Butterfinger Cheesecake

Thanks to Supermom Ginny for this receipe. Finally I made it for Thanksgiving dinner. People loved it!
If you like butterfinger, and cheesecake, go for it!

Ghram cracker crust:
1&1/2 cups ghram cracker crumbs
6 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
Mix them and press into 9-inch spring pan, put in freezer for 10 minutes

Cheesecake filling:
2 Lb cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup sour cream
4 large butterfinger bars, broken into pieces

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix sugar and cream cheese, blend in eggs, vanilla, cornstarch until mixed. Stir in sour cream, fold in butterfinger pieces. Pour the mixture into spring pan over crust.
   Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Lower temperature to 225 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes. Do not open oven doors. Turn off heat and let it set in oven for 1.5 hours. Let cool in room temperature. Refridge it after it cools completely.

Pumpkin Pie

Our only treat of Halloween :) It made our night :)

1 recipe of baked pie crust (I use "Pillsbury Pie Crust")
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1&3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1&1/2 cup half-and-half or light cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the crust according to the instruction on "Pillsbury Pie Crust" . Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Beat in eggs. Gradually stir in half-and-half or light cream.
Pour pumpkin mixture into baked pie crust. Cover edge of the crust to prevent overbrowning. Bake 45 minutes. Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Classic Thanksgiving meal, so holidayish :)

6 sweet potatoes, cooked and drained
1&1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1&1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping:
3/4 cup oats
3 tbsp flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1&1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup crushed pecans
3/4 cup shredded coconut
mini marshmallows

    Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Prepare a 13*9 baking dish with cooking spray.  Mix cooked sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk and melted butter in a large bowl with a mixer. Pour sweet potato mixture into the baking pan.
    Mix topping ingredients ans sprinkle on top of sweet potato mixture.
    Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows on top, then bake uncovered for another 5 minutes or until marshmallows are light brown.

Rhubarb Cobbler

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1&1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp groung cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, cut up
6 cups fresh or frozen sliced rhubarb
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For biscuit topper, in a medium bowl stir together flour, 2 tbsp sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside
    For filling, in a large saucepan combine rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Keep the filling hot.
    In a small bowl stir together egg and milk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just to moisten. (Do not overmix or the biscuit will be tough) Transfer hot filling to a 2-quart baking dish. Use a spoon, drop batter into six mounds on top of filling.
    Bake for 25 minutes.
    For cherry cobbler, prepare as directed, except for filling, substitute 6 cups fresh or frozen pitted tart cherris, and increase cornstarch to 3 tbsp.

Chicken Pad Thai

Are you a Thai food fan? If so, you absolutely have to try this. As good as the one from Thai restaurants!

8 ounces package dried rice noodles
1/4 cup salted peanuts, finely chopped
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
4 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp Asian chili sauce
1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size strips
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/3 cup sliced green onions
2 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro

    Place noodles in a large bowl. Add enough hot tap water to cover, Let stand for 15 minutes, drain well.
    In a bowl combine fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, rice vinegar, chili sauce, stir until smooth.
    In a large nonstick skillet cook chicken and garlic in 1 tbsp oil until chicken is tender. Transfer chicken to a bowl.
    In the same skillet heat remaining oil, add drained noodles, sprouts and green onions, stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add fish sauce mixture and chicken, cook until heated through. Serve immediately, sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Garnish with cilantro.

Corn Chowder

Healthy corn chowder, served with crackers or garlic bread, I guarantee everybody will LOVE it!!

1/4 lb lean pork, cubed, seasoned with salt
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 potatoes, cubed
1 cup sweet peas
1&1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup evaporated milk
1 can whole kernel corn (1&1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter, room temperature
2 tsp flour

    Saute pork, onions, peas, garlic in a large saucepan. Add potatoes, boiling water and salt, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add corn and milk. Blend together butter and flour evenly and stir in chowder. Simmer, uncovered over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until soup is thickedned.  
    Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

What else can I make out of the blueberries we picked besides muffins? I found a recipe from New Cookbook - blueberry cheesecake bars. Umm.... yummy

2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, cut up
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 eggs,
1 tsp vanilla

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13*9 baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of the pan.
    For crust, in a large bowl stir together 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Cut in butter until fine crumbs form. Pat mixture into the baking pan, bake for 20 minutes.
    Meanwhile, in a saucepan stir together 2 tbsp sugar and cornstarch. Stir in  blueberries and orange juice. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.
    In another bowl beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tbsp flour until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Pour the mixture over baked crust, spreading evenly. Spoon blueberry mixture over cheese layer. Use a knife to marble the mixture.
    Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Use foil to lift the uncut bar out of pan. Cut into bars. Store in a container in fridge.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I was thrilled to make something out of the blueberries we picked last week at Hatcher Pass. Blueberry muffins are the best !!

1&1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup quick-cooking oats (if you like whole wheat stuff,  use 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 1&1/2 cups whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup granulated sugar or packed brown sugar
1&1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

    Preheat oven to 400 degress. Grease 12-cup muffin baking pan. In a bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
    In another bowl beat in eggs, stir in applesauce, milk, and butter. Pour egg  mixture to flour mixture. Stir until moistened. Fold in bluberries.
    Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes.

Potato Salad

2 pounds potatoes (6 medium), diced
1/4 tsp salt
1&1/4 cups mayonnaise
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped sweet or dill pickles, or pickle relish
6 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

    In a saucepan place potatoes, 1/4 tsp salt and enough water to cover, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer until tender. Drain well, let cool.
    Meanwhile, in a large bowl stir together mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir in onions, pickles. Add potatoes and eggs. Toss to coat. Cover and chill. When serving, sprinkle with paprika if desired.

Beef Chili

Best homemade chili ever! Serve with bread & butter, sooooo good......

1&1/2 pounds ground beef or beef stew meat
3 cups chopped onions or green pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 (15 oz) cans red kidney or black beans, rinsed and drained; or uncooked beans, soaked overnight
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp dried and crushed basil leaves
1/2 tsp black pepper
shredded cheese for topping if desired

    In a large pot cook beef, onions, and garlic in hot oil until meat is brown. Drain fat. Stir in beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, basil, and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes for ground beef,  60 minutes for cubed stew meat. Stir occasionally. Top with cheese when serving.
    If you cook this with a slow cooker, the meat will be even tender. Cook meat, onions and garlic as directed. Drain fat. Transfer the mixture into a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, chili powder, basil and pepper. Cover, cook on high-heat setting for 4 hours. Top with cheese when serving.

Caramel-Chocolate Brownie Torte

2 packages brownie mix
1/2 cup butter
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp light-color corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

    Preheat oven to 350 degress. Grease bottom of two 9*1.5-inch round cake pans.
    Prepare each brownie mix according to package directions. Spread batter evenly into pans. Bake 45 minutes. Cool completely.
    Meanwhile, for caramel, in a saucepan, combine butter, half of the whipping cream, brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to boil, whisking occasionally. Reduce heat, stir in vanilla. Transfer caramel to a bowl, cool comletely.
    For chocolate, in a saucepan bring the remaining whipping cream to boil. Remove from heat, add chocolate (do not stir), let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let cool.
    Place one brownie cake on a plate. Top with chocolate mixture, spread evenly. Spoon 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce over chocolate, spread evenly. Spinkle half of the pecans. Add the other brownie cake, spoon the remaining caramel over top. Sprinkle with the remaining pecans.

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

Again, a wonderful recipe from Ginny's food blog. The tomato sauce and the noodles just remind me of the  homemade noodles by my family..... I'm from the noodle town in China, never tired of noodles :)

8 oz pasta, cooked according to the instruction on the package
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup evaporated milk
salt & black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
basil leaves, if desired

    Cook pasta under instruction on the package.
    Meanwhile, in a saucepan heat butter and oil, add onion and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, salt, pepper, simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes to thicken up. Remove from heat and stir in milk, basil leaves (if desired). Pour desired amount of the sauce onto cooked and drained pasta. Sprinkle with cheese.

Stuffed Mushroom

Add this to your Thankgiving meal list :) Easy and quick!

20 (2-inch in diameter) fresh mushrooms, or 10 (3-inch in diameter)
1/2 cup seasoned fine dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp snipped Italian parsley
1/4 tsp black pepper

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 15*10*1-inch baking pan. Clean mushrooms, romove stems from mushrooms. Place mushroom caps side up in the baking pan, set aside.
    In a bowl stir together bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, sour cream, garlic, parsley, and pepper. Spoon mixture into mushroom caps. Bake, uncovered, for 17 to 20 minutes.

Spanish Rice

I'm glad I learned a new way of cooking rice. With this recipe you can mke a dish with both rice and vegetables. Easy to make and healthy to eat. It looks like fried rice, but tastes different, of course delicious :)

4 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp cilantro (if desired)

    In a medium saucepan stir together rice, oil and 1/2 tsp salt. Add 2 cups water. Bring to boiling, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes ot until rice is tender.
    Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook bacon until crips. Remove from skillet, drain on paper towels. Leave 1 tbsp bacon drippings in the skillet, remove the rest. Add onion, green pepper and garlic, cook over medium heat until tender. Add undrained tomatoes, black pepper. Bring to boiling, reduce heat, simmer, covered.
    Add cooked rice, cooked bacon to skillet. Top with cheese. Cover, let stand 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle with cilantro if desired.

Banana / Coconut Cream Pie

If you are a fan of banana and vanilla, this is the perfect dessert for you! You just feel so smooth, melting in your mouth when you have a bite.... Nobody will reject it

1 recipe baked pastry shell ( again, I used Pillsbury Pie Crust, bake the crust accoring to the direction on the package)

3 medium bananas (about 2&1/4 cups)
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch

2&1/2 cups milk

1 tbsp butter

1&1/2 tsp vanilla

    Bake the crust according to the direction on the crust package. Set aside to cool. Separate egg yolks from whites.
    Preheat oven to 325 degress. In a saucepan, combine suagr and cornstarch, stir in milk. Cook and stir on stove over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks with a fork, stir about 1 cup of the hot filling into yolk, slightly stir. Pour yolk mixture back to hot filling in the saucepan. Bring to boil, stir constantly. Reduce heat, stir in butter and vanilla. Keep filling warm.
    Layer banana slices over the bottom of the cooled pie crust. Pour warm filling into the crust on top of the bananas. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely. Chill for 1 hour before serving.
   For egg whites, you can use them to make meringue for pie to spread over the filling. I tried but didn't do well :( So I didn't spread over my pie. Anyone has tips for making good meringue for pie?

For coconut cream pie, instead of layering bananas, stir in 1 cup flaked coconut with butter and vanilla, and sprinkle an additional 1/3 cup coconut on top of pie filling.

Bacon & Bok Choy / Cabbage Saute

We have a lot of bok choy and cabbages in our garden that need to be eaten. Right on time I saw supermom Ginny's recipe on her blog "bacon & bok choy". I tried and we loved it! Also the recipe inspired me to try bacon with cabbage saute. They were perfect too! Totally reminds me of Chinese stir-fry. I love fresh vegetables from garden!

1 head bok choy or cabbage coarsely cut
1/3-1/2 Lb bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
salt to taste
mushroom, sliced (optional)

Saute bacon, onion, garlic, (mushroom) until cooked, add bok choy or cabbage, cook until limp. Add salt.
So simple, and so yummy!
I also added sweet peas since we have them from garden. Only better :)

Classic 3-Layer Dessert

My husband kept saying how much he loves their family traditional holiday dessert --- 3-layer dessert, which makes me curious about how it is made. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law and tried it last night. All I can say is --- it's CLASSIC! And I made my husband a happy boy :)

2 regular sized (3.4 oz) packages of Chocolate Cook&Serve pudding (JELL-O Brand, it comes in powder shape, and my mother-in-law said the instant pudding won't make the dessert as good as the cook&serve pudding does)
2 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chooped pecans
16 oz cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
1 cup confectionate powder sugar

1. make chocolate pudding layer
 Put chocolate pudding powder in a saucepan, stir in milk, cook on stove over medium heat, stir        constantly until thick. Remove from heat, cover the saucepan with a plastic wrap and put in fridge to cool, for about 1 hour.
Whip 1/2 cup of the cream, and mix into cooled chocolate pudding.
2. make the crust
Add the butter and flour in a bake-safe bowl, use pastry blender to mix, (like how you make pie pastry), until butter and flour into pea size pieces.
Add brown sugar, mix well. Stir in pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool and crumble the crust with fork.  Spread half the crust at the bottom of 9*13 pan. The other half will be sprinkled on the top of the chocolate pudding later.
3. make cream filling
Add the other half of the whipping cream, cream cheese and confectionate powder sugar in a bowl, mix with an electric mixer. Set in fridge to cool.
4. Layer
Layer crust on bottom, cream filling in middle, chocolate pudding on top, and sprinkle the other half of the crust over chocolate pudding.

Here it comes the CLASSIC 3-layer dessert, AKA "Better-than-Sex Dessert", LOL.

Easy 3-Layer Lasagna

My first time to make lasagna! It tastes much better than the frosen ones from store, because it's homemade. It's so simple to make and you can cook once and save for another meal. 

12 Barilla Lasagna noodles (I used the "no boiling required" noodle. If you use regular lasagna noodle, cook noodles according to package instruction.)
2 eggs,
15 oz ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Lb ground beef (cooked, drain)
5-6 cups fresh spinach leaves or canned leaf spinach (drain)
1 jar Italian sauce or pasta sauce

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9*13 baking pan.
    In a bowl beat eggs, stir in ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Stir in spinach.
    Spoon 1/3 Italian sauceon bottom of the pan. Layer 4 noodles, half ricotta cheese mixture, and half amount of the meat. Then layer another 1/3 Italian sauce, 4 noodles, and the reamianing ricotta mixture, remaining meat. Layer last 4 noodles, remaining Italian sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
    Cover with foil, bake for 50-60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
    If you like veggetarian lasagna, just omit ground beef. Still yummy!

Baked Spaghetti

I'm from the noodle town in China and I can't live without noodles in my life. Now spaghetti becomes one of my favorite since it resembles so much the tomato sauce noodles my family make, but nothing can be compared to homemade noodles in my hometown.
This easy spaghetti bake recipe from New Cookbook makes me feel like I'm having homemade noodles...

8 ounces packaged dried thin spaghetti, broken in half
12 ounces lean ground beef
1&1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 10.75-ounce can condensed tomato soup
1&1/3 cups water
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. Boil spaghetti until lightly cooked, drain.
    In a large skillet cook beef, onions, green peppers and garlic until beef color is not red. Stir in mushroom soup, tomato soup and water. Stir in 1&1/2 cups of the cheese, salt and black pepper. Stir in cooked spaghetti. Transfer mixture to the baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes.

Hot Fudge Sauce

If you are a vanilla ice cream fan, you will absolutely love this simple and wonderful recipe!

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk

    In a saucepan melt chocolate and butter over medium heat. Add sugar, stir in evaporated milk until sugar dissolves. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Boil over low heat for 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, cool slightly. Serve over ice cream.
    I topped this hot fudge sauce over butter pecan ice cream and it was soooo yum.

Chinese style Hot Sour Soup

Do you like to order hot sour soup when you eat in a Chinese restaurant? If you are a fan of spicy sour soup, now you can make it yourself at home.

(about 4 servings)
cubbed Tofu
Chinese mushroom (cleaned well)
ham or sausage cut into pieces
1 egg
bamboo shoots
3 tbsp vinegar,
1 tsp soysauce,
1/2 tsp rice cooking wine,
1/4 tsp salt,
black pepper,
1/2 tsp starch,
1/8 tsp sesame oil

Add 6 cups of water in a large pot, bring to boil, put in tofu, bamboo shoots, ham or sausage, mushroom, cover to boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Add soysauce, salt, cooking wine. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add starch and 1 tsp water . Pour the starch mixture into pot. Beat in the egg, stir for a few seconds. Dash in black pepper and add vinegar and sesame oil. Sprinkle with cilantro or sliced green onions if desired.

Custard Pie

The reason why I made this is that I really miss a type of Chinese tart. And custard pie resembles that, so I found a recipe from New Cookbook and tried, I am satisfied :)

1 recipe pastry pie crust (I used Pillsbury Pie Crust)
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups hal-and-half light cream, or whole milk

    Preheat oven to 450 degress. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry pie crust and trim. Crimp edge as desired. Line pastry with two layers of foil. Bake for 8 munites. Remove foil. Bake another 4 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
    For filling, beat eggs to get yolks in a bowl, stir in sugar, vanilla, salt and nutmeg. Stir in cream until combined. Pour filling into crust. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil (IMPORTANT!!). Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for 1 hour before serving.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Squares

I baked pumpkin-chocolate cheesecake for National Cheesecake Day a couple of weeks ago. Not only did I hear of this holiday the first time, but also the style of the cheesecake. No matte of what, it turned out good. And I guess from this year I will celebrate the cheesecake day anually...

1 recipe Graham cracker crust
2  8-ounce cream cheese, softened
1& 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter

    Preheat oven to 325 degress. Prepare graham cracker crust. In a large bowl mix cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in pumpkin, spice, vanilla and salt on low speed until combined. Pour 1&1/4 cups of the pumpkin mixture into another bowl.
    In a saucepan heat chocolate and butter until melted, stirring. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the 1&1/4 cups of pumpkin mixture. Spread the mixture evenly over the crust.
    Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven. Pour remaining pumpkin mixture over chocolate layer. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool completely. Cover and chill for 3 to 24 hours before cutting. Cut into desired-size squares.
    You can also try spreading sour cream over the cake when serving. I tried that, and it was pretty good.
    Graham Cracker Crust: Lightly grease a 13*9*2-inch baking pan. In a bowl combine 1&1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar. Add 1/3 cup melted butter, mix well. Press crumb mixture evenly over bottom of the pan.

Layered Tortilla

I tried supermom Ginny's triple decker tortilla, me and my husband loved it! BTW, I'm a superfan of Ginny's simply yum blog....

Carrie's version of layered totilla:
1 cup canned refried beans
1 cup regular salsa, ( I used Mango sweet salsa, since we have that for our baked halibut, but I recommend the regular salsa)
4   6-inch corn tortilla
3/4 cup canned corn
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spoon 1/4 cup of the salsa into bottom of a pie plate. Layer ingredients as follows: 1 tortilla, half of the beans, 1 tortilla, all of the corn, 1/4 cup of the cheese, 1/4 cup of the salsa, 1 tortilla, remaining bean, remaining tortilla and salsa.
Cover with foil, bake for 12 minutes.
Uncover, sprinkle with remianing cheese.
Bake, uncovered for 3 minutes. Top with cilantro.

Creamed Corn Casserole

Recipe from New Cookbook again, I'm just loving this book :) And this dish reminds me of Thanksgiving meal.

2 16-ounce packages frozen whole kernel corn
2 cups chopped green peppers ( 2 large)
1 cup chopped onion ( 1 large)
1 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of celery soup
1 8-ounce tub cream cheese spread with chive and onion
1/4 cup milk

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. Thaw corn in cool water, drain.
    In a large saucepan cook green pepper and onion in hot butter until tender. Stir in corn and black pepper. In a bowl stir together soup, cream cheese, milk, stir into corn mixture. Transfer to the baking dish. Bake, covered, for 50 munites.
    You can also cook it in a slow cooker, which is what I did actually.
    For slow cooker, prepare as directed, but do not thaw corn and omit butter. In the cooker combine corn, green pepper, onion and black pepper. In a bowl stir together soup, cheese and milk. Pour over corn mixture in cooker. Cover, cook on high-heat setting for 3-4 hours.
    I was thinking if I add chickens it would be good, it needs to be cooked longer though.

Potato-Ham Bake

I got this recipe from New Cookbook, and I loved it! If you are a potato fun, absolutely try it!

1 pound potatoes, sliced
1 8-ounce tub light cream cheese spread with chive & onion
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 ounces cooked boneless ham, cubbed
1 pound fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into pieces ( I used cut green beans, since we have some canned green beans at home)

    Preheat oven to 400 degress. Light grease a 1.5 quart baking dish, set aside. ( I didn't know the size of the baking dish would matter, so I used a 3-quart baking dish. It didn't turn out good. So please use 1.5 or 2- quart baking dish. ) In a saucepan cook potatoes, add water ( just cover potatoes), bring to boil, but just till potatoes are tender. Drain.
    For cheese sauce, in a saucepan combine cream cheese, milk, 2 tbsp of the Parmesan cheese, and pepper. Heat and whisk cream cheese mixture till smooth. Remove from heat.
    Layer half of the potatoes, ham, asparagus (or green beans), and cheese sauce in the prepared baking dish. Repeat layers with remaining potatoes, ham, asparagus and cheese sauce. Cover with foil. Bake for 20 munites. Remove foil, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, bake, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes.

Tuna deviled eggs

    Since I was a child, hard-cooked egg is one of the food I hate to eat. I remember my parents tried many ways to feed me eggs, but they never succeeded....
    The first time I saw deviled eggs was on an Easter Day two years ago when I was in New Paltz, New York. A church family made many hard-cooked eggs for kids to color. Then they made deviled eggs. I was amazed. I thought, if I was fed flavored hard-cooked eggs, I would never hate to eat them. Anyway, I love deviled eggs. I learned to make it from New Cookbook. The only thing is that I am still wondering where the name came from.... Anyone has the answer?

Tuna Deviled Eggs

6 hard-cooked eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup flaked tuna
1 tbsp pickle relish
paprika and parsley if desired
   
    Halve hard-cooked eggs lenghwise and remove yolks. Set whites aside. Place yolks in a bowl, mash with fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, tuna, relish,  mix well. Season with saly and black pepper if desired. Stuff egg white halves with yolk mixture. Cover and chill until serving time. Garnish with paprika and parsley.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Recipe from New Cookbook, just delicious.... We have a lot of rhubarb in the yard so I made rhubarb crisp a couple of days ago, but it was too tart for me.... So this time, I tried strawberry and rhubarb together, I like it better :)

Strawberry-rhubarb pie

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch (the recipe calls for tapioca, but I used cornstarch instead)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 pound (3 cups) fresh rhubarb, cut into 1-inch slices, or one 16-ounce package frozen cut rhubarb
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 recipe Pastry for double-crust pie (I used Pillsbury Pie Crust, I need to learn to make homemade pie pastry though...)

    Filling: in a large bowl stir together sugar, cornstarch (tapioco), salt, nutmeg. Add rhubarb and strawberries, toss to coat. Set aside

    Preheat oven to 375 degress. Line 9-inch pie plate with one pastry. Transfer rhubarb-straberry mixture to pastry-lined pie plate. Trim bottom pastry to edge of the pie plate. Cut slits in the other pastry, place on filling and seal. Crimp edge.

    To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Place a foil-lined baking sheet below pie in oven. Bake pie for 25 minutes.Rmove foil, bake for another 25-30 minutes. If using frozen fruits, bake 40-45 minutes. Cool on rack.