Share your signature recipes.

[gmoney]

You wanna take something that's easy and most people will love?

Get some new potatoes or red potatoes. (about a lb.)

Cut them in halves or thirds and boil for 15 minutes.

Drain and return to pot.

Melt a stick of butter and drizzle over the potatoes.

Sprinkle with dillweed. (about 1T)

Gently stir being careful not to break up potatoes.

When ever I take these to a gathering, I never have any left.

 

[DonQuixote]

Piggy,
I shared several recipes, some suitable for CrockPot at work - check out the What did you have for Dinner thread in Games and the Foods you used to hate as a kid section - look for my posts.

I know I left Beef Stroganoff, Ratatouille, and a few others.
Pickled Beets and Eggs - takes a few days to set up properly
I think I also published my wild rice and sausage stuffing for Turkey - but you can cook it in a casserole and serve separately.

Butternut Squash w/ Apples, walnuts or pecans?

If any of these strike your fancy in particular, and you don't find them in the other threads, or just want them quickly, shoot me a PM and I'd be happy to sent to you or repost here.

p.s. I was noticing in the Supporters section where it looks like maybe you lapsed/left once, then came back w/ Piggy underlined instead of plain? I only noticed because early postings didn't have the blue bold and JUB banner, said Guest - I was starting to panic at the thought of you leaving us, too.

 

[DonQuixote]

Are you a good scratch baker?
Cake or Muffins?
I can give you a couple of these, too.

 

[irish1]

Pumpkin Cake

This recipe is my family and friends' favorites! I have made for years, after people complaining that they didn't like the pie.

It's easy, and looks great.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Self-rising flower
1.5 Cups Suger (I usually mix white and brown in equal proportions)
4 eggs (always at room temperature)
1 Cup Pumpkin
1 Cup corn oil (do not use another flavored oil)
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg


1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

2. Sift dry ingredients. Set aside.

3. Combine eggs, oil and pumpkin. Mix gently to combine, then use stand mixer on medium for one minute.

4. Fold in wet ingredients, and mix on medium for two minutes.

5. In a greased bundt pan, pour in the batter, and bake for 50 minutes or until center is set.

Serve with fresh whipped cream, or creme freche.

You can add one cup of raisins or nuts, your preference. Hope you enjoy it!

 

[gmoney]

dillweed, fresh or can it be dry?

I use the dry.

 

[Corny]

I take a pen, place it on the paper where it says "Signature here" and start writing .. oh wait .. never mind

 

[Adrock-JD]

Slow Cooker (Crock Pot) Chili

1lb low fat hamburger/cooked in skillet, drained on paper towels

1 onion diced
1 green bell pepper diced
1 clove garlic minced

1 can red kidney beans (light or dark) drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
(I like the Basil, Garlic & Oregano seasoned Del Monte brand)

1 packet McCormick chili seasoning mix, mixed in 2 cups water

Put vegetables in bottom of slow cooker, then beans and tomatoes, then cooked hamburger and pour seasoning mix over the top

Cook on
High - 4 hours
or
Low - 8 hours

Stir well just before serving but do not remove slow cooker lid while it's cooking

obviously, you could also make it in a pot on the stove and bring it to a slow simmer for about 30 mins

 

[Joshua_me]

This recipe for brocoli and cheese casserole couldn't be easier, Piglet...

Everyone always LOVES it...

Feel free to use an entire stick of butter....

-----------------------------------------

RITZ Broccoli Casserole
Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 55 min
Makes: 12 servings, 1/2 cup each

3 pkg. (10 oz. each) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained
3/4 lb. (12 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up
36 RITZ Crackers, coarsely crushed, divided
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix broccoli, VELVEETA and half of the crushed crackers until well blended.
SPOON into 2-quart baking dish. Mix remaining crushed crackers and butter; sprinkle over broccoli mixture.
BAKE 45 minutes or until heated through.

 

[Swellegant]

This is my pot-luck fallback, one of the easiest things in the world to make:

Grandmother's Easy Peach Cobbler:

Get a 10"x14" Pyrex pan, put in 3/4 cups (one and a half sticks) of butter, put it in the oven and turn it on to 350 degrees.

While the butter's melting and the oven preheating, get a big bowl and put in one cup of sugar, one cup of flour, one cup of milk, a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and one and a half teaspoons of baking powder (not soda); stir it into a smooth batter with a whisk or slotted spoon.

In a smaller bowl or a saucepan, empty out a 24-ounce can of sliced peaches in heavy syrup and mix in 3/4 cup of sugar with a soup spoon; I like to do it over heat so the sugar dissolves better, but it's not necessary; for extra snazz, I like to put in a pinch of ginger at this stage.

In the pan full of melted butter, pour the batter evenly (go back and forth from the top to the bottom, leaving stripes), then spoon the peaches and syrup in clumps evenly over the batter. Then sprinkle the whole thing with a little more sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Bake for an hour and you're done! I like to serve it in shallow bowls with warm milk, but that's a little cumbersome for a pot-luck.

Warning: do not substitute the Pyrex pan for metal or teflon, it won't come out; and don't get the peaches in "lite" syrup or no syrup, nor use fresh fruit unless you can make it into a compote first. But for variety you can substitute any fruit that comes in a 24-ounce can, I've done it with blueberries, boysenberries, and pears, and it's always fantastic.

 

[doctorsun]

Buy a cake mix and make it your own with a really good frosting. Here's my favorite:

1 8oz. package of cream cheese
1 stick of butter
1 14oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
2 lbs. powdered sugar

Make sure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature and cream them together. Add the milk. Gradually add the powdered sugar until the mixture is smooth.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Cucumber salad:

1). Cucumber
2). Vinegar
3). Salt
4). 1-2 cloves of garlic
5). Shallot or small onion.
6) . Water

- Peel the cucumber, slice it with the slicer in the grater.
- Peel the clove of garlic and the shallot. slice the garlic. into wafer thin slices and dice/slice the shallot/onion finely.
-Put it all in the bowl with the vinegar and some water.
-Add salt.
-Put the salad away in the fridge until you eat it.

 

[DonQuixote]

Muffins and Quick Breads are Easier than Cakes.
I'll go thru some of the basics, then how I play/some rules for playing, then list one of my favourite variations - so you can just cut to the chase to make them right now, but you can also begin to understand the "chemistry" of muffins for playing and customizing to your own tastes later on.

Cupcake Pans, lined with paper cups - makes for a lot easier removal, clean-up, serving. We have my grandmother's old Aluminum pans - are a lot nicer than cheap steel pans - bake more consistently, less likely to burn.

I have a cook book I got many years ago - out of print - A World of Breads by Dolores Casella, I believe (it's hiding on me right now).

It has a great format - here's a base recipe, then here are things you can do to customize - kind of like learning the real chemistry of cooking.

I used it to play around and come up with some recipes we really like.
I'm bad at quantifying exacts, because I play when I cook.

Basic muffin recipe: (for "Plain Jane" muffins - but it's a good starting point)

2C. White Flour*1
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2 Tbl White Sugar*2
2Lg Eggs, Beaten
1Cup Milk*
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Butter or Margarine, Melted (may call for slightly less on the standard recipe - I add/play so much, this is what I use for 2C flour, 1/2 C added nuts)

From this base recipe, you can modify to get a muffin that suits your particular tastes - including making healthier or more decadent.

You can substitute 1 Cup of any other flour for 1Cup of White flour.
If you do, switch the 2 Tbl White Sugar to 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar.
(If you switch BOTH Cups of white flour, don't double this substitution - stay at 1/2 C Brown sugar)

You can add 1/2 Cup of Nuts (AND/Or) Dried Fruits to the mixture.

If I'm trying to be "heart healthy", I will use Whole Wheat Flour, Wheat Germ, Ground up Whole Oats in varying degrees instead of White Flour ( I take whole oats and grind them up in the blender/food processor).

I virtually always add nuts, unless someone I know who might like to eat one is allergic. Same on adding dried fruit or preserves. Walnuts or Pecans, typically.

Skim Milk works OK on Heart Healthy side, or can step all the way up to heavy cream for a truly decadently rich flavor - when added to whole grain flours, nuts, preserves, makes a wonderful treat. Given that most people are only getting one or two, it really isn't that bad for them.

General Rules to keep track of if you play:
1 tsp. Baking Powder per Cup of Flour - regardless of what kind you are using.
1 lg egg per cup of flour, minimum. I sometimes "add one for the pot" to make it a little richer, then cut back 1/4C of milk/Cream.

Now, here is variation my family is particularly fond of:

1 Cup Wheat Germ (e.g. Kretzmers)
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Lg Eggs, Beaten
1Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Butter or Margarine, melted
1/2 Cup Apricot Preserves (or Peach, Tri-fruit if has Apricots) Preserves or Fruit Spread OK.

Sift the Dry Ingredients together (dump the wheat germ in on top - won't sift thru)

Add the liquid ingredients all at once.
Stir using fork just to moisten the dry ingredients.
The batter should be a bit lumpy throughout.

Two ways to fill cups -
Either, if you've mixed the preserves into the batter, fill papers 2/3 full.
Or, reserve the preserves from the batter, then
fill papers 1/2 full,
drop 1/2tsp. onto batter
add more batter till 2/3 full.

Bake at 400oF for 20 minutes (standard 2-1/2" cupcake tins)
If you're using mini muffin tins, I think the time drops to around 8-10 minutes.

Use cake tester or toothpick into center to test for doneness.
The preserves in the middle can make this a bit more of a challenge.

Best Served warm. You don't need margarine/butter to serve with them, but
it doesn't hurt!

(if you make the night before, can you microwave to warm just before serving, or do you have something you can warm them in to serve? They are great either way, but this takes them over the top.

Note: Recipe doesn't call for it, but you can add
1/2tsp Cinnamon
1/4tsp Nutmeg
to recipe for added richness, if you'd like.
Also, these are pretty "nutty" flavoured from the Whole Wheat and Wheat Germ, but you can also add 1/2 Cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the mixture, too.

Like I said, I like to play!

Enjoy.

I have some other baked recipes I'll post in separate posts.
I've probably scared you off, already. lol


Be brave. They're worth it.

 

[DonQuixote]

CupCakes- Cocoa Pink Cuplets (Don't require frosting)

Line Cup Cake tins with paper baking cups.
Pre-Heat oven to 375oF
Baking Time: 20-25 minutes

Sift together
2 Cup Sifted All Purpose Flour (Yes, Sift the flour before measuring)
1 Tblsp Cocoa (Regular, not Dutch Processed)
1 tsp. Salt
Set Aside.

Add 1-1/4 Cup White Sugar gradually to
3/4 Cup Shortening (Crisco, not lard), creaming well.

Blend in
2 Lg Unbeaten Eggs (room temp best)
1 tsp Vanilla (Pure Extract better than artificial)

Combine
1 tsp. Baking SODA and
1 Cup COLD Water.

Add alternately with the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.
Blend well after each addition (helps make batter lighter)

Fill Cupcake tins 1/2 full.

Sprinkle
6 oz. semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (Toll House Morsels) and
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans
over the cupcake batter in the tins.

The chocolate chips and nuts make a great topping that bakes into the tops of these very moist, light, pinkish cup cakes.

A crumbly, tasty treat - the nuts get a nice toasted top note.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

There's a SUPER EASY NO BAKE "CREAM-TYPE" PIE -
I'll try to dig up the exact ingredients

Cool Whip/Sour Cream/crushed pineapple/vanilla pudding mix - smoosh it all together - pour into a graham cracker pie shell and chill (like overnight) - DELISH-- no bake - no fail -
i throw some pineapple rings over the top to make it look special..


iffin you don't care for the vanilla/pineapple - you can substitute chocolate and canned cherry pie filling - also excellent for the choco-holics !!

 

[JasunStrikesBack]

Get a BIG fucking glass.

fill it with scotch.

Bon apetit.

 

[DonQuixote]

Cream Cheese Cake
(Use 9" Glass or Ironstone Pie Plate)

Pre-Heat Oven to 350oF
Bake time approx 25 Minutes, plus 20 minutes cool time

1 Lb Cream Cheese, softened.
3Lg Eggs
2/3 Cups White Sugar
1/2 tsp. Almond Extract
Toasted, Slivered Almonds

1 Cup "Commercial" Sour Cream (cultured, store bought, not "home soured" w/ lemon juice!)
3 Tblsp White Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla (Pure Extract)

Beat softened cream cheese, eggs, adding the 2/3Cup sugar and almond extract until thoroughly blended, smooth, thick, and lemon coloured.

Pour into greased 9" pie plate.
Bake.
After taking baked cake out of oven to cool . . .
While cheesecake is cooling,
Beat the Sour Cream, 3Tblsp White sugar, and 1 Tsp Vanilla extract together thoroughly.

Pour Sour Cream mixture over the baked cheesecake.
Return to 350oF oven and bake 10 minutes more.
Remove from oven, cool 20 minutes.
Sprinkle Slivered Almonds on top before serving.

 

[DonQuixote]

Royal Tropic Aroma Cake - 3 layer Spice Cake w/ Mocha Frosting

Pre-Heat oven to 375oF
Bake Time: 15-20 minutes
Need: (3) 9" baking pans - preferably aluminum. Heart Shaped OK.

Grease and Flour baking pans and set aside.

For this cake, you make the base batter, then reserve 1/3 of it aside, then add Cocoa to (your choice) either 1/3 or 2/3 of the mixture, depending on the chocoholic in you!

Base Batter:
2-1/2 Cups White All Purpose Flour
1-1/2 Cups White Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Nutmeg
4 tsp. Baking POWDER
1/2 Cup shortening (Crisco, not Lard)
1 C. Milk (we use skim, so you can use anything from skim to whole)
3 Lg Eggs, Beaten (Room Temp when beaten)


Sift Together and reserve:
Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, Spices

Cream together:
Shortening, Sugar, Beaten Eggs.

Mix Well, adding 1/2 the Flour mixture.

Add Milk and remaining Flour Mixture, beating well.

Split batter into 2/3 , 1/3.
Add 1 Tblsp Cocoa mixed in 1Tblsp Boiling Water to each 1/3 of batter that you want chocolate added to (so 1 Tblsp to the 1/3 OR 2 Tblsp to the 2/3 mixture)

Add batter to the cake pans -
1/3 full each.

Bake the pans for 15-20mins, testing w/ cake tester or toothpick to make sure clean/done.
(If you only have 2 pans, do the 2/3, then turn out onto cooling racks after 5 minutes cooling, bake the 3rd section.

Allow cakes to cool for 5 minutes or so on racks before inverting to release for additional cooling.

When you assemble cake, alternate Chocolate and Spice Layers.

Mocha Frosting:
(can prepare ahead of time)

4 Tblsp Butter (Preferably unsalted)
2 Tblsp Cocoa
6 Tblsp STRONG Coffee American (not Expresso, but close)
4 Cups Confectioner's Sugar (10x)
2 Tsp Vanilla (Pure Extract)

Cream Butter.
Add Sugar & Cocoa, beating until light.
Add Vanilla & Coffee, beat.

This is a family favourite. Original recipe is 2/3 spice, 1/3 Chocolate, we increase to 2/3 Chocolate, 1/3 spice.

Use Butter or Margarine for the frosting, NOT Crisco or Spreads.

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

Don, don, don -- he's bringing something to work - not going on the food network challenge !!
Besides - he's a freekin' pig - he doesn't have thumbs - how the hell can he even open an oven ?

 

[DonQuixote]

Carrot Cake:
Pre-Heat Oven to 350oF
9" Cake Pans.

Sift:
2 Cups White All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking SODA
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt

Add:
1-1/2 Cup Oil - e.g. Canola, Grape Seed, Soy Bean
4 Lg Eggs, Beaten
3 Cups Shredded Carrots

Mix well, pour into greased, floured baking pans,
Bake for approx 30 minutes - use cake tester/tooth picks to make sure baked through.

Icing:
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 tsp. Vanilla (Pure Extract)
1 stick (1/2 Cup) Butter/Margarine
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Lb Confectioner's Sugar (10x)

Cream all of the icing ingredients together until mixed well.

 

[DonQuixote]

These really aren't as hard to "throw" together as you might think.
A good, scratch cake is no harder to make than a box mix, and the results are so much better.

The muffins are very easy, if you just jump to my bottom recipe. the rest is for encouraging people to experiment - that's how you really learn.

Adding crazins, dates, nuts, fresh/frozen blueberries - just about anything.
A little Lemon or Orange zest added to a muffin recipe before baking can add an extra "secret" ingredient that make your contributions stand out, without much effort at all.

I've gotten raves for my stroganoff - something that took some time to prepare because of the size I made, but the judges (parents/teachers) at the HS Speech/Debate tournament loved it, and asked for the recipe. I have it published in the "dinner" thread in fun and games.