Welcome to the kitchen! I must say I have grown up on home made food (my mother is a good cook) and here are some of my favorites as well as interesting and delicious-sounding recipes. So here they are. If you try these, let me know how they came out and I will post your reviews of each recipe if you like.

Home-made Beef Jerky	Angel Biscuits	Aunt Barbie's Pizza Dough	Cappucino Mix	Merlin's Magic Antiseptic Spray	Oregano Chicken
Greek Potatoes	Italian Garlic Bread	Martha Stewart's Easy Pie Crust	Apple Pie	Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread	Old Fashioned Hot Cocoa
Swedish Rice Porridge	Candied Roses/Violets	Martha Stewart's Perfect Pancakes	Energy Shakes

Angel Biscuits

2 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp. Baking Powder 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup shortening OR butter 1 package Dry Yeast 1 cup buttermilk or Sour Milk Disolve yeast in warm water and set aside. Mix dry ingredients in order given, cutting in shortening. Stir in buttermilk and water/yeast. Blend thouroughly. The dough is now ready to be refrigerated in a large covered bowl or made into biscuits. Roll out, cut, put in greased pan. Let biscuits rise slightly (will take longer if dough is cold). Bake at 400 degrees or until lightly browned.

Aunt Barbie's Pizza Dough
1 package active dry yeast 1 C. warm water 1 t. sugar 1 t. salt 2 T. vegetable oil 2 1/2 cups flour Dissolve yeast in water. Add all ingredients together and beat vigourously. Let rise 5 minutes. Makes two pizzas. Roll out, add sauce and toppings, cook at 425� for 20 minutes.

Martha Stewart's Easy Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups flour 1 t. salt 3 t. sugar 1 cup cold unsalted butter (I heat in mocrowave until soft, on "warm") 1/4 - 1/2 cup ice water Mix dry ingredients together and mix in butter until mixture is like meal. Add enough water to make a dough and chill 1-2 hours or until ready to use.

Apple Pie
6 cups sliced apples (about 7 medium apples) 3/4 cup sugar or 1/2 cup honey (honey tastes just as good and is better for you) 2 T. Cornstarch 1 t. cinnamin 1/4 t. nutmeg 4 T. meltes butter 1 t. lemon juice (can be skipped if neccessary) Slice apples about 1/4 " thick. Combine all ingredients. Mound filling well above pie plate. Bake 400� for about 50 minutes or until golden brown.

Cappuccino Mix

1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer 1 cup chocolate milk mix 2/3 cup instant coffee 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg Combine all ingredients. Makes a great gift! For more gifts go to the craft room. Perfect for any occasion and easy to make. Include a gift tag with these directions: "To serve: Place one heaping tablespoon in cup with boiling water. Use whipped cream if desired. Enjoy!" or some other such thing.

Merlin's Magic Antiseptic Soap Spray

HOW TO MAKE: Fill the bottle almost full with water and then add 3 tbsp. of liquid soap to prevent the bottle from sudsing up as you fill. Because minerals inhibit the cleaning action of soap, it's best to use purified or distilled water for this recipe, especially if you have hard water. Add 20-30 drops or more of tea tree oil for antiseptic power. Shake to mix. I like to use unscented or eucalyptus-scented liquid soap for this recipe. HOW TO USE: Squirt this wonderfully safe alternative on floors, laundry, toys, doorknobs, bathtubs, toilet seats, and more. I've used it to clean up after most any mess. Some of you will love the superclean medicinal smell of tea tree oil; some of you wont. Use Merlins Magic to wash those little hands too. It's a refreshing alternative to those expensive antibacterial soaps.

Greek Potatoes

3 lb baking potatoes 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano 2 garlic cloves, pressed 2 cups hot water Mix lemon juice, oils and seasonings in bottom of a deep flat pan, such as you would use for lasagne. Wash and cube potatoes. I cut them with a paring knife over the pan, letting the pieces fall right in. Stir potatoes to evenly coat. Add hot water. Bake uncovered for an hour at 475 degrees. Stir a couple of times and add more water to prevent sticking. Then let water boil away to allow browning for another 1/2 hour. During last 1/2 hour you can add a chopped green or red bell pepper as a variation. To gild the lily, serve with sour cream or plain yogurt and fresh spicy salsa on the side.

Oregano Chicken

3-4 lb. broil-fryer, quartered 1/4 cup lemon juice 2 T. finely chopped parsely 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 2 t. dried Oregano leaves 1/3 cup olive oil 1/2 t. salt Dash Pepper Wash chicken; pat dry with paper towels. In small bowl, combine lemon juice with remaining ingredients; mix well. Brush chicken on both sides with lemon juice mix. Place, skin side down, on rack in broiler pan. Broil, 6 inches from heat, 15 minutes; brush occaisonally with lemon-juice mix. Turn; broil, brushing with remaining lemon-juice mixture, 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until chicken is crisp and nicely browned. Serve chicken with panned juices spooned over.

Garlic Bread

The traditional Italian method. Very good! Some French Bread Some Garlic Olive Oil Salt Slice French bread or rolls in half, lengthwise, with a sharp knife. Toast in the broiler of your oven. Peel the garlic and rub it onto the toast. The surface of the toast will actually grate the garlic finely and the heat will "cook" the garlic just enough to mellow it. Drizzle a little oil on top and salt to taste. Enjoy the true garlic flavor of this toast.

1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1 eagg, beaten
1 tsp. grated orange peel
3/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 c. light raisins
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add egg, orange peel, and orange juice all at once; stir just until mixture is evenly moist. Fold in raisins and cranberries. Spoon into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour and ten minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.

Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread

Old Fashioned Hot Cocoa
Makes 4 cups 4 cups milk 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa 4 tablespoons semisweet chocolate, shaved or chopped Put all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place pan over a medium flame; bring milk to a simmer, stirring constantly. Do not let the mixture boil. Remove from heat when the chocolate melts. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Swedish Rice Porridge

1 large, firm apple (adjust if desired) 1 t. butter 1 cup white rice 1 cup water 1 cinnamin stick 4 cups milk 3 T. brown sugar (adjust if desired) 1/3 cup raisins (adjust if desired) 1 t. vanilla extract Cut apple into small pieces after peeled and cored. Rub butter on bottom of pan to prevent rice from sticking. Put rice, water, and cinnamin stick in pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Lower heat until mixture simmers. Cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until water is gone. Pour milk in saucepan (the same one) Heat until simmering, then lower heat. Add sugar, apple, and raisins. Stir. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Turn off heat. Add vanilla and stir. Serve warm or chilled.

BEEF JERKY Makes about 1 pound dried jerky

3 pounds top round London Broil, trimmed of fat 3 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1. Cut meat into strips a little less than 1/4-inch thick. Place strips in a shallow bowl. Combine salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture into strips. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and marinate for 48 hours in the refrigerator. 2. Remove a rack from the oven. Preheat the oven to 115 degrees. Remove the strips from the marinade, and lay them directly on the oven rack so that air can circulate around them. Line the bottom of the oven with aluminum foil to catch the drippings. Place the rack in the oven, leaving it partially open to maintain a constant temperature of 110 to 115 degrees. Leave jerky in the oven until well dried, 6 to 8 hours. Note: The USDA recommends cooking the beef jerky at 160 degrees for the first 4 hours and then reducing the temperature to 130 degrees during the dehydrating process.

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Candied Roses

1 cup hot water 2 cups sugar 2 cups small rosebuds OR 4 cups violets The flowers, very fresh and firm, should be washed, drained, and stemmed. Combine water and sugar. Stir until sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Add flowers. Simmer over medium heat until the syrup reaches 234 degrees farenheit on a candy thermometer (or until a small amount of syrup, when dropped into very cold water, forms a ball which flattens on removal). Stir flowers gently with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and continue stirring until syrup begins to crystallize, and reaches the consistency of coarse meal. Drain over a colander. Shake off excess sugar. Cool on wax paper. Pack into sterilized jars. Use as edible decorations for fruit salads, desserts, and cakes.

Martha Stewart's Perfect Pancakes

Makes nine 4-inch pancakes 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle 1. Heat griddle to 375 degrees or set a griddle pan over medium-high heat. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in bowl. Add egg, milk, and 2 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps. 2. Heat oven to 175 degrees. Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon butter onto griddle. Wipe off excess. 3. Using a 2-ounce ladle, about 1/4 cup, pour pancake batter in pools two inches away from each other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around the edges, 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute. 4. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on heat-proof plate i n oven.

Energy Shake	Start your day off right with this Energy Shake! Loaded with vitamins and calcium, it's a healthy breakfast for adults as well as kids (and it tastes good too!). 3 or 4 strawberries 1/2 banana 3 ice cubes 1/2 c. vanilla or plain nonfat yogurt 1 c. skim milk Place ingredients in a blender, blend 1 minute and serve.

Low-Fat Smoothies	Boost your energy level with this nutritious, easy-to-make drink. 1 banana 1/2 c. strawberries 1/2 c. skim milk 8 oz. nonfat yogurt Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 minute. For an extra-healthy kick, add a food supplement, such as ginseng or vitamin B. For a tropical smoothie, add oranges or berries.

Cooking Tips: To make Sour Milk:
Add 1 tsp. vinegar to the amount of milk called for in the recipe. Let sit until little bubbles form. Then add to your recipe and continue.