Jambalaya

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
8-12 oz Andouille Sausage, cooked & sliced
1 pound cooked, shelled, deveined shrimp without tails (I prefer smaller shrimp)
1 diced onion
1/2 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups uncooked rice (I like Jasmine rice)
4 cups chicken broth

Spray a large frying pan with nonstick spray.  Add the chicken and cook over medium-high heat until it is cooked through.  Reduce heat to medium.

Stir in onion, celery, bell peppers, and garlic.  Stir in salt & pepper.  When veggies start to soften add the Andouille Sausage.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, rice, shrimp & the can of tomatoes (do not drain the tomatoes -dump in the liquid too!)

Stir in the chicken broth.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low & cover the pan.  Let simmer 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender.

**Add hot sauce with the Worcestershire sauce if desired.

Makes 6-8 servings.

English Toffee

In a heavy 2 quart sauce pan over medium-high heat, mix:

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup water

Stir constantly and cook till mixture reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Immediately pour toffee onto parchment on a heat resistant surface. (I line a cookie sheet with parchment and set it on a wire cooling rack.)

Spread toffee to about 1/4 thickness. Work FAST! The toffee cools quickly and becomes unspreadable pretty quick.

Let toffee cool 1-2 minutes then sprinkle with:

1/2cup -1 cup of chocolate chips.

The heat of the toffee will melt the chocolate chips in a a few minutes. Once chocolate it melted, spread it evenly across the top of the toffee.

Sprinkle with chopped pecans if desired.

Let cool completely (until chocolate is hardened) -stick it in the fridge to speed things up if you want.

Break into bite size pieces.

Try not to eat he entire batch immediately. ;-)

Cream Cheese Squares

2 packages crescent rolls
2 -8oz packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
cinnamon (enough to sprinkle -maybe a teaspoon or so?)

Unroll 1 package of crescent rolls into a greased 9x13 pan. Press together the seams and press dough slightly up the sides.

Mix together cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Spread on top of rolls.

Unroll other package of crescent tolls on top. Lightly press seams together.

Pour melted butter on top of rolls. Use a pastry brush to make sure the entire top has a coat of butter on it.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of sugar. Then sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

To Make Crust:

In a small bowl mix together:
2 cups Graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
7 tablespoons melted butter

Press mixture onto bottom and half way up sides of a 9 inch springform pan.

To Make Filling:

Mix together until creamy:
4 -8oz packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add 4 eggs & mix until blended.

Stir in 6oz melted white baking chocolate

Pour into Graham cracker crust.

Warm 1/2 cup seedless red raspberry preserves in microwave -you just need them to melt a little. You do not want them to get hot -just warm enough to be a thick liquid. Dot the top of the cheesecake with spoonfuls of preserves. Cut through top of cheesecake to marbleize.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Turn the oven off but do not open it. Let cheesecake sit in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool COMPLETELY on counter. Then refrigerate.

**No mater what I do this cheesecake ALWAYS cracks where the raspberries are swirled in. The faster it cools the deeper the cracks. That is why I turn off the oven & let it cool in there & then on the counter before it ends up in the fridge.

Lemon Bars

Mix together:
2 cup Flour
1 cup Butter
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

Press into greased 9x13 pan and bake 20 minutes at 350

Beat together:
4 Eggs
2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Lemon Juice

Pour over hot crust and bake 20-25 minutes more. (It puffs while baking)

Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool.

Pistachio Pudding Bars

Mix and press into a greased 9x13 pan:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup softened butter
2 tablespoons sugar

Bake crust at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Whip and spread over crust:
8 oz soft cream cheese
8 oz Cool Whip -thawed
1 cup powdered sugar

Beat for 2 minutes (or till thick)
2 packages instant pistachio pudding
2 1/2 cups milk

Then pour pistachio mixture over cream cheese layer.

Spread Cool Whip on top of Pistachio layer.

Keep refrigerated.

Waikiki Meatballs

Sauce:
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
20 oz can Crushed Pineapple (drained but KEEP THE SYRUP!)
1/2 Cup Vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

Mix the cornstarch and the brown sugar together so there are no lumps of cornstarch. Stir in the juice that was drained off the pineapple, vinegar, and soy sauce. Cook over Medium/high heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens & boils. Boil 1 minute more (Sauce will get darker). Stir in the Pineapple. Then add meatballs and cook till heated through. Serve over rice.

**I normally use store bought pre-cooked Swedish meatballs to go in the sauce. I either pop the meatballs in the broiler to heat them before I add them to the sauce or let them simmer in the sauce to heat up. If you want to go fully homemade here is the meatball recipe that came with the sauce recipe:

Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds Ground Beef
2/3 Cup Oat Meal
1/3 cup minced onions
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 cup milk

Mix oat meal, onions, egg, salt, ginger, and milk well. Add ground beef and mix till thoroughly blended. Shape in to balls. Broil until fully cooked.