Mini Meat Pies

Nadine's husband, Travis, finds these mini meat pies romantic because they a) can be made ahead, b) do not need dishes or utensils, and c) are easy.

Mini Meat Pies
by Nadine Bailey

1 pound ground beef
3 potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon Wocestershire sauce

1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 bag frozen peas and carrots

Dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

1 cup shortening

¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

¾ cup evaporated milk

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

In a skillet over medium heat, cook beef until no longer pink; drain. In another pan, cook potatoes in about ½ to 1 cup water, until potatoes are tender. Add browned ground beef and seasonings, mix well. Stir in frozen veggies. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, combine flour, sesame seeds (if desired) and salt. Cut in shortening and cheese until crumbly. Combine milk and vinegar; gradually add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide dough in half; roll out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutter (round or heart, etc.) Place half the circles 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Top each with about 1 ½ tablespoons of beef mixture; cover with remaining circles. Press edges together and seal with a fork. Cut a slit in the top of each.

Bake at 425 for 12-16 mintues or until golden brown. Serve immediately or cool, wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Yield: 1 ½ dozen.

To use frozen meat pies: Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 14-16 minutes or until heated through.

Marshmallow Fondant

Rolled Marshmallow Fondant
by Nadine Bailey

This simple fondant recipe uses ingredients which are probably already in your pantry. It's softer than our standard fondant recipe with a very sweet taste that kids love.
Ingredients:
1 package (16 ounces) white mini marshmallows (use a good quality brand)
2-5 tablespoons water
2 pounds (about 8 cups) sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
Makes: About 2 pounds marshmallow fondant.

Instructions
To make marshmallow fondant, place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds on high; stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving 30 seconds more; stir again. Continue until melted (about 2 1/2 minutes).
Place 3/4 of the confectioners' sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture. Fold sugar into marshmallow mixture. Flavoring can be added at this point if desired. Place solid vegetable shortening in easily accessed bowl so you can reach into it with fingers as you are working. Grease hands and counter GENEROUSLY; turn marshmallow mixture onto counter. Start kneading like you would dough. Continue kneading, adding additional confectioners' sugar and re-greasing hands and counter so the fondant doesn't stick. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry; add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time) kneading until fondant forms a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing, about 8 minutes.
It's best to allow Marshmallow Fondant to sit, double-wrapped, overnight. Prepare the fondant for storing by coating with a thin layer of solid vegetable shortening, wrap in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Marshmallow Fondant will keep well in refrigerator for several weeks.
When not working with fondant, make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or in a bag to prevent it from drying out. When ready to use, knead fondant until smooth. Roll out fondant 1/8 in. thick.
To color fondant: If you need to tint the entire batch of fondant, add a little icing color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding confectioners' sugar. For smaller amounts of tinted fondant, add icing color to portions of fondant as needed.

Conversation Heart Cookies

Conversation Heart Cookies
by Nadine Bailey

Cookie Dough
1 cup unbleached all purpsoe flour
¾ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks, or 12 tablespoons) BUTTER, do not substitute with margarine
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Buttercream Frosting
4 tablespoons ( ½ stick) BUTTER
1-2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*optional: for chocolate, reduce powdered sugar by ½ cup 1/3 cup cocoa powder

Rolled Fondant (can be bought or homemade)[Editor's Note: She used Marshmallow Fondant, recipe above.]

Heat oven to 300. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In medium bowl, sift flours, cornstarch, baking powder and salt and set aside (I place all in a bowl and use a wisk to mix them together). In a large bowl use an electric mixer on medium to beat the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and lightened slightly in color. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing. Mix in the flour mixture just until the flour is incorporated and a smooth dough forms. (I have added a small amount of milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough doesn’t clump to form a smooth ball).

Mold into a ball and chill for 1 hour (or 20-30 min in the freezer). Dust workspace with a mix of equal amounts of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Roll dough out to ¼ inch thickness. Use heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies and place on parchment paper.

Bake at 300 for 20-30 minutes (depending on size of cookie- they should look a little underdone, but lightly brown on the bottom). Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

While cooking and cooling cookies, make buttercream frosting. Place some white in an icing bag with small round tip (#3 or #4). Using red gel coloring, make some frosting bright pink and place in a piping bag with tip #1 (smallest round tip).

Make fondant colors as desired. Roll fondant out on shortening-greased work space to 1/8-inch thickness. Using same cookie cutter as used for cookies, cut out heart shapes. Pipe an outline of buttercream frosting on the cooled cookie, place cut fondant on top. Dust with dusting powder (equal mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar) and smooth with fondant smoother or fingers (*caution- watch out for cookie crumbs!)

Using bright pink frosting with small round tip (#1), pipet different sayings on hearts. Examples: smile, cutie, Hi!, Bye-Bye, Friend, Call Me, Sweetie, Hello, Cool, Smile, Be Mine, Love, an so on.

Allow frosting to set (about 2 hours). Store tightly covered at room teperature for up to 5 days.

Cheesecake

Cheesecake by Melissa Corry
3 STEP CHEESECAKE
2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust
MIX cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix until blended.
POUR into crust.
BAKE at 350 for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours.

VARIATIONS:
Chocolate Lovers Cheesecake – Melt 4 squares of semi-sweet chocolate. Blend with cream cheese mixture after the eggs have been blended.
Luscious Lemon Cheesecake – Add 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice and ½ teaspoon grated lemon peel with the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake – Add 1/3 cup of peanut butter with the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. After blending eggs stir in ¾ cup of mini chocolate chips.
Pumpkin Layer Cheesecake – After batter is completed set 1 cup aside. Pour remaining into crust. Add ½ cup canned pumpkin, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, a dash of cloves, and a dash of nutmeg to the 1 cup of batter. Stir. Pour over cream cheese batter.
Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake – After pouring batter into crust dot top of cheesecake with 3 tbsp of melted raspberry preserves. Cut through batter with knife for marble effect.
White Chocolate Almond Cheesecake – Add 4 squares of chopped white baking chocolate to mixture. Pour into crust. Sprinkle top with ½ cup chopped almonds and 2 more squares of chopped white baking chocolate.
Fruit Topped Cheesecake – After cheesecake has been refrigerated top with 2 cups of sliced fresh fruit and drizzle with 2 tbsp of heated strawberry jelly.
Toffee Crunch Cheesecake – After blending eggs stir in ¾ cup of chopped toffee bars. Pour into crust and then sprinkle top with ¼ cup of chopped toffee bars.
White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake – Stir in 3 squares of melted white baking chocolate with cream cheese mixture. Pour into crust. Microwave 3 tbsp of raspberry preserves till melted. Dot top of cheesecake with jam and cut with knife for swirl effect.
Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake – After pouring batter into crust dot top of cheesecake with 4 tbsp of melted chocolate chips. Cut through batter with knife for marble effect.
Snickers Cheesecake – After blending eggs stir in ¾ cup of chopped snickers bars. Pour into crust and then sprinkle top with ¼ cup of chopped snickers bars.
Peanut Butter Passion Cheesecake – Add 1/3 cup of peanut butter with the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. After blending eggs stir in ¾ cup of chopped peanut butter cups. Pour into crust and then sprinkle top with ¼ cup of chopped peanut butter cups.

AUTUMN CHEESECAKE
CRUST
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup finely chopped pecans
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
3 tablespoons sugar

FILLING
2 packages, 8oz, cream cheese
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

TOPPING
1/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups sliced peeled apples
¼ cup finely chopped pecans

Crust – MIX crumbs, pecans, sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.
Filling – MIX cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, mixing on low speed just until blended. Pour over crust.
Topping – MIX sugar and cinnamon; toss with apples. Spoon apple mixture over cream cheese layer; sprinkle with pecans. BAKE at 325 for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; Refrigerate for 4 hours. Remove rim from pan and serve.

BROWNIE BOTTOM CHEESECAKE
1 package brownie mix
3 packages cream cheese
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup sour cream
3 eggs
PREPARE and bake brownie mix as directed on package for 9 inch square pan in bottom of well-greased 9-inch springform pan.
MIX cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Blend in sour cream. Add eggs, and blend. Pour over brownie crust.
BAKE at 325 for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; Refrigerate for 4 hours. Remove rim from pan and serve.

Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup
By Nadine Bailey


1 cup dry lentils
1-2 cups dry beans (optional)
1 cup chopped green pepper
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (or 1-2 cubes)
2 teaspoons snipped fresh sage or ½ teaspoon dried sage, crushed
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz fully cooked smoked sausage, quartered lengthwise and sliced
Fresh chopped vegetables (optional)- can include: eggplant, sqash, zuccini, carrots
IF USING BEANS (if you’re just using lentils you can skip this step):
Soak beans: Overnight or Boil in water for 2 minutes, cover with lid and soak for at least 1 hour. Rinse and drain.
Place beans and remaining ingredients in a slow cooker or in pot. Add water until beans are just covered. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours, high 4-6 hours, until beans are soft.
If using stove top, after adding all ingredients cover with 6-8 cups of water for every cup of lentils; Cover and cook on medium heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce heat and stir every 5 minutes or so to prevent from burning. Cook until lentils (and beans) are soft, ~ 1 hour.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli Cheddar Soup
By Kelly Galbraith


1 1/2 C Chicken broth
1/2 C chopped onion
1/2 C. chopped celery
1/2 C. grated carrots
2 C. chopped broccoli
2TBS butter
2T flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 C. milk
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

In saucepan combine chicken broth, onion, celery, carrots, and broccole. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 mins until veggies are cooked.
In another saucepan (I always just add it to the veggie pot) melt butter. Blend flour and salt and pepper. Add the milk all at once. stir over heat until all flour lumps dissapear and then add veggie mixture. Add cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated and all cheese is melted.. (just a hint the carrots look like cheese...don't be fooled!!) Serves 3 or 4.

(I always double or triple the recipe, and the actual amounts of all things vary every time that I make this, but it is delicious and I have tricked Mike into thinking that it is super heathly.!!!

Bread (to be served with soup)

BREAD DOUGH
by Melissa Corry
2 1/2 cups Warm Water (110 degrees)
1/3 cup Oil
1/3 cup Honey
1 tbsp Yeast
1 tbsp salt
7 cups flour

DIRECTIONS
Place water in mixer. Add oil and honey and blend. (if you put the oil in first and then use the same measuring cup the honey comes out much easier) Add yeast and 1 cup of flour. Blend on low speed. While running add 3 more cups of flour. Continue blending and add salt. Continue blending and add remaining 3 cups of flour. Turn Mixer up one speed and blend for 10 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer and cover with a towel and let rise till bulging out of bowl – about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Refer to what you want to make now.

BREAD
Dump dough onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Cut into two pieces and shape in the size of a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and place a towel over pans. Allow to rise until double in size about an hour. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Brush melted butter on the top of the loaf as soon as you take it out. Enjoy. Makes 2 loafs.

ROLLS
Dump dough onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Cut into two pieces and roll the first piece into a large circle about 16 inches in diameter. Brush melted butter across the surface of the dough. With a pizza cutter cut 12 pieces the same you would a pizza. Starting on the edge of the piece of dough, roll up each piece toward the center to make a crescent shape roll. Place on greased cookie pan or a cookie pan with a liner and make sure to tuck the loose end under. Repeat with other piece of dough. Cover with a towel and let rise until double the size, about an hour. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Brush melted butter on the top of each roll as soon as you take it out. Enjoy. Makes 2 dozen rolls.

PIZZA DOUGH
Dump dough onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Cut into two pieces and roll the first piece into a large circle about 16 inches in diameter. Place on pizza pan and top as you desire. Repeat with second piece. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Sometimes I like to make the crusts a little thinner and leave some dough for breadsticks. Roll remaining dough into snake shapes and place in a glass baking pan with melted butter in the bottom. Allow a little bit of time to rise (I normally bake them after the first pizza is done). Cover with Parmesan Cheese and Seasoning and bake for 15 minutes. I normally just stick it on the top shelf with the second pizza on the bottom shelf. Enjoy!!

SCONES
Dump dough onto very lightly floured surface and punch down. Return to bowl. Tear off a small piece of dough and stretch it in your fingers. Place in a pot of hot oil. Fry for about one minute on each side. You can cook 3 to 4 scones at a time. Serve hot with honey, butter, and powdered sugar. Enjoy!! Makes about 24 scones.

CINNAMON BUNS
Dump dough onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Roll into a large rectangle shape. Make a cinnamon roll mixture by mixing 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, and optional raisins and chopped nuts. Sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting on one end of the dough, roll up into a large cylinder shape. Use a knife to cut cylinder into 12 circles. Place in 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes. This makes 12 very large rolls. You can make medium size ones by making two cylinders or mini’s by making three cylinders. Adjust cooking time accordingly.