Homemade Flour Tortillas

Warning: It's hard to go back to store-bought after these!  Easy to make and so delicious--one of James's specialties from his family.

4 c. flour

1- 1 1/2 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

3/4 c. shortening

1-2 c. hot water

Mix the dry ingredients first.  Add the water until a nice, warm doughy consistency.  Roll into a ball and flatten.  Fry in a pan dusted with flour (no oil).

Italian Bean Soup

This is actually a recipe for a soup similar to Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup with a few changes made to it by me.  We like it both ways, but this way (with the beans instead of a few token potatoes and with more kale and slightly less sausage) is our slightly cheaper/slightly healthier version.  It's still quite good, and it uses kale which is a superfood!  How many recipes do you know of that use kale?!  Actually, if you do have any that are good, please send them to me!

2 3/4 c. chicken broth

1/4+ c. cream

2-3 c. chopped kale

1/3 lb. spicy Italian sausage (or just regular country sausage)

1/4 t. salt

1/8 t. cayenne pepper (or less)

1 can great northern beans

Combine broth and cream in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the kale and allow it to begin to simmer.  In the meantime, brown the sausage in a separate pan, drain (and possibly lighty rinse), and add to the soup.  Add the salt and cayenne pepper and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.  Add the beans toward the end if you don't want them cooked to smithereens.  

Note:  I triple this batch.  Then I can use a convenient pound of sausage, a large bag of kale, and a 1 lb. bag of dry great northern beans soaked and cooked beforehand--the perfect amount for the triple batch.  Then I freeze portions of the soup to go with a later dinner.

Mom Eyring's Jumbo Jubilees

These are pretty much my favorite cookies ever.  They have a unique taste.  I guess it's just that browned butter yumminess.  James likes to make fun of me because of the funny name, but he's introduced plenty of bizarrely named recipes of his own.

1/2 c. shortening

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 c. evaporated milk

1 t. vanilla

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

2 3/4 c. flour

Bake at 350 for 10 min.

Frosting

1/4 c. butter (melt slowly in a saucepan until brown)

Blend with:

2 c. powdered sugar

2 T. evaporated milk

1 t. oil

1/2 t. vanilla

(If needed, up to 1 T. hot water)

Stephanie Lynes' Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

This pumpkin bread is amazing because the fresh cranberries give just enough tart contrast to the pumpkin bread.  It's really yummy.  Frozen cranberries work as well and are cheaper and usually available year round.

1 1/2 c flour

1 T. pumpkin pie spice 

      or   1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg, 1/2 t. cloves

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 of 15-oz. can pumpkin puree (about 1 c.)

2 large eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/4 c. orange juice

1 c. fresh cranberries

Grease and flour one 9" x 5" loaf pan.  Bake 45 min at 350 degrees until knife comes out clean.  Cool 10 min. then loosen from pan.