Oatmeal Brownies

Oatmeal Brownies
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats (I use old fashioned oats instead)
1 cup M&M miniature baking bits (These rarely go on sale, so it's not often that I add them)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 pkg fudge brownie mix (13x9x2 pan size)

In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; mix well. Set aside 1 cup for topping. Pat the remaining mixture into a greased 15x10x1 baking pan OR a 13x9x2 baking dish. Prepare brownie batter according to pkg directions. Spread over the crust. Sprinkle with the reserved oat mixture. Bake @ 350 for 25-30 min. for 15x10x1 OR 28-31 min. or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: depends on pan size!

Oatmeal Brownies

This recipe is pretty versatile for your taste. You can change up the candy chips or change the type of chopped nuts...whatever fits your fancy!

Creamy Apple Crumb Pie

Creamy Apple Crumb Pie

1 pastry for single-crust pie (9 in.)

6 cups cubed peeled tart apples (about 6 medium)

1/3 cup sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground allspice

1 cup (8 oz) reduced-fat sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

          ½ cup all purpose flour

          ¼ cup packed brown sugar

          ½ tsp ground cinnamon

          2 tbsp cold butter

Line a 9 in. deep dish pie plate with pastry; flute edges. In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and allspice. Combine sour cream and vanilla in a small bowl; stir into apple mixture. Spoon into pastry shell.

For topping, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbles. Sprinkle over pie filling.

Bake @ 400 for 25 min. Reduce heat to 350; bake 25-30 min. longer or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Store in fridge. Yield: 8 servings

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup shortening

4 to 5 tbsp cold water

Stir together flour and salt. Using a fork or pastry blender; cut in shortening until pieces are pea size. Gradually add water a tbsp at a time, mixing pastry as you go until all the dough is moistened. Form dough into a ball.

Lightly flour a flat surface such as your table or countertop; slightly flatten dough with your hands. Using a rolling pin, continue to roll out the dough into a circle (about 12 in diameter).  Transfer to 9 in. pie plate. Turn excess edges underneath and use your fingers to flute the edges.

Creamy Apple Crumb Pie

Our oldest son, Kody, and I made this for a special dessert tonight...Happy Father's Day!!

Garden Patch Bread Recipe

Today...I tried a new recipe from Better Homes and Gardens: The Complete Guide To Bread Machine Baking, in hopes of finding more ways to get veggies into my kids' bellies!

Garden Patch Bread
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coarsely shredded carrots (I did finely shredded instead)
1/3 cup tomato juice
2 tbsp coarsely chopped green bell pepper (I diced my peppers so they were smaller, less noticeable)
2 tbsp sliced green onions (I used diced regular onions, they're clear & less noticeable)
1 tbsp margarine, butter or cooking oil (I used margarine)
3 cups bread flour (I used non-bleached all purpose flour)
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried basil, crushed
1 tsp active dry yeast or bread machine yeast

This recipe is for the 1 1/2 lb loaf (20 slices) and I made the dough in my bread machine and then once the dough was done, I lightly greased my 9x5x4 bread pan on the bottom and 1/2 in. up the sides...placed the dough in the pan, covered and let it rise one more time for about 20 min. Baked @ 350 for 45 min. Here's the result:

Garden Patch Bread

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Cornbread Recipes

Cornbread

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup fat free milk
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp oil

Grease bottom of a 9x9x2 square baking dish; set aside. In a medium size bowl stir together the dry ingredients; then add in the rest of the moist ingredients. Mix well but not too much! Poor batter into prepared baking dish. Bake, uncovered, @ 425 for 20 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 9 servings.

Regular Cornbread shown in pic

Confetti Cornbread

Add : 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
          1/4 cup shredded carrot
          1/4 cup shredded zucchini
Prepare batter as shown above for regular cornbread, except also add in the cheddar cheese, carrot and zucchini to the batter before baking.


Personal Note: The recipe for the cornbread is my own personal recipe that I developed after many attempts in tweaking the Better Homes & Gardens recipe. I perfected it to our liking a handful of years ago and my family really enjoys it...it's moist and has a mildly sweet flavor.

Makin' Mashed Potatoes

These next few recipes are dedicated to my husband's friend who was lucky enough to be one of the FEW men that actually end up getting custody of their kids...heard your mashed potato story last night, bless your heart for trying! Hope this helps you......the amounts are based on what I make for our family of 5. You can adjust the recipes when making them for larger family gatherings.

Knowing how many potatoes to use: 1/2 of a large baking (russet) potato per person or 1-2 average sized red potatoes per person.....whatever that total is, I add a couple more servings for sending leftovers in my husband's lunch or for extra hungry tummies that want seconds at dinner.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
7-8 red potatoes
2 garlic cloves minced or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp butter
Splash of milk
2 tsp dried parsley

Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full with water, bring to a boil. While the water's heating up, wash the potatoes thoroughly (do not peel). Quarter the potatoes, add to boiling water. Boil potatoes for approx. 15 min. or until a fork pierces the potato easily. Drain the water. If your pans are coated with Teflon be sure to transfer the potatoes into a large bowl before mashing so you don't ruin your pans! Add the garlic, butter, milk and parsley to potatoes, mash with either an electric handheld mixer or non-electric potato masher. Return to pan to keep warm until ready to serve.

Mashed Potatoes
3-4 large baking (russet) potatoes
2 tbsp butter
Splash of milk

Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full with water, bring to a boil. While the water's heating up, peel potatoes & rinse with water. Cut potatoes in 1/2, then quarter each 1/2 (8 sections total); add to boiling water. Boil potatoes for approx. 15-20 min. (depending on how big the sections are), test with a fork poke. Drain the water. Again, if using Teflon coated pans, transfer to a large bowl before mashing potatoes. Add the butter and milk, mash with an electric handheld mixer or non-electric potato masher. Return to pan to keep warm until ready to serve.

Different Flavor Options for Regular Mashed Potatoes
You can always change up the flavor of your mashed potatoes to better accompany your main dish.

Example #1 - If your main dish is Italian, you can add 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp dried oregano & 1/8 tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove minced.

Example #2 - If your main dish is a red meat such as pot roast, you can add 1 tbsp dried minced onion to the pan while potatoes are boiling and a pinch of salt & pepper.

Example # 3 - Mix up the flavor simply by making a gravy to top your potatoes before serving (easy to use gravy packets are available at the store); whether your main dish is turkey, chicken or roast you can find different flavors of gravy to match your main dish.

ENJOY!

Homemade Applesauce (Crock Pot Recipe)

Homemade Applesauce

10-12 medium sized apples
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Quarter, core & peel apples; put in crock pot. Add water, sugar and cinnamon; stir apples gently to coat. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hrs. Once done, puree with handheld or stationery food processor (or use a blender). Serve either warm or chill in fridge. Store in container with lid in fridge.

Personal Note:
It is a little time consuming to make homemade applesauce, but the satisfaction comes from the thanks I get from my family when I make it. They love it. To make it inexpensive, watch for the pre-bagged apples to go on sale (ex: 5 lbs for $3.99 makes them $0.80 a lb) and use them solely for making batches of applesauce, apple bread or apple pies. They're usually too squishy to eat sliced, that's why they're cheaper than the displayed bulk apples. There's also the satisfaction of knowing when you make something from scratch, you're cutting out a ton of preservatives AND everything tastes better made with love!

Banana Snack Cake Recipe

Banana Snack Cake

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour (or you can try 1/2 regular & 1/2 whole wheat, it's different, but still good)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk (I keep powdered buttermilk on hand, it's cheaper and lasts longer!)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I omit because my family doesn't like nuts in breads)

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening & sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture and add buttermilk a little at a time until well mixed. (stir in nuts optional) Pour into a greased  13x9x2 baking pan. (I sprinkle the top of the batter w/ cinnamon before putting in oven.) Bake @ 350 for 25-30 min. or until toothpick near middle comes out clean.

There is a recipe w/ it for making frosting, but we choose not to add frosting to it...makes it too sweet for us!

Personal Note:
Many of the recipes I use come from my Taste of Home Cookbooks and often times I end up changing them up to make them my own and to my family's taste preference.....this one however, I didn't hardly change. It's great the way it is. This recipe is near and dear to my heart, but I don't make it very often. It brings up many happy memories spending time with my stepdaughter when she was little....BUT, life changed and so it's hard to do now. She'll be 14 next month, wonder if she remembers making this all the time and it being her favorite?