Potato and Ham Soup

This soup turns out thick but it's "stick to your ribs thick!"

....and it can always be thinned with some milk....

Ingredients

• 4 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 cups ham, diced
• 1 container or 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
• salt
• pepper
• 5 Tbsp butter
• 5 Tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

• cook the veggies and ham in the chicken broth until tender
• use a blender to blend a good part of it (leave a little in the pot so there are some chunky pieces of vegetables (it will turn orange from the carrots)
• in a separate pan, melt butter and whisk in the flour until thick
• slowly add the milk and wait until the mixture is thickened (4-5 minutes)
• Add the milk mixture and the cheese into the pot with the veggies and heat through

Enjoy!

Pancake Mix for the Pantry

We wanted to gift some pancake mix to our neighbors for the holidays so we found this recipe!  We liked the way they tasted so much that we even made some for our pantry too!

Ingredients:

• 5 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• salt
• 1 1/4 cup dried buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp baking powder

Directions:

• Mix ingredients and store
• When ready to use, mix 1/2 cup of the mix with water until runny (about 1/3 cup water)

Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

Filling

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 cup onion

1/8 cup uncooked rice

1 1/2 Tbs ketchup

1/4 tsp oregano

Sauce

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 Tbs ketchup

1/2 tsp oregano

Stewed tomatoes from scratch:

3 cups tomatoes peeled and crushed

celery - 1 rib

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup bell pepper

2 tsp basil

1 Tbsp sugar

Combine all in a saucepan and cook for 10 minutes

Procedure:

oven 350 - cook for an hour and a half or cook in crockpot

Jone's Fruit Dip

The famous fruit dip that is loved by all that try it!

1 bar cream cheese

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup white sugar

mix together all ingredients and enjoy!

Green Chili Sauce

This is it!  Oma's secret sauce...or not so secret anymore!

1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup roasted chopped hatch green chili
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp garlic powder
salt

saute onion in butter and a little bit of oil
Add flour
cook 1 min
add remaining ingredients
simmer 20 minutes

Cheesecake!

This is a family tradition!  It cannot be beat especially when paired with a graham cracker crust!

3 pkgs. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
beat till fluffy and cook at 350 for 30 minutes

1/2 pint sour cream
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 Tbsp sugar

Mix and spread on top.  Make again at 350 for 8 minutes.

Crust
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1/3 cup sugar
6 Tbsp melted butter

Enjoy :-)

Go-to Pancakes

These are a family favorite!  Thick yummy pancakes!

1 1/2 cups flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 Tbsp melted butter

Add dry ingredients - then add wet.  Mix but not too well!  And cook!

Enjoy :-)

Meatballs!

This is a recipe for the BEST MEATBALLS EVER!  They are a little saucy and thus a little sassy

1 small egg beaten
1/2 cup spagetti sauce
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 pound of ground beef (a little more if you have it!)
1 cup shredded cheese

Combine all ingredients and shape into balls.  Bake in a heated oven (I do it at 400 until done because that is the temperature I bake the bread at).

Enjoy :-)

Peanut Stew

INGREDIENTS

1. • 1/3 cup olive oil
   • 1 medium onion (diced)
   • 1 headof garlic - minced
   • 1/2 cup minced ginger
   • pepper
   • 2 to 3 pounds winter squash (butternut or acorn), peeled, cubed (I cubed and roasted 1 spagetti squash - I should have done 2)
   • 1 quart tomato juice
   • 3 chopped tomatoes
   • salt
   • 1 cup plain peanut butter
   • cooked white rice

PREPARATION

1. 1. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil. Add onions, garlic, ginger, pepper and squash (if not roasted). Sauté until ingredients start to soften, about 10 minutes. Add this and the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker and let it go.  Serve in a bow over rice.

Waffles

Everybody needs go-to waffle recipe!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups warm milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.
3. Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. 

George Forman waffle iron - heat to 425 for 7 minutes

Enjoy :-)

Sponge Cake with Whipped Cream Middle

This was delicious but dense.  It was not too sweet- not too sugary.  A good mix.

Ingredients

• 1 and 7 Tbs sticks of butter, softened 
• 1 full cup and a heaping half cup of caster sugar (if you don't have caster sugar - take the same amount of granulated sugar and put it through the blender!)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 full cup and a heaping half of a cup of self -rising flour, also used for dusting
• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream (beaten in the mixer till looks like whipped cream)You can also use whipped cream from a can, either works fine
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Grease and flour 2 cake baking pans. 
• Mix the butter, sugar,  and vanilla extract with an electric stand mixer until beaten fully.
• Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. 
• Mix in the baking powder and baking soda. 
• After that fold in self rising flour. 
• Divide batter between prepared cake tins. 
• Put in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
• When cool, put one cake slice on the bottom, whipped cream in between and one cake slice on top.

Enjoy :-)

Hello!

Hi!  I'm Abby and this is my online recipe box!

I love to bake - I love to cook....but if you ever saw my Mom's recipe binder - you would FALL OVER!  It is stuffed full of papers of things she loves, things she doesn't, and things she never tried.  It is a mess.  Since I love to cook and I don't want to add to her disorganization - I am starting this blog!

Here you will find the recipes I've tried and what I think about them.  I'll also post what I will do to change it for next time!  It's an online brainstorm so if you have an idea - leave a comment!  Help me learn and grow and become a better cook!

Enjoy!