REAL FOOD FOR REAL PEOPLE

It's Been A While...

2009-05-02T15:21:00.003-04:00

It's been a long time since we've posted here, long enough that I realized that the email address I had on here has long been changed. So take note and I hope you'll email us with some cool summer recipes. Have a great one!

Email me at

mzbabz@comcast.net

PS, I spend most of my time over at Ask Aunt B. Come visit us, okay???

Ziplock Omelettes

2008-04-06T13:54:00.004-04:00

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a while.

If you have a big family or friends over, this is a great idea.

Put all of your favorite omelet ingredients out on a table, along with Ziplock Freezer bags.

Start by having everyone write their name on the bag in permanent marker

Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the bag (not more than 2) shake to combine them.

Put out a variety of ingredients such as cooked bacon or bacon bits, cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc. I like pepperoni and cheese! Plus you can put out different herbs & spices. Dill is a personal favorite and Jane's Crazy salt (Not easy to find).

Adults can put their fav ingredients in their bag and shake. Of course, you let the kids shake theirs but if you don't want raw egg everywhere, you'd better keep an open eye, right?

Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up.

Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for approximately/exactly 13 minutes. You should be able to cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. Or get two pots going so everyone can eat together. (How many times, Mom have you had to eat last?)

Open the bags, carefully and the omelet will roll out easily. These are nice to serve with hash browns or maybe even some pancakes made with applesauce, huh?

Homemade Samoas

2008-02-18T19:38:00.004-05:00

These are like my all time favs. Had to post it!

Homemade Samoas (a.k.a. Caramel de-Lites)
Cookies
1 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
up to 2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough. Alternatively, use scant tablespoons of dough and press into an even layer in a mini donut pan to form the rounds.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. If using a mini donut pan, bake for only about 10 minutes, until edges are light gold.
Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Topping
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.

While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.

Brocolli Cheese Rice Casserole ala Da Cat

2008-02-05T10:21:00.000-05:00

Top Cat was kind enough to allow us to publish this recipe, after a wee bit of begging on my part, via email. I want to thank Top Cat for sharing this yummy recipe. I can't wait to make this myself...

I came across this, quite by accident but darn if it didn't make me hungry.

Cooking with da Cat

Brocolli Cheese Rice Casserole

This makes a delicious sidedish and would make a perfect addition to any holiday meal.

Brocolli cheese rice casserole

1 cup of rice(uncooked yields 2 cups cooked)

1 large onion

1-2 stalk celery

1/2 to 3/4 head of fresh brocolli or 1 bag of frozen brocolli

1 bag of sharp cheddar cheese

5 slices of American cheese

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

Cook rice

saute onion and celery in olive oil(do not overcook)

cook brocolli(I use the microwave to keep the nutrients in)

combine rice, sauteed vegetables, brocolli, cream of mushroom soup and cheese(I usually grate or dice the American cheese so it will melt evenly in the dish)

save enough shredded cheese to sprinkle on top

spray casserole dish with Pam(vegetable spray)

add all ingredients mixing them evenly

sprinkle remaining cheese on top

cook uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes

This Is The Shiz-nit !!

2007-12-22T23:09:00.000-05:00

A.1. Steak Sauce, Bold & Spicy.

Made with real Tabasco Sauce. This stuff makes even cheap steaks taste good. If you can chew it will improve it. I bet it would even make Horse steak taste good!

I usually don't put anything on steak, if it's a good cut of meat cooked anyway short of burnt it's fine with me. But I cant always afford T-Bones or Porter Houses. So if you take a cheaper cut like Flank steak or Eye of Chuck, dowse it with a little salt, pepper, and maybe some onion powder, then throw it on a really hot fire just long enough to take the chill off of it. Cover it with copious amounts of A.1. Bold & Spicy and it will make for some good eatin.

(From Chuck)

Kaliblue's Cornbread Dressing

2007-11-21T21:36:00.001-05:00

(I Swiped This From Kaliblue)

Cornbread ingredients:

2 cups self-rising cornmeal
2 eggs beaten
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons bacon drippings, melted

Dressing ingredients:

3 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
12 slices day old bread, crumbled
2 cups turkey or chicken broth (or as needed)
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:

Cornbread: Combine cornmeal, 2 eggs, buttermilk, and melted bacon drippings, stirring well. Place a well-greased 10-inch cast iron skillet in a 450 degree oven for 4 minutes or until hot. Remove skillet from oven; spoon batter into skillet. Bake at 450 F for 35 minutes or until cornbread is lightly browned. Cool; crumble cornbread into a large bowl.

Dressing: Sautee celery and onion in butter until tender. Add sautéed vegetables and remaining ingredients to crumbled cornbread, stirring well. Spoon dressing into a lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Bake at 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes.

(Stolen By Chuck)

Cookies...

2007-11-13T02:47:00.000-05:00

From Emily

Helpful Hints

2007-10-28T10:36:00.000-04:00

My Mom sent me these. Seems quite legit, so enjoy!

1. Reheat Pizza

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set
Heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy.

No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really
Works.

2. Easy Deviled Eggs

Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all
Broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up
Mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg.
Just throw bag away when done---easy clean up.

3. Expanding Frosting

When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with
Your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to
Frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar
And calories per serving.

4. Reheating refrigerated bread

To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place
Them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will
Keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

5. Newspaper weeds away

Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Put
Layers of wet

Newspapers around the plants, overlapping as you go. Cover with mulch
And forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic
They will not get through wet newspapers.

6 Broken Glass

Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you
Can't see easily.

7. No More Mosquitoes

Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

8. Squirrel Away!

To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
Cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the
Squirrels won't come near it.

9. Flexible vacuum

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty
Paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent
Or flattened to get in narrow openings.

10. Reducing Static Cling

Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a
Clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when
Wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- tada! -- static
Is gone.

11. Measuring Cups

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot
Water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your
Ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right
Out.

12. Foggy Windshield?

Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the
Glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser!
Works better than a cloth!

13. Reopening envelope

If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something
Inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or
Two. Viola! It unseals easily.

14. Conditioner

Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than
Shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great
Way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried
It in your hair...

15. Goodbye Fruit Flies

To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with
Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You
Will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

16. Get Rid of Ants

Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it
"home", can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so,
Especially if it rains, but it works &you don't have the worry about
Pets or small children being harmed!

17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things
Around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and
He went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean.
(I always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.)
He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over
To the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh
Material -- I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like.
WELL....the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through
It at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over the mesh and that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free - that nice fragrance too! You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box; well, this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire and potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot, soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that ! ? ! Learn something new every day! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share! Note: I went to my dryer &tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush. I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

Of course, using your old jewel cases, you know CD/DVD cases to take your bagel sandwich is just ingenius. Well, if nothing else, it's just cute, huh?

Worlds Greatest Margarita

2007-10-02T02:04:00.000-04:00

The Worlds Greatest Margarita (courtesy of Vilis Ozols)

For best results use a standard blender.

1-1/2 cups good Tequila! Life is too short to drink cheap tequila! Jose Cuervo Gold is the minimum standard. My personal favorite is Jose Cuervo 1800. And, face it, the margarita will be incrementally better if you jump up to a higher-end brand (besides the better the tequila, the less severe the hangover!). Experimenting with high-end tequilas will add subtle flavors and allow you to create your own signature margarita. My latest favorite is a brand called Cazadores recommended to me by Fernando Avelar whose family has a legacy of growing and harvesting the blue agave cactus for tequila in Mexico. Patron Silver Tequila has also been a very good mix.
1/2 cup Grand Marnier. This is as good as is gets. I do not float this on top but rather mix it in with the blender.
A great alternative is the Italian version of Grand Marnier called Gran Gala (it's less expensive and just as good).
1/3 bottle of beer. Yes, you did read that right, a 1/3 bottle of beer. The best results are with a standard bland American icon beer like Budweiser, Coors or Miller. Avoid micro-brews with lots of character as this will leave an aftertaste to your margarita. Beer is one of the few food groups that are less acidic and so the addition of beer to this margarita will make a mellow tasting, smooth drinking formula. It also adds the barest hint of carbonation during mixing. This is one of the 'secret' ingredients and I have never had anyone guess that there was beer in their margarita.
1 can frozen lemonade concentrate. I've experimented with lime-aid, and all sorts of lemonades. You will have to do the same. I avoid the ones with the pulp. Sometimes you will have to add sugar if you've selected a sour brand.
A big long healthy squirt of Real Lemon. This is real lemon juice concentrate and adds the wonderful lemon tanginess a great margarita needs. You can squeeze an actual lemon, but then you're dealing with the pulp issue.
A big long healthy squirt of Real Lime. This is real lime juice concentrate and also adds the lime tartness for a subtle enhancement.
Water or Ice to fill up the blender. My preference is to add half ice and half water to fill up the blender to the top. This way you are not serving a frozen margarita but a very cold one with shards of crushed ice. The best margaritas are quite concentrated but then poured over a heaping full glass of ice that starts to dilute the power of the cocktail as it melts. Now, lately we've been serving these straight up or "perfect" in a margarita glass or (my personal favorite) a martini glass. Shake it up on the rocks and pour it in straight up. Some how this promotes more of a sipping approach (very fast sipping often, but still technically sipping)
Sugar to taste. As you are completing the mix portion in the blender, you may choose to add sugar to taste. By doing it in a blender you don't have to
worry about a granular texture in the drink.

From Chuck

Chili or Chili Meatloaf

2007-09-22T04:29:00.001-04:00

Chili Recipe:

2 lb Ground Chuck
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 can Mexican Style Stewed Tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 8oz can water
2 to 4 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 4oz can chopped green chili's

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven brown ground chuck and then add everything else and continue to simmer over low heat at least two hours or until done to your liking, adding more water if needed.

So how ‘bout Chili Meatloaf ??

2 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped and cooked until softened
2 cloves garlic
1 can Mexican Style Stewed tomatoes, drained
2 Tbsp Chili powder
1 1/2 tsp Cumin
4oz chopped green chili's, drained
2 eggs
1 cup crushed corn chips

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients together forming a loaf, place the loaf in to a large greased casserole dish and bake in a 350 degree pre heated oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until done to your liking.

Now, what would you top it with? Plain ol’ ketchup, maybe a spicy ketchup, bottled chili sauce, Cheddar cheese, or even Pepper jack cheese? Your choice. Have a good day and enjoy.

From Mytra Smith, Chuck's Sister

How To Make Ice Cream

2007-09-20T17:48:00.000-04:00

I came across this 1st video and started looking at others on How To Make Ice Cream. Doesn't it look yummy? I'd use Hershey's Syrup, for the Chocolate ice cream.

5 Minute Ice Cream

THE 5 MIN ICE CREAM - Click here for more blooper videos

Banana Chip Ice cream

How To Make Cool Banana Ice Cream - Watch the top videos of the week here

Zip Lock Baggie Ice Cream

Ice Cream You Scream - Watch a funny movie here

A Pretty Good Cheeseburger or Meatloaf

2007-09-19T06:34:00.000-04:00

You will need:

3 Lbs Ground Beef
1 Sleeve Saltine Crackers
8 Slices Kraft American Singles
8 Hamburger Buns
2 Eggs
1 8 oz Can of Mushrooms (diced)
1 ½ Tbs Cain’s BBQ Spice
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Black pepper
½ tsp Salt

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients (except the buns and cheese of course) mixing loosely by hand, do not over pack the meat or handle more than you have to, the less you do the more moist the burgers will be. Divide meat evenly into 8 hunks and roughly form into patties about an inch thick and a little larger than the size of the buns, again not packing too much. Cook over a medium heat on the grill with the lid closed as much as possible. Or over a medium heat in a large flat bottomed skillet on the stove. I use Pam cooking spray or an equivalent. I like to cook on the first side for just a few seconds and then flip and cook until that side is done flipping once more and continuing until done, using a lid as much as possible. Just before removing from the skillet I apply the cheese and then transfer to the bun when the cheese is nice and melted. Of course garnish with your favorites; mustard, mayonnaise (ketchup for you weirdo’s) lettuce, tomato, pickles, or coleslaw like they do down south.

You could also add an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce to the meat mixture and form a single loaf in a large casserole type dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes or until done. Topping with ketchup and it makes a pretty good Meat loaf. I like to substitute the onion powder for 1 medium sized white onion, diced and sautéed. Good day and good eating.

By Emily

AZCG Deviled Eggs

2007-09-16T06:09:00.000-04:00

Nothin says lovin, like Deviled Eggs! Arizona Country Girl sent in this recipe. I happen to love these things and have been guilty of sneaking around to eat them. Thanks AZCG

Ingredients

Eggs
Mayonnaise
Mustard
White Pepper and Salt
Parsley, Black Olives, Green Olives, Petite Sweet Pickles, Carrots (or whatever garnish you like)

Remove eggs from refrigerator and sit on counter until they reach room temperature, I pierce the rounded end of the egg with a pin to release the air bubble and to keep the eggs from cracking when they cook. Boil water then add the eggs in a single layer and cook for 15-17 minutes. Peel the eggs and slice them lengthwise and remove the yolks to a bowl large enough to mash the yolks and add the other ingredients. I don’t measure the mayonnaise, but I add enough to double the volume of the yolks, then add mustard, white pepper (you can you black pepper, I use white pepper so I don’t have black specks in the yolk mixture), and salt to taste.

Place the yolk mixture into a pastry bag and attach a decorative tip (I use Wilton tip number 4B). Fill the egg white halves with the yolk mixture and garnish with olive slice and a bit of parsley or pickle slice and carrot cut into flower shape. The parsley serves a dual purpose it makes the deviled eggs look nice and it also holds plastic wrap off the surface of the eggs if you are transporting them for a party.

Kickass Potato Salad

2007-09-07T05:06:00.000-04:00

You will need:

8 to 10 red skinned potatoes, skinned, peeled, cubed, and boiled
1 Lbs of Bacon, diced, fried, and drained (save all grease)
6 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and chopped
1 Med Onion, finely diced and lightly sautéed (in 1 Tbs Bacon Grease)
1 cup of real mayonnaise
¼ cup diced dill pickles (optional)
2 to 3 Tbs Mustard (your choice)
1 Tbs Parsley Flakes
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
6 or 7 good Shakes of Paprika

After boiling potatoes and frying bacon, drain potatoes and remove bacon from grease. Then in a large bowl, pour the hot bacon grease directly over the hot potatoes. Toss and let stand for several minutes (10 to 15) while you are preparing the other ingredients and sautéing the onion. After draining the potatoes again add Bacon, Onion, and all of the remaining ingredients except for the Paprika, folding easily but thoroughly. You don’t want to mash the potatoes. When mixed sprinkle the top with the Paprika and you can serve it as is ( warm) or you can chill it in the refrigerator first, it’s fine either way. Once again good day and good eating.

From Chuck

Fry Bread

2007-09-07T03:25:00.000-04:00

This is a simple fry bread recipe from an unknown Cherokee man from Northeast Oklahoma. It was his Grandmother’s recipe. Fry bread was said to have originated on reservations when the US Government would only provide wheat flour and lard at times to sustain the Indians. Fry Bread is made a thousand different ways, this is the way I make it.

You Will Need:

2 cups flour

2/3 to 3/4 cups milk

2 & 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp of Salt

You will also need enough cooking oil of your choosing to fry it in (vegetable oil, peanut oil, or shortening) I prefer Crisco shortening and an iron skillet.

Mix ingredients to form a ball of dough. Tear off chunks and roll out on a floured surface to your preferred thickness. Make small slits in center of dough patties. Deep fry until golden brown on both sides. It should be lightly crispy on the outside and chewey in the middle. When I make this I double the recipe and get about twelve pieces about the size of a slice of sandwich bread. You can eat it plain, or w/ honey on it, w/ beans or chili. I like it as an Indian Taco covered with a mild chili w/ lettuce, diced tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. It's best fresh and tends to get a little tough when it's a day old, but you can always pop it in the microwave for a few seconds and soften it back up. Thanks and good eating.

From Chuck

Scotch Eggs

2007-09-02T09:49:00.000-04:00

Maven felt sorry for us and mailed in this scrumptious recipe. Thanks Maven!

My recipe I am submitting herein the comments is for Scotch eggs.

1 Tube Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage
5 Hard boiled eggs
bread crumbs

1. Peel cooled hard boiled eggs.
2. Separate sausage into five even sections.
3. Take one section of sausage and form into a ball. Press hard boiled egg into center, and press and mold sausage until it coats entire outside of egg. Repeat for remainder of eggs.
4. Roll all of eggs in seasoned breadcrumbs.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for abourt 45 minutes.

These can be served hot, sliced over buttered toast.

Good eatin'!!

Yes, this sounds like some good eatin to me too. Makes me hungry contemplating it!

Bacon Crisps

2007-08-29T14:31:00.000-04:00

These are sooooooooo yummy. From Paula Deen's cookbook;

Bacon Crisps

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1 lb. sliced bacon, cut in half
1 sleeve Waverly Wafers or other buttery rectangular cracker

1.Preheat oven to 250*F
2.Place t teaspoon of the cheese on each cracker and wrap tightly with a strip of bacon(no toothpick required!)
3.Place the wrapped crackers on a broiler rack on a baking sheet and put the on the oven rack; Bake for 2 hrs., or until the bacon is done. Do not turn. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot or room temp. Makes 3 dz.

Note: We were a little impatient during our testing and baked at 350*F for about 40 min. with good results. These can be frozen, after cooked. Place the frozen crisps on a baking sheet and reheat for 5 min. @350*F

Rival Crockpot Warning

2007-08-01T16:22:00.000-04:00

Our old pal, AZCG, sent us this SNAFU situation. Heed the warning please!!! We want to thank AZCG for taking the time, the effort, to send us a genuine warning, concerning this appliance. This most certainly could be disastrous!

AZCG writes...

Hey Babs!

I was making chicken stock in my Rival Crockpot the other day and after I finished I was wiping off the exterior of the stainless steel heating unit when the handle completely came apart in my hand. If this had happened when I was moving the slow cooker when it was full I would have been burned. I checked the Internet to see if Rival had any Crockpot recalls and sure enough they did, but my Crockpot was not one that was recalled. The recall was for handles breaking off the heating units -- and other had problems with the plastic lid handles breaking off. I got the Crockpot as a Christmas gift in 2005, but I've used it less than 10 times, so a word to the wise do not lift a full Crockpot by its handles when it is full, and be very careful if you are putting the unit away with the crock insert because the weight of the crock and lid are enough to snap the handles off.

AZCG

Good Ol' Ramen Recipes

2007-07-10T15:58:00.000-04:00

I love Ramen Noodles. Not only are they cheap but you can do so many things with them. For a quick and filling dinner, you taken 1-2 pkgs. Ramen, crunch up while still in the pkg, carefully. Dump in a bowl and cover with water. Microwave 2 minutes. drain the water. Add Tostitoes Salsa Cheese, stir in and nuke it again for a minute.

If you have a good recipe, share it with us here. Email me at barbwiremre@optonline.net Here's a couple of links for Ramen Noodle recipes: The Official Ramen Homepage

Chicken Lo Mein

Dump Cake

2007-06-28T08:31:00.001-04:00

Dump Cake
Makes 12 to 16 servings

A mix of pineapple, sweet cherries and crunchy pecan can be yours by simply “dump” them in the pan and bake.

Prep Time: 10 min.

Baking Time: 50 min.

Ingredients

1 - can (20 ounce) crushed pineapple with juice, undrained
1 - can (21 ounce) cherry pie filling
1 - package classic yellow cake mix
1 - cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 - cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, cut into thin slices

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.

Dump pineapple with juice into pan. Spread evenly.
Dump in pie filling.
Sprinkle cake mix evenly over cherry layer.
Sprinkle pecans over cake mix.
Dot with butter.
Bake for 50 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Those Dirty Carrots

2007-06-18T08:36:00.000-04:00

Have you ever bought a bag of “baby” carrots? Did you notice that they taste very unlike regular carrots? There’s a reason for that; there’s no such thing. They’re not underdeveloped carrots plucked from the ground while they still have that cute rounded uniform embryonic shape.

Baby carrots are actually regular carrots that aren’t aesthetically pleasing enough for North American supermarkets, cut into uniform size and shape.

It used to be that up to 70% of carrots were thrown out for not looking pretty. In 1986, a California farmer came up with the idea of making them “babies”.

Problem is, they’re more expensive than regular carrots. They also don’t taste as good. They’re made from a variety of carrot known as the Imperator, bred to grow faster and ripen quickly, and because of this, they only have 70% of the beta carotene of a normal carrot and a bland flavour. I’ll stick to regular carrots.

Chicken Fried Bacon !

2007-06-14T07:06:00.000-04:00

Step 1. Batter Bacon
Step 2. Deep Fry
Step 3. Enjoy Chest Pains

Serve with Cream Gravy

Compliments of http://www.supersizedmeals.com/

Corn on the Cob

2007-06-10T12:03:00.001-04:00

If there’s a downside to corn on the cob, it’s the misshapen lump of butter that remains after your dinner crowd takes turns rolling their ears over the communal stick. At your next get-together, keep the greasy butter dish from becoming the table’s centerpiece and serve each person a baguette slice topped with a generous pat of butter. After using the slices to slather their ears, your guests will have a warm piece of buttered bread to go with the meal (and the stick of butter will stay neat). As for whether to eat your corn typewriter-style or go round and round, that’s up to you.

Grandma Lula's Potato Casserole

2007-05-07T08:48:00.000-04:00

My Grandma Lula was a gracious Southern woman. She was a powerhouse, talented and beautiful. She juggled a career, raising successful children and took on my stubborn Grandpa at any given moment. Grandpa was diabetic and because of her diligence, when it came to Grandpa's diet, he was able to live till he was 83. Lula was a fascinating woman, I miss her and her cooking, as well as my Grandpa Bill something awful.

Grandma Lula's Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

* 2 lbs frozen southern style hash brown potatoes
* salt
* 2 cups sour cream
* 1 10 1/2 ounce can cream of chicken soup
* 1/2 cup butter or margarine
* 1/2 cup chopped onions
* 2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Topping

*3 cups corn flakes

*1 stick butter

Directions: 2 Part

1a. In a bowl, crush up corn flakes, then mix a cold stick of butter in to and through the corn flakes

1b. Place potatoes in greased 9 x 13-inch pan.

2. Season with salt and pepper.(I add garlic salt)

3. In bowl, combine onions, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup.

4. Pour soup mixture over potatoes.

5. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and melted butter.

6. Spread corn flake mixture on top

7. Bake in 350°F oven for 45 minutes or until cheese looks melted.If corn flakes are browning too quickly, you can cover them with aluminum foil and continue baking.

Makes: 6 servings

Diner Recipes

2007-05-05T22:17:00.000-04:00

Diner Recipes

This site gives some down homestyle recipes, like Country Fried Steak, Double Decker Hamburger and many more. Why not have a night where you cook some comfort food for the family, just like Mom did, right? Serve 'em up a Cherry Coke!! Just click a picture

Fun with Watermelon

2007-04-29T08:05:00.000-04:00

Summer is coming and the backyard BBQ's will be here soon too. Why not make this years memorable. Take a water melon and using and apple corer, remove a plug, set it aside. Then fill the watermelon with rum or vodka and just let it soak in. Always a hit. Spiked Watermelon Recipe Here.Here's a good link for you backyard bartenders. Click Here.

Meat Cake, Huh???

2007-04-25T16:16:00.000-04:00

Yes kids, I said...Meat Cake!!
I thought this was rather ingenious. For all those manly men, who don't care for those frilly Birthday cakes, here's a splendid alternative. Just click the button.

Cheap Cheesecake Recipe

2007-04-23T08:56:00.000-04:00

I love cheesecake. Often, I could not afford it or really, even to make it at home. So...I cheated and made this recipe. It's much lower fat than true cheesecake but it's an inviting recipe, you'll love to make and share.

Babz Cheap Cheesecake

1 Graham Cracker Crust

1 pkg. Lemon Jello

1 8oz pkg. Cream Cheese

Comstock topping Blueberry/Cherries/Strawberry

Boil one cup of water and pour over jello mix. Using a mixer, on a low setting, begin to blend most of the 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese. Once mixture has been blended pour into your graham cracker crust and allow to chill completely. Spread the topping of your choice. Serve and enjoy!

*I love to add extra lemon juice but it is not necessary.

**Make it Key Lime by using Lime Jello and spreading Cool Whip on top, after chilling

Tuna Macaroni Salad

2007-04-22T08:29:00.000-04:00

Summer's coming. Time to compile those good salad recipes...

CHEF BABS PRESENTS...

FOR MICKELINO!!
BABSBITCHIN' RECIPE # 1
TUNA MACARONI SALAD

1 # Box Macaroni (I prefer small shells)
1-2 cans Albacore Tuna Flaked
6 Hard boiled eggs
1 1/2 cups Mayo +
1 medium onion diced
1/4 to 1/2 stalk celery diced (include celery leaf)
1 dill pickle diced
Parsley (about 1/8 cup)
Salt & Pepper
1 tablespoon, "Jane's Crazy Mixed up Salt"
Dill weed is a pleasant variance

Cook Macaroni with a pinch of salt and a spot of oil, a la dente' and rinse with cold water. Combine all ingredients and allow to chill.

Spaghetti Pie

2007-04-21T08:39:00.000-04:00




Ingredients: Pie Dish 6 ounces of uncooked spaghetti 1 egg 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 pound lean ground beef 1 can of frenches fried onions 8 ounces sliced mushrooms 1 jar spaghetti sauce(I'm not a big sauce person so i only use 1/2 a jar ) 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and a bunch of pepperonis

Step 1: combine cooked spaghetti, Parmesan cheese and egg.

Step 2: Press over the bottom and up sides of pan to form a "crust."

Step 3: Fry ground beef... add onions when browning begins.
Step 4: and then the sauce...stir.

Step 5: add meat/sauce mix, cheese, and toppings of choice.

Step 6: Bake till cheese is golden brown.

Step 7: Slice it up. and eat!

~AZCG's Green Bean Casserole ~

2007-04-12T06:33:00.000-04:00

I am pleased as punch to get this recipe on Real Food for Real People. AZCG is an old friend. She doesn't have a blog of her own but she's always in the Blogosphere and has been for, a long time. "AZCG" stands for Arizona Country Girl, as she hails from Arizona. But you'd never know or ever think she was any simple country girl. She's got poise and grace but her wit is as sharp as a tack. I call her my friend and hope you'll enjoy this recipe. Now, I don't know about you but after 48 years of eating peoples plain ol' green bean casserole, all the time, this is a much needed, much welcome variation. You go girl!

My first recipe for Real Food For Real People. Thanks.

AZCG's Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb. bacon
1 lb. sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 cans green beans
3 cans cream of mushroom soup

Directions:

Cut up bacon and fry (I like my cooked but not too crisp) Grate cheese
Open and drain green beans (MUST BE DRAINED!)
Open mushroom soup

You can cook this in a casserole or a slow cooker. I use a slow cooker for pot lucks because it is more convenient and I bake it in a casserole dish for dinners at home.

Now layer ingredients in the crockpot or casserole dish (1 can mushroom soup, then 1 and 1/3 can drained green beans, grated cheese, and bacon bits) you should have three layers and I always end with cheese and bacon on top (it's prettier than soup or beans on top). Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or if you use a slow cooker it will take about 3 1/2 hours on high to heat completely. Stir before serving.

I purchase my ingredients on sale and use coupons so the entire dish cost me $5.24. If you love mushrooms you can buy fresh and slice or chop them and add them as you do your layers. I also suggest that you buy quality cheese because some cheap cheeses don't melt very well. One more suggestion is that I always take an extra can of green beans and add it to the heated pot if more guests show up than you expected.

Thanks, AZCG

Chuck's Sangria Favorites

2007-04-07T07:19:00.000-04:00

Traditional Sangria Wine originated in Spain and was introduced to the world at the 1964 Worlds Fair. A good Red Wine mixed with Brandy and Fruit.

And now, courtesy of WineIntro.com, some Fun sangria recipes:

FRUIT PUNCH FOR ADULTS: BASIC SANGRIA RECIPE

1 bottle Rioja or other red wine

1 shot glass of lime juice

2 shots of Bacardi

various seasonal fruit, chopped up

Mix everything together, stir well & refrigerate overnight. Serve with ice cubes.

MEDITERRANEAN FLAIR: ITALIAN RESTAURANT SANGRIA

2 bottles fruity red wine

15 ounces of cranberry juice

10 ounces of Grenadine

8 ounces Sweet Vermouth

This tastes better if you make it ahead of time: Mix all ingredients together & stir well. Throw in some cherries & orange circles & refrigerate overnight. Serve over ice. Enjoy.

LUCK O' THE IRISH: IRISH WHISKEY SANGRIA

1 bottle Roija or other red wine

1 bottle (750 ml) Sprite

4 cups Irish whiskey

4 plums, cut into small pieces

1 cup sugar

1 can (12 oz) lemonade concentrate

Mix everything together & refrigerate overnight. Pout into a pitcher & serve over ice.

HELP! I'M-THROWING-A-HUGE-BASH: JAY'S PARTY SANGRIA RECIPE

4 bottles Cabernet Sauvignon, warm

1 bottle White Zinfandel, warm

3/4 quart orange juice

2 small cans pineapple juice

1 can Sprite

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

3 oranges - cut into wheels

3 limes - quartered

6 strawberries - halved

Combine ingredients in a vat and let sit for 2 hours. Then refrigerate overnight. Serve over ice, and add fresh fruit.

More Helpful Hints

2007-03-20T09:59:00.000-04:00

1. Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar
cone to prevent ice cream drips.

2. Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter
onto the hot griddle and you'll get perfectly shaped
pancakes every time.

3. To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the
bag with the potatoes.

4. To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of
salt to the water before hard-boiling.

5. To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a
pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh, but if it
rises to the surface, throw it away.

6. When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to
help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

7. Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice
Krispies treats in the pan and the marshmallow won't
stick to your fingers.

8. To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them
to room temperature and roll them under your palm
against the kitchen counter before squeezing.

9. To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet,
simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough
water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on
stove-top.

10. Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray
before pouring in tomato-based sauces and there
won't be any stains.

11. When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan,
use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't
be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

12. If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still
cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the
excess salt for an instant "fix me up."

13. Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the
refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

14. Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before
baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.

15. Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to
soften it.

16. Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub
it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

17. If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex
dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that
makes opening jars easy.

18. Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just
slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with
water.

19. To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying
soap on the area and you will experience instant
relief.

20. Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to
never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and
draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to
march. See for yourself.

21. Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job
and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.

22. When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape
before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put
the scotch tape over the splinter, then pull it off.
Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and
easily.

23. Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice
cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

24. Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer!

Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush, and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china.
Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets.

Polish jewelry. Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
Clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.

~Author Unknown~

A Few Kitchen Myths

2007-03-18T09:45:00.000-04:00

Kitchen myth cooking urban legends...

Searing meat seals in the juices

This old myth has been around for ages, probably because searing meat that will be stewed, roasted, etc. does indeed give much better results. It has nothing to do with sealing in the juices, however. Careful experiments were performed in which identical pieces of meat were cooked with and without searing. If searing did seal in juices, then the seared meat would lose a smaller percentage of its weight during cooking than the unseared piece. In actuality, both the seared and unseared meat lost about the same amount of weight.

Searing, or more specifically browning, is important because of the Maillard reaction. When the proteins and sugars in meat are exposed to high heat (searing) a large number of chemical reactions take place, resulting in the creation of lots of new flavor elements. It is these flavors, both in the browned surface of the meat and in any pan juices that result, that make searing such an important step in some recipes.

Source: On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, Simon & Schuster, 1984.

~~~

A box of baking soda in the fridge or freezer absorbs odors

This is a very clever and successful marketing ploy by the baking soda people, but the fact is that baking soda is very poor at absorbing odors. It seems to make sense, however, so lots of people have spent untold billions of dollars to put boxes of baking soda in their fridge or freezer to no effect. Activated charcoal would work much better but is expensive. Better to wrap your food and clean the fridge once in a while.

Source: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00388.htm

~~~

Use water instead of milk when making scrambled eggs and omelets

Some people will tell you that using milk when making scrambled eggs and omelets results in tough eggs - that you should use water instead. It's puzzling how this myth continues to propagate because it is so easy to disprove for yourself. But if you require the pronouncement of some authority, tests by Cook's Illustrated (the "America's Test Kitchen" people) revealed that scrambled eggs made with water are less flavorful, do not fluff as well, and are not as soft as those made with milk. Cream is better still, but that's another story!

By the way, this advice is for eggs cooked to be moist and creamy, the way they should be. I know some people prefer the dry, fluffy style but all we can do is feel sorry for them.

Source: The Best Recipe, Boston Common Press, 1999.

~~~

When you add alcohol to a recipe it all evaporates during cooking so there is none in the final dish

Here's another "common sense" myth that turns out to be false. Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water so it should all evaporate first, right? Nope - that's not the way it works. The alcohol will evaporate faster than the water but there will still be some left after even extended cooking. The table below shows just how much is left after different periods of cooking.

Preparation Method	Percent of Alcohol Retained
Alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat	85%
Alcohol flamed	75%
No heat, stored overnight	70%
Baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture	45%
Baked/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture:
15 minutes	40%
30 minutes	35%
1 hour	25%
1.5 hours	20%
2 hours	10%
2.5 hours	5%

The bottom line is that no one is ever going to get tipsy from alcohol in a cooked dish, but people who want to avoid all alcohol for religious or medical reasons need to be aware that some alcohol will remain even after long cooking.

Source: US Department of Agriculture Nutrient Data Laboratory

Hot pan, cold oil

This mantra is repeated by many people as the best way to prevent food from sticking to the pan when sautéing or stir frying. The idea is that you heat up the pan first then add the cold oil and almost immediately add the food. This works of course, so it is not a myth in that it is untrue. It is, however, false to think that this is the only or the best way to prevent sticking. What you really want is "hot pan, hot oil" and that's what you are actually getting because the cold oil heats up almost instantly when added to the hot pan. You'll get the same results if you heat the oil along with the pan rather than adding the oil at the last minute. In fact some cooks prefer this technique because the appearance of the oil in the pan can give you some indication of when the pan has reached the proper temperature.

Heating a pan prevents sticking by closing cracks in the metal

Most cooks know that you should start with a hot pan to prevent or minimize food sticking. You may hear a bizarre theory that goes something like this: food sticks to pans because it seeps into minute cracks and pits in the pan and then solidifies when heated, becoming stuck. If you heat the pan before adding the food, the metal expands and fills in the microscopic cracks and holes in the pan's surface or at least makes them smaller. With fewer or smaller surface defects for the food to grab onto it is less likely to stick.

Unfortunately whoever came up with this idea knew nothing about the physical properties of metals. When metal expands due to heating, each individual atom vibrates faster and faster and thus takes up more space. The result is the same as if each atom simply got a bit bigger, and the result is that the entire piece of metal, defects, holes and all, gets bigger. Thus, if you heat a donut-shaped piece of metal, the outer diameter gets bigger and so does the diameter of the hole. You have probably used this fact yourself when trying to get a metal screw lid off a glass jar. Running hot water over the lid expands the entire lid and loosens its grip on the jar, making it easier to remove.

Avoid aluminum cookware because of Alzheimer's disease

This myth got its start a number of years ago when medical researchers found elevated levels of aluminum in diseased tissue from the brains of Alzheimer's patients. One logical possibility (but not the only one) was that the raised aluminum level was responsible for causing the disease. Get exposed to too much aluminum, from your job perhaps or your cookware, and you would have a better chance of coming down with this awful disease. People started avoiding aluminum cookware, and some still are - unnecessarily it turns out. Subsequent research has failed to show any connection between aluminum exposure and Alzheimer's, and it is believed that the elevated aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer's patients is a result of the disease process. In other words, high aluminum levels do not cause Alzheimer's, but rather Alzheimer's causes high aluminum levels.

Source: Alzheimer's Society

~~~

You must use a serrated knife to slice ripe tomatoes

You certainly can use a serrated knife for ripe tomatoes but there's no need to. If you find yourself always turning to a serrated knife for this task it is probably because your straight-edged knives are not sharp enough. A well-sharpened regular knife will make paper-thin slices from a ripe tomato - in fact, many people use this as a test for a knife's sharpness.

You cannot deep-fry in olive oil

Olive oil has a lower smoke point that most other oils and as a result many people think you cannot use it for deep frying. Balderdash! This would be news to many Italians including the famous TV chef Mario Batali. Olive oil's smoke point is about 375^of and most frying is done below that. Also, just because an oil smokes a little does not mean it is ruined. Using olive oil for deep frying is undoubtedly expensive. The least expensive olive oil is, in my experience, about twice the cost of other oils that are used for frying such as peanut or canola. Plus you should discard the oil after a single use because the low smoke point means that the oil degrades more during that first use. So, you may never actually want to use olive oil for deep frying, but it is most certainly possible - and can give terrific results for some recipes!.

You must scald milk before using it in certain recipes

This myth has some basis in fact. Raw milk (milk that has not been pasteurized) contains enzymes that can interfere with the thickening action of milk and the rising of bread. The scalding destroys these enzymes. Today, almost all the milk that is sold has been pasteurized, a process of heating the milk to destroy bacteria. This has the same effect as scalding the milk, so by the time you buy the milk those nasty enzymes are already gone. Unless you milk your own cow, you can skip the scalding.

Scalding can however be beneficial if you are making yogurt or other cultured milk products. Even pasteurized milk contains some bacteria, and they can compete with the yogurt culture and affect the result. By heating milk to 180 degrees you eliminate most of these other organisms and give the desirable culture bacterial a clean slate to work with.

Source: Kitchen Science, Revised Edition by Howard Hillman. Houghton-Mifflin, 1989.

~~~

You can make a baked potato in the microwave

The microwave oven certainly has many legitimate uses, but baking potatoes (or anything else) is not one of them. Sure, you can cook a whole potato in the microwave, but what you get is a steamed potato. The crispy skin and fluffy interior of the genuine baked potato require a long cooking in dry heat.

You cannot do serious cooking in a microwave

This is one of the very silliest myths but it refuses to die out. There are a lot of people who use their microwave for nothing but boiling water and reheating leftovers and they are really missing out on a lot. I suspect that this myth got its start when microwaves were a new tool and a lot of awful microwave recipe books were published. Some people tried to use their microwave as a general purpose stove and oven replacement rather than as a more specialized tool that is well suited for some jobs but not at all useful for others. For example you would not want to use a microwave for a roast beef, fried potatoes, or baking bread, but it works just great for things like rice, poached fish, and steamed veggies. I find it particularly handy for making polenta and risotto, with results that are every bit as good as the stovetop with much less work and worry. If you want to expand your microwave repertoire I highly recommend The Microwave Gourmet by Barbara Kafka. Another excellent book is The Moghul Microwave by Julie Sahni (Indian dishes).

If you put the pit in the bowl, guacamole won't turn brown

The surface of guacamole turns brown by reacting with oxygen in the air. The guacamole that is directly under the pit won't turn brown because the pit prevents air from getting to it. Otherwise, the oxidation process turns the exposed surface brown, just as it does on apples and other fruits. You'll have much better luck protecting the surface from air by pressing aluminum foil or plastic wrap on it.

Cold water boils faster than warm water

This is another myth that falls into the "suspend the laws of physics" category. That hasn't happened yet in my kitchen, and if it has in yours then you can probably get on TV. Seriously, to illustrate how ridiculous this idea is without getting into physics and formulas, think of it this way. If you put cold water on to boil, at some time before it boils the water will have become warm. Let's say it takes time "A" for the water to go from cold to warm. Then after some additional time it will boil - call the time it takes to go from warm to boiling "B". So, the time it takes the cold water to boil is "A + B" and the time it takes the warm water to boil is "B." If this myth were true then time "A + B" would be less than time "B" and there's just no way this could be no matter how many martinis you've had.

A variation of this myth claims that cold water boils faster than warm water if it has been boiled previously and then cooled off. The "explanation" in this case is that the first boiling drives dissolved air out of the water, which is true enough. However, dissolved air does not affect the boiling of water, at least not in any significant way, so this one is nonsense too.

Apparently this myth has its origins in the fact that cold water heats faster than warm water. A pot of water at 40^o will reach 60^o faster than a pot of 70^o water will reach 90^o, given the same heat source. This is because the rate of heat transfer is proportional to the temperature differential between the heat source and the item being heated. But the cooler water will always take longer to boil.

It is true, however, that warm water sometimes freezes faster than cold water. This happens only under very specialized conditions, and has nothing to do with boiling water.

Source: Scientific American

Note, however, that many people generally avoid using hot tap water for cooking on the theory that the hot water is not as clean from sitting in the water heater or from leaching substances from the pipes (a worry in houses with old plumbing).

Myths about dried beans

There are three "facts" you'll often hear about cooking dried beans, such as kidney and great northern beans. It turns out they are all myths.

You must soak beans before cooking. You can soak beans of course but the only advantage it provides is to shorten the cooking time. There's no reason not to start cooking dry beans directly as long as you have the time to simmer them long enough.
You must not add salt to beans during cooking or they will not soften. Tests show that the only difference between beans cooked side by side with and without salt is that one is salty and the other is not. Some people feel that salting during cooking gives better flavor because some of the salt ends up inside the beans.
You must not add acid, such as tomatoes, to beans during cooking or they will not soften. Acid does in fact have an effect on beans, tending to keep the skins intact, while alkaline substances (baking soda) help the skins to break down. In both cases however the beans cook perfectly well. You can use this to your advantage, adding tomatoes during or after cooking depending on whether you want whole beans or mushy beans.

However, soaking can help reduce the "gas attack" effect that some people experience after eating beans. Bring dry beans and water to a boil, remove from heat, and let sit for an hour. Drain, add fresh water, and continue cooking. This removes some of the chemicals in the beans that cause the gas.

Source: How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, Macmillan, 1998.

Don't salt meat before cooking

The idea behind this one is that the salt will draw out juices from the meat, removing flavor and preventing the surface from browning properly. In theory salt can draw out moisture, but in the real world it does not seem to make any difference. I have salted meat before cooking innumerable times, including steaks for pan frying or grilling, roasts, and briskets headed for the smoker. I have never once seen any juice being drawn out by the salt. In addition, there are innumerable cooks ranging from at-home amateurs to professional chefs and cookbook authors - including the super-fussy people at Cooks Illustrated - who direct that salt be put on meat before cooking. It's impossible to believe that if the myth were true, all these people would be blind to the supposedly dire effects.

If you use enough salt and let it sit long enough you will draw out moisture. But the real question is: does this reduce the quality of the final product? Not in my experience. Of course you must pat off the accumulated misture with a paper towel before cooking if you want the meat to brown properly. In fact, drawing off some moisture may well concentrate the flavors and lead to a better result.

Stock is made from bones, broth is made from meat

This old saw has been around for ages, and self-appointed experts love to bring it up to show how smart they are. Unfortunately for them it is not correct. You will see this distinction made in a few cookbooks, so it's not a total fiction, but it is certainly not universally correct or accepted. I've seen other definitions as well, such as that stock is homemade and broth comes in a can, or that stock will gel when cooled but broth will not. And what would you call something made from meat and bones - stroth or brock, I suppose! In reality the terms are used interchangeably.

Foods such as chicken salad made with mayonnaise are prone to quick spoilage

Another old wives' tale. Mayonnaise, because of its relatively low pH (in other words, it is acidic) will actually help prevent spoilage. When chicken salad or something similar spoils it is the other ingredients spoiling, not the mayo. When going on a picnic or setting out a buffet it is important to keep foods cold, but there's no reason to avoid mayo. This is true of commercial mayos; homemade mayo may have less acidity and therefore be more prone to spoilage.

Source: http://www.goldkist.com/consumer/tips.asp#handling
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10945595&dopt=Abstract

Never put bananas in the refrigerator - they'll become inedible

The skins will darken, but refrigeration slows ripening of bananas the same as it does other fruits. The insides will be fine.

Source: Chiquita Banana web site and personal experience

You can't make a good cup of tea in the microwave

Some people claim that you cannot make really good tea by boiling your cup of water in the microwave and then putting in the tea bag. The problem is that only the top layer of water is boiling - water in the lower part of the cup is not hot enough yet and so the tea will not infuse properly. Perhaps - but the problem is easily solved by letting the water boil for 5-10 seconds before removing it from the microwave and adding the tea bag. This ensures complete mixing and heating of the water and your tea will be just fine.

However, be aware of a potential safety issue. Water can get superheated in the microwave. In other words, its temperature goes above the boiling point but it does not actually boil. This is usually the result of using a container with a very smooth surface that lacks the minute rough spots that trigger boiling. When you then pop your teabag into the water it boils all at once and can leap out and burn you. Of course if you wait for the water to boil in the MW, as I have advised, this will not be a problem but you should be aware of it.

~Pancake Night~

2007-02-24T08:49:00.000-05:00

Who says, you can't have pancakes for dinner? Wanna be a cool Mom? Every now and again, change up and give the kids what they want. The secret is...it's easier on you.
I was a single Mom with three kids. I had to work and although I had a live-in babysitter, she did not cook much. There's a lot of guilt associated with a Mom who has to work and trying to balance fixing meals, doing the laundry, keeping up the house and so on. So, if you're smart you do what I do and look for ways to, "Work smart, not hard."

Whenever you have time to cook, cook extra and freeze it. The Zip-Lock freezer bags are great for this. If you know you've got a full day, you pull out an entree, make a quick salad and you've got a nice meal for you and the kids. Making pancakes, ahead of time, can help with breakfast in a hurry too. Sure you can buy them in the freezer section of your grocery but they are expensive when you weight the cost of a box of all in one Pancake Mix. If you're smart, every now and then, you have "Pancake Night," like I did. I let them pick the ingredients for their favorite "Personal" pancake. One might want Banana (adding walnuts is a nice touch) , Cranberry, Coconut, Blueberry, Applesauce, Chocolate Chip (just a little is giving in) and even Raisin Bran cereal.
See, here's the trick; You are killing two birds with one stone. You have made one of their favorite's for dinner, not just for breakfast. By making the pancakes ahead of time, you allow some of them to cool and freeze them. Then, you don't feel guilty because they eat cereal every morning. The other benefit, is that you've made a special pancake on a special night, just for them. Putting their name on the Zip-Lock is that final caring touch.

My "Insidious" Ice Cream Cake

2007-02-23T07:39:00.000-05:00

I made an ice cream cake for my lil Sister's B'Day, just the other day. Truly, I'd never made one and it had been yers, since I'd even baked a cake. But this turned out so well, I have to share it with you.

1 box Devils Food Cake Mix
1 container Chocolate Frosting
1 pint Ice Cream

Directions;

The day before you make your cake or that morning, you should work with the ice cream. I allowed the ice cream to soften, about a half an hour. (You only want it to soften, not melt) I used a heart shaped, Teflon coated pan.I then put down saran wrap and pressed the ice cream into the shape of the cake pan. Try to evenly, smoothly press ice cream. Cover with more saran and place in freezer. I then, when I was ready to make my cake, lifted the ice cream, by the saran and replaced it on a flat plate and put it back in the freezer. Mix cake batter, as directed. I poured most of the batter into two pans and just a bit into cupcake tins so as to not waste it.
Once your cake has cooled completely. Place the bottom, on your cake plate and frost bottom half. Working quickly, pull off saran and carefully place ice cream on bottom of cake. Place the cake top over the ice cream and ice with the rest of frosting. Put the whole cake back in the freezer. If possible, allow it to relax or thaw a bit, 15-30 minutes, before serving.

Why did I call this "Insidious?" I had placed, cut up Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, in the batter, prior to baking. I used cookie dough ice cream but you can use whatever flavor you'd prefer. If this cake had been for me, I'd have used Coffee Ice Cream. After I iced the cake, I put three pieces of Dove heart shaped candy, standing up in the middle. It was actually, impressive and tasted to die for!

~The Cabbage Soup Diet~

2007-02-14T13:56:00.000-05:00

The ABC's of a Negative Foods Diet
Many years ago, my Dad shared a book with me by the Monk, who invented this diet. The man had been an overweight Scientist, before becoming a monk. In his research, he pooled all his knowledge about Metabolism, Calories and Negative Calories. He came up with the
"Cabbage Soup Diet". He warned the reader, that you would certainly lose weight in the first week but you could not continue to eat this soup, by itself. He had become malnourished, himself. He made it clear, that after the first week, you must eat a sensible diet and suggested, eating the soup before your lunch and dinner. My Dad, Mom, Husband and I, all lost weight on this soup diet. But why?
This soup ingredients has a consistent negative calorie content. What is a negative calorie?

Definition of Negative calorie diet

Negative calorie diet: The Negative calorie diet is a weight loss concept based upon the premise that consumption of foods with a “negative caloric effect” (meaning that the calories burned by chewing, digesting, and eliminating the food are greater than those contained in the food itself) will lead to rapid weight loss of up to two pounds per day.

Negative calorie diet works from the starting point that body has to burn energy to digest food. If more calories are consumed burning the food than that is contained in the food, you get a negative calorie effect.

Here's a list of negative foods;

Negative calorie list for vegetables

Asparagus	Fennel *
Aubergine *	Gourd *
Broccoli	Leek
Cabbage *	Lettuce *
Carrots	Marrow *
Cauliflower	Peppers
Celery *	Radish *
Chicory *	Spinach
Cress *	Tomato *
Cucumber *	Turnip

Negative Fruits

Apricot	Mandarin orange
Blackberry *	Melon Canteloupe *
Blackcurrant	Peaches
Clementines	Plums
Damsons	Raspberry *
Grapefruit	Rhubarb **
Guava *	Strawberry
Honeydew Melon	Tangerine
Lemon *	Watermelon

My Recipe

1 lg head Cabbage

2 lg cans Tomatoes

1 stalk Celery

3 lg Onions

1 bunch Carrots

2 lg Green Peppers

1 lg Red Pepper

3+ cloves Garlic chipped

*4 Chicken or Beef Boullion Cubes

In a large pot, fill up half way with water and boullion cubes. Bring to boil. Cut, chip, slice your veggies and bring to a boil. Begin to simmer until tender. Add salt and pepper or whatever spices you might enjoy. I like cracked pepper in mine. I also like a few *optional things to jazz it up such as *1 lg can white boneless breast and *Mushrooms or Spinach.

The Cabbage Soup is an all-you-can-eat-cabbage-soup diet which claims that the more cabbage soup you eat, the more weight you’ll lose. The diet’s so-called fat burning soup contains negligible calories so you don’t have to worry about gaining weight. The Cabbage Soup Diet states that by adhering to the Cabbage Soup Diet for 7 days will result in immediate weight loss.

How Does the Cabbage Soup Diet work?

On the Cabbage Soup Diet, individuals are encouraged to eat as much Cabbage soup and consume as much water as they want. Other foods are involved as well but their intake is severely restricted. The cabbage soup can be eaten as many times but it is not recommended that you eat soup only as it can result in malnourishment. Drinking 7-8 glasses of water a day is also recommended. The Cabbage Soup Diet’s 7-Day plan is easy to follow, however dieters are asked to consult their doctor before following this 7-day meal plan:
~~~

If you have a special occasion coming up, or you simply need to lose weight fast, the Cabbage Soup Diet may be just what you're looking for.

Although not suitable for long-term weight loss, the Cabbage Soup Diet is a low-fat, high-fiber diet that will help you get into shape fast before you embark on a more moderate long-term eating plan.

Pros and Cons of the Cabbage Soup Diet

Pros: You'll lose weight fast, and can get as much of the foods listed in the program as you want. Although the diet is only for seven days (and shouldn't be adhered to for longer), it provides a great "kick-start" for a more moderate diet.

Cons: Some people find the soup bland. Some people have reported feeling light-headed, weak, and have suffered from decreased concentration (although some who have been affected in this way felt it was well worth it, since it was only for a week and they had lost considerable weight).

Personal Note: If you're SERIOUS about losing weight, I would URGE you to check out a brand new concept I just found out about :

Fat Loss 4 Idiots

This diet actually works BETTER than the cabbage soup diet, and it allows you to lose 9 lbs every 11 days ... while eating many of your favorite foods.

Sound impossible? I thought so too, until I tried the amazing new method known a "Calorie Shifting", which actually "tricks" your body into burning fat.

Believe me when I say this will blow you away! Click here for more info ...

What the Cabbage Soup Diet is NOT

The cabbage soup diet is sometimes referred to as the "Mayo Clinic Diet", and the "Sacred Heart Hospital Diet". Interestingly, this diet has nothing to do with either the Mayo Clinic, nor any Sacred Heart Hospital we know about.

The Problem With Most "Mainstream" Diets

Most diets - especially "mainstream" diets, and those recommended by major medical institutions - work slowly but surely, resulting in around 1 pound of weight loss per week.

This "slow and steady" way to lose weight is certainly healthy, but suffers from one significant drawback : most people get discouraged and quit whatever diet they are on if they don't see results quickly.
~~~

Seven Keys to Success

1. Follow the diet religiously.
2. Drink at least 4 glasses of water per day
3. Keep in mind that it's only seven days
4. Complement the diet with a good multivitamin tablet
5. Print the information on this site so you can refer to it daily
6. Eat plenty of soup - as much as you want! Do not try to starve yourself or you'll probably cheat and break the diet
7. Try different spices to liven up the soup and add variety
~~~
Here's other versions, I found online;

The Cabbage Soup Diet
Also called "The Dolly Parton diet," for reasons that are shrouded in mystery, this 7-day diet really does work--in the short term, anyway. And there's a great purity to it--especially in the summertime when it's wonderfully refreshing served ice cold. Ingredient proportions can be varied according to your likes and dislikes. If you're interested in recent studies on the efficacy of soup in diets, click HERE And please read to the end of the recipe where you'll find testimony and great ideas regarding the diet from soupsong readers.

Okay, are you ready? Here we go:

* 1 head cabbage, shredded or chopped
* 2 large onions, chopped
* 16-28 ounces canned tomatoes, chopped
* 2 green peppers
* 4 stalks celery
* 1-2 packages Lipton onion soup mix, or any dry onion soup mix (optional)
* black pepper
* any fresh herb(s) of your choice, chopped
* 6 carrots, sliced
* 1/2 pound green beans, sliced on diagonal
* 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (optional)

Put all vegetables in a big pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, stir in the soup mix (if desired), and boil gently for 10 minutes. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all the vegetables are soft. Stir in the black pepper and chopped herbs (saving some for garnish).

Eat as much of the soup as you like, as often as you like. Drink as much water as you like and non-caloric drinks including coffee, tea, and herbal teas.

Here's what else you can eat, and when:

DAY 1: All fruits except bananas.

DAY 2: All vegetables, raw or cooked. This includes baked potato with a LITTLE butter.

DAY 3: Fruits and vegetables, but no potatoes or bananas.

DAY 4: Bananas and skim milk--eat as many as 8 bananas and drink as many as 8 glasses of skim milk.

DAY 5: Beef, skinless chicken, and/or fish--as much as 20 ounces, total. You can also eat 6 tomatoes. And you must drink 8 glasses of water. Don't forget at least one bowl of soup.

DAY 6: Beef, skinless chicken, or fish and vegetables. Drink 8 glasses of water and eat at least one bowl of soup.

DAY 7: Brown rice, vegetables, and unsweetened fruit juice.

~~~~~~~

Cabbage Soup Recipe

* 6 large green onions
* 2 green peppers
* 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
* 3 Carrots
* 1 Container (10 oz. or so) Mushrooms
* 1 bunch of celery
* half a head of cabbage
* 1 package Lipton soup mix
* 1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional)
* 1 48oz can V8 juice (optional)
* Season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc.

Directions:

Slice green onions, put in a pot and start to saute with cooking spray.

Cut green pepper stem end off and cut in half, take the seeds and membrane out. Cut the green-pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot.

Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot.

Clean carrots, cut into bite size pieces, and add to pot.

Slice mushrooms into thick slices, add to pot.

If you would like a spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper now.

You can use beef or chicken bouillon cubes for seasonings. These have all the salt and flavors you will need.

Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the V8 juice), cover and put heat on low. Let soup cook for a long time - two hours works well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ophelia's Own Stuffing Recipe

2007-02-07T07:20:00.000-05:00

It tickles me pink, when I get a new recipe in from all of you. But I am especially pleased, when I get one from a General, on my personal blog. This was sent to me, by one of my 4Star DB Generals, Ophelia. You should visit Ophelia Mourne, at her site. If you are in tune with yourself, you will feel the vibrant and eclectic vibes, that emanate from her blog.

If you ask me, there's always a taste and time for stuffing. I'm going to try this with a nice chicken breast on the side. Or for you busy Mom's, you could mix a can of breast meat, right in. I love good stuffing and this recipe has me salivating.

Here is my secret stuffing mix, from scratch. yum. Anyone can wing it. No measuring or fussing.

Ingredients:
Make sure the proportions match

Loaf of bread. Your choice and preferred amount. I like using good quality grain bread.
Chicken broth
a small cup of instant whole wheat rice. Uncle Ben's is pretty good. Try using extra chicken broth instead of water. brings out the flavor.
Cut up slices of bacon, take strips and cut in small pieces. (This is optional and its better to cook before hand and drain.)
Celery
White Onion
A few cloves of garlic, minced
Mushrooms diced
Half olive oil half butter, melt together. about three tablespoons each.
Seasonings. I use a little basil and thyme if on hand. Really its your creation, have fun with that spice. Just don't add too much. Little always goes a long way.

Preheat oven at 350. Cut fresh bread into cubes and line along cookie sheet. Bake until moist but firm. Set aside.
In Separate skillet saute celery and onion in butter olive oil mixture, saute until soft add mushrooms halfway through. Cook until slightly caramelized.
Add the bread cubes to skillet, mixing evenly, add the spices little by little each stir.
After that's all mixed add small amounts of chicken broth until desired moistness. Pour into casserole dish or oven safe dish and warm through till lightly crisp on top.
Fluff with fork and serve.
If you make extra portions, cool to room temperature, seal in Ziploc and freeze. Stores well for a couple months. Defrost before reheating.

Hope you all love this. Add or take out whatever you like.

~Broccoli Cheese Soup~

2007-01-28T14:57:00.000-05:00

I promised to post this recipe to go with Tom's Cheesy Bread. This soup is too easy not to make!

~~~~

1 lb. Broccoli cuts (I prefer Florette's)
3 Bouillon cubes
3 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 lb. Cheddar Cheese (cubed)
1tsp. garlic salt
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large pan, fill half way with water, bring to boil.Combine broccoli and bouillon cubes and again, bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer and combine cans of soup, blend well(keep soup cans). Add chunks of cheese and continue to blend, along with garlic salt. Do not allow to boil. Add two cans of milk, simmer for twenty minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

* *I enjoy, occasionally, adding a can of boneless chicken breast and a large can of sliced mushrooms to jazz it up.

***Having company over? Get round loaves of bread, scoop out the middle by cutting a circle in the middle of the loaf, as a guide line. Then, just pull out most of the middle. Serve the soup, on a plate, inside the bread bowl. Of course, have Tom's Cheesy Bread, on the side!

~Tom's Cheesy Bread~

2007-01-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

This sounds, truly yummy. Nothin' says lovin' like hot bread and a nice bowl of soup, on a cold winters day. If it's cold where you are, I suggest, you treat yourself right and make this bread. My next post will be a nice recipe for a quick and easy soup recipe.

Babs, Here is my recipe, for you blog..I still haven't made the

meatballs...but they are on my list!! (-:

Tom

Tom's Crispy Crusty Cheese Bread

I've had a hankering for cheese bread for quite some time now.

Normally I'd get it at the bakery in our local supermarket, but they

stopped making it...Probably the Health Conscious shoppers are shying

away from bread, never mind combining cheese to it!

Personally I think happiness is a large part of feeling healthy and

damn it I want Cheese Bread or I won't be happy !!

I found a recipe and tweaked it a bit and have created this lovely

loaf.....it's great warm out of the oven or toasted with....BUTTER...

I call it Tom's Irish Cheese Bread but you can call it anything you

want..just enjoy it.

31/2 Cups flour

1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Cups Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese (I use 2, you can use 1 1/2 it

just won't be as much fun)

1/2 TSP Salt

1/4 TSP Pepper

1 stick unsalted butter

1/4 Cup Milk

1 TBSP Active Dry Yeast (1pkg)

1/4 cup Warm water(105 degrees F)

3 TBSP Olive Oil

3 Eggs, beaten

1. Combine 2 cups flour, salt, pepper and cheeses in a large mixing bowl

2. Heat Butter and Milk to Warm (approx 105 degrees F)

3. Dissolve Yeast in 1/4 Warm Water (105 F) and set aside till frothy

4. Add Water Mix, Butter Mix, & Eggs to Flour & Cheese - - Mix Well

5. Add remaining flour, as needed, to form a soft dough. (I used it all)

6. Knead on well floured surface until smooth

7. Place in greased bowl, cover with plastic

8. Let it rise in warm place about One Hour or until doubled

9. Punch dough in center roll out on floured surface and knead for 3 minutes

10. Shape dough into loaf and place in buttered 9x5 loaf pan cover

with plastic wrap

11. Cover and let rise till doubled (About 30-45 mins)

12. Bake in Preheated Oven 30-40 mins. Check at 3o minutes

If you tap the bread and hear that hollow sound..It's ready to remove.

Take it out of the baking pan and let cool 30 minutes, slice and

eat...It's a Crispy Crusty Cheesy Delight..

Note you can substitute the Monterrey Jack with another cheese...I

just winged it and that's part of the fun!!

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Just Click either link below

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~Spaghetti n Stuffed Meatballs!

2007-01-14T13:49:00.000-05:00

I can't take credit for this recipe. It is a Williams Sonoma recipe. But it looked so tasty, I had to show you. There is a place in Jamestown, N.Y. that sells Spaghetti only. They have a line out the door every day. You know why? They serve you a Meatball, smack dab in the middle of your pasta, that is the size of a grapefruit. It's huge. Why be traditional, huh? Make a mad meatball. In the meantime, check out this recipe. I would substitue Sausage or Hamburger in place of the Veal but that's just my taste.

Spaghetti with Stuffed Meatballs

Kids will love to lend a hand—literally—with this recipe. They can mix the meat and other ingredients together, a task best accomplished with their hands. (Be sure they wash their hands before and after mixing!) Children can help roll the meat mixture into balls, then make an indentation in each one and place a cheese cube inside.

1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground veal
1 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more
for garnish
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/3 lb. mozzarella or provolone cheese, cut into
1/2-inch cubes
Olive oil for frying
About 6 cups tomato sauce (see related recipe
at right)
2 lb. spaghetti, cooked and drained
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving

In a large bowl, combine the milk and bread crumbs. Add the ground pork, veal, beef, the 1/3 cup parsley, the eggs, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix briefly with your hands. Form the mixture into 2-inch balls. Press a mozzarella cheese cube into the center of each ball, sealing it inside.

In a large electric skillet set on medium-high heat, heat 1/2 inch of oil until almost smoking. Add the meatballs and cook until browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined tray.

Discard the oil in the pan. Pour the tomato sauce into the pan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for 10 minutes more.

Put the pasta in a warmed large, shallow bowl. Top with the sauce and meatballs and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately and pass the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at the table. Serves 10 to 12.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

~HAM & CHEDDAR QUICHE~

2007-01-08T19:17:00.000-05:00

Served with a tossed salad, this recipe for Quiche will sure to be a hit. If you prefer Swiss cheese or bacon or whatever sounds tasty, just substitute, you can't go wrong. You find this is a very versatile recipe!
Ham and Cheddar Quiche
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
1 pre-made uncooked pie shell
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup diced deli style ham
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

PROCEDURE:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, use a fork to prick the bottom of the shell a half dozen times and par-bake the empty shell in the oven, when the oven's ready, for 8-10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, use a whisk to whip the eggs, cream and milk. Then add the diced ham and grated cheddar cheese and mix that up. Pull the par-baked shell out of the oven, place it on a baking tray, pour the custard into the shell and carefully place the sheet tray back into the oven. It’ll take about 40 - 45 minutes to bake and it's not a bad idea to spin it around once, while it's baking, because ovens tend to have hot spots. When its firm and lightly browned on top, take it out of the oven, let it rest for 15 minutes or so to firm up, and it's ready to slice and serve.

HINTS:
The possibilities for quiche fillings are endless, just make sure the things you use are pre-cooked, or partialy cooked, and not saturated with water.

Any Type Of BBQ...

2006-12-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

This works on any type of Barbeque, Beef or Pork Ribs, Brisket, Tenderloin, or Chicken. On the Grill, Rotisserie, or even in the Oven. This is a simple proven method and has won numerous awards.

YOU WILL NEED:

2 to 3 lbs of Meat (Ribs, Brisket, or what have you)
1 - cup of Jack Daniel’s
1 - cup of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
1 - Bottle any type of cheap yellow Mustard
½ - cup Cain’s Seasoning Salt
½ - cup Cain’s BBQ Spice (Not BBQ Seasoning)
2 - Tbs Ground Cayenne Pepper (Less if you are a Wuss)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix Jack Daniel’s and Lea & Perrins together and set aside. Mix Seasoning Salt, BBQ Spice, and Cayenne together (The Rub) Rinse meat off with cold water and pat dry. Brush Meat with Mustard, coating completely. Sprinkle the meat with The Rub, use hands and actually rub it in. (Wash hands)
If cooking outdoors on a Grill or Smoker try to keep the temperature of the Grill around 350 degrees (The same for in a conventional oven) Cook for about 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes, turning once. Remove from Grill. Loosely cover with Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil. Before completely covered pour a generous amount of the JD & L&P over the meat (with brisket you may want to do this 3 or 4 times while cooking) Cover and return to the grill, let the temperature drop down To around 250 degrees and continue cooking until meat reaches the desired temperature, anywhere from 1 to 2 hours (Brisket will take much longer, about 4 to 5 hours). Using a meat thermometer in the thickest portion of the meat, Beef Brisket 130 to 135, Pork Tenderloin 140, Chicken 155 to 165. Ribs just until meat comes off the bone with little effort. Remove from heat and let stand covered for about 20 minutes before serving. You can Let the chicken stand longer if you desire. On a Charcoal Grill I like to use Kingsford Original Charcoal Briquets . On a Smoker (which I prefer) I like to use Hickory or Pecan, Apple Wood works well also. On a gas Grill or in a Conventional Oven it still works pretty Damn good but you might not win any awards. All times and temperature may vary depending on your Grill, Oven, or preference. Peace and Good Eating.

(Sorry I've been neglecting the Blog lately, I've been preoccupied)

~Chocolate Biscotti~

2006-12-12T09:52:00.000-05:00

These Chocolate Biscotti make an excellent gift and are easy to make!!

Chocolate Biscotti
Serves makes approx. 3 dozen

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sliced almonds

PROCEDURE:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a heavy bottomed baking tray with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl or electric mixer, cream the sugar and room temperature butter....and, once the butter and sugar are well creamed, mix in the eggs, vanilla and almond extract. Use a separate bowl to combine the all-purpose flour with the sifted cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. (It's important to sift the cocoa powder to get rid of the lumps.) Turn the mixer back on and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients….. Then all that's left is to add the sliced almonds and turn the machine off once they're mixed in. Dampen your hands with a little water and shape the biscotti dough into 2 equal sized logs and place them lengthwise on the sheet tray. Then place the tray on the center rack of the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes to bake the first time. (You might want to spin them around once while they're in the oven.) Then pull them out, let them cool for 10 minutes or so, then take them off of the sheet tray and slice them into cookies about 3/4-inch thick. Put them back on the sheet tray, flat side down, and back into the oven for another 20 minutes or so and they’re ready to go.
HINTS:
Flip the biscotti over once during the second time in the oven to evenly cook them. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

~CanadianSwiss Chicken~

2006-12-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

This wonderful recipe was sent to me via email from the lovely Canadianswiss and Orange X.
Sent all the way from Switzerland, it's bound to a wonderful flavor.

Hi Babs

Here's something I tried out lately (now that I am temporarily retired) and

we both LOOOOVED.

For 4 persons you'll need:

4 large chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)

Rectangular pastry dough

8-10 thin slices of dried ham (parma or such)

200 gr. ground hazelnuts

50 gr. soft butter or margarine

250 gr. deep frozen spinach leaves (thawed and drained)

1 small onion

1 small garlic clove (optional)

Chilli

Italian mixed herbs (dried)

Salt & pepper

Nutmeg

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp olive oil

Mix ground hazelnuts, butter, salt, pepper and chilli to taste in a bowl

into a nice, thick paste. Cut a horizontal pouch in the chicken breast and

fill with the hazelnut filling. Pan fry chicken breasts in olive oil on each

side for about 2 minutes and put aside to cool.

Finely chop onions and garlic and add to thawed and drained spinach. Salt

and pepper the spinach - remember that the parma ham is already quite salty!

- and add a pich of nutmeg and Italian herbs.

Cut the dough to size to wrap the chicken breast, lay 2-3 slices of dried

ham over the dough, then spread some spinach mix over the ham and place the

chicken breast in the middle. Wrap the chicken in dough making sure that it

overlaps and is well closed. Using eventual dough leftovers, add thin dough

stripes or forms on top to decorate (optional) and baste with the mix of egg

yolk and olive oil. Place into pre-heated hot air oven at 180°C (or 200°C

electric) for about 25-30 minutes.

Serve with fresh vegetable

Bon appétit!

PS: If you use fresh spinach, you can prepare these in advance and freeze

them.

CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD PUDDING

2006-11-23T13:58:00.000-05:00

I'm serving bread pudding for dessert today with a Hard Sauce or Bourbon Sauce as it's sometimes known. Instead of plain bread, I'm using Thomas's Cinnamon Raisin Bread. This is a basic recipe. I vary quite a bit depending. Today I used sweetened condensed milk, fruit cocktail. 3 beaten eggs, cinnamon, 1/2 stick of softened butter and just mixed it. I'm going to bake it and make the hard sauce.
The hard sauce is fairly simple. You beat confectioner's sugar with Jack Daniel's and butter till it's liquid but thick enough, not too thick to drizzle on top of the pudding.

Original recipe yield: 1 - 8 inch square pan

PREP TIME	30 Min
COOK TIME	45 Min
READY IN	1 Hr 15 Min

METRIC

SERVINGS About scaling and conversions

INGREDIENTS

3 slices day-old bread
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Here's another variation that's interesting;

Bill Nicholson's Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding with Butter Rum Sauce

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Show:	Paula's Home Cooking
Episode:	Southern BBQ Two

2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
2 (4.5-ounce) cans fruit cocktail (undrained)
2 eggs, beaten
1 (9-ounce) box raisins
1 pinch salt
1 or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Butter Rum Sauce, recipe followsPreheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cube donuts into a large bowl. Pour other ingredients on top of donuts and let soak for a few minutes. Mix all ingredients together until donuts have soaked up the liquid as much as possible.

Bake for about 1 hour until center has jelled. Top with Butter Rum Sauce.

Butter Rum Sauce:
1 stick butter
1 pound box confectioners' sugar
Rum, to taste

Melt butter and slowly stir in confectioners' sugar. Add rum and heat until bubbly. Pour over each serving of Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding.

HAVE A GREAT TURKEY

2006-11-20T14:57:00.000-05:00

HOPING YOU AND YOURS, HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING FROM CHUCK AND BABS!!!

The secret to a wonderful tasting Turkey, stuffing and especially the gravy is always made with Poultry Seasoning, Sage, Onion Powder, Salt and Pepper.
For an extra special turkey, make a butter roll with herbs to place under the skin of the breast meat. This gives it a wonderful taste, inside basting and the drippings are to die for.
To make you butter roll, soften two sticks of butter in a bowl. Add herbs of your choice and of course, I like the poultry seasoning and sage. Mix it and place it in a zip lock bag, saving a small amount to smear on the top of the turkey. Push the butter down in the bag, rolling into a log shape and place it in the freezer just till it gets hard. In the mean time, lift the skin of the turkey and rub the shin on top with the extra butter and salt and pepper. If you are going to stuff the bird, nows a good time to do it. Once your butter is good and cold, slice open the bag and cut the butter into coins and place them inside the skin between the meat and the skin. One of the best ways to insure a good bird is to use a cooking bag. It keeps it moist and a lot of your drippings don't burn off.

Remove giblets and neck from turkey, reserve for gravy. Rinse turkey with cold running water and drain well. Blot dry with paper towels.

Gently loosen skin from the turkey breast without totally detaching skin and carefully place fresh herbs under the skin. Replace skin. (photo below shows lifting skin). Stuff turkey of desired.

Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a large shallow (about 2 1/2" deep) roasting pan. Coat turkey lightly with oil and sprinkle inside and out with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Insert an oven safe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, being careful the pointed end of the thermometer does not touch the bone. Pour poultry stock into bottom of pan.

Roast turkey in a pre-heated, 325° F. oven. To determine the approximate amount of time needed for cooking, click here for our Turkey Roasting Chart. Loosely cover with aluminum foil to prevent over browning, remove foil during last hour and a half of cooking time. Continue to roast until thermometer registers 180 degrees F in the thigh, or 170 degrees F. in the breast.

Remove turkey from the oven and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. Use juices to make pan gravy (follow link for directions)

Eggs in Tomatoes ?

2006-11-19T08:21:00.000-05:00

I saw this on TV and I didn’t catch what it was called but it looked good and I’m gonna try it. I hope that I can get it close enough.

YOU WILL NEED:

2 - 28 oz cans of whole Tomatoes
7 - Lrg Eggs
2 - Tbs Minced Garlic
1 - Small Onion, finely chopped
2 - Tbs Chipotle Sauce
2 - Tbs Finely chopped fresh Parsley
1 - Tbs Olive Oil
¼ - cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
1 - pinch of Salt
1 - pinch of Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Over a medium heat in a large 12 inch skillet, add olive oil, garlic, and onion. Cook until onions are translucent, do not burn the garlic. Add chipotle sauce, stirring until all is incorporated well. Add both cans of tomatoes while stirring. Add salt and pepper, continue cooking until tomatoes have broken up. You can use the back of a large spoon to crush up any remaining large pieces. Stir in parsley.
In a cup or small bowl, break eggs one at a time. Pour the eggs into the tomatoes, spacing them apart so that all 7 will fit in the pan. (Do Not Stir) Cover and continue to cook for about 6 to 9 minutes or until the eggs are done. You are actually poaching the eggs in the tomatoes. Serve with a good sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Peace and Good Eating.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

2006-11-12T03:02:00.000-05:00

For Autumn. This soup is smooth and flavorful. The addition of ginger lends a sweet and spicy flavor to a traditional seasonal dish. The cinnamon croutons are lovely and make the soup reminiscent of pumpkin pie.
(I swiped this from Kaliblue)

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons margarine, softened
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 slices whole wheat bread
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees . Combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread butter mixture evenly over one side of each bread slice. Place bread, buttered side up, on a baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until bread is crisp and topping is bubbly. Cut each slice of bread into 8 small triangles or squares.

Sauté onion in butter in a medium saucepan until tender. Add 1 can chicken broth; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

Transfer broth mixture into the container of a blender or processor. Process until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan. Add remaining can of broth, pumpkin, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground pepper; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in whipping cream and heat through. Do not boil. Ladle into individual soup bowls. Top each serving with Cinnamon Croutons.

Serves 6.

~Holiday Tequila Cookies~

2006-11-10T21:41:00.000-05:00

Sent just in time for the holiday's, my pal Wysteria, assures these are a wonderful and fun cookie to make. Enjoy, tehe!!!

TEQUILA COOKIES
1 cup of dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup of granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups of dried fruit, such as dried cranberries or raisins
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila(silver or gold, as desired)
First, sample the Cuervo to check quality.
Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.
Turn on the electric mixer...Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.
Add one teaspoon of sugar...Beat again.
At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK, try another cup .... just in case.
Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit,
Pick the frigging fruit off floor... Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.
- Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift two cups of salt, or something.
Check the Jose Cuervo.
Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.
Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner.
Finally, throw the bowl through the window,
FINISH the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher

A Couple Of Household Tips

2006-11-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

I know these are not recipes but I thought I would pass them along anyway.

1. Whenever you’ve had your hands in something like onions, garlic, fish, or even gasoline or any other chemicals that might leave an odor on your hands even after several washings, try using a little mouthwash to wash your hands in, it really works.

2. Teeth Whitening, there’s a hundred new methods out now to help whiten your teeth, my daughter and I tried “Listerine Prerinse Whitener” and we could tell a big difference after the first use, the only thing we did differently from what the directions stated was that we brushed are teeth with it instead of just normal rinsing, I thought it tasted like toilet bowl cleaner and as a joke poured a little in the toilet and let it sit for a while, later when I flushed the toilet it was actually cleaner. I let my sister try it (she's a coffee drinker and smoker) and now she uses it, my daughter also got her mother using it (she also smokes and drinks coffee) and we can all tell a big difference, so the stuff really works, give it a try.

~Spinach Artichoke Dip~

2006-11-07T19:09:00.000-05:00

I implored Sassy Sundry to submit this recipe. Hey people, nothing is more elegant than a spinach dip, yet unpretentious, right?
No, there's no Fluff in the recipe!!
BTW, I didn't have my first peanut butter/fluff sandwich till I was 40. I ate it for two weeks straight. Love it!

This is the best artichoke-spinach dip you’ll ever eat.

You’ll need:
1 can artichoke hearts, in water, drained
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (don’t try fresh, and for the love of all that is holy, do not try canned)
1 small can diced green chilies (found in the faux-Mexican section, alongside the “taco” seasoning)
1 cup mayonnaise (don’t use salad dressing)
1 cup parmesan cheese (the recipe calls for the powdery stuff, but you can used fresh grated, and it will still be yummy)

To assemble:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (Alas, I don’t know my conversions very well).
Squeeze all the water out of the chopped spinach. Do this thoroughly, or the dip will be runny.
Chop the ends off the artichoke hearts, and discard (make sure you get the choke). Chop the rest into decent-sized pieces.
Dump the squeezed spinach and the chopped artichoke hearts in a bowl.
Dump in the small can of diced green chilies.
Dump in the cup of mayonnaise.
Dump in the cup of parmesan cheese.
Mix thoroughly.
Dump the mixture into small, ungreased casserole dish (I use a Le Creuset small oval baker).

To bake:
Bake at 375 degrees for 15–20 minutes or until top is slightly brown and the mixture is bubbly.

To serve:
Serve hot. This dip goes with pretty much everything, and I’ve seen people eat it with a fork. I tend to bring nice crackers (try to spruce up the suburban housewifey thing a bit, you know). Watch as people devour and laugh when you tell them that your secret is mayonnaise.

~Ham and Swiss Macaroni~

2006-11-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

This is a recipe that allows you to use leftover ham and puts a twist on the ol' Mac n Cheese recipe.

1 lb. Macaroni / any kind

12oz. + Swiss cheese

2 +cups cubed Ham

¾ stick Butter/Margarine

1 ¼ milk or ½ n ½

1 tbsp parsley

~ In a large 4 Qt. pan, cook Macaroni a la dente’. Cube Ham. Cube Swiss. In a large 2qt. bowl put cubes of cheese, butter, milk, pinch salt and good pinch, garlic powder and microwave in 2 minute, increments, stirring until melted. Drain macaroni. While draining put a pat of butter in pan and sauté ham lightly, enough to warm. Combine all ingredients, in pan and serve. Nice addition would be broccoli or scallion.

Easy Quesidillias

2006-11-02T10:53:00.000-05:00

You work hard, juggle the job, home, kids and try to be a good wife. I'm all about working smart not hard and here's a little tip on pleasing everybody and making your life easier. I'm sure you've enjoyed Quesadillias in the past but here's a little reminder to make them. The kids will love it, you can personalize them just for their taste and dress yours up. Tortillia shells are inexpensive and there's just so much you can do with them. Make a breakfast wrap with scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage and cheese, a meal all wrapped up in a neat little package. Quesidillias are too easy not to make. Use a flat square pan, if you have one, if not, use a round frying pan. Turn the heat to a medium setting on your stove. Place the tortillia shell in there cover with cheese, I like Mozzarela or a three cheese, shredded mix. Be generous and evenly spread it out. If you want chicken or veggies, place them one top of the cheese and place another tortillia on top. Use two flat spatula's to turn it browning both sides just enough to melt your cheese. Cut like a pizza and serve with sour cream and salsa. Easy and cheesy, life is good!

~ Brown Beans ~

2006-11-01T07:24:00.000-05:00

My Father always called them "Brown Beans". When he was young he lived with his Grandmother and times were hard. He said that there were times when they ate brown beans seven times a week, plain brown beans with nothing more to season them with than salt, maybe wild onions if they were lucky enough to be in season. Hardly ever did they have any meat. When I was growing up there was meat on the table three times a day no matter what. And when we had beans there was plenty of meat and cornbread to go around and have leftovers to boot, I hated beans and could not figure out why my Father still liked them, if I had to live on them the way he did as a child I would not allow them in my house. Now for some reason I like beans, and every time I have them I think of my Father. I just finished off a pot last night, Dad would have liked them.

You Will Need:

2 - 16 oz bags Pinto Beans (it’s what I had)
2 - Smoked Turkey Legs
1 - 10 oz can Rotel Diced Tomatoes w/ Green Chiles
3 - Tbs Diced Jalapenos (Hot)
1 - Stick of Butter
2 - Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1 - med White Onion (Diced) or 2 tsp Onion Powder
--- Water
--- Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Always pick through beans and discard anything that is not a bean. In a large Dutch oven fill about half way full with water and add beans and bouillon, bring to a boil turn off fire and cover, soak over night. Next day over a low fire, salt lightly, cover and simmer for about two hours (when I cover a pot I tilt the lid enough to let some steam exit from the back side of the pan, and when lifting the lid I always lift it from the back and away from me as not to get a face full of hot steam) add both turkey legs, onion, and butter, add enough water to cover and simmer for about 2 more hours, remove bones (the meat should come off pretty easily by now) add Rotel and jalapenos, water if needed, pepper to taste, simmer for about another hour or until beans are done to your liking. First bowl you should eat by itself, second bowl always with cornbread (Jiffy). Any left over beans go great in Chili. And BTW, the smoked turkey legs were my sister’s idea to try and cut down on fat. Peace and Good Eating.

Mashed Cauliflower / Helpful Hints

2006-10-29T10:56:00.000-05:00

Similar to the last post, mashed cauliflower is a tasty alternative. I'm a firm believer in microwaving my veggies, even over steaming them. When you boil veggies, all those good vitamins are thrown out with the water you boiled them in. That's why steaming or microwaving is so much better.
This recipe calls for you to use butter. Somewhere along the line, we were told that butter was bad for us and most of us switched to cheap margarine-butter substitutes. Now our long term studies find that our body just doesn't break down the likes of margarine and it's an artery clogger. This is great news to me as I love the taste of butter, especially on popcorn, right?

1 bunch Cauliflower
1/2 stick butter
3/4 cup buttermilk

Pull apart cauliflower and place in a microwave bowl with 1/4 cup water. You can put saran wrap over the top, to speed up cooking. Cook till tender and mash. Add the butter as you mash and buttermilk to your desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

This is really nice with a baked breast of chicken.

Remember, to eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Pauper and dinner like a poor man! Eating light at night is the key to weight loss. Your body's metabolism shuts down, under normal circumstances, around 6PM every night. Anything after that time is not even burned but kept, stored and made into fat.

~ The Mashed Potatoes & Carrots ~

2006-10-23T14:07:00.000-04:00

This is an excellent side dish to almost any meal, it goes together better than Peas & Carrots.

Ingredients:

4 - Large Potatoes
4 - Large Carrots
1 - Stick of Celery cleaned and diced
¼ - Cup of milk
2 - Tbs Butter
1 - Chicken bullion cube
1 - Tbs Parsley Flakes (optional)
1 - tsp Onion Powder
Water - As much as needed
Salt and Pepper - to taste

Directions:

Peel Carrots, rinse in cold water cut into one inch pieces place in a 3qt sauce pan with diced celery and bullion cube, cover with water and bring to a boil, Peel Potatoes rinse in cold water cut into about one inch pieces add to boiling water, add more water if needed (it should take the carrots longer to cook than the potatoes) Boil about thirty to forty minutes or until carrots will mash with a fork, remove from heat and drain, add butter, milk, and onion powder then mash until all lumps are gone, salt and pepper to taste, add parsley if you choose, serves about six. Peace and Good Eating.

Penne agli aromi/ Swiss Chard Gratin

2006-10-23T06:52:00.000-04:00

These two recipes sound just right, not too pretentious, not too difficult but with all the flavor. With that edge for entertaining, Candianswiss is in Switzerland along with her counter-part, Orange X, a cooking duo from heaven!

Hi Babs

I thought I'd send you two of my favorite recipies. They're easy to make and

low cost. I've got many more, but I'm not sure how easy it is to get all the

ingredients in North America (unless you live in a big city). I suggest you

try them out and then decide if you want to post them, okay?

I love these two recipes because they're simple, feed and are fast to make

(30-40 mins). I like to use fresh herbs, but you can also use dried herbs if

they're not available. I've also lost track of the sizes of cans and such,

so it makes it a bit difficult to convert from the metric to US/North

American standards, but I'm sure you can make the necessary adaptations for

me.

I hope you will enjoy. :-)

Take care and hugz to you

CanadianSwiss (aka Sandra)

**********************************

Here goes:

Penne agli aromi (Aromatic Penne)

Serves 3-4

2 cloves of garlic

1 medium onion

1 twig of fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary

1 twig of fresh sage (or approx. 8-10 dried leaves)

1 small bunch of fresh parsley (approx. 2 tbsp, chopped)

1 tsp oregano fresh or dried

Olive oil

500 gr. (16 oz??) can of peeled whole or chopped tomatoes

Salt

Pepper

250 milliliters (8 fl oz.) cream

500 gr. Penne (or any other pasta where the sauce will stick to nicely such

as maccheroni, "bow ties", etc.)

(Freshly) grated parmesan to taste

Finely chop onion and garlic, then also herbs (if fresh). In a large

skillet, heat olive oil on medium flame and add onions and garlic until

slightly brown, then add herbs and turn down heat to low and steam for a few

minutes until soft. In the meantime, chop tomatoes in a blender and add to

the herb/onion mixture. Stirr well and add salt and pepper and let simmer

for about 15 minutes, then stirr in the fluid cream until the sauce starts

thickening. You may want to add salt or pepper to taste. Cook the penne "al

dente", drain and add directly to the sauce. Turn up the heat to medium and

mix so that the pasta is well covered with the sauce.

Sprinkle with grated parmesan and serve hot with fresh bread and a salad.

Buon apetitto!

Tip: You can also make a great casserole out of this by leaving out the

parmesan, and filling the pasta in a oven proof form, cover with grated

cheddar and bake in the oven until the cheese melts.

**************************************************

Swiss Chard gratin (serves 3-4)

If you can't find Swiss chard, you can replace it with Pak Choy (you'll find

it in most asian supermarkets).

800 gr. Swiss chard or Pak Choy

250 gr. boneless and skinless chicken breast

Salt

Pepper

1 tbsp. Butter

1 medium onion

1 can peeled chopped tomatoes (16 oz.)

1-2 tbsp fresh or dried herbs ( pasley, basil, sage)

2 medium sized eggs

250 ml sour cream (8 fl. oz)

150 gr. sharp cheddar, shredded

Nutmeg

Paprika

A few flakes of butter

Chop the white and part of the green the Swiss chard or pak choy leaves into

1 inch long sticks and clean under running cold water. Put into boiling

salted water for about 1-2 minutes (the vegetable still should be slightly

cripy), drain and let it cool. Cut the chicken breast into 1 inch pces, salt

and pepper, and cook golden brown in a skillet. Chop onion and add to the

chicken and cook until slightly browned. Add tomatoes and simmer for a few

minutes and turn up heat to medium, then add the chopped herbs. Whisk eggs

and sour cream separately, add the grated cheese to the egg/cream mixture,

season to taste with nutmeg and paprika (ev. salt and pepper). Preheat the

oven to 200°C (380° F). Put the chicken mixture and veggies into an oven

proof pan/dish, add the egg/cream mixture, mix well and add a few butter

flakes on top. Put in pre-heated oven for approx. 25-30 minutes.

Serve with a salad and fresh bread.

Enjoy!

Quick Chili

2006-10-22T16:30:00.000-04:00

Quick Chili: I could spend all day and a small fortune making Chili, this is just an easy quick way and it’s pretty good.

You Will Need:

2 - lbs Ground Chuck
1 - 27 oz Jar of Spaghetti Sauce (your choice)
1 - 15 oz can of Kidney Beans (optional)
1 - package of Chili Seasoning (your choice)
1 - 4 oz can of Green Chiles
2 - tsp Crushed Red Pepper (this could be optional but why eat chili if it’s not hot, I‘d add a sprinkle or ten of cayenne pepper, but that‘s just me)

Directions:

Brown Ground Chuck in a large Dutch oven, drain and then add all other ingredients, simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes. You can easily modify this to your liking, by adding chopped onions, diced tomatoes, chopped jalapenos or whatever you choose. Serve with crackers, corn chips, shredded cheese, or over your favorite pasta. Have you ever tried a ladle full of chili over a simple salad of lettuce and diced tomatoes? It’s pretty good stuff. Peace and Good Eating.

Emily's Chicken Soup

2006-10-20T20:55:00.000-04:00

This was a work in progress, Emily made it several times tweaking her ingredients each time until she came up with the right combination. We like it served with large flakey biscuits.

You Will Need:

4 - Chicken Thighs (bone in, skin on)
3 - 10 oz cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 - 16 oz bag Large Pasta Shells
1 - cup Diced Carrots
4 - Chicken Bullion Cubes
1 - tsp Onion Powder
1 - Tbs Parsley Flakes
1 - dash of Salt (with all of the bullion you don’t need much salt if any)
1 - tsp Pepper
- - Water (as required)

Directions:

Boil chicken in a 3 qt sauce pan with 2 bullion cubes until chicken is completely done (approx. 35 minutes) set aside until cool enough to debone, save broth. Prepare pasta as directed, drain but save water. In a large Stock Pot or Dutch Oven (at least 5 or 6 qt) add two cups of the pasta water with 2 bullion cubes, bring to a boil (debone and deskin chicken and cut into small pieces) when bullion is dissolved add all three cans of cream of chicken while stirring, reduce heat, when incorporated thoroughly, add chicken, carrots, and remaining chicken broth (about 2 cups hopefully) continue stirring and add salt, pepper, and onion powder, adjust heat and simmer for about 10 minutes before adding pasta, continue to simmer until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. At the end of the cooking period add parsley flakes. You may need to add more water or broth, depending on your preference (using broth or stock instead of bullion cubes is fine, we just always seem to have cubes on hand)

If you’re worried about the fat, substitute skinless chicken breast for the thighs, use the reduced fat cream of chicken and you can use one of several methods to remove as much fat as possible from the chicken broth or just buy fat free. You can also bulk up the soup by adding celery, corn, or any type of veggie you like, adjust the broth as needed. Peace and Good Eating.

DON'T CRY, PLEASE???

2006-10-19T07:27:00.000-04:00

Chill your onions and they're less likely to make you cry, as you slice them. Those dirty buggers!

~ Emily's BBQ Beef (Sloppy Joe) ~

2006-10-17T06:01:00.000-04:00

One day Emily and I were looking for something for lunch and we thought of Sloppy Joes, we had ground beef and white bread but we had no Sloppy Joe mix, not even a can of Manwich, but we thought Hey! It’s really just BBQ Sauce and ground beef and we had enough spices to adjust it the way we like, so…

You Will Need:

2 - lbs Ground Beef
1 ½ - cups Head Country BBQ Sauce (made in Oklahoma)
1 - tsp Onion Powder
1 - dash or 2 of Salt
1 - dash or 2 of Pepper

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown ground beef until all the pink is gone (I like mine well done) drain fat, add salt pepper, and onion powder while stirring, add BBQ sauce and continue to stir over low heat for about 15 minutes. Serve over or on white bread, wheat bread, hamburger buns, or whatever you prefer. It’s even good on tortilla chips. We like Head Country BBQ Sauce because it’s a little sweet, they also have Spicy and Hickory Smoked. Peace and Good Eating.

~ Chuck's Best Corn Bread ~

2006-10-17T03:45:00.000-04:00

This is how we fix cornbread in the South!

2 - Boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
2 - large Eggs
2/3 - cup of Milk (that’s 1/3 x 2)

And just do what it says on the box!

You could make it from scratch all day long until the cows came home and unless your Grandma ran you out of the kitchen and made it herself, you still couldn't make it as good or as cheap as Jiffy. At least not in my book, later on down the road I'll tell you how I like to tweak it a bit.

~ Ketchup Steak ~

2006-10-16T08:11:00.000-04:00

This recipe is from Di at A Woman of Mystery and it is the type of food we were talking about, real food for real people, thanks a bunch Di.

What You Will Need:

Round or flank steak
Ketchup
Onions
Water

Directions:

Brown steak in a deep skillet. Add onions, cook until transparent. Add ketchup and water and cover over medium-low heat until steak is tender. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans on the side. The gravy is out of this world. Measurements would be useful but it really depends on how many you are cooking for.

Peace and Good Eating.

Roasted Red Peppers

2006-10-14T21:43:00.000-04:00

Nothings better than a Roasted Red Pepper in any recipe. Here's an easy and simple way of getting that great taste at home.

Place your pepper right on the gas stove grate and turn up the flame. Don't worry nothings harmed in this maneuver. Using metal tongs, turn the pepper till it's black on all sides. Wave to cool a bit and place in a plastic bag. Allow to cool. The plastic bag causes the humidity to lift the skin making it easier to peel off. After you've peeled it, you can use it in many recipes. These are great in homemade Quesidillas. Any that you want to store for a bit, you can put in olive oil and keep in the fridge. Once you do this and see how really simple it is, you'll never go back to buying them or not buying them because of the cost.

Monte Creams

2006-10-14T06:58:00.000-04:00

This Recipe is from Hannelie at http://brihans.blogspot.com She currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. Thanks a bunch Hannelie, this sounds great.

My children are on school holidays and this biscuit recipe comes to the rescue always, mainly because it's quick to make, they can help and it's nice and sweet, what more can a child want. I don't add the strawberry jam, it's optional. Hope you all enjoy. I found it long ago in my Australian Family Circle cook book, a commonsense guide.

Preparation time: 30 min
Cooking: 20 min
Makes: 25

125g (4oz) butter
½ cup (125g/4oz) caster sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 ½ cups (185g/6oz) self-raising flour
¼ cup (30g/1oz) custard powder
1/3 cup (30g/1oz) desiccated coconut

Filling:
75g (2 ½ oz) butter
2/3 cup (85g/3oz) icing sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1/3 cup (105g/3 ½ oz) strawberry jam – (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180C (350F/ Gas 4). Line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Using electric beaters beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
3. Add milk and beat until combined. Sift the flour and custard powder and add to the bowl with the coconut. Mix to form soft dough.
4. Roll two teaspoons of the mixture into balls. Place on the trays and press with a fork. Dip the fork in custard powder occasionally to prevent it from sticking. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
5. To make the filling, beat the butter and sugar with electric beaters until light and creamy. Beat in the milk. Spread on biscuit with about half a teaspoon of the filling and one with about half a teaspoon of the jam, and sandwich the halves together.
6. These will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

(I don't believe that these would last even 1 day at my house, thanks again Hannelie)

Pepper & Mushroom Sauce South African Style

2006-10-13T16:18:00.000-04:00

Here's another wonderful recipe from Buddess in South Africa. An appetizing accoutrement, this can be used in so many ways. Thanks Buddess!!

Buddess writes...

Hi Babs

I have just thought of this one too!!! It is a sauce that can turn anything into a fantastic meal. I use it mainly as an accompaniment to steak from the braai(barbecue) or as a topping for potatoes-in-jacket or Spuddy Buddies!!! Even the children enjoy it.

Pepper & Mushroom Sauce

You’ll need

1 punnet of sliced mushrooms

1 onion finely chopped

Fair amount of garlic – I use 1 BIG tablespoon

1 teaspoon of good old English mustard

1 packet instant black pepper sauce – (I use Royco sauces)

250ml fresh cream

Cup of hot milk – if needed

Freshly grated pepper

Brown the onions and the mushrooms. Add the garlic and mustard. Add the fresh cream and bring to the boil. Add the packet of instant pepper sauce and dissolve in the fresh cream. If you wish to have a thinner sauce simply add some hot milk or hot water and mix it well. When the consistency of the sauce is to your satisfaction, ground some pepper over the top and serve.

I have used this exact sauce and added some browned chicken strips and served on pasta rice. What an awesome dish!!

That is it – two recipes in one!!!

Have a great weekend!!!

I am Buddess from www.buddess.wordpress.com formerly www.oodlesofnoodlesoffun.blogspot.com

Tuna South African Style

2006-10-13T15:47:00.001-04:00

A wonderful recipe, all the way from South Africa, Buddess, one of our fellow bloggers send in this teasingly tasty recipes for Tuna.

Buddess writes...

Hi there

I think your blog idea is great!!!

I have a very simple yet very tasty tuna dip/sandwich filler that my whole family loves. I used to use it as one of my recipe demos when I was selling Tupperware and everyone enjoyed it. Most importantly, it is pretty cheap to make!!

You’ll need

2 tins Shredded tuna

1 onion chopped finely

1 green pepper chopped finely

Couple of dashes of mayonnaise

Couple of dashes of chilli chutney or a hot sauce of your choice.

Mix the whole lot together and allow to cool in the refrigerator!!

You can use this as a dip with chips, serve as a sandwich filler and I am sure it will taste great on a tortilla!!

I am Buddess from www.buddess.wordpress.com formerly www.oodlesofnoodlesoffun.blogspot.com

I am sure that I will send you some more recipe ideas seeing that I love to cook and want to send you some good old South African ideas too.

Buddess

Mexican Pumpkin Pie (Calabaza Pastel)

2006-10-13T00:40:00.000-04:00

My Father was a Damn fine Cook, he was a Cook in the Army during the Korean Conflict and in the Oklahoma National Guard for several years. In many ways he was a better Cook than My Mother and she was no slouch in a kitchen. The only problem my Father had was the older he got, the shorter his arms became (he was far-sided and could not hold things out far enough to focus on them) and one year while making the pies for Thanksgiving he mistakenly used “Cayenne” instead of “Cinnamon” in the pumpkin pies, of course we did not know it until we ate them, and we did eat both of them, they were not hot enough to burn your mouth but just enough to let you know that it was there. We liked it so much that the next year we made sure that he did it again to at least one of the pies. Peace and Good Eating.

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish basic pie crust (see below)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 - tsp cayenne pepper (crushed red pepper)
1/2 - tsp salt
1/2 - tsp ground ginger
1/2 - tsp ground nutmeg
2 - large eggs
1 - 15 oz can Pumpkin Pie Filling
1 - 12 oz can Evaporated Milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare basic pie crust as directed (or use a ready made crust) Combine sugar, cayenne pepper, salt, ginger and nutmeg in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in canned pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. When mixed thoroughly, pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F. bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for about 2 hours. Serve plain or with Cool Whip.

*For two shallow pies, substitute two 9-inch (2-cup volume) pie crusts. Bake in preheated 425° F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F. bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until pies test done.*

Basic Pie Crust

2 cups flour
2/3 cup shortening
dash salt
ice water

In a medium bowl, mix flour, shortening and salt until crumbly. Working with a small sections of the dough, begin adding water slowly, about 1 tsp at a time. Cut (mix) with a fork until pieces are about the size of peas. Push to the side and continue working through the rest of the dough until it is all incorporated the same way. (Right about here is where I toss out the whole mess and go and buy a couple of ready made crusts) Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness. Place in 9" pie plate and trim to within 1/2" beyond edge of the plate. Crimp around the edges because that’s the way Grandma friggin' did it!

*If using crust for a refrigerated pie (no bake) bake crust at 350° F. until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely before adding filling*

Lemon Breast Chicken

2006-10-12T10:31:00.000-04:00

This was sent to me from my friend Cat Lambe. Sounds pretty yummy...

I saw this recipe for a lemon breast chicken that looked really good. I thought I would share it with others who are forced into the kitchen several times a week. Anyway, here it is:

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (weight is dependent on how many servings are required)
1 large lemon, cut into halves
sprig of rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Rub butter or oil over the skin of the chicken until it is completely coated.

Take a knife and gently separate the skin from the breast meat; slide lemon halves under the skin with the peel side up. This way the juice from the lemon will coat the breast. Season skin of chicken to your preference; place sprig of rosemary into the chicken. Cover and place in oven for 30-45 minutes. Remove cover and continue to roast until juices run clear, basting every 15-20 minutes, depending on size of the bird.

If you've followed these steps correctly, your chicken should look like the one in the picture below. Bon Appetit!
See Cat @ her My Space blog here!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2006-10-12T07:45:00.000-04:00

This is a hearty soup, right on time for the cool weather coming. Great by itself, a meal in a bowl, this soup will please anybody and can be served for the casual or appetizer + 5 course meal. It's also a versatile recipe that you may dress up with bacon or chicken, for that go all the way meal.

1 16oz. bag Broccoli cuts or florets
1 26oz can Cream of Mushroom or 3 small cans
1 1lb block of cheddar of your choice (white,sharp...)
1 small onion minced or chopped (optional)
1/2 stick Butter/Margarine
2-3 cups chicken broth or 6-9 boullion cubes

In a large 5qt. pot, fill with water 1/4 of the way up and boil. When water begins to boil,add broccoli, onion and butter. If you are using boullion cubes, add them now, stir to dissolve. Chop cheese into cubes. Allow broccoli to simmer 5 minutes and then add Cream of Mushroom. Stir till fluid without lumps. Add cheese chunks and stir. Do not allow to boil! Simmer till cheese is melted and season to taste. If you used boullion cubes, it will be salty, so go gently with the salt. Enjoy with your bunny slippers on!

Hoppin' John

2006-10-11T11:42:00.000-04:00

There are several versions of Hoppin’ John. The base for the traditional meal is, peas, pork, rice, and I believe some type of tomato and peppers (I‘m sure many people have many different ideas) Some people serve it on New Years to promote good luck and prosperity but it was first introduced as one of the few meals that would keep African Slaves alive during the long and deadly passage over the seas to America and other ports that were known for dealing in human flesh. I try and fix it on New Years myself but I also enjoy it anytime of the year. This is just one of the versions that I like the best. Peace and Good Eating.

4 - 14.5 oz cans of Black Eyed Peas
1 - lbs Bacon, diced
2 - cups prepared Rice
1 - med Onion, diced
1 - 10 oz can Rotel Diced Tomatoes w/ Green Chilies
1 - Tbs Parsley Flakes
Salt & Pepper

Brown bacon in a 5 Quart pan (Dutch Oven) when almost done add the onion, when onion is just getting translucent, remove from heat and carefully drain off some, but not all of the fat (bacon fat is 100% flavor) place back over heat and add all of the black eyed peas, rice, and Rotel (you could substitute the Rotel for plain diced tomatoes and dice up your own jalapeños) simmer over low heat for 35 to 45 minutes, add parsley at the end, taste and salt and pepper accordingly. Again goes well with corn bread.

Mock Pizza Casserole

2006-10-10T09:59:00.000-04:00

This is a dish that you can also incorporate that leftover Spaghetti sauce. The kids will love it, too! Whatever you like on your pizza, onion, peppers, mushrooms, whatever can be thrown in to this Casserole. If you use a Dutch Oven, this is a one pan project.

1 lb Pasta/Macaroni
1 8oz pkg Pepperoni or a stick cut in coins
1 12oz Ragu/Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb pkg Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Cook Pasta in a Dutch Oven to ala dente' and drain. As the pasta is draining in a colander, you can saute and onion, peppers, etc., then add your sauce with any spices you may want to jazz it up. Fold in Pasta, Pepperoni chips and stir. Take half of the pkg. of Mozzarella and mix it in. The, take the rest and spread it on top. Bake at 350 until cheese is bubbly or starts to brown.

Sausage, Green Beans, & New Potatoes

2006-10-10T02:51:00.000-04:00

1 - lbs package Smoked Sausage
2 - 14.5 oz cans Green Beans
2 - 14.5 oz cans whole New Potatoes
2 - Tbs Butter (I use more)
1 - tsp Onion Powder
Water (as much as needed)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Slice smoked sausage however you prefer, place in a five quart pan over a medium fire and cover with water. Drain and rinse green beans and new potatoes, add to pan, adding just enough water to cover, add butter and onion powder, simmer for about thirty minutes, salt and pepper to taste. Goes well with corn bread.

Mock Lasagna

2006-10-09T08:08:00.000-04:00

This is a recipe that incorporates that leftover Spaghetti Sauce, that's tasty and good, cost cutting but delicious!

16 oz. Spaghetti Sauce
16 oz. cont. Cottage Cheese
16oz. pkg. Mozzarella Cheese
1 lb. pkg. Macaroni (your choice)
Hamburger

If you are using leftover Spaghetti sauce w/ gound beef in it, use that. If not, brown your ground beef and add onion, peppers, garlic and spices along with spaghetti sauce and simmer. In separate pot, preferably a Dutch Oven, cook your macaroni to just ala dente'. You do not want to over cook it as you will be baking it, also. Drain Macaroni and fold sauce in. Mix in Cottage Cheese (I use about 3/4 of the container) and 1/2 of the pkg. of Mozzarella. Top with Mozzarella and Italian Spices, if desired. Bake at 350 till cheese is bubbly or beginning to brown.

Mock Stroganoff

2006-10-08T21:56:00.000-04:00

This is a recipe that'll cut the cost of beef tips but not take away from the rich flavor. I love it with mushroom buttons and slices,too!

1 Large can Cream of Mushroom Soup
16 oz. Sour Cream
1 Onion
1 bag Egg Noodles
1-2 cans Mushrooms
1+ lb Ground Beef
Garlic gloves chipped.
Pepper,Salt Garlic Salt

Brown ground beef in dutch oven.When almost done, add onion slices and garlic chips to partially cook. Drain grease. Add Cream of Mushroom soup, 3/4 soup can of milk,stir . Salt and pepper to taste. On a low heat, simmer for 5 minutes. Then, add Sour Cream, only after all other ingriediants are heated and mixed and Egg noodles are cooking. Stir and slow simmer for 5 more minutes . Cook egg noodles to ala Dente'. Serve over Egg Noodles.

Welcome to the Birth of a Blog

2006-10-08T12:43:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our blog. It's about real food, not that bullshit fine dining fair that's not gonna stick to your ribs but stick you with a big bill. Maybe, this blog is for us middle class people who, live real and eat real. We don't need no stinkin' Calamari. Slap some meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy in front of us and we're a happy camper.
We'll post real food recipes, economy style, things you can feed your family that'll fill 'em up, taste good and won't burn your budget.
If you want to get on the Blogroll, please contribute a recipe and we'll post it and add you to the sidebar. I look forward to this and hope it'll work. Now, let's get down to business!

REAL FOOD FOR REAL PEOPLE

It's Been A While...

Ziplock Omelettes

Homemade Samoas

Brocolli Cheese Rice Casserole ala Da Cat

Cooking with da Cat

This Is The Shiz-nit !!

Kaliblue's Cornbread Dressing

Cookies...

Helpful Hints

Worlds Greatest Margarita

Chili or Chili Meatloaf

How To Make Ice Cream

A Pretty Good Cheeseburger or Meatloaf

AZCG Deviled Eggs

Kickass Potato Salad

Fry Bread

Scotch Eggs

Bacon Crisps

Rival Crockpot Warning

Good Ol' Ramen Recipes

Dump Cake

Dump Cake Makes 12 to 16 servings

Those Dirty Carrots

Chicken Fried Bacon !

Corn on the Cob

Grandma Lula's Potato Casserole

Diner Recipes

Fun with Watermelon

Meat Cake, Huh???

Cheap Cheesecake Recipe

Tuna Macaroni Salad

CHEF BABS PRESENTS...

Spaghetti Pie

~AZCG's Green Bean Casserole ~

Chuck's Sangria Favorites

More Helpful Hints

A Few Kitchen Myths

A box of baking soda in the fridge or freezer absorbs odors

Use water instead of milk when making scrambled eggs and omelets

When you add alcohol to a recipe it all evaporates during cooking so there is none in the final dish

Hot pan, cold oil

Heating a pan prevents sticking by closing cracks in the metal

Avoid aluminum cookware because of Alzheimer's disease

You must use a serrated knife to slice ripe tomatoes

You cannot deep-fry in olive oil

You must scald milk before using it in certain recipes

You can make a baked potato in the microwave

You cannot do serious cooking in a microwave

If you put the pit in the bowl, guacamole won't turn brown

Cold water boils faster than warm water

Myths about dried beans

Don't salt meat before cooking

Stock is made from bones, broth is made from meat

Foods such as chicken salad made with mayonnaise are prone to quick spoilage

Never put bananas in the refrigerator - they'll become inedible

You can't make a good cup of tea in the microwave

~Pancake Night~

My "Insidious" Ice Cream Cake

~The Cabbage Soup Diet~

Definition of Negative calorie diet

Negative calorie list for vegetables

Ophelia's Own Stuffing Recipe

~Broccoli Cheese Soup~

~Tom's Cheesy Bread~

~Spaghetti n Stuffed Meatballs!

~HAM & CHEDDAR QUICHE~

Any Type Of BBQ...

~Chocolate Biscotti~

~CanadianSwiss Chicken~

CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD PUDDING

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

HAVE A GREAT TURKEY

Eggs in Tomatoes ?

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

~Holiday Tequila Cookies~

A Couple Of Household Tips

~Spinach Artichoke Dip~

~Ham and Swiss Macaroni~

Dump Cake
Makes 12 to 16 servings