Recipes

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JD's German Farmers Breakfast Casserole
3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
3/4 cup shredded Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese
1 cup diced ham
1/3 cup chopped green onion
5 beaten eggs
1 (12 ounce)can evaporated skim milk (although we used regular milk just fine)
3/4 teaspoonful salt
1/2 teaspoonful pepper
1 teaspoonful parsley

Grease a 2 quart square baking dish. Arrange potatoes evenly in dish and sprinkle with cheese, meat, and green onion. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour over mixture. You can refrigerate it overnight at this stage (if for an early breakfast). Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until center is set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

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Chicken Soup

Boil one chicken in water to cover with 3 inches extra.  Boil until well done and meat starts to pull away from bone.  Let cool.  Draw fat to the top with ice OR let sit in refrigerator over night, and remove fat from top the next morning.

After removing fat, remove skin and meat from bones.  Save the liquid--its your stock. (Feed the fat and skin to the animals-its good for their coat)

Run liquid through a colander.  Add the chicken you removed from the bones to that liquid.

Then add:
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups of corn
2 diced onions
1 diced group of celery
2 cups peas

Add seasoning to taste--Accent, paprika, pepper, garlic, Cajun spice mix, poultry seasoning.

Notice--I did not add salt.  You can if you like, but we don't--unless you use a fresh butchered chicken of your own, even the chickens you buy at the store contain salt.  If you use canned veggies, they also contain salt, and your seasonings may also have salt. If you are trying to avoid salt, rinse your bought chicken and rinse off your canned veggies.

In a separate pot, boil either rice or noodles.  When cooked, drain and rinse well.  Add to the chicken and veggies.
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Taco Pie

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
... 2/3 cup milk
1 package Taco Bell seasoning mix
2 1/2 cups mashed potato flakes (you could also use left over mashed potatoes and omit the butter and milk)
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Sour cream, optional

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter. Add milk and 2 tablespoon taco seasoning. Remove from heat and add potato flakes until incorporated. Press mixture into the bottom of a 10-inch pan.
2. Bake for 7-10 minutes until it just BARELY turns golden brown.
3. In a medium skillet, cook beef and onions until beef is browned and cooked through. Drain. Add Salsa and remaining taco seasoning. Cook until bubbly.
4. Pour into crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
5. Let cool for 5 minutes. Top with cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Cut and serve with sour cream.

from Pampered Chef
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☆.•♥•Pillsbury's Crescent Roll Taco Bake Recipe!.•♥•☆

2 crescent roll tubes
1 LB ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 packet of taco seasoning
... 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce
1 or 2 diced tomatoes depending on size
1/2 small can sliced olives if desired
Sour cream optional
sliced avocado optional

Lay out the two tubes of crescent pastry, thick sides in. Use some of the left over crescent rolls to to make the center a bit thicker.
Brown beef and add taco seasoning.
Lay beef in a circle inside of the laid out crescent rolls
Add cheese to the top
Pull over crescent rolls and tuck in under meat and cheese.
Add cheese, lettuce, tomato, black olives, sour cream or whatever you desire for your tacos, in the middle.

Follow cook time on the pack of crescent rolls, and once it's done, you're good to go!

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Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

flour
salt
pepper
ice cold water
shortening
butter
veggies of choice
chicken
gravy

Make pie crust for an 8 or 9 inch pie.
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons ice cold water
3/4 cup shortening
5 tablespoons cold butter cut into small chunks
Mix with pastry cutter, roll out and put bottom crust in pie plate.  Set top crust aside.

Dice cooked chicken.  You can either used leftover chicken, canned chicken, boiled or fried.  Be sure to save your drippings if you cook it stove top for your gravy.

Add into diced chicken veggies of choice.  I use peas, carrots, onion, corn and celery.  Mix in gravy and put into pie shell.

Add top crust.  Crimp pie edges together to seal.  Cut vent holes in top of crust.

Bake on a cookie sheet (often they "boil over") 350 for about 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

I prefer to use fresh veggies or frozen.  Canned contain too much sodium.  You can either make your own gravy to add or use canned gravy (again, I try to avoid the canned due to the sodium).

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Dripless Popsicles

Ingredients:
1 pkg jello (choice of flavor)
1 pkg Kool-Aid (choice of flavor)
2 cups hot water
2 cups cold water
1 cup sugar

Directions:
Shake Jello, Kool-Aid, sugar, & hot water to mix. Add cold water & shake. Pour into popsicle molds & freeze.

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Unleavened Bread or Matzah (we make this around Passover and Easter)
3 1/2 cups hot water
4 teaspoons salt
8-10 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons shortening

Combine shortening, salt,and sugar in bowl. Add in hot water and stir or mix with bread hooks until shortening is melted. Gradually add in flour while mixing. Knead dough around 7 minutes. Divide and shape dough into 25 balls and pat down into a 5 inch round that is 1/3 inch thick. Score with x and prick with fork to prevent it from bubbling up while baking.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Dough will not rise or turn brown. Baked loaves freeze well.
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Cheroseth (a Jewish dish)
This will feed 50 people
12 apples
2 pound raisins
2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 pound dates
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
Wash and core apples (but do not peel). Grind in meat grinder with dates and raisins. When all is ground, add in cinnamon and honey. Mix well, refrigerate until serving.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. soft margarine
3/4 c. white sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. chocolate chips
(1/2 c. chopped nuts, if desired)

Cream margarine, sugar and brown sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla and stir well. Mix the flour and baking soda together first, then add it to the sugar mixture. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by large spoons onto greased cookie sheet. Flatten with fork dipped in sugar. Bake 375 degrees for about 9-10 minutes. Makes about 18 cookies.
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Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/4 cup chicken broth, low sodium
• 1 egg
• 1/8 cup milk, low or fat free
• 1 egg, beaten for egg wash

Additional flour for rolling
Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. Add oil, broth, eggs and milk.
3.  Mix until thoroughly combined.
4. Whisk together wheat flour and cornmeal and add to the above.
5.  Roll out dough on a floured surface to 1/4" thickness.
6.  Cut into shapes with cookie cutters.
7.  Gather remaining dough and roll flat. Cut as many dog biscuits as you can
8. Brush the egg wash onto each cookie..
9. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
10. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Yield: Approximately 2 dozen dog biscuits using a 2" cookie cutter.
Storing: These chicken broth dog biscuits bake hard and will last 4 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

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Monster Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated white sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup M&M's plain chocolate candies

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter with the sugars and butter. Use an electric mixer to mix until well combined. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the oats and baking soda. Then stir in the chips and M&M's.
3. Drop the cookies by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. If you'd like your cookies to look pretty (like the photo), dot a few extra M&M's and chocolate chips on each mound of dough before baking.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets until cookies are set. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

For a large family, you may want to double the recipe.

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Crab Apple Jelly (no added pectin)
Wash crab apples and cook down in large stainless steel stockpot with water added to cover.  Boil and crush as it cooks until all apples are soft and crushed.
Transfer apple mixture to a jelly bag or strainer over a large bowl, and allow it to drip overnight to collect juice.  Don't squeeze the jelly bag, or it will cloud the jelly.
The next day, add 4 cups of crab apple juice to 4 cups of sugar (may need more if apples were tart), and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
Boil hard, let sugar dissolve and stir until it begins to sheet on the metal spoon.  Once it begins to gel, remove from heat and skim off any foam.
Pour hot into canning jars and process covered in a boiling bath for 10 minutes.
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    Perfect Lemonade Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

Method

1 Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.
2 While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.
3 Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.
Serve with ice, sliced lemons.
Yield: Serves 6.

 Save some back and freeze in ice cube trays.  This keeps your ice from melting and diluting your drink.  You may want to make one batch ahead of time, so that you always have lemon ice on hand.                                      
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Rebecca's double chocolate cake recipe

ingredients:

1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup of either brown sugar or granulated sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt with fork in ungreased square pan 8x8x2 for a thicker cake, or 9x13 for a thinner cake.

Mix in remaining ingredients, except for chocolate chips.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter and bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean--30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your pan.  Sprinkle top with powdered sugar if desired.

We opt for the 9x13 pan as it makes more servings, which are thinner, thus less calories!

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Rebekah's Taco Soup Recipe
Quick and easy to make.  Just adjust the quantity for your family size, and tweak the ingredients for how your family likes it--mild or spicy, or different beans....

2 lbs lean ground beef or turkey OR diced chicken
3 cans ranch style canned beans
3 cans rotel
3 cans corn
Cook meat (I drain if beef, but some people don't drain it).  Add in all other ingredients.

Add tortilla chips and top with cheese.  (Some people do while on the stove, but I like my chips crunchy so I add mine right before I serve it)
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From Amish Stories- Jeans Rootbeer

Root Beer

1 teaspoon dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups granulated sugar

1 quart hot water

4 teaspoons root beer extract                   

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.

Dissolve sugar in 1 quart hot water.

Mix together dissolved yeast, sugar and root beer extract in gallon jar.

Fill jar with warm water and stir until all ingredients are well combined

Seal Jar

Set in warm sun for 3 to 4 hours

Refrigerate 12-24 hours

Serve cold

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Basic Sugar Cookie Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for shaping the cookies
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth.
3. Add the egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
4. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (the dough will be stiff). Shape into a disk and (unless otherwise specified in an individual recipe) refrigerate, wrapped, for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. Make cookies. Use whatever method desired: cut-outs, rolled, dropped, bar, etc. Bake at 350° F for 12-15 minutes per pan of cookies.
6. Store cookies in an airtight contain for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

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Little Beverly's
My mom (Beverly), made these when we were little.  Hence, the name.

Take your leftover pie crust dough.  Cut up little slivers of butter and put on dough.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Roll up, and slice.  Put on cookie sheet and bake at 325 for about 12 minutes.

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Finger Paint
You will need:
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tbsp. cornstarch
6 tbsp. cold water
Food coloring

Instructions:
1) Dissolve cornstarch in cold water in a cup.
2) Add mixture to boiling water.
3) Stir constantly.
4) Heat mixture until it becomes glossy.
5) Add food coloring.
5) Cool completely before using.
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Salt Dough for Craft Use

Ingredients

• 4 cups unsifted flour
• 1 cup salt
• water

Ingredients

Mix together flour and salt with a big wooden spoon. Slowly stir in the water. Keep mixing until the dough follows the spoon around the bowl and then knead with your hands until smooth. Pull out a ball of dough and place on floured surface.

With your rolling pin, thin out the dough to about 1/4 inch. Use cookie cutters, knives or other kitchen utensils to mold the dough in the shape of your wishes.

Bake at 300 degrees F for about 2 hours. Check frequently and turn oven down if project begins to brown. My preferred method is to allow to air dry. This usually takes a good 24 hours.

More uses for flour salt dough include adding them into a greased mold and pressing gently until all of mold is filled. Pop out and allow to dry. If you want to hang them add a hole made by a straw or a ornament hanger to the top of the pieces.

Once dry, paint them. Dough will last up to 2 weeks in sealed bag in refrigerator.