How are you ending 2009?

As the sunsets on 2009 and we head into a brand new decade, I realized I just had my last supper for 2009: seared Ahi tuna and shrimp cocktail loving made by my husband.  So tell me what was your final meal for 2010. 

Really.  I'd LOVE to hear your comments.  

I'm looking forward to all the new possibilities for 2010: new goals, new hopes, new recipes, new friends.  

And here's a new adventure for you...take the plunge and don't just follow me....post a comment, send me your favorite recipe of 2009.   

I can't wait to hear from you! 

Happy New Year! from one joyfully tired mom to another  ~ Laurie

Chocolate Cream Pie

Oh do I have a treat for my diary-free friends tonight!  I made some fabulous desserts for Christmas that I am so excited to share with you.  I can't wait to hear how they turn out for you too!

First, I made this incredible chocolate cream pie because this is my dad's favorite dessert, and, oh my! I can't even tell you how long it has been since I have had chocolate cream pie. Well, mainly because it is just that - - a cream pie.  And when's the last time you went to Marie Callendars and asked for a dairy free cream pie. Yeah. That's what I thought.

Girlfriends, get ready to indulge...

First, the crust.  Roll out your favorite pie crust recipe. I was lucky to have my mom work her magic for me:

Now the ingredients for the amazing pie itself.

• 14 oz. coconut milk
• 3 ½ tablespoons corn or potato starch
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs yolks, separated
• 8 oz. dark chocolate 73%, chopped

*** Meringue ***

• 3 egg white
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

***Pastry for single crust pie ***

How to:

• Chop up your chocolate and add it to a medium saucepan with the coconut milk.

• Heat coconut milk and chocolate but do not allow to boil.
• In a small bowl separate the egg yolks and white. Set aside the whites for the meringue in another bowl.
• Beat egg yolks and set aside.
• In another bowl mix corn starch and sugar together, then whisk into hot chocolate milk mixture.
• Cook over low to medium heat stirring constantly until thickened. Remove about 1/2 cup of milk mixture and whisk it into the egg yolks. 

• Return that egg mixture back into the rest of the ingredients in your saucepan. Cook another 5-10 minutes on low heat until very thick.
• Remove from heat. Pour into a baked pie shell.
• Whip meringue.
• Cover pie with meringue while filling is still hot, and be sure to bring the meringue all the way to the edges. 

• Bake the pie at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the meringue is light brown. 

• Cool and serve.   

My family was impressed and happily ate the whole dairy free pie! I can't wait to hear from you.

     Rejoicing in the Season! Laurie

Never-Fail Super-Moist Chocolate Cake

A mom recipe...how can you go wrong?    Note:   Do NOT use a mixer, hand mix only.  It will NOT turn out using a mixer.   Don't ask me how I know this, just believe me!

Mix together:
     3 cups flour
     2 cups sugar
     4 Tbsp cocoa
     2 tsp soda   
     A good dash of salt



Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add:
      2 eggs
      2 cups buttermilk  (*See note below for all of us that don't keep buttermilk on hand)
      2 tsp vanilla
      3/4 cup oil

Mix all ingredients together well -
Bake 350    30-35 minutes

(*Buttermilk exchange-  If you don't have this on hand, pour 2 tsp of lemon juice into regular milk and let sit for 10 minutes...works just as well.  Will work with rice milk, too.)


This recipe is what I used for birthday cake pictured below that I made for our Christmas party.   I used this frosting recipe.   All got rave reviews from the crowd eating it.

Christmas Gift Jar Cowgirl Cookies

Here's what I made for teacher gifts this year....

 

Aren't these too fun and fresh!  I picked up the idea from my friend Inger, who got it from Bakerella, who picked it up from a friend...after all, there really is nothing new on the internet...nothing new under the sun.

So I adapted it for me and my friends with fabric and twine. You can do the same for who ever is on your list!  

Ingredients:  

• 1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cooking oats
• ¾ cup m&ms, or less to make it fit
  
• ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, or less to make it fit
  
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup white sugar
• ⅓-½ cup chopped pecans or less to make it fit
  

Directions:
Start with a 1 quart smooth Ball jar. Layer the ingredients like this:

• First: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
• 
Second: oats

• Third: m n m's
  
• Fourth: chocolate chips

• Fifth: brown sugar

• Sixth: white sugar

• Seventh: chopped pecans
  

Pack each level down super, super tightly. Super tight!  I couldn't make it all fit, so I went with just less than 3/4 cup of the chocolates in order to add the sugars and pecans.   Make sure your ingredients are to the top of the lid when you seal it up.

Below is what the gift tag says.... Bakerella has some cute PDF's you can download if you go to her website

Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add: 

• 1 slightly beaten egg

• 1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
• 
1 teaspoon vanilla
• Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Use the back of a large spoon to work it all together. You may even need to use your hands to get everything incorporated.
• Then roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Sausage Sage Stuffing in the Crockpot

The wonderful thing about this delicious dressing is you make it in the crockpot -  - freeing up oven space;  and you can serve it straight from your crockpot - - one less dish to clean up and stays nice & warm throughout the meal. 

Three ingredients make this a unique dish, but are easily adjustable to your families tastes: rum soaked golden raisins, fresh apples, and sausage.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 ½ tsp sage, dried leaf
• 1 tsp thyme, dried
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 2 egg, beaten
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 small apple, diced
• ½ cup golden raisins, optional
• 1/2 cup rum, optional
• 12 cups dry bread crumbs
• ½ to 1 pound cooked pork sausage, optional

Directions:

If using raisins, cover raisins with about 1/2 cup rum and soak the raisins in the rum for at least 15 minutes or until you finish prepping the celery and onions.

If you desire a richer flavor, saute the celery and onions in the butter. Its a huge savory boost, but also more prep time.  Otherwise, mix butter, celery, onion, spices, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Stir to toss.
I've found I love to use the celery stalks with the leafy green intact as it addeds texture and nutrients to the dish.

If using sausage, add cooked sausage to spice mixture.

Add the chopped apples. I love the red flecks of color and texture the peeling adds. If you need to be sneaky about adding the apples, peel them.

Drain raisins, discard rum, and add to mixture. Save the rum and add to your coffee mug later in the evening.

Add beaten eggs and broth and blend together.  Homemade broth from a previously made bird can't be surpassed for flavor! But if you're short on time, I highly recommend this Better Than Bouillon as it keeps fresh in the fridge and mixes quickly in hot water...forget the cubes, that is so last year!

Place bread croutons in crockpot. Pour broth mixture over bread; stir to blend.

Cook on high for 45 minutes then reduce to low for up to 4 hours, or cook on high for 2-4 hours. Stir about once an hour.

Notes:

• You may want to add more broth depending on how moist you like your dressing and depending on what altitude you live at.

• Every crockpot cooks differently, so once you know the heat of yours, adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Molasses Christmas Cookies

No other cookies says "Christmas" to me than these delicious molasses cookies.  My mom made them every year while I was growing up, and I love, love, love the smell of molasses cookies filling the house. Now I get to bake these for my family.

Even better I use Spectrum Organic Shortening and I leave out the transfat.  If you haven't baked with Spectrum, you need to go down the health food aisle and pick up a container for yourself. You won't be disappointed!

So here's how you can bake up a batch for your family tonight!

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup Spectrum Shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup molasses dark
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cloves, ground
• ½ tsp ginger, ground
  
• ½ tsp salt

Directions:

• Melt shortening in microwave or on stovetop, and let it cool.  Since it is literally freezing here in the NW, I cover mine with plastic wrap and set it outside while I mix the dry ingredients.
  
• Add sugar, molasses, and egg to the melted shortening, and beat well.
• Mix all dry ingredients together and add to liquids.
• Chill for an hour.
  

• Roll in balls, then roll in sugar.

• Space about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. I LOVE my Silpats! Do you use them???
  
• Bake at 375 for 8 minutes for chewy and 10 minutes for crunchy.

These go so fast in my house!

Note: It's really easy to double this recipe, and when I do, I use 1 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar.

          ~Christmas Blessings from Laurie

Dutch Baby

Denise's most recent post for Moon Babies made me realize I haven't shared this recipe with you sooner. It's a weekend favorite and so perfect for your holiday guests, especially topped with homemade Berry Syrup or Jam, and sprinkled with "Pixie Dust" (that's what we call powdered sugar at our house). This came from my dear friend Carol in Indiana and I couldn't begin to count the number of times I've made it since she gave it to me years ago.

Also, as a note, it is very easy to make this gluten free (GF) by using the flour of your choice, and dairy free (DF) using rice milk and a butter alternative.  Using flour other than unbleached white flour will give it greater density and not as high of a rise, but the flavor is still just as wonderful.

Prep time:  under 15 minutes easily

Ingredients:
choose your pan size and ingredients to follow

2-3 Qt:  1/4 c butter, 3 eggs, 3/4 cup each milk & flour

3-4 Qt:  1/3 c butter, 4 eggs, 1 cup each milk & flour

4 1/2 Qt: 1/2 c butter, 5 eggs, 1 1/4 cup each milk & flour

5 Qt:  1/2 c butter, 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cup each milk & flour

Directions:

• Place butter in pan and set in oven at 425 degrees and let melt while oven is preheating and you make the batter.
• Mix eggs in blender at high speed for 1 minute.
• Gradually pour in milk.
• Slowly add flour. Mix for 30 seconds.
• Remove hot pan from oven and pour batter into completely melted butter.
• Return hot pan to oven and bake until puffy and well browned, about 20-25 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

Moon Breakfast

This is an old family favorite that we had as kids growing up.  It is similar to Dutch Babies, but I think made with less eggs, which causes it to create more "moon craters" than Dutch Babies when cooking.  I'll write out the wording on my original recipe card from my mom cuz its fun to read how she writes out recipe cards sometimes.   I love getting new recipes online and I like writing out my recipes for others online, but sometimes nothing beats an old recipe card written in your mother's or grandmother's handwriting!


Moon Breakfast

Melt 1/2 cube butter, (margarine) in 13 X 9

Beat: 2 eggs

     Add:           1/2 cup flour
                        1/2 cup milk
                        dash of nutmeg
                        dash of salt

Pour in pan over butter and bake 400 degrees   10 - 15 minutes
Serve with powdered sugar and syrup. 

Another way to get eggs in for kids.  Tastes similar to french toast.   It cooks up like the surface of the moon - hence the name - fun to watch through glass oven door!

Moroccan Chicken Couscous

A few years ago I had given this recipe to a friend and she recently told me that she makes it all the time and it is one of her family's favorites.   So I decided to dig it out and try it out again.   It is pretty delicious, though it reminds me a lot of Tuscan Chicken Artichoke recipe I posted in October, just with a Moroccan flare instead of Tuscan.   


I'll post the recipe how it is written, but I ended up throwing all of the ingredients except the zucchini and couscous in the crockpot cooking on low for 6 hours.  I doubled the amount of spices for crockpot cooking.  I threw the zucchini in 30 minutes before dinner and let it cook up.   I then took all of the ingredients out of the crockpot with a slotted spoon so all of the juice was still in the crockpot.   I then dumped the box of couscous in the crockpot and let it cook up which took about 5 minutes.   Then I poured the couscous into the bowl of chicken and mixed it all up together, which made for one pot cooking (ya easy clean-up).


Moroccan Chicken Couscous

8 bone-in skinless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds)  I used bone-in thighs the first time I made this recipe, but prefer boneless chicken cut in chunks,...makes life so much simpler.
3 carrots, cut into 1 1/2" chunks
3 onions, thinly sliced  I think 1 onion is plenty, but if you want to be onion happy, go ahead
1 (14 oz) can whole tomatoes, drained   I used diced since you chopped them up anyway
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 zucchini halved crosswise and quartered lengthwise
1 box couscous

In a dutch oven (or other 5 quart pot with a tight fitting lid), combine the chicken, carrots, onions, tomatoes, chickpeas, stock, 3/4 cup water, the ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.  Break up the tomatoes with a spoon.

Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Cover, and cook for 15 minutes.   Add the zucchini, and cook until the chicken is cooked through, yet still tender, about 15 minutes more.

Follow box directions for cooking couscous.  Divide the couscous evenly among 4 bowls.   Spoon the chicken, vegetables, and broth on top.  Serve immediately.

Holiday Tea

This is my favorite holiday tea.  It reminds me of a warm sangria with the dark rum and burgundy wine mingling with the heady spices and citrus juices.  And its a great way to use Two Buck Chuck from TJ's. 

I start serving this at Halloween for our open house, where it is known as "The Weather Outside is Frightful Tea".  As Thanksgiving comes along, I serve it after dinner and call it "Thankfully its Nap Time Tea".  And over Christmas, it becomes quite refined as a "Dickens English Tea".

After you make it and serve it to your guests, you'll see why it is such a favorite with all my friends.  Just be sure to follow the directions before you make it.

Start to finish time:  less than 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups strong tea
2 - 750 ml dry red wine
1 - 750 ml dark rum
1 lb. superfine sugar
1 juice orange
1 juice lemon

• Heat wine, tea and fruit juices (NOT the rum or sugar) in a chafing dish or saucepan, but do not boil.
• Transfer to a chafing dish, a crockpot or a heatproof punch bowl.
• Here's where it gets fun: Put sugar into a large ladle and saturate with rum. If ladle is not large enough for all the sugar, put remainder of sugar in serving bowl.
• Ignite rum in ladle and pour blazing into punch. Yep, get a match and gather the kids around to watch this amazing recipe. Stir well, extinguish flames, and then pour remainder of rum into punch.
• Stir again and serve. I keep it warm in the crockpot. Not very fancy, but keeps it warm.

Indian Tacos

Click here to view these pictures larger

This is a family favorite recipe. It was the meal that was always requested when we would come home for the weekend in college. It isn't the quickest meal to make, but definitely well worth it and kids love it! I decided it make it the other night for my family and I was surprised how fast I put the meal together, but then again I did use pre-made chili. So far, the record for the most "tacos" eaten goes to some good friends of mine in the midwest that I made them for, who I think put down 12 in one sitting. (yes, they are that good.) We also love to eat the indian bread with some honey butter on top of it.

Indian Tacos

Chili sauce:

1# ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1 can kidney beans

Saute onion in pan in small amount of oil for about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic sauteing for another minute. Add beef cooking until brown. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and kidney beans. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Indian Bread:

1/2 cup sugar

1 package yeast

1 tsp salt

2 cups warm milk

2 eggs

Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add sugar and salt. Then beat in eggs and mix.

Then add:

3 cups flour

1/2 cup (1 cube) margarine, melted

Then add:

2-3 cups more flour until dough texture. Knead.

Pull out 1 ball of the dough. Stretch with hand to make a flat round bread dough. Fry in pan covered with hot oil about 45 sec.- 1 minutes per side. Top bread with honey butter or your favorite taco toppings.

Monster and/or Tinkerbell Soup

My friend told me yesterday that she made her kids spinach soup the other day. The first thing they ask is if there was spinach in it. She said if she had said "yes", they wouldn't have touched it with a ten foot pole. So instead she served it to them calling it Monster Soup for her son (5 1/2) and Tinkerbell Soup for her daughter (3 1/2). They LOVED it!!! She said they both had 3, yes, THREE servings of it, all the while saying it was the best soup they had ever eaten. So that's all it takes to get your kids to eat veggies!! A name change! I have read on those expert sites that it can be a good idea and works for some kids. Love to hear your feedback on this one!


I don't have a picture for a couple of reasons. First my computer crashed (again) and I'm on either library or husband work computer (if he brings it home at night). So downloading pictures is tough. Then I was afraid that if I actually tried this on my kids it might completely backfire enough that I would be embarrassed to share. It was such a great idea I had to write about it before trying. Though it did cross my mind to put some water in one of my white bowls, add green food coloring, take a distant picture and call it good.


MONSTER TINKERBELL SOUP

Cream of Spinach Soup

Ingredients

2 cups chopped fresh spinach - packed - (or 1 10-oz package frozen spinach, thawed)
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
3 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
1 1/2 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes (or vegetable bouillon cubes for vegetarian option)
2 cups half-and-half (regular milk or even rice milk works here, too)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup sour cream
Optional: chopped chives and/or ground allspice for garnish (pixie dust and guts?)

Method

1 In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in butter for 3 minutes or until limp. Add potatoes, chicken broth, water, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add spinach and cook for 2 to 4 minutes longer until spinach is tender.

2 Working in batches, purée soup mixture in a blender. Return to saucepan. Whisk in half-and-half, salt and pepper.

3 Over low heat, bring to just before simmering. Whisk in the sour cream. You may want to use an immersion blender to get the sour cream fully incorporated.

This soup can be served hot or chilled. Garnish with chopped chives, sprinkles of allspice, or a dollop of sour cream.

Serves 6 to 8.

Turnovers

My alternative title for this recipe is: A Way To Use Up Leftover Cottage Cheese. I don't like cottage cheese, never have, probably never will, that and I also don't eat dairy right now either. For some very strange reason I got it in my head that maybe my kids would like it. They eat and like a lot of strange things that normally wouldn't seem like kid food. So I thought they might like cottage cheese. When I served it to them for the first time, I even topped it with peaches, the extra syrupy kind. Well, I didn't fool them. One bite was all it took and they wouldn't even drink out the liquid syrup. I tried, but don't blame them. I think it tastes like curdled milk, yuck! So now what to do with a large container of cottage cheese. Since I don't eat dairy, lasagna was out of the question, besides, I don't really like it in lasagna either. Then I remembered this super easy recipe from my aunt for Turnovers. The cottage cheese is so hidden, you'll never know it is in there. My aunt makes them every Easter. She also does them much smaller into these perfect triangles and then drizzles them with runny frosting. Mine ended up quite large, weren't rolled pie-crust thin, took about 15 minutes to bake, and had some funky spots on them, but the best part: The kids loved them! I was scared for a moment cuz they were just eating the apple pie filling out of the middle, but they ended up eating the whole thing. Score!

Turnovers
1 lb butter
1 lb cottage cheese
4 cups flour
Pie Filling (use your favorite)

Mix ingredients together. Chill for 1 hour. Roll out thinner than pie crust. Cut into squares. Spoon a little pie filling in center. Fold over until covered. Fork edges to seal. Cook 350 degrees, approx 10 minutes (until golden brown.)

Super Easy- Oh- So- Tender Pork Chops

My sister wanted me to post this recipe as it is very easy and tasty. I haven't tried it so I don't have a picture, but it sounds simple. Unfortunately it isn't dairy free. We'll have to see if joyfullytiredmom knows of a substitute for "cream of" soups. I'd also be interested to see if it would transfer over to the crockpot for those two hours of simmering. Love to hear feedback from you if you try it.


Oh- So- Tender Pork Chops

Brown pork chops (bone in or boneless) at high heat, on both sides in a large skillet.

Combine 1 can cream mushroom, 1 can cream of celery, bit of water, some dried onion.

Pour over pork chops and simmer for 2-3 hours.

Makes a yummy gravy! Serve over mashed potatoes!

VERY TASTY!

Chicken Picatta

I'm trying to spend 1 hour a day organizing my life:  photos, FASD notes, kids clothing, kids toys, address info, and of course, recipes.  The benefit is I'm tossing useless stuff (or stuff less-used) and discovering wonderful things that had been hidden in my piles of stuff.

This recipe was one of those treasures. I used to make this frequently, then miss-piled it. Yuuuummm, I'm so glad I sorted it out. You will be too when you discover how simply delightfully fresh it is.

I was given this recipe a long time ago by a dear friend, Judy M. I've updated a few things to my liking and am happy to share this with new friends.

Gather up these few ingredients, put on some rice or pasta, toss a salad, and you'll have a 30-minute meal your family will request again.

Prep time:  about 15 minutes

Cook time:  10-15 minutes

Serves:    4 adults easily

Ingredients

1 egg
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup flour (or rice flour)
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ cup butter
2 tsp chicken bouillon base
½ cup boiling water
4 chicken breast, skinned, boned, flattened

Directions:

• Beat egg with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and place in pie pan.
• Combine flour, paprika and garlic in another pie pan.
• Dip flatten chicken breast in egg mixture, then in flour mixture.
• Heat skillet, then brown chicken in butter until light brown on both sides. 
• Dissolve bouillon base in water, add remaining 2 T's of lemon juice to skillet. 
• Cover and simmer about 5-7 minutes on low to medium heat.
  

Giveaway of Organic Breakfast Goodies

If you are into dairy-free foods like me, you'll want to check out this blog from One Frugal Foodie and enter for a chance to win  a 2 month supply of organic breakfast food.  There's typically always great dairy-free (DF) and gluten-free (GF) links and ideas on this site too.

Flu Fighting Soup

I made this soup a couple of weeks ago when we all were healthy and thought this soup would be as good for fighting a cold as chicken noodle soup, plus it is just plain yummy. The sweet potatoes are chalk full of Vitamin C, the spice clears out your sinus, and the ginger settles your stomach, plus a bunch of other good for you stuff in there. Well, now our house has finally caught the bug that has been going around so I'm planning on whipping up a batch. I'll have to let you know how it works. The only thing I would change is I only added one teaspoon of the curry paste and it was still too spicy for the kids, so I would add that at the end according to individual taste. Here's to staying healthy!



Spicy Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Makes: 4 servings

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large potatoes), rinsed
1 T vegetable oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1- 2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (I was overly generous with my piece, but I like ginger)
1 T red curry paste (found in the international section of markets)
1 15-oz can unsweetened coconut milk
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3 1/2 T lemon juice
1 t salt
1 T sesame oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put the sweet potatoes on an oven rack and bake for 50 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion and ginger until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and broth and gently bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Skin the potatoes and cut into 1" chunks. Add the potatoes to the soup and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and salt. Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Drizzle the sesame oil evenly over the servings. Garnish with the cilantro.

Mongolian Beef - Crockpot Style

This is one of those reasons to cook at home and not go out to eat. It's easy. It's inexpensive. It tastes great.  We serve it over rice at our house, and everyone is happy.  I pulled this recipe from Stephanie at Crockpot 365 and made some minor adjustments for our family.  Add it to your menu planning for next week and make your house happy too.

Prep time   25 minutes 
Cook time   3-5 hours 

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs. flank steak (I used petite sirloin b/c I had it in the freezer)
3 cloves of garlic, minced 
4 sliced green onions
1 t dried minced onion 
 ½ cup soy sauce
 ¼ cup white wine
 ¼ cup cooking sherry 
½ tablespoon white wine vinegar 
 1 t sesame oil 
1 t molasses 
1 t ginger 
¼ teaspoon black pepper
 1 t red chili pepper flakes (I omitted for my family)
½ tablespoon peanut butter 
 3 T brown sugar

Directions

• Slice your meat in thin strips and toss in a Ziploc bag with 1/4 cup cornstarch. 
• Add all of the liquid and dried spices to your crockpot, and the peanut butter, and mix well. Add the garlic and three of the sliced green onions. 
• Put your meat on top, and toss softly so you don't rub off the cornstarch. 
• Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Thin sliced steak will cook quickly. 
• Check after 3 hours to see if the meat is done. Mine cooked in 3 1/2 hours on low. Turn yours off when meat has reached desired tenderness.
• This feeds 2 adults and 2 small children easily, with a small serving leftover for lunch.
• There's not extra sauce, so you may want to double the sauce if your family like it over rice.
  

Carmel Apples

Yesterday was a blustery day, straight out of The Hundred Acre Woods: leaves blowing, trees bending, wind howling....I was expecting to see Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin appear in my backyard.  The kind of day that calls for something warm and fallish....something like Carmel Apples, Hot Cocoa and a warm kitchen.  So while the Mongolian Beef was simmering in the large crockpot, I tried something new in the smaller crock.

I threw in a bag of carmels, which my helpers excitedly peeled open, added a couple tablespoons of water, turned the crockpot on low for an hour and stirred it a few times. How easy was that!  My kids loved dipping the apples, and I barely managed to get some photos taken because they were dying to eat them immediately. 


I'm trying to broaden my scope of uses for the crockpot...thinking outside the normal "stew" and assuming that most items that can be melted/simmered on the stovetop, can also be done in the crock.

Lasagna in the Crockpot - - for real!

Okay girlfriends, this has to be one of the easiest ways to make Lasagna. And yes, that is spinich in the photo!   I scooped the recipe from Crockpot 365 and adapted it to my family.  You should do the same thing...this could be a family favorite.  The first time I made it, I put it together in the morning, and headed out of town leaving it for my parents and kids to eat. My mom said they all liked it, but I had no photo to post, so I had to wait until now to post it.

I made it this week for my husband and kids, and they all agreed it was great. And I made it with real cheese because I wasn't going to be home to eat it.  The boys had no idea that there were carrots, spinach and mushrooms hiding inside that red sauce and pasta.

Prep time:   about 30 minutes if you are browning meat; 15 otherwise

Cook time:    8 hours on low; 4 hours on high; or 1 hour on high, then 6 on low

Ingredients:

1 box regular lasagna noodles, I use whole wheat
1 jar pasta sauce
1 lb ground beef, pork, turkey
1 small ricotta cheese, or tofutti w/ 1 Tbs lemon juice
1 package shredded Italian cheese
8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
⅓ cup spinach, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced onions
1 tablespoon ground oregano
¼ cup water

Directions:

--brown meat with spices in large skillet
--pour in entire jar of pasta sauce...STOP...save jar, don't rinse or throw away - this was Stephanies idea, so read on...

--simmer meat and sauce on low for a few minutes

--put a ladle-full of sauce mixture into the bottom of your crockpot.
--top with a layer of dried lasagna noodles. You'll have to break them to fit.
--smear ricotta cheese on top of lasagna noodles
--layer a handful of veggies on top of the ricotta cheese

Yep! Those are carrots, mushrooms and spinach, finely chopped so no one in the family sees them admist all the sauce and cheese. Brilliant idea, don't you think!

Now, back to the directions continue as follows:
--add a handful of the shredded cheese
--ladle on some more of the meat sauce
--top with more dry noodles and repeat layers until crock is to desired capacity (always make sure your crockpot is at least 2/3 full or it won't cook properly).

--put the 1/4 cup of water into your empty pasta jar and shake. Pour tomatoey juice over the whole pile of food. (See this is why you saved your jar!)

--cover and cook on low for 8 hours, high for 4. I cooked on high for 1 hour, then low for 5-6 hours.

--Check noodles an hour before serving, and push the top ones down into the liquid if they are getting too hard or are curling up. Mine had no problem at all.

Garlic Monkey Bread (in bread machine)

I make 99% of all the bread we eat in our house, and this has to be our favorite bread recipe.  My boys would eat the whole thing if I didn't serve it to adults and guests first.  One of the things I love about it, is it already has all the spices and butter on it, so you don't have to pass the butter dish around with the rolls.  Just pull off pieces of this warm, delicious bread and pop them into your mouth.

Prep time:  about 10 minutes to put it in the bread machine

Cook time:  about 3 1/2 hours from bread machine to dinner table

Ingredients:

½ cup water warm, plus 2 tablespoons
½ cup dairy free sour cream
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 ½ tsp salt
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tsp dry yeast, Red Star

*** Topping ***

4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp thyme
¼ tsp oregano

 Directions:

Place first 7 ingredients, in order, in bread machine, starting with water.

Turn on dough cycle. This should take about 1 1/2 hours. 

About 10 minutes before dough finishes, take a small dish and melt the butter, then mix in the spices. Set aside.

When dough cycle is finished, place dough on lightly floured surface and roll into a 24-inch rope.

Divided into 40 pieces (hint: cut in half, then each half into 20 pieces).

Dip each small piece into the melted butter mixture. Place the 40 pieces into a ring mold. (I use Demarle so there is no butter, greasing or such of the pan. It's fabulous!)

Cover and let rise about 45 minutes in a warm oven (or until doubled).

Preheat oven to 350 convection; 375 standard. 
Bake 12-20 minutes depending on heat of oven and your altitude. I live above 4,500 ft and I cook everything in a convection oven.

Turn onto a plate and serve immediately.

Crockpot Tuscan Chicken and Artichokes

I can't get the picture to download for some reason, so I'll post the recipe and then hopefully get the picture up at some point.

I got this recipe from Parents Magazine (March '08). It has fast become one of our family's favorite. I've tried it with both fresh and frozen artichokes, fresh and frozen chicken, chicken thighs, chicken breast, and even sausage (our favorite is Aidell's chicken and apple sausage from Costco or Trader Joes.) I've forgotten the tomatoes and subbed broccoli for zucchini. The best is the way the couscous turns out by being cooked in the broth. After it cooks I throw the ingredients back in the crock and serve it out of there (less clean up). My kids love it, but they are also weird and love most all veggies, so can't say if it is kid friendly meal. Of course you can always serve it over egg noodles rather than couscous.

It took me awhile before I was able to find the seasoning. I finally found Greek seasoning and use that, but the first several times I made this recipe I just made my own Mediterranean seasoning by mixing: 2 Tbs dried basil, 4 tsp marjoram, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dried lemon peel (I think I actually used lemon pepper), and 1/8 tsp ground bay leaves.


Crockpot Tuscan Chicken and Artichokes

2 pkgs (9 oz each) frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and divided
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth
2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 tsp. Mediterranean or Greek seasoning
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 pkg (11 oz) dry whole-wheat couscous
Chopped parsley, optional

1) In a 3 1/2 or 4-quart slow cooker, combine one package of artichoke hearts, the onion, garlic, and broth. Add chicken and sprinkle it with Mediterranean seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours. Then place zucchini, tomatoes, and second package of artichokes in the cooker; re-cover and heat for another 15 minutes, or until veggies and cooked.

2) Remove chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon; cover them with foil to keep warm. Stir the couscous into the remaining liquid. Cover and cook 5 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Serve chicken and vegetables over couscous. Top with parsley, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

Kahlua Cake

Kahlua Cake is soooo yummy!!!

Cake:
1 yellow cake mix
1 small instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 cup kahlua

Combine and beat all ingredients for 10 minutes. Bake in a greased bundt pan at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes then pour half of the icing on while cake is still in the pan. Soak in icing for 10 minutes more then turn it out on cake plate. Brush with remaining icing and cool completely.

Icing:
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup vodka
1/8 cup kahlua

combine sugar, butter and water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Cool. Before icing cake add the vodka and kahlua using a whisk. Enjoy

Kalua Pig

(This post is by my good friend Candy, who is a fabulous cook. She has also gone gluten-free and dairy-free over the past year.  When cooking gluten-free, be sure to ALWAYS check the label on your ingredients. Gluten varies from brand-to-brand on every product.  I asked Candy to share one of her favorite recipes with us, and I'm taking editorially liberty and inserting photos into her recipe since she didn't have any to post.  ~ Laurie)

Kalua Pig
 
This is a much requested recipe I received from a really good friend who grew up in Hawaii. It is one of the most authentic and easy recipes in my recipe box!

Prep time:   20 minutes, plus at least 1 hour to marinate 
Cook time:   3-5 hours

• 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 1/4 cup Aloha Shoyu (Hawaiian Soy Sauce, available at Asian markets and wal-mart)
• 1 Tablespoon Rock Salt (available at Asian markets, may be labeled as Hawaiian Rock Salt) or use 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt or ice cream rock salt
  
• 1 Tablespoon Liquid smoke
• 2-4 pound pork butt
• 1 medium sized cabbage

How To:

• Spray aluminum foil and roasting pan with Pam. Make a cross with your foil (be very generous with your cross over or all the juice will run out into your pan and not marinate your meat while cooking!!) and place the pork butt in the middle of it.

• Mix together all the above ingredients EXCEPT cabbage to make your marinade. Pour over the meat and wrap the foil as tightly as possible. Let sit marinating at least 1 hour (I sometimes let it marinate overnight).

• Heat oven to 325. Place in oven for 3-4 hours. Do not open the oven...just let it go and check it at the 4 hour mark (for bigger piece of pork). The longer the better really!! The meat should just fall off the bone.

• Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes. Open up and start shredding with 2 dinner forks. (if the meat if hard to shred with the forks then it is not ready yet!!) Shred pork and place in a big stock pot.

• Chop up cabbage in skinny strips and throw into the pot with the pork. Using a baster suck up some of the pork juice from the pan and squeeze it over the pork. I use at least 1/2 of the juices. Heat the pot over medium low heat for 30 minutes to an hour. Stirring every 10-15 minutes.

• Sprinkle a few pinches of the rock salt into the pot and pour another 2-3 tablespoons of Shoyu over it as well. Once the cabbage is cooked thru and the pork is hot it is ready!!

Serve with sticky white rice. We use Shoyu to pour over it again once I've served it up. Enjoy!!

Tex-Mex Chicken Club

I was watching Rachael Ray the other day and she made this club sandwich recipe. I thought it looked good, knew my husband would love it (his fav Red Robin burger is the one that comes with an egg...Royal Burger) so had to try it myself. I didn't add the jalapeno, cuz I was serving it to the kids and needed to take the spice out. I also didn't add the chili powder to their chicken. I loved the guacamole with the bacon in it (what is it Rachael says..yum-o).

The verdict was good from all, though it took me awhile to convince my 5 year old that there was just guacamole in it (which she ate) and no avocados (shhh, don't tell.) And please, please, don't even tell me how many calories are in this...I can only imagine a zillion trillion...but it sure was tasty!!

Tex-Mex Chicken Club

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 4 slices smoky bacon, chopped
• 2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, grated or pasted
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 large eggs
• 4 deli slices Pepper jack cheese or cheddar cheese
• 8 slices white or wheat Pullman bread, toasted
• 4 slices ripe tomato
• 4 leaves leaf lettuce

Preparation

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook until crisp, 3-4 minutes. Drain the bacon and reserve. Wipe out all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings. Halve the chicken breasts crosswise, producing four cutlets. Add the cutlets to the skillet and season with salt, pepper, cumin, oregano and chili powder. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes one each side, until golden and firm.

Mash the avocado with the onion, garlic, jalapeño and the the zest and juice of 1 lime. Stir in the bacon bits. Taste the guacamole and season with a pinch or two of salt, to taste.

Remove the chicken from the skillet, then wipe clean and reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter and melt it. Fry the eggs to medium or well-done, 4-5 minutes, turning after 3 minutes. Melt the cheese over each egg under loose foil – tent in last minute or so of cooking time.

Place each fried eggs on a piece of toast, then top with the thin chicken cutlet, lettuce, tomato and bacon guacamole. Set the toast tops in place and cut corner to corner to serve.

Autumn Sausage Casserole

This is an easy, yummy dish that is like eating a bowl full of Fall. It was originally from the Taste of Home magazine website, but I found it on my favorite crockpot website. The only raisins left in the house was one small box, so I also added a small box of craisins to equal 1/2 cup, which I think just intensified the fall flavor. I was also out of brown sugar, but you couldn't tell. It seemed sweet enough for me with the apples and cinnamon. I doubled the spices and put it in my crockpot all day.



Autumn Sausage Casserole

• 4-6 Servings
• Prep: 20 min. Bake: 25 min.

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
  
• 3 cups cooked long grain rice
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup minced parsley
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook the sausage, apple, onion and carrots over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
• Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Tomato Sauce for Pasta

I'm fairly certain everyone has a favorite tomato sauce recipe, but on the chance you don't, here's a super easy one that will have your family impressed and satisfied.  The great thing about this recipe is you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry and fridge.  The second great thing is this makes enough to feed 8 adults, have some for lunch the next day, and have at least a jar to freeze.

Prep time:   maybe 30 minutes at most depending on interruptions

Cook time:   8-10 hours on low, or 4-5 on high.  Low is better.

Ingredients:

52 ounces canned diced tomatoes
30 ounces plain, canned tomato sauce
1 can store bought spaghetti sauce, Trader Joes has great ones
16 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 lb mild italian sausage, or your favorite meat
½ to 1 cup chianti
1 or 2 tablespoon splenda
⅔ cup chopped bell pepper
2 garlic clove, minced
1 small can tomato paste

  

Directions:
Add the ground meat to the crockpot (no need to brown it). Dump in all the cans of tomatoes, and break the ground meat up with a large spoon. Stir in all the other ingredients.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Serve over your favorite pasta.

Tip:  Freeze leftovers in canning jars; they defrost in the microwave really easily .

Mom's Old Fashioned Soft Rolled Sugar Cookies

Okay...this recipe does not fall into the healthy category ANYWHERE and goes against everything we are trying to accomplish, but I guarantee you that this is the BEST sugar cookie recipe ever! I get a lot of requests for it, so I'm posting it to this site. I haven't made it in awhile so I don't have a picture. I might soon though as I usually make them every Halloween. I used to make them and invite all the neighbor kids over to help decorate. It was a fun neighborhood thing to do. Now I have my own kids help decorate.



Mom's Old Fashioned Soft Rolled Cookies


Cream together:
1/2 cup margarine (see I told you)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla or 1 tsp nutmeg

Then add:
1/2 cup thick sour cream

Then add flour mixture:
3 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt

Roll out on lightly floured surface to 1/4" thickness. Cut with favorite cookie cutters. Bake 400 degree. 7-10 minutes. Decorate with frosting.


This is my mom's frosting recipe that we've always used, but this here is a link to the ultimate frosting. I think it should work well with decorating sugar cookies, too.

Frosting

1 1/2# powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup crisco
5 T milk
3-6 squirts white vanilla concentrated (I found this at Michael's in the cake decorating section of the store)
Food coloring

Beat trans-fat, uh, I mean, margarine and crisco, the add sugar. Add milk one tablespoon at a time until slightly runny but still thick enough to decorate. Add vanilla then food coloring. We usually put a small amount in cereal bowls and added the various food coloring to it so we would have all the colors we needed.