Quick Elephant Ears (Funnel Cakes)

One of my fondest memories growing up was going to the amusement park every fall for Procter and Gamble day (my grandpa worked  for p&g and got tickets). At the end of the night, my parents would buy an elephant ear (or two) to share and we'd walk out to the car and eat it while watching the fire works.
Every time I eat an elephant ear I go back to those 'good ol' days'.
1-1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Oil for frying
Powder Sugar
Mix together all of the dry ingredients. Mix together all the wet ingredients, now mix the dry into the wet. Heat oil (enough oil so that the batter will float ) to 375 (if it's to cool the cakes will absorb lots of oil, to hot and they will brown of the outside but be doughy inside) in a sauce pan. Take a funnel (or a large spoon) and drizzle the batter into the hot oil. Cook till the down side is golden/dark brown then flip cook until that side is done. Place on cookie wrack (to help oil drip off) cool for a few moments then sprinkle with powder sugar and enjoy!!

With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Loaded Potato Soup

I don't have a picture for this soup, and I don't really have measurements for this soup either, I never measure. This soup is all to your taste, but I'll try my best to give it measurements; just remember you can adjust it to your taste.
8 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 small onion, diced
4 cups milk (you may want more or less)
3 oz package of bacon-bits, (desired amount, I tend to use just half)
2-3 cuts sharp cheddar cheese (or more if you like)
salt and pepper to taste
Boil the potatoes and onion until the potatoes are soft. Drain and mash the potatoes with the milk until you reach desired thickness (if you like chunky soup don't mash the potatoes to much, if you like it creamy then mash away!) Add the remaining ingredients and enjoy!
With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Cottage Cheese Rolls

1 cup butter
2 cups flour
2 cups cottage cheese
Mix everything together and chill over night.
Preheat oven to 350. Divide the dough into 3 balls and roll out (like a pie crust). Cut into wedges and roll up, starting at the wide end rolling towards the small point (like crescent rolls). Bake for 30-40 minutes. The inside of these rolls will remain somewhat moist and raw looking.
Dip these scrumptious rolls in honey and enjoy!

With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Paneer/Queso Blanco/Farmers Cheese

Sorry for the blurry picture.

1 gallon of goats milk
1/2 cup vinegar (I used white, but you can use cider if you want-I've read where people don't even measure they just add vinegar until they see the milk curdling.)
2 tsp salt

Quick instructions: Heat the milk to a slow boil, stirring to make sure that it doesn't burn. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vinegar, a little at a time, keep stirring! Next, strain your curds & whey through a cheesecloth-lined colander. After straining sprinkle the salt over the curds and massage it in thoroughly. Twist the cheese cloth around the curds and squeeze out the whey. Next hang the cheese ball with a bowl underneath to collect the drippings.

More detailed instructions. 
On the stove top, heat the milk until it's at a slow boil (200*) stirring frequently so it does not burn. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vinegar, a little at a time, keep stirring! The acidity of the vinegar will curdle the milk, separating it into curds and whey. Wait an hour or two, then remove the cheese from the cheese cloth and refrigerate.
Remember Miss Muffet, who sat on the tuffet?  This is what she was eating.
Next, strain your curds & whey through a cheesecloth-lined colander. You want to use real cheese cloth, not the kind you get from the grocery store. That cloth isn't as finely woven. Unfortunately, that's the only type of cheese cloth I had. So, In addition to have the cheesecloth-lined colander I placed a coffee filter onto of the cheese cloth.
Now here's where it gets fun, after straining sprinkle the salt over the curds and massage it in thoroughly.  This draws out moisture, and helps the cheese become more solid (if you want a more soft, ricotta-like cheese you can just omit the salt).  You can also add extra herbs and spices now, or roll the cheese in spices after it has solidified - or both!
Twist the cheese cloth around the curds and squeeze out the whey. Next hang the cheese ball with a bowl underneath (or, if you're like me and don't have anything to hang it from, you can leave it in the colander above a bowl). If you want you can also put the wrapped cheese on a sloped surface (like a propped-up cutting board) and place another flat object on top, weighted down.  This will squeeze out excess moisture and give you a nice-looking cheese patty. For both methods wait a couple hours and the cheese will hold its shape when you unwrap the cheesecloth. Refrigerate.

As a note, it takes A LOT of milk to make A LITTLE cheese.
With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Pizza Dough

1-1/4 cup water
3 TBS oil
1 tsp. salt
4 cups flour (the original recipe called for bread flour...we never have bread flour)
1-2 tsp sugar (optional)
2-3 tsp yeast
Combine everything and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Grease a 9" pizza pan, then roll the pizza out, making sure the dough reaches the edges and that you create the "lip" or the outer puffy edge of the pizza. Bake in an oven at 400 or 425 degrees. Place in hot oven for 5 minutes without any toppings, remove from oven brush melted butter (you can do garlic butter) along the edge of the pizza, top with desired sauce (click here for my basic pizza sauce), cheese and toppings. Back 10 more minutes.

With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Though I've never (ever) been to Red Lobsters, and I can't really say if these tastes anything like the biscuits you get there, I can say yum, yum, yummy about these biscuits!!! These are so good and so quick to make, what's not to like!

2 1/2 cups baking mix
4 tablespoons cold butter
3/4 cup cold whole milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Melted Butter Topping
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
A pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Combine the baking mix with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or fork. You don't want to mix it too thoroughly... just until there are small chunks of butter about the size of peas. Add the cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, without over-mixing. Drop dough in approximately 1/4 cup mounds onto an ungreased baking sheet. An ice cream scoop or just two spoons works. They don't have to be perfect! Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

Remove the biscuits from the oven; and in a bowl melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and stir in the parsley flakes, garlic powder, and pinch of salt. Brush over the tops of the warm biscuits, using up all of the butter. 

 

With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Chocolate Eclair Cake

This 'cake' is so good! And what's even better is that it's really quick and easy to make! It doesn't take very many ingredients and most of them you probably already have in the pantry. 

2 pkg instant french vanilla pudding
3 cups cold milk
8 oz cool whip
graham crackers
In a 13X9 buttered pan, arrange the graham crackers in one layer to create the crust. Mix the pudding and milk & fold in the cool whip. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the crust. Cover with another layer of graham crackers. Spread 1/2 of the remaining pudding mixture, do another layer of graham crackers, then spread the remaining of the pudding mixture over top. Top with one more layer of graham crackers then spread the chocolate glaze over top (recipe below). Refrigerate for at least an hour-over night is best, you want the graham crackers to get soft.
Chocolate Glaze:
10 tbs coco powder
4 tbs soft butter
1 cup powder sugar
4 tbs corn syrup
6 tbs milk
2 tsp vanilla
Mix every thing together until smooth.


With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Freezer Pickles

Freezer pickles are nothing like pickles you're thinking of, these pickles are sweet. This recipe came from my MaMa's (great grandmother's) sister. These pickles are really good, nice and crunchy. I eat my straight from the jar and also as a side with a hamburger.

25 cucumbers thinly sliced
10 onions thinly sliced
1 cup salt
5-lbs of sugar (yes 5-lbs)
3 cups white vinegar
Ice water
In bowl mix together the cucumbers and onions, add the salt and enough ice water to just cover the top. Store in the fridge for 48 hours then drain off the water.
Using a stand or hand mixer, mix together the sugar and vinegar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. It'll take a while, you may be tempted to heat it a little, DON'T! 20 minutes is long enough even if the sugar still isn't fully dissolved. Pour the sugar mixture over the cucumbers and onions and put into freezer safe containers (we use 1 quart-wide mouth freezer safe-mason jars) and freeze. When ready for some freezer pickles set out a jar in the fridge the night before. Kept in the freezer or fridge these delicious pickles last a long time; though once offered at a bbq these guys will disappear!
This  recipe yield several quarts, so if you're not wanting to stock up, cut the recipe in half.

With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Brownie Fruit Pizza

This "pizza" is absolutely delicious!! The fresh fruit brownie combo is so good!
1 package chewy fudge brownie mix (one to fit a 13X9 pan)
1/2 cup chocolate chips  
1 tub thawed fat-free whipped topping 
3 cups fresh fruit and berries of choice (blueberries, grapes, kiwi, pineapple, strawberries etc.) 
Preheat the oven to 350, and grease a 15" pizza pan. Prepare the brownie mix according to box directions.
Stir in the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Spread over prepared pizza pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are set. Remove from oven and place onto wire rack and cool for 3 minutes; loosen edge of brownie crust from pan with knife; and let the brownie cool completely*. Spread the whipped topping over the brownie crust top with the fruit. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving. It'll keep in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap for up to two days.
*the brownie has to be made in advance, if you put cool whip onto a warm brownie it'll liquify and nobody wants a watery "sauce".

With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Cherry Coke Salad

1 can cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple (undrained)
2 small (or 1 large) cherry jello
1/2 cup water
1 cup coke
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup nuts (opt)
Boil water, sugar and pie filling for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the jello. Add pineapple, coke and nuts. Pour in a 9-by-13 cake pan. Chill until firm.

With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Zucchini Pie

4 cups sliced zucchini (about 3 average size zucchini)
1 container crescent rolls
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup margarine
2 TBS parsley flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
2 eggs, well beaten
8 oz mozzarella cheese
Yellow Mustard (if you don't like mustard, don't be afraid I hated mustard as a child and never knew that it was in this)
Preheat oven to 350.
Saute the zucchini and onion in margarine until softened, add all the seasonings. Mix together the cheese and eggs, and add the zucchini mixture.
In ungreased 10" pie plate or 8X12 pan, press the crescent rolls onto the bottom and side creating a crust. Spread around 2 tsp (more or less, we just 'squirt' some mustard on-no measuring, my sister hates mustard but loves to put a lot on zucchini pie) onto the crescent roll crust. Pour zucchini mixture into crust and bake 25-35 minutes until a knife comes out clean.
With hungry thoughts from the kitchen;
Gabrielle W.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31