Mom's Famous Potato Salad

My mother-in-law makes the best potato salad in the world, hands down.  I have never tasted any better anywhere.  You will absolutely love it!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Red potatoes
Vegetable oil
Chicken breast, baked or grilled and cut into bite size pieces
Bacon, cooled and cut
Celery, chopped
Onion, chopped
Mayonnaise

Directions:
Preheat oven at 350 degrees.  Cut up raw potatoes and mix in bowl with oil and salt.  Lay out onto baking sheet and bake until done, about 20 minutes.  Toss all ingredients together in mixing bowl.  Add mayonnaise as needed.

Pumpkin Crisp

This is a fall favorite.  I am literally not invited to family gatherings without assurance that I will bring this!

Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cook Time:  1 hour

Ingredients:
15 ounces canned pumpkin
1 Cup milk
1 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 package yellow cake
1 1/2 Cups chopped pecans
1 Cup butter, melted

Directions:
Stir pumpkin, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon together.  Pour into lightly greased 9x13 pan.  Pour cake mix evenly over mixture, followed by nuts, then melted butter.  Bake in oven for 1 hour, or until golden brown.  Enjoy!

Grandpa's Oatmeal Coconut cookies

Ingredients:
2 Cups brown sugar
1 Cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Cups oatmeal
1 Cup coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together, then scoop onto baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Nana's zucchini bread

I have never been a fan of zucchini bread, but my mom loved making it and always thought it was one of my favorites.  She would go out of her way to make it for me, because she confused it with banana bread, which is actually my favorite.  But, it always makes me smile to remember that she would make the wrong bread every time so I thought I'd share.  As far as zucchini bread goes, it's amazing.

Ingredients:
1 Cup oil
3 eggs
2 Cups sugar
2 Cups peeled and grated zucchini
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon
3 Cups flour
1/2 Cup nuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and flour into mixing bowl.  Mix oil, eggs, and zucchini (and nuts) into another bowl.  Mix dry ingredients into wet and stir until well blended.  Pour into greased bread pan and bake for one hour or until done.

Grandma's Peanut Butter Fingers

These peanut butter fingers were always one of my favorite treats.  Love, love, love them!  Again, not good for the muffin top, but still DELISH!  Enjoy!

Prep Time:30 minutes
Cook Time:  20 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup butter
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/3 Cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup flour
1 Cup oatmeal
6 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar in medium mixing bowl.  Blend in egg, peanut butter, baking soda, salt, and vanilla.  Stir in gradually flour and oatmeal.  Spread in greased 9x13 pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Pull from oven and evenly spread a 6 ounce package of chocolate chips over the top.  Let cool.

Peanut Butter topping ingredients and directions:
Mix 1/2 Cup powdered sugar, 1/4 Cup peanut butter, and 2 to 4 Tablespoons of milk.  Drizzle over top of peanut butter fingers.  Let settle.

Candy's Special Dip

When I was a senior in high school, my two best friends and I went to San Francisco for a weekend.  We stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant and had the best dinner of our lives that night.  The waiter was happy to share with us the secret recipe for their bread dip.  The disclaimer to this recipe is that we weren't actually given amounts, the instructions were just given to us with verbs like, "dash" or "pinch."  You'll have to make it your own unique version.  Enjoy!

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:
1 Large garlic, chopped fine
2 Large shallots (or red onion), chopped fine
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Dry oregano
Parsley, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions (in Candy's words):
To serve 2 to 4, finely chop 1 large garlic and 2 large shallots.  Place in mixing bowl.  Add just enough balsamic vinegar to cover, along with a pinch of salt and pepper, a splash of dried oregano, and about 2 Tablespoons of chopped parsley.  Add enough extra virgin olive oil to make the dip liquid-y.  Ratio of balsamic vinegar to extra virgin olive oil is about 1 to 4.

Carrot Cake

This is another recipe from my mom.  She managed restaurants for years and this was one of the recipes that her restaurants included on their dessert menus.  This is one of my kids' favorites and it usually gets requested for at least one of their birthday parties.  Enjoy!

Prep Time: 30-40 minutes
Cook Time:  35 minutes or until done

Ingredients:
2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Cups vegetable or canola oil
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons soda
2 Cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 Cups grated raw carrots
8 ounces cream cheese
1 stick of butter
1 package of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 Cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift dry ingredients in mixing bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time and mix well.  Add carrots and mix well.  Bake in a 9x13 greased and floured glass pan for 35 minutes or until done. 

While cake is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together and stir until mixture is thick, but light.  Add a little milk if necessary.  When cake is cooled, spread icing.

No Bakes

One of our favorite holiday treats is my mom's no bake cookies.  Let me preface by giving the disclaimer that these are full of sugar so I am not to be held responsible for turning the younger members of your entourage into crazy little boogers, nor am I to be held responsible for adding to your muffin top.  With that said, here ya go!

Prep Time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cook Time:  15 minutes