A Comfort Food Recipe

I love comfort foods, don't you? Foods that we really should not eat because they are usually full of rich ingredients like.........butter.

However, I can never break away from butter or comfort foods. This book is full of such recipes! Quick and easy recipes and some recipes you remember Mama or Grandma making.
I love tomatoes and always love to fix them differently.
this is such a wonderful, tasty way to do a tomato! A wonderful comfort food!



Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Tomatoes

4 medium tomatoes, very firm

12 slices of bacon, cut into pieces

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

2 tbs. cracker crumbs or dry bread crumbs

1 tbs butter

Preheat oven to 400 F. Butter a 9x12 baking dish. Remove the tops of tomatoes and carefully scoop out the pulp of the tomato and set aside. Drain the tomatoes , upside down, on a rack.

Cook the bacon until it is almost done. Drain off the fat and add the green pepper and onion and saute until onion is transparent. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheese and tomato pulp. Fill the hollowed tomato shells with this mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese on the top, then the bread crumbs. Dot with butter.Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Your Best Friend Treats

A dear friend bakes cookies for her dog all of the time. Once in a while, she sends a bag to Sophie, who thoroughly loves them! If you want to spoil your best friend.............this is the best way!

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

1 to 1-½ cups flour

¾ cup oatmeal

¼ cup wheat germ

¼ cup crunchy peanut butter

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup honey

1 tsp baking powder

½ cup water

Preheat oven to 325° F (165° C).

Combine all ingredients and mix on low until blended. Form into tablespoon-sized balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten balls to ¼"" using tines of fork:

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes about 20 cookies

Let cool and store in air tight container.

Spanish Rice

For years, I have tried to make Spanish rice and it always turns out soggy and clumpy, without much flavor. After doing some research, I found out what I was doing wrong.................

I was not browning the rice before I put it into the water..................did you know to do this?? I also found a wonderful recipe in the process of this research. How about you? Have you ever made a dish and found out there was a whole other way to make it? I would love to hear! So here is the recipe.......

Spanish Rice

1 cup of rice

2 cups hot water

2 tbs. olive oil

small can of tomato sauce

1 cup chopped onion

cumin..(to your own taste)

salt to your own taste

Put the rice into a large, non stick skillet with the olive oil. Brown the rice on high heat (keep moving rice around with a wooden spoon so that it does not burn), then add 2 cups of hot water. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, reduce heat to low. Let cook for 20 minutes. Be sure to keep the lid closed during the entire 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Success And The Recipe!

Here it is!! Doesn't it look pretty? And yes, it is so delicious. Even though it had brick after brick of cream cheese in it............it came out light, creamy, and very rich!
I served strawberries along with it. Out of my whole family of (the pickiest eaters) they all like it! Which is an accomplishment for me! One of the "pickiest eaters of the world " asked me to make a chocolate marbled one next..............I think I will! So here is a wonderful recipe for you!

New York Cheesecake

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

5 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 eggs 1 cup sour cream

Mix crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350° F. for 10 minutes.

Mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition, just until blended. Blend in sour cream. Pour over crust.

Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Run a small knife around the rim of the pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Enjoy!

A First Try At Cheesecake

Here it is! Finally.......a real cheesecake....baking in my oven!! For the past 27 married years, I have baked the standard favorites and some new things......but never a cheesecake. I have made the easy jello, mix and put in the fridge kind, I have made the wonderful cheery cheese pie.....but have always steered away from one that you actually have to bake. ...

One reason.....I never have bought a spring form pan....

.....the main reason.......not sure if it will come out right.

This summer, my dear friend, from way back in childhood/schooldays......made her yearly visit to our home. Along with her she brought a set of spring form pans.....just for me!!

I just made a plain New York Cheesecake.....the batter tastes wonderful!!

If it comes out like "cheesecake" I will post the recipe sometime late this weekend. If it doesn't turn out....I will have a disappointing post to make.

How about you?? Have you made cheesecake before? Were you pleased with the results? I would love to hear!

Chili with chicken and green chilies

I had a picture of this wonderful chili, which I had made this past weekend, but I somehow deleted the image..........but at least I will share the recipe. With temperatures dipping down below freezing, I made two pots of chili over the weekend. One regular chili, made with the usual store mix, tried and true, and one which neither myself or my family has ever tried. This recipe was passed on to me via email by a dear friend who states that it is such a wonderful hearty meal. One big problem,........ my family are not big Navy bean eaters....and this chili had navy beans in it. However, I made it............. oh, so, so , delicious!!! So much in fact, that my husband even liked it and had a second helping!!

Chili With Chicken And Green Chilies

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1 onion, diced

2 tbs. garlic, minced or powder

2 cans of green chilies, chopped

1 pound navy beans, sorted and rinsed

8 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 tbs cumin

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup milk

2 tbs. Masa

In large pot, saute onions and garlic until onions are tender. Add green chilies and beans. Add chicken broth , cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Cook for 1 hour and then add chicken. Cook for another hour or until beans are done. When beans are tender, mix milk and masa together and stir into chili. Cook for another 10 minutes to thicken. Enjoy!

13 Years of Taste Of Home

I remember the first time Taste of Home came out. I remember how much my friends and I loved it. At that time, I still lived in town, and I was a mother of 3 very small children and I cooked so much more than I do now, in my very tiny kitchen (which also served as our dining room).

Over the years, I have been given a subscription to Taste Of Home, by one of my dear friends, every year for a Christmas present. I have not thrown any of these issues away.......dating back from 1996. It sounds like a gigantic amount........however, the magazine only has 6 issues a year. I have also been given their wonderful annual cookbook by another dear friend.
One recipe I have always used is this wonderful Potato pancake recipe that came out in the early years of Taste Of Home. Reminiscent of a hash brown patty, but with more flavor, it is wonderful for a breakfast side.........however, it is also wonderful when you want something different from the usual baked and mashed potato.
I fixed this for our after church dinner with my menu of:
Country Fried Chicken
Green Beans
Corn
Tossed Salad
Savory Skillet Rolls
Potato Pancakes...Taste Of Home Recipe

Mom's Potato Pancakes

4 cups shredded peeled potatoes (about 4 large)

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 tbs. flour

1 tbs. grated onion

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Rinse potatoes in cold water, drain well. Place in a large bowl. Add egg, flour, onion, salt and pepper and mix well. In skillet, heat 1/4 inch veg. oil over medium heat. Drop batter by 1/3 cups into hot oil. Flatten to form a pancake. Fry until golden brown, turn and brown the other side. Drain on paper towel. Serve immediately. Enjoy!