Ground Beef Zucchini Casserole

Photo courtesy of Maggie Armstrong.

   When I first read the name of this recipe it didn't sound very exciting. However once I read the ingredients and instructions, I became curious. This reminded me of the layers of a lasagna. Instead of noodles, layers of thin sliced zucchini are alternated with meat and cheese. 
   Once I actually tasted this casserole, I was totally won over. This was the grand prize winning dish at a local holiday recipe contest. It was the biggest surprise of the day for everyone that had the chance to try it. Congratulations to a great local cook.

Ground Beef Zucchini Casserole
Grand Prize Winner, Nora Miller, Patoka

2 cups zucchini unpeeled, sliced

2 T. butter

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves

2 cups cooked rice

16 oz. small curd cottage cheese

1 10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 350º. Melt the butter in a skillet over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in bread crumbs, brown lightly. Set bread crumbs aside.

Brown ground beef and onion stirring until ground beef is crumbly; drain. Add the garlic salt, oregano and cooked rice and mix well. 

Layer one-half of the unpeeled zucchini, the ground beef mixture, cottage cheese and remaining zucchini in a 9x9 baking pan. 

Spread the soup over the top and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 45 minutes.

Crock Pot Beef Roast

Photo courtesy of Maggie Armstrong.

    After having tried various ways of cooking roast, I've learned that they all need a little something added in to help with the flavor. Over the years, I've tried onion soup mix and Italian dressing, but this recipe tries something that I've not - a combination of ranch and au jus mixes. This turned out to be a great idea and one that I'll try. After tasting these tender beef cuts at a local recipe contest, I was sold on this idea.

Crock Pot Beef Roast

Maralu Pollock - Princeton

large chuck roast

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix

1 pkg. aujus mix

1 stick butter

4 or 5 pepperoncini and about 1/4 cup of juice

Put large chuck roast in bottom of crock pot. Sprinkle with 1 package ranch dressing mix, and 1 package Aujus mix. 

Add 1 stick butter, 4 or 5 pepperoncini and about 1/4 cup of the juice. 

Put on high and let cook 6 hours.

Sour Noodle Salad

    When I first saw the title of this recipe, "Sour Noodle Salad," I thought it sounded really weird. After I read the ingredients, I became intrigued. But when this dish was chosen as the winner in the salad category at a local holiday recipe contest, I took a taste and understood why it was a winner.
   The pasta was cooked perfectly al a dente' and it combined with the dressing to provide a cool, bright taste in your mouth. One taste was not enough. Many thanks to Mrs. Schwartz to sharing one of her best recipes. 
 
Sour Noodle Salad
Wanda Schwartz, Mt. Carmel, IL

1 lb. curly pasta (cook and cool)

1 onion chopped

1 cucumber chopped

Mix together:

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup oil

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. parsley (optional)

1/2 tsp. minced garlic (optional)

Stir vinegar mixture over pasta - refrigerate. Stir to keep flavor on pasta.

Caramel Apple Cake

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

   Do you remember having apple crisp for lunch in grade school? If you do, you'll like this version of a Caramel Apple Cake. It takes you back to the flavors of childhood. That could be a reason that it was chosen as a finalist in a local holiday recipe contest. It's easy, too.

Caramel Apple Cake

Laura Carpenter - Hazleton

2 cans apple pie filling

1 box caramel apple cake mix

1 stick butter

In crock pot put both cans apple pie filling. 

Sprinkle cake mix on top of apples.

Cut butter in half and place on top of dry cake mix. 

Place lid on crock pot cook on high 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Butter Nut Cake

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

   Until a recent recipe contest, I had never tasted a Butter Nut Cake before. I was so surprised. This is one of the most moist cakes that I've ever tasted. It was easy to see why this cake was the winner of the "Best Dessert" in a local holiday cooking contest. It's well worth the try.

Butter Nut Cake

Pat Wilder - Owensville

Nut mixture

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup nuts

1 tsp. cinnamon

Batter

1 box yellow cake mix

1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. butter nut extract

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

3 T. milk

1/2 tsp. butternut flavoring

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, cinnamon and nuts for nut mixture. Grease 9x13” pan well. Sprinkle some of nut mixture in bottom of pan.

Prepare batter by combining cake mix and pudding mix (dry). Add oil and water, mix well. Add eggs, beat for 8 minutes high speed add vanilla and butternut flavoring. 

Layer batter - then nut mixture, the batter, etc.

Bake at 350º for 40 minutes. Let cool. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

Hashbrown Casserole

Photo courtesy Maggie Armstrong

    One of the family favorites at every holiday dinner is hash brown casserole. One of the girls at work shared her recipe and I've been making it for years. Recently at a holiday recipe contest I discovered a new twist on an old favorite. A carton of French onion dip gives this dish a very creamy texture with a pop of flavor. Maybe that's why it was the side dish winner in the holiday cooking contest.

Hashbrown Casserole
Mary Weber, Fransisco, IN

1 - 32 oz. bag frozen unseasoned hash brown potatoes

1 - 8 oz. carton sour cream

1 - 8 oz. carton of French onion dip

1 can cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 stick of margarine melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients except margarine in a large bowl.

Place in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Top with melted margarine.

Bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Seven Layer Salad

    During the holidays there are potlucks, carry-ins and all kind of get-togethers that require you to bring a dish. This salad, with a few easy ingredients, is a perfect do-ahead dish for such occasions. It is so easy and tasty that it was picked as a finalist in a recent holiday recipe contest. Layer the ingredients in a large clear bowl the night before and it's ready for travel and serving the next day.

Seven Layer Salad

Mary Weber - Francisco, IN

1 2.5 oz. pkg. of real bacon bits

1 head iceberg or romaine lettuce - rinsed, dried and chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 10 oz. pkg. of frozen green peas, thawed

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup chopped cauliflower

1 1/4 cups mayonnaise

2 T. white sugar

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large clear bowl, place the lettuce and top with a layer of onion, peas, cheddar cheese, cauliflower and bacon. 

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, sugar and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle over salad.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Before serving toss salad to coat.

Bacon-Cheddar Muffins

Photo courtesy of Maggie Armstrong.

    Breads are one of my weaknesses, I love them. So when I saw this recipe for muffins with bacon and cheddar, I couldn't think of anything better. This recipe was submitted for a recipe contest at our local grocery store last week. It was chosen as one of the finalist because it's a tasty, hand-held snack that's easy to make. Thank you Wanda Schwartz of Mt. Carmel, Illinois.

Bacon-Cheddar Muffins

Wanda Schwartz - Mt. Carmel

2 cups Bisquick mix

Mrs. Schwartz.

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup sharp cheddar (shredded)

8 bacon strips (cook crispy - crumbled)

Combine Bisquick mix, milk, oil, egg until moistened. Fold in cheese, bacon. 

Fill greased muffin tins - fill 3/4 full. 
Bake at 375º for 30 min., or until golden brown. 

Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan. Yields 10 or 12 muffins.

Cheesy Garlic-Herb Pull Apart Bread

Photo courtesy Cooking Corner

   A good bread is my weakness and appetizers are my favorite, so it wasn't hard at all to love the taste of this chewy, herb-flavored bread. The smell of garlic and herbs was heavenly and it was easy to tear off a chunk of this cheesy bread to munch on while mingling. 
  This dish was so good that it won best appetizer award at a recent holiday recipe contest. Congrats and thanks for sharing.

Cheesy Garlic-Herb Pull Apart Bread

Nora Miller - Patoka

Nora Miller, Patoka, IN

1 - 16 oz. round sourdough bread loaf

1/2 cup butter softened

2 T. chopped fresh parsley - divided

1 T. chopped fresh basil

2 tsp. white wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350º. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Using a serrated knife, cut bread into a crisscross pattern, cutting to but not through bottom of bread. Place on prepared pan.

In a small bowl stir together butter, 1 tablespoon parsley and next 3 ingredients until combined. Sprinkle cheese between all cuts in bread, and spread butter mixture between all cuts and on top of bread.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is crisp. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley. Serve while hot.

Taco Bites

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

   At this year's Holiday Recipe Contest, one of the appetizers that made it to the finals was a snack by Brenna Crooks of Mt. Carmel - Taco Bites. They are a little meatball cradled in a tortilla scoop between salsa and sour cream that's topped with shredded cheese. It's a hand-held appetizer that would be perfect as a game day nibble. This is a recipe I'll be tucking away for football playoffs.

Brenna Crooks, Mt. Carmel, IL

Taco Bites

Brenna K. Crooks - Mt. Carmel

28 oz. bag frozen meatballs (such as Farm Rich brand)

1 pkg. scoop style tortilla chips

16 oz. finely shredded cheddar cheese

1 pkg. shredded lettuce

8 oz. sour cream

16 oz. salsa

Cook meatballs per package directions.

While they cook arrange scoops on serving plate. Fill bottom of each chip with shredded lettuce, then top lettuce with small spoonful of salsa. 

When meatballs are finished, top salsa with one meatball. Add small dollop of sour cream, then add shredded cheese. 

Serve immediately. 
Makes approx. 50 bites. 

*For a spicy version you can add a sliced jalapeno ring ring on top of the salsa layer.