Paige's Baking Powder Biscuits

Paige made the best biscuits from scratch yesterday for dinner.  They were light and fluffy, moist, and delicious.  We definitely will be having these again.  Here's the recipe.

Paige's Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl.  Cut in shortening.  Beat egg and milk, stir into dry ingredients, until moistened.

Roll out on lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/2" thickness.  Cut into circles.  Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 450 degree for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

I pulled a ham out of the freezer a few days ago.  We've enjoyed various ham meals, but it was finally time to finish it.  I searched the internet for different recipes and decided that I should try to make scalloped potatoes.  After 27 years of marriage, this was my first attempt at this dish.  I found a recipe, but tweaked it to fit our family's tastes and food allergies.  We had two extra mouths to feed the night that night, so I doubled the recipe.  There was one extra serving for someone for lunch the following day.  Keep in mind that the bulk of my family is adults or teen-aged boys.

Scalloped Potatoes

1/2 Cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups milk
3 cups chopped cooked ham
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
5 cups washed and thinly sliced potatoes, not peeled

Melt butter in pan and add flour and seasonings.  Cook for 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and heat until thickened and bubbling.  Remove from heat.  Add cheese and ham.  Mix thoroughly.  Pour over potatoes in a large bowl and mix well.  Butter 13 x 9" casserole dish and fill with mixture. Cover with foil. Place in preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional hour.

Serves 6-8

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

My children have been stopping off at Panera after church for soup in a bread bowl before they head back to our small town.  Amy decided that we needed to start making broccoli cheese soup for dinner.  This is the recipe that she created.  It's delicious and extremely filling.  Potatoes could also be added and the ham could be replaced with bacon.

1/2 Cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 large onion chopped finely
2 pounds frozen chopped broccoli, cooked as per package directions
4 cans chicken broth
2 cups milk
2 large carrots, grated
16 ounces Velveeta cheese, cubed
8 ounces sharp cheddar, grated
1 cup finely chopped cooked ham

Melt butter in large sauce pan.  Add onions and cook until translucent.  Add flour to butter, stirring constantly until flour in completely cooked, approximately 1 minute.  Add milk.  Mix thoroughly.  Add chicken broth.  Bring to simmer, but do not boil. Add grated carrots and mix thoroughly. Slowly add cheeses in small batches.  Constantly stir each batch until cheese is thoroughly melted before adding another quantity of cheese.  Add  cooked broccoli and ham. Heat until piping hot, but do not boil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 10-12

More Recipes That My Family Loves

Here are a few more of my family’s favorite snack mixes.

Chex Muddy Buddies  (Puppy Tracks)

9 cups assorted Chex cereals
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups powder sugar

Melt butter, chocolate chips, peanut butter on double boiler.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Pour over  cereal.  Mix well.  Put powder sugar into large ziplock bag.  Add cereal mixture to powder sugar and shake until well coated.  Spread on wax paper to cool.  Store in airtight container in refrigerator.


Chex Caramel Chocolate Drizzles

3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Rice Chex
½ bag caramels (about 25)
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons milk
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Melt caramels butter and milk in microwave or using double boiler.  Pour over cereals.  Stir gently until well coated.  Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes until begins to brown.  Spread on waxed paper to cool.

Melt chocolate chips.  Drizzle over cereal.  Refrigerate until set.  Store in airtight container.

Yummy Recipes

During our recent move, several recipes that our family enjoys were discovered hiding in the back of  the cookbook shelf.  These recipes are written on cards and it would be disappointing to not be able to find them when we’d like to cook them.

The first recipe is from my mom.  She makes this salad in the fall for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  It’s so yummy that my family has requested it on Labor Day.  Since our apple trees are overflowing with apples, it seems appropriate.

Nana’s Taffy Apple Salad  

Serves approximately 10

1  20 ounce can of crushed pineapple
4 cups miniature marshmallows
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
4 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar
1 carton whipped topping
3 cups diced unpeeled apples
1 ½ cup coarsely chopped salted peanuts

Drain pineapple, reserve juice.  Combine pineapple and marshmallows, cover and refrigerate several hours.  Combine egg, sugar, flour, vinegar and reserved pineapple juice.  Cook until mixture is thick.  Cool.  Fold whipped topping into chilled dressing.  Add apples and peanuts to pineapple and marshmallows.  Fold in dressing.


Most of my family love the Chex snack mix.  Last year, I searched everywhere for the oven preparation recipe because my family prefers it to the microwave version.  We ended up purchasing Chex mix because I never did find the recipe.  I’m posting it here so it will always be handy.


Original Chex Party Mix (oven cooking method)

3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Rice Chex
3 cups Wheat Chex
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup bite sized pretzels
1 cup garlic flavor bagel chips
6 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoon season salt
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Melt butter in large roasting pan.  Stir in seasonings.  Gradually add all other ingredients.  Mix well.  Bake for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and spread out on paper towel to cool.  Store in airtight container.

Yummy Recipes

Over the Thanksgiving holidays, I was blessed to receive two recipes for dishes that my family loves. The first is my mom's German Potato Salad. This is a traditional recipe handed down in my mother's German family. It's my husband's favorite dish.

German Potato Salad

2 pounds potatoes
1/2 pound bacon
1/2 Cup chopped onion
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Cup water
1/2 Cup vinegar

Cook the potatoes until not quite done, peel, and slice. Cook bacon until crisp, drain and crumble. Reserve 1/4 to 1/3 cup drippings. In the same pan cook onion in drippings.

When tender, add water, vinegar, and sugar. Cook for two minutes, add bacon. Pour over potatoes. Put in top of double boiler or crock pot for 1-2 hours.

Serve hot.


The second recipe, my family enjoyed during coffee hour at church. It's similar to my Dutch Apple Bread, but has a tart-like texture.

Dutch Apple Coffee Cake

Batter
2 1/2 Cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbls. sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg, slightly beaten
6 cooking apples, sliced.

Topping
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. cinnamon

Sife dry batter ingredients together; cut in butter until crumble. Add vanilla to egg and then blend with flour mixture. Press evenly onto the bottom and sides of a 15/10/1 inch pan. Cover dough with overlapping layers of apple slices.

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over the apples.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown.

Serve warm or cold with whipping cream.

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I was involved in a secret Santa exchange last Christmas. Along with the small gift, each participant included their favorite Christmas cookie. We tend to do mostly decorative cookies at Christmas time, so these were first made in January. They were a huge hit with most of my family. They are rich, but not as much as I had feared. The dried cranberries provide the needed tartness. They are a nice change from regular oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies, without a lot of fuss.

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries
6 ounces white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degree. In a large bowl, combine the sugar brown sugar and butter; mix well to cream together. Add egg and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour. Mix well. Fold in the oatmeal, cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place 3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden.

What's For Breakfast

Madelyn begged to be allowed to make breakfast this morning. She wanted to make pancakes or waffles, but I didn't want to deal with the sticky mess that invariably ends up on the dining room chairs. The mess is never discovered until I sit down with the children to do school and end up needing to change my slacks. Never a good way to start school on a Monday.

Instead, I searched through Michael's new cookbooks and found a recipe for Bacon Blueberry Scones. We have never had scones before, so I decided to do it without the bacon to keep it a little more familiar. Here's the recipe, including the bacon. We'll probably add it next time, since these were such a big hit with the children. Heroically, I didn't eat any and stayed on my diet.

Bacon Blueberry Scones
from Taste of Home Simple and Delicious Cookbook

2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 ground cinnamon
1/3 cold butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vegetable
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1 egg
1 Tablespoon milk

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk and oil; add to crumb mixture. Stir in blueberries and bacon.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10 times. Pat into an 8-inch circle. Cut into eight wedges. Separate wedges and place on a greased baking sheet.

In a small bowl, beat egg and milk; brush over scones. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 8 servings.

Asparagus and Potato Tart

Jamie Oliver has a show on one of the cooking channels that our family enjoys watching. The show, Jamie at Home, focuses on fresh, locally grown produce and meats. Today, Amy made his delicious asparagus/potato tart for lunch. It was fabulous. We will definitely be making this again, especially when we have left over mashed potatoes.
This recipe has been tweaked to fit with the ingredients I had on hand.

Ingredients:
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
sea salt
1 pound asparagus spears, woody ends removed
8 oz. filo pastry
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup freshly grated Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
3 large eggs
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz. evaporated milk (we were out of milk)
two shakes of grated nutmeg
freshly ground pepper

Boil potatoes in salted boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Blanch the asparagus in a separate pan of salted boiling water for 4 minutes, then drain in a colander.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Layer the filo pastry in a baking dish. Brush each layer of filo dough with melted butter. We used a large cookie sheet, but I feed a large crowd. It's important to work quickly, because the filo dough will dry out. The pastry layers should be about 5 layers thick.

When the potatoes are down cooking, drain immediately. Mash the potatoes with the cheeses, then mix together the eggs and cream and add to the potato mixture. Spread the potato mixture over the filo dough. Bring the sides of the filo dough and scrunch together to form a rim. Take the blanched asparagus and line them up across the potatoes. Brush with remaining melted butter. Bake in preheated over for about 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Way Hot Chicken Curry!

Amy prepared chicken curry for dinner tonight. My two little one's didn't like the curry, but ate rice with butter, cinnamon, and sugar. The older children enjoyed the curry, but they drank a LOT of milk with supper.

Everyone is really enjoying the new recipes that Amy is making each week. Next week will be Japanese food, which was requested by Madelyn. They may never look at my cheese stuffed meatloaf the same again.


Ingredients:
Marinade
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger root
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon powdered coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 turmeric powder

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1-24 hours.

Ingredients:
Sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
1" cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
2 cups yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped tomato
3 cups of water divided, 1/4, 1/4, 1/2, 1,1,
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
lemon wedges

In deep skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add bay, cinnamon, and cloves. Heat for 2 minutes. Add onion and saute until golden brown. Stir in tomato. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/4 cup water and simmer for 3 minutes. Add next 1/4 cup of water. Stir in black pepper, cayenne, coriander, cumin,turmeric. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer until water evaporates. Repeat with 1 cup of water. After evaporation, add chicken, cilantro and garam masala. Turn heat up to medium. Cover and simmer until chicken is tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add last cup of water and lemon juice. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer until sauce thickens. Remove bay, cinnamon, and cloves. Serve over hot rice. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Amy cut the amount of cayenne pepper in 1/2 and it was still quite spicy.

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

A lovely woman from church prepared these delicious sandwiches for coffee last Sunday. Beth kindly gave me the recipe. My children loved them so much, I'm planning on preparing them for lunch tomorrow!

Beth's Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

1 3 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup minced cucumber, drained and seeds removed
1 teaspoon grated onion or Mrs Dash onion and herb seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of white pepper
1 rounded Tablespoon of mayonnaise
bread
butter

Trim crust from bread. Spread with softened butter. Mix all other ingredients. Spread mix over butter. Refrigerate for several hours. YUM!

Eating Ethnic Foods

Since I began my diet in July, my poor family has been eating meals that the kids can prepare with occasional meals from Mike. Once in a while, I will throw something in the crock pot, but in general the kids are doing the bulk of the cooking. Since Amy returned home from college, she has been cooking well-planned meals, which the other children really appreciate.

Last night, Amy prepared a Lebanese feast which included hummus, falafel, salata hindbi ma Laban (dandelion green salad with yogurt), and almond fingers. The children and Mike really enjoyed the falafel and almond fingers. The dandelion green salad was too bitter for my crew. Amy halved the amount of garlic and onions in the falafel because we are huge garlic eaters around here. The almond fingers tasted a lot like Russian tea cakes, but aren't as sweet and have a nuttier flavor. We will be making these quite often in the future. YUM!

Almond Fingers

16 sheets Fillo Dough
2 cups finely ground almonds
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 cup melted clarified butter
simple syrup or powdered sugar

Bring fillo dough to room temperature. Combine sugar, almonds, and water, set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a flat surface, butter and layer two sheets of fillo dough, placing them lengthwise on top of each other. Fold the layered fillo in half lengthwise. Fillo should be 17 inches long and 6 inches wide. Place about 3 tablespoons of nut filling in a line across the 17 inch length. Roll up fillo, tightly and evenly, into a cylinder, beginning on the 17 inch side.

Brush entire outside of dough cylinder with butter. Cut into 5 fingers, equal in length. Place foil lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and drizzle with syrup or sprinkle with powdered sugar and ground pistachios. Enjoy with tea or cold milk.

Summer Pasta Salad

Last night, I prepared a favorite summer dish from my childhood. It's been several years since I last made this dish, because my oldest daughter hates mayonnaise and turned the other children against this meal-time offering. My oldest daughter isn't home this summer and the weather was sweltering, so the decision was made to try this meal again. It's super easy to prepare and a delicious cold supper. Four of the remaining 6 children returned for second helpings and requested that I make this again. It's amazing how much more receptive the children are to meals when the "I don't like that" child is not present!

Summer Past Salad

16 oz pasta (elbow macaroni, shells, bows or curly pasta)
water to cook pasta
8 oz. cooked ham, cut into bite-sized chunks
8 oz. colby cheese, cut into bite-sized chunks
3/4 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 jar mayonnaise

Prepare pasta until al dente. Drain and run under cold water. Cool in refrigerator until cold. Add all other ingredients, stir well. Use more or less mayonnaise to reach desired consistency. Return to refrigerator. Let sit 2-24 hours. I usually prepare this in the morning before the heat of the day.

Serve with grapes or other fruit and crackers. Makes wonderful leftovers for the next days lunch.

Sesame Seed Cookies

I discovered this recipe for Sesame Seed Cookies in The Precious Moments Cookbook. We were looking for a new type of cookie and had a large bag of sesame seeds. They are not too sweet and are best when fully cool. This is very hard at my house where people steal cookies off the cooling tray!

Sesame Cookies

1 Cup butter
3/4 Cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup toasted sesame seeds

Cream butter with sugar. Add remaining ingredients except sesame seeds. Chill 1 hour or more. Roll into 1" balls, then roll in sesame seeds. Place on greased cookie sheet. Flatten with bottom of glass. Bake for 8-10 ,omutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 5 dozen. (We ended up with 26 cookies. I must make mine too big.)

These are crunchy and slightly nutty. They were wonderful with coffee or a glass of milk.

Yummy Pecan Bars

I made these a few days ago for my dear husband who loves Pecan Pie. Although I had planned to post a pictures, they were eaten too quickly for me to photograph. These bars are very rich. Mike stated that he liked to cut the sweetness with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Pecan Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold butter

Filling:

4 eggs
1 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixtures is coarse crumbs. Press mixture into greased 15"x10" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

To make the filling, combine the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Stir in pecans. Spread mixture of hot crust. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until set. Cool. Cut into bars.

Grandma's Italian Beef

This recipe has been handed down in our family for several generations. I come from good German stock, so I'm not sure how an Italian recipe entered our "hand-me-down family collection. Regardless of how this recipe was acquired, it's a fabulous recipe that everyone loves.

Grandma's Italian Beef

3 pound rump roast or sirloin tip
5 cloves of garlic
small peeled onion
whole cloves
2 stalks of celery
1-2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 cup water
1 cup Burgandy wine

Cut 5 small holes in meat, using criss-cross knife stabs. Place whole peeled cloves of garlic in the holes. Brown meat and set in a roasting pan with a cover. Poke cloves in a row around entire onion two times, going in perpendicular directions. Place onion in pan. Add water, celery, bay leaves, and marjoram. Bake covered in 350 degree oven. When roast is 1/2 done, add wine. Complete cooking to desired point. Total cooking time is approximately 2 1/2-3 hours. Remove from oven, let rest 10 minutes. Thinly slice and serve on hard rolls. Strain juices for au jus sauce.

BLT Salad

This is one of our favorite summer salads! Some of my kids believe that it tastes like a BLT sandwich.

1 Cup salad dressing
1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 large head cauliflower, broken into florets
10-12 ounces fresh spinach, torn
3/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2-3/4 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

Combine first five ingredient in small bowl and mix well. In large salad bowl, combine cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, bacon, and tomatoes. Add dressing and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately. 6-8 servings.

Dutch Apple Bread

I got this recipe from a homeschool mom who married a man from Holland. This is her husband's family recipe. It's a lovely change from the traditional Banana Bread that everyone shares at Christmas time.

Dutch Apple Bread

Dough

1 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup butter
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons Sour Milk
2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Cups finely chopped apples

Topping

2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
chopped nuts

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 5 x 3" loaf pan. Cream sugar and butter. Blend in eggs and sour milk. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Mix in vanilla and apples. Pour into pan. Combine topping ingredients. Cut until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter in pan. Bake 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan. "Eet Smakelyks Best"

Gelatin Salad (from Glenda)

A few years ago, my family was blessed to spend time with a lovely homeschool family in Minnesota. Glenda fed my entire crowd a delicious meal. We especially enjoyed her gelatin salad. She shared the recipe, which I bring to almost every family gathering.

Glenda's Gelatin Salad

1 big box orange Jello, not sugar free (or two 3 oz. packages)
1 big box cooked vanilla pudding
4 Cups warm water
1 large can Mandarin oranges
4 Cups Cool Whip, thawed

Stir together and boil Jello, pudding, and water for 5 minutes. Cool. Add Mandarin oranges and 4 Cups Cool Whip. Mix until fluffy. Best if allowed to set for 24 hours.

Karen's Fudgy Frosting

This Fudge Frosting is the best I have ever made. It is very, very rich. The kids regularly request it on their birthday cakes or on brownies. YUM!

Karen's Fudgy Frosting (from the back of Spartan Cocoa about 16 years ago)

1/3 Cup Butter
1/3 Cup Baking Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk

Melt butter. Remove from heat and add cocoa. Stir until well blended. Add vanilla, powdered sugar and milk. Stir until smooth. Frosting with thicken quickly, so spread immediately. Frosts two 8" or 9" round cake pans.