Favorite Recipes

Here are some of our favorite recipes (well, more than just some!). I'm trying to get organized with my handwritten recipes at home, but I figure if I include them in my blog, at least I can do a word search and find them here if I can't find them on my bookshelf.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars (these are the fifth food group to us! We make these for potlucks and there are never leftovers):

2 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter (softened)
1 egg (slightly beaten)
2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped peanuts
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 3/4 cup (10 oz) toffee bits

Heat oven to 350. Grease 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan.

Stir together flour, brown sugar, butter (until they resemble coarse crumbs). add egg and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and peanuts. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of mixture.
Press remaining mixture in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
Pour sweetened condensed milk over hot crust. Top with toffee bits. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture on top. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool completely and cut into bars. (Store in refrigerator for best flavor).

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Pumpkin Spice Cake

1 package (18.25 oz) plain spice cake mix
1 package (3.4 oz) cheesecake instant pudding mix (or vanilla...)
1 cup canned pumpkin (I use about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13" x 9" x 2" pan.
Mix ingredients together until well blended (medium speed 2 minutes). Batter will be rather thick.
Bake 32-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. cool 20 minutes and frost (can also adorn w/ nuts). Frost w/ buttercream or cream cheese frosting.

Store in refrigerator.

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Ostakaka (This is a Swedish dish served at Christmas. The texture has been compared to a sweet cottage cheese, but it is not cottage cheese.)

Martin and I love this dish, but most of my family does not. My mom’s side of the family is Swedish, and only two of her brothers love it, the other brothers and sister won’t touch it! So, just an FYI, this seems to be a ‘love it or hate it’ dish!

P.S. This takes all day to make, so don’t plan on making this 10 minutes before you need to be somewhere.

1 gallon whole homogenized milk (I used vitamin D milk); must be lukewarm (approx. 102 degrees)
1 cup flour (and enough milk to make a thin paste)
1 tablet rennet (I sometimes need 2 tablets)

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar (Grandma used 3/4 cup)
1 tsp. salt (Grandma used 1/4 tsp.)
2 tsp. vanilla (other recipes use almond...Grandma used vanilla)

Heat the gallon of milk to lukewarm (if milk is too hot, the rennet tablet won't set up). If milk is too hot, let cool until lukewarm.

Remove from heat. Make thin paste of 1 cup flour and cold milk. Add paste to warm milk and stir. Crust rennet tablet into 2 Tbsp. water and add to milk and stir w/ spatula. Let stand 45 minutes or until set (it will seem like jello). When set, cut through with spatula.

Whey will form. Ladle off the whey (may also drain with colander or through cheesecloth). Drain most of the whey off (but don't drain so that it becomes dry). Let curds set a few minutes longer so they become a bit more firm.

Add beaten eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. Fold into milk until mixed. Pour entire mixture into baking dish (I baked my ostakaka in the same pot that I originally heated the milk in). Top with dabs of butter (I used 4 Tbsp of butter cut into small pieces).

Grandma's baking instructions:
Bake 10 minutes at 400 and then reduce heat to 300 and bake 2 hours

I bake:
10 minutes at 400 and 1 or 1 1/2 hours at 350 (until knife inserted comes out clean)

Serve warm with Lingonberries and whipped cream/Cool Whip (refrigerate leftovers).

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Ham-Potato Phyllo Bake

3 pounds red potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
8 tablespoons butter, divided
20 sheets phyllo dough (14 inches x 9 inches)
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
7 teaspoons dill weed, divided (we use the Pampered Chef Dill mix stuff)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons half-and-half cream

Place potatoes in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce
heat. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender; drain. In a small
skillet, saute onion in 1 tablespoon butter until tender; set aside. Melt
remaining butter. Brush a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish with some of the
butter. Unroll phyllo sheets; trim to fit into dish. (Keep dough covered with
plastic wrap and a damp cloth while assembling.) Place one phyllo sheet in
prepared dish; brush with butter. Repeat twice. Top with half of the sour
cream, potatoes, onion, ham and cheese. Combine 6 teaspoons dill, garlic
powder, salt and pepper; sprinkle half over cheese. Layer with three phyllo
sheets, brushing each with butter. Top with remaining sour cream, potatoes,
onion, ham, cheese and seasoning mixture. Layer with remaining phyllo
dough, brushing each sheet with butter. Combine egg and cream; brush over top.

Sprinkle with remaining dill. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes

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Banana Bread (I think the yogurt and cinnamon are what make this banana bread unique!)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt)
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour (I used about 1 1/2 cup white all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)

optional: semi-sweet chocolate chips &/or walnuts

Mix sugars and butter. Add bananas and eggs and yogurt and vanilla. Add dry ingredients.
Bake 350 for 55-60 minutes (9"x5" loaf or use two 7 1/2 x 3 3/4" loaf pans).
Cool 10 minutes and then turn out onto rack. freezes well!

Acini Di Pepe Fruit Salad

This makes A LOT of salad...so I think I'll only make half next time!

Combine these ingredients and cook over medium heat until thick (stirring constantly). Cool completely.

1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cup pineapple juice (from the fruit below. add water to make the 1 3/4 cup if necessary)
3 beaten egg yolks

Boil macaroni 10-15 minutes (follow package instructions) in salted water. Blanch and cool. Place in large bowl and add to cooked mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

1/2 box (or more, if desired) acini di pepe or spezzillo macaroni

The next day, add the following:

1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits, drained
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained (can use this liquid in the 1 3/4 cup juice above)
1 large container Cool Whip (16 oz)
Marshmallows (optional)

Serve and keep chilled. Keeps in refrigerator for 1-2 days.

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Pumpkin Pie (uses ‘real’ pumpkin!)

1 ½ cups pumpkin (I use 2 cups.) Directions for baking pumpkin below.
1 ½ cups milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. butter (melted)
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. nutmeg
¾ tsp. cinnamon (I use 1 tsp.)

Cut pumpkin into quarters, scoop out seeds, place rind-side down on baking sheets and bake at 325 for a couple hours (or until pumpkin is soft and scoopable!). Scoop out pumpkin (try not to get any rind into pumpkin). Some say to strain pumpkin to remove fibers and excess moisture, but I don’t strain mine! Blend and use immediately or freeze until later use.

Blend pumpkin with milk and cream in blender. Pour into pot. Add sugar, flour, butter and spices. Cook on medium heat until thick.

Beat 2 eggs in separate bowl. SLOWLY add small amounts of pumpkin mixture to eggs until eggs are heated (this prevents cooking the eggs and getting the scrambled egg texture!) Add eggs to pot and continue cooking about 10 more minutes.

Pour into (2) prepared pie shells (pie crusts do not need to be pre-cooked).

Bake 10 minutes at 450 and reduce heat to 325 and bake 50 minutes (or until knife inserted comes out clean). Cool and serve with Cool Whip and refrigerate leftovers!