MKC's Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

My husband loved me just a little bit more after the first time I made these.

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

• 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled 
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled

1. Heat oven to 475 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silpat liner.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a 2-cup liquid measure, stir together the chilled buttermilk and melted butter until the butter forms small clumps. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula just until the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture slightly pulls away from the edges of the bowl.
3. Using a greased ¼-cup measure, scoop out mounds of the dough and drop them onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake the biscuits until the tops are golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush with additional melted butter. Serve warm.

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie
Adapted and simplifed from Alton Brown

2 T canola oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 lbs ground beef
salt/pepper
3 T flour
1 t garlic powder
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 c chicken broth
1 c peas
1 c corn
3 cups mashed potatoes
2 cups shredded cheese

Saute onion and carrots in canola oil.  Add beef and salt/pepper/garlic and cook until browned.
Sprinkle meat with flour and toss to coat.  Add Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth and simmer 10 mins to allow to thicken.
Spread meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x11 pan.  Layer with peas/corn mixture.  Spread mashed potatoes over the vegetable layer.  Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and potatoes begin to brown.

Ham Chowder

A friend brought me this last fall when I was sick and I immediately demanded the recipe.  It was an immediate hit at Grandma Day when I finally made it this week.

Ham Chowder
from Emilie Sallee and her mother, Annette Tingey

2 c boiling water
2 c diced potatoes
1/2 c sliced carrots
1/2 c sliced celery
1/4 c chopped onion
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour
2 c milk
2 1/2 c shredded cheese
1 (17 oz) can cream style corn
2 c cubed ham

Combine water, vegetables, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes (or until veggies are done).  Do not drain!
In another saucepan, melt butter, add flour.  Add milk, stirring constantly with a wire whisk over medium heat until thickened.  Add cheese, stir until melted.  Add cheese sauce, corn, and ham to cooked veggies.  Heat until hot but not boiling.

Pumpkin Brownies

We first had these at a family gathering with RoRo's birth family.  They're now a fall family favorite, and they always remind me of the love I felt at that party.

Pumpkin Brownies
1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
12 oz package white chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts (walnut, macadamia or favorite) - optional

Cream butter and sugars.  Add egg, vanilla, and pumpkin.  Combine flour, soda, and spices; add to creamed mixture.  Add 1 1/2 cups of chips, and add nuts.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes in 9x13 greased pan, then cool completely.  (They tend to be gooey in the middle, so keep baking.)

Put remaining chips in a ziploc bag and microwave to melt on medium for about 30 seconds.  Knead until all lumps are melted.  Snip small hole in corner of baggie and drizzle over cut bars.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. Because October.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
3/4 cup shortening
2 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
15 oz. can pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. ginger
3/4 t. cloves
1/2 t. allspice
1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts, i guess)
11.5 oz bag chocolate chips

Cream together shortening, sugar, eggs, and pumpkin.
Stir in remaining ingredients. (Dough will be sticky.)
bake at 400 for 10 to 15 minutes.

Mmm, fall.

Baked Spaghetti

My mom found this recipe on a blog somewhere and made it, then gave it to me.  So thank you, recipe blogger, and I'm sorry I can't credit you here, but we love your recipe.

Baked Spaghetti

Mix these ingredients together and place in a 9x13 baking dish:

12 oz angel hair pasta, cooked

1 egg

1 cup parmesan cheese

2 T chopped basil

Mix these together and place on top of the pasta:

1 lb hamburger, cooked

1 (13 oz) container ricotta cheese

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (save 1/2 c for the top)

1 jar pasta sauce

Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese over top of sauce.  Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until the cheese starts to bubble.

Manicotti

Manicotti

1 box manicotti shells

1 jar pasta sauce 

8 oz mozzarella

1 lb cottage cheese

1 c parmesan

2 T italian seasoning

1 T dried parsley flakes

2 eggs

1/2 lb ground beef, cooked (optional)

Put a little bit of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan.  Combine cheeses, seasonings, eggs and beef in large bowl.  Stuff shells with cheese mixture and place in pan.  Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle remaining cheese mixture over top.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 60 minutes.  Add water as needed -- do not let shells dry out while baking.   

Goes well with a green salad and garlic toast.  

Ginger Casserole

Ginger Casserole

(aka Beef and Noodle Casserole) from Ginger Manning

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 onion, minced

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1 8oz container of sour cream

1 pound egg noodles, cooked

8 oz grated cheddar cheese

Brown beef, season with salt and pepper and minced onion.  Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to create sauce.  In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese and sour cream.

Layer into a 9x13 pan - 1/2 meat sauce, 1/2 noodles, 1/2 cream cheese mixture, repeat.  Top with shredded cheese.

Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees until cheese is melty and delicious.

Green Stuff

Green Stuff
from Linda Castillo

1 stick butter, melted                     1 c. Cool Whip
1 c. flour                                        2 (small) pkg. instant pistachio pudding
1/2 c. chopped pecans                   3 c. milk
1 c. powdered sugar                      2 c. Cool Whip
1 8oz package cream cheese

Mix butter, flour and pecans for crust, and press into greased 9x13 glass pan.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, and allow to cool.
Next mix powdered sugar, cream cheese, and 1 cup of Cool Whip together.  Spread this mixture over crust.
Mix pudding and milk togerher until smooth.  Pour over cream cheese layer, allow to set.
Spread the rest of the Cool Whip over the top and chill a couple of hours.


This was one of my dad's favorite desserts, and it's always a hit.  Goes over well at Easter and at Christmas, as well as anytime you need to take a dessert to an event.

Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

1 large pork tenderloin (about 4 lbs)
Liquid Smoke (1/2 bottle)
Coarse ground Sea Salt
1 c. water

Toss pork and water in the crockpot, sprinkle generously with sea salt and add Liquid Smoke.  Cook for 6-8 hours.  Serve.

*****

This goes into everything.  We eat it with an Asian style green salad and macaroni salad (or mac and cheese) for a Hawaiian style treat.  We put BBQ sauce on it and eat it in sandwiches.  We use it in Green Chile Pork.  It's an easy and universally appreciated meal that is easy to take in.  Definitely a family staple.

Concoction

Concoction

A big old hunk of salmon, cooked (butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, 25 minutes at 350)
4 c. steamed broccoli
1 lb pasta, cooked (I use Farfalle, but anything would work)
1/3 c. olive oil
parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
balsamic vinegar or vinagrette
salt and pepper to taste

Combine salmon, pasta, and broccoli in a large bowl.  Toss with olive oil.
Garnish with cheese, vinegar, salt and pepper.

*****

Appetizing name for a recipe, right?  One day my husband was in the kitchen messing around with ingredients and he threw this together and it was an instant and enduring hit.  We eat it a couple of times a month.  I even like it cold then next day for lunch.

This is another simple family staple that doesn't really take a recipe but is a constant in our house, and all of our people like it.  Some people try to eat around the broccoli or drown their bowl in balsamic, but they all eat it up.  Throw a sliver of whole wheat garlic toast in front of them and you have a bunch of happy people.

Graham Cracker Roads

Graham Cracker Roads, aka Chocolate Eclair Pie
from a co-worker at my first full-time job, many moons ago.  I don't remember her name but I remember this recipe!

1 box graham crackers
2 3-oz packages vanilla pudding
1 8-oz container whipped topping
3 cups milk
1 can chocolate frosting, slightly thinned with 2 Tbs milk

Combine milk and pudding mix with a whisk.  Add in whipped topping and stir well.
Place one layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan and cover with half of pudding mixture.  Place another layer of graham crackers, and cover with the rest of the pudding mixture.  Place a third layer of graham crackers and frost with thinned chocolate frosting.  Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before serving.

*****

My helpers named this Graham Cracker Roads because they adore the job of laying graham cracker roads between the pudding mixtures.  Also this is one my father-in-laws most favorite treats that I make for him.  It's a great no-oven dessert for our hot summer evenings.

Lemon Dill Salmon

Lemon Dill Salmon

big old salmon filet - I get a big one, 2-3 lbs, from Sam's or Costco.

1/2 c. butter, melted

3/4 c. lemon juice

2 T dill

1/2 t garlic powder

salt and pepper

Plop salmon in a big glass baking dish, coated with butter or Pam spray.  Combine butter and lemon juice and pour over salmon.  Sprinkle with dill, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.  Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.  

*****

I have been making simple staples this week.  One of our favorites is this lemon dill salmon that doesn't really take a recipe, but since it's a family staple I'll post it up here.  All measurements are approximate and will depend on how big your hunk of salmon is, but it's easy to scale up or down.

My little dude loves this with steamed broccoli, couscous or rice, and garlic toast.  It's one of his favorite meals.  (But then again, they're all his favorite.  Except stir fry.)

Also, if you leave out the lemon and dill and scale back the butter, this is also how I cook salmon on other nights or to go in other dishes.  (See a future post entitled "Concoction.")

Betty's Favorite Ham and Potato Soup

Ham and Potato Soup
from allrecipes, with additions

3 1/2 cups peeled, diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 T chicken bouillon
5 T butter
5 T flour
2 cups milk
salt to taste
pepper to taste
(I like to add corn kernels and sometimes green beans to give it a veggie chowder taste.  Also can garnish with shredded cheese or even bacon!)

Bring to a boil potatoes, celery, onion, ham in water, then cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Stir in chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt better over medium-low heat.  Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute.  Slowly stir in milk without creating lumps, until all milk has been added.  Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot and cook soup until heated through.  Serve immediately.

• • 
    

Grandma's Favorite Chicken Tortilla Soup

Every Friday we have "Grandma Day" at our house, when my Grandma comes over for lunch and to see the kids and make memories with us and do puzzles with my big boy and color with my little girl.  She loves soup, and this is one of her very favorites.  

Chicken Tortilla Soup
from Amy Newton's blog

1 rotisserie chicken, deboned
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 can black beans (not drained)
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 jar chunky salsa

Garnishes:
corn tortilla chips to taste (great way to use up stale chips!)
sour cream to taste
shredded colby jack cheese to taste
avocado chunks to taste

Saute the onions and garlic over medium heat in the oil in the bottom of your soup pot.  (I love my dutch oven for this.)  Once cooked, toss everything else in into the pot over medium heat and warm until heated through.  Also works well in a crockpot, after you have sauted those aromatics.
Put a handful of crunched up chips in the bottom of bowl and top with warm soup. Add shredded cheese, sour cream, and avocado to taste.

Mexican Corn Bread

Mexican Corn Bread
from Jaimee Rose - with pictures!:

1 pkg Jiffy Corn Mix
1 egg
1/3 c. milk
1/4 c. sour cream
1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated or finely chopped
2 T chopped chives
2 T green chiles, roasted and chopped
kernels from one ear of corn (or 3/4 c. frozen corn)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with papers, or spray pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, assemble all ingredients. Stir together, fill muffin cups half full, and bake 20-25 minutes. Makes about 8 standard-size muffins and 12-14 mini muffins.

Grandpa's Favorite Banana Bread

Grandpa's Favorite Banana Bread

1 1/2 c. sugar                                          2 eggs
3 mashed bananas                                  1 t. soda
1 t. vanilla                                              1/4 t. salt
2 c. flour                                                 1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. sour milk (add 1/2 t. vinegar and let set)
1 c. nuts (optional)

Mix ingredients together.  Pour into greased and floured loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes and then turn down temperature to 325 and bake until done.  Makes 2 loaves.