The Perfect Dinner Menu
    So many of my fondest memories include food, and making dinner. I remember cooking from a young age. When I was living at home with my parents, and nine siblings we always tripled the recipe. Now we make enough so we can enjoy the same dinner for two nights. When I smell dinner cooking it can transport me to another time and place with fondness.

    Another meal that is made with lots of love is Thanksgiving dinner. Eating leftovers for days is always a wonderful memory. Dunking a piece of turkey into mustard with lots of salt is so good. All the leftover pies, candied sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes with turkey gravy is amazing. Cassie and myself make a great team in the kitchen for any occasion. We will spend days cooking then in a matter of minutes it is all over but well worth the effort.

    There are some foods that I could eat everyday. Mexican food and hamburgers are some of my favorite foods. Some foods that I call comfort foods would include roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy. I also love homemade macaroni and cheese. I love to cook if I was going to make the perfect dinner this is probably what I would make. Here are the recipes so this dinner can be re-created.

Crock Pot Chicken
5-6 Chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken souP
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small onion diced
1 package onion soup mix
1-2 celery stalks chopped
¼ tsp sage
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper or 1 drop black pepper essential oil
Dash of Cheyenne pepper

       Put everything into the crock pot then cook for 4-6 hours. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

Broccoli Bacon Salad
1 Onion finely diced
2 bunches of Broccoli
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
½ lb Bacon

Dressing
¼ cup sugar
½ cup mayonnaise 
1 Tbsp. Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Bacon grease from the bacon you cooked.    

    Fry bacon until crispy. Then put on paper towels and chop into small pieces. Cut broccoli florets into small pieces. Mix up dressing ingredients and pour over broccoli, onion, cheese and bacon; mix well. Chill for one hour, then serve.

Dinner Rolls
4 ½ to 5 cups flour
1 Tbsp. or 1 package active dry east
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup butter or margarine
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs

        in a large mixer bowl, combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In a saucepan or microwave, heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt just till warm (115-120 degrees) and butter is almost melted; stir constantly. Add to flour mixture; add egg. Beat at low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds. Scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes at high speed. Stir in as much remaining flour as you can mix in with a spoon. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total) Shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl; Turn once. Cover; let rise in a warm place till double (about 1-hour).

    Punch down divide dough in half. Cover let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into desired rolls. Cover; let rise till nearly double (about 30 minutes). Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes or till golden brown. Makes 2 to 2½ dozen rolls.

Mixed Berry Slush
2 cups frozen mixed berries
2 cups pineapple juice
8 ice cubes
1 drop lemon essential oil
1 drop lime essential oil

 Blend up then serve.

German Chocolate Cream Pie
3 Tbsp. Cocoa powder 
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. flour
½  tsp salt
1 cup sugar 
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp. Butter    

Chocolate chip and nuts mixture
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
Use mini chips if you can find them.
1/3 cup coconut
1/3 cup pecans chopped up
1/3 cup almonds chopped up

    Mix cocoa powder, cornstarch, flour, salt, and sugar, stir in milk and heavy cream. In a separate bowl mix eggs and vanilla with one Tbsp cube of butter.  Bring top 7 ingredients  to a boil on low heat constantly stirring. When ingredients come to a boil add egg mixture, and continue stirring for 3 minutes until thick. Put in the fridge and cool over night then add chocolate chip and nuts mixture. Put in a baked pie crust and top with your favorite whip cream topping. 

Pie Dough     
4 ⅓   cups flour
1 tsp salt
1Tbsp. Sugar
⅔ cup margarine or shortening
⅔ cup butter
½ cup Lard (manteca)
1 egg
⅓ cup water
1 ice cube crushed approximately 1 Tbsp.
1 Tbsp. vinegar    

    Sift flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Cut in margarine, butter, and lard until thoroughly mixed, crumbly or pea sized dough balls. In separate bowl beat egg, water, ice, and vinegar together, then add liquid to flour butter mixture, gently mixing (do not over mix). The mixture might be sticky so add flour if needed (1 Tbsp- ¼ cup flour). Take a softball size of dough; put it between 2 sheets of wax paper. Roll out dough to ⅛ inch thickness. Take one side of the wax off placing to dough side inside the pie tin take off other side of wax paper. Trim excess dough, then flute the edge of the pie crust. Save excess dough adding half unused dough, this keeps dough flaky. With a fork poke holes in the bottom of cream pie crusts. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes or until light golden brown.