Pumpkin Pie

I got this recipe from my Food Network magazine (I couldn't bear the thought of making the recipe off of the pumpkin can!). It only makes enough for one pie. I tried a fancy dough edge on my pecan pie, but it just detached during the cooking, so I went for the faster heart edging this time.

1 9-inch uncooked pie crust
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, half-and-half, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves in a bowl.
• Pour into the crust, bake until the edges are est but the center quivers, about 1 hour - 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cover the edges of the crust until the last 10-15 minutes to prevent over browning.
• Cool completely on a rack and serve with whipped cream.

Apple Crisp

I'm not a big fan of pies, so I made sure we had this crisp! The topping on it is my favorite. Instead of a crust, it's more of a sugary crumble :)

Filling1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
12 cups thinly peeled and sliced apples

• Mix all above ingredients together and pour into 11 x 14 pan.

Topping2/3 cups sugar
1 & 1/2 cups flour
12 Tbsp margarine

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cut together above ingredients with pastry blender until pea-sized and sprinkle over top of filling.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Raspberry Cheesecake

I don't actually like cheesecake, but for some reason I absolutely LOVE making it. The recipe calls for raspberries, but you can really use any similar berries. In the picture, I had used blackberries because they are Michael's favorite. I'm not sure where it came from, my mom just came home with it one day and asked me to make it for her because she didn't want to!

Cheesecakes are really hard to get to not crack. The recipe doesn't call for a waterbath, although I've heard people say that's what you're supposed to do. I've never tried because either way it tastes the same! If it does matter to you, the one cheesecake I didn't have crack on me I over cooked a little, so maybe leave it cooking for longer than the recipe calls to allow it to set a little further in to the middle of the cake.

Filling
1 package (10 oz) frozen raspberries, partially thawed
1 Tbsp cornstarch

• Combine raspberries and cornstarch in 2-quart saucepan.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil (6-10 minutes) and continue boiling for 1 minute.
• Remove from heat, cool for 10 minutes (or while you're preparing the rest of the cake).

Crust
1 package (9 oz) chocolate wafer cookies
1/3 cup butter, melted

• Crush cookies and add to melted butter
• Press on to bottom of 9-inch springform pan, set aside.

Cake
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 & 1/2 cups sour cream
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Mix sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until creamy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add sour cream and cornstarch. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Stir in vanilla.
• Pour half of cheesecake batter over crust.
• Spoon filling evenly over batter in pan.
• Pour remaining cheesecake batter in to the pan.
• Bake for 60-70 minutes or until set 2 inches from the edge of the pan. Turn off oven, but leave the the cake in the oven for two more hours.
• Remove from oven, loosen sides of cheesecake from pan by running knife around inside of pan.
• Cool completely (about two hours), loosely cover, and refrigerate 8 hours (or overnight).

7 Layer Salad

This is a recipe I got from my grandma. It was in a relatively old looking salad cook book, maybe from the 50s or 60s? The original recipe called only for iceberg lettuce, but to spruce it up, I threw in some romaine lettuce and spinach as well. Then I threw an extra layer of the greens mixture on top of the peas. I like lots of lettuce in my salad!

I didn't follow any of the measurements, I just kind of cut things up and covered the layers by eye based on the size of my dish. I put the measurements there just so you can have an idea of how much you'll actually need to purchase.

After posting a picture of this on Facebook, a friend said she'd made this but put crab in the mayonnaise. Sounds good to me! I also thought it would be good to try any variety of mayonnaise based dips for that layer.

1 medium iceberg lettuce (shredded)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts (drained)
1 package (10 oz) frozen peas
2 cups mayonnaise
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2-3/4 lb bacon, crisp cooked
3 hard cooked eggs (chopped)
2 medium sized tomatoes, wedged

• In 3-4 quart glass bowl, make layer of lettuce. Top with layer of onion, celery, water chestnuts, and peas.
• Spread with mayonnaise.
• Sprinkle with sugar, cheese, salt, and garlic powder.
• Cover and refrigerate over night.
• Before serving, crumble bacon onto salad, sprinkle with chopped eggs, and arrange tomato wedges around salad.

Burbon Pecan Pie

This is a recipe my mom has had and used forever. Looking at the printout she gave me, it says it was a winner of some pie contest back in the mid-late 90s. It was made by Nancy Neiss. It's always been one of my dad's favorites :D

While making this, I thought the mixture was pretty runny. I was assured that it was fine, and it did in fact turn out great :)

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
3 large eggs
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp bourbon
1 & 1/3 cups chopped pecans (large chop)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In medium sized bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, vanilla, and bourbon. Stir until well blended. Stir in pecans and pour into unbaked pie shell.
• Cover edge of pie to prevent overbrowning. Bake for 25 minutes, remove shield from edge, and continue baking for another 25-30 minutes or more (until a knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean).

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

In my grandpa's old age, he's gotten really hard to buy for for holidays and birthdays. This year he said all he wants is sweets! Since I like to cook and bake, that works for me! I made him cookies :D

This recipe came in my most recent Food Network Magazine and I've been looking for a good oatmeal raisin recipe. I think they ended up over cooked a little, but they were still the best homemade recipe I've found!

1 & 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins

• Combine oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• Beat the butter, sugar, and molasses in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy (about five minutes). Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth (about two more minutes).
• Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the raisins by hand. For the best flavor and texture, cover the dough and chill at least four hours (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Form dough in to balls, about 2 tablespoons each.
• Bake until the cookies are golden, 15-17 minutes. Let cool five minutes on baking sheets, transfer to cooling racks and cool completely.