Sauerkraut Balls 8 slices bacon ý cup finely chopped onion 1 clove garlic, minces -----we leave this out 1 can (16 oz.) sauerkraut drained ý cup mashed potatoes 1 Tablespoon parsley 1 ý cup finely crushed corn flakes 2 eggs beaten Oil Fry bacon in large skillet crisp, drain &n crumble. Pour off all but 2 T. fat. Add onions & garlic to fat in skillet. Cook & stir until onion is tender. Remove from heat, stir in bacon, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes & parsley. Drop by rounded teaspoonful onto waxed paper lined baking sheet. Gently form ball shapes. Cover with waxed paper or plastic wrap, refrigerate until firm or overnight. Dip sauerkraut balls in eggs. Roll in crushed corn flakes. Heat oil to 375ð, fry until golden brown about ý minute. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot. Can be fried 24 hours in advance & reheat in 400ð oven about 10 minutes. We fry, cool, and freeze. This is my MIL's recipe for Sauerkraut Balls. We don't put the garlic in them. The Cheesy Bacon Chicken Tater Tot Bake is in the crockpot, smaller version, and with frozen hash browns instead of tater tots. The convenience store was out of tater tots. Note: My 3 quart crock pot is full to the top with only 2 chicken breasts, and not all of the cheese. We will be eating at 8:00! Oh well, I will be snacking in the mean time! Tami

I also have a Jambalaya recipe that I concocted several years ago at a family gathering. I think there were 20 some people there, so the recipe as I've recorded it is rather large. (with nearly 7 lbs of meat!) I prefer it done this way, with the rice prepared separately, rather than cooking the rice with the rest of the dish, since if there are leftovers the rice absorbs all of the liquid, making the rice gluey and the rest of the dish dry. Also since several members of the group didn't want it too spicy, the amount of red pepper, cayenne pepper and tobasco were much less than I would otherwise have used, but adding tobasco after it is served works very well. JAMBALAYA 2 lb Chicken Breast (3/4" cubes) 1 lb Honey Ham (1/2" dice) 1 lb Hot-Italian Sausage (de-skinned and broken into pieces) 2/3 lb Andouille-style smoked sausage 2 lb uncooked shrimp (cleaned, de-shelled, and de-tailed, cut into thirds) 2 large sweet yellow onions chopped into 3/4" square pieces 2 red bell peppers (remove stems, seeds and membranes and cut into 1" by 1" pieces) 2 yellow bell peppers 4 cups of rice 2 large cans diced tomatoes 1 15 oz can tomato paste Olive oil 10 cloves garlic 2 tsp red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp black pepper blend (ground) 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 4 shakes Tobasco sauce 1 tsp thyme 1 tbsp chopped parsley In one large pan, cook onion in olive oil, add thyme and 3 cloves of garlic (chopped) until onion starts to turn translucent, then add bell peppers and cook another 10 minutes or so. In a different large pan, cook chicken and hot Italian sausage until both are lightly browned and mostly cooked. Empty both pans into large pot. Stir in tomatoes (including water from tomato cans) and the tomato paste. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to a simmer and stir well. In the chicken pan, cook Andouille and ham over medium heat for 10 minutes, then add to large pot. Crush remaining garlic and other spices except parsley into large pot to suit taste. Cook rice separately while continuing to simmer large pot. When rice is done, remove large pot from heat and add shrimp stirring until it is cooked. Serve over rice, adding tobasco to taste, top with a pinch of parsley.

Best cake I have ever made is this one..... APPLE CIDER POUND CAKE 3 cups sugar 1-1/2 cups butter, softened 6 eggs 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup apple cider 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ICING: 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter, cubed 1/4 cup buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon baking soda Directions In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together all dry ingredients; set aside. Combine cider and vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with cider mixture to batter. Mix until well blended. Spoon into a greased 10-in. angel food cake pan or fluted tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Meanwhile, combine icing ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. While cake is warm, drizzle half of icing over cake. Serve remaining icing over individual cake servings if desired.

INGREDIENTS tablespoon LAND O LAKES Butter, softened 1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits) 1 can (10.2 oz) Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (5 biscuits) 13 large marshmallows 1/2 cup LAND O LAKES Unsalted or Salted Butter 1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping 1 teaspoon McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon Hersheys Special Dark baking cocoa DIRECTIONS 1 Heat oven to 350F. Grease 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with 1 tablespoon butter. Cut all 13 biscuits into quarters; set aside. 2 In large microwavable bowl, place marshmallows, 1/2 cup butter, hot fudge topping and vanilla. Microwave uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring once, until melted. Using wire whisk, stir until smooth. 3 In medium bowl, stir sugar and cocoa until blended. 4 Carefully place 1/4 of the biscuit pieces into hot chocolate mixture, gently folding in to coat. Add another 1/4 of the biscuits, gently folding in to coat. Using tongs, remove biscuits from chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip off. Drop 1 biscuit piece at a time into sugar mixture; spoon sugar over biscuit to coat. Layer biscuits in cake pan. Repeat with remaining biscuits. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over biscuits. 5 Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until biscuits are deep golden and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; carefully turn plate and pan over. Remove pan; immediately scrape any remaining topping in pan onto bread. Pull apart warm bread to serve. Using fresh marshmallows is key to the success of this recipe.