Sugar Free Chocolate Covered Pretzels

This is a trial. A REAL trial and error thing. And I'm trying it right now.

I wanted to make chocolate covered pretzels for Mom, she loves them. She's diabetic, sooooo... I figured I'll just melt some Baker's unsweetened chocolate and add Sugar Twin to it. That's what I'm doing now. Adding Sugar Twin, stirring, tasting, adding, stirring, tasting... I think I went wrong when I used THREE squares of chocolate. What do I know!? I never use the stuff! LOL oh... don't use three squares of chocolate. I think one will work fine. I'm also melting it in a glass bowl in the microwave, which is pretty cool, actually.

Time to go stir some more.

OUCH!  It was hot and it burnt my finger.  Added more Sugar Twin and stuck it back into the microwave for 30 seconds again. I've been heating it at 30 second intervals and stirring so the sweetener will dissolve into the chocolate and not be grainy. All the recipes I found on line have you melting chocolate chips and dipping the pretzel into that. Where is the sense of adventure in that! Besides... the chocolate chips have sugar in them. :)

Ok... gotta go get my STUFF outa the microwave again. Stirred, looking good, stuck it back in for 30 seconds. Sounds redundant, huh, doing it over and over again.  Yep...   Still a little grainy and I am not sticking my finger in there to taste it again. Well, yeah! You gotta wash your finger each time or use a clean spoon each time. geeez... Gotta teach the kids that, too, ya know! lol

Why did I think I could do this!? I can't even make fudge! ROFLOL

Ok, ready or not, let the dipping begin!  WAAAY too much chocolate....  I wonder if this stuff is actually going to set up on the pretzels or if the pretzels will be turning into a drippy, chocolate mess. Only time will tell. I do believe that next time I do this, I will search for a sugar free chocolate bar that is sweetened with a sweetener other than sorbitol (it works like Ex-lax), melt it in the microwave and dip those pretzels in that. Yeah... I think I'll do that.

Chili in a Pinch

Didn't know what to fix, didn't really want to cook. LOL  Soooooo.... Chili!!  of course!  Besides... it just sounded good and we hadn't had any in awhile. I wasn't going to make too much, I usually make a HUGE pot, this time just a semi-huge pot. LOL

I looked in my pantry and there were no cans of beans! On NO!  :::: gasping ::::: What to DO!  I know.. some folk don't put beans in the chili, but I like beans in my chili. aahhh... look there... we have pork 'n beans!  I wonder if I can use that in chili. So I tried it. I sure didn't have to put molasses in it. I usually do, but not this time.

Chili in a Pinch
1 onion
1 pepper (green, yellow, red, any or some of all)
1 to 1 1/2 lb hamburger
2  16 oz cans pork 'n beans (cheap stuff works great)
1 14 1/2 oz can tomato sauce
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
1 bottle beer
1 bay leaf
chili powder to taste (I use tons of it)
ground cumin to taste (I use quite a bit of this, too)
garlic powder to taste
salt, pepper to taste

Brown the hamburger and drain. Chop the onions and peppers, add all the ingredients and stir together. After it gets hot, cover with lid, turn the burner down to low and let it cook for about an hour, or more. Stir it ever so often.  Taste it to see if you need to add more chili powder or salt or something. Serve. Save the left overs in the fridge and it tastes even better the next day.

Denny really liked this!  I didn't tell him I use pork 'n beans, he woulda not liked it if I had told him before hand. LOL

Bread

At LAST... I finally, after years, have made a nice, light, even after a few days after baking bread. It takes some people a longer than it does others. LOL

I used this recipe and what I did will follow.

Family Bread

• 4 C warm tap water (not hot)
• 2/3 C non-fat dry milk powder or 1/4 C honey
• 2 packets or 4 tsp dry yeast
• 1 TBS salt
• 1/3 C melted margarine or oil
• 12 C (approximately) white or whole wheat flour or a combination

Mix water, dry milk, and sugar in bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and allow mixture to sit until the yeast dissolves some. Add salt, margarine/oil, and flour.  Mix with wooden spoon until too stiff, then mix with your hands until dough is pulled away from sides of bowl and sticks together well. Turn out onto floured board and knead for 10 minutes, adding flour as needed. 

Coat a large bowl with oil, put in the bread dough and spread a little oil on top. Cover with clean towel or plastic wrap, set in a warm place and let it rise until doubled in size. 

Punch down dough, divide the dough into 4 equal lumps. Shape into loaves and place into well oiled bread pans. Cover with clean towel and let rise again. 

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes and bread sounds hollow when thumped. 

Ok.. first of all, you really want to add your yeast, and I used 5 tsp because I did use a mixture of whole wheat and white flours, add your yeast to about 1/2 to 1 C warm water to dissolve the yeast. I probably added 2 TBS salt, too. THEN stir and add the rest of the water, powdered milk, salt, oil (I use melted butter). I add two cups of flour at a time and stir between additions. I had heard about adding vitamin C to bread dough to make it stay fresher longer, so I crushed a vitamin C tablet and added that in there, too. I used about half white flour and half whole wheat and I also only put in 10 cups of flour instead of the 12. The dough was really gooey, but I stuck by it and did it. 

After I divided the dough into four equal parts, I put two loaves into bread pans, covered and set aside. The third section of dough I spread out some and added a store bought bottle of Italian seasoning and kneaded. I added more and kneaded again, not for 10 minutes though, just enough to mix the herbs with the dough. Then I put that into a loaf pan, too. 

The FOURTH section of dough I rolled out with a rolling pin into about a 1/2 inch thick rectangle to make cinnamon rolls. Spread butter on top of the dough. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon. THIS time I really laid the cinnamon on thick. Then add a bunch of brown sugar. Spread it all around until is pretty evenly spread all over. Roll up length wise and cut into 12 portions. Place into well greased 8 x 11 (whatever the size those are), cover and let rise. 

I don't know if the vitamin C did anything or if it was using less flour, but I'll do both again. A friend of mine bought some Vital Gluten and adds it to her bread dough, it has vitamin C in it, too, and her bread turns out just delicious. 

The bread I made like this was great. Soft, light, the herbed bread turned out wonderful, too, as did the cinnamon rolls! YAYAYAYAYAAYAYAY   I was one happy granny doing the happy granny dance!! 

Native American Fry Bread

I was looking for a recipe for Fry Bread on the web and found this site, Cookin' With Three Sisters which has several recipes for it. I had never heard of fry bread before my neighbors down the road told me about it and how to make it. I did try it and it was so greasy and I wasn't sure I didn't do it right. I was right, I didn't do it right. LOL I also didn't realize it was Native American fare. I made it again this morning and it certainly turned out better than the first time!  LOL 

Old Fashioned Native American Fry Bread

4 cups flour

2 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup warm water

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add in the shortening and water. Add only enough water to make dough stick together. Knead dough until smooth, make into fist-sized balls. Cover them with a towel for 10 minutes then pat them out into circles about the size of a pancake. Fry in hot cooking oil in cast iron skillet until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels, serve with jam.

HOT grease.... makes a BIG difference. 

What... I didn't make any changes in the recipe?  What???  Of course I did. First I cut the recipe in half, there are only three of us here. I also use 1 C white flour and 1 C whole wheat flour and use Canola oil for the shortening. I also fried it in Canola oil and olive oil. When I was making it into the balls before flattening them I was thinking it seemed a little too dry. I didn't fix it... They were a little dry but they are tasty.  OH!  I threw in some flax seed, too. I hear it is supposed to help against hot flashes...so I try to add it to things when I remember. I really did need to add more water to the dough with the wheat flour and flax seed. Yeah. 

It IS good stuff. Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. 

Chocolate Cookies

ohhhh,,,, just makes the mouth water saying what they are... Ccchhhhhooooooocolate... yeah... that's it, say it with me... cccchhhhooooooooocccolate cookies! mmmmm..

Hubby wanted me to make some chocolate cookies for him so I found a recipe. He said he likes flat cookies. So, ok, the first pan didn't turn out really flat, so the rest I flattened with a fork dipped in sugar. I found the sugar keeps the dough from sticking to the fork and making a mess of the cookie.

Chocolate Cookies The Household Searchlight Recipe Book, pg. 125 14th printing, 1941

• 6 Tbs butter or butter substitute
• 1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 6 Tbs milk
• 1/3 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 C chopped nuts
• 3/4 C sugar 
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1 1/8 C flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla

Melt chocolate over hot water. Cream butter and sugar. Add chocolate and egg. Mix thoroughly. Sift flour, measure, and sift with baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add alternately with milk to first mixture. Add vanilla and nuts. Mix thoroughly. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto well-oiled baking sheet. Bake in hot over (400 degrees) 10-12 minutes. 30 servings. If desired, cookies may be iced.

So... I baked them in the 400 degree oven. It was too hot and the bottoms of the cookies were pretty dark, even being chocolate. This time I turned the oven to 350 and moved the rack up to the middle of the oven. Is working great. I've been baking them for 10 minutes. The first time I made them the dough was so thin, not like cookie dough I usually make so I added some more flour. Of course, didn't add the nuts since I'm making them for hubby and he doesn't like nuts in his cookies. Silly man.

AAANNNND of course, I used cocoa instead of the chocolate squares. This time I doubled the recipe and did you know that 12 TBS equals 3/4 C?  I didn't either so looked it up on the internet. I didn't want to measure out 12 tablespoons! 9 TBS equals 1/2 C + 1 TBS. Looked that up, too. LOL 

Did you know that adding melted butter to the already mixed mixture is harder that to add it when you are supposed to add it?  Yeah!  uh-huh... I forgot to add it to the sugar and cocoa mixture. LOL  It turned out all right, anyway.  : )

Pineapple Angel-food Cake

What a lovely treat to eat and so easy to make. My sister-in-law told me how to make it years ago, and I finally made it this afternoon.

Pineapple Angel-food Cake


Pour a store bought package of angel food cake mix into a bowl. Open a can of crushed pineapple and pour it into the dry cake mix. Stir until well mixed. Pour into a greased cake pan and bake in a preheated 350  degree oven for about 40 minutes. I checked mine after 35 minutes and it wasn't quite done. When done, take it out and cool in pan.

There ya go. Now... do not do what I did. I put mine into a bundt pan, first mistake, it isn't large enough. Second mistake is when I did what it said to do on the angel food cake package and turned the pan upside down on a bottle to cool. Part of the cake fell out and the bottle, cake pan, and cake fell over onto the counter and made a crumbly cake mess. It still tastes good.  YES! Next time I will just put it into a regular cake pan.  Yeah...   : )

Pan Seared Tuna

oohhh yeah... this was good. Denny took his first bite of the tuna and he said "This turned out good!" in an excited yet soft voice. I think he was surprised. LOL

Pan Seared Tuna Recipe by Odyssey Seafood, Treasures of the Sea package of Tuna Steaks

• Tuna Steaks
• 2 Tbs mirin rice wine
• 1 Tbs squeezed lemon juice
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
• 3 Tbs minced scallion onion
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat stainless skillet over medium high heat for 2 minutes. While the pan is preheating, rub thawed tuna steaks with 1 Tbs of lemon juice then season with salt and pepper. Cook the tuna steaks for 2 - 3 minutes on each side, depending on thickness and how rare you want your steak. Remove from pan and place on a plate. Turn the heat down to medium and add the rest of the ingredients in order given. Let them cook for one minute. Pour over the tuna steaks and serve.

And that's exactly how I did it.  OK.. you know me by now. I don't know what mirin rice wine is, I don't have it. BUT... I did happen to have a bottle of some sort of cooking wine that I had yet to open, so I opened it tonight and used that. My fresh squeezed lemon juice came from the bottle sitting in my fridge door and my minced fresh ginger came out of the jar with powdered ginger. I didn't exactly measure everything, I guestimated and poured. aaahhh.. another thing...while my tuna steaks were cooking I put everything in the measuring cup and when it came time to put it into the pan, just poured it in from the cup, including the lemon juice, since I forgot to rub it into the tuna before cooking it. 

Hey, it still turned out good! Even when I did everything wrong and backwards and all.  LOL Hubby said it was good, and he knows!  

Oatmeal-Date Cookies

mmmm.... fresh baked, warm from the oven cookies. yuuummmmm  What more can ya ask for. ahhh... a cup of tea or coffee or hot chocolate... yeah!  Ok... I have a glass of iced-tea. LOL It's HOT outside!  : )

Oatmeal-Date Cookies Favorite All Time Recipes: Diabetic Desserts, pg.18

• 1/2 C packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 C margarine, softened
• 1 egg plus 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 TBS thawed frozen apple juice concentrate
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 C flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 C uncooked quick oats
• 1/2 C chopped dates or raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. 
2. Beat sugar and margarine in large bowl. Add egg, egg white, apple juice concentrate and vanilla; mix well.
3. Add flour, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Stir in oats and dates. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
4. Bake  8 to 10 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. 

I used a bigger than a teaspoon to put the dough onto the cookie pans so it made 2 doz cookies, and some dough left over that I ate. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm   mmmmmmmmm good. I couldn't see breaking up a good egg and used two whole eggs. I also used real butter and I didn't have frozen apple juice concentrate so I used 2 TBS regular apple juice. I did use raisins and dried cranberries instead of the dates. Who has dates!?  

I think next time I make these cookies I will add a little more apple juice to make the dough a little moister, the cookies turned out pretty dry. Unless I should add more butter, I never know! LOL Maybe some apple sauce would work! I will not add 2 tsp baking soda next time I make these. 

Basil Pork and Green Bean Stew

We all liked this one, even Denny. Mom liked it, in spite of there being basil in it. She says she doesn't like basil but when I do put it in food she always likes whatever it is I put it in. She's entitled! She is 90 now! : ) This was also a good stew because it's a stew that doesn't have CARROTS in it. Mom just does NOT like carrots. LOL

Basil Pork and Green Bean Stew Favorite All Time Recipes: Everyday Diabetic Recipes pg. 48

• 1 pkg (9 oz) frozen cut green beans
• 3 1/2 C peeled red potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 lb trimmed pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 C no-sugar-added pasta sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 TBS chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

Microwave Directions

Place beans in 10 t 12 inch microwavable casserole. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 2 minutes. Drain in colander.

Using same dish, microwave potatoes, covered, at HIGH 3 minutes. Stir in pork, beans, pasta sauce and salt. Microwave at HIGH 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Stir in basil. Microwave 5 to 7 minutes or until potatoes are tender and meat is no longer pink in center. Sprinkle with cheese.

Makes 6 servings

OK, that's the recipe. I... didn't follow it totally. Do I ever????  First, I didn't have any pasta sauce. I could have, and usually do, use tomato sauce and doctor it up with spices to make the pasta sauce, but... I grabbed a can of tomato soup instead and doctored THAT up with Italian spices. LOL  I added some orange pepper cubed and some onions, too. 

I, also, didn't have Parmesan cheese. I did have shredded Swiss cheese, though, and sprinkled that on top the finished stew. AND... I didn't have pork tenderloin so I used pork chops. OH!!  I only microwaved the potatoes until soft; otherwise I used the stove top. Let's see... anything else?? 

Everyone liked it. Even Denny. YAYAY  : )

Cinnamon Caramel Corn

This turned out pretty good... exCEPT... 2 TBS of honey needs to be increased. Mom and I both agree on that.

Cinnamon Caramel Corn Favorite All Time Recipes: Diabetic Snacks  pg. 58

• 8 C air-popped popcorn (about 1//3 C kernels)
• 2 TBS honey
• 4 tsp butter
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray jelly-roll pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place popped corn in large bowl.

Cook and stir honey, butter, and cinnamon in small saucepan over low heat until butter is melted and mixture is smooth; immediately pour over popcorn. Toss to coat evenly. Pour onto prepared pan; bake 12 to 14 minutes or until coating is golden brown and appears crackled, stirring twice during baking time.

Let cool on pan 5 minutes. As popcorn cools the coating becomes crisp. If no crisp enough or if popcorn softens upon standing, return to oven and heat 5 to 8 minutes. 

makes 4 servings

I.. ummm... didn't have any butter so I used an olive oil/canola oil mix, but more honey still is needed.

Sauerkraut Sling

mmmmm... I liked it. Denny did to some extent, mixed foods, ya know, aren't his thing. LOL  

Sauerkraut Sling
2 cans sauerkraut
4 pork chops
1 onion
4 red potatoes
Caraway seeds
Herbs de Provence seasoning mixture (it's in a jar already mixed up, I didn't know that a few months ago)

Brown chops in skillet and place into a roasting pan. Add sauerkraut and two cans water, quartered potatoes, caraway seeds, and seasoning mixture. Cover the pan and put into pre-heated, 350 degree oven and bake for a couple of hours, till the potatoes and chops are tender.

When done, serve. Save those left overs!!!  Now for the sling part!!!

Chop up the pork chops into little pieces, cube the potatoes, chop onions, and put in hot skillet with olive or canola oil, stir and cook a few minutes. Drain the sauerkraut and add to the skillet, stir. Cover the skillet with a lid, turn the burner down to low and cook for about half an hour.

Course, you can make the sling part without there being left overs. Watch out for burned fingers while cutting the chops and potatoes, though. :)

Switchel

huh???  Exactly what I thought when I first saw it at the Hillbilly Housewife site. I printed out the recipe and vowed I was going to try it. That was a couple of years ago, or longer. I did try it.... and like it!  I was sooooo surprised. Very pleasantly surprised. I will post the recipe as it appears on the Hillbilly Housewife site.
********************************************************************************
Switchel

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (yes vinegar)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup sugar or honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 cup oatmeal (optional)
• tap water to make 2 quarts

This is a very old recipe, imported from our Yankee neighbors to the north, and before that, from Nova Scotia. Did you ever wonder what folks used to drink in the days before soda pop, and when lemons were out of season? Why Switchel of course. Instead of lemon juice, it uses a tangy combination of flavorful apple cider vinegar, molasses and ginger to make a summertime treat which will whet your whistle better than any modern thirst quencher I’ve ever run across.

First get out a two quart pitcher. Measure the vinegar, molasses, sugar or honey and ginger into it. Add cold tap water to fill. Stir to dissolve everything and serve in tall ice filled cups. Traditionally, oatmeal was also added to the mixture, to give it a little body, and improve the flavor. I am ashamed to say I have never prepared it with the added oatmeal, so if anyone does, please let me know what you think. This beverage takes a little getting used to. It is strongly flavored, nothing bland about it. It tastes best when it has mellowed overnight, blending the ginger with the molasses. It does quench your thirst better than anything else on a hot summer day though, and of course, costs next to nothing to prepare. I have also tried heating it in the winter time and drinking it as a hot toddy, it is actually quite delicious this way.
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I didn't use the oatmeal; it just didn't sound like it would be good at all. Course, neither did the Switchel to begin with. LOL  I did read on the site where someone was going to try blending up the dry oatmeal and adding it to the switchel letting it set for 24 hours before drinking it, then it would turn out to be a creamy/milky drink. THAT doesn't sound so bad... but I think I still won't try it. LOL 

You'll find the link to the Hillybilly Housewife site in my Links area. 

Italian Tomato Salad

At least Vicky said it was Italian. My friend, Vicky. She made it for us for supper one day YEARS ago when we were in the Air Force and Denny and I were in our first apartment. It was GOOD!!

Italian Tomato Salad  from Vicky Fennel and embellished sometimes by me

Nothing measured precisely, of course. LOL It's ME!!

• 2 to 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 orange sweet pepper
• 1/2 red sweet pepper
• olive oil
• sea salt
• Italian seasoning 
• pepper

Mix olive oil, salt, pepper, and the Italian seasoning mix together. Smoosh and chop the garlic cloves and add it to the mixture. Chop the tomatoes, peppers, and onions into bite size pieces and add to the mixture. Stir, let sit all day so everything just mixes together and tastes scrumptious.  

You can always play around with the garlic and spices to your liking. I used fairly large cloves of garlic, I LIKE garlic. 

Denny likes this stuff really well. Mom likes it, too. Try it... you will, too!!  :)

Maid-Rites

Oh, yeah.... remember Maid-Rites??  I know they are still around, but few and far between. When I was in high school I'd go over to the Maid-Rite and get lunch every day. mmmmmm....

I've tried fixing them and they turned out ok... but they just weren't quite right. Wellllll....  I went to KopyCat Recipes on the web... or is it CopyKat... well, which ever way it is, I went there and found a recipe for Maid-Rites and tried it. Turned out great!!

Maid-Rites  from http://www.copykat.com

• 1 1/2  pounds hamburger
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 can chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste

Brown the hamburger and smoosh it up very fine. Drain grease. Add chopped onions and chicken broth. Bring to boil, cover and lower heat to simmer and cook until broth is gone. Stir it up from time to time. Serve over hamburger buns and enjoy.

It's a Denny approved recipe. He LOVES Maid-Rites and he liked these. 

Summer Veggies

Denny doesn't like mixed veggies. There is a little bit of Mr. Monk in him. Do I let that keep me from fixing mixed veggies?  Not a bit. I love them and I figure if he doesn't want them mixed, he can separate them when they get onto his plate. (Am I mean or what?)

Mixed Summer Veggies

• 2 slices bacon
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 small tomato
• 1/2 onion 
• 1/2 orange pepper
• Italian seasoning
• salt

While frying up the bacon slice the veggies into bite size chunks. When bacon is done, remove from pan. Add veggies to pan in the drippings. Season with Italian seasoning and salt. Break the bacon into bite size pieces and return it to the pan with the veggies, cover and cook at low for about 15 minutes, or until the veggies are done where you like them, crisp or soft. 

I cooked the veggies until they were soft, the way Mom likes them. We both liked them. Denny didn't try them; such a coward. :::: giggling ::::

Baby Back Ribs

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...  I haven't been fond of baby back ribs, until tonight. I like country ribs better. I still do, but now I also like the baby back ribs. They turned out GOOD!!  Mom was upset cause I didn't par-boil them and said the meet had best be tender and fall off the bones or she was gonna be disappointed. She wasn't. YAYAYAYAYYYA  She did say to not tell Seth but she liked these better than when he fixes ribs. ssshhhhhh...

Baby Back Ribs
Cut slab of ribs into four chunks. Put in shallow pan, cover with aluminum foil, bake in pre-heated 300 degree oven for two hours. Remove foil, coat one side with BBQ sauce of your choice, place beneath the broiler set to high until the sauce starts turning brown/black (about 8-10 minutes), turn ribs, coat with more BBQ sauce and place under the broiler again for around 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and dig in. Make sure you have LOTS of paper towels/napkins/bib.   mmmmmmm...

Oh... where did I get the recipe???  On the package of ribs. :)

Ranch Snack Mix

I found this on the web.... somewhere. I cannot tell you where because I don't remember where I found it.  I haven't made it yet, but I bought the crackers today, I love them anyway, so I could make it. I'm gonna make it tomorrow, unless I cave and do it tonight. LOL

Ranch Snack Mix

Makes 9 servings

· 4 cups oyster crackers plain

· 2 cups popcorn

· 2 cups pretzel sticks

· 1 cup nuts or peanuts

· 5 tablespoons butter or margarine,

melted

· 1 1-ounce package ranch salad dressing mix (not

buttermilk recipe)

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, mix oyster crackers,

popcorn, pretzels, and nuts. Pour melted butter over the top

and toss until well coated. Slowly sprinkle salad dressing mix

evenly over mixture, stirring until well blended.

Bake 10 minutes, stirring once. Cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Yuuuummmmmm....  yessiree...

Livi's sixth birthday was last weekend and due to the fact that everyone was ill during the time... we didn't go see her and they didn't come here. LOL  Soooo... today they came over for cake and ice cream and, of course, the presents!!! She is wearing one of her gifts now and coloring with another gift. She said the cake was good, too. :)

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake  Taste of Home Winning Recipes, pg 394

• 4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 C water
• 3/4 C sour cream
• 1/4 C shortening
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 C flour
• 2 C sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

In a mixing bowl combine the first six ingredients; mix well. Combine the dry ingredients; gradually add to chocolate mixture. Beat on low speed just until moistened. Beat on high for 3 minutes.

Pour into two greased and floured 9 inch round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Frost when cool.

Of course, I don't have squares of baking chocolate so I use cocoa. 3 T cocoa + 1 T oil = 1 sq choc. I also didn't have sour cream so I used plain yogurt. It works. :) mmm... I don't have two round cake pans the same size, either, so I put it into a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.

There is also a sour cream frosting to make to put on it, but I didn't have any powdered sugar so I made a boiled chocolate fudge frosting. Do NOT put it into the refrigerator to make it cool faster. It just makes the sugar re-crystalize, even more so if you leave it in longer than you anticipated because you forgot it was in there to begin with.  Sooooo... much stirring later it was ready to put onto the cake. It did taste good, even if it was a bit crystalized.

Sour Cream Frosting

• 1/2 C butter, softened
• 6 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 6 C confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 C sour cream
• 6 T milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl combine frosting ingredients. Beat until smooth and creamy. Spread over cake. Soter in the refrigerator.

All Yield: 12 - 16 servings

What's for supper???

mmmm... corn meal coated, pan fried catfish, hush puppies, sliced onion, coleslaw, and french fries. mmmmm..

Sounds good, doesn't it?  It WAS!!  We went out to eat. LOL  Which, of course, makes it all taste better. : ) That was last night.

Tonight I fixed sloppy joes and cabbage.

Cabbage
I chopped up the cabbage, apples, green onions, and put them into a skillet with water and cooked it. I added some caraway seed, salt, and a little dab of butter a little later and when it was tender I took it off the heat.

Sloppy Joes
I cooked up a pound of hamburger, added chopped onion and orange pepper, garlic powder, basil, dill weed, cumin, parsley, salt, lemon pepper, thyme, worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, packet of stevia, and simmered it for about an hour. Turned out pretty good!

I don't make any of it the same way twice. You'll probably find another recipe in here for Sloppy Joes and it won't be the same as this one. LOL Denny ate it without complaint so it musta been pretty decent. LOL

Adobo Pork Chops

ohhh... they are good. Hubby didn't even say "I like my pork chops thin and broiled crispy" this time. They were thick and juicy and good. LOL  I will give the recipe and of course I didn't do it exactly (I do NOT like cilantro) and I didn't really measure, I just guessed.

Adobo Pork Chops Better Homes & Gardens Diabetic Living, 2010, pg. 83

• 6 boneless pork top loin chops  
• 2 Tbs packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 Tbs orange juice
• 2 Tbs snipped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbs red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• 2 tsp hot chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

Trim fat from chops. Place chops in a resealable plastic bag and set in shallow dish. For marinade:  combine all other ingredients and mix, pour over pork chops, seal bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally. 

Dran chops, discard marinade. For charcoal grill, place chops on the grill rack directly over medium coals. Grill, uncovered, 12 to 15 minutes or until chops are done and juices run clear, turning once halfway through grilling. (For gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place chops on grill rack over heat. Cover and grill as above.)

I thought about grilling them outside... but... I broiled them in the oven.  :)

Chuck Wagon

Ohh... I love Chuck Wagon. Not only is it easy to fix, it just plain tastes good.

I did make it differently, this time, though. I saw a recipe (lol  yep) and it was made differently than how I normally made it so I thought I would try it out. Well, as usual, I didn't have ALL the ingredients the recipe called for, so I just did my own thing to kind of match what the recipe called for without much luck, but here is what I did and it did turn out good.

Chuck Wagon

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 package frozen corn
• 1 can Bush's Grillin' Beans
• a little catsup to add a little more liquid

Brown the hamburger and chopped onionr and drain. Add the corn and beans and stir. If it isn't liquidy enough, add a little catsup. 

That's it. I was going to add the seasonings and stuff from the recipe, but I had stuck my finger into the can of beans and tasted it and thought... nope.. this stuff is just to good to add other stuff to it and just left it, outside of adding a little catsup. Stuff was good.  LOL Course, I guess you could always put in two cans of the Grillin' Beans, but I only had one. lol  Enjoy!

Cheesy Soup

Not quite sure what else to call it. LOL  I saw a recipe and thought it sounded good... but I decided to go on my own.

Cheesy Soup


1 C broccoli florets                  1 C cauliflower florets
1/2 onion chopped                   1/2 orange pepper chopped
1 small can minced clams          1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can milk                                1 tsp - 1 Tbs Thai green curry spice mix
grated mild cheddar cheese

Put into a sauce pan the broccoli, cauliflower, onion, and pepper along with a water and cook until veggies are tender. When everything is tender you can drain most of the water out, add the spice, stir. Add the can of cheddar cheese soup and can of milk. If you want to make a little more soup than what this does, add a little more milk and some grated cheddar cheese. Heat through until hot and serve. Add some grated cheddar cheese on each bowlful if desired.

Hubby liked this! Then again, he didn't know there were clams in it, I didn't tell him and I'm not going to. What he doesn't know is in his soup he likes. LOL

Hope you all like it, too!

Chocolate Syrup

ahhhh...  you've just run out of syrup for your ice cream.  What to do!??!  We always mixed a little cocoa, sugar, and milk together, very little milk, and did with that. But... I found a recipe for chocolate syrup on the web, where else! LOL  And I made it last night. I made sugar free, we have the other stuff still, for my mom, and it tastes pretty good for being fake sugar.

I was looking at the ingredients on the sugar free syrup bottle, and this syrup is made with the ingredients of that, minus all the other unknown stuff....sorbitol (a laxative, no less), caramel color (who needs caramel coloring in chocolate syrup??), phosphoric acid (HUH??), xanthan gum, acesulfame potassium, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate. That stuff isn't in the recipe.  YAYAYAYAYAYA  Just have to store it in the fridge.

Chocolate Syrup M.A. Flickety, Lillian May, and more, I'm sure


1 C unsweetened cocoa                  2 C sugar or Splenda
1/4 tsp salt                                      2 C cold water
1 Tbs vanilla

Whisk together cocoa, sugar, and salt. Whisk in cold water. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking to combine, until thickened. Let cool, add vanilla. Store in the refrigerator.


I washed out the sugar-free chocolate syrup bottle and put the good stuff in there and stuck it in the fridge. :)

Herbed Biscuits

Ohh.. these turned out quite good. I was going to make Sour Cream Biscuits, but... well, you know... I had to change it to something else cause I didn't have everything I needed. I've made them before and used plain yogurt instead of the sour cream, but after I through out the funky looking yogurt, I didn't have any yogurt. And, thus, a new recipe is born.

Herbed Biscuits


1 C mayonaise                   2 - 3 Tbs Ranch Dressing mix
1 egg beaten                      1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda            1 Tbs canola oil
1 pkg stevia                        1 1/2 C flour
dash of salt

Mix the dressing mix into the mayonaise, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Drop by spoonfulls onto greased cookie sheet and bake in 400 degree F preheated oven 15- 20 minutes.

Hubby liked these biscuits.. and they turn out good. I can't normally make biscuits... but these work, even for me!

Creamed Beef on Toast

AKA, SOS, AKA, S*** or Stuff on a Shingle

This was one of my dad's favorites, and I have always liked it... and hubby does, too. Thing is, you can use ground beef, little packages of chipped beef/sliced beef, corned beef, eggs, whatever. And it's good. Some people, my grandmother was on, would have the meat browned, the milk added and heated up and sprinkle flour in all the stuff and stir it up and it would turn out great. Me... I do that and I get lumpy gravy/sauce/whatever youwanttocallit... a mess. LOL  Soooo... I always mix up my flour with milk in a cup before I add it to the skillet.

Note: no measurements, I just guess...

Brown about a pound of hamburger and diced onion in a skillet, drain it well. Add salt and pepper, garlic if you're a garlic nut like me, and some milk. Heat. Mix some flour... ohh... 3 Tbs maybe, and some milk in a cup. When the milk in the skillet is hot/close to boiling, pour in the milk and flour mixture, stir, stir, stir until it thickens, turn the burner down and let it cook some more. If it's too thick, add some more milk. If it's too thin, mix a little more milk with flour and add to the skillet.

While you are mixing and stirring and banging on the pots and pans, don't forget to toast your bread! LOL  When it's all ready, spoon the mixture over the toast on your plate. mmmmmm...  mmmm.. mmmm....

Pork Chops over Rice

Pork Chops over Rice Taste of Home, Winning Recipes


8 bonless pork chops                   1 Tbs veg. oil
1 C uncooked long grain rice        1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
1/2 C water                                 1 small onion, chopped
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen peas             1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown pork chops in oil; remove. Drain. Add the remaining ingredients to skillet. Place pork chops over the rice mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 - 25 minutes or until rice is tender.
Yield: 8 servings

I'm still cooking this so don't know how it turns out, yet. I'll let ya know.  :)

aahh... yeah, I did make revisions. Seems I don't have any thyme so I used rosemary and added some garlic. I LIKE garlic!!  I also am using three pork chops instead of 8, since there are three of us here to eat. I also used brown rice, which calls for a ratio of 1 rice-2 water, so I used 1 cup of brown rice and 2 cups of chicken broth.... oh yeah.. I used my own chicken broth. LOL  Time will tell on how it turns out!  :)

Later; after eating supper....

Well, hubby said I could take that page out of the book, but then again he doesn't particularly care for rice, it isn't potatoes. LOL He did like the pork chop. Mom and I both thought it was good. Sooo... I'm not taking that page out of the book. LOL

Italian Sausage Stew

Found this online when I was looking for something to do with ... Italian Sausage!  Go figure!  LOL  Of course it calls for Bob Evans Italian Sausage.  :)

Italian Sausage Stew by Bob Evans


1 lb Bob Evans Italian Sausage Roll                           2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 (14.5 oz) cans beef broth                                       1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (16 oz) package frozen Italian blend vegetables      shredded Parmesan cheese to taste

In a Dutch oven, crumble and cook sausage over medium heat until browned; drain. Add tomatoes, beef broth, beans, frozen vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Cook 7 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.


This turned out good. Hubby even said it was tasty and liked it. As good as it was for supper, like soup or chili, it was better the second day. yuuummmm...

I did modify it, of course. LOL  I didn't crumble the sausage. I missed that part until after I had sliced it and I wasn't going to go crumble all those little pieces and I like my Italian sausage in slices, anyway. Ok... I'm lazy. LOL  I also didn't have any Italian style diced tomatoes so I used my plain Jane ones. Beef broth, I used my own beef broth I keep frozen in the freezer from when I make a roast. aahh.. kidney beans.. I didn't have any of those either, so I used sweet corn. I, also, don't like my stew to be soupy.... like soup, I like the liquid in the stew to be thick, so I thickened it. I thought.. hmmm cream cheese. I added some cream cheese to thicken it, didn't thicken it enough so I added some flour, too.

It still turned out good, even with all the differences from the recipe and what I did to it!

Peanut Butter Cookies

The only ones I've been able to make that taste good!

My mom has Type II Diabetes and LOVES cookies. She will buy these sugar free cookies at the store, but, they still have carbs in them. Not from sugar, but from the flour used in the cookies. When she eats bread the blood sugar jumps right up there.

I stumbled across this recipe for flour free peanut butter cookies and tried it. They are a VERY delicate cookie and will crumble if you look at them funny, but very good. And MOM likes them, which is good cause they are FOR her. LOL The recipe I have calls for a cup of sugar, but I will put the recipe here the way I do it, with Splenda.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 C organic/natural peanut butter (doesn't have sugar added)
1 C Splenda
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix it all up well, drop by teaspoon fulls onto cookie sheet, I greased mine, the recipe didn't call for that, but I always grease them, bake for 10 minutes in 350 degree pre-heated oven. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before taking them off to avoid crumbling. Makes 2 doz cookies.

DANG! These are so easy to make and they DO taste good, even with just the Splenda to sweeten them.

I also have tried the no-flour oatmeal cookies, but oatmeal... it still makes the blood sugar go up and that's what needs to be avoided. Next time I make the peanut butter cookies I'm going to add some chopped up walnuts.

Maple Toast and Eggs

Mom is doing very well at the Rehab center. They have her using a walker now. She does pretty darn good on it! The house is really quiet since she's been away. Huh? Am I insinuating my mother is loud? ROFLOL no... not at all. It's just different enough with her being gone it is just strange.

Here is a recipe I made for breakfast late January I believe. I did cut down on it. The recipe makes 12 cups and there were three of us. I just didn't think we'd eat all that. And I didn't think it was something you could just keep for left overs. I guess you could, but it just wouldn't be the same.

Maple Toast and Eggs from Taste of Home Winning Recipes cook book, pg. 139

12 bacon strips 1/2 C maple syrup

1/4 C butter 12 slices firm-textured white bread

12 eggs salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain.

In a small saucepan, heat syrup and butter until butter is melted; set aside. Trim crust from bread; flatten slices with a rolling pin. Brush one side generously with the syrup mixture; press each slice into an ungreased muffin cup with syrup side down.

Divide bacon among muffin cups. Carefully break one egg into each cup. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; Cover with foil. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 18-20 minutes or until the eggs reach desired doneness. Serve immediately. Yield: 12 cups

I tried it their way, ungreased. I will grease the muffin pan next time. It is quite good. We all liked it. I just made one for each of us the first time, next time I will make two for each of us! LOL

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

ohh... this was good. I fixed it today for dinner and we had sandwiches for supper. :) I can't say as I've ever added Worcestershire sauce to a white sauce before, but then again I haven't MADE that MANY white sauces. LOL I didn't use the sherry (or chicken broth). I was going to add the broth but forgot. It still came out tasting good. WHEW!!!

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham from Taste of Home - Cooking for Two, pg. 8, July 20, 2009

2 tsp butter 2 tsp flour

1/8th tsp salt 1/8th tsp pepper

dash Cajun seasoning 1/2 C 2% milk

1 1/2 tsp sherry or chicken broth 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese 1 med. potato, peeled & thinly sliced

1 C cubed, cooked ham 1/4 C thinly sliced onion

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning until smooth. Gradually add mil, sherry and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in 1/4 C cheese. Remove from the heat; set aside.
2. Place half the potato slices in a 1-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer with ham, onion, and half the white sauce. Repeat layers.
3. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F. for 50-60 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

oh oh... I didn't cover the dish before baking it. Didn't see that part till just now. YIKES It still turned out good. So... I reckon if I can mess up a recipe and it still turn out good, anyone can cook! :)

Cooked Cabbage

I love cabbage, raw, semi-raw, rolled, fried, boiled, I like it. When I fixed it the other night I did it just a little differently than the way I normally do, surprise!! LOL

I chopped it up in small enough peieces that it doesn't choke you going down because it is LONG, put it into a large skillet with melted butter and fried it with some chopped red onions. I think I used half an onion and enough cabbage to cover the bottom of the pan and heap upwards some but not spilling over the pan rim.

I covered the pan with the lid and let it cook some until it was pretty soft, but not all the way. I added about half a cup to a cup of water and some caraway seeds, covered, and let it cook some more, till it was all soft. Remember, if it's cooked veggies they have to be cooked soft for Mom to like them. :) She liked it. I did, too, so did Denny. Three out of three! YAYAYAYYAYY

Meat Loaf

Well... thought I should get back here. Mom had a bit of a mishap Friday morning, she fell and hit her head on the floor and it caused a bleed on her brain so she IS in the hospital and getting so much better. They had her up and walking a little bit this afternoon and had her sitting in a chair for a couple of hours. She's eating well, too! Tonight she is having beef stroganoff, which sounds sooooo good.

Thursday night Mom fixed meatloaf for supper. We've been having trouble with it sticking together! We haven't been doing anything different, we don't think anyway, but since we don't measure this or that, who knows! But we generally use a pound of ground beef, an egg, quick cooking oatmeal, spices, chopped onion, and milk. It's always worked before, but these last few times we've had to scoop it out and serve it with a SPOON! It still tasted as good as it always does when Mom makes meatloaf, though.

This time we did it a little differently. To the pound of ground beef I added a pound of bulk sausage, we used two eggs instead of one. After it was ketchupped on top and put into the oven, Mom remembered she didn't put in any spices or salt, but it was just too late then. I had the idea put it into the top of my steamer so the grease could drip down the holes into the pan. That was a good idea but it didn't work. A LITTLE grease dripped down, but the rest just stayed on top the meatloaf. Bigger holes are called for, I think. I'm wondering now, when I put meatloaf in the pan I usually pull it away from the sides of the pan after I pat it down. Mom doesn't. I wonder if that is having something to do with the meat not sticking together!

Oh.. her meatloaf Thursday night tasted just fine without the spices. LOL

Good ole' Goulash

That's what we had for supper last night. I rummaged around and rummaged around and din't know what to fix for supper. I asked Mom, she didn't know either. Of course, mothers ALWAYS know.. so she suggested goulash. Yeah! That was it, goulash. It turned out different, I liked how it turned out. I never fix it the same way, twice, I just put it together. Last night was no different, I through it together, but I know WHAT I did this time. LOL

Mind you, I don't measure anything. Everything is estimated.

Goulash

1 lb ground beef whole wheat macaroni

1 can tomato sauce 1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp dried rosemary 1 tsp dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste 1 onion chopped into medium pieces

1 packet sweetener or 2 tsp sugar

Cook the macaroni in boiling water until it's soft. While that is cooking, brown the hamburger, rinse with hot water and drain. Add the onions and cook till the onions are semi-soft. Add the rosemary and parsley, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir, let it simmer about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I noticed, last night, when I added the rosemary to the meat and onions, i just smelled so good, and then added the parsley. I hadn't noticed that aroma before when making goulash, so I figure I've never used it in there before. I liked it! I'll be fixing it this way again... no garlic, although I LOVE garlic and usually add it to everything, including goulash. I didn't last night and loved how the goulash turned out.

I found out...

I did.. I found out what Herbes de Provence is, a traditional blend of aromatic herbs that flourish in the hills of southern France. I even found a recipe if you want to mix your own blend.

From Encyclopedia of Spices

Recipe for Herbes de Provence.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon chervil
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon summer savory
1 teaspoon lavender
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon mint
2 powdered or chopped bay leaves

Prepartion:
Mix together all of the ingredients and store in a tightly sealed container.
Makes about 1/3 cup herb mix.

Tilapia Provencal

Wellll.... I guess they all can't be what we like. This had a couple of ingredients I'm not sure what they are, outside of olives and herbs. Call me a silver-haired menopausal blonde if you will... it's what I am. LOL Kalamata olives. Is that a brand? A type? Green? Black? I don't know, I've never heard of a Kalamata olive before, that I recall. It said pitted and I figured a black olive, but then I've seen green olives with pits in them as well. Herbes de Provence. Another brand? I've never seen that in the grocery stores I've been in, Kroger, Wal-Mart, Knights, Sam's. Course, I've never looked for it and it may have been there and I just didn't see it. Wouldn't be the first time for sure. LOL

Denny just plain didn't like it. Mom said it was ok but it wouldn't be something she would fix. It was ok, my rice wasn't done quite enough although it cooked long enough, more than called for, even. The fish tasted fishy. I have no clue why, but it could be tasted through all the herbs and spices and onions and tomatoes.

We all decided the dish might be ok with chicken breasts rather than fish. I might try that sometime.

Tilapia Provencal pg. 32, Woman's World, Mar 1, 2010 issue

2 Tbs olive oil 1 onion, chopped (1 C)

1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano 1/2 C pitted KIalamata olives, halved

1 tsp dried herbes de Provence 4 tilapia filets

1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper

Fresh parsley and cooked orzo, optional (it also suggest serving over whole0grain couscous or brown rice, I used the brown rice)

• In large nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tbs oil over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices, olives, and 1/2 tsp herbes de Provence. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 10 minutes.
• Transfer sauce to heatproof bowl; carefully wipe skillet clean with paper towel. Sprinkle tilapia with salt, pepper, and remaining herbes de Provence.
• In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add tilapia; cook, turning, 3-4 minutes per side, until browned and just cooked through. Pour reserved sauce over tilapia; heat 1 minutes. If desired, garnish with parsley and serve over orzo.

I did something wrong, I don't know, but this just wasn't a favorite meal tonight.

::: off to look up herbes de Provence and Kalamata olives ::: Am I the only one who doesn't know what these are? Let me know!!

Farmhouse Ham Chowder

Good stuff! I'd never made a chowder before in my life and I didn't know what to fix for supper tonight and was browsing through one of my new magazines and there it was. Yeah! I can do that one. I didn't have the celery and I didn't have vegetable broth (I used beef broth instead, chicken would have worked, too). It still turned out good!!

Farmhouse Ham Chowder pg 74, First for Women, Mar 1, 2010

1/2 lb green beans, trimmed & halved 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 C)

1 C each chopped carrots & celery 2 Tbs butter

1 1/2 lb baking potatoes, peeled/cubed 1 container (32 oz) vegetable stock

2 C milk 1/2 lb smoked ham, diced

1 Tbs each, chopped fresh parsley and dill

In saucepot of boiling salted water, cook green beans 2 min. Drain. In pot over medium-high heat, cook next 3 ingredients in butter for 2 min. Add potatoes, stock, and milk. Over high heat, brin to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover; let simmer 20 minutes. In blender, puree 1 1/2 C mixture; stir back into pot. Add beans and last 3 ingredients. Cook 2 minutes.

Serves 4

I cooked the beans longer than 2 minutes... they were frozen and I know Mom does not like crunchy veggies. If they are cooked veggie, they are supposed to be COOKED until they are soft. I also put the put the green beans in with the milk and stock and cooked them in there with the carrots and onions.

Try! Enjoy!

See... I have fallen off the menu planning big time. LOL Had to figure out what to have for supper tonight! :)

Waffles for Breakfast!

You know what??? Adding TWO eggs to the pancake mix to make waffles sure does make a difference!! I know, I know... you already know that, no doubt. It takes some folk a little more time to make a connection. I've only been cooking for what... a little over 40 years?

I've seen waffle recipes and they all have TWO EGGS instead of the ONE EGG for pancake recipes. I just didn't really make the connection of WHY until this morning. Never paid attention before. And I've been using my pancake (griddle cake) mix and just adding the one egg. The waffles turned out all right, nothing wrong with them... but when you put in the suggested TWO eggs. POOF! They poof right up there and get light and fluffy instead of flat and stuffy. Go ahead... say it with me.. ::: duuuuuuuhhhhh ::::

They were good waffles. Thick, light, fluffy, full of carbohydrates... Mom ate poached salmon and a poached egg. I fixed toast for her, too, but it turned black so I mixed that piece in with the dogs' food. They loved it. LOL

Poached Salmon

eeww... that just sounds awful... but it's GOOD! I had never made it before. When I did cook salmon it always turned dry, crunchy... I just didn't cook it right at all. I'm getting a little better at broiling it, though.

I made this for breakfast this morning! I got to thinking it would be something different than cereal, toast, bacon, the usual breakfast fare. (I even like tomatoes for breakfast sometimes!) I didn't want to broil the salmon, for the above reasons, I don't do it well, better, but not well. LOL So I went on the internet and looked for ways to fix salmon and saw poached salmon. I printed up about four different ways. The one I used is below, but I didn't use the 1/2 C wine and 1/2 C water, I used 1 C chicken broth, instead.

Poached Salmon from Simply Recipes dot com

1 to 1 1/2 lb salmon 1/ C dry white wine

1/2 C water Thin slices of yellow onion and shallot

Several sprigs of dill Sprig of fresh parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

Put wine, water, dill, parsley, and onions in a saute pan, and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Place salmon fillets, skin-side down, on the pan. Cover, cook 5 minutes, or to desired doneness. Do not overcook. Serve sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 2 - 4.

I didn't have the fresh dill and parsley so I used the dried dill weed and parsley. Mom and I liked it really well. Denny won't be having the salmon again. LOL He just is not a salmon person. ah well.. :) Leaves more for Mom and me.

Sour Milk Griddle Cakes/Mix

I found this recipe after searching for pancakes in the book.... of course I found it under griddle cakes. It makes some very good pancakes! ooops... griddle cakes, I'm sorry. I figured... hey... instead of grabbing the cookbook and mixing it all together, why don't I mix the dry ingredients together and save it as a pancake mix and use it as needed. I wouldn't have to buy pancake mix, either! (can ya tell I don't like processed foods?) LOL

I found the recipe in The Household Searchlight Recipe book. I did, of course, change it a bit. LOL I'll type in the book's version and put my amended part in with it. It isn't big. LOL I use the mix for pancakes and waffles, both.

Sour Milk Griddle Cake Mix

2 C flour (I use 1 C white, 1 C wheat)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 C sour milk
1/2 C sour cream (I don't use this all the time)
1 egg, well beaten

Sift flour, measure,and sift with baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sour cream, egg, and sour milk. Beat until smooth. Bake on hot griddle. 16 servings.

Now...what I do is mix all the dry ingredients together, put it into a plastic bag and seal it. On the bag I have written to add 1 egg, 2 C sour milk, 1/2 sour cream.

Sometimes I add the sour cream, sometimes I don't. I also let it set for five minutes after mixing before I put it in the pan or waffle iron to cook. It will usually thicken up and if it is too thick I add a little more milk.

Sloppy Joe Under a Bun

This was good. Denny picked it out. I did make some revisions in it... like... I don't have any cans of sloppy joe sauce, I always make my own. I don't have any biscuit mix, either. I was going to make some before I tried this recipe, but alas, I forgot. LOL So I hurriedly found a recipe for biscuits. I make lousy biscuits. LOLOL But this one looked like I could hand it, and they weren't really going to be biscuits, anyway. NOW I'm going to have to try the recipe as biscuits. :)

Sloppy Joe Under a Bun (1st Prize) pg. 189 of Taste of Home Winning Recipes

1 1/2 lb ground beef 1 can (15 1/2 oz) sloppy joe sauce

2 C (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese 2 C biscuit/baking mix

2 eggs, beaten 1 C milk

1 Tbs sesame seeds

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in sloppy joe sauce; mix well. Transfer to a lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish; sprinkle with cheese.

In a bowl, combine the biscuit mix, eggs, and milk just until blended. Pour over cheese; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F. for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 8 servings

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobuggers... I forgot the cheese!!!! aaaahhh, well, it still was good! I will be making this again.

Surprise!!

Well... that menu planning thing I was going through didn't last long. I knew it wouldn't. I still look at the same weekly menu I made ... what... three weeks ago? two weeks ago? and try to figure out what to fix for supper. LOL I didn't think it would last, but I did have good intentions. I may try it again sometime. Didn't Woman's Day or some magazine used to have a monthly menu plan with recipes to go with it? Sometimes I found something I would try, but I didn't use it all that much. Usually the food had things in it nobody in my family liked and I didn't have the stuff in the kitchen. But the option was there and I was glad for that.

I went a day without clean up!! I still cooked, I just didn't do cleanup. Neither did anyone else. So, this morning before I did anything else, cleanup was done. I can see the counters again and the clean dishes put away and the dirty dishes in the dish washer. Had to do it, no more room on the counters! LOL I like a tidy, neat house and things, I just don't always like to DO it.

I fixed supper last night. Denny liked it. He asked, "Did you get it from that book?"

"No, I got it from somewhere else." I didn't tell him I got it from my head. LOL We had Pearled Pasta with Pork and Roasted Veggies.

Pearled Pasta with Pork

2 C chicken or beef broth 1 C uncooked pearled pasta

1 leftover pork country rib Salt, Pepper, Spices if desired

Trim the left over country rib from fat (I hate fat... eeewwww) and cut into tiny pieces. Bring broth to boil, add the 1 C pasta and the cut up meat. Cook for 20 minutes on low heat until pasta is tender and liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and serve.

Roasted Veggies

1 small zuccini 1 small summer squash

1 med tomato 1/2 C grated Italian cheese

2 Tbs olive oil Italian seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice the zuccini, summer squash, and tomato into bite size pieces. Place in 9 inch square baking dish. Add the olive oil, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper, stir well covering all the veggies. Bake uncovered in pre-heated 400 degree F. oven for 30 minutes, or until veggies are tender, stirring after 20 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with grated Italian cheese and serve.

hmmm... I reckon I could print up these recipes and show them to Denny. ::: giggling :::

Country-Style Steak with Curry Gravy

mmmmm... I really like this one. I made this the first time.... YEARS ago. Hubby even likes it, although now if I suggest it he says he doesn't like curry, I fix it a couple weeks later and he loves it. Just can't ask him if he wants this or that. LOL

Country-Style Steak with Curry Gravy pg 326 in The Spice Cookbook

2 lbs boneless chuck or round steak 1/4 C flour

2 tsp salt 2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper 2 Tbs shortening

2 C sliced onion

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1 C boiling water 1/2 C sliced carrots

1/2 C sliced celery

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1 Tbs flour 3/4 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt Dash garlic powder

Trim excess fat from meat and discard it. Cut steak into serving-size pieces. Score meat or beat with a mallet on a board to break up fibers. Dredge in flour mixed with the 2 tsp salt and pepper. Brown on both sides in shortening in a 10-inch skillet. Add onions, cover, and cook 10 minutes or until onions are limp. Add next 3 ingredients.

Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until meat is tender. Place steak and vegetables on a warm platter. Combine remaining ingredients and add to pan drippings. Stir and cook until gravy is thick. Serve over mashed potatoes or rice.

Yield: 6 servings

Hubby's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hubby has his favorite chocolate chip cookies. He even asks me to make them for him at times! The last time I made them, I forgot one ingredient and he noticed it and said there was something different and he didn't particularly care for them without it.

I told him next time I made them I wouldn't forget to put it in. I later told him something about oatmeal and cookies and he said he didn't like oatmeal cookies, hates them, as a matter of fact. I then explained to him that the ingredient missing in my last batch of chocolate chip cookies that he likes so well and has eaten for years is oatmeal. He informed me he wouldn't be eating them any more. ::: huh? ::: ROFLOL Some people... LOL He'll eat them, he'll forget the missing ingredient was oatmeal and be happy about getting chocolate chip cookies, again. LOL Gotta love hubbies.

Oatmeal Cookies pg. 215 in The Spice Cookbook

1 C (2 sticks) soft butter 2/3 C shortening

2 tsp soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp vanilla extract

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2/3 C sugar 2 1/3 C light-brown sugar

4 large eggs

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2 C quick-cooking oatmeal 1 C chopped nuts

1 1/2 C seedless raisins (this is where I put the chocolate chips in instead of raisins)

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4 C sifted all-purpose flour

Blend together the first 8 ingredients. Gradually mix in white and brown sugars. Beat in eggs, one at a time. (it does make a difference, I don't know why). Stir in next 3 ingredients. Gradually stir in flour. Drop tablespoon portions of dough, 2 inches apart, onto lightly greased cookie sheets.

Bake in a preheated moderate oven (375 degrees F.) 10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets, then place on wire racks to finish cooling. Store airtight.

Since this cookie dough keeps well in the refrigerator in a covered bowl, bake off as many cookies as desired at a time. Return remaining dough to the refrigerator and bake fresh batches as needed.

Yield: 8 dozen 3-inch cookies

In the book they are Oatmeal Cookies with raisins in them. I just substitute the chocolate chips for the raisins and omit the nuts. Hubby doesn't like nuts in cookies, or anything else.

What I have been doing lately is, bake half the dough with just the chocolate chips and then add raisins, nuts, dried cranberries, or what-have-you in the other half and back them. I keep them in separate cookie jars and everyone is happy. :)

Hope you like this recipe!!

Artichokes Au Gratin

I'd never made an artichoke dish before. I don't have a clue why. But, I found this recipe and it looked easy enough that even I could make it, and it sounded good, too. I made it. It's good! I didn't mess it up, although I did mess up the kitchen! But then, that is a normal thing. It's back to the dreaded clean-up after cooking. I do try to put things away as I am finished with them and wipe up messes as I go along, but there is still that clean-up thing after it's all finished. Such is life. :)

Artichokes Au Gratin pg 271 Taste of Home Winning Recipes

recipe by Marjorie Bowen, Colorado Springs, Colorado

2 cans (14 ounces each) water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and quartered

1 minced garlic clove

1/4 C butter, divided 1 egg, lightly beaten

2 Tbs all-purpose flour 1/2 C shredded Swiss cheese, divided

1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbs dry bread crumbs

1/4 tsp pepper 1/8 tsp paprika

1 1/2 C milk

In a skillet, saute the artichokes and garlic in 2 Tbs butter until tender. Transfer to a greased 1-qt. baking dish.

In a saucepan, melt the remaining butter. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Add 1/4 C cheese, stirring until melted.

Pour over artichokes; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Combine crumbs and paprika; sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Italian Ribs and Rice

I find that I can't always trust a recipe. Time wise. Preparation time: 20 min Cook: 1 3/4 hours. Ok... that would make it two hours and 15 minutes... right?? uh uh.... not in my kitchen. ROFLOL I started this recipe so it would be ready to eat by 6 p.m., it was around 7:15 p.m. when we sat down to eat. Or else, I started it later than I thought I did, which is entirely possible. It was worth the wait, though.

Italian Ribs and Rice from Taste of Home

• 3 pounds country-style pork ribs
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 1 small green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions

• In a Dutch oven, brown ribs in oil over medium-high heat. Cover and cook over low heat for 1-1/4 hours, turning occasionally. Remove ribs and set aside; drain.
• In the same pan, bring tomatoes and water to a boil. Stir in the rice, green pepper, garlic, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and Italian seasoning. Place ribs over rice; sprinkle with remaining salt. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until rice and meat are tender. Yield: 6 servings.

Originally published Italian Ribs and Rice published in Country Extra March 2000, p51