Got friends and family coming for the upcoming holiday? This is a great quick and easy dish for breakfast. Start it the night before, then you can sleep in and when everyone is up the next morning, Viola!

Ingredients
• 1 32 oz. bag frozen hash brown potatoes
• 1 lb. of bacon diced, cooked and drained or 1 lb. cooked ham, cubed
• 1 medium diced onion
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 1 1/2 C. shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 C. milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper (more or less to taste)
Directions
Place a layer of frozen potatoes on the bottom of the slow cooker, followed by a layer of bacon then onions, green pepper and cheese. Repeat the layering process two or three more times, ending with a layer of cheese. Beat the eggs, milk and salt and pepper together. Pour over the Crockpot mixture, cover and turn on low. Cook for 10-12 hours.


+/- click to read more

Warm weather or cool weather, who doesn'!t like a good cup of joe and some biscotti. Fresh made is even better!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup hazelnuts, skin on
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, sugar and baking powder. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, yolks and almond extract. Add wet mix to dry and stir until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Add hazelnuts and chocolate chips and mix until just incorporated. Roll the dough into 3 logs each about 10 by 2 inches. Place a piece of parchment onto a baking sheet and place logs on sheet. Place in oven and bake 20 minutes until light golden brown and remove. Allow to cool 5 minutes and cut logs on a slight diagonal into pieces 1/2-inch thick. Lower heat to 300. Return cut biscotti to baking sheet, just a little bit apart from each other, and place in oven. Bake 20 minutes until crisp and dry. Cool and serve.

Makes about 9 - 10 pints

Ingredients:

• 9 quarts of Applesauce, fresh or canned
• 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon of allspice
• 4 cups sugar, Splenda or frozen concentrated grape juice.

Directions:

Fill the crock pot to within an inch of full with applesauce. You will add the remaining applesauce later. Add the cinnamon, cloves, allspice and 2 cups of the sugar (the other 2 cups of sugar are added later).

Set the crock pot on low or medium heat. Cover it loosely or use a large pot splatter-guard. (I prefer a splatter-gaurd) It will spatter as it boils slowly, so I place a large towel under the cooker to protect my counter. You don't want to seal it tightly with a lid because you want the steam to escape so it can reduce in volume and thicken.


Leave it to cook for 6 - 12 hours (my Crockpot is quite large so mine cooks about 12 to 16 hours). I set mine to cook overnight, so I could finish it the next day. It will reduce in volume by about half overnight.
After it cooks down by about half, add the remaining applesauce and 2 more cups of sugar. Then let it cook a couple of hours more.

Here it is pre-canning process.

Sanitize your canning jars, heat your lids, and keep jars hot.

If you have a hand held blender, at this time you could mix the simmering sauce a bit to make it have a finer consistency.

Turn the crock pot to high to get the sauce boiling hot. It takes mine about 20 minutes and I stir frequently, it gets it boiling. But be careful not to burn the bottom of the sauce.

Fill the jars to within 1/4 -inch of the top, wipe any spilled apple butter of the top, seat the lid and tighten the lids.

Process them in a canner covered with at least 1 inch of boiling water.
Depending on Sea level:
up to 1,000 ft - boil pint jars for 5 minutes and quart jars for 10 min.
1,000 to 6000 ft - boil pints for 10 min and quarts for 15 min.
Above 6000 ft boil pints for 15 min and quarts for 20 min.
Unsure? No problem! there is no harm in using one of the longer times.

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down, it is not sealed. If it doesn't seal, refrigerate and use quickly.

Notes: I made mine this time with fresh no sugar added apple sauce and about 2 cups of sugar since the apples where so naturally sweet.

I have been making these for quite a while. The beer adds to the "fluffiness" of these pancakes and you can't taste the beer. Great on a relaxing Sunday Morning! This time I adapted the recipe to add pumpkin...
First the basic recipe...

Ingredients:

• 2 C Bisquick
• 2 T Sugar
• 1/2 t Cinnamon
• dash of Nutmeg
• 5 beaten eggs
• 1/2 C Beer
• 2 T Oil

If you want to make them pumpkin style add:

• 3 T pumpkin
• 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
• increase sugar to 3 T

Directions
In large mixing bowl stir together the bisquick, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Stir together the eggs, beer and oil. Add the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Add a little extra beer if thinner pancakes are desired. Fry the pancakes on a griddle or frying pan!






Serve with warm syrup, or butter and powdered sugar.

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package (3 1/2oz) instant coconut cream pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin, canned or fresh cooked and mashed
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

PREPARATION:

Combine eggs, sugar, and oil in a large mixing bowl;beat at medium speed of an electric mixer hand-held until well blended.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, pudding mix, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon; add to sugar mixture alternately with the mashed pumpkin, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Mix well after each addition. Stir in pecans or walnuts.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove loaf to wire rack to cool completely.
For muffins: Fill muffin cups (well greased) 3/4 full. Bake 20 minutes. Makes 18.


Thought: Hummm, now I have leftover pumpkin...what next to create!?!?!

These are pretty good and easy to make! It doesn't take a lot of time to serve homemade!
Ingredients

2 c flour
4 t baking powder
¼ t salt
1 T sugar
½ c veg. shortening
1 egg
2/3 c milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 450. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients until blended. In a separate ln a separate bowl, cut shortening until it looks like a cornmeal. Beat in egg and add milk. Add to the dry mix and blend. Place dough mix on a lightly floured board or counter and knead gently, about 20 times. Roll to ¼-inch thick and cut biscuits out of the dough and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Carefully re-roll dough and continue cutting biscuits until all dough is used.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes