Carrot Bread

I found this old recipe I got from one of my aunt's cookbooks and thought I would give it a try with some marginal carrots in the vegetable drawer. It was good, but I think next time I will decrease the oil to 3/4 cup and bake it as muffins instead of a loaf.  It wasn't done at the end of the 60 minutes and by the time I got it out of the oven it was rather crusty around the edges.

2 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup (or less) oil (I used coconut oil)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups carrots, finely grated
3 eggs
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins

Sift flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and sugar together.  Make a well in the dry ingredients.  Add nuts, oil, vanilla, carrots, raisins and coconut and stir until well mixed.  Pour into greased loaf pan or muffin pans.  Let stand 20 minutes before baking. (I forgot that step!) Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.

Chicken Tetrazzini

from Once A Month Cooking

This is from one of my favorite cookbooks!  All the recipes are created to prepare ahead and freeze. It is by the same authors as Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer. 

8 oz. spaghetti noodles
1 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 T butter
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
5 1/2 cups cooked, diced chicken
4 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese
2 10 3/4 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
Salt and Pepper to taste

Break spaghetti in half and cook as directed on package until al dente; drain.  Saute onions in butter. Thoroughly mix onions and remaining ingredients with spaghetti in a large bowl.  (Mixture may be frozen at this point. Thaw before using.)

Put in a baking dish and bake uncovered in preheated 350 degree oven until bubbly--about 30 - 40 minutes.  Makes 12 servings.

Grilled Stuffed Mushrooms

from the Char-Broil cookbook

Cooking time 12-15 minutes
Grill: medium fire
Yield: 6 servings of 4 mushrooms each

24 mushrooms, stems removed
2 T butter
2 tsp dried minced onion
3/4 c grated cheese
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/3 c bread crumbs
2 T parsley 

Stuff mushrooms with mixture of remaining ingredients.  Cut 6 squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Wrap 4 mushrooms in each square, seal and place on grill over medium fire.  Grill 12 - 15 minutes- do not turn packets.

Lemon Glazed Chicken

(adapted from a recipe in Don't Panic: Dinner's in the Freezer)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or thighs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 t pepper

glaze:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 T soy sauce

Pound chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness.  Mix flour and pepper together.  Dredge chicken through flour mixture and place in a baking dish. Mix glaze with the remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour.  Glaze thickens as it cooks.

I made this in a Pampered Chef stone baker and was really glad I did.  The glaze was pretty burned at the end of an hour.  I wish I had checked it earlier and used a spoon to baste the chicken a few times through the cooking process, but WOW it was good!  I used the juice of a whole lemon and (oops) forgot the soy sauce.  I didn't notice the lack.

Mexican Cornbread

2 eggs, beaten
3 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup oil (I used refined coconut oil)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cream style corn
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup corn meal
1 small can whole green chiles
1 cup grated cheese ( I used cojack)

Mix all ingredients together except chiles and cheese.  Pour 1/2 the batter into a greased 8X8 baking pan.  Lay chiles in strips on top of batter and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese.  Pour/spread remaining batter on top and sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over.  Bake 50 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees.  Makes 9 servings.
*can be made gluten free if you make with GF corn meal and cream style corn.

Tomato Basil Soup

1 large (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 large (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup 1/2 and 1/2
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. blackstrap molasses (to add LOTS of minerals)
1 tsp. baking soda (to neutralize the acid in the tomatoes)

Mix it all together in large saucepan and heat through, but do not boil.  We served it with Town House Italian Flavored flat bread crackers.  Yum, yum!

Roasted Chicken with peppers and onions

In deep dish stoneware baker:
Drizzle about 1 Tbsp. olive oil over bottom of baker to keep from sticking. Place chicken parts on top of oil. I used 2 thin-sliced breasts and six thighs.  Sprinkle with garlic powder, thyme, marjoram, poultry seasoning and about 1 tsp. Kosher salt.

Slice 1/2 to 1 whole onion and place over top of seasoned chicken. Slice 1 red pepper and put on top of that. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp. black strap molasses and 1 T olive oil over vegetables.  Cover with lid and bake at 350 45-50 minutes- until chicken is done.

Butternut Soup

I had 1/2 of a butternut squash in the fridge; my measures are approximate because when I am experimenting like this I never measure.

In Crock Pot
1/2 medium sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 whole large onion
1 tsp. vegetable flavored Better than Bouillon (or vegetable bouillon cube)
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 to 1 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. garan marsla
1/2 tsp. Black strap molasses
(+/-) 2 cups distilled water--enough to cover vegetables

Cook on high for a couple of hours, then turn to low (or cook on low all day, whichever is convenient).  Just before serving, use immersion blender to blend until creamy. Stir in about 1/4-1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2.

I served it with Dill Havarti grilled cheese sandwiches on multi-grain bread, but it would be a very nice addition to any meal as a starter course.

Cornish Hens

Today for dinner I fixed stuffed Cornish hens, baked yams and roasted Brussels Sprouts. Ornery calls them green eggs, and launches into a monologue of Green Eggs and Ham (I do not LIKE green eggs and ham; I do not LIKE them, Sam I am!) He ate them, and I actually thought that cooked to death they were a little less distasteful.

I got a recipe from AllRecipes.com, and altered it just a bit. Mostly, I used more celery, added Blackstrap Molasses, (1/2 tsp) and cut the butter in half and added a T of olive oil instead. I used olive oil on the outside as well.  I cooked them in my Pampered Chef covered stoneware baker for about 2 hours at 350 degrees F and they came out great.  I cooked the yams wrapped in aluminum foil for the same length of time. They were tasty, but I couldn't finish all the food!

Lettuce Wraps

The first time I heard about lettuce wraps I thought, "That sounds disgusting!" Imagine my surprise when I tasted them and loved them!  I found a recipe through Pinterest for P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps. The note says it is from Food.com, but I couldn't find it there to link back. Anyway, my recipe is a lot different, less complicated and quite a bit lower in sodium than the original.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small can mushroom stems and pieces
3 T finely chopped onions
3 stalks finely chopped celery
1 garlic clove minced or pressed
4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Stir Fry Sauce:
2 T soy sauce
2 T brown sugar
1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar

(Their recipe had a special sauce to dip it in, but it had a lot of stuff in it that I didn't have on hand, so we just did without.  It was quite tasty.)

If you aren't starting out with cooked chicken (which is what I did) saute your chicken breasts 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until done.  Chop finely--about the size of small peas.  Chop mushrooms, onions and celery to about the size of small peas.  Cook mushrooms, onions, celery and garlic in 1 T olive oil in hot wok or skillet.  Add chicken and stir fry sauce and mix well.  When it is mixed and heated throughout, remove to a bowl.  Serve in lettuce "cups".

Depending on whether you have other foods with it (I cooked brown rice to serve with it) the recipe could feed 4.

Parmesan Crumbed Asparagus

Tonight we tried a new recipe I found somewhere on the internet. I wish I could give credit where it is due, but I just copied and pasted it to a word doc and printed it out with several other new ones. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
250 g. fresh asparagus spears (one bunch)
1/2 cup flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
olive oil for frying

• Wash asparagus and pat dry with paper towel
• Combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese together in a wide bowl or plate. Mix well with a fork. Set aside.
• Lightly coat asparagus in flour, then dip in egg and finally, coat in breadcrumb mixture.  Ensure asparagus is coated evenly.  Repeat process with remaining spears. Set aside
• Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat.  Cook asparagus until golden. Transfer to the plate lined with paper towels.
• Serve immediately with a side of garlic and herb mayo (or ranch dressing like we did!) for dipping.

Garlic and herb mayo

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T finely chopped parsley

1 T finely chopped chives.

We didn't even wait to get it to the table to eat it.  As one pan finished cooking we noshed on it while waiting on the next.  It was DEEE-lickity!!

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

I bought some stew meat the other day and didn't want to spend any time in the kitchen but thought beef stroganoff sounded good. This recipe uses only the crock pot--no boiling the noodles!--and a fairly small number of ingredients I already had on hand.  I am just putting down what I did--you can alter it in any way that suits you!

1# beef stew meat
2 cups beef stock (I used distilled water mixed with 2 tsp. Beef Better than Bouillon)
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 small cans mushroom bits and pieces, drained
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. dried thyme

Put ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. I started it at 7:00 AM to eat for lunch, but if you were cooking all day, cook it on low.  About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve it, add

1/2 small bag of egg noodles to the crock pot, stir and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Stir noodles again and add

2 T flour mixed into 1/2 cup water and
1/2 cup or so sour cream.  Cook for another 10 minutes until noodles are done and sauce is thick and bubbly.

Pancakes

I made these in my stoneware 9x13 baking pan. Preheat pan in the oven while the oven is heating up to 375 degrees. Takes about 8 minutes to bake the pancake (no need to flip it over). Touch the top of the center of the pancake lightly to make sure it is done. Slice and serve. Also works great using the usual method in a skillet on the stove top. You could also substitute buttermilk for the milk and vinegar. Can add in 1/2 cup banana, cooked sweet potatoes, blueberries, etc.

3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup skim milk
1 cup 50/50 flour (half white, half whole grain of your choice)
2 tablespoons sweetener of choice (I alternate--agave, honey, molasses, brown rice syrup, maple syrup)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 large or extra large egg
2 tablespoons oil

Put milk, the egg and oil in medium mixing bowl and beat well. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and mix. Poor into a lightly greased, preheated baking sheet and place into the oven. You could make the batter the night before and have it ready to go in the morning.

Marvelous Mocha Fudge

1 1/2 c. sugar

2/3 c. evaporated milk

3 T instant coffee granules

2 T. butter

1/4 t. salt

2 c. mini marshmallows

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 t. cinnamon

Combine first 5 ingredients in a heavy saucepan; bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 3 to 4 minutes; remove from heat. Mix in remaining ingredients; stir until marshmallows are melted. Spread into an 8X8" baking pan lined with aluminum foil; refrigerate 2 to 3 hours until firm. Lift fudge from pan, remove foil and cut into one-inch pieces. Makes about 4 dozen pcs.

(For a double recipe, I decrease the amount of coffee granules, of which I only put 4 T into a double batch. Pour onto 9X13 foil lined pan to chill.)

My son-in-law sent a note that said, "This is absolutely, hands-down the best fudge I have ever had."  I think he might have liked it. ;)

Molasses Sugar Cookies

These cookies won the best tasting cookie at this year's cookie exchange!!  They really are quite delectable!


Molasses Sugar Cookies
Makes 30 cookies

3/4 cup vegetable oil  (I use coconut oil, but NOT olive oil!)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour (can mix 1/2 white and 1/2 whole grain)
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda

Mix oil, sugar, molasses and egg; beat well. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. If dough is too soft to handle, refrigerate for 1 hour or more. Form into 1" balls (I use a scoop); roll in granulated sugar. Place 2" apart on un-greased cookie sheets. Do not flatten balls. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Potato Soup- The Ultimate Comfort Food!

Potato Soup

6-7 pieces of bacon, chopped up to about 1/2 inch pieces

2 ribs of celery, finely chopped

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (about 3/4" cubes)

3 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup frozen sweet corn

1/4 tsp. dill weed

dash of marjoram

1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste-my broth was low sodium, so it needed a bit of salt)

2 cups whole raw milk

4 T whole wheat flour

1/2 stick of butter

Put the bacon in the bottom of a dutch-oven size pan on the stove and begin cooking. When some of the fat is tried out into the pan, add the celery and onion. Stir until tender, then add broth, potatoes, corn and seasonings. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are not crispy any more. Don't overcook or they turn to mush (unless that is what you want)

While the soup is cooking, make a white sauce with the butter flour and milk. Lightly brown the flour in the butter, then stir in the milk and heat to boiling, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add 3 oz. cream cheese and continue stirring until it is all mixed in. By this time, the potatoes should be just right, so stir in the white sauce and mix in thoroughly. When the soup is boiling again, it is ready--serve immediately.

This makes quite a big batch- at least six servings I think.  We served it for Christmas dinner this year, and it was a huge hit!

Cranberry Bread

Normally, the cranberry bread is one of the last to get eaten, but this year I made it a bit differently.  We chopped the cranberries fairly small (used the food chopper from Pampered Chef), and I used coconut oil for the shortening.  It was really the best cranberry bread I have ever had, and even Ornery, who has never liked it before, went for this before the pumpkin or banana bread!

Cranberry Bread

1 cup chopped cranberries

3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 T grated orange peel (zest)

2 cups all purpose flour (can mix 1/2 and 1/2--white and whole grain)

1 cup sugar

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 T shortening (or coconut oil)

3/4 cup orange juice (juice the oranges used for peel)

1 beaten egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour loaf pan or line muffin cups. Prepare cranberries, nuts and orange peel; set aside. Mix dry ingredients; cut in shortening. Stir in juice, egg and orange peel until moist. Fold in cranberries and nuts. Spoon into prepared loaf pan. Bake 60 minutes or until pick inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove loaf after 15 minutes cooling on rack.

No Sugar Glazed Pecans

I had to delete the maple syrup due to the high fructose content, so I increased the cinnamon and used some English Toffee flavored liquid stevia for the sweetener. I overdosed on the cinnamon... I think less than half would have been plenty! BUT they are tasty, and sugar free, so I am happy!

1 lb. pecans

3 T. coconut oil

2 to 3 tsp. cinnamon (I used two TABLEspoons! wow, that was a lot of cinnamon!)

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. vanilla

about 1 full dropper of English Toffee stevia (or to taste)

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, stirring 1/2 way through to prevent burning, and to coat the nuts again. While they are cooling, continue to stir it occasionally to keep the "glaze" on the nuts.

My Favorite Egg Dish

I am a huge fan of scr-omelets. They are basically eggs scrambled with all the fillings of an omelet mixed in and cooked together. This is the general list of ingredients, although it varies from time to time depending on what I have on hand.

Scr-omelet

Serves 2

1 T organic extra virgin coconut oil, olive oil or butter

1/2 cup of fried sausage crumbles 

3-4 green onions, chopped with tops

1/4 red pepper, chopped fine

4 baby bella mushrooms, chopped

1/2 -3/4 cup chopped yellow summer squash OR grated zucchini

1 slice tomato

4 whole pasture raised eggs

1/4 cup shredded cheese (my favorite is havarti...)

Heat oil in a medium skillet until hot. Add all the veggies except the tomato. (I have even added green peas!) When the onion and pepper are soft, whisk the eggs and cheese into the veggie mix and cook until the eggs are cooked through, stirring fairly often.

Coconut Treat

These are a great sweet treat for programs that limit sugar intake.

1 T Coconut oil

2 t ground flax seeds

1 T finely chopped walnuts

1 T finely shredded unsweetened coconut

2-3 drops liquid stevia (any flavor)

1/4 t vanilla

1/8 t cinnamon

dash sea salt

dash nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together and chill till coconut oil hardens. You can shape into a flat "cookie" or just eat like dry cereal. Makes one serving.