Hamburger Roll- ups, "grown-up" style

Make biscuit dough (Call Beth if you need more instruction than that). I like the baking powder biscuit receipe in the Betty Crocker book. Then you roll it out into a very flat rectangle and sprinkle it with motz cheese. Then you spread out a hamburger-onion-garlic-spices-to-make-it-yummy- mix. Then you roll it up, just like cinnimon rolls, smashing the little bits of goodness that may try to escape. Then you cut them into 1 1/2 inch rolly-things and put them on a greased (my non-greased pan is still soaking in the sink!) cookie sheet. Then you put some more cheese on top, like this:

Then I took a can of mushroom soup and added it to the pan I cooked the hamburger mixture in with some of the mix left over that wouldn't fit in the rollups. I added 1/2 can of milk, about


2 tsp of Worshchestershireshireshire sauce, and then 1/2 cube beef bullion because it wasn't quite right yet.... Then it was!


Cook the rollups at 400* for about 20min, watching carefully, mostly because that is a guess. The biscuit inside needs to be cooked, but the outside not too brown.

Serve the sauce generously over the top!

Turkey Ricotta meatballs

1 pound of ground turkey (or hamburger)
1/2 c part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 c dry breadcrumbs
1/4 c chopped fresh basil
1/4 t pepper & salt
preheat oven to 375. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, then shape the mixture into about 18 meatballs. In a large skillet brown the meatballs. Remove the meatballs and put them on a broiler pan(cover the pan first with cooking spray) bake for 15 min or until done.
To Freeze: follow cooking instructions then allow meatballs to cool. Place them on a cookie sheet making sure they don't touch each other and place them in the freezer for an hour then transfer the hardened meatballs to an air tight container and store in the freezer ( up to three months). Thaw the meatballs in the refrigerator, then bake 375 for 20 min.

Puffy Pancakes

These are a mix between scones and puffy crepes. So easy, so good. It is our new Sunday morning breakfast.

Heat oven to 425* and put a 9x13 pan (with 1/3 cube of butter in it) in the oven while heating to melt the butter.

While the butter in pan is melting, mix 6 eggs well.
Add:
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c flour
1/3 c sugar

Mix well and pour into pan. Cook about 20 min, watching carefully at the end...
It is done when the edges (which grow and spread up the sides of the pan) are brown.

Cut or tear up and serve with berries, syrup, cinnimon sugar, applesauce, powdered sugar, etc.

Just try it!

Chicago delights- easy!

This delicious dish is Shrimp Fettechine Torino. I replicated this at home, and got almost the same results, but without the shrimp.

To make the sauce, just mix equal parts marinara sauce (the red stuff) and alfredo sauce (the white, creamy stuff). I used the stuff right out of a jar. You could add chicken or shrimp, or we ate it plain. It is great! Feels very fancy, but not too heavy.

Best of both worlds!

Could be the perfect fruit salad...

All hail fruit! That mutant kid of orange that comes ripe in the summer (hey, i'm just the eater), 2 kinds of grapes from our vines, strawberries, perfect pears, and one huge mango. The only thing that would make it better would be a pile of blackberries.



o by the way, this is no receipe, this is just an "ode to food" entry...
o baby...

Great roasted vegetables

Roasted vegetables. mmmm. Just typing about them makes me hungry. There is no good way to "receipe" this, so we'll try a list, followed by basic instructions. Wait. that sounds a lot like a receipe...

potatoes
carrots
chucks of onion
parsnips
whole mushrooms
brussel sprouts
garlic

Cut all about the same size pieces so they will cook evenly. Leave mushrooms and brussel sprouts whole, or just cut large ones once. Garlic cloves whole as well.
Pour a bit of olive oil on the vegetables on a cookie sheet or roasting pan. A metal pie tin works for smaller portions. Work the oil and veggies around with your fingers so each piece gets a little coating of oil. Lots of salt and pepper and itallian seasonings are next. Mush around so it gets all over. Add more salt. Spread out shallow in the pan. Savvy?
375* for 45 min
400* for 35 min
425* for 30 min (you get the idea)
Leave for longer if you are going for crispy.
This is my favorite list, but many more things could be added, or taken away. I have also had good success with itallian dressing alone. Squash is great. Throw a piece of chicken or fish in there with the vegetables and feast!

Baked Pesto Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c pesto
mozzarella cheese(enough to cover chicken)
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 375. season chicken with salt and pepper.
spread 1/4 c pesto in baking dish.
lay chicken in pesto cover with remaining pesto.
cover baking dish with foil and bake 20-25 min.
uncover and top the chicken with cheese
put back in until cheese is melted, 5 min.
one recipe called for tomato on top as well you decide.

Sausage and summer squash

3T Italian salad dressing
1 package (4) cooked polish sausage links
3 yellow squash/zucchini
cut them like pickle spears
you can add other spices oregano, garlic, salt, pepper
depending on your taste.

In skillet cook sausage and squash in Italian dressing
8-10 min or until sausage is heated through
and squash is almost tender(or how you like it)

fraaad chikin'!

I fed a mess of kids this yummy chicken and then took the cold left overs to Shaver for the 4th of July....We were fighting over the scraps. Carrie said that made it blog worthy!

In a bowl beat 1 egg and 3/4 c water. Then mix in
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c flour
1/4 tsp pepper
set aside...

In another bowl or container, mix..

1 1/3 c flour
1 T garlic salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
1 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning

Now here is the sketchy part. Since I don't agree with owning a "deep fat fryer", I just take a large pot and start pouring in the oil till it is about 2-3 inch deep (a little deeper if you are doing whole pieces with bones) and turn up the heat. The oil needs to be REALLY hot. 375* if you have a thermometer. If you don't have one, heat it till a drop of water imediatly pops and sizzles when you drop it in there. If it's not hot enough, the chicken will just soak up the oil and it will be soggy (blech).
Take raw chicken pieces (can be pieces with bones, but we just did "tenders") and dip them in the slimy mix, then dip them in the flour mix. One idea is to put the flour mix in a big ziploc and shake them around. Then put them in the oil, a few pieces at a time. Too many pieces cool off the oil.
3-5 min on a side or untill golden brown. Whole pieces take a bit longer.
Great alone, but a piece wrapped up with lettuce, cheese, and ranch in a tortilla would put even Claire's lunches to shame!!

Cheese Soup

Serves ~6

1.5-2 cups chopped onions
2 tomatoes, diced
2 cups chopped mushrooms (I've used about 4 different varieties- all are good, although Shitake is NOT my favorite.)
2 cups chicken broth/stock
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Simmer until onions are tender.

Slowly add 1.5 cups milk, 1/2 lbs. jack cheese (I've also used mozzarella) and White Sauce (see below). Stir together until warmed through, and serve.

White Sauce:
Melt 6 T. butter, blend in 6 T. flour and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add 3 cups of milk slowly, and stir constantly over medium high heat until mixture thickens.

Bruschetta

Here's the recipe for the bruschetta we had at the beach by Carrie's birthday request. This is about half the amount we made that night.

1 lb. roma tomatoes chopped small
2 T. olive oil
1/2 t. salt
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 t. coarsely ground pepper
3 T. fresh basil
1 T. fresh parsley (optional)

Mix all together and let sit while you slice up and toast a baquette.

Add 4 oz. mozzarella cheese chopped into small cubes to the mix, and serve on the toast.

Pesto Pizza

This is from the Pioneer Woman site. I made it for lunch today. Very good. Maybe I should have taken a picture right when it came out of the oven instead of an hour later. Oh well. It was still good.

You can use this with a homemade crust, or prebaked (thin is good for this pizza). Spoon pesto over the crust, and sprinkle salt over it. Lay out thin slices of mozzarella, then thin slices of tomato. Follow with some more smaller bits of mozzarella on top, then finish with a layer of grated parmesan cheese.

Bake it according to crust directions, but pay attention to it as it bakes. I cooked mine at 450 for 8 minutes, then kept it under the broiler to brown the top. It was perfect.

Chilie Verde!

This is what made me decide I could like Mexican food. YUM YUM!

Cubes of pork - 1 lb? (the measurements of this one are going to drive some of you crazy)

Tomatillos - 15-20 med.- chopped

7 oz can of chopped green chilies

1 onion - chopped

3+ cloves of garlic

2+Tbsp of "jhalapinyo" peppers (don't be afraid)

1 tsp cummin

salt and pepper

Brown pork in a little oil or butter. Very hot. Just sizzle them around till they brown a little and no pink is left. Add all the other ingredients (save salt and pepper to taste at the end) and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 1 1/2+ hours, or until the meat falls apart and most of the liquid cooks out. Or you can put the browned meat and everything else in a crock pot on hi for 4-5 hours. Don't forget the salt and pepper. Shred up the meat the best you can and serve in hot (so they get soft) corn tortillas with cheese and sour cream. It is also really good over cheese enchiladas (cheese and corn tortillas) and baked.

Chicken Pot Pie

Easy to keep the basic ingredients on hand, especially if you buy frozen pie crusts:

Ingredients:
1-2 carrots, cut up
4-5 medium potatoes, cubed (I leave the skins on)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1-2 cans of chicken
1 can chicken gravy
1 pie crust
sage, pepper

1) Boil carrots and potatoes together until soft (10 min?)

2) Combine chicken, peas and gravy in frying pan, warm through.

3) Add carrots and potatoes, season to taste with sage and pepper. Be generous with the sage.

4) Pour into pie crust, cook at 400' until crust is brown, 20-25 min. Yum, yum!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

If you want to see this recipe being made, I got it from:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/12/french_breakfast_puffs/

Except instead of nutmeg I used "apple pie spice" which is cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Also, I chopped up an apple into bits and threw it in the dough, an addition I will definitely duplicate in the future. And, for the butter/sugar part I did half as much as the recipe calls for and it was more than enough.

Banana Bread

Don't eat those last two nasty bananas. Make banana bread!

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (usually about 2 large bananas)

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugar, shortening and eggs by beating with an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Add mashed banana. Stir in dry ingredients. Pour into two bread pans. Bake at 350 until knife comes out clean (apprx 40 mins depending on size of pans).

Recipes I'm looking for...

-Breakfast casserole- Kathy made some one time, "crowd for brunch" i think it was called.
-Bruschetta
-Cheese soup
-Roasted vegetables
-Green enchiladas - I've tried a few, but haven't found 'the one'.

Stir Fry

Need more vegetables in your life? Try some stir fry!

First put 2 cubed chicken breasts in this marinade:
1 tsp ginger
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 clove crushed garlic

Then while your chicken soaks up the flavor, chop up whatever vegetables you have: carrots, broccoli, peas, mushrooms, bell pepper, etc.

Heat up oil in a wok or a big fry pan. Add chicken first and then vegetables in order of cooking time. Add a bit more soy sauce if needed and serve over rice!

Crash Potato Pizza

Adapted via failure from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Start with potatoes that were boiled in salted water. Red potatoes are really good, but I did mine with Yukon Gold. Oil a cookie sheet generously with olive oil. Put the potatoes on the sheet and smash gently with a masher or the back of something flat. The PW receipe shows cute, flower bundles of potato, but mine exploded. So, we went with it and filled in the whole pan with chunky potato.

Then pile on WHATEVER (see below). We went with BBQ sauce, lots of salt and pepper, ham, crumbled bacon, and lots of cheese. Cook at 450* for 20 min until cheese turns toasty.

Tips:
1. Make sure the potatoes are completely cooked, but not mush.
2. Use lots of salt and flavor (read garlic salt, herbs, itallian dressing etc). Ours were kind of boring, even with the bacon and BBQ sauce. 3. Use whatever you like: Think pizza toppings and potato toppings. Scrambled egg and cheese would be good. I was even thinking of trying turkey with gravy on top. hhmmmm.

Quiche

Start with a pie crust in 9 in pie pan. Fork bottom, cover with foil and cook for 8 mins at 425*.

Necessary filling
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup grated cheddar
1/4 cup grated parmesan
salt/pepper

Optional filling additions
bacon, sausage, potato cubes, red bell pepper, broccoli, onion, spinach, mushrooms

Fill pie shell and cook at 350* for 45 mins. Will look a little soupy. Let stand 5 mins.

Crepes

2 eggs
1 1/3- 1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup flour

Grease a hot pan with butter. Pour in batter to cover almost 1/2 the pan then roll the batter around to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Flip.

Recipe credit: Chris "don't stand so close to me" Gregory

Pankegg

Ah the pankegg. An old family classic. Good for breakfast or fast dinner.
Crack an egg on to a preheated pan and drizzle pancake batter around it or vice versa. The only complicated part is the flipping. It goes wrong for me about 50% of the time.

Cakies (Cake Mix Cookies)

I love these cookies because they are so easy!

Whisk together:
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla

Add:
1 box any flavor cake mix and stir the ingredients real good with a wooden spoon.

Then add:
1/2 bag chocolate chips

Roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet.
350 for 10 minutes, 2 minutes cooling on the pan

Combos: Choc cake/butterscotch chips, lemon cake/white choc chips, choc/choc chips, etc.

Beans

2 cups rinsed pinto beans
4-8 strips bacon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Put beans in a big pot and cover with water about 2 inches above the beans. Add (uncooked) bacon. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 2-2.5 hours. It is done when most of the water is gone and the beans are nice and tender. Stir in salt/pepper. Serve with corn bread!

Pressure cooker version
2 cups of beans
1 clove garlic
1 jalapeno pepper
3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2-4 strips bacon
other: some cumin or chile powder could be good.

Soak beans for at least 4 hours. This is critical.
Put in pressure cooker and bring to pressure for 12-15 minutes. Use quick release method. If beans are still tough at all, put it back on the stove for 1-2 minutes more.

Cran-Apple Muffins

Cream together:
2 eggs
3/4 c sugar
2 Tbsp oil (can be replaced with 2 heaping Tbsp of Applesause)

Mix and gently add to above:
1 1/2 c Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp cinnimon
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

It will be really thick.
Gently stir in all or none of :
2 c chopped apples, 1 c dried cranberries, 1/2 c chopped walnuts

Loaf - 55-60 min 350*
Muffins - 12 min 340* (watch them)
(Grease the Pans!)

Popscicles

1 part yogurt, 4 parts juice - pieces of fruit optional
Any juice, any yogurt - some combos better than others. You can freeze in any shape and eat with a spoon. The yogurt softens it a bit so you don't feet like you are knawing on a flavored ice cube!

Our favorite currently is Dole orange-peach-mango juice with peach yogurt.
Great summer fun.

Mom's Pizza Crust - sort of

1 c Very warm water (not hot, not warm)
1 T yeast
1 dash sugar

Pour the yeast on top of the water in a bowl. Let it sit for 5 min till it gets all bubbly. Pre-mix the dry stuff, then add to yeast/water:

1 heaping tsp salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 c Flour
1T olive oil (I have left this out accidentily and it still worked!)

Mix in a mixer, or stir the heck out of it with a wooden spoon. Should be a smooth, soft dough. Add a little flour if it is too sticky. Spread thin (this takes some work and patience. if it is too springy, let it sit for a few min, the yeast will soften it up) in a GREASED cookie sheet for the square classic, or divide into parts to make calzones.
Cook in HOT oven (read 430*) for 15-17 min. Cheese should be brown on top. Yummm!

Taco Soup

2 cans of beans (any kind you like-pinto, black, kidney)
1 can corn
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes w/green chilies
1 can chicken (or other meat)
1 chopped bell pepper
1/2 chopped onion
1 cup water

1 package ranch dressing mix
1 package taco seasoning

Put everything together and let it simmer for as long as you can. Serve with shredded cheese and chips.

Welcome to the sister's food blog!

This cake was so good I had to give some of it away 4 times. It is so moist and sooo good.

1 package devils food cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1.5 cups sour cream
1 cup melted butter
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat over to 350. Stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a little well and pour in the sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until blended, then for four additional minutes . Stir in chocolate chips, Butter and flour a 10 inch bundt pan or- four small bread pans. Cook for 50 - 55 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Put a plate on the bottom, flip it and frosting it.

credit- adapted from pioneer woman contest entry #66