Buffalo Chicken Dip

Here's another recipe I found in the coupon section of my Sunday paper. This one I managed to cut out! I mixed it up today, ready to pop in the oven and enjoy this weekend.

Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing
• 1/2 cup any flavor FRANK'S® REDHOT® Sauce
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cans (9.75 oz. each) SWANSON® White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained

Directions:

1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.
2. MIX in salad dressing, Frank's RedHot Sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken.
3. BAKE 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

I mixed everything in a mixing bowl and then put it into the baking dish. Also, I used a pint of chicken that my mom canned and gave me.

For additional tips and variations or to print it, view the original Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe.

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Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I found this recipe in the coupon section of the Sunday paper. It really looks good! And then today, I'm cutting out coupons only to turn the page and find that I cut right through the recipe. Why do they have to put recipes on the back of coupons? (or is that coupons on the back of recipes?)

I thought maybe I could visit the website and find the recipe, but no such luck - so I had to piece it back together and type it up myself. These sound so good I'm sure it was worth it, though.

Gooey Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Crust:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup butter

Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, and corn starch in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press into a greased 13x9-inch pan.
2. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned.
3. Beat eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in coconut and chocolate chips. Pour over crust. Return to oven.
4. Bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until mixture is golden. Cool on wire rack and cut into bars.

Makes 24 bars

Here's the list of dessert and baked goods recipes I did find on the website. Some of them look pretty good, too.

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Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Image by Another Pint Please... via Flickr

I found this recipe once a long time ago. I made the cake. It was wonderful. Then I lost the recipe I knew I had a recipe for this hot, gooey, chocolaty dessert, but I could not find it. After lots of looking, I found it! Now, I plan to keep this recipe somewhere safe and accessible.

This cake is quick, easy, and absolutely yummy. And since I didn't make anything for dessert this weekend, I think I'll make one of these!

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 T. cocoa
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 T. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1-3/4 cups very hot water

• Ice Cream

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°. Mix flour, granulated sugar, 2 T. cocoa, baking powder, and salt in ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Mix in milk, oil and vanilla with fork until smooth. Stir in nuts.
   
2. Spread evenly in pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Pour very hot water over batter.
3. Bake 40 minutes. Spoon warm cake into dessert dishes and top with ice cream. Spoon sauce from pan onto each serving.

Microwave Directions
Follow above directions, making sure to mix everything in a microwave-safe baking dish. Microwave uncovered on medium (50%) 9 minutes; rotate dish 1/4 turn. Microwave uncovered on high 5 to 7 minutes longer or until top is almost dry.

Enjoy!

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Free 2010 Calendar

Image via Wikipedia

Pillsbury is offering a Free 2010 Calendar to new email subscribers to their Pillsbury or Cooking 4 Two newsletters. I've been subscribed to the Pillsbury newsletter for a while but hadn't tried the Cooking 4 Two newsletter, so I was eligible for my free calendar. Just put your email address into the box at the top and click the 'Check Member Status' button to see if you're eligible.

It's hard to believe, but I think the Cooking 4 Two newsletter is going to come in really handy. It promises delicious recipes just for two, tips for scaling down your favorite recipes, and much more! I pretty much cook for 3 of us nowadays, but since one of us is a teenage boy, it's like cooking for more! But, once he goes away to college or moves out, which won't really be that long now, I am going to need to rethink my cooking practices - because there will only be the two of us.

While I was on the site signing up for my calendar, I logged in and grabbed a few recipes and saved them to my 'Recipe Box' because signing up for one of the newsletters also gives you full access to the Pillsbury.com website where you can find and save all kinds of yummy-looking recipes. I am definitely going to have to try these Cranberry Orange-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls. Don't they look yummy?

German Chocolate Pie

This is Jeffrey's favorite pie. I got the recipe from his mom. He says I don't make it often enough, but I figure it's more special if he doesn't get it all the time, right?

German Chocolate Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (4 oz.) Baker's German sweet chocolate
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1-2/3 c. (14 1/2 oz. can) evaporated milk
• 1-1/2 c. sugar
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1-1/3 c. angel flake coconut
• 1/2 c. chopped pecans
• 1 unbaked pie shell, fluted high

Directions:

1. Melt German chocolate and butter in saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in evaporated milk.
2. In bowl, mix with electric mixer: sugar, cornstarch, salt, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually blend in chocolate mixture.
3. Pour into unbaked pie shell and top with mixture of coconut and pecans.
4. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes, then cover with foil to stop browning and bake another 15 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and cool at least 4 hours before cutting or refrigerating.
6. Enjoy!

and I'm not giving away Mom's secret recipe, because I found (almost) the same recipe online at Cooks.com. You'll want to cut this pie into fairly small pieces because it is so rich.

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Thai Kitchen Giveaway

I really want to try this Red Curry Chicken with Vegetables (Doesn't it look amazing?) so I'm hoping I win the giveaway at The Art of Random Willy-Nillyness.

5 winners will get Thai Kitchen Cooking kits that will include: 2 jars of red curry paste, 2 jars of green curry paste, 1 jar of roasted red chili paste, 1 bottle of fish sauce, a cookbook and a coupon for a free Thai Kitchen product of their choice.

I've seen these products in the grocery store, but haven't yet tried them, so winning would give me a chance to try them and see if we like them.

Entries must be received by Tuesday, December 8 at 11:59 pm EST.

Free Cookbook

Get a free Martha Stewart Thanksgiving cookbook from Sirius. It features over 30 recipes from Martha Stewart and other famous chefs such as Emeril Lagasse, Nigella Lawson, and Mario Batali. The recipes cover all courses of the Thanksgiving meal, from savory turkey to fresh salads and creamy mashed potatoes to sweet desserts. I've looked through the table of contents and found a few recipes that sound really good.

The cookbook is in pdf format, so you can download and save it, or print it for yourself.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

This recipe was on the back of my Pillsbury Whole Wheat flour. It sounded so good I had to try it, and the muffins taste just as good as I thought they would.

Apple Cinnamon Whole Wheat Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 T. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups peeled, shredded apples (3 medium)
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:

1. In large bowl, combine beaten eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla; add milk; Stir in apples, carrots, raisins, and coconut.
2. Combine dry ingredients and add, stirring just until moistened; add nuts.
3. Fill paper-lined or greased muffin cups 3/4 full.
   
4. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool.
5. Makes 12 muffins

I may have to try these without the raisins if I want anyone else in my family to eat these. For some reason, they don't like raisins. Of course, if I leave the raisins in, that means more for me! These are great for breakfast, with coffee or just to snack on.

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Overnight CoffeeCake

I love this because I can mix it up the night before and the next morning all I have to do is pop it in the oven for fresh, hot coffeecake.

Overnight CoffeeCake

Cake: 2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 2/3 cup margarine 1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk

Topping: 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:

1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
2. Cream margarine and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Stir in buttermilk and then add dry ingredients.
3. Spread batter into greased and floured 9"x13" pan.
4. Mix all ingredients for topping and sprinkle over batter. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours.
5. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes.

Sometimes I add coconut to the topping. When my kids were little, I poured the batter into 2 round cake pans instead of the 9"x13" pan. I baked baked both coffeecakes the next morning, one to eat and one to freeze. The coffeecake fit nicely into a gallon-size Ziploc bag.

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Take Your Bananas with You

Image by Harry‧黃基峰‧Taiwan via Flickr

I saw this recently in the food section of my Sunday paper, and I thought it was really neat. It's called the Banana Saver, and it's made to keep your banana from bruising when you pack it in your lunch. How cool is that? And why didn't someone think of this sooner?

They're designed to fit most bananas and even have a hole for the stem. Imagine - completely portable bananas without all the brown spots. I just might have to get some of these to try.

Mountain Cake

My cousin just posted pictures of some old family recipe cards, and this cake was one of them.

Like my mom said, it's a super familiar recipe...very much a part of her childhood - and mine.

Strawberries and Mountain Cake
Originally uploaded by bcmom.

I've heard of strawberries and shortcake, but I don't think I've ever had that. In our house it was always strawberries and mountain cake. We always had a large strawberry patch so we had plenty of strawberries, both to eat and to freeze for later use. I remember plenty of times we had strawberries and mountain cake for dinner! I always made this in a 13x9 pan, so the first time I made this after I got married, I didn't realize this recipe is only for a square cake pan. Of course, since we don't have our own strawberry patch, a square cake is plenty.

Mountain Cake

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

With electric mixer, cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Mix in milk. Combine dry ingredients, add to previous ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased square cake pan and bake 35-40 minutes at 350° or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with strawberries and whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Now I'm wishing it was strawberry season.

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Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

I made this one other time, and I was going to make it for dinner tonight. Then I remembered that Cory had play practice from 5-7, and Jeffrey wouldn't be home until later, and I decided to go with something simple like opening a can of Campbell's Chunky soup to go with the sourdough bread I made today. Now I'm think either we'll have this for dinner tomorrow night when we can all sit down together, or I will try the Indian inspired version with the rice and take it for the potluck on Sabbath.

Campbell's® Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a 16 ounce package linguine
• 1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or 25% Less Sodium)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions:

• Prepare the linguine according to the package directions in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the broccoli during the last 4 minutes of the cooking time. Drain the linguine and broccoli well in a colander.
• Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned, stirring often.
• Stir the soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture into the skillet. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

---

Grilled Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo: Substitute grilled chicken breasts for the skinless, boneless chicken.

Indian-Inspired Tip: Omit the Parmesan cheese. Substitute 1 cup uncooked basmati rice for the linguine. Prepare as directed above. Stir 1 teaspoon curry powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin into the skillet in Step 3. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds, if desired.

Asian-Inspired Tip: Omit the Parmesan cheese. Substitute 1 package (6 ounces) rice noodles for the linguine. Prepare as directed above. Stir 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 cloves garlic, minced and 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root in to the skillet with the chicken in Step 2.

When heating leftovers in the microwave, add a little milk to get the creaminess back.

Find this recipe as well as many more at the Campbell's kitchen website.

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Pepper Steak

I started looking for a recipe for Pepper Steak last week - because I had steak, and I had peppers, and it sounded good. Would you believe how many recipes there are for Pepper Steak? And I only looked at Cooks.com because I grabbed a couple recipes from there a while back. I looked at the recipes I wanted to try before, but neither one of them sounded right - and I neglected to make any notes about which one I tried and how we liked it. So I just started looking again, found one and adapted it.
 

Pepper Steak

• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 c. salad oil
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 lb. steak, cut into strips
• 1 green pepper, cut into 1" cubes
• 1 lg. onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 c. diced celery
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• cooked noodles (about 5 handfuls)

Mix soy sauce, garlic, salt, pepper,oregano and salad oil together and pour on steak strips. Let set for 1 hour. Pour into frying pan. Allow meat to brown thoroughly on all sides. Add peppers, onions and celery. Cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes over medium low heat or until vegetables are tender. Stir in cornstarch dissolved in water. Stir until thickened. Add tomatoes; cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes or until meat is tender. Add cooked, drained noodles and mix well. Cover and cook for a couple more minutes to heat through and blend flavors.

The original recipe said round steak. I'm not sure what kind of steak I used - just whatever was in the freezer. It turned out really good.

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Chocolate Coconut Bars

I cut this recipe off my brown sugar package. It's been sitting on top of my canisters for a couple weeks just waiting for me. Today I finally made these bars - haven't tried them yet, but they smell wonderful!

Chocolate Coconut Bars

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick), softened
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces (6 oz.)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 cup coconut, flaked

Instructions:

1. Grease 13x9x2-inch-baking dish.
2. In large bowl using a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingers, combine first four ingredients until crumbly. Pat into baking dish. Bake 10 minutes at 375°F.
3. Sprinkle chocolate pieces over hot crust; return to oven about 1 minute to soften. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.
4. In medium bowl, beat eggs until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and beat into sugar mixture. Stir in coconut. Spread evenly over chocolate layer.
5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan and cut into bars.

Makes 2 dozen

This recipe was copied from the C&H website, slightly edited. There are lots more great-sounding recipes to choose from, too. It looks like I don't have to save the recipes from my sugar bags any more, just visit the web page and look them up.

ETA: These were a big hit at the church potluck.

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A Dip Recipe or Three

I made the first dip yesterday. The other two recipes I found on my yogurt container and on the Triscuit box. I haven't tried them yet, but they sound really good. I'm saving them here so I can throw the Triscuit box and the foil from the top of the yogurt away.

Cajun Tuna Spread

• 3 ounces of cream cheese, softened
• 3 T. mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 1 t. paprika
• 1/4 t. ground black pepper
• 1/8 t. garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/8 t. ground red pepper
• 1 6-1/2-ounce can tuna, drained and broken into chunks
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red or green sweet pepper
• 2 T. thinly sliced green onion (1)

In a small mixing bowl beat cream cheese, mayonnaise or salad dressing, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder or garlic, and ground red pepper until well combined. Stir in the tuna, sweet pepper, and green onion. Cover; chill for 3 to 24 hours. Serve with crackers. Makes 1-1/2 cups.

from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

The recipe says to use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, salad dressing and spices, but I just used a mixing spoon. It seemed to work fine. Also, I didn't have any green onions so I just used some chopped yellow onion. Really good with Triscuits and Wheat Thins.

This recipe came off the Triscuit box:

Creamy Spinach & Red Pepper Dip

• 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
• 4 oz. (1/2 of 8 oz. pkg.) cream cheese or 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup chopped roasted red peppers

Mix all ingredients; cover. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled. Makes 1-1/2 cups.

more dip recipes from Triscuit

Image by bcymet via Flickr

This one came from Dannon:

Creamy Salsa Dip

• 2 cups Dannon All Natural Plain Yogurt
• 1 cup salsa
• 3-1/2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 t. sea salt

In bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

more dip recipes from Dannon

I think all of these would be really good with either crackers or cut up veggies.

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Chocolate Cherry Clusters

I found this recipe in a magazine and have been planning to try it for a while now. This is supposed to be a good, heart-healthy snack, and I thought it would be nice for Jeffrey to have as a snack because he loves cherries so much. I finally made them today.

Chocolate Cherry Clusters

Image via Wikipedia

• 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1-1/2 cups Cheerios cereal
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces

In medium bowl, microwave chocolate on high 1 minute. Stir. Microwave 1 more minute, until nearly melted. Stir until smooth. Quickly stir in cereal, cherries and nuts until well coated. Using a tablespoon, drop clusters on a baking sheet. Refrigerate 2 hours, until no longer sticky. Makes 24 clusters.
Per cluster: 137 calories, 2g protein, 15g carbohydrates, 10g fat (4g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 2g fiber, 13mg sodium

I didn't have any bittersweet chocolate chips, but I do have some Hershey's extra dark baking bars. I figured those would work just fine, since the chocolate must be melted. However, I did not know how many squares I would need, so I looked it up and found this handy list of chocolate substitutions. For each cup of chocolate chips, I need 6 squares of chocolate - so that's 1-1/2 of those baking bars.

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Zucchini Casserole

I've got the zucchini coming out of the garden pretty steadily now, so for dinner I decided it had to be something with zucchini. This recipe sounded good, so I sort of followed it. Basically, I just layered zucchini, onion, peppers, tomato slices, and seasonings - and I added some chicken for the meat eaters in the family, hoping it would make them happy. The recipe did not say anything about covering the dish while baking, so I didn't. I really should have because, even though I baked it for an entire hour, it was not as done as I would have liked. Also, I think it needs salt and pepper sprinkled throughout the layers instead of just on top.

So, next time I'm doing it like this:

Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients:

• Sliced zucchini - 2 small, 1 medium, whatever you have
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced - more or less
• 1 or 2 tomatoes, sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• basil and oregano, about 1/4 tsp. each - I used several leaves of fresh basil
• Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup or so shredded Cheddar

Directions:
Grease a 2-quart casserole. Arrange zucchini slices in casserole. Top with onion slices and green pepper slices; sprinkle with salt & pepper. Top with tomato slices, then sprinkle with herbs and Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake in a 350° oven for 45 minutes; uncover, sprinkle with cheddar cheese, and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and vegetables are tender. Serves 6.

Optional: Season a boneless, skinless chicken breast or two with garlic powder and oregano. Grill or broil until done - I used the George Foreman grill for 3 minutes on each side. When chicken is cooked, slice and add to casserole between the green peppers and the tomato slices.

Because this wasn't cooked as much as it should have been, it wasn't as good as I believe it will be - when I do it my way. I still enjoyed it, and my leftovers for lunch tomorrow will be better, because they'll be cooked a little more when I reheat them.

Roasted Zucchini

I must try this! As seen on The View:

Roasted Zucchini

• 4 medium-large zucchini
• extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Begin by slicing the zucchini into medium-thick discs. Lay out on a roasting sheet tray and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 12-15 minutes until slightly caramelized and just tender

Time: 25 minutes; Yield: serves 2-3.

He threw some onions on, too on the show. I'm definitely going with the onions.

Pineapple Zucchini Cake

When I was growing up, there were two zucchini cakes we had, Chocolate Zucchini Cake, and this one - Pineapple Zucchini Cake. I was going to say there were two zucchini cakes my mom made, but I made them a lot, too. I consider them my mom's recipes, though I don't know where she got them. They are both so good I can't decide which one is my favorite.

Pineapple Zucchini Cake
Ingredients:
3 eggs 2 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup vegetable oil 2 c. zucchini, grated	3 c. flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 c. crushed pineapple, drained
Directions: Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil until fluffy. Add zucchini. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add to batter and mix well. Stir in pineapple. Pour batter into greased and floured 9"x13" pan. Bake at 325° for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and dry.

I made the chocolate cake Friday. As soon as it's eaten, I think I'll be making this.

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Zucchini Bread

I have tried other zucchini bread recipes, but this is by far the best one. The recipe was given to me when I got married. Our moms handed out recipe cards to the ladies at church and asked them to submit their favorite recipes. This one was from a wonderful lady named Betty Brooks.

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
3 eggs, beaten 1 c. oil 2 c. sugar 2 c. grated zucchini 2 t. vanilla	3 c. flour (part whole wheat) 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 cup chopped nuts
Directions: Add oil and sugar to beaten eggs, then zucchini and vanilla. Cream together. Mix flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture. Mix until thoroughly blended. Add nuts. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Cool on wire rack.

Thanks to my sister in law Cindy who requested a good zucchini bread recipe, I think I'm going to be making this soon. I do have zucchini from my garden!

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Get Your Printers Ready

I posted a new recipe tonight - well actually it's a recipe I made a while back and just finally got around to posting, but never mind. The point is I created the printable version with Google Docs and linked it in my post - like I'm supposed to or at least want to for every recipe. I remembered that I had skipped that step in the last few recipes I posted, so I decided to create all the printable versions I had put off. I thought maybe I had put two or three off, but there were six! Six? How did that happen?

It's really not that difficult to do, so I don't really know why I put it off. But if any of you have wanted to print any of those six recipes, they're all ready and linked up now, and for your convenience, I'm even listing them all here.

• One-Pan Tomato Basil Chicken
  
• Whole Wheat Caramel Rolls
• Chicken Macaroni and Cheese w/ Broccoli
• Mini Meat Loaves
• Rhubarb Crunch
• Chicken Stir Fry

Cranberry Pecan Tassies

I found this recipe in the Sunday paper. I love cranberries, so anything with cranberries in it catches my eye.

Cranberry Pecan Tassies

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 T. butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh cranberries (I used frozen)
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. In medium bowl, using pastry blender (or fork) combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter and flour. Form into dough ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. In mixing bowl, prepare filling; Beat egg, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla and salt on medium speed until creamy.
3. In separate bowl, combine chopped cranberries and pecans.
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and press into bottom and up sides of ungreased cups of miniature muffin tin.
5. Fill tarts half full with cranberry-pecan mixture, then pour filling over the top.
6. Bake in preheated 325° oven until lightly browned, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

They took a little longer to make than I thought they would, mainly pressing the dough into the mini muffin tin. Overall, I think it was definitely worth it because these are really good. It's also the first time I ever used my mini muffin tin!

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Stir Fry

Stir fry is one of our favorite meals. I usually just use frozen stir fry vegetables, so it's really easy to make, too.

Chicken Stir Fry

Combine:

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. oil
• and add 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat a little oil in large skillet; add marinated chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until cooked.
3. Add stir fry vegetables - 2 16-oz. packages, 1/2 of a 64-oz. package like the one from Birds Eye, or at least 4 cups of cut up fresh vegetables. Cook until frozen vegetables are hot or until fresh vegetables are crisp tender.
4. Add sauce* and heat through. Serve with rice and chow mein noodles, and pass the soy sauce.

* Sauce:
The Birds Eye Stir Fry has included sauce packets, but if you need sauce, combine:

• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1/4 c. cold water

You can do just about anything you want with this. I picked the first zucchini from my garden Friday, and I had a green pepper that needed used. So, I cut those up and added them when the chicken was just cooked. I cooked the chicken, zucchini, and peppers, (and a little onion) for a couple minutes, and then I added the frozen vegetables (not quite 1/2 a package of the Birds Eye because I had used extra the last time) and cooked until everything was hot, then added the sauce that came with the frozen vegetables. It turned out so well that I'm thinking I need to start using more fresh vegetables in my stir fry!

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Rhubarb Crunch (w/ Strawberries)

I wasn't planning on making dessert this weekend, but one of my friends had to post a recipe for a rhubarb crisp. It sounded so good, I thought I'd try her recipe, but then I didn't. Oh, I still made dessert, but I used a recipe I got from my mom instead. I'm sure Susan's recipe is really yummy, but so is this one - and because she had to mention strawberries with the rhubarb, even though she didn't include strawberries in her recipe, I decided to add some of those, too. While I love rhubarb for itself, strawberries and rhubarb are a great combination, too!

Rhubarb Crunch

• 6 cups diced rhubarb (or in this case about 4 cups and a pound of sliced strawberries)
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 5 T. flour
• cinnamon (optional - I just sprinkled some on)
  
• Topping:
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I used margarine)

Combine first three ingredients and a dash of cinnamon. Place in greased 13x9" pan. Combine brown sugar, oats and flour. Cut in butter and shortening until crumbly. Sprinkle over rhubarb mixture. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream, or milk.

So good warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream!

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Zucchini Recipes

Image via Wikipedia

I picked the first zucchini from my garden this morning, so I'll be needing this list of zucchini recipes soon. Some of these we've tried, and some I just want to try.

• Zucchini Patties (Jeffrey and I liked these. I just served them plain, but I think I'll add the tomato sauce and cheese next time)
  
• Zucchini Casserole (with onions, peppers, and tomatoes)
• and a whole list of zucchini recipes to try

And these are recipes I have used several times and really enjoyed:

• Zucchini Crescent Pie
• Zucchini Hamburger Pie

Those zucchini plants better get busy - I have big plans!

Mini Meat Loaves

I know some people eat meat loaf on a regular basis, but we rarely have it. This week I had some potatoes that needed used and decided to make mashed potatoes. Obviously, I needed something to go with those mashed potatoes, so I decided to try making meat loaf again. I used the recie from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook and changed it a little. Then, instead of making an actual loaf, I made mini loaves using my muffin tin.

Mini Meat Loaves
Ingredients:

• 1 beaten egg
• 10 saltines crackers, crushed
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1 T. dried parsely
• 1/2 t. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
  
• 1 lb. ground beef
• barbecue sauce

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl combine egg, cracker crumbs, milk, onion, green pepper, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Add ground beef and mix well.
2. Divide mixture evenly into 12 muffin cups.
3. Bake 20-25 minutes at 400° or until done.
   
4. Remove mini loaves from muffin tin and place on baking sheet. Reserve one loaf for making gravy, if desired, and top the remaining loaves with barbecue sauce.
5. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or more.
   

Removing the loaves from the muffin tins before adding the barbecue sauce gets them out of the grease, and they brown up nicely on the baking sheet. I think the grease is one of the reasons I never really like meatloaf, but this really seems to help. I used the reserved loaf and the grease from the muffin tin to make gravy, which went really well with my mashed potatoes!

To make gravy: break up reserved loaf in skillet, along with baking grease or oil. Add flour, a little salt and pepper and brown. Then, add milk and some reserved water from cooking the potatoes; cook and stir until desired consistency. (Sorry, I didn't measure anything)

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Chicken, Broccoli, and Macaroni

It's kind of like macaroni and cheese, only with more stuff in it. I use cooked chicken and turkey interchangeably - whatever I have. Last week I cooked a turkey, so I used turkey.

Chicken Macaroni and Cheese w/ Broccoli

Ingredients:

• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• 6 small green onions (or 1 small yellow onion), chopped
• 4 T. butter
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (or more)
• 2 cups frozen broccoli
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken (or turkey)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 cup grated cheese

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to directions
2. Saute chopped onions in butter and mix with cooked macaroni. Spoon into greased 9"x13" baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Break up uncooked broccoli and place over cheese. Cover with cubed chicken or turkey.
3. Combine soup, milk, salt and curry powder. Pour over other ingredients in baking dish. Cover with grated cheese.
4. Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer.

The original recipe came from my favorite cookbook, The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals, but of course I've changed it up to suit my tastes.

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It's a Good Idea to Read the Recipe

I pulled my sourdough starter out of the fridge last night, planning to bake my Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread today. Then I forgot about it and didn't measure out my starter and mix it up with the water, flour, and 7-grain. I remembered this morning - but that's OK, as long as I get it started first thing in the morning, I can make it in one day. So, I quickly got it mixed up, without looking at the recipe. I remembered I needed 1 cup of starter, 3 cups of warm water, 3 cups whole wheat flour, and some of the 7-grain cereal - so I added the water and the flour and then went to look at the recipe to find out how much cereal. That's when I discovered that I only needed 1 cup of water and 1 cup of flour for this recipe. Oops, too late! I was thinking of my recipe for Sourdough Pancakes - that one takes 3 cups of water and 3 cups of flour.

So today I just had to make enough dough for 3 loaves of bread, instead of 1.

I made and baked 1 loaf as usual - it's gorgeous and smells wonderful. I put another loaf in the freezer right after I shaped it and before I let it rise - so I can bake it later. Thawing and letting it rise will probably take just as long as actually making the bread, but I won't have to do anything except set it on the counter and leave it alone until it's ready. And the third portion of the dough? I rolled out and formed into these whole wheat caramel rolls, a recipe I found on the back of a flour bag a long time ago, but never got around to trying. Here's the original recipe:

Whole Wheat Caramel Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 T sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 pkg. active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 T shortening
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1. In large bowl, combine 1/2 cup unbleached flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt and yeast; blend well. In small saucepan, heat milk, water and shortening until very warm (120 to 130°F). Add warm liquid to flour mixture. Stir by hand until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in an additional 1/4 to 3/4 cup flour to form a stiff dough. On floured surface, knead in 1/4 to 3/4 cup flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl; cover. Let rise in warm place (80 to 85°F) until light and doubled in size, about 1-1/4 hours.
2. Punch down dough several times to remove all air bubbles. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 16x12-inch rectangle. In small bowl, combine brown sugar and butter; blend well. Spread evenly over dough; sprinkle with nuts. Starting with 16-inch side, roll up tightly, pressing edge to seal. Cut into 16 slices; place cut side down in greased 9-inch square pan. Cover; let rise in warm place until light and doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 350°F. Uncover dough. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; turn onto serving plate. Makes 16 rolls.
   

Of course I just took the dough I had, rolled it out and spread it with the brown sugar, butter, and nuts. Then, instead of letting the rolls rise completely and baking them right away, I covered them with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator. Tomorrow morning I can take them out, let them come to room temperature and rise, and then bake them. That way we get to have fresh, warm, ooey, gooey caramel rolls for breakfast. Hopefully they'll be as good as they sound and I'll remember to take a picture or two before we eat them all.

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Related articles by Zemanta

• Talk About Heavenly Sour Dough Pitas (lazyorganizer.com)
• No-Knead Ciabatta - Bread You Can Believe In (foodwishes.blogspot.com)

One-Pan Tomato Basil Chicken

I found this recipe ages ago in the coupon section of the newspaper, but I hadn't made it in years. I don't know why it's been so long. This is really good, and so easy.

One-Pan Tomato Basil Chicken
ready in just 30 minutes

• 1 package (6.9 ounces) Rice-a-Roni Chicken Flavor
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 2 cups broccoli flowerets, or green beans
  
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Mozzarella cheese (optional)

1. In large skillet (10 inch), prepare Rice-a-Roni mix as package directs, except simmer 10 minutes.
2. Stir in chicken, basil, broccoli, and tomato.
3. Cover, continue to simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese before serving, if desired.

Serves 4

I used cooked turkey instead of chicken, and peeled and chopped a frozen tomato. The original recipe calls for broccoli, but green beans are good, too. Also, I did not have any Mozzarella, so I used cheddar. Parmesan works, too.

More Rice-a-Roni recipes.

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Apple Cranberry Crisp

Apple crisp is good. Add cranberries, and it's even better! at least in my world...

Apple Cranberry Crisp

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chopped apples, unpeeled
• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1-1/2 cups old fashioned or quick cooking oats
  (or a combination of the 2)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Combine apples, cranberries, sugar and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly and place in a 2-quart casserole dish. Set aside.
2. Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, pecans, and butter. Mix until crumbly and spread evenly over fruit.
3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until fruit is fork tender.
4. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
   

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Sausage-Hamburger Cheese Dip

Beth and Tim made this dip last night. They mixed all the ingredients up and put them in the crockpot on low, and left it overnight. That was too much cooking for the cheese, so this is the adjusted recipe - cook everything overnight and then add the cheese the next day.

Sausage-Hamburger Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. sausage (hot)
• 2 lbs. ground chuck
• 3 chopped onions
• 1 large can mushrooms (drained)
• 1 large can diced tomatoes (drained)
• 2 cans Rotel (hot) (drained)
• 3 T. garlic powder
• 1 large brick Velveeta cheese (chopped)
• 2 cans chopped green chiles

Directions:
In crockpot add all canned items. Brown sausage and ground chuck, drain and add to crockpot mixture. Add garlic powder, and cook on low for several hours or overnight. About half an hour to an hour before serving, stir in Velveeta, cover and cook until melted, stirring occasionally. Serve with corn chips or tortilla chips.

Tim also stirred in some fresh jalepenos to spice it up, but this is quite spicy on its own.

Note: Unless you're going to have a big crowd, you might want to cut this recipe in half because it makes a lot. My 5-quart crockpot was filled to the top.

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Tangy Marinade

I jotted this recipe down on an old envelope several years ago. They were doing a segment on the news about how citrus in your marinade counteracts the carcinogens caused by grilling. I just thought it sounded good.

Tangy Marinade

• 6 T. oil
• 4 T. vinegar
• 4 T. lemon juice
• 3 T. brown mustard
• 3 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1-1/2 t. salt

Mix; Marinate chicken several hours or overnight; grill as usual.

This makes amazing grilled chicken and should probably be called Best Marinade Ever.

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Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Cups

I found this recipe in the Kraft Food & Family magazine. I didn't follow it exactly, because I practically never follow a recipe exactly. Mainly, it called for a brownie mix (13x9 inch pan size), which I didn't have, so I made my own brownies.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Cups

for brownies:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
• 6 T cocoa
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 T vanilla

Combine cocoa and sugar; cream mixture with margarine. Add eggs; mix well. Add flour and mix. Add vanilla. Spoon batter into 20 paper-lined muffin cups; set aside.

for cheesecake:

• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, peanut butter and vanilla with mixer until blended. Spoon 1 rounded Tbsp. into center of batter in each cup, pressing down slightly into batter. Bake 30 minutes at 350° or until centers are set. Remove from oven and remove brownie cups to rack to cool. While they are still hot, place 4 or 5 chocolate chips on the top of each brownie cup. When chocolate chips begin to melt, use a knife to spread them over the top of each brownie cup.

I added the chocolate chips to the top because the original recipe called for Cool Whip and cherries on top, and that just didn't seem right to me, but they just needed a little something on top. I also changed the name from Brownie 'Babies' to 'Cups' because calling them babies made it sound like they should be made in the mini muffin cups, and they are definitely full size. And they are definitely yummy - I don't think you can go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.

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Turkey Lo Mein

I found this recipe in a magazine several years ago. Of course I modified it to suit my tastes! It's really easy to make, and we all like it, so we have this quite often.

Turkey Lo Mein

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces ground turkey
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 packages (3 oz. each) chicken flavor Ramen noodle soup (with seasoning packets)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 6 cups coarsely shredded romaine lettuce

Directions:

1. Put turkey, onion, carrots and garlic into a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until turkey is lightly browned.
2. Break noodles into skillet. Stir in seasoning packets, water and peas. Bring to a boil, cover and cook 3 to 5 minutes until noodles and vegetables are almost crisp-tender.
3. Stir in lettuce. Cook uncovered 3 to 4 minutes, stirring almost constantly, until lettuce is wilted, noodles are soft and carrots are crisp-tender.
4. Serve over rice.
   

Pass the soy sauce and chow mein noodles!

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Whole Wheat Sourdough

I've been making sourdough bread for a while, and after reading this article, Sourdough Bread and Health, I started thinking there's more to it than just the taste. Maybe I shouldn't just be using white flour. Don't get me wrong, I really like my all white flour sourdough bread, and I'll still be making that, for one thing it goes really well with spaghetti, but adding whole grains should really make a healthy bread. So I started experimenting and came up with a bread I really like.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

The night before you want bread:

• Bring sourdough starter to room temperature and measure out 1 cup
• In large bowl mix starter with 1 cup lukewarm water, 1 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/4 cup 7-grain cereal (or 2 T 7-grain or 10-grain cereal, 2 T wheat bran, and 2 T to 1/4 cup oatmeal - or any combination thereof - or whatever grains you have, want, like)
• Mix well, cover, and let sit overnight
• Be sure to replenish your starter by adding 3/4 cup water and 3/4 cup flour and letting that sit out overnight, too
  

The next morning:

• The mixture should be nice and bubbly
• Mix in:
  2 T brown sugar, 1/2 t. salt, and 2 T oil
• Mix in 1 cup whole wheat flour
• Then add 1 cup unbleached flour, mixing in as much of the flour as you can with a spoon (recently I have been adding whole wheat flour for this 2nd cup of flour and only using unbleached for kneading)
  
• Knead on a floured surface until you have a smooth, elastic dough, adding flour as necessary
• put into greased bowl, cover and set in warm place to rise (about 2 hours)
  

When dough has doubled in size

• Punch down and turn out onto floured surface
• Cover and let dough rest for 10 minutes, then shape dough into a ball
• Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more cornmeal; cover with the other end of the towel, or another towel.
• Let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
• About a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450°. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

I think this is the best bread ever! I say that a lot, because I really like bread, but the whole wheat flour and the brown sugar give this a really nice flavor, as well as the flavor of the sourdough. I love the crust that forms because of baking it this way and the cornmeal embedded in the crust. It's good sliced with butter. It's good toasted. It's good when used to make a grilled cheese sandwich. I love it all!

Besides flavor and health, I just like making sourdough because it's so much fun to make bread without adding packaged yeast. It's like magic! Here's an article that explains How Sourdough Bread Works that I thought was pretty interesting. Not that I want to take away the magic, but it's also fun to know how things work.

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Friendship Cinnamon Rolls

I make cinnamon rolls quite often, but they're usually for the weekend. This week, however, I made them on Tuesday. They weren't my usual cinnamon rolls, though. Beth had brought home some Amish Friendship Bread starter, which she made bread with and divided into additional starter just like she was supposed to. But she failed to give any of those extra bags of starter to anyone, except me. The day came to add flour, sugar and milk to the starter, and I refused to do it for all of those extra bags, so we put them in the freezer for later.

Image by bcmom via Flickr

When it came time to add to and separate my own starter, I didn't really feel like having additional bags of starter, and I didn't really want to pass them out. So, instead of adding milk, flour, and sugar to the starter I had, I just measured it out. The bread recipe calls for 1 cup starter, and I had about 2-1/2 cups, so I figured I could just divide that and make 2 batches. I made one recipe (2 loaves) of the traditional Amish Friendship Bread, and I made cinnamon rolls from the other half of the starter. I had a recipe that I had tried another time, but I didn't follow it exactly, so I'm posting my version.

Friendship Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

In large bowl, combine:

• 1 cup Amish Friendship starter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups flour

Let sit at room temperature overnight or 10-12 hours. You'll know it's ready when it's all bubbly and has risen up the bowl. Stir down.

Combine:

• 3 t. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
• 1 t. salt

and add all at once to the larger bowl. Mix well, then add as much of 3 cups of flour you can mix in with a spoon. Turn dough out onto a well-floured counter and knead in enough additional flour that it is no longer sticky. Cover with a cloth and let rest for about 30 minutes.

Divide dough into two halves; roll each half out in a rectangle about 12x8-inch. Brush dough with soft butter.

For each half, combine:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 t. cinnamon

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over dough. Beginning at the wide side, roll up, and seal seam. Cut each roll into 10 slices. Place in greased 13x9 inch pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place till nearly double (about 30 minutes to an hour). Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until done.

FOR ICING: In a small mixing bowl stir together powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in enough milk to make a smooth icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle over rolls. Serve warm or cool.

The original recipe also called for 1/2 t. baking soda and 1 t. baking powder, but it really doesn't need it. The only leavening is from the fermentation of the original starter. These rolls are a little more filling than my usual cinnamon rolls. I can only eat a couple at a time, so they've lasted all week. Beth and I have been enjoying them for breakfast. I guess I can forgive her for bringing home, and keeping, all that starter in the first place.

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Trailside Oatmeal Treats

Trailside Oatmeal Treats
Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup chunk-style peanut butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs 1/4 cup milk 1 tsp. vanilla 2-1/2 cups uncooked oats 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:
Stir together flour, soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl beat butter, peanut butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, then oats, chocolate chips and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in preheated 350º oven about 13 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to rack to cool.

Makes 42

All the goodness of peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate chip cookies in one! I don't usually add the raisins because no one in my family likes raisins - except me. Coconut is good in these, too.

I can't remember where this recipe originally came from, but these are the cookies I make most often.

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