Gruyère Popovers

Gruyère Popovers (Photo by Williams-Sonoma)

I love popovers!!!  The addition of Gruyère cheese makes these a great match for grilled Steak.  You can easily cut the recipe in half if you only have one popover pan.

Printable Recipe

Recipe by: Amy Bradt                                                                          Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
3 cups milk
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
6 eggs
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated

Directions
Place a 6-cup popover pan in the bottom third of an oven. Place a baking sheet on the rack underneath to catch any drips. Preheat the oven to 400º.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the milk until small bubbles form around the edges. Put the flour and salt in a fine-mesh sieve and sift onto a sheet of waxed paper. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the hot milk, whisking constantly so the eggs don’t cook, then gradually whisk in the flour mixture until almost smooth.
Remove the popover pan from the oven and spray the cups with nonstick vegetable spray. Fill the prepared cups about three-fourths full with batter and sprinkle each with 1/2 oz. cheese.
Return the pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees. Continue baking until the popovers are browned and puffed, 30 minutes more; do not open the oven after rotating the pan.
Invert the pan and remove the popovers. Serve immediately. Using a paper towel, wipe out the excess fat from the popover cups. Heat the pan in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Repeat to bake the remaining batter.  Makes 12 popovers.

Original recipe from: Williams Sonoma

Chicken Jalapeño Popper Tater Tot Casserole

Chicken Jalapeño Popper Tater Tot Casserole (Photo by Amy Bradt)

I definitely want my cousins to enter this into the annual Tater Tot Casserole contest in Minnesota, this is sooooo good!!

Printable Recipe

Recipe by: Amy Bradt                                                                          Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients
1 (30 ounce) bag frozen tater tots
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
16 ounces sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups Mexican shredded cheese, divided use
6 green onions, sliced
6 jalapeño peppers, seeds removed and diced
1/2 pound bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
1 rotisserie chicken, skinned, bones removed and shredded

Directions
Preheat oven to 425°. Spread tater tots evenly into the bottom a 9 x 13" baking dish. Bake tater tots for 15 minutes.
While tater tots are cooking, in a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese and sour cream. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Stir in half the shredded cheese,half the green onions, all of the diced jalapeño peppers and chicken and mix until well combined.
Once the tater tots have cooked for 15 minutes, remove pan from oven and spread the chicken/cream cheese mixture evenly on top of the tots.
Sprinkle with the rest of the shredded cheese & green onions and bacon.
Cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken Jalapeño Popper Tater Tot Casserole (Photo by Amy Bradt)

Notes
I changed this recipe up quite a bit from the original, as I thought it was WAY too salty and rich with both blocks of cream cheese.  I think this one is better, as I used 1/3 of the salt, and only 1/2 the bacon.

Original recipe from: The Country Cook

Pizza Spaghetti Casserole

Pizza Spaghetti Casserole (Photo by Southern Living)

Kids especially love this easy dinner.  Since it uses turkey pepperoni, it doesn't get greasy.  If you only have regular pepperoni, cook in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and drain on paper towels before adding to casserole.

Printable Recipe

Recipe by: Amy Bradt                                                                          Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (1-lb.) package mild or hot ground pork sausage
2 ounces turkey pepperoni slices (about 30), cut in half
1 (26-oz.) jar tomato-and-basil pasta sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (8-oz.) package shredded Italian three-cheese blend

Directions
Cook spaghetti with 1/2 tsp. salt according to package directions. Drain well, and place in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and set aside. Wipe skillet clean. Add pepperoni, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes or until slightly crisp.
Top spaghetti in baking dish with sausage; pour pasta sauce over sausage. Arrange half of pepperoni slices evenly over pasta sauce. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses. Arrange remaining half of pepperoni slices evenly over cheese. Cover with nonstick or lightly greased aluminum foil.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes; remove foil, and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.

Notes
You can freeze the unbaked casserole up to one month.  Just thaw overnight in the refrigerator; let stand 30 minutes at room temperature, and bake as directed.

Original recipe from: Southern Living

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies 
(Photo by Amy Bradt)

Great old-fashioned cookie recipe!!

Printable Recipe

Recipe by: Amy Bradt                                                                   Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease with non-stick vegetable oil spray.
Beat together the butter and sugars until smooth.  Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla one at a time, beating well after each.
Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and add to the butter mixture in the bowl. Mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and mix briefly.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a large cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2" to 2" between cookies.  Bake the cookies for 12 to 17 minutes, until they're a light golden brown, with slightly darker edges. Their middles may still look a tiny bit shiny; that's OK, they'll continue to bake as they cool on the pan.  Remove the cookies from the oven, and as soon as they're set enough to handle, transfer them to racks to cool.

Original recipe from: King Arthur Flour

Amish/Norwegian Broccoli Salad

My sister took a popular Pinterest recipe, changed it up a bit, and called it her own.  Very good side dish!!

Printable Recipe

Recipe by: Michelle Hanson                                                                Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 head broccoli, chopped

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 large carrot, grated
1/2 pound bacon, fried and crumbled
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar (start with 1/4 cup sugar, and then to taste)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Directions

Combine first six ingredients in large bowl.  In small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar & salt.  Pour over salad ingredients and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate at least one hour, or overnight.  Right before serving, add sunflower seeds and mix well.

Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

This is one of our favorite soup recipes, the nuttiness of the Wild rice really sets it off.

Printable Recipe

Recipe by: Amy Bradt & Judy Soyez                                                   Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup Minnesota wild rice
3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
2 (10.5 ounce) cans Campbell's condensed chicken broth
2 cans water, more if needed
1 pouch Success Rice, take out of bag
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 (10 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
1 (10.5 ounce) cans Campbell's cream of chicken soup
4 ounces Velveeta, cubed

Directions
Cook wild rice according to directions. Meanwhile, place chicken breasts, broth and enough water to cover chicken in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer over medium heat until tender, approximately 45 minutes. Remove chicken, reserving broth, then remove the skin and bones from the chicken and chop into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
Strain broth to remove any bones, return to pot. Add white rice, celery, onion and carrots, simmer until vegetables are tender and rice is done, about 15 minutes. Stir in wild rice, tomatoes, soup and Velveeta, and stir until cheese is completely melted. Add chicken, you may need to add some chicken bouillon for more taste, or another can of chicken broth or milk to thin if necessary.