Twice-Baked Potatoes ~ by Sarah

These are ah-mazing.  In the words of cousin Amy, "These are the best things I've ever eaten."  And they pretty much are.  Just don't think about your waistline while you're enjoying them.  Big surprise--they come from the Pioneer Woman!

Ingredients:
8 baking potatoes, scrubbed clean
canola oil
8 slices thick-cut bacon, fried
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, cut into slices
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, such as Lawry's
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
2-3 green onions, sliced

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

With a paper towel, rub the outside of the potatoes with canola oil.  Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked inside and the skins are slightly crisp.

Turn the oven down to 300 degrees.

Dice the fried bacon into bits.  Throw the butter, sour cream, bacon, milk, seasoned salt, and pepper into a large bowl.

While the potatoes are still hot, hold each potato in a towel and cut in half lengthwise.  With a large spoon, scrape out the insides into the bowl with the other ingredients.  Repeat until all the potatoes have been scraped.  Reserve the potato shells on a large baking sheet.

Use a potato masher to mix the ingredients together.  Stir in 1 cup of the grated cheese.  Slice the green onions and add them to the bowl.  Stir, taste, and adjust the seasonings as necessary.

Fill each potato half with the potato mixture and return to the baking sheet.  Top with the remaining 1 cup grated cheese.  Bake in the 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are hot.

Pioneer Woman picture:

If you want step-by-step directions with pictures, go here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/twice_baked_pot/.  The recipe is older than the one in her cookbook, so I would follow this one and just look at hers for pictures.

Beefy Harvest Soup ~ by Sarah

This recipe is from the Oregon Beef Council.  It is one of Wes's favorites.  Definitely a good wintertime main dish!  I like it because, other than the sausage, I usually have all the ingredients in my kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
4 c. water
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 c. frozen mixed vegetables
4 t. beef bouillon
1 c. uncooked large elbow macaroni
6 oz. smoked beef sausage, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

Directions:
Brown ground beef.  In large saucepan combine water, tomatoes, mixed vegetables, and bouillon.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in macaroni and ground beef; return to a boil.  Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in sausage; continue simmering 2-4 minutes or until macaroni is tender.  Season with salt and pepper as desired.  (I also add Lawry's seasoning salt and garlic salt.)

The kids love it, too!

Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich ~ by Sarah

This is a recipe from my Pioneer Woman cookbook.  I have been wanting to try it for awhile now, but I was scared of all the butter.  It didn't disappoint--this is amazing!  

Ingredients
1 whole large onion
2 sticks butter
2 pounds (to 3 Pounds) cube steak
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
lemon pepper (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
½ cup (approximately) Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco sauce, so taste
4 whole French/deli rolls

**Note: I also added fresh mushroom slices to the onion when it was cooking and grated mozzarella cheese to put on top of the meat when the sandwich was assembled.

Directions:
Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.

Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with Lawry’s, lemon pepper, and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown. Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides.

Add 1/2 cup (at least) Worcestershire sauce, 5 to 6 shakes Tabasco, and 2 tablespoons butter. Add cooked onions. Stir to combine.

Butter halved French rolls and brown in skillet.

To assemble, lay bottom half of French roll on plate. Place meat mixture, followed by a spoonful of juice from the pan.

 *This is a Pioneer Woman picture.  I was too lazy and too hungry to photograph my own.

If you want to see step-by-step instructions with pictures every step of the way, go here: 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/marlboro_mans_f/

Serve this to a man in your life--he will be over the moon!

Elegant Dessert ~ by Sarah

This comes from the Pioneer Cookbook--the one from the North Powder residents.  Make this and you will be the most popular person at the event you take it to.  Trust me.  It's a requirement at any Anderson Thanksgiving.  Jordan, Matt, and Andy threaten to steal it as soon as I arrive.  It's heaven on a plate!

Ingredients:
1 cube butter
1 c. flour
1 3/4 c. chopped nuts*
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
9 oz. Cool Whip
1 small package chocolate pudding
1 small package vanilla pudding
3 c. milk
1 t. vanilla

*I hate nuts so I never use them in this recipe.  (Which makes Mom crazy.)  If you don't put the nuts in the crust, you will need to 1 1/2 the crust--1 1/2 cubes of butter and 1 1/2 c. of flour.

Directions:
Mix butter, flour, and 1 cup nuts (if you want them).  Spread in 13x9-inch pan.  Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cool completely.  Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 cup Cool Whip together.  Spread over crust.  Mix 2 pudding mixes, milk, and vanilla.  Beat until it starts to thicken.  Pour over cream cheese layer and chill.  Spread remaining Cool Whip on pudding layer and sprinkle with nuts.  (Since I don't sprinkle it with nuts, I grate chocolate and sprinkle it on the top.)

*I am crying right now over the fact that there were no leftovers of this!  Only one piece was enjoyed by me!

Lasagna ~ by Sarah

I have had this recipe for years.  I believe it is Aunt Elaine's that Mom got from her years ago.  I was really surprised when I got my Pioneer Woman cookbook and the same recipe was in there.  The only difference is that PW adds fresh herbs (totally worth it!) and hot breakfast sausage (also totally worth it!).  Grandma Shirley had this on Sunday night and she says it's the best lasagna she's ever had!

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
salt
10 oz. lasagna noodles
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. hot breakfast sausage
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 14.5-oz. cans whole tomatoes (I cut them up with kitchen scissors before using them)
2 6-oz. cans tomato paste
freshly ground black pepper
10-12 fresh basil leaves
1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 c. low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese (she uses the finely grated stuff in a can, I always buy the shredded)

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the hamburger, sausage, and garlic until brown.  Drain excess fat.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, salt, and pepper.  Stir together well.  Simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Chop basil and parsley.  Add half of them to the meat mixture.  (You can use dry herbs, but it's not as good!)

While meat is simmering, combine cottage cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and the other half of the herbs.  Also while the meat is simmering, boil the noodles according to package directions.

In a 13x9-inch pan, layer 4 lasagna noodles on the bottom, overlapping them slightly.  Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles and spread it out evenly.  Sprinkle half the mozzarella cheese on top of the cottage cheese mixture.  Spoon just under half of the meat mixture on top of the cheese and spread evenly.  Repeat the process beginning with another layer of noodles, then cottage cheese mixture, mozzarella, then meat.  Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes--until bubbly.  Allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

*Pioneer Woman picture. I forgot and it didn't last long!

The Best Frosting. Ever. ~ by Sarah

This is the best frosting.  Ever.  Just ask Kelsey--she has been eating it by the spoonful all day.  (I sent it to her house so she would eat it instead of me.  That's the kind of sister I am.)

This came from www.tastykitchen.com.  (It's the Pioneer Woman's recipe sharing site.)  This stuff is out of this world!  It's weird because of the flour, but, trust me, it's amazing!

Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar (not powdered sugar!)

Directions:
Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

Salmon Florentine ~Molly

I found THE BEST salmon recipe the other day on Self.com. I've made it twice now, and I'll probably be making it again very, very soon. It's healthy (hence the reason it was on a health magazine's website), quick, and soooooo delicious.
Since I'm alone in my wolfpack, I cut the recipe in half and had plenty for my dinner and leftovers the next day. Oh, and I wilted about 2 cups of fresh spinach instead of using frozen because frozen is gross.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 2 packages (10 oz each) frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced shallots*
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
• 4 skinless salmon fillets (6 oz each), rinsed and patted dry

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 350°. Squeeze spinach of all excess liquid. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute more. Add spinach, tomatoes, salt, pepper flakes and pepper; cook, stirring, 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; let cool about 15 minutes**. Add ricotta; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pack about 1/2 cup spinach mixture on top of each fillet, matching the shape of the fillet. Place fillets on a rimmed baking sheet or in a glass baking dish; bake until cooked through, 15 minutes. 

   
   

   *I used onions because I don't have shallots just hanging out on my counter.

   **I'm not patient enough to wait that long, so I cooled mine for about 5 minutes, and it was just fine.

   
   

   No, I didn't take this picture. Oh, and I left out the part of the recipe that tells you to serve it over quinoa.