My collection of recipes that I have successfully tried and tested. Enjoy! :)
Starters
Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients:
3-4 slices bacon
1/3 cup margarine/butter
1/3 cup flour
3 1/2 cups milk
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. garlic salt (or garlic powder)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt (if used garlic powder, use 1 tsp. salt)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Cook bacon in skillet, crumble and set aside.
Melt margarine in a pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Pour in milk, whisking frequently until thickened. Stir in potatoes, onions, parsley & garlic salt, bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add bacon pieces, sour cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.
Serve hot with bacon pieces and cheddar cheese garnish. Makes 3-4 servings. Enjoy!
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My Chili Recipe
3 lbs. ground beef
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
18 oz. beef broth
1 large can diced tomatoes in tomato juice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
Brown beef in pan, add garlic. While beef is browning, combine chili powder, cumin, and flour. Sprinkle mixture over the beef once browned and stir until evenly coated. Add oregano over meat and pour in 14 oz. of the beef broth and can of tomatoes. Add salt and black pepper, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 90 minutes. Pour in the remaining broth and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Let chili cool, cover, and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend.
tips:
1) Refrigerate overnight. It allows the flavors to blend even more.
2) I found it easist to brown the meet in a skillet, and then move it to a larger pot that was easier to stir liquids in.
3) This recipe makes several servings (I'd say about 6-8 medium sized bowls)
4) Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, crackers, bread, or however else you like your chili. Enjoy!
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Chicken Noodle Soup
1 L (about 4 cups) water
1 lb. Chicken Breast fillets
1 small-medium sized onion, peeled and halved
3 whole black peppercorns (or a dash of ground pepper, preferably freshly ground!)
2-3 whole carrots, peeled
2 chicken bouillon cubes (this may change your water measurments, so follow the measurments on the bouillon box to determine exactly how much water to use)
About 2 cups dry pasta noodles (I like the spirals!)
Bring water and chicken breasts to a boil in a pot. Reduce heat, add bouillon cubes (stir until dissolved) cover and let simmer for about 30 more minutes. Add whole carrots, onion, and pepper into the pot, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour. Pre-cook the noodles in a separate pot, drain. Remove chicken and cut into bite sized pieces. Add chicken and noodles to the broth, warm on low heat. Strain whole vegetables and serve.
you can add chopped vegetables if you'd like, this is just how we prefer it (we're not big fans of cooked veggies) This makes about 2 large servings (we ate it as a meal) or 4-5 smaller bowls (to eat as a side with a sandwich or salad). Hope you like it as much as we did!
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Caesar Salad Dressing
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 Tbsp. E.V.O.O
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. mayo
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Combine ingredients in a bowl, whisk vigirously until well blended... or put all ingredients in a blender & mix away. Toss with romaine lettuce, croutons, freshly grated parmesan, chicken, or whatever else you may like to make a delicious caesar salad.
Main Courses
coming soon
Desserts
Cheesecake w/ Strawberry Glaze
Ingredients:
CRUST
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
-or-
pre-made graham cracker crust
CHEESECAKE
800 g Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I use the Light one)
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 Tbsp flour
2 1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs
STRAWBERRY GLAZE
1 pint fresh strawberries
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 150 C (300 F). Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter, press on bottom and sides of a 9 inch round nonstick pan, forming the crust. Bake for 5 minutes & remove. (skip this step if you're using a pre-made crust)
Combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix well by hand or electric mixer. Add in sour cream, stirring until well blended. Add in eggs, one at a time until mixed. Pour over crust into pan.
Bake until the middle of the cheesecake is almost set, about 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then move to refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight). Top with whatever you'd like, I prefer:
STRAWBERRY GLAZE
Crush all but 4-5 of the strawberries, add water and heat in a saucepan over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Sift together the cornstarch and sugar, and slowly stir into the strawberry mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue to heat until thickened. Cool to room temperature. Cut remaining strawberries in half and place on top of cheesecake. Cover entire cake with the strawberry glaze. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
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1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
6 tablespoons milk chocolate (chocolate chips, or broken up chocolate bar both work)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg, room temperature
ICE CREAM:
(You could use store-bought peppermint ice cream if you prefer... I couldn't find any here so I made my own using this recipe and it came out great!)
CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 C)
Grease and flour a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking sheet (38 x 25 x 2.5 cm, I think mine actually ended up being 38 x 29 x 5 cm, but just as long as the dimensions are big enough that the cake ends up being about 3/4 to 1 inch thick.)
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
Melt butter in a medium sauce pan, remove from heat. Add chocolate, stir until melted. Whisk in water, cocoa and vanilla until blended. Whisk in the egg. Add to dry ingredients, and whisk together until well blended. Pour batter onto baking sheet.
Bake cake until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean/with only a few moist crumbs, about 20 minutes. Cool cake on rack at least 15 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake. Turn cake out onto a sheet of foil (do not do this until it is plenty cool or it will crumble and break into pieces! I learned that the hard way...) Cut cake crosswise into 3 equal strips. Freeze cake strips for one hour.
ICE CREAM:
Mix the softened vanilla ice cream (soft enough to stir well, but not runny), peppermint extract, and chopped candy pieces together. Stir until very well blended. Add more or less peppermint extract to your taste preferences. Return to a freezer-safe container.
ICE CREAM CAKE:
Place one cake strip on a platter. Working quickly, spread about 3.5 cups of ice cream onto the cake strip, smoothing to the edges. Layer with 2nd cake strip, and repeat with 3.5 cups of ice cream, again smoothing to the edges. Top with the last cake strip, return to freezer for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, spread the remaining ice cream (about 6 cups) over the top and sides of the cake, covering generously (being sure to work quickly!) Freeze for at least 3 hours, until firm.
For decoration, I added some whipped cream around the edges and sprinkled it with M & Ms, broken candy canes, and other various candy pieces. The cake will make about 12 servings.
The Finished Product:
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Apple Pie
6-8 medium sized apples
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees/175 celsius. Combine flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, nutmeg and cinnamon in a bowl, mix well. Once pie crust is thawed, roll out and put in a greased/floured 9 inch round pie pan. Peel apples, slice thin and add to the crust, filling almost to the top of the crust. Melt butter and mix it with the flower/brown sugar/oatmeal/nutmeg/cinnamon mixture, stir until well coated. Pour topping evenly over apples. Put in oven for about 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool a little bit (but not all the way!) and serve with vanilla ice cream. mmmmmmm :)
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Banana Bread
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 or 4 well ripened bananas (the browner, the better!)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
Cream together butter, sugar and bananas. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together, add to creamed mixutre. Add eggs. Grease & flour 1 loaf pan, bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
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Chewy & Moist Brownies
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Combine ingredients in a large bowl, mix well. Pour into a greased 9x9 inch pan, bake at 350F/175C for 20-25 minutes until done.
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Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Cream together softened butter & sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla & eggs. Combine flour, baking soda & salt, stir into sugar mixture. Mix in chocolate chips. Bake at 190 C/375F for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen small cookies (or 1 dozen if you like them big like me!)
These are the BEST chocolate chip cookies I've ever had.... they stay soft and chewy for DAYS after baking them. I plan to use this recipe for a long time to come.
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Blueberry Muffins
MUFFINS
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup blueberries
TOPPING
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400 F/ 200 C. Combine flour, sugar, salt & baking powder. Put vegetable oil in measuring cup, add egg & milk to fill to the 1 cup line. Mix in with flour mixture. Fold in the blueberries. Fill muffin cups with batter, set aside and make the:
Crumb topping: Mix softenend butter, flour, sugar & cinnamon together with a fork. Sprinkle over the muffins before putting in the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Makes about 1 dozen muffins.
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Apple Cinnamon Muffins
MUFFINS
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup diced apple pieces
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
TOPPING
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400 F/ 200 C. Combine flour, sugar, salt & baking powder. Put vegetable oil in measuring cup, add egg & milk to fill to the 1 cup line. Mix in with flour mixture. Add in cinnamon and apples, stirring in. Fill muffin cups with batter, set aside and make the:
Crumb topping: Mix softenend butter, flour, sugar & cinnamon together with a fork. Sprinkle over the muffins before putting in the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Makes about 1 dozen muffins.
