Sunday, July 26, 2009

Garden Fresh Egg Casserole

18 eggs,beaten
1 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/c butter, melted
1/2 cup onion, grated

Mix all ingredients together; pour into a greased 13x9" baking pan. Cover; refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour (or more). Serves 8-10.

Christmas Morning Chile Relleno

16-oz. pkg. shredded Cheddar cheese
16-oz pkg. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 4-oz cans chopped green chiles
4 eggs
1 c. evaporated milk
1/4 c. all-purpose flour

Sprinkle cheese and chiles together alternately in a greased 13x9 baking pan. Whisk together eggs, milk and flour in a medium bowl and pour over cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Makes 8-10 servings.

Courtesy of Shirley Miller.

Banana Bread

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup (2 medium) mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cups chopped nuts, if desired
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of 9x5 or 8x4-inch loaf pan. In large bowl, combine sugar and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs; beat well. Add bananas, milk and vanilla, blend well.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, nuts, baking soda and salt; mix well. Add to banana mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into greased pan.
3. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.

Variation:
Applesauce Bread: Substitute 1 cup applesauce for mashed bananas and add 3/4 tsp cinnamon with flour.

Courtesy of Pillsbury Complete Cookbook

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies


2 cups sugar

4 Tbs cocoa

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

1 cup peanut butter

1 Tbs vanilla

3 cups oatmeal

waxed paper


1. In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute continually stirring, then add peanut butter, vanilla, and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Ultimate Cornbread

This recipe is so yummy! However, recently we (my mom and I) haven't been able to find Jiffy cake mixes ANYWHERE. The other day my mom found some and bought 40 boxes. We might have to retire this recipe if we can't find more, but if by chance you have box of Jiffy cornbread and Jiffy yellow cake mix, make this and you won't be sorry!







1 Box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 Box Jiffy Yellow Cake mix

1 Tb flour


2 Eggs

1/2 cup cool water

1/3 cup milk

1 Tb oil

1 tsp baking powder



1. Pour contents of each box into large bowl. Add eggs, water, milk, flour, oil , and baking powder. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish or muffin tins.

2. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees. Ovens and altitudes may vary cooking times/temps.




Courtesy of my mom

Amazing Chocolate Mint Cookies




3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp mint extract (optional)
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Box Andes Mints, unwrapped and cut in half


1. In a large pan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool off slightly.

2. At high speed, beat in eggs, one at a time into chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating until blended. Then stir in mint extract*. Chill dough about 1 hour.


3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes. When cookies are brought out of the oven, put 1/2 mint on top of each cookie. Let the mint sit for up to 5 minutes until melted, then spread the mint on top of the cookie. Let them set in the fridge or counter top until the mint has cooled and set. Eat and enjoy!

Courtesy of Allrecipes.com

*A variation I do to appease my son (who thinks mint is yucky and too spicy) as well as the rest of the family is: I set aside some of the plain chocolate dough before I add the mint extract. I stir M&M's into the dough. The colors against the rich dark brown is beautiful. Then with the remaining half of the dough I proceed as normal. Both kinds are yummy.



All-American Beef Chili


2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
1 Red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/4 Cup chili powder
1 Tbs cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs (85% lean) ground beef
2 (15.5-ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, rinsed
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
*Grated cheddar and sour cream for topping

(This makes a large batch that could feed my family 3 times over, so invite some friends and family over, or freeze for a quick home-made dinner in a snap.)

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until simmering. Add the onions, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds.

2. Add the beef and increased the heat to medium-high. Cook, breaking up the beef with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in the beans, diced tomatoes with their juice, tomato puree, and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.

3. Remove the lid and continue to simmer until the beef is tender, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

TO MAKE AHEAD
The chili can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to one month. Reheat over low heat, adding water or broth to adjust the consistency.
Courtesy of The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Big and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies









3 1/3 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
16 TBs (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 Tbs vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips



1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until combined, 1-2 minutes. This will help your cookies be fluffy. Beat in the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chocolate chips until incorporated.

4. Roll the dough into balls and lay on parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake until the edges are golden but the centers are soft and puffy, 1o-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. At my house at 5000 ft I have to bake mine for the full 20 minutes. At my parent's house at a lower elevation (1200 ft) I bake them for 10. (THESE COOKIES ARE EASY TO OVERCOOK. THEY WILL NOT LOOK COMPLETELY DONE like other recipes. If they actually look golden brown, they are already crunchy. They finished cooking ON THE BAKING SHEETS. See step #5)

5. Let the cookies cool ON THE BAKING SHEETS for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely.

TO MAKE AHEAD
The dough can be made through step 3 and either covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days, or rolled into balls and frozen. When ready to bake, reduce the temperature to 300 degrees and increase the baking time to 25-30 minutes.


Recipe courtesy of The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook