Apple Pie Muffins

Apple Pie Muffins
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups diced peeled firm tart apples (Granny smith)

Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup oats
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
3 T. butter or margarine

Make topping first by putting the first five topping ingredients in a small bowl and cutting in the butter. Set that aside until you need it. In large bowl whisk together brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, soda, and salt. Stir oil mix into flour mix alternately with buttermilk. Fold in apples, mixing just until combined. Spoon into greased muffin cups. Sprinkle topping over each muffin evenly. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 24 muffins.

*If you don't have buttermilk put 1 T. lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup. Add milk to the 1 cup line and let sit for several minutes. Then use as you would buttermilk.

M&M Cookies

M&M Cookies

1 cup margarine

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 large bag (14oz) plain M&Ms

Cream margarine and sugars, add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and half of M&Ms. Drop on greased cookie sheet, placing remaining M&Ms on top of each cookie. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

S'more Bars

S'more Bars
3/4 c. light corn syrup
3 tbsp. butter
1 pkg. milk chocolate morsels
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. Golden Graham cereal (9 c.)
3 c. miniature marshmallows

Grease 9 x 13 inch pan. Heat syrup, butter and morsels to boiling stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal in bowl, toss until coated. Fold in marshmallows 1 cup at a time. Press into pan with buttered back of spoon. Let stand 1 hour. Cut into 2 inch squares. Store at room temperature.

Whole Wheat Pretzels

Whole Wheat Pretzels
1 T. yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 t. honey
1 t. salt
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
(you can use white flour too)
1 beaten egg
coarse salt

Dissolve yeast and honey in warm water. Mix in flour and salt. Knead for 5 minutes. Divide into eight pieces and shape as desired. Brush with egg and sprinkle with salt. Bake on cookie sheet at 450 for 10-15 minutes. (Other option: skip salt and put sugar & cinnamon on warm pretzels when they come out of the oven instead.)

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

Just like Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits!

2 cups Baking Mix* (like Bisquick)
2/3 cup Milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix baking mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix margarine and garlic powder; drizzle over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm. Makes 10 to 12 biscuits.

[*To save money make your own baking mix. Or just use a regular biscuit recipe and add a bit more milk and then the cheese.]

Parmesan Garlic Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 t. garlic salt
1/4 t. rosemary
1/8 t. basil
1/8 t. thyme
1 T. Parmesan cheese
1 (160z.) loaf of French bread

Cut bread in half length-wise. Mix butter with herbs and cheese. Spread onto bread. Place bread halves crust down (butter up) on baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut bread into individual pieces before serving.

Crockpot Lasagna

8 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 lb.  Italian sausage
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
24 oz. cottage cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Break noodles to fit and place half in bottom of greased slow cooker. Brown and drain meat. Stir in Italian seasoning. Spread half of meat over noodles in slow cooker. Layer half of sauce, half of cottage cheese, and half of mozzarella cheese over meat. Repeat layer. Cover. Cook on low for 5 hours.

Kettle Corn

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
scant 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
Whirley Pop or one large sauce pan (I used a 3 qt.) with a lid (very important!)
one large bowl

Put all ingredients into Whirley Pop and crank over medium heat until done. Don't leave too long or it will burn.

Or on the stove top, in a large sauce pan with a lid, heat oil over medium until hot. Add sugar and popcorn and stir. Cover just before you think it's going to start popping. Keep the pan moving on the burner until the popping slows. Dump the popped corn into a bowl and eat! Tip: If there is any residue in the pan get it soaking ASAP or it will harden.

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 oz chocolate covered macadamia nuts

Mix shortening and margarine together. Add half of the flour, all the brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vanilla and baking soda. Beat until thoroughly combined. Mix in the remaining flour. Add in chopped macadamia nuts. Drop by scoop onto cookie sheets. Bake at 375º for 10 minutes or until golden.

Ham and Cheese Braid

Just make your favorite bread dough (by hand, in the bread machine on the dough cycle, or in your mixer). I made mine using half whole wheat flour and half white flour in my Bosch mixer. I made four loaves worth of dough so I could make two braids plus some cinnamon swirl bread for breakfast.

Once the dough is made, roll it out into a large rectangle, I didn't measure but this is about the size of a cookie sheet. And put diced (or sliced) ham down the center. I like diced better so the whole slice doesn't slide out when you bite into it. Top the ham with a cheese of your choice. I used mild cheddar, but swiss would be good too!

Then slice the sides into little strips and start braiding. I fold the end in first so I can cover it up as I go.

One all braided. And then two, ready to go into the oven. You don't have to let them rise, they'll puff up just fine in the oven. I bake them at 350 degrees. They come out about 45 minutes later golden brown. Trust me on this...let them cook until they are really golden. Check the bottom to make sure it's done before you take it out. If it's not done put them back in on the bottom rack for a few minutes. If you don't cook it long enough the center will be doughy. The gooey cheese doesn't help with that!

Strawberry Freckled Lemonade

2/3 c. lemon juice (fresh or from the bottle)
3/4 c. sugar
Cold water--to fill a 2 quart pitcher
1 c. sliced strawberries (fresh)
1 c. smashed strawberries (fresh)

To smash strawberries: place in pitcher, and mash with potato masher. Add remaining ingredients. Mix all together, and let chill for 2 - 3 hours. Stir before serving.

Stuffed Crust Pizza

Roll out the crust a little bigger than the pan and turn it into a stuffed crust pizza. I just laid some mozzarella there and rolled the crust edge right over it. To make it pretty (and extra tasty) I sprayed on a bit of cooking spray and sprinkled some garlic salt. It worked great!

Gourmet Chicken Pizza

1 pre-baked crust 
1 cup cooked chicken, diced
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
3-4 green onions, sliced
2 T. parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/3 cup garlic caesar dressing

Spread dressing on crust. Top with chicken, tomatoes, and onions.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese over pizza first,
followed by mozzarella. Bake at 400 for 8-12 minutes.
(Could use ranch or alfredo sauce instead of caesar dressing.)

Pizza Crust

2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups flour
1 T. yeast
1/4 t. salt
1 cup warm water
2 T. oil

Mix half flour, yeast, salt. Add water and oil. Mix well. Let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in as much remaining flour as you can. Turn out on floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Divide in half. This recipe makes two crusts. Roll out to fit pizza pan. If you want regular pizza top it right away and bake. If you want a thicker crust let it rise a bit before topping. If you want thinner and crispier crust, immediately bake crust only at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. Then top and bake again.

Chicken Taquitos (or Flautas)

2+ cups cooked chicken, chopped

1 cup shredded cheese
12+ corn tortillas
¾ cup sour cream
1 T. taco seasoning mix
1/2 t. garlic salt
1/2 t. onion powder
1 T. parsley
salt, a few shakes
oil

Line a baking sheet or two with foil. Mix chicken with all but the tortillas and oil. Put oil in a small skillet. Soften the tortillas by frying them in hot oil for a few seconds. Not too long or they'll get crisp. Once the tortilla is soft put a couple of tablespoons of the chicken mix in each tortilla and roll it up. Line the rolled taquitos up on the baking sheet leaving a little space between each. Bake at 350° for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden, turning once.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 small onion, chopped
2 T. butter
1 cup carrots, cut up
3-4 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Saute the onion in butter. Add carrots, potatoes, and just enough water to nearly cover them. Simmer 15 minutes or until carrots & potatoes are nearly done. Drain all but a half cup or so of the water. Add remaining ingredients and heat thoroughly. Pour into large pie pan lined with crust and top with additional crust. Cut some slits in the top. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until the crust is golden. Let sit a few minutes before cutting to allow the sauce to thicken.

*I use the pie crust recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Snow Cocoa

Snow Cocoa
2 cups whipping cream
6 cups milk (I use 2%)
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 oz. white chocolate chips

Put in crockpot and heat on low for 2 hours. Stir well to blend.
Garnish with marshmallows if desired.

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies 

1 stick butter

2 cups sugar 

1/2 cup milk 

6 T. cocoa powder 

2/3 cup chunky peanut butter 

3 cups oats 

1 t. vanilla 

 Melt margarine in a large pot. Add sugar, milk, and cocoa then bring to a boil. Boil for 3 full minutes, stirring frequently. Take off heat and add peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Mix well. Spoon "cookies" onto wax paper. Let set and enjoy!

Poppy Seed Bread

Poppy Seed Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons salt 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

2 1/2 cups white sugar

3 eggs 

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup vegetable oil 

1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds 

1 1/2 teaspoons butter flavored extract 

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract 

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil 

 

Mix all of the above well. Put into two greased 9 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 for about an hour (until golden and tests done). Cool a few minutes in the pan then pour on the glaze (below).

 

Glaze

1/4 cup orange juice 

1/2 teaspoon butter flavored extract 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

3/4 cups powdered sugar

To make glaze: Mix liquids and then add enough confectioners' sugar to make glaze.

Light and Flaky Biscuits

Light and Flaky Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 T. baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter or margarine
3/4 cup milk (+ 1 or 2 T. more)

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in butter. Add milk and stir with a fork until ball forms. Knead lightly into a ball but don't knead long. Pat out on a floured surface and cut with biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 until golden brown (about 10-12 minutes).

Note: Great with gravy or as an breakfast egg sandwich.

Abby's Crockpot Mac and Cheese

Crockpot Mac and Cheese

1 pkg. (16oz) elbow Mac 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted 

2 eggs, beaten (I have found these to be optional) 

1 can (12oz) evaporated milk 

1 can cheddar cheese soup, undiluted 

1 cup milk 

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni noodles, do not over cook. While the noodles are cooking toss the margarine in the crockpot to melt (or you could microwave it). When it's soft/melted add milk, soup, evap. milk, cheese, and eggs (if you're adding them). Add cooked noodles to cheese mixture and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours. If you're around give it a stir a few times while cooking. *Optional: Reserve one cup of cheese and sprinkle it on top the last 15 minutes of cooking. *If you like really creamy mac and cheese (like KFC), omit the eggs and cook just until heated through.

*Do not use sweetened condensed milk instead of evaporated milk! Haha!

Olive Cheese Bread

Olive Cheese Bread (via Pioneer Woman)

1 jar green olives
1 can black olives
2 green onions
1 stick butter, softened
½ cup mayonnaise
¾ lb. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 loaf French bread, slice lengthwise

Roughly chop black and green olives. Slice green onions into thin pieces.
Mix until thoroughly combined. Spread mixture onto French bread.
Bake at 325ºF for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Mixture can also be refrigerated (up to 2 days) or used as a spread with crackers.