1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
0.5 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
0.25 cup maple syrup
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease an 8×8 inch square round baking pan or iron skillet.

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Create a well in the middle. Whisk together the milk, maple syrup, and eggs. Add to the dry ingredients. Stir once or twice and then add the melted butter. Stir until just moistened. It is ok if the batter is lumpy. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and place on the center rack of the oven. Bake until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve warm with butter and additional maple syrup.

2 cups dried black eyed peas
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
2 tablespoons dried vegetable flakes
2 teaspoons dried chicken boullion granules
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
0.5 teaspoons ground black pepper
0.25 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
1 (29 oz.) can chopped tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 ham bone with ham still on the bone (optional)
Cooked white rice (optional)

Rinse and pick the black eyed peas. Place in a large dutch oven, cover with water, and soak over night or 8 hours to soften.

Drain beans. Add the remaining ingredients except the white rice. Add enough cold water to cover by 2 to 3 inches. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and keep at a simmer for 4 hours or until peas are tender. If more water is needed, add boiling water to bring back up to proper level. Serve in bowls over cooked rice, if desired.

Serves a lot of people

2 butternut squash
maple syrup
olive oil
salt
pepper

Take one or two butternut squash and peel. Remove the top and the bottom (where the stems grow) and then cut in half, using a spoon scoop out the seeds and strings. Slice lengthwise and lay in a large baking dish. Drizzle with 3/4 cup grade A (REAL) maple syrup and 3/4 cup olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper (You can also put all ingredients into a large ziploc bag and shake well to coat everything.) Bake at 400 degrees until fork tender – about half hour to 3/4 of an hour.

2 chicken breasts
1 can (10 oz) of cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 oz) of cream of chicken soup
1 can (10 oz) of chicken gravy
16 oz frozen mixed veggies
salt
pepper
onion powder
thyme
2 cups of bisquik
1 1/2 cups of milk
garlic powder

Chop chicken and bake for 10 min in a greased 9×13 dish (i would have used more chicken if i had more thawed, this is a little soupy but tasty!). Then mix in a saucepan with cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, chicken gravy, thawed mixed veggies, and a sprinkle of salt, pepper, onion powder, and thyme. Boil for a couple minutes and pour back into the 9×13 dish. Separately, mix bisquick, milk, and a sprinkle of garlic powder. Pour that over/into the chicken/soup mix and baked it all for 30 min on 350.

Serves 4
There’s room for lots of substitutions with more planning ahead.

1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1/4 cup sugar
2 – 3 tablespoons vinegar
7 cups broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
8 slices bacon, cooked crisp, drained and crumbled
optional: 1 small onion, chopped fine

Mix together the mayo, raisins, sugar, vinegar and onion.
Add broccoli and mix well.
Cover and refrigerate from 2 to 24 hours
Just before serving stir in the bacon and sunflower seeds.

Serves 8+

2 cups soft butter
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 ½ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix thoroughly:
butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
vanilla

Blend and stir in:
flour
salt

Mix in nuts, and roll into 1” balls.
Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool and roll in powdered sugar again.

Makes 5 dozen cookies

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
4 squares of unsweetened baker’s chocolate
1 cup flour

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add Vanilla. Beat in eggs and melted chocolate. Stir in flour. Pour into greased 13X9″ pan and bake for 30 minutes at 325-350 (depending on how “done” you like them). Delish!

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1/2 bell pepper chopped
5 medium sized potatoes
1/2 to 1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 can whole kernal corn (or 8 oz. frozen corn, cooked)
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
black pepper to taste
paprika

Peel the potatoes and cut in 1/2 thick slices; boil until soft.

While the potatoes are cooking, brown the beef with the onion, garlic, peppers, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.

Mash the potatoes with the milk (start with smaller amount and add milk as needed to get a good mashed consistency), butter, and salt & pepper.

Layer in a 2 1/2 qt. baking dish: first the meat, then the corn, and top with mashed potatoes. Dot the top with butter and sprinkle with paprika if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until potatoes start to brown a bit.

Serves 4

¼ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ lb ground beef
1 8 oz. can sliced mushrooms
1 can mushroom soup
½ cup sour cream
8 oz. wide egg noodles, boiled until done (8 min.)

Cook meat, onions, and garlic until meat is browned and onions are soft. Add drained mushrooms, soup, and ¼ cup water. Simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Serve on a bed of hot boiled noodles.

Serves 2

1 lb spaghetti
¼ cup chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp butter
18 oz can tomatoes
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
6 oz can tomato paste
2 well beaten eggs
1 tsp sugar
2 cups cottage cheese
1 tsp oregano
1 lb ground beef
½ tsp garlic salt
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup mozzarella cheese

Cook and drain spaghetti. Stir butter into hot spaghetti. Stir in parmesan cheese and eggs. Form spaghetti mixture into a crust in a 9X13 baking pan. Spread cottage cheese over bottom of spaghetti crust.

In skillet cook ground beef, onion and green pepper until meat is browned and veggies are tender. Stir in tomatoes and paste, sugar, oregano, and garlic salt. Heat through. Put mixture in spaghetti crust.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Cover top with grated mozzarella and bake for another 10 minutes.

Serves 4