Gyro Sauce

1 8 0z container sour cream
1 small cucumber, grated
2-3 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt

Squeeze water out of grated cucumber. Mash garlic with salt. Add all to sour cream. Serve with grilled chicken (Greek seasoned), cous cous mixed with sauteed zucchini, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, and pitas.

Brownies

• 8- 1 ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup butter
• 5 eggs
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat; set aside. In a mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed for 10 minutes. Blend in chocolate mixture, flour and salt until just mixed. Stir in the nuts. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. (Don't overbake.) Cool and frost if desired, but that is not necessary.

Key Lime Pie

(If you are using the smaller Key limes, you may need as many as a dozen to yield 1/2 cup of juice.)

1/2 C real Key lime juice (bottled or fresh)
5 large egg yolks
1 can (15oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 graham cracker crust

1 C heavy whipping cream, chilled
1/4 C sugar
1 t true vanilla extract
Fresh lime zest

Mix lime juice, egg yolks and condensed milk with a wire whisk until well blended. (Mixture will thicken.) Pour into pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. (The center should look set,but still quivery, like jello, when the pan is nudged.) Cool to room temperature. Chill in refrigerator.

To make whipped cream, whip cream with sugar and vanilla. By hand, you should get some nice peaks in about two minutes. Whisk through the muscle burn!! Or use the Kitchenaid..... Also, use the sugar and vanilla to taste. I usually use a little less sugar and a tad more vanilla.

Garnish chilled pie with whipped cream and lime zest. Refrigerate pie until serving. These pies also freeze quite well. Thaw at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.

For an unbaked version, omit eggs. Refrigerate for 4 hours to set. Though soft, the filling is slicable.

Bacon Maple-Caramel Corn with Pecans

3-4 slices bacon
6-8 cups air popped popcorn (about 1/4 cup kernels)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup or corn syrup
2-4 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup pecan pieces or halves (optional)

Preheat oven to 250° F. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Transfer to a plate, crumble into chunky pieces and reserve 1-2 tablespoons of the drippings.

Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray and put the popcorn in it, along with the pecans if you're using them.

Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and reserved bacon drippings in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally, for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. It will foam up at first.

Quickly pour over the popcorn and stir to coat well, adding the reserved bacon. Tongs work really well for this! Spread onto a cookie sheet or roasting pan and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Cool.

Makes about 7 cups.

Ham with Cheesy Potatoes

1 bag (28oz) frozen diced potatoes with onions and peppers, thawed
2 cups shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend (8oz)
1 can (10 3/8 oz) condensed cream of celery soup
1 container (8oz) sour cream
3lb fully cooked smoked boneless ham

1. Spray 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Mix potatoes, cheese, soup, and sour cream in cooker. Cut ham lengthwise in half; place ham on potato mixture.

2. Cover and cook on LOW heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or until potatoes are tender.

3. Remove ham from cooker, place on cutting board. Gently stir potatoes well before serving. Cut ham into slices, serve with potatoes.

8 servings. 665 calories, 41g fat. <----yummy yummy yummy