Twice Baked Potatoes

This recipe can easily be doubled; the potatoes freeze well.

Ingredients:

- 6 large baking potatoes

- 1/4 pound sliced bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped

- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup (4 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degree. Scrub the potatoes and pierce them with a fork along one side only. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Saute onion in drippings until tender, then set aside.

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice off the top of each potato. Carefully scoop out the pulp with a small spoon, leaving a thin shell.

In a small bowl, mash the potato pulp with the butter. Stir in the milk, egg, salt, and pepper. Stir in the cheese, bacon, and onion.

Spoon into the potato shells. For potatoes to be eaten immediately, place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Potatoes can also be frozen, then baked (without thawing first) at 350-375 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients:

- 2 slices of bacon

- 1 1/2 pounds beef, cubed

- 1 can (10.75 oz) condensed golden mushroom soup
- 1/3 cup Burgundy or other dry red wine
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 medium bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves, crushed

- 1 pound small whole white onions, peeled

- noodles of choice

Directions:

In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp; remove and crumble.

Brown the beef in the bacon drippings.

Add mushroom soup, wine, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, thyme, and bacon to the beef. Cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes.

Add the onions; cover and cook for 45 more minutes until done, stirring occasionally.

Remove bay leave. Serve with noodles prepared according to package directions.

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound beef sirloin, cut into 1/2-inch strips
- 2 tablespoons butter

- 1 can (3 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour

- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 can (10 oz) condensed beef broth

- 2 tablespoons dry white wine or cooking sherry
- 1 carton (8 oz) sour cream

Directions:

Combine 1 tablespoon flour with salt, then coat meat with flour mixture.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet. Add meat; brown quickly on both sides.

Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic; sauté.

Remove meat, mushrooms, and onion from skillet.

Taking care not to burn the drippings, add 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Blend in 3 tablespoons flour. Add tomato paste, stirring constantly. Add beef broth; stir until smooth and thick.

Return the meat mixture to the skillet. Stir in the wine and sour cream. Heat on low until hot but not boiling. Serve over rice or noodles.

Coconut Sunflower Granola

This is a small recipe, so double or triple it if you want a lot of granola!

Ingredients:

- 1 cup oats
- 1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels
- 1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal (can sub hemp seeds or chia seeds for some of this)
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (unless the sunflower seeds are salted already)

- 2 tablespoons butter, melted or sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract  

-don't include dried fruit like craisins in the cooking or storage, they just get overly dried out when I've tried it, but can serve granola with dried fruit at mealtime.

 
Directions:

Place oven rack on middle shelf, about 10 inches below broiler. Preheat broiler to high. Combine first 9 ingredients on a baking sheet; toss well. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring every 1 minute.

Combine butter, honey, and vanilla in a small bowl. Drizzle over oat mixture; toss to coat.

Broil granola an additional 2 minutes or until well-toasted, stirring after 1 minute.

Remove granola from oven; cool on pan for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Alternately, cook at 250 degrees for 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until golden. 

Orange Rosemary Cake

The flavors of orange and rosemary are subtle in this delicious moist Bundt cake.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar

- 3 eggs

- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 cup orange zest (or 1 tablespoon dried orange zest)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary)
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted and chopped

- 2 cups flour (substitute several tablespoons of wheat flour, if desired)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1 cup sour cream

Glaze:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Orange Cream Icing (ingredients below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.

In a bowl, cream together the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.

Add the vanilla, almond extract, orange and lemon zest, rosemary, and almonds. Stir to mix.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix about half of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, then the other half. Add sour cream; mix until just incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes, then cool in pan on a wire rack. When cake is completely cool (about an hour), carefully remove from pan.

For glaze, combine the 1/4 cup sugar and orange juice in a small pan. Bring to a boil while stirring; boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Using a toothpick, poke holes about an inch apart across the cake's surface, then brush the glaze over the surface of the cake. Let cake and glaze cool completely before topping with orange cream icing.

Orange Cream Icing ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- pinch of salt
- orange food coloring as desired

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a food processor. Process until a smooth, creamy icing has formed. Prior to serving, pour over cooled cake.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Banana Bread/Muffins

Original recipe makes a 9x5" loaf, or you can make 6 jumbo muffins and 4 mini loaves. Try adding M&Ms or Reese's pieces!

Ingredients:

- 1/3 cup skim milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice

- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup white flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar

- 3 ripe bananas, mashed

- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3/8 cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- chocolate chips and/or nuts, if desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease the pan(s).

Stir the skim milk and lemon juice together in a glass measuring cup; let stand until curdled, about 30 minutes.

Whisk together the wheat flour, white flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.

Beat the eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer, until smooth. Mix in the mashed bananas, using the electric mixer if needed to get rid of lumps. Mix in the milk/lemon juice mixture, canola oil, applesauce, and vanilla.

Stir in the flour mixture, just until all ingredients are moistened. Add chocolate chips and/or nuts, if desired.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45-60 minutes for a large loaf, or 20 minutes for muffins.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients:

• 2 lb boneless beef roast
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
•  salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 onion, quartered or however small you like
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup (Paul found a recipe that subs 1 C red wine and 1 C beef stock plus 3 sprigs each of thyme and rosemary, in place of soup)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or equivalent dried)
  
• 6-8 carrots, cut in large coins
  
• 3-4 potatoes, large diced pieces (we like to add this even though most recipes don't include it)

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the roast in the oil until all surfaces are well-browned. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set in the crock pot. Cook onion and garlic in pan with oil, add soup or wine/broth to deglaze and add to slow cooker. Add herbs.

Cover the slow cooker. Cook on low setting for 8 hours, stirring once. About 3-4 hours before the end, add carrots and potatoes. They get very mushy if you add them at the beginning.