Buttercream Icing

Buttercream Icing

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk or water

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

Cream shortening, butter and vanilla. Add sugar. Add water until desired consistency, may not use all 2 tablespoons.

Note: I always half and half the shortening and butter, but you don't have to. All butter is super delicious but is more yellowy and all criso is not so good to me. Just remember 1 cup butter/crisco to 1 lb sugar!! You also can use other flavorings instead of vanilla, like almond or butter.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Everyone in my house is singing my praises when I make these. We aren't huge fans of the potato, but these are a hit! Make at least two per adult... you will want more than one. Also, I think the smaller the potato you use, the better because you get a higher crispy to mushy ratio. (The crunchiness is our favorite part!) Enjoy!


Hot Crash Potatoes
Printable Version

12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt to Taste
Black Pepper to Taste
Herb Of Choice to Taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender. (I used yukon gold potatoes for this picture. I have also used the small red ones and they were also delicious.)

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh herb. (rosemary, chives, thyme or whatever herb you have available.) I used green onion out of my garden.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Recipe from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Double Broccoli Quinoa

This is delicious. It's light, healthy and packed with all the good stuff. Enjoy!

Double Broccoli Quinoa
Printable Version

3 cups cooked quinoa
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems
3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream

Toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado
crumbled feta or goat cheese

Cook the quinoa according to it's package's directions. Set aside. (I successfully made it in my parent's rice cooker. 2 parts water 1 part rice... same ratio... turned out great)

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 - 6.

**To make the red chile oil: You'll need 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. If you can, make the chile oil a day or so ahead of time by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan for a couple minutes - until it is about as hot as you would need it to saute some onions, but not so hot that it smokes or smells acrid or burned. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool, then store in refrigerator. Bring to room temp again before using.

Recipe from 101Cookbooks

Beef Stroganoff

Yummy! Blake's Favorite!

Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 lb steak
6 Tbl flour
1 Tbl Kitchen Bouquet gravy (use a packet of brown gravy mix because I can never find Kitchen Bouquet)

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 Tbl oil
2 cps beef broth
1 cp sour cream

Optional toppings:
1/2 lb mushrooms
1 onion
4 Tbl butter

Preheat oven to 350

Cut steak into bit size pieces if not already, stew beef is perf for this recipe!
Mix flour, salt and pepper in mixing bowl or large plastic bag, add beef and
coat. Heat oil in large skillet. Brown beef pieces, once browned add remaining
flour mixture to beef in skillet, stir and remove from heat.

In a large casserole dish add beef, beef broth and gravy.

Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

While baking start your rice or noodles, whatever you prefer to eat under your
stroganoff. Also saute any additional toppings, always mushrooms for Blake!
Heat butter in pan and add mushrooms, cook till golden brown. Do same for onions.

After stroganoff has baked, add sour cream. Some people are pros and don't need to temper their sour cream, I'm not and think it's easier to get clumps out that way. If your stroganoff is not as thick as you would like, you may whisk in additional flour till as thick as you desire! Just remember it will thicken as it cools!

Serve over rice or noodles.

Blake's favorite side for stroganoff is corn and is recommended!

Crockpot instructions: Brown steak in skillet. Add all ingredients to crockpot except for the sour cream. Cook 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Add sour cream right before serving.


Recipe by Kerry and Jeanne Thackeray

Hamburger Soup

This soup doesn't seem like anything special but it may surprise you. As a child, I would ask for this soup and chew bread on my birthday for my "special dinner." I have made it for my family and friends and have gotten positive feedback. Bottom line, we have to include it on our family cooking blog. What Thackeray doesn't love hamburger soup? Yummm....


Hamburger Soup
Printable Version

1lb ground beef
1c. chopped onion
4c. water
1c. diced carrots
1c. diced celery
1c. diced potatoes
1t. salt
1/2t. pepper
2 beef bullion cubes
1T sugar
1t oregano
1 bay leaf
2 cans tomatoes, blended
1 8oz can tomato sauce

In a stock pot, heat ground beef and onion until beef is cooked through. Add water, carrots, celery, potatoes, salt, pepper, bullion, sugar, oregano and bay leaf. Cook for approx 30min or until veggies are tender. Remove bay leaf and add blended tomatoes and tomato sauce. Serve with bread or crackers.

You can brown your beef and onions, throw in rest of veggies raw and let it cook in the crockpot 8-10hrs on high.

OR

You can brown the beef and onions. Add water, carrots, celery, potatoes, salt, pepper, bullion, sugar, oregano and bay leaf. Boil for approx 30min or until veggies are tender. THEN, put in crockpot to keep warm until ready to serve. It keeps well in the crockpot until ready to serve.

YUM!

Recipe by Jeanne Thackeray

Josie H's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Late one evening a group of my high school friends got together and Josie made these. I, to this day, don't understand how a cookie can be so heavenly :) Because of this act alone, I believe every family should name their first born daughter Josie.

I love these cookies so much I changed their name to "chocolate chip treats", in my house, so that when you refer to these cookies, you refer to ONLY these cookies. :)


Chocolate Chip Cookies
Printable Version

1 1/2 c butter flavored shortening
1 c + 1T brown sugar
1 c + 1 T white sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t water
3 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 bag milk Chocolate Chips
1/2 bag milk Mini M&Ms

Preheat oven to 375. Cream the shortening and the two sugars. Add the eggs, vanilla and water. Mix until well combined. Combine flour salt and baking soda and add them to the mixer. (I don't like to make things any harder than they need to be, so I always add 3 cups of flour, the salt, the baking soda, and then the last of the flour to my mixer... THEN mix until almost combined.) Mix until almost combined. Add chocolate chips and m&ms and mix until combined. (We like to mix it up and use half peanut butter chips, or mint chocolate chips, or really large chips, or JUST chocolate chips, or press regular M&Ms in the top after baking, do your favorite) I use my mini ice cream scoop to make perfect little cookie balls. I have also seen my sister drop by the spoon full to make exceptionally beautiful cookies. Bake for 9 min, or until they have barely begun to brown on the sides or on the tops. Don't over bake, to ensure maximum deliciousness. ENJOY.

Recipe by Josie H.

Chicken and Broccoli

Chicken and Broccoli
Printable Version

4 Chicken breasts halves (boneless skinless)
3 10 oz pkgs of frozen broccoli or 5-6 fresh bundles
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c milk
1/4 c mayo
1/4 c miracle whip
1 c grated cheddar cheese
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Simmer chicken breasts in water until done. Break meat into golf ball size pieces when cool.

Place broccoli in bottom of 9x13 pan. Lay chicken over meat.

Combine soup, milk, mayo and miracle whip. Heat and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and add cheese and lemon juice. Pour mixture over chicken and broccoli and top with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove foil for the last 30 minutes of baking.

Serve on top of a bed of rice.

Julie's Comments/Suggestions:

I don't like boiled chicken so I skipped the "simmering chicken" step. I cut raw chicken into golf ball sized pieces then put the raw pieces of chicken on top of fresh broccoli. (I only did 3 broccoli florets and it wasn't nearly enough - I would recommend cramming as much fresh broccoli in there as possible b/c it cooks down quite a bit)

I also didn't want to take the time to warm the soup, milk, miracle whip mixture in a pot so I put it in a bowl and mixed it with a wire whisk until it was smooth. I poured it over the broccoli and raw chicken. Top with parmesean.

I baked as directed except I didn't pull foil off until last 10 min or so b/c I figured the fresh broccoli would give off less water than the frozen variety.

Even though I did a bunch of "step skipping" my chicken was really tender and it was a very delicious meal that my family has requested again! :)

Recipe by Sharon Lyons