CREAM CHEESE DANISH

2 CANS REFRIGERATED CRESSANT ROLLS DOUGH

2- 8 OUNCE PACKAGES CREAM CHEESE

1 CUP SUGAR

1 EGG

1 TEASPOON VANILLA

OPTIONAL - FRUIT OF CHOICE

LINE A 9X13 GREASED BAKING DISH WITH ONE CAN OF THE DOUGH.

CREAM THE CREAM CHEESE, SUGAR, ONE EGG AND VANILLA TOGETHER. SPREAD ON TOP OF THE DOUGH, ADD FRUIT IF DESIRED. TOP THIS WITH THE SECOND CAN OF CRESSANT DOUGH, (SEAL THE EDGES OF THE TRIANGLES). BRUSH DOUGH WITH AN EGG WHITE WASH AND BAKE AT 350 FOR 25-30 MINUTES, OR TILL GOLDEN BROWN. DRIZZLE WARM DANISH WITH GLAZE.

GLAZE

½ CUP POWDERED SUGAR

2 TABLESPOONS MILK

½ TEASPOON VANILLA

1 TABLESPOON MELTED BUTTER

THIS DANISH MAY ALSO HAVE A CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING INSTEAD OF THE GLAZE. MIX CINNAMON AND SUGAR TOGETHER AND SPRINKLE ON TOP OF THE TOP CRESSANT DOUGH AFTER BRUSHING IT WITH MELTED BUTTER.

Kentucky Bourbon Brown Sugar Ham

1 ham, fully cooked or semi cooked
whole cloves
1 can pineapple slices, juices reserved
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup good Kentucky bourbon
2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. prepared yellow mustard

With a sharp knife score your ham in about 1" squares. It is probably already sort of scored somewhat, but just make those cuts a little deeper in squares. Place a whole clove in every other square. You don't have to do each one, cloves go a long way and can be overpowering. Place the pineapple rings over the ham. Reserve the pineapple juice. The pineapple rings help hold the glaze on the ham and sweeten it. You can also stick a maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple ring for a pretty presentation.

Preheat oven to 350. Mix pineapple juice, brown sugar, bourbon, Worcestershire, and mustard and spread over the ham. Pour about 1 cup water in the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with heavy duty foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove and baste the ham again with the pan juices. Cover with foil again and cook for another hour. Turn the oven off. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN. Let the ham sit in the oven until it completely cools down. This does wonderful things to a ham that you cannot do any other way. When you take it out and uncover it, the ham will still be hot, unless you left if in there for a couple of days or something...lol. Sometimes I put one in the night before a couple of hour before bedtime and then turn it off after the two hours and let it just hang out in the oven all night long. Take it out in the morning and carve it. It's just perfect There are two things that make this ham better than most, the bourbon and the cooking method. Don't change either one and you will be pleasantly surprised!

Anita found this recipe and it always turns out great!!

Sausage and Egg Casserole with Cresent Roll Crust

This is easy - and tasty! Not as many carbs as the traditional recipe with all the bread in it - no soaking overnight-and you can scrape the crescent off the bottom if you don't want the bread but crescents do not have that many carbs! Becky adds some white gravy on top of the browned sausage and it gives this a great flavor too!

1 pound pork sausage
1 (8-ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
8 eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano

Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
Line the bottom of the dish with the roll dough, and sprinkle with crumbled sausage. In a large bowl, mix beaten eggs, mozzarella and Cheddar. Season the mixture with oregano, and pour over the sausage and crescent rolls.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean!

My daughter Becky, adds some white gravy on top of the sausage before the other ingredients and it comes out great! She bakes it every Christmas morning!

Snowball Cookies

a.k.a. Mexican Wedding Cookies

1 cup butter, at room temperature*

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Additional powdered sugar

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth and creamy. Slowly add flour then pecans and mix until combined.

Roll into 1-inch balls and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 275 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until cookies just start to brown on the bottom.

Remove cookies from oven and immediately roll in additional powdered sugar. Once cool, store in an airtight container.

Stick of Butter Rice

• 1 c. uncooked white rice (NOT instant)
• 1 (10 oz) can of Condensed French Onion Soup
• 1 (10 oz) can of Beef Broth
• 1/2 c. of butter, sliced
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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• In a 9x9 inch baking dish combine rice, soup and broth.
• Cut butter into slices and place on top of the mixture.
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove cover and bake 30 minutes more.
  
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This can be doubled or tripled to feed more. Optional: small can of drained mushrooms can be added as well.

CAROL'S ALMOND BISCOTTI

4 - 4 & 1/2 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1 TABLESPOON BAKING POWDER

1/2 TEASPOON SALT

1CUP BUTTER

2CUPS SUGAR

4 LARGE EGGS

1 TABLESPOON VANILLA EXTRACT

1 CUP SLICED NATURAL ALMONDS

1 CUP SLIVERED BLANCHED ALMONDS

OR PINE NUTS ( I USE 2 CUPS NATURAL ALMONDS ONLY )

HEAT OVEN TO 325. LIGHTLY GREASE 2 LARGE BAKING SHEETS.

1. IN MEDIUM BOWL, COMBINE 4 CUPS OF FOUR, BAKING POWDER, SALT AND SET ASIDE. IN A LARGE BOWL, WITH ELECTRIC MIXER ON MEDIUM SPEED, BEAT BUTTER AND SUGAR UNTIL LIGHT AND FLUFFY. ADD EGGS ONE AT A TIME, BEATING WELL AFTER EACH ADDITION. ADD VANILLA TO BUTTER MIXTURE AND BEAT WELL.  REDUCE MIXER SPEED TO LOW, GRADUALLY BEAT MIXTURE INTO BUTTER MIXTURE UNTIL WELL BLENDED.

2. WITH SPOON, STIR IN BOTH TYPES OF NUTS.  IF DOUGH IS TOO SOFT TO SHAPE, STIR IN SOME OF THE REMAINING 1/2 CUP OF FLOUR. DIVIDE DOUGH INTO 6 EQUAL PIECES. SHAPE EACH PIECE INTO A 8 X 2 INCH LOG AND PLACE ACROSS A LARGE BAKING SHEET. BAKE LOGS FOR 30 MINUTES OR UNTIL FIRM AND GOLDEN BROWN.

3. TRANSFER LOGS TO CUTTING BOARD. USING A SERRATED KNIFE AND A SAWING MOTION, CUT 3 INCH LOG DIAGONALLY INTO 1/2 INCH THICK SLICES. ARRANGE SLICES ON BAKING SHEET. BAKE SLICES 15 MINUTES.  COOL SLICES ON WIRE RACK AND STORE IN AIRTIGHT CONTAINERS.  WILL KEEP FOR 2 MONTHS OF SO. IN THE FREEZER, THEY WILL KEEP FOR UP TO 6 MONTHS.

BILL'S LASAGNE

Meat Sauce
1 pound Italian Sweet or Mild sausage
2 cups chopped onions
Add another cup of diced veggies as you like such as bell peppers, carrots,
Pasta sauce (Classico or Bertolli's)

Sauté all ingredients until onions are translucent.
Add some commercially made pasta sauce- I like Classico or Bertollis and don’t be afraid to add some red wine or water to thin out the sauce-the pasta needs it to rehydrate and not be crunchy! The longer the sauce cooks, the better the flavors combine. Just give it time to be really fine.
Béchamel Sauce
3 cups milk
Powdered nutmeg/mace
2 bay leaves (optional)
½ cup butter
¾ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Warm the milk in the microwave with the bay leaf and nutmeg mixed in.
In a non-stick pan, melt butter and then mix in flour.
Cook till a nice nutty aroma comes off the mixture and a nice soft brown color is achieved. Slowly add the heated milk to the flour/butter mix. Stir all the time over medium heat till the béchamel comes together in a nice thick sauce. Then add the cheese to it. Be careful about letting this sauce sit for a while as it will harden up on you and be difficult to work with.
Assembly
In an oblong baking dish which has been buttered or sprayed with non-stick:Add some of the meat mixture. Then a layer of the non-pre cooked Barilla pasta (1 pound box-I have started to use the whole grain pasta).
Then a layer of the béchamel.
Repeat for about three layers.
The last layer should just be pasta and then a layering of the béchamel.
Finish by dotting the top with butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan.

If you are cooking in a glass dish, put the lasagna in the oven on a cookie sheet. Bake according to your pasta’s instructions, usually 350 for about 50 minutes, covered with foil! Take the foil off for the last five to ten minutes of cooking for browning. Let it sit for about ten minutes and then cut and enjoy!