stuffed mushrooms

My own thrown together recipe for an appetizer that has become quite a favorite!
Ingredients:

about 20 whole mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed (save stems for later use)
1 block cream cheese
1 lb browned jimmy dean sausage (with sage is best)
Chopped mushroom stems (use about half of the stems you saved)
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Mix browned sausage, cream cheese and chopped mushroom stems together. Place mushroom caps top side down in a 13x9 pan. spoon cream cheese mixture into mushrooms-piling up mixture on top of each muchroom. drizzle olive oil over mushrooms.
Bake 30-40 minutes, until lightly browned. Delicious!!!

Angel hair pasta with shrimp, garlic and mushrooms

Yum, yum... Mike threw this together tonight, and it was so wonderful....i knew I'd forget what he added if I didn't write it down. We had the pasta with a caesar salad with homemade croutons and the 3 children who don't like shrimp, had tasty cornmeal coated and pan fried tilapia...my dear husband was quite busy tonight!`

1 box angel hair pasta, cooked according to directions-return to big spaghetti pot after draining.
*note, one box was really not enough for our family of 6!

1 1/2 lbs peeled, deveined and steamed shrimp

1 cup fresh mushrooms, diced

1/2 yellow onion. chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, chopped

4 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup white wine

salt and pepper to taste


saute the onion, 1/2 the garlic and the mushrooms till tender in 2 Tbsp olive oilover medium high heat-transfer this mixture (including the oil) to the pot with the angel hair-toss to mix.

Saute remaining garlic and shrimp in 2 Tbsp olive oil over med high heat till shrimp is warmed through-add white wine, reduce heat and simmer another 5 minutes.

add shrimp, garlic and wine mixture to angel hair and toss again-serve immediately.

My non-shrimp eating kiddos loved the mushroom-garlic pasta as well, minus the shrimp....more for the grown ups!!!

My mother in law's breakfast casserole

This one has become a Christmas morning tradition-it cooks while the kids opens presents.

Margaret's Breakfast Casserole

1 lb Jimmy dean sausage, crumbled, browned and drained or 1 lb chopped ham OR crumbled bacon (Mike says 24 slices to be exact-thick slices he adds) (He is presently driving me batty as he edits my writing over my shoulder)
4-6 slices bread, torn into bit size pieces
6 eggs
1 cup milk
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

grease 9x13 pan. Line bottom of pan with torn bread. Top with sausage, then cheese. Whisk eggs and milk together and pour over cheese. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Enjoy with a side of chocolate from the kids' Christmas stockings.

hunting season and BBQ Venison

The four wheelers racing up and down our country road and men in head to toe camoflage driving by the house in pick up trucks is a sure sign deer season has begun. Although Mike does not hunt (long hours sitting outside in the cold are not fun for him), we enjoy the deer meat his brother brings us each year, and we're always looking for new ways to prepare it. So here's a recipe we tried last year that is delicious...if you like deer meat!

BBQ Venison
2-3 lb venison roast
1 can beer (not for drinking while you are cooking!)
3 cloves garlic chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 onions sliced
3 bay leaves
2 cups BBQ sauce

in large bowl or gallon ziploc bag mix beer, garlic, salt, pepper, onions and bay leaves add meat and marinate 12-24 hours. Remove meat and onions and place in crock pot, Poor BBQ sauce over and cook on low 10-12 hours. Serve on buns with slaw and baked beans.

Taco Soup

Once the cooler weather sets in, we usually try to have soup in the crock pot on Sunday evenings when we get home from church. Here is one of our new favorites. Mike said to be sure I do not give a recipe for chicken noodle soup. I always add the noodles too soon and the whole thing turns to mush.

Taco Soup (double the recipe and freeze half for another day!!!)
1 lb ground beef browned with 1 diced onion and drained
2 cans tomato soup
2 cans kidney beans, undrained
2 cans black beans, undrained
2 pkg taco seasoning
2 cans corn, undrained
2 cans diced tomatos, undrained
Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir. Cook on low all day. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, top with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

squash bread

This summer when we had an abundance of yellow squash and zucchini from our garden, I came across this recipe. My ever thoughtful husband broke out the food processor and shredded tons of extra squash for the freezer, and he even scooped it into ziploc bags in nice 2 cup portions, exactly what the recipe calls for. So now we are enjoying this easy bread on chilly mornings, and will probably give some as gifts this Christmas.

3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. oil (or applesauce if you'd like it to be healthier)
2 tsp vanilla
3 c. self rising flour
1Tbsp cinnamon
2 c. shredded squash or zucchini(tastes great with either!)
optional- 1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts-I make mine without nuts, and it is delicious!!!

Preheat oven to 325. Blend eggs, oil sugar and vanilla in large bowl until fluffy. Slowly add flour 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition, Stir in cinnamon. Stir in squash until evenly mixed. Pour into 2 well greased loaf pans. Bake 50-60 min. until bread is firm and light brown.

ENJOY!!!