Pizza Dough

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon dry active yeast
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons oil (I use canola)
1 1/2 cup white all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (you can use 2 1/2 cups white if you want)
2 Tablespoons flax seed meal (optional, but that stuff is so good for you!)

Directions
-Dissolve yeast in water, set aside
-Mix all other ingredients together, add water and yeast
-Stir until combined
-Knead for 5-7 minutes or until smooth

-Roll out, place on sprayed cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350
-Add toppings, bake again.

Rhubarb Cake

Melt 1 square butter and put it in a 9x13 cake pan.  Cut up 4 C rhubarb and put in pan.  Add 1 1/2 c brown sugar over rhubarb.  Add one yellow cake mix made according to box directions then pour on top of rhubarb.  Bake 350 until done. 

Grandma Spear's Banana Cake

Cream 1 1/2 C sugar, 1/2 C veg shortening, 2 egg yolks, and 1 C mashed bananas (3).  Add 1/2 C sour milk.  1 tsp Vanilla, 2 C flour to wich 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder.
And last fp;d om - 2 egg whites beaten until stiff.
Bake 350 degrees 50-55 min. 
Add any kind of fristing.  Chocolate is best!

Chocolate Mint Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

36 chocolate mint wafer candies - Andes Mint

Directions

1. In a large pan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool off slightly.
2. At high speed, beat in eggs, one at a time into chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating until blended. Chill dough about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes. While cookies are baking unwrap mints and divide each in half. When cookies are brought out of the oven, put 1/2 mint on top of each cookie. Let the mint sit for up to 5 minutes until melted, then spread the mint on top of the cookie. Eat and enjoy!

Easy Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.
3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Penne Pasta with Sausage in Cream Sauce

 1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb sweet Italian sausage
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with juices
1 cup whipping cream
6 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 lb. penne pasta
1 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Melt butter with oil in large skillet. Add onion and garlic and sauté until golden brown and tender (about 7 minutes). Add sausage and mushrooms and sauté until golden brown and cooked through (~ 7 minutes). Drain. Add broth to skillet and boil until almost all liquid evaporates (~2 minutes). Add tomatoes with juices and simmer 3 minutes. Add cream and simmer until sauce thickens slightly (~5 minutes). Stir in 4 Tbl. parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. (This sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat when ready to use.)

Cook pasta until tender but firm. Drain. Put in large bowl. Pour sauce over pasta. Add 3/4 cheese and toss. Sprinkle remaining 1/4-Cup cheese and 2 T parsley on top. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips, not semisweet
• Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.