Lemon Pound Cake Muffins

I need not say any more than.. you will LOVE these!
I doubled this recipe and it turned out beautifully, so no worries there. :)

1/2 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Lemon extract

1 3/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Salt
1/4 tsp Baking soda
1/2 Sour Cream

Topping:
1/2 Cup Brown sugar
1/3 Cup Flour
1 Tbsp Butter, softened
Handful of nuts *Optional

Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs and extracts, beat well.
Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream.
Put on topping.
Bake at 400 for 18 - 20 minutes.
Makes 1 dozen

~Shannon

Picnic Potato Salad

Everyone who eats Mom's potato salad raves about it. What I don't understand is why they keep on making their own recipe. This is the best potato salad in the world. (Don't worry, if you serve me your own potato salad sometime I will be very gracious and say how tasty it is, but you need to know that inside I will be wondering why you don't just ask Mom for her recipe.)

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3 tbsp. dill pickle juice
1 tbsp. prepared mustard
2 tsp. salt
pinch pepper
8 cups peeled and cubed cooked potatoes
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
4 hard cooked eggs, chopped (Mom uses four, I only use two)

In small bowl, combine mayo, pickle juice, mustard, salt and pepper. In large bowl, combine vegetables, pickles and eggs. Pour dressing over and toss gently until well mixed. Season to taste. Chill at least three hours. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

~ Charmin

Deluxe Cheesecake

This is as deluxe as it gets. It isn't the kind of recipe you make often, but if you love cheesecake it is well worth the effort. The picture is an adaptation that I made for Marty's Roll Over Party: ROLOver Cheesecake. I'll include the instructions at the end. This serves 16 - 20 people, so it's great for a crowd. Begin early in the day or make it the day before - there's a lot of steps.

1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
Grated peel of 1 small lemon

5 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
3 tbsp. flour
2 large egg yolks
Grated peel of 1 small lemon
Fresh fruit brushed with melted jelly (optional)

First prepare pastry dough: in small bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat flour, margarine or butter, sugar, egg yolk, and grated lemon peel until well mixed. Shape dough into ball; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Press one-third of dough onto bottom of 10" by 2 1/2" springform pan; keep remaining dough refrigerated.

Bake crust 8 minutes or until golden; cool in pan on wire rack. Turn oven control to 475°F.

While crust is cooling, prepare filling: in large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese just until smooth; slowly beat in sugar, scraping bowl often with rubber spatula. Add eggs, milk, flour, egg yolks, and lemon peel; beat 5 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.

Press remaining dough around side of pan to within 1 inch of top. Pour cream-cheese mixture into crust.

Bake cheesecake 12 minutes. Turn oven control to 300°F; bake 35 minutes loger. Turn off oven; let cheesecake remain in oven 30 minutes.

Remove cheesecake from oven; cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or until well chilled.

When cheesecake is firm, with spatula, loosen pan side from cheesecake and remove; loosen cake from pan bottom; slide onto serving plate.

If you like, arrange fresh fruit on top of cheesecake and brush with melted jelly.


ROLOver Cheesecake: Omit grated lemon peel in both pastry and filling. After bottom crust is cooled and dough has been pressed around side of pan, arrange 2 circles of mini rolos (buy a 203g package) on the bottom of the crust, the first circle about one inch from the side and the second circle about one inside the first circle. Put 5 or 6 rolos in the center of the crust. Carefully pour cream-cheese mixture over rolos and bake as directed. As soon as cheesecake comes out of the oven (after sitting in warm turned-off oven for 30 minutes) arrange remaining rolos on top of cheesecake. Carefully use your hand to lightly press rolos into top of cheesecake. Cool and chill as directed. After removing sides and bottom of pan, drizzle your favourite caramel sauce over top and serve.

~ Charmin

French Cream Custard Filling

This was the filling for the Canada Day strawberry tarts. I'm not a custard lover, but this is quite yummy. It is also very good as filling for cream puffs.

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. milk
3 egg yolks, beaten slightly
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. heavy cream, whipped

Combine first 4 ingredients in heavy saucepan. Stir in milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and smooth. Add about 1/2 cup of hot mixture to egg yolks, stirring constantly, and stir into hot mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Cool, then chill. Fold in vanilla and whipped cream. Makes about 4 cups.

~ Charmin

Tea Biscuits

Beautiful biscuits every time. These are a must for strawberry shortcake. I rarely have cream of tartar, so I usually just skip it. It doesn't seem to affect the results at all. I have also used half the butter amount when I was running low, and the biscuits are still delicious.

2 cups flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cold
1 cup cold milk

Put first five ingredients in large bowl. Stir thoroughly. Cut in butter until crumbly. Pour in milk. Stir quickly to combine. Dough should be soft. Turn out on lightly floured surface. Knead gently 8 - 10 times. Pat 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick or half the thickness you want the baked product to be. Cut with small round cookie cutter. Place on greased cookie sheet close together for soft sides or apart for crisp sides. Bake in 450°F oven for 12 - 15 minutes. Makes 10. This doubles well!

~ Charmin

Iced Tea

I doubt if any of us make this the same way. I doubt if Shannon makes it at all. Here is my variation; it's the way we like it best. We drink an embarrassing amount of iced tea in the summer.

Bring 6 cups water to boil in large pot. Add 7 tea bags and let steep 15 minutes. Remove tea bags and stir in 3/4 cup white sugar and 1 can frozen lemonade concentrate until sugar and concentrate are dissolved. Add 8 cups water. Chill.

This fits perfectly in the 4 litre Tupperware pitcher (if you don't have one, you should get one) or a 3.78 litre jug from President's Choice. The Tupperware pitcher is much easier to pour!

~ Charmin

Mom's Chicken Pie

I give up trying to remember to get a picture of this casserole before it is empty. It just goes too quickly in this house. It has also disappeared at every pot luck where Mom has served it. Everyone raves about Mom's chicken pie, and after you try it, you'll know why. It's the perfect way to stretch a little bit of leftover cooked chicken.

1/2 recipe for pastry, prepared but not rolled (what you would make for a pie without a top crust)
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup sliced onions
10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
Pinch marjoram
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup cooked vegetables, cut bite size (we prefer potatoes, carrots and a few peas)

In large frying pan heat butter until foamy. Add onions and cook until transparent. Blend in soup, milk and marjoram. Heat thoroughly but do not boil. Arrange chicken and vegetables in 8 inch baking dish or deep pie plate. Pour hot mushroom sauce over top. Cover with prepared pastry. Seal and flute edges. Slit top. Bake at 425°F for 25 minutes.

We double this for our family of 6, bake it in a 9x13" pan, and rarely have leftovers.

~ Charmin

Recipe Index

A new addition: the Recipe Index on the sidebar should make it easier to find what you need! I'll keep working away at it and should have all the recipes sorted in a day two.

~ Charmin