Hashbrown Casserole

Hash Brown Casserole (like Cracker Barrel's®)
Prep. Time: 0:45
Serves: 8

Olive oil
Parmesan cheese
10.25 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. cheddar cheese – grated ( I like to use the Mexican Cheese blend from Costco)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 sm. onion - minced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp of your favorite herbs-I use dried Herbs de Provence
2 lb. bag unfrozen shredded hash browns

-Spray a 13" X 9" X 2" baking pan with olive oil and sprinkle in some Parmesan Cheese to coat sides and bottom of dish. set aside.
-In a bowl, combine soup, cheese, butter, onion, salt, and pepper, herbs.
-Gently fold the potatoes into the mixture and pour into prepared pan.
-Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until heated through and top is browned.
Cooking time will increase for frozen hash browns and for doubling batches!
Add sausage or bacon bits?  Yum!

Herb Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

Combine:
1 pkg instant yeast (.25 oz.)
8 oz. lowfat milk, warmed to 110 degrees
4 oz. water, warmed to 110 degrees
2-3 cloves of pressed garlic

Separately:
3 cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare pizza pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Add warmed liquids all at once to the dry mixture.
Stir until well mixed, incorporating all the dry ingredients.
Cover the bowl with a clean damp towel and set aside for about 20-25 minutes, allowing the dough to rise.
Empty dough out onto a clean, floured surface. Knead by hand 6-8 times, it may be necessary to add additional flour to the surface to keep dough from sticking.
Roll into desired shape and thickness or use your hands and toss.
Place rolled dough onto prepared pizza pan, add favorite sauce and toppings.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-14 minutes, depending on crust thickness.

We tried this with a pesto base that was also painted onto the crust edge with delicious results.

Base Recipe Taken From: http://www.easypizzacrusts.com/ghpc.html

Tzatziki

Ingredients:
1 Cucumber
2 small Greek Yogurts
4 cloves Garlic
splash Lemon
1 tsp Dill
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:
Peel and seed the cucumber, then grate and drain the cucumber for an hour in a sieve.
Add together all the ingredients and chill for 2 hours for max fusion, or whenever you want for expediency.

Sue's Stuffed Mushrooms

2 pounds fresh mushrooms

1 pound jimmy dean sausage

1 8- ounce package cream cheese

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1-2 cups shredded cheddar/mozzarella cheese

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and save for another dish.

Brown the sausage and drain fat, crumble the sausage into small pieces. I put the drained cooked sausage in the food processor and pulse it a few times to get the pieces uniform.

Combine the sausage with bread crumbs and cheeses and mix well.

Mixture can be seasoned as desired with garlic, onion, or is good without it.

Stuff the mushrooms with the mixture and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

(This is a new recipe I'm beginning to play with-add and remove ingredients as your taste leads you. I've used the usual white button mushrooms and the baby portabellas and both are good. I also change out the flavors of the sausage from Italian to sage to regular or hot, add different spices/herbs, parsley, basil, oregano etc to taste).

Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Potatoes

(I usually double the sauce)

2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp Rosemary leaves
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
6 pieces of chicken (I have used boneless thighs, legs, or thighs)
1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

Mix oil, all of the spices and salt in large bowl. Add chicken and potatoes; toss to coat well. Arrange chicken and potatoes in single layer on baking pan sprayed with non stick cooking spray.

Roast in preheated 425 oven 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, turning potatoes occasionally.

Bill’s Lasagna

Meat Sauce
1 pound Italian Sweet or Mild sausage
2 cups chopped onions
Add another cup of diced veggies as you like such as bell peppers, carrots, etc.
Pasta sauce (Classico or Bertolli's)

Sauté all ingredients until onions are translucent.
Add some commercially made pasta sauce- I like Classico or Bertollis and don’t be afraid to add some red wine or water to thin out the sauce-the pasta needs it to rehydrate and not be crunchy! The longer the sauce cooks, the better the flavors combine.  Give it time to be really fine.

Béchamel Sauce
3 cups milk
Powdered nutmeg/mace
2 bay leaves (optional)
½ cup butter
¾ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Warm the milk in the microwave with the bay leaf and nutmeg mixed in.
In a non-stick pan, melt butter and then mix in flour.
Cook till a nice nutty aroma comes off the mixture and a nice soft brown color is achieved.
Slowly add the heated milk to the flour/butter mix. Stir all the time over medium heat till the béchamel comes together in a nice thick sauce.
Then add the cheese to it. Be careful about letting this sauce sit for a while as it will harden up on you and be difficult to work with.

Assembly
In an oblong baking dish which has been buttered or sprayed with non-stick:
Add some of the meat mixture.
Then a layer of the non-pre cooked Barilla pasta (1 pound box-I have started to use the whole grain pasta).
Then a layer of the béchamel.
Repeat for about three layers.
The last layer should just be pasta and then a layering of the béchamel.
Finish by dotting the top with butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan.

If you are cooking in a glass dish, put the lasagna in the oven on a cookie sheet. Bake according to your pasta’s instructions, usually 350 for about 50 minutes, covered with foil! Take the foil off for the last five to ten minutes of cooking for browning.

Let it sit for about ten minutes and then cut and enjoy!

Rachel's Banana Bread

Beat
1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs

Then add
1/4 cup sour milk 91/2 tsp vinegar and milk)
2 soft bananas
1 Tbsp vanilla

Stir in
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup nuts chopped

I have been adding 1/4 cup sugared ginger lately. Try it! Live on the edge! :)

Bake in a bundt pan at 300 for one hour. Or in two loaf pans at 350 for an hour.

Scottish Scones

Scottish Scones

½ c milk (I’ve used skim with no adverse effects, although it might be best to use one with more fat and body)
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
3 Tbs sugar (I often choose the finely milled raw cane sugar—hippie sugar, as I call it)
Flavorful additions of your choice, to taste (see above for ideas; if you use berries, make sure they are frozen)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Beat together the milk and the egg and then set aside. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture, working until you have no lumps bigger than a pea. Add the sugar and whatever additions you choose, and stir or toss to mix. Pour the wet ingredients into the dries, reserving just a tad of the milk-egg mixture to use as a glaze. Bring dough together gently with a wooden spoon.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it no more than 12 times. [Apparently, twelve is the magic number here; surpass it at your own risk.] Pat dough into a round approximately ½-inch thick, and cut into 8 or 12 wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet or a Silpat, if you have one. Using a pastry brush, glaze wedges.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack.

Salmon Rub

Offered by Jim Coleman

¼ cup brown sugar

3T Spanish smoked paprika

2 t dry thyme

1t salt

½ t pepper

Mix together

Rub-2T of mix with 1/8 cup olive oil stir to paste

Alton Brown Buff Smoothie

This was a part of Alton Brown's diet plan, and he lost 50 lbs!

Ingredients

4 ounces plain, low-fat soy milk
4 ounces acai, grape or pomegranate juice (acai used for nutritional value calculation)
4 ounces frozen banana
4 ounces frozen strawberries
4 ounces frozen blueberries
4 ounces frozen peaches

Directions

Combine the soy milk, juice, banana, strawberries, blueberries, and the peaches in the carafe of a blender. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 8 hours.

In the morning, or when the fruit is partially thawed, put the carafe on the base of the blender, start at the lowest speed and slowly accelerate to medium, until you achieve a vortex. Blend on medium for 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and blend for an additional minute. Serve immediately.
Makes 1 - 24 ounce serving

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

(From Nancy Fleener)

1 ½ cups large elbow macaroni (use whole grain pasta)
3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
½ tsp salt
2 cups shredded cheese* (Set ¾ cups of cheese aside)
3 Tbsp Butter
2 cups milk
Dash of White Pepper

Cook macaroni in boiling water until tender but not too done.

In a separate saucepan and on medium heat, melt butter and blend in flour. Add salt. Slowly stir in milk until mixture is fluid but thick (if you don’t stir, mixture will be lumpy). Add pepper and cheese to sauce. Stir until cheese melts.

Mix macaroni and sauce together and put in 1 ½ quart baking dish. Put the cheese that you set aside on top.

Bake at 350ºF for about 20 minutes or until cheese melted and bubbly on top.

Serves 6-8 people.

* ½ cup sharp cheddar, ½ cup Monterey, and 1 cup medium cheddar

Nancy Note: I use more than 2 cups cheese total and a little heavy on the sharp to give it a bit of a nip.

Baklava

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2008

Cook Time:1 hr 0 min

Serves:about 28 pieces

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 1 (5-inch piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons ground
• 15 to 20 whole allspice berries
• 6 ounces blanched almonds
• 6 ounces raw or roasted walnuts
• 6 ounces raw or roasted pistachio
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon rose water
• 1 pound phyllo dough, thawed
• 8 ounces clarified unsalted butter, melted

For the syrup:

• 1 1/4 cups honey
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 (2-inch) piece fresh orange peel

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the cinnamon stick and whole allspice into a spice grinder and grind. Or just use what you have that is already ground up! J

Place the almonds, walnuts, pistachios, (I use just walnuts (twice as much and no pistachios) sugar and freshly ground spices into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not pasty or powdery, approximately 15 quick pulses. Set aside.

Combine the water and rose water (plain tap water works just as well!) in a small spritz bottle and set aside.

Trim the sheets of phyllo to fit the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch metal pan. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with butter; lay down a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat this step 9 more times for a total of 10 sheets of phyllo. Top with 1/3 of the nut mixture and spread thinly. Spritz thoroughly with the rose water. Layer 6 more sheets of phyllo with butter in between each of them, followed by another third of the nuts and spritz with rose water. Repeat with another 6 sheets of phyllo, butter, remaining nuts, and rose water. Top with 8 sheets of phyllo brushing with butter in between each sheet. Brush the top generously with butter. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cut into 28 squares. Return pan to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2 hours before adding the syrup.

Make the syrup during the last 30 minutes of cooling. Combine the honey, water, sugar, cinnamon stick and orange peel in a 4-quart saucepan and set over high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Once boiling, boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and discard the orange peel and cinnamon stick.

After the baklava has cooled for 2 hours, re-cut the entire pan following the same lines as before. Pour the hot syrup evenly over the top of the baklava, allowing it to run into the cuts and around the edges of the pan. Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely cool. Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to overnight before serving. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days (Ha! It never lasts that long).

Chili Egg Puffs

Here is the recipe which I have stolen from Barbara Hartman over the years!

She swears by Ro-tel chilis but I have used others that have turned out just as well! Of course you will have to at least double this for it work in the big warming pan!

10 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 pint cottage cheese
1 pound shredded cheddar cheese (I use the Mexican shredded kind :)
1/2 cup butter-melted
2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chilis

In a bowl of an electric mixer beat eggs until light and lemon colored. Add Flour, baking powder, salt, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, and melted butter. Blend till smooth.

Pour mixture into a buttered pan (9 X 13).

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until brown. Feeds six people!

Alton Brown's Buff Smoothie

Ingredients

• 4 ounces plain, low-fat soy milk
• 4 ounces acai, grape, or pomegranate juice
• 4 ounces frozen banana
• 4 ounces frozen strawberries
• 4 ounces frozen blueberries
• 4 ounces frozen peaches

Directions

Combine the soy milk, juice, banana, strawberries, blueberries, and the peaches in the carafe of a blender. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 8 hours.

In the morning, or when the fruit is partially thawed, put the carafe on the base of the blender, start at the lowest speed and slowly accelerate to medium, until you achieve a vortex. Blend on medium for 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and blend for an additional minute. Serve immediately.

Orange-Buttermilk Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 18 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk

1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

1/3 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

2. To make the cupcakes, in a medium bowl whisk together both flours, the baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In another medium bowl, combine the granulated sugar, buttermilk, orange juice concentrate, oil and eggs. Whisk thoroughly until the orange juice concentrate is dissolved.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold just until blended. Divide the batter among the 18 cups (each cupcake should be about half full). Bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes.

5. Cool the pans on a rack until the cupcakes are cool enough to handle. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool completely on a rack before frosting, about 40 minutes.

6. To make the frosting, in a medium bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and orange juice concentrate. Use an electric mixer to beat until smooth and creamy.

Beth Scull's Cornbread

Ingredients:
2 c Cornmeal (yellow)
2 c Plain flour
2 c Buttermilk (I use buttermilk powder)
4 eggs
8T vegetable oil
4t baking powder
1 t soda
1 t salt
10 T sugar

Combine all dry ingredients. Combine buttermilk, eggs, and oil. Stire together dry and liquid ingredients only until combined.

Pour into 13 x 9 pan. Let it rest for 10 min before baking.

Bake in 350 oven. Bake about 35 min.