Au Gratin Potatoes and Ham

This is truly comfort food. The cheese sauce is so creamy and the combination of cheeses gives it such wonderful flavor. By adding ham, it is a complete meal and a pretty easy meal to fix almost any time.

Ingredients

8 russet potatoes, medium sliced (1/8 to 1/4" thick)
1 yellow onion, diced
6 Tbsp. butter
6 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
2 c. heavy cream
4 c. cheddar cheese
2 c. shredded Velveta cheese
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
3 c. smoked ham (I slice it fairly thick and then cut into 1/2 x 1/2" strips)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. I used a cast iron casserole dish, but that is certainly not necessary...just make sure to either spray or butter your dish. 
3. Combine your cheeses and divide in thirds.
4. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes into bottom of your prepared casserole dish. Add 1/3 of your ham and onion and salt and pepper to taste. Generously sprinkle with cheese blend. Repeat for another layer, and top with a final layer with the ham and cheese on the top layer.
5. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour whisk constantly for one minute until well combined. Add in the heavy cream and milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted and heated all the way through. Pour cheese sauce over the potatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until potatoes are done.

Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

Baked beans are a staple for almost every barbeque and, quite honestly, not always the most exciting dish that is served. This recipe kicks up this old classic by adding sweet and spicy flavors to make your next picnic even better.

Ingredients:

3 lg cans (28 oz) Bush's Original Baked Beans
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. diced yellow onion
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. yellow mustard
1/4 c. minced jalapenos
1 tsp. ground dry mustard

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees OR 3-4 hours in a crock pot. Top with bacon crumbles (optional) before serving.

Oreo / Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

This was a surprise to my husband on Father's Day because he dearly loves ice cream sandwiches, matter of fact he just plan loves ice cream.  When I saw the original recipe I knew I had to make it but I am becoming more and more like Debra - I can't leave a good recipe alone so I had to add my own twist to it and it was a HUGE hit!!  My oldest granddaughter has declared this her new favorite but in fact I think it has become a new family favorite.   

Ingredients:

1 cup of ground Oreo cookies

3 Tbsp. butter melted.

½ cup  hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

1 tub  (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

1 pkg.  (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

1.75 Quart of Vanilla Ice Cream Softened plus 1 pint, softened,

16 OREO Cookies, chopped (about 2 cups), divided  (these are chopped not ground)

12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Instructions:

WHISK fudge topping and 1 cup COOL WHIP in medium bowl until blended. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min.  Fold in ½ of the softened ice cream.  Stir in 1 cup cookies.   Sit bowl in the refrigerator while mixing and applying the crust..

 In a small mixing bowl combine 1 cup of ground oreo cookies with melted butter and pat out to make a crust on a 24 inch long piece of foil.  Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on top of the crumb crust; cover with softened pint of vanilla ice cream then half the COOL WHIP mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cool whip mixture. Frost with remaining COOL WHIP; press remaining cookies into top and sides of dessert. Wrap loosely with foil.

FREEZE 4 hours or overnight.

TIPS:  During the process of putting the layers together, if the ice cream in the sandwiches or the container of ice cream get too soft or runny, stop and put everything in the freezer for a few minutes then continue to arrange the cake.   I would put mine in the freezer after every layer just to keep it firm, you don’t want the ice cream to get runny. 

Chicken Breast with Cannellini Beans

This is one of my "go to" recipes. This is one of those dishes that comes together really quickly for a great week night meal and it re-heats really well for lunch another day. And...the best part...it's a one-pot meal!!!

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise
1 c. flour
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 small, yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 cans cannellini beans, with liquid
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 can chicken broth
1/2 c. white wine
1 Tbsp. oregano 
4 c. baby spinach, cleaned

Directions

1. Slice your chicken breasts in half, length wise, and brine in salt water for 30 minutes.
2. Combine flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder in a shallow dish. 
3. Heat olive oil in a large pan (with a lid) over medium-high heat.
4. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and add to your heated pan. Reserve the remainder of the mixture to thicken your sauce if needed.
5. Brown the chicken and set aside.
6. In the same pan, add diced onion and minced garlic and sweat until translucent. 
7. Deglaze the pan with white wine.
8. Add cannellini, tomato paste, chicken broth, and oregano. If needed, add some of the flour mixture to thicken or more chicken broth to thin. Honestly, I usually add both, because we like lots of sauce.
9. Nestle the chicken into the bean mixture and simmer until cooked through.
10. Just before serving, add the spinach and cover the pan. The spinach will wilt with the lid on. Stir everything and serve with garlic toast or crostini.

APPLE PANCAKES

These are a quick, easy and delicious breakfast on the go or on a weekend.  I grew up eating these as a treat and my children grew up with them and now I make them for my grandchildren.  I love them to this day and I enjoy the excitement on the children's faces when I make them.   You can also freeze these and pop them in the toaster or microwave for a quick weekday breakfast.  

Ingredients:

1 ½ C all-purpose flour

3 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. white sugar

1 ¼ C. milk

1 egg

3 Tbsp. butter (melted)

1 large apple peeled , cored and either thinly sliced.  (I used Granny Smith)

1/8 tsp. of cinnamon mixed with 1 Tbsp. sugar  (optional – more or less to taste)

Instructions:

1.        In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, salt & sugar.  Make a well in the center & pour in the milk, egg and melted butter.  Mix until smooth.

2.       Mix the sliced apple with the cinnamon & sugar mix, stir until apple is well coated. 

3.       Heat a lightly oiled griddle or skillet, to medium high heat (for electric griddles that would be about 375°).  Pour about 1/8 to ¼ C of batter (to make a cookie sized pancake) to the hot griddle and add a small amount of the apple/cinnamon mix to the top of the pancake then pour a Tbsp. of batter over the apples.  Cook until batter looks dry along the edges, gently lifting to check that bottom is golden brown and flip.  Cook the other side until brown and serve.  

I make them small enough to hold in your hand to eat like a cookie. 

**Serving options:  1) I have put them in a baggie with granulated sugar in it and shake them.  2)  Sprinkle some powdered sugar over them.  3) Put them on a plate and serve with butter and maple syrup.  

Bacon and Hasbrown Casserole

This dish is a winner for Sunday brunch...just add eggs! I actually made it as a side dish with fried catfish and it was perfect! Just a side note...any leftovers can be fried to make delicious potato pancakes too!

Ingredients 

1 bag (14 oz) frozen shredded hash browns, thawed 
1/2 c. diced yellow onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 pint sour cream

4 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 package bacon (12 oz), diced

1 c. Frenches Fried Onions

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Spray 11 x 14 inch casserole or baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Cook the bacon until crispy and reserve 1/3 of the cooked bacon.
4. In large bowl, combine all ingredients, reserving 1/3 of your bacon and cheese, and stir together. 
5. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
6. In a small bowl, combine the reserved bacon and cheese and add the fried onion. Spread evenly over the top of the mixture in your casserole dish.
7. Bake for 45 minutes until top is golden brown and potatoes are done.

NOTE: Although I say to Salt and Pepper to taste, I will caution you that this dish can get salty with the bacon in it. Personally, I add VERY little salt and a fair amount of pepper when I make it. 

Easy Blackberry Cream or Cherry Cream Pie

I love blackberry pie, it’s one of my favorites and my sisters always make one for our family reunions and I always have to fight someone for the last piece!  Lol  Blackberry pie is really one of the easiest fruit pies to make because there is no stove top cooking, you just mix up everything in a bowl and fill the crust, put on the top crust and bake.  But I came up with an idea of making blackberry cream pie and for this one I had to use canned pie filling – I am working out the kinks of making my own filling with this recipe so I might have a follow up recipe soon but why wait to enjoy something so good?   J

FILLING

INGREDIENTS

1 can of blackberry or cherry pie filling, you can use whatever flavor you want but these are my favorites.

1 large size box of vanilla pudding – cook and serve – not instant.

  NOTE:  If large box of pudding is too much for your size pie just pour in about ¾ of it or until the crust is filled about ½ way.

PIE CRUST   (or you can use premade crust)

INGREDIENTS

·         1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1/4 teaspoon fine salt

·         1 teaspoon granulated sugar

·         8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces

·         4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

INSTRUCTIONS

1.     Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and stir briefly until the mixture is aerated. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it’s in pea-size pieces that are slightly yellow in color, about 4 to 5 minutes.

2.     Drizzle in 4 tablespoons of the ice water and mix just until the dough comes together. (Add the last tablespoon of ice water if necessary, but don’t overwork the dough or it’ll become tough.)

3.       Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

4.       Roll out the dough so that it will fit a 9 inch pan with about a ½  to 1 inch overlay.  Fold in half and lay in pie plate and unfold.   Fold edges under and crimp or style the way you want.  Take a fork and make a few holes across the bottom and sides of crust.  Bake at 375 until golden brown,  if the dough bubbles up a bit take a wooden spoon and gently press it down.

If using a store bought crust, or making your own bake them according to instructions above or according to the instructions of the store bought crust.   Let the crust cool.

Once both the crust has cooled (pudding can be warm)  pour the pudding into the crust and cover it with plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator to finish cooling.   Then remove plastic and pour or spoon the can of pie filling over the top of the pudding, spread evenly.

Toppings:  You can top this with either meringue or whipped cream – it’s really good either way but if you want to keep it simple and easy – I recommend using whipped cream.  J    Put in refrigerator until ready to serve and keep any leftovers in the refrigerator. 

Shrimp Fettuccine alla Carbonara

I love Carbonara, but we all know I cannot leave a good recipe alone. :) This twist on the classic is tasty, but also sneaks in some veggies! A classic Carbonara sauce uses Pancetta or Bacon, but I have chosen to use Prosciutto in this one for a different level of flavor.

Ingredients

1/2 small onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 bunch asparagus tips
8 oz. cremini (baby portabello) mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. dried fettuccini
5 oz. grated Parmesan or parmigiano reggiano cheese
1/2 pt. heavy cream
1 lb. shrimp, cut to bite size
2 eggs, well beaten
4 oz. Proscuitto, sliced into strips

Directions

1. Prepare your sauce while your pasta is cooking. It is very important that the pasta is hot to cook the eggs in your sauce.
2. Combine the heavy cream, eggs, and Parmesan cheese in a separate bowl until well blended. Set aside. 
3. Cook your pasta 8-11 minutes or until al dente. Be sure to reserve 1 c. of the pasta water in case you need to use it in your sauce.
4. While your pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat (be sure to use a very large pan, since this is basically a one pan meal).
5. Add your Prosciutto and cook until crispy. 
6. Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent. 
7. Add the mushrooms and cook until done, but not mushy.
8. Add the asparagus tips and warm through (they should still be crisp).
9. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn opaque.
10. Add the hot drained pasta to the pan and toss about 2 minutes to coat with the fat in the pan (Prosciutto is very low in fat, so you may have to add a little more olive oil if your pasta looks too dry).
11. VERY IMPORTANT: Remove the pan from the heat.
12. Add the sauce to the pan and whisk constantly to ensure the eggs do not scramble.
13. Use your reserved pasta water to thin the sauce if necessary.
14. Serve with fresh parsley and top with shaved Parmesan cheese.

Smoked Oyster Dip

My Dear Darling husband has been asking me to develop this one for a while now and I finally have a recipe that he loves. This one is easy and packed full of flavor. I served it with garlic crostini, but it would be delicious with a cracker or pita chips too!

Ingredients

1/2 small onion, very finely minced
8 oz. white mushrooms, diced
8 oz. veggie cream cheese
1/3 c. sour cream
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. hot sauce
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 green onions, whites diced and green tops sliced for garnish
2 cans smoked oysters, diced


Directions

1. In a small skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil (I use a garlic infused olive oil that I make and keep in my fridge at all times) and 2 Tbsp. butter over low heat. 
2. Add the minced onion (not the green onion) and sweat until translucent. 
3. Add the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft. Set aside to cool.
4. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream until smooth (well, as smooth as it can be with the veggies in it).
5. Add Worcestershire, hot sauce, kosher salt, garlic powder, diced green onions, and lemon juice and combine well.
6. Add the diced oysters (you want them to be about the same size as your diced mushrooms).
7. Stir in the cooled onion and mushroom mixture.
8. Refrigerate until chilled all the way through. Garnish with the green onion tops and serve.

Toasty Breakfast Cup

I’m sure that you have to noticed that everyone is coming up with cookie cups, biscuit cup & pizza cup recipes filled with almost everything, well I am no different because the ease of the “cups” is what sparked this idea of mine – toast cups!   Of course I taste tested my recipe on my family and a few house guest one weekend and I have tweaked the crust a bit and added 2 more fillings since then.  As with all new recipes there is a trial and error period until you get them just right – I have made 3 attempts and finally came up with what I think is a really good breakfast that will even work for the crust to be made ahead of time for a quick and easy breakfast.    J   

    

INGREDIENTS  &  INSTRUCTIONS:                            Preheat oven to 350°

CRUST:

1 cup of bread crumbs (you can use plain or seasoned, I used ¾ c plain & ¼ c seasoned)

5 Tbs. of butter melted

3 tsp. of sugar.

In a medium bowl mix together ingredients, it should resemble the texture of a graham cracker crust.    In a normal size muffin tin (6) place about 3 to 4 heaping tsp. of the crumb mix in each cup then press with your fingers or a small spoon around the sides and bottom.   Once I got it pretty much even I then took a very small juice glass (actually it was one of those small glass containers that pimento cheese comes in) and I used that to really press it in hard and smooth it out.    Then place in the oven and bake until the crust is brown.  Take it out and let it completely cool.

FILLING Options:     (I used 3 different fillings in mine)

                Option 1:

3-4 large eggs scrambled

¼ c of green pepper finely diced

¼ c of onion finely diced

¼ to ½ c of real bacon bits or crisp bacon crumbled

Shredded cheese for topping.

*You can use whatever spices or veggies that you like in your Omelets or just make plain scrambled eggs.

                Option 2:

Crack 6 eggs and place one in each baked & cooled cup

Salt and pepper to taste. 

                Option 3:

½  to 1 lb. of sausage

1 3/4 cups of milk

4 Tbs of flour

Brown & crumble sausage in skillet.  Drain but leave a small amount of grease.   Sprinkle 2 Tbs of flour over the sausage and cook and stir until flour begins to brown.  Pour milk in blender and add last 2 Tbs. of flour and blend it a few seconds to mix well then while stirring the sausage, slowly pour in the milk and it will thicken.  Cook and stir for a few minutes, this needs to be very thick.   Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes stirring occasionally.   Pour into cooled crust cups.

FINISH:

Pour your filling into all 6 cooled crust cups to about ¼ inch from the top (except for the single egg)  Place the filled cups back into the oven and bake them until eggs are done or the gravy is set.  At this time you can take them out and sprinkle with cheese if desired and put them back in the oven until the cheese melts.  When you take them out of the oven let them cool and settle for a minute then run a thin knife around the edges between the muffin pan and crust then gently remove.   If you have any extra gravy you can place 1 or 2 of the filled cups on a plate and pour more gravy over all.   

**NOTES:  

I seldom ever measure so if this isn’t enough OR too much crust you may have to adjust the measurements a little bit.   If you have too much crust mix you can store in a baggie placed in the refrigerator to use later.  To make ahead you can mix up the crust mix and store as just mentioned.  You can also make the gravy the night before or even mix up the omelet mix or scrambled eggs and store in an airtight container just overnight.  

Ham and Cheese Frenchies

Those of us that are *small voice* older and grew up in the Midwest, may remember the restaurant King's. They had a phone at every table where you called in your order and the most awesome cheese frenchies! This is a twist on that wonderful, old classic that is sure to make you smile and your kids will love them!!!

Ingredients:

8 slices of Texas Toast (white bread will do in a pinch)
8 slices of American Cheese (ONLY use American!!!)
8 slices of ham of your choice (I like to use a deli cut smoked ham)
Mayonnaise (to taste)
Dill pickle relish (optional)
Panko crumbs
Crushed Saltine crackers
Toothpicks

Batter:
2 eggs (well beaten)
2/3 c. + 2 tsp. milk
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. flour


Directions:

1. Cut the crust off the bread and spread with mayonnaise (to taste) and add one slice of cheese for each piece of bread, a little dill relish, and ham (not too much or it won't seal). Cut diagonally to form wedges. I have found that it works best to freeze at this point, at least a couple hours but overnight is best.
2. Make your batter as directed (I like to let my batter sit for a few minutes (5-10 minutes) and then mix again right before use).
3. Place toothpicks in each diagonal to secure them for frying.
4. Heat oil in your fryer to 375 degrees.
5. Crush your saltines with a rolling pin and mix with equal parts of panko.
6. Dip your diagonals in the batter and then in the crumb mixture and drop into the fryer immediately.
7. Cook until brown, but not burnt (about 3 minutes).
8. Drain on paper towel.
9. Remove toothpicks.
10. Serve with fries or chips and ketchup (if desired).
11. Enjoy! 

Cookie cups

This week’s treat is one that I have seen around Facebook a LOT but I have put my own little twist on it.  I come up with some ideas just based off of things that my family has tried and liked then I apply them to things that I think will work.  In this version of cookie cups my ideas came from 2 things, my families love of peanut butter and marshmallow cream sandwiches (if you haven’t tried them it’s a must!) and my love of Hershey’s Almond chocolate bars.  When I saw the new line of Hershey’s chocolate spreads...well, as they say, the rest is history!!  Lol

Ingredients:

1 large roll of Nestles’ Toll House Cookie Dough  (or you can make your own)

1 jar of Nutella and/or 1 jar of Hershey’s Chocolate Spreads (flavor of your choice)

1 small jar of Peanut Butter (if using Nutella)

1 bag of raw Almonds (I used the Almond flavored chocolate spread)

1 small jar of marshmallow cream.

Things you will need:

Mini Muffin tin (makes 2 dozen)

Teaspoons for adding filling & making cookie balls

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. 
2. Open cookie dough and fold back plastic. 
3. Take a tsp. of dough and roll it into a ball and place one in each muffin cup. 
4. Put in oven and bake until lightly brown. 
5. Take them out of the oven and with a small shot glass (I use a heavy plastic medicine cup) press down in the center of each cookie while it’s still hot to form the cups. 
6. Take a thin knife and just lightly go around the edges of each cup. 
7. Set on a cooling rack and let cups completely cool. 
8. Meanwhile, if you are using Nutella and peanut butter,  I take approx. ½ cup of peanut butter and ¼ cup of marshmallow cream in a small bowl and mix it well.  (If not using Nutella then you can skip this step unless you want to mix part of your chocolate spread with the marshmallow cream OR you can just put plain marshmallow cream in the bottom of the cup, about ½ tsp.) 
9. I used about ½ tsp. of the peanut butter/marshmallow cream mix in the bottom of the Nutella cups.  Then topped them all with 1 full tsp. of Nutella. 
10. In the Chocolate Almond I used about 2 tsp. of the spread in each cup.  Then on both I would take the tip of my spoon and swirl it around starting at the outer edges and swirling to the center to make them pretty. 
11. I placed them all in a storage container and placed in the refrigerator for about 10 to 15 min to firm them up a bit. 
12. For the Chocolate Almond, I used a few (about 10) raw almonds and ground them up in a food processor and sprinkled the ground almonds over the top and then placed a whole almond in the center.

Once completed I keep them in a covered container on the counter at room temperature except for a few for my granddaughter that she likes kept in the freezer.  lol

Spinach Bacon Dip

Spinach and Bacon...classic combination of flavors! This easy dip combines these great flavors in a cold dip that can be made quickly for any gathering or just a day at home.

 Ingredients:

1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 8oz. package Onion and Chive cream cheese
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise 
1 pkg. Ranch dip mix
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. shredded parmesan cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
1 loaf artisan bread

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon and set aside to cool.
2. Mix all other ingredients in a medium size bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Crumble the bacon and mix into the chilled dip. Reserve some for garnish.
4. Slice the top of your bread off and keep to use as a lid.
5. Hollow out the inside of your bread load and slice what you have removed to use with the dip.
6. Pour your dip into the hollowed out loaf and top with crumbled bacon.

Banana & Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

 

(1) Graham cracker crust  (use pre-made or make your own)

(1) 8 oz. cream cheese
(2) table spoons of Lemon juice
(3) packets of Stevia (or sweetener of your choice)
(3 oz.) pkg. Sugar free Lemon Jello 
(1) cup of boiling water
(1 1/2) cup of sliced banana's 
(2/5) cup of milnot / evaporated milk
(1) cup strawberries

Dissolve jello in boiling water, stir until completely dissolved.  Gradually add to softened cream cheese
Blend until smooth.  Add milk, sugar, Lemon juice, chill in refrigerator until thickened.  Add banana's & strawberries pour into crust & chill at least an hour before serving.

Note: Squeeze a little lemon juice over banana's to keep them from turning brown.

Graham cracker crust:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs or 10 to 12 whole graham crackers crushed.

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl, melt the butter in microwave
In a medium-sized bowl combine graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter; blend until the texture of coarse meal.
Press into a 9 or 10 inch pie pan. Try to press the crust evenly, about 1/8 inch, thick all around. If the crumb mixture won't stick where you press them, just add another tablespoon of water to the mix.  Make sure there are no gaps or holes.

NOTE: If you chill the crust for an hour before you bake it, this will help prevent crumbling when you want to serve it.
Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes. The edges may be just slightly browned, but you do not want the edges or crust to over-brown.
Remove from oven and let crust cool, on a wire rack, before filling.