Cracked Pepper Cheddar Muffins

Cracked Pepper Cheddar Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
  1 tablespoon sugar
  3 teaspoons baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
  1 egg
  1-1/4 cups 2% milk
  2 tablespoons canola oil
  1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and pepper. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in cheese.

Fill muffins cups coated with cooking spray two-thirds full. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Yield: 1 dozen.

Originally published as Cracked Pepper Cheddar Muffins in Taste of Home December/January 2008, p38

I whipped these up to go with some soup we had while Dad was here. Dad liked them. Brian and I thought they were bland. The texture was good, alittle bit like popovers, and I liked the pepper/cheddar taste. They are probably worth doctoring up a little since they were fast and easy. Probably a little salt and some garlic and/or onion powder would help. I cut back on the baking powder because 3 teaspoons is a lot. I did about 2 teaspoons, and they still rose nicely.

Cheese Stuffed Potatoes

This is a simple recipe that looks like it has been around awhile.

Cheese Stuffed Potatoes--8 potatoes

Bake potato 'til tender. Cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving 1/4 '' shell. Mash potatoes with milk and butter. Stir in 1/2 c sour cream, 1/2 c grated Swiss cheese, 1 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t pepper. Spoon back into shells. Heat in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/4 c shredded Swiss cheese.

Basically, it's fancy twice baked potatoes. I liked them a lot. I used whatever cheese I had (co-jack?) because I only ever buy Swiss cheese in slices. It was good, and it would be good with Swiss cheese, too.

Chunky Chicken Picadillo Chili

I was searching for something to make last-minute for dinner. I think I spent more time looking for something to make than actually cooking. I decided on this because we actually had all the ingredients, and it looked pretty simple (especially because I used precooked chicken). It is from a Gooseberry Patch booklet called "Family Favorite Recipes with SUN-MAID Raisins and Dried Fruit."

my picture

Chunky Chicken Picadillo Chili

2 t. cumin
2 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 lb. boneless, skinless
chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 T. oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 14-1/2 oz. cans Mexican-style diced tomatoes
1/2 c. chipotle salsa or medium salsa
3/4 c. Sun-Maid Natural Raisins
16-oz. can red or black beans, drained

Combine cumin, chili powder, salt and cinnamon and coat chicken evenly with seasonings; set aside. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken and garlic to saucepan; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes, salsa and raisins and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in beans. Cover and continue to simmer 5 minutes longer or until chicken is cooked through. Serves 6.

Camille had to take a picture, too.

It was good and fast. I liked the raisins and cinnamon in it. Brian couldn't even tell there were raisins since they plumped up and looked like black beans. He doesn't have very discerning taste buds. Someone came over to borrow a rake right after I added all the spices to the pot, and it smelled so strong in our house. She probably won't come back for awhile.

The bread bowls were delicious as well (from Mel's Kitchen Cafe). Months ago I made a batch of 6 or 8 and froze them, and they have been awesome to have available.

Fried Apples

This is a classic family breakfast from when we were growing up.  Dad created the recipe and I remember loving it.  It looked like it got typed up to go in a cookbook somewhere and then thrown in the cupboard.  I knew my family would love it, too, so I whipped it up for breakfast this morning.

Fried Apples
Recipe from Dad

5 apples, peeled and sliced
1/3 stick butter, or enough to fry the apples
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c flour

Fry apples in butter.  Add sugar and flour and mix until thick and bubbly.  Serve warm.

I accidentally dumped a bunch of flour in the pan and in trying to rectify my mistake made it worse.  So it ended up being a gloppy mess.  No one seemed to mind, however, because it got eaten up right away and the bottomless pit that is my child cried when it was all gone.  She ate more than me. I was just sad it got eaten before I remembered to take a picture of the gloppy mess.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Potato Muffins

Don't let the name fool you, these are not muffins, but more like rolls. And, my did not melt in our mouths, but that might have been my mistake as I'll explain later.

I made these for Big Chubb to take to Young Men's activity tonight. he said he would call them Scandinavian Donuts to fool the boys into eating them.

Ingredients

1 yeast tablet (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs beaten
1/2 cup butter
pinch of salt
3 cups flour

Directions

Combine yeast cake, warm water, potatoes, hot water and sugar. Let rise until light and bubbly or spongelike.

Add remaining ingredients and roll out and cut with small round cookie cutter.

Place on greased cookie sheet.

Let rise 30 min. and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

They turned out fine. They taste more like a sweet roll. We all liked them. Little Chubb ate two and proclaimed he needed a third, but I wouldn't let him have one.

My problem with the recipe was that it isn't very clear. I melted to butter so it would mix into the dough better. I also didn't know how thin to roll the dough or how close to place them on the cookie sheet. Then I didn't know whether to brush them with melted butter and then sprinkle powdered sugar right when they came out of the oven or after the had cooled.

I may try them again and change the way I actually made them. Oh, Twenty minutes was too long. They came out a little drier than I think they were supposed to be. Plus, next time I am going to douse them with melted butter and lay a nice thick layer of powdered sugar on them.

Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

Fair warning: I did not make the pancake recipe, and I probably never will, but I'm posting it anyway because it came with the blueberry sauce recipe. I did make the blueberry sauce, and it was
delicious.

Makes 12 - 4 1/2'' pancakes

Blueberry Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. butter or margarine

Drain blueberries, reserve juice; rinse berries with cold water

In a small sauce pan combine flour and corn starch. Add enough water to the blueberry juice to make one cup liquid. Blend into corn starch mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and is thick and clear. Cook over low heat five minutes longer; stir occasionally. Stir in lemon juice and butter. Keep sauce warm.

Blueberries can be used in the sauce instead of adding them to the pancake batter.

Blueberry pancakes

1 package Duncan Hines Blueberry Muffin Mix
1/3 c flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup water
1 egg

In a medium bowl blend muffin mix, flour and baking powder with a fork. Stir slightly beaten egg, water and oil. Mix until well blended. Stir in blueberries.

Pout batter in pre-heated, lightly greased griddle and cook until pancakes begin to dry around edges and bubbles form on top. Turn and cook until golden brown. Serve at once with blueberry sauce.

If you read that carefully, you will realize that it does not list an amount of blueberries to use. You will also realize that the sauce recipe directs you to combine flour and corn starch, when flour is not an ingredient. I'm 97% sure that should be "combine sugar and corn starch." I used a cup of frozen berries which melted was about 1/2-2/3 cup, and I used the berries in the sauce instead of adding them to the batter.

I just made regular pancakes and served them with the blueberry sauce. The blueberry sauce was a huge hit. C raved about it saying, "yum, yum, yummy in me bum, bum, bummy" at least 8 times. She doesn't pronounce her t's sometimes. She also asked for thirds of the sauce. I liked it a lot as well. Brian had a taste of the leftovers the next morning and also enjoyed it. It would be good on crepes, waffles, German pancakes, French toast and other breakfast foods.

Grandma Allred's Roll Cookies

This isn't our Grandma Allred but Great-Grandma Florence Allred. Apparently, Ancestry.com used to have a section on their website where you could set up a little family page and put all sorts of things on it. They closed it down at the end of September, so I couldn't see what other recipes people had put on. Mom's cousin, D'Ann Stoddard put this one on saying it was from a cook book GGma Allred had and gone through and highlighted and marked in. Apparently, this was marked "good".

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
2 T. milk
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. vanilla

Directions:
Cream butter, add sugar gradually. Add beaten egg. Mix and sift dry ingredients and add alternatively(I think she meant alternating) with the milk. Add flavoring. Chill dough one hour. Roll part of the dough at a time to 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Cut with floured cookie cutter. Bake on greased baking sheet.

Bake 375 for 9 minutes (the book indicated 10-12 min, grandma changed the time).

This is your basic sugar cookie. I did like it because it was really quick to mix up and the nutmeg makes it a little different. However, I still think the ultimate sugar cookie recipe in Mom's Best Recipes is the best sugar cookie recipe around. That being said, I still managed to eat about 90 percent of the cookies (stress eating due to major lack of sleep and very difficult days with our lovely kiddos).

Morning Muffins

Morning Muffins

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 20 min. MAKES: 12 servings

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
  1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  2 eggs
  1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
  1 cup shredded carrots
  1/2 cup flaked coconut
  1/2 cup raisins
  1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  1/2 cup chopped nuts (I omitted)

Directions
In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and sour cream; beat well. Stir in the carrots, coconut and raisins.
Combine the flour, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in nuts.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.
Originally published as Morning Muffins in Taste of Home February/March 2008, p15

I liked these. They were very moist. Brian thought it was weird eating carrot in a muffin until I pointed out to him that the crunchies he thought were carrot were probably coconut. And despite the fact that they have carrot and raisins, they are not very healthy muffins. They are, however, a good way to get a toddler to eat a vegetable for breakfast.

Orange Streusel Coffee Cake

We had this for breakfast this morning. Don't worry, there's no coffee in it.

Orange Streusel Coffee
From SOAR--the searchable online archive of recipes of Berkeley

       Yield: 12 Servings
  
       2 c  Flour
     1/2 c  Sugar
   2 1/2 ts Baking powder
     1/2 ts Salt
            Grated rind of 1 orange (I
            Used 2 oranges)
       1    Egg, beaten slightly
     1/2 c  Milk
     1/2 c  Orange juice
     1/3 c  Oil (I used extra-virgin but
            Canola would be fine)
 -STREUSEL TOPPING-
     1/4 c  Flour
     1/4 c  Sugar
       2 tb Grated orange rind
       2 tb Butter (I grated it)
  
   Sift the first 4 ingredients into a large bowl and then add the grated
   orange zest.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the egg, milk,
   orange juice and oil.  Stir just enough to moisten.  Pour into a 9″
   square pan (I used a 9″ round pan, which worked perfectly).  Sprinkle
   the well mixed streusel ingredients, evenly over the top.  Bake in a
   350F oven for about 30 mins.  This coffee cake was wonderful and only
   lasted for 1 day in our house!

We really liked this coffee cake. 
It had also been a very long time since we had any white flour at all, so that probably helped its case.  The other two wished it was a little sweeter, but I thought it was plenty sweet.  It wasn't the awesomest coffee cake ever, but it was pretty darn good, so I'll remember this recipe for future use.

Easy Cherry Cobbler

I laughed when I saw this recipe was in my pile.  Then I went out and bought stuff to make it.  This is one of my favorite desserts ever.  So easy and I love the taste of cake mix.

Easy Cherry Cobbler

This was the very last bit that was in the pan.  It was eaten too quickly to capture before that.

2 cans cherry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour cherry pie filling in 9x13 pan.  Mix cake mix and melted butter and crumble on top of cherries.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is browned.

This dessert is so easy and tasty, perfect with ice cream.  The only problem is that it's kind of pricey.  Be like me and get your cherries cheap at Big Lots.

Tex-Mex Chicken Enchiladas

We cooked a turkey we have had sitting in the freezer since last Thanksgiving. It made lots of nice turkey leftovers, which I find handy to use for quick dinners. This was the first use of the frozen turkey. The recipe is actually from the Make Ahead Meals Master Recipes set where you make a large batch of something (in this case chicken) and it gives you recipes to use up whatever you made.

Tex-Mex Chicken Enchiladas

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped
1 (10 1/2 oz) jar salsa
3 cups Roast Chicken Master Mix (I used turkey)
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
8 large flour tortillas

In a mixing bowl, combine black beans, master mix (chicken), cilantro, 1 c cheese and 1/2 jar salsa. Fill each tortilla with 1/2 coup chicken mixture. Roll and palce seam side down in baking pan. Sprinkle cheese over enchiladas. Cover pan loosely with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes more. Spoon remaining salsa over top of enchiladas.

Nutritional analysis: 334 calories, 22 g protein, 16 g fat, 25 g carbohydrate, 57 mg cholesterol, 1023 mg sodium

They weren't the best enchiladas I've ever had, but they were good enough and pretty quick, and they didn't call for any green chilies, which I didn't have. I used corn tortillas, which were good. I flip back and forth on which kind of tortilla I prefer, and I guess now I'm in a corn tortilla phase. It made enough to fill a 9x13 pan. C and I had the leftovers for lunch, and I think they were better the next day.

Meat Saver

Sorry it's been so long since a post from me.  While it was the me and the kid at home we ate pancakes, eggs, easy things that we love but daddy doesn't.  We had this the night he came home .  I started throwing up the next morning and Monday the rest of the family followed suit.  Meat saver didn't make us sick, but it was the last food we ate before dooms-day, so I'm not the biggest fan anymore.

After that happy introduction, here's the recipe:

Meat Saver
recipe from the Fargo Ward Cookbook

Yield: 4 servings
1.5 cups ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 c water or potato water
salt and pepper to taste
2 c favorite vegetable
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
toast, rolls, or potatoes

Crumble meat and brown with diced onion.  Ad  1/2 c water or potato water.  When done, salt and pepper to taste and add vegetable.  Add soup and simmer 15 minutes.  Serve over toast, hot rolls, or potatoes.

To begin with, I never found these types of recipes very meat saving.  Just a few people down a whole pound of meat in one sitting, whereas I could add it to a casserole with other cheap ingredients and make it last much longer.  That being said, it wasn't near as bad as I was expecting it to be.  It wasn't great, but if you're in a pinch it would do just fine as a quick meal.  I'll probably remember it for a last minute meal.

Pumpkin Cornbread

I know Joanna just posted a good-looking recipe, so don't forget to look at that, but I wanted to get this one posted before chili cook-offs. If you are supposed to make cornbread for your chili cookoff, here's a good recipe.

Pumpkin Cornbread

1 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c cornmeal
2 eggs
1 c pumpkin
1/4 c oil
1 T honey/molasses

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

I cheated a little and substituted the flour/baking powder/salt with food storage pancake mix that expired. I also decreased the sugar a little since the pancake mix has some. It was good! I usually prefer sweet cornbreads, and this falls in the category. I made it to go with a pumpkin chili. I couldn't taste the pumpkin in the chili, but the cornbread had the perfect amount.

Pumpkin Caramel Pound Cake

I really shouldn't be sitting here putting this recipe up on the blog. I have a bunch of other things to do and have been falling asleep since about the time Big Chubb got home from school. Tomorrow is our ward's Trunk-or-Treat/Chili Cook-off/YW Bake Sale Fundraiser thingy. I still have windows to paint on Little Chubb's costume, stems/leaves to iron on Baby Chubb's costume, do something if I am going to have a costume. Plus, the house is a total wreck. Dinner happened later than usual (I blame it on the fact that Big Chubb made it). Baths happened earlier because two kids were very cranky. Dishes need to be washed. Toys need to be picked up or else I might kill myself when I get up with Baby Chubb in the middle of the night. Big Chubb is away working on installing windows in the house.

But, this recipe  is worth the break from getting things orderly and finished and settled for the night.

•  Pillsbury® Baking Spray with Flour
• 2/3 cup Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening
• OR 2/3 stick Crisco® Baking Sticks All-Vegetable Shortening
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup Smucker's® Hot Caramel Flavored Topping
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 5 large eggs
• 3 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• GLAZE
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons Smucker's® Hot Caramel Flavored Topping
• 4 teaspoons water
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
•  Whipped cream (optional)

1. 1.
   HEAT oven to 350°F. Coat 10-inch tube pan or 12-cup fluted tube pan generously with flour no-stick cooking spray.


2. 2.
   BEAT shortening, butter and granulated sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in 3/4 cup caramel topping and pumpkin. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.


3. 3.
   COMBINE flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in medium bowl. Add to pumpkin mixture; beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top (pan will be full).


4. 4.
   BAKE 70 to 80 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove and cool completely.


5. 5.
   WHISK together powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons caramel topping and water in medium bowl. Add more water if needed to make thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over top of cooled cake. Sprinkle with walnuts. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
6. This recipe is delicious!! I became a lover of pound cake on my mission, and this is an awesome addition to good pound cake recipes I have found over time. This is actually the second time I have made it. The first time it disappeared so fast I couldn't get a picture of it. Little Chubb kept helping himself to it. And, I didn't even put the glaze on then. This time I made it to donate to the YW bake sale and included the glaze. Boy oh boy is it good!!!
7. My bundt pan is currently living in our garage 13 miles away from here, so I used two loaf pans. They worked great, and made it so that we can have half the recipe while someone else enjoys the other half. I didn't include the nutrition facts. Don't even bother with them, but DO bother with a big fat slice of this cake with a tall cold glass of milk.

Cheesy Tortellini Crockpot Soup

This recipe is in Joanna's writing.  I have been looking forward to making this for a long time, and found tortellini on sale at Aldi last week, so I made it!  Yay!  The only problem was that I didn't notice all the other expensive ingredients involved in making this.  Eek!  Expensive!  Ah well.  I lasted for three meals, so it wasn't that bad after all.

Cheesy Tortellini Crockpot Soup

Ingredients:
16 oz frozen tortellini
1 lb. sausage
1 small bag fresh spinach
2 cans (15 oz) Italian style diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 block (8oz) cream cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Put all ingredients in the crockpot, chunking up the cream cheese.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours, until tortellini is done.

We loved this.  It was creamy and very filling.  I served it with breadsticks and we were very happy.  If I can find cheap sausage and cream cheese sometime, I will definitely make it again.

Chocolate Peanutters

Whenever I saw this recipes, I kept thinking that they would be a chocolate cookie with peanuts in them. After looking at the recipe more closely, I realized that it is a basic chocolate chip cookie with peanuts added.

It is from the old recipe collection Mom had,
written in her handwriting.

Sift together:
     1 1/2 cups sifted flour
     3/4 tsp. baking soda
     1/2 tsp. baking powder
     1/2 tsp. salt

Combine in bowl:
     1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
     1/2 cup shortening
     1 tsp. vanilla
Add: one egg
     beat flour mixture and necessary milk (1/4 cup)

Stir in:
     one pkg. chocolate chips
     one cup salted peanuts

Drop on cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes

Yield 3 1/2 dozen

I made these for Big Chubb to take to combined YM/YW this week. He came home with some of them (though I think there were quite a few people who brought treats). He liked them, as did Little Chubb who kept helping himself to them once he realized there were cookies on the counter. I thought they were fine. I am not a really big fan of chocolate chip cookies, but that didn't stop me from eating plenty. I also ate lots of the cookie dough which I prefer over the baked cookies.

While I was making the recipe I thought that a whole package of chocolate chips would be way too much for the amount of dough there was. They were pretty chocolatey, but it ended up being a good ratio. After baking the first batch, I decreased the oven temperature down to 350 degrees and cooked the cookies for the same amount of time. The cookies turned out not as crispy, which was much better than the original batch that was a little too over crispy.

Salmon Mountain Strata

The last time we were in Wisconsin, I, too, bought a 50-lb bag of potatoes. Who wouldn't buy 50 lbs for $7? Big time budget saver. We have worked our way to the end, and I wish we would be going to Wisconsin before Thanksgiving so we could get another 50 lbs, but it won't be happening :( In an attempt to actually make a one of my recipes to put on here, I came across this one, which worked out perfectly because we had everything (minus 6 ounces of salmon) on hand that needed to be used.

1 can (1-lb) salmon
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
4 eggs
2 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 medium Idaho potatoes (6 cups sliced)

In large bowl combine salmon, onion, celery, eggs, milk, 1/2 tsp. salt, dill and pepper; mix well. Pare potatoes and cut into thin slices. Place half of potatoes in greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt and spread half of salmon mixture over potatoes. Repeat with remaining potatoes, salt and salmon. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Yield: 8 servings


Well, I told Big Chubb that I would never make this again. He and Little Chubb gobbled it right up. I ate it because I was desperately hungry.

After cooking it for the time intended, the potatoes were still raw, the onions and celery were still crunchy, and it had a very fishy taste to it even without the entire pound of fish. At least it got rid of some of the ingredients from our house.

Oven Baked Potato Wedges

We got a 50 lb bag of potatoes and have been barreling through it. I try to find new uses for them, mostly for Jacob's sake.  I thought these would be a step up from our normal baked french fries.

Oven-baked Potato Wedges

Ingredients:
2 T canola oil
1 c flour
1 t garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
1/2 t celery salt
1/2 t seasoning salt
2 large eggs, beaten
4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed, but not peeled
canola cooking spray

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Coat a baking sheet with a tablespoon of canola oil.
2. With a fork or whisk, mix the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, celery salt and seasoning salt in a shallow dish and set aside.  Add the beaten eggs in a small bowl.
3. Cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch thick wedges.  Dip each wedge into the beaten eggs, then the flour mixture, making sure it is well coated.  Place the coated wedges on the prepared baking sheet and let them sit 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Coat the tops of the potato wedges generously with canola cooking spray.  Bale in the center of the oven until golden brown (15 to 18 minutes), flipping after ten minutes.  Serves 5.


These were not the best.  We thought the flour mixture put too much flour taste on the wedges.  The egg didn't do that great of a job mixing with the flour for a pleasurable result.  We won't eat these again.

Billy's Vanilla Buttercream

This was the frosting to go with the cake for Brooke's birthday.

Billy's Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients:
1 c unsalted butter, room temperature
6-8 c confectioners' sugar
1/2 c milk
1 t pure vanilla extract

1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.  With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy.  If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach....(The recipe cuts off, but I add)... desired consistency.  

This was bad, very, very, bad.  I added all eight cups of sugar and it was still very runny. Then I added the rest of the sugar in the bag and it was still too runny.  I, however, had no more powdered sugar, so runny frosting it was.  The cake ended up looking very odd, with weird spiky dots (I tried to fix it with kitchen staples and went too far) and frosting.   If you do make it, DO NOT add even near 1/2 c of milk.  DO NOT!

Golden Yellow Cake

We don't eat cake very much, because we aren't huge cake fans, so I jumped at the chance to make one of these recipes for the Little Turkey's birthday.  This recipe comes from the Wilton website.

Golden Yellow Cake

Ingredients:
3 c cake flour sifted (I used white flour, but did sift it)
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2/3 c butter or margarine
1 3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 1/4 milk

Makes: Approximately 7 c batter

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bottom of 2 nine-inch rounds with vegetable pan spray.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light.  Add eggs and vanilla to creamed mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed.  Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.  Continue beating one minute.  Pour into prepared pans.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  Cool on grid ten minutes.  Gently run a thin spatula around edge of cake.  Turn out onto cooking grids.  Cool completely before icing.

This cake was very good.  Dad said it was very, very good multiple times, and Jacob told me it is a keeper.  I agree.  It has a firmer texture than boxed cake mix.  This recipe will definitely be our go-to for when we need a cake.

Ellie's Pumpkin Delight

"To Margaret...Happy Thanksgiving. Ellie Wood 96-97"

1 yellow cake mix
1/2 c melted margarine
1 beaten egg

Mix and place in 9x13''

1 29 oz can of pumpkin
3 eggs
1/4 c white sugar
1/2  light brown sugar
2/3 c canned milk
1 t cinnamon
1 t pumpkin pie spice mix

Pour over bottom layer

Topping:
1 c reserved cake mix
1/2 c pecans...be generous
1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c margarine...not melted

Blend together and sprinkle over all. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until knife comes clean. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or Cool Whip. YUM!

I've made something very similar and really, really liked it. This was almost just as good. The one difference that made me like this version a little less is the egg in the bottom layer. It made the cake rise too much. We had it warm from the oven the first night and cold the other nights, and I enjoyed it more cold. YUM!

Buttery Light Dinner Rolls

Mom obviously was on the lookout for a good roll recipe as evidenced by the  many roll recipes I have in my cupboard project stack. She told me once that I don't have to make any of them because she liked the recipe I made. I like to try out new recipes though, because what if there is a better one? This one looks like it was from some sort of country magazine/newspaper.

Buttery Light Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk, scalded

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 package active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water

1 egg, beaten

4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions

Stir sugar, salt, and butter into milk; cool to lukewarm. Place warm water in a large mixing bowl.
Sprinkle with yeast and stir to dissolve. Add warm milk mixture and egg; blend well. Stir in 2 to 3 cups flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Mix in additional flour about 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. The dough should be soft and sticky but not stick to the sides of the bowl. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place dough in a large greased bowl, turning to cover dough with grease. Cover with damp towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes to one hour. Punch down dough. Shape into rolls (1 1/2-inch balls) and place in two greased 8- or 9-inch cake pans or on a large baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Cover with damp towel. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush rolls with melted butter and bake 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Serve hot.

Recipe by Mindy Merrell.

It's been awhile since I've made totally white bread, so these were almost like a special treat. They were good and definitely light. If you need a good roll recipe, give this one a try. I'll probably stick to my go-to recipe (Lion House rolls), but I may make these again if I need a recipe that's a little faster. 

It says it makes 24, but I got 16 large size rolls.They did not fit in two cake pans. 

Barley Pilaf with Mushrooms

Barley Pilaf with Mushrooms

1 T plus 1 t olive oil

2 c onion, chopped

1/2 lb mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

1 c pearl barley

2 c water

3 T fresh parsley, minced

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion, mushrooms and bay leaf for 5 minutes, stirring, until onion is softened. Stir in barley, water and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reuce heat to low, cover pan and simmer 30-35 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and barley is tender. Discard bay leaf and stir in parsley. Fluff with a fork before serving.

This was yummy. The barley is a little bit nutty and chewy, which I liked. I didn't have a bay leaf, and I forgot about the parsley until we were eating, but it was still good. I liked it better than rice pilaf. I'll definitely make this again.

Cornmeal Buttermilk Biscuits

Since we now attend church in the afternoons, we have time to lounge about in the mornings.  This leads to more complicated, generally tastier breakfasts than the normal oatmeal or toast.  In other words, a great time to test out some breakfast recipes.

This recipe comes from the Food Network Kitchen.

 

Cornmeal Buttermilk Biscuits

Yield: 8 biscuits

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus as needed
2/3 cup polenta-style yellow cornmeal
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 heaping teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon fine salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup buttermilk


Directions

Set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with two layers of parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Rub 2 tablespoons of the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips, until it is completely incorporated. Work the remaining butter into the flour until it's in even, pea-sizes pieces. Gently stir in the buttermilk to make a loose dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Fold the dough in thirds like a business letter. Pat the dough into a 5 by 8-inch rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Use a 2- to 3-inch round cutter to make 6 biscuits, and put biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. Press together the scraps of dough, cut 2 more biscuits, and place them on the baking sheet.

Bake until the tops are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack before serving.

We really liked these.  Folding it over made the nice, flaky layers that I enjoy in my biscuits.  I made them a little bit thinner than they were supposed to be and wished I hadn't.  I think next time I make them I will make them thicker than suggested, so they can be even flakier.  I will definitely make these again.

P.S. These would be great with biscuits and gravy, if you're into that type of thing.

Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup

This is from Allrecipes.

Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup

Original recipe makes 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless lean beef, cubed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
6 cups water
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup barley
1 teaspoon dried thyme

PREP 10 mins


COOK 8 hrs


READY IN 8 hrs 10 mins

Directions

In a skillet over medium heat, saute the beef in the oil for 5 minutes, or until browned. Stir in the salt, pepper and garlic powder and place seasoned meat in a slow cooker. Add a little water to the skillet and stir to pick up the browned bits. Add to the slow cooker.
Add the broth, water, celery, carrots, green onions, parsley and barley. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or until the vegetables and barley are tender. Add the thyme just before serving.

I made it for Sunday dinner. Despite the fact that Brian doesn't like soup much, especially stew types, he liked this. I thought it was good, but nothing special. I didn't let it cook for 8 hours, and I used a yellow onion I sauteed a little instead of green onions. I don't know if I'll make this particular recipe again, but I will use barley more. We both enjoyed that part.

Edited 10/1/14: I had the leftovers for lunch today, three days later. It was gooood. I guess the extra time did help the flavor. If you make this, try and give it the full 6-8 hours to cook for the flavors to meld. 

Pumpkin Bread

This recipe was on a page ripped out of a recipe book. It was starred, so Mom must have made it.

Pumpkin Bread
Yield: 2 small loaves

1 1/2 c sugar
1 t soda
1/4 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cloves
1 2/3 c flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 c pumpkin
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c water
1/2 c chopped nuts (and raisins (edited by Mom))

Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add eggs, water, pumpkin and vegetable oil and stir well. Stir in chopped nuts. Put in greased loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Well, they weren't kidding when they said it makes two small loaves. One was only about and inch and a half tall; the other was in a smaller pan, and ended up about 2 1/2 or 3 inches tall. Since it just looked like a basic pumpkin bread recipe, I took some liberties with it. I put in about 1/4 c chocolate chips instead of nuts and raisins, I used some whole wheat flour, and I used applesauce instead of oil.
 The end result is good, but very, very moist and heavy. I probably should have done half oil, half applesauce. Also, I will probably add a little more leavening in the future. The cook time was way too much. Mine were done in under an hour. I should also stop using my phone to take bad pictures.

Sausage Casserole II

This dinner was... a huge disappointment.  It has pretty good reviews, but while I was putting it together I knew Jacob would need a sauce to go with it.  When it came time to eat, even I needed a sauce to go with it.  The flavors were good, but it was like different foods stirred together, plus the potatoes were dry.  Bleh.  The next day, I made a cheese sauce to mix into it and we both liked that much much better.

Sausage Casserole II

Image from allrecipes

 

 

 

Ingredients:

5 potatoes, sliced 1 onion, sliced 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, undrained

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes 1 pound pork sausage, sliced salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Place potato slices in the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Add onion slices, corn with liquids and tomatoes with liquids. Top with sausage slices and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until pork is cooked through.

Key Lime Cake

I have always enjoyed a good Key Lime Pie and serving my mission only increased  my love for them. While looking through some of the recipes in the cupboard I took this one hoping it would satisfy my Key lime craving without too much work.

Key Lime Cake II

Rated: Submitted By: Kaye Frickhoeffer Photo By: Celeste Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 50 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes Servings: 24

"Lemon cake with a tropical taste."

INGREDIENTS:

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix 1 (3 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix 3/4 cup water 1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs 5 tablespoons key lime juice 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 3 tablespoons key lime juice

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch cake pan or one 10 inch bundt pan.
2.	In a large bowl stir together; lemon cake mix, lemon instant pudding, water, oil, eggs, and 5 tablespoons key lime juice, mixing well. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Pour key lime glaze over cake while still warm.
4.	To Make Glaze: Mix together the confectioner's sugar and 3 tablespoons of the key lime juice (or more if necessary), spoon glaze over warm cake.

I feel like the cooking time was really long. My cake was pretty brown and a little bit dry, but a boxed cake mix with a box of pudding added can't really get 'dry'. Maybe if I had used my bundt pan the cooking time would have been more accurate.

It was good (clearly because two of us ate the whole thing in 2 days), but I don't think it was four and a half stars good. The glaze totally made the cake, but that was really the only key lime flavor. The rest was just citrusy. So, if you are looking for a real Key lime cake, don't try this one. If you want a nice (easy) citrusy cake, make this one.

And, thank goodness I got all these allrecipe recipes! Sure does make it easy to type them up :)

Broccoli Quiche with Mashed Potato Crust

There is a lovely little spot on our drive to Wausau that has 50 pound bags for sale at the end of the summer and into fall. Last time we drove by I bought some and brought this recipe home to use them up :)

Broccoli Quiche with Mashed Potato Crust

INGREDIENTS:

2 large potatoes, peeled 2 cups chopped fresh broccoli 1/4 cup milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 3 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; drain. Meanwhile, place broccoli in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, about 2 to 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3.	Mash the potatoes with milk and salt. Brush a deep 9 inch pie dish with olive oil and press the potatoes in. Brush with remaining olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
4.	Arrange onions, broccoli and cheese in the potato crust. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour over broccoli and cheese.
5.	Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until slightly puffed and cooked throughout. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

We liked it alright. There are a few changes I would make that would maybe make it even better, mainly using different onions or cooking them a little before putting them in the quiche. We both also would have  liked to have a little more quiche.  And, when it says to use a deep 9" pie pan they really mean it. A regular one was just a touch too small.

Crab Stuff

That is seriously the name of this recipe. On the sheet I have printed off it says, "A yummy, healthy delight. Multiply ingredients for number of servings desired." I multiplied it by 4 so we could all have it for dinner. Since there is no picture (I am finding it more difficult to take pictures of my food now that I have a yelling 2 year old and a crying 2 month old while I prepare, and serve my meals) I will paint a picture for you. Imagine a thick milky sauce infused with butter and spotted with chunks of crab and peppers served over a warm fluffy bed of rice and peas. Does that make it sound more palatable?

Crab Stuff

Submitted By: Mary Jay Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 30 Minutes Servings: 1

"A mixture of crab, onions, and green peppers in a cream-style sauce. Substitutions could be, shrimp, scallops, and corn."

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked white rice 2 cups water 1/2 cup frozen green peas 1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons onion, diced

1/8 pound crabmeat 2 ounces green bell pepper, diced 1/8 cup chicken broth 1/8 cup 1% milk 1/8 cup grated fat-free Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add rice and frozen peas then stir. Bring the water back to a boil then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2.	In a medium skillet, melt butter and add the diced onion and minced garlic. Saute until onions are transparent. Add crab to mixture and saute briefly. Stir in bell peppers chicken broth, milk, and parmesan.
3.	Bring to a boil then turn off the heat Serve over rice when done Well, it was not the yummiest delight we have ever had. Little Chubb refused to eat it. I didn't have very high expectations for it to begin with so I wasn't too disappointed when I ate it. Big Chubb was just happy to eat some crab, and yes, I used imitation. We can't afford real crabmeat. I am pretty sure Mom would have used imitation crab, too.