In a medium saucepan, cook frozen berries (stirring occasionally) over medium high heat until the berries begin to turn into a juice. 4 minutes.

Stir in Sure-Jell and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar and salt and bring back to a full boil. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.

Pour the mixture into a fine mesh strainer and allow to drain into a medium bowl. To speed up the process, push the mixture through the strainer with the back of a spoon. The seeds will remain in the strainer.

Transfer 1/3 c of the raspberry mixture into a small bowl and set aside.

Gently fold the fresh raspberries into the rest of the raspberry puree. Spread mixture evenly over the bottom of the pie crust. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve Jell-O into hot water. Add cream cheese and 1/3 c raspberry puree, mix on high for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Mix in heavy cream, and continue to mix on high speed until mixture is fluffy (similar to a meringue). This will take another 3-4 minutes.

Spread mixture over fruit filling. Cover. Chill for at least 3 hours. Top with Cool Whip before serving.

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C

Wash chicken and pat dry. Set aside.

Mix paprika, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Sprinkle seasoning mix over chicken legs, coating evenly. Give the chicken skin a pat with your hand to help the seasonings absorb into the chicken.

Wrap each chicken leg with a slice of pancetta.

Add sage, rosemary and wine to the center of the skillet.

Place skillet (uncovered) in the oven. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

Drizzle the chicken breasts with olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bake on a cookie sheet in a preheated 350 F oven for 35-40 minutes. Cool. Remove skin and bones, shred meat, set aside.

Toast sesame seeds and slivered almonds in a nonstick pan over medium high heat for 5-10 minutes or until they begin to brown. Remove from heat, set aside.

In a small jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the salt, sugar, vinegar, black pepper, olive oil and sesame oil. Shake until everything is well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the lettuce, green onion, chow mein noodles, toasted sesame seeds and slivered almonds and the cooked chicken.

Pour dressing over the salad and gently toss. Serve immediately. The dressing will make the salad soggy if you mix it too early, so toss right before serving.

Cut chicken into bite size pieces no larger than 1”. If you are using a precooked rotisserie chicken, remove the skin and bones before cutting the meat.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat for about 2 minutes. If you are using a precooked rotisserie chicken, you can skip this step as the chicken is already cooked.

Add the uncooked cubed chicken breasts to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and you can no longer see pink. (I like to sauté my chicken in a seasoned cast iron skillet. Then I can skip the adding the oil)

Remove cooked meat from the pan and set on a plate.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and peppers. Sauté for 4-5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add cilantro pesto. Stir. Remove skillet from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

If you’re not using the paper cupcake liners, grease muffin cups or mini Bund pans with Wilton’s cake release.

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Wash the chicken and pat dry.

Place the chicken on a baking sheet and drizzle both sides of each breast with olive oil.

Sprinkle the meat generously with salt and pepper, or whatever seasoning you prefer. Amazingly, the chicken is quite tasty with only salt and pepper seasoning. You really don’t need anything else.

Roast for 35-40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

If the chicken is for another recipe, set it aside and allow it to cool before removing the skin, bones and cutting the meat into smaller cubes. You will have about 6 cups of cooked chicken when you’re finished.

Combine diced potatoes, onion, chicken stock and cream of chicken soup in a crock pot, kettle or microwave safe dish.

Cover and cook in slow cooker on low 8-10 hours, on high 4-5 hours, or on stove or in microwave until potatoes are tender. It doesn’t matter how you cook the mixture so long as the potatoes cook in the broth and are covered while they cook.

Remove half of the cooked potatoes and set aside.

Add the cream cheese and blend mixture with cream cheese until smooth in consistency. Use an upright blender, hand held blender or food processor to achieve a uniform consistency.

Add back potatoes and any other ingredients you would like to add (basil pesto, cooked sausage, corn, peppers, etc)

Top with crumbled bacon and chives before serving.

Mixing the ingredients on a warmed platter will help them melt quickly to make a satiny sauce. For the best results, use dried pasta, which doesn't break as easily during tossing as fresh egg pasta does.

Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut butter into thin pats and transfer to a large, warmed platter. Drain pasta, reserving 3/4 cup pasta water, and place the pasta over the butter on the platter.

Sprinkle grated parmesan over the pasta and drizzle with 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water.

Using a large spoon and fork, gently toss the pasta with the butter and cheese, lifting and swirling the noodles and adding more pasta water as necessary. (The pasta water will help create a smooth sauce.) Work in any melted butter and cheese that pools around the edges of the platter. Continue to mix the pasta until the cheese and butter have fully melted and the noodles are coated, about 3 minutes. (For a quicker preparation, bring the reserved 3/4 cup pasta water and the butter to a boil in a 12" skillet; then add the pasta, sprinkle with the cheese, and toss with tongs over medium-low heat until the pasta is creamy and coated, about 2 minutes.)

Serve the fettuccine immediately on warmed plates.

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Line a baking sheet (the kind that has a lip) with parchment paper.

Place a baking rack on top of the paper. Lightly spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray.

Place the bacon slices on top of the rack, allowing room in between the slices.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the bacon is of the consistency that you enjoy. (My father in law loves his bacon burnt to a crisp…so I always have to give a few extra minutes for him). :^)

When the bacon is done, pat the top with a paper towel to remove the excess grease.

If your ham is not already sliced, you need to slice the ham now. Lay the ham, flat side down, on a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper (for easy clean up).

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.

Take handfuls of the sugary mixture and press it around the ham. Do not press any of the mixture onto the flat bottom of the ham. Use a chef’s torch with the flame set at medium low to slowly caramelize the glaze onto the ham.

Repeat these steps two more times until the sugary mixture is gone and the ham is evenly coated with a crunchy sweet glaze.

The ham may now be served cold or warm. It may surprise you, but the inside of the ham will still be cold. If you would like to warm it up, take slices off the ham and warm them in the oven or microwave, being careful to not dry out the meat.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Cream together sugar and softened butter until really, really fluffy and creamy. This should take between 15-20 minutes. Don’t cut this step short.

Gradually beat in eggs, one at a time.

Slowly add flour until well mixed.

Fold in 7 up and lemon extract by hand.

Pour into well greased heavy duty Bundt pan.

Bake 1 – 1 ¼ hour until done.

Cook and remove from pan.

Mix together powdered sugar, lemon juice and 7 up for glaze. Drizzle over the top of the cooked cake.

Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking pan. Spread chopped pecans over the bottom.

In a medium saucepan, add 1 1/2 c brown sugar, 1 stick butter, honey, and corn syrup. Heat over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Pour sugar mixture evenly over the pecans in the bottom of the pan.

Roll out thawed bread dough on lightly floured surface to make one 12x9 rectangle with each piece of dough.

Melt 1 stick butter and evenly brush over the top of the rolled dough.

In small bowl, mix together 1 c brown sugar and cinnamon. Evenly spread over the dough.

Roll up the dough, starting at the narrow end. Pinch ends of the dough and stuff the end inside the roll (see Potica Rolls).

Cut each roll into twelve slices and place on top of the caramel and pecans. Cover and allow to rise in a warm, draft free spot, until double in size (2-3 hours).

Bake in preheated 350 F oven for 35 minutes, or place covered rolls in refrigerator overnight to bake the next day.

Turn baking dish upside down onto serving plate. Rolls turn out of the pan similar to an upside down cake.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a small bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, dark brown sugar, and ketchup until smooth.

In a larger bowl, mix together ground beef, bread, egg, onion, salt, pepper, ketchup, Kitchen Bouquet and half and half.

Either shape into a loaf or place in a baking dish (a 9” pie plate works well) and smooth out top.

Pour half of the sauce over the top of the meatloaf.

Bake 70-75 minutes or until meat is cooked through.

Remove from oven and allow meatloaf to rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Warm the remaining sauce and pour over the top before serving or place in a bowl and serve on the side.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt together.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and shortening together with the 1 ½ c sugar and eggs.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and combine.

Shape dough into balls (about half the size of a golf ball) and roll each ball in the mixture of sugar and cinnamon (3 T sugar, 3 tsp cinnamon).

Place 2” apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown.

Cool on racks. Store in an airtight container.

In a small, brightly colored bowl (something that’s fun to whisk in)…combine the Miracle Whip, white vinegar, sugar and mustard. Whisk together until smooth.

Cook the macaroni as directed on the package, drain (do not rinse) and cool.

In a large bowl, gently combine the macaroni, celery, carrot, green pepper, onion, chopped eggs. Fold in the dressing mixture.

Top with sliced egg, paprika, and chill at least two hours before serving.

Soak raisins in hot water for 5 minutes, drain.

Line two 9” pie plated with unbaked crust.

In a large bowl, combine sliced apples and lemon juice. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Gently stir in raisins.

Fill the pie shells.

In a smaller bowl (or your food processor), mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over the pies.

Preheat oven to 425. Bake pies in the middle of the oven at 425 for 10 minutes, then turn down to 350 and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes until the topping is nicely browned and the apples are soft.

If the outer edges of your crust are browning too quickly, cover just the top of the crust with aluminum foil..or better yet …use a pie crust saver (one of my favorite baking helpers).

Place the flour, cornstarch, salt and baking powder in your mixing bowl or food processor. Mix gently on low (or pulse gently on low) to combine the dry ingredients.

Gradually add cold water and vinegar while mixing on low to combine.

Remove the ball of dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to two days. This will make it easier to roll.

Roll out dough on a floured surface or in between two sheets of freezer paper. Freezer paper can be found in the canning section of most grocery or general department stores. Freezer paper makes for very easy clean up! Just be sure to tape the corners of the bottom sheet with masking tape to secure it to the counter when you roll.

In a small saucepan, combine the fish sauce, vinegar, tamarind juice, and sugar. Cook over medium high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Set aside until needed.

In a large bowl, soak the dried rice noodles in warm water until somewhat tender but still firm to the touch, about 1 hour, drain well and set aside until needed.

Place the tofu on several layers of paper towel and press firmly to remove all excess moisture. Heat a wok over high heat. Add 2 T of canola oil and heat through. Add the tofu and stir fry until golden brown. Set aside until needed.

Place the wok over medium high heat until it is smoking hot. Add the remaining 2 T of oil, and then toss in the garlic, shallots, shrimp, radishes, and red pepper flakes. Stir fry for 30 seconds.

Add the drained noodles and ¼ c water to the wok, stirring and tossing quickly to separate the strands. Pour in the fish sauce mixture and paprika, tossing well to coat the noodles and keep them from sticking. Stir fry until the noodles are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the cooked tofu, and cook another minute, tossing to combine and warm the tofu through. Garnish with all of the bean sprouts, green onions and chopped peanuts. Place a couple of limes wedges on each plate. Add a squeeze of lime and additional fish sauce to taste. Serve immediately.

In soup kettle, combine chicken broth, lime leaves, lemongrass, ginger root, and straw mushrooms over medium high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then add the coconut milk, dried chile and chicken.

Immediately reduce the heat to medium low and simmer gently, uncovered, until the chicken cooked through (2 min)

Just before serving, stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, salt green onions, and cilantro.

The kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and whole chiles are for flavor only and are not to be consumed. You may wish to place them in a sachet while cooking and remove before serving.

Find a kettle that has a lid and can go from the stove top to the oven.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse over cool water under water runs clear.

On the stove top over medium high heat, bring the liquid to a boil.

Turn off heat and add the rice.

Put the lid on, place the kettle in the oven and cook for exactly 17 minutes.

That’s it. Your rice is done. Perfect every time! You can remove it from the oven and leave the lid on to serve when you’re ready.

By the way, cooked rice freezes very well. Place individual servings in sealed sandwich bags and freeze. Microwave each serving for about 1 minute when you are ready to enjoy it.

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Gently boil for another 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cooled vinegar mixture, mayonnaise, cream, salt and black pepper.

Toss dressing with coleslaw, green pepper, red cabbage, red onion and parsley.

Cover and chill for thirty minutes before serving.

Over medium high heat, melt the butter in a large pot. Add the sirloin and cook until the meat is browned. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes.

Stir in the broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

In a separate saucepan, melt 3 T butter over medium high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1-2 minutes, then add the milk and continue to whisk, working out all the lumps. You need to work fast on this step.

When the flour mixture is smooth, add it to the soup broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add in the pesto, shredded cheese, ketchup, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Remove from heat and serve (chopped pickles on top of the soup add a nice flavor…I know…it seems odd…but give it a try).

Melt butter in large pot over med high heat. Add leeks, sauté 3 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and ginger, sauté one additional minute.

Stir in carrots, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Continue to sauté for one minute.

Add wine. Continue to simmer until wine is nearly gone. Be sure to scrap the bits off the bottom to deglaze.

Stir in the broth and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes or until carrots are soft.

Remove pot and allow soup to cool for 10 minutes. Ladle into blender to puree (or use a hand blender).

Finish soup by adding freshly squeezed lemon juice, sweet basil pesto, and cream. Gently stir to combine.

Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan by brushing some of the melted butter on the sides and bottom of the pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the chopped walnuts, sugars, honey, cinnamon, ground cloves, vanilla bean paste, orange and lemon zest, orange juice, half & half and beaten egg. Mix until all of the ingredients are well combined.

Roll out the thawed dough on a lightly floured surface to make two 12”x9” rectangles. Brush remaining melted butter evenly over the dough, covering the entire top.

Spread the nut mixture over the top of the dough, leaving ½ inch border along the top and sides.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.

Place nuts on parchment paper and bake for 7-10 minutes until nuts are golden brown (shake nuts periodically while they bake).

Remove from oven and leave on cookie sheet to cool. Once cooled, remove and store in airtight contained for later use.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Melt butter in a small saucepan on the stove. Don’t use the microwave. It’s too easy to ruin the butter. When melted, pour into the bottom of a heavy 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, egg, milk and vanilla to create a batter.

Pour batter evenly over the melted butter.

In a different bowl, combine peaches, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Spread peaches over batter. DO NOT STIR!

Bake 40-45 minutes until batter rises to the top and is golden brown.

Grease 2 large loaf pans with unsalted room temperature butter. (I put a plastic sandwich bag over my hand when I grease loaf pans for easy clean up).

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda.

Gradually beat canned pumpkin, oil, water and eggs into flour mixture. Continue to mix until batter is a smooth consistency.

Stir in chopped pecans.

Pour batter into greased loaf pans. Make sure both pans have an equal amount of batter. Gently tap loaf pans firmly on counter four times to remove air bubbles.

Bake in middle rack of preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Do not open oven door while baking. When loaves are nicely browned, cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn onto wire racks to cool completely.

The bread is delicious plain or with cream cheese or soft butter.

Trim excess fat from meat. Cut into 1 ½ inch cubes. Set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, pepper flakes, oregano and lemon juice.

Add in meat, toss to coat.

Pour contents of bowl (meat and marinade) into a large zip lock bag. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to mix. At this point, you may also freeze the meat. Before cooking, be sure to thaw the meat thoroughly.

When you are ready to cook…heat your grill or broiler to a medium cooking temperature (325 F).

If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for 30 min before using.

Skewer meat onto BBQ skewers and grill until meat is nicely golden brown and cooked through. (You may also wish to add a slice of onion or tomato on the skewers)

Serve with warm pita. Garnish with lemon, tzatziki and sliced onion (tomato and fresh parsley optional)

Wash cucumbers. Trim ends and roughly chop (do not peel).

In food processor, add cucumber, garlic cloves, mint and dill.

Drizzle with olive oil (optional).

Pulse on low until cucumber mixture is pureed.

In a medium bowl, gently combine the cucumber puree, salt and pepper into the yogurt.

Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to mix.

Preheat oven to 440 F (I know, it’s a little odd, but it’s the perfect temp).

Choose a baking pan with sides so that the liquid does not roll off the pan during baking. A cookie sheet does not work for this recipe.

Spray the pan with cooking spray.

Put all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Generously season with salt and pepper. Toss to evenly distribute. Pour into baking pan.

Bake for 40 minutes. When the top has formed a golden brown crust, stir the potatoes to bring the white underside to the top.

If all of the liquids have been absorbed and pan is looking dry, add ½ c water.

Return to the oven for another 40 minutes. Don’t be afraid of overcooking these- it may seem like a long time, but they are delicious and the cooking time is correct.

Brown meat in large skillet over med high heat.

Add chopped onions, green bell pepper, celery and mushrooms. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add in tomatoes, tomato sauce, sweet pickle juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

Cook over medium heat in skillet for one hour.

In large casserole dish layer cooked noodles, cream of mushroom soup, simmered meat sauce and shredded cheese.

Either freeze at this point or bake in a preheated 350 oven for 40 minutes.

Over med high heat, heat oil in large kettle. Add chicken pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook over med high heat until chicken is browned. Transfer chicken to plate.

To same kettle, add onion, curry powder, ginger, garlic, jalapeno and red pepper flakes. Continue to sauté over med high heat for 3 minutes.

Stir in chicken stock, tomatoes, and cilantro. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes.

Ladle out about 2 cups of hot broth. Set aside.

In a different smaller saucepan, melt butter over med high heat. Add flour and whisk over med high heat until smooth and bubbly, making a roux (pronounced ROO). Gradually add the ladled broth, continually whisking. Simmer and whisk for an additional minute. Remove from heat.

Add flour/broth mixture back to soup kettle. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and spinach. Remove from heat. Cover for 5 minutes. Stir.

Serve in a bowl over steamed rice.

First, enjoy a glass of wine.

Preheat oven to 375. Wash chicken and pat dry.

Put chopped ingredients in the bottom of a large, heavy pot that can be placed in the oven.

Place chicken on top of chopped vegetables, sprinkle with salt, Herbs de Provence, and freshly ground black pepper.

Add water and wine.

Cover, bake 2 hours.

Remove chicken and vegetables from pot.

Stir cornstarch into hot water and whisk into the hot broth. Whisk until all white lumps are gone.

Cover. Return to oven for 8 more minutes to thicken gravy.

Boil the potatoes in water seasoned with 1 T salt. Boil until the potatoes are just tender enough to pierce with a fork. You don’t want to overcook the potatoes or they will be mushy.

Drain the potatoes and allow to cool. At this point you can either wrap them and place in the fridge for later use or slice to prepare now. Do not slice the potatoes and then refrigerate or they will become dry. When ready to prepare the dish, slice the potatoes into 1/8” (.25-.3 cm) slices and then slice into quarters. Set aside.

In a small bowl, add eggs, kosher salt, prepared mustard, sugar, vinegar and cayenne pepper. Whisk together until well mixed.

Peel the onion, cut it in half, and then cut thin slices (thinner then than the potato slices) from each half. Set aside.

Heat your skillet over medium/medium high heat while you dice the bacon. Add the bacon to the heated skillet and cook until the pieces are evenly browned and crispy, being careful to stir often as not to burn the pieces.

When the bacon pieces are fully cooked, add the egg mixture into the hot pan with the bacon and bacon grease, continuing to cook and stir until the mixture is thickened like a salad dressing.

Add in the cooked potatoes and sliced onions. Gently mix.

Serve hot.

Add the fresh basil (leaves only, no stems), garlic cloves, pine nuts, parmesan, salt and pepper to food processor.

Pulse on low until everything is well mixed, drizzling with olive oil while blending.

The pesto will last a few days in the refrigerator or can be frozen for later use. I always make a triple batch and then spread the pesto into ice cubes trays for easy use. Freeze the pesto and pop the cubes out into bags that can be vacuum sealed. They will last this way in the freezer for one year.

Place your packaged spices (I’ve included a photo of the packaging in case you’re not sure what I mean…they are in the refrigerated produce section) and all of the other ingredients into a 16-20 quart stock pot.

Add 6 quarts of water. Bring to a boil.

Simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours.

Strain the entire pot with contents through a colander. Discard the solids (you may want to use the chicken in another recipe)

Chill the stock in the refrigerator overnight. Skim off the fat on the surface and discard it. Divide into 2 cup containers and freeze for up to three months or use immediately.

Rinse the uncooked rice well in a colander. Allow to drain well.

Place all ingredients in the rice tray insert of your vegetable steamer.

Stir to combine. The mixture should look like a cream soup if mixed well.

Steam for 50 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Combine all the ingredients (you may also want to double or triple the recipe to give as gifts).

Store in glass jars or airtight containers.

For the maximum shelf life (easily two years), measure into serving size portions and vacuum seal each package. When I make tacos I always use 2 pounds of meat, so I portion out my seasoning mix into 6 Tablespoon size packets. This way I don’t have to measure anything when I’m preparing dinner.

Any extra cooked and seasoned meat can be used for taco salad, breakfast quesadillas or frozen for later use.

Heat chicken stock in a small kettle or in a microwave safe bowl until it begins to gently boil.

Remove from heat. Stir in taco seasoning. Mix until the spices are dissolved in the broth.

Place chicken breasts in crock pot.

Pour seasoned chicken stock over chicken breasts.

Cover. Cook on low for 6-7 hours. Do not lift the lid during cooking. It will interfere with the timing and cause chicken to take longer to cook.

After the chicken is done, shred the chicken breasts with two forks, by pulling the meat apart. The meat should be very tender and break apart easily. If it does not, it is not done and needs to cook longer.

In a large kettle, bring 4 quarts water and 2 T salt to a rolling boil. Add macaroni and continue to boil, stirring occasionally, for 9 minutes. Drain pasta but do not rinse.

In the same kettle, melt butter over med-hi heat. Whisk in flour, ½ tsp kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne, garlic salt and vanilla. Continue to cook, continually whisking, for 2 minutes or until the mixture is smooth.

Slowly pour in the milk and half & half. Cook, whisking continually for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is thickened. You may need to reduce the heat to med after 4 minutes of cooking if the mixture is at a hard boil. You want to allow it to reach a gentle, slow boil. Continual whisking is important to eliminate lumps.

Remove from heat. Stir in 2 (8 oz pkg) shredded medium cheddar. Continue stirring until cheese is melted.

Mix the cooked pasta, cheese sauce nd raw broccoli florets together. Pour into a 13x9 casserole dish that has been sprayed with Pam.

Top with 1 (8 oz) pkg shredded sharp cheddar and ¼ c breadcrumbs.

Bake in preheated 350 oven for 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

In a medium bowl, stir the graham crackers and melted butter together until evenly combined. Pour the graham cracker mixture into a 13x9 pan. Press down firmly on the crust mixture with the bottom of a smooth glass to compact the crumbs. Bake at 350 for 5 min. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in the cool whip. Continue to beat until everything is mixed well.

Pour the cream cheese/cool whip mixture on top of the graham cracker crust. Smooth over the top with a spatula.

Top with pie filling. Cover. Chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving.

Slice the berries into ¼ - ½” slices. Set aside 1/3 of the berries.

Place the remaining 2/3 of the berries in a medium saucepan with the sugar and vanilla. Heat over med high heat and cook, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Remove pan from the heat. Mash the berries with a hand held potato masher…or for a smoother consistency, place the mixture in a blender and puree.

Once you have mashed the warm berries, pour them into a bowl. Fold in the remaining 1/3 berries that have not been cooked.

Allow to cool in refrigerator before using as a topping.

Place all of the ingredients except the chicken wings in a blender. Combine on low speed until sauce is thoroughly mixed.

Place chicken wings in large zip lock bag and pour in sauce. Marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350.

Pour wings and sauce into a 9x13 pan. Bake 60 minutes, flipping once during baking. If you are using full size chicken wings, bake an additional 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375

Mix together cheese, spinach, and artichoke hearts

Mix sour cream, cream cheese and mayonnaise in a separate bowl.

Combine all ingredients together

Bake for 25 minutes

Serve warm

Add the fresh basil (leaves only, no stems), garlic cloves, pine nuts, parmesan, salt and pepper to food processor.

Pulse until everything is well mixed, drizzling with olive oil while blending. The pesto will last a few days in the refrigerator or can be frozen for later use.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. I prefer to mix my meatballs by hand to get an even distribution of flavors without over mixing.

Roll meatballs to 1 ½” in diameter. Use a small ice cream scooper for size consistency.

Place meatballs on cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through. Be careful not to overcook the meatballs as they will be heated through again in whatever sauce you prefer.

Remove to a plate and cool. At this point the meatballs may be frozen for later use (vacuum sealer recommended) or used in appetizers, spaghetti sauce, sandwiches, pizza, etc.

Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. I prefer to use softened butter for this, but butter flavor cooking spray works well too. The key is to make sure the pan is well coated so the French toast and topping don’t stick.

Slice bread into 1 ½ inch slices. Arrange them in the baking dish, making sure the edges are pressed together firmly. Squeeze in as many pieces as you can.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, half and half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Beat until well blended.

Pour mixture over bread slices making sure they are evenly covered.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl (softened butter, brown sugar, nuts, corn syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg). Stir well. Spread over bread slices.

Cover baking dish with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning…preheat oven to 350.

Remove foil. Bake for 45 minutes until the French Toast is golden brown.

The day before:

Cook rice using a rice cooker or vegetable steamer (2 cups rice, 1 c vegetable stock, 1 c water). Do not add more liquid. The rice is intended to be a bit crunchy. When finished, spread rice on a cookie sheet and cool in the freezer until individual grains break apart. Store in the refrigerator overnight in a zip lock bag

The next day:

Grill your pork loin and cut into small cubes.

Heat 2 T oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add eggs and scramble until cooked. Add pork and peas and fry for an additional minute to heat through. Remove from skillet. Wipe out skillet with paper towel. No residue should remain.

Add 3 T oil to skillet and again heat over high heat until very hot. Add cold rice and stir evenly to coat each grain.

Add chicken stock to the rice, a little bit at a time until the rice soaks up the liquid. Continue to stir fry for a bit. Add chopped up egg, pork and peas. Mix well. Add salt and soy sauce to season.

Even though the soy sauce is salty, adding actual salt to the recipe enhances the flavor.