Eggnog

Obviously, this takes longer than buying a 2 litre at IGA. Well, on the other hand, that could get kind of expensive and time-consuming for me right now... Either way, I think it's worth making it. It is soooo good.

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, stir together 3 large eggs, 1/3 cup sugar and dash of salt until well mixed. Gradually stir in 2 1/2 cups milk. Cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture just coats a metal spoon. Remove from heat. Add 1 tsp vanilla. Refrigerate for 2-24 hours.

Just before serving, beat 1 cup whipping cream, 2 Tblsp icing sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla with electric mixer until stiff. Reserve some whipped cream for a garnish. Gently stir remaining whipped cream, 1/2 cup rum, and nutmeg (to taste) into chilled egg mixture.

Serve topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg. YUMMY!!!

If you don't have rum, or don't want to buy any, just use some rum flavouring. Also, I found it a bit thick and added some milk.

Maple-Pecan Cookies

4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 large eggs
2 tsp maple flavoring or extract
2 2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Beat sugar and butter for 2 minutes or until creamy. Reduce speed to low and beat in eggs, one at a time. Add maple extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture until blended. Stir in coconut and pecans.
3. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a 9” by 2” log. Wrap each log tightly in waxed paper. Chill at least 3 hours or until dough is firm enough to slice.
4. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut one log into scant ½-inch-thick slices. Place slices on ungreased large cookie sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until cookies become slightly firm. Cool on wire racks. Repeat with remaining logs. Store cookies in tightly covered container for up to 2 weeks. (Up to 3 months in freezer.)

(I used regular flour, didn’t pack the brown sugar, used unsweetened coconut, and cut the recipe in half. It didn’t seem to hurt them any!)

Mocha Cookies

These are YUMMY for coffee/chocolate lovers.

Cookies:
Mix 1 egg and 2 Tblsp instant coffee granules until coffee is dissolved.

Add 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine, and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1/4 tsp EACH baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Cover and chill at least one hour.

Heat oven to 375 F. Roll dough 1/4" thick on lightly floured surface. Cut with 2" cookie cutters. Place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5-7 minutes or until set. Cool completely.

Icing:
Mix 1 3/4 cups icing sugar, 1/4 cup caramel topping, 1/2 tsp vanilla. Add 1-2 Tblsp milk to make a smooth, thin icing.

Drizzle over cooled cookies.


I didn't have caramel topping, so I made a simple, thin icing with butter, water, instant coffee and icing sugar. Yum.

Toffee Bars

Quick, easy and so good you can't stop eating them. They're on my Christmas baking list, for sure. They come from my Betty Crocker cookbook.

Mix together:
1 cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg yolk

Stir in:
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

Press dough in ungreased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350* F for 25 minutes or until bars are light brown. (They will be soft.)

Immediately sprinkle 2/3 cup chocolate chips over hot bars. Let stand about 5 minutes or until soft, and spread evenly over bars. Sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans over chocolate. Cool 30 minutes and then cut into bars. (I cut them 4 rows by 8 rows.)

Truffles

Okay, you have to play around with this. You can follow the recipe, or you can have a little fun. We added lots more than 1 1/2 tsp liquer in place of the vanilla, cause we just couldn't taste it. So I added a bit more icing sugar than it calls for. However, don't add too much too soon, because they get surprisingly "set" while they're chillin'.

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese (lite is fine)
3 C icing sugar
3 C semisweet (or white if you like) chocolate chips, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla, or flavouring of your choice
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in icing sugar until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate and flavouring until no streaks remain. Refrigerate for about 1 hour. Shape into 1" balls and coat in whatever you want! (We coated white chocolate w/ rum in coconut, dark chocolate with irish cream in cocoa, and plain dark chocolate in icing sugar.)

Garlic Chicken Fried Chicken

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com, which is my new best friend. I used boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts, and I think it's probably better since the thighs are more moist than the breasts. They turned out a little like chicken fingers, and we thought they would make good sandwiches or sliced on a salad.

2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves- pounded thin
1 c. oil for frying, or as needed

Directions:
In a shallow dish, mix together the garlic powder, pepper, salt, paprika, bread crumbs, and flour. In a separate dish, whisk together the milk and egg. Heat the oil in an electric skillet to 350 degrees. Dip the chicken into the egg and milk, then dredge in the dry ingredients until evenly coated. Fry chicken in the hot oil for about 5 min. per side, or until the chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Remove from the oil with a slotted spatula, and serve.

Pakistani Kima

For those of you with the 'more with less' cookbook this will not be a new recipe, but Karla asked for it since I love it so much. So here it is...

Saute in skillet:
3 T. butter or margarine
1 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
Add:
1 lb. ground beef
Brown well. Stir in:
1 T. curry powder (the madras curry is good since it's spicier)
1 1/2 t. salt
dash pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and tumeric
2 c. cooked tomatoes
2 potatoes, diced
2 c. frozen peas or green beans
Cover and simmer 25 min. Serve over rice.

Super Duper Zucchini Muffins

I got this recipe off the internet and modified it based somewhat on people's comments that they left on the site. So can I call it my own? : ) Here it is, and they're very tasty this way:

2 1/4 c flour (1 c white, 1 c whole wheat, 1/4 c oatmeal)
1 c white sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c shortening (I used margarine and it was fine)
1/4 c sour milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 c shredded zucchini
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c walnuts (optional)
1/4 c brown suger + 1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour tin. Combine flour and sugar. Stir in baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in shortening until crumbly. Make a well in the centre, pour in milk, eggs, zucchini, and vanilla. Fill tin 2/3 to 3/4 full. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake for approximately 15 min.

I was worried that the batter was too thick, but I listened to the Muffin Queen and they turned out very well. : )

Rhubarb Crunch (the best ever)

1 c flour
3/4 c oats
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c melted butter OR margarine
1 tsp cinnamon
4 c diced rhubarb, fresh OR frozen
1 c white sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 c water
1 tsp vanilla
whipped cream

1. Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix until crumbly. Press half of crumbs in a greased 9" cake pan. Cover with rhubarb.
2. Combine white sugar, cornstarch, water and vanilla in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly until thick and clear. Pour over rhubarb. Top with remaining crumbs.
3. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour. Cut in squares. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of whipped cream. Serves 6-9.

This is the best rhubarb crunch I think I've ever had! When I made it, I didn't quite melt the butter all the way; only till it was very soft and almost melted. I think that made the crumbs into bigger chunks. We had it warm with vanilla ice cream and it was phenomenal.

Trail Mix Cookies

Matthew thinks that saying things like “Rhonda’s cookie recipe” or “Robyn’s muffin recipe” is a crock because we didn’t actually make up those recipes. Well, guess what? I kinda made up this recipe. I modified an oatmeal cookie recipe because I wanted a semi-healthy cookie for the kids to take for school snacks.

Cream together:
1 cup margarine
1 cup peanut butter
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar

Add, and beat till fluffy:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp water

Sift together and add:
1 ¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Stir in:
3 cups oatmeal
¾ cup (more or less) chocolate chips
½ cup (more or less) each chopped dried cranberries and chopped raisins
1/3 cup (more or less) each sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts, coconut

Bake at 350 for 12+ minutes. I made quite large cookies and baked them longer than I would bake chocolate chip cookies. They weren’t as good doughy as chocolate chip cookies are.

The recipe called for more sugar, but they are quite sweet with all the chocolate and dried fruit. I might try reducing the sugar even more. I also thought about adding whole wheat flour, wheat germ, dates, dried apricots or diced apples. We’ll see. They are delicious as they are, so I might not mess with them any more. Well, I might cut down on the chocolate chips and add more raisins. It would at least make it more likely that the kids would have them for school snacks, because I would be more likely to leave them alone! Let me know if you like them.

White Chicken Chili (family size recipe!)

I got this from allrecipes.com, made some changes (because I can't cook things exactly by the recipe), and made this last night for our homegroup, and it was a hit. It’s not pretty, but it tastes great!

Sauté 1 large chopped onion in 1 ½ tbsp oil. When the onion is soft, add 4-5 cloves minced garlic and 1-2 small cans chopped green chilies. (Depending on how hot you like things…I did one can and it wasn’t too hot for anyone.) Stir together and add 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, and ½ tsp white pepper. Stir in 36 oz chicken broth, 3-4 15 oz cans white beans, and 4 cups chopped cooked chicken. Simmer together for 15 minutes. I wanted mine to be thicker so I made a paste of cornmeal in about 1/3 cup water and stirred it in to the simmering soup. It made it a nice consistency. Right before serving, stir in 1 ½ cup grated cheese.

Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad

2 c. cooked corn, fresh or frozen
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 c. red onion, finely diced

Dressing:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

This is the recipe in it's original form. When I make it again i will use less corn and more avocados and maybe some jalapenos, and we'll eat it with chips instead of like salad. I also needed to add way more lime and salt for our liking. Apparently it works fine to cook corn on the cob and then cut off the corn and put it right in there. I used frozen corn (not from the store) and it worked fine, but I would drain it much better than I did. Anyway, it's a killer salad.

Berry Oatmeal Muffins

I think these are the best berry muffins I've had in awhile! I altered the recipe somewhat, so please let me know how they turn out for you if you try them. I used a mixture of frozen berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, saskatoons) and it was swell!!! They'd also be great with just one kind.


1 1/2 C oats
1/4 C bran (whole, not cereal)
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 C milk
1/2 C oil (olive oil works good)
1 egg
1 C berries
Topping:
1/3 C oats
1/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Combine dry ingredients. Add the rest and stir just until moistened. Put in 12 muffin cups (even if they're full) and spoon topping on batter. Bake at 350F approx 15 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool a bit before taking them out of the pan (they're very soft).

Italian Cheese Bread

This recipe is in the Nisly book, but I know a lot of people who aren't fortunate enough to have that book. :) This is turning into a favorite around here.

Mix together:
2 ½ c. flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp quick-rise yeast

Combine and add to flour mixture:
1 c. warm water
1 Tbsp oil

Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough. Knead for 1-2 minutes, until smooth. Place in greased bowl and let rise in a warm place for 10-20 minutes. Punch down and pat onto a 12” pizza pan.

Brush dough with ¼ c. Italian dressing.

Combine and sprinkle over dressing:
¼ tsp each salt, garlic powder, oregano, thyme
dash of pepper

Sprinkle 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese and ½ c grated mozzarella cheese over seasonings.

Bake at 450* for 10-12 minutes.

Cut into breadstick size pieces. Serve warm.

I omit the oregano and thyme and use a generous amount of garlic powder. Also, I don’t use quite that much Italian dressing. This is very delicious with spaghetti or soups, and also good dipped in spaghetti sauce.

Baked Chocolate Pudding

I got this recipe from a friend when we lived in Three Hills. It's quick and rich...how can you go wrong? :)

Sift together:
¾ cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsp cocoa

Stir in:
½ cup milk
3 Tbsp melted margarine or butter
1 Tbsp vanilla

Spread in 9” pan.

Combine:
½ cup each sugar, brown sugar and cocoa.

Sprinkle over batter. Pour 1 ½ cups water over all.

Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Crunchies

The girls and I made these yesterday and they are so good! The recipe is from the Red Lake book, but I'm adding it here just in case someone out there doesn't have the book.

Cream together:
1 c. shortening or butter
¾ c. brown sugar
¾ c white sugar

Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ - 1 tsp almond flavouring

Mix together and add:
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Mix in:
2 c. oatmeal
2 c. Rice Krispies
1 c. coconut

Dough will be fairly stiff. Drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 12 minutes. Do not overbake.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I'm posting this because I know blueberry season is coming up at home. Please, someone, make this and enjoy it for me. This is the best blueberry coffee cake I have ever had.

Heat oven to 375*. Grease 9" pan, square or round.

Prepare Crumb Topping and set aside:
Cut 1/4 cup margarine or butter into a mixture of 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Mix until crumbly.

Mix together:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
Beat for 30 seconds. Fold in 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries.
Spread in pan, sprinkle with topping.

Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes.

Drizzle following glaze over cake.
Mix: 1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 - 2 tsp hot water

Serve warm.

Where is everyone???

Hey, I am the only one posting and reading my own posts? Don't you guys cook anymore?

Southwest Chicken Salad

I was craving applbs chicken salad and this is what I came up with. It was delicious!!!

1/2 C ranch dressing
3/4 C salsa
Mix and set aside.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, marinated in Southwest marinade (I had this on hand from "The Truck" from mom) and grilled.
1 head lettuce
2 large tomatoes
1 small can of corn (or 1/2 or so of cooked)
1 C black beans
1/2 C chopped onion
1 avacado, chopped in small pieces
1 C cheese (or more would be good)
1/2 C chopped cilantro
1 lime
tortilla chips
Put the chicken on the grill. While it is cooking, assemble the salad in layers - everything except the lime and chips. When the chicken is done, slice it in strips and put on top of the salad. Serve with the ranch mixture and tortilla chips.

Chickpea Burgers

Process in blender:
2 C chickpeas, drained
2 eggs
Transfer to bowl and add:
3/4 C grated cheddar cheese
1/2 C pecans or nuts of your choice, finely ground
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/2 C grated carrots
2-3 chopped green onions
1 Tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp corriander
Chill for 2 hours (you and the mixture)
Bake at 350*for 20 min or fry until golden. I fried these and we ate them on buns like hamburgers, with tomato, onions, etc. Very good - just don't try and pretend they're hamburgers or you will be disappointed.

Pouffy Dessert

(with credit to Anna-Christina for naming it and Mom for changing my recipe into this)

1 9x13" cake, white, heavy and preferably from scratch
2 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 container Cool Whip, thawed
1 1/2 C icing sugar
Thickened fruit or pie filling of your choice (about the same amount as you would use for 1 pie).

Beat the cream cheese, Cool Whip and icing sugar. Cut the cake into 1" pieces and fold into cream cheese. Put into a 9x13" pan and top with fruit topping. Chill until ready to serve. It gets nice and firm and you can cut it into squares.
This is also very easy to cut in half. The original recipe said to use angel food cake but we thought the plain cake was awesome.

Souvlaki

1 1/2 lb chicken breast or pork, cut into 2" chunks
1/4 C olive oil (don't substitute unless you have to)
2 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is best)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground corriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
2 cloves minced garlic

Mix all ingredients. Pour over raw meat and marinade several hours. Put on skewers, with vegetables if desired. Grill or bake until juices run clear.
This is very good served with rice.

Rice and Beans

Okay, here it is. The tamale pie is in the Nisly book. I didn't end up making it because I didn't realize I did not have tomato juice! I was rather disappointed. Anyway, it looks good.

As for the rice and beans...
I usually just make refried beans. I cook the pinto beans and put them in the food processor with raw onions and green peppers, cilantro (sometimes), cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper...I think that's all. Sometimes I throw it back in the skillet with fried hamburger and a pack of burrito seasoning, or more of the above spices. Eat it over rice with Lizano (we will introduce you to this fine sauce when you return to Canada) and maybe some tortillas or tortilla chips. If you really want to go "all out", make some pico de gallo and guacamole. If not, a tossed salad will do. It's Sooooooo good.

Pumpkin Soup

This is a good cold weather recipe. I know the rest of you are going into summer, but this is perfect for our weather right now. It's sooo good, too. I think any orange pumpkin or squash would work.

1/2 kg pumpkin, chopped into pieces
1 large onion
2 small potato, chopped
2 med carrots, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 chicken bullion cubes
2 C water (or to just cover)
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tblsp margarine
a pinch grated nutmeg

1. Boil pumpkin, onion, potato, carrot, garlic, bullion and water until tender.

2. Puree using a blender or potato masher. (I used a potato masher
because I
like it a bit chunkier.)

3. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. (I didn’t add the nutmeg)

4. Heat gently and serve with chopped parsley and a swirl of yogurt or
whipped cream or sweetened condensed milk.
(I didn’t serve any topping with it, and we all liked it. My friend who gave me the recipe said it’s really good with a topping. We just ate fresh bread with it. Yum.)

Onion Rice

I just found this on allrecipes.com and it is really good. It's a nice change from plain rice, but it's not complicated to make.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until almost tender. Stir in rice, and continue cooking until coated with oil. When onion is tender and rice begins to brown lightly, season with pepper, and pour in the broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

Phantom Rhubarb Muffins

1/2 C fat free sour cream
1/4 C olive oil
1 egg
1 ripe banana, mashed
2/3 C whole wheat flour
1/3 C white flour
2/3 C oatmeal
1 1/4 C diced rhubarb
2/3 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Blend together sour cream, oil, egg and banana. Set aside. In another bowl, stir remaining ingredients together and combine with sour cream mixture. Mix just until moistened. Fill 12 muffin cups.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes.

This is written with my alterations included, and we found them to be very tasty. The original recipe did not have any banana, and only 1 1/3 C white flour (no whole wheat or oats). The recipe also calls for this topping: 1/4 C brown sugar, 1/4 C chopped pecans, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp melted butter.
I'm so glad I finally figured out how to leave posts here!!!

Pumpkin Pie Cake

Mix thoroughly:
1 29-oz can pumpkin
12 oz evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ tsp salt
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Pour into 9x13 pan.

Spread one (dry) yellow cake mix over the pumpkin mixture. Drizzle ¾ cup melted margarine over the cake mix. Sprinkle with 1 cup chopped pecans. Bake at 350* for 45-55 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream.

Homemade Tomato Soup

You may remember that when we were kids I didn’t like tomato soup, but whether I’ve matured or this is just a lot better than Campbell’s, I don’t know. This is also a really quick lunch that doesn’t take much more time than opening a can. (I suppose Martha Stewart would make her own tomato juice, too, but I have to draw the line somewhere. And that’s a good thing.)

Sauté together:
5 Tblsp margarine
1 small onion, finely chopped

Slowly add until blended:
4 rounded Tblsp flour

Add and heat to good rolling boil:
3 cups thick tomato juice (I use puree and just add water to make thick juice)
heaping ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp sugar
¼ - 1 tsp pepper, as desired

Add and heat to almost boiling, but do not boil:
3 cups milk (or less)

I usually add a bit of Lawry’s, garlic powder and parsley.

Serve with crackers or homemade croutons.

Grilled Potato Wedges

I just had this at mom and dad's and it was really good...

3 lg. russet potatoes, scrubbed not peeled, ea. cut into 8 wedges (smaller is good)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crumbled
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Place potato wedges in a steamer basket over boiling water, cover and steam for 10 min. Remove from heat and put in a large bowl. Note: potatoes will not be completely cooked. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and toss gently to coat. Preheat bbq to medium. Grill potatoes 5-7 min. (or until tender) on each cut side, turning once. They should be crisp and browned on the outside and cooked through on the inside. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Sweet Onion BBQ Burgers

Mix:
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
2 tsp. onion salt
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 lb. ground beef
Shape into 4 patties and place in shallow baking dish. Pour 1 1/4 c. bbq sauce over patties, cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hrs. (i think the bbq sauce part is completely optional)

Combine in small bowl:
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. bbq sauce
1 tsp. brown sugar
Keep refrigerated until serving.

Onion topping:
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c. honey
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
Melt butter in large skillet. Stir in honey until blended. Add onions; saute for 15-20 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Keep warm until serving.

4 slices smoked cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you want)
4 hamburger buns (duh)

Discard bbq sauce from patties. Grill patties, top with cheese slice. Serve on buns with sauce and onion topping.

These are not as much work as they sound like (i don't think), and they're really good; even if you're not an onion fan. You can hardly taste onion, unless maybe if you're really sensitive, but wow, they're goooood.

Chocolate Cake

This is my new favorite chocolate cake. My friend Tammy gave the recipe to me and it is so good. It's not as easy as Wacky Cake (my former favorite), so if I'm really in a hurry I might not make it. I made it for Matthew's birthday and it got lots of compliments. (On the other hand, so does Wacky Cake...hmmmm.)

I was making ordinary white icing for this cake, and I didn't like how it just ended up tasting like powdered sugar. Somehow I got the idea to add some maple flavoring to it, so I just put in about 3-4 drops. It gave it a really great taste, but not a maple taste. I'll do that again for sure!


2 C flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
½ t baking powder
¾ C cocoa
1 ¾ C sugar
¾ C oil
¾ C water
1 t vanilla
3 eggs
½ C water

Beat the first 8 ingredients together for 2 minutes. Add remaining 3 ingredients and beat for another two minutes. Pour into greased pan of your choice. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Stew:
(Disclaimer: These measurements change every time I make this, and I really don’t have a clue about how much I really use. These are guesses, based on my memory.)
Peel and cube: 4 large potatoes, 4-6 carrots. Dice 1 medium to large onion and 2 stalks of celery. Place vegetables in large pot and add enough water just to cover. Add 3 cubes chicken bouillon, 1 tblsp parsley and 1 tsp poultry seasoning. When vegetables are just tender, add 2 cups (or more) diced, cooked chicken and 1 cup (or more) frozen peas. Whisk together 2 cups milk and 1/3 cup flour and stir into vegetable mixture. Cook until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. (If you don’t like or have peas, you can add green beans whenever you want to in the process. I add them earlier than I would the peas so they can cook longer.)

If you want to make a baked pot pie with a biscuit type crust:
Place chicken stew into a large pan (9x13 or whatever it fits into). Preheat oven to 375.
Make biscuits as follows:
Mix 1 ¾ cup flour (white or brown or mixed), 2 tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp salt, ¼ tsp soda. Cut in 1/3 cup shortening. Mix in ¾ cup buttermilk. Knead gently till dough forms a ball. Roll out to ½ inch thickness and cut into squares with a knife or pizza cutter. (I don’t do round biscuits, because of two things: it saves a lot of time, and the dough shouldn’t be handled more than necessary.) Place biscuits on top of stew and bake for 15-20 minutes or until biscuits are browning. (This baking time assumes that the stew is still hot.)

If you want to have pot pie with a pastry crust, just use your favorite pie dough, and bake as a pie. To be honest, I’ve only done that about once or twice, but I can tell you who knows how to do it very well! Rachel Ramer brought us 3 chicken pies when Aimee and Sierra were babies and they were sooo good. (She told me the crust was made with real butter.) And when Larissa was born, Arlene May brought us this massive deep-dish pie with a beautifully flaky crust and it was also very, very good. So, they know how!

If you want to be able to choose if your biscuits are in the stew or on your plate with butter and honey, then bake the biscuits on a cookie sheet and just keep the stew hot on the stove top. I roll them slightly thicker than ½ inch when I don’t bake them on the stew and only bake them for about 12 minutes. (And you’d better double the recipe!)

French Bread

Hey, I'm trying something new and I thought it's time I contribute since I'm the only one who hasn't.
I made some french bread yesterday for when KK & J come. I let it rise once and then made it into loaves and froze it. I'm planning to let it thaw, rise and bake it the day I use it. Should be just like buying a loaf of frozen dough at the store, right? Anyway, I'll keep you "posted" on how it turns out.

Fried Potatoes and Eggs

I thought I would share my current "I don't know what else to make" dish.

Peel and grate a bunch of potatoes. (My girls and I ate 6 med. the other night.) Melt a good whack of margarine in a skillet and put the potatoes in it. (Med. heat, I think.) While that starts cooking chop up some onion. Salt the potatoes and flip them over. Sprinkle the onions over the potatoes. Wait another 3-4 minutes and flip them again. They should be starting to brown and smell really good. Beat some eggs (I used 4 with those 6 potatoes...it's not supposed to be really eggy) and pour them over the potatoes. Fry to desired doneness. Sprinkle some cheese over it. Slice some bread. Pour some water or oj, and enjoy. I put ketchup and pepper on the table to be added to personal taste. :-)

Pumpkin Muffins

Mix:
1 c. flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp each: baking powder, cinnamon, salt

Whisk together:
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. pumpkin
2 eggs

Add:
5 Tbsp butter or margerine, melted
1/2 c. milk
Mix until smooth; add flour mixture and stir until combined. Bake at 375 for 15 min. Makes 12 muffins.

karla

well, i don't have a recipe to contribute because you all have the red lake cookbook... but i am currently making judi paishk's lemon bars. i just have to say that i'm really excited to eat them. i'll let you know how they turn out.

kim

Flour Tortillas

Hey, good idea Karla! And, such good timing, because I'm so proud of myself...yesterday I made my own homemade flour tortillas and they were good! So, I know you all can run to the store and buy yourselves a package, but just in case you want to be like me...

Flour Tortillas

Mix:
3 cups flour
2 tsp each baking powder and salt

Cut in:
1/4 cup shortening

Mix in:
3/4 cup hot water

Stir/knead until you have a solid ball of dough. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Divide into 12 pieces and roll each piece out to 1/8" thickness. Fry for about one minute on each side on an ungreased skillet or griddle. Yum.

(I used less baking powder and they still puffed up pretty good. I also stacked mine in a towel as I fried them and that gave them a nice flexibility! :-)

Rhonda

let the recipe posting begin!