Feeding Frenzy...

Wild Rice & Sausage Stuffing (gluten free)

2011-11-24T13:11:00.004-06:00

Since Joe became gluten intolerant, I've searched for breadless stuffing recipes. I found a few of them that I've combined and enhanced. It's now a winner for our family that will stay in my recipe collection. I can contentedly eat it as a meal, and my kids all love it--maybe even more than the turkey. Give it a try.

Here we go...

2 medium onions, diced
6 TBSP butter, separated
1 cup wild rice, uncooked
3/4 cup long-grain brown or white rice, uncooked
5-1/2 cups low-sodium, gluten-free chicken broth
2 cups finely chopped celery
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage (remove casings, if necessary)
1 cup chopped toasted slivered almonds or pine nuts
salt and lots of pepper, to taste
2 TBSP sage (dried)
1-2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 very large or 2 medium sized apples, cored, peeled and diced
1 cup dried cranberries
2-3 TBSP fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

In a saucepan with a tight fitting lid, add both types of rices and chicken broth. Bring mixture to a boil then simmer on stove (covered) for 25-30 minutes until mostly done (before wild rice starts to split and curl). If all the stock isn't absorbed after 35 min., drain rice in mesh strainer.

In a large, deep skillet (with lid), break up and brown sausage. Drain fat, remove sausage from pan, and set aside. Melt 3 TBSP butter in the skillet and saute onions until soft. Remove from pan and set aside. Then melt the remaining 3 TBSP butter in pan and sauté celery and diced apple until soft. To the skillet, welcome back the Italian sausage, onions, and add the rice mixture as well. Add the toasted almonds, salt/pepper, sage, poultry seasoning, dried cranberries, and parsley. Mix well. *Check seasoning*, and add more as needed. Heat to serving temperature.

Leave in large covered skillet to keep warm for serving. Or go ahead and be a respectable host and dirty yet another dish by scooping it into a nice baking/casserole dish to serve.

I can't emphasize this enough -- check your seasonings! Everyone has seasoning preferences, so taste it along the way to figure out what makes your taste buddies dance. Make it your own! When you get it just right for your family, don't forget to take notes so you can make it to your liking year after year.

Brownie Camo Cheesecake

2011-11-18T18:54:00.002-06:00

Nothing says Happy Birthday to my son like this fun and tasty treat! I've gotta say, I like this kid's taste.

His request:

"Can you make a cheesecake with a brownie on the bottom and cheesecake on top...but not too much cheesecake--just enough."

Got 'er covered. He didn't even know that it would be camo colored.

The base can be a box brownie mix (for a 9 x 13" pan) or your favorite recipe. I baked the brownies about 5 short of being fully done (they were no longer jiggly in the middle but a toothpick definitely would not come out clean).

I then used this cheesecake recipe but changed the proportions to use 3 pkgs. (24 oz.) cream cheese. I did not use almond extract, so I added an additional 1/4 tsp. vanilla.

I'm seeing a birthday trend in this family!

Tye-dyed red velvet cheesecake

Brownie cheesecake

Classic Mushrooms

2011-09-06T06:28:00.000-05:00

I'm normally not a huge fan of mushrooms. You won't find me picking them off my food or avoiding a handful mixed in my dish, but I'm certainly not one who considers sauteed mushrooms as a hefty side dish either.

Maybe enjoying this sauce had something to do with it accompanying a thick slice of whole filet mignon tenderloin that I enjoyed at a friend's house last night. But that can't be the whole of it either as I sopped up the extra with the bread and corn that were left on my plate!

A great sauce for any meat.

It was divine.
And I got the recipe.

2 lbs. fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. olive oil
1/8 cup onions, minced
1/2 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp. sweet basil
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
3/4 cup California white wine
10 oz. sour cream (or *1/2 to 3/4 cups half-n-half)
1/4 cup plus Parmesan cheese, grated

Our host also had firm, thin slices of red bell pepper added to the sauce.

Clean and slice mushrooms. Melt butter, add olive oil and onions. Saute onions on low heat until soft. Add mushrooms and cook for five minutes. Add seasonings and wine and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until about one-half of the wine has evaporated. Add sour cream and cheese and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Pour into serving dish and sprinkle with additional cheese. Garnish with parsley. Serves 6.

Nancy Greigo, from Albuquerque, NM is credited with this recipe.

THE Cake :: a chocolatey angelic dessert

2010-12-17T13:53:00.004-06:00

After years of making fun cut-out cakes, my mother in law ended up making THIS "cake" for my husband's birthday every year. For as long as I can remember, they've just referred to it as "THE cake." His requested favorite. It wasn't made for any of his siblings, just my hubby's own special cake for his own special day.

It's a rich and delicious combination of tastes and textures--the really nice airiness of the angel food cake and creamy scrumptiousness of a dense chocolate mousse. It's nothing short of the perfect dessert!

1 large angel food cake
4 eggs
2 TBSP sugar (I consider this optional)
12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 pint whipping cream
1 cup nuts (optional)

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. (I put them in a glass bowl and microwave starting with 1 minute, stir, then heat in increments of 30 sec. + a stir until all is melted.) Add 1 TBSP sugar (optional) and egg yolks. Beat egg whites separately, add 1 TBSP sugar (optional), and fold into the chocolate mixture. Whip cream in separate bowl, then fold into chocolate mixture. Fold, stir, mix until there are no streaks. Break up the cake into small pieces, about 1-inch"ish" cubes. Put 1/2 of the cake into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Cover with 1/2 of the chocolate mixture; layer the rest of the cake pieces, then spread the rest of the chocolate mixture to cover all of the cake pieces.

Sprinkle with nuts if desired (we like toasted PEE-can pieces).
Refrigerate overnight, or at least for a few hours.
Slice into squares.

Serve with a kind word and a smile...and a birthday song, if it fits the occasion!

Spider Cake

2010-11-04T14:42:00.006-05:00

I was serious this time. I wasn't going to make my son's birthday cake this year. Just didn't have enough time. Violin performances, activities, Halloween. Busy week.

So.

I went to the store for his requested spider cake, and there were no more and there wouldn't be anymore. Didn't have time to special order one either.

Baking aisle. Baking? Aisle? Where art thou?

He got his request.

A spider cake for our youngest little monkey.

Since he just read Charlotte's Web a couple of months ago, I couldn't resist writing his birthday "greetings and salutations" Charlotte style.

* * * * * * *

METHOD:

Boxed cake mix + ingredients to prepare
1 container dark chocolate frosting
1 container white frosting
Small black icing
Small silver sugar beads
Food coloring gels
1 Hershey Kiss (spider head)
A few pieces of black licorice

Prepare cake in regular cake rounds plus one cupcake (for spider). Use dark chocolate frosting to stack cake layers. Color 1/3 cups white frosting orange, put it into a ziplock baggie and cut small hole in corner to draw the web onto the frosted cake. Color the rest of the white frosting bright yellowy green to frost the outside of cake. Color 1/3 cup of the dark chocolate frosting as black as possible (for spider) with blue and red coloring gels. After drawing the web onto the cake add the small silver sugar beads at the connecting points. This is an optional step--I just had the beads already (and used a tweezers for placement). The spider was made from a frosted cupcake (top cut off) and a frosted Hershey's Kiss (from our kids' trick or treak bags) for the spider head. I also used the sugar beads for the eight eyes most spiders have. Don't forget that spiders have 8 legs...not 6! I finished off lining the bottom of the cake with black licorice. I only had it since I was thinking of making the cake one big spider using the black licorice for the spider legs.

Tropical Pool Cake :: Beach Cake

2010-08-27T07:54:00.007-05:00

Our daughter requested a beach cake this year.

I found the idea for this cake online, and it led me to the original idea that came from the June 19, 2007 issue of Woman's Day. Zee dee-rect-shuns.

My daughter and the rest of the family LOVED this fun cake. It was pretty straight forward--especially since I don't have or know how to use any special cake decorating tools.

NOTES: I had to use 3 of 4 layers from TWO boxed cake mixes to get the height proportion of the online example.

I was a little concerned that if the Jello was pourable, it would make the cake soggy and even leak out. So, I waited until it was getting a little lumpy until I stirred it well and poured it onto the cake.

Our grocer does not carry Keebler Bug Bites for the cute butterfly (I'm not even sure if they make them anymore). After contemplating fashioning one out of something else, I decided to leave it out completely.

Instead of coloring all the different icings, I just used a box of Icing Writers found at the grocery store. I only mixed the light blue and light brown colors myself.

I couldn't find green Fruit by the Foot (only found the tie-dye version), so I used a roll of green Hubba Bubba gum tape (6 ft. in all) that I found at Party City for the "sea weed".

I also couldn't find striped sour belt candy, so I used part of a fruit roll up for the beach towel...but could've just used another piece of the gum roll.

The palm leaves were a bugger. Maybe leaving them flat would have been wiser. I tried to make them curved like the instructions called for (more realistic), but it was the most frustrating part of this cake. More often than not, the leaves broke.

Also, instead of bread sticks, you can see that I've instead used pretzel rods.

Another cake request fulfilled for one of our little'ns.

Carrot Cake (3 layers)

2010-08-21T14:01:00.003-05:00

I just made this cake for our block party in celebration for all August birthdays. I think it had been a while since our neighbors had a homemade cake...not a crumb was left!

Our sweet neighbor down the street from our old house made this cake and a pot of chicken and dumplings for us a few days after we returned home from the hospital with our newborn twins. Since she is elderly and because we had a very steep driveway, Joe walked down the street to her house to pick up the food and bring it home for us. I remember him coming home with his arms shaking from fatigue because he had to carry the cake in one hand and a hot saucepan in the other. Since the handle cover wasn’t long enough to cover the entire length of the long hot handle, it took tremendous strength to continue holding the heavy pot all the way home without being able to support it underneath with his other hand…carrying the cake. Periodically, he had to just stop, rest it on the ground, and switch hands! What funny things we remember! We never told her about Joe's trouble, but I did get the recipe from her!

1-1/2 cup grated raw carrots
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 whole eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together oil and sugar. Add carrots and eggs. Add flour, cinnamon, soda, salt and vanilla. Using 3 – 8 inch cake pans (greased and floured), pour batter evenly into pans and bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 lb. box of powdered sugar
1 stick butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecans, toasted & chopped (optional, but good)

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add sugar--and a little milk, if needed. Frost cake and add pecans all along the side.

Note: For the carrots, I took 1/4 cup of the leftover frosting and added 2 drops red and 4 drops of yellow food coloring, mixed it, then threw it in the freezer to harden a bit. I don't have nor would I know how to use fancy cake decorating tools, so I just scooped up wee bits of the frosting and formed them into carrot shapes and positioned them onto the cake. Ideally, I suppose I should have made one carrot for each slice of cake. For the leaves, I used a squirt can of green food coloring I had left over from another cake (I know, classy. Hey, I'm all about function and simplifying life, okay?

P.S. If you're wondering about the birthday banner, I made this cake for our street's 2nd Annual August Birthday Bash celebrating about 10 neighbors' August birthdays (including one of our kids). I used card stock to print up the subtle-colored bunting, printed letters with marker, sewed some craft thread through the card stock, and tied the banner to a set of chopsticks.

Glazed Pecans

2010-04-28T15:12:00.005-05:00

We've been receiving a little tin of these pecans from our neighbor for 9 years now. We love 'em! In fact, we like them so much that I wanted to make them and share them with my family in far-off lands (well, in a number of states away anyway).

I found a similar recipe here, but the nuts turned out too sugary and required separating each one so they wouldn't stick together. That wouldn't do. So, I finally asked my neighbor, Glenace, for her recipe. It was her mother's recipe--even more special! I love recipe hand-me-downs!

This card is all you need...

...to make many people happy!

I've typed it out below with additional notes so they come out perfect every time.

Glenace's Glazed Pecans

16 oz. (1 pound) pecan halves
1 large egg white
1 TBSP water
Zip-lock bag, gallon sized
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Pour the sugar, salt, and cinnamon into the Zip-lock bag and toss around to mix. Beat egg white and water until just frothy--NOT stiff peaks or you'll get a thick, sugary crust on the nuts that you don't want. Fold in the pecans until all nuts are well-coated. Pour the nuts into the Zip-lock bag--you may want a second pair of hands for this, or place bag in a small mixing bowl to stabilize. Zip bag closed securely and toss nuts around to coat evenly, using your hands to separate the nut halves as needed. Pour the nuts onto a parchment-lined large jelly roll pan. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool in pan. (If there are any nuts stuck together, separate them before completely cooled.) Store in an air-tight container to keep crisp.

Give them to friends at Christmastime.
Bring them as hostess gifts.
Send them to family in far-off lands. =)
Make them with pecan pieces and sprinkle on top of salads.

You'll be loved.

Birthday Cake Chronicles :: M&K 2010

2010-03-09T07:44:00.001-06:00

Mike and Kathleen made it easy on me this year and requested a tasty shared cake!

Quadruple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Caramel Puffcorn

2009-12-14T15:10:00.012-06:00

If you like caramel corn--and don't mind the addictive quality is has in taking over your brain telling you to have just another handful...until it's gone--you'll really like this version made with kernel-less puffed corn. I like that I don't even have to worry about the thought of cracking a tooth on those little buggers when I pop these caramel puffs in my mouth.

My mother in law sent us home with a bag of puffed corn because she knew that my husband could eat this gluten-free snack, which he would have devoured on our 21-hour roadie back home to Texas from Minnesota if I hadn't seen the caramel corn recipe on the back of the package.

I packed them away in the back of our vehicle so none of the 12 hands looking for snacks would find them and eat'em up before I returned home and had the chance to try this recipe! (Yes, this is probably considered abusive--especially when my entire family is physically restrained for 1200 miles.)

Here's everything you'll need:

Yes, I know it's a HUGE box of baking soda. You'll only need 1+ tsp. for this recipe. You really don't want to know why I have this overabundance of baking soda...and four more boxes just like it at my house. I'll just leave you with two words: mummified chicken. 'Nough said, k? Carrying on...

Here's the recipe for

Caramel Puffcorn

2- 5 oz. pkgs. puffed corn (found in the snack aisle, butter flavored--not cheese flavored!)
**(seems Chester's snacks went on a diet and now, instead of 5 oz. pkgs, they are 3-1/2 oz.--so, you'll need nearly 3 pkgs. of puffed corn for a full recipe.)
1 cup butter (not margarine)
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Combine butter, brown sugar, and light corn syrup in a 2 qt. sauce pan, cook on medium heat until mixture has melted. Once mixture has melted add the baking soda.

Note: This will cause the mixture to foam slightly.
Note 2: You may need to add an additional 1/2 tsp. soda if 1 tsp. doesn't cause it to foam or get slightly cloudyish.

Pour puffed corn into a large roasting pan. Pour caramel mixture over the puffed corn and stir until mixed.

Place in oven at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring at least every 10-15 minutes.

Remove from oven, pour on wax paper or parchment and break apart/separate puffs. Allow to cool and...
ENJOY!

*For a naughtier version: drizzle melted chocolate over the mixture after you
remove it from the oven.

Bring it to your neighbors for a Christmas treat.
Just beware they'll be looking for it again every year.

If you don't continue to deliver, they'll look at you with (as my 7 year old son would say) "angry eyebrows"...and you don't want that, do you? Unless they complain about your yard not looking good enough--then it might be okay to occasionally skip a year of caramel corn for them! :}

For all of you living north in the frozen tundra, you're in Old Dutch country--not Chester Cheetah country. Look for Old Dutch brand corn puffs in your grocer's snack aisle.

English Lasagna :: gluten free and low lactose

2009-11-21T09:19:00.007-06:00

Never heard of English lasagna? Me either...until just over a year ago. Grandma Doogie (as in our kids Grandma Doogie) passed this one along to me. She's made it for years and says that she now doesn't make any other kind. I didn't even have to follow her around like a little puppy to scratch down the recipe as she cooked this time (unlike when she made her tasty ribs). She had it written down!

Here's the low down:

This dish looks like a regular ol' Italian lasagna but has less tomatoey sauce and no ricotta--less cheese overall. It has a bechamel sauce instead of the regular cheese mixture. It can be made gluten free and with lower lactose if you substitute the noodles for gluten free noodles; use gluten-free flour and coconut milk for the bechamel sauce instead of the cheese and egg mixture.
All I can say is that my husband and kids prefer this lasagna over the standard Italian version. So, try it sometime and let me know what you think.

Sorry, no picture...yet.

Meat Sauce:
1 pould lean ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage
1 cup chopped medium onion
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 cup dry white wine
2 TBSP tomato paste
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes in puree

Bechamel Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
(I use ~1/8 c. rice flour & equal parts potato & tapioca starch for the other 1/8 c.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups 1% reduced-fat milk
(I use a can of coconut milk and add enough water to = 3 cups. Almost a 1:1 ratio)

12 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles
(I use uncooked gluten-free noodles--usually penne)
3 cups shredded aged Cheddar cheese

Volcano cake with tropical flowers

2009-08-26T15:26:00.010-05:00

Requested by this young lady.

Idea for cake found here.

General idea for flowers found here.

Instead of making my own hard-crack candy for the lava, I just melted down Red Hots and Jolly Ranchers. NOTE: When pouring the melted candy on parchment paper, make sure to pour various lengths of "lava" with a curve at the top to make it easier to secure to the cake. Looking back, I should have made more short lava and filled in the top more to make it look more explosive. I had longer pieces left and should have just broken them in half and used 'em.

Made to order for my daughter's ninth birthday!

2 boxes of cake mix
6 eggs
2/3 cup oil
water
1 pkg. prepared chocolate frosting
1 pouch green decorator icing
Cool Whip
1-6 oz. package of Red Hots
small bag of passion fruit Jolly Ranchers
(I just used the orange ones.)

$10.31 and a little putzing...
for a cake made to order,
with priceless memories
held in the heart of a nine-year old girl.

Most definitely worth it!

Solar Cooker :: Country Breakfast Casserole (gluten free to boot)

2009-08-08T23:31:00.017-05:00

I've come out of hiding. Truthfully, I haven't been experimenting very much with new recipes since I've been a whole lot busier with homeschooling this year. In fact, the recipe in this post isn't new, it's just cooked in a new way...with my father-in-law's hard work in solar energy.

My FIL (a.k.a. Grampy) spent his entire career inventing different films and machines and made his niche with solar films. When he retired in 1996, 3M had discontinued using many of his films because there just wasn't enough demand for the products...at the time. Oh, but with this fascinatingly new demand for solar power, they've begged, schmoozed, and pleaded for him to come out of retirement for the newbie engineers to glean as much as possible from him.

(Okay, I don't really know what they had to do to pull him out of retirement, but somehow they did it. Actually, I don't think he's getting paid, so what do you call that? A corporate volunteer?)

Anyhoo, when we visit Grammy and Grampy's house, our kids use all his old castoff films as their high-tech slippy slide. I get a little kick out of that! They also love to watch Grampy swooish down the hill on the film in his trunks that seem to be Teflon-coated. Visual: It's similar to Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation waxed taboggon speed.

Jimmer on Grampy's "high-tech" (hill + film + water hose) slippy slide.

If you look closely, you can see Grampy's spunky trunks that make him zip like the wind.

(July '07)

For many years now Grampy has worked with a lovely couple, Mike and Martha Port, and together they came up with a design for a solar box cooker for Port's nonprofit organization. The cookers use Grampy's patented solar films as its solar secret weapon (at least it seems much more interesting and exciting if I put it that way).

So, if you want a little excitement in your life, give solar cooking a try. If you purchase one of their S.O.S. Sport ovens, you also enable the organization to send one (or almost one) to needy folks in different countries that have used up to 98% of their forests for firewood and are suffering from lung and eye diseases caused from inhaling smoke from cooking fires.

Be green and philanthropic! Using a solar cooker taps into a unique side of culinary creativity and provides you with a wonderful sense of satisfaction that we can harness that blazing sun power for good--for ourselves and our neighbors in need.

As for yer vittles, follow this Country Breakfast Casserole recipe, spray the pots to prevent sticking, pour in the fixins, and go from this...

...to this in 3 hours of time you'd rather not heat up the kitchen, or use a bunch of energy that's not free.

Yum!

Before I started cooking, I wanted to see how hot the oven would get by itself using the reflectors. It got up to 300 degrees. (I'd show ya, but the picture just turned out really blurry. See?)

Here's a non-blurry temp photo, but it was taken after I took off the lid and checked on the goodies.

When I put the mixture with the frozen potatoes into the solar cooker, it got down to 150 degrees, but then crept back up to 250 degrees as the average cooking temp.

I was thrilled with how it turned such a lovely shade of brown on top. Wasn't expecting it.

My taste buds were also thrilled.

As you can see, I'm a member of the C.P.C. (Clean Plate Club, as my Grandpa Hardie used to say).

Grandma Doogie's Pork Back Ribs

2009-07-01T10:57:00.003-05:00

If you like moist and tender ribs, this method of making ribs is a guarantee for the most luscious ribs you'll ever eat. Watch out though because they may just fall off the bone while you're flippin'em on the grill.

Grandma Doogie makes these wonder ribs without a recipe, so I had to watch carefully and take notes last time we were in Chelan (when my youngest boy rolled their golf cart and broke it in many places). I didn't even like ribs...until I took one bite of these. I think it had something to do with the ones I've had being kind of dry, a little tough, and somewhat fatty (blech!), and also because I realized that tough rib meat doesn't make very good floss. In fact, it really got stuck between my teeth and hurt. I don't like that so much. For THESE ribs, the secret is in the brining. If you've never had brined ribs, maybe you've been like me suffering with too much tough meat stuck between my teeth making me feel like I'm back in junior high sporting braces again.

My husband says these ribs are the best he's had either homemade or in a restaurant. He's a pretty good food critic, and let me tell ya, he knows meat. He even once ate the Big Texan 72 oz. steak meal (including shrimp cocktail, baked potato, roll...) in less than an hour--so he'd get the meal for free. First of all, I wouldn't have come close to eating a 4-1/2 pound slab of meat in one sitting, let alone one hour. Secondly, I would have been bothered by having to eat the meal on the challenge stage. When he was finished, the waitress jokingly asked, "Can I getcha anything else?" Joe said, "Yeah, I'll have a beer."

Er, scratch that. Let's try to forget that story. I don't want you to lose your appetite. I must share with you how to make these amazing ribs.

First, if you read through this recipe and get overwhelmed at the number of places you have to put the ribs, please don't be troubled. The ribs just either sit in a cooler or are baking in the oven for the majority of the time not even asking for you to check on them, or change their diaper, or wipe their noses, or get them a snack--or anything. They're pretty low-maintenance and quite independent. They like to be left alone. I appreciate this more than many wonderful things in life.

Get a cooler and cut your ribs--if you have to--so they fit inside. (A lot of ribs fit into a small-medium cooler!) In a large saucepan, heat water to dissolve sea salt. Allow the water to cool...or be impatient like me and throw a bunch of ice cubes into the brine to cool it off faster. Pour the salt water over ribs in the cooler. Add ice to the cooler to keep the meat happy and you at peace. If some ribs are exposed, sprinkle them with a bit more salt. Let the ribs sit in the brine while you hike up the butte, eat lunch, tour the area, and come back home. That's what we did in Chelan while our ribs were soaking.

After brining, rinse ribs, rub on some spices, add a little water, cover and bake. I just used a plain ol' off-the-shelf pork rub.

In the oven is where they get tender and wonderful and succulent and... (Don't forget to dump out the pretty pink brining liquid and wash out your cooler while the ribs bake.)

After baking, carefully remove the ribs from roasting pan (these suckers just want to fall apart after they're done baking), and throw 'em on the grill to get a nice barbecue crust on top. While grilling, brush on your favorite barbecue sauce and turn as needed so the ribs get lightly crisp on the outside but so that the sauce doesn’t burn.

Remove from grill, eat...and prepare for your guests to move in and never leave your home. That’s what I wanted to do when I first tasted these delectable ribs. My Dad wouldn't let me stay.

I first served them to my live-in guests, my family, on Christmas Eve. It just may be a new tradition!

Note A: Brining, baking and finishing ribs on the grill is a good solution if you've tried to fully grill ribs with a gas grill and end up with dry meat. The key is low heat, and some gas grills can be a little too hot to cook ribs fully.

Note B: Don't remove the membrane on the back of the ribs (non-meat side) using this brining/baking method. Since the brining and slow cooking makes the meat fall-off-the-bone tender, the membrane will help keep the ribs in tact. Besides, it's not very satisfying when you get excited about eating tender and flavorful ribs...and they fall apart when you pick them up to take a bite. Hmph.

Ingredients:

2-3 racks pork back ribs
1 cup+ sea salt
water
3-4 TBSP pork rub
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce or 1/3-1/2 bottle barbecue sauce, I use Stubbs

Directions:

In large saucepan, put 1 cup of sea salt and fill at least 3/4 of the pot with water. Heat until salt is dissolved. Cool in pan, or add ice cubes to cool faster. Place ribs in a small-to-medium sized cooler. Pour cooled brining liquid over the ribs, add ice cubes on top to keep meat cool while brining. Most of the meat should be submerged in the liquid. Sprinkle salt over any meat sticking out of brining solution. Allow meat to soak for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Rinse the brining liquid from ribs under water. Place ribs in roasting pan meat side up. Sprinkle and rub the rubbing spices over the meaty side of the ribs. Add 3/4 cup water. Cover roasting pan with tight-fitting lid or with tightly-sealed foil. Bake for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

Carefully remove ribs from roasting pan to a medium heat grill, meat side up. Brush on your favorite barbecue sauce over the meat. Turn ribs to heat barbecue sauce, turn back again after 3-5 minutes. Repeat with barbecue sauce and turning meat again to end up with a nice barbecue crust. Be careful not to burn the sauce on the meat. (If your BBQ sauce crust is burning, add water to the sauce before brushing on more. This will reduce the proportion of sugar, which causes burning, in the sauce.) Remove from grill onto a serving plate or cutting board. Cut into serving-sized pieces (2-3 ribs). You may serve the ribs with additional barbecue sauce, but it's really not necessary!

Lamb Cake :: Almond Cherry Pound Cake

2009-05-14T20:27:00.011-05:00

This is a fun little cake to make in the spring for Easter or 1st Communion celebration. My mother-in-law makes a number of her lamb cakes and gives them to friends for Easter!

I couldn't find her recipe in time to make my daughter's First Communion lamb cake (photo), so I modified a recipe I found online instead. I'll add her recipe in the future.

[Make in a bundt pan, two loaf pans, or halve the recipe to fill one lamb cake mold.]

Ingredients:

½ pound (2 sticks) butter
½ cup vegetable shortening, plus more for pan
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/4 tsp fine salt
½ tsp baking powder
¾ cup half and half or whole milk + ¼ cup maraschino cherry juice
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract
1/8 – ¼ cup finely chopped cherries (get all liquid out)
¼ cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

With a mixer, cream butter and shortening together. Add sugar, a little at a time. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl and add to mixer alternately with milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Mix in vanilla and almond extract. Fold in the cherries and pecans. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan and bake for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

For molded lamb cake:
Use white frosting to frost lamb in swirls (like lamb’s wool), add flattened raisins for eyes and sliced cherries or cut fruit roll up pieces shaped for the mouth.

(I use the whole recipe and make one molded lamb cake and one loaf.)

Recipe modified from Paula Dean's Mama's Pound Cake.

Potato & Leek Soup

2009-03-23T14:43:00.011-05:00

A new recipe for me to make. Ooooh, this one is good. We were going to our church for our weekly Lenten soup supper followed by the Stations of the Cross, so I wanted to try a new recipe for a meat-free soup to share. One that I've been wanting try for a while now.

I will be making it again...soon.

Here's the recipe from Emeril. I doubled the recipe, but I didn't even make modifications--besides using dried thyme instead of fresh thyme (didn't have) in the bouquet garni that I wrapped with cheesecloth. Also, I probably would have garnished the soup with chives, but my little seedlings aren't ready for me to mow and use yet.

Here's Emeril's version--unadulterated...or unLauralterated. (I don't like to rely on websites. I've lost too many good recipes that way when I've gone back to search for them--que? Nada.)

Ingredients:

1 large or 2 small leeks, about 1 pound
2 bay leaves
20 black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons butter
2 strips bacon, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups chicken stock
1 to 1 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
2 tablespoons snipped chives

Directions

Trim the green portions of the leek and, using 2 of the largest and longest leaves, make a bouquet garni by folding the 2 leaves around the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme. Tie into a package-shaped bundle with kitchen twine and set aside. (Alternately, tie 2 leek leaves, bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme together in a piece of cheesecloth.)

Using a sharp knife, halve the white part of the leek lengthwise and rinse well under cold running water to rid the leek of any sand. Slice thinly crosswise and set aside.

In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the bacon. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is very soft and has rendered most of its fat. Add the chopped leeks and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the reserved bouquet garni, chicken stock, potatoes, salt and white pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart and the soup is very flavorful.

Remove the bouquet garni and, working in batches, puree the soup in a food processor or blender. (Alternately, if you own an immersion blender, puree the soup directly in the pot.) Stir in the creme fraiche and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately, with some of the snipped chives sprinkled over the top of each bowl of soup.

I was planning to go the Austin-laid-back-and-carefree route by not blending the soup at the end. However, when I blended a few ladels and tried it both ways, there was no going back. The extra step is well worth the effort that brings the velvety creaminess that it becomes after it's well whirled. I'm not one for extra steps, so just go with my on this and take my word. It really makes all the difference.

It was so good that we even scored a new babysitter out of it. Really! A college girl who was at church that night said if she can have more of the soup, she'd babysit for us!

P.S. If you're wonderin'...I left the skins on the taters!

And...

I'm not one of those scoop-it-up, thick soup kinda gals. I like it to be thin enough to consider...er, soup! So add more chicken stock if you need to, and don't forget the wine!

Modification:
If you'd like to reduce the amount of lactose in the soup, substitute coconut milk instead of using creme fraiche or heavy cream.

Birthday Cakes...once again!

2009-03-10T19:10:00.006-05:00

Mikey's request: "A 3-D monster truck--with roll bars--climbing up a mountain"

Kathleen's request: "A tree with some fall-colored leaves"

Valentine's Day Krispy Kisses

2009-02-12T14:53:00.012-06:00

Every year for the past four years, the kiddies have looked forward to making these sweet little treats for St. Valentine's Day.

They're just rice krispy treats with tinted melted marshmallow,

...packed into a smallish funnel,

...wrapped in foil (sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray)

(with a cute little ribbon--or a strip of paper with a sweet message written on it).

I snip the corners off the foil squares before wrapping the krispy treat. Otherwise, there would be a big wad of foil at the top.

Yum!

Now go give 'em to all the little neighbor kids!

NOTE: I made 2 regular batches of rice krispy treats. Using a funnel that holds about 1 cup of water, I was able to make 16 krispy kisses (8 kisses in each batch). If needed, more can be made using a smaller funnel or just by not filling the funnel up to the top.

For a more authentic chocolatey (and gluten-free!) kiss treat, you can use Cocoa Pebbles. Sadly, krispy rice cereals still contain gluten because of the malt ingredient.

Longhorn Hummus

2009-01-05T13:09:00.010-06:00

I just whizzed up this "burnt orange" version of hummus in preparation for watching the Fiesta Bowl tonight. Go, Horns. Hook 'em!

Now I need to gather some fresh veggies for the dip.
Then I need to make sure everyone has on their Longhorn shirts.
Oh yes, I suppose I should prepare a real meal for my family as well.
As for me, I think I could live on appetizers.

Cheers!

Find this recipe in the variation section at the bottom of this hummus recipe post.

Cashew Clusters

2008-12-22T15:20:00.006-06:00

If you're looking for a special treat that is super easy to make and doesn't involve the oven or icing or colored sprinkles, this recipe is for you! This is a winner above many other yummy recipes since it is 1) chocolatey, 2) embarrassingly quick and easy, 3) different than all the other "cookie" exchange items, 4) substantially satisfying to eat!

This is a recipe my mom always made at Christmastime. My Grandma Hardie used to make these, and many of her five children latched onto the recipe and have continued to make these chocolatey morsels for many, many years. My family always used the roasted Spanish peanuts, but I prefer the cashews. My children and I now make these clusters at Christmastime and give them to friends and neighbors in small tins.

Ingredients:

12 oz. white chocolate chips
2-12 oz. packages chocolate chips
2 lbs. whole cashews (or roasted Spanish peanuts)

Directions:

Place chips in a double boiler over medium heat. Stir until chocolate until melted and smooth. Or microwave chocolate to melt by heating on high for 1 minute, stir, then continue to heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between until chocolate can be stirred smooth.

NOTE: depending on the chocolate you use, you may need to temper the chocolate to prevent white streaks from forming after the clusters cool. I use regular bags of chips and I don't bother tempering. Just don't overheat the chocolate while melting.

Remove from heat and add the nuts. Spoon onto waxed or parchment paper to form small clusters. Cool a few hours. Place in a tin separating layers with waxed or parchment paper.

To serve, place one or two...or three of them on one of Grandma Hardie's little Christmas plates and enjoy!

Caramel Morsel Bars (Mike's Favorite)

2008-12-21T21:07:00.008-06:00

My grandma used to make these for a Christmas treat along with her many Christmas cookies. She made them especially for my brother, Mike, since they were his favorite. Grandma loved providing family favorites.* I was told she found this recipe in a magazine. After Mike died in 1987, we all realized that these bars were favorites of more of us than Mike alone. When my grandma passed away in 1989, I started making these as my own Christmas treat tradition!

Ingredients:

14-oz. bag KRAFT Caramels
3 TBSP water
5 cups crisp rice cereal or toasted oat cereal (I use crisp rice)
1 cup peanuts, optional
One 6-oz. pkg. (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
One 6-oz. pkg. (1 cup) butterscotch chips

Directions:

Melt caramels with water in saucepan (or double boiler) over low heat. Stir frequently until sauce is smooth. Pour over cereal and nuts; toss until well coated. With greased fingers, press mixture into greased 9” x 13” pan. Sprinkle morsels on top; place in 200 degree oven for 7 minutes, or until morsels softened. Spread softened morsels until blended to form a frosting. Cool, cut into bars.

* Grandma liked to make people feel special by going out of her way to provide their "favorites". Besides making these bars for Mike, she baked mint surprise cookies (I still need to locate that recipe)--my Uncle Steve's favorites. One year grandma couldn't find her usual chocolate mint wafers for these cookies. I ended up locating something similar at a bake shop in the Twin Cities on Thanksgiving break and bringing them back to DBQ so she could make them for him before Christmas. I also recall Grandma asking me to pick up a loaf of sour dough bread at a bakery on Bluff Street for Grandpa...just because she knew he really liked it. She didn't want me to mention to Grandpa how expensive it was because he, in all his frugality, would not have wanted her to buy it for him. These were Grandma's little touches to make people feel special...and I would have never known about them had I not been running errands for her while she was recovering from a heart attack.

Candy Cane Brownies

2008-12-17T14:06:00.022-06:00

You can even use a mix for these little trees!

Today was one of those days when your little child scampers up to you and asks, "So, what treat am I bringing to my Christmas party today?" and hands me a note from his religious education teacher that he received LAST week...about the party TODAY!

Whuh?

As I recall, all the kids said that they didn't need to bring anything to their parties--only a couple of ornaments for the older kids to trade with their classmates. The children were finishing up making homemade cards for all their teachers when Jimmer sprang this one on me. So goes life.

No time for creative thought. My husband had taken the family vehicle to work since it was too rainy and cold to take his open Jeep, so I couldn't get to the store. Hmmm...not much in the pantry, though I had a box of unsweetened chocolate.

I just want to say a big thanks to my neighbor, Julia, who had candy canes that I could use to make these holiday brownies.

Directions:

The easy way to make these brownies is to use a box mix, add 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract (very good, but optional if you don't have it on hand) to the batter and bake as directed in a 9 x 13-inch pan. Using a quart-sized zipper baggie, crush four larger-sized candy canes with a mallet.

When the brownies have about 5 minutes left to bake, take them out of the oven, distribute the crushed candy canes over the top of the brownies, press them gently into the top, and finish baking.

If you're like me and don't have a mix, then make a fudgey version of your favorite brownie. I cut the vanilla extract in half and add 1/2 tsp. of peppermint extract.

Today, instead of just adding the crushed candy canes on top, I sprinkled on some milk chocolate chips five minutes before the brownies were done. After they were done baking, I spread the chocolate over the brownies with a knife, then sprinkled the crushed candy canes over the chocolate.

Allow the brownies to cool completely, then cut them into triangular tree shapes for that little extra Christmassy somethin', flip them all onto a red plastic plate, top it with non-festive, plain old clear cellophane (that is molecularily opposed to bonding with red plastic plates), hand them to your six year old, let him know that you'd like him not to run with them and drop them all before he gets to his party, and send him on his way with his dad...who has now returned just bit late with the family vehicle to run all the children to their parties.

Now close the door, pour some spiked egg nog, and finish wrapping Christmas presents while all the kids are away for that one and only precious hour a week that they are out of the house without you at their side. Ahhhhhh!

If I had the time, the ingredients and the gumption, I may have tried making these yummy looking brownies. The recipe has a few extra steps I just didn't have time for today.

Note: If you looked really closely at the picture of the final brownies, you'd notice a very sparce sprinkling of green sugar. I didn't think it addded anything special, so I stopped and left it with barely noticable greenery.

Cake Ball Christmas Tree

2008-12-10T19:54:00.027-06:00

The inspiration for this Christmas tree treat totally came from Bakerella's directions on making cake balls. This Christmas tree is made from red velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting, and covered in melted candy wafers. The cake balls were then arranged on a foil-covered Styrofoam cone "tree" with toothpicks. A nice centerpiece for a festive holiday party.

If you think this looks festively fun, you really should check out Bakerella's site. She has a perfectionist way of decorating all sorts of cake ball-type goodies and, of course, other scrumptious baked goods.

Using the same method of arranging the little cakes on the Styrofoam tree, I've also created a more decadent chocolate truffle tree. This will be a post for another time.
Basic directions are:

Bake a cake mix in a 9" x 13" pan. Let it cool, then crumble it up in a large bowl. Then take a standard off-the-shelf tub of frosting and mix it in (I used a fork to mix) until it all is crumbly-sticky. Grab a glob of the mix, roll it with your hands and plop it onto a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. I stuck mine in the freezer to firm up before coating.

Psst.

Don't tell anyone, but I didn't use up the whole can of frosting. The cake held together sufficiently using only a little more than 3/4 of the frosting. I like a little less frosting.

Here's what your hands will look like after making the cake balls!

Follow the directions for the candy coating wafers (you can get in most grocery stores or in the cake decorating section of craft stores), dip the cake balls and get festive or creative or nutty with your designs!
For the green accent, I just melted some green wafers in a glass bowl in the microwave and plopped it into a quart-sized freezer zip bag. I snipped off a tiny bit of a corner then scribbled away on the cake balls. Yep, I just scribbled back and forth. I'm no perfectionist like Bakerella. If you look closely at the tree you can see little crumbs of cake, hanging strings of green scribble, blobs of coating here and there. Nope, no time for being a perfectionist!
I ended up making smaller (and more) balls out of the 9" x 13" cake to fill up the tree proportionately. I made about 70 balls and used 66 starting with 11 on the bottom and reducing by about one each layer. So, let me see...70-66=4 means I had four lucky children who got to pop unused cake balls!

It would even look better if the balls had been smaller--even graded in size to have the larger ones (1-1/4 inch) at the bottom and smaller ones (1 inch) near the top. See how some of those top ones kind of stick out like a sore thumb?
It's just not festive to think about sore thumbs. So, smaller balls at the top equals no sore thumbs!

Voila!

Your very own Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cake Ball Christmas Tree. But instead of saying that mouthful, just fill your mouth with these little crowd pleasers!

Again, for more inspiration check out Bakerella. She's full of cake ball ideas. Go wild and get creative!

Mashed Potatoes--Creamy & Rich (make ahead)

2008-11-24T17:20:00.008-06:00

My Aunt Joanne cooked many a meal for her brood of five children, extended family, and many friends. She knew how to please a crowd with her food...and endless supply of candy and soda pop! These potatoes are one of her crowd-pleasing recipes. After tasting these super creamy and rich mashed potatoes, you won't go back to the plain dab-of-butter-and-bit-of-milk mashed potatoes again.

What, you say, could make this recipe even better? These spuds can be made ahead of time, refrigerated, then baked on the day of your special meal. These are one of our Thanksgiving meal favorites.

5 lbs. potatoes, your favorite kind (even waxy ones work well)
1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. sour cream
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 TBSP Lowrys seasoned salt

Peel and dice potatoes to a uniform size (I usually try for about 1-1/2 inches). Boil in salted water until fork tender. Mash potatoes with a masher and mash in the cream cheese, sour cream, butter and salt. If the potatoes aren’t smooth enough after using a masher, use your mixer to whip them to your liking.

If making ahead: Store potatoes in a greased oven-proof covered casserole dish overnight. When ready to reheat, place foil covered casserole dish in the oven at 350 degrees (or whatever moderate temperature other food is being cooked) for at least 1-1/2 hours. You can reduce reheat time by setting out the potatoes for an hour or two before reheating them in the oven.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

2008-11-22T15:23:00.011-06:00

Ah yes, fall versions of our favorite classics. I'm not sure if I could go through the holidays on just cutely decorated sugar cookies--more specifically, without a hit of chocolate. With Christmas in the air, chocolate seems to fit in nicely with Cashew Clusters, the showy Truffle Tree (stay tuned for that one), and even Caramel Morsel Bars. For Thanskgiving, however, I've usually just offered Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie. There's also the traditional pumpkin and pecan pies. Hey, where's the chocolate?

When I was asked to bring something to the kids' fall violin performance for the reception afterwards, I was most certainly thinking chocolate. Hmmm, basic brownies just might not cut it, I figured. Yes, something chocolate with a fall twist.

Pumpkin cheesecake brownies would fit the bill.

The recipes online that I thought about trying only made a small batch. Also, I wanted the chocolate to stand out more than the pumpkin. If you only need an 8 x 8" pan, check out this recipe. (I still have yet to try it but will soon.) If you need to make a bigger batch (or use a boxed brownie mix), and want to keep it a bit chocolatier, read on.

For the chocolate brownie batter, I doubled my recipe for Double Chocolate Brownies (without the extra chocolate chips), but you can use a boxed version for this as well.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare brownie batter, boxed or homemade, or this--as long as it's for a 9 x 13 pan.

Pumpkin cheesecake topping:

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 TBSP flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
(Instead of using the cinnamon, cloves and ginger seperately, you could just add one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice if you wish.)

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar; mix in the pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and blend just until all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour 2/3 of chocolate batter into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. With large spoonfuls, drop cheesecake mixture over the top of the chocolate--leaving some of the chocolate still showing. Add the remaining chocolate batter in large dollops over the top--again so both the chocolate and cheesecake batters can be seen. Take a knife and run it back and forth lengthwise through the dish (touching the bottom) just a few times. If you'd like more blending, run the knife through a few more time in the other direction.

Bake for about 5 minutes longer than the regular brownie recipe/mix calls for (that's about 35 minutes for the Double Chocolate Brownies). They're done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool before slicing.

Gobble 'em up!

Fresh Cranberry Relish

2008-11-19T13:21:00.002-06:00

The tastes of Thanksgiving are upon us. This is one little dish our whole family can't get enough of. Instead of thinking of it as an accompaniment for the turkey, we think of it as a side. Because it's fresh, all the vitamins are in tact and there for the taking. This side is the splash of bright life for which the rest of the hearty meal gobbles.

Before I go on, I must first make a confession. Yep.

Okay okay, I'll confess.

Yes, I used to be quite content with that jellied stuff in the shape of a can that went schluuuuuuppppe-whap! onto a plate where it was then (eek!) sliced--complete with the ridges of the can as its textural decoration.

I've made amends with that part of my life. I've tried many different cranberry sauces and relishes, and this one is just plain good and liked by all. It doesn't have those chewy rinds or nuts my kids don't like. It doesn't have alcohol or spices in it either. It's pure and simple.

Just take a bag of fresh cranberries.Now, rinse them and give 'em a whirl in your processor. (Tap them down 2-3 times so they end up a consistent small size.) Pour them into a large bowl.

Peel a couple of large oranges and separate the sections. Cut each section into 3-4 pieces, let them do the ring-around-the-processor, then add them to the cranberries. Sometimes the processor doesn't do well with a whole section.

Oh yes, I mustn't forget to mention that you really should taste your orange before you add it to cranberries. I once made the entire recipe without tasting, and the oranges had an unpleasant taste. It'll ruin your dish if you're not cautious about your ingredients. Same with apples--give 'em a taster first.

Core and peel the apples. Cut them into processor-friendly sizes and let them spin. You may need to scrape them down a couple of times to get a consistent size. Add them with the cranberries and oranges.

(Note: Adding the oranges first will prevent the apples from browning once they join the party.)

To the prepared fresh fruit add 2 cups of sugar and mix well.
Allow to sit out for an hour or so to allow the sugar to dissolve.
Voila! A fresh cranberry side to your Thanksgiving meal.
Recipe:

3 cups washed raw cranberries (a 12 oz. bag = 3 cups)
2 skinned and cored medium-sized apples, (or 1 mombo-sized Honey Crisp)
3 large seedless oranges (1 of them is for juice only)
1-1/2 cups sugar

Run fruit through a grinder or process in a food processor. Add sugar. Let sit at room temperature until sugar dissolves. Lasts for a week or so in the fridge.

Sometimes I make two batches and give one batch away to neighbors in pint-size jars. If I do this at Thanksgiving, then I don't feel as badly if I don't get around to making or distributing goodies at Christmastime. Man, does it get busy in December.

Lemon Bars

2008-11-11T10:38:00.016-06:00

These are Kathleen’s new favorite bars. As we were being spoiled in Chelan at Grandpa Terry and Grandma Doogie’s house with way too much good food, Kathleen kept eyeing these bars…and slowly (and slightly mysteriously) they disappeared throughout the course of a day! These are like a buttery-rich short bread made refreshing with the lemony citrus topping. I think the key to this recipe is the powdered sugar in the crust. It seems almost creamy.

Now, Kathleen has been on a mission to make these bars since we've been home! We’ve got the recipe…and we’re sharing the wealth! Here it is…

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

With two knives, have one of your children cut in the following crust ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 stick softened butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
If you're using salt-free butter, also add 1/8 tsp. salt

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it's the size of small peas.

You can also put the ingredients in your processor and just give it a twirl. Or, if you'd like throw pastry caution to the wind, then just beat it up a bit with your electric mixer. I won't tell anybody. I just don't have my kids use these power tools on their own yet.

Dump the crust mixture into an 8" x 8" baking dish.Don't forget to clean up your mess!
Pat down the crust mixture firmly and evenly. (Kathleen had to get up on the counter top to make sure it was even.)
Pop the crust into the oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, let your kiddo make a mess of her face while eating all the crust bits off her hand. Letting her do this helped pass the time that the crust was baking. Kids don't like to wait very long!

Now, mix the lemony filling by beating the eggs, then adding the sugar,
(Never mind that Kathleen added the sugar before the eggs then had to pour it back out.) Carry on...add lemon juice (heck, throw in a tablespoon of the rind if you're using fresh lemons), and a pinch of salt.

Fold in the flour and baking powder, then pour the filling into the baking dish over the shortbread crust.

Bake for 18 minutes until the "middle doesn't jiggle" and the top is slightly browned.Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. (Again, this is where kids don't like to wait. So, please begin your lessons on the virtue of patience, read an Aesop's Fable about the downfalls of instant gratification (there's gotta be one), or let them pre-run off their lemon bar calories by sending them outside to play.

To serve: Cut into squares or triangles (unless cutting things into triangles means the kiss of death like it does in Joe's family. They never cut their sandwiches into triangles. I figured, with the engineers and mathematicians in their family they would have cut their sandwiches, bars and cakes into every conceivable geometric shape...but NO. Remember, it was the kiss of death. Their own words, not mine.) Personally, I like triangles. Am I getting off the subject?

After you ponder your perceived kisses of death, generously sprinkle confectioner's sugar all over the top, then serve. Pure loveliness!

Tip: Depending on how many bars you want to make, either make this single recipe or double the ingredients and use a 9" x 13" baking dish.

Okay, okay, I've fooled you all. This hasn't been Doogie's recipe. Below is the recipe she gave us. I just had to write down everything else so I'd remember how to make them. I need support that way. Otherwise, I often doubt myself.

The actual words on Doogie's recipe card:

Mix:
1 cup flour
½ cup butter
¼ cup powdered sugar
Press into bottom at 8” x 8” pan and bake 15-20 minutes.

Mix:
2 well-beaten eggs
1 cup sugar
3 TBSP lemon juice (Using the bottled stuff is just fine. Doogie gave me permission to say that.)
Dash salt

Fold in 2 TBSP flour and ½ tsp. baking powder. Pour this mixture over crust and bake 15-20 minutes. Cool slowly.

Birthday cake by Dad

2008-11-02T14:57:00.004-06:00

Yep, Joe made this one since there was no time on Halloween (the day before Jimmer's birthday) and no time in the morning on his birthday for me to make one. I'm the kids' violin coach and had to take them to lessons.

Jimmer requested a camper cake--reminiscent of our recent Canadian Rockies trip in a 31-foot RV.

I was confident that Joe's structural engineering talents would shine and that he'd be able to pull it off. I just gave him materials suggestions. He didn't even have to use steel or concrete for this structure, although a couple of toothpicks were used for reinforcement. Some extra special touches--green sprinkles for grass, a couple of chimps (Jimmer's faves) and other fun animals, trees, and even (ahem) a dump station. He made me proud--not because of the dump station but because he didn't even use a measuring device OR a level...not even blue prints! (Doing things "Willy-Nilly" like that usually goes against every grain in an engineer's being.)

I'm thinking he did such a fine job, we may just share this job of requested birthday cake creations.

Jimmer really liked his camper cake.

Checking out the front of the camper.
Checking out the ladder in back.
"Aw, Dad, is that the sewer water hose?"

Yep, sure is. (Leave it to Dad to include a dumping station.)

Make a wish...

Camper Cake
Building Supplies:

3 frozen pound cakes, thawed
2 containers white frosting
fruit roll-ups, he used red
mini donuts (not necessary)
Life Savers
licorice whips
couple of toothpicks
plastic animals of choice
green sprinkles

Blue Print/directions:

None available
(Engineer's tip: Just wing it!)

Veggie Skeleton

2008-10-29T15:41:00.009-05:00

You know your kids are going to have way too much candy on Halloween, so here's a healthy snack idea for a change. Added bonus: Because kids like the idea of eating this helpless guy's "bones" (ewww!?), they just may eat more veggies than usual. A healthy snack with entertainment value. A keeper!

Head--lettuce leaves, sliced olives, veggie dip in a small bowl
Body--celery, baby carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms, cherry or grape tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers

Arrange the veggies on a platter in the shape of a skeleton, top with an appropriate sized bowl of veggie dip for the head. (I'm sure your presentation will look better than mine. Note to self: skip the waxed paper next time. I'm not really sure WHY I used it in the first place.)

Take a picture of your final Veggie Man, print it up, then let your kids recreate him with the left-over veggies the next day.

I found this vegetable skeleton idea on the internet last year, but I'll be darned if I can find it now to give appropriate credit.

Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie

2008-10-20T11:22:00.014-05:00

If the weather here won't cooperate and act like it's fall, I'll just go ahead, get out the pumpkin, and start cooking like it's fall.

I begged this recipe off Joe's sister. Loving her little brother very much and being the kind sister-in-law she is, she gave it to me...and hand wrote the recipe onto a very appropriate orange recipe card. Ellen, have I ever told you how much time it has saved me looking for this recipe? The orange card pops out right away. (She's an accountant. She thinks of things like this to make life easier. I'm not an accountant.)

Here we go...

Pie crust 3 ways:

1. Traditional - Make a 9-inch pie shell (or use a frozen deep-dish pie shell). Prick & bake until very lightly browned (425 oven). Cool.

2. Ginger snap crust -- similar to graham cracker crust

25 cookies (or enough to make 1-1/3 cup crumbs), crushed with a rolling pin in a quart-sized freezer zip bag or swirled in a processor. Leave out about 1 tablespoon of cookie crumbs to sprinkle on top of pie.
1/4 cup melted butter

Mix finely ground cookies in a bowl with melted butter, press firmly into a pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. You can also add a tablespoon of sugar to the crust ingredients, if you wish.

3. Ginger cookie crust (our most preferred) :

Make the cookie recipe from the Krusteax Gingerbread/cookie mix. Use 3/4 mix and press into a tart pan. (Make cookies with the rest of the dough...or do as I do and drop little balls of dough into your children's mouths much like a mother bird would feed her little chicks. No raw eggs :: no worries.) Bake as directed (10 minutes). Let cool before layering ice cream and pumpkin topping.

Now for the topping goodness...

In medium bowl put:
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp. salt

In another bowl:
1 cup whipping cream. Beat until stiff. Here's what you'll have so far.

Fold into pumpkin mix until no white streaks are left.

This is not how you want it to look. Remember, streak rhymes with eek!

Ah, this is more like it--no streaks.

Scoop 1 pint softened vanilla ice cream into shell making sure there are no big air pockets between the crust and ice cream. (You'll need all the room you can get for the topping.)

Pour pumpkin mixture over it to make a full pie. Don't forget to save a good spatula full for yourself. A cook can't serve it unless it's tasted.

Sprinkle top with 1 tablespoon of ginger snap crumbs.

Freeze uncovered on a level spot in freezer for 1 hour, then cover with plastic wrap and keep in freezer until ready to serve.

Now, go answer your door and have your little girl's friend see that you still have some pumpkin topping on your face. Give her half the pie and send her home to share it with her family. Then maybe she will forget about your face being covered with pumpkin and won't tell anyone.

When ready to serve, let the pie sit out and soften for about 10 minutes (depending on how cold your freezer is) so it can be cut smoothly.

Forcefully stabbing through the pie and having it shoot across the table onto the floor on Thanksgiving Day would probably cause people to frown at you.

Frowning isn't very festive.

Roasted Split Chicken

2008-10-12T12:30:00.010-05:00

I'm not a big fan of eating meat off the bone. Call me crazy. Okay, okay...one exception is Gramma Doogie's Back Ribs. I'll post that recipe in the near future. As far as eating off the bone though, maybe it's all the little tendons and ligaments or something. Ribs just have the one substantial bone that doesn't leave any stringy things behind. I like that. Alright, this is about chicken, right? Yes. Thank you.

Since I've noticed that my kids are eating a lot more than they used to, and because this is all coinciding with grocery (and everything else) prices that are going up noticeably, I've come back to reality. How silly to avoid cooking and eating meat with the skeletal structure still in tact. Hey, I just bought a whole chicken (in pieces) that was discounted for quick sale for $2. So, now it's roasting away in my oven.

It's also good for my kids to see an intact chicken once in a while, so they don't get any crazy ideas like there is such a thing as a "Boneless Chicken Ranch."(I've always loved this Far Side.)

One more thing before we start roasting...
Let us all just say, "No!" to poached chicken breasts, okay? Please? There's something about the water just sucking the life, taste, moisture, character, dignity... No, wait. Just say you won't boil chicken! No matter what you make with it, you can do yourself less harm (as well as less flossing and fewer TMJ treatments) by roasting it. An' yer taster 'll thank ye too. =)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (will lower temp later)
Whole chicken--either split or all the parts and pieces
Jelly roll pan or baking sheet with an edge
Roasting rack (I use my cookie cooling rack)
2-3 TBSP olive oil
~1-1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
~1/2 tsp. pepper
~2 tsp. dried thyme or rosemary
(You can use any number of herbs that you like. Start experimenting! Rub your herb of choice together between your fingers as you sprinkle it on the chicken. It seems to wake up the aroma and flavor!)

Put the roasting rack in the baking sheet. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Place the chicken, skin side up, on the roasting rack so that there are no chicken parts hanging over the edge of the baking sheet (let's not force the need to clean the oven). Drizzle olive oil over the chicken, then sprinkle on the salt, pepper and herbs.

Bake uncovered for 15 minutes on 450 degrees, then turn the oven down to 375 degrees (or else it'll go spitter-spatter all over your oven 'til Kingdom come) for another 30 minutes, or until chicken is done--juices run clear and meat is not pink. Remove chicken from the oven, cover with foil for 10 minutes, then slice, shred, dice--you choose. (I remove the skin first. Remember, I'm still a wimp and don't eat all the body parts.)

I pulled mine apart in big chunks this time.I usually shred it with a couple of forks, but I also like to let it cool and dice it...or just pull it off the bone and leave it for others to do as they wish. I'm flexible--sometimes. You know what? It's your chicken. Do what you need to do!

When you lower the oven temp to 375, this is a great time to throw in some veggies to roast (diced sweet potatoes, new potatoes, zucchini, onions...toss with olive oil, salt & pepper). Then it'll all be done and hot at the same time.

That is, unless you're just using the chicken to make Tortilla Soup, or Italian Chicken Salad, or for Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas, or...oh, stop me now. Forget the veggies, maybe you should just throw in another chicken.

Great Uncle Dorance's Cookies

2008-10-09T18:30:00.002-05:00

I'm told these cookies were requested by so many people throughout my great uncle's life, that he was known for these little gems. For the sake of keeping this much-requested heirloom recipe in circulation and in the family, I'm making sure to add it to my collection. Dorance was in his 90s when he died a few years ago. He was still making these cookies up 'til the end. I've given them to my neighbors and their kids, and they all gave them a big thumbs up...and then asked for more! We have several neighbors (as well as myself) who aren't big on coconut and nuts in their cookies, but after making this recipe I absolutely wouldn't leave them out. These cookies are tender and delectable. It's no wonder they made my great uncle pretty popular at the potlucks. But hey, if any 90-year old man makes me cookies, I'm gonna love 'em!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Cream together:
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar

Mix in:
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cup flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup coconut
1 cup nuts, chopped (I use pecans)
1 cup raisins

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes
Makes 36 or so cookies

My grandpa (my dad's dad) comes from a family of 10 children, including two sets of twins (which may be where I inherited the propensity for twins). Here they all are with their parents. My grandpa is in the middle row on the far left, and Dorance is in the middle row on the far right.

Fruit Rosary

2008-10-07T18:19:00.004-05:00

To celebrate Our Lady of the Rosary today, we put together a fruit Rosary. Celebrating with food always goes over well--especially with a bunch of kids! I'm sure if I had planned better, I could have thought of lots of food variations to make a Rosary, but this is what we had around today. Mmmm...prayers never tasted so good!

53 grapes (for the Hail Marys)
6 strawberries (for the Our Fathers)
2 small celery sticks (for the cross)
some pretzels (for the corpus)
peanut butter (for glue)

Assemble into the form of a Rosary, say the prayers as you eat it!

Birthday Cakes!

2008-08-27T16:09:00.014-05:00

What we do for our children!

Somehow, we've set a precedent for our children's birthdays. A day of fun, a scavenger hunt to find their birthday gifts (with all clues in verse), and a cake of their request. Believe me, I have no special cake decorating abilities, as you'll see if you look close enough. I have a couple of decorating tips, but only the ones that attach to the little tubes of colored frosting that you can buy at any grocery store. I rarely even use those. So you don't need any special equipment. Now if you want to make a simply beautifully decorated cake, go get some real decorator tips, take a cake decorating class...or go buy one. Those decadent bakery cakes are what I go for (better yet, just give me a big gooey and very chocolatey brownie), but for our children...they just want a cake that they've requested and looks cool to them. Here are some of their past requests for cakes that I've made.

"Mommy, can you make me a sleep-over cake this year?" was Mary Kate's request the other day. This sleep-over cake is made from a 9 x 13-inch cake with Twinkies for bodies, Reese's peanut butter cups for the heads, smashed large marshmallow for the pillows, and candies to embellish. I found this idea in Cooking for Kids Bible.

"Can you make a fun and yummy cheesecake?" was the request from Kathleen and Mikey. A tie-died cheesecake was the answer--red velvet cake on the bottom and swirled colored cheesecake mixture on top. I used the recipe from this site, but I'd strongly suggest that you only use about 1/3 of the red velvet cake batter and increase all the ingredients for the cheesecake proportionately to use 24 oz. of cream cheese instead of 16 oz. I made these changes, and was relieved I did. Otherwise it would have been like eating cake with a little cream cheese frosting.

Flower and bugs cake--made from one cake mix in a bundt pan, a small round cake pan, and a few cupcakes...and lots of colored frosting.

Soccer ball for our soccer super star--baked in a Pyrex bowl.

I used this recipe for the Mom Cat and Kitten Cakes--made from a couple of frozen pound cakes.

A monster truck made from a 9 x 13-inch cake, a couple of small round cakes, and candy for embellishments.

A cheetah cake made from a 9 x 13-inch cake and a small round cake with jelly beans as the spots.

A rainbow cake made from a bundt cake.

Flip-flop cake made with two frozen pound cakes, ice cream, whipped topping, and candy embellishments. Check out this site for the recipe. It can also be made with a regular cake and frosting. Get this recipe here.

Mike just HAD to have an Army helmet cake. I made one round cake layer and baked the rest in a Pyrex bowl. Check here for directions.

A lion cake--made from two regular cake layers and a small amount of batter baked in a small Pyrex bowl.

This cake was a big hit, especially since Mary Kate had a life-sized Raggedy Ann doll and had dressed up as Raggedy Ann for Halloween! I got the recipe here.

"A monster jeep riding up a mountain." That's what Mikey requested! It was made from a 9 x 13-inch cake and a couple of cup cakes. I sure could have done more with the "mountain" but when I need to make two cakes at a time for my twins, somethin's gotta give!

What will they ask for next?

Addendum:
(Here's what we've made since the original post.)

Mary Kate wanted a "volcano cake with tropical flowers." This is what she got.

The cake idea was from here, and the tropical flower idea from here.

Another "monster truck riding up a mountain" was in order. This time it was 3D, and I just winged it with various-sized cake layers topped with a cupcake for the mountain, the truck was made with a frozen pound cake, the boulders were krispie rice balls, and the rest was candy decorations and frosting.

This was an interesting order: a "tree with fall-colored leaves." My daughter ended up with this.

I formed stiff cocoa krispie treat mix around a drinking glass and added roots at the bottom. The "tree" was green-frosted angel food cake (I used a cardboard base to rest atop of the "tree trunk"), and the colored leaves were cupcake tops that were frosted green and rolled in fruity pebbles.

What have I started with these 3D cakes? I'm scared for the future!

Spiced Pecans in your salad

2008-08-22T23:35:00.008-05:00

At Christmastime our next door neighbor makes wonderful spiced pecan halves from all the big and lovely nuts from her son's trees. What she may not know is how anticipated her tin of sweetly spiced nuts is at our house every year! Our entire family drools when they see the tin coming! Needless to say, they don't last long.

For a few years, I didn't want to have a recipe for these gems because I thought it may dampen the specialness of her annual gift. However, I've realized that we just can't go through a whole year without them...and I've thought of other ways they can be enjoyed, not just at Christmas.

Our children eat a lot of green salad when I add fruit and nuts. So the addition of these nuts ramped it up quite a few notches. I just add them to the greens with a little green onion and whatever fresh or dried fruit we have on hand. Add some cheese if you like. I usually top it with the salad dressing I make for Napa Salad.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

16 oz. pecan pieces (not the teeny-tiny cookie pieces though)
1 extra large egg white
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 large zip-lock bag
Parchment paper

Whip the egg white in a large mixing bowl with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold the pecans into the whipped egg whites. Stir the nuts into the meringue thoroughly so they are all evenly coated and moistened.

Put the sugar, cinnamon and salt into the zip-lock bag and shake up to mix. Put the pecans in the bag and seal it (leaving a little air in the bag to mix well). Shake well to coat the pecans with the sugar mixture.

Dump the pecans out onto a large, parchment-lined sheet pan or cookie sheet. (I use two pans so I can really spread out the nuts.) Spread out the pecans evenly on the cookie sheet.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and cool thoroughly. They will get crispy once they are thoroughly cooled. Store them in an airtight container.

Use the extras for a snack by itself or add some pumpkin kernels and craisins for a fantastic treat!

NOTE: If you're not making a full batch with 16 oz. of pecans, make sure to remove the appropriate proportion of egg white from the bowl before you mix in the nuts. If you use all of the meringue, the nuts will have too much coating and it may flake off the nuts after cooling, instead of adhering to them.

This is where I found my recipe for spiced glazed pecans.

Duckanoo (gluten and lactose free)

2008-08-06T15:34:00.012-05:00

Yes, what a name--DUCKANOO! I had to try it! Well, maybe I wouldn't have had it not been that it is naturally gluten free, and I knew I could make it completely lactose free as well. Ever since a friend gave me a tip in making lactose free foods by replacing regular milk with coconut milk, I've just had to try out some new recipes. When I saw I'd have to boil this duckanoo thing, I thought I'd give it a whirl...in the boiling water! This was my first time making these little duckanoos, and oddly enough, you can probably try to form them into looking like ducks if you wanted to! Okay, I haven't written DUCK or DUCKANOO quite enough, so DUCK, DUCK, DUCK...DUCKANOO, DUCKANOO, DUCKANOO. (Thanks for letting me get that out of my system!) These sweet Caribbean cake packages are steamed in small parsels to retain moisture. My kids thought it was a pretty tasty treat--especially when I put a little whipped cream with it. Hubby got non-dairy whipped topping. I was surprised that it doesn't taste overwhelmingly coconut-y (is that a word?). It has a very mild coconut flavor. Certainly something novel to try!

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups cornmeal (finely ground, if you can find it)
6 oz. shredded sweetened coconut
1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk
1/4 cup raisins or craisins
2 TBSP butter (or margarine for lactose free), melted
3 TBSP raw sugar (brown sugar is fine if you don't have raw)
2 tbsp water
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Traditionally, banana leaves are used, but if you're like me and don't live near banana trees, you can use tin foil (or boiling bags) to cook the duckanoo.

Directions:
In large covered pasta pot, boil water. Place the cornmeal in a medium-sized bowl. Blend the coconut and the milk in a blender or food processor until smooth. It'll look something like this. Stir the coconut mixture into the cornmeal...
...then add all of the remaining ingredients and stir well.
Take 4 or 5 pieces of foil and fold them into 5 x 6-inch pockets, leaving an opening on one end. Make sure all sides are well sealed by folding over the edges a few times each.

Put a couple of spoonfuls of the cornmeal mixture into each foil pocket and fold over the final edge of foil a few times to seal tightly.There's gotta be a way to pinch in a little foil and tuck these around to make them look like ducks!

Place the foil packets in a large pan of boiling water.
Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Lift the packets out of the water and carefully remove the foil. Serve the duckanoo alone or with lightly whipped cream (or for lactose free--with non-dairy whipped topping). Best when served warm!

Options to try:
Next time, I'd like to add orange juice instead of plain water, and put in 1/2 tsp lemon or orange zest instead of the nutmeg.

This is not something I'll be making on a routine basis, but it's fun to do once in a while...and especially when Joe hasn't had any bready foods for a long time. Ooh, wouldn't it be fun to have a Tamale and Duckanoo party? You know, tamales in corn husks and duckanoos in banana leaves. Oh, and stuffed grape leaves for appetizers. What multicultural parcel-meal possibilities! Okay, it would be way too fussy...and a little too multicultural. Never mind! But do try the duckanoo sometime.

This recipe was based on one from The Complete Mexican South American & Caribbean Cookbook.

Apple Monster Snack

2008-07-29T15:53:00.014-05:00

It's been too darned HOT to cook much these days. As of yesterday, we've had 36 days of triple digits so far this year (Yow!) and it's also what's forecasted for the rest of this week. So, let's all refrain from creating MORE heat. That is, until you can't stand it anymore and your stomach cries out for something baked, or cooked, or heated. But, if possible, wait until that point. It's just too hot!

When most folks here in the South head for the lakes all weekend in the summer, I go cower in the house, close all the shades and try not to move to stir up any body heat. It's not that I have anything against sweat, I just like to chose WHEN I sweat. If I decide to go out for a brisk walk or some other predetermined exercise this time of year, of course I know I'll sweat. But just sitting in the house? No sweat for me, please!

We can still have fun with the kids and food...and not stir up the heat, right? Of course. I even made these funny little guys for Dad. After all, they're gluten free, and if you just use peanut butter, they're also lactose free.

Aren't they kind of cute?
As you can guess, these are just apple wedges, peanut butter, slivered almonds, raisins, and little dabs of cream cheese.

Sometimes, when my cheese girl asks for an even quicker snack I'll hand her one of these. A monsterfied "cream cheese lolly pop".
Or for my almost-non-meat-eating daughter, I may give her this kind of monster instead of a regular peanut butter "lolly pop", as they've always called them.

But the apple guys are our favorite. They're a tasty and complete snack.

So, stay out of the heat! Keep it fun! Keep it silly! Keep it scary cool!

This snack is not my original idea. I was going to give credit to my Cooking for Kids Bible, but after scouring it I couldn't find the little critters. So, I'll have to wait to give credit for the Apple Monsters to the appropriate source after I find it.

Garbanzo Cake (gluten free/dairy free)

2008-07-25T06:46:00.015-05:00

In my quest for gluten-free baked goodies, I came across this recipe in a Mexican cookbook. It’s a great alternative to a sweet quick bread we almost never have anymore since we don’t like to torment Daddy with glutenous treats too often…unless it’s Spiced Pumpkin Bread that our kids usually beg me to make at least once a month--and more like once a week around the holidays. Each serving of this “cake” has 2.7 g. fiber and 9.2 g. protein! It's a very dense and moist quick bread-type cake. Our kids thought it was a big treat! They didn't realize it was a gluten-free bread...otherwise they may have been suspicious. With its sweet spiced flavor, you sure wouldn’t know it has a couple of cans of chickpeas stashed away in all its goodness—replacing the flour and adding additional moisture, fiber and protein! All the kids asked for more, but they’ll have to wait because this recipe only makes one loaf!

Ingredients:
2 -10 oz cans Garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained

(Cans of chickpeas around here are 16 oz., so you can use the leftover chickpeas to make a half-ish recipe of Hummus. Why not? You'll already have your processor out, and it'll make just the right amount to snack on while you're waiting for your cake to finish baking!)

4 eggs, beaten (or 1 cup of egg beaters)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon

If you're concerned about using cinnamon for any reason (like if your tongue goes numb like my friend's!), you could use a mixture of nutmeg, all spice, cloves, and ginger instead.

Grated rind and juice of 1 orange (since I didn't have an orange, I just threw in 1-1/2 TBSP frozen OJ concentrate and 1 tsp. of dried lemon peel)

Cinnamon sugar -- 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp ground cinnamon
(or make spiced sugar using alternate spices)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove any noticeable chickpea skins, and put the remaining peas in a food processor (or blender) and process until smooth. (You may need to process the chickpeas in a couple of batches.) This is what it looks like when you're done processing--kind of dry looking but holds together when you press it.

Spoon the processed chickpeas into a bowl and gently stir in the eggs, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, orange rind, and orange juice. Grease a 1-pound loaf pan and line with parchment paper.

Pour the cake mixture into the loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and leave to stand, in the pan, for about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan, place on a wire rack, and leave to cool completely before serving. Or if you're like us, wait just another 10 minutes or so before diving in!) Serve with sliced fresh strawberries, pineapple or other fruit...or just sprinkle each piece with additional spiced sugar and enjoy.

(12 slices/servings)

The above recipe based on one from: The Complete Mexican, South American & Caribbean Cookbook

Lemony alternative:
Instead of using orange zest and juice, use the zest and juice of one juicy lemon. After the cake is done baking, squeeze more lemon juice over cake, and sprinkle generously with confectioners sugar.

Or try a chocolate version here.

Disclaimer: Please forgive me for the frozen berries in my photo. I went to grab some fresh strawberries from the fridge, and discovered that they mysteriously disappeared. If you know their whereabouts, please fill me in. Hey, what's that red stuff on your cheek, Jimmer? Oooh...and you too, Kathleen. Aha!

(Not Your Average) Nachos

2008-07-19T22:01:00.007-05:00

So, what do you do with your extra brisket...or any other tender leftover meat?

We came home with a nice load of cooked and sliced brisket from a luncheon the kids and I attended yesterday, so I thought I'd show you a summer dinner no brainer. Nachos...a more manly version!

I don't know about you, but the taste of those taco seasoning packets don't really do it for me, so I've never been crazy about nachos that use taco flavored ground beef. Nope! I much prefer the pure taste of slow-cooked, smoked brisket. Something you can shred...and taste all the smokey goodness (Let's just SAY it's good for us). Using lots of spices was really only started in ancient times to mask the bad flavor of rotting meat, right? Well, with such modern conveniences as...REFRIGERATION...we don't need to partake in that nonsense anymore. Okay? So toss those silly packets and make your brisket. And don't slather it with all that barbecue sauce either! Down here in these parts we usually only use the sauce as a condiment with sliced brisket.

Mmmmm--just like fajitas, quesadillas, and (in cooler weather) tortilla soup--I could go for these nachos just about any day of the week! I could even do without the meat if I didn't have it handy. I always have the other ingredients at the ready anyway! For the real gift (at least in our house)--it's also gluten free! What's more? If you use CRACKER BARREL or KRAFT "natural" sharp cheddar cheese, it doesn't even have a measureable amount of lactose either!! This is just really making my day!

Ingredients:
Leftover cooked brisket (maybe 1/4 pound for covering one baking sheet), shredded
(You could also use shredded leftover pot roast. Extra fajita chicken would also be fabulous! I'm a reasonable girl--use what you've got!)
Tortilla chips, whatever kind y'all go for
1 to 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I go for MORE!)
1 (2.25 oz.) can sliced black olives, (chopped a bit more), optional
1/4 cup onion (green or red are great!), finely diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
1 large avocado, finely diced [and tossed with
1 tsp. lime juice]
2 TBSP fresh cilantro, minced
Sour cream, optional
Pico de Gallo, optional

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Spread out the tortilla chips all over a (roughly 12 x 17-inch ever-so-slightly-greased) baking sheet. Lining it with aluminum foil makes for a quick clean up. Make sure you cover most of the pan overlapping the chips a bit as necessary so you don't end up with a bunch of gooey cheese all over the pan instead of all over your nachos! Evenly distribute the shredded meat, onion, olives, and cheese over the chips.

Bake until the cheese is melted, about 7 minutes...but check around 5 minutes (because you care about your nachos, don't you?).

With loving care, sprinkle the rest of the ingredients (tomatoes, avocado, & cilantro) on top of the hot nachos, and serve to your manly (or just hungry) guests with sour cream and pico de gallo, if you like.

Knives, etc.

2008-07-17T11:57:00.011-05:00

Yesterday, as I was visiting with a friend about recipes, kitchen tools, and handy appliances, I realized that it's helpful for people to know what gadgets others use and how they use them. So I thought about my most frequently used items, and I snapped a shot of them.

Here are some of my best friends in the kitchen.

I'm certainly no cooking expert. I'm just a busy mom who enjoys cooking homemade meals frequently for our family of six. So, I can tell you what I use the most. For me, it's gotta be functional and efficient (read--easy to find/use/clean).

I'm pretty basic when it comes to kitchen tools--probably because I can never find all those cute gadgets when I need them. That lemon wedge squeezer and that apple corer and the egg seperater are alway hiding in the back of my gadget drawer when I need them so I don't use them...then I forget I have them. I know you must have a drawer like that, don't you? Additionally, I don't really like to do dishes, so I try to minimize using more things that I will have to clean later.

Wusthof 7-inch Santoku knife
Thanks, Big Brother!
Do you all have a big, sharp knife in your kitchen? It really doesn't matter what brand as long as it's sharp and will rock as you slice and dice. If you cook often and don't use one, you're probably wasting a lot of time. You know what I mean if you've ever tried to dice a big onion with a paring knife! If you're afraid to use one, just give it a try. Just slice one thing a day--something fairly soft like a cucumber or zuchini. You'll be amazed how fun and easy it is...and how much time you save.

Paring/steak kniveParing knives have a very necessary place in the kitchen. You don't see one in the picture because I lost mine a while ago. (It's probably in that drawer!) As an alternative, I'm now using a nice, sharp steak knife...for slicing fruit and other smaller items that need more precision (cutting out apple cores, etc.).

My bread knifeA sharp, serrated gem. Even if we're not making and eating as much bread these days (due to gluten intolerant husband), I still use it quite a bit for tomatoes and when I make my kids a Pepperoni Roll, Stromboli Romano, or Spiced Pumpkin Bread. I also have a really long bread knife that I used when I made a lot of bread in the bread machine--before gluten intolerance struck our home...and before our bread maching broke!

I frequently use a pastry scraper--though not for scraping pastry.Since I chop a lot of veggies, I use the scraper to scoop up all the chopped goodies to place them either in the cooking pan or the serving bowl. It's sure better than having to constantly pick up and scrape off my big cutting board...or grabbing it all with your hands and getting your hands too messy to continue chopping with your knife.

I also use a few cutting boards each day: 1 to make lunches, and usually 2 for dinner (1 for meats; 1 for veggies, etc.). Let me not forget to mention my kitchen shears I use constantly. My kids are well trained to never EVER take use these scissors. (Do your things disappear also?) They're so well trained that they even remind Joe not to use them! ("Daddy, you're not supposed to use Mommy's kitchen scissors.)

Although I have a wonderful blender/food processor combo unit that I love (Thanks again, Big Brother!), I rarely use it to slice vegetables. If I'm going to use this unit, I'm going to make it worth my while to clean it...since you don't want to put this stuff in your dish washer.

I use the blender topper to make smoothies, Orange Julius, my Caramelized Espresso Frappe, and I think I'm even going to make this Pots de Creme tonight! I use the food processor attachment to make Hummus, Pesto, Fresh Cranberry Compote (I haven't posted that recipe yet), etc.

Since I only use the unit about once a week, I store it in a cabinet. I'm not one who uses it every day like a couple of friends of mine who have one of these. These Blendtec blenders are handy since they're also guaranteed to crush ice. If I make smoothies or frappes, I just use my good 'ol hand crank ice crusher.

What are your favorite kitchen tools and gadgets?

Sweet Southern Iced Tea

2008-07-09T13:40:00.014-05:00

THE REAL THING

By "the real thing" I do not necessarily mean caffeine laden. (My body doesn't like too much of that stuff.) I mean that it is freshly brewed. I've learned that some people who call themselves "Southerners" actually use instant tea these days or settle for pre-made tea from concentrate, so I'm here to keep the REAL tea tradition alive (and keep some coins in your pocket) by showing y'all how to make it.

Did you know that you'd pay $13/gallon for a catering iced tea service? Full tea service usually includes one (only ONE) gallon of freshly brewed iced tea, lemon wedges, and packets of sugar--that'll make your cold tea gritty!

This time of year in the South you've gotta know how to make it. And I like it sweet. Not SWWEEEEEEET, just sweet!

So, here we go. Go to the store and get something like this, although any kind of tea bags really work...if you think you'll like it cold! Orange pekoe (Lipton's red and yellow box for caffeinated; green, red, and yellow for decaf) is most commonly used for good iced tea.Or, instead of going all the way to the store, just check your cupboards and grab some tea bags you probably already have. If you don't have any tea, maybe you're just not the tea type and wouldn't be interested in making the icy stuff anyway. But for the sake of your future house guests, read on, so you know how to make it for them!

Next, follow the directions on the box and enjoy!

Okay, I won't let you off that easily.

Now, take 3 of these larger iced tea bags (or 5-6 regular-sized Lipton tea bags) and put them into a heat-proof glass or ceramic pitcher. I know there are only two bags in the picture, just go with me on this. The instructions say to use 2 teabags for 8 cups (that's 2 qts.) of water. As long as we're not settling for that other iced tea, let's also not settle for (gasp) weak tea!

I've used a plastic pitcher before, but that's when I wasn't making REAL iced tea. I've mended my ways.
Next, fill the pitcher half full with boiling water. You know how to boil water, right? Start with fresh, cold water and boil it in your kettle.If you want to make your tea faster (since that happens sometimes when you start thinking about iced tea), it's nice to have one of these insty-hot spigot thingys like I do. Now don't get all snooty and tell me about how boiling fresh, cold water is better. This is MY life.
I love my insty hot water spigot because when I need boiling water...POOF, there it is, right there without getting the kettle out. Amazing! I mostly love it because it takes too much time out of my day waiting for our hot water to come clear across our house from our water heater to our kitchen sink. So, now I can fill up my sink with really hot water right away! Love it!

Let your tea bags steep for 5 minutes...or more like 8-10 minutes like I did today since I had to chase my kids back outside because they were running through the house with water-filled squirt guns they got at our neighborhood 4th of July celebration the other day. While you're at it, grab one of these.
No, it's not for chasing around your kids. It's to stir in some of sugar.

Try not to get all crazy and strong arm your wooden spoon into squeezing out every last drop of water from your tea bags like I did. If you do, your spoon may look like mine does now.
Once you have the tea bags removed and the tea is still hot, stir in your sugar--about 1/3-1/2 cup, depending on how sweet you like it.

I'm sure you've had that gritty sugary feeling in your tea before. Or you stir your sugar in and find that you drink mostly unsweetened tea...until the very end, when sugar is all that's left. That's because sugar doesn't dissolve well in COLD tea. So, keep the grit out and stir in the sugar while it's still hot.

Okay, I will confide in you. I DO have some instant iced tea mix in my pantry. I tend to get a little impatient when I'm really hot and thirsty, and sometimes I just want my tea NOW! (So keep in mind, it's best to just make your freshly-brewed tea early every morning in the summertime--before you get really hot and thirsty.) There are some fun instant tea flavors these days, it's hard to resist. It's okay to use it in a pinch. Even when using a mix, it's better to first add a little hot water to the mix and stir it up before adding cold water and ice. It'll dissolve the sugar and leave you with pure non-gritty, refreshing pleasure! Again, that's when I LOVE my insty-hot spigot thingy. Just a little bit of that hot stuff is needed to do the job nicely! Just don't serve this stuff to your guests. You don't serve instant coffee to them, do you?

Okay, let's finish our iced tea now, shall we?

Walk over to your freezer and fill up the rest of the pitcher with ice! Put it in the fridge until you can't wait anymore to have some freshly-brewed iced tea, then get it out and pour yourself an icy glass. And I mean glass...not plastic. It's for your own good, believe me!

If you like, add some lemon wedges. But promise me you won't decorate your glass with those silly circles of lemons. How will you get juice out of them anyway?

Change it up a bit and try this type of tea once in a while. In comes in peach too!
Now you can sit down, enjoy your tea, and watch the pretty Texas sunset. Or if you're not here, just imagine one. They're the realllly beautiful ones you dream about!

Fruit Cobbler (gluten free)

2008-07-07T06:43:00.006-05:00

Joe has been lacking in the area of baked desserts. Let's face it, most baked goods that consist mainly of flour just don't taste the same when they're transformed in to their gluten-free counterparts. So let's go the cobbler route. With this gluten-free recipe, you'll be hard-pressed to tell if it contains gluten or not!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
2-3 cups frozen peaches or other fruit (mixed berries is good too), thawed
(I used a bag of frozen peaches and added a handful of fresh blueberries)
1/3 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted

Dry Baking Mix...
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

For GLUTEN-FREE: omit the above dry ingredients and use Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Mix, or mix your own:
2/3 cup rice flour--finely ground
1/4 cup potato starch flour
2 TBSP tapioca starch
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup additional sugar
1 cup milk (for lactose-free, use Lactaid milk)
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Measure milk and add lemon juice, set aside for 10 minutes (can use buttermilk without the lemon juice instead, but it's got lactose).
In medium bowl, stir in 1/3 cup sugar to the thawed fruit, set aside.
Pour melted butter in 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Or, do what I do and melt the butter right in the glass dish by zapping it in the microwave.
Put baking mix ingredients and 1 cup sugar into a medium bowl and mix.
Add milk mixture, stir briefly just to incorporate all ingredients.
Pour batter on top of the melted butter in the baking dish.

NOTE: If you'd like a wonderfully buttery crust, do NOT stir! If you want more of a cakey batter, feel free to stir the butter into the batter at this point, but I may frown at you if I catch you!

Evenly pour the fruit mixture over the batter. Again, do not stir. The fruit will find its own home of choice within the batter. It's best not to mess with Mother Nature, you know! Here's what mine looked like before I sprinkled it with the spices.

I know, I don't currently have my 8 x 8-inch baking dish--it was broken. So, I had to modify the recipe accordingly. But please, go along with me here!

Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until crust is browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

When it was done baking, all the fruit was hiding underneath the pretty golden crust!

If you're feeling a little spunky, you can also add 1 tsp. grated lemon peel to the batter. Or if you want to mix things up a bit more, add 1 tsp. almond extract to the fruit...or batter! Live it up and change it up as the spirit moves you!

Easy Charro Beans (crock pot)

2008-07-06T06:43:00.009-05:00

I've finally found a Tex-Mex bean recipe our whole family enjoys. Yes, our kids will dive into a bit of the refried sort once in a while, but Joe...errr--NOPE! And those sweet campfire beans--NEVER for him. So, our beans of choice are the charros!

My friend, Melissa (a Tex-Mex cooking goddess!), who hosted 20 girls and their mothers at her house for our Little Flowers camp this year, gave me a tip to make this dish easier, faster, and fat free. She adds Goya ham flavoring packets instead of bacon or a ham bone. Genius! This keeps all the fat out! But...the ham packets have MSG. Eeeek! The kids and I don't seem bothered by MSG, but it can trigger Joe's occular migraines...and it isn't all that great for anyone. So you can, instead, add some beef base (like I do).

Here's an easy recipe you don't have to pay attention to but a couple of times before it's done.

1 lb. bag dried pinto beans, sorted and rinsed (or whatever bean combination you like)
2 cans mild Ro-tel tomatoes
2 packets of Goya ham flavoring, or a TBSP of beef base with water as needed
Medium-large onion, diced
Hot sauce (our kids don't need more spice, so we don't use this)
Cooked, chopped bacon (optional)
Green pepper, diced (optional)
And if you wanna go all out...
A bottle of gluten-free beer (of course, optional)

This is a busy-mom-friendly recipe. No need to soak these beans overnight. That would mean you've actually given some thought about your menu the day BEFORE you eat. Huh? That doesn't happen around here! I'm talkin' right around lunchtime (5-6 hours prior thought) is the earliest I think about dinner.

Put the rinsed beans into the crock, add enough water to cover the beans by a few inches. Cover and turn crock pot on high for a couple of hours.

NOTE: Don't add anything--especially salt--but water to the beans at this point or it'll make the beans tough...and y'all don't want that!

After 3 hours of cooking, add and stir in tomatoes and flavoring packets or beef base, diced onion, green pepper, bacon, beer.

Cook beans for at least 2-3 more hours (to desired doneness), adding water if the beans are peeping out. Beans go full immersion here. Remember, you want a little broth with the beans.

Toppers:
We like to add a diced avocado, sour cream, shredded cheddar, and cilantro. Then our non-meat eater can enjoy it for a meal!

Be traditional and serve with some brisket, Spanish rice, and corn bread.
Be food pyramid savvy and serve with some chicken fajitas and a salad or fruit!
Be a real mom and serve it with whatever else you find in the fridge or pantry that seems like it would round out the meal!

Guaca(squishy)mole...by kids

2008-07-04T07:46:00.006-05:00

Our kids LOVE to make this for me. To be honest, when I'm making Tex-Mex there's enough other chopping, assembling, and heating to do that it's very helpful to get the kids involved and take this one off my hands! Here's Kathleen's recipe:

1 ripe Hass avocado (it'll give a little when squeezed, but has no air pockets)
1 tsp. lime juice
salt to taste, ~1/4 tsp.
1 clove minced garlic (optional)
zip-lock baggie

Adult: Cut avocado in half lengthwise, say, "hah-YAH" and stab the large pit with your big ol' knife and twist to pull in out. Toss pit in garbage, unless you want to grow your own avocado tree.

Kids: With a large table spoon, scoop out each half of the flesh and toss it into the baggie. Pour lime juice and salt on top; add garlic, if using. Zip up the baggie (after removing all air) and squish and squeeze it all around, then pass it to your sibling. Make sure to leave some lumps in it if you like it that way, or do what our kids do...pulverize it to near liquid form. Come to think of it, you may want to use the better fortified FREEZER zip bag for this!

More fun: Squeeze all the guacamole down into one area of the baggie and cut off the corner of the baggie with a scissors. Squeeze and swirl all the guac out into a bowl or right into your tortilla soup...or on top of your fajita, or on the side to dip. You choose!

If you like...
Mix in:
1 small Roma tomato, diced
1 rounded teaspoon fresh cilantro, chopped

Gotta Go Tex-Mex!

2008-07-03T07:45:00.001-05:00

We reeeeeaaalllly like Tex-Mex. I'm convinced I could live on fajitas and a variety of quesadillas. Perhaps you could too! Of course you'd have to have the appropriate toppings for it all--a good guacamole, shredded sharp cheddar (aged cheeses have very little lactose), sour cream, and a little pico de gallo (or diced tomatoes). Yummmmmmmm!

Our children seem to like it all as well--even spicy salsa. Well, not the really hot stuff. However, they provide me with some challenges in the kitchen (and I'm not even talking about additionally catering to Hubby's gluten and lactose intolerances). I have one child who doesn't like meat, except rotisserie chicken. Another doesn't like beans. Two others tolerate most things yet always seem to find SOME ingredient they decided to hunt down and pick out of their entire meal. So...I ended up cooking three different Tex-Mex dishes a few nights ago. Good thing none of them were much bother.

We had Charro Beans, Mexican Rice, and Chili (a mild, kid-friendly version) because then I could cater to EVERYONE's needs! They all enjoy heaping on the toppings: sour cream, guaca(squishy)mole, cheddar, and cilantro. A few raw veggies of their liking on the side made it good and filled them up.

No heirloom recipes here, but I made charro beans in a crock pot for the first time. It was a healthier version without all the bacon and fat. None in our family care for straight refried beans, so it's good to know a more convenient way to make our favored charros so I don't have to watch the stove for hours on end.

If you've got a hankerin' for these savory beans, check out the easy recipe for Charros I'll be posting in the next couple of days.

Kool Aid Dough

2008-07-01T11:45:00.011-05:00

The kids are still on a bit of a break before we start our new school year in a couple of weeks...so they are ripe for some kitchen chemistry experiments (in our Adventures with atoms and molecules book) and for a little fun making their own concoctions.

Here's a kids' concoction that always goes over well. I guess with the ingredients used, it could be ingested by the gluten-eating sort...but I'll just consider it another non-edible recipe! If you've tasted it, you'd say, "EWWW!" also.

With summer going strong, it's too hot to bake! Since we're not eating much regular flour around here, this recipe will also help us to use up all that white fluffy stuff hanging out in our pantry!

Mix:
2 pkgs. of unsweetened Kool Aid
2 cups hot water until dissolved

Add:
2 TBSP vegetable oil
Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine:
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 TBSP cream of tartar

Add Kool Aid water to dry ingredients and mix well.
Knead in additional flour as needed.
Store in air-tight container.

This dough has a very nice consistency and keeps a LONG time without drying like other commercial doughs.

In the picture above (of mostly dwarves in a goblin cave), the dough was made from strawberry Kool Aid. Cherry makes a better scent and a brighter pink! You know...just FYI!

Last year, the kids made this for their friends on Valentine's Day. It was a good alternative to giving kids more CANDY!! They divided it up and put balls of the dough into zippy snack bags, put some Valentine's stickers on them and made their deliveries! We made 2 batches, and I believe they had enough to give to 12-15 friends.

Check out this site for MANY many more dough recipes to try. Our kids also really like the peanut butter dough since they can snack as they play!

A Good Cereal--allergen free

2008-06-21T06:41:00.021-05:00

Okay, so I have been too busy to cook much this week. With co-coordinating a little girls' camp all week, we cooked, crafted and learned all day with 20 little girls. Then we all came home and were too tired to cook for own families! (The girls gave much of their cooking away or saved it up for a big luncheon we had yesterday, the final day!)

I thought instead of a recipe I haven't cooked this week (!), I'd instead post a couple of new gluten-free finds--cereals that Joe likes! As far as cereals go, I keep a stockpile of Sunrise Mesa and a couple of different EnviroKidz cereals, but Joe, who most certainly doesn't have a penchant for soggy cereal, likes the crunchiness of granola also. We found Enjoy life granolas at Whole Foods a while ago, but we restocked this week on our way back from the violin shop. Check out their oat-free versions of granola. You may say, "What? Oats don't have gluten in them, do they?" Well, they're not considered gluten free.

These cereals are allergen free, which means they contain none of the top food allergens: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish. They also don't contain casein, potato, sesame and sulfites. What ARE the ingredients? Check out their site at the above link.

Ah, Whole Foods. You'd think since the headquarters is right here, we'd have a store just down the street, right? Not so. Oh, I wish...I wish. Okay, I can't complain. There's one about 12 miles away. It's just that it's in a busy, congested area that I rarely frequent otherwise. I even let my Costco (essentially next door to Whole Foods) membership expire since I never got down that way.

Okay, back to granola...The crunchier texture of granola is a welcome change to put into the usual cereal rotation. Joe likes to eat it over his (only plain) yogurt...or with Lactaid milk! He has tried all the granolas except the cinnamon flavored one (reviews aren't good anyway). We'll be trying other gluten-free granolas, like those made by Bakery on Main. They're not allergen free, but they're gluten free and are supposed to be really good! But until then, we'll finish up our current granola stockpile!

Also--surprise, surprise--Rice Chex has gone gluten free. You'd figure that RICE Chex wouldn't have gluten in them anyway, no? Before their new gluten-free recipe, they used barley malt (glutenous) instead of their new addition of molasses. So, check the box, as they have it clearly marked on the front: gluten free.

By the way, Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles are gluten free. Maybe Kellogg's Rice Krispies will one day take the malt out and go gluten free as well. Before then, make your favorite marshmallowy krispy the bars the Pebbly way!

I've added these links to my Amazon "Favorite Gluten-Free Products" side bar.

Quinoa

2008-06-06T22:40:00.004-05:00

Have you tried quinoa? If you have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant, most likely you have heard of it if not tried it many times. This beautiful whole grain from South America is very nutritious. It's high in protein, has essential amino acids, and is a good source of fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. You can cook and use it like rice or couscous. It can be made in a rice cooker as well--with the same ratio of grain-to-liquid (1:2) as rice. It lends itself very nicely to stuffed peppers and a yummy vegetable pilaf, which is usually how I prepare this complete food. Since it's gluten free, it's also autism spectrum friendly as well! Learn more about quinoa by reading this article.

I wasn't in full cooking mood today. We had some left over chicken fajita meat, a bunch of luscious fruit, and some veggies that I needed to use. I thought I'd make some quinoa since Joe hasn't probably had his fair share of good grains lately since we've been on the road.

Here's how I make quinoa:
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup quinoa
2 cups gluten-free, low-sodium chicken broth

On med-high, heat saucepan with oil and toast the quinoa until golden brown (3-5 minutes). This gives it such a yummy nutty flavor--it's a step not to miss! Remove from heat to add chicken broth (We like Pacific.)--watch out, it will sizzle! Put heat back on and bring stock to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until quinoa is soft but still has a bite (like al dente pasta). Fluff with fork and add other vegetables and flavorings as you like.

Tonight's additions:
1/2 cup seriously sweet grape tomatoes, diced
1 green onion
2-3 TBSP homemade basil pesto
1 TBSP chopped pine nuts
1 TBSP olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
I also added some left over diced chicken fajita meat to Joe's bowl
If I had it, I would have thrown in some diced cucumber and maybe even some feta.

My "usual" quinoa side:
I usually add sauteed, diced veggies (zucchini, peppers, carrots, onions) and fresh parsley for my quinoa pilaf, but since I was also serving roasted veggies tonight I didn't bother to add more veggies to the quinoa.

Here's what the kids ended up eating tonight: quinoa, roasted veggies, and fruit--a low-maintenance meal from their low-energy mom on this particular Friday! It's just been a busy week, and I'm going to bed!

Pesto

2008-05-20T07:10:00.013-05:00

Why buy pesto when it's so easy to make and about 1/3 the cost of a store-bought jar that's loaded with salt? Okay, besides hasty convenience. Today's food prices, however, get me thinking twice about paying for convenience. So, here's a super easy, super tasty topping, condiment, pasta sauce, and an ingredient for my Pesto Appetizer. Fresh is best!

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil, dry and packed a bit
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 TBSP pine nuts
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil

Put all ingredients into a food processor; mix on high speed, stopping to scrape if needed, until all ingredients are well blended and a uniform consistency. Presto!

There are all sorts of variations on this pesto theme depending on your taste and what you have peeping out of your fridge. For example, if you don't have quite enough basil, you can make up the difference with flat-leaf parsley. Add whatever you like...try adding pumpkin seed kernels (they're very healthy) instead of pine nuts, add some sun-dried tomatoes, olives, etc. Check here for a variety of pesto recipes. Go for it! All you need is a food processor and you can get to pesto heaven!

Here's my estimated cost, full retail, for what I used:
Pine nuts, $.75
Parmesan cheese, $.75
Olive Oil, $.50
Garlic, $.10
Fresh homegrown sweet basil, nearly free
($1.00 packet of seeds to grow enough basil to last you for years!)

In case you're thinking, 'Yes, but I don't have home-grown basil. How long does that take anyway?'...
We planted our seeds 2 months ago and have 6 plants. Yesterday, I just pinched off the top 1/4 of all the plants and had enough for the pesto. The bottoms of the plants will continue to grow so I can harvest again! An herb that keeps on giving.

Even if you haven't graduated to real plants yet since you can't even keep your fake plants dusted, you can still grow basil...and zucchini for that matter! Believe me on this one! Basil is not a real plant...it's a mercifully generous volunteer!

Now excuse me while I go make a little Insalata Caprese...
using pesto instead of plain basil and olive oil. That's the way my kids like it best!

Banana Pudding

2008-05-14T06:46:00.002-05:00

If you live in the South, you've gotta know a good banana pudding recipe. If you live in the South and are a busy mom, you need to have a really good recipe...but it better be easy! So, here's a very creamy, easy banana pudding recipe that will win you over.

2 – 3.4 oz. boxes of instant vanilla pudding
4 cups cold milk
1 – 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups whipping cream, whipped
12-oz box of vanilla wafers
4 bananas

In a large bowl, combine instant vanilla pudding with milk. Whisk to blend. Add sweetened condensed milk and 3/4 of the whipped cream and whisk to blend again.

In a large bowl or 9” x 13” pan, arrange one layer of vanilla wafers, then top with a layer of sliced bananas. Then top with half of the pudding mixture. (Drizzle some chocolate sauce if desired.) Repeat the layers, beginning with the vanilla wafers and ending with the pudding mix. Then add the last 1/4 of the whipped cream and crumble a few vanilla wafers on top, if you wish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Country Breakfast Casserole

2008-05-07T06:13:00.006-05:00

My mother-in-law introduced me to this recipe she found at Byerly’s in the Twin Cities area (where I also buy my Minnesota wild rice when I have the opportunity!). I’ve learned to really trust Byerly’s recipes since they are straight forward, use good ingredients…and always taste delicious! Since this breakfast dish is made with potatoes instead of bread, Joe can even eat it...with a little Lactaid!

2-12 oz. pkg. pork sausage, or 2-1/2 cups diced ham
1 (2 lb.) pkg. Frozen southern-style (small cubed) hash brown potatoes
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. Shredded Colby-jack cheese (4 cups), divided
1 medium onion, minced (1 cup)
2 cups milk
½ tsp. Salt (I don't use)
6 eggs, slightly beaten
1 (12 oz.) jar salsa, optional

In large skillet, brown sausage; drain. In large bowl, combine sausage, hash browns, 3 cups cheese, onion, milk, salt and eggs. Pour mixture into greased 9” x 13” glass baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until knife comes out fairly clean. Let cool for 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve with salsa.

Serves 8-10

Serve with fruit and/or a green salad.

Chocolate Chippers--The $250 Recipe

2008-05-06T15:26:00.008-05:00

With ground oatmeal to give a nice texture and sweeter flavor, we think this recipe is the best for the all-time favorite cookie. They are flavorful and moist yet hold their shape. I just got done making them today for our three older kids to bring to their last day of religious education at church!

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2-1/2 cups oatmeal
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
12 oz. chocolate chips
4 oz. Hershey bar (optional)
1-1/2 cups chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together butter and both sugars. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Grind oatmeal fine (in a blender, processor or coffee grinder) and add, with flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Grate Hershey bar in a processor and add, with chocolate chips and nuts. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough with hands, place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly. Bake for 10 minutes until there's just a hint of them turning brown. Allow a minute or two to cool before removing from sheet to cooling rack (the cookies will hold together better). Yield: About 55 cookies.

Kathleen's Mini S'mores

2008-05-01T17:00:00.003-05:00

Using some of our staple ingredients, Kathleen assembled mini s'mores that don't require a campfire...and the kids don't need my help at all! They sure didn't seem to mind that the marshmallows weren't laboriously toasted over a camp fire (or our stove burners)! I was happy she also helped get rid of some of our leftover large marshmallows from our Easter Resurrection Rolls. Here's the assembly.

1/4 graham cracker, broken into 2 even pieces
1 large marshmallow
3 chocolate chips

Stick 3 chips into top of marshmallow, place marshmallow between crackers, set on parchment or waxed paper, and microwave for only 5 seconds. WATCH IT: The marshmallow starts to puff up immediately.

Linen Spray...or Monster Repellent

2008-04-26T06:05:00.013-05:00

Okay, this recipe doesn't fit into any of my edible categories. I'm just adding it since our kids reallllly like it, and, well...it's homemade! When I was running low on my regular linen spray I use for ironing, I thought I'd find out how to make my own. Well, there are lots of recipes online just waiting for you to find them. The only real trick is to get just the right scent. I'd advise anyone to start out with a small quantity so you're not stuck for too long with a fragrance that's not up to snuff! This recipe makes less than 2 cups, and the fragrance possibilities are endless.

12 oz. (1-1/2 cups) distilled water
1/4 cup vodka--yep, just the good ole drinkin' kind!
1 tsp. essential oils--you may even want to count individual drops if you're using more than one fragrance
(I used 1/4 tsp. jasmine oil and 3/4 tsp. lemon oil)

Put it all in a clean spray bottle, shake it up each time you use it, and ah...smellllllll!

Jasmine is flowery, so try something else if that's not your thing. Vanilla is ALWAYS good! Just don't use the dark colored oils/extracts--it may stain. In general, lemon or other citrus scents mix well with different fragrances. So go ahead and sniff away at some essential oils in the natural section of your grocery store.

PARENTING BENEFITS:
If you're having trouble getting the kids in their beds at night, spray their sheets and watch them leap!

Use it for toddlers as a "monster repellent". You know, have your kids watch you mix it up, spray it in their room, and let them know it'll keep all bad things away at night! Don't laugh--it works! Mosquito repellent works, doesn't it?

Stromboli Romano

2008-04-25T06:56:00.010-05:00

This is a take on the Cheesy Pepperoni Roll and also incorporates a recipe from my mother-in-law for Romano Buns. It's a quicker version that has all the flavor and still doesn't require utensils to eat! What's not to love? Melted Swiss cheese and shaved ham. MMMMMMM--mmm!

2 loaves frozen bread dough, or your favorite pizza dough
12 oz. shredded Swiss cheese
dash onion powder
~3 TBSP mustard, any kind you prefer
10 oz. shaved ham (deli meat works fine)
1 egg

Thaw dough according to directions. When ready to handle, place dough on greased cookie sheet (lining with foil or parchment makes clean up easy). Flatten and stretch dough to about the size of the cookie sheet…or as far as possible to each of its sides.

Sprinkle half the cheese on one of the doughs, the other half on the remaining dough, leaving a 2-inch bare border. Shake a scant covering of garlic (or onion) powder and a sparse covering of mustard (right from the bottle) over the cheese layer. Distribute ham slices on top to cover the other toppings.

Fold bottom third of dough over the middle section, then fold the top third of dough over middle and bottom sections. Seal all edges by pinching dough together. Turn dough over on cookie sheet so pinched edges are down; roll end edges under dough slightly.

Using a sharp knife, make diagonal slits in the loaf every 1-1/2 inches or so. Let rest for 10 minutes. Brush top and sides with beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes…or until golden brown.

Romano Buns

2008-04-25T06:49:00.001-05:00

I remember the first time I ate these sandwiches. It was after my Grandma passed away right before Christmas in 1989 while I was a senior in college. My mother-in-law (then boyfriend's mom) sent a couple dozen of these buns with us for the funeral. They were well received by my family—a yummy warm sandwich that our family didn't have to prepare! She took it a step further by making homemade buns (as she always did) instead of using store-bought buns.

2 lbs. sliced ham (shaved is best)
8 slices swiss cheese (If slices are really thin, use 1-1/2 to 2 slices per bun)
½ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup mustard
¼ cup chopped onion
1 tsp. poppy seeds (I usually don’t use)
8 buns

Melt butter, add remaining ingredients—mustard, onion, and poppy seeds. Spread on both sides of hamburger buns, put ham and cheese slices on buns, individually wrap in foil. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts—15-20 minutes.

Make a mess of them--they freeze well!

Hummus

2008-04-24T06:53:00.002-05:00

I made this as an appetizer when I was entertaining adults. Our kids, however, ate up the rest of it! So, now I like to have some on hand and use it as a dip for veggies, crackers, flat bread, or corn chips. It's so good and healthy with all its iron, fiber, vitamin C. Sure, you can buy it, but it is so EASY and much more economical to make yourself. You can control the salt and add other flavors as well! I even got our older daughter to start eating her sandwich crusts by dipping them in this hummus!

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, liquid reserved (if possible, prepare your own chickpeas)
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup tahini --at the grocery store by the peanut butter
3 TBSP lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
1 TBSP olive oil, water, or liquid from canned/cooked chickpeas
4 dashes hot sauce, optional

Put everything in the food processor and process until it’s smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning, serve chilled or at room temperature.

Variation for Longhorn Hummus:
Add two roasted red peppers (drained from a jar).This will give the hummus the Longhorn (as in UT) burnt orange color...and add a yummy flavor dimension!

HEALTH NOTE:
If you buy canned foods, you may want to consider Eden Organic products since they don't line their cans with bisphenol-A (BPA).

Pesto Appetizer

2008-04-22T06:55:00.003-05:00

I first tasted this recipe at a gourmet food party a friend hosted. Later, after going to the grocery store, I discovered that I could combine a couple of ready-made jarred versions of the pestos and get the same flavor as the much more expensive one at the party. This recipe is always a hit. Our kids love it too!

Ingredients:
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled or diced
1/3 cup basil pesto
1/3 cup sundried tomato pesto
5 roma tomatoes--cut in half, squeeze out seeds and some moisture; dice
Crackers or thinly sliced French bread

(I use either low-sodium Triscuits or sturdy tortilla chips. The pretzel chips are good too! Okay, whatever you have in your pantry that makes you happy and will hold up to scooping this stuff will work just peachy!)

Directions:
Mix the two types of pestos together. This Classico brand ($2/jar) is the kind I try to use in this recipe. Since it's baked, I don't use my fresh, homemade pesto if I can help it. However, I won't name any names, but our local grocer is getting a bit hoity toity these days and is not carrying it anymore. The grocer's (more expensive!) store brand and a couple of other higher dollar brands ($4-5 dollars/jar) are in its place. My wonderful neighbor found these jars for me again at SuperTarget. God love you, Julia, and God love you, Target! Just one more reason to spend more money at Target, right?

In a pie plate or other medium-sized baking dish, layer cheese first, then pesto mixture, followed by the tomatoes. Broil (500 degrees) on med-high rack for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is somewhat melted. Serve warm with crackers or bread, or for gluten free, eat it with sturdy tortilla chips.

Here's what it looks like after a bunch of neighbors and their kids have at it!

Make it for a Saturday evening neighborhood gathering. Then make sure there's a little left over so you can grab some iced tea and enjoy it on the Sabbath (a day of rest)! You can live on left-over appetizers one day out of the week right? It's really no sacrifice!

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

2008-04-17T12:45:00.005-05:00

Since Joe absolutely LOVES green chile—ever since he went college in New Mexico—I had to get this recipe from his sister, Ellen, when she said she had the one from her Aunt Jean. Aunt Jean, who is known for this recipe, is an absolute stitch. She loves to entertain and once told us that she had saved up from months of selling her plasma in order to throw the party we were attending! I still need to experiment to make this gluten free--by making substitutions for the soups. Ellen has made some substitutions and adjustments that make the recipe just as tasty without a little of the hassle. Her adjustments are shown in parentheses below. You choose!

4-5 boneless chicken breasts (5)
1 can (10 oz.) cream of chicken soup (2 cans)
1 can (10 oz.) cream of mushroom soup
1 medium onion (omit, and just use a couple of shakes garlic powder)
1+1/4 cup frozen green chile, drained (or use canned 18-20 oz.)
2 TBSP butter (omit)
12 corn tortillas (18)
1 lb. grated cheese (cheddar, Jack or mixture) = 4 cups (6 cups)
¼ cup chicken broth (1/3 cup)

Cook and shred chicken while still warm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onion in butter until slightly soft (omit this step since not using onion/butter) and combine with soups, broth, chile (& garlic powder). Cook a little.

Tear 6 (9) tortillas into small pieces and cover the bottom of a 9” x 13” pan. Spread ½ of the chicken over the tortilla pieces, then ½ of the sauce, and ½ of the cheese. Repeat layers.

Bake for 45 minutes until very hot, bubbly and lightly browned.

Tapioca Pudding

2008-04-16T06:56:00.006-05:00

Kathleen makes a treat for Daddy!

Last week Joe saw a bag of tapioca in our pantry and commented that he loves tapioca pudding. Since I just purchased the tapioca for a stew I made, I didn't think much of it at the time. Then I realized that pudding is naturally gluten free (at least if you make it from scratch) and can be made lactose free as well by using Lactaid milk.

Kathleen, so intrigued with the fact that she could make a dessert that Daddy could enjoy, set out to make it for him.

Here's the recipe:

3 TBSP granulated (instant) tapioca
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
3 cups milk, lactose-free as necessary
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine tapioca, sugar, milk and egg in medium saucepan; let stand 5 minutes. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil. Cook additional 1-2 minutes to thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool 15 minutes; stir. Serve warm or chilled. Refrigerate leftover pudding.

Serving tip: Nice with fresh raspberries or other fruit on top! Why not go all out--top it off with whipped cream (non-dairy for lactose free).

Makes 6 servings (1/2 cup each)

Joanne's BBQ

2008-04-15T07:09:00.004-05:00

beef, turkey, or pork!

This recipe came from my aunt and Godmother Joanne. Once I got hold of and made this recipe, it became one of our favorites. My aunt Joanne was a very good cook and knew how to feed lots of people…as she often did while she and her husband, Bob, enjoyed many summers out on their house boat on the Mississippi River. On their boat I recall eating good food, sneaking lots of treats from her bottomless candy jar, drinking many "pops" (sodas), steering the boat while Bob visited with everyone, floating on an intertube tied to the back of the boat, and getting buried up to my neck in the sand on Nine-Mile Island! My five crazy cousins took me skiing in the calm tributaries along the river. I loved watching my cousin, Tony, ski since he’d go by people he knew on boats and spray them. I also recall him skiing off the back of Bob’s house boat…just to see if it would pull him. It sure did!

4 lbs. *cooked roast (shoulder roast works well), brisket, or turkey breast; shredded

*OVEN: Cook roast at 350 degrees for about 3 hours with a couple of inches of water in a covered pan. Shred meat with two forks while it’s still hot/warm.
*CROCK POT: Slice onion, place on bottom of crock pot; cut meat into a few pieces, place on top of onion; add 3/4 cup water; cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Shred meat with two forks while it's still hot/warm, discard onion.

Mix and Simmer for ½ hour:
8 oz. ketchup
8 oz. hickory barbeque sauce
1 cup water (or broth)
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1-1/2 TBSP dry mustard

Saute until tender:
1 cup celery, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup butter

Add sautéed veggies to sauce and simmer for another ½ hour. Add meat and heat; serve on buns. Serve with cole slaw or Napa Salad.

Freezes well!

Carrot Apple Bran Flax Muffins

2008-04-14T08:58:00.002-05:00

In my attempt to avoid food chemicals and preservatives and provide more nutritionally beneficial foods, I've been checking out recipes and ideas on this site. I bought flaxseed meal and bulk oat bran a while ago, and I finally made these muffins yesterday. This morning the kids proclaimed, "We want these for breakfast every day!" They are very good and super moist! This recipe is right on the Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal bag.

1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup flaxseed meal (found in the baking section or in bulk food aisle)
3/4 cup oat bran (again, either in baking section or bulk foods)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1-1/2 cups carrots, shredded
2 apples, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease muffin tins or line with paper baking cups; set aside. In large bowl mix together flour, flaxseed meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots, apples, raisins and nuts (if desired). Combine milk, beaten eggs and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix. Fill muffin cups 3/4 fill. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Yields 16 regular muffins.

Our kids recommend serving these muffins for breakfast with a little yogurt and juice!

NOTE: Since it's tedious to shred the carrots and apples by hand, I'd recommend using your food processor for this! Also, if you think you'll have left over muffins for more than a day, you may want to freeze them. Sixteen muffins and four kids = four muffins per day for four days! I think next time I'll double the recipe.

Sweet Treats

2008-04-11T09:43:00.001-05:00

Now that I found our hard drive with all my recipes, I can post some more! My first thought was to add our favorite treats, so here are some of my well-used recipes.

Double Chocolate Brownies

2008-04-11T09:37:00.002-05:00

...or maybe better know as "Not-to-be-Forgotten Brownies"

Unlike your favorite piece of clothing, good recipes can't be worn out. Good thing--otherwise this one would have been in shreds by now! My sister-in-law passed this one along to me, and I can't tell you how many times I've made these brownies. Just a heads up--I have always doubled this recipe and baked it in a 9 x 13 as it's noted at the bottom.

Melt over medium heat in saucepan until barely starting to boil. Then remove from heat:
1/3 cup butter
¾ cup sugar
2 TBSP water

Add to butter mixture. Mix until smooth:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Beat into chocolate mixture:
2 eggs
(Pour some of the mixture into the eggs first them pour the eggs into the rest of the chocolate…so the eggs don’t start to cook from the heat.)

Add to chocolate mixture and let cool:
¾ cup flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

Okay, just to let you know that you SHOULDN'T skip this cooling part. I've done that in a hurry and ended up with a gloppy mess of brownies. You want to be able to tell that there are defined chips in there!

Add to cooled chocolate mixture:
1 cup Ghiradelli Double Chocolate chips or the Ghiradelli bittersweet chips (60% cocoa)
½ cup chopped nuts, if desired

Grease an 8” or 9” square pan. Pour in batter and bake at 350 degrees for ~ 30 min.
OR
Double recipe and bake in 9” x 13” pan for 35-40 minutes

You don't want to overbake! If the edges are pulling away from the sides of the pan, but the middle still looks a bit gooey, take them out!

NOTE to DARK CHOCOLATE LOVERS: I've tried to make this recipe even more chocolatey by using bittersweet chocolate throughout the entire recipe. Don't do this as it just turns out too dry. If you really feel the need to do this, you'll have to figure out how much more butter you'll need to compensate for the lack of moisture.

Monster Cookies (flourless)

2008-04-11T09:35:00.003-05:00

My friend's mom used to make these and put them in the deep freeze in their garage. For some reason, I really liked their garage! Maybe I should have called them Disappearing Cookies! I'm telling you, they are a big hit with kids! Better yet, there's no flour in them--just oats!

6 small eggs
1 lb. brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. corn syrup
½ lb. butter
1-1/2 lb. peanut butter
4 tsp. baking soda
9 cups oatmeal (3 minute kind is good, instant is okay as well)
½ lb. M & Ms
½ lb. chocolate chips

Mix in order given. Drop by tablespoons or ice cream scoop on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Mocha Truffle Cookies

2008-04-11T09:30:00.008-05:00

Another good recipe snatched up from one of my sisters-in-law. Thanks, Ellen! I first tasted these decadent cookies when she made them for Joe's grad school graduation party in May of 2001. You just can't go wrong with chocolate and coffee!

½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 TBSP instant coffee crystals (I use decaf)
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 slightly beaten eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks (I use bittersweet)

Melt butter or margarine and the ½ cup chocolate chips in a large saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in coffee crystals; cool 5 minutes. Stir in granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium missing bowl. Stir into coffee mixture. Stir in the 1 cup chocolate pieces.

Roll rounded teaspoon of dough in your hands and place 2 inches apart onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, flatten dough slightly. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

Makes 48

Homemade Cookie Ice Cream--No Ice Cream Maker Needed!

2008-04-11T09:03:00.002-05:00

I wanted to make ice cream with our kids, but we don't have an ice cream maker--and I knew I wouldn't use one enough (note: I have a lactose-intolerant husband!) to justify buying one. I found this recipe, made it with the kids, and it turned out really well. Just a word of caution, this recipe is from Paula Dean from Food Network so you just KNOW it can't be considered healthy. But then again, why would you be looking at this recipe if you had good health in mind?!

3 egg yolks*
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely crushed (Oreos are great)
2 cups heavy cream, whipped

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and stir in the condensed milk and vanilla. Fold in the crushed cookies and whipped cream. Cover and freeze for 6 hours or until firm. If you want to be able to slice it to serve, pour mixture into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan lined with foil, cover and freeze.

*RAW EGG WARNING
Take caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, it is recommended you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

Pasta...mangia, MANGIA!

2008-04-07T22:44:00.000-05:00

Pasta is easy to serve to kids and adults alike. Most people seem to enjoy it in all its many forms. Even a gluten-free diet can be full of pasta, thanks (many, MANY thanks!) to a variety of g-f products these days. Here are a some of our pasta recipes that we rely on frequently.

Sausage & Peppers with Penne

2008-04-07T22:42:00.000-05:00

This is one of Joe's favorite meals...and we are so happy to have found good gluten-free pasta that holds up to this hearty dish.

12 oz. penne pasta, cooked according to directions
1 lb. mild or sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings & broken into small chunks
2 TBSP olive oil
1 large sweet onion, halved and sliced
2 large bell peppers (any color you have or prefer), halved and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated

In large pan with lid, brown sausage on med-high heat; then drain drippings and remove meat from pan. To the pan heat the olive oil; then add the onion, peppers and garlic and saute for 3-5 minutes until veggies are slightly tender but not overdone.

Add cooked noodles and sausage to the pan with vegetables. On medium heat, add tomatoes and wine (or chicken broth), salt and pepper to taste. With lid on, heat for a few minutes and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Cheese & Spinach Manicotti

2008-04-07T22:23:00.000-05:00

...with Cream Sauce

This idea comes from my mother-in-law. I remember eating her manicotti dish that was every bit homemade. She even made the noodles! I liked her noodles (which were made like crepes) because they weren't difficult to pin down and cut with my fork--unlike some of those slippery little buggers that come in a box--and the filling didn't ooze out the sides. So here's a recipe I've adapted. I make it with a cream sauce since our kids prefer it at the moment over tomato sauce, but you can use a jar or two of spaghetti sauce or your own favorite sauce just as well! Please DO try making crepes. It really is easier than you think (besides the first one or two) and there are endless filling options!

FILLING:
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
15 oz. cottage (or Ricotta) cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp of dried basil
dash pepper
1-1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach (measured before cooking), wilt by cooking briefly in lightly oiled pan. If using frozen chopped spinach, squeeze out moisture and use only 3/4 cup.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a fork. Set aside.

CREPE NOODLES:
3 large eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 TBSP melted butter, + 2 TBSP melted butter for frying

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high for one minute to build gluten (this is only for noodles, not regular crepes), or mix with a mixer. Allow batter to rest for one hour before cooking (crepes may tear easily if this step is skipped).

On medium heat, fry in a lightly buttered (use a brush) 8-inch non-stick skillet, using a 1/4 cup measure to pour batter. Turn pan so crepe covers entire bottom of pan. Using a spatula, your fingers, or the pan-flip method; turn crepe when it is a light golden color on the bottom. When the other side is done, slide it out onto a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. The first 1-2 crepes usually don't work well!

Crepes can be stored in fridge or freezer with waxed paper between each crepe and an airtight cover.

CREAM SAUCE:
4 TBSP butter
3 TBSP flour
1 cup chicken broth
1-1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
salt & pepper
dash of nutmeg
2-3 TBSP white wine, to taste

In a heavy medium-sized saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour. Cook for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth, then slowly add milk, cream and wine. Add dash of nutmeg; salt and pepper to taste. Heat until thickened but still a pouring consistency. Take off heat.

TO ASSEMBLE:
Coat the bottom of a 9 x 13" pan with about a cup of the sauce. Add a line of 2 heaping tablespoons of filling down the middle of a crepe, fold ends in and roll up. Place in the baking dish. Continue until pan is full or crepes are all used (I usually have enough to fill another small baking dish). Pour rest of sauce over the stuffed crepes and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if you have it.

Fun Frosty Drinks

2008-04-06T20:19:00.000-05:00

How do you misplace a hard drive? Well, I haven't been able to find one of ours (with my recipe collection) for a couple of days now. So, I haven't posted anything new since then partly because of the hard drive conundrum and partly because we've had a few little guests at our home.

Since it got quite warm today, it reminded me of the tasty frosty drinks we like to make. The next couple of posts are my favorites.

GADGET NOTE: I've never had a blender that crushes ice well enough without leaving those undesired chunks of ice throughout my drink that's supposed to be smooth. Since we don't have an ice crusher on our fridge, I always grind my ice cubes through our ice crusher first. Here's a link for one that is similar to ours. When our kids were teething or had sore throats, they liked to suck on crushed ice. Now, they love to crank it out themselves. I love using manual machines (is that an oxymoron?) when I can! I bought my latest one in Target's seasonal section a couple of years ago...about this time of year.

Orange Julius

2008-04-06T20:15:00.000-05:00

Here's our kids' most requested "special" drink. We make it for Daddy on Father's Day (with lactose-free milk), and the kids often request it as part of their birthday breakfast. TRIVIA: Did you know that the Orange Julius corporation is owned by Dairy Queen...and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota? I always thought it was interesting since there's really not a very long seasonal opportunity for such frosty treats. The only time Dairy Queen was open when I was growing up in a small town in Minnesota was from Memorial Day to Labor Day! Okay, here's the recipe. Please also see my gadget tip on crushing ice.

6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk, lactose-free as needed
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8-9 ice cubes, I crush first with a hand-crank ice crusher

Combine all ingredients except ice cubes in blender.
Blend for about 1-2 minutes, adding ice slowly.

Caramelized Espresso Frappe

2008-04-06T20:12:00.000-05:00

I don't like to fork over a ton of money for something I can make inexpensively myself. This frappe recipe uses low-fat milk and is exceptional because of the caramelized sugar syrup's toasty flavor. I've served this as a fun drink when a friend comes for a play date, and I've served it to friends who don't like desserts. Of course, I get to share some as well, so I try to look for more excuses to make it--especially when it gets hot down here in the South! Here is the recipe with my two thumbs up! Oh yes, I usually double the coffee cubes and the caramelized sugar mixture. More for later!

1/2 cup boiling water
1 tsp instant espresso (or 2 tsp instant coffee)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water, divided
1 cup milk, skim is fine
1/4 cup hot cocoa mix, something I always keep on hand!
1 cup crushed ice, check out this hand-crank ice crusher

Combine boiling water and espresso; stir until coffee dissolves. Pour into an ice cube tray; freeze 4 hours or until firm. (I double this!)

Stir sugar and 2 TBSP water in a small heavy saucepan until sugar dissolves. Over med-high heat, cook 8-10 minutes (with only an occasional stir) or until mixture is a deep golden brown. Remove from heat; carefully stir in 2 TBSP hot water with a whisk. WARNING: Mixture will bubble vigorously. Let cool. (Again, I double this!)

Combine caramelized sugar, milk, and cocoa mix in a bliender; process until well-blended. With blender on, add coffee ice cubes, 1 at a time; process until smooth. Add crushed ice; process until smooth. Serve immediately. Yield: 2-1/2 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup).

Italian Chicken Salad in Lettuce Cups (12 servings)

2008-04-03T15:21:00.002-05:00

This recipe is from Everyday Italian and we LOVE it! It's a great dish for warm weather summery parties! I've served it a couple of times when I've hosted bunco, and I've also brought it to friends after they've had a baby or surgery (not the full recipe!). Our kiddies have just started to enjoy eating it all. Before they appreciated all the flavors, I just took one of the chicken breasts and sliced it up for them to eat. Ooh, I'm getting hungry for it right now!

Here's the original recipe. Thank you, Giada! Since I've made VERY minor changes (fewer capers, more honey, etc.) to the recipe, I added the modifications in the recipe below. It's the only way I'll remember how to make it again next time!

10 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (about 3 good-sized rotissiere chickens)
2 cups roasted red and yellow bell peppers, drained, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
1-1/4 cup paper-thin slices red onion
¾ cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
¾ cup slivered almonds, toasted
¼-1/3 cup capers, drained
1-1/2 cup (about) Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
salt and freshly ground black pepper
24 butter lettuce leaves (from about 3 large heads) or bib lettuce—whatever is more economical, I’ve started just serving over torn Romaine lettuce.
1 (4 oz.) pkg. shaved Parmesan cheese (you can get this next to the regular grated)

Toss the chicken, bell peppers, onion, parsley, almonds, and capers in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Season the chicken salad with salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange 1 large lettuce cup and 1 small lettuce cup on each plate, overlapping slightly. Spoon the chicken salad into the lettuce cups. Drizzle more vinaigrette over the salads. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.

Do-ahead tip: The chicken salad can be prepared 4 hours ahead and refrigerated. Just before serving, spoon the salad into the lettuce cups.

Red Wine Vinaigrette:
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 TBSP honey
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually add the oil and blend until emulsified. (I just make this dressing using my dressing plunger instead of a processor. You can also just shake it in a large jar with a lid). Shake well again before adding to salad.

NOTES: I use three rotisserie chickens from Costco (they are 3 lbs. instead of 2 lbs. like the grocery store chickens…and they’re a lot less expensive).

Spinach Cheese or Chicken Chili Quiche

2008-04-03T15:02:00.003-05:00

Once again, this recipe is from my mother-in-law (I think via Byerly’s grocer in the Twin Cities). It sure is a winner. I’ve used this recipe so many times to serve at baby showers or as part of a meal I bring to friends after they’ve had a new baby. I have also served up a few of these at one of my bunco parties by making 2 spinach and 1 chicken chili (see variations below). It's easy for week night entertaining since preparation is so quick. This is one of my most requested recipes…either by people requesting the recipe itself or by my children wanting it for dinner! Our kids have enjoyed this quiche since they started eating solid foods!

1 – 10 oz. package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed (I use only ~8 oz. per kids' request)
5 eggs, beaten (2 regular eggs with egg beaters for the rest works well)
1 – 8 oz. carton small curd cottage cheese (1-cup)—nonfat is fine.
2 cups grated combination cheddar & Monterey jack cheese
1/8 cup dried onion or ¼ cup fresh chopped
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 – 9 “ deep dish pie shell, unbaked (optional--see gluten free below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Squeeze spinach in small palmfuls to remove all liquid. In large bowl, combine eggs, cottage cheese, spinach, 2 cups grated cheese, onion, salt and pepper. Beat to blend with electric mixed (I just use a fork) and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 50-60 minutes. Let sit 5-10 minutes before cutting.

GLUTEN FREE: Make a crustless quiche by melting 1-1/2 TBSP butter in a pie plate (spread around to coat), pour mixture into dish, and bake as directed! We always prepare it this way now that Joe is gluten intolerant, and we sure don't miss the crust! (It's the one in the above picture.)

Variations:
Ham: leave out a few ounces of the spinach and add ~1 cup diced ham
Chicken Chili variation (another one of our favorites!): omit spinach; substitute small can drained chopped green chilis (4 oz.) and ~ 1 cup cooked, chopped chicken

TIP: A good option for busy families is…
Make two recipes at the same time, and freeze one unbaked batch in a gallon ziplock freezer bag. When you want to bake and eat it, just take the bag out of the freezer the night before to thaw. Before baking, just squeeze and squish the bag around to mix the ingredients well, then unzip and dump it into an unbaked pie shell.

Bread!!!

2008-04-02T16:28:00.001-05:00

How can you have soups and salads without bread? Well, I give my husband g-f bread or crackers now that he's been gluten-intolerant for a few years, but our kids love bread of all kinds. I had used our bread machine frequently to make mostly foccacia and pizza dough...but after about 10 years of marriage the machine broke down. Since we're avoiding gluten when we can, I figured I could live without replacing it. We haven't kept out ALL the gluten though...and the following recipes have been rated "winners" by our kids.

Cheesy Pepperoni Stromboli

2008-04-02T15:00:00.004-05:00

I usually make two of these at a time so we can enjoy more throughout the week..if there’s any left!

1 loaf frozen bread dough (usually come in pack of 3)
Italian seasoning; or dried basil, oregano and thyme
4-6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1-2 oz. pepperoni slices, optional
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, separated
1 egg

Thaw dough according to directions. When ready to handle, place dough on greased foil-lined cookie sheet. Flatten and stretch dough to about the size of the cookie sheet…or as far as possible to each of its sides. Sprinkle dough with a scant covering of herbs, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, leaving a 2-inch border of bare dough. Fold bottom third of dough over the middle section, then fold the top third of dough over middle and bottom sections. Seal all edges by pinching dough together. Turn dough over on cookie sheet so pinched edges are down; roll end edges under dough slightly. Using a sharp knife, make diagonal slits in the loaf every 1-1/2 inches or so. Let rest for 10 minutes. Brush top and sides with beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes…or until golden brown.

Variation: Add…
1/3 lb. ground Italian sausage, browned

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

2008-04-02T14:59:00.005-05:00

We love this one. In fact, we make it more than just around the holidays! Whenever we'd go to Costco, our kids would hover around the Great Harvest table and scoop up a couple cubes of the spice bread. Well, I truly can't tell much difference between theirs and this recipe. Since the recipe makes two loaves, we usually eat one fresh then slice and wrap the other in plastic and foil and freeze it. Having a spare loaf in the freezer when you get a hankerin' for it is certainly a gift.

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 – 16-oz. can solid pack pumpkin
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup craisins (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin. Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions. Mix in craisins (or walnuts), if desired.

Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using sharp knife, slide around edge of loaves. Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely.

Makes 2 loaves.

I originally found this recipe on Epicurious.com, but I have been unable to find it there recently.

Light Corn Bread

2008-04-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

This recipe is from my mother-in-law. I like it because (unlike a real Texan) I prefer my cornbread sweet and moist—and this is it! Tip: While you are making one loaf, use another bowl to mix dry ingredients for another loaf. Put this mix in a plastic zip bag and all you need to do to make your next loaf is add the buttermilk…that you usually have left over in the container from making your first loaf!

1-1/2 cups white or yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk

In medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients; mix well. Stir in buttermilk quickly, until moistened. Spoon into greased 8-1/2 x 4-1/2” loaf pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until golden and toothpick in center of loaf comes out clean (45-55 min.). Cool in pan 10 minutes, remove loaf to wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temp.

Check bread at about 40 minutes. If loaf is brown at this point, cover it loosely with foil for the remainder of baking time. This bread is very moist. Leftovers can be put in the toaster to heat. Good with soup and chili.

Corn (bread) Casserole

2008-04-02T14:07:00.005-05:00

I got this recipe from a friend, Kelly, at our church. Kelly is the mother of 7 children (edit: make that eight!). She and her husband, Robert, are the King and Queen of Cooking Big. They make many of the soups served at our Lenten Soup Suppers. During one such dinner is where they brought this casserole. Our kids couldn’t stop eating it…so I had to get the recipe!

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 (~14.75 oz) can cream-style corn
1-8 oz. sour cream (light version okay)
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted

Put all ingredients in a lightly greased 9 x 9” baking pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for ~50 minutes. Double recipe and bake in a 9 x 13” pan—adjust time, etc. Serve with a serving spoon if hot. If serving cool, it can be cut with a knife. (It’s best warm!)

In with the warm spring air...ah, salads!

2008-03-31T14:31:00.000-05:00

Since I know that our warm weather will turn to HOT weather all too soon, I'm changing gears from soups to salads. The following posts are some of our favorites...that the kids request!

Texas Caviar --Jazzed version

2008-03-31T14:30:00.015-05:00

This is probably my #1 requested recipe. Well, it's not MY recipe. I filched it off a bunco friend years ago! I've only made minor tweaks. Don't be fooled. This is not your regular "Texas Caviar"--this one is jazzed up and healthier with more fresh veggies and feta. I bring it to parties and pot lucks all the time, and many requests have come from native Texans!

1 can black-eyed peas, drain and rinse
*1 can field peas, drain and rinse (if you don't have these in your area, just use another can of black-eyed peas)
2 small cans sliced black olives, drain and chop a little more
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped (green peppers are fine, but yellow & red just make it so purty...and a bit sweeter!)
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/3-1/2 cup+ Italian dressing —just enough to hold everything together, I use light
Small bunch fresh cilantro, pull off stems and chop (~1/3-1/2 cup when chopped)
1 large ripe, but still firm, Hass avocado (or 2 small), diced
8 oz. feta cheese (don’t use crumbled--the solid looks neater), small diced

Add all ingredients to medium bowl and stir gently to mix well. I add the dressing and avocado last--shortly before it is served. Serve with family-sized bag of Frito (big) Scoops or sturdy tortilla chips (in a pinch).

* Because many people I've given this recipe to have never heard of field peas, I've added this photo to show you what the can I use looks like. Field peas are smaller than black-eyed peas, and they're reddish in color.

Field peas may not be found in all parts of the country. Mom says they're not in Sacramento, my uncle found them in Dubuque, none in St. Paul or Albuquerque, but they're about everywhere in the South. I can't tell you how many cases of these we've brought with us on our vacations...to leave a stash with friends and family so they can continue making this recipe. Let me know if you can find them in your area.

Napa Salad

2008-03-31T14:27:00.000-05:00

(Chinese Cole Slaw)

I snatched up this recipe from a friend after I tried it at her bunco party. Thanks Stephanie!

1 head Chinese Napa cabbage
2 green onions including 2/3 stems, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 pkgs. Ramen noodles, chicken flavored
2 TBSP butter
½ cup slivered almonds
sesame seeds (~1+ TBSP)
**If you’d like to make this a main dish, you can add bite-sized cooked chicken.

Cut bottom from Napa cabbage, separate leaves, wash and pat dry. Cut most of the large white veins from each leaf and slice remainder of leaves into thin strips. Toss cabbage with onions and bell pepper.

Melt butter in large skillet. Break Ramen noodles into small pieces (I start by gently smashing them right in the bag before I open it.) and brown lightly in butter. Add almonds to brown. Add sesame seeds last since they brown quickly. Remove from heat, add one of the noodle seasoning packets to the mixture, and stir to incorporate.

Dressing:
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar, seasoned
Salt & pepper
¼+ cup sugar (add more or less to your taste)
1/2 cup oil
sesame oil, ~1 tsp. (optional—but it really makes the salad taste more authentic!)

Mix vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar and oil in salad plunger or a jar with lid. Plunge/shake well to mix.

Just before serving salad, toss noodles/nuts/seeds mixture with cabbage then add dressing and toss well to coat. Don’t mix too soon before eating as the noodles will get soggy.

GLUTEN FREE: Omit Ramen noodles and, instead, top salad with toasted almonds and sesame seeds.

Mandarin Almond Salad

2008-03-31T14:26:00.000-05:00

Toss together:
1 large head (or 2 hearts) Romaine lettuce
One 11-14 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained (I use more since my kids love them)
2 green onions, chopped up to 1/3 of the green part

Dressing
Mix:
3 TBSP oil
3 TBSP cider vinegar
2 TBSP white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste
(You will need to taste to see if the oil/vinegar/sugar balance is to your liking. I like mine with sweet and tangy taste (roughly equal amounts of oil and vinegar. Many dressings call for twice as much oil as vinegar.)

Caramel Almonds
¼ cup slivered almonds
2 TBSP white sugar
(I usually double this amount!)

Heat sugar in small frying pan over medium heat until it starts to melt around the edges, then put the almonds on top of sugar. Stir constantly until sugar and nuts turn a caramel brown color. Make sure all sugar granules are dissolved. Remove from heat continuing to stir, and pour them on a greased, foil-lined pan/cookie sheet to cool. (Try to separate the nuts with a fork as you are able so they break apart better when they are cool). When nuts are cool, break them into small pieces.

When ready to serve: Pour dressing over lettuce and top with caramel almonds.

Substitutions:
--Use caramelized pecan pieces instead of the slivered almonds
--Use the Sugar & Spice Glazed Pecans (see the recipe I use under “nuts”)
--Use dried cranberries and cashews instead of mandarin oranges and almonds
--If you don’t have enough nuts, you can throw in a handful of roasted sunflower seeds.
--Add other sweet veggies as you like (pea pods or snap peas, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, carrots, etc.)

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

2008-03-31T14:25:00.002-05:00

This is one of my veggies-our-kids-will-always-eat recipes. I love it too! With sunflower seed, craisins, golden raisins, a sweet vinegar dressing. Mmmm...qnd good for you. Sheeez, it's just too much! Since I love, love, LOVE the big knife my brother got me a few years ago, it's also a great recipe to get out all of that pent-up chopping energy you might have. If not, of course there's an alternative--get a bag of broccoli cole slaw mix!

1 head cauliflower separated into small flowerets, chopped into little pieces
1 bunch broccoli separated into flowerets, chopped into little pieces
1/3 cup chopped red onion
½ cup carrot, shredded or finely chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup craisins
½ to 1 cup sunflower seeds &/or chopped cashews or toasted pecans
1 pkg. cooked bacon pieces
Chicken-flavored Ramen noodles, optional (don't use for a gluten-free recipe)

Dressing
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
¼-1/3 cup sugar
Ramen noodle flavor packet, optional (I don't use since it has gluten)
1/2 tsp sesame oil (just because I've been making all my dressings with this lately!)
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix first eight ingredients together; pour dressing over and mix to blend 2 hours in advance. Just before serving, break up Ramen noodles into fine pieces and mix into salad. Serves 10-12.

QUICK & EASY ALTERNATIVE: Omit the cauliflower, broccoli and carrot. Use two bags of broccoli slaw mix (with carrots).

Cole Slaw (no mayo)

2008-03-31T14:23:00.001-05:00

This is another recipe from my mother-in-law. My husband and I love this recipe because the dressing is not mayo-based. My husband does not like mayo, and I just prefer the tangy zip of the vinegar dressing! An added bonus…it’s good to go for summer outdoor picnics since it doesn’t go bad like those with mayo.

2 cups chopped or finely sliced cabbage (adding some red cabbage makes it colorful)
½ cup chopped parsley
½ cup sliced onions (whatever kind you like--green, red, or sweet onions)

Mix above ingredients. Can do this day before serving and refrigerate.

Dressing:
2-3 TBSP sugar
2-3 TBSP vinegar
2 TBSP oil
1 tsp. salt
(1/2 - ground mustard, my addition)
(ground pepper to taste, my addition)

Shake to blend and combine with cabbage mixture ½ hour before serving.

Salad in a Pinch--Lettuce or Spinach with Fruit and Nuts

2008-03-31T12:18:00.000-05:00

I love salad bars with all those varied and wonderful veggies--all fresh, cleaned, sliced, diced, and ready to eat. In our kitchen, I just can't keep up with all the cleaning, chopping, blah, blah, blah! So, I just keep some regular no-prep supplies on hand and make my own dressings. Here are my must-always-have basics.Our kids love to top off their salads with toasted or candied nuts. I keep a container of them on hand most of the time! Here's the recipe for Sugar and Spice Glazed Pecans that I use. I also LOVE to use the dressing (WITH the sesame oil) from my Napa Salad with most of my everyday salads. I keep a plunger of it in my fridge.

Soup season is over...

2008-03-30T21:40:00.000-05:00

Yes, it was 80 degrees and muggy today, so I've officially put an end to our soup season...but not until I cooked one last pot! Check out some of our favorite recipes!

Tortilla Soup

2008-03-30T19:27:00.007-05:00

Although I'm not a born Southerner (and they're not quick to claim ya either), I've had many native Southerners approve of this recipe I've tweaked--mostly to make easier!

1 TBSP olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilis, liquid and all
6 cups gluten-free chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes with liquid (our kids like petite diced)
Salt (optional—I don’t use since the chips are salted)
¾-1 lb. (3 chicken breasts) shredded or diced cooked chicken
1 (~13 oz.) bag tortilla chips (Cool Ranch Doritos are good, but they contain milk products, plain tortilla chips are fine)
1 large ripe (but still firm) Hass avocado--or 2 small avocadoes, diced
1 (8 oz.) pkg. light sour cream (or Tofrutti for lactose/casein free)
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese (leave out for lactose/casein free)
3-4 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil on med-high heat in soup pot, add onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and green chilis; cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender. Stir in broth, tomatoes (and salt if using). Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add cooked chicken; heat until hot. Place the tortilla chips in gallon-sized zip baggie and smash bag to break up chips into smaller pieces.

To serve, cut and pit the avocado, dice. Divide the crushed chips in half. Add a handful of smashed chips in each serving bowl; ladle in soup. Top with a dollop of sour cream, avocado and cheese; garnish with more tortilla chips and cilantro. Yummo!!

VEGGIE VARIATION:
Replace chicken with:
1 can (drained/rinsed) black beans & 1 cup chopped zucchini,
OR
1 can black beans & 1 can northern beans, drained & rinsed

LACTOSE FREE: Don't top with shredded cheese or sour cream (use Tofrutti)...OR live it up and take a lactose supplement if they work for you!

TIPS: To prevent diced avocados from going brown when using as a topping, drizzle lime juice over them and gently mix.

If you have any diced avocado toppings left over, put them in the left-over soup so they don't go brown.

This soup is really good with left-over grilled, fajita, or oven-roasted chicken.

Wild Rice Soup--Byerly's

2008-03-30T19:21:00.001-05:00

As northerners refer to wild rice as "Minnesota Caviar," here's a hearty soup that reminds me of home. We stock up on wild rice whenever we return home since it's not widely used (and is more expensive!) throughout the rest of the country. I haven't tasted a better recipe, and I've tried plenty!

6 TBSP butter
1 TBSP minced onion
½ cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked wild rice
1/3 cup minced ham
½ cup finely grated carrots
3 TBSP chopped slivered almonds
½ tsp. salt (optional)
1 cup half and half (I often use a can of evaporated milk)
2 TBSP dry sherry (optional, but mmm...it's so good)
minced parsley or chives for garnish

Melt butter in saucepan; sauté onion until tender. Blend in flour; gradually add broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil; boil 1 minute. Stir in rice, ham, carrots, almonds, and salt; simmer about 5 minutes. Blend in half and half and sherry; heat to serving temperature. Garnish with minced parsley or chives.

Amount: 6 cups

This soup freezes well! You may want to undercook the rice if you're planning on having leftovers. Otherwise, the rice tends to curl up and look a bit like something you experimented with in high school science lab!

This recipe is from Byerly’s, a Minnesota Fine Grocer

White Chicken Chili

2008-03-30T19:06:00.000-05:00

This recipe is right on the can of Bush's Great Northern Beans! Why do I post it then? So you can take a looksee before you go out and buy a can...and because I've tweaked it ever so slightly! It really is very tasty, and our kids love it! It's embarrassingly easy since you basically just dump, heat, and eat. A fine friend for busy moms!

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 TBSP olive oil
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies, do not drain
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 (15.8 oz.) cans northern beans, drained & rinsed
1 (14-1/2 oz.) can chicken broth
1-1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, optional, especially for my LactIntol husb!
Sour cream, optional
Salsa, optional
Cilantro, optional

In large skillet, cook onion in oil for 4 minutes or until transparent. Add chilies, flour and cumin; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add beans and chicken both; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken; cook until hot. Garnish with cheese, sour cream and salsa, if desired.

LACTOSE FREE: Do not top with sour cream or shredded cheese...OR live it up and take a lactase supplement if they work for you!

Resurrection Cookies

2008-03-22T08:17:00.002-05:00

This is a great activity/recipe to use with your kids at Eastertime--maybe the day before Easter since Easter Day is usually so full of other excitement and celebration. It surely will help your kids focus on the true meaning of the holiday--not just on their egg hunt and candy!

1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
Pinch salt
1 cup sugar
Zipper baggie
Wooden spoon
Tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

1. Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

2. Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

3. Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

4. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sins. Read Luke 23:27. (So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.)

5. Add 1 cup of sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know Him and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

6. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

7. Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mount represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was lain. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

8. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF (DO NOT BAKE COOKIES).

9. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

10. Go to bed! Explain to them that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed and they had to leave. Read John 16:20 & 22.

On Resurrection morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies, like the tomb, are hollow! On the first Resurrection morning, Jesus' followers were amazed and surprised to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9. HE HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN INDEED!

Resurrection Rolls

2008-03-22T08:15:00.003-05:00

Here's a new twist on the Resurrection Cookie idea for Easter, both are recipes you can do with your kids/grand kids in order for them to understand the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This fun recipe uses Crescent rolls and a disappearing marshmallow!

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar

Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Read Matthew 27:57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.) This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.
5. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (The oven represents the tomb - pretend like it was three days!)
6. Let the rolls cool slightly. The children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN!!!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

Now read Matthew 28:5-8

Explain: At the tomb, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saw an angel, who told them not to be afraid. No one had taken Jesus' body, but He Had risen from the dead! The angel told the women to go and tell the disciples what they had seen, that Jesus had risen from the dead. They were so excited, they ran all the way home to tell the disciples the good news! He is risen from the dead! Alleluia!

After that Jesus appeared in person to Peter, then to the 12 disciples and after that, to more than 500 people. Jesus' appearance to eyewitnesses, those who saw Him with their own eyes, would give support and prove that Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

By rising from the dead, Jesus proved once and for all that He was the Messiah, the Savior of the World, the Chosen One, and the Lamb of God. By dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus did what no other had ever done before. As both God and man, He overcame sin, death, and hell. And now because of what Jesus has done, these things no longer have any power over those who believe in Jesus and allow His Spirit to lead and direct them. Rather than being slaves to sin and death, Christians ( those who love and believe in Jesus) are free to obey God and do good ( Romans 6:17-18). The Bible says in John 8:36, "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

However, we will only obey God if we listen to the Holy Spirit our helper. He enables believers in Jesus to do the right thing. It is important that we read the Bible (God's Word) because one of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us obey God is by reminding us of what He says to us in His Word. God's Spirit will never go against his Word. In fact, when we read God's Word, we are listening to the Holy Spirit. Of course, you won't always do the right thing; the Bible says this (1 John 1:5-10). But that is why we need to continue to confess our sins knowing that God forgives us, based on what Jesus did on the cross. This is also a reason we need to spend time with other believers in Christ so they can encourage us in our faith.

May you have a blessed and meaningful Easter!

Very Helpful Information

2008-03-22T01:08:00.000-05:00

I received this information in an email from one of my aunts. I figured unless I post it here, it would get lost among all my other emails. So, here are the good ideas!

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to
pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking. Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints
in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste
of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply
chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them
in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350
for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low
and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on
the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer
for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes
with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in
a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food
moist and help it reheat faster..

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers,
put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and for-
get about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not
get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket.
It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper.
The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel
roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in nar-
row openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt
or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose.
Place pin in seam of slacks and .. ta da! ... static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water.
Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such
as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of
your car . When the window s fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside,
just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals
easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and
leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you
bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar
and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the
cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't
digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works
and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the
house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the
dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material ... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ....the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit.

You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your
clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel
waxy when you take them out of the box .... well this stuff builds up on your clothes
and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.

He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?!
Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that.
So, I thought I'd share!

Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran
through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed itwith warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when
I rinsed it...the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!