California Salad

2 cans mandarin oranges (drained)
2 c. coconut
2 c. (1 large can) pineapple tidbits (drained)
2 c. marshmallows
2 c. (1 pint) sour cream

Mix together all ingredients. Refrigerate over night.

Grandma's Pound Cake

3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. almond extract
4 eggs

With hand mixer, beat together sugar and oil, beat in eggs until light yellow. Mix in extracts and buttermilk. Finally add dry ingredients.  Pour into a greased tube pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Pancakes

1 egg
1 c. flour
3/4 c. milk
2 Tbl. oil
1 Tbl. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix all ingredients well, for thinner batter add more milk.  Perfect batch for 2 people.

Variations
Apple Cinnammon
decrease milk to 1/2c.
1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Banana Nut
1 medium banana mashed
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash of cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 c. chopped nuts

Blueberry
1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Meatballs
1 lb. raw hamburger
1/2 c. oatmeal
1 egg
1 Tbl. minced onion
3/4 tsp. salt & pepper
1 tsp. worcheshire sauce
1/3 c. milk
Mix and roll into balls, place in a 9x13 baking dish.

Sauce
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. vinegar
1 tsp. mustard pwd
1/2 c. BBQ sauce
1 tsp. worcheshire sauce
Mix ingredients well and pour over meatballs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Earthquake Cake

2/3 c. nuts
2/3 c. chocolate chips
2/3 c. coconut
layer in bottom of 9x13 pan
prepare german cake mix as directed on box
(1/3 c. oil
3 eggs
1 1/3 c. water)
Mix and pour on top of nuts, chips & coconut
8 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
Melt over low heat, whisk in 1 lb. powdered sugar, pour in ribbon design over cake.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

** Ingredients in Blue

Cranberry Apple Pie

I have wanted to try this pie for a long time and finally got it done.  It did not disappoint.  Super yummy.  It will be on the yearly rotation for sure.  I love the tartness of the cranberries, it's such a nice balance to the sweet.

Cranberry Apple Pie
Recipe from A Bountiful Kitchen


Filling:
6-7 apples any type, peeled, cored and sliced (I used large granny smith apples and it only took 4 or 5 to fill my pie plate)
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, washed
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon almond extract (I also added 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
dash salt

I used my crust recipe found Here.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Flour a surface and rolling pin. Mold half of the dough into a ball. Roll out from center to about 1/8 inch thickness. Fold dough in half. Lift onto a 9" pie plate. Open and shape to pan. Roll out the other half of dough, and set aside.

Place apples in large bowl and mix with cranberries. Add rest of filling ingredients and mix well. Fill bottom crust with apple cranberry mixture. Place other half of rolled out dough on top of filling in pie plate. Crimp edges. Make slits on top of pie for steam to escape. (I used a mini cookie cutter for the heart shapes) Brush with egg wash if desired (**I brush my crusts with milk, see picture below), sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Place pie onto cookie sheet (important, this usually bubbles over a bit. Bake for about 60 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if pie is getting too brown. Continue baking for about 10-15 minutes or until pie is bubbly and golden. Total baking time is usually 1 hour and 10 minutes.

I added a maple cream sauce as a garnish.

Chinese Cabbage Salad

1 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles, crushed (Can toast with Cashews - optional)

10 ounces cashew pieces (Can toast with ramen - optional)

1 (16 ounce) package shredded coleslaw mix

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Toss the first four ingredients in a large bowl.  In a blender or even in a quart jar, combine the sugar, oil, vinegar and soy sauce and mix well.  Pour over salad and mix.

If I am making this as dinner as opposed to a side, I add some grilled chicken, chopped or shredded.