Easy No Bake Cookies for the Holidays

Hi everyone.  I am back.  Sorry for the long spell without posts, but my 89 year old mother has been sick and she has moved from her assisted living to a nursing home.  Not sure yet whether this is a permanent move or not, but it has taken every waking minute of my time that wasn't spent at work or preparing for Christmas.  Am I done shopping?  Of course not!  But I am getting there. 

So I began baking this week.  This is something I always do with my grandchildren and we have  great fun.  I am going to give you two great recipies for cookies that do not involve baking.  Both are balls that get dipped in chocolate.

I want to give you a few hints about chocolate.  I melt regular chocolate chips in a double boiler.  You can also use the microwave, but then you have to figure out how to keep the chocolate hot and melted while you are dipping the cookies.  If you don't have a double boiler, use a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.  You do not want a full rolling boil because then the water will spatter and get into your chocolate.  Ugh!  The other secret is paraffin.  You buy this at the grocery store, usually where the canning supplies like jars and lids are.  Ask if you can't find it.  It comes in a box and each box has several rectangle shaped cakes.  I use one third a cake to a 12 ounce bag of chocolate chips.  Put the paraffin in the chocolate once the chocolate has melted.  Wait for it to melt and stir well.  This will work for anything you want to dip in chocolate.  It gets firm and shinny.  Also, in case you are wondering, it is perfectly safe to eat. 

Ok, so here are the recipes.  The first is super easy and was given to me by a co-worker a few years ago.  The second has a few more ingredients but this is my family's favorite Christmas cookie.  I could stop baking everything else as long as I made these.  I got this recipe at a cookie exchange I attended when I was an Air Force wife probably well over 30 years ago.  Here goes, enjoy!

 

OREO CREAM CHEESE BALLS

 

 

1 regular size bag of Oreos

 

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

 

12 oz bag of chocolate chips

 

1/3 cake of paraffin

 

Break the cookies into a food processor or blender.  Process until they are fine crumbs.  Add the cream cheese and process until it all comes together.  If you don't have a food processor, transfer the crumbs into a bowl and use a hand mixer to combine the cream cheese and crumbs.

 

Roll the mixture into small balls about the size of a grape, only round.  Put in the freezer for two hours or until you are ready to dip.  I usually do all my dipping on one night , so I save all my cookies for then.  Follow the directions above for melting the chocolate and paraffin.  Dip each ball and set on waxed paper to dry. Makes about 5 dozen. If you have chocolate left over, save, remelt and use for the next batch of cookies.

 

 FAMILY FAVORITE PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

 

 

2 C graham cracker crumbs

2 C powdered sugar

1 C shredded coconut

1 C chopped walnuts

1 C crunchy peanut butter

1 C maraschino cherries drained and chopped

1 t vanila

2 sticks butter melted

1/3 cake paraffin

12 oz. package chocolate chips.

 

Add crumbs and sugar to melted butter and mix well.  Add all the other ingredients and mix until all is combined.  Form into balls about the size of a small walnut.  Refridgerate or freeze at least 2 hours.  Follow directions above for dipping in chocolate.  Makes about 5 dozen.

 

Later this week, I will post some other family favorite cookie recipes.  'Tis the season, get baking!!

 



 

 



 

 



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I just wanted to take a few minutes to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  It has been a trying year for many of us, but no matter the hardships or troubles, I always realize that I have so very much to be thankful for.  Foremost of course, are family and friends.  You are why I am who I am. It's kind of like Tom Cruise said, "You complete me".  You have all been so kind, generous and supportive over the past year and for that I am eternally grateful.  I am thankful for my job, and the wonderful class I was blessed with this year.  I am thankful for Dr. Nasar.  He gave me a new knee and my life back.  I am most thankful for my eight wonderful grandchildren, who are always there with something funny to say, or a kiss or hug, whether in person or on the phone.  I love you all!

One thing the recent storms have taught me is that while I am grateful for all my material possessions, I need to share what I have.  I need to simplify my life.  I have more "things" than I will ever need and intend to share them with those less fortunate.  I will also share more of my time and talents.  Sharing time and talent is probably the most significant way I can show how thankful and truly blessed I am. 

May God bless you all and have a wonderful day!

Carol

A Few Appetizers

When I was growing up, appetizers before a holiday meal meant a fancy cut glass dish with celery and carrot sticks and green and black olives.  Now, there have been holidays where we eat a meal's worth of appetizers before anyone sits down to the actual meal!  Yes, there are the usual chips, dip, salsa and veggie trays, but here are a few favorites I'd like to share with you.

SAUSAGE CHEESE BALLS



This is one I got from an Officer's Wives Cookbook, back when I was first married.  Cocktail parties were all the rage and so were the finger foods that went with them.  When I came back to NJ, I introduced these to my family and they are a hit. This is one of those recipes that I always make sure I have the ingredients for on hand.  It makes up so fast.  Great for unexpected guests, or to take along to a gathering.

1 pound package bulk breakfast sausage - like Jimmy Dean

10 oz chedder shredded.

3 1/4 cups Bisquick

 

Note:  Sausage comes in one pound or 12 ounce packages.  If you can't find the pound, and use the 12 ounce size instead, decrease the amount of bisquick to 2 3/4 cups. 

 

 

Let the sausage come to room temperature.  Put raw sausage, shredded cheese and bisquick into a bowl and mix. You can use your hands, but I have learned over the years that my kitchen aid mixer works really well to get it all blended.  Form into small balls about the size of a walnut.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 15 minutes.  These freeze really well.  Make ahead, freeze and you will always have them on hand!  Enjoy!

 

 

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

 

We actually eat these as a side dish with our Thanksgiving dinner, but they make a great appetizer. 

 

15 large white mushrooms

1/2 small onion-finely chopped

2 cloves garlic - finely chopped

2 T fresh parsley - finely chopped

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 to 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

 

Clean mushrooms and remove stems.  Chop stems finely.  Add 2 T olive oil to a skillet.  Saute mushroom stems, onion and garlic for about 15 minutes.  Make sure any liquid from the mushrooms has cooked away.  Add mushroom mixture to a bowl with bread crumbs, cheese and parsley.  Add 2 T olive oil to the mixture and mix well.  Spoon the stuffing into each mushroom packing it well and mounding it high.  Put mushrooms in shallow baking pan or sided cookie sheet that has been coated with olive oil or cooking spray.  Drizzle mushrooms  with olive oil.  Cook at 350 for about 25 minutes.  These can be prepared the day before and cooked the next day, or cooked ahead and reheated.

 

 

SUPER EASY TEX-MEX HOT DIP

 

This is another one that always impressed everyone, yet it is sooooo easy.  The only drawback is that its best if kept warm while serving.  I have one of those electric hot trays (I think it was a shower gift and I got married in 1968) that still works and is perfect.  Or serve in an oven proof dish that you can put a candle under.

 

1 8oz pkg cream cheese

1 small jar salsa

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained

8 oz shreeded cheddar or chedder/jack mix

 

Put the cream cheese into an oven proof pan (I use good old corning wear)  and soften in the microwave for about 30 to 40 seconds.  Spread over the bottom of the pan.  Mix the salsa, beans, and corn in a bowl and pour over the cream cheese.  Top with shredded cheddar.  Bake at 350 for about 30  minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.  Yum!!!!

 

 

Back to Normal? Turkey Stuffing at Last!

I said in my last post, I wanted to get my life back to normal.  Silly me.  I forgot.  There is no NORMAL!  I apologize for being away for so long.  After returning from Colorado and getting caught up on cooking, shopping (there was NO food, all perishables were ruined in the storm) and school work, I was attacked by a recurring health problem.  Not too serious, just very annoying.  Since then, my mom has been hospitalized for a fall.  Nothing broken, but now breathing problems have started.  Never a dull moment. 

I need to take a little time just to be me,  and part of me is writing this blog.  So I am back!  Since Thanksgiving is just days away, I thought I would give you some family recipes for Thanksgiving favorites.  Starting with my grandmother's turkey stuffing.  This of course comes with a story, so here goes.

There are probably as many recipes for turkey stuffing (or do you call it dressing?) as there are people who eat turkey.  I have a friend who tries a different recipe every year, and I envy her.  Sometimes I would like to try cornbread, oyster or chestnut stuffing.  But in my family we only eat Grandma's stuffing.  It's almost against the law to eat anything else! Everyone in my family makes the same stuffing, aunts, cousins, nieces.  It is so delicious, I often eat it as a meal in the days that follow Thanksgiving.  And we ALWAYS make extra so we can do this!  Years like this one, where I am not eating at home, I will still make stuffing so I can have leftovers. 

My grandmother came to this country as a child in the late 1800's.  She wanted very much to assimilate into the culture here.  She wanted to be American.  But old traditions die hard, and when she cooked Thanksgiving dinner there was a definite Italian flare to it.  We always had soup, pasta, roasted white and sweet potatoes,  stuffed artichokes, stuffed mushrooms and a variety of vegetables including carrots cooked with mushrooms and a little tomato sauce.  We still make this every year, but only on Thanksgiving.  Now for the stuffing.  She made her stuffing with what she knew best--Italian sausage and Parmesan cheese.  This is one of the recipes I found in my daughter's recipe book last week, complete with measurements.  I still have the original recipe my mother wrote down for me over 45 years ago, on a tattered piece of paper, but alas, no measurements!  Here goes!

GRANDMA CRUDELE'S TURKEY STUFFING

1 lb. Italian Sausage

1 T olive oil

1 large onion chopped

1/2 lb. mushrooms sliced

9 slices of day old bread

5 eggs-beaten

2/3 cup of Parmesan cheese

1/8 cup minced fresh parsley or 2 T dried

salt and pepper

Remove sausage from casing, crumble and sauté with mushrooms and onion until the meat is thoroughly cooked-about 20 minutes.  While the meat and vegetables are cooking, soak the bread in water until thoroughly soaked through.  Squeeze all the water from the bread and add the eggs, cheese and parsley.  Cool the meat and vegetables slightly and add to egg, bread and cheese mixture.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  This is an important step as all the flavors develop.  DO NOT STUFF THE TURKEY THE NIGHT BEFORE.  This breeds bacteria.  I cook my stuffing in a pan in the oven along with the turkey, but you can stuff the turkey just before you put it into the oven.  If you cook separately in the oven it will take about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, depending on how dry you like it.  If it starts to get too brown, cover with foil for the last part of the cooking.  Another hint:  Some years we have been very short of oven space and we have cooked the  stuffing in the crock pot.  It works well.  Cook for about six hours on low.  Cook on high if you would like a drier stuffing.  Enjoy. 

I will try to get a few more recipes posted before the holiday.  I just want to take the opportunity to wish you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving.  We all have so very much to be thankful for
this year in spite of all the tragedy around us.  Take time to be thankful for your loved ones, they are what life is really all about.  God Bless!



After the Storms

For those of you who don't know me personally, I need to reveal that I live in central New Jersey about twenty minutes from the beach.  Fortunately, my house did not sustain damage from Hurricane Sandy.  However the devastation has been unbelievable.  While we only lost power and cable, for about a week, many have lost everything.  I am currently in Aurora, Colorado visiting my daughter and four wonderful grandchildren, but before I left, I did what I could to help the relief effort.  I gathered clothing, blankets, water, and toiletries and donated them to several local shelters.  When I get home, I plan to start making quilts to donate.  This is what we quilters do.    It is my intention to get back to as normal a life as I can when I return on Saturday while continuing to help with the relief efforts in any way I can.

Since this is a cooking blog, I won't leave you without some mention of food.  Yesterday, I went through my daughter's recipe collection for a recipe for high altitude snicker doodles.  I came across many family recipes that I have given her over the years, and guess what?  They had measurements!  I have copied several and will pass them on to you during the week.

I know many of you in New Jersey are now buried in snow and are without power again, so I wish you all the best.  Keep safe and warm. And keep cooking!

Carol

Quick, Inexpensive, Instant Hot Cocoa

Hi all,

It is nearly time for hot drinks.  I was discussing this with a friend the other day, and I have a bunch of these kind of recipes to post, but I have to dig them out.  I made this every year  for my family of four and we always used it all by the end of the winter.

This is SOOO easy and so much cheaper than buying the individual boxes of individual envelopes of hot cocoa.  There's that packaging thing again.  That makes this an environmentally friendly thing also!  I have been making this since my son was a baby and I had a part time job selling Tupperware-but that was my other life.  So here goes...

 

Quick Hot Instant Hot Cocoa

 

 

An 8 quart box of powdered milk

 

A large box of Nestle's Quick

 

1 small jar plain coffee creamer

 

1 C powdered sugar.

 

Mix all very well in a very large bowl.  Keep in an airtight container.  I use a huge Tupperware canister, but an old pretzle jar from Sam's works well.  I never throw these out.  It makes about 15 cups and that works out to about 60 servings.  Figure out how much you save!

 

To serve:  Pour 1/4 cup of mix into a mug, add boiling water. If you keep a 2 tablespoon coffee measure in the canister, use two of these per serving. Just stick a label on the canister, so older kids can make thier own.  If you heat the water in the microwave, put the mix in after you heat the water or it will boil over.  You can also make this with hot milk and it's even healthier.  Add milk, marshmallows, peppermint sticks or anything else your heart desires. 

 

Enjoy!

 

Carol

 



A quick note about paninis.

This has been a really crazy week.  I taught a class at the quilt shop on Sunday, stayed late at school on Monday, taught a class at the quilt shop on Tuesday,  went to visit my mother today.  So I made quick paninis for dinner.  Lesson #1 about paninis:  you do not need an expensive panini maker.  I see them in catalogues for over $100!  I use my George Forman grill, so it's slanted, so what?  Never lost a sandwich yet!  If you don't have a George Forman, use a skillet and put another heavy pot on top of the panini, and do the same when you flip it.  We have even made them on the outdoor grill this way.

So what is a panini?  I think it is a fancy name for a toasted sandwich.  My favorite is pesto, tomato and mozzarella.  Smear the pesto on the bread-both slices-add cheese, tomato, put it on the grill and wait till it's done.  Now I usually make my own pesto, but this isn't the time of year for that-no more basil in the garden and way to expensive in the store. I make big batches in the summer and freeze it. You can also by jarred pesto at Sam's and it's actually pretty good, just a little pricey, but worth it.  Pesto is one of my all time favorite foods. 

What else can you put in a panini?  Just about anything.  Use flavored mayonnaise or olive oil on the bread.  You can by flavored mayonnaise, or make your own, add some dijon, or a little thyme or rosemary, or balsamic vinegar. You only spread it on the inside, but if you are using a skillet, you might want to put some olive oil on the outside too.  Ham,  Swiss cheese and maybe some cooked asparagus with some dijon mayo on the bread.  Chicken, artichokes, mozzarella and roasted red pepper.  How about just veggies?  Roasted eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, a slice of provolone cheese?  The combinations are endless. Just remember that what ever goes in the panini needs to be already cooked, unless it's something like tomatoes. The sandwich doesn't cook long enough or get hot enough to actually cook the ingredients.  This is a great way to use up leftovers.  You can use French bread, cut like you would for subs, you can use Italian bread sliced on the diagonal, you can use foccaccia, or any kind of artisan bread.  So try this, it's quick and easy.  You can do it with soup and a salad. 

Now you have an assignment.  If you make paninis, I want to know the combination of ingredients you used. I am always looking for new ideas. I will post them here on a special panini page.  So get cooking! 

Happy cooking!

Carol

Butternut Squash Soup!

Now don't turn up your nose because I said squash.  Most butternut squash soup I have eaten is made with apple and is a bit sweet.  Many people don't like sweet in thier soup.  This recipe is not made with apples and is more savory.  It will serve six to eight.

The recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated.  Must give credit where credit is due, though I did change it a tiny bit.  The hardest part is peeling and cutting the squash, but you can buy it already peeled and cut at the grocer.  I just have something against paying someone to do prepwork that I could do.  Call me cheap.

2 1/2 lbs butternut squash, cut into large chunks
2 T butter
1 t salt
1 leek, white and light green parts.  Rinse thouroughly, they often have sand in them.  Cut in half lengthwise and thinly slice crosswise (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 - 2 cups water
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (one box)
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried.
1 bay leaf
8 oz. container of sour cream

Place squash in a glass bowl, cover and microwave on high about 14 - 18 minutes or until a knife goes easily into the flesh.  Stir the squash halfway through the cooking.

Drain the squash and reserve the liquid.  Melt butter in a Dutch oven oven.  Add squash, leek and salt.  Cook over medium high heat until squash begins to break down and form a slightly brown coating on the bottom of the pot - about ten minutes. 

Add 2 cups of the broth and scrape the brown coating off the bottom of the pot, mixing thoroughly.  Add the remaining two cups of broth, the reserved liquid from the cooked squash, and 1 cup of water.  Add the thyme and bay leaf.  Raise heat to high, as soon as it gets to a simmer, lower the heat to medium and cook until leeks are tender-about six minutes. 

Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs.  In small batches, blend in blender or food processor, or use an immersion blender (my choice) to puree the soup. If soup seems to thick add remainder of the water and heat through.  Pour a few ladlefuls of soup into a bowl, add sour cream and mix well with whisk.  Add this mixture back to the pot, mix and add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

Beef Stew!

This is a recipe I got from a Susan Branch cookbook.  It was wonderful, but I wanted to do it in the crockpot and I had to make a few adjustments.  One of the wonderful things about the original recipe was a grated potato added to the stew.  It thickened it just perfectly.  Well, when I tried this in the crockpot, I just ended up with pieces of grated potato floating in the stew.  Not pretty.  Also the stew didn't thicken in the crockpot.  So here is my version of the recipe for the crockpot which does thicken because of the sauce you make and add.  This will make enough for eight servings.  So if you have a small family freeze half and there's another free meal!

 

CROCK POT BEEF STEW

 

1 1/2 to 2 lbs beef.  You can use top round, London broil, chuck or whatever you usually use for stew

4 large carrots peeled and sliced

4 ribs of celery sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 large onion sliced

1 small onion left whole

6 medium potatoes, peeled halved and sliced into 1/2" pieces

3 cloves of garlic chopped

3 whole cloves

1 bay leaf

3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 t dried

 

1/2 cup flour

1 t salt

1 t pepper

1 t paprika

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

 

2 T olive oil

2 T butter

1 C red wine

2 C water

2 t beef base

 

Trim meat and cut into one inch cubes.  Combine flour, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder in a large zip loc bag and shake well.  Add beef cubes and shake until they are all coated.  Put carrots, celery and sliced onion into the bottom of the crock pot.  Poke the cloves into the small onion and place that in the crock pot. Also add the bay leaf and thyme.  Heat oil, butter and chopped garlic in a large heavy skillet.  Remove beef from the baggie; add to the skillet, but save the flour mixture.  Brown beef on all sides.  Cook quickly, you only want to brown the meat, not cook it.  There should still be lots of red juice coming out.  Transfer meat to the crock pot.  If there is still oil left in the skillet add the remaining flour mixture from the baggie.  If there isn't enough oil/ butter in the pan add some olive oil--about a tablespoon or two.  So now we make a roux.  Use a whisk to incorporate the flour into the oil/butter mixture.  Cook for three or four minutes.  Add the red wine.  Continue to whisk and raise heat until the alcohol in the wine is cooked off, you will be able to notice that you no longer smell the strong wine smell.  Add the water and beef base and continue to cook until mixture thickens slightly.  If it gets too thick add some water.  Pour this sauce into the crock pot and cook on low for about 8 hours.  Meat will fall apart with a fork.

 

When you have about 20 minutes cooking time left, you can add frozen peas or green beans to the crock pot and cook the remaining 20 minutes.  We don't do this because we are happy with the celery, carrots and potatoes as a vegetable.  Another thing you can add is a small can of tomato sauce.  You would do this when you add the sauce.  This changes the flavor a little, but it is really good.  Before you serve, remove the bay leaf, thyme sprigs, and small onion.  Serve with crusty bread.  Have you noticed I am really big on the crusty bread? 

 

Enjoy!  Please leave comments and questions below.  I would love to hear from you!

 

Keep Cooking!

 

Carol

 



Promises! Promises!

Hello everyone. Just a quick note for now to let you know I have not abandoned you.  Remember those monkey wrenches?  I am filled with promises.  I have two more great soup recipes for you, hopefully I can get them up tonight.  I also plan to put up the beef stew recipe. I think it is going to be a soup and stew kind of weekend.  I am also in the mood for chicken and dumplings, but I must cook and measure before I can get that one up.  Mabye by Monday.  So be watching! 

Keep Cooking!

Carol

The Roux

Ok, so here is the promised post about the roux.  Of course, first I must begin with a story.  I can't remember where I learned to make a roux.  I think I have been doing it forever.  About 27 years ago, I got a divorce and moved back to New Jersey to be near my family.  For 17 years I had been a military wife and enjoyed our travels. Moving around to different parts of the country and the world, helped spur my interest in cooking.  When I was married, we never came home for Thanksgiving, but instead prepared a large dinner and invited young single men who couldn't get home to have dinner with us.  So back to the roux.  My first Thanksgiving back to New Jersey was spent with my sister, her husband and his very large family.  I was so excited to spend the holiday with family.  I went the night before and helped prepare my grandmother's famous sausage stuffing. (yes, I will post it closer to Thanksgiving) I also went over early in the day to help set the table and so forth. 

Now the bird comes out of the oven, just as beautiful as can be and I see my sister reach for a jar of gravy to heat up.  Now this was many years ago; my sister is now a fabulous cook.  I said, "You're not making gravy from scratch?"  She said she didn't know how.  So I took over.  Took some fat from the pan added some flour and made a roux.  We then poured in the pan drippings some seasoning, and ta-dah!  We had gravy.  For several years after that I was the gravy maker, and then my sister took over. 

So what exactly is a roux?  A roux is equal parts of fat and flour cooked and stirred until the flour is incorporated into the fat.  I know, when I say fat, I can see you all cringe. Think butter, olive oil, pan drippings.   Cooking the flour and fat together eliminates the pasty taste of raw flour.    At this point you can add any of a number of liquids and make a sauce or gravy.  It was actually the base I used to make the cheese sauce in the macaroni and cheese recipe I posted. 

Without trying to sound too scientific, here is why this works.  The granules of flour become incased in the fat and when liquid is added and the mixture is heated and stirred, the flour absorbs the liquid, and thickens the sauce.  The thickness of the sauce is a direct relation to the flour to liquid ratio.  For a medium sauce or gravy think 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour to 1 cup of liquid.  So if you are adding three cups of liquid, you multiply the amount of flour and fat by three.  Get it?  I don't want to make this sound harder than it is.  I never measure.  But if I were you I would measure until you feel confident.  Really, you just need to measure to make sure the flour and fat are equal. 

So how do you actually do this?  Let's use butter as our fat.  Measure three tablespoons of butter into a heavy bottomed pot.  This pot is important, if it is a thin aluminum pot, it will get too hot and burn.  We are talking slow even heat here.  When the butter has foamed, add the flour and begin whisking.  Cook slowly over low heat for three or four minutes, or until the flour barely begins to brown.  Now add your liquid. Heating the liquid in the microwave also makes it easier to incorporate into the flour/fat mixture.  Let's make a white sauce and use milk.  Add it very slowly, just a little at a time or you will end up with lumps.  Keep whisking as you add.  When all the liquid is incorporated, raise the heat.  Keep whisking, as soon as it begins to boil, lower to medium and keep stirring as it thickens.  Season with salt and pepper. 

What else can you do with this?  Lots.  Add chicken stock, lemon juice and white wine as your liquid, with a few sprinkles of dried thyme, salt and pepper.  A lovely sauce for chicken.  Use beef stock, red wine and rosemary for a beef burgundy type of sauce.  When making gravy with pan drippings, if you don't have enough liquid, add stock-chicken, beef, or vegetable depending on what you are cooking.  If you add cheese to the white sauce, you have cheese sauce.  The flour fat mixture with white wine and cheese is the basis for fondu.  (ooooh remember the fondu parties of the 70's?)

Only one word of caution, if the sauce is too thick just add more liquid.  If the sauce is too thin, DO NOT add more flour. You will end up with horrible lumps. And you don't want the reputation of the one who makes lumpy gravy!! You can add a slury of flour stirred into liquid and dissolved, but then you run the risk of that floury taste.  You can add instant mashed potatoes-just a tablespoon at a time.  I don't do this because I am afraid of all the chemicals, but it does work. Cornstarch dissolved in water also works, but will sometimes cause the sauce to become clear.  Chinese food is often thickened with cornstarch.   What I usually do, is make another roux, add some liquid and add this back to the too thin mixture. 

I hope I didn't overwhelm you with too many details.  It's much easier than it seems.  Ask my friend Denise.  One night when I was there she was cooking something and making mashed potatoes and lamented that she had no gravy.  We went to the stove, I showed her how to do it using beef stock, and she is now a pro at making gravy!  So have fun with this.  Experiment.  What's the worst that could happen?  Please give me feedback on this one!!  Let me know if you tried it and how it turned out!

Till then:

Happy Cooking,

Carol

No recipe today, just some useful information.

The recipes I have posted for you have never been written down until this blog.  These are things I have been making forever and I am one of those cooks who just throws stuff in the pot, tastes it, and maybe throws in a few more things.  I have a fairly good sense of what tastes right together as far as spices and condiments.  I had to measure as I prepared these recipes this week because I don't think you would like it if I said things like, "throw in a handful of parsley"  although that is exactly what I do. 

That being said, measuring is not important unless you are baking.  Then science gets involved and things won't rise, or rise to much and become like an "I Love Lucy" episode.  So I always measure when I bake.  I am telling you all of this because if you would like more salt, or more tomatoes, or none of something.  That is probably ok.  Once you start cooking them, these recipes become yours not mine.  You say, "Oh I got this from Carol's blog but I changed a few things."  I almost never read a recipe in a cookbook, magazine, or online without thinking there is something I would change.  And I do. So far I haven't killed anyone, or even made them sick.  Feel free to experiment, and then tell me what you did and how it turned out.  I am always looking for new things to try.

Tomorrow, I am going to talk to you about how to make a roux.  (Go ahead, look it up if you don't know what it is, or wait until tomorrow and I will tell you.)  Every good cook knows how to make a roux and all the wonderful things you can do with them.  Till then:

Happy Cooking!

Carol

Please leave feedback in the comment box below!  Questions or comments.  I will try to answer all questions within 24 hours.  Send your e-mail if you want me to answer you personally instead of here on the blog. 

It's a soup day! Hearty Potato Soup

This is what I mean when I say I often make changes to my menu.  No worry, the meal I had planned for tonight can wait in the freezer until I need it.  Today is cold and yucky and I need nice hot soup.  So soup it is.  This is a really easy one (actually most soup is easy).  You can make the recipe as is and you will have 3 quarts of soup-enough for eight 12 oz servings, or cut it in half.  If you make the whole batch but only need half, freeze the rest.  Another free meal! 

This recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law when I was first married.  I have tweaked and changed it a bit, but I still call it Nana's Potato Soup.    From start to finish it took me one hour, that includes peeling and cutting all the potatoes.  If you do the potatoes and onions the night before and store them in the fridge in water it will probably take 20-25 minutes off your time.  The choice is yours.

NANA'S POTATO SOUP

6-8 medium to large potatoes peeled and cut up

1 large onion peeled and sliced

2 T butter

1 T beef base (or 4 beef bullion cubes)

Pepper to taste
  

8 cups of water

1 16oz. container of sour cream (I always use fat free)

Melt butter in a TALL pot and add onions.  Cook over medium heat until they are soft.  Add potatoes, water, beef base and pepper.  Raise heat and bring to a boil.  As soon as it boils, lower heat to medium so you have a slow boil. Cover. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the potatoes are very soft.  Remove from heat.

The following step will depend upon what kind of kitchen appliances I have.  I use an immersion blender (also called stick blender).  I put the blender right in the pot and "mash" the potatoes.  I like mine kind of chunky, so I don't mash too much.  Another way to do this is with a hand mixer, put it right into the pot. (This is why I told you to use a tall pot; it contains the splashes)  If you don't have either one of these you can use an old fashioned potato masher.  Another alternative is to process small batches in your blender or food processor.  I do not recommend this because it's messy, can easily over process and turn into glue, and finally it is dangerous.  If the hot liquid splatters, you can become burned.  If the mixture seems to thick you can thin it down with a little milk or water until you are happy with the consistency.  Finally, ladle a few scoops into a bowl, add the sour cream and mix well.  Add this mixture back to the soup and mix.  (This is called tempering, adding a cold sour cream to hot soup can cause curdling; this step prevents that.)

You are ready to serve with a salad and some crunchy bread.  You can garnish with chives or crumbled bacon if you wish, but we like it just the way it is! 

Try it and let me know what you think.  Please feel free to leave questions or comments in the section below.  I will try to answer questions within 24 hours. 

Happy Cooking,

Carol

Recipes!!!

Here are two of the recipes I made this weekend.  Both can be made ahead and frozen, if you are not ready for that,  they are quick enough to make on a week night.  Just make a double batch of each and freeze one, and you will have two extra meals in your freezer!

 

MAGNIFICENT MACARONI AND CHEESE

 

It seems like there are a lot of ingredients in this recipe, but it makes a generous eight servings.  If you have a small family, put it in two oven proof casseroles instead of one and you have an extra meal already!  It freezes well.  You can prepare the cheese sauce and topping all while the water is boiling and macaroni is cooking.  I apologize that it uses so many pots.  I cook the macaroni in a large Corningware Dutch oven. After I drain it, I put the macaroni and sauce back into the Dutch oven because it works on the stove and in the oven.



  

1 lb elbow macaroni

1 cup ham cubed

1 pkg frozen broccoli florets defrosted

 

To make cheese sauce:

3 T flour

3 T butter

4 cups milk

4 cups grated Cheddar or any other combination of cheeses

 

Topping:

4 T butter

2 cups breadcrumbs

1/4 cup  grated Parmesan cheese

2 T dried parsley

 

Before you begin, bring water to a boil to cook the macaroni.  Follow the package directions and cook at the lower time given because the macaroni will continue to cook in the cheese sauce.

Melt the first three tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan.  When the butter foams, add the flour and whisk until the flour begins to brown.  Now add three cups of the milk one cup at a time, whisking after each addition.  Bring the heat to high and bring the mixture to nearly boiling.  It should begin to thicken.  Now add three cups of the cheese one cup at a time, mixing well after each cup.  Once the cheese is thoroughly melted, add the fourth cup of milk, ham and broccoli.  At this point the macaroni should be cooked.  Drain and place it in a large (or two smaller) oven proof casserole.  Add cheese mixture and mix well.  Top with the remaining cup of cheese.  Melt the four tablespoons of butter in a skillet and add the breadcrumbs and parsley.  When the breadcrumbs are well coated with the butter, remove from the heat and add the Parmesan cheese.  Spread topping over casserole and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

 

If you have leftovers and they seem dry, just add a little milk before you reheat it.  Enjoy!

 

 

ARROZ CON POLLO

 

CHICKEN WITH RICE

 

 

I have no idea if this is what real arroz con pollo tastes like but there is a story behind this recipe.  When my son was a teenager, we always seemed to have a crowd of people in my house.  This is a meal that can feed a crowd if you just increase the ingredients. It's all in one pot and really easy to make.  The boys named it arroz con pollo, and that is what we have called it ever since.  It was a favorite then and still is.  I always make this in my electric skillet, but if you don't have one a large stove top one is fine. I use chicken left from soup, but you can buy a cooked chicken and pull the meat off the bone, or when you are grilling chicken breasts, toss on a few extras to use for this meal. Just freeze till you are ready to use.  Remember you're always thinking ahead!

 

1 package Goya yellow rice - this is one of the few pre-packaged mixes I use.

3 cups of cooked chicken

3 garlic cloves chopped

1 medium onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1 green pepper chopped

3 T olive oil

1 t cumin

1 quart box of chicken broth

1 can of black beans rinsed and drained

1 cup of pitted green olives (with pimentos)  sliced

 

Heat olive oil in skilled and add garlic, onions, and peppers.  Saute until soft - about 6 or 7 minutes.  Add the rice, chicken, olives, beans, cumin and broth and bring to a boil.  As soon as it begins to boil, turn the heat down to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender.  Wasn't that easy?

 

The hardest part is chopping the vegetables.  When I cook on the weekend, I often chop several peppers and onions at once.  Mix all together and divide into seperate portions.  I freeze what I don't use.  If you do this, this meal is really fast.    This is another meal I always make a double batch of and freeze one.  Another free meal!  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 



Check out the three new pages

As promised I have put up some posts about pantry planning.  I have decided to post them as permanant pages so newcomers will always have access to them.  Part 1 is an introduction and explains some ideas for getting started.  Part 2 is about stocking up on non-perishables, and part 3 is about stocking your freezer and fridge.  Take some time to look them over.  The pages are listed as tabs next to the Home tab if you are viewing on your computer, but if you are viewing on your phone there is an arrow for a pull down menu next to the home button.

I am done with my cooking for today.  It was an easy day, just three  meals.  I made it a point of keeping track of time, measuring, and writing down recipes.  I started at 9:00 and was done by 12:30.  That included prep work and clean up as well as stopping to write down the recipes.

I have three new recipes to post; unfortunately the computer is dead.  Hopefully, my wonderful son will be able to fix it so I can post tonigt or tomorrow.  I am posting this on my phone, but recipes are too hard with all the numbers and switching back and forth.  So sorry for the inconvenience.  Till then,

Happy cooking!

Carol

A Menu for a Week

Good morning everyone!  Sorry I didn't get back here last night, but sometimes life throws little monkey wrenches into the wheels of progress.  However, I did get my menu planned for next week.  One thing you need to know, is that these things are not set in stone.  Sometimes, I have family over,  family schedules change, or I am invited out to eat and I re-arrange the schedule.  That happened this week.

Tonight - Nachos (made from meat I cooked last Saturday and froze)

Saturday - Saturday is usually homemade pizza night.  My family comes over and we all get involved in making individual pizzas.  This week we have a change.  Because my grandkids are coming over to make a huge batch of applesauce to can for the winter, I need to come up with something easier for dinner.  We will have  paninis; this is a family favorite and easy to do. 

Sunday - since I made the spaghetti and meatballs Thursday instead of the planned paninis, I have a pork roast I will cook with sweet potatoes and onions in the oven.  I have a Romtopf pot I bought back in the 70's when we lived in Germany.  This is an unglazed clay cooker with a lid that you soak in water and then use in the oven.  It makes wonderful tender, moist food.  It's great for roasts, whole chicken and such. 

Monday - Macaroni and cheese.  This is a recipe I have developed over the years, tweaked and improved upon.  When I make it this weekend I promise to measure and then I will pass on the recipe.  It serves eight so you can put it in two pans and freeze one. 

Tuesday - Crock pot beef stew.  I will make this on Saturday and put in the fridge until Tuesday.

Wednesday - Arroz con pollo.  I have no idea if this is anywhere close to the real arroz con pollo, but I have been making this for years.  When my son was a teenager, his friends would come over and I would make this for them.  They named it.  Will cook ahead on Saturday and freeze.

Thursday - This is the one night of the week that I actually can cook a meal, no meetings, no visit to my mom, no doctor's appointments.  I will make chicken cutlets.

Friday - Taco night - The remainder of the meat I froze last weekend. 

So there it is.  A week's worth of really easy meals because most of the cooking was done beforehand. 

This weekend, I will get the mac and cheese recipe up, and I will try to post a page about my pantry.  Here is some homework for you regarding your pantry items.  If you have time, go through the recipes that you know your family loves.  Make a list of all the ingredients and divide the list into perishable and non perishable.  Don't forget to include spices needed and things like rice, pasta and flour. 

So I have my work cut out for me this weekend and so do you.  See you back here soon!

Happy cooking!

Carol

Welcome everyone, just a quick post for now.  Hopefully, when I get home tonight the grocery store flyers will be in my mailbox and I can do my meal planning.  I am going to take you through it step by step tonight.  So come back and see what I am eating next week!

Happy Cooking,

Carol

Twice Baked Potatoes First real recipe for you

I would like to thank everyone to has taken the time to check out this blog and leave comments or e-mail me with your thoughts.  Especially all of my colleagues; it was because of you that I started this.  My goal is really to help all of you who struggle with meal planning find a few ideas to make this chore a little easier.

So today I am going to post my twice baked potato recipe.  This is the one I prepared on Saturday.  The real beauty of this recipe is that you can change it up to include ingredients your family likes.  It's easy and freezes really well.  I always make at least 8 - 10 potatoes when I make this and freeze the rest for future meals.

                                                                                 

 

CAROL'S TWICE BAKED POTATOES



4 large baking potatoes
1 beaten egg
1 8oz. container of sour cream - I use low fat or fat free
1 cup cubed ham.  (Buy a ham steak, use what you need and freeze the rest for  another meal or ham and eggs for breakfast)
1 box frozen chopped spinach  (defrost and drain well)
1 cup shredded cheddar plus more for topping
salt and pepper

Scrub potatoes and pierce with a fork.  Put them in a 400 degree oven for about an hour.  (I do not preheat the oven, why waste energy.  I only preheat when I am baking cake, bread, or cookies)

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop  the insides into a bowl. Be gentle and try not to break the skins because you need them! Break up the potatoes with a fork or masher.  I like them kind of chunky.  Add the sour cream, egg and salt and pepper.  Just a few shakes, you can leave out the salt if you wish.  Mix well with a wooden spoon.

Now comes the fun part.  Add the ham, spinach and cheddar.  Now if you don't like these ingredients or you are vegetarian, add what you like.  Try chopped broccoli instead of spinach.  Try ham, swiss cheese and 2 Tablespoons of dijon mustard for a completely different flavor.  Use your imagination, think chili, salsa and green peppers for a tex mex flavor.  Most importantly, make what you know your family will like. 

Once you have added the ham, cheese and spinach, mix well and spoon the filling back into the potato skins.  Top with reserved cheddar.  Put in a pan lined with foil to make clean up easier.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  My family likes to add additional sour cream when we eat them, but the choice is yours. 

Depending on the size of the potato and the size of the person eating them, (the kids usuallly only eat half of a really large potato)  this meal will serve four.  If you want to double it, use 8 potatoes, 16 ounces of sour cream and 2 cups of cheese. 

Have fun with this and let me know how it turns out! 



Quick update on the chicken lasagna

 We decided to have the chicken lasagna tonight instead of our usual spaghetti.  It was great.  The noodles were not too soggy.  It is definitely a keeper.  I promise I will make it again soon, and this time I will measure so I can post the recipe.

We went apple picking today.  Came home with 50 pounds!  It's a good thing they keep.  Next weekend we will have a family get together and make applesauce.  I am hoping to put up at least seven or eight quarts.  I will need to add jar seals to my shopping list. I don't can because I have to, but because it makes great family memories.  Everyone gets in the act and has a good time.,

Please feel free to leave comments and questions in the comment area.  I'd be happy to hear from you! 

Well until next time,

Happy Cooking!

Carol

Just About Done for Today

Well everyone, I have had a good day. Here is a list of what I have made for this week.  Started by scrubbing some big potatoes, poking them and putting them in the oven.  While they were cooking, I put some ground beef  in a skillet to cook.  Next I began my chopping routine and cut up onions and garlic, carrots, celery, and onions.

 Then I started the spaghetti sauce. Once that was going I drained the fat off the ground  beef and added the taco seasoning. Took it off the heat to cool.   Next I started the meatballs.  While they were in the skillet, I took the potatoes out of the oven to cool and put the taco meat in containers and into the freezer.

 Now I spend some time flipping the meatballs and getting them into the sauce.  I defrost two boxes of frozen spinach.   Now I am ready for those potatoes.  I slice them all in half and scoop the insides into a bowl.  I add the other ingredients for my twice baked potatoes.  Scoop the filling back into the empty potato skins and top with cheddar and pop them into the oven.  Now I spend some time cleaning up.  Are you counting?  We are up to three and it's not even lunch time yet!

I take a break, eat something, run to my neighbor's to help her fix a bobbin on her sewing machine and take a few phone calls.  Back to work.

 Spaghetti sauce and meatballs are simmering on the back burner and I am ready for the next two meals.  I put water on to boil for pastina.  On Wednesday when I was home, I cooked a pot of chicken soup.  I used a package of  thighs and legs I had.  I pulled all the meat from the bones  strained the broth and froze both.  I am now using this for my next two meals.   This is a recipe a friend just gave me and I am giving it a try.  Using no boil lasagna noodles I layer them with the shredded chicken, spinach, artichoke hearts and three kinds of cheese - mozzarella, provolone, and parm.   Instead of sauce I added some of the chicken broth.  Cover with foil and pop in the oven.  Out come the potatoes.  There is another meal done!

Finally,  I add the remaining chicken to the remaining broth.  Add some carrots, celery and peas.  Simmer until the veggies are done.  Will add the pastina when its done and I will have chicken vegetable soup. .  As soon s I get off the computer, I will throw some bread into the bread machine.  That takes all of ten minutes.  I have pesto in the freezer , and I have tomatoes and mozzarella in the fridge.  Everything I need for paninis.  So there you have it.  five meals and one quickie panini meal.

I know, what about breakfast and lunch you say?  I usually eat a container of Greek yogurt at work for breakfast.  Lunch is sometimes a sandwich, but more often leftovers from the night before.  I have no problem eating the same thing twice, so this works for me! 

Anxious to see how the chicken lasagna thing turns out.  I hope I didn't put too much broth and make it all soggy.  We will see!  I am concerned because my friend didn't give me an actual recipe, she told me over the phone what she did.  She tends to cook like I do--no measuring.  I suppose if I am going to share recipes with you I will have to start measuring.  Might be good to write things down.  My grandmother never did and many of her wonderful recipes are lost to us. 

Off to put the ingredients into the bread machine and put cooled sauce into containers for the freezer.

 See you soon and happy cooking!

Carol

So today is cooking day. I have made quite a bit of headway with this week's meals, but there's lots more to go. I'd like to start out with some tips that explain how I accomplish this.

1. I have a very well stocked pantry and freezer. I always have non perishable staples on hand like pasta, rice, canned tomato sauce and paste, canned black beans, canned corn, canned black olives. About once every six weeks, I go to Sam's and stock up on what is getting low. I think I need to devote another post just to my pantry.
2. I sit down with the sales flyers from the grocery store and plan to buy only what's on sale. If there is room in the freezer, I stock up on things like ground beef, chicken breasts, chicken thighs and legs, whole cut up chickens, top round roast, pork chops, pork sausage. These are all things I can use to plan meals that I know my family will like.
3. I plan all my meals two weeks in advance. I sit down with my schedule and figure out which nights need to be heat and go meals and which nights I have time to actually cook a meal. Then I make a list for two weeks.
4. Another thing I have figured out that makes life easier is to repeat meals on certain days of the week. Not every night or it would become too boring, but Friday's are nachos, tacos, or taco salad. Saturday afternoon I make a batch of homemade pizza dough. While I am at church on Saturday afternoon, the dough rises. When I get home, my family comes for pizza. I make individual pizzas. I put out a variety of toppings and the kids all make their own. This has been a big hit. On Sunday, I have decided to return to my Italian roots and  have pasta and meatballs.
5. I always try to make big batches of things we use often. I always make spaghetti sauce and meatballs to last for three meals and I always cook a large batch of ground beef with taco seasoning for our Friday dinner. Depending on the size of the package of meat, it will last two to three meals. Once it is really cool outside I also have at least one kind of soup on hand.
6. I also make good use of my crockpot and try to fix one crockpot meal each weekend.
7. When I have a cooking day, which is usually each Saturday, I gather all my ingredients before I begin so I am not running back and forth to the garage pantry or fridge to get stuff. I also do all my prep work at once by peeling and cutting up any veggies I need.

Okay, back to the kitchen. Later this evening I will give you a glimpse of this week's menu and what I have cooked today.