The Most Awesome Blueberry Bread/Muffins

This truly is the most awesome bluberry bread recipe that I have ever had. It makes super great muffins, too. This is one part of my favorite breakfast. What makes up my favorite breakfast you might ask? Blueberry muffins, bacon, hard boiled eggs and orange juice. Mmmmmm. Happiness. :)


1 ½ c. flour 1/3 c. milk
¾ c. granulated sugar 1 c. blueberries
½ tsp. salt ½ c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder 1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. vegetable Oil ¼ c. butter
1 egg 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

Combine 1 ½ c. flour, ¾ c. sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil in one cup measuring cup and add the egg plus enough milk to fill cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries; spread in pan.

Crumb topping: Mix together with fork ½ c. sugar, 1/3 c. flour, ¼ c. butter and 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon.

Spread topping over the berry loaf. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

For Muffins: Fill muffin cups right to top of cup. Makes 8 regular sized muffins. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

 

I have made this every Christmas since I was about 15. A really awesome coffee cake.

1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup sour cream

Cinnamon Filling

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Icing

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon milk

Prepare cinnamon filling; reserve. Beat sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in a bowl on medium speed. Beat in flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Add sour cream. Fill greased bundt pan, 1/3 batter, 1/3 filling, repeat twice. Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour. (If you set your timer for 60 minutes exactly it should be done, but it may need an extra 5 or 10 minutes depending on your oven). Let cool for 15 minutes in pan. Remove to plate and drizzle icing over top.

Beer Bread

I just came across this recipe again. It comes from the kitchen of the lovely Amber Still.

3 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar

Mix these ingredients together. Next, mix in a 12 oz bottle of beer. Pour/spread this into your greased loaf pan. Then drizzle 4 tablespoons of melted butter over the top. Bake at 375 for 1 hour.

Buckeyes

I make these every Christmas and they are always a big hit. :)

3 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 sticks softened butter
2 lbs powdered sugar
2-3 bags chocolate chips

Mix first three ingredients together. Roll dough into balls, dip into melted chocolate, place on parchment covered cookie sheet and chill.

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

This is my variation on a chicken pot pie. It is basically a chicken pot pie filling with a biscuit topper. Yummers. This is a really good biscuit recipe just to use for biscuits, too.

I use the boneless, skinless chicken breast tender pieces that come frozen in a bag. Abt 10 of those that probably works out to about 3-4 cups of cooked chopped chicken. I cook this in olive oil and season it with ground pepper and kosher salt. Cook until browned.

1, 16 oz bag of frozen peas and carrots, thawed.
1, 10.75 oz can of cream of onion
1, 10.75 oz can of cream of chicken

Mix that all together and that makes up the filling.

Biscuit topper:

In a large bowl whisk together 2 1/2 cups of flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Cut in one, cold, cubed stick of butter. Then, using your hands, add 3/4 cup of milk and one large egg lightly beaten. Work together with your hands until its a nice dough. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and sprinkle flour lightly over the top and using your rolling pin, roll dough out into a rectangular shape to fit your pan.

Brush the top with an egg wash. (1 egg and 1 tablespoon milk beaten together)

I use a 10x5 casserole dish and this fits perfectly. You could add a bit more filling stuff and it could be made bigger. The biscuit recipe would fit well to up to 13x9. Bake at 400 degrees for about 35-45 minutes. Super good.

Beef Enchiladas

1 28 oz can enchilada sauce
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 medium onion browned with the ground beef
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
6-8 flour tortillas (depending on how big you fill them) fajita size

Optional: Some people like to add a can of corn and green chilies to their enchiladas, but I don't really like to have that much spice inside because of the girls. We'll add more spice to the outside. I also see a lot of recipes that add a cup of sour cream to the inside. I don't do this and am not sure how well that'd freeze.

Serve with your typical sides: Lettuce, sour cream, refried beans, salsa, guacamole...

Pour 1/3 of your enchilada sauce into the bottom of your pan. Mix another third with your ground beef and Monterey Jack cheese. Fill your tortillas, about 1/3-1/2 cup each and roll up. I place them in the pan seam side down, which is not the traditional way, but what I do. Top with the remaining 1/3 can of enchilada sauce and your cheddar cheese. Spray a piece of foil and place sprayed side down over your enchiladas.

Bake at 350 degrees from fresh for about 45 minutes to an hour until warmed through and bubbly. From frozen, either thaw and bake the same way or give it an extra hour from frozen.

Sweet and Sour Pork

1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks… only use the juice when preparing- add chunks when ready to eat
½ cup water
½ cup vinegar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbls. Ketchup
2 Tbls. Soy sauce
2lbs. boneless pork, cut into 1 in. cubes
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 Tbls. Vegetable oil
2 Tbls. Cornstarch
1 large bell peppers, cut into 1 in. pieces… added when ready to eat
1 large onion, cut into 1 in. pieces… added when ready to eat
Hot Cooked Rice… to be served on

*Drain pineapple, reserving juice in a bowl. Add water, vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce to pineapple juice; set aside.

*Sprinkle pork cubes with salt, garlic salt and black pepper. Preheat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown pork cubes in hot oil. Turn heat to low. Add 1 cup of pineapple juice mixture to skillet. Cover and simmer gently about 20 minutes or until pork is tender.

*Add cornstarch to the remaining pineapple juice mixture, whisking to break up any lumps; whisk into skillet. Turn heat to high, whisking constantly until mixture boils and thickens. STOP HERE IF FREEZING… and put into a freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months. Defrost completely in refrigerator and then continue with next step.

*Add pineapple chunks, bell pepper and onion to skillet. Cook about 5 minutes more or until vegetables are heated through. Serve over rice.

Corn Cheddar Casserole

This recipe came from my Grandpa Jackson's wife, Joan. One of my younger sisters absolutely adored this recipe, although I can't remember which one it was; either Tammi or Gracie.

1 can creamstyle corn
1 drained can whole kernel sweet corn
1 cup uncooked egg noodles
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 stick melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar

Mix everything together. Pour into greased casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes, stir and bake for an additonal 30 minutes.

I have tried this with chicken added in and think it might also be good with ground beef.

Neapolitan Swirl Hearts

I found this recipe for cookies when I was looking for something 'different' to make for Valentine's Day this year but mine did not and would not turn out how they were suppose to... so instead I made mine into swirl cookies and they turned out quite yummy:) I think that these would also be a great cookie for a baby shower- just swap out the pink dough for blue or green:)

Neapolitan Swirl Hearts
~1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
~½ cup sugar
~1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
~¼ teaspoon salt
~2 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
~2 ½ tablespoons Dutch Process cocoa powder
~Pink food coloring
~Milk and sugar for top

*In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and salt. With the mixer speed on low, gradually add the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

*Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. It will be loose and crumbly in texture. Knead the dough with your hands until it comes together, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide the dough into equal thirds. Take one third of the dough and knead cocoa powder into it and set aside. Take another third and knead the food coloring into it and set aside. You will now have pink (or whatever color you chose to use:), brown and white dough. Take a small amount of each of these, form into a ball and roll out... if you do it all at once you will end up with just a darker version of your colored dough and not a swirled pattern by the end- still yummy but not as pretty:) Cut with a cookie cutter and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Continue until all of the dough is gone... enjoy:)

Easy Biscuits

I have struggled with making good biscuits since I was a little kid and first tried making them. The ones I grew up on were kind of hard little disks and I aspired to make ones more like KFC. These are those biscuits for me. :)


2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Egg Wash for the tops of the biscuits:
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (use pastry blender or two knives). Add milk and slightly beaten egg and stir until just combined. (The texture should be sticky, moist and lumpy.)

Place mixture on a lightly floured surface. Dust your hands with flour and knead the dough gently until it comes together and is a smooth dough.

Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out biscuits with a round cookie cutter. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg and milk and bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the biscuit comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter.

Makes about 12 biscuits.

Beef Stew

This is the stew that I grew up on. One that "stands on it's own." :) Anyway, I think it's awesome and pretty easy to make, too.

This is just kind of an outline. You can change it based on the size of pot of stew you're making.

Beef (It is easiest for me to just get the stew meat that you get already cut up in the packages. It's marked for use in stew)
Potatoes
Carrots
Tomato Juice
Flour
Salt and Pepper


First, put your carrots cut up into bite sized pieces into your pot. I myself prefer to get the baby carrots. The amount of carrots that you put in should be a bit less than a third of your pot. Next comes your potatoes. Again, cut up into bite sized pieces. You can peel them or leave them unpeeled; completely up to you. I like them unpeeled better. This should be a little less than two thirds of your pot. Cover this with tomato juice. Place on your stove top at Medium Low to Medium heat.

Next prepare your meat. I cut the meat into bite sized pieces as well. The pieces in the stew meat package are usually still too big and have to be cut down. I then place those cut up pieces into a ziploc bag with about a half a cup to a cup of flour, enough to coat the meat. Toss it around a bit to make sure that each piece is coated. After you coat your meat, you will cook them in a deep skillet with about a half inch of crisco melted in the bottom of your pan. Cook until done, drain and put into your pot with the veggies.

Next, take about 1/4 cup-1/2 cup of flour in a bowl(depending upon the size of your stew pot) and pour about 2-3 cups of tomato juice over it. Whisk this together and pour into your pot. This will be your thickener for the stew.

That's all there is to it. Just cook until your carrots are completely cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

This was super easy and comes from the Libby website

1 can (30 oz) Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix
2/3 cup Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk
2 large eggs slightly beaten
1 pkg. (18.25 oz) yellow or spice cake mix
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Whipped topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Spray 13x9 baking pan. Combine pumpkin pie mix, evaporated milk and eggs in large bowl. Pour into prepared pan. Combine cake mix, melted butter and nuts in large bowl until crumbly. Easiest to mix it with the hands. Sprinkle over filling. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Top with each serving with whipped topping, if desired.

Breakfast Casserole

3 cups shredded freezer hash browns thawed
1 lb sausage, browned
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 eggs
2 cups milk
salt and pepper

Spray 13x9. Layer in potatoes, sausage and cheese. Salt and Pepper. Mix eggs and milk and pour over top. Cheese will rise to top while baking. Bake in 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned.