Grandma Betty's Oatmeal Cookies

This is a recipe that we all should have because it is awesome.  and delicious.  :)

1c. shortening
1c. brown sugar
1c. sugar (granulated)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups rolled oats

combine all ingredients well, spoon onto waxed paper and form about 2" in diameter logs of cookie dough.  roll up in waxed paper.  Place rolls in freezer until ready to bake.
when ready to bake, preheat oven to 350, slice roll in 1/4 to 1/2 (or however thick you want your cookies) inches and place on cookie sheet.   Bake for 11-14 minutes.  Do not let get too brown, the darker the cookie, the crispier it will be.

These remind me of our old house - mom used to make them all the time!  We would sit under the sink in our 'cave' and eat these with milk.  
I've made them with cinnamon and nutmeg, raisins or chocolate chips too, but the original recipe is the best.

Spinach Quiche

This is seriously the BEST quiche you will ever taste. You can leave out the mushrooms, but I like the added texture. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
• 1 (6 ounce) package feta cheese, crumbled (I used a 3 oz package and it still tasted great)
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in butter until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in spinach, mushrooms, feta and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into pie crust.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry shell, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with spinach mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar cheese, and bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes, until set in center. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

Cheese Ball

Here is the recipe for the much requested party cheese ball!

You will need: 

2 8oz. packages of cream cheese (softened)

1 pkg ranch dip mix (1oz)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups chopped pecans or bacon bits.

Directions:

Mix cream cheese, ranch dip mix, and cheddar cheese. Once mixed, form into a ball shape (or any shape!) and roll in either chopped pecans or bacon bits. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firm.  Here is the one from my graduation party! We have also made football shaped cheese balls for super bowl parties.

Enjoy!

Next to come- Strawberry Pretzel Salad!

Home made Bisquick mix

The previous recipe calls for 1 cup bisquick mix.   Here is a quick cup of home made biscuit mix recipe.

1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 T crisco (or butter)

Mix dry ingredients together, then using a pastry knife cut the Crisco into the mix. Makes 1 cup Bisquick equivalent.




Use this in the quiche recipe - it calls for ONE cup of biscuit mix.


:)

Zucchini Quiche

Nella made a really good spinach quiche the other day and I hope she posts the recipe here...  (hint hint hint)    A neighbor gave me a bunch of zucchini, so I made some bread and one of these.   The recipe is from Terry Heasley.

Here goes!

3-4 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups shredded italian cheese
1 1/2 tsp Basil (dried) if fresh is used, add a little extra
2 tbsp Parsley flakes (same thing if fresh is used)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1 medium vidalia onion chopped
1 cup bisquick mix
salt and pepper to taste

mix all ingredients.  Pour into large pie pan.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese on top.  Bake at 350 degrees (i think its 170 or 175 Celsius for Joanna)  Bake for about 45-50 minutes until brown on top.

for this recipe, i always use 3 cups of zucchini and sometimes cut back on the cheese and biscuit mix a bit.  it is very good as is though.

home made Graham Cracker crust

1 package of graham crackers - crushed
small amount of sugar
6 tablespoons of butter

Mix all ingredients well and press into a 8 or 9 inch pie pan. Bake at 375 for 7 minutes.   Let cool and fill with anything your heart desires.   I like chocolate pudding pie, or yogurt pie, or anything.

I've also made this with cinnamon grahams and chocolate grahams.  both really really good!

Amish Slaw

Here is my favorite recipe for coleslaw - (a vinegarette dressing, not creamy)
I served this with pulled pork sandwiches tonight and it was DELICIOUS!!!!

Ingredients


1 medium head cabbage, cored and shredded (or just use 1-2 bags of preshredded coleslaw (cabbage/carrots)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (instead, I mixed dry onions into the dressing while cooking it and it was great!)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions


In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, onion, and 1 cup sugar. In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, salt, celery seed, 1 teaspoon white sugar, mustard and oil. Bring to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes. Cool completely, then pour over cabbage mixture, and toss to coat. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

Citrus Garlic Asparagus pasta toss...

I just threw this together and it was delicious.  I'm sure it could work with most veggies too.  Asparagus is just my favorite one to pair with pasta.  :)  this is no one's recipe, so I had to remember it as I was putting it together.

Here is what I used today

Ingredients:

Asparagus
Red bell peppers
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil

lemon juice (fresh is better)

1/2 cup or so of chicken broth
parmasean cheese

pasta of choice

Directions:

Cook pasta as desired.  I have used penne and linguini before but tonight i just used regular spaghetti noodles.

saute garlic in about 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add a few squeezes of lemon juice.  Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces and add to garlic/lemon stuff.  Cut bell peppers into bite sized pieces and add to skillet.  Add small amount of chicken broth - about 1/4 to 1/2 cup to blend flavors and create a delicious juice.   Cook until desired tenderness.

Toss with freshly cooked pasta and parmesan cheese.  :)   Enjoy.  I served this with fruit - pineapple tonight.  It was stinkin good.  I think I said that about the last recipe I made too.

ps, i like the flavor of citrus a LOT, so before serving, i squeezed a small squirt of lemon before eating.

Lazy Baked Greek Chicken

Stuffed baked chicken breasts with traditional Greek ingredients.


2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped, divided
1 box organic chopped spinach (10 ounces), thawed
Salt and pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (i used ground nutmeg, not fresh)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano (about 1/3 palmful)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup crumbled Greek feta cheese

PreparationPre-heat the oven to 425°F.
Heat 1 tablespoon EVOO, one turn of the pan, in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and two-thirds of the garlic and cook until softened, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool, then add the spinach and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Melt the butter in the same pan, turn off the heat and add the panko, oregano and remaining garlic; toss.

Drizzle a baking dish with the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO. Split each chicken breast across (but not all the way through) and open like a book. Stuff with the spinach and feta, letting the stuffing overflow at the edges. Place the chicken pieces in the baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs.

 Bake until the juices run clear; about 20 minutes.  (I had to bake it for about 30-35 minutes because I used  giant chicken breasts from Sam's club.  Regular sized ones shouldnt take as long.  Also, I used fresh spinach)

This was stinking good!

Cherry Cream Cheese Dessert

I am taking no credit for this dessert.  I found it on a blog of a woman who used to be Amish - I first made the recipe the wrong way.  Follow the instructions, and I am sure everything will turn out delicious.  My version was good too, but the actual recipe would be very much better.

Ingredients:

3 cans crescent rolls


1 can cherry pie filling

1- 8 oz pkg softened cream cheese

2/3 cup powdered sugar



Use 1½ cans crescent rolls. Unroll dough and place on a cookie sheet. Press all edges together to form a single crust. Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar and spread over dough. Next dump your can of pie filling on top. I used cherry but I'm sure any fruit filling would be good. Spread to within an inch of the edges of crust. Taking the remaining 1½ cans of crescent rolls separate the dough into triangles and start placing them on top making sure to cover the sides first and then press lightly along the edges to keep your pie filling from running out while baking.

Place remaining dough triangles on top any way you like. A few cracks between triangles only makes it look even better once it's baked.
Bake at 350º for 20-25 minutes until beautifully golden brown. Let cool and make an icing with 1 cup powdered sugar and 1½ Tbsp milk. Drizzle on top. Enjoy!

5 minute pizza dough

While I wait for it to rise,  I am posting the recipe here so I don't have to continue to call mom every time I need to make pizza...

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 T yeast
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 T sugar

Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add oil, salt, sugar and mix well.  Add flour.  Mix and kneed lightly.  Place in covered bowl and let rise for 5 ish minutes.   put on baking stone or pizza tray and bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes.  Take out and put toppings on until toppings done or cheese is bubbly.

Now I need to go finish my pizza.