Hot Ham and Cheese Buns

8 sandwich buns
Shaved ham
Swiss or Mozzarella slices
6 Tbsp. butter
4 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. plain mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. poppy seeds

In small saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and poppy seeds. Bring to boil, then remove from heat and cover for 10 minutes. In the meantime, arrange the bottoms of each bun in a 9x13 pan. Build sandwiches using a layer of ham, then cheese, then more ham. Spread a tablespoon or so of the slightly cooled sauce on the inside of each bun top and place on the sandwich. Pour and spread the remaining sauce over the tops of all the buns, cover with foil and refrigerate 4 (or several) hours. Bake at 325° for 15 minutes, remove foil, and bake another 15 minutes.

The original recipe says that these can be frozen with much success, although I haven't tried it and therefore can't comment on it. If it works for you, please let me know!

Lemon Jello Cake

Just in time for spring, here's a delicious, light and refreshing dessert!

1 lemon cake mix
1 small box lemon Jell-O
4 eggs
3/4 C. water
3/4 C. canola oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Mix dry cake mix, Jell-O, eggs, water, oil and lemon juice for several minutes. Bake in a greased glass 9x13 pan at 325° for 30-40 minutes, or until cake tests done. Combine 2 Cups of powdered sugar with enough lemon juice to make a smooth glaze, then pour over cake while still hot; chill. Top with a dab of Cool Whip or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Peanut Butter Bars

If you decide to make these bars, be forewarned that they are just about identical to a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and may be extremely hard to stay away from. Just sayin'.

1 C. butter, melted
3 C. powdered sugar
1 C. Jif creamy peanut butter
1 C. Honey Maid graham cracker crumbs
1 C. Nestle chocolate chips
1 C. Jif creamy peanut butter

Mix together melted butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter and crumbs until smooth; press into a 9x13 pan. Melt chocolate chips and more peanut butter then spread on bars. Then refrigerate. Then lock your frig!

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

I got this recipe out of an old Quick Cooking magazine. I remember when I found it ~ we were heading to Des Moines for Thanksgiving, and my annual Christmas Party (for my girlfriends, remember?) was coming up so I had that on my brain. Always in search of a great recipe, I grabbed all the Christmas issues and brought with for the trip. Paging through one, I found this recipe and knew I'd have to try it. It was delish! I served it with small chocolate chip cookies and chocolate graham cracker sticks, and it was a hit!

8 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1/2 C. butter, soft
1/4 tsp. vanilla
3/4 C. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3/4 C. Nestle mini-chocolate chips
3/4 C. chopped pecans, optional

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla, powdered sugar and brown sugar and beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips, then cover and refrigerate 2 hours. Place on plastic wrap and shape into a ball. Refrigerate at least one hour. Just before serving, roll in chopped pecans if desired.

NOTE: I was just thinking that with the cream cheese in this recipe, it might be good spread on a toasted bagel on a cool morning!

Hot Caramel Apple Cider

Doesn't that sound yummy? And, oh, it's so easy! Just pour yourself a mug of apple cider and squeeze in a few squirts of caramel ice cream topping. Heat in the microwave and stir in a few drops of vanilla and you're all set. If you wanted to make this fancy, you could spray some whipped cream on top and drizzle with more caramel syrup. I'm embarrassed to say that my girls and I have gone through a whole gallon of cider already this week! Gotta put the brakes on! =)

Happy Fall everyone!

Leah's Chicken Salad

1 1/2 C. Miracle Whip
2 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp. onion salt
3 shakes dried onion flakes
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 C. shredded carrots
1/2 C. toasted almonds
Shredded chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients and let sit several hours or overnight. Great inside cream puffs!

Mocha Punch

Gary and I were married December 12th, 1992. After we got home from our honeymoon and before Christmas (I know - crazy, right?) I threw a get-together for all of my potential new friends in our home. Okay, it was really for all of his friend's wives! Gary was one of the last in his bunch to get married, so I was the new kid on the block, not to mention the youngest! It was a little intimidating for me, but I'm so glad I did it. And it's been a fun yearly tradition ever since then! Sometimes I have a morning brunch, sometimes a Saturday evening hors doeuvre party. And we always have a crazy gift exchange. This punch has been around a few years, and I'm happy to share the recipe with all of you. It's from an old issue of Taste of Home.

6 C. water
1/2 C. Nestle's Quik (chocolate, of course)
1/2 C. sugar
1/3 C. instant coffee
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream

Boil water in 3-qt. saucepan. Remove from heat, add Quik, sugar and instant coffee, and stir until dissolved. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Thirty minutes before serving, pour into punch bowl and add ice cream scoops. Stir/Mash until partially melted. Delicious!!

Easy Turtles

These little candies are so cute, and they take hardly any time at all to make. They're especially fun to make at Christmas time.

Waffle pretzels, round or square
1 bag Rolo candies
1 bag pecan halves

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and arrange as many pretzels on top as you have Rolo candies. Place an unwrapped Rolo in the very center of each pretzel and bake at 250° for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a pecan half on top, pressing down firmly. Allow to cool.

Potato Ole Hotdish

Here's a new twist on an old favorite - Tator Tot Hotdish. We like eating at Taco John's, and their Potato Oles are always a big hit with us. When I got this recipe, I knew we'd all love it before we even tried it! See what you think!

1# hamburger
Onion
1/4 C. taco seasoning
2/3 C. water
11 oz. Nacho Cheese soup
15 oz. Mexicorn, drained
Tator tots

Brown hamburger and onion; drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water; simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Stir in soup, then spread in 9x13 glass pan and sprinkle with corn. Arrange tator tots on top. Bake at 325° for an hour, or until bubbly and tator tots are golden brown.

Apple Crisp

Since apples are in abundance right now, I thought I'd post my recipe for Apple Crisp. It's sort of like posting my recipe for Chocolate Cake - everybody has their favorite one. But this is piled high with a delicious, buttery crumb topping that everyone is sure to love - especially with some homemade vanilla ice cream to go with it!

6 C. apples; peeled, cored and sliced
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 C. sugar
2 C. oatmeal
1 1/2 C. flour
1 1/2 C. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 C. butter, cold

Coat apples with flour and sugar; place in greased glass 9x13 pan. Combine dry ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly and sprinkle over apples. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes, or until topping is nicely browned and apples are bubbling around the edges.

NOTE: You can use a food processor to help mix up your crumb topping. Process dry ingredients first, then add cold butter that's been cut into medium-sized pieces. Don't mix it too long or you'll end up with a wet, buttery mess. (Wanna ask me how I know that?) Stop when things are well-blended and still dry and crumbly, and when the butter chunks are about the size of large peas.