camp food...indoors

Last night we sort of had an indoor camping night...so fun! So naturally, the food we ate revolved around that theme. You have to try Paula Deen's Sure Fire No Fire Smores!! They are made in the oven and I even like them better than the campfire kind! And of course we had my favorite (thus far) hobo dinner. Everything done in our oven.

Here is the link to Paula Deen's Smores: http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/sure_fire_no_fire_smores/

And here is our campfire bundles (adapted from a recipe I got out of some magazine)

1 large white onion
1 each large green, red and yellow bell peppers
5 red potatoes, sliced about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
1 package fully cooked kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1/2 C butter
salt and pepper

Place vegetables in order listed on three pieces of double layered heavy duty foil (so this recipe makes 3 large pouches). Add sausage and dot with butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold foil around the mixture and seal tightly.
Grill: Grill, covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes. Turn and grill 30 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender.
Campfire: Place it into the coals. It does not take all that long to cook. Sorry, I can't remember the exact time.
Oven: We cooked it last night at 375 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes, maybe a smidge longer until the potatoes were ready.

buttermilk #4--bran muffins that are delicious!

I confess I didn't finish off my buttermilk before it expired! But I can share one more buttermilk recipe that I love! Oh, and there is also a buttermilk pie recipe that I have already shared in a past entry. These muffins are not your typical dry, dense bran muffins. They are moist, fluffy and are delicious with a nice pat of butter! Thanks to Robyn Harris sharing it with me back in our missionary days!

Bran Muffins

1/2 C shortening
1 1/4 C sugar
2 eggs
2 C buttermilk
2 1/2 C flour
2 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 C Kellogg's All Bran

Pour 1 C boiling water over 2 C all bran and let cool. Mix all ingreadients together and place in greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. This batter can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks.

buttermilk #3--dill buttermilk bread

Here is a new recipe I tried with buttermilk, and the verdict is....it's . I got it off of recipe zaar. You can see it below or check it out on their site at http://www.recipezaar.com/Dill-Buttermilk-Bread-636 .



Dill Buttermilk Bread



Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, PLUS
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup fresh dill
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Directions
1Preheat oven to 350 F.
2Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, dill, baking soda, salt and pepper in a bowl.
3Add buttermilk a little at a time until a soft dough forms.
4Turn into a greased 9 inch by 5 inch (2 litre) loaf pan.
5Bake for 50 minutes or until loaf is golden brown.
6Serve warm; reheat when needed.

buttermilk #2--creamy tomatillo salad dressing

I found this recipe on recipelink.com a while back when I was looking for a copycat for Cafe Rio's salad dressing. Thanks to whoever it was that came up with it! We have used it several times and loved it! You can use it to top a Mexican style green salad with chicken, black beans, and tortilla strips or whatever is your taste. **I can't remember if I add sugar in it or not. I want to say that I don't, or if I do it is just a little.

Cafe Rio's Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing
Place the following in a blender:
3 fresh tomatillos, cut into quarters
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup buttermilk (or make w/dry buttermilk mix)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package of dry Ranch Buttermilk Dressing
Mix1 cup fresh cilantro (abt. one bunch)
5 stalks (1/2 bunch) of green onions w/ends
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed cayenne pepper
4 tsp. sugar or other sweetener

Combine all ingredients and blend in a blender.

buttermilk week...and banana bread

Get ready...it is going to be a buttermilk week! I can't stand to drink the stuff, but I love to bake with it. My motto...everything is better with buttermilk. I made banana bread a couple of days ago and now I have the rest of the jug of buttermilk sitting in the fridge, and for once I intend on using it all...yeah! So I hope to post some of my faves and maybe a new finding of recipes that use buttermilk.
This really is the best banana bread recipe I know. Thanks to Tiffin Clark for sharing. My only wish is that it made more bread! ;) Or does anyone know how to convert a recipe so that you could use regular sized pans instead? Just curious...

Banana bread

1 1/2 C sugar
3/4 C butter
2 eggs
1/4 t salt
2 C flour
1/2 C buttermilk
1 t vanilla
1 C nuts (opt.-I have never used them)
1 t baking soda
3-4 medium sized super ripe bananas

Cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs. Dissolve baking soda into buttermilk. Mix flour, salt, and buttermilk with butter and sugar mixture. Add bananas and vanilla. Pour into 4 small greased loaf pans. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.

oven roasted potatoes

Oven Roasted Potatoes

2 lbs. small unpeeled red potatoes, cut into wedges
2-3 T olive or vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T chopped fresh rosemary or 1 t dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Place potatoes in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking pan. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper; toss gently to coat. Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork. Yield: 6-8 servings.
* I almost always use more oil than it calls for and for me, it takes a little longer to cook. So just keep checking it. :)

Frog Eye Fruit Salad

Sounds gross, I know, but it was always one of my favorites growing up! Fluffy, fruity, and a fun texture!

Frog Eye Fruit Salad

1 C sugar
2 T flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 C pineapple juice
3 egg yolks
1 box acini de pepe pasta
2 pkg (8 oz) Cool Whip
2 cans (20 oz) crushed pineapple (drained; use some of reserved juice as listed above)
4 small cans mandarin oranges (drained)
mini marshmallows
marachino cherries, cut in halves
sliced bananas

Combine first 5 ingredients into a pot and cook until thick. Let cool. In the meantime, cook your pasta according to box directions. When done, drain the pasta and add to your already cooked mixture. Add Cool Whip and crushed pineapple and mix well. Add mandarin oranges, marshmallows, cherries and bananas to your salad.