Cinnamon Apple Dutch Pancake

A friend posted a similar pancake on Facebook, but you can't save it unless you share.  I went on Pinterest and typed in Apple pancake and found this one:  Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby Pancake It is really good. I could have eaten the WHOLE thing, but I only allowed myself 1/4. I get 10 points for being disciplined. I saved this under breakfast, but it was be great for dessert or dinner.



Printable Version Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
3 medium size Gala apples, sliced thinly--I only used one, and it was a Jazz 
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
4 eggs
Cinnamon Topping
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Place butter into a 12" cast iron skillet and melt butter
Place apples into the skillet with the butter and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, to soften the apples.
Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, milk and eggs in a separate bowl.
Pour pancake mixture over the apples and bake for 20-25 minutes. It will be golden brown, puffed, and OH SO GOOD! I sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Jud added some syrup, but it didn't need a thing.

Red Velvet Cake

                                                       I have been making this cake for years, but couldn't find it on                                                       

my blog when I was ready to make it. So here it is. It is a favorite

at our house.






Printable Version
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Crisco
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 oz. red food color (I used 1 oz.)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
Method:
Used 2 - 9" cake pan that have been sprayed and floured or 3 8" pans
Cream Crisco, sugar and eggs. Add flour, cocoa, salt, vanilla, and buttermilk.  Fold in red food color, baking soda and vinegar.  Bake 350 degrees - 30 - 35 minutes.
Icing:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup flour


1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup Crisco
1 stick butter
1 cup granulated
It is very important to follow the directions
Cook milk and flour over low fire to pudding stage. Allow the pudding mixture to cool completely. While it is cooling, cream butter, Crisco, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add this mixture to the cooled pudding mixture and beat like crazy.  You want the sugar to dissolve.  You can taste it to make sure there is no grit from the sugar. If you add the butter before the mixture is cooled, it will melt and make a mess. I know this from experience.

Chloe's Olive Hummus

I found this in my recipe box and don't know where it came from originally. I assume it was Chloe.  I substituted the Kalamata olives for sun dried tomatoes.

Ingredients

1 - 15 oz. can garbanzo beans - rinsed and drained.  I also took the skin off the beans.

1/4 cup pitted green olives

1 small garlic clove

1/4 cup kalamata olives (I used about 3 sun dried tomatoes in oil)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons tahini

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 Tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree. Serve. It keeps 1 week in the refrigerator

Dirty rice with Smoked Sausage

This is a dish I found of Pinterest

Ingredients
2 cups long grain white rice
5 cups chicken stock, divided
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound smoked pork sausage, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Printable Version

Make the rice, in a medium saucepan combine the rice and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until all the stock is absorbed into the rice, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile heat oil in a heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage. Once browned, add the garlic, onion, celery, and green bell pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1 cup chicken stock and cayenne. Cook until the stock has reduced a little. Add the cooked rice and parsley and stir thoroughly. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Recipe courtesy of The Neelys


I used chicken sausage instead of pork sausage.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a variation of The Pioneer
Woman's Recipe.  You can find hers Here I wanted to put potatoes, carrots, corn and green beans in mine. I would have also liked to add peas at the end, but I didn't have any. I used less liquid because I like a thicker filling.

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Finely Diced Onion
1/2 cup Finely Diced Carrot
1/2 cup Finely Diced Celery
1 cup potatoes - diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup fresh green beans- cut in small pieces
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cups Shredded Cooked Chicken Or Turkey
1/4 cup Flour
3 cups Low-sodium Chicken Broth, Plus More If Needed- I probably only used 2 cups
Splash Of White Wine (optional)--I did not add wine to mine.
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Chopped Fresh Thyme To Taste
1/4 cup Half-and-half Or Cream
1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust-- I made my own crust (recipe follows)
1 whole Egg
2 Tablespoons Water 

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
  
  Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add the potatoes, onion, carrots, and celery. Stir them around until the onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add green beans, and corn.
  
  Stir in the chicken or turkey and then sprinkle the flour over the top and stir it until it’s all combined with the turkey and vegetables. Cook for 1 minute, then pour in the chicken broth (and wine if using) and stir it around and let it cook and thicken.
  
  Once it starts to thicken add the turmeric, salt, pepper, and thyme.
  
  Add the half-and-half or cream, then stir the mixture and let it bubble up and thicken, about 3 minutes. If it seems overly thick, splash in a little more broth. Turn off the heat.
  
  Pour the filling into a 2-quart baking dish. Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface and lay it over the top of the dish. Press the dough so that the edges stick to the outside of the pan. Use a knife to cut little vents here and there in the surface of the dough.
  
  Mix together the egg with 2 tablespoons water and brush it all over the surface of the crust. (You will have some egg wash left over.)
  
  Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbly. To prevent the crust from getting too brown, you might want to cover it lightly with foil for the first 15 minutes of baking time.
• Note: This makes a huge amount of filling. I made two casseroles from this. I ate one tonight with some left over. And froze one for later.

No Fail Pie Crust --- Makes 2

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Pulse these three ingredients in a food processor to combine.

Add 

2 sticks cold butter cut in cubes - Pulse until coarse beads form.  

Add 1/2 cup cold water and Process until it comes together to form a ball.

Wrap: the dough in seran wrap and form into a disc. Refrigerate 1 hour. 

Cut:the dough in half and roll the dough to form a round or square disc  to cover the top of your casserole dish. Remove the plastic and place over the casserole dish. I actually made one for the bottom and one for the top of my chicken pot pie. So I had four tight discs. 

Shrimp Quesadillas

This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman and you can find it Here
I did not choose to use as much onion or bell pepper. I prefer the shrimp to take center stage. I also used light mayonnaise on the outside of the tortilla on both sides, instead of butter in the pan.  I have started doing this will my grilled cheese sandwiches as well. I was amazed the first time I tried it.

Ingredients:

flour tortillas

12 large shrimp

8 ounces of Mexican red sauce

1/2 large onion, diced

1/2 large bell pepper, diced

2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pour red sauce over shrimp. Set aside.
Chop vegetables into large pieces. Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the sauce. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Add in a little water if the sauce gets dry. Remove from skillet and chop into bite-size pieces.
In a separate skillet, heat butter. Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp. Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook on both sides, adding butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla isn’t overly dry.
Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!

Roasted Salmon

Ina Garten made this for a baby shower. She served it on a platter with green beans and potatoes, and she served the salmon cold.  I served it hot. You can find her recipe Here
I bought two 4 oz. sockeye salmon fillets in a pan in which you can bake them. That way you just toss the pan after cooking.

Ingredients:

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1/8 cup Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 teaspoon Kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

2 skin-on salmon fillets (I like sockeye salmon, but feel free to substitute what you like)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour this over the fillets and bake for 15-20 minutes. I forgot to add the salt and pepper, so I added it to the top of the mustard sauce. The black you see are cracked peppercorns. I had a little marinade left so I served it with the salmon at dinner. 

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I saved this recipe years ago and don't remember where I got it.  This person adapted it from Trader Joe's  recipe. She used organic when possible. I did not.
Printable Version

Ingredients:

1/4 cup softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts ( I did not use nuts in mine)

6 oz. chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees:

Combine both sugars and butter in a large bowl. Beat until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Mix well.  Add peanut butter and mix until combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and nuts if using. Place dough by heaping teaspoons onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges. Makes approximately 48 cookies.

Rosebud's butter-topped white bread

 I promised to make bread for communion and wanted to try something new.  I found this on Pinterest and you can find it Here  It is fairly labor intensive, but I'm not sure why you have to roll it out and then roll it into a log to bake. I may try it next time just making it into a loaf like I usually do. This recipe made one large loaf and 3 smaller loaves.

Printable Version
Ingredients

4 and 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast (or the equivalent of two packets)

3/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into pieces

2 and 2/3 cup additional warm

 Instructions

1. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, dissolve the yeast in 3/4 cup of warm water, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the sugar, salt, butter, additional 2 and 2/3 cup warm water, and mix gently to combine.

3.  Slowly add 5 cups of the flour, mixing on low speed until smooth.

4. With the mixer on its lowest speed (you don’t want flour everywhere…as I have discovered), slowly add the remaining flour until the dough is smooth.

5. Switch to your dough hook attachment and knead the dough for 10 minutes. ***Now, if you have a smaller mixer, I would recommend kneading the dough in two portions so as not to burn your motor out-this is a lot of dough.  Alternatively, like my grandmother used to do, you can knead all of the dough by hand.

6.  While the dough is kneading, lightly grease a large bowl with butter or cooking spray, as well as two loaf pans (I used 9″).

7.  Once the dough is ready, place the dough in the greased bowl and turn over to completely coat the dough with butter/cooking spray.  Cover, and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

8. After an hour, punch down the dough (yes!) and divide it into two portions.

9. Working with one portion at a time, roll (with a rolling pin) the dough out into roughly 12″ x 12″ squares, making sure that the thickness of the dough is uniform throughout.

10.  Slowly and tightly roll up each square, sealing the edges firmly.

11.  Tuck the ends of the roll tightly under the bread and place into your prepared loaf pans.  Repeat with the second loaf.  Cover the loaves, set in a warm place, and let rise until doubled, about another hour.

12.  Place one rack on the lowest position in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

13. Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, then cover each loaf with aluminum foil to prevent the tops from browning too much.

14.  Once covered with foil, bake for an additional 15 minutes.

15. Remove the loaves from the oven, place on a wire rack to cool, and lightly brush the loaves with the melted butter.

 water

9-10 cups all-purpose flour (*I swear by King Arthur brand…also sidenote…I am moving 5 minutes from their factory soon….woohoo!)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the tops of the loaves

Additional butter/cooking spray, for greasing your rising bowl and loaf pans.