Basic Shortbread

I got this recipe from Martha Stewart's website. It is super easy and very tasty and can be stored for a month and the flavor just deepens.

Makes a 13x9

1 1/3 cups of butter
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Butter a 13x9 baking pan, and line bottom with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add salt and vanilla, and beat to combine. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating on low speed until just combined.

Press dough into prepared pan, leveling and smoothing the top. Using a knife cut dough lengthwise into nine strips, each slightly less than 1 inch wide. Cut the strips crosswise into thirty-six 3-inch bars. Using the tines of a fork or a wooden skewer, create a decorative pattern on the surface.

Bake shortbread until evenly pale golden, but not browned, 70 to 85 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. Invert pan, and remove parchment. Turn shortbread over, and carefully break, or cut with a serrated knife, into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Holiday Punch

This came from an old CWS homeschool group cookbook. I think the original recipe came from Rhonda Hart.

4 cups cranberry juice
4 cups pineapple juice
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon almond extract
2 quarts ginger ale

Combine first four ingredients. Stir until sugar is disolved. Chill. Add ginger ale just before serving. Fills up a large punch bowl.

Cranberry-Horseradish-Cream Cheese Dip

This was soooo yummy and was a big hit and made plenty of extra sauce that I'm freezing for later.

1 16oz can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of minced onion
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ozs cream cheese

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together first five ingredients. Bring to a boil, but stir frequently. Once sauce boils, remove from heat. Pour into a heatproof bowl and refrigerate for one hour. Can be refrigerated for up to three days ahead. Place your block of cream cheese on a serving plate and then top with the chilled sauce. Serve with assorted crackers.

Making an Octopus...

This really isn't a recipe but I thought that it was a cute idea and one that my girls keep asking me to make:) All you do is cut the bottom half of a hot dog into fourths... leaving the top intact. Place the cut hot dog into hot water and boil... as it boils the legs will separate and 'curl' up making your octopus:)

***Be prepared to make more of these than you would normally if you were just preparing regular hot dogs... if your kids are anything like mine, they will gobble these things up:)

Don't my girls look like they love them!?!

BBQ Spare Ribs

We were able to get a really good deal on Spare Ribs at Sam's and enjoyed a wonderful meal because of it:)

I found a recipe online that was absolutely delicious:) All you do is boil the meat in a BBQ sauce of your choice for 40-60 minutes... the longer you boil it the more tender the meat will be. You can add an onion quartered if you desire but it is not necessary (we have tried it both ways and they both turned out well:) After you boil the meat, place it on a grill for a few minutes to 'caramelize' the sauce... you will want to watch it fairly closely or you will have charred meat. This recipe is one that we will continue to make... it is that good:)

New York Style Cheesecake

This is a recipe that I've been making for a few years now that seems to be a good one. I myself am not a true cheesecake fan, but do kind of like this one. The only thing I changed from the original recipe was to add about a half teaspoon of cinnamon to the graham cracker crust (really, I just do a good puff of it from my cinnamon container).

1/4 cup butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 8oz bricks of cream cheese (Philly)
1/2 cup flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Melt butter in small saucepan. Stir in crumbs, cinnamon and sugar. Pat firmly in the bottom and about halfway up the side of your cheesecake pan. In large saucepan heat cream cheese until fluffy. A wire whisk works well for this to make sure there are no lumps of cheese left. Whisk in flour and eggs; mix well. Add sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and lemon rind. Carefully pour into pan over crumbs. Bake 50-55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers. I have read that it is better to refrigerate it overnight before you plan to serve it; it makes for a better cheesecake. Also to help prevent cracking: Don't peek at it while it's baking...the rush of cooler air can cause cracking if you check on it before it's set.

Peanut Butter Pie

This is what we made for Aaron's birthday this year. It was a big hit with Aaron, who, if you don't know him, loves all things peanut butter. I got the recipe from a friend of mine from church, Amber Still.

1/2 package of oreos
3 Tablespoons of butter
8 ounce brick of cream cheese
1/2 of an 18 ounce jar of peanut butter
8 ounce tub of cool whip

Mix oreos, crushed, with about 3 tablespoons of butter. Press this into your pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Mix cream cheese with half of an 18oz jar of peanut butter. (That's a bit more than a cup) Fold in the tub of cool whip. Spread into pie crust and refrigerate. We kept ours in the freezer and just took it out 30 minutes before we wanted to eat it. Shaved chocolate on top is a nice touch.

Preserving Pumpkins...

This year we decided that it would be wonderful if we bought pumpkins that we could use for cooking and baking instead of just carving and throwing them away a few days later... so after a blog that I follow posted instructions for how to preserve pumpkin (and it seemed really easy) I decided that I could do it:) So here are some basic instructions for turning this...

...into this:)

First, you cut the pumpkin in half and remove all of the seeds and guts. You may find that it is a little hard to cut through a pumpkin... you may need to microwave it for 4-5 minutes to make it easier to cut:) Second, you cut it into wedges and place the skin side up in a casserole dish with 1 1/2 cups of water. Bake at 350 until you can easily poke the pumpkin with a fork... 2 hours or less- depending on how big your wedges are:)

After the pumpkin is cooked, the skin can easily be removed- just scrape off with a spoon:) This is what you will have left of the pumpkin...

Take the cooked pumpkin and run it through a food processor, blender or mash by hand... I used a processor to get the smoothest of pulp:) Because pumpkin tends to separate (water from pulp) after it has been mashed, I used a clean towel to strain it... you can also squeeze it out some of the water to make it go a little quicker:)

Put the strained pumpkin into freezer bags... I put 2 cups of pumpkin in each bag- perfect for pies and bread:)

We are really looking forward to using up this pumpkin:)

Beef Bourguignon

Oh...my...goodness. This was so easy and was insanely yummy. Plus, it made the house smell wonderful on a lovely, rainy Fall day. I HIGHLY recommend it, and the site that I found it at is my new favorite recipe blog (crockpot365.blogspot.com).

3 pounds beef roast, or beef stew meat (I myself used half of a chuck roast that I had saved from when I made beef stir fry and about a pound of beef tenderloin that I got at a Kroger clearance meat sale)
6 slices of bacon, uncooked
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced in rings
1 cup carrots, I used a bit more carrots and the baby ones
4 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped (I used a substitute of garlic powder and minced onion flakes for the missing texture)
1 tablespoon herbs de provence ( I just used a healthy sprinkling of the herbs listed here under a recipe for herbs de provence)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (I personally thought it needed more salt than this)
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 cups red wine

Use a large slow cooker. Mine is 5.5 quarts and it was perfect. In the bottom of the stoneware, spread out your olive oil. Then 3 slices of bacon. Layer the onions and the garlic. Put the beef into the pot on top of the onions and garlic and sprinkle on dried spices and herbs. Toss the meat to distribute the spices to all sides. Add tomato paste. Lay the other 3 slices of bacon on top of the meat, and throw in the carrots. Pour wine over the whole thing.

Cover and let cook on low for 8-9 hours, high for 4-5, or until meat has reached desired tenderness. I did mine on low for 8 hours and it was perfect.

Serve on top of whipped mashed potatoes and a ladle full of the juices.

This is soooo a keeper and one that we will be making again.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

This is a recipe from a very dear older lady that used to give my family apples when I was a child, Stella Ells; isn't that a beautiful name, Stella? Anyway, I have found that one of the easiest things to do to apple butter is to burn it. But, by cooking it in the crock pot, it seems almost impossible to do this. We just made a trip to Stuckey's and my goal was to make apple sauce and apple butter. This was a great website that walks you through making both the applesauce and the apple butter. I think this is just about fool proof. Another invaluable resource to the home canner is the Ball canning book. If you don't have one, get one!

2 quarts of cooked apple pulp/sauce
4 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

Put on ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours. I did mine for five and it was perfect. Stir well and often. Sooooo good. I will definitely keep this recipe for our family apple butter.

Note: 1.5 times the recipe will fit into both of my larger crock pots. I think they are 5.5 quarts.

Freeze Your Pies

I was given this tip by my wonderful mother-in-law...

Next time you make a fruit pie (apple, peach, etc.) make an extra one in a foil pie tin and freeze it. They fit perfectly in a large ziploc and you will have one the next time you really are craving a 'fresh' pie. Bake your frozen pie like you would your unfrozen pie... just add more time to your baking time:) No need to thaw...

Plain Cake Doughnuts

A little while ago I decided that I needed to make some doughnuts so I went in search of an easy recipe:) These are wonderful...

Plain Cake Doughnuts

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 quart oil for frying

Directions:
1.Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk and egg until smooth. Knead lightly, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter, or use two round biscuit cutters of different sizes (I used different size glasses).
3.Carefully drop doughnuts into hot oil, a few at a time. Do not overcrowd pan or oil may overflow. Fry, turning once, for 3 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Enjoy:)

I hope to be able to soon try my mother-in-law's doughnut recipe... so stay tuned for that:)

Apple Crisp

As we enter the season of the apple, also known as Fall, I will be trying a lot of different apple recipes. This one I got from my MOPS ladies, who truly have been a saving grace to me as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, also known as the preschool years. I myself doubled the recipe to make a 13x9 version, cause y'all know an 8x8 size dessert isn't gonna cut it in this house. This was delicious and was even good the next morning with yogurt on it.

4 medium apples
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick butter, softened

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray or shortening. Spread apples in bottom of dish. Stir dry ingredients with butter until it becomes a crumbly mixture; best done with your hands. Spread over apples. Bake about 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and apples are fork tender. Top with ice cream if desired.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

This is a slightly altered recipe originally from my Grandma Redwine, altered by my sister, Gracie. It makes awesome bread to use up some of that extra zucchini and it freezes well.

Bake at 350 degrees. Makes two loaves.

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini
3 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2-1 cup chocolate chips(depending upon how much chocolate you like in yours, plus some to sprinkle on the top)

Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl and wet ingredients in another larger bowl (yes, sugar is a "wet" ingredient). Add dry ingredients to wet, mix and then fold in chocolate chips. Place batter into two greased loaf pans. I have been told that it is better to use Crisco to grease the pans rather than cooking spray. With cooking spray they still seem to stick a bit.

Bake at 350 for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Yummers!

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

This is a yummy recipe that a friend of mine, Candice, sent our way to use some of those wonderful blueberries that many of us have picked over the last few weeks:)

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

Buckle
4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
5 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
4 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen (thawed and drained)

Crumb topping
1 c. sugar
2/3 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. butter

Glaze
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 to 2 tsp. hot water

~Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease two pie pans (*her note: make sure not to use very shallow pans; these cakes will be quite tall).
~Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, milk, and eggs; beat 30 seconds. Carefully stir in blueberries (*her note: I always gently coat mine with flour before stirring them in and it seems to help keep them from "bleeding"). Spread batter in pans; sprinkle with crumb topping.
~Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Drizzle with glaze. Served warm is best! Enjoy:)

Sarah's Meatloaf Recipe

I vary this a lot depending on how many people I'm making it for.

This is the "recipe" I use when I make it for my family.

1 lb ground beef (or chuck, it doesn't matter)
1 lb sausage (I use the Jimmy Dean Sage sausage)
1 large white onion, chopped into large chunks
2 rolls of Ritz crackers, crushed
2 large eggs
1/2 palm of Kosher salt (that's just what I use. I guess its about 1 tablespoon of coarse salt, maybe 1/2 tablespoon of table salt)
About 4 turns of crushed pepper. (I don't know if you have a pepper mill or not, but its probably 1/2 teaspoon or there abouts)

Mix this all together. I use my hands and press into a 13x9 glass baking pan.

The glaze that I put on top is simple. It's just brown sugar and regular mustard. What I usually do is put a big scoop of brown sugar in a bowl and add mustard to it until its a thick glaze. I think its probably a loose cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup mustard. I really do this part to taste, so you might take a little taste before you put it on your meatloaf, and add more brown sugar or mustard depending. The glaze gets spread over the top before you cook the meatloaf.

The meatloaf gets baked at 350 for about an hour or until the meatloaf is browned and cooked through.

This does produce a lot of oil in your cooking pan, so it is best to remove it to a serving platter for the table. :)

Sometimes I'll add an extra pound of hamburger when we have company coming over. You just add an extra egg and roll of ritz crackers and maybe another onion if you like onions. But, don't do more than two lbs of beef per roll of sausage. You can fit three lbs of meat in the 13x9 pan just fine, but if you do more than that, its best to split it up into two pans.

Calzones

I had never made calzones before and I do not know why... these (though a little challenging at first to get the hang of) were fun to make and everyone loved them:)

Calzones
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese, shredded
toppings (whatever you like on a pizza- we used onion, olives, sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms but you can use whatever:)
pre-made pizza dough

~Lay out the pizza dough and cut it into the size you want... we made 8 calzones out of one refrigerated pizza dough.
~Sprinkle with cheese and your toppings.
~If freezing, wrap in foil and put in a ziplock bag. If cooking, bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

*If you froze it, bake in the foil for 15 minutes... do not thaw first. Then open up the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes... until heated through. Enjoy:)

Brown Bag Burritos

This is another one of those recipes that I am not sure where it came from but boy, am I glad that we found it... almost all of my family likes these:) They are delicious and the best part is we can just microwave them!!!

Brown Bag Burritos
2 lb. ground beef
2, 31 oz cans refried beans
1 1/3 c. enchilada sauce (We like El Paso)
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. minced onion
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, whatever)
20 flour tortillas (burrito-size, not thin)

~Brown ground beef; drain. Add remaining ingredients (except tortillas). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
~Heat 3-4 tortillas at a time (you can put a wet paper towel on the top and the bottom of a stack of 10 and microwave for 10 seconds and it does the same thing). Spoon 1/4 c. beef mixture down the side of each tortilla (a cookie/ice cream scoop keeps the mess to a minimum:)
~Roll up. Wrap each burrito in a paper towel.
~Refrigerate or freeze. You can pack them back in the tortilla ziplock bag... usually you can fit 10 in a bag:)
~When ready to eat, remove foil and microwave for about a minute. The paper towel keeps the burritos moist. You can also stick them in the oven to reheat them:)

Stove Top Easy Chicken Bake

Easy... Easy... Easy... that is about all I can say about this dish:) Other than it was delicious:)

Stove Top Easy Chicken Bake
1 pkg. Stuffing Mix for Chicken (generic is fine)
1-1/2 lbs. boneless, chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can (10 3/4oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 c sour cream
1 bag (16oz) frozen mixed veggies, thawed, drained

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare stuffing as directed on pkg; set aside.
~Mix chicken, soup, sour cream and vegetables in a 13x9 baking dish; top with stuffing.
~Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Makes 6 servings (this fed all eight of us and we had some leftovers:)

*You can freeze this... just thaw before you bake it:)

Farmhouse Chicken

This is a yummy dish... it is basically chicken in a white, cream sauce with stuffing on top:)

Farmhouse Chicken

4T butter
4T flour
2 cups milk
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 sm onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
12 oz. pkg of stuffing mix

~Saute onion, and prepare stuffing mix according to pkg. directions and set aside.
~In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and then add flour. Stir until bubbly, then cook one minute. Slowly add in milk, stirring continually to avoid lumps.
~Add chicken, onion, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 5-10 minutes, until chicken is done.
~Pour mixture into an 8x8 casserole dish. Top with stuffing. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

*You can freeze this for a later date... just thaw first:)

Peach Upside-Down Cake

My mother-in-law's peach upside down cake is delicious... and so easy:) It is similar to a pineapple upside-down cake in appearance and, in a way, flavor. The way the brown sugar blends together with the peaches gives them a totally different flavor than they usually have:)

Peach Upside-Down Cake
Stick of Butter
Brown Sugar
5 large peaches, sliced
Yellow Cake Mix, prepared as normal

~Melt 1 stick of butter in the bottom of a 13x9... sprinkle 'heavily' with brown sugar- when you think that you have sprinkled the bottom of the pan enough add just a little more for good measure:)

~Closely layer peaches in the bottom of pan... they will shrink some so make sure they are touching:)

~Cover peach layer with prepared yellow cake mix and bake according to your cake mix's directions:) Enjoy!

*If using frozen peaches, do not thaw first... you may also have to add a few minutes to your cooking time.

Good Old Fashioned Pancakes

These are some of the best pancakes I've ever eaten and they are totally Aaron's contribution. We have yet to try them with anything mixed in, but every time we make them we say we should get some blueberries. I think they would make killer blueberry pancakes. I do have an awesome blueberry wheat pancake recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law, that I'll post sometime if people want it.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons melted butter

In a large bowl, stir/sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.

Heated a lightly oiled/ sprayed griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Rainbow Jello

For Easter this year I wanted to try something new... and I was so excited to find this recipe on a friend's blog:) It is so yummy. I think next time I might try peach instead of apricot jello. I am just not a big fan of apricots- but it was such a mild flavor I hardly noticed it in there:) One thing I will tell you about this recipe is that it does take a while to make because each level has to firm up completely... so please consider this when making this recipe. I believe it took almost seven hours to make... when you figure in the chill time as well- the actual preparing takes no time at all:)

Rainbow Jell-O
*makes a 9 X 13 and serves at least 20

~2 (3 oz) packages each of the following Jell-O flavors: raspberry, apricot, lemon, lime (can use half sugar free and the rest regular)
~2 cans evaporated milk (the regular size ones)

Method: Begin with raspberry and layer in the order given (raspberry, apricot, lemon & lime).

First layer: Dissolve 1 pkg Jell-O with 3/4 c boiling water. After totally dissolved, stir in 3/4 c cold water. Pour into 9 X 13 container. Cool in refrigerator until firm. (make sure it is level)

Next layer: Dissolve 1 pkg Jell-O (same flavor as the 1st) with 3/4 c boiling water. After totally dissolved, stir in 3/4 c evaporated milk. Pour over firm layer. Return to refrigerator and chill until firm.Continue until 8 layers are formed. Cover with plastic wrap or lid.

**If there are other flavors of jello that you like better or that you feel look prettier or meet a theme (i.e. baby shower:), feel free to change it up:) **It can be made a day ahead- which is an advantage:) **If using sugar free jello make it your clear layer (the layer without the evaporated milk). **Also another time saver... you can mix up the next layer and leave in bowl at room temp while the previous layer is chilling. That seems to speed up the cooling and the more layers that are in the pan, the quicker they set up. Enjoy!!!

Hamburger Stuffing Casserole

We had this for dinner tonight and it went over pretty big for a casserole. It has a bit of a Mexican spicy side to it, and next time around instead of putting stuffing on the top, I'll probably just spread a Jiffy corn bread mix over the top of it. There would be no difference on the baking time. We also topped it with sour cream and shredded cheese.

1-1 1/2 pounds of hamburger
1 pkg stuffing mix, prepared
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1 can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Brown meat and onions. Add corn, tomatoes, chili powder and salt and pepper to taste. Put in a 2 quart casserole bowl and top with stuffing. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees

Peach Pound Cake

My wonderful in-laws gave us so many yummy peaches last year... so many, in fact, that we are still going through them- giving me plenty of opportunities to try some new recipes:) This recipe (found on about.com) is good on its own as a dessert or for breakfast or with whipped cream... my husband preferred it this way:)

Peach Pound Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups diced fresh or frozen peaches (I used frozen and they worked really well)

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp cream cheese, at room temperature
1 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch fluted tube pan or an angel food cake pan with a cookie sheet underneath it. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add both almond and vanilla extracts and mix thoroughly. Beginning with the flour mixture, add alternately with the sour cream to the egg mixture. Gently fold in the peaches. Pour batter into tube pan and distribute evenly.

Bake about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Invert onto a cake dish and let cool another 30 minutes before glazing. For the glaze, beat confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the top of the peach pound cake. Best served at room temperature. Enjoy:)

Macaroni & Cheese

This is a recipe that originally came from my mom... I have since changed it a little:) I believe all of my sisters make it a little different now as well, but this is how I make it. It is a popular dish to make for get togethers or when you want a good comfort food... 

Macaroni & Cheese 

• 1 lb box macaroni, cooked 
• 1 bag Velveeta, shredded 
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk 
• Plenty of Shredded Cheese (cheddar or mixed works well) 

Cook the macaroni according to the box. When the pasta is cooked, drain. Then add Velveeta and the sweetened condensed milk to the cooked macaroni. Stir until melted. Pour half into a greased 13x9 and sprinkle with cheese. Pour the rest on top and sprinkle with more cheese. Heat until cheese is melted. 

*You can also make this dish ahead of time and cook at 350 for 30 minutes. Enjoy:)

Mini Meatloafs

This is a recipe I found on Money Saving Mom that is absolutely delicious. Raegan ate three of them by herself:)

~Favorite Meatloaf recipe (like the one found here)
~BBQ sauce (I used KC Masterpiece... best BBQ sauce in my opinion:)
~salt & pepper
~cheddar cheese

Thoroughly spray your muffin tin with cooking spray. Place in a handful of prepared meatloaf into each muffin tin. Press your thumb into each meatloaf ball, making a space for toppings. Squirt a dollop of BBQ sauce into the space and salt and pepper. Bake in a pre-heated 375* oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through (160F). Add your favorite cheese and bake for another 5 or so minutes. Enjoy!!!

Cherry Dream Squares

This is a recipe that was given to my mother ages ago by Susan Martz. It was originally with Cherry pie filling, but we like it with all kinds: peach, blueberry or apple. I've even tried adding an extra can of pie filling for when I'm serving it with ice cream.

1 package white cake mix
1 1/4 cup of oats
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 21 oz can of pie filling
1/4 cup of brown sugar

Grease 13x9 pan. In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, 6 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of oats. Reserve 1 cup of crumbs. Add egg to the large bowl, mix and press into pan. Spread pie filling over. To reserved crumbs add 2 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar and remaining oats. Mix together and then crumble over top of fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Yummers.

Pumpkin Bread

This is a marvelous recipe for Pumpkin Bread... it even freezes well:)

Pumpkin Bread
3 c sugar
1 c oil (I use canola but you could you vegetable)
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 T. nutmeg
1 T. cinnamon
2/3 c water
2 c pumpkin (I use a 15oz can of pumpkin)
3 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda

Mix all the ingredients together and put either into two greased loaf pans or muffin tins. If making loaves, bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done. If making muffins, bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Makes 2 large loaves or 36 regular muffins.

Herb Rubbed Bison Roast

Well, you may remember awhile back we went to a buffalo farm... on that adventure we picked up several different cuts of bison- one of which was a roast. And cooked like the directions below it was quite good... we hardly had any leftovers:) I think that this rub would be wonderful on any type of roast... if there are children in the house you may cut down on the cayenne pepper:)

Herb Rubbed Bison Sirloin Tip Roast
Prep: 20 minutes Roast: 75 minutes Stand: 15 minutes
1 tbsp. paprika
2 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt, or 1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 3 to 3 1/2 pound boneless bison sirloin tip roast
Roasted vegetables (optional)

Step 1: In a small bowl combine paprika, salt, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Stir in oil until well combined. Set aside. Trim fat from roast. Spread oil mixture over surface of meat. Place meat on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert an oven-going meat thermometer into center of meat.
Step 2: Roast in a 375 degrees F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Roast 60 to 65 minutes more or until meat thermometer registers 140 F. Cover roast tightly with foil and let stand in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. The temperature of the meat after standing should be 145 degrees F (medium rare). Thinly slice meat across the grain to serve. Serve with roasted vegetables, if desired. makes 8 servings.