Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Found this recipe on Baked by Rachel. They are pretty good.

Gingerbread House

 I bought a gingerbread house kit from Walmart.

I put royal icing down in the tray and frosting around the edges and stack my house together, then hold the roof eaves on for a minute on each side, and let dry for 15 minutes before I could decorate.

While I was waiting for the frosting to dry on the house, I decorated the cookies.  

I put Peppermint candies on the top with lots of  icing, icing around the windows, pearl candies to the snowflake, and cut the jelly trees in half to add flower boxes to the windows.

I added snowflake candies to both sides of the roof. 

I cut dot candies in half and added it to the roof eaves.  I put pearl candies on the edges of the roof.  I put icing on trees and attached them to the house.

I put icing under the cookies and attached them to the tray and put snowflakes all around them and the house.

Finished product:

Black and White Cookies

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

Pumpkin Walnut Cobbler

Recipe from Creations By Kara

Banana Bread

I made Shayna's Banana Bread, but I substituted peanut butter for almond butter and milk chocolate chips for dark.

Raspberry Brownies

1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
2 sticks margarine or butter
2 cups flour
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
dash of salt
30 Raspberries

Beat margarine, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together. Then add cocoa and mix well. Stir by hand, the flour, salt, and raspberries. Bake in 9 by 13 greased pan at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Pasta Primavera

This was Giada De Laurentiis's Recipe.  I opted for Penne rather than Bowtie Pasta.  I used regular tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes.  I used green pepper instead of a red or yellow one.  I added minced onion, because I didn't have an onion.  

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

From Panera Bread's website, it sure is good.

Cinnamon Banana Bread

3 Bananas

1 cup Sugar

2 cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 cup Chopped walnuts

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Shortening

1 tbsp Warm Water

2/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp Cinnamon

Mash bananas and add sugar. Let stand about 15 minutes. Add shortening to banana mixture. Beat and add eggs. Add all dry ingredients, except baking soda and 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tbsp cinnamon. Add chopped walnuts. Dissolve baking soda in warm water, and add. Stir only until mixed. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon.  Pour half of batter into greased loaf.  Sprinkle half of cinnamon sugar mixture on top.  Add rest of batter.  Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top.  Bake in greased loaf at 350 degrees for about 50 to 80 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Potato Salad

This is my grandmother Cleone's recipe:

14 small potatoes
8-10 eggs
2 cups Miracle Whip
3/4 tbsp Mustard
1/2 tsp Onion Salt
1/2 tsp Celery Salt

Cook potatoes by covering in water and boiling until soft, 30 minutes to 1 hour. In a separate pan, cook eggs for 15 minutes after they start to boil. Refrigerate eggs and potatoes until cool. Peel potatoes and cut them into bite size pieces. Peel eggs (save 4-5 of the middle pieces of each egg to put on top of salad). Cut all the rest of the eggs into bite size pieces. In a bowl, put miracle whip, mustard, onion salt, and celery salt and mix well. Put potatoes in large bowl and add miracle whip mix. Taste to see if it is dry. If it is dry, add more miracle whip. Add more mustard, celery salt, or onion salt to fit your taste. Add cut up eggs and mix. Level salad and put middle pieces of eggs on top. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and paprika on top of the eggs.

Pudding Cake

1 package White or Yellow Cake Mix
1 small package Jell-O
1 cup soda pop of same flavor as Jell-O
1 cup hot water

Topping:
1 large package of Instant Vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 carton of Cool Whip

Bake cake mix as directed on the box. Let cool and then poke holes all over cake, but not all the way to bottom. Mix Jell-O with hot water. Add soda pop of same flavor as jell-o and pour over cake in holes. Spread topping over cake and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Keep leftovers refrigerated.

Strawberry Pie

1 pkg Strawberries, washed and slice
1 pkg Glaze for Strawberries
2-3 tbsp Splenda or regular sugar
1 Graham Cracker Crush
Cool Whip

In a bowl, combine strawberries with sugar.  Place strawberries in pie crust and pour glaze on top, spreading until evenly over all the strawberries. Refrigerate for a least an hour.  Top with Cool Whip.

Caramel Banana Cream Pie

1 pkg Banana Cream Pudding
3 bananas, sliced
1 graham cracker crust
1 jar of caramel sauce
Cool Whip

Place sliced bananas in pie crust.  Pour prepared pudding over bananas.  Drizzle caramel sauce over pudding.  Refrigerate for an hour.  Serve with Cool Whip.

Hawaiian Hula Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
4 pieces of bacon, cooked
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Wrap the bacon around the chicken and place in greased crock pot.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Top with pineapple and barbecue sauce.  Cook on low for 8 hours, stirring occassionally.  Serve over rice.

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

1 lb of macaroni.
1 carrot, shredded
1 celery, shredded
1/4 onion, diced
2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups Mayo
2 tsp Sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook macaroni as directed on the package and drain.  Add vinegar and vegetables while still hot, and let cool in the refrigerator.  Add mayo, milk, and sugar.  Refrigerate before serving.  

Crock Pot Hawaiian Pulled Pork

1 Pork Loin Roast
1 Bottle of Liquid Smoke
Sprinkle of salt
1 cup water

In a crock pot, add one cup water and the roast.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Shred using two forks.  Add liquid smoke and salt to taste.  

Turkey Meatloaf

I made Rachael Ray's recipe for turkey meatloaf, after seeing her make it on Worst Cooks in America. It has Ground turkey with carrots, onions, celery, and pine nuts.  I also added chopped walnuts instead of hazelnuts.    I didn't make the cranberry sauce that goes with it.