Cheesesteaks

1 lb thinly sliced beef (either raw or deli roast)
1/2 lb sliced cheese (provolone and/or mozzarella)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
4 hoagie rolls
olive oil
salt and pepper
hot pickled peppers (optional)

1. in a skillet, sauté the onion in oil over medium-high heat until tender. add mushrooms - season with salt and pepper - and continue to sauté until browned. set aside in a bowl.
2. slightly toast hoagie rolls in a toaster oven or on the skillet.
3. cook and/or brown beef in the skillet. add a few slices of cheese to the meat and mix in. separate as much of the beef you would like for one of the sandwiches and place a slice of cheese on top. let it melt. do this for however many cheesesteaks you want to make (they're just as good the next day - so leftovers are great).
4. when the cheese on top is melted lift the meat and cheese onto the toasted roll. top with mushrooms and onions (and peppers). enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

4-6 chicken breasts
2-3 slices of ham
4-6 slices Swiss or provolone cheese
4-6 toothpicks
1/2 bunch of green onions, chopped

Place chicken on a flat surface and bound a bit flat. Arrange 1/2 slice of ham and 1 slice cheese on each. Roll tightly and secure with a toothpick. Place in pan.

In a bowl mix:
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Pour mixture over chicken. Back at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Top with green onions.

I made this dish as a Freeze Ahead Meal. I'm not a fan of thawing (I always forget), so the rule of thumb with baking frozen poultry is to take the cooking time for the thawed food, decrease the number of degrees by 25 and double the time to cook.

Whole Wheat Bread By Hand

Nothing smells or tastes better than a loaf of fresh baked homemade bread! And despite what you may think, you can make it by hand. If you have a heavy-duty mixer (like a Bosch or Kitchen Aid), and would like to make a 4-loaf batch, see the Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe.

sponge
3 1/2 cups warm water (about 110º)
1 Tbsp instant yeast
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
----------
5-6 cups whole wheat flour

1. Mix the water, yeast, honey, salt, 1/2 cup of the flour with a wooden spoon in a large bowl until incorporated. Let sponge proof 5-7 minutes or until frothy-bubbly.

2. Add 3 cups flour and stir with a wooden spoon until almost incorporated. Add another 2 cups flour and beat until incorporated to make a moist, thick, sticky dough.

3. Turn the dough - scraping out the bowl - onto a work surface that has been sprinkled with some flour. Knead, adding only as much flour as necessary (up to one cup)* to form a soft elastic and still quite sticky dough, about 5 minutes... your hands should be tired.
*less flour is better, otherwise the bread will be dry.

4. Form the dough into a rough ball and place back in the large bowl; cover with a clean towel. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough has doubled in volume, about 20 - 40 minutes.

5. Heat oven to 375º. Liberally grease four 8.5" x 4" loaf pans. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut into four equal pieces with a bench knife or large knife. Gently knead about ten times and shape dough into loaf shapes and place in pans. NOTE: For a more rustic look, gently rub the tops of the loaves with flour before putting them in the pans. Let loaves rise until almost doubled in volume, about 15-30 minutes, or until the sides of the loaf are 1/4" from the rim of the pan.

6. Score the tops on an angle with a sharp serrated knife. NOTE: To avoid deflating the risen loaves, use a fairly quick motion when doing this. Bake for 38-40 minutes. Transfer the bread immediately from the baking pans to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely (about 3 hours) before wrapping in plastic bags.

You can add sunflower, flax, millet and a variety of other seeds, raisins, cinnamon, cinnamon chips, dried fruit, nuts, cheese, etc. to make different kinds of bread. For an entire batch, add these ingredients at the end of step three. Or for one or two loaves, add these ingredients during the second kneading (by hand). You can also do a mix of whole wheat and white flours to make a light wheat or white batch.

Stuffed Peppers

if you can splurge for red or orange bell peppers, do. their flavor is much more sweet and less bitter than green ones.

2 bell peppers
2 cups cooked rice
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 Italian sausages
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup slivered almonds
dash(es) garlic salt
1/2 cup cheese (parmesan or cheddar)
1-2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

1. in a medium sauce pan cook rice according its directions, adding the oil and salt at the beginning.
2. while rice is cooking take sausages out of the casings, break up into small pieces and brown in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. continue breaking the sausage up even more as it cooks.
3. once the sausage is browned, scoop it into a large bowl leaving the grease in the skillet. add onion to the sausage grease and sauté until tender. add mushrooms and sauté until tender and slightly browned, adding a generous dash or two of garlic salt along the way. add almonds just before onions and mushrooms are done. transfer into bowl with sausage.
4. add cooked rice to the meat mixture. add cheese and Worcestershire and mix well. add salt and pepper to taste.
5. heat oven to 375º F. cut out the tops of the peppers and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. rinse with water to get the peppers completely cleaned out. fill peppers with meat/rice mixture.
6. place stuffed peppers in a bread/loaf pan - or what ever pan the peppers fit in well. bake at 375º F for 15 minutes. serve immediately with any of the extra meat/rice mixture around the sides of the peppers.

you'll probably want to have serrated knives to cut the peppers as you eat them.

these can be made just as well with ground beef or without meat. if you make them with out, just sauté the onion and pepper in olive oil.

Country Potato Soup

This is the potato soup that you've been waiting for!

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 lbs Yukon Gold or other yellow-flesh potatoes, chopped
6 - 8 oz cream cheese (depending on how creamy you like it)
dash cayenne pepper
salt and ground pepper to taste

1. heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat until hot. saute onion and garlic until soft and slightly brown.
2. add potatoes and broth and boil potaoes until tender, 8 - 12 minutes.
3. transfer most of the potatoes and onions and all of the liquid into a blender, add cream cheese and process until chunky-smooth.
4. pour mix back into sauce pan, season with cayenne, salt and pepper and heat through until hot - do not boil. if it's too thick, thin with a little water or milk.
5. garnish with shredded sharp cheddar.

For extra goodness add sweet corn (heat frozen corn in microwave first) and/or cooked bacon crumbled up.

Homemade Donuts

1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 pkg yeast
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1.5 tsp nutmeg (optional)

In a glass bowl, put in melted butter and sugars. Pour milk over butter and sugars and cool to lukewarm. Add yeast, stirring until dissolved. Sift flour, salt (and nutmeg). Gradually add half the dry mixture to milk; add egg and beat well. Add remaining flour and leave dough in warm place for 1 hour. Knead gently, roll to quarter inch thickness and cut into diamonds. Allow to rise 30 minutes to 1 hour. Fry in oil at 375 degrees (between medium and medium high on a stove top). Dust with confectioners sugar or a sugar and cinnamon mix. Eat when warm.

Recipe from Bellz

Enchiladas

the key to good enchiladas, besides using the right ingredients, is warming the corn tortillas in a bit of oil before assembling the enchiladas.

3-4 cups prepared beef, chicken or pork*
1 small onion, diced
4 oz. can diced green chiles
garlic salt
12-16 corn tortillas (6 - 7 inch)
2+ tsp. oil
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup queso Oaxaca or string cheese, pulled apart
20 oz. can red enchilada sauce

*the easiest way to prepare the meat is to cut it into medium sized chunks, sear it in a bit of oil then simmer in water with a ½ teaspoon salt and a dash of pepper for 1 - 1 ½ hours until tender. remove pan from heat, pour out most of the water and let cool until lukewarm, then shred.

1. heat oven to 350º F. shred cheddar and pull apart Oaxacan or string cheeses, set aside.
2. in a frying pan sauté onion in oil and garlic salt over medium heat until tender and slightly browned. add chiles and simmer for a minute or two.
3. add meat with a little of the water/juice it was cooked in and simmer until most of the liquid has steamed off, set aside.
4. spoon a thin layer of enchilada sauce into the bottom of two 6" x 8" or one 9" x 13" baking pan(s).
5. add a small amount of oil to the frying pan and on medium-low heat warm the corn tortillas in the oil (about 15 seconds on each side) adding a bit more oil as needed.
6. place the tortilla in the baking pan and fill with meat mixture, cheese and a conservative spoonful of enchilada sauce - don't over fill. roll the contents up in the tortilla and push to the side of the pan.
7. repeat with as many enchiladas as you would like and will fit in the baking pan, adding a bit more sauce to the bottom of the pan as it gets sopped up. if you run out of meat you can always make cheese enchiladas or bean and cheese enchiladas.
8. pour the rest of the sauce on top of and in between the enchiladas. sprinkle some cheddar on top and bake uncovered 15 - 20 minutes until cheese is is melted and sauce bubbles. i like to turn the broiler on for the last couple minutes to slightly toast the cheese on top.
9. let enchiladas stand for 5 - 10 minutes and serve with rice, beans, sour cream, avocado... or alone.

Curry Rice with Peas and Tofu

tofu can be really good if it's cooked right. there's no excuse for bland, soggy tofu. brown it like you would chicken tenders in olive oil and spices and it'll taste great.

3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 small onion, diced
1/2 package extra firm tofu (can substitute with chicken)
1 tsp garlic salt
1 cup uncooked basmati rice
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 package (10 oz.) frozen peas
salt to taste

1. in a sauce pan sauté onion in 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat until tender and slightly browned. set aside in a large bowl.
2. turn heat up to medium-high, add 2 more Tbsp oil to sauce pan and sauté tofu with garlic salt and a dash of curry powder until browned (about 12 minutes). set aside with onions.
3. bring 2 cups water to a boil in the sauce pan and stir in rice, curry powder and cumin. bring to a boil again, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
4. put peas in a colander and run under hot water. toss peas, onions and tofu with cooked rice in large bowl. salt to taste and serve.

Gingerbread Men

DO NOT DOUBLE THIS RECIPE... FOR YOUR OWN GOOD

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup warm water
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons baker's cocoa
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a medium bowl, beat butter. Cream in brown sugar and egg. Add vanilla, molasses and water and mix until smooth.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, cocoa, allspice, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Stir them into the wet mixture until all of the dry is absorbed.
3. Cover the dough and chill for 15 to 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350º F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out into shapes. Place cookies at least 1/2 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Use parchment paper if possible.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Makes an army.

from Kel & English

Cornbread

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup yellow corn meal (fine stone ground)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter melted and slightly cooled
3/4 cup sour cream or whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup milk

1. preheat oven to 400° and grease 9" x 5" loaf pan or 12-cup muffin tin.
2. whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.
3. in a smaller bowl whisk the eggs until well combined. add sugar to eggs and whisk until smooth and homogeneous. add butter in three additions mixing after each addition. mix in milk, then sour cream or yogurt until well combined.
4. add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently with a rubber spatula just until batter is combined - do not over mix.
5. drop batter into loaf pan or muffin tin (don't level or flatten the batter) and bake for 50-55 minutes for loaf or 15-20 for muffins.

Dang Good Hummus

2 cans (15.5 oz) cans garbanzo beans (S&W are best)
1/3 cup garbanzo juice (drain the rest)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 - 2 Tbsp tahini OR 1-2 tsp sesame seeds
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 - 2 tsp cumin
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

To be mixed in (optional):
3 - 4 roma tomatoes – chopped
1 jar artichoke hearts – chopped
1 can (2.25 oz) chopped olives

1. Blend garbanzo beans, garbanzo juice, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame seeds, salt, cumin, and garlic together in a blender until smooth – don’t over blend.
2. Transfer hummus to a bowl and mix in tomatoes, artichoke hearts and olives.
3. Serve with toasted pita (triangles for a party) or corn chips.

Tomato Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cans diced tomatoes, divided
1 cup chicken broth
4 oz. cream cheese
salt to taste

1. Sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until tender.
2. Add two cans of the tomatoes, all of the tomato juice and the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
3. Add cream cheese and let it melt into small pieces.
4. Carefully transfer hot soup to a blender and blend until smooth and even textured. NOTE: Don't fill blender too high and make sure to leave an opening for the steam escape! If necessary, blend in two batches.
5. Return soup to pan, add the last can of the tomatoes, add salt to taste and warm through.
Serve with grilled or toasty cheese.

Granola

8 cups regular rolled oats
1 ½ cups brown sugar
8 oz. coconut flakes (unsweetened is best)
1 ½ cups nuts or seeds
½ vegetable oil
¾ cup honey
2 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 325°. Stir oats, sugar, coconut and nuts/seeds together.
2. In a small pan over medium heat, heat the oil, honey and vanilla stirring until bubbling.
3. Thoroughly mix the wet and dry ingredients. Grease 2 10” x 15” rimmed baking sheets, divide granola between the pans, spreading evenly.
4. Bake uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes or until lightly browned, turning two or three times with a spatula.
5. Remove pans from oven, stir a few more times and let cool. Remove with a spatula. Store in airtight container.

recipe from Kel - by way of Carolyn Brooks, by way of Jill Spencer