Sausage Cheese Balls

I signed up to have the missionaries over tonight.  They didn't call yesterday like they normally do and I started to wonder if I had confused the month they were coming.  Or maybe they were just going to show up, because we have two new elders and who knows what they do that might be different.  So I got dinner ready, but didn't expect them to come.  And they didn't.  They called at 5:00 saying they wrote our day down wrong, so they couldn't come tonight.

Too bad.

They missed TWO Cupboard Project Recipes.  Why I planned on that in the first place, I don't know.  What if the recipes were nasty? At least I don't have to worry about that anymore.

First they missed these Sausage Cheese Balls.  They sounded pretty good, but were expensive, so I kept putting them off.

Source unknown

 

3 c bisquick (I made my own)
1 lb. uncooked pork sausage
4 c shredded cheddar cheese (1 lb.)
1/2 c parmesan
1/2 c milk
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/2 t parsley
Stir all together.  Shape into 1" balls.  Place on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees 20-25 minutes.


These were more like tiny biscuits.  We both agreed they would be better with a higher pork to bisquick recipe.  With a few changes, I would gladly recommend these again.

Brigham's Buttermilk Do-nuts

I needed something to do on yet another frigid afternoon, so I looked through and found this recipe.

Brigham's Buttermilk Do-nuts

2 cups buttermilk
2 lg. eggs, beaten
1 c. sugar
5 cups sifted flour
2 teas. soda
1 " baking powder
1 " salt
1 "nutmeg
1/4 cup melted butter or shortening

Combine buttermilk, eggs, and sugar and blend well. Beat in sifted dry ingredients, then stir in melted butter. Roll or pat dough on floured board about 1/4 inch thick and cut w/do-nut cutter. Fry in hot fat. Drain and sprinkle w/sugar. Makes 2 doz. do-nuts.

I debated about whether to half it or make the whole recipe, but I went with the whole recipe. I wasn't sure if I added in the whole 5 cups of flour (pregnant moment?) so I added a little extra flour in  just in case. I had to use a lot on my floured board because the dough was really sticky.

I had to improvise when it came to a donut cutter. I used a large mouth canning ring and then a small medicine cup (it was on the counter) to cut out the donuts and I think it made a good combination. It did require a lot of fat (I used vegetable oil) to fry them. I used the electric skillet we got from Grandma when we got married. It keeps the oil at a pretty even temperature.

Look how pretty...and fattening.

The recipe made over two dozen. And, when I took them out to drain and sprinkle with sugar. The sugar did not stick on the donuts very well. I used powdered sugar on the first batch, cinnamon sugar on the second batch, and then a lemon glaze on the rest because Big Chubb always wants things to have a little bit of tartness aka lemon juice added to them.

Little Chubb enjoyed a little donut just his size while watching George snuggled under some blankies to help him get over his cold. And, this baby better be massive because I'm having a hard time keeping a healthy diet.

Overall, I probably won't make them again just because frying donuts is more time consuming and labor extensive than I want to put forth. The donuts were ok. The were a little denser than I was hoping for maybe because I added too much flour to the recipe? I don't know.

Four-Cheese Chicken Fettuccine

Four-Cheese Chicken Fettuccine

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 30 min. MAKES: 6-8 servings

Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2-1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
TOPPING:
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 to 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Cook fettuccine according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large kettle, combine the soup, cream cheese, mushrooms, cream, butter and garlic powder. Stir in cheeses; cook and stir until melted. Add chicken; heat through. Drain fettuccine; add to the sauce.
Transfer to a shallow greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over chicken mixture. Cover and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until golden brown. Yield: 6-8 servings.

I thought this would be better than it was. It wasn't bad, I just apparently had too high expectations. One change I made that might have made a difference was substituting mild cheddar for the Swiss cheese. I just had most of the other ingredients and thought it would be the closest I would ever get to having all the stuff to make it. I also used a whole pound of pasta since I didn't have mushrooms and probably used  less chicken than called for, so there seemed to be a lot of sauce for only 8 ounces of pasta.

Brian really likes dishes like this--heavy on the carbs and light on the veggies. I thought it was fine, but not worth the unhealthiness and expensiveness of the ingredients. I froze half of it before baking, and the half that I baked fed us for two meals.

Pizza Buns

I thought this would be a good quick meal for us when I had to switch things around last minute due to Ben's busy schedule.

Pizza Buns

½ lb. ground beef
4 buns, sliced in half
butter or margarine
1 small can or jar of pizza sauce
shredded or sliced cheese
(mozzarella or parmesan cheese works well)

Brown meat. Drain the fat off the cooked meat. Lightly
butter each half of buns. Spread each half of the bun
with 1 tablespoon pizza sauce and top with cooked
meat. Grate cheese and put some on top if desired.
(Add mushrooms, onion, green pepper or other toppings
for variety.) Bake in oven at 375 degrees until hot and
cheese is melted (about 15 minutes).

Serves four. Per serving: 280 calories, 27 g carbohydrate,
10 g fat, 3 g fiber and 560 mg sodium

I did not like them. The buns were soggy under all the toppings, and I even used somewhat stale buns we had sitting around. Big Chubb however, liked them and ate the last one that I couldn't get down. I did add extra toppings because we had some in the fridge to use up, plus Little Chubb really likes it when there are olives to eat, so that is about all that he ate off of his little pizza bun.

Sorry I took no pictures of them. I was grossed out by the sogginess of the bun underneath and spent quite a bit of the evening trying to recover from gagging them down.

Oatmeal Muffin Mix

These muffins are like the bran muffins Jo made awhile back, but with oatmeal instead. 

Ingredients:
2.5 cups whole wheat flour
1.25 cups unbleached or all purpose flour
4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
4 cups quick cooking rolled oats
2.25 cups boiling water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1.25 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups fresh buttermilk

In a medium bowl, combine whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, baking soda, and salt.  Stir with a wire whisk to blend; set aside.  Measure oats into a large bowl.  Pour boiling water over oats.  Let cool about ten minutes.  Add oil, brown sugar, eggs, and buttermilk.  Beat vigorously by hand or with an electric mixer about one minute to blend.  Stir in flour mixture by hand until just blended.  Pour into a 12 cup container with date and contents.  Store in refrigerator.  Use within six weeks.  Makes about 12 cups OATMEAL MUFFIN MIX or about 50 muffins.

 Baking Instructions:  Preheat oven to 375.  Generously grease 12 muffin cups.  Gently stir OATMEAL MUFFIN MIX.  Fill prepared muffin cups about 3/4 full.  Bake about 25 minutes in preheated oven until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.

Variation: For each cup of OATMEAL MUFFIN MIX used, stir in 1/4 cup chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or dried fruit. 

I took this glamour shot.  Thanks.

These were good muffins.  I had them plain the first time and then was going to add something (not those nasty suggestions), but I forgot and made them plain again.  I still have tons of batter, though, so I'll have plenty of chances to add something in.  I like the idea of having batter right there so I can toss in a few and have hot muffins whenever I want. 

Jacob said they were good, too.  He doesn't really like muffins, so it says something when he eats them willingly.  He did say that they would be better with something added in (He suggested chocolate chips, of course).

Lemon Oatmeal Bars

Please forgive me as I try to find a good way to put our most popular posts widget on the blog.

Last night I complained incessantly about needing a treat, but not having one.  Finally Jacob broke down and made me these Lemon Oatmeal Bars.  Source unknown--it was on an index card in Mom's writing.

Ingredients
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 t lemon rind
1 1/2 cup flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
2/3 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup uncooked oatmeal


Blend lemon juice, milk, and rind--set aside.
Cream butter and sugar.  Add oatmeal and flour mixture.
9x9 pan
350 degrees 25-30 minutes


Well. Those directions weren't direct enough for Jacob.  He didn't realize the lemon juice/milk mixture went on top.  Maybe if Mom would have made the directions more clear, like she did here (cool Mom!) they would have been made properly.  Jacob combined everything all together and baked it. 

But it was actually pretty good still.  I was chewy with pockets of gooey lemon.  I know (I really do, I've had them before) they would be even better baked according to directions.  So go ahead and make this one, but follow the directions in the link.  And if you are feeling risky, go ahead and mix it all together for a special treat!

Chicken (Turkey) Tetrazinni

Thanks to Jan for finding more recipes to give me because I was getting a little stuck on the recipes I had. This one is definitely an old recipe. You'll see why.

Chicken (Turkey) Tetrazinni

1 hen (or about 3 cups turkey)
2 pounds spaghetti
4 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chopped celery
2 green peppers, chopped
4 small cloves garlic (or garlic powder)
4 medium onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped almonds (optional)

Boil hen until tender. Cut in chunks. Cook spaghetti in broth until tender. Tenderize vegetables in a little oil. Add to the spaghetti. Add the meat and mushroom soup. Add the almonds and salt and pepper to taste. Pour into casserole. Cover with grated cheese. Bake in moderate oven 30-40 minutes.
PS what is a moderate oven? I guessed at 350.
 
(Don't drain all of spaghetti--it's better when it is moist.)

Serves 8-10 with seconds. Makes a big batch--I freeze half and serve another time.

Submitted by Rena Roberts.

Well, no that I have thoroughly read the recipe I have discovered I didn't quite make the recipe correctly. I guess that is what happens when you get stranded in town after finishing grocery shopping because the brakes on your car lock up. Oh well. It still tasted ok. Though the Little Chubber decided it was more fun to fling the spaghetti around on his fork than it was to eat it.

Our biggest complaint was that it was bland. But, since I forgot to add the garlic and didn't read the part about salt and pepper to taste I think that might be why it was bland. I also opted to not include the almonds. I don't care for nuts in casseroles. Big Chubb also said that the celery seemed to give it a strange taste. I have used other recipes for this before, and we both agreed it was a better recipe.

I also halved the recipe. Big Chubb is a BIG eater, but I knew that even he couldn't make a dent on the whole recipe. Plus, a whole hen? 4 medium onions? 4 cans of cream of mushroom? One 9x13 was plenty more than enough for us. In fact, it will conveniently be served for dinner again tonight. Glad dinner is done (minus a veggie).

Slow Cooker Chicken

This recipe called to me, because I make slow cooker chicken ALL THE TIME.  It is so stinking easy.  It comes from the Successful Farming Magazine from a lady in Lebanon, Indiana.  That's close to me.  The recipe has some odd things in it, so read on.

Ingredients:
2.5-3 lbs. chicken breasts, thighs, or legs
1 T oil
1 16 oz can whole cranberry sauce
1/4 cup spicy-sweet French salad dressing (Catalina)
2 T dry onion soup mix
1 T cornstarch

1. Rinse chicken; pat dry.
2. In large skillet, brown chicken in hot oil.
3.Place chicken in crockery cooker.
4. In small bowl combine half the cranberry sauce, salad dressing and soup mix. Refrigerate rest of cranberry sauce.
5. Pour mixture over chicken. Cover; cook on low heat setting for 6 hours or high heat setting for 3 hours.
6. Stir cornstarch into remaining cranberry sauce.
7.  If cooking on low, turn to high. Stir in cornstarch/cranberry sauce mixture. Cover and cook on 30-45 minutes more or until thick and bubbly.
8.  Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked noodles or rice.  Serves 4.

I just now realized I didn't make it like it said to. I always just assume most slow cooker recipes are throw everything in, so I didn't do the part where I mixed the cornstarch in and added the mixture later.  I imagine that just changed the consistency some, the taste should be the same.  It was pretty good.  Maybe just a little too sweet for me.  Hungry Runner Boy liked it, but said it wasn't his favorite.

tl;dr--eh, okay.

Baked Apple Donuts

If you are going to make one thing from this blog, make these. Really, they are the bees knees, the bomb diggity, the best. I made them weekly when I was pregnant with Camille, and I may start that tradition again, even though cinnamon is a big heartburn trigger. Seriously, I love these things.

These aren't really donuts, although I love those, too; they are lovely, tender muffins. And you know, since they have apple, you could call them healthy. Just joking. This is one recipe that I never try to make healthier. I know using shortening is out of fashion, but I've never substituted. I figure this recipe is perfect how it is; using trendier ingredients won't improve it.

A picture was finally added!

Baked Apple Donuts

1 1/2 c sifted flour
1 3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c milk
1 c grated raw apple (peeled)
1/2 c melted butter
1/2 c sugar
1 t cinnamon

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and 1/2 c sugar. Cut in shortening until mixture is fine. Mix together egg, milk, and apple. Add all at once to dry ingredients. Mix quickly. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove from pan, roll in melted butter,then in cinnamon sugar mixture. Makes 12 muffins.

I just had the revelation that it doesn't say to roll just the muffin tops in butter and cinnamon sugar. It says to roll the muffins in butter and cinnamon sugar. All these years I could have been rolling the entire muffins in goodness. And that would use more of the butter and cinnamon sugar. If you just roll the tops, 3 T butter and 3 T cinnamon sugar is sufficient.

Meat and Potato Squares

 This is a recipe of the month prepared by Northwestern Public Service Company in May 1990.  The same month I was born in!  So obviously I wanted to make this.

1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/4 c milk
1 t mustard
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 c bread crumbs
1/c chopped onions
16 oz frozen french fries or hash browns (I made my own)

Combine and mix well the first 8 ingredients.  Put half of potatoes in greased 8x8 pan.  Pat meat mixture in layer over potatoes.  Press remaining potatoes on meat.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Cut in squares.



This is basically just meatloaf and potatoes  Fairly tasty though.  I wish there would have been something on top of the dish, like cheese or sauce, but I made do with ketchup.  I probably won't make this again.

Vanilla Pudding

The actual recipe was for Vanilla Pudding & Pie Filling Mix, but I actually wanted to make the pudding itself. Mom wrote the rest of the ingredients onto the page to finish off the recipe. It is the original, fallen out of the cookbook recipe. I have no idea why this recipe is in my portion of the Cupboard Recipes because 1) it is in everyone's My Mom's Best Recipes cookbook and 2) everyone would rightly give ownership of this recipe to Sarah. I have a good little laugh with myself everytime I make this (along with a few other delectable taste treats).

3/4 c. sugar
heaping 1/3 c. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
2 3/4 c. milk

2 T. Butter
1 1/2 t. vanilla

There are no instructions. But, if you need them, here is what you do.

Mix sugar cornstarch, and salt (and dry powdered milk if you are being very frugal or don't have milk) in a pan. Add milk (or water if using powdered milk). Bring to a slow boil over medium high heat stirring with a whisk constantly. Once it thickens/boils remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. It can be enjoyed warm or cooled in the fridge. If cooling in the fridge, place plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding surface so no skin forms on the top.

It was truly scrumptious! Russell and I had some warm after I made it, and Ben had some later that night before bed. He raved about how great it was, and then told me he saved half for me to eat later. He was upset when he found out he could have eaten it all because I had already had a large bowlful myself.

Slice 'n' Bake Lemon Gems

The picture of the cookies I made is not very good, so
here's a more inspirational picture that makes you want
to make these, compliments of Taste of Home.

Slice 'n' Bake Lemon Gems

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 25 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
 MAKES: 28 servings
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
  1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
  1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
  1 cup all-purpose flour
  1/2 cup cornstarch
  1/4 cup colored nonpareils
  LEMON ICING:
  1 cup confectioners' sugar
  2 tablespoons lemon juice
  1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Directions
In a small bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon peel. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Shape into a 1-3/4-in.-diameter roll; roll in nonpareils. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until firm.

Preheat oven to 375°. Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 9-11 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

In a small bowl, combine icing ingredients. Spread over cookies. Yield: 28 cookies.


These cookies have potential to be good and quite pretty. I pretty much ruined them by overcooking both cookie sheets. They were crunchy and almost burnt. The next day however, the cookies had sucked up the moisture from the icing (the icing was delicious and easy), and they were softer and better. I also found it rather difficult to roll the log in sprinkles. I'll have to try a different method of that next time. I didn't use lemon zest. I keep a bottle of lemon juice in the fridge for all my lemon flavor needs. It just seems expensive to buy lemons for the zest, although I'm sure they would be better with it.

tl;dr: Because of my inability to make these properly, the cookies deserve another chance.

Can't Get Enough Caramel Cookies

Recipe (and picture) From Allrecipes

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine, melted 

1 cup packed brown sugar  

1 teaspoon salt

 2 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking powder 

Directions

1. Melt butter or margarine over low heat. Remove from heat and mix with brown sugar and salt. Mix in oats and baking powder.
2. Press onto a greased 9 x 13 inch cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) until melted together and lightly brown, about 8 minutes. Watch carefully! Cut while hot.

I suggest looking at a recipe before making said recipe.  I glanced at the name and thought, "Yum! Cookies!"  I thought they would be like oatmeal butterscotch cookies, but they were like salty sweet granola bars.  Unhealthy ones.  They were still very good.  Jacob loved the salty sweet combo and gave them 4.5 stars.  I liked them, but not loved them.  I still ate a quarter of a pan (there goes my healthy eating plan. I was on day 1), so they got a 3.5 star rating from me.

Easy Dinner Rolls

Easy Dinner Rolls

By MizzNezz

Added September 19, 2002 | Recipe #40633

Yield: 24 rolls

1 cup water (110 degrees F)
2 packages yeast (Do not use the quick rising in this recipe)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/4 cups flour

Directions:

1. Combine water and yeast in lg bowl; let stand for 5 minutes.
2. With wooden spoon, stir in butter, sugar, eggs and salt.
3. Add flour, 1 cup at a time and beat in as much as you can.
4.  (you will probably be able to use all the flour) Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.
5. Grease a 13x9 baking pan.
6. Turn dough out onto floured surface.
7. Divide into 24 equal pieces.
8. Roll each piece into a smooth round ball.
9. Place in rows in prepared pan.
10. Cover and let rise for 1 hour; until doubled.
11. Heat oven to 375*.
12. Bake until golden brown, about 17 minutes.

The dough is very soft and sticky.

After rising for 2+ hours in the fridge. Notice it isn't nice and smooth and elastic-y.

I tricked him into eating more dinner by telling him that I would take pictures of him eating :)

Ben asked if I wanted him to take the picture so I could proudly show off my rolls.... And, that is a pretty decent shot of our sad kitchen, though it is giving the allusion that it is deeper than it really is.

I made these tonight to go with some carrot soup. They turned out pretty good. My only complaint was that even though they say they are easy they had to rise forever! I didn't plan in the second rise time, but luckily I tricked them to rise faster by warming the oven up pretty warm. Ben liked them, but said they were crumbly and not as good as the rolls Mom usually makes. And, Russell actually ate two of them!

If you want the nutrition information you can go to recipezaar.com and search for the recipe number. I suggest not doing it because they are not healthy.

Four Week Bran Muffins

We had these muffins quite awhile ago, and I'm just now getting around to putting them up. Sorry. I had been looking for a refrigerator bran muffin recipe a while ago, so I was happy to see this one. This comes from the Eating Well...While Spending Less packet from North Dakota State University.

Equipment you will need
-measuring cup
-measuring spoons
-mixing bowl
-mixing spoon
-plastic wrap or cover
-muffin pan

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 cup soft or melted margarine
1 quart buttermilk (or sour milk*)
1-1/2 cups sugar
5 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (15 ounce) package raisin bran cereal (or 9 cups bran flakes with raisins)
5 cups flour

To make the mix

1. Break eggs into a large bowl and beat well.
2. eat in margarine, buttermilk, and sugar until well mixed.
3. Add baking soda and salt. Stir well.
4. Mix in raisin bran.
5. Add flour and stir until just mixed. The batter will be thick.
6. Cover and store in the refrigerator. The batter will keep about four weeks if the refrigerator is at 40 degrees.

To bake the muffins

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grease muffin pan or use paper baking cups.
3. Take batter our of refrigerator.
4. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full.
5. Bake in oven at 400 degrees about 15-20 minutes, until brown.
6. Return leftover batter to refrigerator.

Makes 6 dozen muffins

*To make sour milk, mix two tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar with two cups skim milk.

I'm pretty sure I halved the recipe because 6 dozen muffins would take us more than 4 weeks to go through, even baking them up a few at a time. Even though I halved the recipe I don't think we got 3 dozen muffins from it (and we have small muffin pans). And, I think I used plain bran flakes instead of raisin bran.

We enjoyed them twice. Once right when I mixed them up. The second time was a few days later, and they tasted just as good. The batter was very thick and scooped like ice cream after sitting in the fridge for several days. It was nice to have them already mixed up in the morning, so we could just bake them up to eat.