Christmas Gifts

My family caught on that I have the cooking bug, so cooking/baking gear seemed to be the popular gift theme this year!

1. Healthy whole wheat pancake mix from Lehi Mills
2. Oxo multi-measuring cup
3. (inside measuring cup) Cocktail/Party forks, for entertaining
4. Cyclone whisk from Wilton
5. Kochen: a German cookbook with every kind of cuisine
6. Dessert spoons!

Festive Ginger Snaps

Combining the best of two Christmas worlds-- ginger and sugar cookies-- is a snap!  Simply dipping your ginger snaps in red and green sugar sprinkles gives some life to the ginger snaps without making them too sweet.

First, the recipe:
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar (I added between 3/4 - 1 cup)
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
additional sugar (or sprinkles!)

Cream shortening and sugar then beat in egg and molasses until smooth.  In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt.  Gradually add flour mixture into creamed mixture, mixing thoroughly.  Roll dough into teaspoon (or double) size balls and lightly dip into sugar mixture.  Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until crinkly.  Repeat baking until dough is gone, should easily make 3-4 dozen (if they aren't too big!)

The more the merrier!

Merry Christmas!

Too festive to be legal!  I thought about this idea {sprinkles} early this morning, while trying to wake up.  This is part of Thomas' Christmas gift, and I know he'll love 'em!

Untraceable source for recipe. 

Salmon Patties

I've been making these for two years now.  This is my easy Omega-3 meal.  Every time I make them, they are different.  It's so hard to decide on one official recipe.  There are many to choose from too.  It's fun to have a slightly different recipe every time-- you never know exactly how they'll taste!  The are very versatile and taste good with any coordinating combination.

2 cans salmon
2 eggs
1 tsp Dijon mustard, or yellow mustard (to taste)
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Parsley
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
lots of black pepper (to taste)
I've also used: {Italian} bread crumbs, crushed saltines, sour cream or mayo.

The trick is to have a good ratio because wet and dry when mixing.  I tend to only use bread crumbs, for example, if I add sour cream in addition to eggs.  You could also just add one egg and sour cream or mayo, but eggs are important for binding or they will be difficult to keep intact while cooking.

Mix together all the ingredients, simply with a fork.  Lightly grease a frying pan and turn the stove's heat to medium.  Form salmon mixture into patties, sometimes I use the fork to help.  Cook in the frying pan until brown and flip over to the other side, by using a spatula.  I cook three to four patties in the pan at a time.

Made on November 17th

I like the thickness of these

Made on December 20th.  I like to serve Salmon Patties with rice and green beans, but suppose a salad is good, too.

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Flipping through my old recipe index cards, I came across No Bake Cookies.  Making them was easy, I even put in extra oatmeal.  Did I miss something?  After I spooned them onto parchment paper they were soft for hours.  They were (still are) soft the day after although after cooling for 24 hours, they taste like I remember.  I have just been searching online at other recipes and one suggests a cooling time of two hours and to let the chocolate mixture boil rapidly for a minute.  In the spirit of Christmas time, let's call these Reindeer Drop Cookies-- hehe!

1/2 cup margarine or butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt (or less?)
3 T cocoa
3-4 cups quick rolled oatmeal
Extra add-ins: 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter, coconut or nuts

Combine butter, sugar, milk, vanilla, salt and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, stir in oatmeal and extras.  Spoon onto parchment paper and let cool. 

*untraceable source of origin

Peppermint Bark Popcorn

I had to try this recipe.  Candy canes, peppermint extract, popcorn and chocolate, how could I not try it?  Needing a big bowl to combine the almond bark and popcorn is an understatement.  You'll need two big bowls!  This tasty Christmas treat comes from Our Best Bites.

To begin, unwrap candy canes and crush them to make 1-1/2 cups or so.  Pop 20 cups of corn.  Melt 1 pound (I used 1-1/4 lb) of almond bark according to the package instructions.  When mostly melted, add 2 tsp. peppermint extract.  You can also use peppermint oil, just three drops.  Pour candy cane bits with the popcorn in a huge bowl or two big bowls.  Combine popcorn and almond bark.  When it's mixed well enough, arrange the popcorn onto baking sheets with parchment paper.

Then the fun part.  Melt 3/4 cup of dark chocolate (I found this amount to be too much) and drizzle onto the popcorn.  Wait for the popcorn to harden before eating or putting into a container.

Drizzling was the fun part!

{Notes: for future reference, 2/3 cup popping corn and 2 tablespoons oil makes enough popcorn for the recipe.  Six crushed candy canes equals 1/2 cup.}

A Becky "Breakfast" Casserole

Last night for dinner I wanted to use up the 1/2 pound of Jimmy Dean's Natural sausage.  I was reminiscing about a delicious [fattening] egg casserole that my mom would sometimes make with sausage, hash browns, and of course egg.  I was also thinking back to the frittata that I made for my brother and his (at the time) fiancee from the top of my head.  Here is a picture of what I made them:

Frittata, Sunrise drink and orange crescent rolls

Ah-- memory lane!  I can't believe that was almost four years ago.

So I love doing egg casseroles and frittatas! When I started making my dinner creation, I had no idea what the end product would be.  I first browned the sausage in a skillet.  Then I started to think about adding either bread or potatoes.  I remembered how much I love potatoes with egg (as seen as above!), so I put four red potatoes in the microwave.  After the potatoes finished cooking through, I took them out of the microwave.  I was going to grate them, but both my graters aren't with me right now.  So I came to the conclusion of just cubing the potatoes and frying them with the sausage.

Add salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning as you fry the sausage and potatoes. 

Onto the egg mixture.  I used five eggs, but if you're feeding a larger group, you'll need 10 to 12 eggs and a 9x13 baking dish.  I whisked five eggs, splash of milk (at least 1 T), Dijon mustard (2 tsp), parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper and 1/4 bag of frozen vegetables (using  my favorite California blend).  I've turned into a "dash" of this and a "pinch" of that kind-a-cook, so sorry for not having exact measurements.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease an 8x8 pan with nonstick spray.  Transfer the potato-sausage mixture into the baking dish. 

Pour the egg mixture over the sausage and potatoes. 

Sprinkle cheese (mozzarella) on top.  Bake for 45 minutes or until egg is cooked through. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my egg casserole.  It was reminiscent of my favorite egg casserole or frittata without as much work.  Loved it!

Becky "Breakfast" Casserole
8x8 pan
nonstick spray
1/2 pound sausage (like Jimmy Dean)
4 red potatoes
chopped onion, optional
at least 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
Salt, dash
Black Pepper, to taste
5 eggs
1 T milk (at least)
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Add about:
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt (at most)
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 bag of frozen vegetables, optional
1/4 cup shredded cheese

Lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick spray.  Cook 4 potatoes in the microwave.  In the meantime start browning sausage and onion.  Add chopped potatoes and fry together.  Sprinkle Italian Seasoning, dash of salt and black pepper over mixture until potatoes and sausage have a nice covering of seasonings over them.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard (Dijon), paprika, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and frozen vegetables.  Transfer meat and potatoes into the baking dish.  Pour egg mixture over the sausage and potatoes.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until egg is set.

An original Becky recipe

Walnut Top Muffins

This is banana bread in a muffin!  These are so tasty and sweet.  They turned out great even though I forgot basics from my cooking class.  I mixed the batter with a hand mixer through the entire recipe.  Muffins aren't supposed to be over stirred. After I put in the dry ingredients, I should have used a wooden spoon.  Instead of applying an icing or glaze of the muffins, I topped them with walnuts before baking them.

*********************

1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2-3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Grease muffin tin.  Cream shortening and sugar together.  Mix egg and beat until smooth.  Add mashed bananas and vanilla; mix thoroughly.  Stir in flour, baking soda and salt.  Fill muffin tins half-way or more, afterward sprinkle walnut pieces onto the unbaked muffins.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Recipe adapted from McClelland, Katherine.  "Jumbo Caramel Banana Muffins". Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2007. Ed. Michelle Brett.  Greendale, WI: Taste of Home Books, 2006. 104-105.

"Deceptively Delicious" Brownies

I recently checked out the cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld at the library.  As you can already tell, I've been baking and cooking with more vegetables or fruit and with fewer oils and fat.  This book is just what I need!  The cookbook uses vegetable purees in every recipe.  This one uses carrots and spinach.  There are popular recipes for zucchini brownies, which actually sounds better than using spinach.  Making the brownies was a pain.  First I cooked carrots and spinach, then pureed both (separately) in the food processor.  Then I needed to melt the chocolate, which I found easier just to do so in the microwave, not a double boiler, for just three ounces.  After that it was pretty easy to mix the ingredients together.  It baked for 40 minutes and it was done when I took them out!  That made me happy.  The taste is different.  The texture is strange, maybe because I didn't puree the vegetables to be creamy and smooth.  A lot of chocolate taste, but not a lot of moisture.  Not what I expected, but I can try other recipes from the cookbook.

Ingredients:
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
**I used 1 oz. 70% cocoa chocolate and 1/4 cup (= 2 oz.) of semisweet chocolate chips**
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup spinach puree
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
**This didn't mix well.  I guess it was still too cold**
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour, or all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Break chocolate into pieces and melt in a microwave, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth.  In a large bowl, mix together melted chocolate, carrot puree, spinach puree, brown sugar, cocoa powder, margarine, and vanilla.  Mix for 1 to 2 minutes until creamy.  Mix in two egg whites and add flour, baking powder and salt stirring with a wooden spoon.  Pour batter into the greased pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Cool completely.  Makes 12 bars.

Seinfeld also remarks that you must wait for the brownies to cool, or they will still have a spinach taste to them.  The featured nutritionist, Joy Bauer, informs us that each brownie is only 133 calories and has three grams of fiber!  Wow, that's impressive.

Recipe from Seinfeld, Jessica.  Deceptively Delicious. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. 156.

Rice Pudding

Last year I tried Rice Pudding for the first time.  I was instantly addicted until I had to wash the saucepan.  Yes, it is good but the clean up is not easy.  Maybe you'll have better luck at not burning the bottom of the pan.  This is a good dessert, breakfast or even dinner.

Ingredients and Method:
3 cups milk
1/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
dash of ground nutmeg

Pour milk into a medium saucepan.  Cook on medium high until just boiling, add rice.  Cover and cook over low heat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When the mixture has a pudding consistency, stir in sugar and vanilla.  Dish up in dessert cups and sprinkle ground nutmeg on top.

Stirred together

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. "Saucepan Rice Pudding".  12th ed. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporations, 2002. 256.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

It's getting into pumpkin season again.  This recipe looked good to me although I'm not sure if they'll be eaten up at the family party since there will be actual pie and a pumpkin roll (that I also made).  At least I'll get a little help eating it!  What I like about it is that it's on the healthy side and it tastes like pie without having to deal with a crust.

First part of three
Crust:
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter

Mix ingredients until incorporated, yet crumbly.  Press into 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Second part of three
While the crust is baking, make the filling:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup honey or 3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

Thoroughly mix together and pour onto the baked crust.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Third part of three
Meanwhile, make the crumble topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix together to form a yummy, buttery, pecan mess.  After taking out the pan of the oven, sprinkle the topping over it.  Place bake into the oven for 20 minutes (or longer) until done.  Cool in the pan and cut into squares.

Recipe from Merrill, Jane P. and Karen M. Sunderland.  Set for Life.  "Pumpkin Pie Squares".  Salt Lake City: Sunrise, 1995. 268-269.

Banana Drop Cookies II

I grew up on these cookies, but I decided to change them up a little.  Regardless, they are moist and sweet!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar {1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar}
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1-1/4 cup pastry wheat flour {or 1-1/2 cups}
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour {with 1 cup}
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts

Directions:
Combine shortening and sugar until clumpy then add eggs.  When these are incorporated into a smooth yellow mixture, add mashed banana.  Dump in flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and vanilla.  Mix together.  When most of the thick batter gets mixed together, pour in the chocolate chips and walnuts.  Spoon batter in rounded balls onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake in pre-heated 375 degree for 10-12 minutes.  You'll probably get three dozen out of the recipe.  Since my cookies are both tiny and huge, I baked a total of 29.

That's how I made them today, but it'll probably change the next time that I make them according to what I have in the house!
{changes made 7/18/11}

Spaghetti Primavera

This is a great pasta dish if you feel for spaghetti, but not marinara sauce.  I found this recipe on the back of a soup can when I was looking for a dinner idea.  I had all the ingredients, so naturally I tried it out. Since then I've made it two more times.  The second time because I was having problems with acidity in tomatoes, and the third time (see photo below) because I thought it would make a good vegetarian pasta dish.

To Start:
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
3 T Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 bag (16 oz) California-style frozen vegetables
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken [also good without]
1/2 pkg (8 oz) wheat spaghetti

How to Make:
Boil salted water in a medium saucepan.  Meanwhile, mix together soup, milk, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, frozen vegetables, and chicken in a small saucepan.  Heat until boiling then let simmer until the vegetables are cooked through, stirring frequently.  Add the uncooked spaghetti into the boiling water and cook according to directions (about 10 minutes).  Drain the spaghetti, put it back into the original saucepan and pour the sauce over the pasta.  Toss together and there you have a delicious pasta dish!

Another variation of Pasta Primavera!

Recipe from Campbell's Kitchen

Tuna (or Salmon) Quesadillas

This was a quick lunch that I made today.  I mixed together 1 can of tuna fish [canned salmon would also be good] with 1/4 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic salt (or to your liking), 1/2 tsp paprika (or to your liking), and 1 tsp onion powder.  It would also be tasty to saute garlic cloves in 1 tsp oil then stir in tuna/salmon with the spices.

After the tuna/salmon is mixed, spray a skillet with cooking spray and place down a (wheat) tortilla.  Heat over medium low.  Add 1/4 cup cheese, layer with the tuna/salmon mixture, and top with 1/4 cup cheese.  Put another tortilla on top of the cheese.  When the cheese has melted on the bottom, flip over.  It's done when the tortillas are crisp and cheese is melted.  The tuna mixture with a 7-ounce can made two quesadillas.

Experiment! "Kettle Corn"

I found a brilliant baking blog!  I wish that I had that creativity or even the ambition to make such cute things.  I was intrigued by their Kettle Corn.  Was it really that easy?  I so wanted to experiment!

First, as instructed, I got everything ready.  3 T vegetable oil, 1/3 cup popcorn kernels and 3 T sugar. 

kernels and sugar

On the stove, I poured 3 T vegetable oil in a big pot.  I waited until the oil heated up on medium high.  When I could see some faint smoke in the light, I knew it was hot enough.  Then I poured in the kernels and sugar.  As advised, I quickly stirred it around to incorporate everything.  A wooden spoon would work the best.  With the lid on and using a towel to hold the lid and handles, I shook the pot like crazy.  It must have been hot enough because kernels began to immediately pop!!  It's important to shake the pot, so the sugar doesn't stick to the bottom.

Popping in Progress-- I found my glass lid very helpful!

Almost done

 Hot!

 Dished it into a bowl using a big spoon

The unpopped kernels.  I found a couple in my bowl, though.

If you'd like, shake some salt onto the Kettle Corn (I don't think it's necessary though).  This took literally minutes to make.  It's good, but kinda too sweet.  Maybe 2 T sugar would be enough?  After I spooned the popcorn into a bowl, I thought it might have been a better idea to spread the popcorn out onto a baking sheet to cool down (popcorn balls, anyone?).  That would be the best approach if the popcorn is given as a gift.  This recipe has changed the way that I think of popcorn!

Tomato Brain Soup

Again, in the Halloween spirit, I made Tomato Brain Soup for the family.  It was fairly simple and brought lots of taste to the simple tomato soup can.  I doubled the recipe, for 7 people, and there was a lot of leftovers.

Served on Halloween night

What you need:
2 cans tomato soup
3 cups of water
2-3 stalks green onion
1 package roman noodles
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Heat tomato soup with water until boiling.  Turn down the heat and add green onions, roman noodles, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.  Cook for 6-8 minutes until noodles are done.  Top bowls of soup with mozzarella cheese.  {If desired, broil the soup bowls briefly so the cheese turns brown.}

*Adapted from Pizza Brain Soup by George Duran
{edit: 9/24/11}

Candy Corn Milkshake

Here is my attempt at making a milkshake that is supposed to look like a candy corn:

What you need to try it yourself:
Blender, vanilla ice cream, ice cubes, milk, mango puree and raspberry puree

In a blender add 4 cups of crushed ice cubes, 4 scoops of ice cream, and 1 cup of milk and liquefy until it becomes a smooth consistency, pouring in more milk as needed.  Scoop out spoonfuls into chilled glasses. Pound the glass to even off the ice cream. Add 1/2 cup of mango puree into blender and blend until combined.  Scoop the yellow ice cream into the glasses.  Pound the glass against the counter to make the second layer even. Add 1/4 cup of raspberry puree (hopefully reaching an orange color) until combined.  Scoop the orange ice cream into the glasses, topping them off. 

*Recipe adapted by George Duran

Cucumber Salad

I've had a lot of different types of cucumber salad.  Ones with yogurt sauces, ones where you mix seasoning packets (e.g. dill) with oil, and this kind, which is the easiest.  We cut up 1 to 3 cucumbers.  In this picture, Thomas peeled the entire skin off because it was on the bitter side.  Pour in 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 T of sugar, salt (we like using kraeuter salz) and pepper.  It's that easy!  But really, it's an experimental thing because Thomas likes to add a tablespoon of olive oil. 

My First Roast!

Yesterday, I woke up at 7:20 to get my first pot roast started.  I washed off the eye of roast and patted it dry-- (the best recommendation is using chuck eye). I heated up the skillet with olive oil while I rubbed kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder on my roast.  By the time that was finished, the skillet was nice and hot, ready for the meat.  It sizzled.  For about 10 minutes, I seared the meat until it was brown.  It already smelled delicious.  Then I transferred my roast to the crock pot for 10 hours.  I poured a can of French Onion Soup over it.  The crock pot's setting was on low.  Around noon, I turned it over, so I put the setting up to high for a half hour to get the heat going again.  Around 3:30, I chopped up some red potatoes and added them to the pot.  At 6:00 everything was done; the potatoes and roast were moist and tender.  After moving the meat and potatoes to another dish, I poured in some flour (that's right-- I didn't measure!), whisked it, and turned the crock pot to high.  Not the smartest thing to do because the crock pot takes a while to boil.  I placed the meat and potatoes dish in the oven in the meantime.  After the wait, we had some good gravy!  Yum!  That is the story of cooking my first pot roast.  And it was easier than I thought it would be!

The finished product

The presentation

Thomas' plate, he added a lot of gravy to his

My plate

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I made this Pot Roast recipe three times since this post.  I even made it twice in January (2011), the third time adding Italian Seasoning and not much garlic powder at all (Jan 16th), but the fourth time making it on Friday the 28th, I couldn't find French Onion Soup in the pantry or storage.  So I combined a can of beef broth and a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup with Roasted Garlic.  No onion flavor this time.  It was very good!  Not as tender, but it didn't stay in the crock pot nearly as long as usual (about 7-1/2 hours).