2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. good vanilla
1/2 cup oil
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped nuts


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together with mixer the eggs, oil, vanilla, sugar and buttermilk. Add the mashed bananas and blend well. Sift together all dry ingredients except nuts. Stir dry ingredients by hand into creamed mixture until blended, then stir in nuts. Pour into 2 or 3 greased and floured loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks in pans for 10 minutes, then carefully remove from pans and finish cooling on racks. Serve or wrap well for later.

This is the best banana bread I have ever had, bar none. This freezes beautifully if well-wrapped.

1 large bunch of broccoli
1 1/2 cups seedless grapes, any color, halved
1/2 cup diced red onion, or slice any size you like
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1/2 lb. smoky bacon
1/4 cup sugar, or more to your taste
dash of salt
2 cups good mayonnaise, more or less to your taste

Wash, trim and cut broccoli florets into bite sized pieces. Dry well.

In the meantime, fry the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels and cool. Break into bite sized pieces.

Place all ingredients in a LARGE bowl and toss to combine. Cover with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours to let the flavors blend and for the salad to chill.

Serve as a side dish or as a light entree.

To fancy it up a bit, serve on red or green lettuce leaves.

Red or purple seedless grapes are especially pretty in this dish.

This is best for the first couple of days, but will keep for at least a week in the fridge. I wouldn't push it much longer than that because of the mayo. It can be a bit persnickety as we all know.

Now this may sound like garbage to you, and it did to me at first. My friend had to talk me into trying this because it just didn't sound like it would be good at all, but I'm telling you, this combination of ingredients just WORKS, folks!

Enjoy!

1/2 gallon sherbet, any flavor, softened
1/2 of a 2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda
1/2 of a 2-liter bottle ginger ale

In a punchbowl or large bowl, mix all ingredients. Serve with some clumps of sherbet still frozen.

For orange punch, you may use:

3-4 cups orange juice, chilled
1/2 gallon orange sherbet, softened
1/2 of a 2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda
1/2 of a 2-liter bottle ginger ale

For pineapple punch:

3-4 cups pineapple juice, chilled
1/2 gallon pineapple sherbet, softened
1/2 of a 2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda
1/2 of a 2-liter bottle ginger ale

This can be increased, but make sure your container will hold it all. Delicious!

By choosing flavors of sherbet and juice you can coordinate with the wedding/shower colors.

This is the punch that we serve at most of the showers and parties and fellowships at our church that everyone loves so much. The juices can be omitted and it is still good with just the sherbet and sodas. We like it best when some of the sherbet is still frozen and floating in globs.

1 egg, well beaten
¾ cup sugar
dash of salt
2 teaspoons of good vanilla
12-ounce can of evaporated milk, such as Pet or Carnation

Combine in a large bowl and whisk well until the sugar is dissolved, then start adding clean, fresh snow. Mix as you add the snow, until it's the consistency you like.

This will serve 2 or 3 generously, or more if you're not pigs like us.

1 egg white, beaten stiff
2 1/2 cups pecan halves
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. good vanilla
dash of salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Beat the brown sugar, salt and vanilla together with the beaten egg white in a medium bowl on medium speed with an electric mixer until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Add pecans and mix WELL, turning to coat pecans on all sides with the egg white/brown sugar mixture. Spread out on a foil-lined cookie sheet(s), separating with forks into a single layer and as individually as possible. Bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn off oven, leaving pecans in oven. Let set in oven for at least 30 minutes, or until crisp and dry. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack in pan. Break apart if necessary and (if there's any left to store!) store in an airtight container.

Enjoy! It's a tradition for me to bring this candy to our church Christmas parties and fellowships. Everyone raves over it, and it's SO easy.

dash of ground nutmeg
2 tsp. whole allspice
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tsp. whole cloves
1 gallon apple cider or juice
1/3 tsp. salt
1 orange, sliced into rounds
1 red apple, sliced into rounds
1 green apple, sliced into rounds

Stud the orange slices with some of the cloves. In a Dutch oven or crock-pot, combine the brown sugar and spices. Pour in the cider and mix well. Cover and bring to a boil over low heat. Simmer 10 minutes; add the apples and orange. Simmer 10 minutes. If in crock-pot, cover and heat on high until steaming hot; add apples and orange. Serve straight from the pot or crock-pot. Spices may be strained out or use a slotted spoon to remove.

I make this just about every year for Christmas. It’s what I bring to our Adult Christmas party, and almost everyone likes it. It makes the whole house smell so good. Just the smell of it brings back memories of long ago holidays, and some newer memories, too.

2 sticks butter, softened (1/2 lb.)
2 cups plain flour
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
¼ tsp. salt

*NOTE: I have used ½ butter flavored shortening and ½ butter and it is still good. Be sure you use only real butter, not margarine, or it won’t be fit to eat. Also, you may add a little more or less powdered sugar if you like the shortbread sweeter or less sweet, to your taste. This dough doesn’t rise much at all, so roll it out to the thickness you want the finished cookie to be. This is a very soft dough, but if you mess up, just mash it back together and re-roll it. Also, add the scraps from each rolling into the unused dough and re-roll with the new dough. It is almost impossible to mess it up. It does stick to the rolling pin, so watch for that. Don’t use too much flour as you roll it out or it will be tough. I’ve found the easiest way to move it from the bread board to the cookie sheet is to use a cake frosting spatula or a large bladed knife, like a butcher knife or a chef’s knife. I hope I haven’t made this seem more complicated than it really is, I’m just trying to share some of my experience with it. Good luck, I hope they turn out great for you.

Preheat oven to 350°. With an electric mixer, cream the softened butter, then gradually add the confectioner’s sugar, beating well. Mix the flour and salt together, and add to the butter mixture with a spoon, then mix with your hands until well combined. Roll out about ¼ of the dough on a floured board until is about ¼ inch thick. Cut with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter into rectangles or any shape desired and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I use the new non-stick foil.) Prick each cookie with a fork and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Time may vary quite a bit because of humidity, different ovens, and moisture content of the butter. You just have to keep checking until you can judge about how long each batch will take. Makes about 24 1x2-inch bars.

3 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
3 eggs
1 tsp. good vanilla

Crust:

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 300-325 degrees.

Combine crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a small bowl. Mix well and press into an 8 or 9 inch springform pan. Press evenly into bottom and 2 1/2 inches up sides of pan. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese until fluffy, then add sour cream and sugar alternately. Add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Pour into prepared pan and bake slowly for 45-60 minutes, or till almost set in the center. It should still jiggle just a little in the center. Cool on a wire rack, then cover well and refrigerate. Best if allowed to ripen 24-48 hours in the fridge.

This is our favorite dessert for the holidays or anytime. May be topped with cherry or any pie filling, but we love it best plain.