Baked Cheese Grits

4 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 cup quick-cooking grits (not instant)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
2/3 cup milk half and half or heavy cream
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
4 large eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
pinch paprika

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Add water and salt to a large saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the grits and mix well, bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for five minutes. Stir occasionally.
• Remove from the heat and add the cheddar cheese, milk, butter, Worcestershire sauce, ground red pepper, and garlic powder. Mix well to combine. When the butter and cheese have melted, add the eggs and make sure they are thoroughly mixed in with the other ingredients.
• Spray a 2-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and pour in the mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and the Parmesan cheese.
• Bake uncovered for one hour. Let the casserole stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

NOTES:
I used Old-Fashioned grits (Quaker)
The recipe says you can add up to two more cups of cheese, fwiw.

Legendary Rice Pudding

The back story is that a friend of Grandma Donna’s brought this to her house on the day of Grandpa’s funeral. We ate it as we were writing thank you cards and it fed body and soul in a memorable way.

The proportions seem impossible but Katie has tried it and says it makes 6-7 cups.  So, one, maybe two servings.

Coconut Custard Pie

Super easy.
Delicious.
Ingredients I had on hand.

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/impossibly-easy-coconut-pie/dca95b46-58a1-4253-81ae-6091f4abf47c?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=01_2019_standard&utm_term=organic&utm_content=paid

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

From a professional baker in a Facebook group I'm in.  These were a big hit with Johnny.

• 1 lb of salted butter, softened

• 2 cups of white sugar

• 2 eggs

• Extract of your choosing (my standard for sales is vanilla almond ....1 tsp of almond and 1 tsp vanilla but for our family Christmas cutouts i use anise extract like my grandmother always did. Any extract will work)

• 6 cups ap flour (can be subbed cup for cup with either king arthur or Pillsbury gluten free ap flour just beware that the dough is much more fragile making it kinda a pita to work with)

Cream butter and sugar for 3 minutes, beat in eggs, beat in extract, add flour slowly mixing until it all comes together. Refrigerate to make it easier to work with (though in a pinch I don't and it works out fine ...add small amounts of flour if you need it immediately and can't work with it yet for looseness or stickiness ). Roll out, cut out, (at this point I freeze the cut shapes on the tray for 10 minutes to ensure perfect shape but you can absolutely skip that step) and bake at 350 for between 10 and 14 minutes (as soon as they start getting a small tinge of brown around the bottom edge they're done....the majority of the cookie should be pale).


Royal Icing:
Oh yes...you do 6 tbs of meringue powder to one regular size bag of powdered sugar and about 1 cup of lukewarm water -then beat using a hand or stand mixer for about 5 minutes on high. 

From there you can color it in batches and thin it with water or thicken with powdered sugar as desired

Creamy Herbed Potatoes

4 To 5 Whole Russet Potatoes
1 stick Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
3/4 cups Heavy Cream
1 cup Whole Milk (Half-and-Half Works, Too)
1 teaspoon Finely Chopped Rosemary
1 teaspoon Finely Chopped Parsley
1 teaspoon Finely Chopped Chives
1/2 teaspoon Finely Chopped Sage

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice potatoes very thinly.
• Add butter to a large skillet over medium low heat. When melted, add diced onion. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Add cream cheese to the pan and stir to melt. Pour in cream and milk, stirring to combine.
• Season with plenty of salt and pepper, then add chopped herbs.
• Place potatoes in a buttered baking dish. Pour contents of skillet over the top. Top with Parmesan cheese and bake for 45 minutes, or until bubbly. 
• Allow potatoes to sit 15 minutes before serving.

NOTES:

• We used shredded potatoes instead of sliced.  Recommended!  (2+ containers of the Costco dehydrated ones, but a big package of frozen would work too)
• Polnaszek-recommended and delicious!  We had them with ham for Christmas.
• We skipped the parmesan for Jonah, and was fine without

SOURCE - Pioneer Woman

Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch

1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional; for enhanced flavor
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda, optional (see "tips," below)
2 cups diced pecans or slivered almonds, toasted
2 2/3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped; or chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a large, deep saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the salt, sugar, espresso powder, water, and corn syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil gently over medium heat, without stirring, until the mixture reaches hard-crack stage (300°F on an instant-read or candy thermometer). The syrup will bubble without seeming to change much for awhile, but be patient; all of a sudden it will darken, and at that point you need to take its temperature and see if it's ready. (If you don't have a thermometer, test a dollop in ice water; it should immediately harden to a brittleness sufficient that you'll be able to snap it in two, without any bending or softness). This whole process should take about 10 to 12 minutes. Pay attention; too long on the heat, and the syrup will burn.
• While the sugar mixture is gently bubbling, spread half of the nuts, in a fairly closely packed, even single layer, on a lightly greased baking sheet (a half sheet pan works well here). If you're unfamiliar with making buttercrunch, it may be easier to use a 9" x 13" pan lined with greased foil or parchment. Top the nuts in the pan with half the chocolate.
• When the syrup is ready, stir in 1 teaspoon baking soda; it'll foam up, so be careful. Pour the syrup quickly and evenly over the nuts and chocolate. Immediately top with the remaining chocolate, then the remaining nuts.
• Wait several minutes, then gently, using the back of a spatula, press down on the chocolate-nut layer to spread the chocolate around evenly.
• While the candy is still slightly warm, use a spatula to loosen it from the baking sheet. When cool, break it into uneven chunks.
• Store cooled candy tightly wrapped; it'll stay fresh for a couple of weeks at room temperature. Freeze for longer storage.

NOTES:

• I used toasted almonds (and some TJ's almond meal I happened to have) to make it Jonah-friendly
• I followed some other directions on their English Toffee post and put the chocolate chips on the bottom and sprinkled the nuts on the top.  I wouldn't do it that way again - the chips didn't quite melt and lots of the almonds just fell off the top.
• Espresso powder = instant coffee (at least it was close enough to work and that's what I had on hand)
• The baking soda step is an option, but it really does give it a better texture.  Teeny bubbles make it easier to eat.

SOURCE:  https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-buttercrunch-recipe

https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2018/12/10/tips-for-making-english-toffee/?fbclid=IwAR3w8efre0PX8BRyI4xvIVkxnK5vb0LuyyNIqNnwfvavJ9iW5T3K24AKfJ0

Crock Pot Mushrooms

1 pound mushrooms
1/2 cup butter
1 envelope of ranch salad dressing mix

I stuff as many mushrooms as will fit into this little crockpot.
Melt the butter, add the dressing mix and pour over the mushrooms.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

MORE NOTES:

• As soon as the mushrooms start to get warm they'll reduce quite a bit.  Check after the first hour and stir in more mushrooms as space will allow.
• I like to buy my mushrooms at Costco.  The price is reasonable and the quality is better. (larger, more uniform sizes)
• I typically serve these as appetizers, but they would be pretty great with steak as well.