Breakfast Casserole W/Bacon & Cheddar

Another great recipe from the Debbie Macomber "Cedar Cove Cookbook." Anything with bacon always taste better!

8 oz. bacon

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 Tblsp all purpose flour

1-1/2 c. whole milk

1 lb frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes

1/2 c. snipped fresh chives

1-1/4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350* Butter an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Cook bacon in a large heavy skillet over med-high heat until crisp. Remove slices; drain on a paper towel lined plate. In same skillet over med-low heat, cook onion and pepper in bacon drippings for about 8 minutes or until softened; stirring often. Reduce heat under skillet to low. Stir in flour. Slowly pour in milk, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to incorporate smoothly with the flour. Cook until mixture thickens & comes to a simmer, about 3 minutes; stirring often. Crumble bacon into mixture. Evenly spread potatoes into prepared dish. Top with half of the chives, 1 cup of the cheese & all of the vegetable-bacon mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. Bake for 40 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with remaining chives before cutting into squares.

Serves 6

Teri's Macaroni & Cheese

I checked out Debbie Macomber's book, "Cedar Cove Cookbook" from the library. Wow is this a beautiful book! Not only does she have sectioned into the traditional categories, she also has sections for things like breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. The pages are so beautifully done. Here's one of her recipes (found on page 125) that I am definitely going to make for Christmas dinner.

Teri's Maccaroni & Cheese

4 Tblsp (1/2 stick) butter, plus extra for the pan

1/2 c. all purpose flour

2 c. whole milk

1/2 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut into chunks

1/2 c. cottage cheese

1/2 c. sour cream

salt & pepper to taste

1 lb. elbow macaroni

Shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 350* Butter a 3 qt. casserole pan or several small oven safe baking cups. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over med-low heat. Sprinkle in flour and stir until absorbed; about 1 minute. Slowly pour in milk, stirring constantly until incorporated. Reduce heat to low & add Velveeta chunks. Stir until melted. Add in cottage cheese, sour cream, salt & pepper. Stir well. Meanwhile, cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Place into prepared pan. Fold in cheese sauce. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with shredded cheddar and bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese melts.

Serves 6-8

Big Book Of Home Cooking

I so can't wait to try out some of the new recipes in here!

Keep Your Salad Fesher Longer

I love salad but I hate the way my lettuce always turns brown before I eat it all. Well, I found this great site called, Salad In A Jar, and she had a wonderful tip for keeping your lettuce fresher longer. I am definitely going to try her method out. Take a peek for yourself....

Fourth Of July Brain Freeze

A Fourth of July celebration wouldn't be complete without ice cream. Instead of buying it, why not try making a batch just for the fun of it. If you like Big Red soda, then you'll love it in ice cream form. The electric ice cream maker we have is a 6 quart Rival brand, therefore the recipe instructions might need to be adjusted according to your machines manufacturer instructions.

Bubble Gum Ice Cream
1 (2 liter) bottle Big Red soda
2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
crushed ice
4 c. ice cream salt

Pour Big Red & both cans of milk into the container of your ice cream machine. Place lid on container & place into ice cream bucket of your machine. Top with motor and turn machine one to begin churning. As machine is churning add in ice to the outer bucket that encases the mixing container. Alternate ice with ice cream salt ending with enough ice to cover top of mixing container. Wrap a towel around the top of the bucket to help hold the cold in. Let mixture churn until ice cream is formed. Time will vary depending on your machine. Once complete, transfer to freezer safe containers and store in freezer. Enjoy!

Click HERE for printable recipe

There's nothing better than sitting back, relaxing while your ice cream is being made.

Getting My Canning On

The other day I was able to put up 14 pints of bread & butter pickles along with 4 pints of homemade ro-tel. I just love home canning. It is so worth the effort.

Click HERE to see lots of tasty recipes from this weeks Gooseberry Patch Recipe Roundup. Be sure to check out entry #68, Creamy Crockpot Chicken and feel free to vote for Me! Thanks in advance.

Pico De Gallo

One of the best things about Summer is gardening. I just love when you get to go out on your own property and pick fresh vegetables and fruit that you grew yourself. Even better....cooking with your bounty. Here's one on my favorite snacks to make using those beautiful, fresh tomatoes...

Pico De Gallo
3-4 med. size roma tomatoes, diced
2-3 jalapeno peppers, diced
1/2 a medium white onion, diced
1/3 c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lemon
salt to taste

In a small mixing bowl combine tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, cilantro & garlic. Stir to combine. Juice lemon and add to mixture. Stir well. Season with salt to your taste and serve chilled.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Dinner With Gooseberry Patch

Last night's dinner consisted of fresh green beans w/ new whole potatoes, stuffing and Crockpot Creamy Apricot Chicken from my newest Gooseberry Patch cookbook...

This is one of the easiest and tastiest chicken recipes I have made in a long time.

Creamy Crockpot Apricot Chicken
1 (8-oz) bottle Russian dressing
1 (12-oz) jar apricot preserves
1-2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine dressing & preserves in a small bowl & stir together. Place chicken in 4-6qt. crockpot. Pour dressing mixture over chicken. Cover and cook on High for 1 hour then turn to Low and cook for 3 hours or until chicken is fully cooked.

This was the finished product and boy howdy it not only looked good, it taste heavenly too!!

Click HERE for printable recipe

Tres Leche

Nothing better than knowing the name of the cow your drinking from!!

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie? The only way I can think to make it better is to add peanut butter to it. So tonight that is exactly what I did.

Cookie:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Filling:

1 c. peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

1 c. powdered sugar

Mix together in a small bowl until well blended.

For cookie:

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Make indention in center of dough and place a small ball of peanut butter mixture in center. Top with another rounded teaspoon of cookie dough and seal edges by pressing together to cover peanut butter filling.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Red Onion & Black Pepper Spread

(Photo Courtesy of Nabisco)

This recipes originates from the back of Ritz cracker box. So never under estimate the back of the box recipes.

The recipe originates from the back of a Ritz cracker box. So never under estimate back of the box recipes.

1 pkg. (8-oz) softened cream cheese
1/4 c. finely chopped red onions
1 clove garlic, pan toasted, peeled and chopped (since we love garlic I used 2 medium size & 1 small clove)
1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
2 Tblsp. chopped fresh parsley
Ritz crackers

In a dry saute skillet, lightly toast garlic. There's no need to peel your garlic at this time. Once garlic has toasted and is lightly browned (be careful not to burn the garlic) transfer garlic to a cutting board. Peel and chop garlic.

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, onion, black pepper & garlic. Using a hand mixer, mix until all ingredients are well blended. Transfer mixture to a sheet of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Roll into the shape of a log. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until firm. Roll in parsley and serve with crackers.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Amish Mexican Toss Together

1 lb. ground beef
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper
1/2 Tblsp. chili powder
1/2 clove garlic; minced
2 c. beef gravy (I am using left over pork roast gravy that I saved for this recipe)
2 c. kidney beans; drained
2 c. cooked elbow macaroni
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook beef until no longer pink. Drain. Add in onion, bell pepper, chili powder & garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add in gravy, beans, macaroni, salt & pepper. Stir to mix well.Transfer mixture to a greased 2-qt. baking dish/casserole. Bake at 450* for 15 minutes. Stir, then top with grated cheese. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese melts.

Click HERE for printable recipe.

Recipe source: Amish Cooking, Deluxe Edition

Lemon Pound Cake

One of my favorite cookbooks, next to Gooseberry Patch, is "When Friends Gather" by Susan Cannon. One year my good friend over at Blessings Beyond and I went to a craft fair and it was there that we were introduced to the author and her books. Susan is one of the sweetest, most personable ladies I have ever had the priviledge to meet. Not only did I buy "When Friends Gather" but I also bought "Where Hearts Gather" Let me tell you, if you have the chance to pick up either of these books, you will not be disappointed.

Since we have a family birthday coming this Saturday I decided to make one of my favorite cakes from the book, Lemon Pound Cake. This is such a tasty cake that's sure to be a hit with your friends and family.

1 c. butter flavor shortening
2 c. sugar
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
2 Tblsp. lemon extract

Preheat oven to 325*.

Grease & flour bundt pan. In large mixing bowl cream together shortening & sugar.

In a medium size bowl mix remaining dry ingredients together. Gradually add to creamed sugar mixture; mix until well incorporated. Add in eggs & buttermilk. Beat well. Mix in extract.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan & bake for 75-90 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 5 minutes. Turn onto cake plate & glaze while still hot.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tblsp. bottled lemon juice or the juice of one lemon

Combine powdered sugar & lemon juice. Stir well. Pour over hot cake. If need be, return cake to oven for a few minutes until glaze melts.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Tomato Soup Bread

Years ago I saw a recipe for a cake that used Campbell's Tomato Soup. I thought....Yuck! Then the other day I saw the same recipe again and this time I thought....what the heck, it may actually taste ok. So last night I gave it a whirl. The aroma wafting from the kitchen was heavenly!! The taste....it reminded me of Fall. It was very delicious. Next time I might make a glaze for it, but even plain it's tasty.

2 Tblsp margarine
1 egg
1 c. sugar
1 can tomato soup
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp all spice
1 c. raisins (optional)
1/2 c. nuts (optional)

In a small bowl, stir together soup & baking soda. Stir well until the foam settles.

In a large bowl, cream together margarine, egg & sugar.

In another bowl, stir together cinnamon, flour & all spice. Add alternately with soup mixture to the creamed mixture. Add raisins and nuts if using.

Pour into greased bread loaf pan. Bake at 350* for about 50 minutes.

Click HERE for printable recipe

*Original recipe source: Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Double Delight

The other night I was introduced to a wonderful site, Picky Palate. She has some wonderful recipes on there but one really caught my attention. It show cased two of my favorite things....chocolate chip cookies & oreos. With just those two things in it, you know it had to be good. So let's get baking and try it out for ourself.

Double Stuffed Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks butter; softened
3/4 c. brown sugar; packed
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 Tblsp. vanilla
3-1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp.baking soda
1 (12-oz) bag semi sweet chocolate chip morsels
1 pkg Double stuff oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350*

In a large mixing bowl cream together butter & sugars. Mix in eggs & vanilla and combine well.

In a smaller bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add dry mixture to wet ingredients. Mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on each side of your Oreo Cookies. Work dough to enclose the Oreo and sides are sealed. Place dough onto a silpat lined or greased cookie sheet.

Bake for about 9-13 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Click HERE for printable recipe