Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Ham and Cheese Sliders

These were amazing!

Ham and Cheese Sliders 
by The Girl Who Ate Everything

24 good white dinner rolls
24 pieces good honey ham (I used Honeybaked Ham)
24 small slices Swiss cheese (I used cheddar for Jeff's sandwiches) 
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy Seed Sauce

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds (I didn't add this to the sauce, but just sprinkled some on the tops... not everyone in my family likes poppy seeds)
1 1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together. In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. You do not have to use all of the sauce! Just use enough to cover the tops. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes or until tops are slightly brown and crispy. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Holly's Bread Recipe



We have been eating this every day for breakfast and snacks.  It's whole wheat and wonderful!

Holly's Famous Bread Recipe
by Holly Foster

1 1/2 cup Warm Water
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 TBSP & 1 tsp Yeast
1 cup Bread White Flour
4-6 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 cup Warm Unsweetened Applesauce
2 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Oil or 1 cup Grown Flax Seed

Grease two loaf pans. Put yeast, water and brown sugar in mixing bowl. Let stand until bubbly and doubled. Add remaining ingredients. Mix and let rise until doubled in size. Knead down and divide into loaf pans. Let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. **Splenda brown sugar may be substituted, use half of the amount called for.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Chocolate Chip Muffins




Chocolate Chip Muffins
by My Baking Addiction


2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray the wells of the pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the liquid ingredients into the well. Stir until ingredients are just combined - do not over mix the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips. Evenly divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan wells. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove muffins to a wire rack and cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Baked Ziti


This turned out really wonderful!  It had a great flavor and everyone ate it up.

Baked Ziti
by Marci Coombs

1 pound ziti
1 onion
1pound ground beef or sausage - I might use 1/2 and 1/2
2 jars spaghetti sauce
6 oz. sliced provolone cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6-9 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Boil pasta 8-10 minutes. Brown hamburger and onion and then add the spaghetti sauce. Use a 10 x 13 dish and layer as follows: Half the pasta, all the provolone, all of the sour cream, half the sauce mixture, remaining pasta, all of the mozzarella, and the remaining sauce mixture. Top with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes covered with tin foil and then 10-15 more minutes uncovered...until cheese is bubbly.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Baked Potato Skins

I made these for Super Bowl and they turned out great!

Baked Potato Skins
by Taste of Home 

4 large baking potatoes, baked
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
4 green onions, sliced

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (save pulp for another use). Place potatoes skins on a greased baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, paprika and pepper; brush over both sides of skins. Bake at 475° for 7 minutes on each side or until crisp. Sprinkle bacon and cheddar cheese inside skins. Bake 2 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and onions. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Banana Bread - America's Test Kitchen

A friend gave me a large box of bananas to which I... froze 15 for smoothies, dehydrated 30, and made 8 loaves of banana bread!  I used this recipe and it turned out really good.

Banana Bread
by America's Test Kitchen (but found posted here)

Butter a non-stick bread pan, then flour well. (The flour is really important for the bread to “climb” against while baking.)

Combine and mix well the following dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside:
2 cups all purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
½ cup toasted coarsely chopped walnuts
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

In another medium bowl, coarsely smash 3 ripe bananas (use a large spoon or spatula and don’t puree – the banana needs to be chunky) To the bananas, add and combine: (but try not to reduce the banana chunks)

2 large eggs, beaten
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

 Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently FOLD until the flour is thoroughly moistened. Pour into the prepared bread pan and spread the mixture evenly across the top. Bake in a preheated 350-degree (F) oven for 45-50 minutes.

Lemon Garlic Chicken

I made this last night and my son said it was great... he even had it for breakfast today!  Now that's good :)

Lemon Garlic Chicken
by Mels Kitchen Cafe 

juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 TBSP
3 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic,
about 2 medium cloves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb chicken breasts (I usually cut really thick chicken breasts down to thin them out and make the pieces a little smaller so they absorb the marinade better)

Combine all marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and place in fridge overnight. Grill (or cook in frying pan). Serve with sides of your choice or cut into bite sized pieces and add to desired recipe. Note: If you cut your chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces and then marinate it, you can get away with only letting it marinate for 5 or 6 hours instead of overnight.