Slow Cooker Bacon and Bean Soup

1 lb bacon, cooked, diced and drained
10 cups chicken broth
3 cans (15 oz each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups frozen sliced or diced carrots
2 tsps botled minced garlic
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp pepper

Add everything to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or until the beans are tender

Beer Dip

2 - 8oz packages Cream Cheese
1 can beer (For some reason, the cheaper the better)
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
1 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

Mix together and serve with pretzels.

Cookin a ham

Ham is the traditional Easter meat. I'm not really sure why...

For some reason, I'm not a glaze or sauce kinda gal when it comes to ham. That's probably because my mom makes a really moist ham.

Here's her secret: Follow the directions for cooking on the package in terms of time and temperature. Set the ham on a rack above a roasting pan (or in a roaster.) Pour a bottle of red wine over the ham. Let it cook. The ham will steam-cook. If you like, you can baste the ham with the wine every hour or so.

Sticky Pecan Pie Bars

I love Pecan Pie. But... it's technically a Thanksgiving thing. This recipe is socially acceptable to serve at Easter.

The recipe comes from The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. It's my go-to cookbook for easy desserts that are totally impressive.

Crust:
1 yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 large egg

Filling:
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans or pecan halves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 cake pan.

Blend crust ingredients together with stand or hand mixer on low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. The batter should come together in a thick dough.

Use your fingertips to press crust evenly into bottom of pan and 1/2 inch up the sides. Smooth out. Bake for 20 minutes. Take pan out of the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, place corn syrup, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in the same mixing bowl. Using the same beaters, blend on medium speed until well combined, about a minute. Scrap the sides of the bowl, and fold in pecans until well-distributed.

Pour the filling over baked crust, spread so it covers the entire surface.

Bake again until the crust is golden brown and the filling just starts to set - 22 to 25 minutes.

Cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Store at room temperature

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

I like this recipe because you can prepare it in advance and put in the fridge until you're ready to cook. If I remember correctly, I used the "light" version of the dairy ingredients, and everything turned out fine.

5 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups (12 oz) shredded cheddar cheese blend
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled (I like to slice, then cook... easier)
3 green onions, sliced

Place potatoes in a dutch oven and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until tender. In other words, until a fork poked into one of the potatoes doesn't meet much resistance.

Drain potatoes and place in a mixing bowl. Add sour cream, milk, butter, salt and pepper. Beat with a hand mixer on medium-low speed until light and fluffy. Stir in two cups cheese, bacon and onions.

Transfer to a greased 3-quart baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Note: If you refrigerated first, double check the middle!

Sticky Buns

The first Easter after my Grandma Dorner died, my Aunt Jan told me that what she missed that year was getting up early and doing "Raised Baking" with Grandma. Seems that's a cultural tradition, the "raised" baking reminds us of Jesus' raising from the dead.

No, this isn't Grandma's recipe, it's "mine" - gotten from Taste of Home.

Baking with yeast isn't for the faint of heart - or the sloppy, but if I can do it, you can. The one thing that I find critical is a digital thermometer. You have to have the water the right temperature and you have to proof the yeast. If you don't, well, good luck.

2 tsps active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups water water (110 to 115 degrees)
3 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp nonfat dry milk powder
1 tsp salt
3 to 3 1/4 cups bread flour

Filling:
1/3 cup butter
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon.

Put a pot of water on to boil.

In the largest mixing bowl for your stand mixer, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Wait a few minutes, until the yeast has formed bubbles on the top of the water. (If it doesn't, the yeast didn't work. Start over.)

Add the butter, milk powder, salt and two cups flour. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Stir in just enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Using the dough hooks on your stand mixer, "knead" the bread for 6 minutes.

Take the boiling water, and pour it into a cake pan. Place it in the bottom of your oven.

Grease the bottom of a large bowl, turn the dough over to grease the top. Put the dough in the oven, and allow to rise until doubled, about an hour.

Take the dough out of the oven. Punch the dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 16 x 10 rectangle. Spread with butter; sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Roll up the dough jelly-roll style, starting from the long side. Pinch the seam to seal. Cut into 12 slices. Set aside.

Sauce:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar.
1/4 cup butter
1/4 corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup; cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in pecans. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Place rolls cut side down over sauce. Cover and put back into the oven to rise until doubled, about an hour.

About half way through rising, take out of the oven and cover with a towel. Pre-heat oven to 375. Once raised fully, bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool for 3 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter.

Green Beans and Bacon

The recipe is exactly what it says. My mom has been making it for years. This recipe isn't precise, you really can't screw up the proportions - I mean, too much bacon? You could make this in the microwave, but I would recommend doing it on the stove top.

2 cans or 1 quart of green beans
1/2 lb of bacon, sliced into bite sized pieces

Fry bacon in a sauce pan. (I prefer slicing the bacon into bite-size pieces before I cook it) Drain away almost all of the fat.
If using two cans of green beans, drain one but not the other.

Add green beans to sauce pan, stir, heat through.

This recipe is best cooked and then served immediately. It's easily doubled for a larger group.

Raspberry Gelatin Salad with Pretzel Topping

Easter is coming... if you need to make something to impress the in-laws, I'm going to add some recipes to the blog that might qualify, including this one.

Church cookbooks are the best places to find recipes. This one appears in the St. Isidore the Farmer Catholic Church Cookbook - aka the cookbook from the parishes I attended as a child.

2 - 3 oz. boxes Raspberry Jello (sugar-free works too)
2 cups boiling water
2 - 10 oz. containers of frozen raspberries with juice
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels (crushed with your hands not pulverized by a machine)
3/4 cup melted butter
2 Tbsp sugar (yes, sugar... no substitutes!)
8 oz Cool Whip
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 cup sugar

Dissolve Jello in water. Add berries with juice. Pour into a glass bowl. Refrigerate until set.

Meanwhile, mix pretzels, melted butter and 2 Tablespoons sugar. Spread into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir loose from the pan and let cool.

After Jello is set, blend together cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and Cool Whip. Spread cream cheese mixture over Jello. Sprinkle pretzels over top.

Refrigerate until servied.

Nestle Toll House Pan Cookies

I don't have the patience to make cookies. I keep threatening to experiment and write a cookbook all about pan cookies. Oh, but what it would do to my waistline....

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cups chopped nuts (or, more chocolate chips)

Combine flour, soda and salt. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips and nuts.

Spread into greased 15 x 10 jelly-roll pan.

Bake in 375 degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Banana Cake

I believe this recipe came from the original Bank of Luxemburg cookbook - Marlene Treml's recipe. It's another one that's very easy. But really good.

1/4 cup oil
2 bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup sugar (Splenda works too)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Pour oil into 9 x 13 cake pan. Spread evenly so whole bottom is covered. Beat bananas and eggs in a bowl. Pour all ingredients into pan. Mix with fork until cake mix is dissolved.

Bake 35 - 45 minutes.

Corned Beef

This almost feels like cheating... it's so easy.

Many people have told me they have never eaten corned beef... take advantage of the post-St. Pat's Day sales and try it!

I've tried several methods of preparation, but this one seems best:

You'll need one corned beef brisket (point cut or flat cut) and a slow cooker.

If your corned beef comes with a seasoning packet, rinse the beef under cold running water, then set it in the slow cooker, along with the contents of the seasoning packet.

If your corned beef comes with seasoning in the liquid, dump the whole thing into the slow cooker.

In either case, add enough water to just cover the corned beef. Then switch your slow cooker to low and let it cook away. Personally, I switch it on before I leave for work, and it's done when I get home.

Potatoes on the Grill

Grilling season has arrived! Yea!

This is the simplest recipe... you just have to multiply.

Per person:
1 - 2 potatoes
1/4 of an onion
1/2 of a carrot
1 tbsp butter

Slice the vegetables by hand or with a food processor.
Spray a large piece of tin foil with non-stick cooking spray. (My husband prefers to use two sheets - more sturdy.)
Place vegetables on top of foil. Dot with butter.
Create a foil packet around the vegetables, sealing the top and sides.
Cook over indirect heat or low direct heat for about 45 minutes.

Apple Crisp Pie

Happy Pi day!

I'm not very good at putting that top crust on a pie (though I am getting better - see the upper left of the photo. This is my solution - take my crisp recipe, and use it as a topping. Whoa yum. It's that warm, crispiness that I love in crisp, but with many more sweet apples.
1 pie crust
Can or jar of pie filling (I like my apple pie filling in a jar)
2/3 to 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (to taste)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup stick butter
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg

Arrange pie crust on the bottom of a pie plate. Add the pie filling.

Mix remaining ingredients - personally, I like to use my hands - to create a crumbly, well, mess. Sprinkle crumbles over pie.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour (or, whatever the pie filling said.)

Awesome Pancakes

This isn't a recipe, so much as a way to change a recipe or mix you already have.

My Grandpa taught my brothers and I that if you substitute Non-Diet white soda (Sprite, 7up) for half of the liquid in a pancake recipe, the pancakes will fluff up higher when you cook then. In our family, that means putting 7up in the Bisquick mix.

The other thing Grandpa taught us was to drop a small amount of solid shortening (Crisco) onto your griddle and let it melt. Then pour your pancake batter into the middle of the now liquid shortening. It acts as your non-sticking agent, and it makes the edges of the pancakes nice and crispy.

Banana Bread

It's mom's recipe. That simple.

Mix the following (in order) and pour into greased bread pans.

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup nuts (optional) or chocolate chips

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

I tend to double the recipe and use one stick of butter and a 1/2 cup shortening. If I'm feeling particularly healthful, I might even use a cup of wheat flour.
This recipe also freezes well. Allow the bread to cool, wrap in aluminum foil and slide it into a freezer bag. To use, thaw completely and unwrap.

Cream Cheese Wontons

I LOVE cream cheese wontons. I think I like the homemade version even better than the ones I've eaten at Chinese buffets. There's more cream cheese, less wonton.
I got the original recipe from http://www.Cooks.com - I've modified it a little.

8 oz cream cheese
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Wontons wrappers (or egg roll wrappers cut in fourths)

Blend first four ingredients together. I like using the whisk attachment on my stand mixer.
Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto wonton wrappers. It seems easier to work when the cream cheese is cold.

Now, to seal the wonton wrappers...
Moisten two adjacent edges of the wonton wrappers.
Fold the wonton wrapper in half, bringing the two moist edges to the two dry edges, creating a triangle. Now, twist/fold two of the corners. The point of this is to bring the thinest part of the wrapper in, so when you fry then, they fry more evenly.

That's my method of wrapping... but, as I once read, if your wontons look like a drunk money made them, no one will complain... they'll still taste good.

Fry the wontons in hot oil until they're crispy and golden brown - about 60 to 90 seconds.

Then, wait a little bit before devouring, they are hot ya know!

And, if you run out of wonton wrappers, the cream cheese filling makes a mighty nice bagel smear.

Cheeseburger Meatloaf

This recipe is the inspiration for several other meatloaf recipes I've created. I found this one in Quick Cooking magazine. You can add in or take out anything you like or don't like on a burger.

1/2 cup ketchup, divided
1 egg
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tsp onion powder
1 lb lean ground beef
2 tsps prepared mustard (optional)
2 tsps dill pickle relish (optional)
6 slices American cheese

In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup ketchup, egg, bread crumbs and onion powder.
Crumble beef over mixture, mix well. Pat mixture into a 10 x 6 inch rectangle on waxed paper.
Spread 1/4 cup ketchup over meat to within 1/2 inch of long sides and 1 1/2 inches of short sides.
Top with mustard and relish (and anything else you like.) Place 4 cheese slices on top.
Roll up loaf, jelly-roll style starting with short side. Seal seams and ends well.
Place loaf, seam-side down into pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a meat therometer reads 160 degrees.
Place 2 slices of cheese on top, then back into the over for 5 minutes to melt.

Microwave Carmel Popcorn

This is usually a Christmas-time treat... but it's so good, it's great all year long.

3 quarts popped popcorn
1/2 cup butter (minus 2 tbsp)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Combine all but popcorn and baking soda in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 90 seconds on high.
Stir well with a wooden spoon. (You can leave the spoon in the bowl.)
Microwave for another 90 seconds on high. Stir again.
Microwave on medium for 3 minutes.
Add baking soda and stir.

Have popcorn waiting in a brown paper bag.
Pour caramel mixture over popcorn. Stir, close bag, and shake vigorously.
Put bag in microwave for 1 minute on high.
Remove and shake.
Put bag in microwave for 1 minute on high.
Remove and shake.
Put bag in microwave for 1 minute on high.
Remove and shake.

Open bag (watch for the steam) and spread caramel popcorn on wax paper.

Wait for it.... eat!

Store what you don't eat in a resealable container or zip top bag.

Pizza Nachos

My kids love pizza - this recipe was a compromise - mom and dad wanted nachos, the kids wanted pizza.

1 cup pepperoni - cut into matchsticks
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb ground beef
Sliced black olives
1 bag tortilla chips
1 jar pizza sauce

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef in a skillet.
Spread tortilla chips in bottom of jellyroll pan (or any pan with sides)
Sprinkle ground beef and pepperoni, over chips.
Sprinkle with mozzarella, then black olives.
Repeat layers if you wish.
Bake in the oven until cheese melts - about 10 minutes.
Serve with pizza sauce.