Yellow Squash Casserole ~ by Kelsey

I came across this simple recipe in my Four Ingredient Cookbook.  I love yellow squash and I was happy to try a new way to prepare it.  It was really tasty!  I couldn't take a picture because my camera battery won't charge for some reason.

Ingredients:
6 medium yellow squash
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup cheese (I used cheddar)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies

Boil (or steam, as I did) squash and onion until tender.  Drain well and mix with cheese and chiles.  Pour into dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Rustic Italian Bread ~ by Kelsey

This is from my Pillsbury Complete Cook Book.  Very easy and yummy!

Ingredients:
1 cup water heated to 120-130 F
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pkg active dry yeast
cornmeal
1 egg white, beaten

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Mix well.  Add warm water and oil, mix well.  Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.  Knead dough five minutes or until smooth (it never became smooth and elastic for me, it was pretty hard and dense).  Place dough in greased bowl.  Cover with greased plastic wrap and a cloth towel.  Let rise in warm place (80-85 degrees) until light and doubled in size, about 40 minutes.

Sprinkle ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal.  Punch down dough several times.  Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long.  Place on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet.  Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and towel.  Let rise in warm place again for about 30 minutes.  Heat oven to 375 degrees make a deep lengthwise slash on top of the loaf.  Brush loaf with egg white.  Bake for about 25 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped.   Immediately remove from the cookie sheet and place on cooling rack for one hour.

Slow-cooked Ginger Pork and Coleslaw Wraps ~ by Molly

This recipe makes enough for 6-8 people, so I cut it half, since I was just making it for myself. I wish I hadn't, the leftovers were so good! For those of you that don't know what hoisin sauce is, it's basically a sweet Chinese BBQ sauce. Yes, they sell it at Fred Meyer's.

Hoisin and Ginger Shredded Pork

6 pounds pork roast, trimmed of thick fat

Salt and pepper

6 cloves garlic, smashed

1 large piece fresh ginger, about five inches long

1 bottle hoisin sauce (about 8 ounces)

2 T Molasses

Rub the trimmed pork shoulder all over with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Put in the slow cooker (cut in pieces first, if necessary). Add the smashed garlic cloves, tucking them around the pork. Peel and cut the ginger in large chunks and put it in too. Pour the hoisin sauce and molasses over everything. Cover and cook on low for about 10 hours or overnight.

When finished and tender, remove the ginger and use two large forks to shred the meat and mix it with the sauce.

Crunchy Peanut Slaw
1 big bowl of slaw, serves at least 8

1 medium head green cabbage, outer leaves removed
1 1/2 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts
Salt and pepper

Dressing:
1/2 cup light oil, like canola
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar (or more, to taste)
1 teaspoon soy sauce (or more, to taste)

Shred the cabbage very finely. Toss with the peanuts in a large bowl, seasoning very lightly with salt and pepper.

Whisk the dressing until emulsified, then taste and adjust to your own preferences of sweetness and saltiness. Toss with cabbage.

To serve:

Put pork and slaw in a warm tortilla shell (I used whole wheat).

Mexi-Casserole ~ by Kelsey

This is a recipe passed down from Grandma Jessie.  I remember eating many, many meals of mexi-casserole while gathered around her little table in her little dining room.  It seems like it was often a meal served during a weekend of working cows.  It's a bitter-sweet memory now, since they have since moved to a new house and we won't have any more meals crowded around the old table, and grandma doesn't really cook any more now anyway.  I still love to make this casserole, though, and remember the good times!

Meat Layer Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef
1 package of taco seasoning (reserve one tablespoon for later)
1 can of tomato soup
1 can of chili beans, drained

Cook ground beef, add taco seasoning, soup, and beans.  Spread in a 9X13 pan.

Topping Ingredients:
1 cup of pancake mix
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup cheddar cheese

Mix together.  Spoon on top and spread on the meat mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Pot Roast, Vegetables, and Beer ~ by Sarah

I got a Dutch oven for Christmas and was anxious to try it out.  (If you don't have a Dutch oven, a big, heavy-bottomed stock pot will work.)  This came from allrecipes.com and is by far the best pot roast I've ever made.  It made the house smell amazing!  I used a super cheap roast--chuck.  It cooks slowly, so it's nice and tender when it's done!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (3 pound) beef pot roast
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound carrots, cut into chunks
1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef stock
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle dark beer
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon tomato paste
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. Brown the pot roast on all sides in the hot oil; remove from pan and set aside. Cook the onion and garlic in the hot oil until they begin to soften and turn brown, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes to the pot; cook and stir until they begin to color, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix the flour into the vegetables; stir continuously for 1 minute. Pour the beef stock and beer into the mixture and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Add the Bay leaf, thyme, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Place the pot roast atop the entire mixture. Cover pot with lid.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until the meat and vegetables are completely tender, about 2 1/2 hours. (Mine was a little overcooked by going this long, so I'll probably only do 2 hours next time.)

I stole this picture from the website.  We all know what a pot roast looks like...

Crepes ~ by Kelsey

These are frequently included in our Sunday morning breakfast.  This recipe doesn't make a lot, we usually double it for our family of five, and that only leaves three or four left over.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup milk
3/4 water
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons melted butter

Mix well.  You want it to be really smooth, not lumpy.  Don't use my pictures as an example, I was in a hurry and should have whisked a little bit longer!  Pour into a frying pan, flip when needed.  Try to make them as thin as you can.  Sometimes mine end up about as thick as a pancake, but you actually want them to be much thinner.  The toppings are up to you.  We use peanut butter, syrup, melted chocolate chips, powdered sugar, and bananas.  Everyone chooses a different combination.  I can't pass up the peanut butter and banana!  After you fill them, roll them up like a burrito and enjoy!