Baked Potato Casserole

• 8 med potatos (about 2 1\2 to 3 lb. total), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (I left peels on)
• 1 cup Evaporated Milk 
• 1\2 cup light sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1\2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 6 slices  bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided
• Sliced green onions

1. PLACE potatoes in large saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; drain.
2. PREHEAT oven to 350F. Grease 2 1- to 3-quart casserole dish.
3. RETURN potatoes to saucepan; add evaporated milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Beat with hand-held mixer until smooth. Stir in 1 cups cheese and half of bacon. Spoon mixture into prepared casserole dish.

4. BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining 1 cup cheese, remaining bacon and green onions. Bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

* I left the skins on my potato's and also added a little extra milk and sour cream to smooth out the texture of the potato's.

Baked Chicken Legs

2 1/2 pounds chicken legs
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay the chicken legs out and give them a good sprinkling of salt and pepper on both sides. Put them in a foil-lined baking dish with high sides (the foil is to make clean up easier and is not essential). In a glass measuring cup measure out the honey, soy sauce, and ketchup. Add the minced garlic and stir. If the mixture doesn’t combine well microwave it on high for thirty seconds and stir again. Pour the honey mixture over the chicken legs.

2.Put the chicken legs in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Take the chicken out of the oven and rotate it so that the bottom that was in the sauce is now on the top out of the sauce. Put the legs back in the oven. Raise the heat to 425 degrees and bake until the sauce is bubbly and starts to caramelize on the chicken legs. This should take about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

* I got this recipe from blessthismessplease I doubled the recipe and used 4 lbs of legs and doubled the sauce. We all loved the sauce. It was messy and sticky with the honey but the taste was great. I think that next time I will just make the sauce and pour it onto boneless chicken breasts and just cook it longer. But this was a great and simple recipe.

Lemon Blueberry Yogurt loaf

1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed
For the Lemon Syrup:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
For the Lemon Glaze:
1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of one or two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.
2.In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3.In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.

4.Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.

5.While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.
6.Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.
7.To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

* I liked the taste of this bread but I was not a big fan of the lemon syrup and glaze. I think that it made it to moist and almost soggy. We only ended up eating half of the loaf because of this. So if I did make this again I would not add the glaze or syrup and just add a little extra lemon juice to the bread and I think it would be perfect.

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks, 3/4 cup) butter, softened to room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese, light or regular, softened to room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping:
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8 1/2- by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until very light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and bananas.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.

1. In a small bowl, mash together the topping ingredients until combined and crumbly.

1. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle with the topping.

1. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the bread is nicely domed and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
2. Remove from the oven and let rest in the pans for 5-10 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack to cool completely.

* I got this recipe from melskitchencafe I thought that it was pretty good. I did not really taste the cream cheese in the bread but it gave it a smooth texture. Also I loved the addition of the crunchy cinnamon topping. 

Creamy Bacon Tomato Avocado Pasta Salad

• 
  
• 6 slices bacon, chopped into one inch pieces
• 1/2 pound dried rotini pasta
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• juice of 1 lemon about 1/4 cup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 avocado pitted and sliced

1. Cook bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Strain. Run cold water over the top until the pasta is cooled.
3. While your bacon and pasta are cooking, whisk mayonnaise,sour cream,milk, lemon, salt, garlic powder, pepper and dill together in a bowl.
4. Stir cooled pasta, cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado and reserved bacon into the dressing. Toss to combine. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

* We loved this it was such a quick salad to make and tasted great. I would wait until serving to add the avocado so that it doesnt go brown but it was super yummy

Pizza Sauce

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 

1/4 cup water 

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 

1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves

 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

 1 whole bay leaf 

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tsp garlic

1/4 teaspoon italian seasoning 

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over Medium heat and let simmer 15 min.

Calzones

3/4-1  c. whole milk ricotta cheese

1 c. mozzarella cheese, grated

1/2 C Italian Cheese 

1 egg white =1T water

Mix with a fork until smooth.

All your favorite pizza toppings

pizza sauce (homemade or store bought)

1.Start with the dough make your own dough or you can use store bought.   Roll each piece into an 8-9″ circle.   Fill half of the circle of dough with one fourth of the cheese filling and all the additional toppings besides the pizza sauce.  Leave about an inch from the edge so that you can fold the dough over the filling into a half moon shape. Crimp the edge with a fork.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet ,

2.Using a fork, beat an egg with 1 T. water.  Brush the egg wash over the top of the calzone. And sprinkle with a little garlic salt and parsley. Bake it in a pre-heated 375° oven for 25 minutes.  It will come out golden and crispy!  Serve hot with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.

* I got this recipe from grandmabeesrecipes It was a great recipe and everyone loved them. I split the dough in half and made 2 jumbo calzones and then just cut them in slices to serve.