Cooking with the Stovalls

First, Abby and Jacob decorated aprons with fabric markers.

Abby and Jacob decided they wanted to make a breakfast pizza and fruit salad. They spread the dough on the pizza pans, cracked eggs, chopped ingredients, cooked the eggs, etc.

Farmhouse Pizza

1 16 oz. loaf frozen bread dough
shortening
flour
4 slices bacon (or little smokies)
1 cup frozen loose-pack diced hash browns
2 green onions
1/8 tsp. black pepper
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 T. butter
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Thaw bread dough according to package directions. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease pizza pans with shortening. Put thawed bread dough on the pizza pan. Press the dough into the pizza pan, covering the pan completely. (Sprinkle flour over your hands if dough is sticky.) Prick dough generously with a fork. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until pizza crust is light brown. Remove from oven.
Cut bacon (or little smokies) into bite-size pieces. Put bacon pieces, frozen hash browns, green onion and black pepper in a medium skillet. Cook and stir about 5 minutes until hash browns are tender and bacon is cooked. Remove from skillet.
Whisk eggs and milk together. Melt butter in the skillet. Add egg mixture. Cook until eggs are cooked through but still glossy and moist.
Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over the baked pizza crust. Top with scrambled eggs, cooked bacon and hash brown mixture, and the rest of the shredded cheese. Put pizza pan in oven. Bake pizza for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let stand on a cooling rack for two minutes before serving. Makes 10 servings.

Fruit Sald

1 banana, sliced
2 handfuls of grapes
3 peach halves, cut up
4 strawberries, halved
6 orange sections, halved
7 apple slices, halved

In a small bowl stir 8 ounces vanilla yogurt with 1 T. honey and 2 T. orange juice. Pour yogurt mixture over fruit. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixed. Makes 6-8 servings.

Ben and I had fun helping Abby and Jacob cook.We also watched Ratatouille and Abby played with my dollhouse. Afterwards we dropped them off at daycare. We all had fun!

Grilled Pound Cake Sandwich

My dad traditionally makes pound cake for my mom's birthday. This is a treat for us kids because we only get it once a year too. Me and my sister were going to the dentist for our annual checkups and while I was in the waiting room I started looking at a Southern Living magazine. There was a grilling section and I was looking through it. There was a dessert and I started looking at it. It was for a grilled pound cake sandwich. I was lucky that it was the time of my mother's birthday so I showed the article to my mom. She liked the idea of making it so we copied the recipe. We grilled hamburgers on Saturday and while the grill was still hot I made the dessert. Here is the recipe, and a picture.

Grilled Pound Cake Sandwich

Ingredients:

*Pound Cake
*Strawberry Cream Cheese
*Ice Cream
*Berries

Recipe:

*make pound cake according to recipe
*cut large slice in half
*spread a good amount of cream cheese onto cake
*put on grill until grill marks appear
*serve with ice cream and frozen fruit

YUMMMMM!!!

My family and I watch Rachel Ray every morning. We have made a couple of her recipes. One of her recipes is a Lasagna Casserole. Everyone liked it. We had it for two meals. That's how good it was. You should try it!


Lasagna Casserole

1 lb. curly-shaped pasta
1 lb. ground beef
1 carrot, grated
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, grated
1 T. olive oil
Black Pepper
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup basil leaves, shredded or torn (or 2 T. dried basil)
A handful of parsley, coarsely chopped
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Once at a boil, add pasta. Cook just shy of al dente leaving a good bite to it.

Lightly brown the ground beef and drain of excess fat. Cook the carrot, onions and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add to drained ground beef. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon in a colander over a bowl to crush them up. Add them to beef and vegetables. Add stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Fold in basil and parsley.

When the pasta is ready, drain it and return it to the pot. Add the ricotta cheese and sauce. Toss to coat. Transfer pasta to a casserole dish and top with parmesan cheese.

Bake 15 minutes or so, until top crusts up a bit.

Yield 6 servings.

If there are five Sundays in a month then our church will have a potluck supper on that Sunday. That's why we call it Fifth Sunday Potluck. I've missed the last couple of potlucks due to being in Nebraska or somewhere else. But this last July there was a potluck Sunday and I made my old time favorite, Four Layer Dessert! The recipe is as follows.

1st layer

• 1 cup flour
  

• 1/2 cup softened butter


• 1/2 cup pecans

Combine, add ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pat in 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 min. at 325.

2nd layer

• 1 (8oz.) package of cream cheese, softened


• 1 cup powdered sugar


• 1 cup Cool Whip

Mix ingredients together and spread on top of first layer-chill thoroughly.

3rd layer

• 2 packages instant pudding mix(vanilla+chocolate)


• 3 cups milk

Mix together and beat till thick. Pour over top of second layer. Chill again.

4th layer

Top with more Cool Whip and pecans(crushed), chill.

Secret Recipe

I've created a secret recipe that none but myself(Ben) and my mom know. It is for talapia(a salt water fish). It's soo good that it made two people who normally don't eat fish actually like it. I wish that I could tell you the recipe, but then it wouldn't be a secret :-(. I can just show you pictures!!

Deviled Eggs

I made deviled eggs for pot luck. My favorite kind of egg is deviled eggs. I made the eggs with ranch dressing for a change. My mom and I liked the usual way better. I'm going to show you the recipe for the usual way.

Deviled Eggs

6 hard cooked eggs
1/4 cup salad dressing
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. vinegar
Paprika

Halve hard cooked eggs lengthwise and remove yolks. Place yolks in a bowl;mash with a fork. Add salad dressing, mustard and vinegar; mix well. Stuff egg white halves with yolk mixture. Garnish with paprika. Makes 12 servings.

No-Bake Cookies

We were all getting hungry for no-bakes, so my dad and I made some. The no-bakes didn't last long.

Unbaked Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter

Boil one minute.

Add 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and 3 cups quick oatmeal.

Drop on cookie sheet. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Bannana Nut Bread

We had some ripe bananas so we thought banana bread would be a good use for them. We substituted chocolate chips for the nuts. My mom makes banana bread a lot so the recipe page has food stains on it. The banana bread was good right after it came out of the oven then cooled. Of course, I couldn't make banana bread with one hand, so I had a little help from my brother and my mom. I had some chocolate chips from the bag-- they were yummy.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

1 3/4 cups of flour
1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
2/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of shorting
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
1 cup of mashed ripe banana
1/4 cup of chocolate chips

Stir together flour, baking powder, soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

In a mixer bowl cream sugar and shortening with electric mixer till light, scraping sides of bowl often. Add eggs, one at a time, and the milk, beating till smooth after each addition. Add flour mixture and banana alternately to creamed mixture, beating till smooth after each addition. Fold in chocolate chips.

Turn batter into a lightly greased 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 to 65 minutes or till a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool. For easier slicing, wrap and store overnight. Makes 1.

Limeade

After Camp K we had a lot of limes so we decided to make Limeade! We had it for a couple of days and it was really good on a hot afternoon. Here is the recipe.

Limeade

• 4 limes
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 quart of water

Cut limes into halves and squeeze juice into a pitcher. Add sugar and stir well. Last add water and stir. Limeade is now ready:-)

Abbie's Experience Cooking

Hi, my name is Abbie. I would like to tell you about my cooking experience. My favorite thing to make is no-bake-cookies. I started out helping my mom with simple dishes and desserts. No-bake-cookies are simple and yummy! I love to eat cookie dough. But I always get in trouble by my mom even when I sneak it. My brother grills a lot of yummy steaks. I sometimes eat 8 onces of steak and it is yummy. In this picture I am making garlic bread for Caleb's prom. I put the butter on both sides of the bread and then my bro grilled it on "His" grill.

Popcorn in a Dutch Oven!

My mom and I(Ben) were looking at Rachael Ray's website, and under snacks we found popcorn. This wasn't just microwave popcorn but popcorn done on the stove top. My mom told me about her childhood when that was common and also she talked about shaking the pot. That night I was hungry and asked my mom if I could make this tasty snack; she said yes!

The recipe for this delish snack is as proceeds.

• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels
  
• salt, or whatever seasoning you like

• Pour the oil into a dutch oven
• Turn burner to medium heat
• Once oil is hot add kernels and cover it with the lid
  
• Once popping occurs shake pan vigorously till all kernels are popped
• Pour into a bowl and season to taste!
  

Apple Puffy Omelet

Originally I(Ben) was going to make the omelet and my sister(Abbie) was going to make the apple sauce. Abbie spent the night at a friend's house and stayed up real late. Then she had a D.A.R.E. camp to go to, so she never woke up to make the apple sauce, leaving me with the omelet and the sauce.

Here is the recipe for the Apple Puffy Omelet!

This is for the sauce.

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2/3 cup cold water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 apples, peeled, cored, and cut in 1/2in thick wedges
2 tablespoons butter

To prepare sauce, combine brown sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Stir in the 2/3 cup of cold water and lemon juice. Cook quickly, stirring constantly, till thickened and bubbly. Add apples; stir gently. Cover and simmer gently for 3 to 5 minutes or till apples are tender. Add the 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir till butter melts.

For the omelet you'll need.

4 egg whites
2 tablespoons of water
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of butter

• Beat egg whites till frothy
• Add water and salt; continue beating about one and a half minutes of till stiff peaks form
• Beat egg yolks at high speed of electric mixer about 5 minutes or till thick and lemon-colored
• Fold egg yolks into egg whites

• In a 10-inch skillet with an oven proof handle heat the butter till a drop of water sizzles
• Pour in egg mixture, mounding it slightly higher at the sides
• Cook over low heat, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes or till eggs are puffed and set, and bottom is golden brown
  

• Place skillet in a 325 degree oven; bake for 10 minutes or till knife inserted near center comes out clean
• Loosen sides of omelet with a spatula. Make a shallow cut across the omelet, cutting slightly off-center
  
• Fold smaller portion over larger portion. Slip omelet onto hot serving platter.

• Set aside 1/2 a cup of the apple mixture. Unfold omelet and spoon remaining apple mixture across center; re-fold. Spoon remaining mixture on top.
• Serves 3 to 4
  

Ben's Cooking Interest

My(Ben) cooking interest really peaked when, to my surprise, my parents purchased me a grill! I've been interested in cooking since I was old enough to do so. I would just help my mom out with mixing the ingredients and putting the cookie dough on the cookie sheet, and other simple things like that.

My first item I grilled was the frozen burgers you can find at Wal-Mart. Then I started grilling fresh hamburgers, such as Italian herb burgers, then hot dogs and sausages, and even steaks! My brother was so impressed that instead of going out to eat for prom he asked my sister and I to grill and bake for his friend and his dates!

I also have grilled chicken breast that my mom usually broiled. When I was gone to Nebraska my mom broiled them and she said the broiling pan was dusty. The last item that I've grilled was the kabobs. Since we are remodeling the kitchen there hasn't been much cooking going on lately:-(

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

The first category I (Ben) chose was a quick bread.

We found some fresh, reasonably priced blueberries at the grocery store, so I decided to make blueberry buckle coffee cake.

2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter

1. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of a 9x9x2-inch pan. Combine the 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In another mixing bowl beat shortening with a mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 3/4 cup sugar. Beat till light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Add dry mixture and milk alternately to beaten egg mixture, beating till smooth after each addition.
3. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with blueberries. Combine the 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over blueberries. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes or till golden. Serve warm. Makes 9 servings. (Only 403 calories per serving!)

My dad and older brother came in late on a Friday night from traveling. I made this as a surprise on Saturday morning. We served lattes with this delish dish.