Cheesy Potato Soup

1 (32 oz) bag frozen southern-style diced hash browns potatoes, thawed
1 chopped onion
1 medium stalk celery, diced
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup water
3 tbls flour
1 cup milk
1 bag (8 oz) american-cheddar cheese blend (shredded, 2 cups)
1/4 cup real bacon pieces
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

In slow cooker, mix potatoes, onion, celery, brother, and water.
Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.
In small bowl, mix flour into milk. Stir into potato mixture. Increase heat to high. Cover and cook an additional 20-30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cheese until melted. Garnish with bacon pieces and green onion. Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

Makes 6 - 1 1/2 cup servings.

The Best Spaghetti Sauce

1 1/2 lbs ground beef or sausage (I use a mixture of both, or you can throw in kielbasa, or pepperoni)
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 (15 oz) cans tomatoes, undrained and chopped
2 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (8 oz) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 cup water
2 tbls brown sugar
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 beef bouillon cube
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (or cumin, or cayenne)

Brown and crumble meat and drain. Mix all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce to LOW and cook 7 hours. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti noodles.

***This recipe makes a TON. I usually have it for dinner, with some leftovers for the next day and I freeze the other half. Freezes great!***

****Serve with French Bread (with the garlic and parmesan in the middle)****

Fried Green Tomatoes

Core and slice about 3 large unpeeled green tomatoes (about 1/4 inch thick). Salt and pepper sliced tomatoes and let sit for about 10 minutes.


There are four dips

#1 Buttermilk (or half and half, or just milk)

#2 flour

#3 2 eggs, beaten

#4 breading (bread crumbs and or corn meal) I use a mixture of both, mostly bread crumbs, and I dump some spices in... like paprika, garlic salt, or cayenne, whatever your fancy.

Dredge slices one by one in the four dips (in order presented) and place in hot oil (about 1/4 cup of olive oil, you'll need to replenish for next batch). Cook on each side for about 5-6 minutes. Optional-- you can place a piece of jack or cheddar cheese atop each piece.

Serve with favorite creamy dressing.... I like sour cream. But Ranch or Blue cheese work as well. Enjoy!!!

Monkey Brains

3 tubes of refrigerated biscuits

1 cube butter, melted

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cinnamon

In one bowl melt butter. In another bowl combine cinnamon and sugar. Individually dip biscuits in butter, then in cinnamon and sugar. Place biscuits in bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes... enjoy!!! Totally fattening, but a total crowd-pleaser and totally EASY!

French Bread

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbls sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbls yeast (or two packages)
2 cups hot water (straight-hot tap water works great)
1 egg white
1 tbls water
Cornmeal

Set aside 1 cup flour. In large bowl, mix remaining flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir hot water into dry mixture. Mix in enough reserved flour to make dough soft (or so it doesn't stick to the sides of your mixing bowl). Mix about 5 minutes in mixer or knead by hand on floured surface 8-10 minutes. Cover. Let rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough in half. Roll half of dough to 15 x 10 inch rectangle. (I sprinkle mine with fresh Parmesan and fresh chopped garlic). Roll up tightly from long side like a jelly roll, tapering ends. Pinch seam and ends to seal. Place, seam side down, on greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Repeat with remaining half of dough. Cover; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 35-40 minutes.

With sharp knife, make 4 diagonal cuts on top of each loaf. Combine egg white and 1 tbls water; brush on loaves. Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until done. Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

For a picture see my post on this day.... sorry, I'm too lazy to type it out! But these are YUMMY! You have to follow directions closely on this one, you cant just dump all the ingredients in the bowl and mix. But if you follow the recipe, they'll turn out fabulous!!

Banana Split Cake

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, stir or sift before measuring
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup caramel sauce
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Banana Filling, below
Chocolate Frosting, below

PREPARATION:
Grease and floured bottoms of two 9-inch layer cake pans. Sift together the 2 1/2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and soda. Add to sifted ingredients the 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup butter, and caramel sauce. Spoon into the prepared cake pans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Fill with Banana Filling and Frost.

Banana Filling:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
5 tablespoons butter
2 ripe but firm bananas, sliced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine powdered sugar, flour, and milk in a saucepan; cook, stirring, until smooth. Continue cooking until mixture thickens; transfer to mixing bowl, cover, and chill thoroughly. Beat butter into the chilled mixture, a tablespoon at a time. Fold in sliced bananas and vanilla.

Chocolate Frosting:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup caramel sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine chocolate chips, caramel sauce, and butter. Cook over low heat until chocolate is melted; blend in confectioners' sugar and vanilla. If necessary, thin frosting with a little milk. Pour over cooled cake.

***My cake came out a little dry (but I used cake flour instead of regular flour). Good luck and let me know how it turns out!!