Snickers Salad

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
12 oz. whipped topping, thawed
6 regular size Snickers bars, cut into bite size pieces
4-6 apples, chopped

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar thoroughly. Fold in whipped topping. Add Snickers. Add apples and stir. Chill for 1 hour before serving. *Chilling for a longer period of time or overnight will cause salad to break down and have more liquid inside.

Crockpot Honey Apple Porkloin

4 pound pork loin (not tenderloin)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 t. cinnamon
4 apples sliced in 1/4-1/2" thick slices
2 sweet onions, sliced
1/4 c. honey*

Cut a dozen apple size slits about 3" deep into pork, Rub pork with seasonings. Reserve just enough apple slices to place in pork. Place liner in crockpot. Place apples and onion in bottom of crockpot. Place the apple slices in the pork. Place pork loin on top of apples and onions. Cover with honey*. Place lid on. Cook on low for 5 hours. To serve, carve the pork into slices, serve with apples and onions with liquid after fat has been rendered off. *May use one can whole cranberry sauce if desired, instead of honey. Serve with stuffing, mashed potatoes, or rice.

Crockpot Creamy Ranch Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts
1 tub chive cream cheese
1 can cream of onion soup
1 medium onion, sliced
1 dry pkg ranch dressing
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 c. water
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
chives to taste

Place liner in crockpot. Place chicken in bottom and season with salt & pepper. Place onions on top of chicken. In a bowl, cream together cream cheese, onion soup, ranch pkt, water and seasoning. Pour over chicken and onions. Put lid on. Cook on low 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes, if desired.

Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti

2-3 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream or mushroom soup
1/2 c. chicken broth, optional
1 c. milk
1-2 c. shredded cheese, your choice
1 box angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
garlic salt, to taste
onion powder, to taste
additional veggies, optional

Place liner in crockpot. Place soups and milk in crockpot. Stir until lumps are gone. May add chicken broth is desired. Add chicken breasts. Add garlic salt and onion powder if using. Add lid and cook on low for 7 hours. Cut the chicken into small pieces. Add cooked pasta. Stir well. Top with cheese and put the lid back on until cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Serve with additional veggies or mushrooms if desired.

Caramel Apple Dump Cake with Spiced Whipped Cream

2 cans apple pie filling (or caramel apple if you can find them)
1/4 c. caramel sauce (may omit if using caramel apple filling)
1 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 yellow* cake mix (may need to add another 2/3 c. too make an 18 oz box--original recipe)
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 c. pecans, chopped
1 c. heavy whipping cream
4 T. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
3/4 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 dish. Add pie filling, caramel sauce, lemon juice and cinnamon. Mix together. Sprinkle with dry cake mix. Cover with melted butter and pecans. Bake 35-40 minutes. While cake is baking, whisk whipping cream for 6-8 minutes until peaks form. Whisk in other ingredients. Serve over dump cake with additional caramel sauce and pecans.

*May also use spice cake mix, or butter pecan.

Sandbar Key Lime Pie

2 c. vanilla wafers or golden oreos, finely crushed
2 T. sugar (omit if using oreos)
5 T. butter, melted
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 egg yplks
Eaglebrand milk
3/4 c. cream of coconut
3/4 c. key lime juice
whipped topping, optional

In a large bowl, combine cookie crumbs with butter (& sugar?) Press into 9" deep pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in Eaglebrand milk, cream of coconut, and key lime juice, one ingredient at a time. Pour into cooled crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until center is set to touch, but still jiggles slightly. Allow to cool before refrigerating. Top with whipped topping before serving, if desired. Garnish with lime curls and white chocolate shavings if desired.

Grilled Huli Huli Chicken

1 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. ketchup
3/4 c. reduced sodium soy sauce
1/3 c. cooking sherry or chicken broth
2 1/2 t. fresh ginger, minced
1 1/2 t. garlic, minced
24 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Reserve 1 1/3 c. for basting. Cover and refrigerate. Divide remaining marinade between 2 large ziploc bags. Add 12 chicken thighs to each bag, seal, turn to coat. Refrigerate overnight, or a minimum of 8 hours. Drain and discard marinade from chicken when ready to cook. Grill chicken, covered, on an oiled rack over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Baste occasionally with reserved marinade during last 5 minutes. *May also be cooked in rotisserie oven, or inside oven, if a grill is not available. Yummy!

Karen's Strawberry Cheesecake Lush

1 package golden oreos, (36 cookies) crushed fine
6 T. butter, melted
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
16 oz. whipped topping, thawed, divided
2 pkgs (3.4 oz. each) instant cheesecake pudding mix
3 c. milk
3 1/2 c. sliced strawberries

chopped pecans, optional

Place crumbs in a large bowl and add melted butter. Press into 9x13 dish. Refrigerate while preparing other ingredients. Beat together 1 c. powdered sugar, cream cheese, and 1 c. whipped topping, Spread over cookie layer. Combine pudding mixes, milk, and 1 c. whipped topping. Spread over cream cheese layer. Layer with sliced strawberries and spread remaining whipped topping on top. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Store in refrigerator.

*This can also be made into a Cherry Cheesecake Lush Dessert by just substituting 1 can cherry pie filling for the strawberries. Chopped pecans can also be added to the crushed cookies for the crust. Garnish with more chopped pecans, if desired, before serving.

picture of cherry cheesecake lush

Karen's Pineapple Cake

Cake:
2 c. SR flour
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
20 oz, crushed pineapple in juice
1 t. vanilla
Icing:
1/2 c. butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
16 oz. powdered sugar*
1 t. vanilla

Combine all cake ingredients, including juice from pineapple. Pour in sprayed 9x13 dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until done. Make icing while cake is baking by combining butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar gradually. Add vanilla. Spread over hot cake and cool. Store cake in refrigerator. *If using a full box is too sweet for you, cut it in half or double the cake.

This is a rich cake, but so yummy!

Cheesy Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Step 1:
4 T. butter
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 T. parsley, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
Step 2:
4 large chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)
1 t. onion powder (I used Nature's Seasoning. It has onion, parsley, garlic, salt & pepper inside)
1 t. parsley (I used Nature's Seasoning. It has onion, parsley, garlic, salt & pepper inside)
8 slices mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
salt & pepper to taste (see above notes)
Step 3:
1 T. oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 T. prepared Dijon mustard
2 T. parsley
1 1/2 c. (12 oz. can) evaporated milk
1/2 c. fresh Parmesan, grated
salt & pepper to taste
additional veggies, if desired
1/2 t. Wondra flour mixed with 2 t. water to thicken

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in oven proof pan over medium heat. Add  garlic and saute until fragrant. Add mushrooms, salt, pepper, and parsley. Stir occasionally until soft. Set aside to cool. Prepare chicken by patting dry. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and parsley. Rub into each breast to evenly coat.  Slit through thickest part of each breast to form a pocket. Place 2 slices of mozzarella cheese into each pocket. Divide the mushroom mixture (from step 1) into 4 equal parts and fill each breast. Leave the juices in the pan. Top mushrooms with 1 T. Parmesan cheese per breast. Seal shut with 2-3 toothpicks to keep everything in place while cooking. Heat in same pan. Sear chicken until golden on both sides. Cover and cook in oven for 20 minutes or until no longer pink. Serve with pan juices on top of pasta, rice, quinoa, mashed potatoes, or steamed vegetables. Fry garlic in leftover pan juices for about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low. Add mustard and milk. Bring to a simmer and add any additional veggies (mushrooms, onions, peppers, broccoli, etc...) & Parmesan cheese. Allow cheese to melt slightly. Add Wondra flour mixture to thicken. Season with salt and pepper. Add parsley and chicken back to pan to serve. These were so yummy! The recipe was requested by many in attendance.

I served with a garden salad and fresh fruit.

1st picture is breast with cheese and mushrooms

2nd picture is with filled breast held closed with toothpicks:

3rd picture is after chicken has been baked, just need to add the sauce: 

Adjustments for recipes

Cake mixes used to be 18 oz. but now most of them are 15 oz. Adding 2/3 c. yellow cake mix to any cake mix will add the missing 3 oz. back in your recipe. My grandmother used a lemon cake mix to make her apricot nectar cake, and I use a yellow cake mix for my chocolate chip pound cake. I had wondered why my cakes had not been coming out as well as they had in the past until I realized the cake mixes were a different size. (And you can bet they didn't lower the price when they did that!)

Chocolate chips used to come in 16 oz. bags, but now they are in 12 oz. ones. You will need 2 full c. of chips for recipes. Nestle has also changed the way their chips are made. They don't melt as they used to in recipes that call for the chocolate to be completely melted. I've started buying Walmart brand chocolate chips because they come in a 2 lb. bag and they melt in my recipes.

Soup cans used to be 11 oz but now they are 10 3/4 oz. This can make a big difference in how moist your casserole turns out. To make up the difference, add water to make the soup measure 11 oz, and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli Foil Packs

1 head of  broccoli, cut into florets*
1-2 sweet potatoes, cut into slices*
8 T. water
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 12 tenderloins
1/2 t. thyme
1/4 t. ground rosemary
1/2 t. sage
salt
pepper

Lightly spray large pieces of foil with nonstick spray. Leaving space around the edges to roll later, place the broccoli on each piece. Drizzle 2 T. water over broccoli. Place chicken on top of  broccoli. Place sweet potato slices on top of chicken. Sprinkle remaining ingredients on top of chicken. Fold in sides of foil to cover chicken and place in crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours. Before unfolding, carefully slit the foil to release steam. Unfold and enjoy! Serve with a garden salad.

*I have also used zucchini or squash slices, pepper slices, baby carrots, and Dutch potatoes in this recipe. Most any vegetable will work.

Mary's Coke (Cherry) Salad

4 c. Coke, divided
15 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
2 large cans black bing cherries (dark sweet cherries), drained
1 large pkg. cherry jello
1-2 c. chopped pecans, optional

Heat 2 c. Coke in pan, Add jello. Stir until dissolved. Add 2 c. cold Coke. Add pineapple and cherries. Add nuts if desired. Place in bowl and chill until set. YUMMY!