Cheddar biscuits

These taste similar to Red Lobster!  They are so easy and good!

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1 cup baking mix
1 cup shredded cheese
2 TBL sugar
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 stick melted butter

Directions;
Preheat oven to 350.  Mix baking mix, milk, sugar and cheese in a large mixing bowl.  Drop by heaping teaspoons onto a baking sheet pan.  Melt butter in a saucepan.  Add oregano and garlic.  Brush biscuits with melted butter mixture before baking.  Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Stuffed shells

These are so good, and easy!

Ingredients:

1/2 box shells, cooked and drained
ricotta cheese
8 oz container feta cheese
1 egg
2 heaping teaspoons roasted red pepper dip (Trader Joes) OR
1 jar roasted red peppers
1 sprig fresh basil, sliced
3 TBL olive oil
1 16 oz. bag spinach
4 cloves garlic, smashed
4 green onions, sliced with green
3 cups marinara sauce
8 oz bag shredded provolone & mozzarella cheese
(for this recipe, I used mexican blend and it was fabulous!)
4 oz shredded parmesean cheese

Directions:
Cook noodles according to directions on the box.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Saute the spinach on med low in 2 TBL of olive oil.  Add onions and garlic once the spinach starts to wilt in the pan.  Turn off the heat and set aside when the spinach is completely wilted.  While the spinach is cooking, mix ricotta, feta, egg and red pepper dip (or red peppers) in a food processor.  Process on high till smooth and creamy.  Spoon 1 heaping teaspoon feta mixture into shells, and place into a baking dish that has been rubbed with 1 TBL olive oil.  Spoon spinach mixture over the stuffed shells.  Top with sliced basil, then spoon marinara over all.  Cover shells with parmesean cheese and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Pull out of the oven and top with shredded provolone/mozzarella mixture and re-cover with foil.  Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Enjoy!

Celebration beef stew

I'm calling this Celebration beef stew because of the beer!  Since I spent the day painting, I needed something that could cook all day in the slow cooker.  Man, was this g-o-o-d!  I think you could easily not cook it in a slow cooker, depending on what cut of meat you use.  I just used 'stew beef'.

Ingredients:

2 TB olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1-1.5 # stew beef
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup flour, plus more for dredging
1 tsp paprika
32 oz beef broth
2 TB tomato paste
8 oz. Sierra Nevada Celebration beer
1 tsp dried thyme
1-2 TB dark brown sugar
3 celery stalks, chunked
1/2 lb baby carrots or whole carrots, chunked
2 large potatoes, chunked
sea salt, fresh ground pepper

In a Dutch oven or large stock pot, heat olive oil and add onions.  Saute till translucent.  While onions are cooking, peel and smash garlic, and dredge beef in flour.  Add garlic and beef and cook until the meat gets a nice crust on it.

After the meat has a nice crust on it, put it in the crock pot and add a cup of beef broth, tomato paste and the beer.  Let beef cook for several hours on low.  (I cooked mine for 5 hours)  Preheat oven to 375 and spread veggies on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast veggies for 45 minutes.  Add to crock pot, along with the rest of the beef broth, reserving a little for the rue.  Make a rue out of the flour and some beef broth and add to the crock pot.  Add thyme, a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper, paprika and brown sugar and stir.  Let cook for another hour or two on low.  This is a nice, hearty dish and pairs well with homemade biscuits!

Broccoli stir fry

This was so easy and quick!  I already had the spaghetti noodles cooked and in the frig.  

Ingredients:

16 oz. spaghetti

2 TB olive oil, for saute

1 bag pre-cut broccoli

1 red pepper, diced

1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled, smashed, and rough chopped

6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed, and rough chopped

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1 TB toasted sesame oil

6 scallion, sliced on the diagonal (for cuteness)

2-3 TB sliced almonds

2 TB sesame seeds

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to directions on the box.  Steam broccoli for 3-5 minutes, or just until it changes color and is still crisp and set aside.  While spaghetti is cooking, bring chicken broth to a boil and add honey.  When the honey had dissolved, add the teriyaki sauce and sesame oil and reduce to simmer.  In a small skillet, heat olive oil and saute ginger, peppers, and garlic for a few minutes.  Add garlic mixture to chicken broth pan and give it a couple of good stirs.  If you like your sauce thick, you can add a little cornstarch to thicken it.  If not, plate up your noodles and top with broccoli and sauce.  Garnish with almonds and/or sesame seeds and scallions.  You could also toast the sesame seeds first in a dry skillet to bring out the flavor.  Delish!

DIY Shea butter cream

***UPDATE***  I updated this cream by adding a little more olive oil, 3 TB of sweet almond oil, and re-melted everything.  When it cooled, I whipped it up and here's what I got:

It looks just like meringue!!!!!!
It has a light, lemony color to it.  Smooth as silk too!

Recently I've been experimenting with making my own lotions, creams and lip balm.  This is a nice alternative to my favorite hand lotion, which by the way, is LOADED with ingredients I can't even pronounce.  The nice thing about this is you can make it whatever scent you like!  I love orange or lavender.  

Ingredients:

1 cup Shea butter (I got mine at Whole Foods)

3 oz. olive oil (I just used what I had in the cupboard)

1 tsp. vitamin E oil ( Trader Joes)

essential oil of your choice

Directions:

Slowly heat the Shea butter in a saucepan until it almost melts completely.  Add the olive oil and vitamin E oil.  Remove from the stove and cool until it starts to solidify.  Whip the mixture with your mixer until light and fluffy.  Add a few drops of essential oils at the end of whipping.  Store in a glass jar.  

**NOTE**  I have also made this using 1/2 cup Shea butter and 1/2 cup coconut oil (in solid form)  

Pepperoni bread

This is so yummy!  It's like a pizza "loaf".  Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cup unbleached flour
2 tsp. sugar in the raw
1 tsp. sea salt
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1/3 cup whole milk or half-n-half
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
2 eggs, room temp
2 TBL olive oil
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup Mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan blend
1 stick pepperoni, rough chopped (found in the deli)
2 TB unsalted butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

In a mixer bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Set aside.  In a saucepan, combine milk and 3/4 stick butter and heat over low until melted.  Remove from heat and cool to 120 degrees.  Pour milk mixture over flour mixture.  Stir a few times with a spatula, then mix with a dough hook for about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs and mix for 3 more minutes.  Stop the mixer and add 1/2 cup flour and mix for another 2 or so minutes.  Add more flour by the tablespoon as needed until dough is soft, but slightly sticky.  Lightly flour a work surface and turn dough onto your surface, kneading a few times.  Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover with a towel and let rest in a warm place till dough doubles in size.   Make your tomato sauce while the dough rises.  Add the tomato paste, water and some spices in a bowl.  You can use whatever spices you like, I just happen to be on a thyme kick right now!  Mix thoroughly until it is the thickness you like.   Gently deflate the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface.  Melt 2 TB butter in a small saucepan and add minced garlic.  Saute' for a few minutes and remove from heat.  Roll out your dough ball while the butter is melting and the garlic is being sauteed.  Roll into a rectangle shape, maybe 1/4 in thin.  Brush dough with garlic butter.  Brush tomato sauce on top of the garlic butter.  Sprinkle with cheese and chopped pepperoni.  I just sliced my pepperoni thick, then rough chopped it into chunks.  Next, I used my loaf pan as a "measuring guide" to cut my dough into strips.  I cut the dough into 5 equal strips width wise.  Then, stack the strips on top of one another.  At this point, cut the stacks of dough into 4 pieces, so you have nice little stacks of square dough.  Lightly oil a 9"X 5" loaf pan.  I love, love, love my stoneware loaf pan for pepperoni bread!  Now place the stacks of dough in the loaf pan so they are touching one another as shown below.

Preheat the oven to 350 and cover the dough with a towel and let it rise until it is above the top of the pan.  As you can see, there is room at each end of the loaf.  That's OK because the dough will rise and fill the pan.  It should rise for an hour or so, till doubled in size, depending on how warm your kitchen is.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven, and brush with any leftover garlic butter you may have had and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let it rest 10 minutes before serving.  Turn the loaf upside down onto a plate and pull apart to serve.  Y-U-M!

Corn casserole

This is such a great side dish!   If you love corn, this is right up your alley!  It's easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

2 cans creamed corn

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 egg

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix

2/3 cup sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 2QT casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Mix all ingredients, pour into casserole dish, and bake for 45-55 min.   Y-U-M!