Chicken Pot Pie or "Pea Pie"

I have never had a pot pie like this. It's a recipe from Heather's family, and absolutely delicious. This is real, down home, comforting country cookin'. It may sound a little weird at first, but it is one of my favorite things that Heather makes.

1/2 pound ground pork sausage
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1-3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
1 10 ounce bag frozen peas
1 package refrigerated pie pastry (one crust)

Brown sausage in a large skillet. When cooked, remove sausage from skillet with slotted spoon and set aside, reserving drippings in skillet. Add butter to drippings. When butter is melted, add flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until flour is slightly browned. Add chicken broth and milk and stir until mixture is thick and creamy. Add cooked sausage, chicken and peas to sauce and stir gently. Spoon mixture into 2-1/2 or 3 quart casserole dish, and top with pie pastry. Flute edges as desired and cut a few small slits in crust for steam to escape. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

This year for Easter, Heather and I wanted to make a different, really decadent dessert. So, we pulled out our Taste of Home Baking book, and saw the cheesecake tab. Both of us looked at each other and smiled, and flipped the tab, and this cheesecake was staring us in the face. We KNEW we had to make it. So we did. It was AWESOME. We hope you like it as much as we do!!

CRUST:
1-3/4 cups crushed chocolate chip cookies or chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

FILLING:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

COOKIE DOUGH:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips, divided

1. In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and one inch up the sides of a greased 9 inch springform pan; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low just until combined. Add sour cream and vanilla; beat just until blended. Pour over crust; set aside.

3. In another large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add water and vanilla. Gradually add the flour. Stir in 1 cup of mini chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls over filling, gently pushing dough down below surface (dough should be completely covered by filling). Place pan on a baking sheet.

4. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until center of cheesecake is almost set. Cool pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate cheesecake overnight. Remove sides of springform pan. Sprinkle with remaining mini chocolate chips. Refrigerate leftovers.


Source: Taste of Home Baking Book

Hash Brown Quiche

This breakfast dish is really different, and its a nice change from a traditional ham and cheese omlette! The eggs and potatoes bake up light and fluffy, and are soooo good!

8 shredded hash brown potato patties
1/2 cup butter melted
1 cup cubed precooked ham
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
8 eggs
2 cups milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place hash brown potato patties in a greased 9x13-inch pan. Pour melted butter evenly over the surface of the patties. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle potatoes with ham and cheeses. In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk or cream, and salt. Stir. Pour mixture over cheeses and ham. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Serves 8.


Source: The Essential Mormon Cookbook

Aebleskivers

The best way to describe an "aebleskiver" is a "pancake puff ball." They originate in Denmark, and are crispy on the outside and fluffy and light on the inside. Whenever we have company for breakfast, we make them, and serve with bacon on the side. To make real aeblskivers, you will need an aebleskiver pan (pictured above), which you can purchase online. It's a round pan with several round divots to pour the batter into. Enjoy!

2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
vegetable oil

Separate eggs. Place yolks in a large mixing bowl. Add buttermilk and mix together thoroughly. Add dry ingredients and mix again, just until moistened. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold in egg whites to batter. Heat aebleskiver pan over medium high heat, and add 1/2 teaspoon of oil into each well in the pan. When hot, drop batter by tablespoonfuls into pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn with fork and cook 1-2 minutes longer or until golden brown on both sides. Serve hot with your favorite jam and powdered sugar, or maple syrup and butter.

Farmer's Hamburger Soup

This is another version of Hamburger Soup from Heather's family. It uses pearl barley instead of potatoes, which makes for a different twist on the classic potato version. It is SO EASY and really yummy!!!

1 lb. ground beef
5 cups water
1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes
1 med. onion, chopped
2 med. carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1/3 cup pearl barley
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. beef bouillon
2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf

In soup pot, brown ground beef. Drain. Add remaining ingredients. Stir. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

My Dad's Favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My dad, Karl Haws, has made these cookies for ages. He has bag, upon bag, upon bag in the freezer. He especially likes these cookies very small, because they become these poppable little crispy-crunchy bites. However, you can make the cookies whatever size you like.

1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
5 Tbsp. evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour, sifted (my dad especially likes to use whole wheat flour)
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Mix well. Add combined dry ingredients and mix well. Add oats, walnuts, and raisins, mixing until all ingredients are evenly incorporated. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Chicken Crescents

This is a favorite meal at our house. It is filling, flaky and just plain yummy! They are easy and quick to make, which is always a plus.

Crescents:

2 tubes refrigerated Crescent rolls
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese softened
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 green onions
seasoning salt to taste
1/4 cup butter melted
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (we usually use italian bread crumbs)

Sauce:

1 can (10.75 ounces) Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 to 1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk

In a bowl combine cream cheese, chicken, green onions and seasoned salt. Mix well. Place a small amount of the filling on the wide end of the crescent roll. Roll crescent toward smaller end, tucking under seams and pinching closed. Roll the filled crescent in the melted butter and then in the bread crumbs. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat for all remaining crescents.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly brown.

In a saucepan, heat the soup, sour cream and milk. Warm through. If you find your sauce to be too thick add more milk. Be aware that as the soup warms it gets thinner so don't add too much milk. If you like your sauces to be more tangy, add more sour cream.

Spoon warmed sauce over crescents. Enjoy!