Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake


This cheesecake is a new family favorite. It is so creamy and very easy to make.

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

1 recipe Chocolate Crumb Crust (recipe follows)
1 (11 ounce) package chocolate chips
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Fresh raspberries or strawberries as garnish

Prepare Chocolate Crumb Crust, set aside. Melt chocolate chips in micorwave on high power for 1 minute, stir. Micorwave 20 seconds more and stir until well blended; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk and melted chocolate. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour into prepared Chocolate Crumb Crust. Bake at 300 detgrees for about 1 hour or until center is set. Cool, then chill in the refrigerator overnight. To serve, garnish with freshraspberries or strwaberries. Makes 12 servings.

Chocolate Crumb Crust

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Press firmly on bottom of greased 9-inch springform pan.

Ghiradelli Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting


Ghirardelli Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 bar (2 ounces) Ghirardelli 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bar, melted

Beat sour cream with sugar and vanilla until smooth. Mix in melted chocolate. Yields one 9 x 13 cake.

Sunday Chicken




This is another great recipe for the crock pot. It is very simple and has a lot of flavor.



Sunday Chicken

8-10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (16 ounce) bottle Russian Dressing
1 packet dry Onion Soup Mix
1 jar Pineapple Apricot Preserves

Place chicken in a baking dish. Mix remaining ingredients well and pour over chicken. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice.

Pound Cake

Pound Cake

1 Stick of butter at room temperature

1 1/2 Cups sugar

1/2 Cup sour cream

1/4 Teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 Cups flour

3 eggs

1/2 Teaspoon vanilla

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar. Add sour cream and mix until incorporated. Sift baking soda and flour together. Add to the creamed mixture alternating with the eggs, beating in each egg one at a time. Add Vanilla.

Pour the mixture into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake 40 minutes to an hour ( I baked it for an hour and it still needed a little more time) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Chicken With Pineapple Juice


This recipe is great for cooking in a crock pot.

Chicken With Pineapple Juice

8-10 Chicken Breasts
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 (6 oz) can Pineapple Juice
2 (8 ounce) packages Cream Cheese

Skin the chicken and place in baking dish. Mix all other ingredients in blender until smooth. Pour over chicken and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a Lion House dessert recipe. It makes 5 to 6 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 3/4 cups softened butter

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

5 1/2 tablespoons water

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

6 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons soda

3 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lina a cookie sheet with wax paper. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, water, and vanilla and mix until creamy. Add the flour, slat, and soda. Mix well. Gently fold in chocolate chips, mixing only until chips are evenly distributed. (Overmixing results in broken chips and discolored dough.) Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Potato Salad

Potato Salad

5 pounds red potatoes

12 eggs, hard boiled

2 cups celery

2 cups green onion

1 cup kosher dill pickles

2 1/2 cups mayonnaise

2 tablespoons mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons Lawry's seasoning salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Boil potatoes with a dash of salt. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Cover 20-25 minutes or until just tender. Drain well, cool slightly. Peel and cube. Chop eggs, celery, green onions, and pickles. Combine mayonnaise, mustard, seasoning salt, and pepper in separate bowl. Stir together and chill.

Barbecue Buns

Barbecue Buns

1 2/3 cups warm water

2 packages yeast

1/3 cup warm milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 eggs

6 1/4 cups flour

1/3 cup melted butter

Mix water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Mix sugar, salt, eggs, and butter. Add yeast mixture and then flour. Let rise, punch down and let rise again. Cut into 10 pieces. Roll into hamburger size rolls. Place on greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. After they come out of the oven brush with butter.

Pizza Crust

Pizza Crust

2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons yeast
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil


Mix water, sugar, and yeast together; let rise for 5 minutes. Mix flour, salt, and oil and mix into yeast mixture. Let rise 20-30 minutes. Roll out in pan. Top with sauce and favorite toppings and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. This recipe makes enough dough for 2 jelly roll pans.

Layered Brownies


You will want to cut these into small portions because these brownies are very rich.

Layered Brownies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups confections sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

Glaze

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

Brownies: Heat oven to 300 degrees. Butter a 9x13 pan. Melt the stick of butter and chocolate in a small pan over very low heat. Remove from heat. While the mixture cools, beat together the sugar, eggs, and salt for 8 minutes. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then the flour and vanilla. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake until the mixture pulls away form the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly, about an hour and a half.
Frosting: After the brownies have cooled for an hour, melt the butter over low heat until it's medium brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately beat in the confectioners sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla. Frost the brownies with this mixture while it's still warm. Cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
Glaze: While the frosting cools, melt together the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a small pan over very low heat. Pour over the white icing. (The best way to do this is to pour the chocolate on and tilt the pan back and forth until covered.) When the glaze has hardened -it will take an hour or two- cut the brownies into squares. (It is easiest to do this neatly while the brownies are at room temperature.) Chill brownies thoroughly. They're much better cold.

Baked Potato Rounds



These are just as good as potato skins but they are a lot easier to make. Make a lot to feed a large crowd or just a few for a snack.

Baked Potato Rounds

5 Potatoes
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste
1 cup mild cheddar cheese, grated
8 slices bacon, cooked and diced
4 green onions, chopped
sour cream, if desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Clean potatoes well. Slice into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place potatoes on a lightly buttered baking sheet and season each side with salt, pepper, and paprika. Cook for 30 minutes. Flip potatoes over and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven and place a pinch of cheese and bacon on top of each potato round. Cook until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Serve with green onions and sour cream.