Shortcake for Strawberries

If you want a cake type of shortcake for strawberry shortcake, this is a good one. Be sure you beat the butter and sugar for about 10 minutes, using a stand mixer if you have one. Beating it any less will not create the wonderful sponge this cake needs. It is good with just about anything, including nothing. Has a little sugar crunch to the top.

2/3 c butter, softened

1 1/4 c sugar

2/3 c milk

1 tsp vanilla, almond or lemon extract (I use vanilla)

2 c all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 large eggs

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in milk and extract. Sift dry ingredients together and add to milk mixture. Beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Pour into a well greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 300º for about 80 to 90 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (I baked mine for 85 minutes, but every oven is different. The person I got this recipe from bakes it for 80 minutes.)

Cool for 5 minutes, and then move to cooling rack. Cool completely. 

Better Tasting Meatloaf

Makes two meatloaves.

2 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 c milk

1 box (6 oz) stuffing mix

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

3 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp rubbed sage

Pepper, to taste

1 c ketchup

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, stuffing mix, chopped onion, chopped green pepper, garlic, salt, sage, and pepper. Add beef and pork; mix thoroughly.

In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce, stirring to dissolve sugar, remove 1/2 cup sauce to put on top of meatloaf. Mix the remaining sauce into meatloaf mixture.

Divide meat mixture in half and put into two lightly greased loaf pans. Add sauce to the top of each meatloaf.

Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into meatloaf reads 160°. Let stand 10 minutes.

Mary Ann's Cole Slaw

This super easy recipe is from my long time friend, Mary Ann Fox. We have known each other since high school back in Illinois. She has a home UpNorth so we get together about once a year to catch up. This delicious coleslaw is a result of one of those catching ups. Use whatever amounts you want of each ingredient.

1 bag of coleslaw
Craisins
Chopped apple, unpeeled
Chopped walnuts
Poppyseed dressing

The Best Dinner Rolls

There are so many "Best" dinner roll recipes out there, but this one is easy to make. These  dinner rolls are soft, fluffy, and super simple to make using your Kitchen Aid mixer with a  dough hook. Can be kneaded by hand, if you prefer.

    1-½ cup Very Warm Water

    2 teaspoons Instant Yeast

    1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar

    2 Tablespoons Canola Oil

    1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

    4 cups All-purpose Flour

Combine water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt and 3 cups of the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, mix until the dough comes together. Slowly add the last cup of flour, stopping when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should be smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky. You may not need the full 4 cups of flour, judge the dough by how it feels, not how much flour you’ve added.

Knead the dough for 5 minutes (10 if mixing by hand) until it’s very smooth. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Let it rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly oiled countertop. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a round ball. The easiest way is to roll the piece of dough against the countertop underneath your hand until it forms into a smooth ball. Place the shaped rolls on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Cover them loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap and let them rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400º. Once the rolls have risen, bake for 12–14 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. Remove them from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in a sealed plastic bag for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Loaded Potato Casserole

6 russet potatoes, sliced into ¼" slices*

Salt and pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Monterey cheese

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 cups milk

2 large eggs

Fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375º. Butter a 9x13” baking pan, and set aside.

Layer half of the potato slices in the dish, overlapping slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cheeses on top of the potatoes and add the crumbled bacon pieces. Add the other half of the potato slices on top of the cheese.

In a small bowl, mix together the milk and eggs. Pour half of the mixture over top of the potatoes.

Cover with foil and bake for up to 90 minutes, until the custard, eggs and milk, are cooked and set, and the potatoes have browned a little bit.

Allow the dish to rest for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley before serving, if desired.

*I sliced then rather thin because I like them better that way.