Gingerbread

Gingerbread

¼ cup soften salted butter

½ cup white sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 cup flour

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

½ cup boiling water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together butter, sugar, molasses, then add an egg and mix well. Sift all dry ingredients, add it to wet ingredients, add boiling water, and mix well. Bake the cake in a 8 by 8 pan, that was sprayed with pam, bake 30 minutes.

P.S. double recipe and use a 9 by 13 pan, use the same time in oven.

EASY HOMEMADE BISCUITS

EASY HOMEMADE BISCUITS


INGREDIENTS
1    cup flour, plus more as needed
1    cup Bisquick
4    teaspoons baking powder
1    tablespoon sugar
1/2    teaspoon salt
1/4    teaspoon baking soda
4    tablespoons butter, room temperature
1    cup milk

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Add the flour, Bisquick, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda to a large mixing bowl. Stir well to combine the dry ingredients thoroughly.
Add two tablespoons of the butter to the dough and use a spoon to press it into the flour mixture. I find it easiest to smear the butter against the sides of the bowl while working it into the flour. Once the first two tablespoons are completely incorporated, add in the last two tablespoons and repeat the process.
Pour in the milk and stir with a spoon until just combined. The dough will likely be too wet. Add in more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough is just dry enough to handle. Dough should come away clean from your fingers when you touch it, but stick to your fingers if you pinch it.
Dump dough onto a well floured work surface. Sprinkle lightly with flour.
Fold dough over on itself three times.
Use your hands to pat the dough to 3/4 of an inch high.
Cut dough out with biscuit cutter and place on baking sheet. Let sit 5 minutes before baking.
Bake for 15 minutes or until tops are just beginning to turn golden. Do not overbake these!

Cast Iron Pizza

Easy Pan Pizza
This is the best pan pizza you will ever have! Using a cast iron skillet makes it crispy and golden brown. I always remove some of the moisture from mushrooms & veggie toppings and “degrease” the pepperoni for a never-soggy, crispy crust.
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Makes: Makes one 10-inch pizza

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) bread flour (all-purpose flour works too)
1/4 teaspoon yeast - instant or active dry
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water (cold or hot - see below)

1 Tablespoon olive oil for greasing pan
1/3 cup pizza sauce
4 ounces part skim mozzarella cheese, hand shredded
toppings of your choice (I use reduced fat turkey pepperoni, peppers, onions, and mushrooms)

Directions

Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a medium bowl. Add cold water and combine well. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand on counter top 12 to 18 hours.
After the resting time of the overnight 12-18 hrs, dough will be double in size, puffy & soft, and dotted with bubbles. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour and stir briefly until it forms a ball. Dough will be very sticky, so the grease helps to spread it.
Grease a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet.
Place dough in skillet, spreading close to the edge with oiled fingers. Cover with a pot lid or plate and let rest at least an hour, preferably two. It will continue spreading as it rests.
Preheat oven to highest temperature - 500/550° F.
Add sauce, cheese, and toppings.
Cook on a stove-top burner on medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
Place in oven and bake about 15 minutes (start checking at 12).
Note: - Click here for more on making this easy pizza faster using hot water.

Note: To reduce moisture when adding sliced mushrooms, peppers, or onions, place them between double paper towels between 2 plates. Microwave 1 minute and press out excess moisture with paper towels. The same process (30 sec. in microwave) removes excess fat from pepperoni
Youtube video
https://youtu.be/o-jcIWwTbJg

The Best Nachos

The Best Nachos

Ingredients
1/2    pound ground beef
1/2    onion, chopped
1     (16-ounce) can refried beans
1     large bag thick corn tortilla chips
1.     tomato, diced
½.    Cup chili sauce

1    Cup of shredded Cheddar cheese.

½     cup salsa

¼      teaspoon chili powder
¼.     teaspoon cumin
¼      teaspoon paprika
¼      teaspoon salt
¼      teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a large skillet on medium heat, add ground beef and chopped onion, stirring occasionally to brown the meat and cook the onions.

Add seasoning, as the ground beef browns. Drain excess grease.

Add the refried beans and stir into the ground beef. Add salsa. Stir ingredients until well mixed.

Add more cumin and chili powder, to taste. Stir and simmer 5 minutes.

Place the chips on a oven proof plate. Spoon and sprinkle the ground beef mixture over the chips.

Top nachos with diced tomato, sliced jalapenos, black olives, and the chopped bottoms of the green onions. Sprinkle the top with cheese.

Slide the plates into the oven and let cook approximately 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the nachos heated through.

Remove from the oven.
Serve with sour cream, salsa.


P.S. I add milk to sour cream to make it spread easier.

Potato Salad

Potato Salad

3 medium red potatoes

2 hard boiled eggs

5 slices of bacon

5 chopped baby gherkins

Mayo

1 TBL white sugar

Cook potatoes until done, chop up all ingredence. Mix well and chill.

Enough for four adults

Soft White Sandwich Bread

Homemade Yeast Bread

3 tsp Yeast

Cup of warm water

3 TBSP White sugar

3 TBSP Vegetable oil

1 1/2  tsp kosher salt

3 cups Bread flour

Put yeast in water, let set for 6 minutes, Put flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl, and stir. Add oil, and yeast, turn on mixer for 3 minutes, then check how the dough looks, might need more flour or water, should feel like play dough. You should be able to pull the dough, if sticky add flour, add flour or water a teaspoon at a time.Turn mixer back on for 7 more minutes to knead. 

Grease a bowl, put dough in it, cover with a towel. Leave it for an hour or two to rise.

Put the dough into a greased bread loaf pan. No need to knead the bread, just shape the loaf, and cover it with cling wrap sprayed with pam, and the towel.

Bake the loaf 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Take out loaf of pan, check the bottom to see if done, will sound hollow if done. If not put back in oven for 5 minutes.

Sweet and Tangy Smoked Sausage

Sweet and Tangy Smoked Sausage

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon of honey

1 pound smoked sausage (such as Hillshire Farms)

Cut smoked sausage link evenly into 6-8 pieces. Slice each piece in half, lengthwise (I usually stop just short of cutting all the way through, then just “open” each piece like a little book). Arrange sausage pieces on a baking sheet, cut-side up (skin down).

Broil sausage in the oven until sizzling and starting to brown. 

Meanwhile, mix mustard, honey, and brown sugar; set aside.

Remove sausage from oven and baste with mustard mixture. Return sausage to oven and continue broiling until all pieces are browned and bubbly. Serve immediately.