recipes for the ever popular neighbor plate

Many of you have already baked up a storm and passed out treat-filled goody plates to your neighbors. Today's food for thought friday is for the rest of you who have yet to turn on the Kitchen-Aid (myself included). I have a few tasty-yet-easy recipes perfect for those festive plates. And if you aren't into the plate thing, check out the recipe for banana nut bread baked in a jar. Tie on a little raffia and your gift is ready to go!

Easy Oreo Truffles from Little Window Shoppe
Note: You'll want to check out the original recipe by clicking on the link above. She's posted step-by-step photos--always helpful!)
1 package Oreo cookies
1 bag of chocolate chips
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

Grind up the package of Oreos in your blender or food processor. Recerve 1 cup of the ground-up Oreos. To the remaining Oreos, add the cream cheese and combine well. Form the mixture into one-inch balls.

Melt the chocolate chips in a double broiler or carefully in the microwave. Dip the balls into the melted chocolate and coat well, then place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Take the remaining 1 cup of ground up Oreos and sprinkle over the truffles. Refrigerate until the chocolate sets (about 20 minutes).


Chewy Oatmeal M&M Cookies
1 1/4 c butter or margarine, softened
3/4 c firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 c quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 c Holiday M&M'S

Preheat oven to 375°= degrees. In large bowl cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In medium bowl combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt; blend into creamed mixture. Stir in the M&M's. Drop by rounded tablespoon about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until set. Do not overbake. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; transfer and cool completely on wire racks.


Original Rice Krispie Treats
Note: You can make these festive by using green frosting to make leaves and red hots for berries.

3 T butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows or 4 c mini marshmallows
6 c Rice Krispies

In large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add Rice Krispies and stir until well coated. Using a buttered spatula or wax paper, evenly press mixture into 9x13-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into squares.


Mom's Famous Texas Sheet Cake
Note: If you don't have buttermilk you can substitute regular milk.

2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 c sugar
1 cube margarine
1 c water
4 T cocoa
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, salt and sugar together. Bring margarine, water, and cocoa to a boil and pour into the flour mixture. In another bowl mix the eggs, baking soda, vanilla, and buttermilk and add to the other ingredients. Bake in a greased cookie sheet for 20 minutes.

Icing
Start the last five minutes of baking.

1 cube margarine
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 box powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 T milk
1/2 c nuts (optional)

In a medium saucepan melt margarine and cocoa (do not boil). Take off heat and whisk in powdered sugar gradually. Add vanilla, milk, and nuts. Ice cake while hot.


Banana Nut Bread in a Jar
2/3 c shortening
2 2/3 c white sugar
4 eggs
2 c mashed bananas
2/3 c water
3 1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
2/3 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease insides of 8 (1 pint) straight sided, wide-mouth canning jars. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, bananas, and water. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Add to banana mixture. Stir in nuts.

Pour mixture into greased wide-mouth pint jars, filling half full of batter. Do NOT put lids on jars for baking. Be careful to keep the rims clean, wiping off any batter that gets on the rims. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. While baking, sterilize the lids and rings in boiling water.

As soon as bread is done, remove from oven one at a time, wipe rims of jars and put on lid and ring. Jars will seal as cakes cool. Place the jars on the counter and listen for them to "ping" as they seal. If you miss the "ping" wait until they are completely cool and press on the top of the lid. If it doesn't move at all, it's sealed.

Jars should be eaten immediately or kept sealed in refrigerator for up to a week.

"While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many." ~Lady Bird Johnson