Happy Birthday Kathy, hope the day goes just great and here's a couple of recipes that you might like. The first one I took to an outdoor picnic last summer and it was a big hit. You don't have to worry about it getting rancid in the heat, either. CORN CHIP CRUNCH INGREDIENTS * 2 bags corn chips (8.75 oz.) * 3 or 4 cups dry roasted peanuts (or any salted nut you prefer) * 6 cups Golden Grahams cereal * 1 cup packed brown sugar * 1 cup dark corn syrup * 1/2 cup butter DIRECTIONS In a large heatproof bowl, combine corn chips, peanuts & Golden Grahams. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour over corn chip mixture; toss to coat evenly. Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 11-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 250 degrees F for 45 minutes; stirring every 15 minutes. Spread onto waxed paper; cool. Break apart and store in airtight containers. Sweet and salty, shiny & pretty. Easy and different! The other recipe is my Tuna Salad. I noticed you might be tired of your version, Kathy. Try this one. A maid for some really rich people gave me this recipe about 35 years ago and I've made mine this way ever since. And I never have any complaints from others either. Tuna Salad Several Cans Tuna (drained) Finely Chopped Celery Finely Chopped Apple Chopped Sweet Pickle Cubes (not pickle relish!) Mayonnaise to taste The apple gives it the best flavor! Hope you try it. ~tenderlee

I find inspiration and ideas from many threads at the Cooking Forum, pudgybaby, and I hope you will too. Welcome! Here are a few recipes I make that everyone seems to like. PORK CACCIATORE 1 lb. boneless pork, cut in 1/2 inch cubes 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 stalk celery, finely chopped 1 carrot, shredded 1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced 1 (1 lb) can tomatoes, diced 1/3 cup dry red wine 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves 1/2 bay leaf Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add pork and cook pork over medium heat until brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add onions, garlic, celery and carrot to same skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add pork and remaining ingredients, stir well, cover, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve over hot cooked pasta. (We like rotini or gemelli shapes best with this recipe. Unless you are a big fan of rosemary, you may want to start with less than the recipe calls for.) FRENCH ONION SOUP ��" serves 4 to 6 3 Tbs. butter 4 large sweet onions (about 1 1/2 pounds total), peeled and thinly sliced 1 tsp. sugar (optional, see note) 1 cup dry white wine 2 quarts beef broth 2 ribs celery with leaves, each rib cut in half Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1/4 cup dry fino sherry 4 to 6 slices baguette, cut 1/2 inch thick, lightly toasted 1/4 cup coarsely grated Emmental, Gruyere, or other Swiss-type cheese Melt the butter in a 3 or 4 quart saucepan over low heat. Add the onions and sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly caramelized, a minimum of 30 minutes. (The longer the onions cook slowly, the richer the flavor of the soup.) Add the white wine and cook over medium-high heat until the wine reduces to about half, about 10 minutes. Add the broth, celery, salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and allow the soup to simmer until the onions are meltingly tender, about 40 minutes. Remove and discard the celery. Add the sherry and simmer soup for another 5 minutes. To serve, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Ladle the soup into individual ovenproof bowls. Top each with 1 slice of bread, sprinkle with 1 Tbs. cheese, and place the bowls on a cookie sheet. Heat in the center of the preheated oven just until the cheese melts and bubbles, 5 to 6 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and serve at once. Note: The tiny bit of sugar added to the onions helps caramelize them, but the onions themselves will caramelize if they’re sweet enough and if you’re patient enough. I never use it, just keep them cooking. I always use firm yellow onions. The large white onions don’t seem to get soft enough and vidalias become soft but have such a bland flavor when cooked. MOLASSES COOKIES ��" makes about 4 dozen 2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp. ground allspice 1/8 tsp. ground cloves 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup butter, softened 1 egg 1/4 cup molasses 1 tsp. grated orange rind (optional but nice for a change) additional sugar In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients except sugar. Mix well. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Mix well. Add dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. Shape dough into 1 inch balls (you can chill dough for 1/2 hour to make it easier to roll) and roll in sugar. Place 2” apart on ungreased baking sheets. (I always use baking parchment paper on the cookie sheets.) Bake in preheated 375 oven for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are firm and the surface cracks. Cook on cookie sheets for 1 minute; then transfer to wire racks to cool thoroughly. Tip: I usually triple the dry ingredients, mix, and divide into three zip-lock bags. They’ll be fine stored in a cool dry place for months. Then when I want to make cookies, it only takes a few minutes to mix the other ingredients and stir in the mixture in the bag.

Here are a couple of our family favorites: SLOW-COOKER ADOBO PORK SANDWICHES WITH ROSEMARY-GARLIC MAYONNAISE 2 cups canned chopped tomatoes, drained 1 Tblsp. brown sugar 1 Tblsp. chili powder 3 Tblsp. red wine vinegar 3 Tblsp. adobo sauce 1 Tblsp. honey 2 garlic cloves, chopped 4-1/2 lbs. pork shoulder 6 sandwich buns Rosemary-Garlic mayonnaise (recipe follows) Toppings: lettuce leaves, tomato slices Process first 7 ingredients in a blender or food processor until mixture is smooth. Cut pork in half, and place in a 5-quart slow cooker. Pour tomato mixture over pork. Cook on HIGH for 8 hours; remove from slow cooker. Cool slightly; shred and serve on buns with Rosemary-Garlic mayonnaise and desired toppings. Yield: 6 servings. Rosemary-Garlic Mayonnaise 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 Tblsp. chopped fresh or dried rosemary 1 Tblsp. lemon juice 1/8 tsp. salt Stir together all ingredients. Chill. Yield: 1/2 cup. Recipe from Southern Living magazine, Sept. 2001 issue. CROCKPOT CHINESE PEPPER STEAK 1-1/2 lbs. steak (any cheap cut) 2 Tblsp. vegetable oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce 1 tsp. sugar 1 cup bean sprouts 1 cup tomatoes, diced 2 green peppers, sliced in strips 1 Tblsp. cornstarch 2 Tblsp. water 1 large onion, cut in chunks Cut steak in strips. Brown steak in oil. Mix garlic, soy sauce, and sugar; pour over steak. Cook 6 hours on low in crockpot. Turn to high and add sprouts, tomatoes, green peppers, and onion. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add for thickening. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes to 1 hour. Serve over hot cooked rice. LEIGH'S BAKED BEANS FOR CROCKPOT 1 lb. ground beef 1/2 lb. bacon (diced) 1 medium sweet onion (diced) 1 red bell pepper (diced) 1/3 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup light corn syrup 3/4 cup ketchup 1/2 cup barbeque sauce 1 tsp. each: salt, pepper, chili powder 1 Tblsp. mustard 1 can each: pork and beans, pinto beans, navy beans, and white butter beans. Brown ground beef, bacon, onion, and pepper, drain. Put this in crockpot and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook all day on low heat.

In all due respect, MsMito, I don't find that answer snippy. Unless her tone of voice was off? But it's likely she doesn't have an exact recipe, and just cobbles those ingredients together until it looks right. I mean, it does sound kind of simple. The only real question in my mind, without having seen the dish, is the proportion of ham to potato. The words "can" and "pkg" are a bit nebulous. And I think I'd use pepper jack to kick it up a little. But, really, you shouldn't have much trouble replicating it.