Blueberry Muffins

1/3 cup butter

½ cup sugar

2 cups flour

Dash salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

¾ cup milk

1 ½ cups blueberries (fresh are best)

Cream butter. Add sugar gradually. Add four, salt, baking powder and egg & milk separately. Beat after each one. Fold in berries last. Pour into muffin tins filling ½ to ¾ full. Preheat oven to 400^o and cook for 25 minutes. Yields 12-18.

Note: Sometimes it’s better to use more blueberries.

Manicotti with Cheese

1 (8 oz) pkg manicotti shells

1 ¾ (15-oz) cup ricotta cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

2 Tablespoons dried or fresh parsley

1/3 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

3 cups spaghetti sauce

Cook noodles according to package directions. DO NOT OVER-COOK. Drain well. Cool on wax paper or aluminum foil to keep from sticking together. Mix remaining ingredients except for spaghetti sauce. Fill manicotti shells with cheese mixture. Spread thin layer of sauce on bottom of 13x9 baking dish; arrange filled pasta in single layer over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over pasta. Add cheese or Parmesan on top. Cover with foil. Heat oven to 350^o. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until bubbly hot. Yields 6-8 servings.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

¾ lb linguine

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 ½ Tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ Tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped

½ lemon, zested

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

In a large pot of boiling salted water add linguine and cook for 7-10 minutes. In large skillet melt butter and olive oil over med-low heat, add garlic and sauté for 1 minute only. Add the shrimp, salt (depends on if you used unsalted butter or not), pepper and sauté until the shrimp just turns pink, about 5 minutes. Stir often. Remove from heat add parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice and red pepper flakes. Mix this with the linguine that is cooked al dente. Don’t overcook pasta, you want it cooked but still with a bite to it.

Baked Chicken Breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 slices swiss cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

½ can water

2 cups seasoned stuffing crumbs

1/3 cup melted butter

In a 9x13 baking dish place breasts with cheese on top. Cover with soup and water mixture. Cover with stuffing crumbs and drizzle butter over top. Bake 55 minutes at 350^o.

5 Hour Beef Stew

3 lb stew beef

2 cans (10 ¾ oz) cream of mushroom soup

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Fresh mushrooms, to taste (optional)

Place all ingredients in an oven-safe casserole dish and mix. Cover and cook for 5 hours at 250^o. Serve over rice.

New posts to come

Due to family circumstances, most of the recipes I will be posting for a while I will not have tried out personally. They will be recipes from family members and friends whose tastes I trust...for the most part, haha. So, I hope you enjoy them!

Sugar Cookies (and frosting)

2 cups sugar 

1 cup shortening 

1 cup sour cream 

3 eggs 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla 

5 cups flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream sugar and shortning. Add sour cream, eggs, and almond/vanilla. Mix well.In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.Add to creamed mixture until well blended. Remember, the more you mix, the tougher your dough will be.Chill for a few hours (at least 3-4). The dough will be soft and slightly sticky.Roll out (I use a floured pastry cloth), and cut with a cookie cutter. Flour cutter between each cookie to prevent sticking.Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cookies shouldn't be brown, just done to the touch.

 FROSTING- See ingredients below.
2 lbs. powdered sugar

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
Just mix ingredients until smooth.

*My mother-in-law found this really awesome recipe for sugar cookies and frosting. I had a hard time not eating them! Also, we've found if you double the cookie recipe, you do not have to double the frosting recipe. It makes just enough.