Several recipes for you in this post.  If you're planning an autumn party, this tray has a nice assortment.   First, and this is so easy, is the Orange Honey Butter.  The grated orange rind, takes it to the next level and adds a burst of freshness.  This is one of those recipes that just has a few ingredients, you can make in five minutes and it's just so good!  You can cut this recipe in half, but it's nice to have in the fridge and it keeps well.

2 sticks of softened butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
zest of one orange (1 tablespoon)

That's it, couldn't be easier.  I use the balloon whisk on my Kitchenaid, whip butter first, then add the honey, salt and vanilla and whisk again until it's aerated and fluffy.  Stir in the orange zest at at the end and a grating of more orange zest on the top is a nice touch.

Here are your links to the recipes:

There are literally thousands and thousands of chocolate cookie recipes out there, and trust me I've tried my fair share.  My family likes the Original Toll House, but I'm not a fan, oh I'll eat them, but I don't care for flat, crispy cookies, I like fat, chewy ones.

I found this recipe from Alton Brown a few years ago, his secret ingredient is bread flour.  He's tweaked it now, and it's even better and it was amazing before this slight adjustment.  The addition of just a bit more bread flour than his original recipe takes it over the top, and he measures in grams, which gives you the exact amounts instead of playing the guessing game with cup measurements.

So here it is, buy yourself a bag of bread flour and make these cookies, just trust me.  They are roll your eyes, moan and smack your lips good.  Even better with walnuts or pecans.  Hubby tells me me to never make another recipe, these are perfect.  Of course always better warm, so I bake off a few at a time and keep the rest in the fridge or freeze them in balls, then toss in a freezer bag to bake later. 

Don't overbake these, you want them just a tad gooey in the center.  In my oven at 375 degrees on a parchment lined insulated cookie sheet, 13-14 minutes results in the perfect cookie.

2 sticks unsalted butter
2  cups bread flour
1/4 HEAPING cup more bread flour - this is the secret to this recipe, heaping that last 1/4 cup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Use the large ice cream scoop for this, not a small scoop.

Bake for 13-14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Hubby is a big fan of Chick-fil-A Sauce, but he goes through it quickly and it's spendy.  I went online, found a copycat recipe from familyfreshmeals.com and they nailed it.  I didn't change a thing, he loves this and it just takes a minute to whisk together and put in a Ball pint jar to store in the fridge.

Ingredients

1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/4 cup barbecue sauce - I use Sweet Baby Ray Original, it's our go to
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise - I use Hellman's Light Mayo

Steps

Mix together and refrigerate for at least an hour.

How simple is this?  Whip up a batch and see if your family doesn't like this as much as ours does...

I've made this meatloaf since the 70's, nothing else I've made compares to this because it's so moist and flavorful.  I assemble it in the morning, put in the fridge, then bake for dinner.  Try it, you won't be disappointed.

~ Jan

2 lbs. lean ground chuck or ground round, I don't like greasy meatloaf
1 lb. roll of Jimmy Dean HOT Sausage
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 bell pepper, finely diced (optiona1)
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
1/2 cup ketchup, more for topping
1-2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 can tomato sauce

I bring ground beef and sausage to room temp. for a half an hour before mixing.  It blends so much easier when you do that.

Combine above ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed.

Shape into oval in a large roasting pan.  This is a large meatloaf, you need a large pan.  I make a well all the way down the center to hold the topping.

Mix together topping:

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon mustard

Spread on top of meatloaf, pour the can of tomato sauce around it, cover and bake, covered,  in 350 oven for two hours.

I never take off the lid, that keeps the meatloaf moist as it bakes.  Sometimes I surround it with yukon gold potatoes that I have halved, cut side down, and carrots.  If I add veggies, I will add another can of tomato sauce so that there is a lot of liquid.  Put the veggies in when you assemble the meatloaf, I like to use Yukon Gold because they don't get mushy.

If you need a roasting pan, here's a link for the large one Granite Roaster

I have a large red one, cause it's just the way I roll and red anything in the kitchen makes me happy.

Here's the link for this if you want to treat yourself 😃 Lodge Red Roaster

This much loved mix has been around since Mabel White Holmes invented it in the 1930s. 

You know how to make it, a box of mix, 1 egg and 1/3 cup of milk, stir together, leaving it a bit lumpy and bake in 400 degree oven in an 8x8 pan for 20-25 minutes.

There are so many variations, so many things you can add, and I do occasionally.  Green chiles, onions, bacon, corn kernels, they all bump up the flavor profile but the older I get the more simple I make it.  

Here's my go to, and I don't measure.  I take a heaping serving spoon of sour cream, I'm guessing 1/4 - 1/3 cup, add it to the Jiffy mix, add an egg, and then stir, adding just enough milk after the initial stir to get it to pouring consistency.  If you've made it before, you know how it should look and it's very forgiving.

Before I add the wet ingredients, I put an 8" iron skillet, don't use a 9", it's too big, on the stove, pour in a bit of olive oil and then sprinkle a tablespoon or so of the mix in the bottom, letting it get hot and start to bubble a bit.  Meanwhile, stir together the wet ingredients into the dry, pour in the skillet and bake at 400 for the 20-25 minutes.  By getting the skillet hot first and adding a bit of the mix to the skillet, it gives the crust a depth of color after you bake it.

I usually turn it upside down on a platter to cut, and it comes out perfect every time. It's always really moist when you use the sour cream.  This is seriously good cornbread, pinkie swear it is 🤤

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Recently Parade Magazine's website gave a tip to make your Jiffy Mix Cornbread 10X better.  I haven't tried it, but it is interesting.

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup of honey. 

Just add the melted honey butter to the baking pan, prepare the Jiffy cornbread mix according to the package directions, pour the batter on top of the honey butter and bake. 

The trick to making the perfect honey butter Jiffy cornbread is to not mix everything together. No mixing is required because all the magic bakes up in the oven, giving you a rich, tender golden cornbread with crispy, caramelized edges and a sweet perfume to scent your kitchen the moment the oven door opens. 

On top of adding flavor, the honey butter adds moisture, which means your cornbread will stay soft for days. 

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Well, their's a new kid on the block and it's yummy, yummy.  Our grandson Ben is visiting it this week, he says this is almost as good as his moms, but neither is a good as Starbucks.  Ben is twelve and he's been a Starbucks Pumpkin Bread fan since he was a toddler.  So for him, every pumpkin bread is measured against Starbucks, it's his holy grail . So for him, for this one to rank with his two favorites, you know it's good!   

From my perspective, this, as well as my mother's recipe that I also posted below are just the best, ever!

I'm just posting all three recipes, you can decide which you want to bake.  They're all excellent.

First is this new kid on the block recipe. I got it from Miss Annie's Home and Kitchen.  A great place to visit, the woman has wonderful recipes, or you can follow her on Facebook.

Here is Annie's recipe, with my modification, I upped the cinnamon:

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil

5 eggs

1 16-ounce can pumpkin

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon - I changed this to 2 teaspoons

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 (5.1 ounce) large package OR 2 (3 ounce) packages vanilla instant pudding

Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix oil, eggs and pumpkin in mixing bowl and beat well.

Add flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda to pumpkin mixture and mix until well blended.

Stir in pudding mix with mixer until well blended.

Pour into greased loaf pans.

Makes 2 loaves

Bake in 8x4"size loaf pans, 9x4 makes loaves that are too flat.  

Bake for 55 minutes or 1 hour until toothpick comes out clean

4 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup GOLDEN raisins
1/2 cup red onion rings
1/2 cup sliced raw mushrooms
6 slices bacon, crumbled - I always add more bacon, I usually double it

Dressing:

3 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup Hellman's Mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons butter

Mix together broccoli, raisins, mushroom and onion rings.  Set aside.

Mix dressing ingredients ell - eggs, sugar, dry mustard and cornstarch.  Set aside.

Heat vinegar, water and salt to boil.  With whisk, add egg mixture stirring constantly.  Continue to stir and cook until thick on medium low heat.  

Remove from heat and add 3 Tablespoons of butter and 1/3 cup Hellman's Mayonnaise.  DO NOT USE MIRACLE WHIP.

Cool dressing  and refrigerate in quart jar if making dressing ahead.  This make 2/3 quart of dressing and keeps for several days.

This keeps well if you toss ingredients and put in fridge overnight.  I never add bacon until I'm ready to serve it as bacon gets soft.

Oh my, this cake is just so good, it's indescribable.  It's better than grandma's homemade chocolate cake, it's better than Aunt Edna's secret recipe that she won't share, it's better than any cake you can buy in a bakery, it's just that that good!   If you've been looking for a decadently moist homemade chocolate cake with silky chocolate frosting, look no more, your search has ended.  This recipe dates back to the 70's, it's definitely stood the test of time and has been passed down for generations, now

I make this cake, my friends make it, my daughter-in-law requests it every year for her birthday.  It's just the best homemade chocolate cake, period! The only thing that could possibly improve this is just to drink it with a glass of cold milk. 

Ingredients:

* 2 cups white sugar

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

* 3/4 cup HERSHEY®'S Cocoa Powder

* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 2 eggs

* 1 cup milk

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil

* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 1 cup boiling water

* 1/2 cup butter

* 2/3 cup HERSHEY®'S Cocoa Powder

* 3 cups confectioners' sugar

* 1/3 cup milk

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting.

Frosting:

4. To make "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting: Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

What Do I Bake This In?

1.  One Pan Cake: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350 F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

2.  Two Layer Cake in 9" Pans.  Don't do it!  The layers will be too flat, trust me...

4.. Three Layer Cake: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350 F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

5.. Bundt Cake: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350 F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost

6.. Cupcakes: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350 F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

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I've made this recipe since the 70's and it's still a family favorite after all these years.  Serve it with mashed potatoes, corn, hot rolls and coleslaw and it's comfort food at it's finest.  

1 (10 1/2 ounce) can Campbell's Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup, divided, you only use 1/4 cup in the Salisbury steak, the rest you. mix with water for the gravy.

1 1⁄2 lbs ground round - I used chuck

1 ⁄2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

1 large egg, beaten

1 ⁄2 cup chopped onion

salt and pepper

garlic powder - about 1/2 tsp.

1 ⁄3 cup water

Steps

Sauce onion in a tablespoon of olive oil until soft.  If you omit this step they can be crunchy

Combine 1/4 cup of the can of soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, onion, salt, pepper, and garlic salt; mix well.

Shape into 6 patties.

Place in shallow baking dish.  I line with parchment paper for easy cleanup. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Drain off fat, if needed

Combine remaining soup and the 1/3 cup water; pour over patties.

Bake an additional 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Notes

We like a lot of gravy so I use an additional can of Golden Mushroom Soup, not listed above.  I add 1/3 cup water to the soup, warm it in a saucepan and pour over the potatoes when we serve it.