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:)