French Souffled Potatoes

Here you go Steph!
Baked Potatoes ( I am used to doing 6, but ????) Grease the skins and bake without foil
  When the potatoes are done, cut out an nice oval shape on top...you know what I mean. Carefully scoop out the innards and put in a bowl. (I like to whip them a little) then add:
1 cube butter
3/4 to 1 c. sour cream (Sometimes if I am feeling naughty... one small carton.)
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste.
  Whip until creamy. Lightly pile into the skins. Cover with grated cheese.
Adjust your ingredients to the amount of potatoes you baked.
  Return to oven (375*) until the cheese is melty. About 10 - 15 miutes.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

I can't remember where I found this recipe, but I tried it and shared it with my work friends.  They are asking for the recipe. Steve wants to make it soon.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
  I whisk this together and add:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk.
Slowly stir in 1/2 melted butter.
Put in a greased 9X13 pan.
  Make TOPPING
1 c butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 TB. flour
1 TB. cinnamon
   Mix well and drop evenly on the cake batter. Take a knife and swirl each dollop.
Bake 350* for 28- 32 minute ( I actually baked it about 5 minutes more)
 Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 TB milk
1 tsp. vanilla
   Stir together and pour over warm cake. This is supposed to be better warm, but was great cold. I tasted it. I have been doing speed walking laps in the hall to hopefully counteract that bit of imbibing I did.  (I have lost 6 pounds this week!)

Cinnamon Belgium Waffles

We had these for dinner the other night. Yummmmy! Especially good with Buttermilk syrup and whip cream PS. I couldn't see how much cinnamon to add...it was way more than a pinch. We will definitely be having these again!

Cinnamon Belgium Waffles


2 egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. buttermilk

¼ c butter, melted

1 c flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ TB white sugar

¼ tsp salt

2 egg whites

1 pinch ground cinnamon

Preheat your waffle iron. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and butter until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and cinnamon; stir into the buttermilk mixture. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff. Fold into the batter. Spoon batter onto the hot waffle iron, close, and cook until golden brown. Waffles are usually done when the steam subsides.

Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Icing

I can't remember from which site I took this...but they were good. I am being very strict with myself right now. Yes, I need encouragement. I think I will feed my addictions by blogging good recipes instead of eating them!



• 3/4 cup butter, softened

• 2-1/2 cups sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

• 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 cup buttermilk

• FROSTING:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin. Combine the flour, pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and ginger; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. For frosting, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 2 dozen.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

For Morgan

2 TB cornstarch
1.2 c brown sugar
1 can pineapple tidbits
1/3 . vinegar
1/3 c (? I don't measure!) green pepper
   Mix cornstarch and brown sugar, juice form pineapple (I sometimes add a small can of juice extra)  and viegar until smooth. Cook and stir until thikcened. Add pineapple and green pepper. (Note: I like to add the green pepper early to cook it a little more. I don't like it crunchy)

Acorn Squash Bake

Another favorite recipe that was acquired from Recipe Club. Thank you Darlene. We love this.

2 Acorn Squash
20 Ritz type crackers, crushed
1/2 c chopped pecans (I love these, but sometimes omit them for Hayden's sake)
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I sometimes make my own mix from ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves)
   Cut and clean squash well. Combine remaining ingredients.  Divide between squash halves. Bake 350* 1 hour in pan with 1 inch of water in it.

Peach Quake Pie

I invented this pie from cross breeding from several favorite recipes. So far the comments have been. "It's good." " It's not just good" And "Come back in about 2 minutes with another piece for me"
Morgan named it so honors to her.
1 graham cracker crust
1 8 oz. pgk. cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 -2 c fresh chunkes peaches sweetened slightly ( I used about 2 tsp sugar)
1 c. cold water
1 pgk instant cheesecake pudding
About 2 c. Cool Whip

      Get the peaches sweetened. Beat cream cheese until soft. Slowly add water and milk (I think it might have been better with 1/2 c of milk and this could have been firmer, but it filled two crusts).  Add the pudding and beat until mixed. Fold in peaches and whipped topping. I tried a bite....not for a diet at all! We are loving the peaches this year. Thank you to our good neighbors the Barkers for sharing. I also tried new recipes for peach cake and two peach salsa.


Peach Cake (from pickourown.org)
7 or 8 peaches peeled and sliced
1/2 c sugar or Splenda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 pint sour cream can be from fat free to regular
1egg slightly beaten
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
3/4 cube margarine

   Mix cake mix with butter using a pastry blender. Press in the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Bake 350* for 10 minutes. Cover with sliced peaches. Sprinkle with mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Mix sour cream with egg adn drizzle over the top of the peaches. It will not cover them completely. Bake 350* for 45 minutes. This was good also. More like an upside down cobbler than cake however.

Drying Herbs

I love drying my own herbs. Every summer, I get a cute little smile in my heart as I look at the hanging greenery. This year, I am also drying Lavender and Yarrow. It looks and smells great. There are many bunches of Thyme, our personal family favorite. We look forward to the great soups, stews and roast beef dishes. These pictures don't show how neat it is. the herbs that are hanging around right now: Thyme, Sage, Oregano, Basil, Stevia and Lavender. Of course there are different varieties of each.

Fruit Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

I found this recipe in  a library book many years ago. I remembered it and sadly couldn't find my original hand written copy, but gotta love the internet...I googled the official name of the recipe and found it! It's really named Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, but I have tried different jams...it works great!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

2 ¼ c. flour

¾ c. sugar

¾ c. cold butter

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

¾ c. sour cream

1 egg beaten

1 ½. tsp. almond extract

FILLING

1 8 oz cream cheese

½ c. sugar

1 egg

½ c. raspberry jam Here I have tried Strawberry and Peach
cherry. They were gobbled up the same as Raspberry jam.

½ c. almonds

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Remove 1 cup and set aside. To the remaining crumbs, add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the sour cream, egg and almond extract; mix well. Spread in the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. spring form pan. For the filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and egg in a small bowl until blended. Pour over batter; spoon raspberry jam on top. Sprinkle with almonds and reserved crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; remove sides from pan.

Recently served at Grandma's Brunch

Yummy Vanilla Granola

I sure hope this is healthy eating, I love it! I am trying different recipes. All of them yummy but this is the best.
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray


• 4 cups old-fashioned oats

• 1 cup sliced almonds

• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 1/4 cup honey

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 300°F. Lightly spray large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Mix next 5 ingredients in large bowl. Combine oil, honey, and sugar in small saucepan; bring to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. (I forget to add tha vanilla !!!. I stir it in, but stirring it in after seemed to work.) Pour hot liquid over oat mixture; stir well. Using hands, toss mixture until thoroughly mixed.
 I like adding more stuff to things- craisins, different nuts, coconut etc. This was great just like this! 


Spread granola on prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Transfer sheet to rack; cool granola completely. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

Vegetable Juice Cocktail

So I must be really worried about losing this recipe, because I am adding it now. (It's 2:00
AM, but I am not feeling well and my face hurts) See the previous post to figure out what I am doing.
2/3 bushel tomatoes
6 medium onions
2 stalks celery
2 large green peppers
20 sprigs parsley (not bunches...I go really light on this)
5 bay leaves
1/2 c. Salt
1 c. Sugar
1 tsp. Black Pepper
Wash and chop vegetables. Place all ingredients in a large kettle and cook until veggies are tender. Juice (Foley Food Mill) Process 15 minutes. 12 Qts. I don't remember which library book I found this in years ago. I usually add some lemon juice to each quart for safety precautions. This makes a fabulous soup base. We have added sausage, pasta, frozen meatballs and tortellini or ravioli for a great dinner. Go ahead and comment about my strange sleep habits tonight. I keep working on the new QR codes for the library when I fall asleep so I guess I will dream during work tomorrow.Haha.

It's Uncanny

I am getting this strange urge to return to home preserved foods. We have been enjoying the 'fruits' of our labors this past winter. I am setting higher goals for the coming year.
Some of the foods I plan to 'put up' include:
more tomatoes
more marinara
much more salsa
vegetable soup
vegetable juice
mushrooms
freezer tomato sauce
peaches
pears
grape juice
frozen corn
pumpkin chunks and frozen pureed pumpkin
....the list goes on from there.
I have discovered some great recipes. I am fearful of losing them and therefore am putting them on this blog as a back up to the myriad of folders with yellowed worn loose papers that I cherish.
In fact, I was grateful to have relocated this Freezer tomato sauce recipe that we enjoyed this past winter. Please note that it isn't really 'saucy' but when I added this instead of the store bought canned variety, it was delicious.
I found it in the little magazine insert in the Clipper last fall.
I will give it as it was in the paper with side notes of what I actually did in italics.(As usual)
Theresa's Freezer Tomato Sauce

16 large ripe but firm heirloom tomatoes. I used our good old Better Boys from the garden
1/2 c torn fresh basil leaves (From the garden again)
6-8 cloves garlic thickly sliced
2 TB white balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 TB sea salt
Ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350*. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut an X in the bottom of each tomato and place on the parchment X side up. Bake 20 to 30 minutes until the skin starts to pull away at the X. Remove from oven and let tomatoes cool. When cool enough to handle peel skin away from meat using a sharp knife. Work over a large non reactive bowl to catch juices. Coarsely chop tomatoes in bowl with knife, scissors or tear with hands. Add basil,garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper. Put into freezer containers. Freeze for up to 6 months. I used BALL plastic cup things. They worked great. They suggest glass bottles or bags also. I used a cup of this last week and it was still good. It has been slightly over 6 months.....I will still use it for the next little while. This makes about 12 cups depending on the size of the tomatoes.
The following recipe comes for a good friend L. R.
Thanks L! It is great. We have used it for spaghetti sauce, lasagna sauce and pizza sauce. It is also great to dip bread in!

Marinara Sauce
I am recording it the way she makes it.
50 c. blended tomatoes (1 bushel) She also gave me a smaller version, but we will need this much of the recipe!
1 #10 (11oz) can tomato paste
3 c. dried onions
15 Bay leaves
1 1/2 TB garlic powder
1 C Oregano leaves
2 TB. Fennel
1 c.Basil leaves
3/4 c. Salt
1 1/2 T. Pepper
1 1/2 c. Oil
1 c. Sugar
Simmer until it reduces to desired thickness. Add 1/2 tsp. lemon juice to each pint or 1 tsp. per quart. Process 35 minutes.
I hope to add my vegetable juice in a near future post.
Hurray for self sufficiency.

Crasie Cookies

Yummy oatmeal cookies with chunks of white chocolate and craisins. Wow!
1 c. shortening
1 c. white sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 TB milk
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 C. oatmeal
1 pkg. dried cranberries
Chunked up almond bark or white chocolate chips (Hey, I don't measure...about half a pkg of almond bark)
Cream shortening and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla and milk. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients. Add and mix well. Add oatmeal. (of course it isn't one of the dry ingredients!)
Stir in the goodies and bake at 350* for 10 Minutes. I make the chocolate chunks by chopping up the almond bark. I then add all the shavings. Tiny pieces and especially the larger chunks...a little biggger than a large chocolate chip. These are great in large form. (Instead of the cookie scoop we use a small ice cream scoop.)

Philly Cheese Steak Casserole

Carter and I made this for dinner. It was very good and healthy! Around 260 calories per serving.
1 pkg. wide egg noodles- cook and drain.
Steak cut into strips (We just cut a roast into strips.)
1 large onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped.
Brown steak sprinkled with black pepper for about 4 minutes. (No fat. We sprayed the fry pan.) Add onion and green pepper (it could actually be any color sweet pepper.)
Put into a 'sprayed' pan.
Combine 1 can beef broth (I used boullion) and 1/4 c. flour in a bowl. Whisk together well. Heat in fry pan until thickened. Stir in 3/4 c. fat free half and half.
Add noodles with meat and pour sauce over all. Stir to mix. (I also added fresh sliced mushrooms to this- Yummy! I would slightly saute' them next time.)
Bake 350* for 40 minutes. Covered.
Uncover and sprinkle with low fat mozzerella cheese. Bake uncovered 10 minutes more.
I actually made a little more sauce than they called for because I was using more meat and used a bigger pan to feed the family. We found it needed a little salt at serving time. Kenny poured Ranch dressing on his and loved it.