Coleslaw

Yesterday I made coleslaw dressing.  It's way better the next day after the flavors have melded together.  Just as good, if not better, than store bought!  However, you can be like me and just buy a bag of coleslaw at the supermarket.

1/2 head coleslaw, coarsely shredded
1/2 green pepper, diced (optional)
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely shredded
1/2 cup salad dressing or mayonnaise, fat free
1/2 tsp mustard
1 tsp honey or sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery seed, optional
2 T milk

For colesaw: combine vegetables in a serving bowl.  For dressing: mix mayonnaise, mustard, honey, vinegar, salt, celery seed and milk together.  If too think, thin with more milk.  Add dressing to salad and toss well.

Source: Merrill, Jane P. and Karen M. Sunderland.  Set for Life.  "Creamy Coleslaw".  Salt Lake City, UT: Sunrise Publishers, 1995. 139.

Favorite Pancake Recipes

Here are three of my favorite pancake recipes.  The first recipe, when halved, makes enough for 2 to 3 people; however, when making waffles use the full recipe.

Buttermilk Pancakes or Waffles
2 cups whole wheat flour [I always use half all-purpose and half wheat pastry flour]
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 T sugar or honey [I always use honey]
2 eggs
2 T oil
2 cups buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients, whisk together.  Pour batter (2 inch circles) onto a hot skillet/griddle, turning once (should take about two minutes before one side is cooked and ready to be flipped.)  Yield: 24, 2-inch pancakes

Favorite Pancakes or Waffles
1 cup whole wheat flour [or use half all-purpose flour]
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1 T honey or sugar [of course, use honey]
1 T oil
1 cup skim milk

Mix dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients, whisking together until just mixed.  Pour batter (2 inch circles) onto a hot griddle/skillet, turning once when cooked.

{Recipes from: Merrill, Jane P. and Karen M. Sunderland.  Set for Life.  "Buttermilk Pancakes or Waffles" and "Favorite Pancakes or Waffles".  Salt Lake City, UT: Sunrise Publisher, 1995. 108 & 106.}

Yogurt Pancakes
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
[1/4 tsp salt]
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Whisk until just mixed.  Pour the batter into 2-3 inch circles onto a hot skillet/griddle, turning once when cooked.  Optionally you can add frozen/drained blueberries into the batter or one at a time on the pancake before turning once. 

{Recipe from: Bob's Red Mill.  "Blueberry-Yogurt Pancakes".}

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I first made these with greek yogurt and lemon juice-- not so light and fragrant.  Then I made my second batch with low-fat yogurt and fresh lemon juice and -peel.  Wow!  What a difference!  So fragrant, light and moist. There are no substitutions in this recipe.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar 
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 (8-ounce) carton lemon low-fat yogurt [8 ounces of plain low-fat worked well]
1 large egg, lightly beaten 
Cooking spray

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Make a well in the center of flour mixture.  Combine oil, lemon rind, lemon juice, yogurt and egg, pour into the well and stir into the dry ingredients until just moist.  Pour batter into a greased 12 muffin tin.  Bake at 400 degrees for 14 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove muffins immidiantely from tin and cool on a wire rack.

first batch made June 28th

Source:  "Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins".  Recipe.  MyRecipes.com.

Grean bean rice casserole

I grew up on this casserole.  I have just added more stuff-- I even hesitated naming it "Kitchen sink casserole."  It's a good stand by if I don't know what to make or have chicken leftovers.

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups Minute Rice {I originally used 1 cup, but I think a little extra rice is better}
1 cup water (approximate)
diced cooked chicken (this could be 1 to 2 cups.  I've used leftover rotisserie and even canned at times.)
1 can green beans {or fresh, of course!}
1 can corn
shredded cheese (optional)
Seasonings like:
dried onion
garlic powder
onion powder
Italian seasoning
dried Parsley
paprika
black pepper
salt

Add ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish and mix in the seasonings and water to incorporate.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

T's Homemade Hot Chocolate

Thomas has been perfecting his perfect cup of hot cocoa all winter long.  He's been happy with this recipe, so I decided to write it down so we'll remember it for next year.  It has a smooth, chocolaty taste. 

3 T sugar
1 T dark cocoa
3 T cocoa
dash salt
1/3-1/2 cup hot water
3 cups milk

Stir sugar, dark cocoa, cocoa, salt and water constantly in a saucepan over medium high heat (5).  Make sure all the cocoa balls dissolve.  When it begins to boil, turn down the heat to medium low (3).  Continue to stir for two minutes.  Add three cups of milk, constantly stirring until heated (but don't boil!) to your desire.

Cheeseburger Mac & Cheese

This was a huge hit!  It's a great recipe that everyone in the family enjoys and uses no butter (which Mom loves.)  The directions were confusing when I first read the recipe, but it still turned out yummy.  Of course, I used ground turkey instead of beef. :)

1 lb (95% lean) ground beef {or 93% lean ground turkey:: I used a little more than a half-pound}
1-1/2 cups water
8 oz [1 cup] whole wheat macaroni pasta
5 oz [2/3 cup] 2% milk (divided)
3 tsp flour {oops, I accidentally used 3 T, I guess it's a forgiving recipe!!}
2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dry mustard
dash cayenne pepper {I used chili pepper because I don't have cayenne}
1/4 cup low sodium ketchup

Brown the ground turkey/beef in a skillet.  Grind in black pepper and chili powder.  In a saucepan boil the water and add the pasta to the boiling water.  Cook for eight minutes or until cooking water is absorbed into the pasta.  Add the pasta to the skillet of cooked meat.  In a bowl mix flour with 2 T milk.  Pour the rest of the milk into the saucepan.  Warm the milk, stirring frequently, then add the flour mixture.  When thickened, add cheese.  Stir until the cheese mixture is smooth then add the dry mustard and paprika.  Combine the cheese sauce with the pasta and meat.  Stir in the ketchup. 

Recipe from: Dr. Gourmet Blog. "Quickie Cheeseburger Mac".  Feb. 23, 2012.

Chicken Couscous Soup

All week long I wanted black beans and couscous.  I got some ideas on Allrecipes.com and finally adapted the dish, from my mind, for dinner.  I was worried that the couscous wouldn't absorb all the juices, but it did!  It wasn't too bad, and topped with Parmesan cheese, Thomas actually requested it again!

1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp butter
1 cup couscous
cooked (rotisserie) chicken pieces
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans (rinsed)
reserved chicken broth
for flavor:
salt, pepper
onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder
taco seasoning
Parmesan cheese

I started with putting leftover chicken in a skillet.  To that I added the cans of diced tomatoes, corn, and black beans.  In a saucepan pour one cup of chicken broth and heat to boil.  Add the rest of the chicken broth into the skillet mixture.  While that is cooking, add any seasonings. When the boiling water begins, add 1 tsp butter and add 1 cup couscous, cover and set aside for 5 minutes.  When the couscous is set, fluff with a fork and mix into the skillet.  Lower the heat and wait until the couscous absorbs the mixture (this even happens off the stove.)  Spoon into bowls and top with extra Parmesan cheese.

A soup in a skillet?  It thickened quickly after taking the picture!

Inspired by allrecipes.com

Baked Potato with Chili

Yesterday we had my parents and sister over for a winter/early Christmas party.  I bought five baker's russet potatoes and wanted to know how to bake them properly.  In a search, the first four links came up with the exact same method of baking potatoes.
1. Scrub potatoes
2. Poke potatoes with 6-12 deep holes
3. Rub them with vegetable oil (or cooking oil of your choice)
4. Sprinkle kosher salt or sea salt
5. Bake in the oven, placing a baking sheet on a rack underneath for about 1 hour at 400 degrees.
After making these and seeing that we needed to clean the oven rack, we thought about baking them directly on the baking sheet next time.

The skin is crisp and flavorful.  The potatoes were gorgeous.  We topped them with chili and everyone was completely full.  Some were good and ate salad (I wasn't among them), but we all had room for some chocolate fondue and fresh fruit!

Potato bar with chili, toppings and sauteed mushrooms

Sparkling Cider, ginger snaps, Spitzbuben, and banana bread

(P.S. sorry the pictures are terrible quality)

Lasagna Soup

In the fall of 2008 I created this soup with inspiration from Good Things Utah.  It was a dinner staple until mid 2010.  Originally I would use 1/2 pound of Jimmy Dean sausage, but this time I used ground turkey.

Recipe
1/2 pound of ground meat (turkey, sausage or beef)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups of pasta
Cheeses like Mozzarella or Parmesan

Vegetable suggestions
(aim for about 1 cup for each vegetable)

diced carrots
baby spinach
diced zucchini
onion
mushrooms

Herb/spice suggestions
(to taste)

Italian seasoning
Parsley
onion powder/dried onions
garlic powder
black pepper
salt

Instructions
Cut carrots and begin to boil in a medium saucepan.  If you'd like to use an onion, dice and begin to sautee in a skillet.  Brown ground meat in a skillet until cooked through.  (I like to spice the ground turkey to ensure more flavor.)  In the skillet, add cans of chicken broth and diced tomatoes. Simmer until bubbly.  Stir in all herbs and spices into the meat/sauce mixture.

Meanwhile, add any other vegetables into the medium saucepan to soften.  Make sure there is enough water to cook two cups of pasta.  Add pasta to the boiling water. 

Add baby spinach in the skillet after pasta begins to cook.  After the pasta has cooked and the baby spinach has wilted, drain the pasta and vegetables returning them to the saucepan.  Mix the meat/sauce/spinach mixture into the pasta. 

One suggestion is add the cheese to the bottom of the bowl and ladle the hot soup into the bowl.  Or just top the soup with your cheese of choice. 

Mashed potato casserole

With some leftover ham from Thanksgiving and leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving weekend, I decided to get rid of them all by making a casserole.  The great thing about this idea is that anything that complements potatoes would work well in the casserole.  I started out by layering the mashed potatoes, mozzarella cheese, chopped ham and topping it with more cheese.  I decided to amp up the flavor a bit by mixing garlic powder, onion powder and dried parsley with the potatoes (also stir in some milk if they need moistened.)  After that I decided to mix it all together instead of doing a layer-thing.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then broil on low for 4-5 minutes to brown the top.

Spicy Potato Soup

This is one of the soups from my childhood.  Thomas says it's his favorite soup that I've made.  However, I don't really have a recipe to write down.  It's all an approximation but maybe next time I make it, I'll note more specific measurements.

4 medium (red) potatoes
6- 8 oz. tomato sauce (so not the entire can)
1/2 - 3/4 lb. lean ground turkey
1 zucchini (or green beans; peas)
chili powder
garlic powder
onion powder {alternatives: saute onion to your taste, or dried onion}
black pepper
salt

Wash and dice potatoes, peeling is optional.  In a medium saucepan, cook for 20-30 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Meanwhile, {saute onion}, brown ground turkey, sprinkle chili powder, garlic- and onion powders, and pepper.  Wash and slice zucchini into fourths, add into turkey mixture.  Drain potatoes (when done.)  Combine the potatoes and meat into the medium saucepan.  Add tomato sauce (until it barely covers food), pour in a little water (about 1/2 cup) to thin out the sauce.  Sprinkle in more chili powder, pepper, salt, garlic- and onion powder.  Stir over medium-high heat until the soup comes together, slightly bubbly and thickened.  My mom's original recipe suggested to top with Tabasco.

Blueberry parfait

I've been very eager to try out my new dessert glasses and -spoons.  I created a parfait with Greek yogurt, blueberries and a granola cereal.  The first layer is about three spoonfuls of yogurt, couple spoonfuls of thawed blueberries and 1/4 cup granola pumpkin seed cereal (from Costco).  I repeated the layers: yogurt, blueberries, cereal, then more yogurt and berries to top off the dessert. 

I was skeptical of my idea at first because I'm not a huge fan of blueberries, but it was an incredible dessert.  The blueberries sweetened the yogurt and the cereal provided a nice crunch.

Should have made one for Julia, too!  She ate half of ours.

Skillet Squash Dish

I've made this dish twice in the past two weeks.  I cooked three red potatoes in the microwave.  Meanwhile I sliced yellow squash and began to sautee them in (as little as possible) olive oil.  I sprinkled "Pasta- und Pommessalz", which main ingredient after salt is garlic, on top of them.  When they're cooked (translucent), transfer to paper-towel lined plate.  Dice cooked potatoes and sautee in (as little as possible) oiled skillet. The first time I just seasoned them with black pepper and the second time I seasoned them with smoked paprika.  Thomas seemed to like the latter better.  Add ham, low-fat weiners, sausage with the potatoes.  Combine the squash with the meat and potatoes.  Sprinkle parsley over the dish before serving.  Easy peasy.

What's-in-the-pantry Meatless Taco Soup

It's one of those nights with an almost bare fridge, so I needed my creative juices to help me out for dinner.  But we have plenty of cans in the pantry (tomatoes, corn, beans), so a soup made sense to me even without beef.  I had carrots that needed to be used, so I just threw those in too.

Carrots
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can black beans
3 T taco seasoning
1 can beef broth
1/2 box (13.25 oz) whole wheat rotini pasta

Chop baby carrots and boil them for about 20 minutes.  Drain and return to the medium saucepan.  Add canned corn, diced tomatoes, black beans, taco seasoning and beef broth.  Stir in pasta.  Raise the heat to high until boiling (stirring occasionally).  Turn the heat down to low, cover and let cook for about 10 minutes. 

It turned out great!  The pasta really thickened it.  It's definitely a nice to-go-to soup when there isn't a lot of time to cook!  Top with your choice of flavor, any cheese, sour cream, or spicy sauce. 

"Meaty" Taco Soup
Here's the same soup, but with ground turkey, chicken broth (instead of beef broth) and without pasta.  Delish!

Macaroni Salad

At times I like macaroni salad more than potato salad.  Pasta is addictive, but aside from just taste alone, it's a lot easier to prepare and cook than potatoes are.  This recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook although I only used half of the ingredients.  Pasta salads are very versatile so it works every time!

2 cups macaroni or wagon wheel pasta
1/2 cup salad dressing {Miracle Whip}
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 T mustard (to taste)
1-2 T milk
paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
 dash black pepper
2-3 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup frozen peas
3/4-1 cup diced cheddar cheese
2-3 whole dill pickles, diced
black olives

Other ingredients in original recipe:
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery (1 stalk)
1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes
2 T thinly sliced green onion or chopped onion
1/4 tsp salt

Boil water in a medium saucepan.  Boil two cups of pasta according to package instructions.  Boil water in a small saucepan for hard-cooked eggs.  Meanwhile dice cheese, pickles, eggs, black olives and other ingredients.  Drain pasta when cooked.  Pour pasta into a large bowl.  Add frozen peas to the pasta.  In a separate bowl mix together the salad dressing and mayonnaise (I used a 3/4 measuring cup and eyeball it), mustard, onion- and garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients into the pasta.  Stir in the salad dressing.  Add a little milk if it need moistened.  Chill at least four hours before serving.

Original recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. "Macaroni Salad." 12th ed. Des Moines, IA: Better Homes and Gardens Books, 2002. 463.

Pork Chops with sour cream sauce

Usually Thomas is the one who makes/grills the pork chops.  Today I cooked them.  Just by looking at them, Thomas said that it reminded him of a dish his parents made (in Germany) called Paprika Schnitzel.  We both enjoyed the dish a lot.  Even before I added the spices, it smelled incredible!

Wash and pat dry four pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick).  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet and brown the pork chops, cooking 4-6 minutes on each side. 

Add one onion, thinly sliced; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp caraway seeds; 1/2 tsp paprika; 1/4 tsp garlic powder with 2/3 cup water.

Simmer, covered, for 50 minutes or until chops are tender.

Remove the pork chops, keep warmed on a separate plate.
Whisk in 2/3 cup sour cream, heat, and incorporate until smooth; don't let the sauce boil, though.

Return the pork chops in the sauce.
The sauce is excellent with baked potatoes, but pasta and rice would also be yummy.  With this meal I served green beans, too.

Source: "Pork Chops with Sour Cream"

Chicken tortellini soup

While searching online for some soup inspiration like, chicken noodle soup, white chili, etc, I saw a recipe that asked for cheese-filled tortellini with all the ingredients I was thinking of.  So here is a cross between chicken noodle soup and what I had in the pantry.

rotiessere chicken (you know it's my favorite...)
carrots
frozen green beans
canned corn
cheese-filled tortellini
canned chicken broth
water
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper

Cut carrots, boil in two cups of water.  After about 10 minutes of boiling, add a can of chicken broth, two cups of (frozen) tortellini, and (frozen) green beans. Grind black pepper, and shake salt and plenty of Italian seasoning in the soup. Pour in the can of corn and stir in the cubed chicken.  Simmer until everything is heated through.

I especially like the tri-color theme going on in this soup, and Julia liked it too!

Other flavors such as onions and garlic are great additions.  I haven't added them since I'm dealing with acid reflux problems right now...   Click here if you want to see the recipe that inspired my cooking imagination....

{8/29- I've made this soup numerous times with fresh french beans.  Boil the beans and carrots first, drain, add chicken broth and 2 cups of water, the whole can of chicken, canned corn, can of kidney beans, salt, pepper, Italian Seasoning, garlic- and onion powder, etc.  When it boils, bring it to a simmer and add tortellini in the last three minutes of cooking time.}

Pumpkin Prune Bread

Extended Family Christmas Gifts-- 2009
In fall 2009, I created Pumpkin Prune Bread.  Mostly I used pumpkin instead of oil and made changed to the spices.  It turned out well, and it was delicious enough to proclaim it a seasonal tradition and make them for Christmas gifts.  Yesterday I made it again, but made even more changes to the recipe.  Without further ado, here is 2010's Pumpkin Prune Bread recipe:

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups pastry wheat flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
(about) 2 cups chopped prunes

Mix together sugars, eggs, and pumpkin.  In another mixing bowl, combine flours, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda* and salt. Add the vanilla with the buttermilk^.  Alternately pour in a third of the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture, then add a third buttermilk in the pumpkin mixture until all incorporated.  Stir in chopped prunes.  Pour the batter into two bread pans and bake at 350 degrees from 40 to 50 minutes. 

 

* The original recipe calls for 1 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. baking soda.  I read the recipe wrong while I quickly jot down notes (not the full instructions...), so I just added 1 tsp of baking soda.

^ I didn't have buttermilk in the house, so I made my own.  Simply measure 4-1/2 tsp of white vinegar in a measuring cup and add 1 cup milk.  Stir.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  You can use right away or store in the fridge until needed.  Courtesy of Mr. Lagasse of the Food Network Channel.

Pumpkin Roll

I'm on a pumpkin roll... that is baking with pumpkin.  Oh, how I crack myself up!  This is my favorite recipe.  I tried one last November that wasn't too impressive.  For method, you can see my post on making a Butternut Squash Roll.

Pumpkin Cake portion
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Frosting Filling portion

1 cup powder sugar
1 (8 oz) pkg [low fat] cream cheese
4 T. softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes until voluminous.  Gradually add sugar, then stir in pumpkin and lemon juice.  In another bowl, combine flour, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.  Fold the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture with a rubber spatula.  Place parchment paper on a baking sheet, use the spatula to scrape out the batter onto the parchment paper and smooth over to make the batter even on all sides.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Clean counter space and lay out a dish towel, sprinkling with powder sugar.  Take the baking sheet out of the oven and transfer the pumpkin cake onto the dish towel.  Roll up the towel and cake, let cool.
To make the filling, combine the cream cheese, powder sugar, butter and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.
Unroll the towel and spread the pumpkin cake with the cream cheese frosting.  Roll up the cake: now it's officially a pumpkin roll!  You can either wrap it in plastic wrap and foil to freeze, or place it on a serving platter for a crowd, or in a 9x13 casserole dish (like I do) to store in the fridge while eating it at a slower pace.  Chill for at least two hours before cutting the first slice.

Source: My mom, source is a mystery

Experiment: Oven Ready Lasagna

Passing by the pasta in the grocery store, I saw this package and thought it would be fun to try. 

Just being able to layer pasta with the other lasagna ingredients would save me from having to clean an extra pot, but I was uncertain if it would save time.  I did two things differently with this recipe, first is that I mixed an egg with cottage {or ricotta} cheese and second is that I used this oven ready pasta.  I also like to layer a vegetable and this time I used zucchini and yellow squash.

First layer of lasagna

The directions on the box do instruct to layer the lasagna so that they do not touch each other, as they will expand while cooking in the oven.  The directions also advised to bake in the oven for 30 minutes, covered, then 10 minutes longer uncovered.  I was worried that if the extended cooking time were true, that it wouldn't be worth it.  Luckily, my lasagna was well cooked after the 30 minutes and I had no complaints with the turn out!

My Recipe!*

It seems that the purchase was worth the extra money, in that it saved me from worrying about another step in the cooking and one less dish to wash after eating. 

*In tonight's sauce, I did not add a can of (or fresh) diced tomatoes and the quantity was perfect for two layers of noodles.  I also added garlic powder, but I used onion powder as I didn't saute fresh onions with the sausage.