Macaroni and Cheese - Jolene Monteath

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 cups elbow macaroni
• 2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• **2 (8-ounce) packages extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• **1 (8-ounce) package Monterey Jack cheese, grated
• Paprika, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt and macaroni. Cook until al dente according to package directions. Drain, and return to pot. Add butter, and toss until pasta is coated and butter has melted; set aside. 
   
   
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together evaporated milk, skim milk, and eggs. Add seasoned salt, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside. In another medium bowl, combine cheeses; set aside. 
3. Place 1/3 macaroni in an even layer in the bottom of prepared baking dish; cover evenly with 1/3 cheese. Repeat with remaining macaroni and cheese mixture. Pour milk mixture evenly over contents of baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake until top layer is lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
   
   
   **You can easily use less cheese and it's still cheesy delicious! Most of the time I do just a little over half that amount of cheese.  
   
   
   Recipe from Jolene (But really from John Legend)

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls - Jen D'haenens

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
Dissolve together 1 TBSP rapid rise yeast and 1C. warm water

Add following ingredients in order listed:
3 1/2 C. Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 C. Sugar
1 TBSP Butter, softened
1 Egg

You can put this in your bread machine on dough setting.  Or put in a stand mixer with the dough hook, and let it run for 10 min.  Or mix with your hands and then knead it on a well-floured surface for 10 min.  Let it rise in the bowl for 2 hours covered with cling wrap.  Spray your cling wrap with pam so it doesn't stick to the dough.

When it's done rising, knead it again for a few minutes with some extra flour.  Roll into a large rectangle.  I get mine to about 14"x 27".  Melt a stick of butter in a small dish.  Brush melted butter all over the dough. (You won't use nearly all the butter, you will use the rest later.)  Sprinkle brown sugar all over buttered dough, then spread it around with your hand to even it out and let that butter soak it up.  Sprinkle all over with cinnamon.

Roll dough little by little, starting from a long side.  When all rolled up, pinch the roll closed as best you can.  Use a string of floss to cut the log into 1" rolls.  (Slide the floss under the log and cross the ends of the string on top and pull through the dough.)

After you cut each roll, dip both open sides in the melted butter and place in a glass baking dish.  I pat each roll down a bit with my fingers.  Space them a little bit apart so they can double in size.  Cover the baking dish with cling wrap and let rise for 30 min.  Then bake at 350 for 15 min...watch them, they're done with they're lightly browned.

Only let them cool for a few minutes before you frost them so the frosting will melt down into them.  Of course you can use any frosting you like.  Lots of people like cream cheese frosting, but this one is my fave:

Frosting:
6 TBSP butter, softened
3 C. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2-4 TBSP milk

Recipe from Jen D'haenens

Black Bean and Corn Salsa - Shalyn Heath

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

1 can yellow corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
2-3 green onions, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2-3 TBSP lime juice
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Small amount of jalapeño- depending on how hot you like it
Dash of cumin

Gently mix all together, refrigerate for a couple hours, and serve with tortilla chips.


Recipe from Shalyn Heath

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche - Crystelle Grant

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche 6 slices bacon 6 eggs 1 cup half and half cream ¼ tsp ground nutmeg ½ tsp pepper 2 cups chopped fresh spinach 2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms ½ cup chopped onions 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (divided) 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (divided) 1 (9 inch) pie crust 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F 2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. 3. In a large bowl, whip together eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in bacon, spinach, mushrooms, onions, 3/4 cup Swiss cheese, and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Transfer to the pie crust. Top with remaining cheese. 4. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 35-45 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting.

Courtesy of Crystelle Grant

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

2 T oil

2 T brown sugar

1 t chili powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 t cyan pepper

2-3 large sweet potatoes

Chop potatoes.  Coat with seasoning and oil.  Bake uncovered for 40-45 min. at 400 degrees.

Courtesy of Kelli Gonzalez

Pecan Pie - Kelli Gonzalez

Pecan Pie

Crust:

1 C flour

1/3 C shortening

1/2 t salt

1/8 C cold water

Mix flour, shortening, salt.  Slowly add water.  Roll out and place in pie tin. 

Filling:

3 eggs

2/3 C sugar

1/2 t salt

1/3 C butter or margarine, melted

1 C dark or light corn syrup

1 C pecan halves or broken pecans

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Beat eggs, sugar, salt, butter, and syrup with rotary beater.  Stir in nuts.  Pour into pie shell.  Bake 40-50 min. or until filling is set.  

Courtesy of Kelli Gonzalez

Peaches and Cream Overnight French Toast - Jolene Monteath

Peaches and Cream Overnight French Toast

1 8oz. loaf French Bread
8 large Eggs
2 C. Milk
1/4 C. Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2  15oz. cans Sliced Peaches, drained
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 C. Heavy Cream

1. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange bread in a tight, flat layer in dish.

2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs with milk, sugar and vanilla until blended; pour over bread. Arrange peaches on top and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

3. Remove baking dish from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour cream into a small pan; bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Drizzle over peaches and bake, uncovered, until casserole is lightly browned on top and just cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Courtesy of Jolene Monteath