Cheryl's Prime Rib

standing rib roast with bones* attached, allow 1 rib for 2 people (10 lb roast fed 8 people + leftovers)
salt
coarse ground pepper
4-6 cloves garlic
Adolph's meat tenderizer
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
McCormick's Au Jus gravy mix, follow directions on pkg.
1 T. horseradish sauce
1/2 - 1c. sour cream
1/2 c. water

Purchase rib roast 6-7 days before you'll be cooking it to allow it to age in your refrigerator. On the day it will be cooked, remove from refrigerator 2 hours early to let it come to room temperature. Salting the roast before it stands out for 2 hours will release the juices. Season with Adolph's on all sides. Use 4-6 cloves of fresh pressed garlic, mixed into softened butter. Smear the garlic butter VERY liberally over all sides of roast. Then, salt VERY liberally and last coat VERY liberally with coarse pepper. Place a metal meat thermometer in the center of the roast, not touching any bones. Place in metal cake pan or disposable pan on cookie sheet, with bones side down. Do not remove fat. Add water to bottom of pan. Do not cover. Place pan in the center of the oven (You may start it out on a higher rack to crisp the top, but then lower rack to center) Bake at 325 for 20 minutes per pound of roast or until the center reaches 128 degrees (see tips below). I cooked a 6 lb roast for 2 hours. (my meat thermometer only went down to 140 so I just gauged it) Bring the roast out of the oven and tent with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. The roast will continue to cook. When it reaches 132 degrees in the middle it should be medium rare. Cut across the grain, 1/2" thick, or the meat will be tough, to serve. (Allowing meat to rest under foil seals the juices back into the roast and keeps it from being chewy.) This is a very easy thing to fix and so yummy! The grocery stores usually run them on sale for $6.99/lb at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Make au jus gravy and horseradish sauce to serve with roast. Combine horseradish sauce with sour cream until desired taste and consistency. {I don't usually eat horseradish or sour cream but this dip does compliment the roast. I don't usually want any kind of gravy with prime rib either, but a bite of the eat dipped in the horseradish dip and then the gravy does taste good together.}

*Bone in ribs are more flavorful and cook better.

Other tips/options:
**Rub with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Cook at 500 for 5 min/lb for rare, 6 min/lb for medium. Turn oven off and let rest inside for 2 hours without opening the door. 
**115-120 degrees for rare; 125-130 for medium rare; 135-140 for medium; 145-150 for medium well. The meat temp will continue to rise 5-10 degrees while it is resting out of the oven. Don't over cook it.
**Michael Simon's recipe: Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Place in oven at the highest temperature. Cook for 1/2 hour. Turn off oven. Allow roast to rest in oven for 3 hours. Turn oven back on for 1/2 hour until roast temperature reaches 145. Remove from oven and rest it for 30 minutes before carving. Tastes just like a fine restaurant.

1st picture is before cooking. 2nd picture is after cooking. 3rd picture is ready to eat!

Apple Slab Pie

1 box refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box
1 c. sugar
3 T. flour
1 t. ground cinnamon*
1/4 t. ground nutmeg*
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 T. lemon juice
9 c. thinly sliced apples, I used honeycrisp or fuji, I left the peeling on
Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
2 T. milk

Heat oven to 450. Remove pie crusts from sleeves and unroll. Stack one on top of the other and roll out to a 17x12" rectangle. Place in 15x10x1" jelly roll pan. Press into corners. Fold extra pastry under, even with the edges of pan. Crimp edges. Combine sugar, flour cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & lemon juice. (*may use 1 1/4 t. apple pie spice instead, if desired) Stir in apples to coat. Spoon apple mixture into pan. Bake 33-38 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Cool 45 minutes. Combine powdered sugar and milk until well blended. Drizzle over pie. Allow glaze to set before serving, about 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream. 1st picture before glaze added. 2nd picture with glaze.

Ella's Candied Pecans

1 c. sugar
dash of salt
2 stiffly beaten egg whites
1 stick of butter
2 c. pecans, halved, or 1 1/2 c. almonds, or 1 1/2 c. walnuts

Melt butter in jelly roll pan. Combine sugar, salt, and egg whites. Fold in nuts. Spread over butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until coated. These are so yummy!

Meltaway Cookies

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. cornstarch
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1 c. plain flour
Glaze:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
3-4 T. milk
1/4 t. vanilla or almond extract
sprinkles or nonpareils, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter with sugar a and cornstarch. Add vanilla. Mix well. Combine salt and flour. Add to batter. Mix until dough clumps together. Scoop cookie dough onto silicone lined baking sheets. (You can use parchment paper if you don't have silicone liners.) Flatten dough balls with the bottom of a glass dipped in powdered sugar. Bake 8-12 minutes until set. Do NOT overbake. Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and extract until desired consistency. Add extra milk, 1 t. at a time if needed. Keep the glaze slightly thick. Spoon on top of cooled cookies. Add sprinkles on top of glaze while wet. Allow glaze to harden. Store in airtight container.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

1 1/2 stick butter, room temperature
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 c. SR flour
1/4 t. salt (to enhance flavor)
1 c. chocolate chips
8 oz. caramels, or caramel bits
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 t. coarse grain salt, optional

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add vanilla. Add egg. Add flour and salt. Add chocolate chips. Press 1/2 of mixture into bottom of greased 8" baking pan. Melt caramels in cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Pour on top of batter. Top with coarse salt. Add remaining batter. Bake at 350 degrees about 15-20 minutes until the sides are lightly browned and the caramel is bubbling. Remove from oven to cool before slicing. Enjoy!

Crab and Shrimp Seafood Bisque

3 T. butter
2 T. chopped onion
3 T. chopped celery
3 T. flour
2 1/2 c. milk
1/2 t. pepper
1 T. tomato paste
1 c. heavy whipping cream
8 oz. crab meat
8 oz. cooked shrimp, or other seafood (scallops, lobster, or firm fish)
2 T. cooking wine
8 oz. sliced mushrooms. drained
salt & pepper to taste

Combine first 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Add shrimp, crab, and mushrooms. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in wine, salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes longer. Top with onion slices if desired. Makes 2 1/2 qts. (10 servings)

Cranberry Pecan Spread

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 c. craisins or dried cranberries
1/3 c. syrup, I used Mrs. Buttersworth
1/4 c. chopped pecans, optional

In a medium size bowl, combine cream cheese and syrup. Add craisins and pecans. Cover and chill for several hours. Makes 1 1/2 c. Serve with cranberry orange bread, bagels, english muffins, crackers, or as a dip for fruit.

Cranberry Orange Bread

3 sticks butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. orange juice
1 c. sour cream
2 T. orange zest
2 t. vanilla or orange extract
4 c. SR flour
1 1/2 c. dried cranberries or craisins
Glaze
2 c. powdered sugar
6-8 T. grand marnier, or orange juice
OR
cranberry pecan spread (separate recipe)

Preheat oven to 330 degrees. Spray two loaf pans, or mini loaf pans, unless using disposable ones. Combine butter and sugar with mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add orange juice, sour cream, zest, and vanilla. Mix until blended. Add flour, 1 c. at a time. Add craisins. Mix until absorbed, but don't overmix. Divide batter evenly into pans. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, 60-65 minutes for large loaf pans, or 45-50 minutes for mini loaves (Less time if you're not going to be using the glaze, it makes it too dry otherwise). In a small bowl, whisk together 6 T. grand marnier or orange juice and powdered sugar. The glaze should have the consistency of thick syrup. If it is too thick, add more juice. Let loaves cool 10 minutes, then remove from pans and invert onto plate or cookie sheet. Poke holes deep into the top of the loaves and drizzle the glaze on top, allowing to run down the sides and into holes. Cool completely. Slice and serve or wrap and freeze.

Jello Jigglers

2 1/2 c. boiling water
2, 6 oz. pkgs any flavor jello

Pour boiling water over jello in small boil, or just add jello to pan of water. Stir until dissolved. Do NOT add cold water or ice. Pour into 9x13 pan. refrigerate 3 hours until firm. Dip bottom of pan in warm water for 15 seconds. Cut jello into 1" squares with sharp knife or into shapes with cookie cutters (or use jello molds). Fun treats for kids and adults.

Chocolate Cherry Jigglers

1 c. boiling water
6 oz. pkg jello
1/2 c. ice cubes
12 maraschino cherries
12 oreo cookies

Line 12 muffin pan cups with paper liners. Spray with cooking spray. Add boiling water to jello in small bowl. Stir 2 minutes until dissolved. Add ice. Stir until melted. Spoon into prepared cups. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Add 1 cherry to each cup. Top each with 1 cookie. Refrigerate 1 hour until firm. Gently peel off paper liners. Invert onto dessert plates to serve. Nice treat for kids.

Mary's Chili Bake

2 T. shortening (I used oil)
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1-2 lbs ground beef
2 1/2 c. diced tomatoes (I used 2 cans Del Monte's zesty chili tomatoes)
1 c. kidney beans, undrained (I used 1 can chili magic medium campfire beans)
2 t. salt 

1 1/2 t. chili powder
1/4 t. pepper

Topping:

1 egg beaten
3 T. melted shortening (I used oil)
1/2 c. milk
1 t. sugar
1 c. self-rising cornmeal
1/2 c. self-rising flour

For chili base: Melt shortening in large skillet. Brown onion, pepper and beef. Pour off grease and rinse. Drain off 1/2 c. juice from tomatoes. Add the rest of the tomatoes and juice, kidney beans, salt, chili powder, and pepper to skillet. Mix well. Pour into sprayed 9x13 casserole dish, or large cast iron skillet. Top with cornbread topping and bake at 400 for 25 minutes, until cornbread is done.

For cornbread topping: Add melted shortening and milk to egg. Stir in sugar, cornmeal, and flour. Drop by spoonfuls on top of chili. The cornbread topping will be stiff and not cover the entire filling. Bake as directed above.

The dish I used was a little too small so that's why the picture looks like this. The chili bubbled up and over the top of the cornbread. Still tasty though. I made it again in a 9x13 and the cornbread didn't cover all of it, may need to double the batch if everyone loves cornbread.

1st picture: made in smaller dish, 2nd picture: meat mixture in 9x13 dish, before cornbread added. 3rd picture: after cornbread added and baked. 4th picture: ready to eat. I served it with a Caesar salad.

Breakfast Lasagna

16 slices of bread, crusts removed
thin sliced American cheese
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 t. dry mustard
1/2 t. onion salt
1/2-1 lb thin sliced ham, chopped
2 c. corn flakes, crushed
8 eggs
2 c. milk
Tabasco, to taste

Combine eggs, milk, dash of Tabasco, mustard, and salt. Generously spray 9x13 glass dish  Layer bottom of dish with 8 slices of bread. Layer ham and cheese. Repeat layers. Pour egg mixture over top. Cover. Refrigerate overnight. Let set out 20-30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle crushed corn flakes on top. Drizzle melted butter over top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with hash browns, fresh fruit, grits, etc...

Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Bars

1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 T. red food coloring
1/3 c. cocoa powder
2 c. SR flour
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 c. butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 c. powdered sugar*
1 t. vanilla
red and green sugar sprinkles
red and green mini m&m's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together for 4 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, & red food coloring until combined. Add cocoa and flour. Stir to blend. Spread evenly in sprayed 9x13 pan. Bake 20-23 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool. While cake is cooling, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar. Stir in vanilla. Chill 5 minutes. Spread on cooled bars and garnish with sprinkles and M&M's if desired. Cut into squares. Yum!

*My husband thought they were too sweet so you may need to use less sugar. I thought they tasted great!

1st picture: cooked bars, not cooled yet. 2nd picture: iced and decorated. 3rd picture: ready to eat! So festive for Christmas.