Baked Buttered Carrots

Here is another recipe I tried from the Food Nanny. I adjusted the time and temperature so I could cook it in the oven with my chicken. I'll post the chicken recipe soon! These turned out so yummy!

peel about 5 carrots. Cut in half length wise and then cut in half width wise.

Place the carrots in a 9x9 baking dish. Cover the carrots with water. Cover the dish with foil.

I placed the dish on the bottom rack so the chicken could sit on the top rack. I baked it at 375 for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

When the carrots are done. Drain the water and return carrots to hot baking dish. Dab with butter, salt and pepper!

Biscuits and Gravy

My friend Courtney introduced me to the cook book The Food Nanny. It is the cutest cook book! It is so much more than a recipe book. It talks about meal planning and shopping. Everything this lady talks about is more support to how I like to do things...so of course I love it!

I just tried this recipe of hers and it is gooooood!! I used the buttermilk biscuit recipe I just posted below here.

For the gravy

In a medium sauce pan brown:

8 oz maple flavor bulk sausage (I like Jimmy Dean)

In a separate sauce pan melt:

1/4 cup butter

using a whisk add:

1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
pepper

Mix the flour long enough that it darkens a bit. About 1-2 minutes. Then add slowly:

2 cups milk
1 cup water

Keep whisking. Don't leave the stove to do dishes or change a diaper :)  Keep the whisk moving until it bubbles and thickens. Then add the drained sausage and serve over hot biscuits with fresh fruit!

Buttermilk Buiscuits

These are the BEST buicuits I have ever had. They really do melt in your mouth. Do not substitute the ingredients. I found this recipe from sisterscafe.blogspot.com. I ate about 6 of these before stopping to take a breath. :-)   This is the only recipe I've ever actually measured flour the way you are suppose to. You know, you spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level with a knife.

In a mixing bowl dump:

2 cups flour
2, 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Use a pastry cutter to add:

5 T cold butter

Use a fork to fluff in this mixture:

3/4 cup buttermilk
3 T honey

Place the dough on a floured counter. Roll gently into 1/2 inch thick 9 inch by 5 inch rectangle. Then fold in half to make a square. Then roll out to another 9 inch by 5 inch rectangle. Then fold in half and use your hands to gently pat into a 3/4 inch thick circle. Cut 14 buiscuits.

Bake at 400 for 12 minutes. Serve hot!!

Crispy Southwest Quesadillas with Guacamole dip

Life has gotten busy now that school is in session. I thought music practice ended when I was done with school. Now that I have children in music classes I find that I log about 1 1/2 hours a day practicing along side them. I hope I can at least post one recipe a month. I'll try!

This recipe came from this website http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/  ... I like to make quesadillas instead of wraps. I also replaced and edited a few ingredients. These are super yummy and very filling. If you want to use more legumes and less meat this is a good place to start!

The filling makes a lot! I use half for dinner and then store the other half for another dinner. You could also freeze the filling.

Cook:

1/2 cup rice (makes up 1, 1/2 cups when done)

Add to the cooked rice:

1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced

spread on tortilla with shredded cheddar cheese. Fold in half and grill on pancake griddle.

Guacamole

Blend:

2 avocados
1/4 cup cilantro
small tomato
1/2 tsp salt
1 lime, juiced

Chicken Salad Sandwich

This is my all time favorite dinner in the hot summer months! Chicken Salad on croissants. I like to serve this with a berry smoothy and fresh strawberries on the side. I like that I can make this up the night before or the morning of. Leftovers are wonderful for lunches for the rest of the week.

In a bowl dump and mix:

4 cups cooked chicken (I use a whole rotisserie chicken from the Deli)
1 cup celery, chopped
1/3 cup yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mayo (I never use miracle whip)
pepper
3/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds

Peach Cobbler

There are a lot of ways to make a peach cobbler. But this way was easy because I used the bottled peach pie filling.

Pour 2 bottles of peach pie filling in a 9x13 pan. Do not grease.

Sprinkle 2 T flour over the top of pie filling. This helps thicken the filling.

Now for the topping...

In a mixing bowl dump and mix:

2 cups flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt

Now using a pastry cutter, cut in:

6 T shortening

Add using a fork:

1 cup milk (I use 3 T powder milk, and 1 cup water)

Spoon large tablespoons of this batter over the top of the pie filling. Sprinkle sugar over the batter.

Place in over and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Bottled Peach Pie Filling

Melanie, this is for you. These pictures are from last year. I bottled these with Mom. It's a little early for peach season. I bottled these on September 20th. So we are still about 2 months off. I found that peach pie filling is a great way to use up your scraps after bottling regular peaches. There are also lots of peaches on the ground half rotten. We just cut off the bad parts and used the good. I'm so glad Mom and Dad have lots of peach trees!

This turned out a lot better than I expected! It was a tad bit runny coming out of the bottle. I fixed this by sprinkling 1 T flour and 1 T cornstarch over the filling before you put the top crust on.

This recipe makes 5 quarts.

19 cups diced peaches
5 cups sugar
1, 3/4 cup clear jel
3, 3/4 water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup lemon juice
another 1 cup lemon juice

Step 1 - Peel the peaches.  (About two large stainless steel bowl fulls) Dip the fruit in boiling water for 60 seconds. Remove and place in an ice water bath. Then peel

Step 2 - Cut the peaches. I like cubed shapes for pie. Leave out the mushy brown spots. Remove pits

Step 3 - Place 19 cups cubed peaches in large oversized bowl with 1 cup lemon juice. The lemon juice is to prevent browning.

Step 4 - Combine water, sugar, Clear Jel, cinnamon, almond extract in the largest kettle you have. Stir and cook over medium high heat until the mixture thickens and bubbles. (You could also use peach juice instead of water if you like)

Step 5 - Add 1 cup lemon juice and boil the sauce 1 minute more. Stir constantly.

Step 6 - Add the drained peach slices and continue to heat the mixture for 3 minutes.

Step 7 - Fill the jars with peach filling. Leave 1/2 inch head space

Step 8 - Process the jars in a water bath for 40 minutes

Step 9 - Lift jars out of water with a jar grabber. Place gently on counter top lined with dish towels. Leave these alone and don't touch or bump for 24 hours.

Don't eat until after Thanksgiving!! That's what Mom always said :)