Thursday, December 23, 2010

Cheesecake Pudding Frosting

1 small 3.98 oz package powdered pudding (chocolate tastes best imo)
Milk to make chocolate pudding
4 oz tub cool whip thawed (1/2 normal tub)
1/3-1/2 tub cheesecake filling

Make pudding according to pie directions on package. Mix ingredients together. Layer in between a cake and/or on top of a cake or cupcakes Chill and serve.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

New York Cheesecake


**Must chill overnight!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, softened
  • 1 3/4 cups white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 5 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (or sour cream if you want a tangy taste)
  • optional 1 tsp vanilla



Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly coat a 10 inch springform pan with spray oil. Note: You could use a 9x13 inch pan instead.
  2. To make the crust: Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1/2 cup butter or margarine. Spread to the edges of GREASED pan. Prick all over with a fork, then bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Allow to cool.
  3. Increase oven temperature to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). In a large bowl add cream cheese and cream together. Then add 1 3/4 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 5 eggs and the yolks and mix thoroughly. Add cream and mix only enough to blend.
  4. Pour filling over crust and bake for 10 minutes at 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Reduce temperature to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C) and continue to bake for one hour. Turn oven off, but leave cake in for another hour. Don't worry if it looks a little jiggly in the center.
  5. Chill overnight. This is imperative! If desired, top with your favorite fruit or serve plain.

Banana Cream Pie


  • Ingredients (This makes a small pie, or you can double the recipe and have a large pie with a bit of pudding left over)

  • 2/3 to 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour or cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 egg yolks, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
  • 4 bananas, sliced



Directions

  1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner.
  2. Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes; remember to keep stirring. Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.
  3. Slice bananas into the cooled baked pastry shell. Top with pudding mixture. Can also mix pudding and bananas together, making sure that no bananas are exposed to air (they'll turn brown).

Friday, November 19, 2010

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

INGREDIENTS (makes 3 loaves)
  • 3-⅓ cups unbleached all purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (recipe here and here)
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1-½ teaspoon Salt
  • ---------------------
  • 2-⅔ cups Sugar
  • ⅔ cups Softened Butter (1 cube plus 1/3 cube (2 2/3 TBS) OR 1/2 cup plus 1/6 cup)
  • ------------------
  • 4 whole Eggs
  • 1-2 lbs pumpkin (15-30oz) I usually use 2 lbs or a large can of pumpkin
  • ⅔ cups Water
  • 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I add more)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Sift together dry ingredients, except sugar, and set aside. Cream sugar and butter until well incorporated. Add eggs one at a time and then add the mashed pumpkin. Alternate adding dry ingredients with water. Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour into three large greased bread pans and bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes if you use 1 lb pumpkin, an extra 10 minutes if you use 2 lbs pumpkin or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cook 35-40 minutes for a mini loaf. Makes 8-10 mini loafs.

Kneaders Raspberry Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce

Cream Mix
1 1/2 loaves aged, white bread
1 quart half and half or heavy cream
3 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

In large bowl combine cream, sugar, egg and vanilla. Cut bread into 1 1/2" cubes and add to cream mixture, coating bread well. Let stand 30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes to allow cream to absorb completely.

Fruit Filling
5 cups frozen raspberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple juice

Combine raspberries, sugar and apple juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Layer a 9x13 dark baking dish 3/4 full with bread mixture, pour fruit filling over bread mixture, spreading evenly, top with remaining bread. Bake 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve warm. Top with vanilla sauce.

Vanilla Sauce
1 1/3 cup butter
5 tablespoons flour
3 cups half and half of heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup sugar

Over medium heat melt butter, and add flour stir 10 minutes until it has a nutty aroma, do not brown. Add cream and sugar and boil untill mixture is thick, remove from heat adding vanilla. Serve sauce cold.

Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon French Toast

Ingredients
loaf Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon Bread cut in 8 slices  
8 eggs
3 c. milk
1 T. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 T. vanilla
2 T. butter 


Preparation:
Butter a glass baking dish generously (9" x 13").  Place the bread flat in the baking dish.  Mix all remaining ingredients, reserving the butter and pour over the bread. Cut butter into pieces and dot over the top. Refrigerate over night or at least 1 hour.   Bake 45 - 50 minutes at 350 degrees.  Serves 8

Kneader's Carmel Syrup
1 c. Brown sugar
1 c. Creme
1 c. Light Karo Syrup
Blend together and heat on stovetop until sugar is smooth.
Serve warm.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1-2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp vinegar
1 small onion, cubed
1 1/2 cups green veggies (or 1 bag stir fry)
1-2 Tbs cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbs soy sauce and 1 cup chicken broth
pepper
1 c cashews (may roast if desired)

Directions:
Marinate chicken in 1st 4 ingredients 20-60 minutes. Add oil to wok and set on high heat. Add chicken and cook until white. Remove. Add onion and cook 1 minute. Add veggies and cook until crisp. Remove. Add cornstarch mixture to wok and cook until thickened, stirring often. Add chicken and veggies. Season with pepper if needed. Stir in cashews. Serve with rice.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Quinoa Salad


Just fun facts: Quinoa is highly nutritious. It contain all the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.Quinoa is sold at many health food stores in bulk.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
oil
1 chopped cucumber
1 chopped tomato
1 chopped yellow pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4-1/2 cup walnuts (I like to use candied walnuts. See below)

1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

-Soak quinoa for 15 minutes in a medium size pot. Rinse several times. Add water, oil and salt to pot. Bring to full boil. Cover and let boil 1 minutes. Turn down heat very low and let cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit 5 minutes with lid on. Fluff with fork. Cool.

In a large bowl mix together quinoa, veggies and nuts. Combine olive oil and lemon juice to make dressing. Add to salad. Mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

-Quinoa can be cooked and refrigerated ahead of time if desired.

-Easy Candied walnuts: cook some nuts in small pan on medium for a few minutes (faster than in the oven). Remove. Add some sugar to pan and melt it. Add the nuts, mix and then lay them as separately as possible on greased wax paper that is sitting on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle on some salt.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Smokey Orange Chicken Thai Salad

Ingredients:
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup diced cucumber
1 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts

Directions:
Using a fork, pull chicken meat from bone in shreds. Place lettuce in a large bowl (or divide onto individual dishes). Top lettuce with chicken, cucumber, tomato, and scallions.In a small bowl, whisk together broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, and sesame oil. Pour mixture over salad. Top with peanuts just before serving.

Smokey Orange Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients:
flour tortillas
1/2 cup chopped red onions * must be red onions
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced roasted red peppers (from water-packed jar) opt
1/2 cup sliced artichokes (from water-packed can or jar)
1/4 cup shredded Monterrey jack or pepper jack cheese, for each quesadilla

Directions:
Coat a large skillet or griddle with cooking spray. Set pan over medium heat to preheat. Using a fork, pull chicken meat from bone in shreds. *I usually cut because it's faster* Arrange tortillas on a flat surface. Top 1 side of each tortilla with an equal amount of chicken, mushrooms, red peppers, and artichokes. Top vegetables with shredded cheese. Fold over tortillas (or put another one on top), making a half moon. Place quesadillas in (or on) prepared pan and cook 3 minutes per side, until golden brown and cheese melts.

Smokey Orange Chicken

The Chicken Quesadillas you can make with this are delicious!

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
8 (5-ounce) skinless chicken breast halves (with bone) *I use boneless and make as much as I can fit in my pan*
Salt and ground black pepper
1 cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray. Season chicken all over with salt and black pepper. Arrange chicken in prepared pan and set aside. In a small bowl, combine orange marmalade, soy sauce and liquid smoke. Mix until blended. Pour mixture over chicken. Roast 35 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Serve 4 chicken breast halves with this meal and refrigerate remaining chicken until ready to use.

Use left over chicken (or all of chicken) to make Chicken Quesadillas or Thai Chicken Salad

Classic Rolls

These are amazing and very easy to make. The bread machine does most of the work!

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. water
1 egg – stir into the water
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. dry milk
4 c. bread flour – Make a well in the middle of the flour to add yeast
2 pkgs. yeast or 4 ½ tsp.
2 ½ TBLS. Margarine or butter – cut in 4 even parts and add to the corners of the container

Mix in bread maker on the dough setting. if possible let dough raise one more time after machine mixes it once and dough falls and timer rings. Then shape in desired roll. Bake on greased pan at 350 for around 10-12 min. Butter top of rolls when just out of oven. You can freeze cooked rolls for another day.

Crescent shaped rolls: Flour working area and divide dough into two parts. It will be sticky so put flour on hands. Roll dough into a circle or pie shape. With a pizza cutter cut like you do a pie into 8 triangles. Roll up each triangle-start from widest part and roll toward center. Put on a greased cookie sheet.

To make ahead and freeze then cook and have warm on the day you serve the rolls: Shape rolls into desired shape and put on greased cookie sheet and freeze then take off cookie sheet and put rolls into freezer bags until the day you want to cook them. Take out of freezer and put on buttered cookie sheet and cover with a towel. Let unfreeze and rise – around 2-3 hours depending on how warm house is. Bake 350 for 10-12 min

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Zucchini Cobbler


  • Ingredients

    • 8 cups peeled, chopped zucchini
    • 2/3 cup lemon juice
    • 1 cup white sugar
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    •  
    • 4 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 cups white sugar
    • 1 1/2 cups butter, chilled
    •  
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

    Directions

    1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice until zucchini is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg and cook one minute more. Remove from heat and set aside.
    2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, combine flour and 2 cups sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir 1/2 cup of butter mixture into zucchini mixture. Press half of remaining butter mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Spread zucchini mixture over top of crust, and sprinkle remaining butter mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
    3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until top is golden. Serve warm or cold.


    For 8X8:

    4 c zucchini 1/3 c lemon juice 1/2 c white sugar 1 tsp Cinnamon  

    1 1/4 c flour 3/4 c sugar 1/2 c butter 1 tsp Cinnamon 

    From allrecipes.com

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Romano Ham Linguine


12 oz linguine
2 T flour
12 oz evaporated milk
1 1/3 c water
4 c cooked ham, cubed
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 T butter
1/2 t salt
4 oz mushrooms
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 c romano cheese, grated
1 T veg oil

Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour and salt, adding evaporated milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir one more minute. Add liquid from mushrooms, water and bouillon cube. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until slightly thickened and bubbly. Add ramono cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Add ham and mushrooms. Cool and place in freezer bag. To serve, thaw and reheat. Serve over linguine.


Friday, September 17, 2010

Rachel's Stuffed Zucchini

2-3 large zucchini or 4-6 medium sized zucchini
1 lb ground meat and/or sausage
1/2-1 cup bread crumbs
2-3 eggs
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped and sautéed (optional-I usually leave this out)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (can use the cheepo kind too:)
1 cup colby jack, cheddar or mozzarella cheese (I use whatever I have on hand)
Jar spaghetti sauce (24 oz)
spices (oregano, parlsey) to taste, optional


Preheat oven to 350. Wash and trim ends of zucchini. Cut in half if large then slice lengthwise. Scoop out seeds to make zucchini boats. You can either throw out seeds or chop them up and mix with meat mixture later on. Put zucchini in either a baking dish or cookie sheet with edges so liquids don't spill. Cook in oven while you get the mixture ready (aprox. 15-20 minutes).

Cook meat and drain. While meat cools mix together bread crumbs, eggs, garlic, parmesan cheese, and colby jack cheese (can omit cj cheese here and just put it on top if desired). Mix meat into the above mixture and then take zucchini out of oven. Spoon mixture into zucchini then spoon spaghetti sauce on top. Cover lightly with tinfoil then cook 40-45 minutes. You can add a little extra colby jack cheese on top right when you take the food out of the oven or right before you take the food out of the oven.

I vary this recipe depending on what I have on hand. Cottage cheese and/or rice also work good with this recipe. Just mix them in with the mixture before cooking in the oven.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Teriyaki sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 soy sauce
some cornstarch, start with a teaspoon or so

Heat on stove to dissolve sugar. Add cornstarch, but not too much, to make it thicker...the sauce will get thicker as it cooks and then cools so be careful.

To make more or less, just use equal parts of brown sugar and soy sauce.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Purple plum pie



  • 4 cups sliced fresh plums
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pastry shell
  • TOPPING:
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3 tablespoons cold butter or margarine

In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients; pour into the pastry shell. For topping, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 375 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Cover edges of crust during the last 20 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Cool on a wire rack.

From allrecipes.com

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Country Salsa

2 cups white sweet corn (or 1 can corn drained)
1 can black beans
3 tomatoes, chopped
2-3 avocados, chopped (this is the best ingredient I think!)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 can olives, chopped
1 dry packet zesty italian salad dressing

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Mark Bittman’s Zucchini Pasta

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
5-6 medium zucchini, rinsed, trimmed and cut into ribbons or coins
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (I made it with dry thyme 1tbsp maybe more)
2 tomatoes, in wedges or roughly chopped, with their juices
1/2 lb. cut pasta, like ziti or penne
Freshly grated Parmesan or freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook pasta until it is nearly, but not quite tender.
Put olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion and thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper and adjust heat so onion and zucchini release their liquid without browning. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until very tender.
Add tomatoes and their liquid to zucchini and raise heat a bit, so mixture bubbles. If sauce threatens to dry out, add a little pasta cooking water.

Drain pasta and finish cooking it in sauce.
Serve, garnished with parsley of Parmesan.
Joe loved the zucchini!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Yummy BBQ chicken (from goose berry patch slow-cooker recipes book)

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 sweet onion, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Place ingredients in a slow cooker; stir gently. Cover and cook on high setting for 3 hours or on low setting for 6 to 7 hours.

Serve over rice.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Thai chicken wraps

Ingredients:
  • 6 8-10inch plain, red and or green flour tortillas
  • 12 ounces skinless, boneless chiken breast strips for stir-frying
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 4 cups package shredded broccoli (broccoli slaw mix)
  • 1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges
  • 1 tsp. Grated gringer root (optional)
  • 1 recipe peanut sauce
Instructions
Wrap tortillas in paper towels. Microwave on 100% power (high) for 30 seconds to soften. (Or, wrap tortillas in foil. Heat in a 350 oven for 10 minutes)
Meanwhile rinse chiken; pat dry. In a small bowl combine garlic salt and pepper. Add chiken; toss to coat evenly. In a large skillet cook and stir seasoned chiken in hot oil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from skillet; keep warm. Add broccoli, onion, and ginger root to skillet. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
To assemble, spread each tortilla with about 1 tbsp peanut sauce. Top with chiken strips amd vegetable mixture. Roll up each tortilla, securing with a toohpick. Serve immediately with remaining sauce.
 
Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp bottled minced garlic
Instructions:
In a small saucepan combine all ingredients. Heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. Makes about 2/3 cup.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Chicken Puffs

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1-2 packages crescent rolls
cornflakes
melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
¼ cup sour cream
Directions:

Prepare filling:
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
Mix these together, and depending on size of chicken breasts, adjust amount of butter and cream cheese to make a thick paste with chicken
Make chicken puffs:
With rolling pin, roll a crescent roll until very thin. Place as large an amount of chicken mixture on roll as possible, pull the sides up and seal. Discard any extra crescent roll. Repeat until all chicken mixture is used.

Roll each chicken puff in melted butter and then crushed cornflakes (it is best to use one hand for each of these so the butter and cornflakes don’t mix and make your hands too messy!)

Bake chicken puffs on cookie sheet at 350 for 30 mins. Spray tops with Pam to avoid over-browning. Serve with sauce if desired

Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken soup
¼ C sour cream

Mix these and add milk until desired consistency is reached. Heat in microwave.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Lightly Lemon Pie

Mix together:

8 oz light cream cheese (Neufchatel) - softened to room temperature
1 can low-fat or fat-free sweetened condensed milk
Add:
1/2 C fresh squeezed lemon juice (2 large lemons)

Pour into shortbread crust (Keebler Ready-crust). Refrigerate until served and top with Light Cool Whip.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Super Easy Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients

4 cups half-and-half or light cream or whole milk
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
**You can add fruit to this, cocoa and cinnamon, ect.

Directions
In large bowl, combine ingredients; mix well. Pour into ice cream freezer container. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

Refrigerator-Freezer Method: Omit half-and-half. In large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and vanilla; mix well. Fold in 2 cups whipping cream. Pour into 9x5-inch loaf pan or other 2-quart container; cover. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Cream Cheese Pesto Chicken (for 2 people):

Large chicken breasts -
2 Pesto - 1.5-3 TB.
Cream Cheese - about 1/2 pkg.
Italian bread crumbs
1 egg white
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally, leaving them still attached on one side (like a pizza box?) so that you can stuff them but not have the filling ooze out all sides when cooking. Mix in a bowl the cream cheese and pesto (just add enough pesto so the 2 ingredients are well blended and seem balanced...not too much pesto or it will be overpowering). Stuff cream cheese/pesto mix into the chicken breasts....if you don't have enough mix just make more. (like I said, I'm really unsure on the amounts you need). Brush egg white onto chicken breasts so the bread crumbs stick well. Roll stuffed chicken breasts in bread crumbs (I like to put the crumbs in a shallow pie tin, works well). Heat a frying pan to medium heat, cover bottom of pan with extra virgin olive oil, about 1-2 TB. When pan is hot, add chicken breasts (or 1 at a time if necessary depending on size of pan), brown each side just so it gives it a nice rich, golden brown color - don't cook all the way through....just brown them, about 3-5 minutes. Once they're browned, put the chicken breasts in a baking dish and bake in oven about 30 minutes, until cooked through :)

Monday, May 24, 2010

Play Dough (Not exactly food but I didn't know where else to post it so I wouldn't forget the recipe:)

1 cup flour


1 cup warm water

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon oil

1/4 cup salt

food coloring

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Lipton Onion Soup Baked Potatoes

3 1/2 to 4 pounds of potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil (I use much less than this)
1 pack onion soup mix
1 cup Parmesan cheese (not shredded - must be hard grated shake stuff)
fresh ground pepper-optional

Put the oil, soup, and cheese in a gallon zip lock bag. Cut the potatoes into chunks about 1 inch sized. Dump those in the zip lock bag with the other ingredients and shake or roll to coat the potatoes. Bake in a 9 x 12 pan for about 35 minutes at 425 degrees.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Portugues Sweet Bread

Made using a Bread Machine

Ingredients:

1 c milk
1 egg
2 Tbs butter, softened
1/3 c sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 c flour
2 1/2 tsp yeast

Cook using Sweet Bread Setting if available.

Onion Bread

Made using a Bread Machine

Ingredients:

1 c water
1 Tbs butter, softened
1 tsp salt
3 c flour
3 Tbs dry milk
1 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp minced dry onions
3/4 tsp fresh pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp yeast

Whole Wheat Bread

Made using a Bread Machine

Ingredients:

1 5/8 cup warm water
1/2 c honey
2-3 Tbs butter, softened
2 tsp salt
4 2/3 cup wheat flour
3 tsp yeast

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Bread

Made using a Bread Machine

Ingredients:

1 c water
1/8 c molasses
1/8 c honey
2 Tbs butter, softened
3 c flour
1/2 c oats
2 Tbs dry milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 tsp yeast

Use the Sweat Bread Cycle if available.

Raisin Bread

Made using a bread machine

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup water
2 Tbs butter, softened
1/4 c sugar
1 Tbs dry milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 1/4 c flour
3 1/2 tsp yeast

add 3/4 c raisins OR cranberries after the first beep. Use Sweet Bread Cycle if available.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Chives and Cheddar Bread

Made using a Bread Machine

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c water
1 1/4 c cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 c chopped fresh chives OR 2 Tbs freeze dried chives
2 Tbs sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 1/4 c flour
2 tsp reg yeast OR 1.5 tsp quick yeast

Directions:

Add ingredients to bread machine in order written. Turn it on. I once forgot this last step until the next day :)

Kima

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chopped onions
2 raw potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tomatoes, peeled and cubed (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
10 oz frozen peas
2 tsp curry
1 dash pepper
1.5 tsp salt

Directions:

In large skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic until meat is browned. Pour off excess fat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer 20-25 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Serve with cooked rice.

If potatoes take too long to cook, cook them a little prior to mixing all of the ingredients together and cooking.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Pozole

A spicy Mexican Soup I often had on my mission.

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz) cans hominy
0.5-1 lb chicken, diced
1-2 tsp oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1-2 Tbs chili powder
1-2 cups chicken broth and water

Directions:

Season chicken and cook. Set aside. Saute onions and garlic in oil. Add all ingredients. Cook 15 minutes. Great with thinly sliced cabbage on top.

Polenta

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (or about 1 tsp table salt)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Parmesan, grated (opt)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large, oven-safe saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. (I don't have one, so I just use a pot and transfer it to an oven safe Pyrex dish). Add the onion saute until onions begin to turn translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic, and saute for 1 to 2 minutes, making sure the garlic does not burn.
Turn the heat up to high, add the chicken stock, bring to a boil. Gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. Once you have added all of the cornmeal, cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every10 minutes to prevent lumps. Once the mixture is creamy, remove from the oven and add the butter, salt, and pepper. Once they are incorporated, gradually add the Parmesan.

Serve as is, or pour the polenta into 9 by 13-inch cake pan lined with parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Once set, turn the polenta out onto a cutting board and cut into squares, rounds, or triangles. Brush each side with olive oil and saute in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, or grill.
Great with gravy, cheese, milk etc.

Fried Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 c. plus 2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 c. milk
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 med. head cauliflower, broken into flowerets
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

Combine flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Combine egg, milk, and oil in a small mixing bowl. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Dip cauliflower into batter; fry in deep hot oil (375 degrees) until golden OR I just use a few Tbs oil instead of deep frying to save oil and decrease the fat content. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Baked Chicken Saltimbocca

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs/crushed stuffing mix
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto or deli boiled ham (opt)
1 jar marinara sauce
mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
spaghetti, cooked and drained

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Dip chicken in egg, then bread crumbs, coating well. Arrange chicken in 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Top chicken with prosciutto, then 1-1/2 cups pasta sauce. Bake 10 minutes more. Top with mozzarella cheese and cook until melts. Serve over hot spaghetti tossed with remaining heated sauce.

Apple Streusel Pie

Ingredients:

TOPPING
2 ounces butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans

FILLING
9 apple - peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 recipes unbaked pie shells


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare the topping by combining the butter, brown sugar, flour and chopped pecans. Cut in all ingredients with pastry cutter until pea-sized. Set aside
Combine the apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Place apple mixture in unbaked pie shells. Heap the apples up high in each shell and fill completely. Sprinkle topping on top of each.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes. Do not allow topping to get too dark.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

HONEY LIME ENCHILADAS

6 T honey
5 T lime juice (1 large lime)
1 T chili powder
½ t garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used 3 small chicken breasts).
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound Monterey jack cheese, shredded
2 10 oz cans green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least ½ hour (I tossed mine together in a Ziploc bag in the morning and let it sit in refrigerator all day). Pour one can enchilada sauce on the bottom of the 9 x 13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese (or more if you are like me and love cheese) to sprinkle on top of the enchiladas. Mix the other can of enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

***Freezable Meal: Freeze prior to baking. To bake, preheat oven to 350 and bake enchiladas, covered (without thawing first) for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer, until brown and crispy on top.

Cafe Rio Recipe - Pork

Sweet Pulled Pork:

3-4 lb pork loin roast
1 cup brown sugar
1 12-14 oz bottle of mild/med taco sauce
1 12oz can of Coke (I heard that Costa Vida uses Dr. Pepper)

Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for at least 6 hours. Take pork roast out and shred on a cutting board (I also removed the fattiest pieces). Return shredded meat to crock pot and let it heat/soak while you get everything else ready.

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing:

3/4 c. buttermilk
1 t fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 c. cilantro leaves
1 c. mayo
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch powder
1 small tomatillo, quartered
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
3/4 can chopped green chilies

Slop everything into either a food processor or a good blender.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Freezer Meals

I am putting together a bunch of information for freezer meals. I will include a bunch of specially made freezer meals that I find places and label them under freezer meal. Many of the meals on this site, although they don't specifically say it, can also be frozen for later use. I haven't tried out many of the freezer meals that I have just added to the blog, but as I try them I will erase them if they are horrible, and rate them if they are good.

USEFUL WEBSITES- many are crockpot ones since they freeze well
http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cookbook-recipes-freezer-cooking
http://www.once-a-month-cookingworld.com/
http://organizedhome.com/start-small-sneak-freezer-cooking
http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a64625/freezable_recipes
http://freezersupperswappers.wordpress.com/
http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/
http://www.homemadegourmet.com/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/slow-cooker/index.html
http://freezersupperswappers.wordpress.com/
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/cooking/guide-to-freezing-vegetables-grains-fruits
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/pdf/5402.pdf
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/askext/freezing/4451.htm
http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking/freezer-cookbook-recipes?page=2
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

GENERAL RECIPE IDEAS
Chicken or Beef Pot Pie
Spaghetti
Chili
Mac and Cheese (just the cheese sauce)
Chicken Soup
Meatballs
Gravy
Meatloaf
Beef Stew
Enchiladas
Sloppy Joe Mix

BOOKS
Once-A-Month Cooking
Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites
30 Day Gourmet's BIG Book of Freezer Cooking
Frozen Assets, 2E: Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month
Frozen Assets Lite and Easy: Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month
Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer: Great-Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead
Don't Panic--More Dinner's in the Freezer: A Second Helping of Tasty Meals You Can Make Ahead
The Big Cook (really good)
Dinner's in the Freezer!
Fix-It And Forget-It Big Cookbook: Slow Cooker Recipes (great slow cooker book w/ hundreds of recipes you can freeze)
FIX-IT and FORGET-IT LIGHTLY : Healthy, Low-Fat Recipes for Your Slow Cooker


USEFUL TIPS
*Storing in ziplock bags works good. I like to double bag. I write on the inner bag so I can use the outer bag again later for other meals. I put the label of the outer bag opposite from the inner bag so I can easily read the label on the inner bag.
*Glad Ovenware is a good cheep way to get lots of extra freezable containers that you can use in the oven (and top rack dishwasher) too.
*Tupperware sometimes cracks/breaks when frozen.
*Some people fill the freezer bags, mush each bag into a pyrex and put them in the freezer until they hold their form. Then take the pyrex out and stack the pyrex formed bags together in the freezer.
*I like to line a dish with tinfoil, spray with pam and put my ingredients in the dish. Cover with tinfoil and freeze. Then I can pop the meal out of the dish (and tinfoil too if desired) and put it into a ziplock bag to freeze (note: it is now in the shape of the casserole dish I will use to cook it in later).
*When making soups, omit the milk when you freeze the recipe and add before serving.
*Make sure things are cooled before putting them in the freezer.
*Generally I hear that most meals freeze for 3 months, longer if you vacuum seal them.
*Potatoes, especially raw ones, don't freeze well. If you have a recipe with them, partially cook them before freezing or keep them out of the frozen recipe and add them later on (best idea). Less sweet potatoes do better freezing. Waxier potatoes will fare better in the freezer. Yukon Golds will do better than Russets and Red Skinned potatoes will do better yet. Mashed potatoes, if mixed well when thawed, freeze well.
*Mayonnaise will break down when it is frozen. Use salad dressing instead of mayonnaise when you make sandwiches or salad mixtures for freezing
*Well-done pastas may be too soft after reheating. If you want to freeze macaroni, spaghetti, or foods containing these, under cook the pasta.
*Add thickening agents after thawing the meal, not before freezing.

Look at the blog archive on the right side of the blog for some freezer meal recipes.