Eggnog Cranberry Muffins

I meant to make these muffins last year. Then with watching Mischa and my thyroid stuff, it got pushed off and off and then never happened. So, when Big Chubb begged me to get eggnog, I decided I would make these.

I don't know if Mom ever made them. I was skeptical because I am not an eggnog fan. Yet, they turned out pretty tasty. So tasty that I took all the ones leftover and made another batch the next day and took them to our ward Christmas brunch. They all disappeared, probably because they were the only homemade muffin and most of the baked goods were cinnamon rolls.

Favorite Cupboard Project Recipes

I think a lot of CP recipes have ended up being...meh. Some are old enough that they are out of style or no longer considered healthy. But, there have been some gems. So, what CP recipes do you regularly make?

For breakfast, these cinnamon stack biscuits have become a favorite. They are pretty quick and easy, and a nice change from pancakes or German pancakes when we want something hot and special for breakfast.

I've made both of these enchilada recipes a lot. The black bean and chicken one I really like, but we don't have bacon around a lot. The bean and cheese enchiladas are a staple for non-meat enchiladas.

Everyone in our family loves gnocchi with zucchini ribbons. Some only love the gnocchi and won't touch the zucchini, and some don't love the tomatoes. I love all of it.

This squash cake recipe is just so delicious, especially with whipped cream cream cheese frosting. Yum. I didn't make it this summer since we didn't have a lot of summer squash, but I miss it.

I made the pumpkin caramel pound cake for a 3 birthday cake. It is so decadent that I haven't made it again, but I often think about it! Maybe this fall will be the time. I'm allowed to gain lots of weight now, right?

I haven't made it with the nuts, but I've made tortellini with butter and parsley several times. It's so simple and delicious. A couple tablespoons of butter is definitely enough though.

What Cupboard Project recipes have stuck around your kitchen?

Mustard Pickles

Update: Big Chubb opened a jar of mustard pickles last night. He was surprised at first because they are sweet. He was hoping/expecting dill. But, everyone liked them, of course. And, I didn't mess them up. They tasted just like the ones I remember having growing up.

Tis the season here in Minnesota to get your garden goods put up for the winter. I started on Wednesday and have been doing some food preservation everyday since. Today I did this one. I actually remember having these when I was little. I loved them.

2-3 lbs pickles (8 cups)
1 1/2 c vinegar
1 (c?) water
1 c sugar
1/2 c mustard
2 tsp salt

5 min

That was all the handwritten recipe said, so I guessed it meant cook all the ingredients for 5 minutes and then process them. I'm really hoping it was right because I don't really want to be eating mushy pickles all winter.

I haven't actually tried them yet. They need a some time to pickle. I'll let everyone know if I messed up or they turned out great.

Super Simple Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Brian loves stuff like this, and it sounded good, so I planned it out for a Sunday meal.

Super Simple Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Ingredients

1 package (24 oz) frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes, with peppers and onions

3 cups cubed Farmland Hickory Smoked Ham

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 c (2 oz) shredded Swiss cheese

Preparation

1. Heat oven tp 350 degrees. Combine hashbrowns, ham, and soup in 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle top with cheese.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through

I have been avoiding cream of soups, but I figure once in awhile is fine. It was easy and good. I mixed in most of the cheese (only cheddar), and added in a couple spoonfuls of sour cream since my bag of hashbrowns was a little bigger. I liked that it wasn't as greasy/goopy as other potato casserole recipes.

Cookies n' Cream Pie

Sunday late afternoon saw me looking through recipes trying to find a dessert to make for after dinner. I was aiming for a cake to celebrate President Monson's birthday, but when I saw this one and realized that I actually had all the ingredients, I decided to go for it. Doesn't it sound way better than a dry piece of birthday cake?

Cookies n' Cream Pie

1 6-oz Keebler Ready Crust Reduced Fat Graham Cracker Pie Crust
1 1/2 c skim milk
1 (4-serving size) package of vanilla, fat-free instant pudding
1 (8-oz) container frozen, light whipped topping, thawed
1 c (10-12 cookies) Sunshine Hydrox Reduced Fat (or Regular) Choclate Sandwich cookies, coarsely crushed

1. Beat together milk and pudding for 1 minute until well blended. Let stand 5 minutes.
2. Fold in whipped topping and crushed cookies. Spoon into crust.
3. Freeze until firm, about 6 hours. Makes 1 pie.

We came home from the reunion with a big box of graham crackers, and Brian's mom bought (among a bunch of other oversized packages of things) a bulk package of Oreos for the drive home. There were only four of us, and it's only a 15 hour drive, and Owen threw up in his seat, which suppressed all of our appetites. Hence, we had lots of Oreos and graham crackers to use for this. I also happened to have Cool Whip and I made some homemade pudding.

Advice: Plan ahead! My Cool Whip was frozen still, and the pudding was hot still, but I was in such a rush I mixed it all anyway and probably made it less fluffy than it is supposed to be. And we wanted to eat it that night, so Brian and I had it as cold pudding consistency rather than frozen. I just finished a frozen piece and it was better frozen. It is yummy, even dense rather than fluffy, and even as pudding rather than frozen. It was also probably better since I didn't use any low-fat versions of anything.

If you ever happen to have graham crackers, Oreos, pudding, and Cool Whip at the same time, give it go. Otherwise, it would be pretty expensive.

Smilin' Sammy

I knew I wanted to make this cake for Haley's birthday, especially considering her favorite song and book is You Are My Sunshine.

I only have a small part of the "recipe" and, even then, I changed it a bit to accommodate my frugal budget.  I think Joanna has the actual recipe, so maybe she'll make it again sometime. It suggests licorice for the mouth and sunglasses, with oreos for the eyes.  I just used black frosting for everything.

The rays are just ice cream cones that are frosted.  I had a hard time getting them to stay up on the cake, but it was hard to notice, so no big deal.

Everyone loved it. Jacob's family was there for her birthday and they all said it was cute.  I liked it, because it was cute and also very easy.  Haley liked it a lot, too.

Sorry I don't have a better picture.

She never even made it to the cake.

Cafe Rio Pork (and rice)

Jacob really wanted this for dinner. I didn't, because it's stinking expensive. He said that I always tell him the food he wants is too expensive. Well, after buying it all, Jacob told me it was WAY more expensive than he thought and we shouldn't have done it. Too late, bud. At least it was good.

Pork 

No known source, but it matched favfamilyrecipes.com's recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat)
• 3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• dash garlic salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 3/4 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work)
• 1 c. brown sugar

Instructions

• Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.
• Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.
• In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.
• Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

Ingredients

For the Rice:
• 1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
• 1 tsp. butter or margarine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Instructions

For the Rice:
• In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth
• and water. Bring to a boil.
• Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until
• rice is tender.
• Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice,
• sugar and cilantro.
• Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff
• the rice

It was good. Way too time intensive, but Jacob made us make the beans and Pico de Gallo and dressing. Never again.

Wheat Bread in a Bread Machine

Big Chubb likes to have bread on Sundays with our dinner, so I told him he could make this recipe if he insisted on having bread.

The Bread Machine Digest’s Wheat Bread

See more in Loaf Recipes, Whole Wheat Recipes

Recipe By     :Robert Barnett, The Bread Machine Digest - http://www.breadmachinedigest.com
Serving Size  : 12    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Bread Machine                   Bread Machine Digest Originals
Bread Machine Digest Recipes    Grain Breads
Wheat Breads                    Whole Grain Breads

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
1 1/8           cups  water
1 1/2    tablespoons  butter
1 1/2           cups  bread flour
1 1/2           cups  whole wheat flour
2        tablespoons  sugar
1           teaspoon  salt
1 1/2    tablespoons  dry milk
2 1/2      teaspoons  yeast

Place all ingredients except for the ingredients in the “Add at Beep” area
(if applicable for this recipe) in to your machines fully assembled pan.
Select the “Basic” or “White” cycle and press start.
10 minutes after your machine has started kneading the dough open the lid
and check the consistency of the dough. The dough should be tacky to the
touch like the sticky part of a Post-It Note™. If the bread is too dry add
1 tbsp. of water at a time allowing a minute or two of kneading then check
it again. If needed add another tablespoon of liquid. Repeat this until the
dough reaches the proper consistency. If the dough is too dry apply
the above steps but using flour instead of liquid.
Note: Just because you had to make this adjustment doesn’t mean there is
something wrong with the recipe or your machine. The weather plays an
important part on bread making, and adjustments you make one time may not
be the same adjustments you make next time. This is why it is important to
check the dough consistency.
Once you have checked and if needed adjusted the dough close the lid of
your machine allow the cycle to continue.

Add at Beep Ingredients

If this recipe has an “Add at Beep” section these ingredients need to be
added at your machines add ingredients beep signal (an option on most
bread machines) or during the last 10 minutes of the kneading part of the
cycle. The reason you don’t add them at the beginning is to prevent them
from being broken down in to tiny bits or mashed in to a paste.

The Bread is Done

Once your bread is completed allow it to sit in your machines pan for 10
minutes (no longer or it can get soggy). Then remove it to a wire rack to
cool. The reason for letting it sit for 10 minutes is to soften the crust
making it easier to get out of the pan. Allow the bread to cool at least
20 minutes before cutting it.

Paddle Removal

If you want to prevent the large holes that one gets from the paddle(s)
in your machine simply waiting until the final rise of the cycle has
started, remove the dough from the pan, remove the kneading paddle(s) and
then spray the post(s) with pan spray. Shape the dough and place it bake
in the pan, seam side down and allow the machine to finish. This will give
you a loaf with very small hole(s) in the bottom.

Dough Cycle Preparation:

Any loaf bread recipe can be made on the dough cycle for dinner rolls,
hamburger buns, sub rolls, baguettes and more. Simply follow the
directions above except instead of selecting the basic or white cycle
select the manual or dough cycle. When the machine beeps indicating the
dough is finished remove it to a floured work surface and shape in any
manner you choose. For ideas on shaping bread take a look at “Shaping
Bread Dough” in the Library section of this site. When it comes time to
bake the shaped bread generally you bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for
30 to 40 minutes. The bread can also be checked for doneness by using an
instant read thermometer and checking the interior. The bread is done when
it is 200 degrees Fahrenheit inside (for wet dough’s 210 to 215 is
better). For more information on baking bread in your oven take a look at
“Oven Baking: The How’s and Why’s” in the Library section of this site.

HearthKit Baking:

If you want to make this bread in your HearthKit simply make it on the
manual or dough cycle. When the dough is finished remove it to a lightly
floured surface, shape and then place it in a lightly greased loaf pan
(make sure to use one large enough for a 1-1/2 pound recipe). Cover the
dough and pan with a damp towel and allow it to rise until doubled.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the HearthKit in place 15
minutes before you plan to bake the bread. Uncover the pan of dough, apply
any crust enhancements you wish to it and then place in the preheated oven
in the middle of the HearthKit. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the
bread is golden brown, you can also check it with an instant read
thermometer the dough is done when it is at 200 degrees Fahrenheit
internally (for wet dough’s 210 to 215 is better). When the bread is done
remove it from the oven, remove the loaf of bread from the pan and place
it on a wire rack to cool. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.
You can also do free form loaves. Instead of putting the dough in a load
pan, shape it in to a round and place it on a lightly greased sheet of
parchment paper. After the oven has been preheated slide the dough
parchment and all in to the center of the HearthKit and bake for 30 to 40
minutes or until the bread is golden brown, you can also check it with an
instant read thermometer the dough is done when it is at 200 degrees
Fahrenheit internally (for wet dough’s 210 to 215 is better).
For rolls, etc. follow the directions in the “Dough Cycle Preparation”
section above except bake them on lightly greased parchment paper in the
middle of the preheated HearthKit. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the
bread is golden brown, you can also check it with an instant read
thermometer the dough is done when it is at 200 degrees Fahrenheit
internally (for wet dough’s 210 to 215 is better).

---

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 141 Calories; 2g Fat (14.4%
calories from fat); 5g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 5mg
Cholesterol; 198mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0
Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

If you read through all of that congrats! This bread didn't turn out very good. It only rose about half the amount it probably should have. However, when Big Chubb fed it to the birds and squirrels they didn't seem to mind.

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Since Ben is getting things for High Adventure and taking Russell with him, I decided I could use Meghan's nap time to put up some recipes.

I made this for Valentine's Day this year.

Ingredients
For Cake:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
7 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

For Glaze:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

For Garnish:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
Confectioner's sugar for dusting


1. For cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9 inch springform pan. Line bottom with waxed paper or parchment; grease paper.
2. In a small bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Melt chocolate and butter in top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
3 In a large bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat eggs for 2 minutes. Beat in sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in chocolate and flour mixtures. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 45 minutes. Remove cake from pan; peel off paper. Cool.
5. For Glaze: Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt chocolate with cream over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Set aside for 15 minutes. Pour over cake. Transfer to a serving plate.
6. For garnish: Melt chocolate in top of a double boiler. Spread thinly on a baking sheet. Let stand until chocolate is nearly firm and reaches room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes. Using a spatula knife, scrape chocolate into loose thick curls. Let harden completely.
7. Using toothpicks to lift, arrange curls on cake. Garnish with raspberries. Place confectioners' sugar in a strainer, tap to top, dusting lightly.

This was a big disappointment. It was expensive (2 pounds of chocolate, cream and raspberries out of season!) and involved way to much effort. And, it didn't turn out anything like the picture. The cake was really dry and crumbly.

Big Chubb ended up soaking it in milk and then eating it. If you feel like spending a bunch of money and trying it go for it.

Cheeseburger Kabobs

So...is everyone else done with the Cupboard Project? If so, I will stop posting.

I didn't have a meal planned for tonight, and I wanted something with meat. I found this one and it fit the bill. I used a pound of ground beef I got free, and happily it was 85% lean instead of the fatty 73% I normally buy. Well, I normally buy ground turkey, but when I happen to buy meat, I go cheap.

Cheeseburger Kabobs

1 pound ground beef
3/4 c grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c fine bread crumbs
2 T French's Prepared Mustard
2 T catsup
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 t French's Onion Salt
Green pepper pieces, onion and cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes

Combine beef, cheese, bread crumbs, mustard, catsup, egg, and onion salt; shape into 1 1/2-inch balls. Alternate meatballs on skewers with green pepper, onion, and cucumber. Brush grill with oil to prevent sticking. (Or place heavy duty foil on grill and pierce with a fork so drippings can drain.) Grill kabobs 3 to 4 minutes each side. Garnish with cherry tomatoes. 6 servings.

The taste really was somewhat like cheeseburgers. All they needed was a pickle and bread to complete the taste. Brian thought they were bland, so he added salt and ketchup. I thought they were salty enough as is. While the taste passed, the presentation was a fail. Most of the meatballs fell apart and came of the skewer. I'm glad I didn't try to grill mine--they would have all fallen through. I broiled them, and while it made them fattier, at least I didn't lose all the meat.

One plus was that O liked the stick idea and had a small bite of the meat on the stick. Seeing as I can't even remember the last time he ate ground beef, I'll call that a win.

Sourdough Flapjacks

Another use of my sourdough starter. My starter is doing quite well, now. I don't understand why you people think it's gross. What do you think cultivated yeast is?

The recipe is typed on a very faded paper, so I had to guess some of the measurements.

Sourdough Flapjacks
1(?) c starter
1c flour
1 egg
2 T cooking oil
1/2 c dry milk
1(?) t salt
1(?) t soda
2 T sugar
1/2-1 c water

1. Mix flour, dry milk, egg, water, starter, cooking oil in mixing bowl.
2. Blend in salt, soda, and sugar. Let mixture bubble and foam for a minute or two, then drop by spoonfuls onto hot griddle.


I liked the taste of the sourdough in the pancakes, but I put in too much soda (after further inspection, I think it might be a 1, but I thought it said 2 when I was mixing), and it made them a little tough and funny tasting. Brian said he prefers our regular pancakes, but I want to give these another chance.

Sourdough White Bread

I have dipped my toes in the sourdough world. I didn't realize it was such a huge thing, and I didn't realize that sourdough starters needed to be babysat. I have a CP recipe for sourdough starter that I didn't use. It isn't "real" sourdough because it calls for yeast in the starter According to my internet recipe, real sourdough starter is leavened with wild yeast and bacteria from the water, flour, container, and air, and that is what you are trying to cultivate by babying your starter.

The CP recipe is as follows:

This is my sourdough storage method. Right now it
 needs to be fed and the liquid stirred back in.

2 c warm water
2 c flour
1 t yeast

Combine in a glass plastic or crockery container. Let stand for several days. The starter improves with age. *****If starter is stored in the fridge remove it the day before you are going to bake. Add warm water and flour and let it work until your starter is bubbly.

I wanted to try the method with no added yeast. My first attempt was something like 1/2 c flour and 1/4 c water. It failed because I used whole wheat flour, and there wasn't even enough water to wet all the flour. I tried again and followed different measurements from a recipe on Allrecipes. I mixed the flour and water and then let it sit, stirring two times a day. It was a big failure. I obviously was growing the wrong kind of bacteria; my starter smelled like a mixture of Parmesan cheese and vomit. Even C was walking around the kitchen asking what smelled so bad.

I tried again, this time after reading a blog dedicated to sourdough. I used 50 g water and 50 g flour. I started with ww, then followed the blogger's advice to use white instead to make it easier. Everyday I measured out 50 g of the starter and discarded the rest, then added 50 g water and 50 g white flour. Success! I did this for a week (the last couple days I didn't discard any starter) before using it in the recipe below. My starter never got to the point where it overflowed the container. It did bubble up an inch or so on the jar, but that's the most active it has been. I started feeding it whole wheat flour now to see how it changes the sourdough taste.

This isn't real sourdough bread because it has added yeast in it. I thought that was a good idea for my new starter since it isn't robust enough to leaven a bread.

Sourdough White Bread

2 c sourdough starter
2 t salt
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/3 c dry milk
3 t honey
1 c warm water
2 T oil or margarine
4-5 white flour

1. Combine 1 1/2 c flour, all dry ingredients and mix well.
2. Add oil, honey, and water. Mix 2 minutes on medium speed on electric mixer.
3. Add sourdough starter and 1/2 c flour. Mix two minutes on medium speed.
4. Work in additional flour until a soft dough is formed.
5. Knead on pastry cloth or board for 8-10 minutes.
6. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour).
7. Punch down, turn over, and let rise again (about 30 minutes).
8. Punch down the dough as divide into two pieces.
9. Shape into loaves placing them in a 9x5x3'' greased pan or a cake pan.
10. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 40-45 minutes.
11. Cool on wire rack.

It was good bread, not as exciting as I imagined. The sourdough taste was very mild. It has been so long since I've made all white bread, that it was almost like cake. 40-45 minutes at 400 is way to long for 2 rather small loaves. They barely got to 30 minutes before I pulled them because they were too brown.

This was the most basic of the sourdough recipe in this little set. I'm looking forward to some of the other things, like sourdough pancakes and doughnuts.

Pumpkin Bread (or muffins or cake)

I'm on a roll. I've always been a fan of sweet bread. I made these in muffin form to try and entice Owen to eat something. The recipe was one of the Mount Vernon Ward recipes given to Mom; this one is from Rhoda.

Pumpkin Bread
1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
3/4 c canned pumpkin
1 3/4 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves
3/4 c pecans

Cream butter, sugar and egg. Add pumpkin and mix. Set aside. In another bowl, sift dry ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture. Beat till well blended. Add pecans if desired. Grease 15''x10''x1'' pan. Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Frosting
6 T margarine
3 oz cream cheese
1 t vanilla
1 t milk
2 c powdered sugar

Cream together.

Since I put mine a muffin tin, I didn't realize it said to cook it in a jelly roll pan. No wonder it was so good--it is basically cake. They really were delicious. Owen ate most of one, which is pretty good for him. I ate many. I didn't make the frosting, but I'm sure it would have been delicious. I made it full fat for Owen's weight-gain benefit ( also probably my weight gain side-effect), but this recipe would probably be a good candidate for an applesauce substitution. I did use whole wheat flour, which is maybe why they didn't seem super cakey. Nonetheless, they were really good.

Casserole Herb Bread

I took a break while we moved. Last night I needed a bread to go with the lentil spinach soup, and this one seemed pretty easy.

Place in this order in bowl:

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 3/4 c flour
2 T sugar
2 T shortening
1 t salt
1 t parsley flakes
1/2 t marjoram
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t garlic powder
2 eggs
3/4 c milk

Beat at medium speed for three minutes. Turn into well greased 2-quart casserole or bundt pan. Cover; let rise 30 minutes, or until light. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from casserole immediately.

I don't have a classic casserole, so I used a bundt pan. The bread was fine. It tasted good and was easy, but it wasn't spectacular. I might make it again when I need something that doesn't require much effort. It would be really good with a bunch of Parmesan cheese mixed in.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble

Unknown source

Yields 6-8 servings

 For the topping:
1 1/3 c flour
1 t baking powder
3 T sugar
3T Demerara sugar (or Turbinado sugar)
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 lb  melted butter

For the filling:
1 1/2 c rhubarb, chopped into one inch pieces
1 Quart strawberries, plus a few extra, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 c sugar
3-4 T cornstarch
Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Prepare topping : in a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars, and lemon zest and add the melted better. Mix until small clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.
2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, and pinch of salt in a 9 in deep pie plate.
3. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling  beneath, 40-50 minutes.

We were split on this dessert. Jacob really liked it. I thought it was fine, but needed more salt in the topping. I prefer cake mix topping I suppose. The strawberry rhubarb part was most delicious, though.

Winner of a Dinner!!

We had a pork roast for dinner on Sunday, and there were plenty of leftovers. I told Big Chubb he wasn't allowed to touch it because I had this recipe in mind.

Leftover Pork and Vegetables
Serves 2

1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped sweet red or chopped green pepper
1 celery rib, chopped

Sorry. Phone picture :(

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 cup cubed cooked pork
3/4 cup frozen carrots, thawed (I just used fresh carrots)
1 jar sliced mushrooms, drained ( I omitted these because we didn't have any)
1/2 cup pork gravy
1/3 cup chicken broth'
2 tablespoons soy sauce'
1/8 teaspoon pepper
hot cooked rice

In a skillet, saute the onion, red pepper and celery in oil until crisp tender. Add the pork, carrots, mushrooms, gravy, broth, soy sauce and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender. Serve over rice.

Big Chubb and I were quite skeptical. I didn't think the little chubblets would even touch it, especially when they saw the green peppers in it. To everybody's great surprise it turned out pretty darn good. In fact, I think it might have been a little bit better than the original meal (gasp!), even with the strange mixture of ingredients (pork gravy and soy sauce?).

Even the picky babies gobbled it right up, green peppers and all!

I think it helped that we had the next recipe as a bargaining chip for them.

Jello Yogurt Fluff

1 package jello (4 serving size)
2 cups orange juice
2 6-8 ounce cartons yogurt, any flavor
cut up fruit (if you like)*

1. Heat 1 cup orange juice in saucepan until lit is very hot
2. Add jello and stir until it is dissolved.
3. Mix in other cup of orange juice.
4. Chill jello in the refrigerator until it is like syrup (1-2 hours)
5. Pour into bowl. Add yogurt. Beat with a mixture until jello is fluffy.
6. Add cup fruit if you like.
7. Return jello yogurt fluff to refrigerator.
8. Spoon into dishes to serve.

Serves 8

*Don't use fresh pineapple or kiwi. The jello won't set.

We had raspberry jello and peach yogurt. I figured all those flavors would come together.

This recipe was the star of the meal! Little Chubb wouldn't stop eating it, and just kept asking for more. He probably had 3/8 of it for dinner and then had all the leftovers the next day for lunch. We will most definitely be including this into our meal rotation especially, during the summer.

Toffee Bars (2 ways)

I made these up for a quick dessert when we had someone over for dinner. Then I made the other version for a Fast Sunday dessert yesterday.

Version #1

1 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1  cup nuts, chopped
1 large milk chocolate candy bar (or chocolate chips if you don't have a candy bar on hand)

Cream butter and sugar. Mix egg and vanilla with creamed butter by hand. Blend in the rest of the ingredients and spread in ungreased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with large milk chocolate bar or 6-ounce package of chocolate chips. Allow to melt and spread evenly.


These were the first ones I made and they were gone fast. The guy we had over ate about 1/4 of the pan himself.


Version #2

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bar milk chocolate candy
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degree. Grease baking pan 13x9 inches. Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla. Blend in flour and salt. Press evenly in bottom of pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly brown. Crust will be soft. Remove from oven; immediately place sperated pieces of chocolate candy on crust. As soon as chocolate is soft, spread evenly. Sprinkle with nuts. While warm, cut into bars.

This one was more bready than the first ones. Big Chubb and I both agreed that the first version is our favorite. We will definitely make these again. If you need a quick treat definitely make version 1. They are well worth it.

Ham Stuffed Manicotti

I've been waiting until we have a ham to make this recipe, so I made it up this week to use up some of our Easter ham.

• 14 manicotti pasta shells
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup butter or olive oil
• 3 cups cooked cubed ham
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
• 6 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook manicotti as directed on package. Drain, rinse in cool water and set aside. Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, and green bell pepper in 4 Tbsp. butter or olive oil until tender. Add ham and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.

In another heavy saucepan, combine Alfredo sauce and milk over medium heat until it starts to steam. Stir in cheese until melted and remove from heat.

Mix 1/2 cup of cheese sauce with ham mixture.

Fill manicotti shells with ham mixture (your fingers work best for this; it's messy, but most efficient). Spread about 1/2 cup cheese sauce in greased 13x9" glass baking dish and arrange filled shells over sauce. If there is any leftover stuffing, just sprinkle it over the filled shells. Pour remaining cheese sauce over filled manicotti.

At this point the casserole can be cooled in the refrigerator, then wrapped and frozen up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator, then uncover, sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes. If not freezing casserole, sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until bubbly.

I was skeptical about the recipe when I originally saw it. It took a long time to make thanks to having to fill all the manicotti shells. The current recipe on line says to just use store bought alfredo sauce instead of making one, but I wasn't about to buy another ingredient. I had to keep pushing the dinner back because I kept realizing I didn't have one ingredient. But, we were very surprised! It was delicious! I froze half of the recipe, so we'll see how that turns out. The little Chubblets made sure to not eat any of the green peppers, but ate most everything else (including the disguised onions). We would definitely make this again, but it is not healthy at all. So, if you are feeling generous in your calorie intake, have extra ham and Swiss cheese, make this recipe. You won't regret it.

Hot Cross Buns

I still try to make hot cross buns on Good Friday each year. Last year the buns I made were really good, but the recipe was really tedious. This year I used this bread machine version without the bread machine since I gave it away. It was easier, but not as good as last year's. I need to find the perfect recipe that is easy to make yet most delicious.

Hot Cross Buns

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH
1 cup (250 mL) milk
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter
3 1/2 cups (875 mL) Robin Hood® Best For Bread Homestyle White Flour
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cloves
1/4 tsp (1 mL) nutmeg
1 1/4 tsp (6 mL) salt
1 1/4 tsp (6 mL) bread machine yeast
1/2 cup (125 mL) raisins
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped, mixed candied peel

GLAZE
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp (15 mL) water

ICING
1/4 cup (50 mL) icing sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) milk



DIRECTIONS
TOOLS

dry measuring cups
liquid measuring cups
measuring spoons
bread machine
board
tea towel
sharp knife
small bowl
pastry brush
baking sheet
parchment paper
wire cooling rack

Add ingredients to machine according to manufacturer's directions.
Select Dough cycle.
Add raisins and mixed candied peel at "add ingredient" signal. When dough cycle is complete, remove dough to floured surface. Cover with tea towel and let rest for 5 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each into a ball. Place balls 2" (5 cm) apart on greased baking sheet and flatten slightly. Cover with tea towel. Let rise in warm place (75°-85°F/24°-29°C) until doubled (30 to 40 minutes). With a very sharp knife or razor, make two cuts 1/4" (5mm) deep on surface of buns in the shape of a cross. Combine ingredients for glaze and brush on buns. Let rise another 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cover with foil if overbrowning occurs. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack. Combine ingredients for icing and drizzle over cooled buns.

TIPS
For variety and a bit of tartness, replace the raisins with dried cranberries.

I managed to make it without the bread machine, board, tea towel, pastry brush,parchment paper or cooling rack, and they still turned out well.

Chocolate Crinkles

This is from an old cookbook. It looks like Mom wrote in her own version of the original, so I used her changes. Basically she doubled it and used cocoa instead of baking chocolate.

Chocolate Crinkles

My camera phone is pretty bad.

3/4 c cocoa
3/4 c oil
2 c sugar
4 eggs
2 t vanilla
2 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c powdered sugar

The directions were for using baking chocolate, so I just mixed cocoa with the oil and continued as directed.

Combine, chocolate, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Sift together and add flour, baking powder, and salt. Chill for an hour or place in freezer for a short time. Form into little balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased baking sheet, but do not flatten. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

They were good, but not great. I used some applesauce in place of the oil, and that made them pretty puffy. I probably won't make them again. There has to be a better recipe out there for chocolate crinkles.

Chocolate Braids

In one of the issues of Taste of Home that I have, there is a section of Easter breads. I've wanted to try some, and I finally made one. I still want to try walnut-filled coffee cakes and two-toned yeast bread, but I'm not interested in the pistachio ring. Sounds like something Ben Joslin would like.

ToH's picture

Chocolate Braids

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 40 min. + rising Bake: 30 min. + cooling
MAKES: 16 servings

Ingredients
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
1/3 cup honey, divided
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg

My picture

1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 to 3 cups bread flour
CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
TOPPING:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold butter
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
ICING:
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons 2% milk

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 2 teaspoons honey; let stand 5 minutes. Add butter, egg, cocoa, salt, 1-1/2 cups bread flour and remaining honey. Beat 2 minutes or until smooth. Stir in enough remaining bread flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down; divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion into a 12x7-in. rectangle.
In a small bowl, beat filling ingredients until smooth. Spread half of the filling over dough to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal.
Place seam side down on a large greased baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut roll in half lengthwise, leaving one end intact. Carefully turn cut sides up. Loosely twist strips around each other, keeping cut side up. Pinch ends to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°. For topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Add nuts. Sprinkle over loaves.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. In a small bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, cocoa, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over warm loaves. Yield: 2 loaves (8 slices each)

Nutritional Facts
1 slice equals 274 calories, 11 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 36 mg cholesterol, 147 mg sodium, 43 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein.

It was very good. Brian liked it enough that I marked it as a favorite. I liked it, but not as much as Brian. I almost didn't include the macadamia nuts because $$$, but I'm glad I did. Other nuts would probably be okay, but I liked the macadamia nuts a lot. It was very tedious to make, so I probably won't make it much. Cinnamon rolls are easier than this. Plus, look at the nutrition facts. Brian ate 7 pieces. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Roasted Carrots

It's embarrassing that it's taken me three months to post a recipe as easy as this.

Roasted Carrots
From America's Test Kitchen

1.5 lbs carrots, peeled, halved crosswise, and cut length wise to make even pieces
2 T melted butter
Salt and pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. In large bowl, combine carrots with butter, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper; toss to coat. Transfer to foil lined baking sheet and spread in single layer.
2. Cover baking baking sheet tightly with foil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook, stirring twice, until carrots are well browned and tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to serving platter, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

We love this and make it frequently.  I can't handle too many boiled carrots,  but these are fine. One note though-- don't use baby carrots, they don't taste as good.

Black Bean Soup

This recipe came from a food storage pamphlet the Columbus Ohio Stake put out.

1 1/2 cups dried black beans
vegetable oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish
4 cups soaking water
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed thyme
sour cream to garnish, optional

Pick over and clean beans. Rinse then place in bowl with soaking water. Place in refrigerator to soak overnight then drain and discard water. Add enough vegetable oil to large saucepan to saute onion and garlic. Saute over medium heat about 2 minutes then add tomatoes and herbs. Cook about 5 more minutes then add drained beans to saucepan, cover with three cups water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered about  2 hours. Add more water if necessary to prevent beans from drying out. When beans are tender drain and reserve bean broth. Process beans in blender or food processor until smooth. Add enough of the reserved bean broth to make soup consistency. Return soup to saucepan and heat through. Season as desired with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and top with sour cream and sprinkle with parsley as desired.

Makes 5 one cup servings.

We all liked this. I don'r think I drained the beans, but instead just blended it all up together. The consistency was perfect. The only thing we would change is to use some chicken bouillon
to give it a little more flavor.

This will be a good recipe for us to have around if times ever get really rough and we have to live off our dry bean supply.

Greek Lamb Pockets

1 lb. ground lamb or beef
1/2 c. barbecue sauce
2 T parsley flakes
1 t. salt
1/2 t. mint flakes
1 med. pepper cut into strips
3 rounds petra bread, halved
1 small onion
plain yogurt or sour cream

Brown meat, add sauce, seasoning, and vegetables. Simmer 5 minutes. Wrap bread in aluminum foil, bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Fill with meat mix, serve with yogurt or sour cream.

These were okay, but definitely not Greek in any nature. Big Chubb was very disappointed. Little and Baby Chubbs both did not like it because they saw the green peppers.

I made some flat bread using Mel's recipe. They were awesome! I have yet to come across a bad recipe from her.

Sprouted Wheat

I've never sprouted wheat before, but since this "recipe" is in my collection, I thought I would give it a try. We seem to have no problems digesting normal wheat, so I'm not looking for the supposed health benefits of sprouted wheat.

Sprouted Wheat

Place 3/4 c of clean washed wheat in a quart jar and over wit 3/4 c of warm water. Soak about 12 hours. Drain off the water, saving it to use to make soup, juice, etc. Rinse the wheat, drain, and put the bottle in a cupboard where it is dark and warm. Don't handle or interfere with germinating wheat. Gently sprinkle a little water over the grain two or three times a day. For ventilation, tip the bottle on it's side. Cover top with nylon net, nylon stocking, or gauze, secured with a rubber band. Your sprouts are ready to eat when they have reached 1/4 inch long, which will be in two or three days. Place jar in a window to acquire sunlight for a few hours; this adds chlorophyll. Refrigerate.

This was a fail. Some of the wheat sprouted really fast, but I kept it in the cupboard longer so the rest could sprout. By two and a half days, not all the wheat had sprouted yet, but the first sprouts were over an inch long, and it was starting to mold.

I poked around the internet a little to see what I did wrong. Apparently there are special products dedicated to sprouting wheat and other things. Since we digest normal wheat just fine, I don't plan on investing money on such a product, but I would like to successfully sprout some wheat so I can try sprouted wheat bread.

Chicken Hawaiian

Here is one last chicken recipe from our chicken marathon.

1 large green pepper, cut in strips (I halved them in half after that so they weren't really long)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. salad oil
2 cans cream of chicken coup
1 can (13 oz) pineapple tidbits in juice
2 c. cooked chicken, cubed
2 T. soy sauce
3 c. cooked rice
1/4 c. slivered almonds.

Cook green pepper and garlic in saucepan with oil. Stir in  soup and pineapple juice. Add chicken, pineapple tidbits, and soy sauce. Heat slowly. Serve on Rice. Top with almonds.

I warned Big Chubb that this would be like Hawaiian Haystacks a little. He said he was pleasantly surprised because he doesn't like haystacks. Little and Baby Chubbs liked it a lot, too!

It came together really fast, especially since we had some cooked chicken in the freezer. However, we had to wait extra long for the rice. The burner either wasn't on all the way or the pan wasn't on the burner so the brown rice took extra long to cook. If you do make this I would only use one can of cream of chicken soup. It made lots of sauce, so I would just cut the soup down so there is more pineapple and soy flavor. There were enough leftovers from our dinner of Sunday that we are having this again tonight!

Chicken Casserole

We've been on a chicken roll here, so here is another recipe. I had never had this until Big Chubb. Apparently, his family ate this frequently while growing up. I have quite a few variations of this recipe, too, so here is what we usually do.

I froze this for post surgery, and it cooked up great!

Cooked chicken
A can of cream of chicken soup
Some sour cream
A box of stuffing mix

Mix the chicken, soup and sour cream. Top with made stuffing. Bake in 350 degree oven until it is heated through/bubbly.

Always a dinner winner in our house. Big Chubb likes to pull out some jellied cranberry sauce and have an almost Thanksgiving dinner. In fact this would be good use of leftover turkey, gravy and stuffing.

Other variations include some ham lunch meat and Swiss cheese to make it chicken cordon bleu casserole.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

I think I have a million variations of this dish in my collections of Mom recipes. Coincidentally, this is also a favorite easy meal that the kids love. It works great as a freezer meal, too, so if I am feeling extra generous when I take meals to people, I take this one along frozen. In fact, we have one waiting in the freezer.

Here is the gist:

Some cooked chicken shredded or cubed
Some broccoli
Some cream of soup (I typically use chicken) or make up your own.

Mix it all together and bake until heated all the way through, usually 350 degree oven.


I like to add in cooked rice (white or brown) to make a complete meal in one dish. I also mix in or sprinkle cheese on top. Just make sure that you taste it because it usually needs lots of salt. When I freeze it, I just let it thaw and then bake. I have never had trouble with this recipe after freezing it.

The best part is that both little Chubbs gobble it right up. It is filling and it hits 4 food groups which makes me happy. Sometimes if I want to make the meal a little heartier, I'll add another cooked vegetable on the side.

Perfectly Chocolate Frosting

Perfectly Chocolate Frosting

3/4 c butter
1 c cocoa
4 1/2 c xxx sugar
1/2 c milk
1 t vanilla

And that's it. I made it to go on some brownies. Since I didn't plan ahead, and we don't have a microwave, the butter was cold and the frosting wasn't smooth, but it was still delicious and very chocolatey. Mom would have liked it, I think. I halved it and still had lots of extra from the pan of brownies.

Apple-Berry Crisp

This is from the Washington Apples company.

Apple-Berry Crisp

If using cranberries here, add two tablespoons more brown sugar to apple-berry mixture, since cranberries are especially tart.

Ingredients:
5 Golden Delicious or Rome Beauty apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 c fresh or frozen blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, or raspberries
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/3 c unsifted all-purpose flour
1/8 t salt
5 T butter
1/3 c rolled oats

Method:
1) Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 1 1/2- to 2-quart dish. In a large bowl, combine apples, berries, 1/4 c brown sugar, and 1/2 t cinnamon; toss to blend. Place apple-berry mixture in prepared dish.
2) In medium-sized bowl, combine flour, salt, remaining 1/2 c brown sugar, and 1 t cinnamon. With pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly; stir in oats. Sprinkle mixture over apples and bake 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is crisp and golden.

This exceeded my (low) expectations, I thought the apples might be weird with the berries, but it worked out. I would prefer an all-berry crisp, but the apples were a good way to bulk it up without breaking the bank. I used four apples--three would have been enough, though. I also 1 and 1/2ed  the topping, and I'm glad I did.