Smoky Bean Casserole

2- 15 oz cans kidney beans
2- 15 oz cans butter beans
2- 15 oz cans pork and beans
1 onion
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T. liquid smoke
3 T. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Cook in crock pot 6 hours or in oven at 350* for 1 hour.

Applesauce Bread

Ingredients

         1 cup all-purpose flour

         1 cup whole wheat flour

         1/2 cup sugar

         1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided

         1 teaspoon baking soda

         1/2 teaspoon salt

         1/2 teaspoon baking powder

         1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

         2 egg whites

         1 egg

         1-1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce

         1/4 cup canola oil

         3 tablespoons fat-free milk

         1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Directions

         In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder and nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites, egg, applesauce, oil and milk. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

         Transfer to a 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Combine brown sugar and remaining cinnamon; sprinkle over the top.

         Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf (16 slices).

Nutritional Facts

1 slice equals 139 calories, 4 g fat (trace saturated fat), 13 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein. 

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

Raspberry Lemon Muffins (Sister's Cafe)

1 ½ cups flour

½ cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 egg

½ cup butter, melted

½ cup buttermilk

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

1 tsp. grated lemon peel

Topping: ½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup flour

1 tsp. grated lemon peel

1 tsp. cinnamon

2T. butter, softened

Glaze: ½ cup powdered sugar

1 ½ T. fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine 1 1/2 cup flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a medium bowl.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg, melted butter, and buttermilk.  Stir just until all ingredients are combined.  Gently stir in the raspberries and 1 tsp lemon peel.  Fill 12 paper-lined or greased muffin cups 3/4 full.  Set aside.  Combine, brown sugar, 1/4 flour, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp lemon peel.  Cut in butter with pastry blender or use your fingers until crumbly.  Sprinkle mixture over muffins.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Cool for 20 minutes and glaze with mixture of powdered sugar and lemon juice.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Baking Illustrated, pg 434)

Makes about 18 large cookies

2 cups plus 2 T.  (10 5/8 ounces) flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

12 T. (1 ½ sticks) butter, melted and cooled until warm

1 cup packed (7 ounces) brown sugar

½ cup (3 ½ ounces) sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to

325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

4. Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

5. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 stalk celery, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like celery)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such nice flavor)

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender.  Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes.  Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.  Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.  Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Jamie cooks it up

Time: 30-40 minutes

Yield: 12 muffins

Muffins:

1 1/2 C flour

3/4 C sugar

1/2 t salt

2 t baking powder

1/3 C canola oil (or vegetable)

1 egg

2/3 C milk

1 C fresh or frozen blueberries

Crumb Topping:

1/2 C white sugar

1/3 C flour

1/4 C butter, cubed

1 1/2 t ground cinnamon

1. In a medium sized bowl stir together the dry ingredients. In a small bowl whisk together the wet....then, let the two worlds collide, folks. Stir just until incorporated, don't over mix.

2. Add the blueberries and stir ever so carefully. You don't want that beautiful purple juice spreading all over into your batter.

3. To make the crumb topping choose your self out a small bowl and mix up the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add the cubed, cold butter and smash it all around with a pastry blender or fork.

4. This is what you're looking for, nice crumbly crumbs.

5. Line your muffin tins with liners (or don't, if you don't have any....let's not cry if we don't, okay?) Fill the liners 3/4 of the way full, then sprinkle with the crumb topping.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

Real Mom Kitchen

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2-1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey (I used chicken)
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a large skillet, saute the onion, yellow pepper in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker; stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

Mels Kitchen Cafe

*Makes 10 cups of dry mix

INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable or canola oil

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). If desired, grind the oats in a blender or food processor before adding to the other dry ingredients for a smoother mix. With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I’ve never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don’t break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it’s worth keeping it around!

*1 cup of mix will make about 6-7 4-inch pancakes.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Sister Cafe

2 cups flour (I use at least 1/2 freshly ground white wheat flour)
3 Tb brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground all spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk (I do an overflowing 1/2 cup)
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 Tb canola oil
2 Tb vinegar

In one bowl mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs, oil and vinegar. Combine dry ingredients separately and them stir into pumpkin mixture just until combined. Heat your pan or griddle (lightly butter or oil if it is not seasoned), using about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with apple cider syrup.

Favorite Granola

3 ¼ cups Oats (Old Fashioned or Quick—any combination)
1 ¼ cup white wheat flour-freshly ground if possible
1 1/3 cup shredded coconut
¼ cup flax seed (optional)
1 cup or more coarsely chopped almonds and/or pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/3 cup water
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom

Preheat oven to 300. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, flax seed, coconut and nuts. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, butter, and water and heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbly. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture together until smooth, and then stir in the salt, vanilla and spices. Pour mixture over the oats mixture and stir will to coat. Let stand for about 10 minutes.
Spread mixture on a large baking sheet, separating it into irregular clumps with your fingers, and allowing space between clumps for the hot air to circulate. Slide it into the middle of the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to break up the mixture into medium sized clumps. Return to the oven and bake again for 15 minutes before stirring again. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the granola is uniform golden brown and completely dry—this usually takes me about 45 minutes . Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.

Chocolate Buttercream

Serves: 3 cups

A simple recipe for classic chocolate buttercream frosting. Perfect for frosting cakes, cookies, brownies, or cupcakes.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!)
3 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Instructions
Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer. Sift 3 cups powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the dry ingredients do not blow everywhere) until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

Stir Fry Beef and Broccoli

1 cup or 1 steak lean tender beef sliced into strips
1 T. cornstarch
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 finely chopped clove of garlic
2 T. oil
2 cups broccoli
1 can mushroom pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup beef stock
1/4 cup peanuts
1/2 cup green onions (about 6)

Toss beef in mixture of cornstarch and soy sauce. Stir fry 1/4 tsp. salt and garlic in oil; add beef. Stir fry beef to degree of doneness desired and remove from pan. In same wok, bring broccoli and mushrooms to boil with 1/2 tsp salt, stock, peanuts and green onions. Cover wok, reduce heat and cook 3-5 minutes. Return beef to wok and cook briefly together.

For flavorful variation use celery in place of broccoli.