Pinto Bean Bake

We have a lot of leftover ham from Christmas so this was the first thing I made. Then we froze the rest so we'll be having ham recipes all month.
This was okay...nothing awesome but an inexpensive way to use some of the ham up:) This came from southernfood on about.com

2 cups dried pinto beans
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
1 cup sliced onions
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
8 to 16 ounces cubed cooked ham
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons dried mustard
1/2 cup reserved bean cooking liquid
Preparation:Following package directions, cook pinto beans until tender. Drain beans, reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid. Add bacon drippings to a skillet over medium heat; add onion and green pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Layer cooked drained beans, onions and peppers, and ham in a 2-quart casserole. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the mixture. Bake at 325° for 1 hour. Serves 6.

Cheesy ham and hashbrown casserole

We had this Christmas morning and it was SO good. Definitely would make this again...throw it together and come back after the presents are open and the wrapping paper is all picked up:)
Shar found this one (update) her post can be found here.

INGREDIENTS

1 (32 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes

8 ounces cooked, diced ham

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of potato soup

1 (16 ounce) container sour cream

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Spread evenly into prepared dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly brown. Serve immediately.

Peanut butter cup cookies

Another recipe from Shar. These were yummy and so pretty! Her post about them is here.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup chocolate chips
2 squares (2oz) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups (plus 2 tbsp) flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cups finely chopped almonds
36 or so (a bag) of miniature peanut butter cups (frozen)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine chocolate in bowl and microwave for approx 2 min. stir.. until melted
cool slightly.
Combine sugar, butter in large bowl. Beat. Add eggs, salt and vanilla. Beat.
Add chocolate and mix by hand.
Stir in flour, b. soda and shape into 1-1/4 inch balls. Roll in finely chopped almonds. place on an ungreased cookie sheet
Bake for 8-10 min.
Immediate press "unwrapped" frozen peanut butter cup in the centre of each cookie. don't touch them once you've pressed the p. cup inside.. leave to solidify

Sweet N Sour Meatloaf

We all LOVED this meatloaf! I think Lissa originally sent it a long time ago on the recipe group but I know lots of people have made it and liked it too. I'm not putting a picture...it looks like meatloaf with a red sauce:)

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 eggs
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoon prepared mustard
Preheat oven to 350degrees
In large bowl, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, eggs, onion, and 1/2 of the tomato sauce. Mix together and place into a loaf pan. Push meatloaf down into pan forming a well for the sauce around the edges. Bake for 40min. Meanwhile in a small saucepan over med heat combine the remaining tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, sugar, and mustard. Bring to boil and remove from heat. After meatloaf has cooked 40min remove from oven and pour sauce over top. Return to oven and bake for 20 more min.

Stuffed Shells

This was soooo good! I used more spaghetti sauce than it called for but it definitely still could have had more...a whole jar at the very least but we like our Italian food with lotsa sauce:) I'll make this again for sure.

Ingredients

12 ounces jumbo pasta shells

1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (Reserve 1/4 cup)

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 lbs ricotta cheese

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried parsley

8 ounces spaghetti sauce (jarred or homemade)

fresh basil, chopped, for garnish

Directions1In an 8 quart pot, bring water to a boil and cook shells for 8 minutes or until al dente. 2Drain and cool immediately with cold water.

3Drain and place open side down on paper towels.

4In a medium bowl, combine the rest of ingredients except the spaghetti sauce.

5Reserve the 1/4 cup of Mozzarella.

6Place a thin layer of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 12 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.

7Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

8Spoon the cheese mixture into each pasta shell and place open side up, in a single layer, in prepared pan.

9Pour the rest of sauce over the stuffed shells.

10Loosely cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

11During last 5 minutes of baking, remove foil and sprinkle remaining Mozzarella cheese on top. 12Bake 5 more minutes.

13Garnish with fresh chopped basil.

Eggnog Kringla

I made these as one of my gifts and while we ended up eating most of them one neighbor did get a plate of them:)

These are not a super sweet cookie but the are really really good!

Eggnog Kringla
Makes about 60(made about 45 for me)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup butter (do not use margarine)
1-1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup dairy or nondairy eggnog
sifted powder sugar
ground nutmeg

In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Add the flour mix and eggnog alternately to the sugar/butter mix. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.
Dough may still be sticky but it is a soft dough.
Preheat oven to 350F. Take out half the dough at a time (leaving rest in the fridge). On a lightly floured surface, take one tablespoon of the dough and roll into a rope shape (about 1/2 inch thick and 8 inches long) On an ungreased cookie sheet, place the rope in a loop, cross one end over the other. Make the shape slightly oval. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove cookies and cool on wire rack. While still warm, sprinkle tops with powdered sugar and nutmeg.

Hot dog muffins

I didn't get a picture of these... It ended up making 18. I thought they were good but everyone else thought they were awesome:)


Ingredients
2 (8 1/2 ounce) packages cornbread mix
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
5 hot dogs, chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions
1Combine mix and brown sugar, add eggs and milk stirring only until moistened.
2Stir in drained corn, hot dogs, and cheese. Batter will be thin.
3Fill paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full.
4Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until tops are brown.
5Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients:

Refrigerated pie crust
11/2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay refrigerated pie crust in pie pan crimpling edges. Bake pie crust for 8 minutes(until lightly browned). Cool completely.
Combine the sugar and flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Stir in butter and buttermilk. Stir in lemon juice and juice, vanilla and pour into the pie shell. Place the pie in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for approximately 40 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and serve at room temperature.