Grandma Glo pancakes

 

Brownie Batter Muddy Buddies

 We had a game night and I made these and put pretzels and m and ms in it along with seven layer taco dip.  It was great. The only problem I had was that I put in the whole brownie mix instead of what the recipe called for so I had to shake some powder off at the end. 

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/brownie-batter-puppy-chow/

French Bread

 I have always been afraid to make this but shouldn't have been. It was so yummy! I double and took two loaves with costco lasagna to sick neighbors. They loved it. https://www.melskitchencafe.com/french-bread/

Fruit Salad

 This was so yummy! I can't remember the combo I did anymore.  So sad but I think I did canned pineapple, defrosted frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries or mixed berries, and ?? marshmallows?? Grapes?  I can't remember at all. so sad. https://www.melskitchencafe.com/fruit-salad-with-creamy-glazed-dressing-my-favorite-fruit-salad/

Thanksgiving Food

 We did a turkey.  We don't like meat that much except for homemade turkey soup and this meal  https://www.melskitchencafe.com/the-best-leftover-turkey-soup/  Thinking next year, lets just do a breast.  Nobody wants to cut turkey after a day of cooking and clean up. 

2021 we made turkey, heatable mashed potatoes from costco--(best decision!), green bean casserole, orange jello with marshmallows, veggie tray from costco and olives, stuffing from Mrs. Cubbison's box (I love it every year. It tastes good because you add your own celery and onion with butter. ),  one of Margaret's butternut squashes, and I tried these rolls.  I loved them because I love pumpkin and rosemary. They were soft and I think I would make them again another time in the fall but probably not for thanksgiving. We crave white, buttery, fluffy rolls on Thanksgiving. If I could make again, I probably would have done these https://www.melskitchencafe.com/buttery-cornmeal-crescent-rolls/

We did candy houses the day after because they took so long to assemble! After you use royal icing to put together you have to let them dry which takes time. If don't have time, might need to hot glue.  I used a lot more icing than I thought. It went really fast.  I can't remember for sure but I am pretty sure that I used the recipe with the egg whites that Katie posted on here a while back and this one with meringe powder https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/royal-icing/  I think they both worked fine. 

Lentil Chili Instant Pot or Slow Cooker and the Best Cornbread Muffins

 This was so good and so easy!! I didn't put any beef in it. I made it in the instant pot along with some of these corn bread muffins. I made them all white flour and they tasted like a muffin. https://www.melskitchencafe.com/vegetarian-lentil-chili-instant-pot/

https://www.blessthismessplease.com/the-best-cornbread-recipe/#tasty-recipes-25444

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound lean ground beef or turkey, optional
• ½ cup chopped yellow or white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 ½ cups (about 340-397 grams) brown lentils, rinsed, picked through and drained
• 1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and small diced
• 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• All the chili toppings your heart desires

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Instant Pot: Using the saute function, brown the ground turkey/beef (if using) with the onions and garlic, breaking up the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Drain any excess grease.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, lentils, green bell pepper, chili powder, brown sugar, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Secure the lid. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes (if you are impatient, you can quick release right away, but liquid may sputter through the valve). After 10 minutes, quick release the remaining pressure.
• Stir the chili and add any additional broth if you want to thin out the consistency (it will thicken as it cools). Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve with any and all chili toppings your heart desires.
• Stovetop: In a 5- or 6-quart pot over medium heat, brown the ground turkey/beef (if using) with the onions and garlic, breaking up the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Drain any excess grease.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, lentils, green bell pepper, chili powder, brown sugar, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 30-40 minutes until the lentils are tender, stirring occasionally and moderating heat so the chili doesn’t burn on the bottom.
• Add additional broth, if desired, to thin out the chili. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve with any and all chili toppings your heart desires.
• Slow Cooker: In a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium heat, brown the ground turkey/beef (if using) with the onions and garlic, breaking up the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Drain any excess grease.
• Add the ground meat to the insert of a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, lentils, green bell pepper, chili powder, brown sugar, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper.
• Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir the chili, and add any additional broth if you want to thin out the consistency (it will thicken as it cools). Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve with any and all chili toppings your heart desires.

Cornbread Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup neutral oil or melted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup milk

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or cast iron skillet well and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine well.
3. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add your oil or butter, milk, and egg. Stir just until the mixture comes together and there are only a few lumps remaining.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Serve hot.

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NOTES

• You can make it it in a 9-inch round cake pan, square baking dish, or 9-inch cast iron skillet. Bonus! You can also make these into muffins or double the recipe and toss it in a 9×13-inch baking pan. You’ll just need to adjust the baking time if you are making muffins or doubling the batch. Muffins take around 15 minutes to bake and a doubled recipe takes 35-40 minutes to bake.
• Use yellow cornmeal in this recipe. White works fine, but it just doesn’t look the same. Golden yellow cornbread is a must. Also, don’t try to sub any of the cornmeals used for making tamales – they are a different grind and the texture doesn’t come out the same.
• To make this recipe gluten free simple sub the all-purpose flour for a gluten free 1:1 baking flour.

Christmas Food 2021

 I loved the food this Christmas.  On Christmas Eve, we did a "dinner in Bethlehem"  I had my kids decorate with candles, turned off the lights, put a tablecloth under and over our ottoman, listened Tabernacle Choir Christmas music, and got my kids dressed in Bethlehem clothes.  It was so fun and my kids thought it was pretty special.  It was the easiest meal to prepare.  We had my mom's homemade grape juice (in the kitchen, after they ate), raisins, grapes, nut cups, cheese cubes, olives, costco veggie tray, Hummus?, buttered nan bread, and Mark cooked some fish that was preseasoned too. I think we also ate pumpkin bread that my neighbor dropped off that morning. Afterwards we had a live nativity, unwrapped sibling gifts and jammies, and wrote notes to Santa.  I think we may have had hot chocolate for dessert. 

That night, I made up the breakfast casserole with tater tots from mels using ham and the sticky buns.  I did mom's recipe on here with instant pudding.  I think it turned out the same? Didn't notice any difference. The sticky buns definitely need a tray underneath or less rolls in it because it overflowed again. I had enough ingredients to do this same breakfast meal again for new years eve breakfast and just used the leftover rolls in the bag from Rhodes. Since there were less rolls, it didn't overflow and drip.  Next year if we want to repeat the breakfast for new years, I think I would just split up a normal bag of rhodes in half for each breakfast. I did the same amount of sugar/nut mix on both breakfasts.  I went a little pecan happy the second time. It wasn't as good. I think I also found another recipe from six sisters stuff that dispersed the mix more on bottom and top. I liked that instead of putting it all in at once. I am pretty sure I did all the singredients and other steps from mom's recipe though. It's on this blog under christmas from 2020.  https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/gooey-caramel-breakfast-pull-apart/#wprm-recipe-container-92356

We had hot chocolate for dessert if we had anything? 

For breakfast we had: sticky buns (buy two pudding packets at Thanksgiving for christmas and new years), tater tot breakfast casserole, oranges with powdered sugar, and egg nog--best is normal watered down with oat milk or oat nog (have to get early or they run out. 

Lunch: I don't think we had any except for some cheese and crackers? I think I got out the veggie tray too 

Dinner: Mark cooked up some steak and I think we did au gratin potatoes from costco, Bundt Rolls, peas, Cranberry fluff salad  (this was good and tasted more like dessert. 

I made a chocolate cream pie from the Betty Crocker cookbook.  Just like the year before, no one wants dessert on Christmas. Next year, I vote finding a special hot chocolate recipe and having the ingredients on hand in case someone wants something or save a special treat the neighbors give for that night in case, or something really really easy like mels frozen hot chocolate and stick a storebought pepperrmint cookie in it or something. Do yourself a favor and go simple. Could do something earlier in season and freeze extras for that night.