Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

I've never made one of these impossible pies before (the crust kind of forms by itself). I found myself a bit unprepared for dinner one night and this looked like it would be easy enough to throw together. I defrosted the meat in the microwave, chopped up some onion and green pepper and had it ready to put in the oven in about 10 to 15 minutes. I like meals with not a lot of prep time when I don't have much time. This was pretty tasty. Serve with ketchup and mustard and pickle slices for a real cheeseburger taste.



Impossible Cheeseburger Pie From Grandma's recipes

1 lb ground beef

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 chopped green pepper (optional)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3/4 cup bisquick (use homemade version here)

1 1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese



Grease 10" pie plate. Brown beef, onion and peppers in skillet until brown. Drain. Stir in salt and pepper and spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with 1/2 the cheese. Beat bisquick, milk and eggs about 1 minute. Pour into pie plate over meat. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake about 5 minutes more. Let sit a few minutes before slicing.

Penne Arrabbiata

I didn't have a lot of time to put dinner together tonight since I was working on making homemade wine. I ordered some grapes from Ace Hardware in town and I got 5 pounds of Frontenac grapes from a local winery. I found this recipe online and decided to give it a try. I'll tell you how it turns out in a few weeks!

After all the wine making I didn't have a lot of time to put dinner together so I pulled out this recipe that I had been wanting to make for a while. It looked relatively quick and simple. It turned out Delicious! I enjoyed using our home grown tomatoes for the sauce too.

Penne Arrabbiata From Grandma's Recipe File
3 medium garlic cloves, divided
3 T olive oil, divided
2 T tomato paste
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes in juice, chopped (I used about 8 medium size fresh tomatoes, chopped)
1 bay leaf
1 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 T fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine
1 tsp salt
1 lb penne, cooked
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Chop 1 garlic clove. Heat 1 T oil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes in juice and bay leaf; simmer 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, thinly slice remaining 2 garlic cloves. Heat 1 T oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until just beginning to turn pale golden, 30 seconds. Add parsley, basil and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds. Add wine and boil 30 seconds. Stir into tomato sauce and salt; simmer 4 to 5 minutes.

Toss sauce with hot pasta in a large serving bowl. Drizzle pasta with remaining 1 T oil. Serve with cheese and garnish with parsley and basil.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

We've had a busy last week and a half with a wedding 2 states away and then trying to get settled back in and keep up with all the veggies from the garden. I've been cooking and baking, just not posting new recipes. I made these cookies on Thursday night and they are amazing. I thought they'd be too rich, but they turned out great. I don't make cookies too often since I like the fact that bars bake all in one pan at one time and also because I really enjoy eating the cookies-too much sometimes!!! They don't always last very long at our house. I know that these definitely won't either. The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is really yummy and are sure to be a hit with everyone!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies From Grandma's Recipe File

2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c. peanut butter chips
2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped peanuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in bowl.

With mixer on medium-high speed, beat together butter and peanut butter in a large bowl until smooth and creamy. Add the granulated sugar and light-brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla until blended.

On low speed, beat in the flour mixture until blended. Fold in peanut butter chips, chocolate chips and chopped peanuts until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Scoop about 1 heaping tablespoonful of the batter into your hands; gently flatten into a 2" disk. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Continue making disks with remaining dough.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until lightly golden and firm. Cool cookies on pan on rack for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack to cool completely.
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Sausage Macaroni Casserole

This is another recipe from my grandma's collection. It had a great combination of sausage and cheese sauce mixed with the noodles. Yum! Definitely a great recipe on a cool day.

Sausage Macaroni Casserole

1 pound bulk pork sausage
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper strips
3 T flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
8 oz elbow macaroni, cooked

Brown sausage in skillet, remove. Drain on paper towel. Saute onion and green pepper in 2 T remaining drippings. Stir in flour. Slowly add milk. Cook over medium heat until thick. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Combine macaroni, sausage and sauce. Turn into greased 2 qt casserole; top with remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until bubbly.

Hamburger Noodle Casserole

This was a pretty quick dish to put together, it just took a while to bake. The house smelled so yummy though as this was cooking up. This is great when you just don't know what to make since more than likely most of the ingredients are in your cupboard or freezer already!

Hamburger Noodle Casserole

1 pound ground beef
16 oz can whole tomatoes (or diced)
16 0z can peas, drained (or frozen)
1 can condensed tomato soup
6 oz noodles
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Heat oven to 375. Spray sides and bottom of 2 qt casserole dish with cooking spray. Place ground beef in casserole and break apart with fork (I cooked it first, it looks like that's not necessary though). Stir in tomatoes (with liquid), peas, tomato soup, uncooked noodles, onion, celery and salt and pepper. Mix well and cover. Bake about 1 hour and 10 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

I'm doing more baking for the week and I found this recipe in my grandma's old book of recipes. I still have frozen zucchini from my garden so I figured this would be a good way to use some more up. I love chocolate chips in my zucchini bread!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

2 cups grated zucchini (drain juice so zucchini is as dry as possible)
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
12 oz pkg chocolate chips (can substitute 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips as well)
1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Mix together sugar and oil. Then mix in eggs and grated zucchini. Add salt, flour, baking soda, spices and vanilla. Mix well, then stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Bake in 2 greased and floured 9x5" loaf pans at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool on rack for 1 hour before serving.


For other zucchini recipes try:
Orange Zucchini Bread
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

These were tasty! I was in the cookie baking mood and found this recipe in my Grandma's collection of recipes. I love the taste of cream cheese and you can never go wrong with chocolate so I gave these a try. And they were goooood!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
2 tsp grated orange rind (I omitted, but I'm sure it would give these a nice citrus taste)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Sift together flour and salt. Beat butter, cream cheese, orange rind (if using) and sugar, thoroughly until fluffy. Beat in egg yolk, then add flour mixture all at once and beat until blended. Add chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by leveled tablespoon 1" apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly and bake at 350 about 15 minutes. Watch closely so as not to burn edges.

Zucchini, Zucchini Everywhere!!

I planted 4 zucchini plants and I have gotten about 18 zucchini already this year. I love it! I really enjoy baking with zucchini and it's got to be good for you since its a vegetable. I am already working on freezing some so I can make zucchini muffins and bread all year long. I found this recipe in Grandma's cookbook for some zucchini bread. It is delicious!

Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

2 c flour
1 c quick oats
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 c salad oil (I substituted 1/2 c applesauce and 1/4 c oil)
3 c shredded zucchini
1 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped walnuts (omitted since I didn't have any on hand)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x5" loaf pan. In large bowl, mix flour, oats, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In medium bowl, with fork, beat eggs slightly, stir in salad oil, shredded zucchini, vanilla and walnuts; stir into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Spoon batter evenly into pan. Bake bread 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan and finish cooling on wire rack.

Poppy Seed Sour Cream Loaf

I'm always looking for different breads or muffins to make for breakfast. I don't really like to spend a lot of time baking at night so I really appreciate recipes that are easy to put together and don't take a lot of prep time. I found this one in Grandma's cookbook and it turned out to be fast and tasty. It's a little different than what I usually make, but it was a nice change too.

Poppy Seed Sour Cream Loaf

2 c flour
2 T poppy seeds
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 c sugar
2 T butter, melted and cooled
8 oz dairy sour cream (1 c)
1 T grated orange peel

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8x4" loaf pan. In a small bowl, combine flour, poppy seeds, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and butter; stir in sour cream and orange peel. Add flour mixture; stir until just combined. Spoon into pan (mixture will be thick). Bake about 50 minutes. Remove from pan and cool. Yield: 1 loaf

Sloppy Joes

I was talking to mom the other night and she said that they were having sloppy joes for dinner. I wasn't sure what we were going to have so that sounded good. I found this recipe in Grandma's cookbook. It was easy and fast.

Sloppy Joes

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
1 green pepper, chopped

Brown meat, stirring frequently. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for at least 20 minutes. Serve on buns.

Tri-level Brownies

Another one of grandma's yummy dessert recipes.

Tri-Level Brownies
Bottom layer: Sift together 1/2 c flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt, mix with 1 c quick oats and 1/2 c brown sugar. Stir in 6 T melted butter. Pat mixture into a 12x8" pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Middle layer: Combine 1 oz melted unsweetened chocolate, 4 T melted butter and 3/4 c sugar; add 1 egg and beat well. Sift together 2/3 c flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt, add alternately with 1/4 c milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla to chocolate mixture. Fold in 1/2 c chopped nuts. Spread batter over baked layer. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Top layer: Place 1 oz unsweetened chocolate and 2 T butter in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and add 1 1/2 c powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Blend in enough hot water to form frosting. Spread over baked layer when cooled.

Cheese Baked Fish Fillets

It has been a little while since I've updated my site. I've been busy getting ready to do some planting and with some spring cleaning. I've still been doing some delicious cooking so enjoy these new recipes.

Cheese Baked Fish Fillets
1 pound frozen fish fillets, thawed (I used orange roughy fillets)
2/3 c cream of mushroom soup
3/4 c sour cream
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
Drain fillets on paper toweling: arrange in a single layer in a buttered 2 quart shallow baking dish. In a 1 quart saucepan, combine undiluted soup and sour cream, blend thoroughly. Add 1 c cheese, heat over low heat, stirring constantly until cheese melts. Spread mixture over fillets, bake in a preheated over at 375, 20-25 minutes or until fish flakes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; return to over for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. The sauce would be very good served over rice or pasta.

Lazy Bones Casserole

This is one of grandma's recipes. I just needed something simple to put together for dinner one night and I found this one. It was pretty tasty.

1 lb ground beef
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup or chicken rice soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
8 ounces of small uncooked noodles
1/2 package of frozen peas

Brown meat. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Put in a greased 2 quart casserole. Bake covered at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. If it becomes too dry, add water.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

This is a recipe that I got from grandma. She rated them as good and I agree.

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup margarine or butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling:
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup softened butter or margarine
2-3 T light cream or milk

Glaze:
1 oz semisweet chocolate
1 T margarine

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, set aside. In mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light, add flour, baking powder and melted chocolate. Pour into greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool. For filling, beat powdered sugar, peanut butter and butter in mixing bowl. Stir in cream or milk. Spread over cooled brownies. For the glaze, Melt remaining chocolate and butter in saucepan until smooth. Spread over peanut butter layer. Cover and cool.

Wisconsin's Best Scalloped Potatoes (with or without ham)

This is a recipe from grandma which I've made a few times. It doesn't call for ham, but it's a good way to use up leftover ham if you like it.

1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper
2 cup milk
4 medium potatoes sliced about 1/8 inch thick
2/3 cup coarsely chopped onions
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups or so of chopped ham, optional

Melt the butter in a 1 quart saucepan over medium low heat. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring 1 minute. Gradually add milk. Cook and stir until sauce is thickened, 3-4 minutes. Butter a shallow 2 quart baking dish. Cover the bottom with 1/4 c of sauce. Add layers of half each of potatoes, onions, remaining sauce and cheese (ham if using), repeat layers. Cover with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer. These are very yummy and bake up nice and crunchy.