About Melissa Young

A Little about me: My name is Melissa Young and I am Senior Director of Mission Delivery, Client Services/MRI. I have my MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. In my spare time I enjoy playing golf and tennis, cooking, and spending time with my family and friends.

Easy Dump Corn Casserole

This quick and easy Dump Corn Casserole is awesome. Made with only 7 simple ingredients.  It is gooey, fluffy, scrumptious. Makes a wonderful side dish for your Thanksgiving meal to share with friends or family. 

This Corn Casserole can be placed in the freezer for easy access later to enjoy. This can be a great solution to reduce prep time and have ready to go when you need a side dish.

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Hocus Pocus Spell Book Brownies

As a tribute to one of my favorite Halloween movies of all time, Hocus Pocus, and with the new release of Hocus Pocus 2, I thought it would be fun to create a simple Halloween treat for all ages to enjoy! 

For those of you who haven’t seen the movie and have no idea what I’m talking about, these brownies are still delicious, nevertheless.

My inspiration was Winifred’s Spell Book.  See how cute they turned out!

Hocus Pocus brownie

Ingredients

  • 1 box of fudge brownie mix – 13 x 9 size
  • 2 eggs
  • oil
  • water
  • 1 tube black cookie decorating icing
  • 1 container candy eyes

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
  2. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray.
  3. Combine brownie mix, eggs, water, and oil.  Follow box mix directions.
  4. Mix until just combined.
  5. Spread the batter into the prepped baking pan.
  6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until middle is done.
  7. Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool.
  8. Cut into bars.
  9. Pipe a dollop of the icing onto the back of an eye.
  10. Place eye onto the middle of the brownie along the side to resemble a book lock.
  11.  Pipe a black circle around the eye.
  12.  Pipe a zig zag down one side of brownie.
  13.  Pipe a line straight down next to the zig zag pattern.
  14.  Pipe stitches across the line.
  15.  Pipe half circle on the corners of the bar.

Happy Halloween and enjoy!

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Tailgate Pizza Crackers

It is hard to believe it is September and the start of football season.  This fun recipe is perfect to share with family and friends while watching the game.  There are only 4 ingredients required in this recipe and can be enjoyed as a snack or a simple lunch:

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Caramel Apple Bites

This fun dessert is perfect for the Fall.  They’re so easy to make and are loved in my household. I like being outside during the cooler Autumn weather and love to share these yummy little treats with friends and family in my neighborhood.  You could really get creative and add your favorite toppings as well, such as drizzled chocolate, sprinkles or even put on top of a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

  • 2 Green Apples
  • Lemon juice to keep apples from turning brown
  • 1 pkg Mini Pretzel Twists
  • 1 pkg Rolo candy
  • Toothpicks
  • Baking sheet

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
  2. On a baking sheet, lay out pretzels in a single layer and place a Rolo candy on each pretzel.
  3. Place in the oven for about 3 minutes, or until the candy is soft but not melted.
  4. Chop the apple in small chunks. Squeeze a little lemon juice on them if you would like to help keep them from turning brown.
  5. Place one apple on the end of a toothpick and push into one of the Rolo Pretzels. Repeat until all the Rolo pretzels have apples.

Enjoy!!!

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Grilled Watermelon

Watermelon wedges are fun to grill. Who knew!!! 

A refreshing, yummy summer dessert, this recipe can be made ahead of time and stored in your refrigerator. You can also eat it immediately. Seedless watermelons work best. Feel free to cut wedges into any size you like. 1” wedges seem to be just right.

Ingredients

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Frozen Cool Whip Summer Lemonade Delight

Welcome to Summer!   Nothing says Summer like lemonade or a frozen treat; especially if it is easy to make and is all in one. This recipe combines frozen lemonade concentrate with pudding, Cool Whip and a graham cracker crust.  What a tasty way to beat the heat!

Ingredients:

  • 1 box instant vanilla pudding
  • 1 box instant lemon pudding
  • 8 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate thawed
  • 1 ¾ cup cold milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 container Cool Whip
  • 2 pre-made graham cracker crust

Directions:

In a mixing bowl whisk together pudding mixes and milk until it thickens. Once thick, add in vanilla extract and mix again until combined.

Stir in 8 ounces of thawed lemonade concentrate and mix well.

Fold in Cool Whip gently until completely mixed together.   Pour mixture into 2 prepared pie crusts and refrigerate for about 8 hours. 

Enjoy! 

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Roasted Ranch Brussels Sprouts

Recipe of the Month from MSAA's MS Conversations blog

These Roasted Brussels Sprouts with ranch flavoring are amazing and easy to make. This is a quick and delicious recipe that takes Roasted Brussels Sprouts to the next level. These savory and crispy Brussels Sprouts are always a crowd favorite in my house.

Ingredients:

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Avocado Taco

Avocado Taco, a Recipe of the Month from MSAA's MS Conversations blog

Cinco De Mayo is on Thursday, May 5th, 2022. It is a celebration that commemorates the anniversary of Mexico’s victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Wouldn’t it be fun to enjoy and share this avocado-based recipe with loved ones to celebrate this special day? This creative recipe is a clever way to put a spin on the classic taco. Adding the use of avocados for the shell is a healthier option too.

Ingredients

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Shaping the MS Experience: Facing Change

Let’s face it, change is hard, and you may feel MS causes you to be in a constant state of flux. Where you are always having to modify, adapt, adjust and shift. No two days are ever the same. 

That got me thinking about the word CHANGE and how we accept change in our lives. Changes in your life require faith, dedication, and perseverance. Did you know that the true test of intelligence is not how much we know, but how we behave when we don’t know what to do?

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Rainbow Fruit Cups

As we are looking ahead to the Spring, I wanted to share a neat idea.  This is fun and delicious to eat!!

The great thing about fruit is that it comes in so many beautiful colors, you have choices for each color of the rainbow with fruit.

Here are some fruit suggestions for you below:

Grapes
Blueberries
Pineapples
Clementine’s
Strawberries

First, you’ll need to wash your fruit. Some fruit will require additional preparation such as slicing or peeling.

After all the fruit has been prepped, now it’s time to assemble your fruit cups. If you use clear cups the colorful fruit will be more visually appealing.

Layer the fruit in their cups, one row of color at a time.  You can add yogurt or whipped topping as the final step on top.

Enjoy!

Cracker Pecan Pie Recipe

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