Funnel Cake

Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar for batter, more for dusting
• Food thermometer
• Funnel

Heat oil to 375 degrees F in a large skillet. While the oil is heating, beat the egg and milk together in one bowl and combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and powdered sugar in another bowl. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until the batter is smooth.

When the oil has reached 375 degrees F, pour the batter into a funnel, holding your finger over the small opening. Hold the funnel with the batter over the oil and make a circle with your hand repeatedly to form the cake. Fry until the bottom has turned golden brown and turn over and fry the other side. When both sides are golden brown, remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Serve warm with powdered sugar dusted on top. 

Makes 4 large funnel cakes.

Oven Baked Meatball Sandwiches

Ingredients

• Sandwich rolls (cut with one side intact)
• Cooked meatballs (your favorite recipe or frozen, pre-made meatballs)
• Pasta sauce (homemade or jarred)
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place your frozen cooked meatballs or homemade cooked meatballs in a large pot. Cover with your pasta sauce. Gently fold the meatballs with the sauce. Heat the meatballs and sauce on low-medium, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are heated thoroughly.

Fill a roll with as many meatballs as you can fit (usually 4-5 meatballs, depends on size of meatballs and size of the roll). Top with more  pasta sauce from your pot. Place filled sandwich rolls closely on baking sheet. Top each sandwich with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted, hot, and bubbly.

Baked Turkey Meatballs with Spinach

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 16 oz. frozen chopped spinach (defrosted, drained, and squeezed to remove excess water)
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 2 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray. (May also line baking sheet with foil and then spray with cooking spray.)

In a frying pan on medium heat, heat olive oil until hot. Then add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Saute until onion is tender (about 5-6 minutes total time).

Add spinach to pan and combine with onion mixture. Add Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth and mix well to combine. Cook until most of the liquid has cooked out (evaporated). Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. 

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread crumbs, and egg. Add cooled onion/spinach mixture to the meat with hands or large spoon.

With your hands, create meatballs that are about 1- 1 1/2 inches in diameter and place them on the baking sheet. Leave a little bit of space between each meatball. When you are done shaping your meat balls, you will probably have about 40-42 meatballs. Don't need that many? Freeze them after baking or cut the recipe in half.

Bake until your meatballs are cooked through with an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve as desired.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

• Whisk together and set aside
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Cream wet ingredients
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Then stir in
• 3 cups oats (not instant)
• 1 1/2 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Whisk dry ingredients; set aside. Combine wet ingredients with a hand mixer on low. To cream, increase speed to high and beat until fluffy and the color lightens. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until no flour is visible. (Over mixing develops the gluten, making a tough cookie.) Now add the oats and raisins; stir to incorporate. 

Drop balls of dough 2-inches apart onto baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake 11-13 minutes until golden but still moist between cracks on top. 

Remove from oven; let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. 

Makes 36 cookies.

Sweet and Salty Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose lour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup candy coated pieces (M&Ms)
• 1 cup crushed snacks such as pretzels and potato chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time; beat in vanilla.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into butter mixture.

Stir in candy and crumbled snacks.

Drop balls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Bake in oven 10-12 minutes.

Makes about 30 cookies.

7 Layer Dip

Ingredients

• 2 cups refried beans
• 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
• 16 oz. sour cream
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 16 oz. guacamole
• 16 oz. salsa
• 2.5 cups shredded lettuce
• Large tomato, chopped
• 1 cup shredded cheese (4 Cheese Mexican Blend)

In a medium bowl, mix refried beans and taco seasoning. Then spread evenly on the bottom of a 13x9 Pyrex dish.

Cream together sour cream and cream cheese. Spread on top of refried beans.

Then layer guacamole, salsa, lettuce, tomato, and cheese- in that order.

You can also add black olives or jalapenos to the top!

Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 4 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 Tbsp dried parsley
• 8 Grands flaky refrigerator biscuits
• Peas and/or sliced carrots

Place chicken in crock-pot. Plop the butter on the chicken. Then scoop the cream of chicken soup on the chicken. Pour the chicken broth over all. Add the diced onion, dried parsley, and optional peas and carrots. Cover and cook on High for 4-5 hours or Low for 8-9 hours.

After the chicken is cooked, shred it and put it back into the soup. Cut each biscuit into 9 pieces. Stir gently into the soup. Cover and turn the crock-pot to High and cook for another hour.

After an hour, stir it up. Serve warm and enjoy!

Yield: 6 servings

Rolo Stuffed Ritz Crackers

Ingredients

• Rolo Candies
• Ritz Crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place Ritz crackers on a cookie sheet face side down, and top each one with a Rolo candy.

Bake for 3-5 minutes to soften (but do not fully melt) the Rolos. Remove from the oven and immediately top the Rolos with a second Ritz cracker. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Note: There are about 55 Rolos candies per bag. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp lemon zest (from about 3 lemons)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 

Lemon Glaze

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 8 by 4-inch baking dish, set aside.

In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, poppy seeds, baking powder and salt for 20 seconds, set aside. Add sugar and lemon zest to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Rub lemon zest with sugar using your fingertips, until the mixture becomes moist and pale yellow. Add butter to sugar mixture and ship on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time, adding in vanilla with last egg.

In (microwave safe) liquid measuring cup used to measure milk, whisk together the milk with sour cream. Heat mixture in microwave just until no longer cold.

Working in three separate batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, add 1/3 of the flour mixture (to the butter/sugar mixture) alternating with 1/2 of the milk mixture and 1 Tbsp lemon juice (each time), and mixing just until combined after each addition. Bake in preheated oven 45-55 minutes, tenting with foil at 40 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes in loaf pan, then invert loaf onto a wire rack and brush top with the lemon glaze (it will take several coats but use it all. Give it a second between coats to absorb as needed). 

For the lemon glaze: Combine lemon juice and sugar in a bowl and heat in microwave on HIGH power (or over stove top on small saucepan, med-high heat) and heat in 15 second intervals, whisking between intervals until sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

• 8 fresh peaches- peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 
  
• MIX TOGETHER
• 3 Tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meat. Stir in water until just combined.

Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 25-30 minutes.