Beef Marinade

Ingredients:

-1 cup soy sauce

-1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

-2 Tbs. brown sugar

-1/2 tsp. ground ginger

-4 garlic cloves, minced

-Mix ingredients in a bag with beef; marinate for 1 1/2 hours

Calico Beans

Ingredients:

-1/2 lb. ground beef
-1 medium onion, chopped fine
-1/2 lb. bacon, cooked, cooled, broken into bite sized pieces, add at the end
-1 qt. can Pork & Beans (Dad uses Bush's baked beans)
-1 can red kidney beans, rinsed 
-1 can butter/lima beans, rinsed
-1/2 cup ketchup
-2 Tbs. vinegar (Dad uses Texas Fig Vinegar)
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup white sugar
-1 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. mustard 

1. Cook bacon, cool and break into bite sized pieces. 
2. Finely chop onion, cook until translucent. Set aside.

3. Brown the ground beef and drain.

4. Rinse and drain the kidney beans and lima beans.

5. Mix in all the ingredients and heat through for about 30 minutes.

Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Bread

This is the mother of the pull-apart bread recipes. It is a must-try!

1 H-Active time

3 H, 45 M-Total time

Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf

INGREDIENTS

• For the sweet yeast dough
• About 2 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) instant yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup (2 1/2 fluid ounces) whole milk
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• For the lemon paste pie filling
• 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (3 lemons)
• 1 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• For the tangy cream cheese icing
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup (1 1/4 ounce) powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

• Make the sweet yeast dough
• 1. Stir together 2 cups (9 ounces) of the flour, the sugar, the yeast, and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter over low heat just until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat, add the water, and set aside until warm (120 to 130°F [49 to 54°C]), about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract.
• 2. Pour the milk mixture over the flour-yeast mixture and, using a rubber spatula, mix until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Attach the bowl to the mixer, and fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition just until incorporated. Stop the mixer, add 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) of the remaining flour, and resume mixing on low speed until the dough is smooth, 30 to 45 seconds. Add 2 more tablespoons flour and mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth, soft, and slightly sticky, about 45 seconds.
• 3. Sprinkle a work surface with 1 tablespoon flour and center the dough on the flour. Knead gently until smooth and no longer sticky, about 1 minute, adding an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons flour only if necessary to lessen the stickiness. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover the bowl securely with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm place (about 70°F [21°C]) until doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for the next step. While the dough is rising, make the filling.
• Make the lemon paste filling
• 4. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and the lemon and orange zests. Set the sandy-wet mixture nearby (the sugar draws out moisture from the zests to create the consistency).
• Make the coffee cake
• 5. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan. Or, lightly coat the pan with nonstick spray.
• 6. Gently deflate the dough. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 20-by-12-inch rectangle. Using a pastry brush spread the melted butter generously over the dough. Cut the dough crosswise into 5 strips, each about 12 by 4 inches. (A pizza cutter is helpful here.) Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the zest-sugar mixture over one of the buttered rectangles. Top with a second rectangle and sprinkle it with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the zest-sugar mixture. Repeat with the remaining dough rectangles and zest-sugar mixture, ending with a stack of 5 rectangles. Work carefully when adding the crumbly zest filling, or it will fall off when you have to lift the stacked pastry later.
• 7. Slice the stack crosswise through the 5 layers to create 6 equal strips, each about 4 by 2 inches. Fit these layered strips into the prepared loaf pan, cut edges up and side by side. (While there is plenty of space on either side of the 6 strips widthwise in the pan, fitting the strips lengthwise is tight. But that’s fine because the spaces between the dough and the sides of the pan fill in during baking.) Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place (70 °F [21°C]) until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for baking.
• 8. Bake the coffee cake until the top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Make the tangy cream cheese icing
• 9. In a medium bowl, using a rubber spatula, vigorously mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the milk and lemon juice until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
• 10. To remove the coffee cake from the pan, tilt and rotate the pan while gently tapping it on a counter to release the cake sides. Invert a wire rack on top of the coffee cake, invert the cake onto the rack, and carefully lift off the pan. Invert another rack on top, invert the cake so it is right side up, and remove the original rack.
• 11. Slip a sheet of waxed paper under the rack to catch any drips from the icing. Using a pastry brush, coat the top of the warm cake with the icing to glaze it. (Cover and refrigerate the leftover icing for another use. It will keep for up to 2 days.)
• 12. Serve the coffee cake warm or at room temperature. To serve, you can pull apart the layers, or you can cut the cake into 1-inch-thick slices on a slight diagonal with a long, serrated knife. If you decide to cut the cake, don’t attempt to cut it until it is almost completely cool

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Yield: 2 Loaves

  
 Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/8 cup canola oil
• 2 ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½ cup milk 
• 3 cup flour
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp. almond flavoring
• 1 ½ tsp. butter flavoring
• 1 ½ Tbs. poppy seeds

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Lightly grease two loaf pans
• Beat eggs, oil, and sugar together
• Sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Add alternately with milk to the egg mixture. 
• Add both flavorings and poppy seeds 
• Pour into pans and bake for one hour
• Let cool

Glaze:

*Mix together in this order

• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• ¼ cup orange juice
• ½ tsp. butter flavoring
• ½ tsp. almond flavoring
• ½ tsp. vanilla

*Spoon over cooled bread 

Tropical Muffins

Yield: 1 dozen 

Ingredients:

-1 ⅓ cups flour

-1 cup oats

-1 tsp. baking powder

-½ tsp. baking soda

-½ tsp. salt

-1 cup mashed ripe banana

-1 cup buttermilk

-½ cup packed brown sugar

-2 Tbs. canola oil

-1 tsp. vanilla

-1 egg

-½ cup canned crushed pineapple

in juice, drained

-⅓ cup flaked sweetened coconut

-3 Tbs. finely chopped pecans, toasted

Topping:

-2 Tbs. flaked sweetened coconut

-1 Tbs. finely chopped pecans

-1 Tbs. granulated sugar

-1 Tbs. oats

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees

-Combine flour (lightly spooned into measuring cups) and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of flour mixture. Combine banana and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in pineapple, ⅓ up coconut, and 3 Tbs. nuts. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cup coated with cooking spray. 

-To prepare topping, combine 2 Tbs. coconut and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. 

-Sprinkle about 1 tsp. of topping over each muffin. Bake for 18 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in the center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack. 

Blueberry and Cottage Cheese Muffins

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen

-2 1/3 cups flour
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 Tbs. baking powder
-Pinch of salt
-2 eggs
-4 Tbs. oil
-1 1/4 cups milk
-1/2 cup cottage cheese 
-2 cups blueberries
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with a spoon. 
-In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil, milk, and cottage cheese with a whisk until
smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir until nearly combined. Fold in the blueberries, but do not over mix. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove pan from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the muffins and cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

Makes 12-15 muffins 

 -1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

 -1 1/4 cups oats
 -1 tsp baking powder
 -1/2 tsp baking soda 
 -1/4 tsp salt
 -1/2 tsp cinnamon
 -1 cup unsweetened applesauce
 -1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
 -1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
 -2 tbsp canola oil
 -1 large egg, lightly beaten
 -3/4 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

 -Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
 -Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases or spray with nonstick cooking spray. 
 -In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. 
 -In a medium bowl combine applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil and egg. Make a well in dry ingredients   and add applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. Fold in blueberries. 
 -Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes.

This recipe is from Joy the Baker.