This thread is for recipes that are definitely not OP but should be shared for special occasions.
Be sure the ingredients are correct and that you have ACTUALLY TRIED the recipe. If we are venturing off the Beach into quicksand, we want to be sure the recipe works!
(I'll probably get fired as a MOD for doing this!)

off to look for recipes

oh man. hold onto your hats ladies.

Some of the recipes that I'll post are really easy and some are quite extensive....but all are really, really good.

First off:
Apple dumplings



2 Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
cinnamon
1 small can Mountain Dew (or sprite)

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir (it is supposed to be done on the stovetop..but I always use the microwave). Add vanilla, stir, and pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

It is insanely good. DH eats them for breakfast when we have leftovers.

Ruth - YOU ARE BAD!!!!

Spicy Cheesey Green Bean Casserole

2 cans Green Beans (you can use frozen....but I've never been a fan)
1 pound Bacon
1 can Frito-Lay Nacho Cheese
1 small can Frenches Fried Onions

A. Chop bacon into small peice and fry until crispy.
B. Mix together bacon, green beans, nacho cheese, and 3/4 can of onions
C. Place in a casserole dish & cook at 350 for 30 min.
D. At 25 min. in, sprinkle remaining onions over the cassrol.

SO BAD!!! SO GOOD! Particularly if you like a little spice!

No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crusts

DIRECTIONS
Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.

Spoon into two 9 inch graham cracker pie shells; cover, and freeze until firm.


I made this a couple weeks ago. Sooooo good, but I had to give it away because I couldn't keep it in the house any longer. Nutrional info available, but I don't know if you'd want to see it lol

"Taco Chips"

This is like nachos, really, but we used to take a baking sheet pan and make these when we were kids. It was a family dish we had every so often or so. We, as children, were told they were called "taco chips."

A bag of tortilla chips (be good and bad, and get yellow salty corn, okay??!)
pound ground beef
package taco seasoning
shredded pepper jack or cheddar or mexican blend cheese
FULL FAT sour cream
salsa

Extras: chopped tomato, shredded lettuce


Layer the tortilla chips on a baking sheet or pan or whatever. In the meantime, brown the ground beef and follow the instructions on the taco seasoning packet, after you have drained the beef. (We are being bad, not downright gross. lol.)

Alright, so ladle the seasoned beef all over the taco chips, then top generously (that's right, GENEROUSLY) with the shredded cheese.

Bake at like... 400 or so I guess, until the cheese is melted and some of the chips are slightly browned. Remove from the oven, put on your plate, and then top with stuff like salsa and sourcream, and lettuce and tomato if you are so inclined.

Simple and easy Chocolate Pudding Pie!

I like to get the little mini prepared crusts too, I would make one whole one and then little minis.. cause I like mini stuff.

A prepared graham cracker crust (you could use chocolate, but something about the contrast of graham cracker and chocolate pudding is SINFUL).

Couple of packages of chocolate pudding (WE'RE BEING BAD, SO DON'T GET SUGAR FREE)

And that's it, just make the pudding as package described, and put in the pie shell. Top with crushed oreos or REAL WHIPPED CREAM, NONE OF THAT COOL WHIP CRAP. Or whatever.

Chill for a couple of hours and then take a spoon and EAT IT ALL.

I got this recipe my mother used to make from my oldest sister. Absolutely sinful. I've eaten it on special occasions throughout my life but (thankfully) have never made it myself. Pardon if it's kind of jumbled but it was copied from my mother's handwriting.

The secret to success for this one is to let the ingredients get to room temperature before trying to beat/mix.

In small bowl with spatula, mix til smooth:
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
1/4 cup lemon juice

In med bowl combine:
3 oz pkg cream cheese (beat til smooth and creamy)
2 egg yolks (add to cream cheese and beat again til
smooth & creamy) [ If ingredients are cold, this will
be lumpy.]
1 can drained sour pitted cherries (gently fold these
in)

Now, fold the contents of small bowl into the med
bowl.

Pour into graham cracker crust and chill overnight for
best results.

If you want to get fancy, use the egg whites for
meringue (do this before you chill so it won’t sweat
and separate.

Beat 2 egg whites with 1/4 tsp cream of tarter til
fluffy. Gradually add 4 TBS sugar. Spread on top of
pie all the way to the edges so the pie is insulated.
Bake at 475 degrees F 5 to 6 minutes or til top is
golden. WATCH CAREFULLY. Do not overcook or
your pie will be hot and it is best served at room
temperature or colder.

This is the best bread pudding I've made. I've experimented repeatedly, varying the recipe just slightly until I got it perfect, or at least perfect to me at the time (my tastes have changed I'm sure I'd find it too sweet now, since a handful of blueberries seems extremely sweet to me after 3 months of 0 sucrose).

Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (loose) brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 6 cups (or one loaf) of 1-2 day old baguette bread, cubed (NOTE: let it sit out for half the time on one side and half the time on the other so it is very dry on the whole outside and slightly dry on the inside, cube it just before usage)
- 1.5 oz dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, whatever type of dried fruit you wish)
Vanilla ice cream - optional

Generously butter a 10 inch square baking pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Pour in the milk, vanilla extract and brown sugar and continue whisking. Lastly, fold in the heavy cream, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk until all cinnamon is 'wet'. Fold in the bread, using a spoon to push the bread down under the mixture and spoon more mixture on top.

Every 10 minutes for the next 40 minutes, repeat the spooning and pushing procedure with the spoon.

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Stir in raisins just prior to pouring the mixture into the prepared pan. Cover with buttered foil and bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the pudding is firm and golden (about 35 minutes). Cool pudding about 20 minutes until just 'warm', then serve.

Optional: Serve each dish with a dollop if vanilla ice cream.

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 10-12 servings
Nutritional info: Scary

I am not allowed to go to a co-worker party without my artichoke spread.

Stephanie's Artichoke Spread (named after my SIL)
1 8 oz. block cream cheese-softened
1 cup mayo
1 cup parm cheese-grated
1 12 oz can artichokes-drained and chopped
garlic-crushed or minced, use fresh or in the jar---do NOT use powder
garlic amount is to taste, I use ALOT. Start with a few Tablespoons.

mix all together, spread into a baking dish, sprinkle about 1 cup shredded white cheese on top (I have used mozz, parm, gouda, muenster, mont jack)
Bake at 350 until bubbly.
Serve with slices of french bread.

This can be made with some of the lower fat ingredients. I do get whole grain or whole wheat french bread to serve with it. It could be served on veggies, but it really goes best with bread that has been baked just long enough to make it a bit crusty.

An old favorite recipe from my vacations in Quebec:

Poutine

25 min | 5 min prep
SERVES 1 -4



The fast version:

• cooked French Fries
• cheese curds (farmer cheese or "squeaky cheese")
• beef gravy

1. Mix French fries and cheese curds.
2. Pour the gravy over top and wait until the cheese begins to melt.
3. Dig in.

The made-from-scratch version:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/e...ipe/index.html

* 1 cup pecan or walnuts, chopped
* 1 pk yellow cake mix* (18 ½ oz)
* 1 pk Jell-O Vanilla Instant* - Pudding and Pie Filling - (3 1/4 oz)
* 4 Eggs
* ½ cup Cold water
* ½ cup cooking oil
* ½ cup Bacardi dark rum (80 proof)

Glaze:
* 1/4 lb Butter
* 1/4 c Water
* 1/2 c Bacardi dark rum (80 proof)
* 1 cup sugar

Cake:
Preheat oven to 325º. Grease and flour 10" tube or 12-cup Bundt pan. I use a silcone one that doesn't need greasing or flouring.Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour batter over nuts.

Bake 1 hour. Cool. Invert on serving plate. Prick top. Spoon and brush glaze evenly over top and sides. Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat until glaze is used up.

*Note: If using yellow cake mix with pudding already in the mix; omit instant pudding, use 3 eggs instead of 4; 1/3 cup oil instead of ½.

Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum. Do this very slowly as it boils up!

This cake is better the next day and freezes beautifully. Unfortunately it also cuts well when frozen! Delicious served with berries and whipped cream or ice cream. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Y'all want to do some REAL cheating? Here ya go...ohhh, my mouth is watering. Just a warning--do not attempt to eat this all at home! Cook it for a crowd!

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup
From Paula Deen

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Pineapple Cake: Right Side up or Snow Ball
1 box yellow cake mix
1 14 oz can crushed Pineapple or 1/2 cup pineapple apple sauce and appropriate water for recipe
3 eggs
Mix together and pour into greased 9 X13 pan follow oven temps/time on box

Toppings
for Right side up
a can of pineapple rings reserve juice
maraschino cherries
confectioners sugar about 1 cup
Mix 1/2 sugar with enough pineapple juice to make a thicker glaze pour and spread ontop of cooled cake
top with Pineapple rings and cherries
Mix other half of sugar with Pineapple juice and some cherry juice (so it's not so yellow) for a thinner glaze and pour on top
Cover tightly so everything pleasantly squishes together

For Snow Ball
Container whipping cream
confectioners sugar to taste
coconut shreds

Whip the cream with sugar to taste till stiff peaks form Frost cake and the Let the Coconut Snow!

Cappuccino Muffins

Espresso Spread:

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

In a food processor or blender, combine the spread ingredients; cover and process until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until serving. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir milk and coffee granules until coffee is dissolved. Add butter, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375*F for 17-20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve with espresso spread. Yield: about 14 muffins (1 cup spread).


These muffins are special to me. My DH's boss and wife, with whom we're great friends, got married on April 12, 2007. They were both 40. It was his first marriage and her second. Their romance was a whirlwind and we couldn't have been happier for them. (When I first met him I thought, "perpetual bachelor".) Well, they started trying to conceive right away and agreed they'd stop trying on their one year anniversary. They had one month left to conceive when she found out she was pregnant. I made these for the first time to celebrate her pregnancy. These are divine. I got the recipe from Taste of Home magazine.