Let's Eat!

Artichoke-Olive Dip

2012-01-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

Folks, I made this for New Years Eve and it was super easy and really, REALLY good! I'm going to leave it at that.

1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1 c large pitted olives (I used olives with the red pimentos from an olive bar that seem to work just fine)
1 TBL capers, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can of plain artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
slices of good, crusty bread (toast at 400 for 5-6 minutes if you want... I didn't do this)

Put garlic, olives, capers, artichoke hearts, and oil in a food processor. Blend it until it's a dip-ish consistency.
Eat with bread.

V7 Juice (Drink your vegetables!)

2012-01-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

Home canned tomatoes - if you have them
cabbage
zucchini
green onions - tops and onion part
celery (with leaves of course!)
cucumber
lettuce
celery salt
pepper

put in a big pot and simmer for a half hour or so. Let cool.
Put in food processor. Chill.

Pumpkin oat bran muffins

2011-11-19T07:47:00.000-08:00

Love these!!

Ingredients:

1.5 cups oat bran
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. almond meal
2 t. baking powder
1 t. pumpkin pie spice (I used cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg)
1/4 t. salt
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 egg whites
2 T. veg.oil

Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Combine the rest in another bowl. Gently fold them together. Bake in greased muffin tin at 425 for 25 minutes.

We ate them with honey-butter, which was delish!

Mrs. Hamlet's Brownies

2011-10-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

I don't bake often (other than bread) and we're not a family of sweet eaters. This brownie recipe is perfect for so many reasons. First, you only get 9 brownies (unless you double the recipe for a 9 X 13 pan) so you're not overwhelmed with sweets. Second, it's not much more complicated than an old boxed mix. And third, THEY ARE FREAKING DELICIOUS. The recipe come from a former co-worker's boyfriends mom and whenever Susan would bring them into the office, you had to act fast to get one.

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 T vanilla extract
2 eggs
2, 10oz squares unsweetened baker's chocolate
1 c. flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Blend together the butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Melt the chocolate (I use the microwave and watch it carefully) and add it and the dry ingredients to the mixture. Add the the nuts.

Pour batter into greased 9 X 9 pan. Bake 25-35 minutes.

Skillet Baked Ziti

2011-10-18T05:26:00.000-07:00

For Christmas last year, Roy gave me the cookbook, "The Best 30-Minute Recipes" by the editors of Cook's Illustrated. This is my go-to cookbook for meal planning and any night when I'm in a pinch about what to make. This recipe for Skillet Baked Ziti is fantastic and I make it often. It takes slightly more than 30 minutes when you figure in prep time, but it's an easy and really yummy nightly supper. Sometimes I serve with Aidells sausages on the side.

1 T Olive Oil
6 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 t red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (I use my canned whole tomatoes, drained)
3 C water
12 oz Ziti (3 3/4 cups) and Penne works well too
1/2 C heavy cream
1/2 C grated parmesan
1/2 C minced fresh basil
1 C shredded mozzarella.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475.

Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 t salt in 12 inch oven safe nonstick skillet and saute over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti and 1/2 t salt. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender, 15-18 minutes.

Stir in cream, parmesan and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. ** Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. Serve.

**I have also transferred it to a baking dish at this point, then added the mozzarella.

A variation is to replace 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup vodka for a vodka cream sauce, which really enhances the tomato.

Super delicious!

Pumpkin Coconut Pie

2011-10-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

Dairy-free pumpkin pie that was delish!

Crust: whatever you do

Pie filling:
2 eggs
1 can pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. salt
1 T molasses
1 T rum
3/4 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 425. Beat eggs, then add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake for about an hour, and let it set for awhile before serving.

Tomato Onion Pie

2011-07-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

This recipe is not low fat, low cal, low salt, low ANYTHING, but it is delicious, and it requires summer's bounty of tomatoes, onions, and basil. When I told Roy I was making tomato pie for supper he was skeptical (I'm being kind in my description) but he's a fan. This, with a salad on the side, is the epitome of summertime indulgence.

1 small vidalia onion, diced (I used onions from the farmer's market, not vidalia)
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 c. fresh basil, chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c. mayonnaise
3/4 lb bacon (I didn't use that much) cooked and chopped
1 9-inch pie crust

Preheat oven to 350.
Press pie crust into pie pan and bake for about 8 minutes.

Remove crust from the oven and layer tomatoes on top of the crust. Toss the basil and onions together and layer on top of the 'maters.

In a separate bowl, combine the cheeses, mayo, and bacon. Spread this mixture over the tomatoes, basil, and onions.

Bake the pie at 350, uncovered, until brown, 15-20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

Chocolate Silk Pecan Pie

2011-07-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

1 pie crust (your own or refrigerated from a 15 oz. box)

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

3 T. butter, melted

1/8 t. salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup hot milk

1/4 t. vanilla

1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup whipping (heavy) cream

1/4 t. vanilla

2 T. powdered sugar

1.) Heat oven to 350. Put pie crust in 9 inch pie plate. Beat sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Stir in pecans. Pour into pie crust in pie plate. Bake 35-45 minutes or until center of pie is puffed and golden brown. Cool 1 hour.

2.) When filled crust is cooling, place hot milk, 1/4 t. vanilla and the chocolate chips in blender and blend on medium speed for 1 minute or until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours or until mixture is slightly thickened but not set. Gently stir and then pour over cooled filling in pie crust. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.

3.) Beat whipping cream, powdered sugar, and 1/4 t. vanilla in chilled small bowl on high speed until stiff peaks form. (I let each person put this on their own piece of pie when we ate.)

Refrigerate pie and whip cream.

This is very rich, but very yummy! Since it's so rich, one pie could easily be 8-10 pieces.

Sesame Seed Multigrain Waffles

2011-05-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

I made these for "supper-breakfast" (as Ben calls it) and they turned out great and the kids loved them!

1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1/2 c sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 c oat bran
2 tsp b. powder
1/2 tsp b. soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I think cinnamon would taste good, too)
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, separated (I didn't separate)
1 1/2 c buttermilk or plain yogurt
1/2 c milk
4 TBL butter, melted (or canola oil)

1. Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the wet, and beat the egg whites separately if you go that route (I used to do this step, but it doesn't make much of a difference).
2. Mix the dry and wet ingredients (except egg whites) until just mixed.
3. Fold in egg whites.
4. Make the waffles!

We enjoyed them with butter and honey. Very tasty!

Homemade fruit and vegetable wash.

2011-05-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

This is a fruit and veggie wash from Dr. Oz. This is the best choice if your stuff isn't always organic. Of course organic is best, but this is a good alternative if - as in our case - organic isn't always available.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 of a lemon

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large container. Transfer to a spray bottle with a pump. Spray mixture on produce and let sit for 5 minutes. Scrub and rinse.

You should also scrub peelable fruits like oranges and grapefruits. Also, did you know peaches have the MOST pesticides and toxins of all fruits?

Crockpot Curried Chicken

2011-04-15T08:38:00.001-07:00

Jen should actually be posting this since she shared this recipe on Facebook from a cooking blog. I realize curry has a love/hate relationship with this crowd, but for those of you who love curry, you're going to LOVE this! It's terribly easy and so, so good! Marc and I feel very fortunate to have children who share this "love curry" gene, so they just gobbled this up!

Here it is:
~2 lbs chicken cut in large cubes
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
1 green pepper, de-seeded and cut in half
2-3 whole cloves garlic
1 can tomato paste
1 can coconut milk
1 T curry powder
1 T garam masala
2 dry whole chili peppers (optional!)
2 T water
1.5 T cornstarch (I didn't use this)
1 bunch coriander (for decoration)
cilantro, chopped (garnish)

1. Put chopped chicken in crockpot.
2. Put onion, pepper, garlic, tomato paste, coconut milk, curry, garam masala in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour on top of chicken and add chili peppers (if using). Cook on low for 6 hours.
4. An hour before eating, mix water and cornstarch until cornstarch is dissolved. Mix with the chicken goop and continue cooking. (I didn't do this step and it was just fine)
5. Serve on top of rice and garnish with cilantro.

I had plenty and froze the leftovers. I can only imagine that it's going to taste even better the next time! Enjoy!

Easy Beef Stew

2011-03-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah, everyone makes an easy beef stew. This is in the crockpot, and here it is:

Throw in stewing beef chunks
1 large or 2 med. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 onion, sliced
3 beef bouillon cubes
1 t. oregano
1 t. thyme
a few shakes of salt

Cook on low for several hours. We had it with cheese quesadillas and ants on a log.

Even Greta, who hardly ever will eat meat said the beef was delish!

Tired Mama Chicken

2011-03-16T17:17:00.001-07:00

Put a half of a lime and a whole head of garlic inside a whole chicken.

Dash some salt on her.

Put it in the (oiled) crock pot all day and come home to yum-ness.

(We ate it with fried yucca, plantains, and salad....but you can choose your sides...)

Easy Peasy Skillet Supper

2011-03-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

Chop one onion and cook in 1/4 cup butter.
Add one small cabbage, cut up.
Add 1/4 cup water -
Mix and let cook , covered, over med heat for 10 - 15 minutes.

Add three large potatoes, sliced. Let cook for 10-15 minutes.
Add a little more water, and seasonings: seasoned salt, paprika,
pepper, greek seasoning, whatever you think works.

Add 2 cups chopped ham. Let cook another few minutes, until
potatoes are tender.

I cooked the whole shebang for about 40 minutes. The cabbage gets
nice and brown and crusty on the bottom, esp if you use an iron
skillet.

Tim said "This one's a keeper!"

Cleaning my coffee pot

2011-03-06T16:28:00.001-08:00

I love my coffeemaker. It's programmable and brews straight into a carafe, omitting the need for a heating element. I set it up every night and when I crawl out of bed at 10 til 7 each morning, a hot pot of coffee is there waiting for me. And, there it sits until I finish cleaning the supper dishes and fix a pot for the next morning.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I don't clean my coffee carafe. Like, ever. I rinse it out each night (usually) but that's about it. So when I went to one of my favorite cooking blogs, Mennonite Girls can Cook, I saw that they gave an awesome method for cleaning the blackened interior of my carafe.

It's so easy. Put a dishwashing tablet or powder into the carafe and fill with boiling water. Let it set for a few hours, dump out and rinse well. I just did it and my goodness, it works brilliantly. Here are the instructions from their blog.

(And even if you keep your coffee pot looking like new, or you don't drink coffee at all, you really should check out the site!)

Noodles with Garlic and Oil

2011-02-24T14:13:00.001-08:00

Katie, this immediately made me think of you. I pulled out noodles for Sophie before I dumped all the goodness in.

(I halved this for my crew, so it can easily be doubled)

3 T Olive Oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
1/2 lb Spaghetti
1/4 t red pepper flakes (the recipe says 3/4 t, so I did a heaping 1/4. it was plenty spicy)
1 1/2 T chopped fresh parsley
Fresh Parmesan

Heat lots of water in a large pot.

While water is coming to a boil, combine 1 1/2 T oil, 2 T of the garlic, and 1/4 t salt in a heavy bottomed, non-stick skillet. (cast iron works great). Cook over low heat, stirring almost constantly, until garlic foams and is sticky and straw colored, 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, add 1/2 T salt to the water, along with the pasta. Cook until al dente, reserving about 1/3 cup of pasta water. Drain.

Off the heat, add the remaining raw garlic to the skillet along with the red pepper, parsley, and 1 T of reserved liquid. Stir well to keep the garlic from clumping.

Transfer the drained pasta to a warm serving bowl; add the remaining 1 1/2 T olive oil, remaining pasta water, and toss to coat. Add the garlic mixture and toss well to combined.

Serve with Parmesan.

Essentially Elizabeth's Granola

2011-02-23T05:17:00.000-08:00

5c oats
1c coconut (not in mine)
1c wheat germ
1/2c sunflower seeds
1/4c sesame seeds
1c peanuts (I use mixed)
(whatever)
(I usually us more of most of this as well as whatever)

MIX

3/4c oil
3/4c honey
1/2c maple syrup (I use fake, it's not as strong)
1/4c water
1t salt (I don't)
(I usually use more of each of these as I have way more of all the above.)
MIX and pour over dry.

Spread onto baking sheet(s) and bake at 300 till dark, dry, toasty

(The note on my card says that Bix adds vanilla and cinnamon.)

Mushrooms Baked in Cream

2011-02-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

1 pound mushrooms with large caps

1 Tablespoon minced onion

1/3 cup cup fine, dry bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (or more)

1 cup cream (I use fat free half and half)

1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

Oil or cooking spray

Lightly butter (or spray) a shallow baking dish.

Clean but do not slice mushrooms.

Chop stems (mince) and heat them in a skillet with a little bit of butter and the onions. Cook slowly for about five minutes, moving gently with a spoon.

Add bread crumbs, salt, paprika and pepper.

Pile mixture into mushroom caps. Place stuffed mushrooms in baking dish.

Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Combine cream and worcestershire sauce and pour around the mushrooms.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes

6-8 Servings

-Pamela Chappell

Energy Bars

2011-02-10T18:16:00.000-08:00

I made these bars to take on our Costa Rican trip.....they are very very good, chock full yummy stuff.

1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup oats (I used steel cut but any kind will work-don;t use instant)
7 cups rice cereal
1 cup corn syrup (I used 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup corn syrup)
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 stevia)
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
1 cup powdered milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract

1. Combine sesame sseeds and sunflower seeds in a dry skillet over med. heat - cook till toasted. Cool
2. Combine the dates, raisins, apricots, cherries, choc chips, and toasted seeds in a food processor - pulse to chop but not pasty. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in oats and cereal.
3. In a glass bowl mix together the corn syrup, sugar and peanut butter. Heat in microwave till bubbly. Stir in powdered milk, vanilla and almond extract. Pour peanut butter mixture over the bowl of cereal and goodies. Mix WELL with your hands.
4. Press mixture FIRMLY into one greased 10x15 pan and one pan slightly smaller. - Bake at 250 for about 25 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars. These can be a bit crumbly but if you have crumblies put them on ice cream......

Fool Proof Crepes

2011-02-06T05:54:00.000-08:00

When it comes to my efforts to make crepes, I have proven myself foolish. I found this recipe online, and tried it, and . . . yeah! It works. Here's what you do:

In a blender or food processor, blend 1/2 c. flour, 2 eggs, 3 T. oil, 2 t. lemon juice, 1/2 t. salt, 2/3 c. milk until smooth.

Prepare pan: on medium heat, brush oil on pan and heat until hot. Then, take the pan off to cool for a couple minutes. Return to heat and brush again with oil. Now the pan is ready, and you don't have to oil between crepes.

Pour just enough batter to spread around the pan thinly. Wait till edges dry up, and flip. Cook other side for a couple minutes.

Eat with whatever you want. We used yoghurt, strawberries, and maple syrup.

Crazy Easy Veggie Beef Soup

2011-01-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

This won't be the best vegetable beef soup you've ever had, but when you want a home cooked meal on a cold winters' night, this does the trick.

1 package hormel (or another brand) prepared potroast
4 c. beef broth
1 can tomato juice
1 bag frozen veggies
I added 1 can home canned tomatoes, but wouldn't add tomatoes from a regular can.

Cook the potroast per the microwave instructions and add it, along with it's juice, to the rest of the ingredients.

Bring to a boil and cook on med-low for 30-45 minutes.

Obviously you could also use leftover pot roast (which I do for my normal vegetable soup) but this works when you're in a pinch.

Blackberry Lemon Almond Muffins

2011-01-24T07:59:00.000-08:00

2 eggs
1/2 c. veg oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1.5. c. blackberries
juice from 1/2 a lemon (some zest would give it a little more kick)
1/2 c. almond meal (I buy this at Trader Joe's, but I think my mom used to make nut meal by just blending nuts in the food processor)
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Preheat 350
Mix together eggs, oil, brown sugar, vanilla.
Stir in blackberries and lemon juice
Add almond meal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Stir until just combined. Don't overmix.
Spoon into muffin tin (oiled or papers).
Bake about 25 minutes.

Tomato Basil Soup

2011-01-23T13:23:00.000-08:00

Anyone else remember that great little restaurant in Newton called Eat You Veggies? I know some of you do. This recipe is from there.

2 onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves, pressed
4 cups veg. stock
2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 t. salt
pepper to taste
2 cups tomato juice
2 T. chopped fresh basil
2 c. half and half
lemon pepper to taste
2 t. lemon juice

Saute onion and celery until soft. Add garlic and saute till begins to color

Add stock and tomatoes, bring to boil, turn down heat, and add half and half, salt and pepper, basil. Reheat.

Stir in lemon pepper and lemon juice to taste.

tasty dumb soup

2011-01-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

I made this with stuff I had laying around the kitchen the other night. My children thanked me numerous times, and my husband had "no suggestions" for next time (never happens!). Here is what I did:

1. Chop up and boil several potatoes as if you are going to mash them (I used 7 small-med).

2. When potatoes are cooked, mash them up, add a little butter, salt and pepper, then add chicken stock (I used about 3 cups). Heat to simmer.

3. While the potato/broth is heating, saute 1 onion and 1 or 2 garlic cloves in olive oil until clear.

4. Add onion and garlic to broth, along with:
1 package of frozen mixed peas and carrots
Diced ham of some kind. I used thick ham steak slices, but any kind of ham or bacon would work... could even use kielbasa... anything smokey.

5. Simmer all together until veggies are tender.

6. Just before serving, add 1/2 cup sour cream.

Good with some kind of crusty bread! Carby, warm, and tasty!

Search Box

2011-01-04T10:42:00.001-08:00

FYI: I've added a search box on the top right. It will search just this blog, so if you want to find a recipe from the past, or with a certain ingredient, it should be easy now.

Creamy White Chili

2010-12-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

1 pound boneless skinless chiken or turkey breast (I used turkey).
1 med onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 TBLS vegetable oil
2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chicken broth
2 cans chopped green chilis
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream (I used light)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I used hald and half)

In a large saucepan saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in il till chicken is no longer pink. Add the beans, broth, chilis and seasonings. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat - simmer 30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and cream. Serve immediately.

Yield: 7 servings. NOTE: If you're smart, you will double this recipe!!!! The leftovers are even better! Bix

Yummy Butter Beans

2010-12-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

I first had fresh butter beans while visiting my husband's family in Virginia Beach. They aren't grown where I live, I guess the climate in the mountains isn't quite warm enough. Anyway, if you can get these things where you live, lucky you!! If not, look for fresh frozen ones (which is what I used), or dried. If you are using dried beans, you will need to soak them first.

You will need:

3C butter beans
Salt
4 tbs butter (1/2 stick)
1 tbs flour
6C water

Simmer the beans in the water with salt added until tender. Add butter, simmer a little longer.
In a small dish, mix flour and a little water to make a paste (not too thick). Add this to the pot and stir to thicken a bit. Salt and pepper to taste. I think the longer you cook this, the better it tastes. The recipe I used said that the preparation time was 90 minutes. So good!!!

Chocolate Croissants

2010-11-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

I saw Nigella Lawson make these on the food network and modified them slightly to suit my ingredients/puff pastry. They.are.divine!

1 package puff pastry (I used 1 sheet and got 8 croissants)
1 chocolate bar (dark, milk, whatever you favor)
1 egg

Thaw the pastry until you can lay it out - 10 or so minutes. Cut into quarters, then each quarter into triangles.

Break your chocolate bar (I used a high quality chocolate, which I think made a big difference) into reasonable sized squares.

Lay your pastry triangle in front of you with the long end toward you. Place the chocolate on the long side and roll (fold) up to the top of the triangle. Put onto a cookie sheet (lined with parchment or a silpat if you so choose) and shape into a croissant-ish crescent. Repeat.

When all your pastry is used up, beat the egg and brush on to each croissant.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Melt the remaining chocolate (it really doesn't take a lot) with a touch of milk. Pull croissants from the oven and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

I'm going to experiment with how best to get the chocolate to flow inside a little bit better, but I don't want to publicly admit how many of these I ate straight out of the oven. What a delicious treat!

Cranberry and Apple Cake

2010-11-12T13:03:00.001-08:00

This is from The Barefoot Contessa. I made it for Tom and Sue and it is wonderful!

Serves 6 to 8

12 oz. fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over for stems
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 C. light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 T. grated orange zest (2 oranges)
1/4 C freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
2 lg. eggs at room temp.
1 C. plus 1 T. granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 t. pure vanilla
1/4 C sour cream
1 C all purpose flour
1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 325
Combine cranberries, apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice and 1 t. cinnamon in a med. bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs on med. high speed for 2 min. With mixer on med. add 1 C of granulated sugar, the butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined. On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt.
Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10 in. glass pie plate. (I used a deep dish pie plate) Pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely. Combine the remaining 1 T. of granulated sugar and 1/8 t. of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter. Bake for 55 to 60 min. The fruit should be bubbling around the edges. Serve warm or at room temp. But it is delicious cold too.

After School Snack Klub

2010-11-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Here is a website my Girl Scout Troop created with ideas for healthy after-school snacks. Each one is taste tested and approved. It is dedicated to my mom, "Grandma Bobbie" who has supplied my girls with snacks for our meetings since they were a gang of eighteen 2nd graders.

Enjoy!

Now that the girls are in High School they are trying to shake the nerdy Girl Scout image (though we are still secret Girl Scouts in our hearts). Therefore, our troop has gotten back to our roots and is now called the After School Snack club, or as I like to say After School Snack Klub affectionately acronym-ed either way.

Whole Pumpkin

2010-11-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

Stuffing a Whole Pumpkin

by Wendy and Victoria
Oil a large Dutch oven, though it could be done in any baking pan big enough
Lightly scrape out the inside of a pumpkin, preserving the flesh but taking out goop and seeds, which you can roast later. Fill it with stuffing and put the top back on, fitting snug.

Cook brown rice; we boiled 2 cups of uncooked rice to fill a medium pumpkin. We mixed in the rest of the stuffing while the rice was still steaming hot.

And now the fun stuff… the filling…
Nuts and Seeds: we used chopped walnuts and slivered almonds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds
Dried Fruit: we used dried tart cherries (no sugar) and chopped dried apricots
Virtuous Green Stuff: we used chopped kale and Brussels sprouts, cut in half
Fresh Fruit: we used 2 chopped apples and the juice of one orange
Sticky stuff: we used a cup of grated cheddar cheese and two beaten eggs
Spices and Seasonings: we used a large “pinch” of powdered ginger, nutmeg, lemon pepper, and salt, and I added some liquid hot peppers which I had juiced the week before. You could just add some chopped hot peppers but I think Tabasco would be too harsh and acidic.
Proportions… we added quite a bit of the flavorful stuff, large handfuls of each dried fruit, nut and seed and lots of greens to balance the rice. This was a huge dish, made for two families, so there needed to be quite a bit of stuffing.

This turned out to be a rip-roaring success. The slight heat of the jalapenos and bite of the cheddar worked delightfully well with cherry and apricot. During the cooking time (around 2 ½ hrs) it almost smelled like it was about to burn, but the thick skinned pumpkin just turned a burnished golden orange and the inside was protected and steamed in the inch of flesh. With egg and nuts, this could be a main entre, though we had some sausage on the side. I served it along side butter and maple syrup for those who wanted to augment the sweetness.

Idea: This could be a very flamboyant desert if you skip the savories, add some sugar and cinnamon and go for a rice pudding texture.

Commontary: Stuffed Pumpkins for Peace (for Susan)
When Victoria and I started our project of the pumpkin, we were enjoying a creative afternoon, making use of the scraps of the season. A decorative pumpkin left over after Halloween barely escaped the compost. The last of the garden (kale and Brussels sprouts) was sitting on my counter, awaiting the dreary prospect of yet one more stir-fry. We emptied the cupboards of those last odds and ends of nuts and fruit that end up pushed to the back and forgotten, post-granola. Two friends, a sunny November afternoon, and the scraps of the season became peace.

Peace, because we made it to share. Both our families and assorted friends enjoyed a meal with leftovers for lunch.
Peace, because we used what we had to make something beautiful.
Peace, because the simple act of growing, preparing, and sharing food together is the basic need of humanity.
Peace, because diverse and contrasting ingredients, flavors, and nutrients were brought together, held in a perfect whole by a pumpkin whose very flesh melted into the dish.

Iron-boost cookies

2010-11-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

We have some anemic tendencies in our house, so I was pleased to find this recipe with oats, raisins, and molasses, all of which are decent sources of iron.

2 c. flour
1.5 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. ground ginger
3/4 t. cinnamon
2 c. oats
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. molasses
1 egg
1 T. hot water
3/4 c. raisins

Mix together flour, baking soda, and spices. Mix oats and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in butter, molasses, egg, and hot water until blended. Add flour mixture and raisins. Stir until blended. Wrap and chill 1 hour or until firm enough to roll.

Heat oven to 375

Lightly grease cookie sheets. On floured surface, roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets 1.5 inches apart. Sprinkle with sugar and put one chocolate chip or M&M in the middle.

Bake 8 minutes and cool.

Eat.

P/b Popcorn

2010-10-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

3 qts popped corn (1/2 c unpopped)
1 1/2 c almonds (any nuts, or none.)
1 c sugar
1/2 c honey
1/2 c light corn syrup
1 c peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Butter 1 1/2 qt sauce pan. Combine sugar, honey, corn syrup in pan. Bring mixture to boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over popped corn/almond mixture. Stir to coat well. Cool and break into bite size pieces, or make balls.

Makes 3 quarts

Flying Biscuit's Creamy Dreamy Grits

2010-09-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Ben. That polenta recipe reminded me of some delicious grits at my favorite Atlanta restaurant: The Flying Biscuit. They are not exactly healthy, but ohhhh, they are dreamy indeed! I like them with hot sauce.

Ingredients:
6 cups water
2 cups half and half
3 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. white pepper
2 cups quick grits
1 cup grated white cheddar cheese
4 T. unsalted butter, cubed

Instructions:
In a saucepan, combine half and half with water, salt, white pepper. Bring to a boil. Slowly pour grits into boiling water while whisking the entire time. Reduce heat and continue to whisk off and on until thick and completely smooth, about 10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir gently until cheese melts. Whisk again to combine. Turn heat off and allow grits to rest 5 minutes. Add butter and stir until completely smooth, silky, and shiny.

Polenta with Black Beans

2010-09-25T19:56:00.001-07:00

We had one of our stand-bys tonight and it was so good! Marike says this is what the kids ate at the day care center where she volunteered in Brazil.

Black Beans (from Mary McKay).
Put dry black beans in a pot and cover with a couple of inches of water. Throw in a whole half an onion and a couple of peeled and halved garlic cloves. Add maybe 1t salt. Bring it all to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for a couple hours until the beans are soft. Do this ahead and use for tacos or tostadas, with scrambled eggs, in sweet-potato burritos, or with polenta. Our boys eat them straight out of a bowl.

Polenta (from Jack Bishop).
Bring 4 c. water to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and throw in 1t salt. Pour 1 c. medium-grind cornmeal into the water, whisking constantly. Keep whisking until it starts to thicken. Lower the heat to the lowest possible-- we use a metal diffuser on the smallest burner. Let the polenta cook on the lowest heat, stirring every 10 minutes or so with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Cook 35 minutes or so. When it's done mix in 2T butter.

Put the polenta in individual bowls, pour on some hot black beans and their juice, and sprinkle grated parmesan on top. Supper! I like it with Cholula hot sauce.

--Ben

Linda's Pumpkin Soup

2010-09-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

2 cups onion

1/2 cup margarine

1 tsp. curry (more, if you like)

1 large can chicken stock

4 or more cups pumpkin

1 quart half and half

3 tsp. salt

freshly grated nutmeg and chopped chives for garnish

Saute onion in margarine. Sprinkle with curry and saute 1 more minute. Add chicken stock, pumpking and salt. Heat. Then add half and half. Heat, but do not boil.

Oma's Chicken Borscht

2010-09-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

This comes from Mark's family. It's a Russian Mennonite dish, but different than the one Wendy posted a while ago from Andy's family. This is like the borscht they serve at the Bread Basket in Newton, for those of you who have been there. I have some very picky eaters, and they loved this tonight!

Whole chicken
water
parsley
1 head cabbage
2-3 medium potatoes
2 carrots
1 medium onion
2 cups chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
dill
1 cup cream

Cook whole chicken in water (I add some parsley) until cooked through. Debone the chicken and return to the broth in pot. (Take out parsley) Add all the chopped veggies except tomatoes. Cook until veggies are soft. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in salt and pepper and chopped fresh dill. Just before serving, stir in 1 cup cream.

I like to eat it with hot sauce, but that's because I like hot sauce with just about anything!

Scalloped Potatoes

2010-08-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, mom bought me The New Best Recipe cookboook and I swear, every night since I have made something delicious. I discovered it when last year I checked it out from the Library and finally had to take it back when they marked it "lost" and charged me for a replacement.

I love scalloped potatoes, but always decide to make them when it's too late and I don't have the ingredients and it has to cook for an hour in the oven, yada yada yada. THIS recipe, though, is simple and I always have everything in the pantry except for the cream.

And seriously. This is incredibly delicious. Heavens it's delicious.

2 T unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 T chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 1/2 lbs (about 5 medium) russet potatoes peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 425.

Melt the butter in a dutch oven (I used my medium heavy bottom stock pot) over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned. About 4 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes, broth cream, and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.

Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish (or other 1 1/2 quart gratin dish). Sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Bake until cream is bubbling around the edges and top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Pork Chops in the Crockpot

2010-08-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

I loved the simplicity of this recipe, also from the Up North cookbook mentioned in the last post. They don't write it as a crockpot recipe, but it worked!

4 pork chops
5 apples
1 onion
salt and pepper
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
12 oz. beer

Slice 1 onion and 5 apples into thin slices. Make layers in the crockpot, starting with apples, then onions, then pork chops (I did 2 at a time). Sprinkle salt and pepper over all. Layer again and salt and pepper again. I made sure there was a layer of apples on top too.

Make sauce: melt butter, stir in flour, and pour in beer. Stir until thickened. Pour sauce over all of the crockpot contents.

Cook high for 3-4 hours or low all day long.

An idea with leftovers: take the bones out and shred the pork. Serve topped with shredded cheese and BBQ sauce on a sandwich. Actually, this leftover idea was my favorite!

Hash 2 Ways

2010-08-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

A few times at Hessel Bay Inn, I heard my dad order his corned beef hash with peppers, onion, and tomatoes on top. That is what inspired my new summer favorite: A veggie hash to top corned beef hash or eggs. Here is all I do:

Summer Veggie Hash

Slice an onion, and saute it in oil or butter. Add diced zucchini and garlic. Chop up fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs (usually oregano and/or basil) and put them uncooked in a bowl. Pour the cooked veggies over them, and let them sit for a few minutes, steaming the tomatoes just a tad. Stir it all together with some salt and pepper, and it's delicious!

Today I tried another hash from the Up North cookbook, and it was so good, so I'll share that on this same post.

Fresh Salmon Hash

Cook 2lbs. salmon and boil 2-3 potatoes.
Dice an onion, a pepper, 2-3 cloves garlic, cooked & cooled potatoes. Saute all those in 1T butter and 1T oil until browning. Turn off the heat and stir in cooked salmon (broken up) and about 2T. chopped fresh parsley. Top with salt and pepper, and generously slather on some hot sauce!

Terrible Good Pasta Salad

2010-07-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

I found this on the internet and it's wonderful.

! Cup Marzetti's Asiago Peppercorn dressing
1 lb. penne pasta cooked
8 oz. crumbled feta
1 1/2 lb. grilled chicken breast cut up
16 oz. jar pitted kalamata olives
1 tsp. dried oregano
6 sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
2 roasted red peppers, sliced thin
1 6 oz. pkg. baby spinach leaves

Mix together and enjoy.

Bean Scrumptiousness

2010-06-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

I've been really enjoying my Simply-In-Season cookbook lately, especially now that there is such a variety of fresh produce growing. I tried this recipe out tonight for our church small group and it was a hit! Beans aren't exactly in season just yet up here in the north woods, but my onions and mint are!

Here it goes:

1 lb green beans, snapped in half (or however big you want the pieces)
1 TBL butter
1/4 c onion, chopped
2 TBLS mint, chopped
s/p to taste

Cook the beans until crisp done. Saute the onion in butter, then add the mint for a little bit. Mix the beans with the onion/mint mix and eat!

Sara's Strawberry-Rhubarb Cake

2010-06-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

This was a great way to use up all that extra rhubarb!

Strawberry –Rhubarb Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup cut-up raw rhubarb

1 cup cut-up fresh strawberries

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine brown sugar, shortening, salt, baking soda, vanilla and rhubarb. Combine the buttermilk and egg and add alternately with the flour to the rhubarb mixture. Turn into a well-greased 9 x 13 pan. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over top. Bake 30-35 minutes.

Sara then made a topping of stewed rhubarb and strawberries with a little sugar and served it chilled with the cake still warm.

Shepherdess Pie

2010-06-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

I've never made Shepherd's Pie before this, but I tried it last night because it was a scrounge-in-the-fridge kind of supper and I had good ingredients for it. Here's what I came up with:

In a skillet, cook 1 lb. ground beef, 1 pepper (I used yellow), and 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed (I would have added onion if I had it). Sprinkle on salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and oregano.

Take whatever leftover (cooked) potatoes you have, peel them and mash them up. What I used last night was a mix of yukon gold and sweet potatoes that were previously baked. Stir in a hunk of butter.

In a pie pan, place the hamburger on the bottom, and spread the potatoes on top.

Bake at 400 for about 20-30 minutes.

Asparagus Pizza

2010-05-29T18:52:00.001-07:00

I went to a pick-your-own veggies farm today with a friend and the only things available were asparagus, rhubarb, and green onions. I pretty much spent my whole time picking asparagus and a few HUGE green onions. Here is what I made tonight with my fresh pickings:

pizza crust (I religiously use the Moosewood's recipe)
1/2 lb-ish asparagus, either shaved (I thought this was too hard) or split lengthwise into quarters
mozz cheese
1 tsp coarse salt
several cranks of black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
green onion, chopped

1. Mix the prepared asparagus with olive oil, salt, pepper.
2. Roll out dough, spread with enough cheese to cover, and spread asparagus on top.
3. Bake at 500 for about 10-15 minutes... until it looks done.
4. When it is done, sprinkle the green onion on top and enjoy!

Prize-Winning Apple Cake

2010-05-18T16:12:00.001-07:00

Bobbie and Terry got us the "Hollyhocks and Radishes" cookbook for a wedding gift nearly 8 years ago and I read it cover to cover on the drive up north to their cabin for our honeymoon - appropriate, no?

It is one of my favorite cookbooks, not only for its delicious recipes but for the post-notes Bobbie littered throughout.

"Made on the day of my 93 spring haircut", "Good! Easy! Good! Waiting for Wendy to get home. 40 dead in storm, 100 mph winds" and "Kate says NO".

Earlier this week I found myself with an abundance of apples and a craving for apple cake. I made this recipe, and sent some home to Roy's aunt and uncle Robert and Linda's house. They quickly requested the recipe via Facebook and John Schrag asked for it too - for Sara to make him no doubt. Since not everyone has this cookbook, I figured I'd post it here.

Prize-Winning Apple Cake

2 c sugar
1 1/4 c light vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
3 c diced apples (I used 4 smallish granny smith)
1 c chopped nuts
1 c raisins
(I had neither nuts nor raisins and it was still delicious)

Preheat oven to 350.

Believe this or not! Put all ingredients into one large bowl. Mix with your hands as you would a meatloaf, gently but thoroughly; do not use a spoon or mixer! Bake in an ungreased 9x13-inch pan for 1 hour. Cool before cutting.

Banana Crunch Muffins - Ina Garten

2010-05-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

I saw these on the Food Channel and so I made them. They aren't particularly healthy with all that butter and sugar, but they sure are good.

3 C. all purpose flour
2 C. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra large eggs
3/4 C. whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 medium diced ripe banana
1 C. chopped walnuts
1 C. granola
1 C. sweetened shredded coconut
Dried banana chips, granola or shredded coconut, optional

Preheat oven to 350.
Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. (I turned these quite easily into 24 muffins) Sift flour, bak. pwd., bak. soda, and salt into bowl of electric mixer. Add melted butter and blend. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour and butter mixture. Blend well but don't over mix.
Fold in the diced banana, walnuts, granola and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into paper liners. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola or coconut, if desired. Bake 25-30 min. Cool and eat.

Katie Likes This Shrimp Curry

2010-05-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

Melt 6 Tbs. butter.
Add and saute: 1/2 c onion
1/2 c peppers, green and red
3 garlics
Stir in: 1 Tbs curry
2 tsp lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp chili

Stir in cooked shrimp x 5 -7 minutes

Serve with rice.

Condiments: plain yogurt
raisins
coconut
fresh pineapple
banana chips
cashews

Cilantro Pesto

2010-05-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

I made this up last night, but I'm not claiming it to be my own since I know there's probably something quite similar out there. We usually have these ingredients around and they needed to be used, so it was nice that it worked out! I don't have any measurements, so you just have to horse-it-out to your taste.

cilantro
roasted almonds
garlic
lime juice
olive oil
salt/pepper
parm. cheese

Throw all that stuff in a processor and then put on pasta.

2010-05-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

Wendy's Good (BIG) Pasta Salad

Dressing: 1 c + 2 Tbs olive oil
oil from 2 jars artichoke hearts
3/4 c red wine vinegar
4 Tbs basil
4 Tbs green onion
1/4 c fresh Parmesan cheese
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbs oregano
Whirl dressing in blender. (Do this first, because you stir it into the pasta while the pasta is hot.)

Cook 2 # (tri color) corkscrew pasta, stir in dressing while hot. (hee hee)

Add: 1 large chopped red pepper
1 large green pepper
1 large orange (or yellow?) pepper
3 large chopped tomatoes (or cherry t's)
2 jars artichoke hearts
1/2 # cubed Jack cheese
2 cans black olives
1 chopped cucumber

Chill.

Enjoy!

Linda's Buns

2010-04-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

2 pkg. yeast
1/2 c. lukewarm water
1 t. sugar
Dissolve sugar in the water and sprinkle on the yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes

2c. lukewarm water 2 eggs
1 c. cooking oil 2 t. salt
1/2c. sugar 9 c. flour (approx)
Beat eggs; add water,oil, sugar, yeast mixture and salt. Add flour one cup at a time until about four cups and beat with electric beater. Mix in the rest and knead until a smooth dough is formed. Let the dough rise until at least double in bulk. Shape into buns about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter. Place onto greased pans and let rise until at least double or more in Bulk (This may take a long time since the oil seems to slow down the process.) Bake at 350- 375 for about 20 minutes. (The recipe also works well for cinnamon buns.)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

2010-04-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

1/2 C Earth Balance (or butter, or whatever), melted
3/4 C graham cracker crumbs
1 C Peanut Butter
1/4 C granulated sugar (I like raw)

1/4 C soy milk or almond milk
3/4 C dark chocolate chips

Combine butter, graham crackers, peanut butter, and sugar. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. Spoon peanut butter mixture into muffin cups (about 2 tablespoons each). Chill in fridge for 20 minutes or so.

Combine soy milk and chocolate chips in a small sauce pan and heat on a lowish setting until chocolate melts. Spoon over chilled peanut butter cups and chill until set.
Yum!

(the peanut butter side of mine is usually a bit gooey, but I don't care. I like to eat them for breakfast!)

Golden Risotto with Carrots and Peas

2010-04-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

From Jack Bishop's Italian Vegetarian.

3 c. carrot juice
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 chopped medium onion
2 minced garlic cloves
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 c dry white wine
4 chopped medium carrots
2 c fresh or thawed peas
2 T minced parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano
1 T unsalted butter
salt and pepper

Bring the juice and 3 c water or chicken broth (the not vegetarian version) to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and keep warm.

Sauté the onion in the oil at medium heat until translucent, then stir in the garlic for 1 minute, then the rice for 1 minute (Jack says use a wooden spoon). Add the wine and simmer while stirring constantly for a couple of minutes until the alcohol smell fades.

Add carrots and 1/2 c. of the warm liquid. Stir until absorbed and add another 1/2 c. Keep going 20-25 mins. until the rice is almost al dente.

Stir in the peas and parsley, and keep adding and stirring until the rice is creamy and soft.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, butter, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with more cheese and parsley for sprinkling.

Jack says pair this sweet risotto with a pungent like wilted spinach and garlic salad. We had it with grilled sausages.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad

2010-04-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

We have had amazing weather this week and today has been no exception. It was the perfect grilling night and I wanted something summery and easy to accompany the flat iron steak I was planning to grill. This was perfect.... and delicious. This is the recipe as it stands, but I can't wait for asparagus season and the tender green addition.

1 box bowtie pasta
12 oz jar roasted red peppers, diced
3 c. spinach leaves, broken into smaller pieces
1 c. Caesar dressing
grated parmesan and fresh black pepper

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water. Mix well with the peppers, spinach and dressing. Add parmesan and black pepper to taste.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Burritos

2010-03-09T18:08:00.001-08:00

My friend just gave me this recipe and I made it tonight. It's so incredibly easy and very tasty!

2 large sweet potatoes
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
butter
tortillas
garnishing goods*

1. Steam sweet potatoes until soft.
2. Mush them with 1-2 TBL butter and chipotle pepper with 1-2 TBL adobo sauce.
3. Eat them in a tortilla and garnish with whatever you like! *My friend recommended to make a black bean/avocado/corn/cilantro/red onion/red pepper/lime juice/salt mix to garnish.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

2010-03-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

Talk about a springy recipe! This comes from Christopher Kimball's "Cook's Country" magazine.

2 lbs asparagus, stem ends and peel the parts that are thicker than 1/2", cut into 1/2" pieces
3 TBLS unsalted butter (I'm sure olive oil would work just fine)
2 small leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
salt and pepper
3.5 c low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 c frozen peas
2 TBL grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c heavy cream (I used plain yogurt and it worked out great!)
1/2 tsp lemon juice

1. If you want this to be fancier, otherwise I skipped this step: Cut off tips of asparagus and cook in 1.5 TBL melted butter for a few minutes until softened. Set aside.
2. Add remaining butter and asparagus, leeks, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper. Cook until softened.
3. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until veggies are tender.
4. Stir in peas and Parmesan. Puree and return to pot. Add cream, lemon juice, and asparagus tips, and cook until heated through. Season with S/P.

Enjoy!

2010-03-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

Zweibach - per Claire's request.

Dissolve in 1/2 cup warm milk:
2 TBL yeast, 1/4 cup potato flakes & 1 TBL sugar.

Add 3 c warm milk, 5 TBLS sugar, 1 TBL salt (I use a little less),
1 cup oil, and 9-10 cups white flour.

Mix with dough hook or knead with your hands for 10 minutes.
Let rise till doubled.

Now is tricky part: shaping:

Make a ball about the size of a walnut. Place on greased pan. Make a 2nd ball slightly smaller and place on top. WITH INDEX FINGER, poke down through both buns clear to the bottom.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

These buns are not particularly nutritious - they are traditionally made with the oil and all white flour, and that's how I make them for th Schmckfest meal, because that's simply expected. I suppose one could experiement with some WW flour, and some applesauce in place of the oil, but they wouldn't be TRUE Zweibach! Good luck Claire!

Crock pot pork

2010-03-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

Put in the crock pot 4 servings of boneless pork chops. Top with one sliced apple and 2 peeled and chopped sweet potatoes. Pour over all 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1 cup water. Salt and pepper, and cook low all day or high for a few hours.

Rosemary Focaccia

2010-02-19T12:20:00.000-08:00

DOUGH

1 Med. baking potato (about 9 oz) peeled and quartered
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
3 1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour
1 C warm water
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 tsp salt

TOPPING

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. fresh rosemary leaves
3/4 tsp coarse sea salt or kosher salt

For the dough: simmer potato till tender, cool and press through a ricer or grate it.
Meanwhile, using a standing mixer, mix the yeast, 1/2 C flour and 1/2 C warm water. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside till bubbly, about 20 min. Then add the remaining dough ingredients. Mix until the dough comes together then use the dough hook, kneading until smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap until doubled. Dough is sticky!!
With wet hands, press the dough flat into a generously oiled 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 rimmed baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap until puffy and doubled. (oil the plastic wrap or it will stick)
Preheat oven to 425. With 2 wet fingers, dimple the risen dough at regular intervals. The dimples should be deep enough to hold small pieces of topping, herbs and pools of olive oil. Drizzle the dough with the oil, add the rosemary and salt.
Bake until the bottom crust is golden brown and crisp - 23-25 min. Cool on wire rack.

Cranks Cauliflower Soup

2010-02-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

1 potato
1 onion
1 head cauliflower (often I use more)
2 Tbs butter
2 1/4 c stock (I use chicken)
2 Tbs chopped parsley
ground nutmeg to taste
2 1/4 c milk (I never add milk)
salt and pepper to taste

Chop potato and onion. Melt butter in a large sauce pan. Saute vegetables until onion is transparent. Break cauliflower into florets and add to pan with stock, parsley, and nutmeg. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. (add milk) Blend in blender in small quantities. Reheat to serving temp, adjust seasoning to taste.

Roasted Vegetables

2010-02-01T15:59:00.001-08:00

I've been making this a lot this winter and it hits the spot every time!

1 butternut squash
2 red bell peppers
1 red onion
2-3 turnips
1 rutabega

Peel and chop all this into bite-size pieces. Toss with an oil you like to bake with (I've been using olive or canola). Season to your liking (I like Lowrys). Bake at 475. Turn every 10 minutes. Bake until done (40 minutes?).

I always forget to add whole garlic cloves and beets, but I think they would be good, too!

BBQ Sauce

2010-01-30T06:12:00.000-08:00

to eat with Katie's root beer bbq!

I almost never have bbq sauce in my pantry, but I always have these ingredients.

3/4 c. ketchup
4 T brown sugar
2 T vinegar
1 t. dry mustard
1/2 t chili powder
3 drops Tabasco Sauce
1 bay leaf
1 t salt
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t garlic powder
1 t worcestershire sauce

Mix it all together.

I keep mine in a jar in the fridge and use leftovers for bbq chicken pizza with shredded cheddar cheese.

The easiest BBQ pork

2010-01-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

Put a 2 lb. pork loin in the crock pot. Pour 1 bottle of root beer over it. Cover and let cook on low all day. Take it out, shred it, and mix in 1 bottle of BBQ sauce. Reheat on low. Serve in some delicious buns.

Slow cooker Sweet & Pretty

2010-01-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty friendly with my crock pot lately. This meal is not like some crock pot recipes, where you just throw a few things in and turn it on. This does require some prep work. But, for me it's easier to do that prep work in the morning or early afternoon than it is in the late afternoon. Mali loved this dish, and she's a pretty picky eater, so that pleased me. Here's what I did:

Prepare meat: I browned 1 lb. ground beef with 1 small chopped onion and about 2-3 crushed garlic cloves, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Prepare filling: I sauted 2 shredded sweet potatoes with about 1 cup corn and seasoned it with 1 T. oregano, 1 T. cumin, 1 t. chili powder (more if you like the stuff) and Lawry salt.

Once the meat and filling were prepared, I layered meat, corn tortillas (yes, Mom, you can use flour), filling, and shredded cheddar in the crock pot over and over until all the ingredients were used up. I turned it on low and cooked it for 4-5 hours. We ate it with rice, but it would also be good with corn chips. We also topped it with some sour cream and hot sauce (for me).

Sour Cream Pancakes

2010-01-27T20:15:00.000-08:00

Whoa. These were really good! I found this recipe on smittenkitchen.com (I'm pretty sure I posted something else from this blog earlier) and these were such a refreshing change to our usual buttermilk pancakes. The best part about this recipe is that you DON'T have to use all sour cream. I didn't have enough sour cream (1/4 c maybe?), so I used yogurt and cottage cheese to make my 1 cup and it was still VERY tasty!

Here's the scoop:

7 TBLS all purpose flour
1 TBL sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/ 2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream (or yogurt, or cottage cheese, or all!)
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
Butter
Maple syrup (or perhaps some Cranberry Syrup)

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat; you want it to slowly get nice and hot.

Stir the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in the bottom of a medium bowl. Dump the sour cream in on top and stir it together very gently; it’s okay to leave the texture a bit uneven. Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl and stir them into the sour cream mixture, once again, being careful not to overmix.

Melt about a tablespoon of butter in your skillet or griddle and pour the batter in, a scant 1/4 cup at a time. Cook for about 2 minutes on the first side, or until bubbles appear all over the surface [See Pancakes 101 for this and other tips], flipping them carefully and cooking for about a minute on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Ethel Field's Hot Rolls

2010-01-23T05:44:00.000-08:00

I'd never made yeast rolls before, but with my mother-in-law coming for dinner, I decided to try my hand. I pulled out one of my favorite, old Junior League cookbooks and settled on this one with the description, "This recipe makes the easiest and most irresistibly light rolls imaginable." There were indeed easy, irresistible, and light.

Ethel Field's Hot Rolls

1 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 t salt
1 package yeast
1/4 c. warm water
3 eggs
5 c. flour
melted butter

Scald milk; add butter, sugar, and salt. Let cool.

Dissolve yeast in the warm water. Add eggs to milk mixture, then add yeast-water mixture. Add flour, mixing gradually as you add. Allow dough to rise in a warm place.

After approximately 2 hours, punch down and shape. Pinch off small quantity, roll out on floured surface, and cut with biscuit cutter. Score in center, dip half of roll in melted butter (I used a pastry brush) and fold over as for parker house rolls. Let rolls rise 1 hour.

Bake at 400 for 8 minutes.

Makes 6 dozen (no way I got 6 dozen out of this, but maybe I made them too big)

A note on shaping Parker House Rolls. Apparently, this is what they're supposed to look like. There are two schools of thought on how to make them this shape. One is to make them into a ball and push down the center with a chopstick. This leaves out the "dip in butter" part of the recipe, which in my house is near blasphemy. I used the method suggested in the recipe. I rolled out a small quantity (got about 4 out of each batch) and cut them with a biscuit cutter. After brushing them with butter I folded them in half and put them on a cookie sheet, open side up, NOT laying on their sides. My first batch looked awful and my second batch turned out great. I can't tell you what I did differently other than having a bit more experience. Either way, they were delicious, and best served the same day you make them.

Banana Bread with a Kick

2010-01-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

I figure anything that is declared "delicious" by my small picky eaters and is also nutritious deserves a place on the blog. So here it is:

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 c veg oil
2/3 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar (actually, I used 2/3 c because i used sweetened cranberries)
1 c grated zucchini
2 bananas, mashed
2 t vanilla
2.5 c flour
1 T cinnamon
1.5 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour 2 bread pans

Beat eggs until frothy. Add oil, sugars, zucchini, bananas, and vanilla and blend. Stir in flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in cranberries. Divide into pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Amazing soup from our coop newsletter

2010-01-07T06:51:00.001-08:00

1# sweet Italian turkey sausage (secret ingredient- they make it at the Merc)
1T olive oil
1 chopped onion
4 thin-sliced garlic cloves
1 qt. water
2 c chicken broth
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2# potatoes, peeled and diced
pinch red pepper flakes
1# kale, stemmed and shredded
1/4 t pepper

heat the oil in a soup pot and brown the sausage (10 mins.). Remove and cool, then slice. Pour off the fat, leaving 1T. Add onion and cook until clear (5 mins.), add garlic for 1 more in. Add water, broth, salt and bring to a boil. Add sausage, potatoes, and red pepper, bring to simmer. Cover for 2 mins. Add kale and simmer. Cook partially covered until the potatoes and kale are tender. Eat with crusty bread like ciabatta.

Crusty Chewy Artisan Bread from Mother Earth News

2010-01-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread- this is the bread of my dreams, the absolutely best European tasting artisan bread that I've been looking for all my adult life! From http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-12-01/Easy-No-Knead-Dutch-Oven-Crusty-Bread.aspx
Thanks for the new dutch oven, Mom!

1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.

1 1/2 tsp salt

Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

1.In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2.The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

3.Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4.At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.

5.Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Cabin Fever Bars

2009-12-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

This recipe comes from a mom of a good college friend. Whenever she went home or her folks came to visit, this scrumptious treat would enter our mod, word spread like wild fire, and our community of friends came to gobble up every crumb. Everything about them hits to the spot, I think. When I was pregnant with Ben, I craved these and demanded the recipe. Now I just make these (not very often) when I need a pick-up when cabin fever is unbearable.

So here it is...

(cake-y part)
1/2 c butter
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c flour
2 TBL cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

(topping)
2 c miniature marshmallows (I don't usually measure this out, I just sprinkle on to cover)
6 oz chocolate chips
1 c peanut butter
1.5 c crispy rice cereal

1. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
2. Stir together flour, cocoa, b.powder, and salt.
3. Add to egg goop.
4. Bake at 350 in greased 9x13 for 15-20 minutes until it tests done.
5. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over top and bake 3 minutes more.
6. Cool.
7. Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter in small sauce pan. Stir over low heat until chips melt.
8. Stir in cereal and spread over marshmallows.
9. Chill and cut into bars.

Enjoy! They hit the spot every time!

Aunt Linda's Buckeyes

2009-12-09T04:50:00.000-08:00

2 sticks of margarine
2 cups of smooth peanut butter
2 cups finely crushed rice krispies
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Crush rice krispies (I use the blender)
Melt margarine. Combine all the ingredients, except the coating chocolate) and work with your fingers until you have a firm mix. Make into little balls and let them dry a blt
( perhaps half an hour or more). (At this point, Jen finds it easier to partially freeze them).

Melt the chocolate. Use a toothpick to insert in the top of the ball, now dip the ball into the chocolate, leaving the top of the ball uncovered (so it will look like a buckeye). Place on flat surface to dry and pull out the toothpick.
(Some recipes do not call for the rice krispies. I like to use them, because it makes the buckeyes less rich)

Grandma Betty's Potato Rolls

2009-12-06T14:00:00.001-08:00

It my opinion, there is only one way cinnamon rolls are supposed to taste. And this is it.

2 c. milk
1 c. shortening (1/2 crisco, 1 stick of butter)
1 c. sugar
2 c. mashed potatoes (no lumps!)
2 eggs, beaten
2 t. salt
2 T yeast
1/4 c. lukewarm water
7 c. flour

Heat milk to scalding. Add shortening and sugar. Cool to luke warm. Add rest of ingredients and 2 cups of the flour. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Beat well - til smooth, about 3-5 minutes. Add the remaining 5 cups of flour (give or take) and knead. Let rise til doubled, about 1 hour. Knead down again for 2-3 minutes. Let rise again til doubled.

Roll out pieces, 1/2" thick, to about a 9X12 rectangle.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and nuts (optional).

Roll up and cut 1" thick. Bake at 350 about 15 minutes.

I think it makes about 2 dozen. I cover with a frosting made of powdered sugar, milk, and a bit of vanilla. Oh, and I had a disaster trying to knead these in my kitchen aid. Just way too much dough. Go back to the basics and knead by hand.

AMELIA'S ZUCCHINI BREAD (that she got from her sister, Marcy)

2009-12-05T07:58:00.001-08:00

3 eggs beaten till fluffy
2 c sugar
1 c cooking oil
2 c grated zucchini
3 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c drained, crushed pineapple (optional - I do)
1 c chopped nuts (optional)
1 c shredded coconut (optional)

Beat eggs, add sugar. Gradually add oil,vanilla, zucchini. Mix with a beater on low. Add dry ingredients.
Fold in optionals. DO NOT GREASE PAN. Bake at 325 for 1 hour

Chicken Enchiladas

2009-12-05T07:57:00.001-08:00

These are VERY yummy and very easy!

3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 c. sour cream
1 c. fresh cilantro
1 red pepper
1 can green chilis
1 c. shredded cheese
1 t. garlic
1 t. cumin
1 pkg flour tortillas
1 jar (16 oz) green salsa
½ c. water

Grease a 9X13 baking dish. Preheat oven to 350.
In a bowl, mix chicken, ½ cup sour cream, ½ cup cilantro, red peppers, chilis, ¼ c. cheese, garlic and cumin.

Puree salsa, water, and ½ cup sour cream ½ cup cilantro in the blender or food processor. Spread 1 c. over the bottom of the pan.

Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll and put seam-side down in the baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over and bake for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake another 15.

YUM!

C'mon

2009-12-04T18:15:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm feeling like a post-hog. I would love to see some other people's contributions! So, I'm challenging each of you to post one favorite recipe this month. Yes, that's December. It doesn't take long. Especially if mom's going to make a book in January. We should bulk it up quick this month! Consider it a Christmas gift to the family.

C'mon!

Peppernuts

2009-12-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

This is the recipe that Mark's Oma (Ruth Harder of N. Newton, Kansas) gave us.

1 large or 2 small eggs
1.5 c. sugar
1 c. margarine (I use butter, of course)
1/2 t. anise oil
2 T. syrup (I use dark)
3 3/4 c. flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. ginger

Mix dough. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Make rolls about the width of your pinky finger and slice thinly. Bake at 350 until turning brown (not long). Cool and enjoy!

2009-12-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

Family -

I had an idea. I think I will, when I get home once and for all, make our recipe blog into a book. Wendy knows a place that we can have it bound VERY reasonably, and she knows how to add pictures (the relatives remembered in the recipes?) and all that. So ! Bring on the recipes!! We want as many as we can get, and don't forget the stories.

I have no idea what the cost is, but I certainly will let you know before we ask if you want one!

I'm thinking January...............for a start.

Bobbie

Stomboli

2009-12-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post this recipe. Thanks for the requests! Here's what I do (it's so simple):

Saute any veggies you want to put in the filling. I usually do onions, garlic, peppers and basil (fresh, if I can). While the veggies are simmering, on a floured surface roll out a pizza dough into a rectangular shape. Pour the filling down the middle 1/3 of the dough. Cover with lots of pepperoni and some cheese (or whatever else you want inside). Fold each side of the dough over the middle, so they overlap. Mix together 1 egg with some oil (I like to use garlic oil, but olive is great too). Brush (liberally) the top of the stromboli with the egg wash. Bake at 375 (or maybe higher) for 20-30 minutes, until the dough is browned. Let sit for a few minutes. Slice into 1-2 inch sections and top with marinara and parmesan. In our family, this serves about 3 adults.

One other note: When I made this at Thanksgiving, the dough sat in the fridge for 3 full days. I noticed that it was especially spingy and fluffy. It made me wonder if it's a good idea to make or buy the dough in advance and let it ferment a little before using it.

Roasty Toasty Pork Loin

2009-12-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

2 lb. boneless pork loin roast
1 tsp. thyme (I used rubbed, not leaves)
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. sage
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. pepper
(instead of all those herbs, you could also use a heaping Tablespoon of poultry seasoning)
1 tsp. salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
olive oil
potatoes (about 3 cups)
green beans (about 4 cups)

Preheat 350.

Mix together herbs and garlic. Take the pork loin and rub (with your hands) oil over it and then rub the herbal mix onto all sides. Place in thin baking dish and bake for 50 min. For the last 10-15 minutes, boil the potatoes and green beans (together is fine).

Take the pork out and pour the potatoes and bean around it in the baking dish. Drizzle veggies with olive oil (you could probably use broth or even water for this if you don't want to use oil) and sprinkle with Lawry salt. Bake entire thing for another 40-50 min.

Take out and remove pork. Slice it and put it on a serving dish.

Pour potatoes and green beans into serving dish with juices from the pork.

This dish reminded me of a pan I saw that looks amazing. It's for roasting chicken, and it has an arm that hangs the chicken over the roasting veggies, so the juices drip down and flavor the veggies. Also, it has a little pocket that goes inside the chicken for flavoring, so you can put butter or white wine or what not in there. Drool, drool, drool. . .

Super Easy, and pretty great bread

2009-11-23T13:09:00.000-08:00

I got this from a common friend on here: Susan. She posted it on her blog.

Place 4 cups of flour (1 cup whole wheat) in a large bowl. Make three holes in the flour. In one hole, put 1 t. salt, another 1 pkg yeast, and the third 2 T. olive oil. Pour over it all 1.5 cups of warm (not hot: Suze says you should be able to hold your finger in it for 5 seconds) water. Stir for about 1 minute. Knead for at least 5 minutes (I do this in the mixer with a dough hook). Place in greased bowl and brush with olive oil. Cover with a plate and rise for 1.5 hours. Punch down, rise another 1+ hour. Shape into loaf and place on greased cookie sheet. Scour the top. Bake at 400 for 35-45 minutes, until browning on top.

It's so easy I did it twice today!!

Santa Fe Baked Oatmeal

2009-11-22T16:22:00.000-08:00

1/2 C veg. oil
3/4 C brown sugar (1/2 C splenda brown sugar)
2 large eggs
3 C. Bob's Red Mill 5 grain cereal (or quick cooking oats but I'm partial to Bob's)
2 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 T. cinnamon
1 C. milk - maybe a little more
1 C. raisins
1 C. diced apples
1 C. coconut (use unsweetened)
1 C. dried cranberries
1 C. sunflower seeds

Mix oil, sugar, eggs - beat until yellow and glossy. Add remaining ingredients except for fruit. Beat until will mixed.
Stir in fruit.
Pour in greased 9X12 baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees approximately 30 min.

Serves up to 10. Good with vanilla yogurt. (And fresh peaches, bananas, blueberries etc)

Scandinavian-Style Alaska Cod

2009-11-22T15:47:00.000-08:00

Roy made this for supper tonight and it was great! I'm always looking for new ways to prepare fish, and this was so easy and so delicious. The gravy was a bit on the salty side, but I think the potatoes benefited from the boost. Oh, and disclaimer, he stole the recipe from website www.welovefish.com.

1-1/2 lbs. cod fillets
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp. butter or margarine, divided
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup dry white wine
salt
6 peppercorns
half-and-half
2 tbsp. flour
pepper
hot cooked new potatoes
hot cooked peas
minced parsley

Cut cod into serving-sized pieces. Saute onion in 1 tbsp. butter until tender. Add water, wine, 1 tsp. salt and peppercorns; bring to boil. Add cod, reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes or until cod flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove cod to platter; keep warm. Strain poaching liquid; add half-and-half to make 1 1/4 cups. Melt 2 tbsp. butter. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. Gradually add poaching liquid mixture. Cook and stir until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange potatoes and peas on platter with cod. Pour sauce over cod; garnish with parsley

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Maggie's Green Bean Casserole

2009-11-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

Jen asked for this recipe on Facebook, so I figured I'd post it here. It's from the Northern Exposure cookbook. I've never made it, but based on the comments, it's a favorite!

2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. finely chopped white onion
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 t. white pepper
1/4 t. salt
1 T cornstarch
1/4 c. milk
1 c. thinly sliced fresh mushrooms
2 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1/4 c. dry sherry
1/2 c. slivered blanched almonds

Place broth and onion in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. Reduce head to low and add cream, pepper, and salt.

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small cup, thoroughly mix together cornstarch and milk. Slowly add cornstarch mixture to sauce, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until sauce is thick and creamy. Add mushrooms and simmer over very low heat.

While sauce is simmering, steam green beans until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer beans to a casserole dish.

Stir sherry into sauce and pour evenly over green beans. Top with almonds and bake for 20 minutes. Serve.

Makes 12 servings.

Thanksgiving Menus

2009-11-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

Thursday Dinner:
Connie, Pam~ turkey
Pam~ cranberry relish, pies
Jimmy and Gail~ mashed potatos, three bean salad
Bobbie~ pear salad, peas, pies
Jim, Gail, Sean, ~ pies
Katie~grean bean casserole, cranberry salad
Wendy and Andy~ Becky Mitchell's carrot casserole, carrot-raisin salad
Dicks~ sweet potatos
Ben~ roasted Brussels sprouts

Friday Breakfast:
Katie~ baked oatmeal
Pam~ fruit bowl
Bobbie~ sausage rolls, eggs, toast, milk, OJ

Friday Lunch:
Bobbie~ ham, sandwitch bread, mustard, mayo, lettuce, apple salad
Claire~ cauliflower soup
Wendy and Andy~ cole slaw
Dicks~ borsht
Ben~ endive apple salad

Friday Supper:
Connie~White chili
Pam~ lasagne
Katie~ stromboli
Bushes (friends of the Chappells)~ lasagne, salad, brownies

Saturday Breakfast:
Wendy and Andy~pancakes
Jimmy and Gail~coffeecake

Misc:
Wine, beer, coffee, cider
Mennonite mushrooms, nuts, bread, apples, grapes, grapefruits, clementines
popcorn, potato chips, fancy bread

*Please remember to help clean the A-frame area before you leave on Saturday. If everyone helps it will be a lot less work for Bobbie and Terry.
Thanks,
Wendy

Crockpot Cranberry Chicken

2009-11-17T17:54:00.000-08:00

Mom made something like this for me in the days after Greta was born and also in the days after Quinn was born. However, she used turkey, I think.

Here's what I did:

Toss in the pot: 4 chicken breasts, whole, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1 T. orange juice concentrate, 1 package of dry onion soup mix. Cover with water and add salt and pepper.

Turn on low for the whole day (I put it in at 8 am and we ate it at 6:30), or probably high for a few hours would work too.

We had it with the savory sweet potatoes below.

Perfect for one of those days when you get home and just want to collapse on the couch, and not spend an hour cooking dinner. One of those loooooong days.

Sunday night Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

2009-11-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

OK - You guys will all laugh at me because I don't have the soup gene. I don't even like soup all that much. But I made this tonight and it was really good.

One large can of fire roasted tomatoes - dump in pan and mash with a tomato masher. Add a couple of T. of olive oil, a couple of T. of finely chopped onion and some fresh basil. Simmer until the onion is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/4 cup cream and 1/4 cup milk. Heat and eat.

Sweet potatoes: savory, not sweet

2009-11-12T17:16:00.000-08:00

At thanksgiving, there seems to be a tradition of really sweet sweet potatoes. While I admit those are popular around here too, I wanted to post a more savory version of sweet potatoes. It's easy, too. All I did was this:

Preheat 375 - 400. Put stone wear in oven with a tablespoon of butter while the oven is preheating. Chop sweet potato into cubes. When the butter has melted, pour sweet potato cubes on top, sprinkle with lawry's, chili powder, and cumin (I would have added oregano if we had it). Toss and return to the oven. Continue to bake and toss periodically until they are soft. Eat.

Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash

2009-11-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad that I found this recipe since I'm trying to find more to do with spaghetti squash. I found this recipe on a cooking blog that I frequently visit (www.smittenkitchen.blogspot.com) and everything I've made from that site has been very tasty. The author of the blog is a writer (for the NY Times????? Can't remember.) and used to live in DC, so every now and then, she'll give little hints of DC culture that I can relate with.

Anyway, she's good. Really good. I like how she has a variety of recipes and generally, the recipes don't have anything with fancy-need-special-grocery-stores ingredients and the ingredients are fresh.

We had this tonight and really enjoyed it:

1 (3 to 4 lb) spaghetti squash
4 TBL unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp cayenne (I didn't have any and it was just fine)
3/4 tsp salt
2 TBL freshly chopped cilantro or parsley for those folks out there with a distaste for cilantro

1. Roast the squash: Cut in half, de-seed, place on lightly greased cookie sheet flesh side down for 40 minutes at 375. (This is how I did it, I'm sure there are a gazillion other ways to roast a squash)
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter, add the garlic and cook until it's slightly golden (the garlic, not the butter).
3. Add the rest of the spices and mix around until everything is nicely blended together.
4. When squash is done, use a fork to take the flesh out and put into a large bowl.
5. Put the butter goop on the squash and toss around to cover.
6. Garnish with cilantro or parsley.

We ate this with sundried tomato chicken sausage on the side and I thought it made for a delicious meal!

Butternut Squash

2009-11-11T17:14:00.001-08:00

How do you cook butternut squash? I wanna hear all about it.

Apple Pie - the BEST!

2009-11-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

Basic Pie Dough

2 1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
1 tsp. salt
2 T. sugar
1/2 C veg. shortening, chilled
12 T butter (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
6-8 T ice water

Process the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add the shortening and process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds.
Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs, with butter bits no larger than small peas, about ten 1 second pulses. Turn the mixture into a med. bowl. Sprinkle 6 T of the ice water over the mixture. With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to 2 T. more ice water if the dough will not come together. Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 4 in. disk. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hr. up to 2 days.

CLASSIC APPLE PIE

1 recipe basic pie dough (above)
2 T. unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
3 large Granny Smith apples
4 large Mcintosh apples
1 T. juice and 1 tsp. grated zest from 1 lemon
3/4 C plus 1 T. sugar
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg white, beaten lightly

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
Remove one piece of dough from the fridge and let stand until malleable.
Roll dough between parchment paper or plastic wrap to a 12 in. circle. Transfer to pie plate. You know the drill!!!
Peel, core and quarter apples. (I sliced). Toss with lemon juice and zest. In med. bowl mix 3/4 C. sugar, the flour, spices and salt. Toss the dry ingredients with the apples. Turn the fruit mixture, including juices into the pie shell and mound slightly in center. Roll out second piece of dough. Place over filling. Trim, flute etc. Cut slits in dough top. Brush egg white on the top crust and sprinkle evenly with 1 T sugar. Lower oven to 425. Bake until top crust is golden, about 25 min. Rotate pie and reduce heat to 375. Continue baking till juice bubbles and crust is golden, 30 to 35 min. longer. Cool at least 4 hours.

I did everything except the egg white on the crust. The dough is VERY soft and is a challenge even after refrigerating, but I worked fast and it's so worth it.

mint chocolate chip cookies

2009-11-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

1. Buy a package of mint chocolate chips
2. Follow recipe on the package for double chocolate mint cookies
3. Eat them. Betcha can't eat just one! (Tim did.) Scoundrel.

Thanksgiving: Pumpkin

2009-11-06T11:53:00.001-08:00

In case you'd like a couple more delicious ways to enjoy pumpkin, here are some we've enjoyed during our visit to Bluffton:

Pumpkin bars (this was Quinn's birthday cake for his one-year-old birthday)

Beat together 4 eggs, 1 2/3c. sugar, 1 c. oil, 1 can (16 oz) pumpkin. Add in 2 c. flour, 2t. backing powder, 2t. cinnamon, 1t. salt, 1t. baking soda. Mix and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Top with cream cheese frosting, which is: 3 oz. cream cheese, 1/2c. butter, 1t. vanilla, and 2c. powdered sugar.

Then, if you're like me and bought way too much pumpkin, treat yourself to this pumpkin bread:

Mix together: 3 c. pumpkin, 3/4 c. oil, 3/4 c. apple sauce (Grandma's homemade with no sugar is the best!), 2 c. white sugar, 2 c. brown sugar, 4 3/4 c. flour, 6 eggs, 1.5t. baking powder, 1.5t. baking soda, 1.5t. salt, 1.5t. cinnamon, 1.5t. nutmeg, 1.5t. allspice. Pour into 3 greased and flour-dusted loaf pans and bake at 350 for 45 min. to an hour. We enjoyed with cream cheese on top!

Raisin Bread

2009-11-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

2 pkgs active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups raisins
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp salt
1 cup scalded milk
6 + cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl combine raisins, butter, sugar, salt, and hot milk. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Mixture should be cooled to lukewarm. Stir in 3 cups of the flour; beat well. Add yeast mixture and the eggs. Mix to blend well. Add enough of the rest of the flour to make a soft dough. Knead about 10 minutes. Let dough rise until double in bulk about 2 hours. Punch down dough, divide into two pieces. Shape into loaves and place in pans - let rise for an hour or so. Bake at 375 degrees for about 1/2 hour.

This bread is absolutely delicious, especially toasted!

Awesome brussels sprouts

2009-11-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

I know. I know. The title does not consist of words that you typically expect to see together. Neither did I. But this is great:

Preheat the oven to 400.
Trim the ends and any yellow leaves off a bunch of brussels sprouts.
Rinse them well with water.
Toss them in with olive oil in a big bowl.
Put them in a cast-iron skillet and sprinkle with pepper and kosher salt.
Roast the sprouts for about 35-40 minutes. Every 5 minutes or so, shake the pan to turn them. Reduce the heat if they start to scorch (black), but cook them until they are very brown. Dark brown.
While your waiting for family members to come around to the idea of eating brussels sprouts, pull crisp leaves off and eat them like chips. Yum!

- Ben, from allrecipes.com

Thanksgiving recipes?-Becky Mitchell's carrot cassorole

2009-11-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

I have fond memories of this cassorole....and we always ran out.

The cheesy carrot cassorole came from Patty Mitchell... it is basically a white sauce made with diced celery or (easy does it; 10oz.can of crm.of Celery soup) a cup of sharp grated cheddar cheese and 2 cups of fresh sliced carrots steamed until softened. Dice an onion and saute in butter. Mix it altogether into a cassorole dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs and Bake at 350 until bubbly. I doubled this recipe so it took about an hour... I think... its been awhile. and add more cheese to make it cheesier to your own taste.

My friend Lu Ann's Spicy Tortilla Soup

2009-10-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

this is fabulous!

1/2 c. chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 med. zucchini, sliced (or sub. one for yellow squash)
4 c. chicken broth
1 (16 oz.) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
(I only had tomato puree, and one tomato from the market, which worked fine)
1 can Ro-tel, original or hot, undrained
(I did not have Ro-tel, so I just topped it with spicy salsa)
1 (15 oz.) can corn, undrained, or 2 c. frozen
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
grilled or rotisserie chicken chunks (optional)
(I used just plain boiled chicken)
1/3 c. chopped cilantro

4 corn tortillas, sliced into 1/2" strips, pan-fried in 1 T oil until crisp
1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
1 sliced avocado

In a large soup pot, saute onion and garlic in oil. Add zucchini and next 5 ingredients; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
Stir in cilantro after removing from heat. Spoon soup in bowls over tortilla strips and cheese, top with avocado slices and additional cilantro. Yield: 2 1/4 quarts.
(To stretch this to feed 8 I have added a drained can of black beans and 1-2 cups cooked rice, then more cumin).

Acorn Squash Quesadillas

2009-10-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

I've made these twice and they just hit the spot!

Makes about 2 full quesadillas if you load the goop on, which is what I do. Quite filling, I think.

1 medium acorn squash
1 teensy onion
1/2 jalapeno (or as much as you want... this amount is a good not-too-hot-but-hot-enough for me)
1-2 cloves garlic
2 poblano peppers
oil
salt/pepper
tortillas
Tex-Mex cheese mix or Muenster (what I use)
green tomatillo salsa
sour cream

1. Roast the acorn squash until soft enough to scoop out and cut into small pieces, but let it cool enough so you can hold it. (I usually de-seed/cut the squash in 1-2" strips and roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.)
2. Roast the poblano peppers, skin, de-seed, and cut into thin strips. (I put the peppers smack-dab on my gas burners on my stove until they are black. Then, I put them in a paper bag for 10 minutes to help the skin separate... it makes it a lot easier to de-skin, I think!)
3. Cut the jalapeno into small pieces, mince the garlic, cut the onion, and saute until soft.
4. Add the pobalnos and cook for about 10-ish minutes.
5. When the squash is cooled enough to handle, scoop out the guk and add to the onion mix. Cook some more.
6. Heat a skillet and put enough goop to cover half a tortilla (or full tortilla, whichever you prefer), sprinkle with cheese and cook until the bottom is a little crispy/golden. Flip and do the same.
7. Eat with sour cream and salsa verde.

Grossmama's Iced Tea

2009-10-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

OK Folks - here is my first blog post...This is Grossmama's secret nectar:

For 2 Quarts:

3-4 bags Lipton Tea

5-6 sprigs mint

Steep 5-10 minutes (use less than 2 quarts of water...make up the remainder with ice)

Pull out the mint

Add 1/4 cup lemon juice (bottled)

Add 2/3 cup sugar (the secret...don't cut back on the sugar or it won't taste like the real thing)

For 100 people (like for Claire's, Ben's, and Elizabeth's wedding):

12 gallons = 192 cups of tea (I do 6 gallons of water, making a tea concentrate...then add 6 gallons if ice)

96 tea bags

144 sprigs of mint

6 cups Lemon Juice

16 cups sugar (!)

The temperature of the tea when adding ice has everything to do with how diluted it becomes...it gets scientific real quick. Better to err on the side of strength...let the tea cool before adding ice - especially with bigger batches.

Whoo hoo - I'm a blogger! Jmy

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2009-10-27T18:31:00.001-07:00

Saute some kind of onion or leek and garlic in butter.

Add 4 cups chicken broth, and 2 cups water (or some mix).

Boil chunks of cauliflower, broccoli, and potato with the onions and garlic and broth.

When it is all really mushy (and liquid is just barely covering)

Blend in blender.

Add something creamy (whatever is in your fridge like sour cream, buttermilk, heavy cream, milk, whatever...)

This reminds me of Grossmama, because I know she liked pureed soup.

Once you have your beans...

2009-10-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

You can make Lydia's favorite Mexican open-face sandwiches (Molletes).

Get some good crusty french rolls and cut them open.

Toast them slightly in the oven.

Take them out and layer on refried beans and shredded cheese.

Broil these.

When you are at the table, top with any of the following:
Aaron's fresh salsa (recipe to come)
chunks of avacado
shredded lettuce
sour cream
shredded radish
cucumbers if the salsa is too hot (which it often is, because it is Aaron)

YUM!!!