Lady and Son's Onion-Cheese Bread

I first tried this recipe a few years ago after seeing Paula Deen make it on her show. I forget about making breads as side dishes. Tonight, I remembered this recipe and made it to go with chicken stew for dinner.

I really enjoy this recipe for Lady and Son's Onion-Cheese Bread. I love sauteed onions on pizza, hamburgers, in French onion soup, and the list goes on. I've never made this in a round cake pan like the recipe calls for. Instead, I have made it in mini-muffin pans for bite-sized portions. Tonight, I made it in normal size muffin pans. Yum! Thanks for stopping by!

Sour Cream Banana Bread

Last weekend, I made this bread for our pastors. October was Pastor Appreciation Month, but October was so busy around here that I missed it. I made this for our pastors in early November. I don't think they minded that I was a week late!

I received this recipe from my father's cousin, Crystal, back when Jim and I got married. At least I think that's when she gave it to me. As part of my bridal shower planning, my mom made up post cards for people to send me. They were to write their favorite recipe on it and send it to me. I'm pretty sure that's when she gave me this recipe.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed banana
1/2 c. nuts (optional)
1/2 c. sour cream

Cream butter and sugar very well until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix just until blended. Add the dry ingredients, mixing till well combined, but don't overmix. Add the banana, nuts and sour cream. Mix lightly just until blended throughout. Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 for about one hour. Test the bread with a toothpick in the center for doneness.

Instead of baking this as a bread in loaf pans, I made it into muffins. I gave normal size muffins to our youth and children's pastors, because they have little kids at home. I made big, Texas-sized muffins for our senior and associate pastors. Sorry, but I forgot to take any pictures of them before I gave them away! Thanks for stopping by!

Homemade Pizza Dough

The boys and I have made this Homemade Pizza Dough recipe twice now in the past few weeks. They have had a blast making their own pizzas. One day, they even got their Daddy to show them his expertise. He worked at Little Caesar's for a few years when we were in high school.

The second time we made it, I substituted some whole wheat flour for the regular flour. I wanted to make it just a bit healthier. It turned out great both times, and it is super easy! Thanks for stopping by!

Poppy Seed Lemon Bread

Last week I was looking for some new muffin recipes to make for the boys to eat for breakfast. I came across this Poppy Seed Lemon Bread recipe in our church cookbook. Instead of baking it in a loaf pan, I made muffins.

Poppy Seed Lemon Bread

1 pkg. lemon cake mix
1 small box instant lemon pudding
1 c. water
4 eggs
1/2 c. oil
3 T. poppy seeds

Combine all ingredients; beat 5 minutes. Pour into greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Makes two loaves.

(Again, I used lined muffin pans and baked them for 20-25 minutes.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sour Cream Banana Bread/Muffins

Back when I got married, my sister was my maid of honor. She was only in high school at the time, so she and my mom did most of the planning for it. One of the things my mom did was give out large index cards to everyone that were pre-addressed to me. They were to be sent as a post card with one of their favorite recipes in the weeks following the shower. She even put postage on them for everyone.

One of the recipes I received from one of my dad's cousins was a Banana Bread recipe. The boys like to eat muffins for breakfast, so instead of baking it in a loaf pan, I made it into muffins.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed banana (2-3 medium bananas)
1/2 c. nuts (optional)
1/2 c. sour cream

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Add the banana, nuts and sour cream. Mix well until blended. Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 for 1 hour. (I baked this in muffin cups for about 25 min. It made 18 muffins.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Fresh Thyme Popovers

I have never made popovers before, so I don't know what they're supposed to be like. I don't have popover pans, so I used muffin pans for a substitute like the Fresh Thyme Popovers recipe states. I baked them 5 min. less just as it said, but I don't think they baked long enough. They seemed too doughy or dense when we ate them, and they dropped pretty badly when I took them out of the oven. They weren't hard to make at all, but I don't do well with finicky recipes! You must have to do something special to keep them from falling once you take them out of the oven. If any of you out there can clue me in, please do so!


The flavor of these was ok, but honestly, I probably won't make them again. When I try new recipes, I always ask Jim, "Is this a 'make again' recipe?" I either never make the recipe again, or I print/copy it and put it into my recipe box to become one of my staples to use over and over again. My recipe box has gotten pretty full over the past few years, and I need to clean it out and organize it. Thanks for stopping by!

Blueberry Buckle Muffins

I have been baking up a storm today! A special boy has a birthday this week, so I was baking cupcakes for his preschool class tomorrow and a cake for the family on Thursday. We were just about out of the boys' favorite blueberry muffins, so I made some of those too. Then, I got a call about making chocolate chip cookies for church guests this week, so I baked four dozen of those. Whew!


The boys love this blueberry muffin recipe, so I thought I'd share it with you. It's from Family Fun. You can find it on their website here. Blueberries are expensive! When Meijer runs a sale on their frozen blueberries, I buy them in large quantities! Thanks for stopping by!

Pasta Fagioli, Wheat Rolls & Pumpkin "Dirt"

Pasta Fagioli

2 lb. ground beef
12 oz. chopped onion
14 oz. diced carrots
14 oz. diced celery
48 oz. canned, diced tomatoes
2 c. cooked red kidney beans
2 c. cooked white kidney beans
88 oz. beef stock
3 tsp. oregano
2 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce
48 oz. spaghetti sauce
8 oz. dry small shell pasta

This recipe makes nine quarts of soup. I often make half a recipe for us as a family. These amounts do not have to be exact. For instance, when I make half a batch, I don't want two half cans of beans left over, so I go ahead and use a whole 15 oz. can of both types of kidney beans. Spaghetti sauce comes in 26 oz. jars, so I just use a whole one. Beef broth comes in 14.5 oz. cans, so I use four. You get the idea.

Saute beef in a large soup pot until it starts to brown. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot. Also add beef stock, oregano, black pepper, parsley, hot pepper sauce, spaghetti sauce, and pasta. Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes.

You can serve this soup with some grated parmesan cheese sprinkled on top and rolls. Yum! Perfect for a chilly fall or cold winter day!

Another note, I have made this soup in a crock pot. I simply brown the ground beef on the stove first. Then I layer all the ingredients into the crock pot as I would add them into the soup. Cook on low for about 8 hours.

Whole Wheat Rolls

2 1/4 c. bread flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. milk
7/8 c. water
2 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 T. butter
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast

Load the bread pan according to the instructions for your machine. If you are using your machine to bake the dough as well, use your machine's whole wheat cycle if it has one.

I let my bread machine make the dough, then I make the rolls. I quarter the dough, and then cut each quarter into thirds, making twelve. I drop them into a greased rectangular pyrex baking dish and let them rise for about 30 min. Bake in a 350 oven for about 30 min. or until you can see that they are baked and not doughy on the bottom.

Pumpkin "Dirt"

This is the recipe for plain old "Dirt" made with vanilla pudding and Oreo cookies. I tried something different last fall, and we really enjoyed it. Use pumpkin pudding instead of vanilla and ginger snaps instead of Oreos for a pumpkin version of the dessert.

1/4 c. butter
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
3 1/2 c. milk
2 small pkg. vanilla instant pudding
12 oz. Cool Whip
20 oz. pkg. Oreos

Grind the Oreos in a food processor until they are crumbs. Set aside.

Cream together butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar. Gradually add the milk. Whisk in the pudding mixes. Fold in the Cool Whip.

Starting and ending with Oreos, alternate layers of cookies and pudding mixture.

This recipe can be made in other varieties as well. Make "Sand" with vanilla wafers, and try them with butterscotch pudding. I've served this in a clean child's sand bucket with the shovel as a large spoon at summer picnics. I've seen it served in a clean flower pot with an artificial stem of flowers placed in it until serving time. Of course, there's the ever popular way of serving it with gummy worms too. Have fun making this dessert!

Thanks for stopping by!