Hey thanks for the invite Jamie.  It is a great idea to exchange recipes.  I am in desperate need of some new ones.  Bryan was in PA last weekend and it made me so whitehall ward homesick.  What a fun way to stay in contact with each other.  So this is our families favorite cookie recipe right now.  They can be pretty addicting.  P.S. I almost have our families blog set up so I will send you guys all links as soon as I get it finished.

Peanut butter Filled Chocolate Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. In another mixing bowl, beat together butter, the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the 1/4 cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Beat in as much of the dry ingredients as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining dry ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon. I have a powerful Kitchen-Aid mega mixer which could mix cement so I used the mixer the entire time. Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1-1/4 inches in diameter.

For peanut butter filling, in a medium mixing bowl combine powdered sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth. Shape mixture into 32 (3/4-inch) balls. On a work surface, slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter ball. Shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chocolate dough and peanut butter filling balls.

Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake ‘em in for 8-10 minutes or until they’re just set and surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. They will be slightly soft so don’t overbake ‘em unless you want to play ice hockey out front with them.

You can pretty these up with a little drizzle of chocolate, but I had to get my flour covered butt out of the kitchen.  They’re just as good without.

Ricki's Rolls (thats my mom)

Mom's Rolls

7 cups flour
1 1/2 Tb active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
2 teas salt
2 eggs

Put 2 cups flour in bowl with yeast in center. Heat the milk, sugar, butter, salt in saucepan over low heat. When sugar is dissolved and butter is almost all melted (not too hot, not too cold) pour into flour and yeast. Add 2 eggs. Mix with mixer for about 2 minutes. Then add rest of flour and knead on floured surface. Put in greased bowl and cover with light towel. Let rise. (I usually make the dough in the morning and let the dough rise all day. Punching it down 1 or 2 times). About 1 hour before cooking, form into balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise until almost doubled in size. Bake at 375 for 18-20 min.

It took some practice for me.......but I'm sure all of you expertise bakers... will be just fine!!!

YAY!!! I love you guys....K, I will invite Louisa...and Anna too....I didn't have a recipe of hers, but those cinnamon rolls sound super nummy, and I think she has a really good pizza dough recipe that I remember NOT getting. And you guys can invite anyone you want too!!!

Thank you!

What a brilliant and clever idea Jamie! Maybe you should get sick more often. J/K I really do hope you are feeling better. Thank you for inviting me and I am so excited to start writing down all of the recipes. All of you are amazing cooks and I can't wait to share new recipes I have learned too. I just emailed Brenda the other day asking for a recipe, and now we have this great outlet to share.
I agree with Terri, I definitely need the roll recipe from Jamie. Brenda also has a really good one she made for Thanksgiving so we need to post both of them. Trena, I have been thinking about those cookies you make with the snickers in them. Terri, you made some killer meatballs one of the many times you entertained us at your house with your delicious food. I am so glad to have JoAnna's bread recipe. Can't wait to try it!!!!!
This is going to be toooo much fun!!

Thanks all of you!!

Miss you and wish I was going to be in Utah with all of you in August, but my family is coming down here then on vacation and I didn't think it would be too nice to leave them. Have so much fun!!

Love,
Camille

Good Job Jame!

Thank you for thinking of this. I am so happy that I have Camille's sugar cookie receipe!! Seriously! I can't believe that I didn't get that from her sooner. That will most definetly become a Christmas tradition in our family as well. I LOVE THOSE!! I know that Santa will too.

JoAnna must post her coffee cake receipe on here.

And Jamie, can you post your crock pot sweet tasting pork that you made that one time... with coke I think?? OH and your moms rolls??

Is Louisa a part of this?? Because if so she has to post her cinnamon rolls and the frosting!!! NOTHING HAS EVER COME CLOSE TO HER ROLLS!!!! I LOVE THEM.
I've heard that Brett's are pretty darn good too, but I've never had the pleasure.

I'm dying here thinking about all of this.

O.K. gotta run. I love you and again thanks for this!
Terri

2+ years later...

Oh Jamie, this blog is much needed! Thank you. This post is not about food but oh well. I have been laughing at myself for the last few days and I have been thinking I need to share this with my Whitehall Ward friends, so thanks Jamie for giving me the chance to share! Remember the file folders Jamie did for one Enrichment Activity? Yeah well I just finished them. FINALLY. I am so proud of myself! I hope you all appreciate my accomplishment.

a side note......

Just cause I don't have a recipe of yours in my recipe box, doesn't mean I don't love you or have a special memory of you. If you were in the Whitehall Ward when I was, chances are......I love you too! Cause we all loved everyone, and that was why the Whitehall ward is so special!!!
Jamie

Staying Close with My PA Friends

So, I have strep throat, and I needed something cool to slide down my throat, and I start craving Trena Hofelings Orange Julius. I open up my recipe box, and thankfully its there. Then I start thinking about my good friends from PA, and how much I miss them, and remember all the fun things we did. Each memory I think of for some reason involves food!! So I thought it would be fun to connect with everyone on a regular basis and share what we love best....FOOD and RECIPES. (ok, you can post about anything and everything too!!)
When I think of all my friends, I can remember with all of them some sort of special moment involving food. So I'd like to share what food/recipes I have in my recipe box that came from all of you!

Terri
Terri, when I think of you, I think of garlic!!! I know how much you and Dave cook with garlic. And I love it too! I also think of a new favorite snack that you taught me...popcorn dipped in salsa!! MMMmmmm!! And a recipe you gave me that I love:

Black Bean Lasagna
9 lasagna Noodles
2-15 oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
non stick spray coating
1/2 c onion, chopped
1/2 c green peppers, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
(you added: we LOVE garlic, so sometimes I add more than just 2)
1-15 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 c snipped cilantro
1-12 oz container low fat cottage cheese
1-8 oz package of cream cheese
1-8oz. container sour cream
halved tomato slices (optional)
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain. Mash 1 can of beans; set aside. Spray large skillet with non stick coating; add onion, green pepper and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat till tender but not brown. Add mashed beans, un-mashed beans, tomato sauce, and snipped cilantro and heat through.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream; set aside. Spray a 3 quart rectangular baking dish with non stick coating. Arrange three of the noodles in a dish. Top with one third of the bean mixture. Spread with one third of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice, ending with the bean mixture and reserving the remaining cheese mixture. Bake covered in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 min or till heated through. Dallop with reserved cheese mixture. Let stand for 10 minutes. If desired, garnish with tomatoes.

JoAnna
JoAnna, when I think of you.........I have a list. I think of peasant bread, pound cake, bowtie pasta, Brian's favorite coffee cake, homemade pizza....and the hot loaf sandwich. I'm going to include your peasant bread recipe because on average we make it about 3 times a week. We LOVE it!! And I still have it on the back of "a note to school" form that you wrote it on for me.

French Peasant Bread
1 pkg dry yeast
2 c warm water
1 T sugar
2 t salt
4 c flour
oil
corn meal
melted butter
parmesan, rosemary, oregano
Place yeast, water, sugar, and salt in a warm bowl and stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until blended. Do not knead. Cover and let rise one hour or until doubled in size. Flour hands, remove dough from bowl and place in 2 rounds on an oiled cookie sheet with corn meal. Let rise and additional hour. Brush top with melted butter and bake @ 425 for 10 min. Reduce heat to 375 and cook for 15 min. Remove from oven and brush again with butter. Serve warm.
**Sometimes we add grated parmesan and oregano or fresh rosemary on top BEFORE BAKING.

Camille
Camille, when I think of you, I remember being at the ward Christmas party and seeing these beautiful sugar cookies, eating them, and thinking...who the hell made these???? They were soooo good. So it has become tradition for us to make them every Christmas--and what a good staple to have in my recipe box. Also, I think of your lime chicken tacos that we had just before we moved! We love those too!!

Camille's Sugar Cookies
1 lb butter
3 eggs
2 c sugar
1/4 teas salt
2 teas vanilla
2 Tb almond extract
6 cups flour
1 teas baking soda
1. Combine sugar and butter
2. Add flavor and eggs
3. add dry ingredients.
** refrigerate overnight. roll out while cold.
Bake at 375 for 8 min.

Trena
Trena when I think of you, I think of Orange Julius' and anything with Vanilla in it. I remember those cookies you made for YW one time, where you said you used a LOT of vanilla, and they were so nummy. You also made a really nummy punch for your scentsy party you had too!!

Orange Julius
3 T orange juice concentrate
1 teas vanilla
1/4 c sugar
1 c milk
10 ice cubes
BLEND!

Brenda
Brenda, when I think of you, i think of your trifle that you make. The one with the fruit and the pudding, and the angel food cake. MMMMmmmmm, and you feel good about eating it too!
Unfortunately I never got the recipe. We just had a ward social, and someone made it, and i had Brenda memories going through my head. But one recipe I do have from you, is the pumpkin apple dip one! You made it for a baby shower....i think Tonyas...and at Bunco!!!

Pumpkin Apple Dip
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
15 oz pumpkin
3 tsp pumpkin spice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ginger
Mix all together. Serve with sliced apples!

Tammie
Tammie, when I think of you, I think of Honey-Lime fruit toss. I got it from you when you and Terri and I were on our emailing/weight loss chronicles kick. That was fun, hu?!! I love this recipe because it is so easy, and so great!!! It's definitely become a family favorite of ours! My kids LOVE it too.

Honey-Lime Fruit Toss
1 20 oz can Pineapple Chunks, drained, reserving 1/4 cup of juice
1 11 or 15 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
1 large banana, sliced
1 kiwi fruit, peeled, halved and sliced
1 cup quartered strawberries
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp honey
Comine fruit in a bowl. Stir together the pineapple juice, lime juice and honey. Pour over fruit salad; toss to coat.


I have been dying to come up with a way that I can still connect with you all, and I would love to share our favorite or new recipes with each other. Maybe this will help me get my much needed Whitehall ward girls fix. I know I was supposed to be in Pennsylvania when I was to meet all of you, and I am forever thankful for all the times that we shared with one another. It makes me so depressed to think of how much I miss you all, but I know that you all will have a special place in my heart that I will treasure forever! I love you girls!!!!

Jamie