Fourth of July Beans!

I got this recipe from my awesome sister in law who is an excellent cook! She has shared some of my all time favorite recipes! These beans are no exception! They are to die for and everyone who partakes of them is a fan; even the most finicky eaters! I even won a chili cook-off with these and they aren't even chili! 

Perfect for your July get-togethers!

Fourth of July Beans

Brown 1 lb. of ground beef with 1 C. chopped onion. Add 1/2 lb. of diced cooked bacon. Add 64 ounces of Pork and Beans, 2 cans drained kidney beans, 2 cans drained butter beans, 1 C. of your favorite barbecue sauce, 1 C. sugar, 1 C. brown sugar, 1 C. ketchup, 4 Tbsp. mustard, 4 Tbsp. molasses, 2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. chili powder. Warm it all together and serve or place in a crock pot for several hours.

Blueberry Coconut Cream Slab Pie

Picture had to be first in this post! Blueberries and Coconut are a match made in heaven! 

Pulse 3 & 2/3 C. flour, 1/3 C. sugar, and 1 tsp. salt in a food processor to combine. Add 3/4 C. coconut oil, and 1 stick cubed butter. Pulse until pea sized. Pour in 1/3 C. buttermilk and pulse to incorporate. Add 3/4 C. ice water in small amounts pulsing after each addition until dough holds together. Turn dough out and knead just to incorporate dry portions. Divide dough into two portions with one slightly larger. Refrigerate dough pieces wrapped in plastic wrap for 30 minutes. 

Sprinkle ground coconut onto a jelly roll pan. Roll out larger dough into a 13x18 inch rectangle on a floured and coconut sprinkled surface. Transfer dough to the jelly roll pan. Fold edge under and freeze dough until firm, 15 minutes.

Now for the blueberry filling...if you don't happen to like blueberries, you could try substituting raspberries, blackberries or even peaches.

Preheat oven to 500* with a baking stone on the lowest rack for 30 minutes (I loved what this part did to the crust, but I don't think it is totally necessary if you don't happen to have a stone)

Beat 1 pkg cream cheese and 1 egg till smooth. Add 1/2 C. cream of coconut (this was easy to find on Amazon.com) and beat until smooth. Spread on bottom crust. Reduce oven temperature to 400*. Whisk together 1/2 C. cream of coconut, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 4 tsp. quick cooking tapioca, and 1 tsp. coconut extract; toss with 4 C. fresh blueberries to coat, then sprinkle over cream cheese filling.

Roll remaining dough into a 12 inch square and place it over the blueberry filling. Cut slits and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake until top and edges are golden, 35-40 minutes. Let pie cool to room temperature. Enjoy by itself or serve with ice cream! Soooo Scrumptious!!

Au Gratin Potatoes

I made these potatoes for an Au Gratin Potato lover and he said he is now ruined for all other Au Gratin Potatoes! They are made with Manchego cheese which I could only find at Sam's Club and Costco. It is kinda pricey, but worth it. These are some pretty tasty potatoes!

Manchego Au Gratin Spuds

Pour 1/2 C. heavy cream in the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Arrange a layer of peeled sliced potatoes on top overlapping them. Pour 1/2 C. cream over the potatoes and sprinkle 3 Tbsp. chopped green pimento stuffed olives and 1 C. Manchego cheese over the top. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering three more times starting with the potatoes. Top final layer with 2 C. Manchego. Cover dish with plastic and refrigerate overnight. 

Preheat oven to 375*. Replace plastic with tinfoil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 45 minutes. Let potatoes rest 30 minutes before serving.

I am not a huge fan of leftovers. To give you an indication of how good these are, I ate them five times! Usually, twice is my max.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake!

So, I received a spring form pan for Mother's Day and decided to bake my first real cheesecake ever! It was delicious!

In a small bowl combine 1 and 1/2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs and 1/4 C. melted butter. Press into the bottom and about an inch up the side of a springform pan. Bake at 325* for about 8 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat 4 pkgs of cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add 1 C. sugar and beat till light and fluffy. Add 4 eggs one at a time beating on low speed until smooth. Add 3 Tblsp. flour, 1/4 C. heavy cream, and the seeds scraped from a vanilla bean pod. Mix well. Pour filling into cooled crust. Bake at 300* for 70-80 minutes or until center of cheesecake jiggles slightly when shaken. Cool completely.

In a large bowl, stir together 2 C. sour cream and 1/3 C. powdered sugar until smooth. Spread over cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Top with whatever suits your fancy! 

Blueberry-Crumb Jumbo Muffins

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

 1 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar

 3/4 teaspoon salt

 1 tablespoon baking powder

 1/2 cup vegetable oil

 2 eggs

 1/2 cup milk

 2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. I used my jumbo muffin pan that makes six large muffins.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the eggs and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: 

 3/4 cup white sugar

 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter, cubed

 2-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon. 

Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.