Sweet Potato, Bell Pepper, and Feta Jumble

We just had this side dish from the Hello Fresh meal delivery service and we couldn't stop saying how great it was! It is delicious with grilled chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• lime juice
• 1/4 cup feta cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 450 degrees.
2. Peel and dice the sweet potato.
3. Toss diced sweet potatoes on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Place in the oven for about 25 minutes, tossing halfway through.
5. Core, seed, and dice the bell peppers into one inch cube.
6. With 15 minutes left to go on the sweet potatoes, toss the bell peppers on the baking sheet.
7. Roast another 15 minutes, under tender.
8. In a medium bowl, toss the sweet potatoes, bell peppers, feta, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Note: This recipe is enough for two people. It can easily be doubled or tripled to feed more people.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

I recently woke up craving pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I'd never had it before but the flavor combination sounded amazing. I looked online and, low and behold, I found lots of recipe options. This one from www.food.com looked the best so I tried it. Wow. It's so good. This is what I'm making for all of our neighbors for Christmas.

 

Ingredients 

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin 
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil, plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 3 eggs 
• 2 1/2 cups flour 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 3/4 teaspoon clove 
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I love dark chocolate chips in this recipe)

 

Directions

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray two 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Stir chocolate chips into dry mixture.

4. In separate bowl stir eggs, oil, sugar, and pumpkin together.

5. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and still until just combined.

6. Divide batter equally into the two loaf pans.

7. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. 

 

 

 

My Sangria

This is now my most asked for recipe so its time to post it. I began making sangria when we moved to San Antonio and took a pitcher to all of our neighborhood parties, bunco, girls nights in, etc. Almost five years later, I still make it whenever we go to someone's house or whenever we have guests in town. Its so good!

 

Let me first say that it is not very precise at all and it tends to depend on what fruit and juice I have in my fridge sometimes. The red wine and triple sec are musts but after that, I throw it whatever I have on hand - blueberries, apples, strawberries, etc. I do think the recipe as listed below is the best though.

 

Ingredients

• 1 big bottle of cheap sweet wine (Lambrusco, LOL, Riunite, etc) - they are usually about $9 or $10 for the oversized bottle
• 1/4 c triple sec
• 1/4 c sugar*
• 2 lemons
• 2 limes
• 2 oranges
• 1/4 c black cherry rum (optional)
• Ginger ale or sprite (optional)

*Note: If you use ginger ale or sprite when you serve it, you may want to leave out the sugar, depending on how sweet you want it to be.

 

 

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, juice one lemon, lime, and orange.
2. Cut up the other lemon, lime and orange (don't squeeze) and just place them in the pitcher.
3. Mix the sugar and all liquid (except the ginger ale/sprite) in the pitcher. 
4. Still well.
5. Let it sit for 12-24 hours in the fridge. I cover the pitcher with saran wrap and occasionally stir it.
6. Before serving, be sure to stir it really well because the sugar settles on the bottom. 
7. I like to serve it with a splash of ginger ale (or sprite) just to make it a little effervescent but I pour the ginger ale/sprite in each glass, NOT in the pitcher.
8. If you have any left after 24 hours, strain the sangria from the fruit and store the sangria (minus the fruit).

 

 

Roasted Chicken with Asparagus, Lemon, and Potatoes

Who doesn't love a one-dish meal that isn't a casserole?

I came across this Martha Stewart recipe and adapted it slightly for our liking. It's easy, healthy, and has so much flavor! Plus it looks impressive when you serve anything out of a roasting pan at a dinner party.

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 pounds yellow or red new potatoes, halved
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 pounds chicken breasts
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
Place potatoes and half the butter in a shallow roasting pan; season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing once, until potatoes are golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Place chicken on top of potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes.

Scatter asparagus, lemon, remaining butter, and thyme around chicken. Roast until asparagus is tender and chicken is opaque throughout, 15 minutes. Serve chicken, vegetables, and lemon drizzled with pan juices.

Here's a picture of it from tonight's dinner...yum!

Oatmeal Pancakes

Our very favorite pancakes in the world are served at Legal Grounds in Dallas and are called prom cakes. We have been in prom cake withdrawal since we moved from Dallas, so I decided to make my own. This pancake recipe requires more effort than most, but it is worth it for these moist, fluffy circles of breakfast goodness. In fact, these pancakes are so good that I've been making them every single weekend - no kidding.   They are the only pancakes my family will eat now - I don't blame them!

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

3/4 cup oat flour (You can make oat flour by pulsing about 1 cup of rolled oats in a food processor until finely ground.)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

Wet Ingredients

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/4 cups milk

1 cup cooked oatmeal*

1 Tablespoon honey

2 large eggs

Optional Ingredients

Fresh bananas, sliced very thin

Fresh strawberries, sliced

Homemade granola (See my recipe here, but make it without the dried fruit if you are using it as a topping on these pancakes.)

Chocolate chips (I put these in my daughter's pancakes they taste like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies - yum!)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.

2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together.

3. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

4. Heat griddle to medium heat and then lower to medium just before putting the batter on. Grease griddle with butter or cooking spray.

5.  Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the greased griddle. (If you want banana slices or chocolate chips in your pancakes, place them on the pancake batter as soon as your pour the batter on.)

6.  Flip pancakes once the bubbles have begun to form on the top side of the pancake.

7.  Serve warm with fresh strawberries, granola, and a little maple syrup. Enjoy!!

*Make oatmeal by bringing 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt to a boil. Add 1 cup of rolled oats and simmer on low for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool. You will have more than 1 cup of cooked oatmeal so make sure to measure out exactly 1 cup before adding it to the ingredients.

Additional Info

**If you want to make it ahead, the batter can sit overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning, the batter will be thick and should be thinned, one tablespoon at a time, with milk. Do not overmix.

**I tried a healthy version of this recipe by substituting whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour and egg whites for eggs. It was still amazing!

Company Potatoes

This is one of our classic family dishes...its great as a side when the husband is grilling. It originally came to us from our friend Jennie and her daughter Sherri. Its easy to make and tastes amazing!!

Ingredients
2 lb package of frozen cubed hash browns (thaw for 30 minutes)
1 stick of butter, melted
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 lb sour cream
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix the above ingredients and cook in a greased 9x13 baking dish at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

*Note: I've tried making this with low fat cheese and sour cream and it is still really good. However, I tried substituting Butter Buds and fat free sour cream and cheese and it was not good.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

This recipe is courtesy of my friend Kalli Barker, photographer extraordinaire...and great baker! My favorite thing about this recipe, besides the fact that its yummy, is the recipe makes TWO loaves so I can freeze one and always have one on hand for company...genius!

Sour Cream Banana Bread

Ingredients
2 cup flour (I usually use 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of white flour)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup sour cream (Against my husband's wishes, I use reduced fat sour cream and you can't taste the difference)
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup shortening
3 large ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions
Cream eggs, sugar, sour cream, shortening, and bananas.
Add vanilla and other dry ingredients. (Stir in ½ cup nuts if desired.)
Grease pans. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and dust pans lightly with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Divide banana mixture into prepared pans. Sprinkle some cinnamon-sugar mixture on top.

Bake at 375° for 35 to 45 minutes. (Makes 2 large or 4 small loaves.)

Sopapilla Cheesecake

My friend Amanda makes this cheesecake and I just made it for the bunco party at my house tomorrow night. It is so easy to make it and tastes incredible.

Ingredients
2 cans of crescent rolls (Pillsbury has crescent roll sheets so buy those if you can find them)
2 cups of sugar
1-8 oz. box of cream cheese
1 stick of butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon and cinnamon sugar to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
In a 13x9 greased pan, place 1 can of crescent rolls flat in the bottom of the pan. Flatten around edges and do not separate.
Mix cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla in a mixer. Spread over first layer of crescent roll dough.
Place the other can of crescent roll dough on top of the cream cheese mixture.
Melt butter and add 1 cup of sugar, stir. Spread butter and sugar mixture over top crescent roll dough layer.
Sprinkle cinnamon over the entire pan.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350, or until lightly brown.
Sprinkler cinnamon or cinnamon sugar on top before serving, if desired.

Black Bean Salsa

We had this black bean salsa with tortilla chips at our friend's Christmas party and it was so yummy!  The sweet corn and vinegar make a great sweet and tangy combination.

Ingredients

1 large can of sweet corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
4 small green onions, chopped
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of sugar
2 small avocados, chopped finely

1 large tub of feta (Kraft)

DirectionsMix corn, beans, and green onions in a bowl.

Mix oil, vinegar, and sugar together and pour over corn mixture. Let the combined mixture chill in the fridge for about an hour.

Drain some of the liquid and add avocado and feta.

Sangria

A couple of years ago my husband and I went to Seattle for a vacation. Not only was it one of the best vacations we'd ever taken,  but we found the best sangria ever. I love sangria so to say this is the best is saying a lot. Its from the Spazzo Italian Grill and Wine Bar in Redmond, WA...and its delicious!

    * 1 bottle Chianti
    * ¼ cup Brandy
    * ¼ cup Peach Schnapps
    * ½ cup Triple Sec
    * ½ cup Dubonnet
    * 2½ cups Orange Juice
    * 4 cups Pineapple Juice
    * ¾ cup Sweet n Sour
    * ¾ cup Simple Syrup

Combine all ingredients in an over sized pitcher and cool thoroughly. Pour over ice and enjoy!

Granola

I've tinkered with a couple of granola recipes lately and then created my own from a recipe courtesy of Alton Brown and another from Epicurious. Its really yummy!

3 c. old fashioned oats
1 c. chopped pecans
3 T brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1 c dried fruit (I cut up dried apricots)
1/2 c. slivered almonds
3/4 c. golden raisins
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/4 ground flax seed
1/4 c. honey
2 T vegetable oil
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients thoroughly and then mix the last four ingredients (honey, oil, syrup, and vanilla).  Spread granola on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, about 30-35 minutes. While baking, stir every 10 minutes. Watch the granola carefully at the end as it will get dark quickly.  Sprinkle on oatmeal, yogurt, or ice cream and enjoy!

Chili

Ingredients
2 lbs lean ground beef or ground turkey
2 cans of pinto beans, drained (optional)
2 cans of dark red kidney beans, drained (optional)
1 medium size yellow onion
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1-2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 clove of garlic or 1 tsp. minced garlic from a jar
3-4 T of chili powder
3/4 T salt
1/2 c salsa
garlic salt to taste
pepper to taste
oregano to taste

Directions
Stove top
Cook meat in skillet until brown. Saute vegetables and then add remaining ingredients. Simmer on stove until ready to serve.

Slow cooker
Cook meat in skillet until brown. Add remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 8 hours of high for 6 hours.

Gram's Apple Cake

Every Christmas morning for my entire life, I've had this apple cake. Its the only time of the year we have it and it is such a special treat.  Notice, that this is the second breakfast cake recipe from my Gram...welcome to the Henkelman house where we aren't afraid to eat cake for breakfast. :) This is one of those recipes that our grandchildren will make one day...its a classic.


Ingredients
2 c. white sugar
1½ c. oil
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3 c. peeled, chopped Granny Smith apples
1½ c. chopped nuts
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp salt
3 c. flour
1 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions
Combine sugar, oil, vanilla, lemon juice, eggs. Mix well. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Then add fruit and nuts. Batter will be very thick, but mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared bundt pan. (spray with Baker’s Joy or Pam)

Bake at 325 for 1 ¼ hours. Let cool before turning onto cake plate.

Gram's Coffee Cake

In our family, this is possibly the most requested recipe of all time. Simply put, its amazing. My Gram made it and then my Mom made it and now my brother, my husband and I make it. Did I mention its amazing?

Ingredients
1 Duncan Hines yellow cake mix (My Gram said Duncan Hines was the best and we believe her.)
4 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1 c sour cream
3/4 c oil
4 T brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c nuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 9x13 or bundt pan with Pam or Baker's Joy.

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, mix the last three ingredients together.

Pour 1/2 of batter into pan.
Sprinkle 1/2 of the nut mixture, then the remaining cake batter, and lastly the remaining nut mixture.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cake plate or pedestal.
Sprinkle with white sugar or powdered sugar, if desired.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

My friend Emily Horner made these for one of my wedding showers and they were amazing. They are perfect for company because you can mix up everything and put them in a pan to rise overnight and all you do is pop them in the oven in the morning. People always think the dough is homemade - ha!

20 - unbaked frozen dinner rolls (Rhodes)
1 c brown sugar
1/4 c instant vanilla or butterscotch pudding
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 c butter, melted
3/4 c raisins (optional)
3/4 c chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

The night before
1) Grease 10 inch bundt or monkey bread pan.
2) Place 10 rolls in pan and sprinkle 1/2 of dry mix over.  (Dry mix = brown sugar, pudding mix, cinnamon)
3) Place remaining 10 rolls on top sprinkle remaining 1/2 of dry mix on top.
4) Pour melted butter over rolls.
5) Cover with clean, damp cloth and leave overnight at room temperature (When its cold outside, I put it in the oven (turned off obviously) so the rolls will rise.)

In the morning
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. (Sometimes the rolls on top will brown faster so I put foil on top for the last half of the baking time.)
3) Turn rolls out onto a serving plate or cake pedestal.

Egg Casserole

There are two of my Mom's recipes that are the most requested by friends and family, and this is one of them. (The other is my Gram's coffee cake - to be posted later.)  This is a fabulous, "make ahead" dish for weekend company so you can spend time with your company in the morning instead of cooking.  I'm not sure we've ever served this without someone asking for the recipe.  Its everything you love about breakfast in one dish! I've tried making other egg casserole recipes, some with biscuit crusts, and they don't come close to this recipe.

Step 1
1/2 cup melted butter
1 package shredded potatoes
Mix together and press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

Step 2
Brown 1 or 2 pounds of hot sausage; drain the grease off.
Crumble sausage over the potatoes.
On top of the sausage layer 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese.
Beat 9 eggs with 1 cup of milk and pour over the cheese.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Easy Brisket

My friend Katie Sheedy gave me this recipe and it seemed too good to be true. Four ingredients. Crock pot for 8 hours. Too good to be true? No - this is one of those recipes you come along once in a life time and you hold on to it...or you post it on your blog. :)

Ingredients
Brisket (I use a trimmed brisket and then trim the rest of the fat myself)
1 package of taco seasoning (I use the low sodium version and it is still wonderful)
1 can of hot Rotel
1 can of original Rotel
1 or 2 onions (optional, but a great addition if you are making brisket tacos or quesadillas with the meat)

Directions
Put the whole brisket in the crock pot. Add the taco seasoning and two cans of Rotel. I mix the ingredients around a little but I don't think you have to. Then you can cook it for 8 hours on low or 4 on high.

Its that simple and its amazing!

Sourdough French Toast with Strawberry Syrup

A couple of months ago, we woke up on a Saturday morning and I wondered what to cook for breakfast. I don't believe in eating cereal, oatmeal, or yogurt on Saturday mornings since we eat them every other day of the week. We had sourdough bread and I thought french toast made with sourdough bread just had to be wonderful...and it was. I found this recipe online and have made it at least 4 times (for us and for company) in the last 6 weeks.

Sourdough French Toast

Ingredients
6 to 8 large slices wholegrain sourdough bread (about 1/2-inch thick), preferably day-old or stale
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup whole milk
up to 2 tablespoons grade B maple syrup, if desired
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash unrefined sea salt
Directions
1. Line a large baking dish with six to eight slices whole grain sourdough bread cut 1/2-inch thick.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk beaten eggs, whole milk and maple syrup together with cinnamon, vanilla extract and a dash unrefined sea salt until thoroughly combined.
3. Pour the egg mixture over the sourdough bread and allow the slices to soak for about five to ten minutes.
4. In the meantime, heat a skillet or griddle to medium-high geat. Spray with Pam just before putting the french toast on.
5. Cook the french toast until golden brown.
6. Plate and serve hot with the Simple Strawberry Syrup below.


Simple Strawberry Syrup
While this may seem like an optional part of the recipe, it is actually the best part of the meal. I've made it with raspberries too and it was wonderful.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups strawberries, cut into pieces or mashed
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Directions

1.  In a saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil.

2. Gradually add strawberries; return to a boil.

3. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

It seems fitting that the first recipe on the blog would be chocolate chip cookies. And not just any chocolate chip cookies. My Mom grinds oats to make oat flour for these...and it makes such an incredible difference. We've made a lot (and eaten a lot!) of chocolate chip cookies and this is the only recipe you will ever need for chocolate chip cookies. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 c. Old fashioned rolled oats
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 c. all purpose flour (you can substitute whole wheat flour if you want)
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
12 oz. chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375.

In food processor grind oats until they turn into a fine powder.

Cream the butter and sugars together in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then gradually beat the flour mix into the butter mix. Next work oat flour into mix either with your hands or a heavy-duty stand mixer.

Work chocolate chips into the dough with your hands.

Bake for 9-11 minutes.

Welcome!

For a while now, my brother and I have been urging my Mom to start a blog with her recipes. She spends a lot of time reading recipes to us over the phone or typing them for us...and for our friends. Mom's egg casserole and my Gram's coffee cake have become legendary. Now, I'm a stay at home mom for the first time in my life and am trying to see if my Mom's incredible cooking skills were passed to me in her DNA. My friend Katie bought me a subscription to Everyday Food magazine for my birthday this year and I find I'm tearing out half the magazine to save recipes I want to try. So this blog has multiple purposes...To share my Mom's recipes with people...To prevent my Mom from having to tell my brother and I the same recipes over and over again...To keep track of new recipes we find and like (this is a request of my husband since I lose everything).  Enjoy!