Saturday, December 21, 2013

Pumpkin Pie Squares



Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 c. melted butter
1 egg
2 - 1 lb. cans of solid pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c butter

Directions:

Mix together cake mix, 1/2 cup butter and 1 egg. Reserve 1/2 cup. Press remainder into bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, 3 eggs, brown sugar, salt, and spice. Pour over crust. Mix together reserved cake mix, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1/4 cup melted butter. Sprinkle topping over pumpkin custard. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or til a knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Easy Caramel Apple Crisp

I've been craving a warm, delicious apple crisp dessert lately! 


Caramel Apple Crisp Recipe

Ingredients
1/2 cup caramel topping
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 large baking apples
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup quick oats
Preheat oven to 375. Mix together caramel and cinnamon. Slice apples and add to caramel. Put in an 8 inch square glass baking dish. Mix flour, brown sugar and oats. Cut in butter. Crumble topping mix over apples. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Sharon's Meatballs


Sharon made these for our Personal Progress Party a couple nights ago, and let me tell you, I don't think I've ever had anything more delicious than these babies. Devin and I both loved them so much that I had to ask for the recipe and make them for dinner, TONIGHT! Thank you Sharon for sharing this recipe with me, you're the best. 

These are best as an appetizer, but if you love them as much as I do, they can quickly turn into your entire meal. 

Meatballs:
3 lbs. ground beef
2 C. quick oatmeal
1 13oz can evaporated milk
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 C. chopped onion
1/2 Tsp. garlic powder
2 Tsp. salt
1/2 Tsp. pepper
2 Tsp. chili powder
 
Mix and shape into walnut size balls. Place in two 9x13 inch pans. Cover with sauce
 
Sauce:
4 C. catsup
3 C. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. liguid smoke
1 C. chopped onion
 
Stir well, pour over meatballs and bake at 350 for 1 hour. I usually pull them out after 50 minutes

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Puppy Chow

I absolutely love puppy chow! I remember making it with my friends back when I was a kid, and having it at girls camp .. so many good memories that come along with puppy chow :) 





Ingredients: 
9 cups crispy rice cereal squares
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:
  1. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate; add peanut butter and mix until smooth.
  2. Remove from heat, add cereal and stir until coated.
  3. Pour powdered sugar into large plastic bag, add coated cereal and shake until well coated. Store in airtight container.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Texas Roadhouse Rolls

If you have ever eaten at a Texas Roadhouse, you know why I'm so excited about this recipe - if you haven't, you must try this recipe, for it will bring you serious happiness! :) And the cinnamon butter is a must-have to go with the rolls!





Ingredients needed for Texas Roadhouse Buttery Dinner Rolls:3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 ounce packages active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/4 cups warm water, 105 to 115 degrees F
1 large egg slightly beaten
8 tablespoons butter melted
2 tablespoons butter flavored vegetable shortening

Directions for making Texas Roadhouse Buttery Dinner Rolls and Cinnamon Butter:Step 1: Put 2 cups flour in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Add yeast, salt, sugar and dry milk. Set aside.
Step 3: In a mixing bowl, combine water and egg and stir to mix.
Step 4: Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
Step 5: Pour water mixture into the well.
Step 6: Mix by hand, beating 150 strokes and frequently scraping bottom and sides of bowl.
Step 7: Add 1/2 of the melted butter and beat to combine.
Step 8: Add remaining flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, beating to combine each addition.
Step 9: Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
Step 10: Set dough in a warm, draft free place.
Step 11: Allow batter to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Step 12: Coat cups, bottoms and sides of 12 cup muffin pan with shortening.
Step 13: Punch down batter, it will be extremely soft and sticky.
Step 14: Drop by hand or spoonful into prepared muffin cups to make 12 rolls.
Step 15: Brush dough with 1/2 remaining melted butter.
Step 16: Let rise uncovered in a warm draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.
Step 17: Preheat oven to 400 degree F, bake rolls on middle rack for 16-18 minutes.
Step 18: Brush tops of baked rolls with remaining melted butter.

Cinnamon Butter
Ingredients needed for Cinnamon Butter:1 cup, 2 sticks butter, softened
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk, chilled
1/2 teaspoon corn syrup
3/4 to 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions for making Cinnamon Butter:Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until mixture is smooth. Serve with hot rolls or muffins. This may be stored in the refrigerator.

Tips:
Make sure you let the dough rise doubled in bulk were stated.
You may double for more servings.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Crock Pot Taco Soup



1 can of tomato sauce
1 can kidney beans-drained and rinsed
1 can of corn-drained
1lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
Tortilla chips (optional)
Sour Cream (optional)
Shredded Cheese (optional)

Cook the ground beef according to the directions for making tacos on your package of taco seasoning.  Add tomato sauce, kidney beans, corn, and cooked ground beef with taco seasoning into a large crock pot.  Let it cook on low for 3-6 hours.  Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheese and allow everyone to customize their own bowl!  

I love to use the chips to scoop up the soup, but some of my family prefer to crumble them on top and use a spoon-each person can make it their own way!  Perfect for a cool Fall evening!

*Note: this is easily doubled to feed more people.  I double this and cook it in my 6qt. crock pot with no problem.

*Tip: If you are in a hurry to get this put together before you head out to work in the morning, cook the beef and taco seasoning up the night before and keep it in the fridge overnight.  Then just toss it all in the crock pot in the morning!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Mississippi Pot Roast

Ingredients: 

1 pot roast
3-4 tbsp. Hidden Valley ranch seasoning
1 McCormick Aus Jus packet
1 stick of butter 
6-7 russet potatoes
1 bag baby carrots cut into small pieces

Directions: 

  1. Cut up potatoes and carrots, and layer over and around pot roast in crock pot
  2. Cover with ranch and aus jus seasoning, cut butter stick in about 4 different squares, and layer over top of vegetables and roast
  3. Cook on low for 5-6 hours in crockpot

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Pioneer Woman Mashed Potatoes

mashed pot 052Sigh. Mashed potatoes. They’re as much a part of Thanksgiving dinner as pecan pie and Uncle Festus.
But mashed potatoes are labor-intensive, and on Thanksgiving Day, that’s not necessarily an asset. The wonderful thing about these mashed potatoes is, they can be made ahead of time, then warmed in the oven when you’re ready. This has made a world of difference in my Thanksgiving Day sanity, peace, blood pressure readings, and hormone levels. The fact that they’re wonderfully delicious is simply the icing on the cake. So let’s go make ‘em!
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With a vegetable peeler (i.e. carrot peeler), peel 5 pounds of regular Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. After peeling, rinse under cold water.


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Now, I always like to chop the potatoes in half or in fourths before throwing them into the pot. They cook more quickly and more evenly this way.


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No need to freak and spaz and wig out here—just cut them so they’re generally the same size.


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Now, bring a pot of water to a healthy simmer…


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And go ahead and throw ‘em in.


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Now, bring to a boil and cook for a good thirty minutes—possibly more.


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That’s just enough time to give yourself a nice paraffin manicure or, in my case, haul all your trash to the dump.
What did I just say? Ah, country life. It’s so beautiful and idyllic.


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Now. You have to give the potatoes the ol’ fork check to make sure they’re done. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost—but not totally—fall apart. Remember, if the fork meets with any resistance, that means there’ll be little hard pieces of potatoes in the final product. Translation: LUMPS!


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Drain the potatoes in a large colander and give yourself a nice steam facial while you’re at it.
Not really.


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When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove.


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Turn the burner on low. What we’re going to do is mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients. That way, the potatoes won’t be watery or “mealy.”


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Do you have a potato masher? You need one! They’re relatively inexpensive and so much better to use than an electric mixer, the sharp blades of which can break down the starch in the potatoes and make the final product gummy. Also, you’ll need a masher later when we make Butternut Squash Puree and Sinful Sweet Potatoes.


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Mash away…


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Until most of the steam has escaped and most of the chunks of potato have been mashed well, about three minutes.
Now, turn off the stove.


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Are you ready to get serious? Good. Find the butter you’ve been softening…


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And just slice it right into the hot potatoes. For five pounds of potatoes, I use 1 1/2 sticks.


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Or, if I’ve had a particularly stressful week, I bump it up to 2 sticks. Butter, you may not be aware, is an effective psychological salve.


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Now. Are you ready to get SERIOUS? Okay, I’m just making sure. This, my friends and cohorts, is THE secret ingredient of delectable, delightful, creamy, perfect mashed potatoes. Do not be afraid. Do not scream and run. You must trust Pioneer Woman. I know of what I speak.


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To five pounds of potatoes, I add an 8 oz package of cream cheese. It’s best if it’s softened.


Now, let me just say that Marlboro Man would never—NEVER—touch cream cheese with a ten-foot pole. Never. He’d sooner have his gums scraped than eat cheesecake or spread cream cheese on a cracker. But he loves my mashed potatoes. And he ate them for years before he ever got wind of the secret ingredient. He cried for a few days when he found out he’d consumed cream cheese, but now he doesn’t even bat an eye.
In terms of culinary repertoire, it’s all about baby steps with these cowboys.


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Hello, lover.


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Now, to make the texture just right, we need to add a little Half & Half.
Hey, I COULD have used heavy cream. But this is a low-fat dish, people. I have to make healthy choices.


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Begin with 1/2 cup. You can always add another splash later.


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Now it’s time to mash away again! If your butter and cream cheese were softened to begin with, everything should come together perfectly.


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Oh, my. Did someone say “creamy?” Oh. I guess that was me.
Okay. That’s the basic mashed potato recipe. From here, you can add whatever seasonings make your skirt fly up: onion powder, salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic salt…even mashed roasted garlic cloves (my personal favorite.)


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For Thanksgiving, though, because the mashed potatoes will be served with gravy and all the other stuff, I like to keep it pretty simple. And Lawry’s, to me, is just right. It provides salt content as well as just a hint of some other flavors.


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It’s important not to oversalt the potatoes, so start small and you can work your way up. I usually add about 1/2 teaspoon to start, then wind up adding another 1/2 teaspoon later.


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In a perfect world, I would now reach over and grab my wooden pepper grinder. But in my world, my pepper grinder is outside, filled with gravel. Don’t ask.


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Go ahead an add as much pepper as you like. Again, I start with about 1/2 teaspoon, then add more later.


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Now, stir or mash everything together.


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Then TASTE the potatoes, and adjust the seasonings. The seasoning process should take a little time, as it’s important to get it just right. Try really hard NOT to undersalt the potatoes. They need seasoning, man.


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Now, butter a medium-sized baking dish.


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And plop the mashed potatoes right in.


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I’m hungry. For mashed potatoes.


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Now, to make it look reeeeeal puuuuurrrrty, smooth out the surface of the potatoes with a knife.


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Ha! You just THOUGHT this was a low-fat dish, didn’t you? Fooled you once again.


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Slice up a few pieces…


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And place them all over the top. This just screams rebellion, doesn’t it? Hey, look. It’s Thanksgiving. And I just happen to be thankful for butter.
Now, the great thing here is, you can cover it with foil and refrigerate for one or two days before Thanksgiving! Then, just pop it in the oven when you’re ready. It’s amazing how much trouble this saves on Thanksgiving day. That peeling, boiling, draining, and mashing thing can really get in the way of your holiday joy.
When you’re ready, remove it from the fridge at least an hour before baking (a couple of hours before eating) so the center won’t be so cold. Bake in a 350-degree oven, covered, for 20-30 minutes, or until warmed through.


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Here’s mine. I actually forgot to cover mine with foil because my boys were dressing the dog in my favorite jeans and I had to intervene. But they turned out fine; the top had a nice little buttery crust, which didn’t bother me one bit.


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Oh, baby. Come to mama.


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Mmmm….creamy, steamy, flavorful, delicious mashed potatoes. They’re as much a part of Thanksgiving dinner as tryptophan and whiskey.
Go for it, guys!
 
Recipe

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time:
 
 
Cook Time:
 
 
Difficulty:
 Easy
 
Servings:
 10

Ingredients

  • 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • 3/4 cups Butter
  • 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
  • 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
  • 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.
Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.
Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.
Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.
Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Yields: 3 servings

Ingredients: 

3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
3 swiss cheese slices
3 ham slices
1-1/2 tbs. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. paprika
3 tbs. butter
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar or dry white wine ( I use white wine )
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

Directions: 

  1. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese & ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filing & secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl and coat the chicken pieces.
  2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat & cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Ad the wine & bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear
  3. Remove the toothpicks and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skilling. Cook, stirring it until thickened & pour over the chicken just before serving. 

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

From the kitchen of: Jenny Allgaier ---- suchhhh a tasty meal! :)

Ingredients: 

2 large chicken breasts (cooked)
5 potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder

Toppings: 

1-1/2 cups shredded cheese (I use fiesta blend)
1 pkg. crumbled bacon
1/2 cup diced green onion

Directions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 50 degrees
  2. In a large bowl, mix olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder
  3. Wash and cube potatoes, then add to bowl and stir up well
  4. Coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray
  5. Add potatoes, reserving a little of the marinade for later on
  6. Bake the potatoes for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally (watch them carefully, you don't want them to burn)
  7. Cube the chicken and add it to the bowl with the left over sauce. Mix up - there won't be a lot of sauce just barely enough to give the chicken some taste
  8. Mix together cheese, bacon and green onion in a small separate bowl
  9. Once potatoes are done (can easily stick fork into them) add the cooked marinated chicken
  10. Then layer the topping over the chicken, lower the temp. of oven to 400 degrees
  11. Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted

Pumpkin Cookies



Ingredients: 

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (not solid pack)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (or more) semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions: 


  1. Cream together shortening and sugar
  2. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla, mixing well
  3. Sift dry ingredients and mix with pumpkin mixture
  4. Blend in chocolate chips
  5. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. 


Note - Don't overbake, cover tightly for storing

Bill's Sweet Potatoes



Mix together: 

1-1/2 cup cooked mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
dash of salt
2 eggs beaten & at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese (softened and at room temperature)

Topping: 

1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup crushed cornflakes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes