The first time I had this was at a BBQ party and I just had to have the recipe, since then I have made it many times, all the recipes posted here on the site are favorites, this is another one!

Notes from our test kitchen plan ahead there is a few separate freezing times for this dessert

Servings 9-12

Ingredients:

1 (1-pound) bag regular Oreo sandwich cookies

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (semi-soft, just soft enough to spread)

1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk (or in Canada use one 385-ml can)

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 (8-ounce) container  Cool Whip frozen topping, thawed

Instructions:

Prepare a 13 x 9-inch pan.

In a food processor process the sandwich cookies until finely crushed; mix in the 1/2 cup melted butter.

Reserve 3/4-cup of the cookie crumbs then press the remaining into the bottom of the pan; place into the freezer for about 45 minutes or until completely frozen.

Remove from the freezer and spread the softened ice cream over the crust, then sprinkle the pecans over the ice cream; return to freezer until solid.

Meanwhile in a heavy saucepan combine evaporated milk with 1/2 cup butter, chocolate chips and confectioners sugar; bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly, cook for 8 minutes then remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

When the mixture is at room temperature remove the pan from the freezer and pour into the pan; return to the freezer until firm.

Spread the Cool Whip over the frozen dessert, then sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the top; return to freezer until ready to serve.

Store any leftovers covered in the freezer

This is another favorite, I have made this cake using fresh blueberries in place of apples and also adding in 1 teaspoon almond extract, this is a wonderful moist cake that you are sure to love!…

taken from my “Favorite Cakes” folder

Notes from our test kitchen; I would suggest to serve this cake with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Servings 12

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening, room temperature

1 cup suagr

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

4 medium or 5 small apples, peeled and finely chopped

STREUSEL:

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 – 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (or use as much nuts as you like)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (oven rack set to second-lowest position).

Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

For the streusel; in a small bowl combine the brown sugar with cinnamon; add in the butter and mix until crumbly, then mix in the nuts; set aside.

For the cake; In a mixing bowl cream the shortening with sugar for about 3 minutes.

Add in eggs and vanilla; continue to beat until light and fluffy (there should be no sugar granules in the mixture, this may take about 4 minutes of beating).

In a bowl sift the flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream mixing until blended.

Fold in chopped apples.

Spread half of the mixture into the prepared pan, then half of the streusel.

Dollup the remaining batter on top then spread with a spoon (it may not cover the steusel completely, that is okay).

Sprinkle the remaining streusel over the top of the cake.

Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the cake tests done.

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Wood

You won’t find a better cheesecake out there and there is no need to bake this cheesecake in a water bath, it does however need a 1 hour sitting time in the oven after baking

For Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake recipe see HERE

Notes from our test kitchen; feel free to use a graham cracker crust in place of the chocolate, I prefer the chocolate, plan ahead there is an overnight chilling time, a good cheesecake needs time to ‘ripen”

Before serving you can top with either cherry or blueberry pie filling or topping of choice

Servings 14-16

Ingredients:

CRUST:

1 recipe for Oreo crumb crust

FILLING:

3 (8-ounce) packages Philadelphia brand block cream cheese, room temperature (do not use low-fat cream cheese)

1-1/2 cups sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh is best to use)

1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups full-fat sour cream

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Set oven rack to middle position.

Grease bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

Prepare the Oreo crumb crust according to recipe directions.

Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan; chill while preparing the filling mixture.

For the filling; in a large bowl using an electric mixer at medium speed beat the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy (about 4 minutes).

Add in eggs, lemon juice and vanilla; continue beat until well combined (about 4 minutes) .

Add in the flour and mix on low speed until blended, then mix in the sour cream until thoroughly blended

Pour into the pan over the crust.

Bake for 1 hour.

After 1 hour of baking turn the heat off completely and open the oven door slightly; allow the cheesecake to remain in the oven for 1 hour (with heat turned off and oven door slightly open).

Cool the cheesecake to room temperature then refrigerate overnight in the pan.

You will also find the is recipe on www.recipezazz.com

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Wood

Notes from our test kitchen; mini chocolate chips or chopped peanuts may also be added in, this cookie batter is very thick so make certain to use a strong mixer, these may be made in criss-cross pattern or dropped by heaping teaspoonfuls

The success/flavor of this cookie will very much depend on the quality of the peanut butter that you use, I recommend either of these Kraft, Skippy or Reese’s

For chocolate peanut butter cookies mix in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Yield 36 cookies

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup shortening (or use 1/4 cup each butter and shortening)

1-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 large egg

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl beat the peanut butter with shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla on medium speed of an electric mixer until well blended.

Add in egg; beat until just blended.

In a bowl combine the flour with baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture and beat at low speed just until blended.

Roll into small balls (about 3/4 to 1 inch) then place onto a greased cookie sheet 2-inches apart.

Using a the tines of the fork flatten slightly making a criss-cross pattern or you may drop from heaping teaspoonfuls.

Bake for 7-8 minutes or until just set and beginning to brown.

Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet then remove to rack/s to cool.

You will also find this recipe on www.recipezazz.com

You won’t find a better nacho recipe than this one, I always have requests to make this from friends and family, make this as spicy as you like by using mild medium, spicy or extra spicy salsa

Notes from our test kitchen; if desired you could add in a can of drained black beans to the ground beef mixture, to serve more that 6 people I would suggest to make two recipes and serve on two separate platters

The ground beef mixture may be prepared up until here** just heat and continue with the recipe

Servings 6

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped (garlic lovers can use more!)

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (can omit or increase to two)

1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2-3 tablespoons chili powder

1-1/2 cups refried beans (can use more)

salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 (16-ounce) jar salsa (choice of mild to extra spicy)

1-1/2 plus 3/4 cups  shredded cheddar cheese, divided

tortilla chips (use as much as you like)

TOPPINGS:

sour cream

green onions

plum tomatoes, chopped

sliced black olives

Instructions:

In a skillet cook the beef with onions,  garlic, jalapeno, green bell pepper and chili powder until beef is no longer pink; drain fat.

Continue cooking until the beef has browned (this may take about 10 minutes the beef should be lightly browned for the best flavor) season with seasoned salt and pepper towards the end of cooking.

Mix in the refried beans and salsa; cook stirring until heated through.

** at this point you may cool and refrigerate up to 1 day in advance, when ready to serve heat in a skillet and continue with the remainder of the recipe.

Remove from heat and stir in about 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese until melted.

Place the tortilla chips on a large platter or plate, then top with beef mixture.

Sprinkle the hot beef mixture with 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.

Top with sour cream, green onions, tomatoes and sliced black olives.

You will also find this recipe on www.recipezazz.com

This is repeated  every summer using my green garden tomatoes, you may want to double this as half will be eaten before they even make it to the table!

To assure that tomatoes stay firm allow to sit salted for 1 hour before using, also known as “sweating” this is an important step do not omit, and do not wash off the salt with water before breading… this same method is used for my fried zucchini slices and eggplant slices both recipes soon to be posted on this site

Servings 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

3 medium green tomatoes, sliced about 1/4-inch thick

white table salt

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 – 1 teaspoon garlic powder (I use 1 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (rubbed between fingers to release the flavor)

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)

pinch cayenne pepper (can omit I always add it)

1 large egg

olive oil or vegetable oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS:————————————————–

Place a double sheet of paper towels onto a flat surface, then place the tomato slices over the towels in 1 layer or you may use a rack for” sweating”

Lightly sprinkle both sides of the tomato slices and allow to drain “sweat” on paper towels for 1 hour.

After 1 hour pat the slices dry using paper towels to remove any excess moisture and salt.

Meanwhile in a shallow bowl combine the cornmeal with Parmesan cheese, flour, garlic powder, seaoned salt, black pepper and cayenne.

Place the egg in a shallow bowl the slightly beat.

Firstly dip the slices into the egg allowing any excess to drip off, then coat into the breading mixture.

Tip have all the tomato slices breaded and on a plate before frying

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat (use as much oil as needed and enough to cover your skillet to about 1/2-inch up the sides)

Fry the slices on both sides until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side) drain on a wire rack and serve immediately.

Notes from our test kitchen; for the first bake do not bake the sweet potatoes until very soft just until almost fork tender as they will cook more in the casserole dish, they may be baked up to 2 days ahead of time before using for this dish

Servings 8

Ingredients:

3 pounds sweet potatoes

2 large or 3 small Granny Smith apples, peeled cored and cut into 1/2-inch rings (or use another favorite baking apple)

1/2 cup orange juice (fresh is best to use)

1/3 to 1/2  cup brown sugar (for a sweeter taste use 1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

Instructions:

Bake the sweet potatoes in the oven until just fork tender (do not bake until soft) cool then remove the peel (this may be done up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated until ready to use for the recipe).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

Slice the sweet potatoes into about 1/2-inch slices.

Layer the sweet potatoes into the baking dish, then layer the apples slices on top of the sweet potato.

Drizzle the orange juice over the top.

In a bowl combine the brown sugar with ginger and cinnamom then sprinkle evenly over the top.

Dot with the pieces of butter.

Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until the apples are tender.

You will also find this recipe on www.recipezazz.com