Classic Baked Corn Pudding

by penji1
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Classic Baked Corn Pudding

Here’s the other new recipe I tried for Thanksgiving dinner.  Zach loves corn so I thought I’d mix it up a bit.  This tasted good but I didn’t care for the texture, other people liked it though so if you don’t have texture issues then you might like it too.  It was really “eggy” so next year I might try one that is more “bready”.  🙂

1/2 cup butter

1 small chopped onion

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 cups milk

6 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups (8 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese

2 cans corn, drained

3/4 cup bread crumbs

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1  Heat oven to 350.  Spray 9 x 13″ or 3 quart pan with cooking spray.

2  In large pot, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat.  Add onion and cook 3 – 4 minutes until tender.  Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended then stir in milk.  Cook 4 – 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.  Gradually stir in eggs and cheese then stir in corn.  Pour into prepared dish.

3  In small bowl, mix breadcrumbs and butter then sprinkle over corn mixture.

4  Bake uncovered 55 – 65 minutes or until mixture is set and knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Let stand 5 – 10 minutes before serving.

recipe from Betty Crocker

Whipped Cranberry Fluff

by penji1
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Whipped Cranberry Fluff

We had Thanksgiving dinner yesterday since we are in married kid mode and now have to trade off holidays.  This might be my new favorite recipe for Thanksgiving.  We have staples that I always make and then I always try a few new ones, at some point I’ll have the perfect Thanksgiving dinner menu!

1 (12 oz) package cranberries, fresh or frozen

1 cup sugar

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup red grapes, cut in half

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup apples, cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups mini marshmallows

8 oz Cool Whip, thawed

1  Chop cranberries in food processor or blender.  In a bowl, mix cranberries and sugar together then refrigerate for at least 2 – 3 hours.

2  After refrigeration, stir in pineapple, grapes, pecans and apples then fold in marshmallows and Cool Whip.

recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff

Italian Vegetable Soup with White Beans

by penji1
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Italian Vegetable Soup with White Beans

Sometimes I just start tossing things into the crock pot and hope for the best and sometimes that is what I get like this soup, which turned out perfectly!  Lots of veggies and deliciousness!

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 cup green beans, cut in half

1/4 head of green cabbage, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 zucchini, cut lengthwise and sliced

1 yellow squash, cut lengthwise and sliced

1 can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can corn, undrained

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

3 cans chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegan)

1 3/4 cups tomato sauce (I used my homemade sauce from the garden, so yummy!)

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1/2 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low 8 – 9 hours.

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Fudgy Brownies

by penji1
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Fudgy Brownies

Sometimes you just need a really good brownie, am I right?  Courtney and Jaren came over for dinner on Sunday and if there aren’t treats then Cort complains so I put these together for her and they are delicious!

brownies:

8 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup nuts

pinch of salt

frosting:

1 pound powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons cocoa

1/4 cup hot water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1  To make the brownies, grease 9 x 13″ pan and preheat oven to 325.

2  Stir cocoa into melted butter.  Mix sugar and eggs in another bowl.  Stir in butter/cocoa mixture.  Add vanilla, flour, nuts and salt.  Spread in pan and bake 25 – 30 minutes or until cooked through.

3  To make the frosting, mix all frosting ingredients together and spread over hot brownies.

recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff

One Hour Dinner Rolls

by penji1
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One Hour Dinner Rolls

These are amazing!  And they really do take just one hour!  Courtney and Jaren came over for dinner last night so I decided to give these a try.  I think they will become a regular menu item now.

4 – 4 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup cool water

2/3 cup milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces, plus more for tops of rolls

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1  Preheat oven to 180.  In mixer bowl, whisk together 4 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt.

2  In a medium bowl, add water, milk and butter and microwave on high until it reaches 115 degrees on a thermometer, about 1 minute 15 seconds.  Stir to partially melt butter.

3  Pour milk mixture and lemon juice into flour mixture.  Using bread hook, set mixer on low and gradually increase to medium low, kneading about 3 – 4 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as necessary, dough should be slightly sticky but manageable.

4  Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rest 5 minutes.  Butter a 9 x 13″ baking dish.

5  Drop dough onto lightly floured surface and shape into a 9 x 9″ square.  Cut dough into 16 equal portions.  Shape dough into 16 balls and place into prepared baking dish.

6  Brush tops of rolls lightly with water.  Place in oven, turn oven off and allow to rise for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and preheat oven to 375.

7  Place rolls back in oven and bake 14 – 16 minutes until tops are golden brown.  Remove from oven and run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls.

recipe from Cooking Classy

Earthquake Cake

by penji1
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Earthquake Cake

My hubby had surgery on his heart on Wednesday and had to spend the night in the hospital so when he came home yesterday I knew we all needed a chocolate treat to celebrate the success of his surgery and I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a long time.  It is awesome!

2/3 cup shredded coconut

2/3 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 German Chocolate cake mix

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs

1 1/3 cups water

1/2 cup butter

8 oz cream cheese

1 pound powdered sugar (about 3 3/4 cups)

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly spray 9 x 13″ pan with cooking spray.

2  Sprinkle coconut, chocolate chips and pecans in bottom of pan.

3  Beat cake mix, oil, eggs and water on low until well combined the pour over coconut, chips and nuts in pan.

4  Melt butter and cream cheese then with mixer on low beat powdered sugar into butter/cream cheese mixture until smooth.  Pour this mixture over cake batter in pan then swirl into cake batter with knife.

5  Bake 35 – 45 minutes or until cake does not wobble in pan when shaken.  Toothpick test won’t work because cake is meant to be gooey.

(I took some leftover homemade chocolate frosting, melted it in the microwave and then drizzled it over the cake but honestly it doesn’t need frosting if you don’t want it.)

recipe comes from The First Year

Ski Soup with Sausage

by penji1
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Ski Soup with Sausage

So I think this is week 4 for the weekly pot of soup goal, so far so good.  It snowed at the beginning of the week so this soup was just the ticket for the cold weather.

drizzle of olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 medium or 2 small zucchini, sliced

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 (14 oz) Hillshire Farms turkey sausage

4 (14.5 0z each) cans chicken broth

1 (14 0z) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (14 oz) can cut green beans, undrained

1 (14 oz) can sweet yellow corn, undrained

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

8 oz elbow macaroni

1  Drizzle large stock pot with olive oil then add onion, carrots and celery and cook over medium low heat until starting to soften, about 5 – 8 minutes.  Add zucchini, garlic and sausage and cook 2 – 3 more minutes.

2  Add chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, corn, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

3  Add vinegar and macaroni and cook for 10 more minutes or until pasta is cooked through.

recipe from “mountain mama cooks”

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Hash Brown Egg Bake

by penji1
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Hash Brown Egg Bake

Just trying out some breakfast casserole recipes for the neighborhood Breakfast with Santa which I’m helping out with again this year.  This was pretty yummy and easy to make, really  potatoey as opposed to eggy.

1 (30 oz) package frozen cubed hash browns, thawed

1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon salt

8 eggs

2 cups milk

1  Combine hash browns, bacon, 1/2 cup cheese and salt in large bowl.  Spread into greased 9 x 13″ pan.  Whisk eggs with milk and pour over hash brown mixture.

2  Bake, uncovered, at 350, for 45 – 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

recipe from Taste of Home

Toffee and Almond Fudge Cookie Cups

by penji1

Toffee and Almond Fudge Cookie Cups

Made these little beauties for my friend Terra’s baby shower this weekend; they were scrumptious and so cute too!  The recipe comes from Pillsbury; they weren’t that hard to make either.

1 package sugar cookie mix of your choice (I used Krusteaz), plus ingredients to make cookies

1/4 cup milk chocolate toffee bits

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup almond butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip

1  Heat oven to 350.  Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray with flour.

2  Prepare cookie mix as directed on package.  Scoop into 1 teaspoon size balls and place 1 in each well of pan.  Bake 13 – 18 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove from oven and, using a tart shaper, immediately press cookies into cups.  Let sit in pan for 15 minutes then carefully remove from pans and let cool completely.

3  In small saucepan, heat milk and almond butter over medium heat for 5 – 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to bubble.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Cool 2 minutes.  Sprinkle a little of the toffee into each cookie cup then top with a teaspoon of the almond mixture.

4  Using pastry bag and star tip, top each cup with a dollop of Cool Whip then garnish as desired with sliced almonds and the remaining toffee bits.

Italian White Bean, Cabbage and Sausage Soup

by penji1

Italian White Bean, Cabbage and Sausage Soup

I told Bob that I’m going to try and make a pot of soup at the beginning of each week as I love having a bowl of homemade soup for lunch every day.  We’ll see how long it lasts!  This recipe comes from “Barefeet in the Kitchen” and was delicious and easy and quick, my three favorite things in a recipe!

drizzle of olive oil

1 (14 oz) Hillshire Farms turkey sausage, cut into bite sized pieces

1 onion, chopped

1/2 head of cabbage, cut into bite sized pieces (about 4 cups)

1 (14 oz) can undrained diced tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

6 – 8 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Drizzle olive oil into a large pot over medium high heat.  Add sausage and onion and cook until onion starts to soften.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer until cabbage starts to soften.