Island Kielbasa

I had a request asking for this recipe.  It is a very simple recipe, but my family loves it.

  • 2 pounds kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 (15 ounces) can pineapple chunks, undrained

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

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January 24, 2008 | Filed Under Recipes | 1 Comment 

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

I got a request for this soup yesterday from my menu plan.  I originally got this recipe from Monica.

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 4 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 can red kidney beans, drained
  • 1 can great northern beans, drained
  • 3 cans beef stock
  • 3 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 teaspoons pepper
  • 5 teaspoons parsley
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
  • 1 jar spaghetti sauce
  • 1 cup pasta

Brown beef in a skillet.  Drain fat and place meat in a crockpot.  Add everything else but the pasta.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.  Just before serving, cook pasta and add to soup.

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December 18, 2007 | Filed Under Recipes | 3 Comments 

Favorite Ingredient Friday – Snickerdoodles

This is one of my husband’s favorite cookies.

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400. Combine 3/4 cup sugar, brown sugar and butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat just until combined. Shape dough into 30 balls. Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small shallow dish. Roll balls in sugar mixture and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake for 8 minutes or until tops crack. Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.

Head over to Overwhelmed With Joy for more Favorite Ingredient Friday – Cookie Edition.

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November 2, 2007 | Filed Under Favorite Ingredient Friday, Recipes | 3 Comments 

Favorite Ingredients Friday – Vegetable Chili

  • 1/2 cup medium red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 cup medium green bell pepper, diced
  • 1/4 teaspoon jalapeño pepper, chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup black olive, sliced
  • 1 cup fresh mushrooms, quartered
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup carrots, diced
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, chopped fine
  • 3/4 cup frozen corn
  • 1 can (12 ounces) diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups each great northern beans, pinto beans, black beans and red kidney beans, washed and drained
  • Dash ground cumin
  • Dash cayenne pepper

Heat pan until hot. Add olive oil, then add peppers, celery, onions, carrots and garlic. Cook on medium heat until vegetables are tender, but still crisp, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms, diced tomatoes, seasonings and jalapeno pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth and tomato paste. Stir until well blended. Bring to a boil and add cornstarch mixture. Be sure to stir constantly while adding the cornstarch. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Add the beans, black olives and corn. Bring back to a boil and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Go over to Overwhelmed With Joy to check out other Favorite Ingredient Friday – Soup Edition recipes.

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October 19, 2007 | Filed Under Favorite Ingredient Friday, Recipes | 4 Comments 

Corn Dog Muffins

  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 hot dogs, cut into thirds or slices
  • Shredded cheese

Heat oven to 400. Mix together corn meal, flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, mix together egg, sugar, milk and oil. Add the wet works to the dry works. Spoon a little bit of the batter into muffin cups, greased or papered, about 1/2 full. Place a third of a hot dog or several slices over the batter. Sprinkle on a healthy couple pinche of cheese. Cover just barely with more batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool before you remove from pan/wrapper or it will crumble. Eat with ketchup and mustard.

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October 9, 2007 | Filed Under Recipes | 1 Comment 

Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style (2nd Edition)

Overwhelmed With Joy is hosting her 2nd Annual Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style. Here are a few of my favorite tried and true holiday recipes.

This is a Paula Deen recipe that is great for Christmas morning.

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup

  • 1 loaf French bread
  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • dash of salt
  • Praline topping
  • Maple syrup

Slice french bread into 20 slices, 1 inch each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9×13 x 2 pan in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a whisk until blended, but not too bubbly. Pour mixture in between the slices. Kind of push the bread down into the mixture to make sure that everything is soaking. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat oven to 350. Spread praline topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping

  • 1/2 pound butter, cubed
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.

Category: Breakfast

This is a recipe that I got from a friends mother.

Cranberry Salad

  • 2 (3 ounces each) packages red jello
  • 1 (3 ounces) package orange jello
  • 3 cups hot water
  • 2 cups cold water
  • 12 ounces cranberries
  • 1 cup cranberry sauce
  • 3-4 cups apples
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 (16 ounces) can crushed pineapple, juice reserved
  • 1-2 cups red grapes, cut
  • 1/2 cup nuts
  • Orange juice

Combine ground cranberries, cranberry sauce, apples, sugar, drained pineapple and pineapple juice plus enough orange juice to equal 1 cup, grapes and nuts in extra large bowl. Mix jello and water and add to the fruit mixture. Pour into molds and chill. Top with dressing.

Dressing

  • 1 large package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 pint whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Beat cream cheese. Slowly add whipping cream and sugar until the dressing has a medium thickness, then add the mayonnaise.

Category: Salad

This is something we always have around for the holidays.

Puppy Chow

  • 1 (12 ounces) box Crispix cereal
  • 1 (12 ounces) chocolate chips
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 (12 ounces) jar peanut butter
  • 1 pound box powdered sugar

Melt together peanut butter, chocolate chips and butter. Cook 3 minutes in microwave. Pour over cereal and stir until covered. In plastic bag, pour powdered sugar and mixture and shake.

Category: Dessert

Head over to Overwhelmed With Joy to check out other Holiday recipes.

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October 5, 2007 | Filed Under Holidays & Celebrations, Recipes | 12 Comments 

Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style

Overwhelmed With Joy will be hosting her 2nd Annual Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style this Friday, October 5. Last year, over 200 recipes were shared and they all sounded delicious.So, get those holiday recipes ready and head over to Overwhelmed With Joy this Friday.

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September 30, 2007 | Filed Under Holidays & Celebrations, Recipes | Leave a Comment 

Favorite Ingredient Friday – Caramel Apple Bars

I made these bars to take to a preschool cookout this week. They were very yummy and I came home with an empty pan.

Base and Topping

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups quick cooking oats
  • 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/4 cups butter, melted

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 15×10 x 1 inch pan. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat base and topping ingredients on low speed until crumbly. Press half of mixture in pan to form base; reserve remaining mixture for topping. Bake 8 minutes.

Filling

  • 1 1/2 cups caramel ice cream topping
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped peeled apples
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

In a 1 quart saucepan, mix caramel topping and flour until well blended. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly. Remove partially baked base from oven. Sprinkle with apples and walnuts. Pour caramel mixture evenly over top. Sprinkle with reserved topping mixture. Return to oven; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack 30 minutes. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

Head over to Overwhelmed With Joy to check out other recipes.

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September 28, 2007 | Filed Under Recipes | 5 Comments 

Banana Nut Muffins with Oatmeal Streusel

We tried these muffins this weekend for breakfast and they were really good. The family loved them.

Muffin Batter

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup mashed ripe banana, about 2 bananas
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Streusel Topping

  • 6 tablespoons regular oats
  • 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. To prepare the muffins, lightly spoon cups all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 4 ingredients, through salt, in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine banana and next 4 ingredients, through egg, in a bowl; stir well. Add to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened; fold in walnuts. Place 12 muffin cup liners in muffin cups. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups. To prepare the streusel, combine oats and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Blend with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle streusel over batter. Bake for 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

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September 17, 2007 | Filed Under Recipes | Leave a Comment 

Thanksgiving Blessing Mix

I found a great Thanksgiving gift idea for my son’s preschool teachers this year on Organized Christmas. I am going to make them Thanksgiving Blessing Mix. The recipe and printable gift tags are available on Organized Christmas.

Blessings Mix

  • Bugles: Shaped like a cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbole of our nation’s abundance.
  • Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.
  • Candy Corn: The sacrifices of the Pilgrims’ first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn a day.
  • Nuts or seeds: promise of a future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.
  • Dried fruits: Harvest gifts from our bountiful land.
  • M&M’s: Memories of those who came before us to lead us into a blessed future.
  • Hershey’s Kiss: The love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.

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November 18, 2006 | Filed Under Holidays & Celebrations, Recipes | 2 Comments 

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