Oh My! Better Than Grandma's Shredded Beef. It is possible.

1 3-4 lb roast
1/4 c. butter
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c soy sauce
1 c cooking wine/sherry
4 c water

Heat butter in a heavy pot (ceramic dutch oven is best), add onions and cook until caramelized. Put roast on top of cooked onions. Add all the remaining ingredients. Put in oven at 350 degrees for 4-5 hours (or until the meat shreds). Shred the meat and let sit in the delicious juices.

Serve on French buns with melted mozzarella or provolone cheese. Use some of the juice for a awesome French dip.

(I made this for Ken, and he likes it better than any other sandwich he's had - including Grandmas. It's beyond amazing. And it would do great in the crock pot too. Made it before church and it was done when we got home. It was hard not to eat it right away since it was Fast Sunday. Super yummy and super easy.)

Braised Short Ribs

Because Valentine's Day is around the corner, I thought you'd like to try making this for your sweetheart on that special day. I'll be making it at the Johnson house.

Ingredients

• 8 whole Beef Short Ribs
• Kosher Salt & Pepper To Taste
• ¼ cups All-purpose Flour
• 6 pieces Pancetta, Diced (bacon works instead, if needed)
  
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 whole Carrots, Diced
• 2 whole Shallots, Peeled And Finely Minced
• 2 cups Red Or White Wine
• 2 cups Beef Or Chicken Broth (enough To Almost Cover Ribs)
• 2 sprigs Thyme
• 2 sprigs Rosemary

Preparation Instructions

Salt and pepper ribs, then dredge in flour. Set aside.

In a large dutch oven, cook pancetta over medium heat until complete crispy and all fat is rendered. Remove pancetta and set aside. Do not discard grease.

Add olive oil to pan with the pancetta grease, and raise heat to high. Brown ribs on all sides, about 45 seconds per side. Remove ribs and set aside. Turn heat to medium.

Add onions, carrots, and shallots to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape bottom of pan to release all the flavorful bits of glory. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes.

Add broth, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add ribs to the liquid; they should be almost completely submerged. Add thyme and rosemary sprigs (whole) to the liquid.

Put on the lid and place into the oven. Cook at 350 for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 325 and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone. Remove pan from oven and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes, lid on, before serving. At the last minute, skim fat off the top of the liquid. (Can also refrigerate mixture, then remove solid fat from the top.)

Quiche

When I went vegetarian for a month, I found that eggs were my life-saver. So a quiche became a favorite quick meal.

1 pie crust. Put pie crust in a pie pan.

Then add, Vegetables: choose from your favorites, and dice them up. I put in green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli. Whatever you have in your fridge works.

For extra flavor, include meat: ham or bacon bits work wonderful. For a vegetarian option, don't add the meat.

Throw the vegetables, meat, and 1 cup cheese on pie crust. Then...

In a bowl, mix:
4 eggs
2 cups milk

Pour over vegetables. Cook in an oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until eggs are set. Enjoy!

Lentil Bean Soup

An Italian New Year's dish. From Jacque's mission

Ingredients:

• equal amounts of carrots, celery, and onion chopped fine (I chop about the same amount equaling two large onions each)
• 1/4 c. - 1/2 c. olive oil
• minced garlic (about 3-5 cloves)
• Italian sausage (one per person minimum)
• 1 large can of tomatoes
• Lentils (1-2 bags)
• Broth cube (or two)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Sautee carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in the olive oil in a pan.
2. Add sausage to mixture (removing skin and cut to small pieces) and cook through
3. Add the tomatoes to the mixture and simmer on medium-low for about 10 minutes.
4. Add lentils, broth cube, salt and pepper. I usually also add water near to the top (but that depends how soupish you want the soup).
5. Let it simmer for 45 minutes on low (I'm guessing here!).

Tomato Soup

3 T melted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 46-oz can diced tomatoes
1 T chicken base
3 T sugar
pinch of salt
black pepper to taste
1 1/2 c heavy cream
chopped fresh parsley
chopped fresh basil

Saute diced onions in butter until translucent. Add canned tomatoes, tomato juice, chicken base, sugar, pinch of salt, pepper, and stir. Bring to near boil, then turn off heat. Add in cream, parsley, basil and stir.

Amazing if you combine with grilled cheese. We enjoy sourdough with Havarti cheese, all melted and gooey and buttery crunchy to dip in our soup. Sure to warm you up on the coldest days even Wisconsin has to offer!

Eggplant Meatless Balls

3 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 eggplant, peeled and diced
1/4 c mushrooms, diced
1-2 T water
1 1/4 c fresh bread crumbs
1/2 c minced parsley
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
1/2 c grated cheese
1/4 c olive oil

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet and slowly cook the garlic over medium heat until golden. Add eggplant, mushrooms, and 1 T of water, cover, and steam the eggplant/mushrooms over low heat until very soft (about 10 minutes). Add remaining water only if the eggplant begins to stick to the skillet. Stir the eggplant occasionally while it cooks. Set eggplant aside and let it cool.

Combine the bread crumbs, parsley, salt, eggs, and cheese in a large bowl. Stir in the eggplant, mix well, and let stand for 20 minutes. Scoop small amounts of the mixture into your hands and form meatballs the size of a small egg. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, then fry the meatballs, turning occasionally so they brown evenly. Transfer meatballs to tomato sauce and keep hot.

Makes 18 meatballs.

Grandma Brooke's Roast

1 Chuck Roast
1 package Lipton onion soup mix
1 C water (I don't really measure)


Sear both sides of meat. Put in 9 x 13 pan. Add seasoning and water. Cover with two layers of foil. Bake at 350 for about 3 hours or at 300 for 4-5 hours. It is done with it can be easily pulled apart with a fork. Serve with Rhodes Rolls.

Chicken, Craisin, Cashew Bow-Tie Pasta Salad

4 cups cooked chicken, diced
6 cups (12 oz) bow tie pasta, cooked al-dente
1 1/2 cups green grapes, sliced in half
1 1/2 cups red grapes, sliced in half
2 (5 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and quartered
1 (10 oz) can pineapple tidbits, drained
2 cups celery, thinly sliced
1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
2 cups cashews
2 cups craisins

Dressing:
1 (16 oz) bottle of coleslaw dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup salad dressing

In a large bowl mix all salad ingredients together, except cashews and craisins. Whip together dressing ingredients. Toss dressing with the mixture in bowl. Let this mixture marinate in the fridge for 12-24 hours. Mix in cashews and craisins just before serving. Serve cold. Serves 20.

Dad's Apple Kuchen

1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 t. vanilla
2 T. vegetable oil
5 peeled and cut up apples (Cortland, Macintosh, etc)
Sugar
Cinnamon

Mix the first 6 ingredients together until just blended. Spread in the bottom of a 9 inch square pan which has been greased with shortening. (Dad doubles the recipe). Press apples slightly into batter into close rows covering the entire pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 for 40 - 45 minutes.

Sweet Potato Pie

• 1 (1 pound) sweet potato
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1/2 cup milk (or evaporated milk)
  
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

1. Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.
2. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Chicken Penne Pasta by April Mattson

This is great for a large gathering- the bigger the group, just add more!

Ingredients:
four chicken breasts
1 box penne pasta
pine nuts
fresh basil
shredded parmesan
craisins
garlic
white cooking wine
olive oil

Directions:
Soak the chicken breasts in olive oil with pepper and rosemary; grill
Blend or chop basil
In a sauce pan, melt 2 tbs. butter and 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup white wine
Stir garlic on medium heat; add pine nuts and basil
(add oil and wine as needed)
cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces
Throw all together with cooked pasta and add craisins, fresh pepper, and generous cheese
Enjoy!

Too Much Chocolate Cake (from allrecipes.com)

I have made many cakes in my life (as you all know) but this one is my very favorite)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup milk
  
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (mini chips work & taste best)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Ignore that last line, this cake is best topped with a raspberry sauce. I've found that topping it with fresh raspberries tastes great, but if it's not consumed that day the moisture from the cake will make the raspberries mold rather quickly.
It's best to cook some fresh or frozen raspberries over a stove until bubbly, whisk in some sugar and cornstarch to sweeten/thicken it if you want. It will thicken as it cools. Don't poor it over the cake until it is cool or it will seep into the cake.

If you'd rather do a glaze, or both (recommended) here is a top recipe:

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
2. Spread warm glaze over top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

Raspberry Lemonade Pie

(from KraftFoods.com)

1-1/2 cups boiling water

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Gelatin

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, softened

6 oz. (1/2 of 12-oz. can) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

1 cup fresh raspberries

2 Graham Pie Crusts (6 oz. each)

ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in small bowl. Stir 2 min. until completely dissolved; set aside. Beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in concentrate, then gelatin until blended.

STIR in COOL WHIP and berries. Pour into crusts.

REFRIGERATE 1 pie 4 hours or until firm. Freeze remaining pie up to 1 week before thawing to serve.

Banana Bread

This recipe is adapted from "Deceptively Delicious". You may add 1 T of ground flax seed, or instead of whole-wheat flour I like to use a 7 or 11 grain cereal mix from Bob's Red Mill.

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce, or oil
2 eggs
2 cups banana puree
l tsp vanilla
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

1. preheat oven to 350, coat two mini pans, or one 9x5 loaf pan
2. mix flour through cinnamon together in a bowl
3. in another bowl mix sugar wiht applesauce, and then add eggs, banana, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.
4. Pour into loaf pans and bake until toothpick comes out clean, 55-60 minutes, or 25-30 minutes for mini loaves.

Apple Butter

First, make a basic apple sauce. Core and cut (but don't peel) apples. Boil down the apples for about 10 minutes until soft. Blend the apples in a food processor or blender.

To make apple butter, put in a crock pot:
6 quarts apple sauce
2 T ground cinnamon
1 t ground cloves
1/2 t all-spice
2 cups sugar

Stir the ingredients together and cook overnight (6-12 hours) on medium/low.

Then, the next day, add 4-5 more quarts apple sauce and 2 cups sugar. Cook down for 2 more hours. Put into canning jars while hot, and seal the lids.

That makes the tastiest apple butter EVER.

Luscious Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin, divided

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

4 eggs

1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, divided

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup Chopped Pecans

HEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) round baking pans. Beat cake mix, 1 cup pumpkin, milk, oil, eggs and 1 tsp. spice in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Pour into prepared pans.

BAKE 28 to 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely. Beat cream cheese in small bowl with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, remaining pumpkin and spice; mix well. Gently stir in COOL WHIP.

CUT each cake layer horizontally in half with serrated knife; stack on serving plate, spreading cream cheese filling between layers. (Do not frost top layer.) Drizzle with caramel topping just before serving; sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate leftovers.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad

Line the plate a flour tortilla. Top the tortilla with pork, rice, black beans and cheese. Cover with romaine lettuce and a few tortilla strips for crunch and garnish. Top with creamy cilantro salad dressing.

(This salad is such a crowd pleaser and PERFECT if you are having people over and giving out food assignments. You can also use uncooked tortillas from Costco. Throw them on the griddle and cook just before serving.)

Sweet Pork
4 lb. pork roast
2 to 3 cans tomato sauce (8 oz.)
1 tsp. pressed garlic cloves
1 1/2 to 2 cups brown sugar (packed)
2 tsp. cumin
2 cups Dr. Pepper (optional)
2 Tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp. salt Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except pork until sugar is dissolved. Place pork roast in a crock pot sprayed with Pam. Pour mixture over roast and let simmer until meat is tender and pulls away with fork. (Cook on low over-night if desired.) Shredding pork and return to liquid. This pork/liquid mixture freezes well for later use. Serving size is about 1/2 cup cooked pork.

Lime Rice
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/4 cup rice
2 1/4 cup chicken broth (or chicken bullion crystals)
3/4 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
Juice and zest (peel) of 1 large or 2 small fresh limes
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves 1/4 tsp. cumin
Melt butter with rice in skillet.

Add the rest of ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Makes about 4 cups of cooked rice. Serving size is 1/2 cup per person.

Creamy Cilantro Dressing
16 oz. bottle of La Victoria green salsa (or any other tomatillo green salsa)
1 package dry buttermilk ranch dressing (about 4 Tbsp)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh cilantro (just use leaves and really pack cup)
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (Taste and decide)

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Refrigerate. Makes about 1 quart dressing.

fruit salsa

chop into small pieces:
4 granny smith apples
4 peaches or apricots
1 box of strawberries

mix chopped fruit with one can of crushed pineapple (juice included).

for the sugar/cinnamon chips:
preheat oven to 350 degrees. cut 10 tortillas into 16 triangles. Spread each triangle tortilla into a cookie sheet. cover each triangle with melted butter. sprinkle a sugar/cinnamon combination graciously over the tortilla triangles. bake for 10 minutes.

eat the salsa with the chips for a yummy, healthy snack!

Sarah's Double Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Sarah made this for our New Year's Eve party and it was so temptingly delicious we fought over it the next day. (She used a prepared graham cracker crust which cut the preparation time in half. Note: this filling will fill two prepared crusts). She also said she would have put more of the fudge in to make it more chocolaty. :)

Crust:
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling:
1 cup sugar
4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 (10 oz) white chocolate chips, melted
1 cup chocolate fudge ice cream topping, warmed

Sauce:
2 (10 oz) packages frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Heat oven to 325, stir together all crust ingredients and press on bottom of springform pan. Bake 10 minutes, cool.
Combine 1 cup sugar and cream cheese in mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy (3-4 min). Add eggs one at a time and beat, stir in melted white chocolate chips.
Pour half of cream cheese mixture into prepared crust, spoon 1/2 cup of fudge over cream cheese, swirl with knife. Top with remaining cream cheese. Spoon remaining fudge over cream cheese mixture and swirl with knife. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes. (Let cheesecake remain in oven for 30 minutes until center is set). Cool, remove from pan, refrigerate 8 hours.
Press raspberries through strainer , discard seeds. Stir with cornstarch in saucepan and cook until comes to a full boil until slightly thickened. Refrigerate until serving time.

Potato Soup, Spicy and Broccoli

4 lbs. Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cans of Chicken Broth, low sodium

Boil the Potatoes in the broth until tender, DO NOT DRAIN!!!

8 oz of Pepper Jack Cheese, grated
(for not as spicy: 4 oz of Pepper Jack and 4 oz Monterey Jack)

Add to the potatoes and let melt.

1 can Cream of Celery
1 can Cream of Onion
1 c. sour cream
1 pint 1/2 and 1/2 (can use fat free)

Stir in until hot, Serve immediately. If you have leftovers and used just pepper jack, it will be very spicy the next day but is still good.

or...add the following after the potatoes are cooked and not drained...

8 oz of Monterey Jack cheese

1 can Cream of Celery
1 can Cream of Mushroom
1 c. sour cream
1 pint 1/2 and 1/2 (can use fat free)

then...chop up a bunch of broccoli and add to the soup. Cook for about 5 more minutes until the broccoli is about half cooked and still slightly crunchy.

super yummy with sourdough bread!
Stir in until hot, Serve immediately. If you have leftovers and used just pepper jack, it will be very spicy the next day but is still good.