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recipes

Southern 7 up Biscuits

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Have you ever noticed how many recipes have 7 up in them?

Biscuits are no exceptions.

I first got a glimpse of this recipe from Miss Kay’s Cookbook from Duck Dynasty. My sister Niener Wiener, recieved the cookbook for Christmas and I took a gander through the cookbook looking for any recipes that caught my eye. When I read about Miss Kay’s famous biscuits and that 7 up was one of the ingredients, I knew I had to try it. I did not have time to write the recipe down and I was too cheap to buy the cookbook, (cause I own more cookbooks than I want to count), but I did want to try this recipe. So, I called Niener up and got the recipe from her. Niener also mentioned she had her own recipe for 7 up biscuits. I got Niener’s recipe also, cause sometimes I am smart like that. It was a good thing I got the recipe from Niener too, cause I think that Miss Kay’s recipe has a typo in the amount of sour cream or 7 up because the dough was more of a batter. I retried the recipe using Niener’s recipe and they turn out  perfect.

These biscuits are light and airy and very moist. I love the crisp buttery crust from dipping the biscuits in melted butter before baking. They went perfect with the homemade strawberry jam I had made just a few days earlier. (I will post that recipe in the next couple of days).

I will be adding this recipe to my collection of biscuit recipes. I hope you will too ; ).

Here is what you need to make these biscuit.

You will need Pioneer Baking Mix. It is different from Bisquick. Pioneer Baking Mix has a lighter texture. I bought my Pioneer Baking Mix from Walmart. You will also need sour cream, butter and of course 7 up.

         

The first thing  you do is measure out the baking mix in a large bowl. Add in the sour cream.

         

Pour in the 7 up. Now, you gently stir to combine all the ingredients. The dough will be slightly sticky.

         

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about a 1/2 inch thickness. Do not add too much extra flour to the dough when you roll them out.

         

Cut out the biscuits with a biscuit cutter or the top of a glass. Melt the butter in the microwave and pour the butter into the bottom of a cookie sheet.

         

Dip the top and bottom of each biscuit in the melted butter and fill the buttered pan up with biscuits.

Bake the biscuits in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the biscuits are a nice golden brown.

Now here is the hardest part.

Trying not to eat them all at once!

Here is the recipe:

Southern 7 up Biscuits

Adapted from Neiner Weiner’s recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups Pioneer Baking Mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup 7 up

For the pan:

1/2 cup butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together the baking mix, 7 up and the sour cream. You made need to add a tad more 7 up if the dough seems a little dry. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. On a lightly floured counter or pastry board, roll out the dough to 1/2 thickness. Cut the dough out in circles with a biscuit cutter.

Place 1/2 cup butter into a large baking pans or jelly roll pan (make sure the pan has sides). Place the pan in the oven to melt the butter.

Dip both sides of each biscuit into the melted butter in the baking sheet. Place the biscuits into the baking sheet and bake approximately 17 minutes or until the biscuits start to brown.

These are a crisp butter, moist and airy biscuits that I hope you will give a try.

Enjoy!

Becky

Other post you may enjoy:

                          

Baking Powder Biscuits                  Garlic Cheddar Biscuits                     Crusty White Bread

 

Pistachio Bread

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Top of the morning to  you!

Your eyes are not deceiving you….you are seeing green bread!

When I spied this recipe from an old newspaper clipping, I thought it would be a great bread to make to get ready for Saint Patrick’s Day.  It is simple to make, taste great, and it is GREEN. How cool is that? My foods class at school even made some on Friday. The students (picky eaters) loved this bread so much, they packed all their bread off and scooted out of the Foods Lab as soon as the bell rang. I think they must have seen an leprechaun who wanted a piece.

Anywho, if you are looking for something fun, easy to make, moist and tasty and most importantly GREEN to make on St. Patty’s Day, I hope you give this recipe a try.

Who knows, you might be able to bribe a leprechaun into telling you where the end of the rainbow is with a large slice of this bread.

You can make this bread with just a few ingredients:

You will need a yellow or white cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, cinnamon and sugar mixture and a box of pistachio pudding.

 

         

The first thing you need to do is crack the four eggs and beat them in a small bowl.

         

In a large bowl, put in the cake mix and pudding mix.

         

Add in the sour cream and the water. (see the pudding mix turn green)

         

Add the oil and the beaten eggs.

         

With an electric mixture, mix the bread batter together till smooth and fluffy.

         

In prepared pans (I spray lightly with vegetable oil and line the bottom with parchment paper) Put in 1/4 of the batter into the bottom of each of the pans.

         

Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the batter in each pan. Save the other half of the cinnamon sugar mixture for the top. Spoon the remaining batter, in equal amounts on top of the cinnamon sugar layer.

         

Spread the batter evenly over the cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar on the top layer of the bread.

Bale in a preheat 350 degree oven for around 40 minutes.

I just love that cinnamon sugary crusty top!

Here is the recipe

Pistachio Bread

Adapted from old newspaper clipping

Ingredients:

1 white or yellow box cake mix

1 box (3 1/2 ounce size) instant pistachio pudding

4 eggs beaten

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup oil

Topping Ingredients:

6 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your loaf pans (you will need two) by lightly spraying with vegetable spray and covering the bottom with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping and inside layer of bread.

In a small bowl, beat the four eggs.

In a large bowl, add the cake mix, pistachio pudding, sour cream, beaten eggs, water and oil. With an electric mixture, mix together until the batter is light and fluffy.

Put 1/4 of the batter into each of the loaf pans and spread evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 of the cinnamon sugar on evenly on top of the batter layer in both pans. Spoon the remaining batter on top of the cinnamon sugar layer, in both pans. Spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture evenly on top of batter, in both pans.

Bake for 40 minutes. Remove, and leave in pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge and take the bread out of the pans and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Makes two loafs.

You will be glad it makes two loafs.

One for you and one for your little leprechauns.

Enjoy!

Becky

Other St. Pat’s Day recipes you may enjoy making:

                             

Corn Beef                                                         Irish Soda Bread 

Turkey Tetrazzini

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Left over slow cooked turkey breast.

That is how this all got started

Or maybe it was the 8 to 10 inches of snow we were suppose to get last week.

It does not matter.

What does matter, is that I got to make this terrifically tasty Turkey Tetrazzini.

The pictures I used to post this recipe, is a double batch of the recipe.

When it was suppose to snow, I had the  Girl who does not cook, get a turkey breast out of the freezer. I thawed it out and put it in the crock pot all day to slow cook. Company came over that evening, and with all the kids, we had a great meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, corn and broccoli.

Even with all of us, we still had left overs. (which was fine by me)

The left overs gave me a chance to try this awesome Turkey Tetrazzini recipe. So, Tuesday morning, before school, I was able to put this recipe together and put it in the fridge. It was all wrapped up with plastic wrap until I came home from school to pop it in the oven.

It was great to have something I could just put right in the oven and sit on the couch and let the oven did the baking. In no time at all, we had this warm, creamy and comfy casserole ready to fill our plates. Everyone dug in and kept saying that this noodle thang sure does taste good.

Noodle thang?

Anywho, I put two noodles together and thought you would like a happy, tummy pleasing, easy to make casserole recipe. You can use canned chicken in place of left over turkey too. The noodles will not mind at all.

Here is what you will need:

You will need diced turkey, spaghetti, chicken base (or chicken bouillon) milk, flour, salt, pepper, cheddar cheese, onion and butter or margarine.

Can you tell I forgot to put the bread crumbs and the Italian cheese in the first picture? You will need these for the topping along with a little bit of butter.

         

First thing you need to do is cook the spaghetti, following the directions on the box.

Rinse spaghetti with cold water and drain off all the liquid.

         

To make the sauce, pour milk in a medium size sauce pan. Add the flour and whisk in. After you have the flour whisked in you can heat the milk mixture on medium heat.

         

Add in the butter, and the pepper.

         

Add the salt and the chicken soup base. (or a chicken bullion cube)

         

Continue to heat the milk mixture, making sure to whisked. Heat to boiling, stirring continuously so it does not form lumps. After it boils, remove from heat.

         

In the bottom of a lightly greased casserole dish, pour in your cheddar cheese. Then, your diced onion.

         

Dice up your turkey, and add the diced turkey to the cheese and onion.

         

Add your cooked spaghetti and combine all the ingredients.

         

Pour your white sauce  over the spaghetti mixture. Stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

         

Melt a little butter in a microwave bowl. Add the bread crumbs to the melted butter and stir.

Sprinkle the casserole with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle Italian cheese on top of the bread crumbs. Bake until bubbly in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Garnish with more Italian cheese.

Grab a fork and dig in!

Here is the recipe:

Turkey Tetrazzini

Ingredients for the white sauce:

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup butter

1 1/2 cup milk

2 chicken bouillon cubes (I used 1 1/2 teaspoon of chicken soup base)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions for white sauce:

Combine in a saucepan and stir over medium heat. Stir continuously until it boils and thickens. Set Aside.

In a casserole dish, place:

3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

3 cups coked spaghetti

2 cups cooked and cubed turkey

1/4 cup finely chopped onion or green pepper and or canned mushrooms (most of my family hates mushrooms, so I had to leave the mushrooms out)

Combine the casserole ingredients. Pour the white sauce over the ingredients and stir till the sauce in fully mixed in.

Topping:

3/4 cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons melted butter

Combine together and sprinkle on top casserole ingredients.

Top with a 1/4 cup of Italian Cheese (I sprinkle more on later for a garnish)

Bake in a preheat 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until crispy and bubbly

I hope this recipe tickles your noodle and you give it a try!

Enjoy!

Becky

Other post you may enjoy:

                                      

Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas      Layered Mint Brownies                             Thanksgiving Dressing

 

 

Gooey Gorilla Bread

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Normally, one of the first things I have my students make in a foods lab is Monkey Bread. I have this simple and yummy, microwave Monkey Bread, that works perfect to give my kiddos at school a little experience in the kitchen. Well, I have a new class this semester and half of my kiddos have already made that Monkey Bread recipe. So, I had to find something new to make.

I came across this Gorilla Monkey Bread recipe, and thought it would be perfect for the first kitchen lab. It is simple to make, but has a few more steps, more ingredients to measure and you use the oven instead of the microwave. Plus, it is rich and delicious. So delicious, that NONE of my kiddos even offered me a bite when they made theirs.

That was fine by me, it gave me an excuse to come home and make my own. I thought this morning would be the perfect morning to make it for my family. I was thinking, I would make them a piece of ooey gooey Gorilla Monkey Bread, and they would be ready to shovel the driveway with that 8 to 10 inches of snow we were suppose to get.

Although we did not get the snow, (and that is ok with me), my kiddos inhaled these warm cinnamon nuggets of cream cheesiness.

By the time I finally got a decent picture of the finished bread, it was already half gone. (I hid a couple of nuggets for me for later..shhhhh)

Anywho, if  you are looking for a special breakfast or brunch treat, you should give this one a try.

Here is what you need to make this recipe:

You will need two cans of biscuits, some cream cheese, butter, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans or walnuts if you want.

         

The first thing to do is mix the sugar and the cinnamon together in a medium bowl.

         

Here is the cinnamon and sugar all mixed up. Now, take the cream cheese and cut the block into 20 equal squares.

         

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and brown sugar together until melted. (you can do this on the stove top too in a sauce pan)

         

With a rolling pin or with you hands, flatten out and make each biscuit larger. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar in the middle of each flatten biscuits.

         

Put a square of cream cheese on top of the cinnamon sugar. Take the biscuits and seal up the edges, making sure the cream cheese is in the middle.

          

I rolled the biscuits into a somewhat ball after I sealed the edges. Take your bundt cake pan and spray it with vegetable spray. Sprinkle some nuts in the bottom of the pan.

         

Layer 10 cream cheese filled biscuits on top of the nuts. Sprinkle half of the left over cinnamon sugar on top of the biscuits.

         

Sprinkle a few nuts on top of the biscuits in the pan. Drizzle half of the melted butter and brown sugar mixture over the top of the biscuits.

         

Place the rest of the cream cheese filled biscuits on top of the ones already in the pan. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar on top of the biscuits.

         

Drizzle the rest of the butter brown sugar mixture on top of the biscuits. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until completely done.

 Here is the recipe:

Adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients:

2 cans of 12 ounce refrigerator biscuits (10 count)

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar

1- 8 ounce package of cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a bundt cake pan with vegetable spray. Set aside.

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Cut the cream cheese into 20 pieces. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and the brown sugar together to make a sauce. (you can also melt the butter and brown sugar together in a sauce pan on the stove top).

With your hands or with a rolling pin, press out the biscuits to make them larger. Put in 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar mixture in the center of each  biscuits.  Place a piece of cream cheese on top of the cinnamon. Seal the cream cheese and cinnamon inside the biscuits, by pressing the edges of the biscuit together. Sprinkle half of the nuts in the bottom of the bundt pan. Place 10 of the cream cheese filled biscuits in the bottom of the bundt pan on top of the nuts. Sprinkle half of the remaining cinnamon sugar on top of the biscuits.  Pour half of the brown sugar butter mixture on top of the biscuits. Sprinkle the rest of the nuts on top. Layer the next 10 cream cheese filled biscuits on top of brown sugar covered biscuits. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar on top of the biscuits. Pour the rest of the brown sugar butter mixture on top. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the biscuits are cooked through. Let the gorilla bread cool for 5 minutes before turning the pan upside down to release from pan.

          

Here is one of those nuggets of goodness. The next pictures is one cut in half so you can see the creamy filling.

Hope you love this recipe!

Stay Warm!

Becky

You may also like:

                                       

Creamy Potato Soup                        Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas                        Chicken Pot Pie 

 

 

 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

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Do you know a fishy guy named Charley…as in Charley the Tuna?

Well, he and I had a date last week.

He did not stay around long.

I think he dove right into my casserole.

Funny thing is, I never saw him the rest of the night….interesting…..

Have you ever just craved something? I am sure that you have. Last week, I was craving Tuna Noodle Casserole for some odd reason. I tried not to dwell  on this fascination with a can of tuna, mixed in a creamy cheese sauce and baked into a noodle casserole…but I could not stop myself. I knew I had plenty of cans of tuna in the pantry from my bargain shopping, so what was I waiting for? I think I found pretty much the perfect recipe for tuna casserole, so that was not stopping me. I think I was worried that my kiddos and Company would not eat tuna. Boy, was I sure mistaken! They fished right in and got one taste of Charlie…oops..tuna and cleaned their plates. I made a double batch, and shared with Niener Wiener and Jeanie Beanie. (they loved Charlie too…)

I am sure you will too.

Anywho, if you start craving for a little deep sea cheesy, creamy and noodlely casserole, this recipe has the perfect combination.

Here is what you will need:

I had all the ingredients right in my cabinet the whole time. I made a double batch, but if you are making a single batch you will need half of what I am showing you in the picture.

I also wanted to add a buttery cracker topping. I bought this bargain brand of crackers that worked perfect for the topping. You will need a sleeve of these crackers and 4 tablespoons of butter.

         

Dice up the onion and put into a bowl.

         

Dice up some sweet red pepper and some celery. I diced the celery into smaller pieces than what is shown in the picture.

Throw…well not really throw, but put the diced celery and red pepper into the same bowl as the onions.

         

Now, boil and cook the noodles by following the directions on the package. Drain and put back into the pan.

           

Add the drained tuna to the cooked noodles. Next, add in the mayonnaise.

         

Add in the bowlful of chopped veggies and give the whole thing a big stir. Mix together thoroughly.  Set aside until you make the sauce.

          

To make the sauce, get out a medium sauce pan. Pour in the cream of celery soup and the evaporated milk.

         

Stir the soup and milk together until smooth. Slowly heat the soup.

         

Add the shredded cheddar cheese to the soup. Continue to stir, and cook on low to medium heat, until the cheese is melted.

         

Pour the cheesy soup mixture over the noodles. Stir until the noodles are thoroughly coated with the soup.

Pour the noodles into a large casserole dish. (remember I am making a double batch, if you make one batch you will need a smaller casserole dish)

Now, to make the  buttery cracker casserole topping. Take one sleeve of crackers and break them apart. I used a rolling pin. Add the cracker crumbs to 4 tablespoons of melted butter and stir. If you do not double this recipe, you will only need half a sleeve of crackers and 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

Sprinkle the cracker crumbs evenly over the top of the casserole. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Right out of the oven and all crispy brown on top. YUM.

Here is the recipe:

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Ingredients:

(this recipe is for one batch, the pictures shown are a double batch)

6 ounces of medium noodles

1 6 1/2 ounce of drained tuna

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup chopped onions

1/3 cup chopped sweet red pepper (you could also use green peppers)

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup evaporated milk or regular milk works fine

1 can cream of celery soup

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

For Topping:

1/2 sleeve of buttery cracker rounds (similar to Ritz crackers)

2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

Cook noodles in boiling salt water till tender and drain. (follow the directions on the package if you are unsure of cooking time). When the noodles are cooked, drain the water off. Add the tuna, mayonnaise, vegetables and salt to the noodles. Stir together. In a sauce pan, blend soup and milk. Add cheese and heat and stir until the cheese melts. Add the cheese sauce to the noodle mixture. Stir until all the noodles are coated with the sauce. Spoon the noodles into a casserole dish. To make the cracker topping, crush the crackers with a  rolling pin. Add the crushed crackers to the melted butter and stir together. Sprinkle the topping on top of the noodles. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Don’t you want to dig right in? (Charley are you in there?)

Enjoy!

Becky

Other post you may enjoy:

                                     

Texas Sheet Cake                                 Caramel Apple Bundt Cake                     Creamy Corn Soup

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake

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My girls love peanut butter.

They eat it with crackers, on toast, on celery, on pancakes and their favorite way to eat it, is  right out of the jar with a spoon.

I have raised a bunch of nutty girls in my house.

Anywho, I was looking through old community cookbook recipes (again), and found this Peanut Butter Sheet Cake recipe. When I read through the recipe and looked at all the ingredients, I thought it was so interesting that the icing had melted marshmallows in it. I was so intrigued by this idea, thinking it would taste so gooey good, I had to copy down the recipe. I knew my girls at home and the Baby College Girl would love this cake. I decided I would try it out last week during the treat day that I volunteered to make some goodies for. The cake is moist and pea nutty tasting. The icing is made with crunchy peanut butter, so the top is a sheet of crunchy goodness. It is a great cake to feed a crowd, cause you get to make it in a jelly roll pan which allows you get lots of servings. Which is great, cause you will want two servings.

Here is what you need to make this terrifically pea nutty cake.

I brought all the ingredients from home to make this cake, but I thought it would look funny to take a picture of the big bags of sugar and flour that I purchase for my classroom.

          

The first thing you need to do is measure out the flour and sugar and put it in a medium bowl.

         

Add in the baking soda and the salt. Stir all the ingredients together.

         

The dry ingredients should look like this. I then put all my dry ingredients in my stand mixing bowl.

         

In a sauce pan melt the butter and the oil together.

         

Add the peanut butter and the water and bring to a boil.

         

When the peanut butter mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat. In another medium boil, whisk the eggs and the vanilla together.

         

This is what it looks like whisked up. Now whisk in the buttermilk.

         

Now, it is time to pour the hot peanut mixture into the dry ingredients. Using a stand mixer (or hand held) blend the dry ingredients and peanut mixture together.

         

Now, you can add in the buttermilk and egg mixture to the batter. With the mixer, mix until all the ingredients are smooth and incorporated together.

         

Pour the batter into a greased jelly roll pan and bake for about 18 minutes or until done.

         

While the cake is baking, take this time to make  you icing. In a sauce pan, heat together the evaporated milk and the sugar.

         

Add in one tablespoon of butter. You will use crunchy peanut butter for the icing.

         

Measure out the crunchy peanut butter and the marshmallows. When the milk and sugar comes to boil. Boil for 2 minutes.

         

When you have boil the icing for 2 minutes, turn off the burner, and stir in the marshmallows and the crunchy peanut butter.

         

I cooked mine just a minute or two to get all the marshmallows to melt.  Now, stir in the vanilla. Pour the icing over the warm cake.

Spread the icing evenly over the cake, making sure to get the edges.

Here is the recipe:

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake

Ingredients for the cake:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup margarine or butter (I used butter)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup water

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk

Ingredients for the icing:

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

1//2 crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for the cake:

Mix together flour, soda, sugar and alt in a large mixing bowl. (I put my mixture in a large stand mixer bowl). Set aside. In a saucepan, bring oil, margarine, peanut butter and water to a boil. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix. (I mixed it with a stand mixer). In a small bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and buttermilk together. Add the egg mixture to the batter in the mixing bowl. Blend well. Pour batter into a greased and floured 11 by 15 by 1 inch sheet cake pan. (jelly roll pan) Bake for 15 to 18 minute in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Directions for the icing:

While the cake is baking make the icing. In a saucepan, combine evaporated milk sugar and margarine. Bring to a boil, cooking for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and marshmallows. Stir until melted. Stir in the vanilla. Pour the warm icing over the warm cake and spread to cover.

 

Who wants to first piece????

Enjoy!

Becky

Other post you may enjoy reading:

                                       

Butternut Squash Soup                             Rhubarb Crisp  (recipe soon)                 Blackberry Cobbler

 

Cheddar Corn Chowder

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Yesterday, I was helping to make food for a crowd of about 80 or so. It was the monthly treat day that different department provide snack, desserts or lunch for the entire staff. Our departments provided a bunch of soups and chilis for all three lunch shifts and it turned out great. I volunteered to make this Cheesy Corn Chowder and my Chicken Gnocchi Soup, along with the Coconut Cream Cake, Peanut Butter Sheet Cake (I will post this yummy recipe in the next few days) and 10 loaves of the Crusty White Bread.

I have loved corn chowder after I tried my first bowl down at Branson last summer.  I have been looking for an excuse to try my hand at making my own, and treat day provided me my perfect opportunity. I looked and looked for a recipe that had the combination of ingredients that I thought I would like. When I finally ran across this one from Ina Garten, I knew it was time to finish my search. I did change up the amounts on some of the ingredients a bit. I wanted mine a little thicker, so I added more flour. I also wanted a more creamy taste, so I added more  half and half. I also wanted a little more cheese flavor, so I added more cheese. I got raved reviews on this chowder on Friday. I am taking the left overs to The Princess’s house for lunch tomorrow after church. I am sure that Mom and Dad will go corny over this Cheesy Corn Chowder.

You will go corny too! LMK (let me know) if you give this chowder a try!

Here is what  you will need.

You will need corn, of course : ), potatoes, onions (lots of onions) flour, salt, pepper, basil, butter, half and half, olive oil, chicken broth, olive oil and cheese.

         

First thing you need to do is chop all those onions (or talk a someone else into it like I did), then cube the potatoes.

         

The first thing you will need to do is fry up the bacon in little pieces. I used some kitchen shears to cut the raw bacon into little squares before frying off. When the bacon is fried, scoop out the bacon and pour the bacon grease into a large stock pot.

         

In the large stock pot, put the bacon grease, olive oil and butter and melt together. Add the onions and sauté until tender.

         

Once the onions are sautéed, add in the flour and cook for a minute, stirring while the mixture becomes thick.

         

Pour in the chicken stock. Now add in the chopped potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. Stir occationally.

         

Add in the frozen corn and the half and half. Season with basil, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low, until the corn is heated through.

         

Add in the shredded cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Now, it is all done.

Served with shredded cheese and the fried bacon pieces.

That is all there is to it!

Make this large batch of Cheesy Corn Chowder to keep you warm until Spring is here.

Here is the recipe.

Cheddar Corn Chowder

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

8 ounces of bacon (I cooked a whole pound package, cause you use the bacon for garnish when you serve it and we love bacon around here)

1/4 cup olive oil (or you can use vegetable oil if you do not have any)

5 cups chopped onion

4 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon basil

10 cups of chicken stock

4 cups of half and half

6 cups diced potatoes

10 cups of sweet frozen corn kernels

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut the raw bacon in small strips. In a large (and I mean large) stock pot, fry the bacon until the bacon is crispy on medium heat. Leaving the bacon grease in the bottom of the stock pot, strain out the crispy bacon to use as a garnish for the soup when you serve it.

Add the olive oil and the butter to the bacon grease. Keeping the heat on medium, sauté the onions until they are translucent.

After the onions are sautéed, add flour, salt, pepper and basil. Cook and continuously stir the flour and onion mixture for about 3 minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock and stir,

Add in the diced potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are tender.

Add in the frozen corn and the half and half.

Cook for around 5 more minutes, or until the soup is heated through.

Add in the cheddar cheese and stir until all the cheese is melted.

Taste the soup, to see if you need to add more salt or pepper.

Serve and garnish with bacon and cheddar cheese.

Enjoy!

Becky

Other post you may enjoy:

                                      

Velveeta Cheese Soup                                  Poppy Seed Bread                              Oven BBQ Brisket

 

Coconut Cream Cake

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I am nuts about coconuts!

And you thought I was just nuts… : )

This week is treat day at school and I am making a few things to share. I found this super easy, super moist, recipe for Coconut Cream Cake. It was the perfect cake to make when you are a little pressed for time cause  you start with just a cake mix. I made this delicious cake a couple of days early and put it in the freezer. I can’t wait to share it later this week.

It has a secret ingredients….sshhhh…..

One of the things that makes this cake so, so, so, good, is that it  has a whole can of cream of coconut in it. You use half the can in the batter. The other half of the can you pour over the cake while it is still warm. The super sweet syrup seeps down into the cake making it super moist.

If you need a quick, easy and delicious cake, oh, and if  you love coconut as much as I do, this cake is perfect for you.

Here is what you need.

You just need a few simple ingredients for this cake. I only had to go to the store to get the cream of coconut. If  you have a hard time finding cream of coconut, you will need to look in the liquor department at your grocery store.

The first thing you need to do is start making the cake, following the directions on the back of the box. You can use a white or yellow cake mix.

Next, you need to open your can of cream of coconut. You may need to stir the cream of coconut because the coconut fat might have risen to the top. I pour the cream of coconut into a measuring cup.  I think one can has about 1 1/2 cups of cream.

Pour approximately half of the cream of coconut into the cake batter.

With a stand mixer, mix together the cake batter for about 3 minutes on medium. The batter will be slightly thin. Pour the batter into a 9 by 13 greased cake pan. Bake in a 350 preheated oven for around 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle.

While the cake is still warm, take a fork and poke holes into the cake.

Now, you can pour the rest of the cream of coconut over the cake. It will seep into the holes you made into the cake with the fork. Let the cake cool completely now.

When the cake has cooled completely, frost the cake with cool whip. Lastly top the cool whip with the coconut. Add as little or as much coconut as you want.

See how easy peasy this cake it?

It is good too!

Here is the recipe:

Coconut Cream Cake

Ingredients:

White or Yellow cake mix (below are the amounts of eggs, water and oil that I used, you can use the amounts that is on the back of your cake box)

2 eggs

1/4 cup oil

1 1/3 cup water

1 can of cream of coconut

1 can of Angle Flake coconut (I could not find a can, so I just used part of a bag of Angle Flake coconut)

1 container of cool whip (sit it in the refrigerator to thaw enough to spread on cake)

Directions:

With a mixer, mix the cake mix, eggs, water and oil. Add half of the can of cream of coconut. Mix for 3 minutes. Pour the batter into a greased 9 by 13 cake pan.

Bake in a preheated 350 oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

When the cake is done, poke holes in the cake with a fork.

Pour the rest of the coconut cream over the warm cake. Spread coconut cream over the top of the cake if necessary.

Cool Completely.

When the cake is cooled, frost the cake with cool whip. Top the cool whip with coconut.

I suggest storing this cake in the refrigerator after you top the cake with cool whip.

You will go nuts for this Coconut Cream Cake, just like I did.

Enjoy,

Becky

Other post your may enjoy:

                                                  

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze               Oatcake with Blackberries and Blueberries

 

Crusty White Bread

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Are you craving bread?

In like, warm, soft, crusty bread that is perfect with that homemade jam and butter.

I sure am.

I think, it is because of  the below freezing temperatures and the 8 inches of snow outside.

Instead of apple a day, doesn’t the doctor suggest a slice of homemade crusty bread, will keep the doctors away.

Ok…fine….the doc did not…but the doc should have. : )

Oldest Daughter who does not cook, ate ALL (well, almost all) the Molasses Oatmeal Bread I made the other day.

So,….now that the roads are clear enough for her to go back to work (I still have another snow day from school), I thought I would make some bread, and eat all I wanted before she came home.

Great Plan…right? (Devilish smile)

Don’t worry about the girl who cannot cook….I made two loaves. One for me…and one for everyone else.

See, I know how to share.

Why, don’t you try this, melt in your mouth crusty white bread, and see if you feel like sharing.

Here is what you need to make the perfect Crusty White Bread.

You will need, flour, yeast, sugar, vegetable shortening, butter, salt, eggs, lemon juice and oil.

         

In a measuring cup, put in your lukewarm water, yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar. The sugar feeds the yeast and helps it to activate.

After about five minutes your yeast should look like this. The bubbles on top tell you that the yeast is activated.

         

Now, switch to a stand mixer and add in the eggs and vegetable shortening.

         

Now, add on the salt and the lemon juice.

           

Add in the sugar (I forgot to take a picture of me adding the sugar). Mix everything together with the beater attachment on your stand mixer.

         

Add in the activated yeast and mix in with the egg mixture.

         

Add in three cups of flour and beat in with the mixer. It will look like a thick paste mixture.

         

Now, switch to you dough hook and add another 3 cups of flour. If you do not have a dough hook, use your beater to add more flour, then just knead the dough by hand to add in the rest of the flour.

         

After I used my dough hook on the dough for five minutes. I took it out and put the dough on a lightly floured pastry board.

         

I kneaded the dough, adding just enough flour to make a soft dough. I placed the dough in a large bowl.

         

Brush a little oil on top of the bread, Put a towel on top of the bowl and place the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise.

After about an hour the dough will rise to double it’s size.

Place the dough back on the lightly floured pastry board and cut the dough in half. (if you do not have a pastry board just use the kitchen counter)

Roll the dough out to a 9 inch by 18 inch rectangle.

Roll the dough up from the short end.

Seal the edge of the dough to the loaf by pinching it together.

Place the dough into a greased 9 inch by 5 inch bread pan.

Cover the pans with a towel and let the loaves rise till they double in size. Now, it is time to bake the bread. I lowered my rack in the over to one notch lower. I preheated my oven to 370. Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow inside and is nicely browned.

When they come out of the oven, brush the loaves with melted butter.

Take the bread out of the pans and cool completely. I know it is hard not to cut into them now. : )

See what a beautiful loaf of bread this recipe makes?

I think you have waited long enough for the recipe : )

Here is the recipe.

Crusty White Bread

Ingredients:

2 envelopes of active dry yeast

2 cups of lukewarm water (105 to 110 degrees)

2 tablespoons sugar to add to the yeast and water

1/2 cup sugar to add to the dough

2 large eggs

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

6 to 6 1/2 cup flour. I used all purpose flour, but you can use bread flour if you have it.

1 tablespoon oil to put on top of the dough while rising

2 tablespoons butter, melted to put on top of the loaves when they come out of the oven.

Directions:

In a large liquid measuring cup, measure out the warm water. Add the yeast and the sugar. Stir to dissolve. Wait 5 minutes for the yeast to activate.

In the bowl of stand mixer. Add the eggs, vegetable shortening, sugar, salt and lemon juice. With the beater attachment, mix together.

Add the yeast mixture to the egg mixture in the mixing bowl. Mix in.

Add in 3 cups of flour and beat in with the mixer until it is mixed in completely.

Switch to your dough hook attachment. Add in 3 more cups of flour. Knead in the flour with the dough hook for five minutes.

Take the dough out of the bowl and put on a floured surface. Knead in enough flour to make a nice soft dough.

Put the dough into a grease bowl. Brush oil on top of the dough. Cover the dough with a towel, put in a nice warm place (85 degrees if you can). Let the dough double in size.

Take the risen dough and place it on a floured surface and cut in half.

Roll each half into a rectangle that is 9 inches by 18. Roll the dough up by the short end. Seal the ends and the edge of the dough by pinching it together.

Put the loaves into lightly greased bread pans.

Cover the dough and let them rise, till doubled.

Preheat oven to 370 degrees. Lower the oven rack by one notch. (So the top of the bread does not too brown when baking)

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are a golden brown and should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove loaves from pans and put on a wire cooling rack. Brush the loaves with melted butter.

Cool completely before slicing.

Nothing is better than homemade crusty white bread!

Hope you will try to make some for yourself!

Stay warm and eat food….really good food!

Becky

You may also enjoy:

                   

Irish Soda Bread                          Garlic Cheddar Biscuits               Baking Powdered Biscuits 

Roasted Smashed Potatoes

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The other night I made some BBQ Roast Beef Sandwiches from a roast I had in the crock pot. I was looking for a easy peasy side dish that everyone would eat, including the picky eaters, Company and Super Hero.

One thing that Company and the Super Hero have in common, is their love for potatoes.

I picked up these red potatoes earlier in the day at Aldi’s. I thought I could make roasted smashed potatoes out of them.

Normally with smashed potatoes, you use small new potatoes, or another small potato variety.

My red potatoes were a little big, but I thought I could just cut them in half and it would work.

Heck Ya, it did.

Smashed Potatoes are so easy to make. You can just put them in the oven, forget about them while you make other things, and then go back to them and finish up.

Here is how you make them.

Take washed potatoes, if they are on the big side, just cut them in half. Place them on a cookie sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil. I took my hands and rubbed olive oil on each one.

Take a couple of seasonings. I used sea salt and vegetable grill seasoning. You can use pepper too.

Sprinkle with seasoning. Now, you are ready to bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until they are fork tender.

Now, take a cup and push down on the potatoes and smash them. This is the real fun part.

Looks like a steam roller went over them. hehe…. You can drizzle a little more olive on them and maybe a tad bit more seasoning. Now, pop them back in the oven for 10 more minutes.

Walla….Roasted Smashed Potatoes.

Go, smash some down. : )

Becky

You might also enjoy:

                   

Spinach Dip                                    Planting Onion Seeds                    Grilled Steak Burgers

 

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