Week 17 - Peanut Butter Bacon Bread

  Peanut Butter Bacon Bread

Recipe 17 - 52 in 2022

Bread #3

    There's just something about the sweet & salty combination. I first made this bread a few years ago. It is from a recipe booklet produced by the Oklahoma Peanut Commission. There is not date in the booklet, but from the pictures, fonts and coloring, I believe it is mid-late 1960s to the early 1970s. There are truly some recipes which I would never want to try, that obviously taste good to some people, and that's okay. An example being the Peanut Seafood Salad, which has includes rice, tuna, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, lemon and peanuts. That said, there are numerous recipes which I want to try and I obviously liked the Peanut Butter Bacon Bread, if I decided to make it again, for this blog.  I just had a warm slice and it was yummy. I added butter and some apricot jam. 

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 tsp melted shortening

1 cup milk

1 egg, well, beaten

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 cup chopped unsalted peanuts (I used about 1/2 cup, because 1) that's all I had and 2) I used some pretty chunky peanut butter)

1 cup bacon chips, crisp (chopped, crisp bacon)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a regular sized loaf pan. Melt shortening. Add sugar, milk and egg to a bowl and mix, before adding the shortening (re-melt the shortening a bit if needed; remember even though it's a small amount, you don't want it hot, because you don't want to 'scramble' the egg). Add peanut butter and stir to combine. Mix in salt, flour and baking powder (It may be a little clumpy looking). Stir in peanuts and bacon. Pour batter into your greased loaf pan and let rest for 20-25 minutes. Bake in your pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Makes 1 loaf. Serve warm with butter and jam if you wish. 

   

Peanut Butter Bacon Bread

Sliced Peanut Butter Bacon Bread

Peanut Recipe Booklet by the Oklahoma Peanut Commission; Peanuts are saucy!

Week 16 - Salad

  French Dressing/Sauce Vinaigrette

Recipe 16 - 52 in 2022

Salad #3

    I don't know that I've ever made a truly home-made salad dressing and thought there are so many recipes in my books for dressings, that for Week 16 (I'm late doing this entry), I decided to make a salad dressing and serve it with a simple garden salad. I chose this French Dressing/Sauce Vinaigrette from a 1973 edition of The Joy of Cooking. This dressing is used as a base ingredient in other dressing recipes in the book and I may some of those eventually.  I enjoyed this dressing so much, that I've already made it a second time. It is easy to make, takes just a few minutes to mix up and was great on my salad, but would be good to just marinate vegetables in and I think it would even be good in a rice/macaroni salad. 

Ingredients:

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

6 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice (I used lemon juice and it was amazing!!!)

1 clove garlic (I used a rounded tsp minced garlic)

1/4 tsp dry mustard (optional) (I used Trader Joe's Spicy Mustard) 

Directions:

Combine 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice. Whisk together until smooth. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and whisk again, thoroughly. Add the last tbsp vinegar or lemon juice and the last 3 tbsp olive oil. Whisk together and add 1 tsp minced garlic, whisking again before pouring into a jar. Cover well and refrigerate until ready for use. Shake well before using. I discovered the dressing will congeal a bit when it is refrigerated. Just let it warm up a bit before using and remember to shake well each time you use it. 

Enjoy!!!

French Dressing/Sauce Vinaigrette

Garden Salad with French Dressing/Sauce Vinaigrette

Week 15 - Slush

 Slush

Recipe 15 - 52 in 2022

Drink #1

    I figured it was time to plug in one of the drink recipes and decided this was a good week to do it. I could make a drink to enjoy with my Week 14 appetizer, Josefinas (see previous post). This recipe is noted as being by Susan Poteete and is included in Tried And True by Dell Barnes. Tried And True was printed by Dell Barnes in 1992. The copy I have is signed by Dell Barnes "For Janet. Dell Barnes". 

    I didn't have a requirement that my drink recipe should have alcohol, but I ended up finding a recipe which called for alcohol. Since I'd decided to make an alcoholic drink, I thought it best to make over the weekend. This is really a two step process. You have to make the mix and then place it in the freezer, to get slushy. To serve, you remove a container of slush and use a fork or spoon to break up into slushy bits, so you can serve. You could try this with ginger ale and even switch up the flavors of juice. Try pineapple and lemonade or even mango; strawberry or raspberry with lemonade or limeade, if you can find these frozen. My modifications in italics.

Ingredients:

1 large can frozen orange juice  (I used a standard size can)

1 large can frozen lemonade or limeade (I used lemonade; a standard size)

1 cup sugar (I used a full cup, but I'd be interested to see how this would be with less added sugar)

1 cup strong tea (I used black tea)

7 cups water

2 cups bourbon, gin or vodka (I used gin. Also, I think tequila would probably work well also)

7-Up (I don't really drink soda, so I just got diet Wal-Mart store brand lemon-lime soda, because I didn't want to spend a lot)

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients except the soda. Freeze in plastic containers (I used three Tupperware/Rubbermaid containers).  To serve, spoon 1/2 cup of the slush into a short glass and add 1/2 cup of 7-Up. I used a fork to break up the mix after I removed from the freezer. I used a large ice cream scoop for easy scooping and dropping into my cup. I also didn't really measure the soda; I'm sure it was a bit more than a 1/2 cup, but I still enjoyed my slush drink. 

Slush Mix

Slush!

Week 14 - Josefinas

 Josefinas

Recipe 14 - 52 in 2022

Appetizer #2

    This week's appetizer recipe comes from "Cooking With Love" by Vivian Rogers Lee and Linda Rogers Pointer, published in 1979. I made a couple small changes to this recipe. For the record, I used larger, thin slices of pieces of sourdough bread, rather than the loaf of mini French bread cut thinly and I added half of a teaspoon of spicy chili blend. This recipe was very, easy to put together and is pretty tasty. I would definitely make this again. Slices of mini cocktail bread or crostini, would work great. I actually think you could put it on almost any kind of bread and it would still taste good. As always, modifications will be in italics. 

Ingredients:

1 miniature (24-inch) loaf French bread, thinly sliced (Thinly sliced sourdough bread worked great {for bigger pieces})

1 cup chopped green chilies, rinsed and seeded (I used 2 4oz cans of diced green chilies, drained, which was almost a full cup) 

1/2 lb butter, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, crushed (I used 1 teaspoon minced garlic from a jar)

1/2 lb shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese (I used what I had available; a combination of cheddar and cheddar jack)

1/2 teaspoon spicy chili seasoning

Directions:

Toast bread on one side and set aside. Mix together butter, chilies and garlic; spread on the untoasted side of bread. Top with a mixture of mayonnaise and cheese, spreading completely to edges. I chose to blend all ingredients together, including the cheese, before spreading on the untoasted side of the bread; I liked how it turned out. Place under broiler until brown and puffy; for me this was two to three minutes. Serve immediately. 

Large Josefinas w/a cameo appearance by my dog, Mia

                                 I made six slices, so I have a lot of the mixture left over; that's okay.                                 I'll be able to enjoy it more this week

Bonus Recipe - Coffee Cake

 Bonus Recipe

Coffee Cake

    I decided to make myself some coffee cake for breakfast this morning and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I used the "Coffee Cake" recipe from my copy (1969 printing) of the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book, originally published in 1968. I recently tried to make a recipe called "Scotch Teas", a cookie recipe from a different cookbook and it did not turn out how it was supposed to. I had regular flour and not self rising flour. I thought about that, but didn't worry about it. I should have. I ended up with what I've been calling my "accidental granola". Two main ingredients of the Scotch Teas are oatmeal and brown sugar. I  had added about 1/3 cup mini-chocolate chips as well.  I've had my accidental granola in plain, non-fat yogurt (delicious) and snacked on some larger pieces, but had always planned to use on coffee cake or muffins. 

    So, that brings me to the "Coffee Cake" I made today. I made the batter as directed, but used my granola topping instead of the called for "Spicy Topping", which got that name because it has cinnamon in it. After putting the batter in my greased 9x9x2, I sprinkled the granola on top, which I'd added some cinnamon to, and patted it lightly into the batter. I baked my coffee cake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.  After cooling a bit, I enjoyed some with my second cup of coffee.  Try this with the original topping in the recipe or with some of your favorite granola and enjoy with coffee or tea. Changes in italics.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup salad oil (I used canola)

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 

Spicy Topping (I used homemade granola with a teaspoon of cinnamon added)

    In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1/2 cup broken nuts (the nuts are totally optional). 

Directions:

 Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9x9x2 square baking dish with cooking spray or grease with oil/butter. Combine oil, egg and milk in one bowl and sift the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) into a separate bowl. A little at a time, stir the dry mixture into the wet oil/egg/milk mixture. Thoroughly combine and pour into your baking dish. Spread the batter so it entirely covers the pan.  Sprinkle your topping over the batter and lightly press into the batter. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove and cool for however long you can wait, but at least five minutes. Enjoy with coffee or tea (we don't want tea to feel left out). 

Coffee Cake Time!

Coffee Cake Fresh From The Oven

Coffee Cake Close-Up

Week 13 - Big Bertha

 Big Bertha

Recipe 13 - 52 in 2022

Vegetarian Entree #2

    Big Bertha comes to us from the 1967 era, Favorite Recipes From Southern Kitchens - Casseroles.  The Big Bertha recipe was submitted for inclusion in this cookbook, by Mrs. Josephine Lunt of Clifton, Arizona. I'd love to know how she came by the name "Big Bertha". This vegetarian recipe was good. However, it is made with corn chips and if/when I make it again, I would swap that for macaroni. Macaroni would be great in this recipe. Of note in this recipe, it calls for a .39 cent package of corn chips and I um, don't know what size that is, so I got a 9 1/4 oz bag that was $3.00. The recipe also calls for 1 No. 2 can of tomatoes; not diced or stewed, just "tomatoes". I decided I'd buy diced, but I forgot to look at conversion for what size the No. 2 can is equal to. I used a large 28 oz can of diced tomatoes in tomato juice. It also called for 2 cans of chopped green chilies. I used two 7 oz cans of diced green chilies. 

    This recipe really doesn't have any seasoning besides salt and a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, so I would suggest that if you like more seasoning, try Italian, garlic, red pepper chili flakes, or even chipotle. There are so many options.  This recipe called for a 2-quart casserole dish and I have several 1 1/2 quart, but I couldn't find a 2-quart, so I used a giant 3-quart dish and I'm glad I did, because this recipe would have overflowed a 2-quart dish. According to the recipe, the yield is 6 servings. You definitely could get 6. Maybe 7 or 8 if you give smaller servings.  And finally, although it is a vegetarian entree, you could mix in up to a 1lb of browned ground beef.

    Serve with a salad and maybe cornbread or french bread.

    I like casseroles and I would make this again, just as I said, I'd like to try it with macaroni. Modifications will be in italics.

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, chopped (I used one pretty large onion)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used canola)

1 No. 2 can tomatoes (I used a 28oz can of diced tomatoes, drained)

2 cans chopped green chilies (I used two 7oz cans)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 .39-cent package corn chips (I used a 9 1/4 oz bag of lower salt Fritos brand chips)

1 lb Longhorn cheese, grated (I used about 3/4 of a lb of my favorite Colby Jack cheese, shredded)

1/2 pint heavy cream (I forgot to buy the heavy cream, so I looked up emergency substitutions for heavy cream {1 tablespoon butter and 7/8 cup of milk})

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop onion and add to a heated skillet. "Glaze" onion (I cooked and stirred until they were soft and almost translucent).  Stir in your tomatoes, green chilies, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes. Starting with the tomatoes, layer corn chips (or macaroni), tomatoes and cheese in a 3-quart casserole dish (greased/sprayed with cooking spray). Pop into your oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until browned on top. I baked mine for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool a bit before serving. Serve with a salad and bread or cornbread and extra seasonings if you'd like. 

Big Bertha

Big Ol' Beautiful Bertha

Tomatoes, Chili Peppers & Onion Layer

Corn Chips Layer