mmm mmm better brownies

Ky and Kristin's recipe for brownies (allrecipes.com). They say they are better and cheaper than boxed.

½ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

½ cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ Teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
2. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Kristin says it tastes best with butter. Ky 3x’s this recipe and bakes in a cookie sheet pan.

Sharon's Buttermilk Brownies

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups flour
4 Tablespoons cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick butter or margarine
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Sift sugar, flour, and cocoa. Bring the water, butter and oil to a boil. Let cool slightly and then pour over dry ingredients. Whisk until creamy. Mix buttermilk and baking soda together and then mix it in with the batter. Add the eggs and mix. Add the nuts if desired. Pour into a greased and floured 11x17" baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 25 minutes. While still warm, frost with the following:

Buttermilk Brownie Frosting

Boil:  1 stick butter
         1/4 cup cocoa
         1/3 cup buttermilk
Add:  1 teaspoon vanilla
         1 pound powdered sugar
         dash of salt.

Frozen cranberry salad

I package cranberries (ground up)
1 can crushed pineapple (drain some of the juice)
1 cup sugar
1 package mini marshmallows

chill above ingredients in fridge for 1 hour.

Then whip one pint of whipping cream fold into mixture pour into mold and freeze. let thaw 45 min before serving, un-mold serve.

Ambrosia

Serves: 6-8

1 (8 oz.) tub of whipped topping, thawed

1 cup sour cream

1 (20 oz.) can pineapple tidbits, drained well

1 (15 oz.) can mandarin orange segments, drained well

1 cup red or green seedless grapes, sliced in half (optional)

1½ cups sweetened coconut flakes

1½ cups mini marshmallows

1 (10 oz.) jar of maraschino cherry halves, drained very well

1.    In a medium bowl, combine whipped topping and sour cream.

2.    Add in coconut flakes and marshmallows.

3.    Then gently fold in pineapple, mandarin oranges, grapes and maraschino cherries and nuts (if using).

4.    Once combined, put some plastic wrap on it or put it in a bowl with a lid and refrigerate for about an hour before serving.

Cherry Bars

These are really yummy!

This is made like a bar cookie but tastes like a pastry.

1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups flour
1 large can cherry pie filling*

*you may substitute any flavor pie filling.

 Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one. Add vanilla, baking powder, flour. Mix well. Put 2/3 of batter in 11x17 pan and spread evenly. Spread pie filling over the top. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls over top of pie filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. top with powdered sugar icing (using almond flavoring in icing).

Icing
1/3 cup melted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Almond extract
2-4 Tablespoons hot water
mix and drizzle over cherry bars

Quiche Lorraine

This is the recipe that I made when the kids were little ..... I really love it.

1 pie crust
1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese (or what ever you have on hand)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 pound bacon chopped (you can add chopped ham, chorizo or what ever meat you like)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Partially bake pie shell (7 minutes). Cook bacon and crumble into pie shell. Cook onion and mix with 1/2 cup of the cheese and sprinkle on top of bacon. Combine remaining cheese with cream, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix and pour into shell. Bake 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until set. Leftovers heat up well in the micro wave.

Dottie J's jiggler spiders

3 envelopes Knox gelatin
1 small box Jello (grape or black cherry work great because they are dark)
1 cup boiling water
Black food coloring opt.

Mix until dissolved, pour into sprayed molds freeze 5 min. Take out of trays. Makes 3 trays of spiders.