Betty Crocker's Blueberry Muffins

Now that blueberries are in season, it's the perfect time for a yummy blueberry muffin recipe. Betty Crocker's is the best that I've found and is very easy.

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup salad oil (I use Canola oil)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*

2 teaspoons baking powder*
1/2 teaspoon salt*
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups (2 3/4 inches in diameter). Beat egg; stir in milk and oil. Mix in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fold in 1 cup fresh blueberries or 3/4 cup well-drained frozen blueberries (thawed) into batter.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.

* If using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt. *

Hush Puppies

These are one of my favorite foods.

A deep fryer or Dutch oven filled with hot canola oil.
1 egg
1 cup self rising corn meal
1/2 cup self rising flour
1 onion chopped in very small pieces
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pour and stir in enough milk to make a moist mixture with all of the ingredients listed above

Mix and drop by tablespoons into the hot canola oil. Fry until golden brown all around. Remove from the oil and place on paper towels to drain off excess oil.

These are delicious with seafood or barbeque. Also, if you have extra batter, it will stay fresh to cook the next day if it is covered and placed in the refrigerator.

Applewood Farms Apple Fritters

This recipe came from a apple farm in Sevierville, Tennessee. They had a restaurant there on the property and gave this recipe to the people in their paper when they left the restaurant. These are very good and very light. I always double the recipe when making these because they are eaten so quickly.

Makes about 24 fritters.

Combine in bowl one-half cup of milk, one egg, and two tablespoons margarine. Add grated rind and juice from one-half an orange, one-half cup of chopped apples (skin can be left on), and one-half teaspoon vanilla. Sift together one-and-one-half cups cake flour, one-quarter teaspoon salt and one tablespoon baking powder. Stir in milk mixture with a spoon until blended. Drop batter by spoonfuls into one-half inch hot oil. (I use canola oil for frying). Fry to a golden brown. Drain.

****I made these as you can see from the picture. I did vary the recipe a bit though and liked the fritters even better. I added another 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg. They were even better. I didn't cook all of the fritters at the same time. After the batter was in the refrigerator for a couple of days, the flavor of the fritters was better yet.****

****Cherry Coffee Cake Baked in a Jelly Roll Pan

1 cup shortening such as Crisco
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Cream together the shortening, sugar, eggs and flavoring until smooth and there are no sugar granules. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk.
Spread about 1/2 of the mixture over the bottom of the jelly roll pan. Spoon a can of cherry pie filling over the top of the batter. Dot the rest of the batter over the pie filling. DO NOT SPREAD. It will spread in baking.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes.

****If you don't like cherries, you can use any other type of pie filling. I'll be adding a picture as soon as I get one of these baked.

Classic Cranberry Nut Bread from Ingles Grocery Store

2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons shortening

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in orange juice, orange peel, shortening and egg. Mix until well blended. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread evenly in loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely. Wrap and store overnight. Makes 1 loaf (16 slices).

Easy Italian Biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour plus a little extra for dusting cutting board 
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon parsley
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together with your hands or spoon until it forms a ball.  Sprinkle the extra flour onto a cutting board or bread board and place the dough.  Knead the dough 10-15 times.  (The more you knead it, the more your biscuits rise).  Roll the dough until it is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into desired shape. (You can use shapes for the seasons but be careful not to have too many edges.  The biscuits will get hard and crisp).  The leftover dough can be kneaded together again but don't add more flour to it.  It will dry the dough out.  This recipe makes approximately 12 biscuits.
Bake until biscuits are golden brown.  Melt 1/2 stick butter or margarine with 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder.  Brush the biscuits after they are done with this mixture.  Best served hot.

Mollys Cheese Muffins

2 sticks room temperature margarine or butter
1 cup sour cream
2 cups self-rising flour
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Add ingredients in order, hand stirring after each into a large bowl. This mixture will be stiff. Spoon 3/4 full into miniature muffin cups.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

***Cheese may be omitted or add cooked ham, bacon, or sausage along with the cheese for a great breakfast.***

Banana Nut Muffins

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter or margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2-3 large ripened bananas, mashed (the blacker the banana, the sweeter the muffin)
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 12 standard size muffin pan cups.
Beat together butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas until smooth.
Alternately stir flour and buttermilk into egg mixture until dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in vanilla and nuts. Do not over mix batter. It should not be completely smooth.
Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling 2/3 full. Bake until lightly golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Turn out on wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm with butter or cream cheese.

(This recipe can also be baked in a loaf pan or in tea muffins. Baking time has to be adjusted accordingly.)

Italian Sausage Casserole

2	lbs Italian sausage, hot or mild
4	potatoes, cut in chunks
1	green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2	cloves minced garlic
1	small onion, diced
1 (28	ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1	teaspoon dried basil
	salt and pepper

1. Brown sausage in saute pan, then place in 9x13 baking dish.
2. Place potatoes, peppers, onion and garlic on top of sausage.
3. Pour crushed tomatoes over and sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until done.
5. Remove cover and bake 20 minutes more.