Kristi's Bread Pudding

Ron cooked pork loin for a group on Wednesday. The loin was sliced and served with buns.

Needless to say there were buns leftover. As the girls were talking about how many were left and what to do with them, they asked me if I had a bread pudding recipe. Apparently my eyes lit up. "Yes I do have a bread pudding recipe!"

I developed this from several other recipes. I needed a way to use up my day old cinnamon rolls when I had the cafe. This is what I came up with.

8 Cups Bread Cubes, day old bread or leftover cinnamon rolls

1 Cup Sugar

3 Cups Milk

6 Eggs

1/2 tsp Cinnamon (if not using cinnamon rolls)

1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Cloves

1/4 tsp Ground Cardamom

1/4 tsp Ground Ginger

1/2 Cup Butter (the real stuff!) melted

Spray a 9X13 pan well. Place bread cubes in the pan. Mix together everything but the butter. Beat well with a whisk. Pour milk mixture over the bread. Allow to soak in. Melt the butter and pour over the bread. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes.

This stuff is good with whipped topping or ice-cream or a fresh made hard sauce or....

Snickerdoodles

When I was a kid, many many years ago, Mom would bake cookies from one cookbook that I remember. I'm sure there were other books and other recipes, but for me, this was the ultimate.

The book is Betty Crocker's Cooky Book. If you have ever seen the book you will know what I mean when I say, this book is a cookie baking kids dream cookbook. I used to sit for, what seemed like hours, drooling over the pictures. And dreaming about which ones I would bake.

Over the years I have looked for this book in different places, book stores, libraries, friends book shelves, thrift stores... I have never seen it any where. I even put it on my wish list on Paperbackswap.com. Nothing.

Then one Saturday morning when we (my sister and I) were having hot water at the old folks home, (Mom & Dad's house for hot tea) I asked about that cook book. Believe it or not, Mom gave me the cookbook when I asked for it. SHE STILL HAD IT! How great is that?

Since it's cookie baking season, I dug that book out and decided it was time to fulfill a little girls dreams.

What actually got me looking for this book again was Snickerdoodles. I need to bake some for a group and couldn't find a recipe that would come out like the ones I made as a kid. So I went looking for this "cooky book" because that is where I got the recipe from as a kid.

Now this is a Christmas present to myself. Baking these cookies has been a trip down memory lane. My taste buds even got to go along. The smell of the cinnamon, the feel of the dough, the look of the cracks on the surface of the cookies, the flavor... ahh the memories.

Here is my ultimate Snickerdoodle:

1/2 Cup Shortening

1/2 Cup Butter

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

2 3/4 Cup Flour

2 tsp Cream of Tartar

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

2 T Sugar.

2 tsp Cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream together the shortening and butter. Add the sugar and cream together again. Add eggs and cream together AGAIN.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Add to the egg mixture and mix just until well combined.

Mix together the 2 T sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl.

Shape dough into 1" balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Maybe I like these so well because they remind me of cinnamon sugar toast. I ate a lot of that as a kid.

I hope they turn out as good for you as they do for me. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread

I found this online somewhere. Taste of Home, I think, but don't quote me. If you know me, I changed it anyway. They never end up the same by the time I'm done with them. This sounded so good though, so I played around with it and made it my own. Please feel free to do the same. :)

Cream Cheese layer:

8 oz Cream Cheese (Lite, Heavy, either one is fine)

1/4 Cup Sugar

2 Egg Whites

Beat together until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Bread Batter:

1 Cup Canned Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 Cup Applesauce (sweetened or unsweetened your choice)

2 Eggs

1 T Vegetable Oil

1 2/3 Cup Flour

1 1/4 Cup Sugar (If you used sweetened applesauce you can reduce this by a tablespoon or two if you want, but not necessary.)

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Cloves

1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts (optional)

In a medium bowl stir together the wet ingredients. (to and including the oil) In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Dump the wet into the dry and stir gently, just until combined.

Put 1/4 of the batter into 2 oiled (sprayed) 9X5 loaf pans. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over each. Then the rest of the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until done.

We ate this up in no time! I didn't even have any to give away. Maybe I should go make some more. See ya later!!

Rice Crispy Shapes

I have been looking for a blog and/or information on other people who do what I have been doing with rice crispy treats. Can't find any. Of course I don't search as hard or as long as some of the rest of you might. But on the first couple of pages of results all I found were recipes. Some quite creative recipes I might add. But no one shaping them like I am.

Oh they shape them. But they shape them far more elaborately and use them for bases for cakes and cake decorating. They make eatable sculptures. But to me those are not practical. They are beautiful. But not practical. I want to make something that looks good enough to eat. Not that looks too good to eat. Know what I mean?

Anyway, I have been playing around with very sticky rice crispy mix. And having a lot of fun. Not only with shapes but flavors too. The grandkids love them.

I made these for Halloween to give out to all the trick or treaters.



Gotta love those grandkids!

Neglected

I have been neglecting my blog. I'm sorry about that.

Writing is not coming as easy as it was. Hopefully with winter coming on....

My sister and I have been taking a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby. She is far better at it than I am. She will be over here today so we can practice. Yesterday I made some cut out cookies in the shapes of Christmas bulbs, candy canes and bells. My interest is more in cookie decorating than cake decorating.

I was telling a customer at the store about baking. We were discussing what stove she should buy. I asked her how much baking she does and what type. She ended up getting a convection oven. Anyway, she said she had the "secret recipe" for cutout cookies from a local cake shop. I told her I would love to see the recipe. She gave it to me! How cool is that? The frosting recipe is even with it!

So I made the dough on Friday night. Cut out and baked the cookies on Saturday morning. Today (Sunday)my sister and I will try decorating them. We are still learning, so bear with us.

We will be off to the Fonda Craft Show first. I wonder if anyone sells decorated cookies and cupcakes? Maybe if we get good enough we can sell them there next year. What do you think? I know, you want to see pictures first. OK, but later. Wonder what I can find at the craft show????

Kitchen Club Recipes

My mother-in-law, Laura, gave me a 3-ring binder full of recipes from Edith Hansen Kitchen Club Recipes. In reading through it over the last few weeks, I have decided to cook my through all (or most) of the recipes.

There are a few that are a bit over the top even for me. :) "Preserved Dill" Why? And what would I use it for? The recipe reads like you are pickeling it. It doesn't tell you how to use it later. So I may not make that one. But if someone insists....

I will jump around, maybe do a soup one day and a desert a few days later. Then go for a casserole, then a sidedish. Let's just see what happens.

I'm shooting for making the Wintergreen cake on Friday.

We start our vacation on Friday. Trouble is Friday will be spent cooking. We will leave for parts unknown (vacation by the seat of our pants) on Saturday. Ron has some meat to smoke for the open house out to Generations Greenhouse. I will spend my time getting some much needed house cleaning done. Sneaking in some baking sounds like a good idea too. Let's see what happens!

(Would someone remind me to take pictures!!!)

Meat Pie

Sunday night we were invited over to the neighbors for supper. Rita fixed "Meat Pie". Everyone loved it, except me. It had WAY too many peas in it to even pick around. I hate peas and always have. It's a texture thing I think. Anyway, I decided to make my own version.

I made a biscuit crust. Then a meat mixture. Then some hash browns. Last was the cheese. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out so I didn't even think about taking pictures. I will make it again and take pics! This is what I did:

Biscuit Crust:

2 1/4 Cup Flour

1 T Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

4 T Butter, cold

3/4 Cup milk

Mix the dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter. Mix in the milk to make a soft dough. Roll out to fit a 9" pie plate. Fit into pie plate and cut off excess. (make a free form biscuit out of it and bake along with the pie) Refrigerate while making the filling.

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped or minced

1/2 of an Onion, chopped

2-3 T Oil (I used coconut oil)

2-3 Cups leftover Beef Roast (I used the leftover Ropa Vieja)

1 Cup frozen Vegetable of your choice (I used Corn)

1/2 Cup Broth (or water)

1 T Cornstarch

2 Eggs, beaten

2 Cups frozen Hash Browns, thawed

1 Cup Shredded Cheese

Sauté the garlic and onion in the oil until soft. Add the meat and veggies and heat through. Mix the cornstarch with the broth and eggs. Off the heat, mix this into the meat mixture. Dump all that into the unbaked crust. Spread the hash browns on top and bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Layer the cheese on top and bake another 10 to 15 minutes.

It was very good. Ron is looking forward to the leftovers.

However, There was not enough "gravy" for me. It was a bit on the dry side. When I make it again I will make a gravy or use a can of "Cream of 'something' Soup".

If you like to experiment, please do and come back and let me know what you do. If not come back here and see what I end up doing. I still have some Ropa Vieja left. Ron may get another batch sooner than he wants! :)

Working on Bacon Cookies

I'm working on the bacon cookies again. I made the dough yesterday and Dietrick and I cut out 4 pig shaped cookies. Then I put them on the smoker to "bake".


I should have done 5 little piggies! :)

Ron had a bunch of other stuff on too, Ribs, Pork Loin, Beef Bottom Round and a Meatloaf. Today he will be doing some birds. There is a turkey and some chickens. When those are going strong in a smoky chamber, I'm going to get one side of the smoker to bake more cookies. Woo Hoo!!!

The 4 cookies we made yesterday went to: one for me of course, then Dan had one and I took 2 to the grocery store for Kim and Kent to sample. Kim didn't think it was gonna be good for her diet, but she tried a bite anyway. I thought they turned out great and so did Dan. Haven't heard back from Woods yet. Dan thought I should patent them.

I need to find a venue to sample and sell these things. Maybe I should start doing craft shows? Farmers Markets? I could take all of my different cookies and Screamwiches. What do you think? Wow, suppose I could quit my real job and just bake cookies for a living??? Now that would be my dream job!

I got this cookie cutter from CopperGifts.com . My best friend found this site for me. Thank you, Denise! I got a bacon shaped one too. I hope they turn out well. I'll let you know!

MY BAD!

MY BAD! I haven't been here since JULY??? Heavens how time flies. Was I having fun? I think so. What with the smoker taking up so much time.... We did breakfast in the garage only once. How does time get away from me so quickly?? It's that darn day job. If I didn't have to work to support my hobbies, I would have more time for my hobbies!!

What have I been doing as far as my baking is concerned? Well... For RAGBRAI, that went through Pocahontas, I did 713 Screamwiches. (Ice-cream sandwiches) That's 1426 cookies. Not including the rejects or the ones Ron ate. That was a project. But it was all chocolate chip cookies so it went pretty quickly. Now I am working on some holiday themed Screamwiches.

I am looking for a really good sugar cookie recipe. One that will hold up to the ice-cream. I'm no decorator so I have never gotten into sugar cookies that have to be decorated with fancy frosting colors and use bags and tips. But I might try my hand at a few things now.

As far as a Christmas themed Screamwich, I did some with mint chip ice-cream and a chocolate fudge cookie. They are very tasty.

Doesn't that look good? Of course you have to like mint! :)

Today is Saturday. I made some sugar cookie dough on Thursday night. (It should be cold enough!) I will work with that today. Ron will be running the smoker today, so I'm going to put together some Bacon Cookies. I ordered a pig cookie cutter. They also had a bacon shaped one so I got that too. But they aren't here yet. I am so looking forward to those getting here!

That cookbook I talked about in the last post has been burning a hole in my mind for a long time now. There are so many things I want to make. And maybe make-over, make new again. Tis the season for cooking in the house!

It's 52 degrees right now and not supposed to get above the upper 60's today. Perfect day to experiment! I may even write another post today!

Baby shower at 5:00pm today. I haven't seen little Elliot for far too long! That may put a damper on writing. I think tomorrow is free all day though. Ron will be smoking again and I will be baking and cooking!

We are gonna have fun now!

My mother-in-law, Laura, gave me some recipes yesterday. There are some sheets of recipe cards from Iowa Public Service Company. Also she gave me a 3-ring binder with recipe pages for "Kitchen Club" from the 1950's. Love, Love, Love recipes that are over 50 years old. It's a challenge to try to figure them out and update them for today. Thank you Laura!

Wintergreen Cake is one of the first ones I want to try. (Thankfully the kids next door love cake.) There is also a recipe for Turkish Delight Candy. (Did you see the Narnia movie? Or read the books?) Lots of Salads and casseroles to try.

This gonna be so much fun!

Check back for updates!

Dishwashers!

Can you stand it? I'm going to give you some tips on dishwashers now!

Today dishwashers use less water and are a whole lot quieter. What more could you want? (I know, we always want more, don't we?)

As with laundry, using too much detergent is a bad thing. Newer dishwashers use less water. Less water, less detergent! (Where have we heard that before?) Never, Never, Never, Ever use the little gel packs or any pre-measured packet of detergent. They may be 'convenient', but they are more trouble than they are worth. Most of the time they are too much. Even a full load doesn't need that much detergent. Too much detergent can ruin seals and water gets where you don't want it. Then you have to call the repairman.

Here too, we are using detergent and not soap. We DO NOT want suds. Suds in a dishwasher can spell disaster. No one needs water all over the floor. Unless of course you are scrubbing the floor, but even then too much of a good thing is bad. (Even I don't want to have to do that!)

Using too much detergent can ruin your dishes. Do your glasses look foggy and feel like they have a film on them. What has happened is "you are using too much detergent"! The detergent has eaten the finish off of your dishes. Do you rinse your dishes before loading them? Stop It!!! You spend money on detergent, let it do it's job. If your dishes are not getting clean if you don't rinse them, you have other issues.

Make sure nothing is blocking the spray arms. Also make sure nothing is in the way for the water spray to get to the detergent cup. The cup needs to have water hit it to get all the detergent out so it can do it's job. Make sure nothing is nesting. The water has to be able to get to all surfaces to clean them.

If your dishes are still not clean, it's time to call the repairman. Or get a new dishwasher.

Save Money! Stop using too much detergent!

Cheesy Potatoes

Now I would have sworn I put this recipe on here, but I can't find it. So if you know what I did with it let me know. Here it is again.

3 lb Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes, thawed

2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 Stick Butter, melted (that's real butter!)

1 10 ounce Can Cream of Chicken Soup

8 Ounces Sour Cream

1 1/4 Cup Milk

1 T Dried Chopped Onion

1 Tbsp Pepper Blend (Mixture of Black Pepper and Red and Green Bell peppers)

1/2 to 1 tsp Liquid Smoke, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

I start by mixing the soup, sour cream and seasonings. Then add the milk and cheese. It just mixes better for me that way. The butter goes in next. The potatoes are last.

Spray a 9X13 pan with a vegetable oil spray. Transfer the mixture to the pan and spread evenly.

Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. Yummy!

Webstaurant

"What the heck is that?", you ask. Well I'm gonna tell you.

It's a website that my sister-in-law told me about. Has all kinds of neat things for the kitchen. Most of it is for commercial kitchens of course. But those of us who cook a lot, can benefit from it too.

I had a customer in on Friday afternoon that needed a new stove. She enjoys cooking and her husband enjoys eating. Her old stove was giving her fits. So a new one was in order.

As the conversation progressed, and we discussed a lot of things, we talked about the use of the convection oven. I told her I couldn't live without it. The way I bake, it would be very hard to do without the convection oven. I would have to quit my day job just to get my baking done! She wasn't so sure about it.

I told her about baking cookies 3 dozen at a time. We talked about angel food cake and pies. I gave her several examples of my own experiences. She still wasn't quite convinced. So we went back to the top of the stove. I was telling her about the mess I can make on the stove top and it still comes clean. "But what about bacon?", she asks. "That's always a mess."

"Never cook bacon on the top of the stove! Cook that in the oven!", I tell her. She looks at me like I've lost my mind, or she is about to lose hers. After I got done explaining how to cook bacon in the oven, she bought the stove! I gave her a card with the address for this blog. (I hope you find the bacon post. I'll try to link it here.)

Back to Webstaurant. I also told her she could get parchment paper from Webstaurant in boxes of 1000 or 2000 sheets. Parchment paper is as important as a convection oven to me. And anyone buying it in rolls is paying way too much for it.

What a great day when I can help make some one's life a little easier.

Greek Pasta Salad

This salad is probably the most requested salad that I make. I've been making it for years. Time to share.



3 Cups Uncooked Tri-Color Rotini Pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 Large Tomato, diced

1 Small Sweet Onion, diced

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

1 Green Bell Pepper, diced

1 Cup Sliced Black Olives

8 Ounce Feta Cheese, crumbled

1 12 Ounce Bottle Spicy Italian Salad Dressing



Cook and cool the pasta. Stir together the vegetables. Add the pasta. Moisten with about 1/2 of the dressing. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least 4 hours. When ready to serve add the rest of the dressing and the cheese. Enjoy!

Laundry: How Big of a Load Can I Do?

Big Loads! Huge Loads! Even small to medium loads do well in front load machines.

However, (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) front load washers like for you to separate the clothes into like items. Such as, all towels, all jeans, heavy colors, lightweight colors, whites, you get the idea. That doesn't mean you have to be as particular about it as I am. I am obsessive about sorting.

Big Loads: Really need to be judged by the size of the tub on your machine. Mine has a 4.5 cubic foot tub. That means I can do 10 to 12 pair of adult jeans per load and have it do a really nice job.

Huge Loads: Towel loads can get pretty big around our house. My biggest complaint about towel loads is that they take forever to fold and put away! But the rule of thumb for me is, if the door doesn't pop back open when I close it, I can do that load. If it does then something has to come out. Now that's for towels. Other things you don't want to get quite so carried away.

For a front load machine, if you can get your fist in the center of the clothes in the machine, you have just about the perfect load. It will be full but not jam packed.

Small Loads: The biggest thing to remember for small loads is to use the appropriate cycle. For top loaders it's not so critical, but front load machines it really is. Even a single item that is not delicate can be washed on delicate. The delicate cycle is made for small loads and single items. Use it that way.

Now for sorting. Sorting to me is the most important thing you do when doing laundry.

Towels: A load unto themselves, small or large load, only towels. Towels are lint givers. They will deposit as much lint as they can on other things.

Jeans: Should be washed together for the simple reason that they fade into everything else. They are not colorfast. Have you ever gotten a white sock in with the jeans? Only to never have it get white again? Jeans are also heavy weights. If you wash 3 pair of jeans and 3 t-shirts you will most likely end up with an off balance load. The machine will have a hard time spinning all the water out. (Top load or front load!)

Colors: I can usually get all my colors in one load. My husband, Ron, wears uniforms, so he doesn't contribute to the colors load very much. But in the winter I wear several layers, so sometimes the loads get separated into sweatshirts and heavy things or lightweight items. Otherwise I wash them all together. And of course I separate out the new colors to be washed by themselves. Reds are always washed a couple of times by themselves.

I don't buy things that need to be "washed separately" or "dry clean only" or anything like that. Today's machines are so much better at doing those kinds of things than any washer ever used to be. There are all kinds of cycles now that can do those things without worrying about them being damaged. Read your book that comes with the washer or ask your dealer. (or call or write me)

Today's fabrics are so varied, from natural fibers to synthetics. Some are lint catchers and some are lint givers. That "pilling" you get on things is usually because you have washed a lint giver with a lint catcher. Pilling will still happen but not as fast or as much if you will separate the two. Pilling also comes from friction. Maybe I will save that for another post.

Whites (usually meaning socks and underwear): I'm going to be blunt here. Those of you who have been married or living together for a while will know what I mean. Our blue collar workers can be disgusting. White Collar workers can be just as bad. I do not wash my husbands underwear with my bra's. I always have 2 loads of whites. My lightly soiled white shirts and underthings in a quick load. Then everything else in a long sanitary cycle. (My machine has a cycle called "Sanitary". It starts with hot water from the water heater and heats it up even more to 160 degrees. It is supposed to kill all of the little "germs" that we don't want all over everything else.)

Bedding: Sheets should be their own load. A sanitary cycle is really good for doing bedding. It gets rid of all the body oils and soils without having to use bleach or harsh detergents. The high temperature is not as hard on things as it sounds. My sheets are 100% cotton and they don't shrink.

In the end though a load of laundry is a load of laundry. No matter how you sort it. No matter the size. Some of us are short on time and just throw it in. With a front load machine you will save yourself enough time though to do some of these things. It is an investment up front, but pays big in the long run. Save yourself time, water and energy, detergent and the all important MONEY!

Laundry: That Awfull Smell!

"What is that awful smell in my front load washer?"

"My top load machine smells, too. What can I do?"

"I see mold on the door seal of my front loader, why?"

"There are black specks on my laundry when I take it out of the washer. What is it?"

"My towels smell when they get damp, why?"

Detergent Build Up. Plain and simple. The answer to all those questions is, detergent build up.

Powder detergent just gets sticky or stays powdery and shows up all over everything.

Liquid detergent, it's just sticky and gooey to begin with. But what is it really?

What is the 'liquid' part of liquid detergent? Purified, liquefied, animal fat. Gross right? What do you think they do with all those "animal by-products"? They use them in other products. One of them happens to be your liquid laundry detergent.

It never completely dissolves in water either. So when you use too much, where do you think it ends up? Stuck to the parts of your washing machine that you cannot see and parts that you can see and your clothes... When it builds up enough, it starts to break off and ends up on your clothes, too. That's what that black stuff is. And it's not just excess detergent either. It's dirt that has been trapped by the sticky, gooey mess. Then it all starts to decay. That usually means mold.

You smell the mold first, before anything else. Do your towels smell musty when you get them wet when drying off from a shower? Sorry to tell you but that is mold. Gross!

HOW DO I GET RID OF IT????

Don't let it build up to begin with! But if it is already there, there are some things you can do to clean it up. Those wonderful marketing people went to the manufacturers and said "Let's make another product to clean up the mess that the liquid detergent makes!" There are a couple of products that the manufacturers have come up with to break up the excess detergent. It works pretty well, as long as your build up is not too thick. Follow the directions on the package.

Another way to clean it out is to run your top load washer on the hottest, longest cycle you have with no clothes in it, but dump in a gallon of white vinegar. The acid in the vinegar will help to break up the residue and then it can be rinsed away. Depending on how thick the build up is, you may have to do it several times.

We think, "Yuck! That smell! I need to use more detergent to get rid of that smell!" Wrong! You are just making it worse. You are adding to the build up every time you use more than what the clothes need to get clean.


Front load machines that you buy today have a "Tub Clean" cycle on them. Put in a half gallon of white vinegar and let it do it's thing. If your machine doesn't have a tub clean cycle, just use the hottest longest cycle you have and do the same thing. Front loads use less water, so use less vinegar or you may damage the machine.

The mold on the door seal? It's just a good spot for the mold to get a foothold. Mold grows well in warm, moist areas. Anything it can get itself attached to in your washer is going to be at room temperature and moist. As it builds up in your machine, it finally shows up on that seal. The best you can do there is to wipe it off with a rag dipped in bleach water. One tablespoon of bleach to a gallon of water should do the trick.

Sorry to gross you out, but it really is the truth. I couldn't make this stuff up. I'm not that imaginative.

I know we talked about how much detergent to use last time, but I just can't help myself. Don't forget the best way to not have the excess build up in the first place is to use the proper amount of detergent. 1 to 2 Tablespoons for an average load in a front load machine! 1/2 Or less of the recommended amount in a top load machine!

Any questions about what kind of detergent to use? Comment on this page or e-mail me. I'm here to help!

What shall we talk about next?
I know, "How much can I stuff in one load?" or "Really? That much?"

Beef Burgers

(There is 1/2 a batch, or 5 lb, in this ice-cream bucket in the picture.)

These are called by many names around the country; Maid-Rites, Denvers, Sloppy Joes... No matter what they are called, they're good.

This recipe is sloppy without being too messy, provided the bun is properly sized for the amount of meat you put on it.

I needed to make these for a co-worker. His daughter's second birthday is this weekend and they are having a party for her. I hope I made enough for 28 people.

10 Pounds of high quality Ground Beef, 93% lean works best
24 ounce bottle of Ketchup
1 Family Size can of Condensed Tomato Soup, 26 ounces
2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
1 Cup Onion, minced (or 1/4 cup dried chopped onion)
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Quick Cooking Oats


Brown the hamburger with the onion, if using fresh onion. Drain off fat if there is any in the bottom of the pan.

Mix remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add to meat and combine.

Either heat through and serve or refrigerate to heat up later when the gang is all here.

This also freezes well. I would suggest freezing leftovers in single serve containers. Makes it easy to come home for lunch and have a quick sandwich.

Let's Do Laundry!

Since I'm not cooking anything of much interest these days, I want to talk about Laundry. (Good heavens, what is she up to this time!?)

I keep threatening to do a "Laundry Seminar"... Let's get started!

Washers and dryers have changed. Have you? Seems like a silly statement and question, doesn't it? But with today's new front load machines, it is extremely important. I can give you a long list of customers that didn't listen and learned the hard way what I was talking about. (I'll tell you some of those stories later.)There truly is a huge difference in top load and front load machines. Here is the most important one:

* Detergent: How much you use is as important as what kind.

Let's start with 'how much'. The marketing people have done their job. They have us using just as much as they can possibly get us to use. That sells lots of product and makes them look good. The more detergent you buy, the more money they make. Let's keep more of that in our own pockets!

The proper amount of detergent you need to use should be based on:
1. How large of a load you are doing. (Large loads need more.)
2. How dirty the clothes are. (Dirty clothes need more.)
3. The temperature of the water. (Hot water takes less.)
4. The length of time it will be washing. (More is not always better!)
That sounds like a lot of things to think about, but really it's not. Those are things you already consider if you think about it.

Brace yourself: Most people use 10 to 15 times more detergent than they need to. It's a published fact. The New York Times did a story on it.

That said, just how much should you use? For a front load machine you should be using 1-2 tablespoons of POWDER detergent for an average load. NEVER more than 3 tablespoons. For a top load machine, generally 1/2 the recommended amount.

A top load machine uses 20 gallons of water just in the wash part of the cycle. Then to rinse it uses another 20-25 gallons of water. Front load machines use 1-5 gallons of water to wash and another 3-15 to rinse, for at least twice the amount of clothes. Top loads rinse once and front loads rinse 3 times. There is less water to dilute the detergent in, therefore you should use less detergent. Less water, less detergent. Make any sense?

The reason you bought the front loader is for it's water and energy savings, right? And of course the large amount of laundry you can get in each load. Now you can save even more money by using less detergent, too.

I also said "what kind" of detergent you use, didn't I? By that I mean powder or liquid. Always Powder!

Why? When you are using too much, neither the powder or the liquid get dissolved. You just happen to be able to see the powder easier. It shows as a white flaky stuff all over your clothes. The liquid is there too, it's just harder to recognize.

Do your colors look dull and dingy? Do your whites look grey? Is someone in the family "allergic" to laundry detergents? Sorry, most likely it's liquid soap residue.

When I sell a new front load washer to someone I tell them to not use any detergent the first time they wash a load. You won't need to. There will be enough residue left on the clothes to do the job. If there is more than a thin layer of bubbles on the water and clothes, in a front load washer, you are using way too much detergent!

Again, marketing tells us that more is better, right? Sometimes it is, but not in your laundry detergent. Less is more! Your colors will stay brighter. Your whites, whiter. Your pockets heavier. (With all the cash you save on detergent!)

One more tidbit of info for you to think about: Soap vs Detergent

Soap makes suds. That's what makes it work.
Detergent does not make suds.

Those pesky marketing people put 'sudsing agent' in it to make lots of suds. They discovered that in our minds (Grandma said...!) we relate cleaning to suds. Not so with detergent. It's a lot of science, just trust me. (Google it!)

Oh and by the way, does your washer smell? It's a build up of excess detergent that traps dirt. And it all starts to stink! We'll talk about that next time.

Southwest Seasoning

Most seasoning mixes that you can buy in the grocery store have sugar in them. If you read the ingredient list you will probably see sugar there in some form. When you are trying to stay away from sugars and starches, even those small additions can derail all of your good intentions. So when reading the nutrition facts, also read the ingredient list. Learn more about what you are eating.

This seasoning mix is pretty basic. Most of the time simple is better. Not always, but usually. Mix this up and see what you think. I enjoy it on chicken. It's just as good on a steak. Or, let's see, just about anything you want to grill. Haven't tried it on fish yet myself. If you do let me know what you think.

1/4 Cup Ground Ancho Chili Pepper (#42035)
1 tsp Garlic Powder (#44439)
1 tsp Onion Powder (#47230)
1 tsp Dried Oragano (#31730)
2 tsp Paprika (#48037)
1 T Ground Cumin (#42730)
1 T Kosher Salt
1 T Ground Black Pepper (#45836)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Pour into an old salt shaker and shake on, oh, just about anything.

The numbers after each ingredient are the Penzeys Spices item numbers. I thought that might make it easier for you to order from www.penzeys.com .

I hope you like this recipe!

Lifestyle Change French Onion Soup

I was going to call it "Diet French Onion Soup". When you put that word, diet, in front of anything people automatically think "Yuck". You think it can't be good if it's diet. But this didn't turn out too bad. Needed more salt though.

Okay, I got this cook 'booklet' to go with my lifestyle change. My first thoughts while reading it were, "It's not rocket science here people. Use your imagination just a little bit please." The recipes are a bit lacking for me. Even as strict as this is, you can still give it some flavor. Work with me here.
----------------------------------------------------------
This is the original recipe. (I'm not kidding here.)

2 Cups Chicken Broth (Made from the recipe in this book.)
1 Whole sliced Sweet Onion

Simmer on low for 1 hour.
----------------------------------------------------------
That's it!
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The recipe for the broth is as follows:

21 ounces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
8 Cups Water
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Onion Salt
1/4 tsp Celery Salt
1/4 tsp Poultry Seasoning
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Combine ingredients in a soup pot and cook until chicken is done.
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I'm sorry but that just will not cut it in my kitchen!


Want to know what I did to it? LOL! I stayed within the parameters of the protocol. There are just so many little things that can be done to make it taste GOOD. So, here we go:
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Chicken Broth

21 ounces Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast Meat (I used the Tenders)
8 Cups RO Water (Reverse Osmosis)
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Celery Seed
1/2 tsp Poultry Seasoning
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Sea Salt

Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Brown these in a nonstick skillet. (I love my GreenPans) Do NOT add any oil. Just lightly brown and add to the water in a stock pot. Add all of the seasonings. Stir and simmer for about 30 minutes. Skim off any scum that may accumulate from the chicken. (for this diet you need to do the next part faithfully) Remove the chicken from the broth and store in the refrigerator for future meals. Cool the broth and put in 2 cup containers. Freeze or refrigerate for future use.
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Now for the French Onion Soup:

2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Whole sliced Onion

Pour the broth into a 2 quart sauce pan. Heat to a simmer while cooking the onions. Slice the onion into 3/8" slabs. Season with your favorite seasoning. I used a Southwest seasoning. Lay the onion slabs on a kitchen grill (aka George Forman). Cook 7-8 minutes on a side. You want them to be softened but still hold together so you can chop them on a cutting board. Then drop them into the simmering broth. Simmer until broth is reduced by about half.
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I added in some of the chicken from making the broth. Then I added some apple slices and a broken up Melba Toast. mmmmm (I see you all turning up your noses!) Heck, by the third day of this diet I was eyeing the roadkill to figure how I could cook it! LOL!

Anyway, if you ever find yourself on a strict diet, try this. It's not bad if you are starving to death.

I'm on a Diet!

I'm sorry friends, that I have been away for so long. I have decided to put myself on a diet, or better yet, a lifestyle change. It has been too long in coming. All the cooking and baking that I do has caught up to me. Try as I might to 'diet' for a while now, it hasn't stuck. So I have made a conscious decision to change. (as opposed to unconscious! ha ha)

Most people hate change. It's not usually a bad thing. Change happens around us all the time. We don't even notice it when it is a small change. Take a can of chicken broth for instance. A 'can' of chicken broth started out as 16 ounces years and years ago. Today it is about 14 1/2 ounces. Most people don't notice. But it's something I noticed. All over the grocery store it is happening every day. So they don't have to raise the price, they just give you less and leave the price the same.

I digress. My 'diet. My lifestyle change. For good or bad, it's here. Here to stay.

Scottish Reels

I have been looking for this one for a couple of weeks now and couldn't it. Finally! There it was! I had posted it in the 'Recipe Binder' program on Facebook. Now I have something to bake tomorrow! (I WILL add the pictures when I'm done baking them on Sunday!)

As always, I don't remember where this came from, but I remember how good they are.♥

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
3 oz Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened (as always, the real stuff)
1 1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
4 oz Unsweetened Chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
2 Eggs, Large or Extra Large
2 tsp Vanilla (as always, the real stuff from Penzey's)
1 Cup Chopped Nuts
1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Dredging Mixture:

1 Cup Quick Cooking Oats
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment.

Whisk together the flour, powder, soda and salt; set aside.

Cream the cheese, butter and brown sugar until light. Add the cooled melted chocolate and mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients, nuts and chips until evenly combined.

Combine the dredging mixture in a small bowl. Scoop the dough out in balls of about a tablespoon and roll in the dredging mixture. Place on the parchment covered baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks.

These cookies don't sound like much. And who ever heard of rolling the dough in oatmeal? Don't knock it until you try it and try it you must! These are wonderful.

Enjoy!

Cookies for the Home Show

Tonight I put together 5 batches of cookies for the Home Show in Humboldt. Chocolate Chip, Mini m&m, and the Salty/Sweets. Seiler Appliance has a booth at the show. For the last 5 years I have made cookie dough for the guys to bake during the show.

Yes, the guys bake the cookies at the show. I make the dough and freeze it in balls or discs for them to bake. It fills the hall with the smell of fresh baked cookies. Does it help with sales? Maybe. Does it make people feel good to have a warm, fresh baked cookie from one of our ovens? Hopefully. The guys do the baking because I am at the store. Someone has to hold down the fort, and I'm low man on the totem pole.

I also put together a couple of egg bakes. I drop them off on my way to open the store on Saturday morning. Russ also gives that away to customers and exhibitors alike. Again, does it foster goodwill? Again, hopefully!

Mary Max Chili

This is a tribute to my sister-in-law, Mary Maxine Kennedy-Seiler. I don't know where she got it from but I got it from her. It is wonderful for it's simplicity. That simplicity also lends itself well to my additions. (or addictions, i.e. playing with a recipe to make it "better")

This is the basic recipe that I make the Smokin' Chili out of. Smokin' Chili isn't for everyone. Some people don't like smoke flavor that well. It's not bad, different, but not bad.

To make it Smokin', we just cook the meat in the smoker. Along with the onions, pepper and celery.

Mary Max Chili

2 1/2 pounds of Hamburger
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
46 oz Tomato Juice (V8)
1 Green Pepper, chopped
2 Celery Stalks, cut in 3" chunks
2 T Chili Powder
1 small can Chili Beans (Mrs. Grimes)

Brown the hamburger with the onion and peppers. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for a couple of hours. Enjoy!

I have been known to add many different things to this chili. Some were good and some not so good. Corn is a very good addition. Carrots, not so much. I have added cinnamon a couple of times and it was good. But whatever you may decide to add, do so sparingly. I speak from experience, even too much of a GOOD thing can turn out bad.

Sorry, no picture, this time.

Back To Baking!

I might actually get to bake today! But what do I want to bake? Or what ingredients do I have on hand to cook with?

Being known for having ingredients on hand can be a good thing. Usually there are at least 4 dozen eggs in my refrigerator at all times. There is at least one 25lb bag of flour in my pantry. Along with a 25lb bag of sugar. Those are the extras. I have containers that hold those bags of white stuff too. The neighbors know all they have to do is ask!

Bread flour, you ask? Of course I have a 25lb bag of that too. And I buy yeast in 1 pound vacuum sealed bags.

I'm running down my list of staples to figure out what to do today. Making sure I have what I need. For my list of 'add-ins', I would need more space than the Internet would give me. (hahaha)

This has been the strangest winter we have had in a long time. I missed several days of work due to the weather. For some reason though I cannot tell you what I accomplished on those days. Can't remember if I even baked very much. On those kinds of days I usually get some soups made, but I don't remember if I even got very many soups done. And if I didn't cook, what did I do? My house isn't any cleaner! It was a long, dreary, snowy winter is all I remember. Well, not all I remember. But all I'm willing to talk about here.

Back to baking! What to bake? I'll let you know what I come up with! Maybe....

Bacon Cookies
Salty Sweet Cookies
Brown Sugar Bread
Chicken and Rice Soup
Crumpets
Scones

Maybe I should get out some old cookbooks and find something different to do? We'll just have to see.....

Saturday Morning Breakfast

We had one of our "Breakfasts" in the garage on Saturday morning. It was fun! Family, Friends and Neighbors, What more could you ask for?


Ron told people 8am. I was telling them 8:30am. My Dad walked through the door as the 3rd person to get here. I got scolded! At least now I'm sure where I got that habit from. If I'm on time, I'm late! Dad was early for the time I had told him, but late for the time Ron was telling people. Sorry Dad!

I think we should do these breakfasts more often. Ron is not so sure about that. He would get better with his timing if he did it more often. Ron has never trained as a short order cook. Breakfast is easy, but takes timing. Hash browns take longer to cook than eggs. Therefore you must start the hash browns first. But if someone only wants an omelet, that can be cooked while someone else's hash browns are cooking... But you have to remember to start the eggs for the hash browns before the hash browns are done or you risk burning them. So... if we did this more often his timing would get better. What do you guys think?


Of course I forgot to get the camera out. And when I did we were just about done. But I managed to get Derek's omelet on film. The picture does not do it justice though. 4 Eggs, Lil' Smokies, Ham, Mushrooms, Peppers and onions... The bacon was gone by that time, but just about everything else that was available to put in an omelet he did. To Derek's credit he ate almost all of it. And an order of hash browns, and a scone, and a big glass of orange juice... It was way more than I would care to eat!


This time the chalkboard simply said "Garage Cafe, Order what you want, Enjoy what you get". By the time I had gotten the camera out the children had erased and written all over the chalkboard. Some day I'll get my act together! But it's not easy for an old dog to remember the new tricks, much less be able to do them.

Shrimp and Salmon

I forgot to take pictures. :( We were so busy cooking that by the time I thought about pictures the food was mostly eaten. Oh darn, I'll just have to make it again.

The shrimp was so easy! I mixed equal parts of Lime Juice, Honey, Triple Sec, and Tequila. I used 1/4 cup each for 3 pounds of Shrimp. That marinated in a gallon zip top bag for about 2 hours. Then I drained off most of the marinade and dumped it all on a flat sheet pan. That went into the smoker for about an hour. The smoker was running at about 225 degrees and cooling. When they were done, I sprinkled course salt on them and set them on the grazing table. Excellent flavor.

The salmon was a bit more complicated, but well worth it. The fish eaters were raving over it. The worst part is, I hope I can remember what all I put in the marinade. As I have said before, most recipes are just guidelines. They are not written in stone.

1/2 Cup Kosher Salt (this was too much, cut it in half)
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar (I'm gonna try Sugar In The Raw next time)
2 T Dried Chopped Onion (or use fresh, 1/2 cup)
1 tsp Garlic Powder (fresh is better)
2 Cups HOT Water (boiling is good)
3 Cups Ice
Splash of Lime Juice (up to 1/4 Cup)

In a glass mixing bowl mix together everything but the ice. When everything is dissolved add in the ice. When the ice is melted pour the mixture into a 2 gallon zip top bag.(or whatever works for you) Add the salmon and squeeze the air out. Set into a long flat dish or on a cookie sheet that will fit and sit level in the freezer. If you are able to cook it the same day, marinate for at least 2 hours. Not more than 4 hours.

We had to buy the salmon on Sunday and then not cook it until Friday. Thursday night I took it out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to thaw. The marinade did not ever completely freeze. Too much salt and sugar. Anyway, Ron put it in the smoker for about an hour. (225 to 250 degrees)It was tender and flaky and so much flavor! Even though the salt was a bit too much it was still fantastic.

I cannot wait to try this again!

Guess what? Ron just brought in a package of salmon from the neighbor! He wants it cooked just like we did on Friday. He was uptown on Friday night and someone from the party was there and was telling Roger about it. He just happened to have some wild caught salmon in his freezer. So now I get to try this again today!!!! (Hopefully I can remember to take pictures!)

What a winter!!!

I am so sorry about not posting more this winter. It has been one of the snowiest (is that a word?) years for a long time. And honestly I haven't been doing much cooking. Is that sad or what?

Things are going to start picking up now though. March begins on Monday. We have a group to feed next Friday night the 5th. Ron and I had a planning meeting for it tonight. Tomorrow we will be going to Sam's Club for supplies. For as much as we need to get it will be worth the trip. We need everything from table service (plates and napkins etc.) to fresh fruit and seasonings.

Speaking of seasonings... have I talked about where to get seasonings and spices before? (I'm sure I have!) Well, here goes again... I love Penzeys. There are stores and you can order online. penzeys.com They have just about everything. Fresh!! Try them out once and you will be hooked.

The menu for next Friday night will look like Ron came up with it, mostly because he did. Meatloaf, Chicken Wings, Turkey, Ribs, Pork Loin, Pork Tenderloin, Salmon, Cheesy Potatoes, Beer Cheese Dip, Deviled Eggs, Bacon Cookies, Fruit Salsa. The fruit salsa was my idea. And I'm sure I will throw in a few other tidbits because that menu is a little heavy.

I promise I will 'try' to remember to take pictures and post them. Stop laughing! I said I will try. It should be fun and I will tell you all about it on this blog and my brother blog, smokin4ubbq.blogspot.com . Promise!

Chicken and Rice Soup

I love this stuff. But at our house we do a lot of things separately. Ron won't eat it if it might be good for him. I prefer it if it has some food value. So I put together two soups. You can make whichever one appeals to you more.

Ron's soup is of course easier to make. Not that either of these is difficult. But minute rice does only take a few minutes to cook, so that makes it easier. My soup on the other hand takes a bit more time. (I'm trying to type and eat a bowl of this at the same time. Not an easy task!)

Let's start at the beginning. We went to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon. (We have to go together. If not the one who doesn't go doesn't get anything to eat.) I was looking for wings to do for the Super Bowl. Found those, but also found several packages of hind quarters. If you find several packages and they are priced right why not get them? Cook them up and make something or put the meat in the freezer for another time you are inspired to make something with precooked chicken. Anyway, I came home with lots of chicken at good prices.

Out came the blue granite roaster. I filled that with the hind quarters and popped it in a 300 degree oven for about 4 hours. Take the roaster out of the oven and set it on a cooling rack for about a half hour to cool enough to work with. Leave the lid on. You want to keep the chicken as moist as possible and not letting the steam escape is a good way to help that. After the half hour take the lid off and put the chicken out on a flat pan. Keep the pieces from touching so they cool enough to handle. I wear gloves, that's just me. Tearing the chicken off the bones is a messy job. For some reason I enjoy it. I like to separate the good from the bad, at least when it comes to food.

When all the meat is in a 'keep' pile and all the bones and skin and fat and yuk are in the garbage can, pour the juice from the pan into a container. That container then goes into the fridge. After it has cooled you will have 3 separate layers. The bottom is stuff you may or may not want. (Usually it depends on what I'm making and for whom I am making it.) But it is sediment and you can throw it away if you want. Next is the important layer, the good stuff. On top is the fat. Most of that gets thrown away. (Of course my grandpa used to use it like butter. But I'm not gonna go that far.)

That middle layer is now coagulated into a jelly type stuff. (Chicken Jelly) This is moisture out of the chicken and has lots of flavor. If you remember when we put the chicken pieces into the roaster we put nothing in there with it. Just the chicken, nothing else. So the only thing you could get out of the pan is from the chicken, right? It might seem like some pretty disgusting stuff but it really has a lot of flavor to add to soups and things. Keep it, we will add it later to the soup.


(Finally! I didn't think she was ever gonna get to the actual soup!)See I know what you are thinking!!

OK, the chicken was cooked on Saturday. Now it is Sunday and time to make some Chicken Soup. Vegetable? Noodle? Rice!! I haven't made that for a while. Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. (Can you see Ron turning his nose up at that? Well, he is. And turning around a walking away.) Trouble is Ron will not eat what I call REAL RICE. No Wild Rice is not rice at all. It's just a grass seed. But boy do I love it! Ron eats minute rice. How awful is that? I eat Brown Rice, too. It has both texture and flavor. And it's good for you!

Let's get down to it!

Ron's Chicken Rice Soup


1 15 oz can Chicken Broth
1 Can of Water
4 Tiny Carrots, chopped
1 Green Onion, chopped
1/2 Cup Minute Rice

I put all that in a small Crock Pot (because I have one) or you can put it in a 2 quart sauce pan. Let that cook for an hour in the Crock Pot or 15-20 minutes on the stove.

1/4 Cup Chicken Jelly, more or less
1 Tablespoon Chicken Soup Base
1 tsp Pepper Blend

Add that to the simmering soup. You don't have to use the soup base, but we like it. You will want to add some salt if you don't use the base. Then add how ever much chicken you like or have. Stir and heat through. Serve.


I only make a small amount of soup for Ron. About 2 meals worth is all he can eat of something like this. Even with Minute Rice, God forbid, it might be good for you.

Kristi's Chicken and Wild Rice Soup


2 15 oz cans Chicken Broth
2 cans of Water
12 Tiny Carrots, chopped
4 Green Onions, chopped
3/4 Cup Brown Rice
1/4 Cup Wild Rice

This goes in the Crock pot for a couple of hours on high. Or you can put it in a stock pot on the stove at a simmer for an hour.

1 Cup Chicken Jelly, more or less
2-3 Tablespoons Chicken Soup Base
1 Tablespoon Pepper Blend
Chicken, how ever much you have or want

Add all of this to the pot and allow to cook until the rice tests done or longer. I like the rice to curl up. Then I know it's fully cooked and will reheat well.

That's it! Of course, please play with this basic recipe. Add other veggies if you want. We like our soups thicker, less broth, but you can add more broth or water if you like it looser.

Make a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it. On a snowy winter day, what could be better?

Chicken Casserole

Doesn't everyone have a "go to" chicken casserole? I never really have had one myself though. But tonight I made one up.

I had some chicken thigh meat that I needed to use up. So that got me to thinking about the 2 pastas that I had just a small amount left of. Mom and Dad gave me some frozen sweet corn. There is a package of shredded cheese in the freezer that needs to be used up. Make a gravy and put it all together and you have a casserole!

I cheated! No, not on my husband! I used a mix to make a white sauce. Even I keep some of this stuff on hand. I made a quart of it for the casserole.


The 6 chicken thighs were still raw, so I diced that up and fried it in a small amount of bacon grease. It was very tasty just like that.

The pasta was about 2 cups, uncooked. Boiled that up for about 10 minutes. It was spirals and penne.

The corn was some the folks had given me that they froze last summer. I thought we had eaten it all but I found one bag down in the bottom of the chest freezer when I was looking for some butter. There was about 2 cups worth in the bag.

I buy 5 pound blocks of cheddar cheese and shred it myself. That way if I want to melt it in soup, the soup doesn't get grainy. Ron likes it in his omelets too. Anyway I package it in about 2 cup bags for freezing. There was one bag left from an old batch down there with the corn at the bottom of the freezer. I mixed the cheese in with the sauce.

After everything was prepped I mixed it in a big bowl and then dumped it all in a baking dish. It baked in a 300 degree oven for about an hour. Yummy!

Mac & Cheese Bites

Versatility is the name of the game for me. I love a recipe that can handle what ever I want to do to it. This one fits that bill quite nicely.

It is meant to be made in a mini-muffin pan. It also works to make it in a regular muffin pan, or so I found out. It also works to freeze!


Now freezing is something special. I have grand kids. Freezing these in meal size portions for them (the same as snack size for their Dad!) makes it easy for their Mom to get lunch ready.

1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 1/2 T Butter
2 T Flour
3/4 Cup Milk
1 1/4 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (shred this yourself, the prepackaged stuff gives it a grainy texture)
4 oz Velveeta, cubed
1 Egg Yolk, beaten
1/4 tsp Paprika (optional)
8 oz Elbow Macaroni, cooked
1/2 tsp Pepper Blend (for adults)(Lawry's makes a good one.)

Spray a muffin pan with vegetable spray. Sprinkle with half of the Parmesan cheese. This makes 12 regular sized 'muffins' or about 4 dozen mini 'muffins' for appetizers.

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. (large because this is the pan you are going to mix everything up in) Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Stir it after a minute to make sure it cooks evenly. Whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until thickened and bubbling. Remove from heat and stir in the cheeses until melted and smooth. Whisk in the egg yolk and paprika. Stir in the cooked and well drained macaroni until evenly coated. Evenly distribute into muffin pan. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes for mini muffin pan or about 18 minutes for regular pan.

They should be bubbly and have some browning on the edge and top. Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so and carefully transfer to a sering platter. (for appetizer) They take about 10 minutes to cool in the pan for wrapping and freezing. Otherwise they won't hold their shape and you have a mess. Or you could serve them right away to the kids to see if they like them.

My own large child, Ron, thought they were great. He ate two of them as soon as I took them out of the pan.

Another Taco Soup

Another Snow Day!!! So how about another Soup? I'm not sure I have done a Taco Soup on here before but there are so many versions of Taco Soup out there that I decided to call this one "Another Taco Soup".

As I type this it is still cooking. I'm also thinking of ways to 'enhance' it. (You know me, can't leave well enough alone!) I still have some cooked bacon in the refrigerator. I may chop up some of that and use it with the garnish. Bacon makes everything taste better. (Chocolate covered bacon comes to mind as maybe not so good, but I'll have to try it just to make sure...)You can use anything else that you like on your tacos on this taco soup. Be creative!

1 lb of lean Hamburger, browned and drained
1 small Onion, chopped and cooked with the hamburger
1 15 oz can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can Whole Kernel Sweet Corn (add the juice too)
1 14 oz can Chicken Broth (or Beef Broth)
1 14.5 oz can Mexican Style Diced Tomatoes (with green chilies)
1 T Taco Seasoning (from a packet and save the rest for the next batch)
1 tsp (or to taste) Chili Powder
Sour cream and shredded cheese for garnish. I also break up some tortilla chips over the top.

This will fit in a 4 quart or larger Crock Pot. After browning the meat and onion, drain off excess fat, then put in the crock pot. Dump on top of that the rest of the ingredients and stir. Cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-6 hours. Garnish with the sour cream and cheese and whatever else you like on your tacos. Enjoy!

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

We had this for lunch today. It was very good.

I would call it a medium soup. Not light, because it wasn't 'brothy'. Not a heavy soup, because it wasn't creamy or thick. It was cheesy without being overly so. It was thinner like a broth soup but with a bit of substance. (Am I making any sense at all?)

Just know that it's worth a try.

1 lb Lean Ground Beef
2 14 oz cans Chicken or Beef Broth
1 T Dried Onion (or 1/2 a small onion cooked with the beef)
1 tsp Garlic Powder (or 2 small cloves, minced)
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped (or jarred roasted red pepper)
2 Potatoes, Peeled (or not) and cubed
1 Cup Milk
12 oz Velveeta, cubed
6-8 slices of Bacon cooked crisp and crumbled (or use the Real Bacon Bits that go on salads)

Use a 4 quart or larger slow cooker. (Crock Pot) Brown the meat and onion on the stove and drain the fat. Put into the cooker with the broth, garlic, pepper and potatoes. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours or high 2-3 hours. In the mean time cook the bacon and crumble. Cut up the Velveeta and measure the milk. About a half hour before you are ready to eat add the Velveeta and milk. Stir to combine. Stir every five minutes till cheese is melted. Serve in bowls and top with the bacon crumbles. Enjoy!

I made this on a day that I didn't go to work because of one of the blizzards we have had so far this winter. One blizzard per week for the last 3 weeks is more than any of us need. Where is Global Warming now?

Cottage Bread

You know those puffy soft loaves of Cottage Bread in the grocery store? The ones with the dusting of flour on top? The bread itself is so soft that you are afraid you might hurt it just taking it out of the package? Well, I found a recipe that comes as close to it as I think I will ever get. Factory made bread might be a bit softer, but this tastes absolutely wonderful!

1 cup Cottage Cheese
1 Egg

Blend those two in a blender until smooth. I have a magic bullet that my kids gave me for Christmas one year. It works great for this. Put that mixture in the pan of your bread machine. Then add in order:

1/2 Cup Water
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 T Sugar
2 T Butter, melted
3 1/2 Cups Bread Flour
1 scant T Instant Yeast

Turn the bread machine on to the dough cycle. When its completed, turn out on a floured surface and knead a few times to deflate. Shape into a loaf and put in a prepared (sprayed with vegetable spray) bread pan. Allow to rise just to the rim of the pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

Now for my 'twist' on this bread. You can use brown sugar for the sugar. The loaf isn't bright white, but has a bit more flavor. I also add 1 T wheat germ and/or flax meal. Of course when you do that it has flecks in it. My grandson said it had ants in it. And of course it isn't bright white either. Who cares? It's better for you and has more flavor. But make it how you like it. That's what matters.

Oatmeal Cookie Mix for the Freezer

I like to make up freezer meals when I can. Having a casserole in the freezer that can be cooked and served without all the mess is wonderful! But you can do that with a lot of things including cookie dough. This recipe can be made ahead to whatever stage you want, frozen, then baked when needed. How cool is that? So here it is:

3 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar (I prefer dark)
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 Cups Shortening (7 oz)
6 Cups Quick Cooking Oats (old fashioned works too)

I use a large stainless steel mixing bowl to combine the flour, sugars, salt, soda and powder. You can also add 1 tsp Cinnamon at this point if you would like. Just remember it's in there in case you want to add other flavorings later.

Measure out the shortening and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender. You can do it by hand but that gets kind of messy. When that is well blended add in the oats and stir to combine.



At this point you can freeze this mixture in 4, 1 quart bags. Be sure to label the bags with what is in it and what needs to be done with it. (I'm good at forgetting to do that and then have bags of 'something' in the freezer that I can't remember what they are or what to do with them.) I write on the bag with a black Sharpie; the Date, Oatmeal Cookie, 2 Eggs, 2 tsp Vanilla. That is all I need. If you need more instruction that that, write what you need. Like, Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. That always helps.

When you are ready to mix them up, just empty the bag from the freezer into a mixing bowl. Add 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla and combine. It is a very thick dough. Fold in any extras by hand. Portion and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.



But if you want to take it a step further, you can mix up the dough and freeze it that way. You can freeze it in 4 lumps. Just be sure to thaw completely before shaping into cookies. Or my favorite, freeze it in individual cookie balls. That way you can take out as many as you want to bake. Only need a few? Take out a few. Need a whole bunch? Take out a whole bunch! (Grandmas always need to have cookies on hand.) Let them sit out on the counter while the oven is preheating. When the oven is ready, so is the dough.



I mentioned Cinnamon earlier, but what about raisins? Or nuts? You can incorporate those at anytime before putting it in the freezer. Dried fruits and nuts go in the freezer quite nicely. Keep the add-ins to about 1 cup total per batch.(4 batches) Too much more than that and the cookies don't hold together as well. Chocolate chips are a good add-in. Or dried cranberries, or sunflower seeds... Experiment with the flavors your family likes. For the Christmas season the grocery store here, Wood's Supermarket, gets a bunch of flavored chips; Mint Chocolate Chips, Cinnamon Chips, Cherry Chips, etc. Andes mints puts out a bagged version of it's mints that are just pieces. They are good in the scones.

I use a 1 oz scoop to make most of my cookies. That's how I make my dough balls to go in the freezer. If I have done everything right the cookies all come out the same size and shape. That's nice for portion control and figuring out the cost per cookie.

Basics to remember:

1. 4 Cups Mix + 2 Eggs + 1 tsp Vanilla = 3 dozen cookies (before add-ins)

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

3. Keeps in the freezer for about 6 months. (If you don't forget you have it, you'll use it up pretty quickly.)

4. Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

To all my friends and family, I wish you a happy and successful new year ahead. May all of you be blessed with happiness, health, love and comfort as you take your journey into the coming year. Remember, "Happiness is the journey, not the destination."