Beverly's Baked Beans

My good friend, Bev, gave me this recipe. I tried it out this week and my family loved it! I only changed a couple of things, which are noted in the recipe. So enjoy!

P.S. Isn't it wonderful to not have to read paragraph upon paragraph of endless babbling and dodging pop up ads? You're welcome. :)

Ingredients-

10 slices thick bacon- cut up

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 c. chopped onions

1/3 c. sugar (I use brown sugar. By now, y'all know how much I love brown sugar.)

1/2 c. ketchup

2 T. molasses

2 T. mustard

1/2 tea. salt

pepper to taste

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 c. crushed pineapple with the juice

1 16. oz. can each, pork and beans, butter beans, kidney beans

    * I used 3 cans pork and beans instead of using butter and kidney beans.

Directions-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Fry bacon pieces. Drain.

Brown ground beef and onions. Drain. 

Mix all ingredients into a 3 qt. casserole.

Bake uncovered for one hour.

Tip- Remember your kitchen scissors. They're perfect for cutting the bacon into pieces.

Easy Chicken Divan

This is such a simple, yet delicious casserole to whip up, and I'm going to share one tip that will make it even easier. Buy a rotisserie chicken from Costco or your local deli! Pick the meat off the bone (depending on the size of the bird, you should get enough white and dark meat for two or three meals), then place the shredded chicken in small freezer bags to thaw and use as needed. 

EASY CHICKEN DIVAN

Ingredients-

2-3 cups COOKED broccoli (fresh or frozen) *
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
3/4 tea. curry powder
3/4 tea. salt
dash pepper
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1/4 cup melted butter

* If your family doesn't care for broccoli, 2 cans drained French Style Green Beans would be a good substitute.

Directions- 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook broccoli until tender. Arrange stalks in lightly greased 
9x13 baking dish. Place shredded chicken on top. In a large bowl, combine soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, curry, salt and pepper. Spoon over chicken. Combine crackers and melted butter in food processor until crushed. Sprinkle over top. 

Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes or until warmed through and cracker topping is golden brown.

Need more ideas of what to cook with your Costco rotisserie chicken? Try Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll-Ups, or Chicken Bow Tie Salad, or substitute chicken for the turkey in this Turkey Pot Pie recipe. 

Gooey Lemon Blueberry Squares

Cake Layer~

1 yellow cake mix

1 egg

zest and juice of 1 lemon

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Middle Layer~

1 can blueberry pie filling

Top Layer~

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened but not melted

juice of 1 lemon

½ tea. lemon extract

½ tea. coconut extract (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine cake mix, egg, zest, juice and butter in an electric mixer. Pat into a lightly greased

9 x 13  GLASS pan.

Spread blueberry pie filling over crust.

I used the Blueberry and Creme Pie Filling I had on hand in my pantry. Don't
be afraid to try a variety of pie fillings and change it up according to your taste. 

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth, add eggs, lemon juice, zest, vanilla and flavorings. Beat in powdered sugar, mixing well.

Spoon onto cake mixture, spreading evenly.

Bake for approximately 55 minutes. Begin checking after 45 minutes, testing with a toothpick. It should remain a little gooey in the center. 

Cool completely and cut into squares.

*Adapted recipe was inspired by Mary Ellen at That's My Home 

Coca-Cola Cake

Being a Coca-Cola collector, I have several cookbooks with yummy recipes using Coke as an ingredient. This particular one is in several of them. It is also similar to the Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake on the dessert menu at Cracker Barrel. 

Serve it up with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of Cool Whip and you can't go wrong. 

Cake Ingredients-

2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup Coca-Cola
1 teaspoon baking soda
 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients-

1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons cocoa
 6 tablespoons Coca-Cola
16 ounces powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift sugar and flour into a mixing bowl. Add marshmallows. In saucepan, mix butter,oil, cocoa and Coca-Cola. Bring to boil and pour over dry ingredients; blend well. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to batter. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. 

Pour into a well-greased 13 x 9 inch pan and bake approximately 40 minutes. (Cake is done when it begins to pull away from sides of pan and the center springs back when lightly pushed with finger.) Remove from oven and frost immediately. (Do not cool cake before frosting!)

Easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo Sauce is super easy to make. Instead of buying one of those dry mix packets from the market or the thick, white stuff in a jar, try making your own sauce with these 4 simple ingredients. 

Clearly, this recipe is not for those trying to lose weight or the lactose intolerant. :)

My families favorite way to eat Alfredo is over fettuccine, topped with grilled chicken strips and sauteed mushrooms, but there are more ways you can enjoy this versatile sauce. Here are a few examples...

1) Replace red sauce with Alfredo on pizza and lasagna. 

2) Pour it over angel hair pasta or ravioli. 

3) Use Alfredo as a dipping sauce for breadsticks.

Easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 cup half and half (You can substitute milk instead.)

In a large saucepan, combine cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, butter and half and half. Stir over low heat until smooth.

Enjoy!

Serves: 4

Brown Sugar Banana Bread

My daughter and daughter-in-law periodically ask me questions about cooking and/or baking, so this year I am going to post more tried and true recipes along with any helpful tips that I can think of. This way, not only will my girls have easy access to favorite family dishes, but I can also share them with the rest of the world.

When I was younger, Google wasn't around to help answer all of my cooking questions, so I had to call an expert...my mother. Now my kids are doing the same thing. Even though they have smart phones with answers right at their fingertips, they still come to me for direction. And, do you know what? I'm totally okay with that!

Here is an actual text conversation I had with my daughter (a newlywed) and is the source of my inspiration. I apologize to my facebook friends who have already seen it, but it's pretty comical and worth sharing.

Katelyn- "Hi. Do you know of any crockpot recipes using ground beef that don't take more than a few hours?"

Me- "No. Make Hamburger Helper or Sloppy Joes."

Katelyn- "There's a crockpot Sloppy Joe Casserole I was going to make, but it says the hash browns need to be thawed beforehand. Do you think it's a big deal if they aren't?"

Me- "Run them under warm water in a strainer for a second to thaw them and then drain them for a bit." 

Katelyn- "You're a damn genius, I tell ya!"

So, without further adieu, here is a terrific banana bread recipe straight from the kitchen of "a damn genius".   :)

Brown Sugar Banana Bread

1 3/4 c. flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/3 c. oil

2/3 c. brown sugar

1 c. mashed, ripe bananas (approximately 2)

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat eggs. Add oil, vanilla, brown sugar and mashed banana. Stir in baking soda, baking powder and salt, then gradually add flour.Mix well, but do not over beat.

Pour into a greased bread pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, testing with a toothpick. 

Brown sugar is the key ingredient and reason this bread is so delectable. Brown sugar contains molasses and is generally sweeter. When given a choice between white and brown sugar, I always opt for brown. 

Sugar Cookie and Glaze Recipes

There are two times a year that I must make sugar cookies, Valentine's Day and Halloween. I have several sugar cookie recipes in my collection, but this is by far my favorite because of one little ingredient. 

Sugar Cookies

3 cups flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (This is the secret to great tasting cookies!)
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening, Beat eggs, sugar and milk together. Add to first ingredients. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Roll out on floured surface. Cut with cookie cutter. Bake @ 350 degrees for approximately 8 minutes. (Adjust time according to how thick or thin you prefer your cookies and if you like them crispy or soft.)


Sugar Cookie Glaze

1 stick butter
1/2 cup plus 3 Tablespoons milk
1/4 cup light corn syrup
32 oz. package powdered sugar

Melt butter in large bowl in microwave. Add remaining ingredients. Mix with a whisk until smooth. Dip cookies in glaze. Let set for one hour.

*Glaze will frost a double batch of sugar cookies.

Almond Joy Bar Cookies

I pinned Almond Joy Pudding Cookies onto my Pinterest Sweets and Treats board awhile back and finally had a chance to bake them yesterday. This tasty recipe came from Dorothy's blog Crazy for Crust, a website loaded with recipes that are mainly desserts and sweets (my favorite kind).

I changed things up a bit and made bar cookies instead of individual cookies for these two reasons...

1) I made Butterfinger Oatmeal Cookies awhile back and wished I hadn't chopped up the candy bar quite so much. From that experience, I knew I wanted bigger chunks of Almond Joy than Dorothy's recommended 1 inch ball of dough would be able to hold.

2) It is blasted hot where I live, in the triple digits, and I reasoned that if I baked the dough all at once, I could turn my oven off sooner. :)

Anyway, here is my bar cookie version. If you would rather stick to individual cookies, click here for Dorothy's scrumptious Almond Joy Pudding Cookies. 

Almond Joy Bar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 sugar
1 (3.5 oz.) instant coconut cream pudding
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups flour
18 mini Almond Joy candy bars, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugars. Add pudding mix and blend well. Add eggs and vanilla. Slowly add salt, soda and flour. Mix until combined. Gently stir in chopped candy bars.

Press dough evenly in ungreased 13x9 inch pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

Kindergarten Cooking 101

Going through my recipe drawer this afternoon, I came across a "cookbook" that Katelyn's class made in Kindergarten twenty years ago. Although I can't share them all with you, I have picked out a few of my favorites. They are quite comical.

My favorite part? 5 cups of chocolate chips! Heck yeah!

I hope this kid's family takes turns mixing the fish sticks (without any fish) for 20 hours.

5 cups of white cheese on top of two pieces of spaghetti that have been cooked for 85 minutes. Yum!

Okay, I know this kid's dad and I'm pretty sure he doesn't even own a gun,
let alone set out to shoot his own turkey.

Now I know if I'm at the market and can't find the popcorn, all I have to do is head on over to the bakery department and ask the baker! By the way, is it just me or do you get the feeling that this family often burns their popcorn the first go-round?

So that's what my No-Bake cookies are missing. Sand!!

This last recipe came straight from the mouth of my daughter...

What can I say? Our family likes really sweet, undercooked, 0 inch that turn into 2 inch,
M&M Cookies without egg shells. Doesn't yours?

Dinner-in-a-Pumpkin Drama

Every October, when I fix Dinner-in-a-Pumpkin for my family, I think about the first time I ever made it.


About fifteen years ago, I was a member of a women's group that met once a month for dinner, crafts and conversation. I was serving on the food committee and one of our members threw out the idea of serving Dinner-in-a-Pumpkin for the month of October. My responsibility was to find women who would volunteer to cook the dish in their homes, provided I supply the recipe and the pumpkins.


Several ladies came forward to help, but one woman, in particular, stands out in my mind. Gayla. Read on and you will understand.


Gayla told me she'd be happy to help, so I delivered the pumpkin, along with the recipe, to her home and left them with her teenage daughter. Later that evening, I received a phone call from Gayla informing me that the pumpkin was "just too big" (each pumpkin was 5 lbs). So, humoring her, I said I would be happy to come by the next day and exchange pumpkins. She said she would not be home, but she would leave the (apparently humongous) pumpkin on her doorstep for me to swap with a smaller one.


The next day, the phone rang and it was Gayla on the other end, letting me know that the pumpkin was the "wrong type" and she refused to make the dish in it. (Bare in mind that the other lady volunteers had the same size and type of pumpkins and were OKAY with it.)

Time was running out. The event was that very night and clearly I was getting nowhere with Gayla. However, she was doing a terrific job of getting out of her assignment as well as making me feel like sh*t.

Exasperated, I told Gayla that I would cook her pumpkin. I mean, why not? I was already cooking one. Surely I could squeeze another pumpkin in my oven (insert eye roll here)?! Gayla didn't hang up before reminding me, one more time, that the dinner was not going to taste good using the "wrong type" of pumpkin. 


That evening, Sharon, a dear friend of mine who also served on the food committee and had lent a listening ear when I needed to vent, informed/warned me that Gayla had arrived. We were surprised she had the audacity to show up,  but surprised isn't the word I'd use to describe how we felt when Gayla was the first one in line for food! I. Kid. You. Not.

Anyway, with that memory shared, here is my Dinner-in-a-Pumpkin recipe...

1 and 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/4 c. chopped  celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 tea. salt

Cook together until celery and onion are tender.

1 (5 lb) pumpkin
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 TBS. brown sugar
1 (4 oz.) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cups hot cooked rice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 10 inch circle in center of baking sheet. Set aside.

Prepare pumpkin by removing seeds and pulp.

Combine ground beef mixture, soy sauce, mushrooms, soups and rice in pan or large bowl. Spoon into pumpkin. Replace top of pumpkin and bake on prepared baking sheet.

Check pumpkin after 1 hour. Continue baking until pumpkin is tender when pierced with fork.

When serving, dish out pumpkin with the casserole.

Recipe will feed 6-8 people

Pumpkin Bread

Autumn is not my favorite season. Summer ends, school begins, temperatures drop and illnesses circulate. However, I love the foods that come along with cooler weather. Soups, chili and chowders, caramel apples, apple crisp and pie, and pumpkin dishes. Here is the recipe for one of my favorite...pumpkin bread!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 2/3 cups flour
Optional- chocolate chips, nuts, raisins.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar and eggs. Add oil, pumpkin and water. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 4 1/2" x 9" bread pan. Bake approximately 45-55 minutes. Bread is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack before slicing.

Finished Product



Perfect Texture

5 Tips for Better Muffins

1) Take care not to overmix the batter. A lumpy batter will produce tender muffins.

2) Muffin pans come in different sizes; therefore, you will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

3) If your muffin recipe does not fill all the cups in your pan, fill the empty cups with water. The muffins will bake more evenly.

4) Unless directions say otherwise, muffins should go directly into the oven as soon as the batter is mixed.

5) Always check muffins for doneness 5-7 minutes before the end of recommended baking time to avoid overbaking. The muffins are done if a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.