Cranberry Bars
by Kathy Pietras

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 ½ cups quick or old fashioned oats
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (12oz pkg) white morsels
1 can (16oz) whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 Tbsp cornstarch 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 13x9 inch baking pan.

• Combine flour, oats and brown sugar in large bowl.
• Add butter; mix until crumbly.
• Stir in morsels.
• Reserve 2 ½ cups morsel mixture for topping.
• With floured fingers, press remaining mixture into prepared pan.
• Beat cream cheese in large mixer bowl until creamy.
• Add sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract; mix until smooth.
• Pour over crust.
• Combine cranberry sauce and cornstarch in medium bowl.
• Spoon over cream cheese mixture.
• Sprinkle reserved morsel mixture over cranberry mixture.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cover. Refrigerate until serving time (up to 1 day). Cut into bars.
 

Simple Cheesecake
Recipe Given by Chef friend
to Jennifer S. Richardson

Ingredients For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 whole extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

1 cup red jelly (not jam) such as currant, raspberry, or strawberry
1/2 pint sliced strawberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
1/2 pint fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the crust, combine the graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

To make the filling, cream the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

To make the topping, melt the jelly in a small pan over low heat. In a bowl, toss berries and the warm jelly gently until well mixed. Arrange the berries on top of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Miss Kat's Sweet Potato Pie
by Kathleen D. Lindsey 

*Children will need adult help
1 Extra-flaky Pie Crust (see recipe below)
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or
margarine (room temperature)
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit
Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunks. Boil until tender, about 30 minutes.
Drain off water and put hot potatoes into large bowl. Mash potatoes.
Add all remaining ingredients except cinnamon and beat sweet potato mixture until smooth.
Pour warm filling into pie crust and sprinkle top with cinnamon.
Bake for about 1 hour, until filling is firm and crust is golden brown.
Let cool on rack.

Miss Kat's Extra Flaky Pie Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
1/4 cup cold milk

Combine flour and salt in bowl.
Add shortening and use pastry blender or fork to cut shortening into flour mixture until crumbly.
Add milk and knead dough until soft ball forms.
Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to form large circle.
Place circle of dough into 9-inch pie pan and press dough into corners.
Trim off excess dough with knife. Use fork to press down around rim of pan to create decorative edge.

Cream of Cauliflower
and Broccoli Soup
by Joan Kirschner

2 large heads or 3 small heads cauliflower
1 bunch broccoli
1 cup raw rice
12 cups chicken broth (homemade is best, or use low-salt canned or equivalent in stock cubes reconstituted with water)
Kosher salt to taste
White pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 cup 1 or 2% milk 

--or --

1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream -- optional (can mix milk and cream per personal preference)
Generous pinch of nutmeg.

Remove stems and leaves from vegetables. Separate cauliflower into florets, broccoli can be cut up, and upper parts of stalks can be incorporated. Wash and rinse all, and cook until just tender in a large pot of boiling water, lightly salted or not to taste. Drain.

While veggies are cooking, prepare rice per package instructions in a separate pot. When rice is tender, combine it with the veggies and chicken broth in a large pot. Simmer for about half an hour. Add kosher salt and peppers to taste. Turn off stove and allow to cool about 15 minutes.

Using a hand blender, puree right in the pot until all large pieces of vegetable disappear and there are only very small bits scattered through. Chill for several hours or overnight so soup becomes very thick.

Reheat carefully to avoid burning. Add milk and/or cream in a total quantity of 1 cup or a little more if the soup seems too thick. Serve with a salad and French bread with butter (or use buttered, toasted croutons in the soup).

The cauliflower and broccoli combination has a lovely pale green color when the soup in pureed. I also sometimes replace the cauliflower and broccoli with carrots and use ginger instead of nutmeg. Toasted nuts make a nice garnish. That looks very autumnal.

Enjoy on a crisp fall day!

Pumpkin &
Cream Cheese Muffins
by Adrienne Sanker

3 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup oil
15 oz can pumpkin
8 oz cream cheese {softened}
1 cup powdered sugar

- Stir together the cream cheese and powdered sugar and set aside
- Mix remaining ingredients
- Fill muffin cups half-full with muffin mixture
- Add a dollop of cream cheese mixture
- Fill muffin cup almost to the top with more muffin mixture
- Top with spoonful of cream cheese mixture
- Bake at 350 for 25 minutes
- Makes 24

mmmmmmm!!!!