Berry Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups fresh berries (I use frozen and it works just fine)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Lightly butter twelve muffin cups or place paper muffin cups in the muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine and make a well in the center. In another medium bowl, whisk the milk, oil and eggs. Mix well and pour into the well. Stir just until blended. Fold in the berries. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about three-fourths full.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and serve warm or cool on a wire rack.

Shepherd's Pie

For the meat mixture:

1 1/2 lbs lamb or beef (cubed or ground is fine)
1 container mushrooms
1 large sweet onion, diced

3 large carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp butter
5 tbsp flour
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried sage
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
salt and pepper

For the potatoes:2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into equal sized pieces
4 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups grated white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/3 cup chives, chopped
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. 

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 minutes.  Drain well and return to pot to remove any excess moisture.

Meanwhile, brown beef or lamb in a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Drain off any excess fat.  Add onions, carrots and garlic, and sauté until softened.  Add butter, stir until melted.  Sprinkle flour over meat and veggies, stirring to coat.  Cook 1 minute.  Deglaze pan with Guinness, red wine, and beef broth.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium low.  Add Worcestershire sauce and spices, simmer about 15 minutes, or until carrots are tender.  Add peas, and season mixture to taste with salt and pepper.  Simmer until mixture has thickened.

Once potatoes are drained, stir in butter and milk and mash until consistency is smooth (add a little more milk if necessary).  Stir in cheese, parsley and chives.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Pour thickened meat mixture into greased casserole dish (I used an oval one, smaller than a 9×13).  Spoon potatoes gently over the top of the meat mixture, making irregular peaks with the back of your spoon.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and edges are bubbly.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Always eager to try new ideas for Saturday morning breakfast, I found this one. It was pretty delicious and it's definitely one we'll be bringing back to the table some other Saturday. 

• 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups buttermilk

• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
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• In a bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda and sugar. Combine the egg, buttermilk and butter; stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Cook in usual pancake fashion on your griddle or frying pan. We topped them with some cooked fresh peaches.
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Chicken Fried Rice

• 1 egg
• 1T water
• 1T butter
• 1T vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
  1c frozen mixed veggies
• 3  green onions, chopped
• 2 cups cooked white rice, cold
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1c cooked, chopped chicken
  
  In a small bowl, beat egg with water. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add egg and leave flat for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from skillet and cut into shreds.
  
  Heat oil in same skillet; add onion and saute until soft. Add veggies and saute until thawed. Then add rice, soy sauce, pepper and chicken. Stir fry together for about 5 minutes, then stir in egg. Serve hot.

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

I didn't take a picture beforehand since I wasn't sure whether we'd like it or not. We did! This was a super easy dinner and one we would like to have again.


3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 pound linguine , cooked al dente

1 1/2 tablespoons cajun seasoning

2 tablespoons butter

2 thinly sliced green onions

2 cups heavy whipping cream

4 tablespoons chopped tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat.

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter or margarine until chicken is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Reduce heat add green onion, heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic powder, black pepper and heat through.

Pour over hot linguine and toss with Parmesan cheese.

Amish White Bread

• I've forever been in the search of an easy bread recipe that would work to snack on and to use to make sandwiches and the like. I tried this one today and it was just what I've been looking for! Doesn't take all day to make, nice consistent center (ie won't let jelly leak through air bubbles), and really tasty with some butter warm out of the oven. 
• On a side note, I used 1c of whole wheat flour. I was running out of all-purpose. :)
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• 1 cup warm water 
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 cups bread flour
  
  In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
  Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
  Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
  Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

This is a tweaked version of our normal biscuit recipe. It was delicious and definitely worth posting all on it's own!

2c flour
1T baking powder
1T sugar
1t salt
1/3c butter
1/4t garlic powder
1c cheddar cheese
1c milk (give or take)

Butter glaze:
3T butter
1/2t (scant) garlic powder
3/4t dried parsley

Mix together dry ingredients for biscuits. Cut in cold butter using pastry cutter or the like. Mix in flavoring ingredients and milk until combined. Scoop onto a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 13 minutes or until desired brownness. While it's baking melt butter and mix in glaze ingredients. Once out of the oven, coat each biscuit with glaze using a pastry brush.