1st place winner at the Pie Contest during the 2011 Calvary Chapel Driggs Outreach

Grandma Verda's Pie Crust
Yield: 4 to 6 crusts depending on thickness

5 cups flour
1 TBsp salt
2 cups vegetable shortening
--Combine these three ingredients with a pastry blender--

Put that aside. In a one-cup measuring cup, put one egg and 1 TBsp white vinegar and enough water to fill to the 1/2 cup line; beat with fork then fill to the one cup line. Add to flour, salt, and shortening mixture. Mix until just blended; DON"T OVERDO IT! If over mixed, dough is difficult to roll out.

Roll dough out in flour. Don't roll it too much--just a few inches bigger than the pie plate. Place the pie plate upside down on dough to measure it. Cut dough about an inch or two from the edge of the pie plate. Press into pan pushing the dough into the edge of pie plate. Pinch edges decoratively.

If you're not filling it right away, poke holes in crust with a fork to prevent shrinking after it's in the pie plate and bake in a 400 degree oven until just slightly browned; usually about 10-13 minutes. Watch it closely! Burnt pie crust isn't as tasty!

Pecan Pie Makes: 12 servings Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: at 350 degrees for 55 minutes

4 eggs
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 single piecrust, unbaked
Whipped cream or topping (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs slightly in bowl. Add both kinds of sugar, the corn syrup, and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Roll out pastry to a 12 inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Decoratively crimp pastry edge; set pie plate on heavy-duty baking sheet. Pour filling into pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes, until knife inserted midway between center and rim tests clean. Cool on rack to room temperature. Serve with whipped cream or topping, if desired.

Enjoy!

How to Prepare:
4 Cups of croissants torn into bit size pieces. Place 4 cups of croissants onto a cookie sheet and dry over night.

In a bowl mix the following:
8 eggs
3 cups of whole milk
2 cups of sugar
2 Tbsp vanilla
dash salt
Pour 4 cups of dried croissants and mixture into a 9x13 cooking dish.

Sprinkle cinnamon, lemon zest, 2 handfuls of raisins, 2 handfuls of chopped pecans over mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.

Pecan Carmel Sauce
serve over cooked Bread pudding
In a sauce stir until completely warm.
1 cup Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Torani Caramel Syrup
1 cup chopped pecans

Ingredients (use vegan versions):
1 (12 ounce) box firm tofu, in 1" cubes (frozen and thawed, if desired)
1 egg equivalent (e.g., EnerG Egg Replacer), prepared
3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons water, divided
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon cornstarch, divided
vegetable oil for frying + 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
3 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sherry, optional
red pepper, to taste
steamed broccoli, to serve

Directions:
1. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.

2. Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil. Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger, and garlic; cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic.

3. Add vegetable stock, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sherry, and red pepper.

4. Mix 2 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.

Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.
Prep time 30 minutes serves 4

Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nut, Egg and Legume-free
From Elizabeth Gordon, Allergy Free Life
Makes 16 brownies
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
1 teaspoon instant espresso crystals
3/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup date paste (see note below)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup boiling water
1/3 cup gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees conventional and lightly grease the bottom of an 8×8″ glass baking pan with canola oil. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, sorghum, xanthan gum, espresso crystals, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the applesauce, the date paste, the cider vinegar, the vanilla extract and the boiling water until the batter is thick and smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center will NOT come out clean, so don’t over bake. The brownies will feel firm to the touch when they are done.

2. Remove the finished brownies from the oven and immediately top with the gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free chocolate chips. Spread them with a knife until they are smooth. Let the brownies cool completely before cutting. I put mine in the refrigerator when they were cool just to harden the chocolate layer. For easy cutting, dip a very sharp knife in hot water before slicing. The covered leftovers may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Note: To make date paste, coarsely chop 1/3 cup dates (about 8 dates) and put in a mini-prep food processor with 2T very hot water and pulse until it forms a loose paste.

100 calories per brownie, 20 cal from fat, 2g fat, 20mg sodium, 110mg potassium, 3g fiber, 15g sugar, 1.8g protein

1-1/3 cups whole almonds, toasted and ground
3/4 cup crushed vanilla wafers
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 packages ( 8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Topping:
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted fresh fruit (strawberries, kiwi, raspberries, blueberries, etc.)

In a bowl, combine almonds and wafer crumbs; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Beat in vanilla and lemon peel just until blended. Pour into crust. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Combine the sour cream, sugar and vanilla; carefully spread over filling. Bake 10 minutes longer or until edges appear dry. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Cover and chill overnight. Remove sides of pan. Top with fresh fruit. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12 servings.

Loved it! My nieces made it for Thanksgiving
and it was a major hit!

Ingredients:
Topping:
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pie:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 un-baked deep-dish (9-inch) pie shell
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine all topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese , sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg until combined. Pour into pie shell. Top with chopped pecans. Pour topping over pecans. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Garnish:
Sweetened whipped cream.
6 to 8 servings
Recipe from Paula’s Home cooking

Ingredients:
1 flank steak or London Broil (about 3 pounds)
½ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup onion, finely chopped

Directions:
Mix ingredients for marinade in shallow pan or zip-top bag. Score meat on both sides in a diamond shaped pattern. Add meat to marinade and cover or seal. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Remove meat and broil or grill to desired doneness, 10-15 minutes. Let meat rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain and serve.

Let's Dish
I've tried a lot of marinades for flank steak, but this one is my favorite. It's a great way to prepare an inexpensive and otherwise tough piece of meat. The longer you marinate it, the more tender it will be. I definitely recommend overnight if possible. I like to grill mine, about 6-8 minutes per side, but your cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your steak and how you like it cooked. Flank steak and London broil are both the same cut of meat. London broil is actually a method of cooking flank steak. Nobody really knows where the name originated, but it probably wasn't in London, England. You will find either label used in grocery stores. This is great served with a side of Parmesan Garlic Roasted Potatoes.
Enjoy cooking,
Danelle

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds potatoes, cubed
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange potatoes in prepared pan. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with garlic, parsely flakes, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Toss to coat potatoes evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir once half-way through baking time.

Let's Dish
These potatoes are a good example of how keeping it simple is often best. There aren't a lot of fancy ingredients, but they taste fabulous and make a great side dish for almost any meal. You can use a metal baking pan or sheet, but the potatoes will brown more quickly, so keep an eye on them. Any variety of potato will do, but I like to use red or Yukon Gold. Keep in mind that your cooking time will vary depending on how large or small you chop your potatoes. My six year-old covers his in ketchup, but they really are tasty just the way they are.
Enjoy cooking,
Danelle