Tuesday, September 18, 2012

White Whole Wheat Rolls

White Whole Wheat Rolls


Ingredients:

Yields 12 rolls.
2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm water
1/4 cup of raw honey
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1 egg
3 cups of King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat flour
1 tablespoon of butter

Directions:
In your stand mixer, with dough hook attached, add the water and sprinkle the yeast over top. Let sit for 8 minutes. If the yeast doesn’t get frothy, discard and begin again.

Once the sitting time is over, add the honey, salt and egg. Combine until well blended. Then add 1 cup of flour at a time until all 3 cups have been added. Knead for 8-10 minutes.

Remove and add to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Store in a warm, draft-free location. Let rise for 2 hours.

dough down and divide into 12 equal portions. Shape into balls and place on your baking sheet lined with a baking sheet or parchment. Cover with a towel and let rise 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, melt your butter. Brush over the rolls. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Marinara Sauce

Marinara Sauce


I was tired of buying jarred sauce, so this is the recipe I now use for all pasta dishes.  It can easily be halved, doubled or whatever.  It does keep well for a few days in the refrigerator, and it also freezes well.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

Harvest Soup

Harvest Soup


This is a quick, easy and cheap hearty soup.  It is good alone, with grilled cheese or bread.  We very seldom have left overs, but it does reheat very easily.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef, sautéed and drained
2 cups cabbage, chopped
1 can (14 oz.) stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 medium potatoes, diced
1/2 cup carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cups water + 3 beef bouillon cubes
1 tsp. crushed Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Place all in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes or until all vegetables are fork tender.

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes


This is a very easy and delicious recipe.  I have not purchased a pre-made sloppy joe mix for years.  I have never had this fail.  You can work with the exact measurements, but this is what my family likes.  This also freezes well, if you happen to have left overs.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 small red bell pepper, chopped (green also works and is much cheaper)
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  •  
     
    Brown the meat and break it up as it cooks.  Once it is browned, drain and return to the pan.
     
    Add the sugar, steak seasonings, onion, pepper, red wine vinegar and Worchestershire sauce to the browned meat.  Cook on medium to medium high for 5 or so minutes. 
     
    Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer.
     
    Serve on warmed or toasted buns

    Cowboy Cookies

    Cowboy Cookies


    This is a wonderful cookie that is a little more healthy than the traditional chocolate chip cookie.  Do not bake too long, as the cookie will get too hard.

    Ingredients
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup chopped nuts (your preference, I use walnuts)
  • 2/3 cup shredded coconut
  • 2/3 cup raisins, dried cranberries or dried blueberries


  • Heat oven to 350°F.

    In large bowl, beat shortening and sugars with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder; mix well. Add oats, chocolate chips, nuts, coconut and raisins; mix well.

    Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets; flatten slightly
     
    Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

    No Fail Pie Crust

    No Fail Pie Crust


    The key to a great pie crust is to have EVERYTHING ice cold and do not handle it a lot.  I put all ingredients into the bowl, except the water, and I do not mix it yet; I just place it in the refrigerator for no less than 15 minutes.  I also place my water in a cup of ice so it is as cold as it can be.  I cut the shortening in with my hands, and I do it quickly so the shortening does not get too hot.  I have never had a bad pie crust doing these tricks.

    8, 9 or 10 inch Single Crust

    1 1/3 cup flour
    1/2 t salt
    1/2 c shortening
    3 - 4 T ice cold water


    8 or 9 inch Double Crust

    2 c flour
    1 t salt
    3/4 c shortening
    5 - 6 T ice cold water


    10 inch Double Crust

    2 2/3 c flour
    1 1/4 t salt
    1 c shortening
    7 - 9 T ice cold water


    All directions are the same for each crust.

    Make sure all ingredients are cold.  Cut in the shortening with your hands or with a pastry blender.  Begin adding water.  Add the amount stated and stir.  If it does not make a dough, add a little more water.  Try not to mix too much, as it will change the texture of your dough.  It will depend on the temperature and humidity as to how much water to add.  If it gets too wet, just add a little more flour. 

    Once a nice dough ball has formed, place a well floured surface.  If doing a double crust, cut the dough in half before rolling out to desired thickness.  Once the dough is rolled out, you can wipe flour on the dough and lightly fold it in half and then in half again.  This will make it easier to transfer to the pie plate.

    Fill and bake as directed. 

    Friday, July 13, 2012

    Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins



    Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins


    Ingredients

     

    • 1 2/3 cups quick-cooking oats
    • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 
    • 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 
    • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 3/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
    • 1/4 cup canola oil
    • 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
    • 2 large eggs
    • 2 cups frozen blueberries and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour OR 2 cups fresh blueberries
    • Cooking spray
    • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

    Preparation

    1. Preheat oven to 400°.
    2. Place oats in a food processor; pulse 5 to 6 times or until oats resemble coarse meal. (I used my blender and pulsed it a few times, and it worked great.) Place in a large bowl.
    3. Add flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) to oats; stir well. Make a well in center of mixture.
    4. Combine buttermilk and next 3 ingredients (through eggs). Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
    5. Toss frozen berries with 2 tablespoons flour, and gently fold into batter. (If you are using fresh berries, you can skip tossing with flour.)  Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle sugar evenly over muffin. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.

    Tuesday, July 10, 2012

    Grilled Salmon

    Grilled Salmon


    Many times I find salmon on the reduced rack at our local grocery store.  This recipe has become a favorite of my family.  It is quick and easy to make and tastes delicious. 

    Ingredients:


    1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
    lemon pepper to taste (I just add the juice of one lemon and several dashes of pepper)
    garlic powder to taste
    salt to taste
    1/3 cup soy sauce
    1/3 cup brown sugar
    1/3 cup water
    1/4 cup vegetable oil

    Directions:

    1. Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
    2. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
    3. Preheat grill for medium heat.
    4. Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.  (I actually grill my salmon on a piece of foil.  It still grills nicely, and if it starts to flake sooner that the time allowed, it will not fall through the grates on the grill.  I usually do 3 - 4 minutes per side because the salmon I get is not very thick.)
    5. Do not overcook your salmon.

    Billy Johnson Community Hero: This Hero Says It's Easy Being Green

    Billy Johnson Community Hero: This Hero Says It's Easy Being Green: (July 6, 2012) It seems that more and more, we see on the television and hear on the radio about the importance of recycling, or being “gre...

    Saturday, June 2, 2012

    Breakfast Casserole

    Breakfast Casserole

    This is a wonderful dish to make the night before.  We like ours plain, but you can add the mushrooms, tomatoes and onions to it to jazz it up a bit.



    Ingredients:
    • 1 package of sausage (your choice)
    • 10 eggs, lightly beaten
    • 3 cups milk
    • 2 tablespoons dry mustard
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 6 cups of cubed bread
    • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
    • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
    Directions:

    Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium high heat, stirring frequently until cooked through and no longer pink.  In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper: stir well.  Distribute half the bread evenly in a buttered 9" x 13" x 2" baking dish.  Sprinkle with half the pepper, half the cheese, half the sausage and half of any optional ingredients.  Repeat.  Pour egg mixture evenly over casserole.  Bake uncovered for 55 - 60 minutes, or until eggs are set.  Tent with foil if too begins to brown too quickly.  Can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 12 hours before baking.

    Friday, June 1, 2012

    Lemon Squares

    Lemon Squares

    This is a great and easy recipe that has to be made in a jelly roll pan.  Whenever I make bars, I grease my pan, place wax paper on top (leave some on the ends to use has a handle), and then I grease the top of the wax paper.  This makes getting the bars out of the pan, much easier.  Plus the bars can be cut much easier and more even.


    Ingredients
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1-1/2 cups cold butter
    TOPPING:
    • 6 eggs, lightly beaten
    • 3 cups sugar
    • 1/2 cup lemon juice
    • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • Confectioners' sugar
    Directions
    • In a large bowl, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Pat into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 16-20 minutes or until set and top is golden brown.
    • For topping, combine the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Pour over crust (pan will be full). Bake 16-20 minutes longer or until set and top is golden brown. Cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into squares. Yield: 4 dozen.

    Strawberry Shortcake

    Strawberry Shortcake


    This is a recipe that I borrowed from Taste of Home.  The recipe calls for a square pan, and all I had was a round pan.  That did not change the taste any.  :)  I do use fresh stawberries, cut them up, and then add sugar to taste.  I mix it up and let it sit and a natural syrup will form.

    Ingredients
    • 2/3 cup sugar
    • 1/4 cup shortening
    • 1 egg
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1/2 cup milk
    • Whipped cream
    • 1-1/2 quarts fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced
    Directions
    • In a bowl, cream sugar and shortening. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with milk to the creamed mixture. Spread in a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
    • Cut into nine servings. Split each serving horizontally and fill with whipped cream and strawberries. Replace top of cake; garnish with more berries and a dollop of whipped cream. Serve immediately. Yield: 9 servings.

    Lime Chicken

    Lime Chicken
    Lime Chicken with homemade salsa and Black and Red Fiesta Beans and Rice

    This recipe was AMAZING!! It was easy and very tasty. Dean even loved it, and he hates chicken. I think the next time that we make this, I will use thighs. Boneless chicken breasts will work too. Both of these options will require less cooking time. This is a recipe that I adapted from Food TV. This does make a lot of chicken. I used my left over chicken in a salad and in quesadellas. If you try this, please let me know how it turned out for you.

    Lime Chicken:

    1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 limes)
    1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
    1 tablespoon chili powder
    1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper (1 pepper seeded)
    1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)
    2 teaspoons kosher salt
    1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    3 whole (6 split) boneless chicken breasts, skin on

    Directions
    Combine the lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.

    Heat a grill with coals and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook another 5 minutes. Repeat this turning process every 5 minutes for a total of 25 minutes or until the chicken is done. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

    Black and Red Fiesta Beans and Rice

    Black and Red Fiesta Beans and Rice

    Lime Chicken with homemade salsa and Black and Red Fiesta Beans and Rice


    This recipe really made a lot of food. So we ate it twice and also put it in tacos and other Mexican dishes. This was a cheap, easy and fulfilling dish that can be made from items in your pantry. This was a wonderful recipe, and that I will make over and over again for my family. This recipe was adapted from Food TV. This recipe was also very good topped with melted cheese.

    Black and Red Fiesta Beans and Rice


    2 cups brown rice
    1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilis
    1/2 cup prepared salsa (You can also use your homemade salsa too.)
    1 tablespoon onion flakes
    1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
    1 teaspoon dried oregano
    1 teaspoon dried thyme
    1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
    1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
    1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
    1 (11-ounce) can corn, drained
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper

    Directions:
    Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and set pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer. Simmer until rice is cooked. Fold in rice and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

    Creamy Macaroni Salad

    Creamy Macaroni Salad
    My mom always makes macaroni salad, but with her traveling on her trip, I had to come up with something new. So this is the recipe that I used to make some of the best macaroni salad that I have tasted in a long time. It was creamy, even on the second day. I did not add celery, but you can add it for some extra crunch. I am all about using what I have in my pantry to make my meals. It also should have had green peppers, and I did not have any, so I used jalapeno peppers.

    Creamy Macaroni Salad

    2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
    3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
    1 small onion, chopped
    2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
    2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
    2 cups creamy salad dressing (e.g. Miracle Whip)
    3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
    3/4 cup white sugar
    2 1/4 teaspoons white vinegar
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    3/4 teaspoon celery seed

    Directions:

    Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Drain, and set aside to cool.

    In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, onion, pepper, and relish. In a small bowl, stir together the salad dressing, mustard, white sugar, vinegar, salt and celery seed. Pour over the vegetables, and stir in macaroni until well blended. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

    Vintage Vanilla Pudding

    Vintage Vanilla Pudding
    As many of you know, I do not like to use packaged items. I do when I have to, but would much rather make mine food from scratch. This is a wonderful pudding recipe that is easy to make. My family no longer will eat pudding from a box. It is tastier and cheaper than box, and I would also hope a little healthier. Sometimes I take this pudding and use it to make banana pudding.

    Vintage Vanilla Pudding

    1 cup sugar
    3 tablespoons Argo® or Kingsford’s® Corn Starch
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    2 cups milk
    2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
    1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla


    Combine sugar, corn starch and salt in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in milk until smooth. Add egg yolks.

    Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and boil 1 minute. Stir in vanilla.

    Pour in a serving bowl OR pour equal amounts into 4 individual serving bowls. Cover and chill a minimum of 30 minutes before serving.

    Honey Carrots

    Honey Carrots
    As you may know, I do not eat out a lot because it is expensive. I do love the sweet carrots from oriental restaurants. This recipe is the closest to those carrots that I have ever made. I did make them with baby cut carrots, but you can easily use whol carrots and just slice them. I hope you enjoy this as much as my family does. This was adapted from Reynolds Kitchen.

    Honey Carrots

    1 sheet (18x24-inches) aluminum foil (I did use regular size and folded two pieces together.)
    1 package (16 oz.) peeled baby carrots
    2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
    2 tablespoons honey
    2 tablespoons butter
    2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
    2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

    Preheat oven to 450°F or grill to medium-high.
    Center carrots on sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with brown sugar, drizzle with honey and top with butter.
    Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal making one large foil packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.
    Bake 20 to 25 minutes on a cookie sheet in oven or grill 11 to 13 minutes in covered grill. Open foil; stir in fresh parsley and lime juice before serving.

    Cold Oven Pound Cake

    Cold Oven Pound Cake

    Video

    This is the best pound cake I have ever eaten. It is moist, tasty and has a great texture. For years, I was told not to over beat my mixture. My cakes did not turn out very fluffy. They were dense and heavy. I do use my mixer, and I do mix it a lot. This is a great recipe that my friend Kellie Furr shared with me. You can switch around the extracts to adjust the taste to suit you. I am a traditionalist, so I just use vanilla. But you can use 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1 1/2 tsp of lemon extract, brandy extract, almond extract or any flavor you want to try.

    Cold Oven Pound Cake

    2 sticks butter, softened
    1/2 c. shortening
    3 c. sugar
    3 c. all purpose flour
    5 eggs
    2 - 3 tsp. vanilla extract
    1 c. milk

    Cream the butter and shortening. Add sugar and beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and alternate with milk. Blend thoroughly. Add flavorings. Pour into a greased and floured tube or fluted pan. Place in cold over and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. Then raise the temperature to 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 -15 minutes before turning out of pan. Allow to cool before cutting. Serve plain, with powdered sugar, strawberries and syrup or any way you wish.

    Red French Dressing

    Red French Dressing
    This is the best French Dressing I have ever had. It is so much cheaper to make than the bottled version, plus it is better tasting and no artificial ingredients. I hope you like this as much as my family does. This recipe comes from Cooking with the Horse and Buggy People cookbook.


    2 t. dried minced onion
    2 t. salt
    1 c. sugar
    3/4 c. oil
    1/3 c. white vinegar
    1 c. ketchup
    1 t. paprika
    juice of one lemon
    1 T. mayonnaise

    Whisk everything together but the mayonnaise until all mixed. Then stir in the mayonnaise just until blended. Keep refrigerated

    Blue Cheese Dressing

    Blue Cheese Dressing
    I would much rather make my food at home, then buy it in a store. Here is another example of something that I make for my family. This dressing is so thick and wonderful, that is can easily double as a dip. I adapted this for a recipe for allrecipes.com.

    Blue Cheese Dressing

    1/4 cup milk
    3 cups mayonnaise
    1 cup sour cream
    1 container of crumbled blue cheese (They range from 4 oz. to 5 1/2 oz.)
    2 teaspoons garlic salt

    Mix together the milk, mayonnaise, sour cream and garlic salt until smooth and well blended. Stir in the blue cheese. Cover and refrigerate. It is best to allow the flavors to mix for at least 2 hours before serving.

    Blueberry Sauce

    Blueberry Sauce
    This is great for angel food cake, ice cream, pound cake or anywhere else you can think. I did add about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch so the sauce would thicken up some more for my taste. Enjoy, I know my family did.

    Blueberry Sauce

    2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
    1/3 cup sugar
    1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Directions:
    Wash and crush blueberries; add sugar, lemon juice and salt. Mix well. In a small saucepan, bring blueberry mixture to a boil; boil 1 minute. Add vanilla. Chill.

    Easy No-Fail Barbeque Ribs

    Easy No-Fail Barbeque Ribs
    This recipe is so easy that anyone can do it, and no grill is needed. You can use any type of ribs, but my favorite are country style ribs. You can buy these for less than $1.50 per pound when they are on sale. This is a cheap and easy meal. I made it tonight, and for around $11.00, I feed a family, and even had a little left over.

    Directions:
    Ribs
    Garlic Powder
    Onion Powder
    Cayenne Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, or any other spice you like
    1/8 - 1/4 cup water
    1 - 2 bottles of favorite sauce

    Place ribs in pan. You can use a casserole dish or a cake pan. Sprinkle the ribs with the garlic and onion powders. Use as much as you like for your taste. Add any additional spices. Pour water into the pan. Use the smaller amount for one package of ribs and use the larger amount for two packages of ribs. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Place in a 325 degree oven. No need to preheat the oven and waste the energy. Check ribs in one hour. If it is close to fork tender, then top with your preferred bottled barbeque sauce. Cover again with foil and bake 30 additional minutes. If the ribs are not fork tender, recover and check in 30 - 45 minutes. Once fork tender, add the sauce and finish.

    Fake Crunch Bar

    Fake Crunch Bar
    This is an easy candy that can be made for any occasion. In my family, we do not need an occasion. Use saltine crackers as a base for the toffee and chocolate. I make this recipe in a 1/2 cookie sheet. You can double it for a regular size cookie sheet.

    Ingredients:
    2 oz. saltine crackers (make sure they are fresh and not stale)
    1/2 c. butter
    1/2 c. brown sugar
    1 c. chocolate chips
    1 and 1/3 c. chopped walnuts

    Directions:
    Line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Spray the foil generously with nonstick spray. Arrange crackers in a single layer on foil. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Boil the sugar and butter for 3 minutes. Pour evenly over the crackers. Use caution as this is very hot and sticky. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the hot mixture. Wait a few minutes for the chips to melt, then spread with a spatula or back of a spoon. Sprinkle with nuts. Allow to cool completely and then break up to desired sized pieces.

    Baked Beans

    Baked Beans
    This is an easy dish that is a big hit with my family. You can make a large casserole dish for around $4.00 or less, depending on what you get on sale and what you already have on hand. This size serving feeds my family for two meals.

    Ingredients:
    4 cans of pork and beans
    1/4 - 1/2 lb of bacon
    1/2 diced onion
    1/4 c white sugar
    1/2 c brown sugar
    3/4 c ketchup
    3 tbls mustard
    5 tbls Worcestershire sauce

    Directions:
    Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until brown. While cooking bacon, open the cans of beans and place them in the dish. You can also dice the onion at this time. You can go ahead and place all of the other ingredients, except for the bacon and onion, in the dish with the beans. Once the bacon is done, drain, and place in the dish. In the pan of bacon grease, fry your onions until tender. Drain and place in dish. Mix well, and place in a 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.No need to preheat oven and waste the electricity.

    Macaroni and Cheese

    Mac and Cheese is a great side dish to add to any type of meal.  There are many variations but this one is quick and easy and also has ingre...