Cornbread

Doctored Jiffy Cornbread
from https://www.accidentalhappybaker.com/make-boxed-cornbread-mix-better/

• 2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 Tablespoons honey
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 9 x13 pan or a muffin tin with nonstick baking spray. (I usually bake this in my cast iron skillet.)
2. Mix together the cornbread mix, milk, sour cream, honey and eggs. Pour into your prepared pan. Bake for 18- 20 minutes for corn muffins or 25-27 minutes for 9x13 pan. 

Green Spaghetti

Green Spaghetti
from Kellie Dye's Instagram a few weeks ago
It's a weird name but that's what we call it.

1 box spaghetti, cooked to package directions (I like thin or angel hair)
Artichoke hearts, halves and quarters, in marinating oil, from Costco
Chicken chunks (usually leftovers from smoked thighs or rotiss chick)
Genovese basil pesto, from Costco
cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat chicken with one jar of artichokes over low heat in dutch oven.  Add spaghetti noodles.  Add pesto and stir to coat - I usually use about half the jar of pesto.  Add tomatoes and stir again.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Sometimes we top with parmesan cheese.

Goes well with copycat Olive Garden salad and Costco baguettes.

Emma's Favorite Debbie's Macaroni and Cheese

Debbie's Macaroni and Cheese

1 lb elbow noodles (Barilla is my favorite)
18 slices Kraft American cheese
2-3 cups of milk
6 T butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.  Over medium-low heat, add milk and butter to cooked noodles.  Gradually add 18 cheese slices, stirring often, until melted.  Mixture will be runny.  Add salt and pepper to taste - don't forget to season!
Bake in oven-safe dish at 325 for 20 minutes and serve to your favorite toddlers.

Hammy Sammies

Hammy Sammies
  from Becky Higgins

24 rolls (I've used Sister Schubert's parbaked frozen rolls, Hawaiian rolls, and Costco's yeast rolls, and it doesn't matter they are all delicious.)
mayonnaise
12 thick slices deli ham (black forest)  
12 slices Swiss cheese
1/2 c. melted butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Slice rolls in half so they open. Spread mayo on top and bottom of the inside of each roll. Assemble rolls with ½ slice of cheese and ½ slice of ham. Place all of these in a baking pan or stone. Mix together the melted butter, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Brush this mixture all over the tops of the rolls and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until heated through.

This is one of my favorite things to make to take in to families who are sick or have a new baby because leftover sandwiches go well in lunchboxes the next day.  A bag of chips and a few grapes and you're ready to go.  In colder weather, serve with a nice brothy soup (visiting teacher soup, anyone?) as an indulgent roll, or with macaroni and cheese to make the kids happy.  It's also a good way to use up leftovers from an Easter or Christmas ham. (Save the ham hock for Bean and Ham Soup.)

See someone else's post, with photos, here: https://www.kerribradford.com/2011/09/21/ham-swiss-rolls/

Bean and Ham Soup

Bean and Ham Soup
from the delightful Tammy Adams

1 pound navy beans (2 1/2 cups)
5 cups water
1 clove garlic
1 ham hock
1 t salt

Soak beans in water at least 4 hours.  You'll want to add MUCH more water than beans because they expand.  Drain water.
Add garlic, ham hock, beans, and water to crock pot.  Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours of high for 4 hours.  Add salt during the last hour of cooking time.
Remove ham hock from cooker and allow to cool.  Cut ham off hock and stir back into bean mixture.

Note from the original recipe:  "The most important thing of this recipe is you MUST use a ham hock.  I will make a ham for Sunday dinner and then keep the blessed hock to use for this soup!  I will sometimes cook a ham just so that I can have the hock for this soup.  It is really that good.  Be careful for the occasional bone.  For added flavor or color, you can add onion, celery, carrots, or tomatoes."

Tammy brought me this when when I was sick with pneumonia and also had two newborns.  I ate it for days and then got the recipe and made my mom make me another batch.  Now it is one of my cold-weather favorites!

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.

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.

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.

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.

• • 
    

Grandmother's Cookies (secret recipe)

Grandmother's Famous Christmas Cookies
from Elsie Marie Rood Gephart
*Secret Family Recipe*

1 c. soft butter
1/2 c. whipping cream
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar (for dipping)

Mix well butter, cream and flour.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out dough 1/8" thick.
Cut with 1 1/2" cookie cutter.  Dip each side of cookie in granulated sugar, place on cookie sheet (on parchment paper) and prick with fork four times.  Bake 7 to 9 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool and put two cookies together with frosting.

Frosting:
Blend together
1/4 c. soft butter
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
Adjust for consistency.

Visiting Teacher Soup

Visiting Teacher Soup
from my visiting teacher, Jennifer Wright

1 chicken breast
2 quarts water
6 potatoes, peeled and chunked
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, diced
2 c broccoli florets
3 T chicken boullion
2 T butter
black pepper to taste

Boil chicken breast in water about 12 minutes until cooked thoroughly.  Remove chicken from pot, chunk, and set aside.  Add potatoes, carrots, and onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.  Add butter, boullion, salt and pepper, and broccoli, and chunked chicken.  Heat through about 10 minutes.  Serve hot and feel better soon.