Alabama Blueberry Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups sugar (divided into 1/4 cup and 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 - 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups canola oil
2 pints (4 cups) blueberries (mash about 1 cup of these)
1 tsp. salt
2-3 Tbsp. ground cinnamon (divided into two parts)
1/2 - 1 tsp. ground cloves
3 eggs, well beaten
2 tsp. lemon extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two large (9-inch) loaf pans. Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar and half of the cinnamon. Sprinkle pan and top of bread with this mixture. Place flour, salt, baking soda, remaining sugar, cloves, nutmeg, and the remaining cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix well. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add eggs, oil, and lemon extract. Stir in the blueberries. (Mashing some of the blueberries gives the bread a nice blueberry color.) If you use frozen blueberries, make sure they are frozen plain and not sugared. Divide batter between two loaf pans. Sprinkle top of bread with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Bake 1 hour.

To remove the loaves from their pans without losing the sugary topping, try this trick: double a sheet of aluminum foil, cut it to half the width of the pan and place it in the greased bread pan, up and over the edges, then pour in the batter. This will give you a handy way to lift the bread right out of the pan. Let it cool before eating. It's really even better the next day, believe it or not. Keep refrigerated.

Chile Rellenos Casserole

Chile Rellenos Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 fresh poblano, Anaheim, or green sweet peppers

• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack w/ jalapeno peppers or Mexi-blend cheese (4 oz)

• 3 beaten eggs

• 1/4 cup milk

• 1/3 cup flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup same cheese as above

• Picante sauce (optional)

• Dairy sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Quarter the peppers and remove seeds, stems, and veins. Immerse peppers into boiling water for 3 minutes; drain. Invert peppers on paper towels to drain well. Place the peppers in a well-greased 2-quart square baking dish. Top with 1 cup of the cheese.
2. In a medium bowl combine eggs and milk. Add flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Beat until smooth with a rotary beater. Pour egg mixture over peppers and cheese.
3. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven about 15 minutes or until a knife inserted into the egg mixture comes out clean. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Let stand about 5 minutes or until cheese melts. If desired, serve with picante sauce and sour cream. Makes 4 servings.

Cucumber Salads

Cucumber, Tomato, Green Onion Salad

Ingredients

• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced and quartered
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1 cup water

Directions

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber and onions. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt and pepper. Whisk in the vinegar and water. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 8 servings.




Creamy Cucumber and Tomato Salad (Ukrainian) 

Ingredients: 
3 medium tomatoes, cut into 1″ pieces
2 medium cucumbers, cut in half and sliced
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove, pressed (2 cloves if you love garlic!)
3 Tbsp mayo
2 Tbsp sour cream
1/8 tsp pepper
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Combine all of the prepared vegetables in a medium bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, garlic and pepper. Mix well.
3. Mix the dressing into the vegetables. Add salt to taste just before serving.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

5-6 large flour tortillas (I used 9)
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled if desired
1/4 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar, divided
2 leeks, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. cumin
1 dried hot chili pepper, crushed (I used 1/2 tsp. crushed red peppers)
1 15-oz. can black beans
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
vegetable or corn oil

Optional:
1/2 lb. chorizo
1-2 cups salsa
1/2-1 cup sour cream
1-2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Wash and cut the sweet potatoes into bite-sized chunks. Put the potatoes, soy sauce, and 1/3 cup of the cider vinegar into a large pot and boil until the potatoes are very soft and the liquid is mostly absorbed, about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, saute the leeks, chorizo (if using) and garlic over medium-high heat in a little oil with the cumin until you can smell it halfway out the door. Then add the remaining cider vinegar, the chili pepper (crushed red pepper), and the black beans. Turn the heat down to medium, cover the pan, and take a break until the potatoes are done.

When the potatoes are finished, mash them, leaving a fair number of lumps. Fold the beans and 1 cup of the cheese into the potatoes. Fill the tortillas with about a handful of filling, roll and pack tightly into a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan. Top the enchiladas with the remaining cheese, and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the cheese starts to bubble. After it's finished baking, broil for about 5 minutes to get the cheese really golden brown and toasty. Serve hot, with lots of salsa, sour  cream, cilantro, and napkins.

Prep time: 15 min.
Cooking time: about 1 hour total
Serves: 3-6

London Broil

I can never find this when I need it, so I'm putting it online.
 

London Broil in Crock Pot

1 London broil or flank steak, cut into 3 or so pieces to fit in crock pot  (I cut it into as many pieces as I have people to serve)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix

1 package sliced fresh mushrooms (we've always used canned) (optional but great)

1/2 soup can of water

Put in crock pot and cook all day (on low).  Serve over rice.

Same recipe can be done with chicken.

Pizza in a Pot and Green Chili Stew

Two crockpot favorites:

Green Chili Stew:

2 lbs beef stew meat, cut in 1 in. cubes

2 med onions, chopped

2 T. oil

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cans (4 oz each) chopped green chilis

1 cup water

3 beef boullion cubes

1 (or more) garlic cloves, minced

1 t. sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

In a skillet or dutch oven, brown beef and onions in oil. Drain if you want. Transfer to crockpot. Combine beans, tomatoes, chilis, water, boullion, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Pour over beef. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until beef is tender. Sprinkle with cheese if desired. Serves 8.

Pizza in a Pot

Ingredients

1 1/2

pounds bulk Italian sausage or lean ground beef

1

medium onion, cut into thin wedges

1

15 ounce can pizza sauce with cheese

1

14 1/2 ounce can Italian-style stewed tomatoes

2

cups frozen (yellow, green, and red) peppers and onion stir-fry vegetables

1

4 1/2 ounce jar (drained weight) sliced mushrooms, drained, or one 2.25-ounce can sliced pitted ripe olives, drained

1

16 ounce loaf Italian bread or French baguette, halved lengthwise

1

8 ounce package shredded pizza cheese (2 cups)

Directions

1. In a large skillet cook sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Place cooked meat mixture in a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Stir in pizza sauce, undrained tomatoes, stir-fry vegetables, and mushrooms.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.
3. Arrange bread, cut sides up, on a large baking sheet. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden. Spoon meat mixture on top of bread slices. Sprinkle with pizza cheese. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes more or until cheese melts. Cut into 10 pieces.

Chicken with Mushroom Stuffing

From the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. I love the lemon zest flavor!

Prep: 40 minutes         Cook: 4 to 5 hours (high)
Makes: 8 main-dish servings

Ingredients:
2 T. finely shredded lemon peel
1 T. ground sage
1 T. seasoned salt
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
8 small chicken legs (drumstick-thigh portion) (about 5 pounds), skinned
4 cups quartered or sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup butter
8 cups sourdough baguette cut into 1-inch pieces (about 10 oz.)
1 cup coarsely shredded carrot (2 medium)
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
3 T. snipped fresh Italian parsley

Directions:
1. Lightly coat inside of a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Reserve 1 tsp. lemon peel. Combine remaining lemon peel, sage, seasoned salt, and pepper. Rub 3 T. sage mixture onto chicken legs. Place legs in cooker.
2. In a large skillet cook mushrooms and garlic in hot butter over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or just until tender. Stir in the remaining T. sage mixture. Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl. Add baguette pieces and combine. Lightly pack stuffing on top of chicken in cooker.
3. Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. Using a slotted spoon, transfer stuffing and chicken to a serving platter; discard juices in cooker. In a small bowl combine the reserved 1 tsp. lemon peel, the walnuts, and parsley. Before serving, sprinkle nut mixture over chicken and stuffing.