Toffee Bars

shared by Nancy H.
Put foil in a jelly pan (or 8x8 pan). Spray with Pam.
Line the bottom of the pan with soda crackers.
Ingredients:
Mix:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
1. Cook on medium heat while stirring until it comes to a boil.
2. Pour mixture over the soda crackers.
3. Bake 6 minutes at 400 in oven.
4. Put 1/2 cup chocolate chips on top. Let them melt. Smooth over top.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

shared by Patty H.
(I just came across this recipe so I haven't used it yet but it looks super easy. I plan to try it with the next pizza I make. Sounds like it would also make a good dipping sauce for bread sticks.)
Ingredients:
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
6 oz. water (just use the empty tomato paste can)
3 T. garlic bread seasoning
1 T.sugar or honey
3/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
1. Empty tomato paste into a bowl and add water a few tablespoons at a time, stirring constantly until combined.
2. Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine.
3. Allow to stand until ready to use.
4. Covers two average-sized pizza; freezes extremely well.

Easy BBQ Sloppy Joes

shared by Patty H. (whose friend Donna D. shared it with her)
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onion (or 3 T. dried, minced onion flakes)
4 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
1 (14 oz.) bottle of ketchup
1 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. vinegar
3 T. mustard

Directions:
1. Drain browned ground beef.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer covered for 30 minutes. (Could also use a crockpot for simmering and keeping warm.)
3. Serve on buns using a slotted spoon to eliminate some of the juice.
4. Fills 30-40 buns.
5. Freezes extremely well.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

shared by Dara P.
(This is a BIG recipe.)
Ingredients:
6 T of unsalted REAL butter
1 small shallot, minced (can use about 1/2 tsp of onion powder instead)
16 oz of uncooked Rigatoni
1 cup of finely graded FRESH Parmesan cheese (not the pregrated kind)
1 cup of heavy cream
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, just salt and pepper to cook these, and slice
1 bunch of broccoli tops, steamed in a covered microwaveable bowl for 2 minutes
Directions:
1. Cook your pasta in liberally salted water until al dente, drain reserving 1/2 c of the pasta water.
2. In a small saucepan cook your shallot in the butter til tender; add heavy cream and cook til slightly reduced. I use the same pan to cook the onion in that I cooked the chicken in so that you get all of that yummy flavor.
3. Add your pasta, chicken and broccoli to a LARGE sauce pan, add cream mixture and cheese.
4. Add pasta water at the end to make your sauce creamy and tasty.

Spring Salad

shared by Cori H.
(This salad was served at a baby shower for Cori just prior to Esther's birth.)
Ingredients:
Romaine Lettuce
Spring Mix Lettuce
Red Onion
Feta Cheese
Grape Tomatoes
Pecans (can be caramelized with sugar or left plain)
Dried Cranberries
Croutons (I make my own with sourdough bread spritzed with oil and sprinkled with garlic salt)

Salad Dressing Ingredients:
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
½ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
¾ Cup Sugar
2-4 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
½ t. Seasoned Salt
½ t. Salt
¼ t. White Pepper
¼ t. Cayenne Pepper (crushed)

Any Muffin Recipe

shared by Patty H.
(This recipe comes from the "Tightwad Gazette," a frugal-living newsletter/book. This is a basic recipe which lets you get creative with whatever ingredients you have on hand.)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk (or other liquid, such as drained pineapple juice, orange juice, etc.)
1/4 cup oil or oil substitute
1 egg
1 1/2 cups fruit additions(such as 1 cup mashed banana and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or vegetable additions such as shredded carrots or zucchini)
spices, of your choice
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400.
2. Grease 12 muffin cups, or 24 mini muffin cups.
3. Combine dry ingredients, including dry additions (like nuts, chocolate chips, etc.) and spices.
4. Combine wet ingredients, including wet additions (like banana, berries, pineapple, etc.)
5. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full (perfectly ok if you have leftover batter to fill cups to top)
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
NOTES:
a. To make non-sweet muffins, such as bacon and cheddar, just cut back on the sugar to 1 Tablespoon.
b. You can make your own "jiffy" corn muffins by substituting 1/2 cup corn meal for 1/2 cup of the flour, and using 2 tablespoons of sugar.
c. Substitute peanut butter for the oil to give muffins a peanutty taste (try using 2 mashed bananas, 1/2 cup chopped peanuts and then peanut butter for the oil)
d. If your additions are very wet (such as crushed pineapple) then use up to 1/2 cup more flour, to equal up to 2 cups total flour.
e. Play around with this! It's easy and quick!

Cheeseburger Casserole

shared by Cori H.
(This recipe reminded me of the taste of shepherd's pie. I served it with hot bread and green beans.)
Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 t. salt
dash of pepper
½ c. bread crumbs (I used 2 toasted pieces of bread which I ground in the blender)
1 egg
tomato juice to moisten (I used ½ can of tomato paste mixed with equal portion of water)
4 ½ c. mashed potatoes (I used instant and followed pkg directions to make 4 ½ c. quantity)
9 slices of American cheese (I used shredded cheddar)
Directions:
1.Combine beef, onions, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, egg, and tomato juice. Place one third of the mixture in slow cooker.
2.Spread with one-third of mashed potatoes and 3 slices of cheese. Repeat 2 times.
3.Cover. Cook on low 3 hours.