An easy recipe. Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet separately, then mix both together. Add the poppy seeds when the other ingredients are mixed.

The batter was thicker than I thought it should be, so I added an extra tablespoon of water to the batter.

I used a small scoop to fill the mini muffin tins.

While they were still warm, I dipped the tops into a mixture of powdered sugar and lemon juice.

So good. We’re having company this weekend, so I am going to put some of the muffins in the freezer (to keep them from drying out) and serve them Sunday morning at breakfast.

~~Rhonda

The bread requires an overnight soaking of the cornmeal which I’ve never done for a bread recipe before. It also asks for 4 oz. light molasses. All I had on hand was dark molasses, so I used 2 oz. molasses and 2 oz. light corn syrup. There was no molasses taste in the bread, at all.

You can find the recipe at Apple Pie, Patis, & Pate .

Great texture to this bread and it does make wonderful toast.

~~Rhonda

PS, have I ever told you homemade bread is better than store bought?

Yesterday I wanted to make chicken and dumpling soup. Instead of following the recipe I found online, I put together my own combo. Near as I can remember, the following is what I used.

Chicken Soup

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts [Whole chicken, chicken pieces, or turkey can be used.]
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 T. dry onion [May use fresh onion, diced, if you have it.]
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dry basil
1/4 tsp. dry thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced [Fresh garlic is better than powdered garlic, but use that if it's all you have on hand. If you use garlic SALT, reduce the amount of salt added.]
2 tsp. celery seed [Or use 2/3 c. fresh celery...I didn't have any on hand, but celery seed imparts celery flavor.]
2 c. chicken broth
2/3 c. carrots, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dumplings
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. mik

If you don’t want to make dumplings, you can add noodles or cooked rice to the soup.

Place the chicken in a large stock pot and add enough water to cover the meat. Add the onion, bay leaves, basil, thyme, garlic and celery seed. Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to a simmer. Simmer for one hour.

Remove the meat and let stand in a bowl. Add the chicken broth, carrots and salt to the liquid in the pot, and bring to a boil.

Mix the dumpling dough. Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a small bow. Mix well. Add the milk and stir until well combined. Add the dumplings, one at a time, to the boiling liquid. I dropped them by teaspoonfuls. They will expand as they cook.

Simmer the dumplings for ten minutes, uncovered, then cover and simmer for 10 additional minutes.

While the dumplings are cooking, dice the chicken. Add to the soup pot when the dumplings are cooked. Stir and heat through. Remove bay leaves, add freshly ground pepper to taste and serve.

~~Rhonda

Not hard to make, at all. If your family and/or friends like tacos, burritos, Tex-Mex, etc., they will enjoy this. And I must say, as good as they were, they were even better the next day. Next time I make them, I will consider baking them ahead of time, then reheating in the oven or microwave to serve.

The original recipe, as far as I can tell, was a prize winning recipe at Taste of Home. I’m not a member of the site, so couldn’t access the recipe. I found it on the Noble Pig site, where it had been adapted a bit. I adapted it a little more, so here’s my version.

Tacoritos

3 T. butter
3 T. all-purpose flour
3 cups water
1 T. chili powder [Original recipe called for 3 T. chili powder...I used one tablespoon and added 2 T. cumin for a little less heat.]
2 T. ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. dry onion flakes (or you can use fresh onion, diced, 1/2 c. – 1 c.)
1 lb. ground beef [I used the leanest available.]
1 lb. bulk pork sausage [I used Jimmy Dean regular.]
1 16 oz. can refried beans
8 flour tortillas (8 inch)
3 c. (12 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese [I used sliced pepper-jack and sliced provolone, as that's what I had on hand.]

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour until smooth. Allow to cook for a minute or two to cook the flour.

Whisk while gradually adding the water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Stir in chili powder, cumin, minced garlic, and dry onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the beef and sausage [and onion, if using fresh] until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in refried beans; heat through. You can make the filling with beef only, if you like, but I must say that the addition of sausage to the filling is much better than beef alone.

Spread 1/4 cup sauce in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

Spread a tablespoon of sauce on a tortilla; place 2/3 cup meat mixture down the center. Top with a 1/4 cup cheese.

Roll tortilla and place seam side down in prepared dish. Repeat until eight tortillas are done. My pan isn’t quite 9×13, so they are rather crowded.

Pour remaining sauce over the top; sprinkle with remaining cheese. I used slices, as that’s what I had. Worked just fine.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

After 20 minutes, I turned the oven off and left the tacoritos in the oven until DH came home from work…maybe 30 minutes. They were perfect.

~~Rhonda

Crunchy Baked Pork Chops Click the link for the original recipe. I made a couple of minor changes.

salt
4 boneless center-cut pork chops, 6 to 8 ounces each, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
4 slices bread, cubed [I used homemade.]
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons) [I omitted this, as DH is allergic to onions.]
3 medium garlic cloves, minced [I used about 1/4 tsp. garlic powder.]
2 T. vegetable oil [I used olive oil.]
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
2 T. minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 large egg whites [I used two.]
3 T. Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350*.

Dissolve salt in a quart of water and submerge the pork chops. [I used a zippered plastic storage bag.] Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Rinse well and pat dry with paper towels.

Using a food processor, pulse the bread till small crumbs are formed.

Transfer crumbs to a baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. Cool and toss crumbs with Parmesan, thyme, and parsley.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can toast bread slices in a low oven until dry, place them in a zippered plastic storage bag and crush till they’ve turned into crumbs. Toss with the other bread crumb ingredients. Nicely browned and crispy.

Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined; add remaining 6 tablespoons flour and whisk until almost smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.

Increase oven temperature to 425*. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 chops. [I don't have a pan with a rack, so I just placed the pork chops in a greased baking dish which worked fine.]

Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150 degrees, 17 to 25 minutes. Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

Delicious. Next time I’m going to try the coating with chicken instead of pork chops. I’m sure it will be just as good.

I’ll post the Creamy Mushroom Bake and the spinach/cashew recipe soon. Both were delicious.

~~Rhonda

Chicken Tortellini Soup

2 large chicken breasts, thawed if previously frozen (or 2 c. cooked diced chicken)
stock pot with enough water to cover the chicken breasts
1 c. celery, diced
1 c. carrots, diced
1 onion diced [I used 1 T. dry onion flakes.]
1 T. celery seed
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp. freshly minced thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dry thyme)
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 c. chicken broth
12 oz. cheese tortellini pasta [I used dry pasta.]
1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped
3 c. spinach leaves, chopped
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes (do not drain)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan for garnish, optional

Put the chicken, celery, carrots, onion, celery seed, basil, thyme and garlic in the stock pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a bare simmer, cover, and cook the chicken for 15 minutes. Check internal temperature. Chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165*. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, the chicken is done when the juices run clear. Cutting into the thickest part of the chicken should show white meat, with no pink.

Remove chicken and let it rest for ten minutes before dicing it. If using chicken that has already been cooked, simmer the veggies and spices in the stockpot with 2 or 3 inches of water until tender, then proceed from here:

Add the chicken stock to the water and veggies. Bring to rolling boil and add the pasta. Cook for about half the time recommended. Remove from heat. The pasta will continue to cook in the hot liquid.

Dice the chicken and return it to the pot.

Add the parsley, spinach and crushed tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.

Serve hot with crusty bread. Sprinkle a little grated Parmesan on top each bowl, if desired. A crisp Romaine salad would be good with it.

After the soup sits, the pasta will soak up a lot of the moisture. If you want your soup with more liquid, add more. Water, broth, or tomato juice/sauce would work fine.

Enjoy! ~~Rhonda

Stuffed Shells Florentine [Click the link for the original recipe.]

1 12-oz box jumbo shells for stuffing
3 c. spaghetti sauce
3 c. fresh spinach, chopped
24 oz. Ricotta or cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. chopped parsley
salt to taste
2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided

[If you don't have spaghetti sauce, you can use crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. Sprinkle some dried oregano and basil over it for a some Italian flavor.]

While the water heats for the pasta, prepare your ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 375*. Grease a 9×13 baking dish. Spread a bit of sauce in the bottom of the pan.

Cook the pasta until al dente. It will continue to cook in the oven, so don’t cook it too soft at this stage. Drain.

While the pasta cooks, give the spinach a rough chop, toss it into a skillet and heat it for a few minutes, stirring a few times. No need to add oil. The water in the spinach will steam it. Don’t take it down to a total wilt. A few minutes of tossing in the skillet will do it. Remove from heat.

Mix the ricotta and the eggs until smooth.

Add the Parmesan, spinach, parsley, salt, and 1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese. Stir till well mixed.

Stuff the shells. I use a small scoop and overfill it slightly. Perfect size.

Put the shells in the 9×13 pan. My pan was a touch smaller, so I layered the extra shells on top. Worked just fine. If making two layers, spread a bit of sauce between the layers. When all the shells are stuffed and in the pan, pour the rest of the sauce on top.

Top the sauce with the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Cover loosely with foil, and bake at 375* for 30 minutes.

I served it with steamed sugar snap peas and toasted homemade bread, topped with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and broiled until the cheese melted.

~~Rhonda

Hearty Ham Casserole
The changes I made are shown in bold.

2. c. cooked cubed potatoes
2 c. cooked cubed ham
1 fifteen ounce can of whole kernel golden corn, drained
1/4 c. fresh parsley (optional)
1/4 c. butter [I left this out of this part.]
1 T. chopped onion or green onion or leeks [I used 1 T. dry onion flakes.]

Sauce [I used my own recipe for the sauce portion.]
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Mix the casserole ingredients together in a large bowl.

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until combined. Cook for a few minutes before whisking in the milk. Whisk until thickened. Remove from heat.

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Add the cheese and stir to melt.

Stir the cheese sauce into the ham mixture. Pour into a greased casserole dish and bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

I tried this recipe as a soup a week later, by adding milk to the recipe. It was good, too, but we liked the casserole better and we’ll be having it again.

~~Rhonda

I made the buns with my regular bread recipe. The original sandwich recipe called for seasoning the chicken with poultry seasoning, which I did not do. It just didn’t sound good to me. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper.

Bacon-Provolone Chicken Sandwich Click the link for the original recipe.
Serves six.

2 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves (or six small)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Olive Oil or Canola Oil [I actually used peanut oil.]
6 rolls, split [I used three, as I was serving three people.]
6 strips cooked bacon, cut in half before cooking [I used three.]
6 slices provolone cheese [I used three.]
lettuce [I used a spring mix, but Romaine would be good, too.]
mayonnaise
sliced onion, optional [I omitted this.]

Cut the chicken breasts in half [the ones from Butcher's Block are huge], then cut the larger end piece horizontally. Two large breasts will make enough for six sandwiches. We used three pieces for supper and had three leftover for lunches. If the chicken is thick, you can place it between plastic wrap and pound it flatter, so it cooks more evenly.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet till crispy. Set aside. Drain the extra grease off, then add a bit of olive oil to the skillet. Of course, you can just fry the chicken in the bacon grease if you like, but I prefer the healthier oil with just a hint of the bacon flavor left in the pan. If you’re going for A LOT healthier, you can leave the bacon out altogether.

Fry the chicken on both sides until done, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Don’t overcook it or it will dry, but be sure it is cooked thoroughly. I used my instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature. Perfect!

About.com says “Chicken should be cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees F. The meat will continue to cook after it’s removed from the heat; the internal temperature will rise about 5-10 degrees in the first few minutes it’s off the heat.”

Set the roll halves (cut side up) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. On the bottoms of the rolls, layer two bacon halves, chicken and cheese. Broil them and the roll tops (cut side up) 4-6 in. from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted. [You could do this in a toaster oven, if you have one.]

Top with lettuce (and onion, if desired). Spread mayonnaise on cut side of roll tops; replace tops, and serve.

We had oven fried potato wedges and seedless red grapes with our supper. Everyone thought the sandwiches were delicious, and the potato wedges (which we’ve had before) were greeted with enthusiasm!

~~Rhonda

Hearty Lentil Soup

3 slices bacon (cut into 1/4 inch pieces)
1 large onion, chopped fine (about 1 1/2cup) [DH is allergic to onions, so I substituted 2 T. dry onion flakes.]
1 c. celery, diced [I added this for a bit of bulk because I left out the onions.]
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 T.)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained [I used a 29 oz. can of crushed tomatoes.]
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
1 cup (7oz) lentils du puy [I used a 16 oz. bag of brown lentils, as this is all that was available in our store.]
2 c. diced ham [I added this to the original recipe.]
1tsp. salt [I used maybe 1/4 tsp. salt because I added ham to the recipe and it contains salt.]
ground black pepper
1/2 c. dry white wine [I omitted this.]
4 1/2 c. chicken broth [I used 48 oz. chicken stock.]
1 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
3 T. minced fresh parsley leaves

Fry bacon in large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add onions, celery, and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes.

Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf, dry onion, and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in lentils, ham, salt, and pepper to taste; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until vegetables are softened and lentils have darkened, 8 to 10 minutes.

Uncover, increase heat to high, add wine, and bring to simmer.

Add chicken broth and water; bring to boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, 30 to 35 minutes; discard bay leaf.

Puree 3 cups soup in blender until smooth, then return to pot; stir in vinegar and heat soup over medium-low until hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons parsley and serve, garnishing each bowl with some of the remaining parsley.

The balsamic vinegar is a great addition to this soup, adding wonderful flavor. I also liked the addition of the ham, but you can certainly leave that out, if you prefer.

This made a large pot of soup and we’ll have plenty of delicious leftovers. ~~Rhonda