Quick and Delicious Mac and Cheese

 I have several good recipes for Mac and Cheese, some with 3 cheeses.  This one is what I call my Lazy Day Mac and Cheese and it is delicious.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in an 8 x 12 baking dish.

Add 2 1/2 cups uncooked pasta.  Stir to coat the pasta well with the butter.

Add salt and pepper.

Add 2 cups grated cheddar, spreading evenly over the pan.

Mix a "generous amount" of hot sauce with one quart of milk.  Pour this over the mixture in the pan.

Cover with foil and bake for one hour in a 325 oven.

Chicken Pasta with Artichokes

A few days ago, I was going through some cookbooks that I haven't opened in awhile, looking for something quick to prepare and something I would really like.  This one is a winner!

2 cups penne pasta

1 6 oz. jar marinated artichokes, coarsely chopped - reserve marinade

3 chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces

3 cups sliced mushrooms

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

1 tablespoon cornstarch

salt and pepper

Cook pasta for 11 minutes.  Pour artichoke marinade into a hot skillet.  Add chicken and mushrooms.  Cook and toss for about 6 minutes.  Stir in artichokes.

Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, wine and cornstarch in a bowl.  Pour into the skillet slowly, stirring constantly until sauce comes to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and combine with the pasta.  Serve immediately.

Berry Delicious Salad

I love summer salads, especially ones with fruit.  This one is excellent and quick to put together.

Serves 6 to 8

8 cups mixed salad greens

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup chopped nuts

Bottled vinaigrette

Toss together first 4 ingredients, drizzle with desired amount of vinaigrette.  Toss gently to coat

Zucchini Squares

These are really good and another way to get veggies in your diet.

1 cup Bisquick

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

3 cups grated zucchini

Combine all ingredients except zucchini.  Stir in zucchini and spread evenly in lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2 pan.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Makes 24 two inch squares.

Pineapple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

3 sticks unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

5 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup crushed pineapple drained

3 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream together the butter and brown sugar.  Add the softened cream cheese and granulated sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time.    Combine the vanilla, buttermilk and sour cream, then add to the sugar mixture.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add this alternately with crushed pineapple to the sugar mixture.

Bake at 325 for one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the top of the cake comes out clean.

Icing:  Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter and 2 tablespoons crushed pineapple.  Add enough pineapple juice to get the right consistency for the icing.  Drizzle onto the cooled cake.

Green Tomato Pie

 This is surprisingly a great tasting pie.

4 cups sliced green tomatoes

boiling water

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

2 9 inch piecrusts

Preheat oven to 425.  In a medium bowl, cover the tomatoes with boiling water.  Set aside for 10 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.  

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  

Place one pie crust in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate.  Spread 1/2 cup of the sugar mixture in the pie shell.  Arrange the well drained tomato slices on top.  Sprinkle with the lemon juice.  Top with remaining sugar mixture.  Dot with butter.  Cover with the remaining pie crust.  Make a few slits in the crust.

Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 375.  Bake for another 30 minutes.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

 You are going to love these!

5 cups all purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 cup Crisco

2 cups cooked and cooled mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350.

Stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger and allspice in a large mixing bowl.

With a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening until crumbly.  Add the sweet potatoes and mix well with a wooden spoon.  Add the cream and nuts and stir until moistened.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface.  Roll the dough out to 1 1/2 inch thickness.  With a 2 inch diameter biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits and place onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake until nicely browned, 25 to 30 minutes.  Serve hot.

Makes 24 biscuits.

Blackberry-Raspberry Skillet Cobbler

Dora Charles is a well known Southern cook and cookbook author.  I have 2 or 3 of her cookbooks.  Aside from the wonderful recipes, it is just fun to read her narrative.  This one, according to Dora, came about by accident.  The original recipe calls for just blackberries.  She started gathering the ingredients once to make it and discovered she didn't have enough blackberries, but she did have raspberries.  She combined the two and came up with this jewel.

It is best prepared in a cast iron skillet.

Filling

1 stick butter

3 cups blackberries

1 cup raspberries

Grated zest of 1 lemon mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar

Batter

1 cup self-rising flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a 9 or 10 inch cast iron skillet.  Remove from the heat.

Mix the berries with the lemony sugar and spread them out in the bottom of the skillet.  Let them soften for a couple of minutes in the oven, adding a little water if they seem dry.

Make the batter:  Whisk together the flour, sugar baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir in the milk.  The batter will be thick.

Cover the fruit with the batter.  It's okay if it doesn't entirely cover the fruit.  Bake the cobbler until the fruit is bubbling up the edges, about 20 minutes.

Let cool a good half hour before eating. 

A Blue Ribbon pasta salad!

I love the blend of flavors in this delicious salad.

1 pound fusilli pasta, cooked

1 6 oz jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained (reserve the oil), chopped

1 cup fresh mozzarella balls

3 cups baby spinach or kale

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

salt and pepper to taste

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, toss together the cooked pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and spinach.

In a bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the vinegar, honey, salt and pepper, and garlic.  Stream in the sun-dried tomato oil and the olive oil while whisking, until the dressing is somewhat emulsified.  Pour over the pasta salad and toss well.  This lasts well in the fridge for 1 to 2 days.

Muffins with cranberries, orange, and walnuts

One of my favorite things to do is thumb through one of my cookbooks from my massive (as in HUGE!) collection and find new recipes to try.

No one can accuse me of getting bored with my cooking!

1 cup granulated sugar

zest of one orange

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter

3 large eggs

3/4 cups milk

juice of one orange

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

turbinado (also called raw sugar) sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 375.  Line muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and orange zest.  Let this sit a few minutes to allow the orange flavor to combine with the sugar.  Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, milk, and orange juice.  Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just to combine.  Don't overmix.  Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.

Fill the muffin tin liners to the top.  Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over each muffin.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a light golden brown.  Let cool slightly in the muffin pan, then transfer to a raised wire rack to finish cooling.