Homemade Pierogi

Cheater Beans

Combine a 28-ounce jar of Randall's Great Northern Beans, undrained with 1 pound raw chopped bacon, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp dillweed, 2 tsp dry mustard, 2 tsp dehydrated onion. Cover and cook in the microwave on High for 35 minutes. Uncover, transfer to a 400 degree F oven for another 30 minutes or so. (These are even better the next day)

Crunchy Cheesaroni

This is one of my husband's favorite dishes....read through to the bottom for yummy variations.

Crunchy Cheesaroni

2 cups dry elbow macaroni, cooked and drained according to pkg directions
1 green pepper, chopped
1 pound ground meat, browned and crumbled
1 can cream of tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg shredded cheese (8 oz)
1 small container French fried onions

Brown the meat while the pasta boils.  Drain the excess fat off the meat and mix in the green pepper and two cans of soup.  Mix the drained pasta into the meat/soup mixture and pour half into a dutch oven or casserole dish.  Sprinkle in half the cheese and half the onions and then layer on the second half of the macaroni mixture.  Top the casserole with the remaining cheese and bake at 350-375 for 20 minutes or so until bubbly.  Sprinkle the remaining onions on top and slide it back into the oven until they are crispy. Serve with crushed red pepper flakes so people can add their own heat.  Enjoy.

Variations:  substitute Italian sausage (hot or mild) for the ground beef; add other vegetables; experiment with different cheeses.  By far, my family likes the sausage substitution.....I made this just tonight with Bob Evans breakfast sausage and a Mexican 3-cheese blend with delicious results.

Menu for Tonight: 4/3/12

Shredded BBQ Beef (low and slow bottom round roast all day with a generous helping of Todd's special custom pepper blend)....will add the sauce after cooking and shredding

Focaccia Bread (Recipe was posted here last year...continues to be a favorite)


Oven Toasted Kale Chips - had these last night at Mom's: toss torn kale leaves or baby kale with olive oil, salt, pepper, and spices(smoked paprika, ancho chile powder, etc.) and toast at 400 for 8 minutes


Brussels Sprouts- ok, so I buy these babies frozen and just steam or nuke them.  simple.

Chicken Stir Fry

My husband, Todd, says I make "Rockin' Stir-fry," so here is the recipe I created tonight.

Ingredients:
1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
Marinade:
3-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 T light soy sauce
2 T Tarragon vinegar
4 T warm water
1 T creamy peanut butter

4-6 cups mixed chopped vegetables, such as onion, asparagus, zucchini, bell pepper, whatever you like and have on hand

Olive oil
3 T cornstarch + cold water and another splash of soy sauce

Cooked Rice

Directions:
Whisk together the marinade ingredients and toss in the chicken, set aside while you stirfry the veggies in the olive oil in your largest skillet or wok.  Once the veggies are cooked to your taste/texture, pour out into a bowl and reheat the skillet until it's rockin' hot.  Throw in the chicken and marinade and cook until just done.  Add the cooked veggies and mix well.  Whisk together the corn starch, water, and a touch of soy sauce.  Make a well in the center of the stir fry and poor in the thickener/sauce.  Once the sauce starts to thicken, stir everything together and serve over the rice, perhaps with some chopped peanuts or chow mein noodles over the top.

*Note: my new favorite way to cook white rice is to boil a big pot of water as for pasta.  Then, I add the rice and boil for about 15 minutes until it is done and then drain in a colander.  This makes for a nice fluffy rice that is not gooey or sticky or clumpy.  Very good for stir fries and fried rice dishes.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

A recipe of my own design:

BROCCOLI TUNA BAKE

Ingredients:
1 lb. box thin spaghetti
2 small heads broccoli, chopped into small bites
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
4 small cans light tuna in water, undrained
2 cans reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup
2 tsp dehydrated onion
1 cup shredded cheese
1 pkg Kraft Fresh Takes breadcrumb/cheese combo (I used the Bacon Cheddar flavor) 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook spaghetti according to the pkg directions, adding broccoli and red peppers half way through cooking and reduce cooking time by one minute as pasta will cook again in the oven.  Drain, but do not rinse pasta and veggies.  In the same pot, combine cans of soup, tuna, and onion.  Toss in the pasta and veggies until combined. Pour half of the mixture into a 9x13" baking dish and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top.  Pour in the remaining casserole and then top with the whole package of Fresh Takes.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are bubbly and the top is golden brown.  Allow the casserole to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and scooping out with a spatula.

Good Eating Lately

We stopped at a Chinese Buffet on our way home from the Woods last weekend and I had some delish crab legs and claws.  Monday, Grommy made corned beef, roasted carrots, and cabbage and noodles along with Irish Soda Bread with golden raisins and caraway seeds.  On Tuesday, I made a simple breaded/baked chicken asparagus/yellow squash skillet, and twice baked potatoes with roasted garlic.  Wednesday we let Amelia choose a restaurant, so SURPRISE- she chose Chinese food.  After grocery shopping on Thursday evening, I made Swiss Sizzle Steaks on hoagie buns for Todd and me as a late supper.  Friday night we were back together as a whole family at Grommy's house for grilled brats, 3 bean salad, and chips with guacamole.

Tonight (3/24), the plan is for some warm tuna broccoli spaghetti bake with a green salad and homemade bread.

Tomorrow's Sunday Night Suppa will be a healthy chicken stir-fry with a peanutty sauce.

Monday (3/26): Taco Salad with Doritos


Tuesday(3/27): Quinoa Primavera with Roasted Veggies

Wednesday(3/28): Sausage Rice Casserole

Thursday(3/29): leftovers

Menu Plan, week of 3/11/12

Sunday 3/11: Beef Soft Tacos, guacamole, Paula Deen's Corn Casserole http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/corn-casserole-recipe/index.html (cook for half the time called for at 400 - perfection!

Monday 3/12: Grommy's house - Weekly Family Supper: Fresh Polish Kielbasa, Sauerkraut, Mashed Potatoes, Peas, Baby Carrots, Cucumbers with Sour Cream (POLISH SOUL FOOD!)

Tuesday 3/13: Breaded Baked Chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes, South Beach Artichoke Gratin

Wednesday 3/14: Black Bean Soup with Ham, Bruschetta

Thursday 3/15: Creamy Quinoa Primavera (inspired by http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/creamy-quinoa-primavera/22b5e2bd-04c9-44f2-9e42-66b6b24f5d76), Garlic Bread

Friday 3/16: Tuna Salad Wraps, Lays Lightly Salted Potato Chips, Carrot Sticks

Saturday 3/17: Warm Ham and Cheese Subs, leftover Black Bean Soup

Sunday 3/18: TBA Restaurant :-)

Delicious Crepes

I made these crepes for supper on a Thursday and again for brunch on Saturday at Todd's request....they were that good! The original recipe is from Allrecipes.com and my only alteration after a taste test was to add about a tablespoon of sugar to the batter. Also, I made the recipe as is the first time and doubled it with no problem when the kids were here on Saturday. Finally, I used soymilk instead of the regular milk because it was what I had and it worked perfectly. Happy flipping!

Basic Crepes (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/basic-crepes/detail.aspx)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 216 | Total Fat: 9.2g | Cholesterol: 123mg

One last tip: melt the butter in your pan and it is pre-greased for your first batch! My little nonstick skillet actually does great without any additional oiling.

Low Fat, Low Cal CAKE with DIET POP

Recipe: Mix one cake mix with one, 12 oz can diet pop and bake as directed on the box. The flavor combinations are as wide and varied as your imagination! I have made one of these cakes per week for the last four weeks and have had success every time:

1. Week 1: Devils Food Cake Mix (cheapest avail) and Diet Coke, 9x12 pan DELISH!!!!! Very "fudgy"
2. Week 2: Yellow Cake Mix and Diet Root Beer, 9x13" pan Weird color, but tasty
3. Week 3: Double Chocolate Cake Mix (with choc chips) and Diet Coke, 8" round pans. I tried putting marshmallow cream in the middle of the layers and frosting the outside with a can of fudge frosting. However, the marshmallow cream was absorbed by the cake within a day and the frosting made a mess of the cake as it is too tender to frost. It tasted great, but wasn't very pretty.
4. Week 4: Butter Recipe Cake Mix and Diet Red Pop (strawberry), 9x13" pan. Pretty, pink, and pallettable. Well, more than just pallettable-it was yummy.

Try your own combination today! Next on my list is white or lemon cake with orange pop.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I made my Mama's Broccoli Cheese Soup today and it did not disappoint. Here is the recipe:

Saute one chopped onion in a soup pot with some olive oil. Add one quart chicken stock (I use homemade when I have it). To this, add two thawed packages of frozen chopped broccoli (10 oz each). Refill the quart chicken stock container with milk (your choice - I've used skim all the way through fat-free half and half with the expected results). Add the milk to the broccoli and stock mixture and bring it to a boil. Throw in some fine egg noodles, or, if you're cheap like me, about half a pound of broken up angel hair pasta (costs about a third of what the noodles do at my Kroger). Boil these till tender-about three minutes. Finally, add about one pound of cubed Velveeta cheese and stir over med-low heat until it is melted. Turn off the fire and allow the soup to rest for about 20 minutes before stirring again and serving.

French Bread

I also took a stab at French baguettes yesterday with beautiful results. Mark Bitterman's "How to Cook Everything" is my source for this recipe (and for the ravioli dough and filling I spent the evening on yesterday).

Winning White Bread

I have been on a quest since the new year (2012) to make homemade bread for my family simply so I know what is going into their bodies. Experiments included 100% whole wheat, white and wheat blends, food processor and kitchen aid methods, boules, loaves, and more. Here is the winning white bread recipe. I will be making another loaf again today as the one I baked yesterday is half gone already! I'm also going to try making the dough ahead and freezing for future use. I will keep you posted.

Craig's White Bread makes 1 loaf Ingredients: 1 cup + 2 tbsp warm water (105°-115°) 1 tsp sugar 2¼ tsp or 1 packet yeast 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt 3½ cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Warm the bowl of your KitchenAid mixer under the kitchen faucet while using a thermometer to mix the hot/cold water to the right temperature (105°-115°). In your 2-cup measuring cup combine the 1 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water, 1 teaspoon sugar, and thoroughly dissolve the 2¼ teaspoons yeast in it, set aside.
2. Meanwhile, sift-measure the flour and add to the bowl along with the salt. Mix well with the standard paddle, replace the paddle with the dough hook.
3. Add the 1 tablespoon oil to the yeast mixture, (which should have a 'head' of bubbles on it by now, if not discard and start over) and pour the whole thing into the bowl on top of the flour mixture.
4. Using the dough hook, mix on speed 2 until the dough balls up and cleans the bowl. help it along with a soft spatula if you want. Be patient here, as it will look too dry for the first 5 minutes or so, but will eventually incorporate all the flour and probably need more flour added, so wait at least 5 minutes without adding any liquid.
5. Knead on speed 2 or 3 for 10 minutes or more, adding flour a tablespoon at a time as necessary to keep too much of the dough from sticking on the bottom of the bowl. Take steps to keep the dough wrapped around the dough hook and getting pulled like taffy, rather than balled-up and rolling around in-between the dough hook and the bowl.
6. When finished kneading, remove the dough from the bowl, knead by hand a few turns and form into a ball, place in an oiled bowl (1-2 teaspoons oil in the bottom of a bowl) and turn to coat the ball with oil. cover with a towel and place in a warm place (80°-85°) to rise until size-doubled (45 minutes to 1 hour).
7. When finished rising, dump the dough out of the bowl and knead by hand for 20 turns or so. Form into a loaf, a place in a 9"x5" bread pan. Let rise in a warm place again until it is 1" to 1¼" over the top of the pan (45 minutes to no more than 1 hour) cover loosely with plastic wrap to keep the dough moist. I raise my loaves on top of the stove while it is pre-heating.
8. Bake in a pre-heated 375° oven for 35 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and cool pretty-much completely before cutting (if you can wait!).

I HAVE BEEN COOKING! JUST SLACKING ON THE BLOGGING

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted on this blog! I do have lots of pictures and recipes to share, from campfire patty melts to yesterday's bread extravaganza - stay tuned for some yummy posts!