Creamed Chicken and Biscuits

1/2 large onion
1 1/2 teaspoons butter or margarine
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream (I prefer mayonnaise)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped pimiento
1 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese, divided
6 frozen biscuits, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease the bottom and sides of an 11x7-inch baking dish.

2. Chop the onion. Heat butter in small non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Stir in onion. Saute until tender.

3. Combine onion, chicken, soup, sour cream or mayo, milk and pimiento in a medium bowl and mix well. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

4. Sprinkle baked layer with 3/4 cup of the Cheddar. Arrange biscuits in single layer over top. Sprinkle with remaining Cheddar.

5. Bake until biscuits are golden brown and the sauce is bubbly, about 20 minutes longer. Serve immediately. YUMMY!

KAPUSTA

This is a great New Year's dish, but we make it throughout the year, too. My father-in-law taught me how to make it not long after I was married. We have kind of 'tweeked' it over the years, though.

2 cans sauerkraut
2 cups dry navy pea beans, partially cooked
6 cups mashed potatoes
4 cups cubed cooked ham (I prefer to use a butt ham for its flavor)

1 to 2 cups ham broth (saved from baking the ham)

NO SALT NEEDED

1) Cook navy pea beans til about half done. This can be done a day or two prior to putting the kapusta together.
2) Cook potatoes and mash well. This, also, can be prepared in advance.
3) Ham can be baked ahead of time and cubed. Be sure to save the broth.
4) Drain sauerkraut in colander. Rinse with hot water for a minute or two. The idea is to remove all the "sauer" from the kraut.
5) Once the sauerkraut has been prepared and the beans have been partially cooked, place all ingredients in a large crockpot, making sure to stir in the mashed potatoes well.

The crockpot can be started on HIGH until hot, and then allow it to cook on LOW overnight. Your home will smell so-ooo good in the morning! This is really a great dish served with homemade rolls! Freezes very well, too.

Whole Wheat Honey Bread

2/3 cup milk
4 Tbsp. oleo
3 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup raw bran flakes * (optional)
1/4 cup wheat germ * (optional)
2 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups bread flour (white)
2 pkgs. Fleishmann's dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp. sugar

(* Purchased @ Health Food Store)

Combine first 6 ingredients in small saucepan. Heat til warm and sugar is dissolved. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and 1 tsp. sugar. When frothy, which takes just a few minutes, add to above mixture. Combine the bran flakes, wheat germ and wheat flour, mixing well, and then add to liquid mixture, mixing well. Add in the white flour, kneading till well mixed. Place in large greased warm bowl: oil top lightly. Cover with wax paper. Allow to raise in warmed oven til double in size, about 45 minutes. Reshape into 2 loaves and place in greased bread pans. Oil tops lightly and poke holes in top with a fork; cover with wax paper. Allow to raise to desired loaf size. Bake in 350 degree preheated oven til bread sounds hollow when tapped on top. Yield: 2 loaves

Directions for bread machine: Combine first 6 ingredients plus the 1 1/2 cups of water in small saucepan and heat til warm and sugar is dissolved. Pour into bread machine pan. Combine the dry ingredients, mixing together well, before adding to bread machine mixture. Make indentation in top of dry ingredients and add yeast. Start machine. (I always check dough in case it needs a little more liquid. This dough will be somewhat stiffer than for white bread.) I just set my machine on the dough setting as I prefer to raise the dough in bread pans (as directed above) and bake in conventional oven at 350 degrees. Yield: 2 loaves

Grandma's White Bread

2 cups milk
2 cups water
3 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. granulated sugar
8 cups bread flour (may need more)
2 pkg. Fleishmann's dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. granulated sugar

Combine first 5 ingredients in small saucepan. Heat til quite warm. Dissolve yeast in the 1/2 cup warm water with 1 tsp. sugar. When frothy looking, which takes just a few minutes, add to warm milk mixture. Pour into very large warm mixing bowl. Add flour a couple cups at a time, kneading well after each addition. Place in large greased bowl; grease top lightly with oil. Cover with wax paper. Allow to raise in warmed oven til double in size, about 30 minutes. Reshape into 4 loaves and place in greased bread pans. Oil tops lightly. Cover with wax paper. Allow to raise to desired loaf size. Bake in 400 degree preheated oven til bread sounds hollow when tapped on top. Yield: 4 loaves

Directions for bread machine: I half ALL ingredients as I have found that my machine handles 2 loaves very well. Combine first 5 ingredients (halved) plus 1/4 cup of water in small saucepan and heat til warm and sugar is dissolved. Pour into bread machine pan. Add the flour, making indentation in top. Add 1 pkg. yeast in center. (No need to add the tsp. of sugar.) Start machine. I just set my machine on the dough setting as I prefer to raise the dough in bread pans (as directed above) and bake in conventional oven at 400 degrees. Yield: 2 loaves

Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

1 Duncan Hines Devil's Food cake mix
1/3 cup sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg
6 oz. chocolate morsels, semi-sweet or milk chocolate

Preheat oven to 350. Mix cake as directed on box. Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full. Beat sugar, cream cheese and egg together. Stir in the chocolate morsels by hand. Add a heaping teaspoonful on the top of each cupcake. Bake 22-24 minutes. After baking, the filling will have disappeared into the middle of each cupcake. No frosting needed, as it actually makes the cupcakes too sweet and ruins the effects of the cream cheese filling. I usually make a seasonal cutout of some design, such as a Christmas tree, heart, etc. and sprinkle confectioners sugar over it, leaving the design on the top of each cupcake. Makes 24. Betcha can’t eat just one!

Beef with Mushroom Gravy

3 lbs. stew beef
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can Campbell's French Onion soup, undiluted
1/2 can water
Pepper, if desired
Use NO salt

First of all, let me tell you that I hate mushrooms! But you will never even know they're in this recipe. Place stew beef in casserole dish. Do not cut meat into smaller pieces. Combine soups with the 1/2 can water; pour over meat, being sure that meat is fully covered. Bake covered for first half of the time, and uncovered the last half, at 350 degrees for 3 hours. I don't care for mushrooms at all, but you will never taste them in this recipe. This makes its own gravy, and the meat will just melt in your mouth! Great served over mashed potatoes, rice, noodles or biscuits. YUMMY! (Will post a pic next time I make it.)

Sandwich Rolls

The recipe for these rolls is just my basic bread dough, same recipe I used for my pizza crusts in an earlier post.

BASIC BREAD DOUGH

1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt (optional)
2 Tbsp. oil
4 cups flour
1 pkg. Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Dry Yeast

Heat first 4 ingredients in small mixing bowl on High in microwave for 1 minute. Pour into bread machine pan. Add the flour. Make indentation in top of flour with spoon. Pour dry yeast in center of flour. Set machine on dough setting. 1 hour 20 minutes later, the dough is ready to be made into rolls.

Divide dough in half, and make 6 balls of dough from each half. On a LARGE Air-Bake cookie sheet, lightly sprayed with Pam, form each ball of dough into a roll. Flatten each roll to resemble a hamburger roll. I like to make some smaller for times when I prefer just a small sandwich.

Grease tops, cover with wax paper and allow to rise 30 minutes in a warm place. I heat my oven for just 1 minute and raise my rolls in it. Bake at 400 degrees in preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes until brown and hollow sounding when lightly tapped. By using the larger size baking sheet, I can fit all 12 on the same sheet. Cool thoroughly on cooling racks. Store in plastic storage bags in refrigerator. They freeze well, too. Yield: 12 large rolls. ENJOY!!!