Bread Machine Sweet White Bread

I really wanted to make a bread my mom always used to make. I got home and was really excited when I found her recipe in the bread machine, so I got started. I didn't really read the recipe. I put the yeast and water in and started to add the rest of the ingredients, when I got to powdered milk and sweet butter, I stopped, what are these? So a fast call to my mom to find out sweet butter is just salted butter and that the powder milk is just that, but I don't have any, so I went ahead and used what I had-Creamer-it was even vanilla flavor, well it's supposed to be a sweet bread so I didn't think it'd matter, and it didn't. The bread finally got done and I couldn't get it out quick enough. It was so good. I'm glad I finally pulled my mom's ole' bread machine out!

1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 3/4 c bread flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl dry milk
1 Tbl sweet butter (salted butter)
1 med egg
1/2 cup plus 1 tsp warm water

Put the yeast in the bowl with the warm water, put in rest of ingredients on top. Put on the light setting.

Tilapia Au Gratin

I did 6 Tilapia fillets
probably about a cup of bread crumbs (I used leftover beer bread)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and lemon seasoning together. Put the tilapia on bottom of greased 9X13 pan. (I put three pieces down first). Top with 1/2 breadcrumb mixture. Top with remaining 3 fish filets and rest of breadcrumb mixture. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork. Top with shredded cheese and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

We served this with steamed new potatoes and green beans. It was so good I didn't get a picture. The original recipe was from Gooseberry patch with modifications by me!

Homemade Pizza

Well I finally jumped and made my own pizza dough! It was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. It's from now thats whats cooking's blog.

2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1-1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F / 45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit 10 minutes.

2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2-1/2 cups of the flour.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until doubled in size; approximately 1 hour. Punch down the dough and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax a little before rolling out.

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise 15-20 minutes before topping and baking it.

5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

I topped my pizza with provolone, pizza mix, and parmesan cheese and Kevin's with pizza mix cheese and pepperoni. Kevin liked this better than any other pizza we've tried so it will be tried again!

Halloween soups!

This is a picture of me and my dad and the awesome pumpkin beer I had. I'm so not a beer drinker, but I actually drank a whole bottle of this stuff.

This used to be my favorite soup, well before I tried the pumpkin. It has kind of become tradition for my mom to make this around Halloween. This recipe came from a Campbell's soup recipe book.

Tuna-Tortellini Soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 cups frozen cheese filled tortellini
1 cup frozen whole sweet kernel corn
1 1/2 cups milk
1 small can tuna

In saucepan combine soup, broth, basil and garlic. Cover, over high heat, bring to boil. Add tortellini and corn. Reduce heat to low. Cover cook 10 min. Add milk and tuna, heat through, stirring occasionally.



I am so happy my mom made this because it is so good. I will definitely make it again. My mom found the recipe, but once again it's from Gooseberry Patch

Creamy pumpkin bisque

2 Tbl butter 1 Tbl green onion
Melt butter in a 2 qt saucepan over med heat, add onion and saute until tender.

Stir in: 16 oz can pumpkin
1 cup water
2 Tbl brown sugar packed
1/2 t salt
1/8 t white pepper
1/8 t cinamon
2 cubes chicken boullion

Heat until mixture beings to boil; cook for 5 min. Add 2 cups 1/2 & 1/2, heat through stirring constantly. Ladle into bowls and garnish with thinly sliced lemon & fresh minced parsley.

Halloween Goodies

Halloween P.B. Blondies
I doubled this recipe and made 2 8 in square pans. One for my work and the other for our party at my mom & dad's. The boys at my work gobbled them up!

It is from What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen.


Peanut Butter Blondies with Halloween M&M's (I renamed)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 bag of Halloween colored M&M's

Preheat oven to 325F.
Grease and lightly flour and 8 inch square baking pan.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with the peanut butter and the sugars until smoothm about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stir in the M&M's.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean with moist crumbs attached.
Do not overbake. Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting and serving.

The original recipe called for toasted pecans, chocolate chips and white chocolate, but I just did the Halloween M&M's.

Oreo Truffles



I used white chocolate and used orange and black sprinkles for the top. These are so easy to make and will def stay in my rotation! I am not sure whoose blog I got these off of since everyone has been making them.

1 package softened cream cheese (8 oz)
1 package Oreo cookies (I used the Halloween orange and black ones)
1 package white almond bark
sprinkles

Crush cookies in food processor. In large bowl mix together crushed cookies and cream cheese til smooth. Melt chocolate according to directions. Roll cookie mixture into 1 inch balls then dip in chocolate. Place on wax paper. Sprinkle with desired sprinkles.

Weekly Menu 10/28-11/3

S: In laws weinee roast for BIL
M: Tilapia au gratin, steamed new potatoes and green beans
T: Pork chops on the grill with fries
W: Halloween I'm making a new soup, Potato, Cheddar, & Steak!
T: Out with papa--the Pub
F: Pizza or calzones
S: Hot dogs and trying out our new camper

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

I have seen this on countless blogs. I had all the ingredients and was wanting to make them to go along with our chicken and noodles, they were a perfect end to a perfect meal!

1 cup peanut butter (I used a combo of smooth and crunchy)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 handfuls of chocolate chips

Mix together all ingredients. Drop by teasponfull onto cookie sheet (I lined mine with parchmant paper) and then smush down with a fork, I didn't do that with the first batch and they were still doughy on the inside. Cook for about 8 mins. These were very nice for a sweet treat, I got 18 out of one batch.

Chicken & Noodles

These were sooooo good! I had been craving chicken and noodles so I looked in my Gooseberry Patch recipe book and found an easy one. Warning it does use Cream of soups, but it was easy and that's all I was looking at!

1 large can cream of chicken soup (I think it is 20 oz?)
1 small can cream of mushroom soup (12 oz)
3 cans chicken broth
I used 3 large chicken breasts
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 package frozen wide egg noodles (16 oz)

Cut up your chicken into bite size pieces and brown. Mix together chicken and soups in a large pan, heat over med-high heat. Bring to boil. Stir in seasonings and noodles and cook 20-30 minutes on low.

I served mine with Ritz crackers crumbled over the top.

Failed Dinner

This was another recipe from Gooseberry Patch. I found a recipe for a Pork Loin Roast in the crockpot with a teraki merinade, it looked really good and may have been, but I ended up working late and I think that's what did it. It was dry. I wouldn't even eat the pork. Kevin however ate it, but I don't think he really cares what the food tastes like! He was also nice enough to make mashed potatoes (Betty Crocker in the box), corn and crescent rolls. So I ate those for dinner. I will post a picture of my awesome hubby so you all know what he looks like! I love him so much!

Weekly Menu 10-21/10-27

S: Fiesta soup, chicken ranch quesadillas and beer bread
M: Pork Loin Roast in teraki merinade, mashed poatatoes and corn
T: Au Gratin Tilapia with steamed green beans and new potatoes
W: Chicken and noodles in the crockpot
T: Out or leftover night
F: Homemade pizza
S: Mom & dad's kind of halloween party we will have this really good soup there with tortelini, tuna and corn

Fiesta Soup & Chicken Ranch Quesadilla's

I am not a huge soup fan, but when I found this in once again a Gooseberry Patch recipe book, I thought I should make it! Kevin is a huge mexican food fan and I knew he would like this-I was not wrong. I had been meaning to make Joelens beer bread for a while now, I thought this would be the perfect meal to make it for. The bread did not fail me, it was wonderful!

2 cans chicken broth
10 oz canned chicken (drained)
1 can rotel (drained)
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained & rinsed)

I also added a small box of Velvetta.

Open all cans and pour into a medium stockpot. Simmer over medium heat until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese.

I served with Joelens beer bread with cheddar cheese and minced garlic.
http://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/09/bodacious-breads-babes.html

I made this on a Sunday night for dinner and for lunch that day I made:

Chicken Ranch Quesadilla's using my handy quesadilla maker that I love!
Tablespoon or so of Ranch dip
Handful of cheddar cheese
5 oz of chicken (drained-this made 2 quesadillas)
couple tablespoons bacon bits (I used the refigerator ones)

Spread ranch dip on one tortilla, then sprinkle on cheese, chicken and bacon bits. I put in my quesadilla maker for a couple of minutes, until it was golden on the outside and then cut using a pizza cutter. These were very good!

Topsy-Turvy Lasagna

I have found the best recipe book it is called Speedy Suppers and is by the Gooseberry Patch. You will be seeing many more from this book! This was a very tasty filling meal. We made plenty for leftovers and possibly to freeze.

3/4 lb. ground beef (we used 2 lbs.)
28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
5 c cooked egg noodles (we used penne noodles)
1 c cottage cheese (we used 12 oz tub)
8 oz pkg shredded mozzarella cheese divided
we also added a sprinkling of parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef in a skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce; simmer for 10 minutes. In a lightly greased 2 quart (we used 3) casserole dish, combine noodles, ground beef mixture, cottage cheese, and one cup mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining mozzarella (this is when I sprinkled on parmesan). Bake 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I then broiled it for about 6 minutes. Serves 6-8.

Weekly menu--October 13-19th

Saturday: Chili and cornbread muffins, apple crisp for dessert

Sunday: Pretzel dogs and mac-n-cheese (box)

Monday: Fiesta soup with chicken ranch quesidallas

Tuesday: mock lasagna, homemade beer bread

Wednesday: Not sure I have a medical thing, so either calzones or breakfast for dinner

Thursday: out with papa, Mexican week

Friday: Work late, may be homemade pizza if I made the dough made up this week!

Girls Trip 2007

We had a wonderful time when we made the trip to see my sister in Bloomington-Normal, IL. Friday night we started off at the best little pizza place ever, Lucca's Pizza.

Snickerdoodles

The snickerdoodle is my mom's favorite cookie so when she asked me to make her some when I wanted to take something with us when we went and saw my sister, I made a double batch. This is from the Betty Crocker Wedding Cookbook.

1 stick butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
2 3/4 flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinammon

Cream together butter, sugar, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Roll dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Stir together the sugar and cinammon. Roll balls into sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheet with parchmant paper. Bake on 400 for 8-10 minutes until set.

Easy Week

Okay so it's been an easy cooking week and therefor I have taken no pictures!

Monday I made Chicken Fingers:
1 package of Ritz crackers
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 Tbl garlic powder
2 egg whites
2 Tbl water
I used 2 lbs of chicken tenders

Crush Ritz crackers, stir in parsley and garlic powder. In another bowl whisk together egg whites and water. Put chicken into egg mixture then dredge in cracker mixture and lay on pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 450 for about 15 minutes or until no longer pink in middle.

I served the fingers with some store bought Sweet and Regular fries!

Tuesday I made a crockpot pot roast and roasted potatoes
for the roast: Put a pot roast in the crockpot, I poured a can of Cherry Coke over it then cover with BBQ sauce. Set on low and cooked about 9 hours then turned to warm until we were ready to eat.

So then I went to make the roasted red potatoes only to find my potatoes shriveled up...so off to the store I go in my night clothes and no bra! I set the oven to about 425 and when I got home scrubed the potatoes, then cut them into bite size pieces, tossed them with some EVOO and garlic & herb seasoning. Put them on a pan sprayed well with cooking spray and cooked them for about 30 minutes.

I served this with peas (for me) and green beans (for my hubby)

Weekly menu 10/1-10/6

Monday: chicken fingers with sweet and regular potatoe fries
Tuesday: Pot roast in the slow cooker with cherry coke and bbq sauce, roasted red potatoes and veggie
Wednesday: Girls monthly cooking club
Thursday: Weekly dinner out with papa
Friday: Leave to go to Illinois with mom to see my sister

Hoagie Bake

I was looking for another Friday night meal besides calzones or pizza when I came across this recipe from an unknown Nestie. It was delish, I may substitute out the salami next time, because it was soooo rich, it would be yummy with turkey and made like a club! We will definitely put this in our rotation! Pictures to come!


2 Cans crescent rolls
1/4 lb each ham, salami and pepperoni
4 slices each provolone, sharp cheddar and co-jack cheeses
italian seasoning
parmesan cheese
melted butter or evoo

Spray pan with cooking spray (I used I think it was 11x7, recipe called for 8x8, but the bigger pan worked perfect). Spread one can of rolls in bottom of pan. Put meats and cheeses over crescent rolls and then sprinkle with italian seasoning. Spread second can of crescent rolls over top. Brush melted butter or evoo over the top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes uncovered then another 10 minutes covered, until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes then cut into pieces and serve warm.

Smore's Brownies

Pictures to come, I made these for a BBQ my husband's boss was having, when I spoke to the wife she advised I could bring stuff for Smores, but I really wanted to bake so I made these. They were great and everyone enjoyed them! This is from osuheatherk and she got it from the food network!

2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 stick unsalted butter melted
3 Tbl sugar
I used a brownie mix I was short on time to make homemade
1/2 bag miniature marshmallows

Mix together first three ingredients and press in bottom of 9X13 pan. Bake on 325 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile make brownies. Pour over crust. Bake according to directions mine was on 350 for 28 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows over top and put under broiler on low for a couple of minutes, until golden.