Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread courtesy of MsTxnHeartOlyphant

MsTxnHeartOlyphant swears this is the bee's knees!

One 6-ounce can black olives, drained
One 6-ounce jar pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained
2 stalks green onions
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup mayonnaise
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 loaf crusty French bread, sliced lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Roughly chop both the black olives and pimiento-stuffed green olives. Slice the green onions into thin pieces.

Combine the butter, mayonnaise, cheese, olives and green onions in a mixing bowl. Stir together until thoroughly combined.

Spread the mixture onto the French bread. Bake until the cheese is melted and browning, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cook's Note: The mixture can also be refrigerated (up to 2 days) and used as a dip. Great with crackers!

2012 Ree Drummond, All Rights Reserved

Shrimp stuffed Bell Peppers

4 medium red bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded
3 slices white bread, torn into pieces
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons oil
1 lb small shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 large egg
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons panko crumbs

Heat oven to 350

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add peppers, reduce heat to simmer and cook 10 mins,  Drain and set peppers aside.

Combine bread and water.   Let stand for 5 mins then drain bread and squeeze dry. 

In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, cook until onion is tender and stirring so it doesn't burn.  Remove from heat.

In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add shrimp and cook until pink and firm (abt 5 mins), stiring occasionally.

In a large bowl, stir together on the onion mixture, bread, egg, ketchum, Worchestershire, Cajun seasoning and pepper.  Add shrimp and stir until evenly combined.  Divide among the bell peppers and placed on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake for 30-35 mins.

**you can sub the shrimp with chicken or any protein that appeals to you**

Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Red Lobster

2 cups Bisquick (or Krusteaz)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder 
2/3 cup milk

2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, mix together biscuit mix, cheese and garlic powder. Add in milk, and stir until well mixed. (Heads up - the dough will get very sticky!) 

With a spoon or with your fingers, shape the dough into biscuit-sized clumps or bite-sized balls, and drop onto the baking sheet. (Note that the dough will pretty much hold its shape when baked, so feel free to pat down random peaks in the dough if you'd like them to look more uniform!) 

Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until biscuits begin to brown slightly around the edges. 

While the biscuits bake, prepare the warm butter mixture by mixing together the melted butter, oregano and garlic salt in a small bowl. As soon as the biscuits are removed from the oven, brush the biscuits (while they are still on the baking sheet) with the mixture until they are well-coated. 

Serve warm.

Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing

I stole this from Tyler Florence.  It's the best ever!!

2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, chopped
6 large cornmeal muffins, cubed
Handful fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 egg
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.

Add the onions and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, or until soft and caramelized. Add sage and scrape into a large mixing bowl. Add the cornbread pieces, season well with salt and pepper, and give it a good toss until it's well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, cream, and stock, and pour that over the cornbread. Stir the stuffing together and stuff the cavity of the turkey. You could also spoon it into a buttered baking dish and put it in the oven along with the turkey. Bake until hot and crusty on top, about 30 minutes.

**I make it a day in advance and keep it in a ziplock bag.  It gets all mooshy and the flavors meld together.  The only reason I don't eat it raw is because of the egg.**

Aunt Alice's Health Bread

From Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine by Norma Jean and Carole Darden (1978)*

1 tblsp safflower or corn oil                         1 (1/4 oz) pkg active dry yeast
1 tblsp butter                                                 1/4 c warm water
1 tblsp honey                                                3 c whole wheat flour
1 tblsp molasses                                           2 c soy flour or unbleached white flour
1 tblsp brown sugar                                      1/2 c wheat germ
2 1/4 tsp salt                                                 1/2 c bran
1 c boiling water                                           1 c scalded milk

Place oil, butter, honey, molasses, brown sugar and salt in large mixing bowl.  Pour in hot water and scalded milk, stir well, and let cool until lukewarm.  Mix yeast in 1/4 c warm water and add to bowl of lukewarm liquids (hot liquid will kill rising action of the yeast).  Stir in flours, wheat germ and bran, blending well until dough is moist but not sticky. 

Turn onto floured board, let rest for 10 min.  Knead, adding more of any flour as necessary, until dough is elastic, smooth ball.

Place dough in greased bowl and turn that entire ball is oiled.  Cover bowl w/tea towel and let dough rise in warm place, 70-80 degrees [direct sun, on TV, near hot stove, etc.].  Leave until double in bulk; 1-2 hours depending on heat.

Punch dough down, sprinkle with flour, knead lightly on floured board, shaping into 2 loaves.  Place in 2 greased 8" bread pans, cover, and let rise again until doubled in size; 45 min to 1 hour.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven, 45 min - 1 hour, until bread browned and edges have shrunk from pan.  Remove from pans and cool.


Fresh Herb Butter

1 pint heavy cream
1 tsp combined chopped fresh chives, parsley and dill
1/4 tsp salt

Place cream in a mixing bowl and beat with electric beater until water separates from a solid mass.  Pour off the liquid, season the butter with herbs and salt, and spoon into decorative dish


*a collection of maternal and paternal family recipes, with mini-bios of the Darden ancestors, family and friends.  Aunt Alice was the college roommate of the Dardens' Aunt Norma; an excerpt from Aunt Alice's bio:  "Aunt Alice was a 'divorced woman' at a time when that label carried a hint of mystery and intrigue.  She left her native Birmingham (although the accent never left her) in the late forties and went to New York to seek her fortune and a better education for her daughters Vicky and Leah.  For many years she taught home economics in the public school system and ran an alteration shop evenings and Saturdays.  After her girls began careers of their own, she decided to see a bit of the world, packed her bags, and toured Europe and Africa, sending us a postcard from nearly every port.  From Spain she wrote that she had just left Morocco and had settled in a villa near Palma for the winter.  That simply knocked us out!"