Perfect Potatoes au Gratin

(From Pioneer Woman
Ingredients
4 whole Russet Potatoes, Scrubbed Clean
2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
1-½ cup Heavy Cream
½ cups Whole Milk
2 Tablespoons Flour
4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
1 teaspoon Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Freshly Grated
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Smear softened butter all over the bottom of a baking dish.
Slice potatoes, then cut slices into fourths.
In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes.
Repeat this two more times, ending with the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving by the spoonful. Delicious!

Easy crock pot pork chops

Ingredients:


 1 large onion, sliced

 4 to 6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced

 2 cans (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup

 4 to 6 pork chops, boneless or bone-in

 salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Lightly spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Put onions and potatoes in bottom of slow cooker. Top with pork chops, salt and pepper, pour soup over chops. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, until tender. You can serve alone or on top of rice.

Simple Disappearing Honey Granola

5 cups oats
1/2 cup olive or canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup almonds (slivered or whole–I love whole!)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of each or any of the following: craisins, raisins, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds.
1. Turn oven on to 350. Place oats on one non-stick baking sheet (these work great) and toast for about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix all remaining ingredients except seeds and fruit.
3. When oats are done, pour into bowl and mix until oats are coated. Grease baking sheet if necessary and bake for 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes.
4. Allow to cool and add seeds and fruit. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.
Variations
• Replace two cups oats with a mix of rolled grains
• Replace about 2 TBSP Honey with Molasses (just measure both in the same cup)
• Replace Flour with half wheat germ, oat bran, or ground flax, and half a mixture of various whole grain flours.

Large Batch of Instant Oatmeal

5 c. quick oats
5 c. powdered oats
1/3 c. powdered dry milk
1/3 c. sugar or honey powder
2 1/2 t. salt

Mix all together and put in a Tupperware or #10 can for later use.

**For different variations, add cinnamon and dehydrated apples or you can add dried fruit or other flavorings to make different types of oatmeal.

a heaping 1/2 c. is a serving, put into their bowl, add the milk, microwave, and breakfast will be served. Every few times you use this mixture, you will want to stir what is on the bottom to the top to make sure all of the powder, milk, salt, and sugar gets evenly distributed.

These vaiatiosn I found are for single serving size just increase if you want to make the whole batch that way….
Variations:
1. Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbls sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 2 Tbls finely minced dried apples (use scissors)
2. Sweetened Oatmeal: Add 1 Tbls sugar or 1 packet artificial sweetener
3. Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Oatmeal: Add 1 Tbls brown sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon
4. Raisins & Spice Oatmeal: Add 1 Tbls brown sugar, 1 Tbls raisins and 1/8 tsp each allspice and cinnamon
5. Fruit & Cream Oatmeal: Add 1 Tbls non-dairy coffee creamer and 2 Tbls minced dried fruit (use scissors)
6. S'mores Oatmeal: Add 6 miniature marshmallows and 1 Tbls milk chocolate chips

Sweet n' Sour sauce

1/2 c sugar 1/3 c. vinegar

2/3 c water 1 1/2 T cornstarch

.......cook over med. heat until thickened.

stirring constandly. Remove from heat and add 4 T. catsup.
(perfect on fried rice - chicken - etc)

Gingerbread Cookies

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. molasses

1 egg yolk

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Cream butter and sugar. Add molasses and egg yolk. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Add flour mixture to butter mixture. Chill for at least an hour. It's a fairly sticky dough so you might need to chill it a little longer.

Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough to 1/4" thick and cut with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2" apart on a baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. If you bake them on the short end they will stay soft and chewy and if you bake them on the longer end they will be nice and crispy. They're great either way!


Allow to cool about 5 minutes on pan and then transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Once they're cooled you can decorate your heart out.
 

Glacé Icing

1lb powdered sugar (about 3 3/4 C)

6T C whole milk (low-fat actually works, but use whole if you can)

6T light Corn Syrup (6T is equal to 1/4 C plus another 2 T)

1 t extract

With a whisk, combine sugar and milk until smooth (no lumps!) Then stir in corn syrup and extract.

You will use this same recipe for both glazing and piping. The way it is right now is the consistency you want for glazing you can just make it thicker with more powdered sugar

Homemade Bisquick Mix

7 cups

6 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons baking powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup vegetable shortening

1.Sift flour, baking powder and salt three times into a large bowl.

2.Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs.

3.Store mixture in airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 months.

4.Use whenever your recipe calls for "Bisquick mix".

Butterscotch Apple Crisp

6 cups sliced peeled tart apples (about 5 large)


3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

1 package (3-1/2 ounces) cook-and-serve butterscotch pudding mix

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

Vanilla ice cream, optional

Directions

Place apples in a 3-qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, pudding mix and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the apples.

Cover and cook on low for 5 to 5-1/2 hours or until apples are tender. Serve with ice cream if desired. Yield: 6 servings.
(from taste of home)

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

I truly loved this especially served with my cornbread

1 can black beans, drained (I also added in 2 cans kidney beans)
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz size - southwest style, if possible I used petite diced tomatoes w/ sweet onion)
1 packet enchilada sauce mix (I used 1/2 packet of taco seasoning and 1/2 packet of ranch seasoning)
1 1/2 C water
1 can (8 oz)tomato sauce
1 can ( 10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup
2 C milk
3-4 boneless chicken breasts (I only used 2 chicken breasts)
(I also added in onion and other seasonings like garlic)

In crock pot, mix the enchilada packet together with the water and tomato sauce. Add cream of chicken soup and milk and whisk together until smooth. Add chicken. Pour drained black beans, drained corn and diced tomatoes on top of that.Cook on low 6-8 hours.Before serving, take out chicken and shred or dice, then put back and stir it all together. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, lime, avocado, or tortilla chips. (We just did cheese and sour cream, we forgot about chips)

Parker House Rolls

(Two Hour Roll Recipe)

1/2 cup sugar
2 cups hot water
1/2 cup oil
6 - 7 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons instant yeast

1/4 cup butter, melted, for shaping rolls

Add hot water to sugar and oil and beat with electric mixer (or by hand). Add eggs and salt; beat well. When mixture is lukewarm, add yeast and keep beating. Add flour until a soft dough forms. Do not knead. Let rise in covered, oil bowl for one hour.

(I just shaped them like regular rolls)

Form rolls. To make Parker House rolls, roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness and cut circles with round cutter, about 3 inches in diameter. Holding dough circle by the edge, dip both sides into melted butter. Fold in half on baking sheet and pinch edges together to seal (don't be afraid of this step - use your index and middle finger to indent the edges of the roll together all the way to the bottom of the sheet pan otherwise they will pop open while baking). Arrange folded dough in rows in pan, each nearly touching the other. Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter, if desired.

Crazy Cake

(from all recipes)
egg/milk free
"This cake was popular during the depression, and does not have eggs in it."
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups cold water
Directions:
1.
Sift flour, sugar, salt, soda, and cocoa together into a 9 x 13 inch ungreased cake pan. Make three wells. Pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour cold water over all, and stir well with fork. (I just mixed in my mixer)
2.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Frost with your favorite icing. (we used chocolate chips and powdered sugar on top)

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

My Amish Friend's Caramel Corn

from all recipes..
I LOVED THIS!!!!!!

7 quarts plain popped popcorn (I even used microwave buttered popcorn and it turned out great - oh yes I used 2 bags)
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (optional)
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1.
Place the popped popcorn into two shallow greased baking pans. You may use roasting pans, jelly roll pans, or disposable roasting pans. Add the peanuts to the popped corn if using. Set aside.
2.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, margarine and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.
3.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pans, and stir to coat. Don't worry too much at this point about getting all of the corn coated.
4.
Bake for 1 hour, removing the pans, and giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes. Line the counter top with waxed paper. Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags.

Apple Enchiladas

1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart baking dish.
2.
Spoon about one heaping quarter cup of pie filling evenly down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with cinnamon; roll up, tucking in edges; and place seam side down in prepared dish.
3.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Pour sauce over enchiladas and let stand 30 minutes.
4.
Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden.

We love to top with ice cream or whip cream....

Hamburger Stew

1lb. ground beef
1tsp. salt
1/8tsp. pepper
1/2c. chopped celery
3/4c. chopped onion
1/3c. uncooked rice
1/4tsp. chili powder
1tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1c. chopped carrots
2c. tomato juice
Brown beef, salt, pepper, celery and onion. Drain fat. Add all remaining ingredients and cook over low heat about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add water as needed.

Great Pumpkin Dessert

I had this about 5 years ago... and loved it. Have been wondering what the recipe was... then last night at my cooking group someone broght it! I was in heaven! YUMMY!

"This is a very easy cake made with canned pumpkin and yellow cake mix. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream."

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar and spice. Mix well, and pour into a 9x13 inch pan.
3. Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top, then drizzle with melted butter. Top with walnuts.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

PERFECT PUMPKIN BARS

3 eggs
1 2/3 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt

1 tub cream cheese frosting (or make your own!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined.

Spread the batter evenly into an ungreased jellyroll pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Cool before frosting.

PUMPKIN FLUFF DIP

1 16 oz. container whipped topping
1 5 oz. package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Mix together pudding mix, pumpkin & pumpkin pie spice.
Fold in serve with graham crackers, ginger cookies, apples etc

AMISH PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS W/ CARAMEL ICING

from...Recipe Girl

ROLLS:
1/3 cup milk
2 Tbs butter
½ cup canned pumpkin or mashed cooked pumpkin
2 Tbs granulated sugar
½ tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (I only used all purpose flour but I used nearly 3 c.)
1 cup bread flour

FILLING:
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs melted butter

FROSTING:
¼ cup (4 Tbsp.) butter
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbs milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
½ to ¾ cup sifted powdered sugar

1. Prepare rolls: In a small saucepan, heat milk and 2 Tbsp. butter just until warm (120 – 130°) and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly.

2. In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with an electric mixer until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flours. Add half of flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Beat mixture on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft). Turn into lightly greased bowl, then grease surface of dough lightly. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3. Punch dough down. Turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy to handle. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 12×10-inch rectangle.

4. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush surface of dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jelly-roll style. Pinch seam to seal. With a sharp serrated knife, gently cut roll into twelve 1-inch slices. Place rolls cut-side-up in greased 9-inch-square baking pan.

5. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls about 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack. Cool 10 to 15 minutes.

7. While rolls are cooling, prepare icing: In small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cool over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a small mixing vowl and cool mixture slightly. Stir in vanilla, salt and powdered sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended. If necessary, add more powdered sugar for desired consistency.

8. Drizzle icing over warm rolls.

Yield: 12 rolls

Orange Chicken

(when I made this I doubled the recipe...)
I thought this was okay... I think I prefer my sweet and sour chicken...

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour
oil
1 tablespoon salt
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (I'd opt for little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup

Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Heat oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over rice.

Sweet n' Sour sauce

1/2 c sugar 1/3 c. vinegar
2/3 c water 1 1/2 T cornstarch
.......cook over med. heat until thickened.
stirring constandly. Remove from heat and add 4 T. catsup.

Chicken Parmigiana

3 whole chicken breasts (I doubled... and cut in about 1/4)
1 egg (I doubled)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. dry bread crumbs (I used italian)
1 1/4 c. butter (I used less)
1 can pizza sauce (10 1/2 oz.) (with additioanl chicken I added in a can of tomato sauce w/ some seasoning)
6 slices Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Cut chicken breasts into halves. In a bowl, beat egg, salt and pepper; dip chicken. Then coat chicken breasts with breadcrumbs. In large skillet sauté chicken in butter. Arrange chicken in crock-pot. Pour pizza sauce over chicken. cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Add mozzarella cheese, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Baked Apple and Cinnamon French Toast Cups

makes 6 I doubled... and have used french bread before...
4 slices whole wheat bread, cut into cubes
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of ground nutmeg
For the apples:
1 large apple of your choice, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1. In a medium skillet, saute apples with butter and cinnamon for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg until well combined. Add bread cubes and mix together until all the bread is saturated. Add the apples and mix until well distributed.
3. Using a regular size muffin tin, scoop bread evenly into the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until set and lightly golden brown.
4. Mix 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon milk until smooth. Drizzle on top of french toast cups. Enjoy!!

Favorite Coffee Cake

Favorite Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cups flour -------- 1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tea. bak. pow. -------- 3/4 tea. salt
1/4 cup short. --------- 1 egg
¾ c milk
topping (below)

Heat oven to 375. Grease a square pan (8x8)
or I always double recipe in a 9 by 11 pan
Blend all ingredients except Topping. Beat vigorously .....spread in pan.

Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake 25 to 30 min. or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. serve warm. ................... Serves 9-12

Topping

Mix 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tea. cinnamon and 3 tab. firm butter until crumbly.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Yield: 24 squares YUMMY!!!!
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3 cups rolled ("old-fashioned") oats
12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips**

Instructions:
1. Cream butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla with electric mixer on high.

2. Stir in flour, salt, and baking soda, all at the same time. Stir in oats. Last, add chocolate chips and stir them in (or use clean hands, if the dough is too stiff).

3. Press cookie dough into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Dough should be somewhat flattened, but it's okay for some cracks to remain. :)

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes (I cooked mine 30 min same like I over cooked them by just a couple min), or until lightly golden and cookies are set in the middle.

5. Cool for 20 minutes; cut into 24 squares. Delicious warm or cold! :)