Category: Food

In the recent Parents magazine (Feb. 2014), I saw a recipe for a dessert, which looked awesome, easy and quick.  It was so easy that Ajax helped put most of it together.  It cooks in the microwave and we all hovered around watching it rise.   Ajax was quite proud of his dessert!

• 1/4 C milk
• 1/2 tsp white vinegar
• 6 tbs flour
• 1/4 C sugar
• 2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp red food coloring (I didn’t have any food coloring)

Directions-

• In a small cup, combine milk and white vinegar.
• In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
• In a separate small bowl combine the vegetable oil, egg, vanilla, and food coloring. Add the milk mixture and the oil mixture to the flour mixture.  Stir until well combined.  Divide batter between 2 mugs; do not fill more than halfway.
• Microwave each mug individually for 1 1/2 minutes.  When done the cake should be firm and springy, not doughy.  If it isn’t done, microwave in 15-second intervals up to 2 1/2 minutes total.  Let cool for 3 minutes.  I think this would be excellent with a little hot fudge over top and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

I’ve found a new awesome freezer meal, courtesy of Heavenly Homemakers and just had to share (my thoughts are in italics)!   When I stumbled across this recipe I was a little doubtful.   It calls for a basic white sauce using milk and my track record with such sauces has been so disastrous, that if I even mention a white sauce for dinner Dave cringes (that may be an exaggeration, but I’ve made some spectacular messes of white sauces).   This one however is so easy that even I managed to pull it off.  All three of us agreed that it was a winner and Ajax even ate the broccoli that was mixed in.  I told him they were trees and that dinosaurs LOVE trees!  He gobbled them up.

• 2 C cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 1/2 C whole wheat pasta
• 3 C whole milk (I used 2% as that’s what we had)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• I added in more seasonings- cumin, a little pepper, paprika, etc.
• 1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
• 4 ounces softened cream cheese (I added a little less than 4 ounces)
• Shredded cheese
• Green veggie

In a large cooking pot, combine cooked chicken, uncooked pasta, milk, and seasonings.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the pasta is tender (the starch from the pasta will thicken the milk creating a creamy sauce).  I left my sauce a tiny bit runny as I stuck this in the freezer and wanted to be sure if was liquidy enough when I cooked it.  Note:  at first your gonna think, this isn’t working I’m just stirring milk around a pot, but keep stirring, once the sauce starts thickening it’ll go fast and you want to be sure to stir stir stir or the bottom will burn… think 10 – 12 minutes or so.

Remove cooking pot from heat.  Stir in parmesan cheese and cream cheese till mixed through.  I also added in fresh, steamed broccoli, chopped.     Pour pasta mixture into a casserole dish (9×13).  Sprinkle a little cheese on top and bake in oven at 350 for about 15 minutes.  Or, you can stop after adding it to the casserole dish, cover and freeze.  To cook, just thaw and bake at 350 for about 30-40 min, or till heated through.  I can’t wait to get a few of these into the freezer for my maternity leave.

I made two of these dishes. One I mixed the veggies through, but Dave isn’t a fan of broccoli, so for this one I just put it on top to one side and it was great.

Ajax loves helping me make granola bars.  It is his most favorite thing to assist with in the kitchen.  I think because he likes taste testing all the individual ingredients as we add them in.  He’ll say, rolled oats mom, can I try some?  Then it’ll be, oh coconut, can I try some? So on and so forth.  Today when we were making them, his “helping” became a bit too adventurous and he put the mixer on high, sending flour and oats flying all over the kitchen.  I was none too pleased.   Anywho, we love this recipe and I make it every 2 weeks for lunches.   I have never done a cost/benefit analysis so I don’t know if these are cheaper than buying a box at the store, but we like them better and I enjoy making them, so that’s good enough for me.

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups rolled oats
  1 cup whole wheat flour
  1 tsp baking soda
  1 tsp vanilla
  1 cup butter, softened* (I use coconut oil)
  1 cup honey
• Wheat germ (I never measure, I just dump some in)
• Add-ins: 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup chopped walnuts
  other options include dried fruits, sunflower seeds, coconut, nuts…  I always add in sliced almonds, coconut, and raisins.

Lightly butter a 9×13-inch pan.  In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except add-ins.  Beat hard until combined.  Stir in add-ins.  Press mixture into pan — really jam it in there so your bars don’t fall apart.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into bars.  Let bars cool completely in pan before removing and serving.  (You could also add in maple syrup as a sweetener, but it will not act as a binding agent, so you will still need the honey to hold your bars together.  I’ve reduced the honey and added syrup with good results).

I’ve had a mental list of recipes I wanted to share and it seems none of them have actually made it up on the blog.  Well that’s going to change, starting with this wonderfully simple calzone recipe.   I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and feel it is truly a winner.  I first made it around Christmas and my family immediately declared that it was good enough to add into our regular meal rotation.   I’ve even made this the night before, stuck it in the frig and then just heated it up for dinner the next day, still excellent.  I wonder if I could modify this as a freezer meal…

Also, on a quick family update, Ajax is a eating machine we went out to dinner tonight and he ordered pancakes.  A full order of silver dollars.  And guess what?  He ate almost every one on his plate, plus some of Dave’s sausage and two of my fries.  On a food note, I’m just over 16 weeks now and am still sick in the morning, some evenings, and sometimes even at night… which is odd.  I also want to eat almost everything.  Currently, I’m craving California rolls, any type of seafood (tuna, shrimp, etc… oh tuna fish with salsa, yum), chow-chow, a brown rice pilaf (a recipe I’ll share next), and chili.

 Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon dry milk powder (I always omit)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar (I only use a pinch of sugar… less than 1 tsp, but if you like a sweeter bread add away!)
• I also add in herbs to the dough- basil, oregano, etc.
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup pizza sauce (or plain spaghetti sauce, whatever you have)
• 4 ounces pepperoni sausage, chopped (can also use, ham, onions, green peppers, mushrooms…)
• 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I’ve made this without cheese and it’s still good)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. Place water, salt, bread flour, dry milk, sugar, herbs, and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer.   Usually you just dump in your water, then add everything else on top, and then make a small dip for the yeast.   Select Dough cycle.
2. After cycle ends, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface; shape into a 16 x 10 inch rectangle.  I try to eyeball it, making it the rough shape of a cookie pan. Transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet.   To transfer successfully, fold the dough in half before trying to move it, and then unfold it once it’s on the cookie sheet.
3. Spoon sauce in a stripe down the center of dough lengthwise; add pepperoni and cheese filling (or whatever filling you like.  I loved ham and mushroom).
4. Make diagonal cuts 1 1/2 inches apart down each side, cutting within a 1/2 inch of the filling. Criss-cross the strips over the filling, sealing with water (I’ve sealed it with water and I’ve also forgotten that step, no biggie either way).  Tuck loose end up however you like. Brush top with melted butter.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes.

For some odd reason I did not take a picture of the finished product.  But, look at the pic above, now imagine it golden brown and delicious!

My sister-in-law asked me for this french toast recipe a while back and I totally forgot.  So over the weekend, I was reminded to share.  I love this recipe.  I usually make it when we have lots of people staying over and I don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen making breakfast.  This can be prepared the night before and then just thrown into the oven in the morning!  I don’t remember where I got it… someplace.

• French Toast:
• 1 loaf crusty sourdough or french bread (you definitely need a hard crust bread for this recipe, I recommend the sourdough)
• 8 whole eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup sugar (I never use this much sugar I use about 1/4)
• 2 tbl vanilla
• Topping: 
• 1/2 cup all- purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly paced brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
• fresh fruit (optional)

Grease 9×13 inch pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks and evenly distribute in pan.   Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla.   Pour evenly over bread.  Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.   In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.   Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until it resembles fine pebbles (use a knife to mix it up.  If you use a spoon and stir it up it’ll form a paste, which is difficult to spread).  Store in a ziploc in the fridge.   When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350.  Sprinkle crumb mixture over-top and bake for 45 minutes (or 1 hour for a firmer, less liquid texture).  You could also add fruit before cooking as well.

I’ve been looking for a pizza spaghetti bake recipe for a while now.  Odd, yes, but true, it must be something about living in the Midwest, I felt I must have such a recipe in my rotation.  I found this recipe while out visiting my parents (I actually stole it from one of my mom’s cook books).   It is awesome.  Dave and Ajax both loved it and it made a ton.   Bonus!

• 12 oz. uncooked spaghetti (I used whole grain pasta which made me pretend this was healthier than it was)
• 1 lb Italian pork sausage
• 2 jars (14 oz) pizza sauce (I thought 2 jars was way too much, so I only used one and a quarter – I had the quarter jar left over from something else.  I think you could get away with 1 jar though) – (Oh, I also just used regular red pasta sauce, nothing fancy)
• 1 package (6 oz) diced pepperoni (I only used 1/2 a package of pepperoni – cut them in half to make the package last longer)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese instead)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I only used 1/4 cup cheese because that’s all we had)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I used about 1 cup of cheese, not 2)

• Heat oven to 350. Spray 13×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.   In dutch oven, cook and drain the pasta as directed (break up the pasta into thirds before adding it to the water).   Use the minimum cook time.  Return spaghetti to dutch oven.
• Meanwhile, in 10 in skillet, cook sausage (I also added a diced onion to the sausage) over medium heat, till no longer pink and drain.   In dutch oven, toss spaghetti, sausage, pizza sauce, and pepperoni.
• In medium bowl, mix ricotta and Parmesan cheeses and eggs.  Spoon half the spaghetti mixture into baking dish.  Dollop w/ cheese mixture; spread evenly over top.   Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.   Top with remaining spaghetti mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake uncovered 30 to 35 min. or till bubbly.

I recently found this soup on allrecipes.com and highly recommend it.  I made it for Halloween the other night and the rest of my family enjoyed it as well.   Ajax even liked it.   The original recipe was for the stove, but I modified it for my crock pot.   Gotta love the crock pot!  I assume that everyone has at least one crock pot.  If you don’t have a crock pot, how do you survive?

• 1 lb Italian sausage (I have made this with ground pork as well, which gives the soup a lighter taste.  The Italian sausage gives it a richer flavor- both good depending on what you’re looking for).
• 1 clove garlic (I just used a small pinch of chopped garlic I had in the frig)
• 2 cans beef broth (I added 3; with at least one being no salt/low sodium – you have to be careful that the soup doesn’t get too salty with all the canned broth)
• 1 can Italian-style stewed or diced tomatoes (I added 2, one with Italian seasoning and one without)
• 1 C sliced carrots (I never measure my carrots, I just take handfuls, give them a random dicing and toss them in)
• 1 can great northern beans, undrained (I used dried beans.  I soaked them overnight and then dumped in about a cup and a half)
• 2 small zucchini (I omitted this because I didn’t have it)
• 2 cups spinach (one time I used fresh spinach and it was great, another time I used frozen and it too was great)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt (I omitted the salt and then let people add to taste)
• I also added – rosemary, oregano, basil, paprika, and cumin
• 1 C cooked pasta

Brown the sausage and onions together (or throw it into the crockpot raw- I’ve done it both ways because I’m lazy).   Add in the rest of the ingredients, stirring well.   I cooked it on low for 8 hours (or high for 6, depending the strength of your crock pot).   I serve this with either fresh butterhorns or cornbread.  At the end of cooking the soup add in about a cup of cooked pasta, I used penne because that’s what I had, but a smaller pasta would be better.  I’ve made this soup with and without the pasta.  I liked the pasta and so did my dad, but Dave and my mom didn’t really like the pasta.  So maybe make it on the side and people can add it if they want.  Or not, no biggie.

Ajax helping me with the dishes-

I was at the store the other day and ran across whole Tyson chickens on sale for $0.59/lb!   I was so excited that I bought two and now wish I had bought four.

Cooking a whole chicken was something I never thought I’d get the hang of.  I used to buy a chicken once a year and would generally turn it into a pile of unappetizing meat which I would then try to push at my husband.   I’m not sure when it happened, but fairly recently something clicked in my chicken making process and I have discovered the key to making a perfect broasted chicken.  In reality, it is the simplest thing to do and I feel sly boasting.  I guess this recipe is the easiest way to trick someone into thinking you can cook (at least that’s how I feel when I serve it and then rake in all the compliments like I’m a TV show chief).

• One 3 lb chicken (or more)
• 2 Tbl melted butter (the more the merrier)
• garlic (however much you prefer)
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp lemon pepper (or black pepper)
• dash of cumin
• dash of ground mustard

Rinse the chicken with cold water (remove baggie of gizzards and set aside for broth, or toss).   Pat it dry with a paper towel and flop it onto a broiler pan (breast side up).  Brush the entire bird with the butter.  Brush brush brush!   In a small bowl mix together the dry seasonings and then rub them into the bird.  Put the bird into the oven, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 1.5 hours (a good rule of thumb:  add 15 minutes per add’l pound of bird).   Remove chicken from oven and test with a meat thermometer (should read 180).  Let it stand for 5-10 minutes before carving.

Ta da! Easiest thing ever.  When you are done with dinner and have picked the bones clean save the bones for homemade chicken broth.  I usually throw it into a Ziploc bag and put it into the freezer until I have at least 2 lbs of bones to make a decent size pot of broth.

 

My aunt Lynda asked me to share my waffle recipe, now that I’ve had time to try it out a bit I’m ready to share!  This recipe is from Money Saving Mom and I like it quite well.  It’s a whole wheat recipe and I recommend using a whole white wheat with it.  I buy the King Arthur brand and find it to be a high quality wheat with a good taste.  I like this flour because it still has the nutritional content of the darker whole wheat, but it’s lighter and has a finer consistency.  I like this site talking about the difference between the dark whole wheat and the lighter version.  Until recently I didn’t know the difference – Heavenly Homemakers.

Whole Wheat Waffles

• 1 3/4 C whole wheat (I double this recipe and use primarily whole wheat, but I do use some refined white flout as well)
• 2 Tbl sugar
• 1 Tbl baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 C milk (use 1/2 water and 1/2 milk)
• 1/2 C oil or melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• A little cinnamon
• Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl, and the wet ingredients another.  Mix the two together, stirring well.
• Add mixture to your waffle maker according to the directions.  Mine takes about a 1/2 C per waffle and I cook it on high for about 10 minutes (or until the thing stops steaming).
• These freeze great, that’s why I make a double batch.  I let them cool and then just put them into ziplock bags.  In the morning I just pop them into the toaster, so good!

Today was another lazy day (excellent).

Both my guys are currently napping at the moment and I have the TV all to myself.  Ajax has been pretty tired today, as he was extremely active yesterday.  He insisted on sleeping with his new truck that my mom bought him on Friday.  He wanted to sleep with two, but the second was too large to fit on his bed, so we compromised and I pushed it up next to his bed.  He seemed content with this arrangement.

He also helped me make lunch, pigs in a blanket, such a little helper.  When we ran to the store this morning I tried to find him a little apron, but no luck.  I think I’m going to keep an eye out for one.

This recipe is from – Heavenly Homemaker – and it is quite enjoyable.

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup melted butter

1 cup plain yogurt

16 beef hotdogs, cut in half

32 small pieces of cheddar cheese (optional)

Mix flour, salt, butter and yogurt together.  Knead ingredients together on a floured countertop until the dough is ready to be rolled out.  Use a floured rolling pen to roll the dough to a 1/8 inch thickness.  Use a knife to cut the dough into 32 rectangles.    Place one piece of cheese (if desired) and one hotdog half on each rectangle.   Roll it up and place it on a well buttered baking dish.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.    These warm up great as leftovers and can be frozen.  (I’d bake them first before freezing, then pull them out and rewarm them in the oven for a few minutes.)