 lbs powdered sugar
white sugar

Directions:
Mix cream cheese, flavoring, color, and powdered sugar by hand til it resembles pie dough. Roll into small balls and roll in white sugar. Flatten or press into small molds and pop out immediately. Can be eaten immediately or will store indefinitely
in refrigerator if stored in covered containers.

Makes about 150.

Peppermint Bark

Ingredients:
1 lb. vanilla candy coating
3/4 cup crushed candy canes or crushed round striped peppermint candies

Directions:
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. In a saucepan, heat candy coating over low heat until melted, stirring constantly. Stir in peppermint candy, spread on wax paper. You'll want it about 1/4 inch thick - too thick and it won't break, too thin and it'll splinter. Cool; break into bite size pieces.

Chocolate Pretzels

Ingredients:
small round pretzels
plain Hershey's kisses
M&Ms

Directions:
Place pretzels on large cookie sheet. Put a kiss in the center of each. Place in 225 degree oven for about 4 minutes or til soft. Remove and quickly press an M & M in the center of each. Chill.

Chocolate Toffee

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:
Heat butter and sugar in saucepan to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 6 minutes. Pour into buttered 9 inch square baking pan; let stand 3 minutes. Sprinkle chips over top. Let stand 5 minutes. Spread chocolate over top. Sprinkle with walnuts, press down slightly. Chill til firm. Break into bite size pieces. Store in fridge.

Quick Fudge

Ingredients:
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup evaporated milk
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Grease 8 inch square pan. In pan, stir corn syrup and milk. Add chocolate. Stirring constantly, cook over med-low heat til chocolate is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla; add powdered sugar. With wooden spoon, beat til smooth and creamy. Stir in nuts, spread in pan. Chill and store in fridge.