Popovers

A picture sure can be suggestive. I saw a photo of some popovers on Flickr and suddenly wanted to try some. It occurred to me that I'd never made popovers before (or scones for that matter 'till recently) so I'd have to find a recipe (no recipe with the Flickr photo).

No problem there. Lots of recipes out there. I tried this one because it looked easy and you could change the serving size (and have the correct ingredient amounts) with their handy dandy converter.

And I learned a lesson or two as well -- don't use butter to butter the sides or popovers won't pop, they'll have a sunken in spot on the bottom, use non-stick spray...and don't forget to use the non-stick spray as I did once or the popovers will stick to the muffin tin (I don't have a popover pan).

Also, don't be afraid to mix them well. I always worry about over mixing but in this case a few more beats would've been ok.

Still... they came out very good. They were light, airy, and yummy with butter or jam or both. I'll definitely be making them again. A great weekend treat.

The recipe:

2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt


Preheat your oven to 450F. Grease and flour six custard cups or the cups of your muffin pan. Or, coat with non-stick cooking spray (as I did on the batch that came out the best for me).

In a medium bowl beat the eggs slightly, beat in the flour, milk, and salt, until just smooth. Try not to over beat. Fill your custard or muffin cups 1/2 full.

Bake at 450F for 20 minutes. Decrease the oven temperature to 350F and bake for 20 minutes more. Immediately remove from cups and serve hot.

The peanut butter ice (cream) experiment

I knew I had an ice cream maker somewhere in this house. Found it recently and after this little experiment, remembered why I stored it away... I can't make decent ice cream. But I'm going to keep trying (so long as the thing keeps working anyway) because one of these days I'll get right.





This? Was an adaption from a bunch of different recipes and another something I forgot... soy milk added to a cream mixture makes ice milk (or ice, period), not ice cream. Still, for a first try (in so many years), it was ok. I have something else in mind for any future attempts... like actually using cream (not half & half) and also trying this recipe with peanut butter (I'm allergic to hazelnuts) sometime soon.

I should've used all half & half for this recipe but I was trying to "healthy it up" a bit but by doing so it changed the texture. A lot!


The recipe:

1 1/2 cups half & half
1 1/2 cup soy milk
(should have tried 2 1/2 cups 1/2 & 1/2 and 1/2 cup soy milk)
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup sugar


I heated all the ingredients in a saucepan until the sugar and powdered milk was dissolved and the peanut butter was melted. Stored the mixture in the fridge and added it to the ice cream maker per instructions the next day.


The result was a peanut butter ice milk concoction (that I took out of the freezer and stirred every hour for a few hours to help thicken it up) that wasn't bad at all but not what I was hoping for.

Better luck next time.

Chocolate cake, ganache, and marshmallow

This almost worked.

I found the marshmallow frosting and ganache* recipes here.

My version? It wasn't pretty but it tasted good. That's pretty much how most of what I make comes out. Tasty, not pretty. Just eat it! :)

My mistake(s) this time was making the frosting too soon and then (gasp!) refrigerating it. Let that be a lesson to all...do not refrigerate homemade marshmallow frosting until you've already frosted your cake! Silly me.

That said... this was still really good.

I used a boxed cake mix...hey, I considered trying one from scratch but I thought I was being adventurous enough trying the homemade frosting. I've made the confectioners sugar (with and without cream cheese) kind, but never a "cook on the stove" kind. Someday I'm going to brave a butter cream attempt (maybe this one). Not this day though.

I sliced the cake carefully (by hand, no dental floss* trick, though I considered it) into 4 layers. Used this* ganache recipe (fabulous!) on each layer, and the marshmallow frosting on top.

The result? Well, as I said, it's not pretty but it sure was good. The ganache keeps the cake moist and the marshmallow frosting is light (even my soupy version, it thickened up after re-refrigeration) and not too sweet and really brought out the chocolate flavor in the (yep, boxed) chocolate cake. Yummy!

A little picture story... click the images to see the larger versions:






I'd make this again. It was a big hit. I just won't refrigerate the frosting until it's on the cake!
(so it won't get oozy next time)

Apple cake

...Or overflowing apple cake. Either. My own fault. Always follow your instinct when cooking. I thought I should have split this batter into two pans but for some reason thought it would be fine, and left it as is. Good thing I went with the "cook it on a cookie sheet" option (and listened to that instinctual nudge)!

I've made this recipe twice so far. First time I had the overflow problem, second time I split what looked like too little batter into two separate pans. Good thing. That too-little-looking batter totally filled both pans. So definitely split this into two pans if it looks like a lot. The pan shouldn't be more than 1/4 full.

I got the recipe from here. You can frost this cake but I chose not to.

First time, instead of dicing, I shredded the apple and followed the rest of the recipe as-is. The second time I shredded half and diced half, to see if it made a difference in the texture, and used 1 & 1/2 cups of sugar instead of two. I wanted to see if cutting down changes anything. For some reason the two cups of sugar to only two cups of flour seemed like an awful lot. Using 1/2 cup less of sugar didn't seem to make any difference so I'll make this using 1 1/2 cups of sugar from now on.


The recipe:

4 cups peeled and diced apples (1st try, I shredded 8 small apples, which was about 3-3 1/2 cups or so; 2nd try, half diced and half shredded was about 4-4 1/2 cups)
2 cups sugar (second time, I used 1 1/2 cups sugar, and will from now on)
1/2 cup salad oil
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour (all purpose, not self rising)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Heat your oven to 350ºF degrees. In a large bowl, mix apples and sugar thoroughly.

(The original recipe adds the rest of the ingredients to the apple mixture but I kept the apples and sugar in one bowl and the rest in another and mixed them together after prepping each.)

Add the oil, nuts, eggs and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients together and add to the apple mixture.

Bake in a greased 13x9 inch pan for 1 hour. (I used one 13x9 pan the first time and had the overflow problem, second time I used a 13x9 pan and a 9x9 pan, worked perfectly) Slightly underdone is better (according to the recipe, see link above) than overdone. I'd agree with that because you have to factor in carryover*.

Start checking this at the half hour mark if you split the batter. My second (split) batch took 35 minutes to cook.


This will turn a very toasty shade of brown. That's ok, it's from all the sugar and the cinnamon.

Taste-wise...this was very moist, and tasty. And surprisingly, not overly sweet at all. Dicing the apples does make a difference in the texture. The apple pieces get all soft and pleasingly gooey. I think dicing half and shredding half is a good mix.

I wanted something different from the cobbler-type dessert I usually make when I have a surplus of apples and this worked great. Quick and easy and just the something different I was looking for.

This froze and defrosted well too. I cut up the cake from the second pan into single servings (zippy bagged them) and froze them to take to work. It was just as good as the day I baked it.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Something I threw together while making something else. I didn't have a recipe, just went with what seemed right. I was pretty happy (considering I had no recipe) that it came out good! :)

I used large white mushrooms (I had 8 at the time) with the stems removed, and reserved. Lightly salted the insides. Baked the caps empty-side-up, for about 20-25 minutes in a toaster oven on 325F, until they lost some of their moisture, but still held their shape.

For the filling, I finely chopped the following and put it in a small bowl:

1/2 celery rib
1/4 onion
1 plum tomato
8 stems with the (picked side) ends cut off

To this I added one shredded baby carrot, 2-3 tablespoons of flavored breadcrumbs, one tablespoon (store bought) shredded Parmesan cheese, and about a tablespoon of melted butter. Mixed it well, and filled each mushroom cap evenly, and overfilled them with what was left.

I baked this in a toaster oven at 350F for about 30 minutes.

The result? Oh, they were delicious! And I will definitely be making these again. I didn't realize how easy this kind of treat could be. And because the filling would change depending on what ingredients I have handy, it would end up a little different every time. That would add some variety to my usual veggies. Maybe next time I can skip the butter and use a spray on salad dressing instead, or some butter flavored (non-stick) spray.

Sweet Cheat Popcorn

I've been trying to make a kettle-corn style popcorn and an easy caramel type popcorn for ages. By "easy" I mean-- one pot, no separate caramel making, no additional baking, with butter and salt being optional. Easy, you know?

Every time I just tried adding a little (1/4 cup or less) brown sugar to the heating kernels (stove top popcorn prep), I'd end up with hard granules attached to the corn. Not quite what I was looking for. Not to mention a little hard on my teeth.

I think I finally did it though. It was a total fluke. While the kernels were heating up (again, stove top prep, kernels cooking in a little oil) I added some brown sugar, like usual. Only this time, instead of just stirring and hoping for the best, I also added a little water.

This made all the difference! The water dissolved the sugar (have to stir this mixture until the kernels start popping, then continue cooking with the cover on, keeping the pot moving), and the whole works boiled and became a syrupy consistency by the time the kernels started to pop. The syrupy mixture cooked onto the newly popped kernels and finally I had easy stove top sweet popcorn! Yum!

Of course, this probably isn't a secret, and many of you out there, likely already knew this. Silly me though for never thinking of it 'till recently. (I worried that adding water to popcorn makes mush; it probably does if the kernels have popped, but not while they're still kernels.)

So, this adds to the many ways you can make popcorn. To this sweet mixture I've drizzled butter on top and added salt. Very tasty! But probably best as an occasional treat.

The best thing is, made this way, it's tasty as-is, which is exactly what I wanted. A little sweet, without the added butter or extra steps trying to make caramel or having to bake it. Still have to be extra careful of the unpopped kernels. Now they'll likely stick to the popped ones. Eat carefully!

Cinnamon Gnocchi

I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian, only, the recipe that was in the episode doesn't quite match the recipe on the website. Strange.

In the episode, she used a half of a cup of sugar, and a tablespoon or so of cinnamon, which is different than the website version.

I made my own version so I guess it doesn't matter. I was kind of bummed that I couldn't get the sugar to dissolve in the butter. At least it looked that way but in the end, the sugar dissolved and this came out pretty good.

I've never had gnocchi before so this was a completely different dessert for me and definitely not the way I intended to have it initially. Nice change. (I intended to add the gnocchi to tomato sauce)

This is how I made this:

1 & 1/2 cups gnocchi, boiled in salted water until tender (per package instructions), and drained

Set this aside.

In the same saucepan that I cooked the gnocchi in (empty now but still hot) I added:

1/2 stick butter
1 cinnamon stick

Melt the butter, and then add:

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Cook this mixture until the sugar melts, or, 3-5 minutes on low to medium heat, stirring often.

Remove the cinnamon stick. Add the drained gnocchi.

In both the website and TV episode version of this recipe, that was it. Done. In my version, I cooked the gnocchi in the sauce another two minutes.

That's it. Plate it and enjoy.
Definitely have to serve this warm!


I felt better having used much less butter, but wondered if more butter made the sauce thicker. Possibly. But I'd rather have a slightly looser sauce and know I used a lot less butter.



Another good thing about this recipe is the wonderful way it makes your kitchen smell. Dessert and aromatherapy all in one. Nice!

Birds in a Nest

I was half watching a 30 Minute Meals episode and discovered this fun twist on eggs and toast.

My version for two requires 4 eggs, 4 pieces of bread (any sliced bread, I used Italian, and cooked up the cut-outs too), 1-3 TBS. butter, and salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat a frying pan on medium heat. (If you're using a small pan, you can cook these in smaller batches) Use a small cup or circular cutter to cut a circle in the center of each piece of bread. Lower the heat to medium. Melt 1 or two TBS. of butter in the hot frying pan. Arrange your bread in the pan. (I placed the bread in the pan, allowed it to soak up a little butter, then turned it over)

Carefully break an egg into the center of each piece of bread. Pepper to taste. Add a dash of salt if you wish. Cook to desired doneness.

You're basically frying your toast instead of baking it. If you like your eggs soft side up you will be done within 3-4 minutes. If you like them over-easy, just flip and wait a minute.




I like mine well done.


This was kind of fun (new twist, cute name) so it worked nicely. Might try spicing it up a bit next time or sprinkling on some cheese (parmesan or cheddar) right at the end.

A.B.'s Peanut Butter Fudge (easy!)

I saw this recipe on Good Eats. Yummmmy!

Sure looked easy. Alton Brown uses a microwave, but I don't have one (really!) so I did this on the stove top. The episode recipe is here. I think mine is the same except that I don't have a scale so I checked for conversions and came up with what I thought was close enough. Someday I hope to try his chocolate fudge. Looked really good in the episode.

This peanut butter fudge recipe is easy!

Before you start, prepare a square (8"x8" or 9"x9") pan by lining it with non-stick foil, waxed paper, or parchment paper. Set aside.

You'll need:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup creamy (smooth) peanut butter

Melt this in a saucepan on low heat (or in your microwave), stirring often.

In a (metal or heat safe) bowl, add 1 lb (or about 3 and 3/4 cups) sifted confectioners (powdered) sugar.

Add 1 Tsp. vanilla to the bowl.

When the peanut butter and butter is thoroughly melted, add the mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Mix well! Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and cover with a piece of waxed paper. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (or overnight) and when cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

These were melt in your mouth delicious! Good for the occasional treat.


I also tried a chocolate version of this recipe. I wasn't brave enough to try it without some peanut butter added in case it added something to the texture.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth)
1 and 1/4 cups chocolate chips
2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla
Prepared the same way as above.

For a little variety, the peanut butter chocolate fudge would work out pretty good. A different mouth feel than the version I usually make (when making easy chocolate "fudge"). Fun to experiment sometimes.

Bread Pudding

There are so many variations of this recipe out there. I just winged it, and usually do with this recipe. I've made this before and it comes out a little different every time. It always tastes good though, and that's the point. Something about the nutmeg and the milk, comfort food for sure. Very yummy.


This is the recipe I used the last time I made it, and the only thing I would do differently, is add more soy milk. In the bread pudding pictured, I used about 2 cups. The next time I'll use about 2 1/2 to 3 cups.



Ingredients:

8-10 slices white bread, cut in to cubes
2 1/2 - 3 cups soy milk (I used vanilla flavored, you can use regular milk of course)
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 TBS to sprinkle over the top
Dash salt
4 eggs beaten
1 Tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon & nutmeg (about 1 Tsp. or to taste, plus a couple of dashes on top)
Non-fat cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 325ºF -- preheat to 350ºF if using metal baking dishes. I used corningware in aluminum, so I cooked this longer, at a lower temperature.

Spray a baking dish with non-fat cooking spray and set aside. Set aside a larger baking pan. The smaller one will sit in the larger one, along with some water.

Place your cut up bread in the smaller baking dish. In a bowl with a whisk, beat the eggs well. Add the soy milk and whisk together. Add the 3/4 cup sugar, the nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt, and mix well.

Slowly pour the mixture over the cubed bread. Make sure you do not fill your baking dish to the very top. The mixture will rise when cooked and might overflow if the container is too full. Gently press the bread so all of it soaks up the egg mixture.

Sprinkle the remaining 2 TBS. sugar over the top. Sprinkle a little cinnamon and nutmeg over the top as well. Lightly cover with foil (make a little tent so the foil isn't touching the top of the bread pudding), and poke a few holes in the foil so the steam can vent while cooking.

Place the empty, larger baking dish on a center rack in your oven. Carefully place the smaller, foil covered baking dish inside the larger one. Carefully pour hot tap water in the larger baking dish until the water level is just less than 1/2 up the side of the smaller baking dish.

(This is called a "water bath" and is to ensure even, gentle heating of your custard)


Depending on your cooking vessel and oven, cook for 30-40 minutes and remove the foil cover. Cook for another 20-40 minutes, checking at the 20 minute mark. When the bread pudding is done, it will rise a little in the baking dish, be golden brown on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

This is my version which is much thicker. In a milkier version, (the kind I'll make next time!) the bread pudding custard will be a little runny, and will feel slightly firm, and even jiggle a little when the baking dish is gently shaken. The toothpick should still come out clean though.

This is best served warm, and can be gently reheated. Very much a tasty comfort food.

Devilled Eggs

There are many devilled egg recipes out there. This is a quick version I tried. They weren't pretty but they sure tasted good.

You will need:

6 hardboiled eggs, shells removed
1/2 Tsp. ground mustard seed or 1-2 Tsp. mustard (the kind you'd put on your sandwich)
1-2 TBS. (per taste) cider or red wine vinegar
1/4 cup (plus 1 TBS. if needed) mayonnaise
Pepper (to taste)
Dash of salt
Paprika

Cut the eggs in half and reserve the yolks in a small bowl. Arrange the egg halves on a plate. Add the mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and some of the mayo to the bowl of egg yolks and mash together with a fork or the back of a tablespoon. Add a little more mayonnaise as needed to make the yolks loose enough to spoon or pipe into your egg halves.

I spooned the yolk mixture into the egg halves, then sprinkled with paprika.

As an alternative, you can use a zip top or flap top sandwich bag, spoon the yolk mixture into the bag, work the mixture to one corner, snip the corner with a clean pair of scissors, and squeeze the mixture on to each egg half in a decorative swirl. That would create a much prettier result than mine.


These were tasty though, and I made them because wanted to see how difficult they were to make (they were easy!) and how they would taste. For a gathering, I would try a little harder to make them look better. For a snack at home with family, these were very good as is.

Easy Appetizer Meatballs

A few years ago my aunt started making these scrumptious meatballs for holiday snacking and I've always wanted to try making them myself because they were just so good. Had I known how easy they could be to make, I would've made them much sooner. (She always calls them "Swedish meatballs" but technically they're just flavored, and very tasty!)

She uses frozen meatballs for this but you can make your own, which is what I did. If you use frozen meatballs, prepare those per package instructions or bake them as I baked my home made ones.

Her recipe is a lot like the rest of the recipes in our family, kind of loose without exact measurements so you can experiment with the amounts to find what you like the best.

If anyone knows the original recipe for this I would be happy to attribute it.



This is how I made them:

--Meatballs--

1 lb ground beef (any ground meat of choice or combination would do fine but since it's the sauce that make this so good, you might want to save the more expensive stuff for another meal)
1 egg
1 onion finely diced or shredded (I shredded)
dash of milk
3 baby carrots, shredded (for moisture, and an added touch of "veggie")
1/2 cup or so of breadcrumbs plain or flavored (or 2 slices of bread, dampened with water, then squeezed of the excess water; I used Italian flavored breadcrumbs)
Dash of pepper
Dash of thyme

Mix the above ingredients together well.

On a baking sheet (the kind with sides, lined with foil, or a wire rack with a tray to catch the fat) that you've sprayed with non-stick cooking spray-- roll the mixture into small 1 inch or smaller balls and place on your bake ware of choice. Only a small amount of room in between meatballs is required. They do not lump together when cooking.

Cook at 350ºF for about an hour. Halfway through the cooking time you can turn each one (or if you're using the pan with sides, just give the pan a little shake) and continue cooking.

When the meatballs are cooked (cut one in half and make sure it's cooked all the way through) remove them from the oven and lower your oven temperature to 325ºF.

Place your meatballs in a baking dish. I used a corningware casserole container for the next step.

--The Sauce--

In a small bowl mix the following together:

1 cup of barbeque sauce
4-5 heaping tablespoons of grape jelly (yep, I was surprised too)
1/4 cup water (optional, I added this water, it wasn't part of the recipe)

Pour the mixture over the cooked meatballs.

Bake (at 325ºF) covered (I cover with foil) for 45 minutes to an hour. The mixture will be bubbly and dark.



And that's it, you're done!

Serve with toothpicks at your next gathering, or as a sweet and special side with some veggies and your favorite potato or rice.

I think the only thing I would do differently next time is make these meatballs just a little smaller. Mine were slightly bigger than the inch size. Other than that, they were very good. There is a taste-difference between the packaged (ready-made) meatballs and home made of course, but it all comes down to how much time you have and what you're making them for. Making this for a party? The frozen variety will save you prep time, and they taste good so go for it.



It was good to make these, and find they tasted as good as my aunt's version. Something different and tasty that reminds me of holidays and family time. Can't go wrong with that.

Mini Pizza (a variation)

I saw a commercial recently that showed those easy-bake biscuits being used for various other things like flaky desserts and little pizzas and ooh, that all looked very good.

I didn't have a recipe for this or anything, but here's a little variation of the english muffin mini pizza I'd have made otherwise.



This was dinner:

Two (from the canister) biscuit dough rolls, kneaded into a flat round disk each, and placed on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Add sliced tomatoes and spray each lightly with butter flavor cooking spray. Bake at 350F (or in your toaster oven, as I did on high/500F) for 5 minutes. Need to partially bake the biscuit dough so it isn't soggy and so the dough can thoroughly cook.

Remove from the heat and add your toppings. I used french fried onions (the kind from the can), oregano, pepper, and 2% fat shredded cheddar cheese (pre-packaged, this was a very quick & easy dinner). Bake for 15 minuntes or until the dough is golden and the cheese is bubbly.


Made for a tasty, easy meal. Not one I'd have everyday but once in a while something like this hits the spot. Sometimes I put a chunk of cheese in the center of these (from the canister) type of biscuits and bake with a bit on top. Goes well with dinner, or alone for breakfast on a weekend.

Stuffed Chicken

I usually like anything that's stuffed. Fish, chicken, veggies, mmmmmm! If it's got something in it, chances are I'll try it (though, there are some exceptions).

I had recently read about an interesting recipe for chicken roulade. The stuffing was a mix of asparagus and goat cheese (among other things) and sounded like it would be very good. But of course, I had neither fresh asparagus (canned or jarred might've been too mushy) and no feta (that's almost a crime!).... but I still wanted to give this a shot.

So, I used what I had... and made my very first roulade! (well, sort of...) I think this could be fun to experiment with different filling combinations. For now, this is what I threw together. This was enough for two, served with some rice and veggies.

This is what I used:

1 celery stalk, 3 baby carrots, 1/2 small onion, diced fine (also called a mirepoix)
butter, about 4 TBS
pepper
1/2 - 3/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Italian flavored)
1 boneless chicken breast
nonstick cooking spray
wooden toothpicks

Line a baking/roasting pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. An oven-safe container without foil, but sprayed with the nonstick spray will work nicely too.

Heat up a small sauce pan and add the butter. Once melted, add the diced celery, onion, and carrot mixture and let that saute a bit on very low heat, stirring occasionally.

Lay out a large sheet of clear plastic wrap (I did this on a cutting board) and place your chicken breast on top towards one side, and cover with the remaining plastic. You want the piece of chicken to be in the center. With the flat side of a meat tenderizer (food mallet, can bottom, anything that's hard, unbreakable, that you can use to) flatten the chicken breast until it's a little (flatter and) wider than what you started with. You want it thin enough to roll but thick enough to be able to hold the stuffing.

This took me a little time because I didn't want to create any holes so I didn't bang too hard. Basically you need to pound the meat in the center (or) where it's the thickest and slide outwards. Also, I'm not sure which side is the better side to pound, but if this breast had skin (it didn't, but if it did), I pounded the skin side (and flipped the piece over before adding the filling). It just seemed like the other side was more delicate and might tear too easily.

Add the breadcrumbs to the butter, celery, carrot, and onion mixture and stir to mix well. Take off the heat.

Remove the top layer of plastic wrap from your chicken and spoon on your filling, with more filling on the wider end because you will roll from here. Don't over-stuff! Too much stuffing just ends up oozing out the sides of the roll (like in the picture below). It's ok if you have extra filling, it can be wrapped in foil and cooked separately.


Using the plastic wrap to help you, but being careful not to include the plastic wrap inside the chicken, roll your flattened chicken breast from the wider side to the narrower side (though now, I wonder if it would've been better to roll from the narrower side to the wider side). Use two-4 toothpicks to secure. Still using the plastic wrap to hold your roll, place your rolled chicken open/seam side down on your prepared baking dish and then discard the wrap.

Use a fork or wooden toothpick to gently poke some holes along the top and sides of the roll. Shake on some pepper. Bake (uncovered) until the juices run clear (when poked with a toothpick).

I cooked this in a toaster oven on high (450-500°F), for about 35-40 minutes. In a regular oven, I'd start checking it after 25 min (at 350°F). Also cut it in half to be sure it was cooked through. First time making this, seemed like a good idea to make sure.

Maybe next time I'll try rolling the other way (narrow end to wide end) and see if that's easier. I didn't have time to refrigerate the roll for a few hours before cooking it, but doing so might've prevented the filling from oozing out a bit too. So that, along with a different filling mixture is something to consider the next time I try this.

Although it's nothing like the recipe that sparked the urge to try this type of thing, all in all, I'd say it came out pretty good.

Tofu - pudding/pie filling?

I saw a recipe in a magazine for tofu pudding. Sounded simple and easy, and of course, tasty. Also saw something similar on a Good Eats episode. Both recipes were meant to be used as a pie filling.

Since the magazine recipe had only 3 ingredients (1 pkg. firm tofu, drained, 12 oz. melted chocolate chips, 1 tsp. vanilla, blend on high until smooth in a blender), I figured it wouldn't take too long (and it didn't).

I wonder if the resulting texture was correct though. It was more, fudge-like than pudding like. It would've made a great pudding dessert if served right away because it had a fluid texture and was smooth (though slightly bland with a darker chocolatey color). But once refrigerated, the fluid-like texture becomes very firm and thick (and the color lightened). So I'm not sure how this would be in a pie. With cream (or whipped topping) folded in it might make a nice cake filling.

Still..... healthy chocolate? Mmmmm. I think next time I'll add honey (as in the Good Eats recipe) and maybe some Kahlua for added flavor.

If you try this, make sure you drain the tofu well; place wrapped in paper towels with a weight/heavy can on top so the water can drain. Let it drain for about an hour.

Both recipes recommended using a blender but I think I'll try this in a food processor to see if it comes together quicker. Plan to also try using silken tofu to see if that changes the texture after refrigerating.

Overall, this was good. Dense and heavy, but pretty good.

Turkey Meat Loaf

Mom's meat loaf...

I always knew there was a secret to some recipes. Like the tasty stews and meat loaf meals that my mother made (and still makes). I always tried so hard to make them come out just the way she did, but never managed it. Finally I asked her what her secret was, and what was I doing wrong?

It turns out there are these "flavor packets" (powder mixes) for stews, meat loaf, and other such meal items (like the bake-in-a-bag roasted meals, those need a nice secret mix too).
Surprise! She thought I knew. Nope. And yep, she had a good laugh about it too.

Ok... now I know. And won't ever make another meat loaf (or stew) without a mix! Ah, but not the whole mix. If you use the whole mix, it usually comes out too salty (for us anyway). So you have to adjust for taste. If you like it really salty, use the whole mix, if you don't, use about half.

This is her basic meat loaf recipe, only, a healthier version, made with ground turkey instead of ground beef. Little by little I've managed to decrease the red meat we were having too often with "other white meat" meals. Like this one. (turkey tacos anyone? they're pretty good too...but thats another recipe and not-so-secret mix)

1/2 to 3/4 ground turkey
1 egg, beaten
2-3 TBS milk (or half & half)
1-2 pieces of sliced bread, (dampen it with water, squeeze excess)
dash onion powder
dash (dried) sweet basil
dash (dried) oregano
dash (dried) paprika
pepper to taste
1/2 packet "meat loaf mix" (seasoning packet, pick your favorite brand, there are a few)
1 8oz. can tomato sauce

Mix everything together except the tomato sauce. Make sure the bread is mixed in well. Place the mixture in a loaf pan (we usually put it in a foil lined loaf pan, for easier cleanup). Pour the tomato sauce on top and add a little more pepper and onion powder.

Bake at 350°F (in the center rack of your oven) for 1 and a half hours.

Tasty!

We accompanied this particular meal with onion potatoes and brussel sprouts.

For the potatoes, mix a little oil (just enough to coat the potatoes) and some onion soup mix (there's another mix!) in a baking/roasting pan, add some potatoes (cut however you like them, we usually do a large dice) and mix well. Make sure the potatoes are all coated with the oil and soup mix. Add a little water and bake for an hour or so (same temp). I found the onion potato recipe on the onion soup mix box, and have made it before. I just don't usually mix this in a plastic bag as they recommend. Too messy (and you can't get all the mix out of the bag afterwards, so it's kind of a waste).

A night or two later, the leftover meat loaf became (with the help of a seasoned tomato sauce) a very satisfying meat sauce for spagetti.

Quick Tomato sauce

2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
add a dash of: oregano, pepper, crushed rosemary, onion powder, salt
leftover meat loaf, crumbled


In a sauce pan on low heat, bring the sauce and seasonings to a slow simmer and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Use it on your favorite pasta. Mmm!

Easy Chocolate Fudge

My cousin passed this one along a few Christmas's ago. Love how easy this one is. No complications and it always comes out great. Granted, it's not the same as the kind you need a candy thermometer for, but when you need a chocolate fix, this does the trick quite nicely.

You will need:

12 oz. milk chocolate chips.
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated)
1 1/2 - 2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 TBS. butter
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
chocolate chips, chopped nuts, sprinkles --optional topping variations

In heavy saucepan, over low heat, heat up the sweetened condensed milk (do not boil!). Stir this as it's warming so it doesn't scald. When it's hot (but not boiling), add the chocolate chips and stir until smooth.

When all the chocolate chips are melted, turn off the heat and add the vanilla. Add the butter and stir quickly until it melts. Add the nuts (if you're adding any) and mix well.

Spread evenly into a wax (or parchment) paper lined 8-inch square pan.
Chill 2 to 3 hours (or better, overnight) until firm.

When you're ready to cut...turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off paper and cut into squares. Store loosely covered at room temperature. This can be stored in the fridge for a week or so, just take it out an hour or two before you want to eat it.

If you want a topping (nuts, chocolate chips, sprinkles), you can add them on top before putting the fudge in to the regrigerator to cool. When you're ready to cut the fudge, unstead of turning the pan over, use the wax (or parchment) paper to pull the fudge out of the pan, and cut then cut it into squares.

Adding the topping to the pan before adding the fudge sometimes leads to it being mixed in and when you turn the pan over later, the topping ends up uneven; adding it on top just before refrigerating, you can press it lightly onto the top of the fudge and it will stay in place better when cutting.

This is a soft fudge that tastes very much like the chips you use, so you'll want to use a kind you like. Milk chocolate works better than the semisweet variety in this recipe.

Chocolate nut clusters

Just something tasty that's very quick. I tried this two ways. The first attempt was using some corn syrup and a little butter along with the chocolate. Seized! Obviously did something wrong and since I'm not sure what, (maybe the order I added the ingredients, or maybe it was steam; I used a big metal bowl over a small saucepan with boiling water-- a do-it-yourself double boiler), the second time I tried what works.

I was aiming for a nice sheen and some snap. Maybe next time.
The second attempt worked just fine.

I had some leftover cashews from an unsalted snack container and some sliced almonds leftover from the cookies I made.

This is easy.

Bake about 2 cups worth of whole (shelled, unsalted) nuts (mixed, on a foil lined baking sheet) for about 5 minutes in a 350°F oven. Stir and check them every other minute or so because nuts burn so quickly. Take them out of the oven when they're very lightly browned (or tanned... too brown makes them bitter).

On the stovetop in a small saucepan (direct, didn't try the double boiler method the second time) melt three quarters of an 11.5oz bag (or all of it if you like) of milk chocolate chips on very low heat. Stir this continuously once the chips start to melt. When all the chips are melted and your chocolate is smooth, take this off the heat. Add the nut mixture and stir well to coat.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on to wax or parchment paper. It's best if this paper is on a cookie sheet that will fit in your refrigerator. Once you've spooned out the chocolate nut clusters, refrigerate until they're set. A few hours or overnight (if like me, this is the last thing you make after several batches of other cookies; it's time to rest then).

I usually put these (types of goodies) in little paper baking cups or arrange them on a dish. Presentation isn't really important because it's chocolate and chocolate never lasts long :)

Also think these taste best when they're room temperature. Store them in the fridge and take them out an hour or so before you want to eat them.

If you can wait that long. Mmmmmmmmmm!

More pictures here and here.

Fenikia (Greek Honey Cookies)

My grandmother taught me how to make these just this way. They always come out perfect even though it's bit unorthodox in it's measurements. The size of your glass determines how big a batch you will end up with. It's a favorite because they're tasty and fun to make (well I think so). There are more precise recipes out there, but I follow this one.

The mastika* can be found at specialty shops and international markets. We usually get ours from my grandmother who gets it from Greece when she's there. I've also found it online. Without the mastika, this would come out just as good, but the flavor would be a little different.

In a large bowl, mix together the following:

1 glass (8-16 oz) of oil (vegetable or other light oil)
1 stick (8 TBS) melted butter or margarine (if butter, let the milk solids settle to the bottom of your saucepan and use only the clear butter)
1/2 glass orange juice
1/2 glass sugar (can be reduced to 1/4 glass)
3/4 glass of farina (uncooked)
mastika (masticha), crushed (use a rolling pin and crush with sugar)
dash cloves (powdered)
dash cinnamon
1 Tsp. baking powder
1/2 Tsp. baking soda
dash salt
Flour, sifted

optional, when shaping cookies, fold a walnut (or other nut) into the center,
or, you can add crushed nuts with a little sugar and cinnamon (this is also used as a garnish on the honey-dipped variety)

In a mixing bowl add everything except the last four ingredients and blend well.

Add sifted flour, enough to form a workable dough. Add more flour as needed. The dough will be oily, more flour helps firm it up. Refrigerating the dough helps too.

Shape dough into oblong ovals (kind of like a halved hard boiled egg) and with your thumb, press a slight indentation into the top, the long way. If you dip these, the syrup will pool there (a bit) and have a better chance of being absorbed.

Place the shaped dough about an inch apart on your (ungreased) cookie sheet.

Bake in a (preheated) 400° oven for 15-20 minutes. They should be firm and a light brown in color, slightly brown on the bottom.

These can be eaten as-is, or you can dip them in the following syrup:

Boil in a small saucepan:

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
lemon juice (2 TBS. or so reconstituted type, or a firm squeeze of fresh)

Bring the first three ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan and let boil for at least 5 minutes. Take off the heat and add a good squeeze of lemon (or the 2 TBS. reconstituted lemon juice). You can reheat this on low heat to warm it back up if it cools before you're done.

Dip the cookies into this syrup; keep submersed for a few seconds and then place on wax paper or a draining rack. The cookies will absorb more of the syrup if they're still warm. Garnish with a sprinkle of the nut mixture.

For the nut mixture, mix together in a bowl:
1 cup crushed nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, any type), 1/3 cup sugar 1 Tsp. each of cinnamon and cloves.

These are dense, satisfying, and very tasty. The undipped version can be saved for a week or so in an airtight container (and dipped later, or just eaten plain). Store layered on paper towels. The dipped variety never lasted very long around here :)

You can view two more pictures here and here.

Butter balls (cookies)

I've seen some variations of this recipe, as well as different names but this is the recipe and name I use most often. Usually I make these at Christmas time because they're often requested. They're fancy-looking when they're done, and most importantly, they taste good (especially with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate; it's a dry cookie). They're really easy to make and would probably be good anytime, but even so, I consider them a special occasion kind of cookie.

I should also probably admit that my butter balls almost always end up as butter semi-flats (not completely flat, thankfully). Not sure why, maybe because of the amount of butter. Nobody every complains so I guess that's a good enough reason not to worry about it. :)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped nuts (usually walnuts but almonds or pecans are good too)
1 TBS vanilla extract
2 - 2 & 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Preheat your oven to 350° F.

Cream the butter in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the sugar and salt and beat until light & fluffy. Add the nuts and the vanilla extract; mix well. Blend in flour gradually and mix thoroughly.

Refrigerate for a few hours so the dough can firm up a bit and is easier to handle (even chilled, this will be a soft dough).

Shape into teaspoonful sized balls and place about an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes. The cookies should be a light golden color. Soft but firm.

Sift some confectioner's sugar on wax paper. Place the (hot, just from the oven) cookies on the wax paper and sift confectioner's sugar over each to coat.

Alternately.... you can pour some sifted confectioner's sugar in a paper or zip bag and place some of the cookies inside. Gently shake well so the sugar completely coats the cookies. Sometimes these cookies come out very tender (and fragile!) and this method of coating them can cause breakage. Usually I use the wax paper method because I don't want to risk it.

I also double the batch. Maybe this is why they're usually butter flats. Ah well, they're good, that's all I care about!

There is another picture here and here.

Kourambiedes (almond shortbread cookies)

One of my mothers favorite Greek cookies. They take a little work but they're worth it. These can be made a variety of ways. I know my grandmother makes them a little different every time. Over the years, that's a lot recipes to try and keep up with. This one is a basic recipe I follow (with my own occasional variations). If you ever go to a Greek Festival, these are very likely one type of cookie you will see (try them!).

You will need:

2 cups butter (4 sticks, room temperature, unsalted is best)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2/3 cup blanched almonds, finely chopped
1 & 1/2 oz brandy (or vodka, or mild rum; each one will change the flavor a bit. 1 TBS of almond extract can be used instead)
1/3 cup orange juice
1 Tsp. baking powder
4 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
sifted confectioner's sugar for topping

Cream the butter until very light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar and beat well. Add the almonds, egg yolks, and orange juice, and mix well. Sift baking powder with flour, and carefully blend into the butter mixture.

Shape dough into small crescent shapes (a fat half moon, no points) and place about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

This recipe makes a big batch and I find that it's quicker to roll some of this dough into small teaspoon-sized balls first (like, one full sheet's worth) and then shape each ball into a crescent (roll the ball into a short fat snake-like shape and turn it slightly in to a thick letter C). A lot of these will fit on a sheet so while one is baking, I work on the next batch.

Bake in a 400° oven for 16-20 minutes. Check them at the 16 minute mark and give another minute or two (or three) until they're done. The cookies should be very light in color but somewhat firm.

In the meantime, sift some confectioners sugar on a large sheet of wax paper.

When cooked, carefully place cookies on powdered sugar (on the waxed paper) and sift additional confectioners sugar on top of the warm cookies.

Cool thoroughly before storing.

These look great in those fancy little paper/foil cupcake wrappers, but more importantly, they taste great with coffee, tea, milk, juice, anything! Enjoy!

There are two more pictures here and here.

Parchment paper (a tip)

Just a quick tip... when baking cookies (recipes to follow soon!), use parchment paper on top of your cookie sheets. When you take them out of the oven you can just (carefully!) slide the parchment paper, cookies and all, right onto your counter (or cooling rack) to cool. And if you prepare your next batch while the current one is baking, you can just slide the ready-to-bake cookies right on to the hot cookie sheet and bake.

It's easier to slide them on to another (cooled) cookie sheet, but in a pinch, a hot one will do. Oh, and fold or cut the parchment paper to fit your cookie sheet. Any overhanging paper will burn. Can be used for baking so long as the temperature doesn't exceed 450°F.

Dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves, no meat)

There are so many ways to make this tasty dish. This is the basic recipe we (our family) use for the no-meat version. The ingredients are non-specific because that's how I learned from my grandmother. You can buy grape leave at grocery stores and international markets. We use both fresh and the jar variety. If you use the jar type, wait until you're done before emptying out the brine (and cleaning the jar for recycling); you can store any remaining leaves for a couple of days in the refrigerator either back in the brine or in a zip bag.

Ingredients:

grape leaves, rinsed, drained, with the stems trimmed
1 onion, finely chopped
small bunch of scallions, rinsed and finely chopped
1 medium or 2 small zucchini, shredded
dill (fresh is best but dried works well too, use a little more)
white rice (not instant!) 2-4 handfuls, more if needed to fill all leaves
dash pepper
dash of salt
lemon juice
olive oil
water

Add the chopped onion, chopped scallions, shredded zucchini, dill, rice, pepper, and salt in a bowl. Add a drizzle of oil and a little lemon juice and mix well. This mixture will be used to fill the grape leaves.

Line a medium pot with a single layer of any torn grape leaves. If there are no torn leaves, use few small ones or one or two bigger ones. This protects the bottom layer of rolled leaves from burning (but it still can, have to check it while it's cooking to make sure there is liquid).

I had hoped to snap some pictures of how to roll the last time my mother made these, but she made them while I was at work. So for now, I tried to find some how-to-roll instructions elsewhere.

How to roll:

Hold the leaf on your palm, vein side up. Place a teaspoonfull of the filling mixture near the base of the leaf at the stem end. Press the filling into a small sausage-like shape and fold the stem end over it, then both edges towards the middle, inwards. Then roll the stuffed leaf over to make a tight small bundle. Basically you're making an "envelope" with the leaf.

It's better to slightly under stuff your leaves than over stuff them. If they're too full they may break open while cooking (I expect a few to break open anyway; it just happens).

Do this with each leaf, lining your pot in a snug spiral pattern. You can layer these, but leave at least 2-3 inches clearance from top (of your pot) so the water has some room to boil.

If you have any leaves left, add a little more rice (and dill, and onion if you want to chop more) to your mixture and fill the remaining leaves. Or, you can save them for another use (within 2 days or so).

As for any remaining mixture.... we sometimes cook it separately, or just add it on top (easier to test done-ness if there's loose rice).

Place a small dish on top of the leaves. This weighs them down and helps to prevent them from unravelling while cooking. Add enough cold water to the pot to just cover the rolled leaves. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a little olive oil. Cook on low to medium heat partially covered (on, but not tightly sealed) until the rice is cooked. (20-30 minutes or so)

Check this occasionally while cooking to make sure there is still some liquid in the pot. This helps prevent burning. Towards the end it's alright for the liquid to get very low. This shouldn't be soupy either, but it's alright if there is liquid remaining. It can be drained.

Once the rice is cooked, carefully remove the plate with tongs or a potholder. When the dolmathes is cool enough taste, try one and add lemon juice to your liking.

These are probably best as a side dish but for us, a bowl of them is dinner.
Mmmmm!

You can see another picture here.

Chick pea salad

This is usually something I make in the summertime, but this is good anytime you want it to feel like summer. Or anytime you want a healthy, easy to make salad (especially one that's a little different from the usual type of salad). It works as a side dish or a snack. Good to take to work for lunch. Tasty and satisfying.

Ingredients:

2 cans of chick peas (garbonzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
a few bunches of scallions, trimmed, rinsed, and thinly sliced
1 stalk finely diced celery or 1 Tsp. celery powder/seed (either)
4 plum (or 3 of your favorite type, small) tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 TBS. oregano
generous dash of pepper
olive oil, about a 3/4 of a cup, more to taste
lemon juice, about 1/3 of a cup, more to taste
1 clove of garlic, peeled and halved
1/4 Tsp. mustard powder or 1 Tsp. mild mustard (optional)
*croutons (1 1/2 cups or so, added just before you eat it)

Use a bowl that has a cover so you can shake everything together and store it. Rub each half of the garlic all over the inside of a large bowl and then discard. (Only rubbing the garlic for subtle flavor, if you add it to the salad it might be overpowering. There have been times I've minced the garlic and added it. It's good, but strong! I used a very small clove in these instances.)

Add the mustard, olive oil, and lemon juice to the bowl and mix (whisk) well. Add the rest of the ingredients except the croutons. You can use a spoon to mix or put the cover on the bowl and gently shake to integrate the ingredients.

Refrigerate for at least an hour so the flavors have time to mingle.

Just before you're ready to serve (and eat!), gently shake (cover on of course) to mix.
After serving, add some croutons and enjoy!

Yum!

*Keep in mind whatever flavor your croutons are, will add that flavor to your salad. I think the Italian flavored varieties work best. Or plain (or your own homemade!). They will absorb some of the lemon and olive oil "dressing."

Adding the mustard powder (or spreadable kind) will help keep the dressing together and add additional flavor. I don't usually add it because I (like it runny and) want the croutons to soak up some of the dressing. Mmmm.

Pudding - the experiment

For some reason I had the urge to make homemade vanilla pudding. And for some reason this morphed into wanting chocolate pudding (true chocoholic) instead. I checked some recipes and figured I'd give it a shot.

I ended up making both. The chocolate came out good. Next time I'll use better chocolate (live and learn). The vanilla was a disaster. It came out looking like bad tapioca (see photos here and here). I tried two different recipes (one using corn starch, one using corn syrup), and used soy milk instead of regular milk. This might've been a factor in why the vanilla didn't work. Corn starch worked (thickened the chocolate pudding), corn syrup, didn't (but should've).

Another lesson learned, the whisk is your best friend in pudding making. I used one, but should've used it the entire time (used a wooden spoon most of the time). Still, this tasted pretty good and I think its nice creamy texture would be great as a cake (or even eclair) filling. So perhaps the next time I need some, I'll remember :)

This is how I made the chocolate pudding:

2 1/2 cups soy milk (I used the shelf stable variety)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1 cup (8oz. semisweet chocolate chips)
1 TBS. vanilla

In a saucepan, scald (boil a bit) the soy milk. Whisk in the sugar and the corn starch. Cook until thick, (it takes a few minutes) stirring constantly. When thick, let it boil at least a minute to cook the corn starch. Take the pan off the heat and add the chocolate chips and the vanilla and stir until the chocolate melts.

Pour into cups (or small bowls) and refrigerate.

This tasted better after being in the fridge for a while. It was a little bland when it was warm, and more chocolatey when it was chilled.

All in all, this was a learning experience. I used two different kinds of soy milk (shelf stable for the chocolate and the refrigerated kind for the vanilla). This might've been a factor. But mainly I think the corn syrup recipe was missing something. (though what, I don't know).

I like to experiment, and this wasn't a loss. The whole thing (both recipes) took about 20 minutes and I have a dessert for the next couple of days. (the chocolate, I tossed the vanilla :)

There's another picture of the chocolate pudding here.

Simple Soup - Veggie

I just threw this together... wanted something healthy and filling but most importantly, quick. The whole thing took me about 25-30 minutes. That's pretty quick. And the best part? It was really good!

What I threw together:

1 small onion, chopped (large dice)
1 stalk celery, diced
handful of baby carrots, halves and sliced (quicker than dicing)
1 broccoli floret (grabbed one off a bigger bunch)
handful of frozen whole green beans, broken into smaller pieces
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup orzo
Ground pepper (to taste)
Drizzle of olive (or your favorite) oil

This started out as a high power stir fry. In a medium pot on medium to high heat, add the oil, onion, celery, carrots, and broccoli; stir(fry) until the onion and carrots soften.

Add the green beans, the orzo, and a little of the broth and stir. Add the pepper and the rest of the broth, and heat to boiling. Once this is boiling, lower the heat to medium and cook about 7 minutes or until the orzo is cooked (I cooked this uncovered).

That's it. Simple and yummy.
(Always good when an idea of a meal actually ends up becoming a good meal.)

I think I'll add some toast next time. Like the kind that goes with onion soup. And use 2 cans of broth so it's more soup-like (more broth-y; though it was good just like this).

There's another picture here.

Keftethes (Greek meatballs)

An old favorite. I learned this from watching both my mother and grandmother make them (not sure of the spelling, but it's pronounced: kif-TEH-this). Both, of course, do it a little differently. And there are many ways to make these and many variations.

For example, you can use lamb, ground pork, ground turkey/chicken, ground beef, or any combination (though I wouldn't recommend mixing red meat with white). When I was abroad, I made this with a mix of ground beef and ground pork (sold together, interesting concept) and it came out just fine. The two kinds of meat worked well and changed the flavor. Still good, just, different.

My grandmother sometimes adds diced tomatoes (adds moisture) or orange or lemon zest (adds a surprise "kick") for variety. I've added shredded carrots (my attempt to make this a little healthier, heh) or used scallions instead of onions. Using bread crumbs instead of the bread changes the texture. All good variations.

This is the basic recipe:

ground beef (1-2lbs)
2 small or 1 lg. onion, diced (or grated)
1 TBS. oregano
Pepper (couple of good grinds, or a few dashes pre-ground)
1 Tsp. cumin (ground, and optional)
Pinch of salt
3-4 slices bread (I use white, any unseeded variety works well)
Flour, enough to coat each meatball
Oil for frying

Add some flour to small plate or bowl and set aside. Have 2 clean plates ready; one to hold the formed patties/meatballs, one to hold the flour coated ones.

In a bowl add the first five ingredients. Wet the bread under cool tap water, and squeeze out the excess (squeezing it into a tight ball works). Tear the wet bread into pieces and add this to the bowl. Using your hands, or a hand/stand mixer, blend everything together.

Form small-ish palm-sized flattend balls/patties and put them on one of your plates. If your hands get too sticky, you can rub a little oil on your palms, this helps. Try to make them all the same size. Basically, you want a flat meatball about the size of a golf ball. The bigger they are, the longer they will take to cook.

When all your meatballs are formed, dip each one in the flour and coat completely. Shake off any excess and put it on the clean plate.

Heat a frying pan on low to medium heat. When it's hot, add some oil. You want there to be at least 1/4 inch of oil or so (maybe a little less). Line your pan with some of the meatballs (leave a little room in-between each one), cover and cook. The cook times vary, so check these often and cook until the bottom of each meatball is dark brown (but not burned). Turn each one over and cook the other side the same way.

I usually cut one in half to make sure it's cooked through. I'm paranoid that way :)

Drain these on a wire rack (over a tray)
-or-
in a metal bowl/foil bowl/on a cookie sheet lined with foil and topped with paper towels.

Keep them warm in the oven or toaster oven (without the paper towels) on low while you cook the rest.

Mmmmm!

Serve with rice, or fries (or mashed potatoes), add a veggie and you have great a meal.

There's a little work involved, but not too much, and it's pretty simple.
These reheat easily (warm oven or toaster oven) and are great (cut 2-4 in half and place on bread) in a sandwich with mayo or ketchup.

There's another picture here.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

My way. Easy. This is my adaptation of many other (more difficult) recipes. The cream of _____ soup can be any kind (except the cheese types) you like. For veggies, I use about a cup and a half of mixed frozen veggies (as well as some fresh). In this case, some peas & carrots and some green beans. For the dumplings, I use a non-flakey pre-made biscuit dough, rolled into small pieces. Very easy! The chicken can be leftovers or a chosen especially for this dish. (er...bowl)

Ingredients:

1 TBS butter
1 small onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
handful baby carrots, diced
chicken breast, diced
pepper
3 cans low sodium chicken broth and 2 cans of water
1 to 1/2 cups mixed frozen veggies (peas, carrots, green beans, etc)
prepared biscuit dough (store bought canister non-flakey variety)
1 can of cream of ______ soup (any flavor you like except the cheesy type)

This basically starts out as a stir fry.

Melt the butter in a large pot on low heat. Add 1 small diced onion and sweat it a bit. When the onion is almost (but not quite) translucent, add the chicken. When the chicken is partially cooked (still a little pink), add the diced baby carrots and diced celery. Let this cook until the chicken is almost cooked. (if you use leftover chicken, just cook until the fresh veggies are a bit tender)

Add 3 cans low sodium chicken broth, 2 cans of water, some pepper, and bring to a boil (cover on). Let this simmer for about 10-15 minutes on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add your frozen veggies cook (slow boil) another 5-10 minutes on low heat.

Add your biscuit dough: break off pieces and roll into little balls with your fingers and gently drop into the simmering broth. (I use about 3-5 biscuits). Stir the soup a bit. After about 5-10 minutes, (or whenever the biscuit dough is cooked, it will be soft but not raw), add the cream of _____ soup and stir gently (I used cream of celery this time). Let this mixture cook a minute or two until hot (but don't boil!).

That's it.

Yum! This is a simple and quick way to comfort food. There are so many ways to make this soup, but this way works for me. I always make a little extra so I can bring it to work the next day or so.

There's another picture here.

Two things to note... adding prepared biscuit dough adds a lot of fat to this soup. So once it's been refrigerated a while, you can skim that extra fat off the top. And, when you reheat the leftovers (if there's any), do so on very low heat. High heat will disintegrate the dumplings. The soup will still taste great, but it'll be much thicker (if the dumplings dissolve).

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

Yummy chocolate truffles rolled in peanuts. Very easy and tasty recipe. Messy one though. Even with frequent refrigeration, the chocolate melts in your hands rather quickly. Rubbing a little butter or a dab of olive oil might help. The bittersweet chocolate is more healthy than milk or semisweet (or so I've read) and this particular recipe is meant to be a somewhat healthier version of the usual truffle recipe.

Depending on your tastes, you can use your favorite chocolate. Make a couple batches with different chocolate for variety, and alternate peanuts with any other kind of nut (finely chopped), cocoa, and/or powdered sugar. I like truffle recipes because they (well, some of them) are easy, they look great on cookie trays, and they're always a hit with the chocoholics like me.

You will need:

1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
10 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts, ground

Warm the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until hot and bubbling around the edges, about 3 min. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and pour the cream over it. Let sit for 30 seconds, then stir (or whisk) until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter.

The next step can be done two different ways:

Spread the chocolate cream in a 9-in pan or pie plate. Refrigerate until hard, at least one hour to overnight. (this way is more difficult to roll for me)

-or-
(my alternate method)

Drop by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Refrigerate an hour or 2 (until hard), or overnight. They might turn into little flat blobs, that's all right. They're easier to roll when they're already smaller when hardened. Using a mini muffin cup pan or clean ice trays would work too. (lined with wax paper if you're patient enough for that)

Just before you're ready to roll, place ground peanuts on a plate or in a pie dish. Line two baking sheets (or your clean table or counter) with wax paper.

If you poured the chocolate into a pan to harden: Using a measuring spoon or melon baller, scoop out 30 heaping spoonfuls of the truffle mixture. Place them in a single layer on one of the prepared baking sheets. When all the scoops have been made, lightly roll them between the palms of your hands to give them a nice round shape.

If you refrigerated them using the alternate method, roll each chocolate piece into a ball, and refrigerate again until semi-hard, about a half hour.

If at any point the chocolate gets too warm (either method), making the truffles too difficult to roll, refrigerate the chocolate for 30 min or until it firms up.

Roll the truffles a few at a time, in the ground peanuts. You may need to gently press the peanuts into the truffles to get them to stick. Place a single layer on the 2nd baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Before serving, let the truffles sit at room temperature to soften them slightly. (30 min)

Another goodie that looks great in those little paper baking cups (and given as gifts along with other tasty treats). Easy, and fun, like when you're a kid and were allowed to play with your food. Well, sort of.

For variety, use different kind of chocolate (if you make more than one batch), and alternate peanuts with any other kind of nut (finely chopped), cocoa, and/or powdered sugar.

Chicken-bean-orzo thing

Sometimes I have ideas for meals. They come together nicely in my mind but they rarely look or end up the way I envisioned. Still, sometimes, it works out. I wanted to try orzo (rice sized pasta) and this seemed like a good way to do it. This is a winging-it kinda meal. The black beans were an afterthought. Everything is diced so it cooks quickly.

This is what I used:

4 cloves garlic, some diced, some sliced
1/2 onion, diced
2 plum tomatoes, seeded, diced
1 chicken breast, diced and sprinkled with black pepper
1 cup diced carrots (I used fresh baby carrots and some frozen)
1 cup frozen peas (or a can would work, added at the end)
3/4 cup orzo
chicken bouillon cube
1 can black beans, drained (and rinsed)
oil for stir fry

Cook the orzo in water with the bullion cube for 7-9 minutes (or per package instructions) and when "al dente," take off the heat and drain. In the colander, add half of the diced tomatoes and toss a bit. Add some of the black beans and toss a bit more.

Heat up a wok or large frying pan, and when hot, add a little oil and the onions. Saute for two minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 minutes. I used fresh carrots as well as frozen so I added the fresh carrots and the garlic at this point. Add the garlic and the rest of the tomatoes, mix well, and cook until the carrots are soft. Add the frozen peas and carrots. Cook for about 10 more minutes stirring occasionally. Add the black beans. Mix well.

That's it.

I resisted the urge to add the orzo and have everything together, but that probably would've worked out well too. All in all, this was pretty tasty (and made enough for 2, plus leftovers). There's another picture here.

Mini Cheesecake

I have a ragged, barely readable page torn from a magazine with this recipe, years old. It's a favorite. Very simple. Individual mini cheesecakes that you can decorate with fruit, jam, shaved chocolate pieces, powdered sugar, whipped cream, or just leave them plain. Great for a little single serving indulgence. Nice surprise for someone (who loves cheesecake) who thinks this might be a muffin.

You will need:

paper or foil muffin cup liners
12 vanilla wafers
2 8oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Line your muffin pan with foil muffin cup liners, or two paper cup liners. Place a wafer in each one.

Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla, with an electric mixer until well blended. Add the eggs and mix well. Pour (or spoon) the mixture over each wafer, filling cups 3/4 full.

Bake at 325° for 25 minutes.

Let them cool in the pan on a wire rack, then refrigerate. Garnish (or leave as is) just before serving. Mmmmmm!

This is first cheesecake recipe I ever dared to try. I've alternated the wafer with crushed graham crackers or crushed cookie crumbs. Using a wafer is the easiest, but some variety is good. These days you can buy these items ready for use. Less work, same convenience. Great little treat!

Fruit Cobbler

This was an experiment that ended up tasting really good. Before this, I've only ever made apple cobblers and rarely varied from that kind. This was easy and came out a lot better than I expected. Having never eaten a cooked nectarine before, I didn't know what to expect. This recipe is great for those not-so-pretty fruit you have that is still good enough to cook with (and eat) but not perfect enough for eating as-is. (I'm picky that way) Strange thing is, I've never peeled either a nectarine or a peach before (never had a reason to). Really strange experience. But one I plan to repeat as this was a nice variation from the usual cobbler.

This is my fruit cobbler recipe:

Crust (crumble topping):
4 - 5 TBS. butter, softened
3 - 4 TBS. margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar (a mixture of brown & white sugar work well)
1 cup + flour (more, as needed to achieve a crumbly texture)
1/4 Tsp. baking powder
dash cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves (all ground)
dash salt

Filling:
1 apple, peeled, cored, sliced
2 nectarines, peeled, pitted, sliced
2 peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced
1/4 - 3/4 cup sugar (a mixture of brown & white sugar work well)
2 Tsp. (to 1 TBS.) cornstarch (this makes all the difference, thickens up the juice)
1 Tsp. flour
1 Tsp. cinnamon (ground)
dash nutmeg (ground)
dash cloves (ground)
dash of lemon juice

Prepare the crust first.

In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients and use a fork to mash it together (some people use two butter knives or a food processor; a regular fork works best for me). Add more flour if needed, you want a crumbly, dry mixture. It should be dry but not too dry, you don't want it to be like a bowl of flour. Once this mixture has a nice crumb-like consistency, put the bowl in the refrigerator. Cold shortening makes for a lighter topping.

Pre-heat your oven to 375° (or toaster oven to 400°).
Prepare the filling next.

In another bowl, add the dry ingredients first, and mix them well. Add the sliced fruit and lemon juice and toss well to coat everything evenly.

Pour the fruit mixture into a (lightly buttered) casserole dish or baking pan. Retrieve the crumble topping from the fridge.

Add a spoonful of the topping mixture to the fruit mixture and gently mix it to combine. Use the spoon to even out the fruit in the casserole dish (or baking pan).

Use a spoon or your hand and distribute the rest of the crumble topping mixture evenly over the fruit. (Do not pat down!) Cover lightly with foil and bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 25-35 minutes, or until the crumble topping is a light brown in color.

This lasts for about 2-3 days unrefrigerated. Maybe 4 if refrigerated. It's never lasted longer than 2 days here. (fruity dessert after dinner? sure! Mmmmmmm!!)

You can view another picture here.

Flavored Popcorn (Italian)

I call this Italian Popcorn simply because I use Italian dressing. I don't make this too often but sometimes it just really hits the spot. It's a nice alternative to having salt & butter, or the *low/no fat versions.

It's just a quickie toss, you need:

lots of fresh popped popcorn in a large bowl
your favorite Italian dressing (the liquid kind)
your favorite (grated) Parmesan and/or Romano cheese
(might taste even better with the fresh version but I've never tried it that way)

Sprinkle some dressing on to the popcorn and toss it a bit to coat. Sprinkle some of the cheese and toss again.

Some of the popcorn might dissolve a bit when pouring on the dressing, use it sparingly. You need just enough on some of the pieces so the cheese will cling to it (using more or less depending on how you like it).

Eat and enjoy!

Yum!

*For the no fat version, simply replace the dressing with butter (or olive oil) flavor non-stick cooking spray (lightly spray the freshly popped corn), and replace the cheese with powdered Italian (or Ranch, or any other flavor you like) dressing/seasoning mix (after spraying, sprinkle some of the mix and toss).

Skordalia (garlic spread)

Potent but delicious. Use on toast, over vegetables, noodles, mixed in mashed potatoes. My grandmother makes this 2 ways, with bread or with potatoes. She does this by hand or with a hand mixer, but I use a blender, or when I'm really feeling ambitious, the food processor.

You will need:

1 lb of potatoes, peeled
10 to 12 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 tsp vinegar (white or cider)
1 cup of olive oil

Boil the potatoes and mash them while they are still hot. Finely crush the garlic. Add the crushed garlic to the mashed potatoes along with the vinegar, salt, and pepper. Keep mixing while adding the olive oil a little at a time. Work the mix into a smooth texture.

This can be made using bread instead of potatoes. The bread should be stale (but use what you have). Soak it in water and then squeeze the water out. Be aware that the bread version is much more potent than the potato version.

Onion Soup

I love this recipe because it's very easy to make, and very good. You just have to check this often during the first part (before adding the broth), you don't want the onions to burn or to become too browned. The idea is to sweat and soften the onions. The reason for the varying temperatures and cooking with and without the cover is because it enhances the flavor.

Ingredients:

3 large onions (or 5 small) thinly sliced
2 TBS. butter
1 TBS flour
3 cans beef broth
clove of garlic, minced
1 Tsp. thyme
black pepper
red wine

In a large pot, add the butter and the onions and fry on medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring to cook evenly. Lower the heat, cover, and cook 3-5 minutes. Remove the cover, stir, cook another three to five minutes (uncovered). The onions should be soft and transluciant and almost completely reduced (in size). Add the flour, thyme, and pepper, stir to mix well. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes.

(I know, strange isn't it? But whatever this on-again-off-again with the cover thing is for, the results are absolutely delicious!)

Stir well, and add the broth. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add the wine (to taste), and the garlic, and simmer another minute or so.

Delicious as-is. Or garnish with the traditional toasted mozzerella cheese on baguettes.

I usually toast some regular bread with cheddar cheese on top, cut that into diamond shaped quarters, and add the soup over it. Sometimes I make a little garlic bread and have that on top.

Tastey!
This is one of those foods that taste even better when reheated (the next day). There's another picture here.

Zucchini Fritters

Simple and tasty. These make a great (occasional) alternative side dish.

You will need:

2 medium zucchini, washed (ends cut, skin on)
1 onion, chopped
1 egg
2 TBS. flour, and a little more to make a batter
2 Tsp. baking powder
dill, salt, pepper (to taste)
optional, dash of tobasco
oil for frying

Shred zucchini and leave in a colander for an hour or so to drain. Squeeze excess liquid.

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the oil. If soupy, add more flour. Mix well.

Fry these as you would a pancake (except in this case, in a little oil instead of butter), by spoonfuls; cook until lightly browned on each side. Let rest on paper towels to absorb any excess oil.

Yummy!

You can see another picture here.

Quick & Easy Feta Spread

Something my Moms aunt used to make her when she was a child and didn't want to have what everyone else was having. It's very quick and easy.

Use this spread on bread, toasted bread, crackers. With a little more lemon and oil added, it can be used as a dip.

Non-specific measurements as this is to taste. And the amount, based on how much you need. So...

In a bowl, mash some feta cheese, olive oil, and lemon juice with a fork. You want a nice spreadable consistancy.

That's it!
Spread on bread or crackers and enjoy!

Feta is very salty so I only have this occasionally.

Fudge Oatmeal Peanut butter 'cookies'

These are excellent...! Quick & easy. They come out perfectly so long as you let the mixture boil long enough (has to be a light brown in color and a little thick). These are little peanut buttery oatmeal yummies.

You will need to start:

1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 cup (light or dark) brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine (8 TBS or 1 stick)
1/2 cup milk (half & half, rice milk, or soy milk also work)

Cook the above ingredients in a medium saucepan (non-stick works best for me) on low to medium heat until thick, about 10-15 minutes after it starts boiling. Stir occasionally.

Take off the heat and add:

2 (rounded) Tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 cups uncooked quick oats (canister kind, not instant, unflavored)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix well (and quickly), drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed or parchment paper.
This step must be done quickly as this mixture will set fast.

Let cool fully before storing.

Any kind of nut butter will work with this recipe. Stored in an air tight container, these will last about 4 days.

The batch in the picture were made with 100% natural chunky peanut butter and coffee creamer because I didn't have any milk. Works just fine. Versatile recipe. You can view another picture here.

Slow cooker tomato sauce

Everything here is really preference. Want a lot? Use more of everything. The beauty of slow cooking is that you set it and then forget it. And the beauty of this sauce is that it can be used for many meals. Freeze some for the week and have it on pasta, on bread with cheese, toasted (mini pizzas! mmm), over baked chicken (Parmesan or not) or beef. Tomatoes are very nutritious. Let's make em' taste great!

short list:

your favorite slow cooker (or crock pot)

1 can pureed tomatoes (diced if you like chunky sauce)
1 can tomato paste
hot or mild sausage (one for taste, more if you like it), browned
crushed garlic (2-4 cloves)
couple dashes of oregano
dash of salt
ground pepper (as much as you like)
bay leaf (optional, adds a nice flavor, be sure to remove it before serving)

Add it all to your crock pot and that's basically it.

Set your slow cooker to low and leave it (stirring occasionally) for 4-8 hours (duration depends on the cooker). You can speed this up by cooking it on high but I'd stir it more often.

Sometimes I add onions. Sometimes white and red pepper (dashes). Sometimes a little red wine. Sometimes a dash of cinnamon (cuts the acidity).

Many variations, and each one equally tastey.

Enjoy!

Hungry?

Me too. Let's see if I can add some goodies. Er...soon. Snacktime !