Jan. 3rd - 9th

President Bush's Favorite Brownies

1 1/4 C. flour

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 C. (1 stick) butter

2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided)

3 eggs

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 C. sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt.

In large saucepan, melt butter and 1 cup chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla, stir until well blended. Add sugar and mix well. Gently fold in flour mixture. Stir in remaining chocolate chips.

Spread into greased 11-by-9-inch pan. Bake in preheated oven 25 - 30 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean. Cool completely and cut into bars.

HAM & PINEAPPLE

We had LOTS of leftover ham and my husbands favorite way to eat it is with pineapple and a sauce. So here's the sauce recipe. I warm up the ham and then pour this over it and serve.

1 can pineapple juice
1/4 C. brown sugar
1 TBS. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 TBS cornstarch mixed with 3 tsp. water


MONTEREY IMITATION CLAM CHOWDER

1 1/2 Cube Butter (I know...A LOT!)
1 finely diced carrot

2 chopped potatoes
2 stalks chopped celery
1 med. onion diced
2 large cloves crushed fresh garlic
1 C. diced raw bacon (optional)
2 Pints heavy Whipping Cream
3-4 C. milk
2 C. 1/2 & 1/2
1 8 oz. bottle clam juice
4 cans chopped clams
2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. white pepper
3 tsp. Garlic Salt
1 1/4 c. Flour

In a large (5 qrt.) pot, melt butter on Med. Hi; slowly add flour to create a rue. You want the flour to soak up the butter. (if you add too much flour, simply add more butter) Then begin adding your cream 1 C. at a time. Whisk it in to smooth out the flour paste. Begin adding ALL other ingredients except remainder flour. Bring to a slow boil for about 45 min. In a separate bowl, add the flour and a little milk or cream, use a fork to whisk this around until there are no lumps. Add to soup and stir it in. Let simmer for about another 45 min. stirring CONSTANTLY!!! The soup will thicken as it simmers. If you want it thicker, you can always add more flour!

CHICKEN CORDON BLUE RING

1 lb. chicken Breast tenders
1 lb. ham
1 C. shredded Swiss Cheese
1 C. mayonnaise
2 cans of Crescents

In a food processor, finely grind up both the chicken and ham. Pour into bowl and add cheese. Scoop the mayonnaise in and mix well. (If you have a pizza stone, this will work the best. Otherwise, use a regular pizza pan) Open both cans of crescents; you are going to lay them in a circle on your pizza pan with the tips pointing outward and the short straight edge on the inside. Each crescent needs to overlap just a little. Scoop about 1/8 C. of the ham & chicken mixture onto each crescent. Then take the points and fold them straight over so now the points are in the middle of the ring. Bake for 20-25 min.