Cheesy Potatoes

 Ingredients

• 4 large russet potatoes or 6 medium-sized ones** (see alternative potato options below)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cup unsalted (or low-sodium) chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 ¾ cups freshly grated Cheddar cheese

Instructions

• Scrub, peel, and cut the potatoes into small cubes, no larger than a ½". The size of the potatoes will affect the cook time. Spray a 4-5 quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray and add the potatoes.
• Add the butter to a medium-sized sauté pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it has melted, add the diced onion and sauté for 4-6 minutes, until softened and cooked through.
• Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir until evenly coated. Then, add the chicken broth about a ¼ cup at a time, stirring until fully incorporated after each addition. Allow to simmer 3-4 minutes, until slightly thickened, stirring often. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream, salt, and pepper. Add 2 cups of the Cheddar cheese and stir once more. The sauce will taste very salty.
• Pour the sauce over the potatoes, stir to combine, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours (or until soft and tender). Once the potatoes are cooked through, add the remaining Cheddar to the top of the potatoes and allow to melt -- about 10-15 minutes. If desired, dab any grease collected on the top with paper towels. Serve and enjoy!
  https://www.theanthonykitchen.com/crock-pot-cheesy-potatoes/#recipe

Lentils

1 c lentils

3 c water/broth

9 min pressure high, natural release 15 min then release rest of pressure 

Orange Rolls

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to about 100°F (38°C)
• 6 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar, divided
• 1 Tablespoon (9g) active dry or instant yeast
• 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons (30ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 Tablespoon fresh orange zest (about 1orange)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups (530g) bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for hands/work surface

Filling

• 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, extra softened
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon fresh orange zest (about 1orange)

Orange Icing

• 1 and 1/4 cups (150g) confectioners’ sugar
• 3 Tablespoons (45ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 
  

Instructions

1. Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm milk, 2 Tablespoons sugar, and the yeast together in a large mixing bowl, with wooden spoon

Add the remaining sugar, the butter, orange juice, orange zest, eggs, salt, and 1 cup (about 130g) of flour and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add 3 more cups (about 400g) flour and beat on low speed until a soft dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dough will be very soft, but should not feel overly sticky. If dough seems too soft and sticky to knead by hand, beat in a little more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and wraps itself around the dough hook.

Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise.

1st rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1.5–2 hours or until about double in size. 

Grease bottom/sides of baking dish, or use parchment paper. 

Punch down the dough, then roll out to 10x16” rectangle. If it keeps shrinking, let it rest 5-10 minutes before continuing. 

Mix the filling, spread the butter on the rolled out dough, sprinkle filling over the butter, then roll up and cut rolls of 1.5” thickness and place in pan. 

Second rise: cover rolls tightly and let to el rise for 30-45 minutes (unless making overnight). 

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Bake rolls for about 25–28 minutes or until they are lightly browned on top. After about 15 minutes, loosely tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the pan to prevent the tops from browning too quickly. If you have an instant-read thermometer, the rolls’ internal temperature should reach 190°F (88°C). Remove pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool slightly (about 10 minutes) while you make the icing.

Notes

1. Make Ahead Instructions – Overnight: To prepare the night before serving, prepare the rolls through step 7. Cover the rolls tightly and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. (16 hours max. 8–12 hours is best, but 16 hours is OK if absolutely needed. Do not exceed 16 hours.) The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise on the counter for 1–2 hours before continuing with step 9.

Best Loaded Slow-Cooker Potatoes

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a50007/slow-cooker-loaded-potatoes/

Pork crock pot

notes for how we did 8 pounds pork butt on a Sunday 

Put in crock pot for 2 hours on low then cook for 5 hours on high

Pecan Praline Bars

Here is the recipe for the Pecan Bars.

https://thedomesticrebel.com/2016/09/27/pecan-praline-blondies/

 

Ingredients

• FOR BLONDIES:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

   

• FOR PRALINE ICING:
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9" baking pan with foil, extending the sides of the foil over the edges of the pan. Spray the foil with cooking spray and set aside.
• To make the blondies: In a medium/large sauce pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the brown sugar until combined. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes. After it's cooled off a little, whisk in the eggs and the vanilla until combined. Lastly, whisk in the salt, baking powder and flour until a soft batter forms.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake for approx. 19-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
• Wipe out the sauce pot and return it to the stove. To make the praline icing: Add the butter and brown sugar to the sauce pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir constantly for 2 minutes. Add in the heavy cream and bring back up to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat and cool slightly, about 10-15 minutes. Once cooled off a little bit, add in the powdered sugar. Fold in the pecans.
• Working quickly, spread the praline icing over the blondie base in an even layer. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set the icing before cutting into bars.

Hard Cooked Eggs - InstantPot

Put 2 cups water into instant pot. 

Place eggs on a trivet in a single or double layer.

Close lid. Set to sealing. 

Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. 

Natural release for 4 minutes then quick release. Putin ice bath for 4 minutes.