Gingersnap Cookies

4 c. flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. cooking oil (all I had was canola oil and it turned out great.)
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. molasses
2 eggs

Stir together dry ingredients, set aside. With beater, blend thoroughly oil, eggs, sugar and molasses. Stir in dry ingredients until blended. Refrigerate one hour, then form into balls using one teaspoon of dough. Roll in granulated sugar and bake on ungreased cookie sheet @ 350 for 8 min. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Meat Loaf with Potato Crust

1 Medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. olive oil
4 1/2 tsp. curry powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 c. vegetable broth (I use beef sometimes)
1 1/2 tsp. thyme
2 eggs
3/4 c. soft bread crumbs
2 lbs. ground beef

Potato Topping:
1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. vegetable broth
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:
1. In a small skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the seasonings. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in thyme. Transfer to a large bowl; cool to room temperature.

2. Whisk in the eggs; stir in bread crumbs. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into a loaf and place in an ungreased 13x9 baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 min.

3. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water; add salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 min. or until tender; drain, reserving 1/4 c. cooking liquid. Mash potatoes with the broth, oil, pepper and reserved cooking liquid.

4. Using a large star tip, pipe mashed potatoes onto meat loaf. Bake 45 min. longer or until meat thermometer reads 160 and meat is no longer pink.

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

1/4 c plus 2 tbsp. Caramel Ice Cream Topping, divided
1 Honey Maid Graham Pie Crust
1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. Planters Pecan Pieces, divided
1 c cold milk
2 pkg. (3.4 oz each) JELL-O Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 c. Canned Pumpkin
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip

Directions
1. Pour 1/4 c. caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 c pecans.

2. Beat milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended. Stir in 1 1/2 c. of Cool Whip. Spread into crust.

3. Regrigerate at least 1 hour. Top with remaining cool whip, caramel topping and pecans just before serving.

White Bread

I use my kitchen aid stand mixer with the dough hook to make this bread.

2 (.25 oz.) active dry yeast
3 tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 c. warm water (110 degrees F.)
3 tbsp. lard (You can also use butter or margarine)
1 tbsp. salt
6 1/2 c. bread flour

Directions

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm wage. Stir in lard, salt and 2 c. flour. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 C. at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 min.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coal with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into 2 lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 min.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 min.

Chicken Dumpling Soup

Chicken Dumpling Soup

Ingredients

Soup:

• 2 - 3 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 Carrots, Diced
• 1/2 Stalk Celery, Diced
• Meat from 1 Chicken, cooked and shredded
• 4 - 6 Cups Chicken Broth
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Salt and Pepper

Dumplings:

• 1 C. Milk
• 1/2 C. Butter
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg
• 1 C. All Purpose Flour
• 3 Eggs

Directions

Soup:

In a small amount of cooking oil, sweat the onion, carrots and celery. Add chicken, broth, parsley, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Simmer about 30 min.

Make Dumplings:

Bring milk and butter to a boil, add salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat and immediately add flour stirring until dough leaves the sides of the pan. Incorporate the eggs, 1 at a time, forming a sticky dough.

Add spoon sized balls of dumpling dough and simmer until dumplings rise.

Chocolate Elegance

For this next recipe, I'll be giving the ingredients and directions for each layer seperately.

1st Layer

1 c. flour
1 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. melted butter

Combine all three ingredients in a 9x13 cake pan. Press the mixture to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 15 min. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

2nd Layer

8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. cool whip

Combine the cream cheese and the powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the cool whip. Spread evenly over the first layer.

3rd Layer

1 5.9 oz. package chocolate instant pudding
1 5.9 oz. package vanilla instant pudding
5 c. milk

Combine all three ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix for 3 min. and then pour over 2nd layer. Place in frig. for about an hour. Spread cool whip over the top and then serve.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 package (13 ounces) miniature peanut butter cups

Directions

In a large bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Roll into 1-1/4-in. balls. Press a miniature peanut butter cup into each; reshape balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Yield: about 3 dozen.

Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Pork

Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Pork

Ingredients

2c. Ketchup
1c. Water
1/2 c. onion
1/2 c. Lemon Juice
5 tbls. vinagar
4 tbls. Worcestershire Sauce
4 tbls. Brown Sugar
2 tsp. Ground Mustard
1 tsp. Salt
4 lbs. Pork Shoulder

Directions

Combine first nine ingredients in slow cooker. Add the pork shoulder. Cook on high for 6 hrs. Shred pork with fork.

Chicken Marsala

I've used marsala wine, marsala cooking wine and cooking sherry for this recipe and it tastes great with anyone you choose. For the mushrooms, I use baby bellas, and white button mushrooms. You can use what you want and as many different varieties as you'd like. I cook fettuccinie to use with this recipe.

Chicken Marsala Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground, black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 pkg chicken tenderloins skinless
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 lemon

Directions

1. Mix together the flour, salt, oregano, and pepper.

2. Pound the chicken breasts gently (with the flat side of your meat mallet) until thin.

3. Dredge chicken in mixture until well coated.

4. On medium-high, heat up the olive oil and brown the chicken on both sides. Then put chicken onto a plate.

5. Pour wine into the oil and warm. Mix in the mushrooms, chicken stock and juice of the lemon. Turn the chicken over to get it well coated with the sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes.

6. Serve with pasta of choice. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken

1/4 cup cornstarch
1 3/4 cups water
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
2 drops orange food color

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 egg
2 cups water
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Directions

In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, vinegar, reserved pineapple juice, and orange food coloring. Heat to boiling. Turn off heat. Combine 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; slowly stir into saucepan. Continue stirring until mixture thickens.

Combine flour, 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, salt, white pepper, and egg. Add 1 1/2 cups water gradually to make a thick batter. Stir to blend thoroughly. Add chicken pieces, and stir until chicken is well coated.

Heat oil in skillet or wok to 360 degrees F (180 degrees C). Fry chicken pieces in hot oil until golden. Remove chicken, and drain on paper towels.

Creamed Corn W/ Bacon

Creamed Corn W/ Bacon

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tbls. Butter
4 c. fresh or frozen corn, thawed
1 c. heavy whipping cream
¼ c. chicken broth
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
¼ tsp pepper
¼ c. grated parmesan cheese
2 tbls. Parsley

1. In a large skillet, sauté onion in butter for about 3 min. Add corn, sauté 1-2 min. longer or until onion and corn are tender.
2. Stir in the cream, broth, bacon and pepper. Cook and stir for 5-7 min. or until slightly thickened. Stir in the cheese and parsley.

Southwestern Soup

Southwestern Soup

1-2 lbs. hamburger
1 small onion, chopped
3 c. water
4 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce
2 cans (16 oz. each) Kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (7 oz. each) Mushrooms, drained
2 c. frozen corn
2 c. salsa
1-2 tsp. dried oregano
1-2 tsp. dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded cheddar cheese
Tortilla chips

Directions
1. In a large skillet, combine hamburger and onion. Cook hamburger over medium heat until thoroughly cooked.
2. In a large soup kettle, combine hamburger and remaining ingredients, except the cheese. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 min or until heated through.
3. Sprinkle individual servings with cheese. Serve with tortilla chips if desired.

Strawberry Pie/Pie Crust

Strawberry Pie


Ingredients
1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell *
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry gelatin
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
fresh mint

Directions

Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes or until slightly cooled.

Meanwhile, arrange strawberries in the crust. Pour gelatin mixture over berries. Refrigerate until set. Garnish with mint if desired.


* Pie Crust
Makes 3 pie crusts


Ingredients
5 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups shortening
2 egg yolks

Directions

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut in Crisco until pea sizes form.

In one-cup measuring cup, beat egg yolks and add COLD water to fill entire one cup. Add to the mixture. Do not overmix. Divide into thirds.

Honey Cornbread

I usually make cornbread from a box, but I got a little ambitious today and decided to try to make cornbread from scatch. This recipe is very easy and is delicious. I doubled the recipe and put the batter in muffin cups instead of a pan.

Honey Cornbread

Prep Time: 8 Min
Cook Time: 25 Min
Ready In: 34 Min

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar and baking powder. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the cream, oil, honey and eggs; stir to combine. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of pan comes out clean.

Fried Rice Restaurant Style

Fried Rice Restaurant Style

Prep Time:15 Min
Cook Time:30 Min
Ready In:45 Min

Ingredients

• 2 cups enriched white rice *
  4 cups water
  2/3 cup chopped baby carrots *
  1/2 cup frozen green peas *
  2 tablespoons vegetable oil *
  2 eggs
  soy sauce to taste (I used about 1/3 c.)

Directions
1. In a saucepan, combine rice and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, boil carrots in water about 3 to 5 minutes. Drop peas into boiling water, and drain.
3. Heat wok over high heat. Pour in oil, then stir in carrots and peas; cook about 30 seconds. Crack in eggs, stirring quickly to scramble eggs with vegetables. Stir in cooked rice. Shake in soy sauce, and toss rice to coat. Drizzle with sesame oil, and toss again.

* I used instant rice and followed the directions on the side of the box to make 4 C. That was just the right amount of rice for this recipe. After the rice is done cooking, keep it in the pot a little longer with the heat on and stir the rice around. That makes it so it isn't so sticky and it won't clump together.

* I bought a bag of frozen peas/carrots. That made the process a little easier.

*I rarely use vegetable oil, I substituted the vegetable oil for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Slow Cooker Cocktail Smokies

These smokies are simple to make and very delicious. I tried this recipe with a couple of different kinds of smokies, cheddar smokies and regular beef smokies.

Slow Cooker Cocktail Smokies

Prep Time: 5 Min
Cook Time: 2 Hrs
Ready In: 2 Hrs 5 Min

Ingredients
2 (16 ounce) packages miniature smoked sausage links
1 (8 ounce) jar grape jelly
1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce

Directions
1. Combine grape jelly and barbeque sauce in a slow cooker. Stir in the miniature smoked sausage links. Cook on High, until heated through, 2 to 3 hours.

Egg Salad Sandwich

I have never made egg salad before. I've eaten egg salad before and today I decided to make some for myself.

Egg Salad Sandwich Recipe

This recipe is for a one egg sandwich. If you have more eggs and more people to feed, just double, triple, etc. the recipe.

Ingredients

1 hard-boiled* egg (large), peeled and chopped
1-2 Tbsp mayonnaise (to taste)
1 Tsp of mustard (to taste)
2 Tbsp chopped celery
1 Tbsp chopped green onion
Curry powder (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
1 leaf of lettuce
2 slices dark rye bread, toasted

* To make hard boiled eggs, place a few eggs in a saucepan, cover with at least an inch of water, preferable 2 inches. I use cold water. I then place the pan on the stove and turn it on high heat. I immediatly set the timer for 20 min. and let it go. This is my fool proof way of doing it. If I try to do it any other way, I usually screw it up. Drain the water from the pan, add cold water to cool the eggs, let sit a couple minutes longer.

Method

1 Mix together the chopped hard-boiled egg, mayonnaise, mustard, celery and onion. You can use any type of mustard you like, I used honey mustard and it tasted really good. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and curry powder to taste. Mix with a spoon.

2 Toast your bread slices. Put a layer of lettuce on one slice of toasted bread, spread the egg mixture on top of the lettuce, put another slice of toasted bread on top.

Makes one sandwich.

I actually made this with about 8 eggs so my whole family could eat it for lunch. I also added some salad supreme seasoning to it. Excellent and pretty easy to make. I love rye bread, but if you don't prefer it, any type of bread will work.

Getting Started

I love to cook! I enjoy trying new things and love sharing ideas with others. I'm starting this blog to share recipes with others and gather recipes from people. Everytime I come across a new recipe I enjoy, I will share, and if you have a recipe you would like to share with everyone, just send me an e-mail.