Meatballs

Everything you buy at Costco is huge, but you can take out just the number that you want for the meal. Perfect. I decided to put them in the crock pot with 2 cans of Campbell's French Onion soup. I pulled out enough for 3 meals. (about 27-30 for two people)





Ingredients:
meatballs from the frozen food section
2 cans of french onion soup
cornstarch for thickening
Directions:
1. Place all of the meatballs (27-30) in the crock pot
2. Pour over two cans of Campbell's French Onion Soup
3. Put the crock pot on low and cook for 4-6 hours.
4. The first night I served it right out of the crock pot over rice (it was a little thin)
After the meal, I thickened the gravy with cornstarch and water and put it in the refrigerator for the second meal.
The third night I will probably make meatball sandwiches

Bacon and fried green tomato sandwiches

I saw a recipe for these sandwiches and knew I had to have one.  We went to the market and I bought some green tomatoes for this recipe. The secret to getting good grill marks on this sandwich is to add mayonnaise instead of butter to the outside. I know it sounds strange, but I saw this in the newspaper and decided to try it because the butter either gets too brown, or it doesn't get done and is soggy. The mayonnaise is perfect and you really don't taste the mayonnaise.

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread per sandwich
1 1/2 slices of cooked bacon per sandwich (cut the whole pieces in 1/2. They fit perfectly)
2 slices of fried green tomatoes per sandwich
mixture of 1/4 cup corn meal and 1/2 cup flour
pimento cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat grill pan to high
2. Cook the bacon as you like it cooked
3. Dredge the sliced green tomatoes on both sides in the flour/cornmeal mixture
4. Fry the tomato in canola or vegetable oil until golden brown on both sides and set aside
5. I put the pimento cheese in the microwave for about 15 seconds to make it easier to spread.
6. Grill the bread with the mayonnaise side down until golden brown
7. Spread the pimento cheese on the inside of the grilled bread
8. Top the pimento cheese with bacon and then fried green tomatoes
Delicious

Fried Talapia

These were really big filets, but we didn't have any trouble getting it down. O.K. I had a little trouble.








Ingredients for two filets:
2 fish filet (I used talapia)
1 1/2 cups Panco bread crumbs
1/2 cup pecans that have been processed in a food processor
1 beaten egg
Directions:
1. Place the panco bread crumbs and pecans that have been processed in 1 pan -mix together
2. Place the beaten egg in another pan
3. Dredge the filet in egg and then in Panco
4. Put the Canola oil or whatever you use to fry and fry on both sides for about 3 min. on medium heat.

Buttermilk Pie

 I usually use a frozen pie crust from the grocery store, but I forgot to buy one so I made my own. I will print the recipe that I used
Jud and I went to Eastside Cafe for our anniversary meal and we had this pie for dessert. It made me want to try strawberries on my regular buttermilk pie recipe.  Great addition.




Ingredients for 2 pies:
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup melted butter
pinch of salt
1 cup of buttermilk
Directions:
Beat eggs, add sugar mixed with flour and a pinch of salt. Add buttermilk to melted butter and then add this to the egg mixture. Mix well and pour into 2 raw pie shells. Bake 325 degrees 1 hour and 10 minutes.
I cut this recipe in 1/2, but you could certainly make 2 and freeze one of them.

Ingredients for pie crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Cut in 6 tablespoons butter and gradually add 3-4 tablespoons milk.
Directions:
Add flour salt and baking powder to a mixer with the paddle attachment.  Add the 6 tablespoons of butter that has been cut in small pieces. When the butter in mixed well, add the tablespoons of milk to the mixer. Mix until it forms a ball. Remove and place on a floured surface. Roll into a large circle and place in the pie pan. Pour in the buttermilk pie ingredients and bake 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Pesto Tortellini Bake

This recipe comes from Six Sisters and you can find it Here
I made it just like the recipe, but next time I will make two changes that I will add to the recipe I put on my blog. That way, I will remember to make the changes next time.
1. Less tortellini
2. More pesto cream sauce



Printable Version Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups milk
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup pesto
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
10 oz. cooked tortellini
1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 cup shredded and cooked chicken
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped into small pieces
1 cup shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Simmer 1 1/2 cups milk, pesto and garlic in a skillet on medium heat. Remove from skillet and stir in grated Parmesan
3. Dump in tortellini, tomatoes, chicken, artichoke hearts, zucchini, and mozzarella. Mix until combined
4. Pour pesto butter sauce over the top of mixture until everything is covered. Add salt and pepper to taste. I added extra mozzarella cheese on top.
5. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

These are the copy cat version of Red Lobster's Cheddar Biscuits. You can find the recipe that I copied Here  Once I found them, I couldn't stop myself from making them.










Printable Version

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup shredded)
• 1 cup buttermilk, cold
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled for 5 minutes

For the Topping:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley (or ¼ teaspoon dried)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, garlic powder and cayenne. Stir in the cheddar cheese; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the buttermilk and melted butter until the butter forms small clumps.
4. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix gently with a rubber spatula just until a dough forms and no dry ingredients remain. Use a greased ¼-cup measuring cup to scoop out portions of dough. Place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a little more than an inch between biscuits.
5. Bake until the biscuits are golden brown, about 12 minutes. While the biscuits are in the oven, stir together the 2 tablespoons melted butter, garlic powder and parsley. Remove the biscuits from the oven and immediately brush with the topping mixture. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top back at room temperature for up to 3 days.

 You can find the Pioneer Woman's recipe Here
I only used two layers, but next time I will cut the layers in 1/2 and I will use a box cake mix.  My store bought cake was lacking in taste.


Ingredients:
1 whole Store-bought Angel Food Cake or Pound Cake
Nutella
Cool Whip, thawed in the refrigerator
Method:
Slice the angel food cake (rectangular) in half lengthwise. Use a found or square cutter to cut out pieces. Cut the pieces in half through the middle so that they are the same shape, but shorter. I did that, but I felt they could even be shorter. Spread Nutella on three thin slices of cake. Stack on top of one another and set on a dish in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until the Nutella is set. Remove from the freezer and ice with soft Cool Whip, then place back into the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Note from Pioneer Woman:  Make the cakes ahead of time, then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. To serve, just pull them out 5-10 minutes before you need them!  I thought they needed more than 10 minutes. I would probably set them out before dinner and serve for dessert.  I would give it at least 30 minutes. The Nutella was very hard.