Just a reminder that THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS has my mother's sugar cookie recipe, with a recipe for the icing used to "paint" the cookies.

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Over the weekend I made a ham pot pie for my niece's family. She'd mentioned that ham pot pie was her husband's favorite and I wanted to make a ham for my family, but knew I'd have a lot of ham left over.

Ham pot pie is a delicious way to use your leftover holiday ham. So I've posted my recipe.

Now...this is a made up recipe. It's probably not like a normal ham pot pie recipe! LOL But it's delicious.

Enjoy!

susan
THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS 11/09

1 box (15 oz) refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box. (I use Pillsbury.)

1 cup of diced potatoes
1 large onion
1/2 bag of frozen green beans
1 cup of diced ham
2 cups of "juice" from ham
2 tbs flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Bring juice to boil, add potatoes and onion. Boil for 15 minutes.

While boiling, make flour and water paste. When the potatoes and onions have boiled for 15 minutes, add the flour and water paste to "thicken" the juice of the potato and onion mixture.

Set aside.

Unroll crusts. Line 9" pie pan with first crust.

Layer frozen green beans on the bottom of the crust. Approx 1/2 a bag should make one nice row of beans.

Place diced ham on top of frozen beans.

Pour enough of the potato/onion/gravy mixture to fill pie "almost" to the top.

Place second crust on top of pie. Poke holes in the top crust for ventilation.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. (You might have to cover the edge of the crust with a strip of aluminum foil to keep from burning in the last 15minutes or so.)

Let stand five minutes before serving.

My younger sister, Laura, makes one of the best linguine salads for picnics. With the Fourth of July looming, I thought this would make a great addition for the blog. My mouth watered just typing the recipe! LOL

1 Tomato, chopped
1 Cucumber, chopped
1 Box Linguine
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
1 Bottle (8 oz.) Italian salad dressing
3/4 Bottle McCormick Salad Supreme

Cook linguine and drain. Pour dressing over linguine immediately, toss. Add chopped ingredients; sprinkle with Salad Supreme. Toss lightly, refrigerate and serve cold.

This week as I was leafing through the cookbook to choose a recipe to post, I came upon Mary's Cakey Fruit Pie and I thought...It's too bad I can't post the pictures with the recipes in this book.

The picture with my sister Mary's recipe is a picture of her and her youngest son Davey. Davey is a cute kid. Very happy. Kinda crazy. All of Mary's kids are outgoing and fun. Fun to be with. Her Daughter Stephanie turned 21 last week and wanted all of us to wear mini-skirts and high heels to go out with her for her first official (read: Legal) drinks in a bar.

Those of who tossed our miniskirts out during the Clinton administration had to beg off.

But seriously, the real fun of this cookbook is the pictures. All of us are represented at various ages and weights. With hair styles that somebody in some era obviously thought was a good idea.

Reading the book, using the recipes, is like being there with our family. Remembering things we'd forgotten.

Once again, I have to thank my sister Tammy for taking charge and getting this done!

susan

1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups fruit pie filling (apple or peach)
1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 cup sugar

Mix oil and 1 cup sugar together. Add one egg at a time and beat after each egg. Add vanilla, baking powder and flour; mix together.

Grease cake pan and pour half of the patter into the pan. Mix cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar together; sprinkle half over batter. Add fruit pie filling. Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture onto the batter. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Janette is one of my younger sisters. I've always admired her abilities as a homemaker. She doesn't just cook. She also sews and decorates. She's one of those women with lots and lots of natural abilities. And she's cute too. LOL

Meatballs have always been a main staple in our family. You can serve them with spaghetti or ravioli or on a sandwich. It's especially good if you have leftovers!

Hope you enjoy Janette's garlic meatballs!

susan

2 lbs super-lean hamburger
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups bread crumbs
1 tablespoon onion flakes
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Salt
3 cans (8 oz cans) tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese

Mix together hamburger, eggs, bread crumbs, onion flakes, garlic powder and salt. Roll into 2" balls. Brown in frying pan. Put in crockpot with tomato suace. Twenty minutes before serving add mozzarella.

It's always a joy for a mom to realize that anyone else in her family can cook! But in our case it was even more wonderful because I'm sadly lacking in the cooking department.

I found Sarah's coconut cake recipe in the family cook book and laughed. It seems she's a lot like her mom.

It's always easier to cook something when you have the head start of a box mix, package of Grands bisquits, or something!

These kinds of recipes not only give you a better shot at getting it right, but also they're time savers!

Hope you enjoy Sarah's coconut cake!

susan

1 box of vanilla cake mix
Slivered Almonds
Brown Sugar
1 can coconut pudding


Follow directions on cake mix box, adding in coconut pudding. Bake according to directions on box. Ten to fifteen minutes before it's finished, sprinkle on brown sugar and slivered almond. Put back into oven for the remaining time and watch closely.

I set this blog up to post recipes from my family's cookbook, created by my sister Tammy with contributors from my immediate family, our relatives (cousins and aunts) and our friends.

But over the weekend, I decided to try the recipe for Ooey-Gooey Turtle Bars. I found it on Pillsbury.com and the picture of the finished Turtle Bars looked fantastic. And they were delicious. The recipe follows, along with credit to Gretchen Wanek of Oshkosh, WI who submitted this for Bake-Off contest 43, 2008!

Now that the credit and details are out of the way, let me explain why my choice of dessert is important. LOL

I'm not much of a cook. Most of my sisters are. At holidays, we do a smorgasbord. Everybody brings a dish or two. I typically take a salad and a dessert. But imagine...Here I am, sort of unable to cook and my food competes with women who are pros! My mother makes homemade rolls that melt in your mouth and bakes a ham (and sometimes a turkey) for sandwiches. My brother Brian typically makes a huge roast beef (that also melts in your mouth) to be served on my mother's rolls, with delicious gravy.

My sister Helen makes a pasta salad that would make you weep and thank your maker. Tammy is a cake and cookie baker who always comes up with something to die for. My sister Laura is the potato casserole expert. Now, add another six or eight women who all come with an extraordinary dish or two and you understand my dilemma.

Believe me, it's not easy. I've tried bringing Kentucky Fried Chicken and Dunkin Donuts (two of my personal favorite foods) and even they can't compete.

So, I'm always scouring for a recipe that will be good enough to serve alongside my sisters. When I found these cookie bars, I knew I had to try them. And they were a HUGE success. My niece Amy even thought sister Tammy had made them. That's about as good as a compliment gets when it comes to cookies at one of our holidays.

The cookie bars were easy to make and tasted wonderful. So I thank Gretchen Wanek for being so smart and for sharing her recipe and encourage you to go to Pillsbury.com. I've found several wonderful recipes there!

susan

Ingredients

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookies
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
3 cups Fisher Chef's Naturals Chopped Pecans
1/2 cup LAND O LAKES Butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 jar (12.25 oz) SMUCKER's Carmamel Ice Cream Topping
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (16 squares)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 for dark or nonstick pan). Press cookie dough evenly in bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch pan.
2. Sprinkle 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups of the pecans over dough; lightly press into dough. Set aside.
3. In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Stir in brown sugar, caramel topping and graham cracker crumbs. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Pour over crust in pan; spread evenly.
4. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups pecans.
5. Bake 25 to 32 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown and pecans are lightly toasted. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes; loosen sides from pan, but DO NOT CUT. Cool completely, about 3 HOURS LONGER. (For firmer bars, let stand an additional 2 hours.) For bars, cut into six rows by four rows.

High Altitute (3500-6500 feet): Bake 27-34 minutes.

Found at Pillsbury.com

Gretchen Wanek
Oshkosh, WI
Bake-off Contest 43, 2008

My niece Kelli is one of my favorite nieces because she's my God child. She's also the daughter of my oldest sister, Helen, who is one of my best friends.

So I was especially delighted when I was invited to go out-of-town to visit Kelli and her kids for her daughter Addison's birthday party a few years back. Kelli made lunch before the party and her Sesame Noodles were the hit of the meal.

Who would have thought sesame seeds and noodles could be so good together? Well, maybe the Chinese. LOL

I was thrilled when Kelli put this recipe in the family recipe book!

susan

Even though this is a spicy side dish, my kids love it! Yes, even Daphne!

Kelli

1 lb. linguine, boiled
20 or so baby carrots, shredded
1 bundle spring or green onions, chopped
3 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
3 Tbsp. sesame oil
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. hot chili oil
1 tsp kosher salt (I use a Tbsp.)

Boil linguine. Mix all ingredients together and serve cold.

The Polish and Slavish among us don't have to ask what the heck a Pierogi is! LOL

They're delicous doughy delights that had at one time been a main staple of lenten suppers. Served with melted butter and onions, they probably contain more calories than most of us eat in a typical meal.

But they're delicious. And they bring back a lot of great memories for those of us who had moms who knew how to make them.

Right now, in my house, my husband is our official pierogi maker! For some reason or another he got the cooking gene. Which is why I'm always searching out recipes! Easy ones, why Pillsbury.com is one of my favorite sites, and why I decided to dedicate a blog to home cooking. I'll be searching out easy recipes for everyone who loves to eat good homecooked meals but is too busy to spend much time in the kitchen.

Anyway, my mom is Irish. So how the heck did she get to the our family's official pierogi guru? She learned to cook and bake from my grandmother, my father's mom.

It's one of the great stories of my family. My Irish mom is probably one of the best cooks of Slovak foods!

Enjoy the pierogi recipe!

susan

Dough:

4 eggs
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
5-lb bag flour (enough flour to make dough stiff)

Filling:

5 lbs potatoes (peeled, cubed and boiled in salt water)
1 stick of margarine
1 lb New York sharp cheese or Longhorn, grated

Filling: Using a mixer, mash potatoes and butter together; add grated cheese. When mixture is cooled, roll into 1" balls.

Dough: Mix eggs, water and salt in a large bowl. Using a mixer, slowly add flour, using only as much of the five pounds of flour as necessary to create "stiff" dough. Roll out dough to approx /14" tickness. Cut circles into the dough (The same way you would use a cookie cutter on sugar cookie dough. A clean tuna can can works and actually results in the perfect size). Put a potato ball in the center of each circle of dough, fold dough over and pinch closed. To make sure pierogi is sealed, dip a fork in flour and press along the very edge of seam, being careful not to puncture the potato ball inside!

Boil until tender and drain. Serve covered with butter and onions.

A tasty variation is to sautee onions in butter in a frying pan. Place boiled pierogis into butter and onions and fry until outside is crispy.

If you want to freeze, place pierogis on a floured cookie sheet, making sure the pierogis don't touch, cover with clear plastic wrap. Freeze overnight. In the morning, trnasfer frozen pierogis into freezer bag and return to freezer. Frozen pierogis can keep for six months.

Welcome to the new addition to susanmeier.com.

As a busy mom, author and teacher, I don't always have as much time as I'd like to have to cook. I have plenty of occasions to cook. Not just suppers and lunches, but also for parties, picnics and holiday buffets.

Over the past months, I've been scouring the internet looking for easy, yet still yummy recipes, and I've decided to share those.

A new recipe will post every month...and just before holidays when I'm searching for something befitting a Petrunak Family Holiday Buffet!

This blog will be nothing fancy. Just a tool for us to share recipes!

susan