Link: http://www.creativetutors.com/northcarolina/blog1.php

The recipe is simple.

Cook your favorite brand of brownie mix when they are done, cover the brownies with mini marshmallows and broil for a minute or so until puffy and brown.

Remove from the oven. You can either make a thin chocolate icing or buy an icing and microwave it until soft enough to pour.

Drizzle over the marshmallows.

Eat and enjoy.

This is also good with nuts, if you like nuts.

Either buy a brownie mix with nuts in it, add your own or sprinkle the top with nuts when you add the marshmallows.

Make this tangy-sweet sauce up to two days ahead, and refrigerate it. Serve with turkey, chicken or ham.

½ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)
¼ cup water
1 ½ tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (12-ounce) packaged fresh cranberries
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Discard cinnamon stick; cool completely. Yield: 14 servings (size: 2 tablespoons).

1/4 lb. Bleu cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 lb. Cheddar cheese, softened, grated
2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Mix all ingredients except nuts with electric mixer until well blended. Add one-half of the pecans. Form into large ball; place in plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight. Remove cheese ball from refrigerator 1 hour before serving. Roll in remaining nuts. If necessary, add more nuts to completely cover ball. Serve with crackers. Yield 1 1/2 cups.

Link: http://www.creativetutors.com/

My sister in law Debbie makes this.

2 cups salted pretzels crushed
3/4 butter melted
4 T sugar
Mix together pat into pan
Bake 6 minutes for 400 degrees

Filling
8 ounces cream cheese mixed with 1 cup sugar
large cool whip fold and spread on top of cool crust.

2 cups boiling water
1 Large box Jell-O (strawberry
Mix 2 10 ounce box frozen strawberries

Stir and refrigerate 15 minutes until firm.
Then spread top on filling

Link: http://www.creativetutors.com/

My sister in law Debbie makes this salad and it is GREAT!

1 small head of lettuce bite size pieces
1/2 cup diced green peppers
1/2 cup diced celery
1 onion diced
1 10 ounce box frozen green peas thaw
2 cups mayonnaise
2 T sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6-8 slices fried crisp bacon crushed
large salad bowl
Layer as Listed above.
Cover tightly.
Refrigerate overnight
Toss before serving

Link: http://www.janvanblarcum.com/

Fun and easy to do with young kids for Halloween Treat and activity.

Read more »

3 medium potatoes
2 onions, halved and sliced
2 tbsp-olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 ½ pounds thick skinless fish fillets, such as sea bass or telapia
1 bay leaf
1 thyme spring
3 tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp orange juice
4 tbsp dry white wine
½ tsp saffron threads, steeped in 4 tbsp boiling water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 15 minutes, then drain. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the sins and slice them thinly.

2. Meanwhile, in a heavy frying pan, fry the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and continue cooking for a few minutes until the onions are soft and golden.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Layer half the potato slices in an 8 cup baking dish. Cover with half the onions. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Place the fish fillets on top of the vegetables and tuck in the herbs between them. Top with the tomato slices and then the remaining onions and potatoes.

5. Pour over the orange juice, wine and saffron liquid, season with salt and pepper and drizzle a little extra olive oil on top. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the fish is cooked.

Serves 4.

Note: This recipe comes from my favorite recipe book: French: The Secrets of Clasic Cooking Made Easy, Carole Clements and Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen

1 lb Philadelphia cream cheese
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
3 - 5 drops of almond extract

Blend cheese and egg mixture well. Add almond extract and blend.

Fill cupcake papers ¾ full. Bake 15 minutes at 325. Cook 20 minutes and remove from oven to cool.

Mix: 1 cup sour cream
3 T. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix the sour cream mixture well. Spread over the cooled cakes. Return cheesecakes to oven and bake 10 minutes longer at 325 degrees. To serve: Top with fresh strawberries.

These freeze nicely.

Link: http://www.elizabethscakesplano.com/

As it goes Elizabeth's Cakes is the place to have a professional cake made for your event or special day if you live in North Texas! No need to go to the trouble of trying to make your own cake and decorate it when you can count on Elizabeths' Cakes!

We were very surprised and pleased with the cake that we had made for our daughter’s birthday.

The cake was delicious. Beautiful. Yummy…. Perfect.

What I really loved about Elizabeth’s Cakes was that even though the cakes would make their business successful….it was the family environment and fun that they seemed to all have with one another.

The owner’s baby is just a few months old so she is still around with them at the store. Cute as can be!

It is awesome to see a business thriving and growing.

Link: http://www.janvanblarcum.com

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup water
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or blackberries
1 teaspoon melted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons melted butter
Preparation:
In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch, stir in water. Bring to a boil; stirring constantly, boil for 1 minute. Add blueberries or blackerries. Pour blueberry/blackberry mixture into a lightly buttered 1 1/2-quart baking dish or 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with 1 teaspoon melted butter.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour milk and 3 tablespoons melted butter into a measuring cup; add to flour mixture all at once. Stir just until mixture is moistened and forms a ball. Drop spoonfuls onto the blueberries/blackberries. Bake at 425° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Serves 6.

Link: http://janvanblarcum.com/

Delicious lemon cream cheese bars with a brown sugar pecan crust layer. More lemon desserts below.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon half-and-half or milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
PREPARATION:
Heat oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, pecans or walnuts, brown sugar, and butter. Using hands, blend ingredients. Dough will be crumbly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture and pat remaining mixture in pan. Bake crust for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, combine the lemon zest, juice, cream cheese, granulated sugar, milk, vanilla, and egg; beat with electric mixer at medium speed for about 2 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl occasionally.

Remove the crust from the oven; pour cream cheese lemon mixture over the baked crust. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture evenly over lemon cheese layer. Bake for 25 minutes longer, or until lightly browned. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Cut into bars. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or store in the freezer. Makes about 18 to 24 bars, depending on size.

Link: http://janvanblarcum.com/

Ingredients:
2 sticks (8 ounces) butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
4 beaten eggs
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
sifted confectioners' sugar
Preparation:
Heat oven to 325°. Blend butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Pat into ungreased 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. For filling, blend together eggs, sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Pour over first layer. Return to oven and bake at 325° for 20 minutes. Loosen around edges, cut into bars and sift confectioners' sugar over the top while warm.

These are great to freeze and pull out of freezer bringn to room temperature and serve room temperature.

Link: http://www.creativetutors.com/

Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
4 ounces butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1 (6 oz.) pkg. butterscotch chips
1 small can shredded coconut (1 1/3 cups)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in 9x13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over melted butter; spread crumbs with chocolate chips, then butterscotch chips. Sprinkle coconut over this, then drizzle the sweetened condensed milk evenly over all. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut in 1 1/2-inch squares.

Link: http://janvanblarcum.com/

Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
4 c. sugar
1 c. milk
1 c. cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. margarine
6 c. oatmeal
Preparation:
Mix margarine, sugar, milk, cocoa, and salt, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Stir thoroughly and drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or foil.

Link: http://www.janvanblarcum.com/

These no-bake cookies are made with oats and chocolate, along with optional peanut butter and other ingredients.

Ingredients:
4 ounces butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 to 4 tablespoons peanut butter, optional
3 cups oats, quick or old-fashioned
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation:
Place chocolate chips, peanut butter (if used), oats, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Combine the margarine, milk, and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Combine the hot mixture with the oatmeal and chocolate chip mixture; stir well. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

Link: http://www.janvanblarcum.co/

These no-bake cookies are made with oats and chocolate, along with optional peanut butter and other ingredients.

Ingredients:
4 ounces butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 to 4 tablespoons peanut butter, optional
3 cups oats, quick or old-fashioned
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation:
Place chocolate chips, peanut butter (if used), oats, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Combine the margarine, milk, and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Combine the hot mixture with the oatmeal and chocolate chip mixture; stir well. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

Link: http://www.janvanblarcum.com/

1 Large carton whipping crème
1 Large box pistachio instant Jell-O
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 Large can pineapple chopped
2 -3 cups mini marshmallows
Maraschino Cherrie’s

In a large bowl:
Whip crème until firm
After whipped crème then fold in pistachio jell-o
Add pineapple and stir
Add mini marshmallows
Add walnuts and stir
Top with Maraschino Cherrie’s to decorate

Kids and adults love this sweat side treat.

Great to prepare the morning of and cover with plastic stays great

I love to cook! I really do, maybe in part because I love to eat and I love food. Anorexic? Yeah...definately not me. But I think it also has to do with the fact that I love to make people happy and what makes people happier than a full stomach? The look on a person's face after they've had a really good meal is just one of pure bliss and for that short period of time everything is good.

Read more »

Link: http://creativetutors.com/

As a child I loved No Bake Cookies! These are the chocolate oatmeal peanut butter cookies that are cooked over the stove top. Well, it seems like everyone on this earth has eaten these cookies….and knows the magic of how to make them but me! Every year I try and try and try. For some reason, I do not succeed in making them correctly the first time around. On occasion, I have gotten them right the 2nd or 3rd time around and many hours of stirring and lots of ingredients later; exhausted, tired and irritable I sit down to a good cookie. Befuddled. Exhausted. Glad to have the experience over.

There are years that I never see a successful No Bake Cookie! My mother-in-law and sister-in-laws have all gotten panicked phone calls from me seeking recipe help. As many of you know, I have put the word out that if you make No Bake Cookies, don’t forget about me! Send me a dozen or 12 dozen! And know….. that the cookies will be eaten and enjoyed and the thank you feeling in my heart lives all year long!

Link: http://www.creativetutors.com/

You are invited to join us on Cookin' On Patrick Lane.

Have you ever wondered, “Where is Aunt Betty’s Pecan Pie recipe?” or “How do we make Mom’s stuffin’ for Thanksgiving?” or “How do we make Mom’s homemade butter cookie recipe?” “Where is Aunt Debbie’s Pretzel Salad recipe?” or “How do we make Aunt Wendi’s 7 layer salad?” and finally “What is happening with Jan’s No Bake Cookies this holiday season?”

Please join us and share our family recipes. We want to enjoy learning about yours.

The cool thing about our blog is that once you try a new recipe you can go back and share your thoughts… consider them “Food for Thought” and let everyone know how you enjoyed the recipe or what you did to make it better or why you think it failed.

Please pull up a chair and join us around our virtual table for good food, friendship and laughs!