Nana Mae's Raspberry Fruit Cocktail Salad

Nana Mae served this for breakfast on Sundays... also makes a good dessert.. and a good topping for angel food cake or pound cake.

1 can fruit cocktail, chilled

1 small package of frozen raspberries, thawed

Mix together and serve.  

Crockpot Pizza

This recipe came from Pam Steinmentz and my sons loved it... still do.  Serve with a green salad and garlic bread or bread sticks.


1.5# ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
Brown meat with onion, drain and set aside.

1/2 Box Rigatoni noodles, cooked ala dente

2   8oz cans pizza sauce

1 small pkg pepperoni slices

10 oz Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

10 oz Cheddar Cheese, shredded

To assemble -

Spray crock with PAM or use a crockpot liner

Assemble in this order using half of the ingredients - then repeat layers

Meat
Noodles
Pizza Sauce
Pepperoni
Mozzarella Cheese
Cheddar Cheese

Repeat.
Place cover on crockpot and cook on low for hours 4 - 6

If desired, add sliced black olives and peppers

Roasted Veggies

2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced

2 cups carrots, peeled and cut into thirds

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed

1 large red onion, quartered

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 cup olive oil

i tsp minced garlic

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).


2.In a large bowl, combine the squash, red bell peppers, sweet potato,  carrots and Yukon Gold potatoes. Separate the red onion quarters into pieces, and add them to the mixture.

3.In a small bowl, stir together thyme, rosemary, olive oil, minced garlic, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Toss with vegetables until they are coated. Spread evenly on a large roasting pan.

4.Roast for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through and browned.
  

OR
1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, quartered


1/2 cup baby carrots

1 small onion, cut into wedges

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cauliflower cut into florets

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

2.Combine potatoes, carrots, and onion in an ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper to taste in a small mixing bowl. Drizzle the mixture over the vegetables.

3.Bake for 30- 40 minutes or until the vegetables and tender and brown on the edges. Serve hot.

Jan's Beer Bread with Options

Who doesn't love options? To me, it's a large part of what makes cooking fun!  This recipe has a lot of options.... and is wonderful as it is... makes a great gift as a mix or the finished bread. Enjoy!

3 cups unbleached flour – sifted (if you absolutely will not sift at least fluff your flour and spoon it into the measuring cup)

3 tsp baking POWDER

1 tsp. salt

¼ cup sugar

1 12 oz bottle beer ( flavor is different with each type of beer)  I like Rolling Rock, Millers or Heiniken

Mix together until blended well… turn mixture into a greased loaf pan

Melt ¼ cup butter and pour over batter in pan  -(can do as little as 2 TBSP but I prefer ¼ cup)

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 – 60 minutes depending on your oven.

Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Beer Bread Variations

• For a “lighter” bread… mix and put in the pan and let it sit about 30 minutes or until it forms a crown before adding the butter – then add butter and bake

• Can divide this dough into 2 small loaf pans –adjust baking time

• Use 1/3 cup sugar instead of ¼ cup

• For a sweeter bread, substitute brown sugar for white sugar
• Add a handful of Mexican blend cheeses ( cheddar and jack) before adding the beer
• Can sprinkle garlic salt on top of the bread half-way through baking – after removing from the oven, brush top lightly with butter and sprinkle with garlic salt.

• Add ½ - 1 cup cup cheddar and ¼ cup chopped chilies

• Add ½ cup shredded cheese and ¼ cup sliced green olives
• If you are salt sensitive – use Unsalted butter on top of the bread mixture
• Use Brown Sugar instead of white and add ½ tsp Onion Powder and 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Add 1 cup finely shredded cheddar, 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning and 1/2 tsp garlic powder

She Loves Wine’s Drunken Cranberry Sauce Nut Bread

Have I mentioned I'm crazy about my homemade Cranberry Vodka? Yum! Good stuff! Well, after you bottle your "recipe" you have the left over chopped cranberry "stuff". It tastes delish and it's too good to throw away. After searching the web to see what others did with their vodka infused cranberry mixture, I found nothing and thought, what the heck, I’ll make bread…. Not finding what I thought the bread recipe should look like, I decided to do my own… a little of this and that….it was FABULOUS!

Now, unfortunately you will not get the same delightful flavor without the cranberry puree (which means you have to make the Cranberry Vodka to get it) but you can come close... I'll get you there!

2 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted – (Note to my boys -cool so you don’t cook the egg)
1 cup left of the chopped cranberries left over from making Cranberry Vodka -
( or 1 heaping cup of whole cranberry sauce - or even apple sauce )
Orange peel - from one orange
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix dry ingredients together. Add remaining ingredients except nuts - only to moisten.
Fold in nuts.
Bake in a greased loaf pan for 50 - 60 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Ham Sauce

This was my former mother-in-law's recipe


1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup vinegar
1/2 Cup water
1 TBSP prepared mustard

Bring to boil, then pour over ham or ham loaf.

It is good to bak a ham in foil, then pour sauce over it and let it set for several hours before slicing.