PUMPKIN BARS

Here is Anna's Favorite!! I got this recipe off ALLRECIPES.COM years ago, and the pan is gone in a day. We make this one almost every week during the fall and winter.

*now the gals that I used to work with always made theirs with cream cheese frosting...but we eat it without frosting. The kids eat it plain, and I eat mine with a bit of butter. (watching too much Paula Deen I guess)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

375 degrees

Grease a jelly roll pan, can also use a 9x13 pan.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*you can also use chocolate chips or walnuts.

*sometimes I put nuts just on one half...One half for kids, one half for Dad

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Just in case you want to try...it is a good frosting for other cakes and cookies. It is kinda my standard frosting. Everyone likes it but me...I don't really like frosting :) LOL

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

mix well with mixer on high speed. You can add food coloring to color it, or add milk to thin it down too.

AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD....EXTRAS

Martha Mooneyham just gave me another bread starter, well she actually gave me 4 of them. I decided to make a ton of bread and freeze it. I will probably freeze some starter and experiment a bit when the weather is cooler too.

Here are the EXTRAS: Martha suggested substituting different puddings in the recipe. It calls for vanilla, which I have used faithfully for years....but I never thought about any other flavor...until now.

Tonight we made Chocolate with Chocolate Chips

Butterscotch with Butterscotch Chips

Regular Vanilla with Cinnamon and Walnuts

Boy did they turn out good, even the butterscotch one was great (and I don't like butterscotch)

I want to do a banana cream pudding on the next batch...which will be in 10 days!!

POTATO SOUP

This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE SOUP...better than chilli, better than chicken noodle, better than Cheddar's Cheese Soup...well maybe not...but it is HOMEMADE!!!!!


You can always get pretty good tasting Potato Soup when at a restaurant, but nothing tastes like this!!!


I got this recipe from a dear friend at Dr. Kindred's office. Her husband was a cook for Methodist for 35 years. He always made their soups from scratch. I had never even heard of a roux until they gave me this recipe.



Start with 2 quarts water
Throw in a palm full of wyler's chicken boullion ( only use the Granules...I don't know how they do it, but the granules taste better than the cubes )
*if using the cubes, I would start with 3, then add more to taste :)

dice up 3 celery ribs
dice 4-6 medium potatoes
throw into the water, boil for 10 minutes

While this is starting to boil, get your roux ready:
1 stick of real butter (not margarine)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 package bacon bits (use only real bacon bits and I only use Oscar Mayer in the yellow pack)

microwave stick of butter until soft and melty, add the flour and mix well, then add the bacon. drop by spoonfuls into the boiling soup pot, and stir immediately (you don't want dumplins!!)

stir constantly until mixture starts to thicken up, quickly add 1/4 cup grated Parm Cheese and then slowly add 1 quart milk (skim is fine too)

Turn off the heat once it is desired consistency. I like mine pretty thick, and it should be pretty thick at this point. If you want it thinner, add more milk. You can also add more cheese (both parm or cheddar if you wish) Then dump in 1 package of shredded cheddar cheese. I use the whole bag and stir well. Make sure the heat is off, otherwise the cheese will stick to the bottom of the pan and make the soup tast burnt. ( I have done this...it is not good )

Eat instantly, or refrigerate immediately.

This is a good crock pot soup, but only on LOW heat....once again, the cheese will burn. Also use the microwave to reheat it, not the stove top...otherwise, you guessed it!! burnt cheese :(

*funny thing about this soup, it turns out a different color each time I make it !!! I think it is the potatoes...I usually don't buy the same brand, and sometimes I use garden potatoes...so it may look like cheddar cheese soup, or it may look yellowish like chicken noodle soup. Either way, it always tastes good!!

*this makes a large pot, so it is good for giving away, or taking to a cookout.

*this is my standard soup that I make for others, and for get-togethers at our house, chances are, you have already tasted it!!! (and hopefully love it)



See the little flecks of color?? Soo pretty :)

* if you are out of celery (as I am most of the time) you can omit it and it STILL tastes great!!

In fact, I have made it more with out celery, than with...

LAYERED TACO DIP

Wanda gave me this recipe when Wes and I got married. It is so good, and always is a hit at parties!!

I am making this one for a cookout on Friday:

LAYERED TACO DIP:


1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can refried bean dip
1 container sour cream
1 large tomato, chopped
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/2 package shredded Cheddar cheese


Spread the beans on your serving platter.
In a bowl mix the taco seasoning mix and sour cream.
Spread evenly on top of the bean dip.
Top with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and green onions.

Serve with Doritoes!! We like the original Doritoes best with this dip....

**This dip can be made up the night before too!!

**If you cannot find refried bean dip, you can use a can of refried beans too, the seasoned ones are pretty much the same as the can of dip....

ELAINE'S ~CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BROWNIES~

While in Wally World the other day, we came across some expensive brownie mix...it was called Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies. I could just not bring myself to spend 5.00 on a packaged mix, and I said, we could totally make it ourselves!! Elaine ran off to find a tube of cookie dough, and I got the plain brownie mix that was on sale.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BROWNIES:

1 package brownie mix---prepare according to directions. (Elaine chose the cake like recipe)
1 package refrigerated cookie dough.

Break open and spoon out small "pinches" of the cookie dough. Sprinkle over the top of the brownie batter in the baking dish. Stick in a knife and snake it through the mixture. This will coat the cookie pieces with brownie mix and prevent them from getting too brown on top.

Bake according to brownie box...test with clean knife in the middle...cool and eat!!!

This pan of brownies lasted about 3 hours.

*the best part is, you only use 1/2 tube of cookie dough...that is enough to make 2 pans of brownies!!

Vegetarian Vegetable Soup

This one is full of fresh ingredients from the garden again.

I crushed ALOT of tomatoes, removing as many seeds as possible.
I cooked this on the stove for an hour. Strain to remove cooked skins.

Add fresh new potatoes (quartered), fresh green beans, 1 can of corn, diced carrots and onion. Cook down for another hour or two on low...We think it tastes better on the second day. Serve with Grilled cheese and crackers.

This is a great soup for winter...I have frozen this before too.

A New One: Stuffed Tomatoes

We are just swimming with tomatoes this summer, thanks to PaPa's garden. I was experimenting this week and fell into a great new recipe. This was surprisingly good!


a few medium tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/2 can of corn
handful of croutons, crushed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease a baking dish, I used glass

Cut the top off of the tomato and scoop out the seeds.
Dice pepper, add with the cheese, corn and egg. Mix it all together, then spoon an equal amount of mixture into each hollowed out tomato. Sprinkle top with crushed croutons. Bake 25 minutes.

This is ALMOST vegetarian...which is why I liked it...