Chocolate Pecan Pie

Melt:

1/2 cup butter

6 oz chocolate chips

in a double boiler or microwave.

When cool, add:

2 slightly beaten eggs

1 cup sugar

Add:

1/2 cup flour

pinch of salt

1 t vanilla

Stir in:

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Pour into a prepared or store-bought chocolate wafer crust (unbaked).

Sprinkle on top another 1/2 cup unbroken pecans.

Bake at 300 for 30 minutes (I have to bake it a lot longer).

Cool before serving, or chill.

I like to serve it with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

My mother gave me the recipe about 20 years ago, and we make it almost every holiday season. It's very sweet and chocolaty!!

Choco-Dot Pumpkin Cake

Mix the following:

2 cups flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. cloves

1/4 t. allspice

1/4 t. ginger

2 cups sugar

Set aside.

Beat in a mixer:

4 eggs till foamy

2 c. pumpkin

1 c. vegetable oil

1 c. bran cereal

Add dry ingredients. Then add:

6 oz. chocolate chips

1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Pour into greased and floured bundt pan.

Bake at 350 for 70 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes and then turn over on a plate. Let cool more before removing pan. Then ice.

Ice with:

4 T. butter melted

3 T. milk or cream

1 t. vanilla

powdered sugar until good consistency for pouring

My family found this recipe on the back of a box of 100% Bran cereal (Nabisco) in 1975 while we were stationed at Minot AFB in North Dakota. We have all made it every year since. It represents the holidays for us all!

Oatmeal Christmas Cookies

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamon
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup white chocolate chips (or the new swirled chocolate chips)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture and stir until well blended. Add dried cranberries. Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment covered baking sheet. Bake about 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool.

I got the basic recipe from the Food Network, but added the extras. Really yummy.

Liz Landau's Cranberry Coffee-Cake

9-inch pie pan, greased

2 c. fresh cranberries

sprinkle up to 1/2 c. sugar over cranberries

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Mix together:

3/4 c. melted butter

1 c. sugar

1 c. flour

2 eggs

1 tsp. almond extract

Pour over cranberries. Bake 45-50 minutes @ 325 degrees.

Liz' notes:

I make this in a shallow 9-in. tart pan, reducing the amount of sugar sprinkled over berries. Butter also seemed a bit excessive, so I cut to 1/2 c. (1 stick) reducing only flour and sugar proportionally to 3/4 cup each.

Do what Liz did, cause it was delicious!! (AR)

Pumpkin Bread

In medium bowl:

1 1/3 c sugar (variation - try brown sugar!)

1/3 c veg oil

2 eggs

Whip till light and fluffy and add:

1 c canned pumpkin

Add:

1 3/4 c flour

1/4 t bp

1 t bs

1 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t cloves

And:

1/3 c milk

1 t vanilla

For fun you can add:

Chocolate Chips

Chopped Walnuts

Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 for about an hour.

This is mostly from the Joy of Cooking. I ran out of white sugar last week and used brown and it was delicious!! Big hit on these nippy fall mornings!

Alison's take on Anne's Salmon Patties

Anne called and gave me this recipe over the phone. I didn't have all her ingredients, so I did what I could...what follows is what I did, and hopefully I'll get her real recipe.

I thawed:

4 pieces of salmon

I poached them in the microwave for a few minutes with:

1/2 cup white wine

sprinkling of dill

Then I put the salmon (sans the wine) in a bowl and mince it up.

I added @ 25 saltines and 2 eggs - per Anne.

I added some salt, a heaping tablespoon of Dijon and a little paprika.

Stirred that up and made paddies.

I put a big skillet on medium high heat with a little olive oil.

I fried up about 8 paddies till toasty on each side.

Per Anne's suggestion, I served it with sour cream, dill relish and it was a huge hit!!

(My family put slabs of cheddar on theirs.)

Strip Steak Tacos

1/4 c fresh lime juice (about 2 medium)

1 skirt steak (1 pound)

1 t ground cumin

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 t ground red pepper

cooking spray

1 c diced seeded plum tomato

1/4 c diced onion

3 T finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 T diced seeded jalapeno pepper

1 T fresh lime juice

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 c diced avocado (1 medium)

1/4 t kosher salt

8 corn tortillas

Lime wedges (optional - but then isn't everything)

Combine 1/4 c juice and steak in a shallow dish. Sprinkle cumin, salt and pepper over both sides. Cover and marinate in fridge for 3 hours.

Heat grill pan over high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add steak to pan and cook 3 minutes on each side or till done like you like. Let stand at least 10 minutes and cut into 1/2" pieces.

Combine tomatoes and next 5 ingredients - through garlic - in a bowl. Gently stir in avocado and salt.

Heat tortillas in broiler or over gas flame 15 seconds on each side till charred on edges. Divide steak evenly among tortillas and top with salsa.

4 servings - 2 tortillas each - 372 calories

I got this recipe from Cooking Light. I haven't tried it yet, but added it so that KatieHayes could try it. She'll have to let us know if it's worth it!! And I'd eat it with a dollop of sour cream. And heck, maybe some grated cheese...course that changes the calories a bit.