♥~Randi's Recipes~♥

1 medium onion, cut into wedges
4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 pound baby carrots
3 cups water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet, cut in half
1 small head cabbage cut into wedges

Place the onion, potatoes, and carrots in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Combine water, garlic, bay leaf, sugar, vinegar, pepper, and contents of spice packet, pour over the vegetables. Top with brisket and cabbage. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until the meat and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and halved
1 cup milk
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup butter
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place potatoes into a large pot and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Return to a very low heat and allow the potatoes to dry out for a few minutes. (It helps if you place a clean dish towel over the potatoes to absorb any remaining moisture.) Meanwhile, heat the milk and green onions gently in a saucepan, until warm. Mash the potatoes, salt, and butter together until smooth. Stir in the milk and green onion until evenly mixed. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve piping hot in bowls.
Randi's note: You can dye these green with food coloring, it's really fun and festive, I think we did it last year.

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tbs white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk
(the duplicated ingredients are intentional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and softened butter. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an X into the top of the loaf. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 30 to 50 minutes.
Randi's note: This works best if you continually brush the bread with the buttermilk/butter mixture continually throughout it's bakng. Best served with butter!

1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

3 (14.5 ounce) cans French cut green beans, drained
1 cup sour cream
1/2 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup coarsely crushed buttery round crackers
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the green beans, sour cream, condensed soup, salt and pepper. Spoon into a 2 quart casserole dish. Stir melted butter into the crushed crackers, then sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned and bubbly.

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Mix soup, water, rice, paprika and black pepper in a 2-qt. shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Season with additional paprika and pepper. Cover.
Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes or until done.

1 17-oz can white cream-style corn
1 11-oz can white shoepeg or whole kernel corn, drained
1 8-oz carton sour cream
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup margarine, melted and cooled
1 8 1/2-oz box corn muffin mix(jiffy works best!)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine first 5 ingredients, mixing well. Stir in corn muffin mix. Pour into a greased 12x8x2 baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.

1 package linguine noodles
6 oz chicken
5 oz bean sprouts
1 carrot, shredded
1 celery, shredded
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp white pepper(or more, depends how hot you want it)
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp water

Cook and drain the noodles. Heat wok or frying pan with 2T of oil, stir fry the chicken for 3 min. Add carrots, celery, and bean sprouts and stir for 1 min. Add noodles and the rest of the ingredients. Stir fry for 2-4 minutes or until 2/3 of the water has evaporated.

1 pound sliced bacon
2 (8 ounce) cans whole water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chili sauce

Cut bacon strips in half. In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until almost crisp; drain. Wrap each bacon piece around a water chestnut and secure with a toothpick. Place in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Combine the brown sugar, mayonnaise and chili sauce; pour over water chestnuts. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

1 box white cake mix
3 tbs pink lemonade drink powder
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour pans.
In large bowl, stir together the cake mix and the lemonade powder. Prepare the cake batter according to the package directions, using the eggs and the oil. Stir the lemon zest into the batter. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake according to box. Let cool 10 min. Turn out onto wire racks to cool.

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
6 tbsp frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed.
1 tsp lemon zest
6 cups confectioners sugar

In a large bowl, beat the butter, lemonade concentrate and lemon zest at medium speed with an electric mixer until combined. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tbsp cocoa powder
4 oz. butter
3 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats.

Combine sugar, milk, cocoa & butter in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over med. heat, stirring constantly, boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and peanut butter. Add oatmeal, stir to blend thoroughly. Drop by heaping tablespoon onto waxed paper.

For the biscuits/cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 stick butter, chilled
2/3 to 3/4 cup half and half, milk, or cream

For the filling:
1 quart strawberries
1/3 cup sugar

&
1 1/2 cups whipping cream for topping

Rinse the berries under cold water; drain well. Hull and slice the berries; place in a bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar; cover and let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour. Whip the cream (sweeten with 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar, if desired) until it holds a soft peak. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Set rack at center level. In a food processor (you can use a pastry cutter or fingertips) combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and pulse to mix. Cut butter into about 8 pieces and add to the mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, but with few pea-size chunks of butter left in the mixture. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and make a well in the center. With a fork stir in the cream or milk, just until dough is moist. Be very careful not to overwork. The dough doesn't have to hold together well at this point. Let the dough stand for a minute. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over on itself (knead) 2 or 3 times, until it is holding together and is less sticky. Gently pat the dough into a 6 by 12-inch rectangle about 3/4-inch thick and cut into 8 (3-inch) biscuits with a floured round cutter. Transfer to a buttered foil-lined cookie sheet. Brush on a little milk or cream and sprinkle tops with some sugar, if desired. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Remove to a platter and split each biscuit horizontally with a serrated knife. Butter the hot buscuits then top with about 1/3 cup of berry mixture. Replace the tops and top with a tablespoon or so of berries. Serve with whipped cream for topping.

1/4 cup butter
1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided

Place the butter in a shallow bowl, and set aside. Place the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute to start melting the marshmallows. Carefully stir the water and vanilla extract into the hot marshmallows, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Slowly beat in the confectioners' sugar, a cup at a time, until you have a sticky dough. Reserve 1 cup of powdered sugar for kneading. The dough will be very stiff. Rub your hands thoroughly with butter, and begin kneading the sticky dough. As you knead, the dough will become workable and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a working surface dusted with confectioners' sugar and continue kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes. Form the fondant into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. To use, allow the fondant to come to room temperature, and roll it out onto a flat surface dusted with confectioners' sugar.

2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5/8 cup lemon juice
4 eggs


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 in. pan.
In a medium bowl stir together two cups flour and the confectioners sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into bottom of the prepared pan;
bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden, in a large bowl beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs, finally stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. Rand's note: Tastes best with lots of powdered sugar sprinkled on top♥

1 lb confectioner's sugar
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3-4 tbsp. milk

Blend 1/3 of the sugar with the butter. Add the vanilla, 2 tbs of milk, and the rest of the sugar to the mixture. Gradually store in more milk until desired consistency is reached. [You know it's the right consistency when you can take your beater and it stick it in the icing and pull it out and it forms a peak that stays.] Randi's note: For chocolate icing, add 3/4 cup of cocoa powder to the mix. (mix the cocoa with the powdered sugar in a separate bowl before mixing into butter) For a different flavor icing, substitute vanilla extract with any 2 tsp of any flavored extract.