Photo courtesy of Lori Siade

To save time prepare the ground beef mixture shape into patties cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours in advance, it is not recommended to add in any extra salt to the ground beef mixture as the dry soup mix already has plenty of sodium, you will need a large skillet to make this

For more gravy increase the beef broth to 3 cups and the flour to 6 tablespoons for a very thick gravy increase to 7 tablespoons

Servings 6

INGREDIENTS:

6 tablespoons oil (may need a little more)

2 large onions, thinly sliced

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (can use canned drained, fresh is better)

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (use 5 tablespoons for a thicker gravy)

2 cups beef broth

1 tablespoon  Worcestershire sauce, or to taste

1-2 teaspoon beef bouillon powder, or to taste

1/2 to 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

salt, optional and to taste

HAMBURGERS:

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1 large egg, lightly beaten

4-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 (1-1/4 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (can use more)

pinch cayenne pepper, optional

INSTRUCTIONS——————————————

In a bowl combine all hamburger mixture together using clean hands until well combined.

Shape into 6 large patties or 8 small patties (at this point you may refrigerate for up to 24 hours).

Heat 2 tablespoons of  oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add in hamburger patties and brown well for about 3 minutes on each side (do not cook the patties completely) transfer to a plate.

Add in more oil to the skillet (use enough oil to generously coat the bottom of your skillet) add in sliced onions and mushrooms; cook stirring scraping up any browned bits that has accumulated on the bottom of the skillet, cook for about 15 minutes or until the onions are softened adding in more oil if needed.

Add in the flour and stir for 1 minute.

Add in beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and black pepper; bring to a simmer stirring until bubbly and thickened (at this point you may add in the beef bouillon starting with a small amount and adding in more to taste).

Add the browned patties back to the skillet and turn to coat in the gravy.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes or even 1 hour turning the patties 2-3 times during cooking.

You will also find this recipe on Recipezazz.com

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