Pumpkin Spice Baked Oatmeal

recipe and image from Celebrating Sweets

Joe’s Crab Shack Garlic Steamed King Crab Legs

recipe from Top Secret Recipes; image from Holiday Trips

Pumpkin Lust Pie

This stuff is so good, sometimes we have it in the middle of the summer.  The pumpkin spice pudding mix can be hard to find, so be sure and stock up during the fall holidays when you see it.  My dad, who has eaten a lot of my cooking, proclaimed this dessert “the best thing you’ve ever made”.  It has pretty much replaced pumpkin pie in our house!
recipe and image courtesy: Boys Ahoy

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

I have a thing for chocolate and mint, and I love the flavor of peppermint during the holidays.  I knew I had to try these dark chocolate peppermint crunch cookies, and once I tasted them, I knew they would be the perfect addition to the cookie tins we made for The Messy Mister’s coworkers. 

I once watched Giada De Laurentiis on the food network claim you should never make anything chocolate without adding some coffee to flavor it.  Now I know why.  The coffee granules in these cookies add a depth and richness to the chocolate.  I wasn’t sure about adding peppermint on top of all that, but it really is very nice.

image courtesy A Kitchen Addiction; recipe courtesy back of the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips bag

Chewy Ginger Cookies

These ginger cookies are a year-round family favorite, though the flavors lend themselves particularly well during the Christmas season.  The recipe is an old family favorite that came from a neighbor of my grandmother’s.  Sharon is the sweetest friend of my grandma’s, and she used to run the best daycare/babysitting service in town.  She would cook up gigantic batches of these cookies and keep them in old ice cream containers right by her front door, so that when your parents came to pick you up she could send you out the door with one of these.  I don’t know how we got our hands on the recipe, but I’m sure glad we did!  Everybody who tries them just loves them!image courtesy Life Made Simple

The half batch is like a regular batch of cookies, and will make around 48 cookies.  The gigantic original batch will feed an army.  Try freezing them, though.  Perfect to toss in school lunches; they will be thawed out and perfectly chewy just in time for lunch!

“Better-Than-Christmas” Poke Cake

I made this over the holidays, and we LOVED it!  Such a fun, festive, holiday take on the poke cake! 

recipe and photo courtesy Something Swanky

I didn’t have any hot fudge sauce on hand, so I used this quick and easy recipe, and was thrilled with how it turned out!

Classic Apple Pie

My Father-In-Law requested I bring an apple pie to Thanksgiving.  This caused me to panic more than just a little bit.  I have never been able to make a very good apple pie; they always turn out really soupy and no matter what I do I have never been able to cook them long enough to get them to set up without burning the crust at the same time. 

But I couldn’t let my FIL down.  He’s such a super guy, and he never asks for anything. 

I ended up using my new favorite buttery, flaky crust recipe, and shielding the top crust for a good portion of the cooking time, but the pie turned out beautifully.  We were all pretty impressed, including my FIL, who claims it’s important to eat apple pie with a slice of cheese. 

recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen; image courtesy Martha Stewart

Pecan Pie

I recently brought this pecan pie to a family function.  There were several pecan pie lovers there, which made me nervous, but each of them enjoyed it, and I think it might have been the best pecan pie I’ve ever had.  Go the extra mile and make the buttery, flaky, from-scratch pie crust recipe here.  You won’t believe your taste buds! 

image courtesy Picture Perfect Meals; recipe courtesy The Pioneer Woman

Baked Beans

I was hosting a few guests, including my Mother In Law, recently for a birthday party.  Because cooking for her makes me nervous, and because I was short on time, I decided to keep it simple and I made (ahead!) my ham & swiss sliders and these baked beans.  Both were a smashing success, so I thought I would share the recipe here.  It’s a recipe I’ve been making for probably 15 years, and I don’t even remember where it came from, but even my bean-hating kids love these beans! 
image courtesy:  Cook Like A Champion

Brown Sugar Baked Ham

I only recently discovered this recipe for ham via Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, but have since made it several times, including once for my Mother In Law, who is a legendary cook!  When she asked me for the recipe, I knew I had a winner!

I realize I’m posting this AFTER Easter, but I decided to do it anyway because I know this is one recipe I’ll be back to reference at least four or five times before next Easter rolls around!
photo & recipe courtesy Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Funeral Potatoes

Easter is coming right up, and there’s nothing better to serve with that Easter ham than a big dish of funeral potato casserole!  This recipe is well-loved when made with canned cream of chicken soup, but even better (and gluten-free!) when made with from-scratch cream of chicken soup. 

photo courtesy:  http://mjr.earthbalancenatural.com/recipe/funeral-potatoes-gluten-free-vegan/