Caramelized Onion-Grape Tomato Tart

This is my version of a recipe from The Pioneer Woman. Cooked crumbled bacon would be a terrific addition! (I omitted it only because we had this tart with grilled rib-eyes topped with lemon-blue cheese butter. Seemed a little over the top!)
1 round pie dough (homemade or purchased)
4 Tbsp. butter
1 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
4 oz. shredded Italian cheese blend
4 oz. shredded Swiss cheese
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half

1. Roll out pie dough, and shape to fit a half-sheet pan.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter over low heat in a large skillet; stir in sliced onion and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until onions are very soft.
3. Sprinkle cheeses over top of pie dough; top with caramelized onions and grape tomato halves. Use a pastry brush to spread remaining butter in onion pan around edges of crust.
4. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese melts. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Fried Green Beans

Canola oil

1 cup beer

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 lb. green beans, ends trimmed

1. Pour oil into a Dutch oven to depth of 1 1/2 inches. Heat over medium heat.

2. Stir together beer and next 3 ingredients until combined. Dip green beans into batter. Cook beans, in batches, in hot oil 3 minutes or until crispy and lightly brown. Drain on paper towels. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve immediately.

Corn Skillet Cakes

This is from The New Southern Garden Cookbook.
3 to 4 ears corn, husks and silks removed

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/3 cup buttermilk

Butter

Canola oil

1. Grate corn into a bowl. Stir in cornmeal and next 6 ingredients just until combined. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter with 1 Tbsp. oil in a cast-iron skillet. Drop batter, in batches, by tablespoonfuls into hot skillet. Cook cakes until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Serve immediately.

Slow-cooker Apple Butter

This is so easy—in fact, I let it cook overnight. The hardest part is peeling and cutting all of the apples. (I used small, old-fashioned apples from my uncle’s trees.) Store the jars in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.
6 pounds apples (use a mixture of types)
2 cups sugar
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1. Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Combine sugar and next 5 ingredients; toss with apples. Pack the mixture into a slow-cooker, making sure it’s at least two-thirds full. Cover with lid, and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Reduce heat to LOW, and cook for 8 to 12 hours or until the apples are completely soft. Remove the lid, increase the heat to HIGH, and cook 1 more hour or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in balsamic vinegar. Use an immersion blender to puree apple mixture until smooth. Ladle into jars; cover with lids. Allow to cool completely. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

This is my variation of a recipe from Joy the Baker.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Maple syrup

1. Combine flour and next 8 ingredients until combined. Stir together eggs and next 3 ingredients until combine. Stir into dry ingredients, just until combined. Stir in dried cranberries.
2. Cook pancakes on a lightly greased preheated griddle or skillet, in batches, until cooked on both sides. Serve warm with warm maple syrup.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

After 15+ years of making cookies from the same basic recipe, I have come up with a new kind of cookie. The inspiration is a brown sugar cookie from Joy the Baker. This new version uses no baking powder, so the cookies are flat and chewy instead of cake-like. They have the signature salty taste that I love in baked goods, thanks to salted butter and kosher salt. My family taste-testers approve of the change! One recipe makes 36 cookies, using a 2 Tbsp.-size scoop. My next goal: to incorporate oatmeal.

1 1/2 cups butter

2 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2 eggs

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 to 3 cups chocolate chips (depending on your preference)

1. Beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs, 1 at a time, until thoroughly blended. Combine flour and next 2 ingredients; beat in to butter mixture until combined. Add in chocolate chips. Scoop dough out onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

2. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Dill Pickles

Because of my grannie's green thumb, I have been over-run by cucumbers. The solution: Make dill pickles and can them. This recipe is pretty simple. The hardest part is waiting a month before trying the fruits of your labors!
11 cups water
5 cups white vinegar
1 cup canning salt
12 lb. cucumbers, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
12 dill sprigs
24 garlic cloves

1. Bring water and next 2 ingredients to a boil in a large pot; boil for 10 minutes. Pack cucumber slices into sterilized hot pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch space at top of jar. Place 1 dill sprig and 2 garlic cloves in each jar.
2. Carefully ladle hot vinegar mixture into jars, leaving 1/2 inch space at top of jar. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and attach lids and rings. Process jars for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Remove from canner, and allow jars to cool on towels for 24 hrs. Check lids to make sure they are sealed. Allow pickles to rest for 1 month before opening. Once open, keep in fridge for up to 2 weeks.