Kaarin's Värske Kurgi Salat ("Fresh Cucumber Salad")

2-3 fresh cucumbers, thinly sliced (use a food processor or mandoline)
1/2-1 sweet onion, thinly sliced and chopped into small sstrip
1 bunch fresh dill, finely chopped
3-4 oz. sour cream
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper (opt)

Sprinkle cucumber with salt to draw out water if a drier salad is desired or if you're making it far ahead. Drain. Mix in other ingredients, including more salt to taste. You can serve immediately. 

Bev's Spiced Pecans

2 C sugar
2 C water
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Bring water and sugar to a boil. Add cayenne.

Add 2-5 C pecan halves.  Boil 5 minutes, stirring often.

Spread nuts on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from oven. Sprinkle with mixture of:
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Cookie Sheet Cake

Grease and flour 11x17 jelly roll pan.

Sift together and set aside:
2 C. flour
2 C sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Combine and bring to a boil, then pour into dry mixture:
1/2 C  butter (1 stick)
1/2 C shortening
1 C. water
3-4 Tbsp. cocoa

Beat together and add to above combination:
2-3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. buttermilk

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes..

Ice cake while warm with the following:
1/2 C. butter, melted
3-4 Tbsp. cocoa
3-4 C. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
6 Tbsp. buttermilk
1/2 C. chopped nuts (opt.)

Cut into small, square pieces and place on a serving dish to serve.

Nanny's New Orleans Red Beans & Rice

1 lb. dried kidney beans
2 quarts water
1 large onion
2 ribs celery
2-3 cloves garlic
2 slices bacon
1 crumbled bay leaf
1  tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. sugar (I omit this.)
1/2-1 lb. spicy sausage (Andouille or similar)

I double this for our family of 6 so we can have guests or leftovers.

Soak beans overnight or follow quick-soak method.  Cook beans in 2 quarts of salted water (but not too salty!) until just barely done (45 minutes or so—if you overcook them, they'll fall apart later). Reserving cooking water, drain beans and rinse in cold water.

Fry bacon in Dutch oven, then remove. Using bacon drippings, sauté onion and celery.  Add garlic and parsley as onion gets clear and soft (maybe after 10 minutes).

Add 1 qt. (or more) reserved boiling liquid, cooked beans, and other spices/ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer lightly for 45 minutes.  (I've reduced this step to as little as 15 minutes in a pinch or if I've accidentally overcooked the beans in the first place.)  Mash 1/4 cup beans and return to pot for thickening. (I usually omit this step.)

Serve over cooked rice with a crusty bread and salad.

Nanny's Lazy Daisy Cake

This cake is from my grandmother, who has affectionately come to be referred to as "my Nanny," as opposed to just "Nanny," my kids' grandmother.  My Nanny (Nanny S.) made this whenever she needed a super-easy, super-fast cake to serve within the hour.  It's saved me many times!

Makes small square cake.
(Double for 9x13 and cook 5 extra minutes.)

Mix together:
2 eggs
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Sift together* and add to the above mixture:
1 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt (I use less.)
(*I do not sift this, but rather put the flour in an even layer on top of the first ingredients, then even scatter the soda and salt across the top layers to be sure it is evenly distributed.)

Heat together* and add to mix:
1/2 C. milk
1 T. butter (I use olive oil.)
(*I do not heat this before adding it to the other ingredients.)

Bake at 350 in a greased pan for 30 minutes.
(Cook 35 minutes for doubled 9x13 pan.)

Frosting
Mix in saucepan:
2 T. butter
3 T. brown sugar
2 T. cream
1/2 C. coconut

Frost cooled cake* with above mixture.
(*I've never let this cake cool more than 5 minutes before glazing.  It is delicious served very warm.)

Christine's BBQ Beans

Combine in large bowl:

1/2 C. chopped onion

1/3 C. sugar (I use real maple syrup instead)

1/3 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. BBQ sauce

1/4 C. ketchup

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. chili powder

2 Tbsp. molasses

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Add 3 cans of any kinds of canned beans you like, drained and rinsed.

Original recipe calls for:

vegetarian baked beans (unrinsed)

kidney beans

butter beans

Christine uses white beans instead of butter beans.

Spoon in greased baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour, stirring once.

Linda's Layered Taco Dip

I  usually make some variation of this when I have leftover homemade refried beans or a lot of avocados going ripe at once.  It is yummy as a dip or as a soft taco filling, or I sometimes grill up some cheese quesadillas (cheese between tortillas) and serve wedges of that on the side of this dip as a meal.

The original recipe (using canned items and quantities) appears below.

 Layer in 9x13 pan in order given:
 
1 16-oz. can refrained beans w/half pkg. taco seasoning
6-oz. carton avocado dip
8-oz. sour cream
1 4.5 can chopped black olives (I often omit these.)
2 large diced tomatoes
1 small chopped onion
1 4-oz. can chopped green chiles
1.5 C. shredded jack cheese (or any other yummy Mexican-friendly cheese)

Serve cold with tortilla chips. 

Aunt Kim's Blue Cheese Burgers

Ground hamburger, at least 1/4 pound per burger
Crumbled blue cheese (more than you would think)
Onion, sliced thin (again, more than you would think, as they cook way down)
Olive oil, for cooking onions
Pat of butter and pinch of sugar, for caramelizing

1) Begin onions cooking in a very large skillet, totally full, in olive oil. Stir frequently as it cooks.

2) Meanwhile, add blue cheese crumbles to hamburger and mix well. (You want a lot of cheese in there, so that it's speckled heavily throughout. Even if you don't like blue cheese, trust me!)

3) Stir your onions.

4) Shape hamburger/cheese mix into thick patties, one per person.

5) Stir your onions.

6) Grill the burgers as you normally would, but not too overly well-done.

7) Stir your onions. At some point, when they are soft and slightly browned (but not cooked down into mushy "worms," as OG calls them), add a small pat of butter and a sprinkle of sugar. Stir it in, to help aid in the caramelization. Again, not much. It isn't supposed to sweeten them, just aid in the formation of that great almost crispy-brown that comes from caramelization of sugar on something.

8) Serve the caramelized onions over top of the burger, which does not take a bun.

Any kind of side dish will do. We love fresh corn on the cob or some kind of potato and a nice salad.

NOTE: During our family's Elimination Diet, we were allowed goat cheese but not blue cheese. I replaced the crumbled goat cheese for the blue cheese and prepared these exactly the same way. It is a different flavor, milder, but still quite yummy. My family agreed that they like them both ways.

Roasted Spring Mix

The original recipe appears here, but here's what I did with the ingredients I had on hand. Everyone called it a keeper, and it was so easy!!

1 box/bag mixed baby or spring greens
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
SPG
Crumbled feta
Shredded Parmesan
Sliced Campari tomatoes
High-quality balsamic vinegar
Walnuts

I hand tossed the greens (enough to totally fill my large Pampered Chef stoneware bar pan)  with a splash of olive oil and red wine vinegar and a light sprinkling of SPG.  I spread them in the bar pan, topped with sliced tomatoes, then topped with crumbled feta and shredded parmesan cheese. I finished with a light drizzle of high-quality balsamic vinegar all over it and a few hand-broken walnuts, then roasted it in the oven for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. Delicious!  See the original recipe for different suggestions for variety. Yum!

Ron's Mom’s Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients:

2 8 oz package Cream Cheese
1 Pint Sour Cream
5 Large Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
½ Box Graham Cracker Crumbles (Approx)

1) Heat Oven to 450 degrees. Butter Cheesecake pan (Spring Form) and line with Graham Cracker crumbles.

2) Beat egg whites stiffly. Set aside

3) Mix cream cheese with sour cream until smooth. Add sugar. Keep beating until well mixed.  Add egg yokes, one at a time. Keep beating. When all eggs are added change to highest speed for 3 minutes

4) Add vanilla and lemon juice. Fold in egg whites.

5) Pour into spring pan. Place on lower rack of over. Bake 20-25 minutes until well browned.

6) Turn off oven and leave in oven for 1.5 hours.