Country Casserole

Country Casserole

One of my favorite sites is Southern Plate. She has such delicious recipes and I love to read about her family during the depression days.  This is one of her recipes.  Please go here to find more.

Country Casserole

2 cups small shell pasta, cooked and drained

3 cups frozen mixed vegetables, cooked and drained

2 cups shredded cheddar, divided

One can French fried onions, divided

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (can use canned chicken)

1 can cream of chicken soup

¼ cup milk

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine everything in a large bowl, reserving half of the cheese and half of the onions for topping later. Spoon into 9×13 casserole dish. Bake for twenty five minutes. Top with remaining onions and cheese, bake until cheese is melted, about five minutes more.

Freezing options: Instead of freezing this in your casserole dish, simply spoon it into a gallon ziploc bag. Lay the bag flat so that it will thaw out quicker and place it in your freezer. On the day you want it, take it out the night before and refrigerate or place in fridge that morning.

If you forget to do all of this, no sweat! Just microwave the bag until it thaws just a bit, pour into your casserole, and bake!

To bake a casserole that is still frozen, simply place in the oven while the oven preheats. This allows the casserole to thaw quickly and then bake to perfection!

VALENTINES DAY TREATS

Aw,  Valentine Day will be here soon.  Are your ready?  Have you chosen a card or gift for your favorite person?   How about some homemade cookies or a heart shaped cake or craft  something special.

Well, I am making  heart shaped cookies for my grandchildren to enjoy .  My husband also has a sweet tooth so I am making him a Texas Sheet Cake . 

Texas Sheet Cake       

By Diana  Rattray, About.com Guide

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• .
• Chocolate Frosting:
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preparation:

Cake Grease a 15X10X1-inch or jelly roll pan or a 13X9X2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup butter, 1/3 cup cocoa, and 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. With an electric hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat chocolate mixture into the dry mixture until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute (batter will be thin). Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a 350° oven about 25 minutes for the 15X10-inch pan or 35 minutes for the 13X9-inch pan, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Pour warm chocolate frosting over the warm cake, spreading evenly. Place cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly before cutting. Makes 24 servings. Frosting: In a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, and 3 tablespoons buttermilk. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add 2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth. If desired, stir in 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans.

THIS CAKE IS SOOO GOOD!!!!!!!  YOU SHOULD TRY IT.

Now for my cookie recipe for my grandchildren:

Valentine's Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• Approximately 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Icing, recipe follows
• Silver balls
• Gold balls

Icing:

• 2 tablespoons egg whites*
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Red food coloring

Directions

Cream the butter. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and combine. Sift together 1 cup of the flour with the baking powder and mix it into the batter. Add some or all of the additional flour depending on how much the dough can handle. Form into a disk, cover in plastic and chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours. Roll out on a lightly floured surface about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out hearts with various sized cookie cutters and place on a greased sheet pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes until very light golden brown. Let cool on the pan.
Icing: Whisk together the egg whites and powdered sugar to form a slightly loose icing. It should flow a little bit but not too much. Transfer a small amount to a separate bowl and add a tiny amount of red food coloring to make pink icing. Pipe a rim of pink icing around the edge of the cookie and then fill in the center with white icing, or just pipe decorative designs on the surface. Embellish with silver or gold balls. Let dry and package up in cello bags tied with a ribbon.
Recipe from Food Network.

My Grandchildren and 1 Great grandson

        Halloween 2009                      

                         Christmas 2009

Sorry I have not posted in quite a while.  I have been busy keeping my grandson  who is 8 months old .  He is my son's youngest child.  He has two daughters age 16 and 13. I have been keeping Briar since he was born in May, 2009 and he is such a good baby. He has never been sick or had any of the baby problems.  He has his first tooth and is almost walking.  I love all of my granchildren as if they are my own.

I have another granddaughter  Nikki who is 20,  another grandson, Michael and his son, my greatgrandson Kingston.  They are all very precious to me and I love them so much.

Oatmeal Raisin Spice Cookies in a Jar

                           

Makes about 36

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup raisins

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour
                                                                                                                     
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix together flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Layer ingredients in order given in a 1 quart "wide mouth" canning jar. It will be a tight fit, make sure you firmly pack down each layer in place before adding the flour mixture. Find more recipes here

Instructions to attach to jar:

Oatmeal Raisin Spice Cookies

1. Empty jar of cookie mix into large mixing
bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly blend mix.

2. Add: 3/4 cup butter or margarine softened at room temp. Stir in one egg, slightly beaten. Add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

3. Mix until completely blended. You may need to finish mixing with your hands.

4. Shape into balls the size of walnuts. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart. DO NOT USE WAXED PAPER.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 11 to 13 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to baking racks to finish cooling.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

I ran across this bit of information on another site that may be of interest to you. It has helped me a lot.   It is a good idea to put a date on food when  you store it in the refrigerator and refer back to this list.   Thanks to Gail at dailyrecipe.com

ESTIMATED LEFTOVERS STORAGE TIME IN THE REFRIGERATOR


Cooked Food Item Refrigerator Storage Time

Roast turkey 3 to 4 days                                                              

Stuffing 1 to 2 days

Giblet Gravy 1 to 2 days

Canned Cranberry Sauce 5 to 7 days

Homemade Cranberry Relish 5 to 7 days

Roast Pork 2 to 4 days

Roast Beef/Veal/lamb 3 to 4 days

Baked ham 3 to 5 days

Meat w/ sauce or gravy 1 to 2 days

Cooked vegetables 3 to 5 days

Pumpkin pie 2 to 3 days

Fruit desserts/pie 3 to 5 days

*Seafood 1 to 2 days

Gumbo 1 to 2 days

Soups 2 to 3 days

*gail*

dailyrecipe.com

Peppermint Patty Brownies

1 box Betty Crocker® Gluten Free brownie mix

Butter and eggs as called for on brownie box

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract

2 1/2 to 3 cups gluten free powdered sugar

1 cup Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Line pan with aluminum foil; grease bottom of pan with shortening. Make and bake brownies as directed on box, using butter and eggs, for (8- or 9-inch) square pan. Cool 1 hour.

2. In medium bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk and peppermint extract. Beat in enough powdered sugar on low speed of electric mixer until blended and slightly crumbly. Turn mixture onto surface sprinkled with powdered sugar. Knead lightly to form a smooth ball. Pat mixture evenly over top of brownies.

3. Spread frosting over brownies. To serve, remove brownies from pan by lifting on aluminum foil; transfer to cutting board. With long sharp knife, cut into squares, 4 rows by 4 rows

http://www.bettycrocker.com/

THANKSGIVING

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, we all are getting our menus together.  Our family always gets together at my  youngest daughter's house, along with her husband's family and other friends.  We usually have a large crowd and everybody has a good time. We have a chance to visit together, show off the new babies in the family . Reminisce old times and most important, give thanks for our years blessings.  This year we will be especially praying for our military men and women and ask that they be kept safe.  We will have one guest that is returning from Iraq and we are all greatfully for him and what he has done for us and look forward to spending time with him.

I hope all of you have a Joyous Thanksgiving Holiday with your loved ones.  I have listed a few dishes that I know we will be enjoying on this holiday.  Hope you like them.

Brussels Sprouts with Apples

2 1/4 pounds fresh brussels sprouts, halved

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons salt, divided                                                 

1/4 cup butter or margarine, divided
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup apple juice
1 large Red Delicious apple, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Bring brussels sprouts, lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and water to cover to a boil in a saucepan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and keep warm.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion, and sauté 15 to 20 minutes or until caramel-colored. Add apple juice, and cook 2 minutes, stirring to loosen browned particles.

Add apple, garlic, and sugar; cook, stirring constantly, 5 to 6 minutes or until apple is tender. Add water chestnuts, next 4 ingredients, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter; cook, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes. Gently toss in brussels sprouts.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup brown sugar

Mix together main ingredients. Pour into butter 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle on topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Topping:

Melt butter and stir in brown sugar. Add flour and nuts

                                                                             

Pumpkin Pie                                                                                                                                                                                                

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

1 1/4 cups milk (10 oz.)

1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs

Pastry for a single-crust 9-inch pie,

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Add pumpkin,  milk, and eggs and vanilla ; whisk until well blended. Pour mixture into unbaked pastry in pan.

2. Set pie on bottom rack of a 425° regular or convection oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350°; continue baking until center of pie is set and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 45 minutes longer.

3. Set pie on a rack until cool, at least 2 hours. After serving, chill pie airtight.

                                                                                  

Cranberry Sauce                                                         

Time: 30 minutes.

2 bags (12 oz. each) fresh or frozen cranberries, any soft or decayed berries discarded

2 1/2 cups sugar

Finely shredded zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until berries have popped, about 20 minutes.

Make ahead: Let cool, then chill airtight up to 3 days; sauce will thicken as it cools.

Yield: Serves 10
Sunset 2009

Roast Turkey                   

"Simple, perfect roast turkey just like grandma used to make. Seasoned with salt and pepper, and basted with turkey stock, the flavors of the turkey really stand out. Stuff with your favorite dressing."

Ingredients:

1 (18 pound) whole turkey

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 1/2 quarts turkey stock

8 cups prepared stuffing (your own preference)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.

2. Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.

3. Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 180 degrees F (80 degrees C), about 4 hours.

4. Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

VETERANS DAY

Tuesday, November 11, 2009  Today is Veteran's Day and we need to honor all soldiers who have served as a veteran in all wars.  It is dedicated people like this that have kept America free.  Let us pray for our military, not just today, but everyday and show deep appreciation for what they do for us. 

Veterans Day Prayer and Meditation


May we take a few moments to reflect, remembering those who served our country well ...

"You gave for peace with courage             

That families may be free

So children could grow strong

And safe they'd ever be.


In giving for the sake of peace

You may have suffered loss

Your body may still show its wounds

From taking up the cause.


May remembrance of your time away

Your sacrifice for peace

Spur us on to strive more strongly

For freedom, that there'll be release.


From causes that sent some away

To fight that we may freely live

With gratefulness we thank you, veterans

For all you gave and give!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer by Susan Kramer;

Thank you Veterans

photo from Knight Rider, news from NRCC by NRCC students {online}

photo from 1800sunstar.com

photo found at freerepublic.com

Thank you Veterans
Visit My Net Finds for their observance of Veterans Day.

Zippy Cranberry Appetizer

Cranberry Relish / Southern Plate

While checking my different cooking blogs today, I came across "Southern Plate" She has a wonderful cooking blog and has a cookbook out.  Well today she did a post on Cranberry Relish.  It looks so good I had to try it. Hope you will too.

Cranberry Relish