Faezer's Peanut Butter Pie

If you're looking for a yummy new recipe that will likely become a family favorite, you've got to try this. It ain't easy, but it's WORTH IT!!!

First, here is the history of this tasty treat. I’m relying on memory here, so I hope I get it right. My mom, Faezer, first made this in college for her boyfriend. (Not my dad.) She got the recipe from hismom because it was his favorite dessert. I think she said his family was from “the south”. (So maybe that's where it originated.) We’ve had it every year for Thanksgiving my whole life and it’s DEFINITELY a family favorite. YUM!!!!!

World Famous Peanut Butter Pie

First you need one baked pie crust. (Although we usually double the recipe and make two.)

Step 1: Custard Filling

2 cups scalded milk
½ cup sugar
3 Tbsp. butter or marg.

3 Tbsp. flour
Pinch of salt
3 egg yolks (save the whites)

Scald 2 cups of milk in a heavy pan. (It’s scalded when foamy bubbles start to form around the sides and it starts smelling “cooked”. Use Med/MedHigh heat and stir constantly.) Add sugar and cold butter then set aside to COOL. (So that flour and eggs won’t go lumpy.)
When the milk mixture is room temp./cool add flour, salt and egg yolks. (Don’t try to save time by pre-mixing the flour and yolks. It will only lead to pain and suffering.)

Step 2: Peanut Butter Topping

½ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup peanut butter (Fae says crunchy is best)

Mix until it is as fine as meal. Put 2/3 of mixture in the bottom of crust. The other 1/3 is for sprinkling on top of the meringue.

Step 3: Meringue

3 room temp. egg whites (see! I told ya to keep ‘em.)
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Put room temp. egg whites in clean glass bowl or measuring cup. Mix well on high, gradually adding 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar. When it comes to stiff peaks, pile on top of custard filing, spreading meringue to edges of pie crust to prevent shrinking. (Fae always does it perfect so there are pretty little peaks all over the whole top.) Sprinkle remaining P.B. topping over meringue and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until little peaks are golden brown. Refrigerate until it’s dessert time. ENJOY

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Tastes like it came from your favorite Americanized Chinese restaurant!

(Warning: NOT HEALTHY!!! NOT for every day consumption!!!)

3 lbs. Chicken sprinkled with garlic salt

(I usually cut it into smaller strips.)

Dip in cornstarch and then beaten egg. Fry in oil until golden brown (not done) and place in 9x13 baking pan. Mix ingredients for sauce.

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

1.5 cups sugar

1/2 cup vinegar (I use Apple Cider Vinegar)

4 Tbsp. ketchup

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Pour sweet and sour sauce over the meat and bake at 350 for 1 hour being careful not to burn sauce.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER

2 cups shortening

2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

3 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

5 cups flour*

3-4 cups chocolate chips

Cream together shortening and sugars. Beat in eggs and mix for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, salt, and baking soda and mix. Slowly add flour and chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. These are cookie perfection!

ENJOY! (And send ME some!)

*Occasionally I add half whole wheat flour but they're not as perfectly/unhealthily delicious that way. If you want healthy cookies, make a different recipe.

Snobby Joes

They're better than the rest of the Joe's.

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked lentils

4 cups water

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced small

1/2 -1 Green bell pepper, diced small (Really small)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp chili powder (more to taste)

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

8 oz. can tomato sauce

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 Tbsp maple syrup (or honey, in a pinch)

1 Tbsp yellow mustard (If you like gross things. I personally leave it out.)

Whole Wheat rolls or hamburger buns

Directions

Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more.

Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder, oregano and salt and mix. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and mustard (yuck) and heat through.

Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes so that the flavors can meld. Or eat immediately if you can't wait.

Fae's (half) Whole Wheat Bread in a Bosch

We LOVED it when my mom made homemade bread when we were growing up.  We'd come home from school to a delicious smelling house and bread, butter and honey laid out on the kitchen counter for our after-school snack.  We usually got to eat about two of the five loaves, and the others were given away; to a friend, neighbor, sick person, whatever...This bread was pretty popular in the ol' hood.  

You're not going to get Fae's illustrations to help you make this (like I have on my hand written/drawn copy) but this should suffice!  

Mix in Bosch with lid on:

5 cups hot water

7 cups whole wheat flour

Add:

2/3 cup oil

2/3 cup honey

2 TBSP. salt.  (Don't leave out the salt!  It's a flavor enhancer, you know!?!?) 

Mix well then add:

 2 TBSP. yeast

(to test your yeast, put it in 1/2 cup luke warm water with 1 Tbsp. sugar.  If it bubbles up after a few minutes, it's good.)

Add:  (optional)

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup powdered milk (if you're trying to use up some food storage)

Mix well

Add:

5-6 cups white flour (depending on if you added the 'optionals')

(put lid on Bosch)

Knead on medium (2) for 12 minutes.

After 2 minutes see if dough is pulling away from sides of bowl--if not add more flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough moves away from sides.

Dump dough on floured counter and separate into equal sized lumps.  (5 if you're making large loaves, 10 if you're making small loaves.)

Shape into loaves and place in greased pans.  Cover with a damp towel.  Let rise until double in size.

Bake large loaves @ 350 for 30-35 minutes

Bake small loaves @300 for 20-25 minutes

Enjoy!!!

Susan's Scrumptious Spinach Salad

I'll admit it. I'm a sugar addict. Always have been. Doesn't matter that too much sugar sends me spiralling into a hypoglycemic coma, I persist in over-indulging on a regular basis. So is it any wonder that my two favorite salads have sugar in the dressing? Yep, that's right. Even the healthy stuff I like to eat probably isn't THAT healthy, but oh well. You only live once...may as well die fat and happy.

Susan’s Scrumptious Spinach Salad

Salad:

1 large bag or 12-18 oz. of Spinach (It shrinks down a bit once the dressing is on it.)

2 cups Mozzarella or Swiss Cheese (I’ve never tried Swiss, but I hear it’s fab.)

1/3 portion of a Red Onion (Optional. I hate raw onions so this has never made it in.)

1 cup Craisens (Optional, but definitely recommended)

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1-2 cups Chopped Bacon or Bacon-Bits (I used Maple flavored bacon once, and it was super yummy. Haven’t tried Bacon-Bits, but that would eliminate a step.) Add just before serving

Dressing:

¾ cup Sugar (I think you can probably add less and still be fine. Try it and see what you think.)

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tbsp dry onion

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1 cup Canola oil

1 tsp. Poppy Seeds

In a very large bowl, add cheese, onion, and cranberries to Spinach. Mix first 5 dressing ingredients in blender until well combined. Slowly add oil until just combined. Add poppy seeds and stir. Pour on Salad. Add Bacon just before serving. Enjoy!

Milk Chocolate Florentine Cookies

These cookies are so darn good. So.so.so.so good. So when I made the recipe, I decided to double it. BIG mistake. They're a little time consuming and a double batch took me FOR-E-VER to scoop, spread, bake, cool, coat, and combine. The other thing I learned was to over-cook them a tiny bit. Or just make sure the whole cookie is golden brown. Not just the edges. They're better when they're super crispy.


When you're done, try not to eat the whole batch. They're that good!



Chocolate Florentine Cookies
from Nestle Toll House Best-Loved Cookies

2/3 cup butter
2 cup quick oats
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light or dark corn syrup
14 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups Milk or Dark Chocolate chips

Melt butter in medium saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in oats, granulated sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla extract and salt; mix well. Drop by level teaspoon about 3 inches apart onto foil-lined baking sheets. Spread thinly with rubber spatula.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on baking sheets on wire racks. Peel foil from cookies.

Microwave morsels in uncovered, medium, bowl on medium-high (70%) power for 1 minute; stir. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10-15 second intervals, stirring just until smooth.

Spread thin layer of melted chocolate onto flat side of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, placing flat side against chocolate. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen sandwich cookies.