Low Fat Pineapple Cake (A Family Recipe)

So moist and sweet! Next time I make this I'll cut back on the sugar and see if it compromises the taste at all.

Recipe:

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, undrained

1-3/4 cups sugar

2 beaten eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix in order; don't over mix batter. Pour into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes [may take longer, check if fully baked through]. Take from the oven and poke holes with a fork, pour sauce over and smooth in.

Glaze Sauce Recipe:

Melt 2 T butter in saucepan, stir in 2/3 cups brown sugar, 1 egg yolk and 1/3 cup pineapple juice. Cook about 8 minutes stirring constantly.

Kitchen Hint: Refrigerate pineapples for up to 2 days. Cut pineapple last a few more days if placed in a tightly covered container and refrigerated. (Better Homes & Gardens. 12th ed, 2002. 533.)

Spaghetti Pie (Better Homes & Gardens)

This is a square spaghetti pie, but please do make it in a pie pan!! I also just used my own recipe for the spaghetti sauce and added spinach once too. Creative idea!

Recipe:

4 oz dried spaghetti

1 T butter or margarine

1 beaten egg

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz ground beef

1/2 chopped onion (1 medium)

1/2 c chopped green sweet pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 tsp dried oregano, crushed

Nonstick cooking spray

1 c low-fat cottage cheese

1/2 c shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.

2. Return spaghetti to warm saucepan. Stir butter into hot pasta until melted. Stir in egg and Parmesan cheese; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, garlic, and fennel seeds until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain. Stir in tomato sauce and oregano; heat through.

4. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Press spaghetti mixture onto bottom and up sides of pie plate, forming a crust. Spread cottage cheese on the top and up the sides of pasta crust. Spread meat mixture over cottage cheese. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. To serve, cute into wedges.

[Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. 12th ed, 2002. 382]

Kitchen Hint: Store tomatoes at room temperature for up to 3 days. Do not store tomatoes in the refrigerator because they lose their flavor (BH&G, 531)

Cottage Cheese Enchiladas

Good use for rotisserie chicken leftovers!

Here's a quick recipe for red sauce: 2 T flour, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup chili powder, 4-6 oz tomato sauce, 1-1/2 cups water... whisk together flour and oil over medium heat until light brown; add chili powder. Mix in tomato sauce and water. Let it simmer on low for 15-20 minutes until thick.

Recipe: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - boiled and shredded
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups cottage cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce

Directions:
For meat mixture, add oil, chicken (I always use canned or leftover from a rotisserie), onion, and green chile peppers in a skillet, heated over medium high.  When the onion is tender, add the taco seasoning according to its package directions. 
In another bowl, prepare the cheese mixture by mixing sour cream, cottage cheese, salt and pepper.  Pre-heat the oven before assembling the enchiladas.  Warm tortillas so they are easier to handle.  Place a spoonful of meat and cheese mixtures and shredded cheese in each tortilla.  Roll tortilla and put in a greased 9x13 dish.  Pour the enchilda sauce and any remaining cheese, cheese- and meat mixture over the enchiladas.  Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.[

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cottage-Cheese-Chicken-Enchiladas/Detail.aspx]

Yummy Red Enchilada Recipe-- great flavors!

Helpful Hint: "If you dunk onion, cutting board and knife in cold water before using them for cutting, it will prevent tears." [Youngkrantz, Gini. Authentic German Home Style Recipes. 4 edition, 1994. 202]

Chicken, Spinach, and Potato Soup

The best thing about cooking is the flexibility. This recipe really just inspired me to make a one pot soup. I really didn't follow the recipe closely. I cut up the vegetables (golden potatoes, carrots, celery, red onion), added chicken stock (two cups), an entire 12.5 oz can of chicken (yes, that's the flexibility part--finding shortcuts if needed) and to top it off the four cups of water. I put in the spinach and dried herbs, salt and pepper when there was ten minutes left of cooking time. I had the soup on the stove for about 45 minutes. Pretty good homemade soup!

Chicken, Spinach, and Potato Soup

1 12.5-oz canned chicken
2 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp garlic powder
4-6 russet, golden, or red large potatoes, cubed
1 (10 ounce) bag fresh spinach
celery stock
carrots
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

My Directions:
Dice potatoes, onions, celery, and carrots.  As you cut the vegetables, put them in a medium pot and cover with water.  Boil vegetables until potatoes are tender, drain.  Add entire can of chicken, chicken stock and 4 cups or water.  Bring to a boil, again, then lower the heat down to medium low and cook for about 20 minutes longer.  About 10 minutes before the soup is done, add spinach, salt, pepper and the herbs/spices.  If you wish, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on soup at the table.

Recipe inspired by Chicken, Spinach, and Potato Soup on www.allrecipes.com

Helpful Hint: A good soup really needs salt, preferably coarse salt.  If you must avoid salt, know that the flavor will be greatly diminished.  Adding no-salt or low-sodium broth concentrate will help.  (http://homecooking.about.com/od/specificdishe1/a/chicksouptips.htm)

Spiced Carrot Cake

I made this cake yesterday with my husband. He loves carrot cake, but mentioned that it was a bit dry. I thought it was fine. His mother and her boyfriend liked it. We did not make the quick glaze or put powder sugar (we just ate it with whipped topping/vanilla ice cream).

This is a great recipe from Everyday Baking from Everyday Food.
Spiced Carrot Cake

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon or 1/2 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup low fat plain yogurt

1 cup finely shredded packed carrots

Quick glaze or powder sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch round pan for later use.  Mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon/cardamom and salt in a medium bowl.  Whisk together wet ingredients (eggs, sugar, brown sugar, yogurt, and oil) in a separate bowl.  Slowly combine dry- into wet ingredients just until moistened then add shredded carrots.  Pour cake batter into the greased cake pan.  Bake about 40-45 minutes.  Cool about 15 minutes in the pan.  Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.  Sprinkle powder sugar or decorate with the Quick Glaze.

Quick Glaze

Combine 1/2 cup powder sugar and 1 to 2 tsp water until smooth.  It needs to be thick enough to stay on the cake, a thinner glaze would be absorbed.  After decorating the cake (with a fork), let it cool.

Helpful Hint: Lettuce keeps better if you store it in the refrigerator without washing it. Keep the leaves dry. Wash lettuce the day you are going to use it. (Granny's Goodies #6, 2002)

Fall recipes

Here is what I look forward to making this season:

• Butternut Squash Roll
• Carrot Cake
• Molasses Crinkle cookies
• Zucchini bread
  
• Potato Soup
• Baby food

Can't wait to post the recipes and pictures of them.

Kitchen Hint: "Do not use metal bowls when mixing salads.  Use wood, glass or china."(Granny's Goodies #6, 2002)

Becky's Kitchen

As a child, I sometimes imagined being a host on a cooking show. This is the closest that I will get. My background in cooking/baking is simple: a single cooking class at Snow College (2003) and trial & error. This format might be better than a show because people following the blog can post variations to recipes. Can't wait to cook and bake this fall!