Double layer chocolate cream pie

(This is meant to be in a round pie plate, but mine was in use, so I made it in a square 9X9, which worked fine, too.)

1 crust of your choice.
(I used a regular pie crust, but a graham crust or Oreo crust would both work well, too.)

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbl milk
1 Tbl sugar
1 tub Cool Whip, thawed
2 cups milk
2 packages (4 serving size) instant chocolate pudding

Mix cream cheese with milk and sugar with a wisk until smooth. Fold in 1 1/2 cups of cool whip. Spread onto bottom of crust.

Beat milk and pudding until well mixed. (It will be really thick.) Stir in remaining cool whip. Spread over cream cheese layer.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

Praline Yams

I made these for Thanksgiving. The texture is like a fluffy mashed potato, but they taste almost like pumpkin pie. All 6 of us ate them, which really says something!

1 lg can yams (Canned, I know.... but it turned out great)
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T melted butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves

Topping:
Pecan halves
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

Drain yams. In the mixer, beat yams until smooth. Continue beating, adding one egg at a time, then the brown sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Beat until light and fluffy.

Place in a casserole dish. Arrange pecans on top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Slow Cooker Ham and Cheese Melt

In a large mixing bowl combine:

2 celery stalks, diced

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 1/2 cups of milk

8 slices of bread, cubed

1 stick of melted butter

In another bowl, combine:

1 can, cream of chicken

1/2 cup milk

In your greased slow-cooker, LAYER:

half of the bread mixture

6 slices of rolled up deli ham

1/2 of the soup mixture

1 cup of grated swiss cheese

the other half of the bread mixture

the other half of the soup mixture

another cup of grated swiss

Cook for 4-5 hours at the LOW setting

Pumpkin Cookies

4 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups canned pumpkin

• Cream shortening and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in pumpkin.
• Combine dry ingredients and blend into wet ingredients.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. (They don't spread, so you can put them pretty close.)
• Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, until lightly colored.
• Cool and then drizzle with a powdered sugar glaze.

Cheese ball

This is one of Mom's recipes. I must admit, I've never made one before today, only enjoyed eating them in the past. But it is super simple to make.

8 oz cheddar cheese, grated (room temp)
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
4 oz blue cheese, crumbled (room temp)
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Chopped walnuts
Parsley flakes

Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl, using hands. Shape into 3 balls. Roll in walnuts and parsley. Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve. Make a few days ahead of time for the flavors to blend.

Hawaiian Hot Dog Heaven

Ok so the official name is Sweet-and-Sour Hot Dog Stir Fry, but I like my name better.

This is a made-from-scratch recipe from "Family Feasts for $75 a Week"

You will need:

6 hot dogs (can substitute chicken breast cubes)

1 can mandarin oranges

1 can pineapple chunks

1 red pepper, chopped

Sauce ingredients:

juice from the two fruit cans

2-3 T corn starch

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c vinegar

Saute the hot dogs (cut into "coins") in 1 T sesame oil. Meanwhile, whisk together sauce ingredients. Pour sauce over hot dogs and stir until it thickens. Add pineapple and red pepper and simmer 5 min. Just before serving, gently stir in oranges.

This one was good, but not the best thing I've ever tasted. It was nice to try something different, and it's very economical!

Monkey Milk

Seth loves to make smoothies, and this is always a favorite. Adjust portions as needed.

1 banana (frozen works best if you have any ripes ones you've thrown in the freezer)
Milk (maybe 3/4 cup per banana)
Spoonful of Quik chocolate powder

Blend and enjoy by your monkeys!

Chili Casserole

Yeah, I forgot to take a picture.

1 bag Fritos - dump in 9x13 pan and crush with a cup. This makes the crust.

Pour the rest of the ingredients evenly onto the crust:

• 2-3 cans chili. I used 3 different varieties. Was a little heavy on the chili - if you want to taste the Fritos more, use 2 cans.
• 1 small can corn, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 cups grated cheese.

Bake at 375 for 40ish minutes.

Possible toppings: sour cream, avocado, fresh tomatoes, romaine lettuce (for a more of a salad feel).

I'm told that this freezes really well, too.

Indian Curry

This one is adapted from a recipe from "Family Feasts for $75 a week."

You will need:

4 frozen chicken thighs, cubed

1/2 onion, minced

1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1-2 T curry powder

1 t black pepper

dash of salt

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

cornstarch/water mix

In large frying pan, saute chicken and all veggies in 3 T melted butter for a few minutes

Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for approx 20 min or until veggies are soft. Use cornstarch mixture to thicken sauce.

Serve over hot rice!