Scrumptious Cobbler

It has been a while since I made a cobbler, but a few weeks ago, I made an apricot cobbler, as pictured above.  You can see we ate some before I took a picture.  :)  I got this recipe from my mom, I don't know where she got it, but it is super easy and good!

 

Cobbler

3 Tbls. butter   (4.5 Tbls.)

1 cup flour     (1.5 cup)

1 cup sugar     (1.5 cup)

2 tsp. baking powder  (3 tsp.)

1/4 tsp. salt    (3/8 tsp.)

3/4 cup milk    (1 and 1/8 cup)

The measurements in black are for a square pan, those in orange are for a 9 x 13 pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put butter in pan and place in oven until melted.  Meanwhile sift dry ingredients (I never sift them, I just mix.) in bowl and gradually add milk.  Pour batter evenly in pan over melted butter. Put fruit over batter (apricots, cherries, apples, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, strawberries, etc.).  Bake for one hour or until done.  Enjoy!

Chicken Baked In Pesto Crust

I had some leftover homemade pesto sitting in the fridge, so I found a yummy recipe (which I modified) to use it.  This is a picture I took before I baked it.  Of course I forgot to take an after pic, but you get the idea. 


Chicken Baked In Pesto Crust*

1.5-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into somewhat even large pieces
2 eggs
6 tablespoons milk
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup pesto

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix eggs and milk in shallow bowl.  Line up pesto, egg mixture, and breadcrumbs. Brush pesto onto both sides of chicken, then dip into egg/milk mixture, then coat with breadcrumbs.  Place onto baking sheet which has been sprayed with Pam.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until chicken is baked through.  Serve with whatever you want. 

*Original recipe from "1000 Lowfat Recipes" by Terry Blonder Golson, one of my favorite cookbooks.

Year Of The Cantaloupe

Some of the garden did not do well this year, like zucchini and beans, but the winner of Best Producer in the 2010 Garden has got to be the cantaloupe. (Cucumbers and peppers are the runner-ups.) Our current cantaloupe count is at 73 picked! We've been picking 6-10 of them every couple of days. There are still 20+ out there.

So naturally, when you have that many cantaloupe, you can't possibly eat them all, so you give some away and then you look for things to do with them. I've cut some up and frozen the chunks in containers. Then I found a recipe for Cantaloupe Bread! It is pictured below and wow, is it moist and tasty! It doesn't taste like cantaloupe, though, and I did not put on the praline glaze that the recipe called for. So now I have cut up more of them, pureed them, and frozen the puree for later bread-making.

Then, can you guess what these are?

If you said Pickled Cantaloupe, you are right! They look pretty, don't they? I found the recipe in the Ball preserving book, which has all kinds of interesting recipes. They have a spicy (i.e. cinnamon, cloves,etc.), vinegary, sweet (you add sugar) taste. Not too much like cantaloupe, but they are good! The kids liked them.

Pizza Night

In the winter we like to make homemade pizza every few weeks, usually on Sunday evenings. I always make the dough and get the toppings ready, and then Dan rolls out the dough, puts on the toppings, and bakes them on our pizza stone. The kids like to watch Daddy put the pizzas together.

This last time we made pizza, we got inspired to be more creative. We have James McNair's Vegetarian Pizza cookbook and we adapted a couple of recipes from there. Pictured above is the Roman-Style Spinach Pizza. It was so good I was lucky to get a picture at all before it was gone. All of the kids but Catherine liked it. I knew I had better blog about it so I could remember what we did the next time we want to make it. This was enough to make one small pizza.

1 small bunch of spinach, stems chopped off - washed well and drained somewhat

1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced

Some pine nuts, I think I used about 2 Tbls.

2 Tbls. unsalted butter, melted

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Ground Italian sausage, browned and drained

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Put damp spinach in skillet and cook on high, stirring often until the spinach wilts and turns bright green. This only took a few minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible, then mix spinach with garlic, pine nuts, and melted butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roll out pizza dough and brush top with extra-virgin olive oil. Put on spinach mixture, then sausage, then top with cheese. Transfer pizza to pizza stone in hot oven (we bake them at 550) and bake until done. Mmmm!

This one is the Olive Paste Pizza. I adapted the recipe a lot so I could use what ingredients we had, and it tasted very good. And the smell! Heavenly! This made enough for 2 small pizzas.

1 can black olives

1-2 Tbls. capers, rinsed and well drained

1-2 tsp. basil (it called for 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, but I didn't have any)

1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped

1/8-1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1-2 Tbls. lemon juice, fresh if you have it

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Ground Italian sausage, browned and drained

Bacon, fried til well done and broken into small pieces

Mozzarella cheese

Put olives, capers, basil, and garlic in food processor and process. Add olive oil and process until smooth. Then add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Roll out pizza dough and brush top with extra-virgin olive oil. Spread olive paste on the top, then top with sausage and/or bacon, and finally the cheese. Transfer to hot pizza stone in oven (550) and bake until done. Yummy!

Cloud Soup

This should really be called Chicken Kenebel Soup, but my children have nicknamed it Cloud Soup and the name has stuck! Kenebel are hard little dumplings which go well in just about any kind of soup. This is definitely one of my go-to fall recipes! I first encountered Kenebel at my mother-in-law's house and it is a Volga-German tradition.

For this soup I started by sauteing 1-1.5 pounds chopped boneless, skinless chicken breast. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, and when it was nearly done, I added some onions from our garden. After a couple of minutes I put in chopped celery and carrots and sauteed another minute or two. Then I added one can of chicken broth and about 8-10 cups of water and brought it to a boil. I then let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. I seasoned it with thyme and marjoram to taste and added salt and pepper as necessary. Towards the end I added a bag of frozen corn.

While the soup was simmering I mixed up the Kenebel(I've also seen it spelled Gnebble):

2 eggs, beat
enough flour to make a sticky dough (about 1 cup)
a little salt and/or pepper, or any other seasoning you might like
milk, if needed, if the dough gets too tough

As you can see, this is not an exact recipe, which is why I start with eggs, beat them up in a bowl, then add a cup of flour. If the dough is too wet, add a little more flour. If it is too tough, add a little milk. Season as you like, or not at all. You can also start with 4 eggs, if you want to double it. This is what it looks like in the bowl:
Bring the soup back up to a boil before you add in the dumplings. IMPORTANT: Use a small spoon to put them in, otherwise you will end up with large dumplings that aren't evenly cooked. I use a long-handled teaspoon. NEXT IMPORTANT TIP: Dip the spoon into the boiling liquid before you put it in the Kenebel mixture and then scoop a little out and dunk it in the soup. The dough will slide right off the spoon. This is what they look like cooking in the soup pot: As you can see, they expand a fair amount, and then float to the top of the soup. After about 5 minutes, they should all be done.

Serve, and enjoy!

*Variation: Start with a leftover ham-bone that has all the nice little chunks of ham still attached after you sliced the ham for your big ham dinner. Put it in your soup pot, add water to cover, bring to a boil, then simmer until the ham is falling off the bone. Remove bones and ham, chop the ham and put it back in the pot. Add bag of frozen green beans and simmer together. Mix up your Kenebel and add as directed above. No need for any seasoning for this version!

Proud of the Pesto!

Here is a shot of our 3 pots of basil from this summer.

Since we had an abundance of basil this year, I decided to try making pesto, which I had never done before. Since I looked at a couple of different recipes and made mine different than both, I have to write(type) it down so I don't forget what I did. :)

I made it three times and each time was a little different, but they were all good. I was hoping to put some in the freezer, but we ended up eating it all. Next year!

Pesto

2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves

1-4 cloves garlic, depending on how much you like garlic (actually the 3rd time I made it, I was pregnant and I left out the garlic altogether, and it still tasted good)

1/8-1/2 cup pine nuts, or walnuts (I used pecans one time and it was good)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese (or just use all Parmesan)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Wash the basil leaves well and blot dry. Add and puree each ingredient in turn, as listed, in food processor (or blender), scraping down sides of processor after each ingredient is added and pureed. If you can, run your food processor while you stream in the olive oil and the pesto will become smooth during this step. This will make 1 to 1and1/2 cups of pesto. You can use it with pasta, or as a spread in sandwiches, or as a spread on grilled bread.

In the picture below, I sauteed some cut-up chicken breast, meanwhile making pasta according to directions. I tossed the hot pasta with the sauteed chicken, some black olives, and the pesto. Wow, was it good! I also made it one time without chicken as a side dish.

Squash Cookies (or Pumpkin)

Dan's mom sent me this recipe one time, so since I have a few squash stashed here and there, I made some the other day. With 4 little helpers. Luckily I didn't forget anything. :) And, they were really good! I think I had made them before with pumpkin, but I like them even better with squash. I'm sure zucchini would work just the same.

Squash (or Pumpkin) Cookies

2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 cups squash or pumpkin

1 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

2 cups raisins

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Beat together sugar, squash, oil, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix. Blend in raisins and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Yield: 7 dozen.

Zucchini Pancakes

Okay, this one is for all of you with a little excess zucchini, who might be a smidgeon tired of the grilled or sauted style.

I found the recipe in Woman's Day and it is called Zucchini Cakes, but I told the kids they were corn cakes, as they are getting tired of zucchini.


Zucchini (Corn) Cakes

1 shredded small zucchini (I used a little over a cup)
I box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk

Microwave the shredded zucchini on medium-high for 2 minutes and let drain. Mix the zucchini, cornbread mix, egg and milk together and let stand for 5 minutes.

Heat a little oil in a pan (or you could use a griddle) to a medium temp. Drop heaping Tbsps. of the batter into the pan. They cook quickly so keep a close eye on them and flip when done on the first side. When brown on both sides remove to a plate and cover so they stay warm. Serve warm. It makes about 14 pancakes. We just ate them plain and everybody liked them. I definitely will use this one again.

Tasty Stuff!

I have to say, this is one of the best dinners I have ever made. It was so yummy that there was hardly any left. And of course I forgot to take a picture beforehand, so this is all that was left:

I got the recipe out of a magazine, I think it was Woman's Day, not sure which issue, since I had ripped the page out. I have learned that if there is something in a magazine I want to save, I have to rip it out right away, otherwise I will never go back and do it!

Anyway, if your family likes Asian food, this recipe is a must!

Szechuan Noodles With Pork (serves 4)



12 oz linguine (I used 16 oz fettuccine)

1 cup chicken broth or water

2 Tbsp lite soy sauce (I used regular)

12 oz ground pork (I used cut up boneless, skinless chicken breast)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (I sprinkled a little cayenne pepper)

6 scallions, cut in 1-2 inch pieces (I chopped up green onions into little round pieces)

1 large carrot, shredded

1 Tbsp each minced garlic and ginger

3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

Garnish: chopped cilantro



Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, stir broth and soy sauce together and set aside. Heat skillet to med-high heat. Add pork (if using chicken, you'll need a little olive oil) and saute until done. Add scallions, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and cook 3 minutes. Stir broth mixture and peanut butter into the skillet and cook until peanut butter is melted and blended. Reserving 1 cup pasta water (or the other half of your can of broth!), drain the pasta and add to skillet. Toss to coat with sauce. Stir in water/broth as needed to keep mixture creamy. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. Enjoy!

Tax Day Meal

3 pounds of polish sausage cut into big chunks - check!

2 cans of sauerkraut, rinsed and drained (makes it a little less pungent) - check!

All thrown in the crock pot - check!

Crock pot turned on low - check!

All I have to do now is fry (or bake) a few potatoes and make a side salad, and presto, dinner is ready. Can you get much easier than that! (Of course, it'll be Easter candy for dessert.)

Dan, if you read this before you come home, prepare for the feast!

Mom, when you read this, yes, I do like sauerkraut now. Just like a good, mostly-German girl should!

Snow Ice Cream

So last Saturday, after we had played outside in the snow to our hearts' content, we came in for some hot chocolate and cookies. And snow ice cream. Snow ice cream, you say? Is that an April Fools joke? No! I'll tell you how to do it. Of course, now you may have to wait til next winter to try it for yourself.

First you get some clean, fresh snow. If your husband gets it for you, you get a huge amount: Yes, we made cookies that morning while waiting for it to stop snowing. They are called Pride of Kansas Cookies. Yummy! And while we had a snowstorm outside, we had a tornado inside, so don't look at the mess.

Put however much snow you want to use in another bowl and add heavy whipping cream if you have it, if you don't, whole milk or even 2% will do. Keep adding cream(or milk) until you get a good consistency. Also add in sugar and vanilla to taste. That's it!

It seems like I remember something we had as a kid called Ice Milk that came in a container like ice cream. Anyone else remember that?

Here is Dominic, eating his cookie and snow ice cream, and drinking his hot chocolate. No matter how long you have been playing out in the snow, you can always eat a little snow ice cream!

After a while the sun actually came out and everything looked so beautiful. All the ice-covered trees just sparkled in the sunshine.

And one more picture of that snowman!

Apples, Apples, Everywhere!

A couple months ago when we visited my parents, we hit during part of the apple picking season. It's been many years since I picked apples, so it was fun to climb up and load the baskets. It was quite windy that day, so at times it got a little scary! This is to prove to Dan that I climbed up the ladder (I'm on the far ladder, my sister is on the near one) and picked apples myself! Ask him why I don't have any pictures of him climbing up to pick apples! Yep, that is Joseph climbing up the ladder. Grandpa was just about to get him. So we came back with 2 large boxes full of apples and we just recently ate the last ones. I thought I would share what I did with them. A lot of them just gotten eaten raw. The kids loved to just take an apple out of the box and start chomping. And sometimes I would find a few in the box with a Joseph bite out of them! I made apple salad, apple cake, applesauce, and apple butter, none of which I got pictures of, but they were tasty. Some of the applesauce and apple butter got stored away in the freezer for later use.

Here is the start of fried apples:

Of course, we had to have apple pie:

And finally, apple muffins:

Here is the recipe for the apple butter from allrecipes. I had never made any before but the crockpot made it easy once I got the apples prepared (although I had to laugh because the recipes says it only takes 20 min. to peel, core, and chop 5 and 1/2 pounds of apples!). So this is a good recipe for a day when you'll be home all day because you have stir every so often. It sure does make the house smell good!

All-Day Apple Butter

INGREDIENTS
5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
4 cups sugar (I only used 2 cups as I had sweeter apples)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Place apples in a slow cooker. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt; pour over apples and mix well. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking). Uncover and cook on low 1 hour longer. If desired, stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Easy Focaccia Bread

I've made this bread a couple times now and it truly is easy. You can have fresh, hot bread ready for dipping into olive oil and cracked pepper or for dipping into soup in less than an hour!

Easy Focaccia Bread

INGREDIENTS:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast (I used one packet and it worked fine)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
cracked black pepper
kosher salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Making by hand:1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and a pinch of black pepper. Mix in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and water.2. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Making in bread maker:1. Pour water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil into bread maker pan. Add salt, sugar, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and a pinch of black pepper. Make a well in the center and pour 1 tablespoon active dry yeast or bread maker yeast into it.2. Turn on the dough only cycle on your bread maker. Check the dough on the first kneading cycle to see if you need to add more water because it’s too dry or add more flour because it’s too sticky. Add sparingly until the dough is the right consistency.

For both methods:3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Make dimples on the top by pushing your fingers down into the dough. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, and a good pinch of Kosher salt.4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm with a side of high quality olive oil and cracked black pepper for dipping.

I found this recipe going from one blog to another and ending up here:
http://mywoodenspoon.com/2008/11/14/easy-focaccia-bread/

Easy Meals - Breakfast Burritos

Whenever tortillas are on sale, I buy extra, knowing that I can use them for fajitas or burritos and also for these:

Breakfast Burritos

tortillas (this makes up about 10 soft taco size)
1/2 lb ground sausage, browned
6-8 eggs, scrambled
shredded cheddar
whatever else you want to put in

This is so easy, it's great!

Just put some sausage and eggs in the tortilla, sprinkle on some cheese and roll up tightly. Once you have rolled all of them up, put them on a plate and microwave them for a couple minutes until the cheese melts, which helps hold all the stuff inside.

Easy, yummy and makes a cheap dinner!

Ginger Lentil Soup

I am always looking for different things to make on Fridays in Lent, without much expense. I found the recipe below in a cookbook which has become one of my favorites: 1000 Lowfat Recipes, by Terry Blonder Golson. I got it years ago and I am surprised at how much I use it. I don't necessarily follow all of the lowfat parts, but for recipes using lots of different herbs and spices, it is great!

If you like fresh grated ginger like I do, you will love this soup.

Ginger Lentil Soup
Sometimes it is a seemingly fussy technique that makes a recipe. For example, the spices for this soup are first cooked in the saute pan before being added to the simmering soup. This step enhances both flavor and aroma and since it only takes a minute is not as much bother as it might first appear.

1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked through
6 cups water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 carrot, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 & 1/2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
One 14 &1/2 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1) Bring the lentils and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils begin to soften.

2) Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick pan. Saute the onions, carrot, and garlic for about 5 minutes, until the onions begin to change color. Keep the lid on between stirrings.

3) Stir the ginger, coriander, and cumin into the onion mixture. Cook for 1 minute, then scrape it all into the pot with the lentils. Add the tomatoes, Tabasco, and salt to the pot.

4) Simmer the soup, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley and cilantro, if using, and serve.

Makes: 5 servings


I didn't have any coriander, so I think I substituted tarragon. I cut out half the garlic and left out the Tabasco, in honor of the children of the house. I also added celery and for us the cilantro was not optional. I love cilantro! It was pretty easy to do, even with four little "helpers."