The first time Andrea made this was for a Valentine’s day soccer game treat. Thus, “Valentine Popcorn”. Though Megan insisted it was Princess corn.
Valentine Popcorn
Red Hot Cinnamon Popcorn
Andrea requested a not sweet snack. We thought cinnamon popcorn might do the trick.
Nope. It didn’t. But the rest of us thought it was very good!
Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffin
These muffins are a wonderful fall treat. My mom was given this recipe years ago when she spent the day with her cousin Kathy. They made a few muffin recipes and other fun fall treats. This is probably my favorite. Not only do these freeze well, they are also good for a few days after baking and toast nicely.
You can use all purpose flour, but these are also great as a 50/50 mix with AP flour and 50% white whole wheat. We rarely use the full amount of sugar. They are good with or without the steusel. If you chose not to add the streusel, they are even less sweet, which is a nice change sometimes.
If you prefer to make a loaf of bread, pour into a greased and lightly floured pan and bake for about an hour.
Salted Caramel Sauce
We have made this recipe many times! It will burn quickly, so do not get distracted.
This is really good on ice cream, but we also enjoy it with hot chocolate, cheesecake and other desserts.
Cardamom Apple Jam
Some good apple choices are Golden delicious, a mixture of Granny Smith and Pink Lady, or a mixture of whatever you have. We used an unknown apple from a friends tree.
While this is good as a jam, it is also very good over vanilla ice cream!
Custard
Allan has always enjoyed custard and often used a mix to make it. However, with a little more work, we now make home made custard for desserts. This is not the pourable dessert custard (also called “creme anglaise”), but very similar to vanilla pudding. Only much better.
Marble Cookie Squares
Another recipe from Aunt Bonnie’s recipe box. We baked ours in a pie pan which worked very well also. The card did not included time to bake, but we just let our set up like a cookie.
One thing I really like about many of the recipes from Aunt Bonnie is the recipe makes a small amount. There was enough here for us, but no left overs. I am not sure when she copied this recipe, but when I looked it up, it looks like it was popular in the early 1960’s.
Surprise Lemon Bars
I am not sure where I originally found this recipe. I know that we made it a few times in our travels for potlucks so I have had it for all -most?- of the time I have been married. I never tell what the secret ingredient is until people have tried this recipe and say they like it. Most think it is coconut, so why ruin it for them?
The recipe says it makes 2 pies, but we usually bake it in a 9×13 casserole dish and cut it into squares. For a gluten free crust, see notes.
Jamie’s Potato Soup (Almost)
My friend Jamie, makes this soup often for potlucks. It is very popular and the children ask for it often at home. It is wonderful with a green salad on the side.
Some good potatoes to try are Russet, Red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes. Each will have a slightly different flavor.
Corn Meal Yeast Bread
This is a good bread to have with chili or soup when you do not want plain cornbread. You can use yellow corn meal if you want, but we prefer to use white. It tastes great toasted and is a good base for BLT’s and other favorite sandwiches.