Casseroles 101 - Pork & Noodle Casserole by Terri

Lori made a quick trip home this weekend to attend a bridal shower for Jon's sister.  Whenever she comes home we try to plan a family night at mom's.  This weekend was no exception.  For our family night I decided to fix another old family favorite called pork & noodle casserole.  Somewhere in the past mom substituted lean hamburger meat for the ground pork the original recipe called for so I guess we really should rename it beef & noodle casserole.  I thought you might like to try this quick and easy recipe.  In the past when I was working full time I would always double the recipe and divide it up into several casserole dishes and freeze them for a quick weekday meal.  For our family night I doubled the recipe so all the photos will show a double recipe.

Pork & Noodle Casserole

From the kitchen of: Loriece Roberts

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 can Campbell Tomato Soup (I use Campbell's Tomato Bisque Soup)

1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup

1 can water

1 pkg. wide egg noodles

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. lime pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

2 cups grated cheese

Chop 1 large onion.

Brown onions with lean ground beef.

Cook egg noodles 8 minutes.

Drain off water and return to pot.

Gently mix in tomato soup.

Gently stir in Cheddar Cheese soup.

Add browned meat & onions to noodles.

Mix thoroughly and pour into large casserole dish.

Top with all but 1/2 cup grated cheese. Cover casserole dish with aluminum foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, remove foil, top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese,

return to oven until cheese is melted.

Serve with tossed salad and French bread.

Enjoy!

Walk with God!

Terri

Love to Cook Thursdays - Pumpkin Bread by Terri

This holiday season was so busy that I never got around to baking any pumpkin bread. So now that the holidays are over and life is somewhat calmer I decided to whip up a batch.  This recipe is another old family favorite. Tastes delicious served warm with butter.

Pumpkin Bread

From the kitchen of: Terri Fonville

3 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 cups flour

1 cup Crisco

1 large can Pumpkin

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix together pumpkin & sugar.

Mix in Crisco. (You can substitute equal amounts of no sugar added applesauce for Crisco.)

Mix until Crisco is thoroughly blended.

Mix in flour.

Mix well.

Blend in eggs.

Measure all spices into a small bowl and mix well.

Carefully mix spices into batter.

Chop nuts and blend into batter.

Grease & flour 2 large or 3 small bread pans.

Pour evenly into pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

When toothpick inserted into center comes out clean,

remove from oven and cool on a wire rack in pans for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Walk with God!

Terri

Candy Making 101 - Marshmallow Cream Fudge by Terri

Over the last few weeks I have written several posts sharing our "family traditions".  This year Lori really got busy making candy for their friends and co-workers so I truly feel I am succeeding in passing down these traditions.

Today's family tradition I would like to share with you is one of my very favorite recipes.  This recipe is for Marshmallow Cream Fudge.  This is one of those "back of the bottle" discoveries, for I actually discovered it on the back of a Marshmallow Cream jar many, many years ago.  This is one recipe I make every year during the holidays, even those years when our funds are stretched to the limit I manage to make a double batch of fudge.  I am giving you the recipe as it was written on the back of the bottle, however, I have never made just a single batch.  I always make a double batch probably because for years you could only get Marshmallow Cream in large jars and I wasn't about to waste any of it! I think you'll discover that this fudge recipe is truly the best fudge recipe out there!

Marshmallow Cream Fudge

From the kitchens of:  Terri Fonville

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 - 12oz. pkg. mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 - 7 oz. jar  Marshmallow Cream

1 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp. vanilla

Line 9x13x2 inch pan with parchment paper leaving sides long & loose to enable easily removing fudge from pan.  Set aside.

Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a heavy saucepan.

Melt this butter mixture at medium high stirring constantly.

Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on a medium high setting, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips stirring until melted.

Add marshmallow cream.

Stir until well mixed.

Add chopped nuts.

Beat well.

Add vanilla. (Note: I'm using my homemade vanilla!!!) Beat until smooth.

Spoon into two 9x13 pans being carefully not to displace parchment paper.

Smooth the tops of the pans until your fudge is level.

Allow to cool on cake racks until bottom of pan is cool to touch.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator over night.

Remove from pan and cut into small pieces.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator for several weeks.

Enjoy!

Walk with God!

Terri

Candy Making 101 - Carmel Corn by Terri

Another family holiday favorite is homemade Carmel Corn.  My recipe comes from Jerry's mom and is hard to beat.  We've made a few modifications to the candy making process and I will share these with you as I describe it.

Carmel Corn
From the kitchen of: Leta Fonville

2 gallons popped popcorn ( I buy mine already popped at the Poppin' Place.)

Pour popcorn evenly in one giant aluminum disposable baking container or 2 9x13x2 inch metal cake pans. Set aside.

Mix following ingredients in heavy saucepan.  I use my aluminum pressure cooker:

2 cups light brown sugar or Splenda Brown sugar blend

1 cup light Karo Syrup

2 sticks butter

2 cups broken pecans or walnuts

Boil at medium temperature for 5 minutes stirring frequently:

Remove caramel mixture from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon soda and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir thoroughly.

Pour over popped popcorn.

Stir carefully.

Place in oven and bake at 250degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and stir.

Note: Jerry cut up a box for me to place on top of the baking dish to keep the popcorn in the pan.

Remove the cut box and return popcorn to the oven and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Take out and stir. Repeat process until popcorn has cooked 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.  Be careful not to burn yourself!

After one hour remove from the oven and dump out onto waxed paper or parchment paper until cool.

Let completely cool before breaking into chunks.

Enjoy!

Walk with God!
Terri