Cooking On Clover Lane

Hummus

2011-12-21T03:33:00.000-08:00

I love hummus. Since I don't eat meat, I crave this for the great protein it provides. This is an easy recipe-no fancy food processor needed, I make it right in my blender.

2 garlic cloves, minced and mashed

1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained

1/3 cup of tahini (roasted not raw)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

I put all of that in my blender and blend till smooth-I add a little water if it needs to get "unstuck" and thinner.

Pita Chips

2011-12-20T03:33:00.000-08:00

These are so easy and taste great with my homemade hummus. If there are any left-my kids eat them up as soon as I remove them from the oven.

pitas

butter

coarse sea salt

Greek seasoning

Heat oven to 350.

Spread a thin layer of butter on one side of pita bread. If your pita is thick and you'd like thinner chip-like pita crisps, you can carefully, using a serated knife or simply by pulling apart, separate each piece of pita.

Place on bread on cookie sheets, butter side up.

Sprinkle seasoning and salt-don't go crazy! less is more!-over each buttered pita.

Bake in oven till bubbly and brown. Watch carefully as they burn quickly. Usually mine are perfect in about 10 minutes. I break them apart, or while they are still hot, I'll take a pizza cutter and slice them in wedges.

Cocktail Wieners

2011-12-15T02:51:00.000-08:00

My mom has made these every Thanksgiving and Christmas, and my family loves them.

1 bottle chili sauce

1 jar red currant jelly

4 TBS brown sugar

1 package Lil Smoke Sausages

Mix first three ingredients on stove over low heat.

Add sausages.

Heat through till hot.

Serve.

French Baguettes Using Bread Maker

2011-12-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

I love these for the feta dip, or for meatball subs, or just because.

1 cup very warm water

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 TBS white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

1 egg yolk

1 TBS water

Place first five ingredients in bread machine, in the order listed. Set on dough cycle. When cycle is done, place dought in warm place for 30 minutes (or more if necessary), and let rise until doubled.

Once risen, punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface roll (I use a rolling pin) into a 16x12 rectangle. Cut dough in half to form two 8x12 rectangles. Roll up each half tightly, long wise. Taper end.

Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Make deep diagonal slashes every 2 inches.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Mix water and egg yolk and brush on tops of loaves.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

White Cheese Dip

2011-12-09T03:26:00.000-08:00

1 pound white American cheese

1/2 cup milk

1 TBS butter

1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

cayenne pepper to taste

Place cheese, milk and butter in a sauce pan over low heat.

Cook and stir until cheese has melted. (Don't walk away, or it will burn!)

Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Add a little more milk if too thick.

Heat through and serve with tortilla chips.

Personalized Photo Placemats-A Great Gift

2011-12-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

I am always on the look out for cute place mats. I just cannot use cloth mats! I would have to wash them every day and I do not want to add to my laundry load.

The plastic ones I find always seem boring and outdated so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Using Picasa, I made a collage for each member of my family. I selected a bunch of different photos of each of the children...great vacation memories, baby pics, funny faces, etc...created a collage, and then using the Text feature, wrote their names on them. The kids love these place mats! Each photo seems to bring up a topic of conversation at the dinner table. "Remember when Dad made us hike up that mountain?" or "We had so much fun at that reunion!"

You have heard me talk about using the collage feature of Picasa before...it is the same method I use for making my blog headers and my scrapbook pages. It is so fun, easy and best of all free. For a tutorial on how to make a collage you can go here, or here for a step-by-step easy video tutorial from Persnickety Prints. You can also use a different program (i.e.Photoshop), OR just use a single picture if you don't want to bother with fancy digital stuff. If you want to make it even easier, you could pick up a few 11 x 17 size papers, and have your children make their own drawings.

I called my local printer and decided to go with an 11 x 17 size. That seemed to be a good size for a place mat, and it was easy and cheap for them to make color copies and laminate those color copies because it is a standard size. The color copies were $1 each, and then to laminate each of them was $3. $4 for custom place mats! Not bad! They also told me I could just email the collages to them, which made the whole process extra easy.

I did this about 5 years ago (using just a single picture that I brought in to be photocopied, before I was familiar with photo editing software) and the place mats held up for a good 3 years. They are easy to wipe off with soap and water. The copy place told me that they use 5mil laminate which makes them durable and sturdy.

Here are some tips and ideas:

1. I made a collage using the automatic "Mosaic" feature...that throws all your selected photos together into a collage automatically. (I chose plain white for my collage background.) Once that collage was created, (after you hit the Create Collage button) I selected that collage, and also selected a scrapbook paper, pressed Collage again, and using the Picture Pile feature, centered the finished collage on the scrapbook paper. That is how I got the scrapbook paper edge around the collage.

2. Sometimes the copier will cut off a small bit around the edges...ask!!! The copy lady told me I would lose about 1/4"...it didn't matter because I had the scrapbook paper behind my collage, but without it, it might have. Keep that in mind.

3. Remember in Picasa you can select your own custom collage size. You just type in your dimensions. (Horizontal size first.) Again, I used 17 x 11 because it was cheap and easy.

4. I think for this size, I could have used less pictures. I overloaded my own placemat and some of the pictures are tiny. The ones that turned out best are the ones were I selected not more than 30 pictures.

5. And of course, the possibilities are endless. Wouldn't it be cute to type in manner reminders? Or the family dinner blessing? You could make seasonal place mats also, with fun summer or fall colors, or a holiday theme.

Cupcakes

2011-12-06T03:25:00.000-08:00

A cupcake tip from my friend Melissa at 320 Sycamore:

This Wilton cupcake set is perfect for making boring cupcakes look cute. Use the 1M tip and fill the disposable bag (that come with the kit) with your own frosting or store bought and just swirl that frosting on. It does take more frosting to decorate this way-buy two cans of store bought, or make a big batch of homemade.

Here's a great frosting recipe:

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup shortening

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

5 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup milk

In a large bowl cream margarine and shortening until light and fluffy. Add salt, vanilla and sugar and milk and beat well.

Bread Maker Doughnuts

2011-12-01T00:58:00.000-08:00

You can easily double this recipe but this makes the perfect amount for us...about 8 doughnuts.

1/2 cup warm milk

1/2 beaten egg

1/4 cup butter

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp active dry yeast

8 cups vegetable oil (I used my deep fryer)

Place the milk and egg into the pan of bread maker and then add butter and dry ingredients in order listed, with yeast on top.
Select dough setting.
When cycle is finished, cut the dough into 8 pieces and form each into a disc.
Use a bottle top to punch out middle for doughnut holes.
Let the doughnuts rise on floured surface until at least doubled in size...this took hours for me, but all depends on air temperature. And I wanted my doughnuts to be as light and airy as possible.
Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees.
Gently place a few doughnuts in fryer until they float and turn golden brown, 1-2 minutes.
Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

I placed powdered sugar in a paper bag and shook each doughnut to coat immediately.

Meatball Subs

2011-11-29T01:04:00.000-08:00

A favorite at our house.

I sometimes use frozen meatballs when I don't have time but I use this meatball recipe when I do.
I sometimes buy baguettes when I don't have time but I try to make my own in the break maker. I'll post that recipe soon.

2 slices white sandwich bread, cut into little pieces
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 pounds ground sirloin
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp parsley
2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup milk
2 large beaten eggs
olive oil
1 jar of pasta sauce
baguettes or sub buns
mozzarella cheese

Place first 8 ingredients in a bowl and mix well. (Yes, you'll have to use your hands to really mix it all together well.)
Form into 1" balls, refrigerate for about 15 minutes to ensure firmness and so they won't break apart while browning.
Pour olive oil into a frying pan, heat till medium, and brown meatballs on all sides.
Turn as needed till all sides are brown.
Place meatballs in sauce and cook until done inside, at simmer, for about 2-4 hours.
Remove each meatball and place cooked meatballs on baguettes, topping with extra sauce as you go.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of each meatball sub, and warm in oven until cheese is bubbly and bread is warmed.
I cut the baguettes into preferred serving size.

Pumpkin Cookies

2011-11-24T00:52:00.000-08:00

1 cup butter, room temp

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Glaze:

3 TBS butter

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2-2 cups confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and the sugar together still fluffy.

Blend in pumpkin, egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon and salt.

Mix flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture.

Drop tablespoonfulls 3 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets.

Bake the cookie for 10-12 minutes until golden around the edges.

Remove warm cookies and transfer to racks.

Let cool completely for at least one half hour, then frost with glaze.

For glaze:

In a medium sauce pan, heat butter and brown sugar over medium heat until bubbly.

Cook, stirring constantly, for one minute or until slightly thickened.

Beat in the milk.

Blend in confectioner's sugar until the glaze is smooth and spreadable.

Keep the sauce pan over the stove on the lowest possible heat to keep from hardening.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

2011-11-22T00:43:00.000-08:00

An easy, simple favorite: no weird stuff for kids!

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

3/4 bag of 12 oz egg noodles

1/2 of a 12 oz pkg of mixed frozen vegetables (carrots, peas and beans)

1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

3/4 roll of Ritz (or other butter) crackers

1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Poach chicken in a large pot of simmering water.

Cook until done (about 12 minutes).

Remove chicken but keep water!

Bring chicken cooking water to a boil and cook pasta in it.

Cook pasta till al dente....don't over cook.

Drain.

Cut chicken into small pieces and mix with noodles.

In a separate bowl, mix together mushroom soup, chicken soup, frozen vegetables and sour cream.
Season with salt and pepper.
Gently fold together cream soup mixture with the chicken and noodles.
Place in a 2 quart buttered or sprayed baking dish.
Melt 1/4 cup butter and then stir crumbled crackers into butter.
Sprinkle on top of casserole.
Bake for 30 minutes.

Tomato Parmesan Chicken

2011-11-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

An easy favorite. Great served with a side of pasta and garlic bread.

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded thin and cut into 8 small cutlets

2 TBS olive oil

24 oz. red pasta sauce

8 slices of Montery Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour beaten eggs in a bowl.

In another bowl mix together Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.

Dip chicken into eggs and then press into bread crumb mixture to coat well.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat.

Saute chicken for about 8-10 minutes on each side, until done.

Pour tomato sauce into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.

Add chicken then top each piece with slice of cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Cheddar Baked Chicken

2011-11-15T00:33:00.000-08:00

This was a big hit.

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
1 TBS milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup crispy rice cereal
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut in half and pounded thin (to make 8 small thin patties)
2 TBS butter melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a 9x13 baking dish with a 1/4 cup melted butter.
In a bowl mix flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
In another bowl whisk together egg and milk.
In a third bowl, mix the cheese, bread crumbs, and cereal.
Dredge chicken pieces in the flour mixture, dip in the egg mixture, then press in the bread crumb mixture to coat each side heavily.
Arrange in baking dish.
Drizzle 2 TBS butter evenly over the chicken.
Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Hush Puppies

2011-11-10T00:28:00.000-08:00

Ever since we've had Hush Puppies down south on vacation, my kids have asked me to give them a try. This recipe was a keeper. Good 'ol fried food. There's nothing like it. You need a deep fryer for this one.

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup white sugar

1 large onion, diced

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup self-rising cornmeal

1 quart oil for frying

In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, sugar and onion.

Blend in flour and cornmeal.

Heat oil in deep fryer.

Drop batter by rounded teaspoon (if you make them too large they won't cook through), in hot oil, and fry until golden brown. This doesn't take very long, so watch them carefully.

Cook in small batches to maintain oil temperature.

Drain briefly on paper towels.

Serve hot.

Soft Bread Maker Sandwich Buns

2011-11-08T00:21:00.000-08:00

I make these often and use them for hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and sloppy joes. They make it all taste so much better.

1 1/4 cups milk, warm
1 egg, beaten
2 TBS butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 TBS butter, melted

In bread machine, place the first 7 ingredients in order listed.
Select dough setting.
When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a floured surface and punch down.
Divide dough in half.
Roll each portion to 3/4" thickness; cut with biscuit cutter. (I use an upside down drinking glass.)
Place each bun on lightly greased baking sheets, leaving space for rising.
Brush tops with melted butter.
Cover with clean dish towel and let rise till doubled.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Mexican Pizza

2011-11-03T00:15:00.000-07:00

1 16 ounce can refried beans

1 pound lean ground beef

1 (1.25oz) package of taco seasoning mix

1 TBS vegetable oil

8 6" CORN tortillas (I have used flour tortillas but corn does taste better with this recipe)

8 oz shredded Cheddar cheese

Toppings:

sour cream

chopped tomatoes

shredded lettuce

chopped fresh cilantro

green onion, diced

guacamole

Heat the beans in a small saucepan over low heat.

Brown the ground beef. When cooked through, add the seasoning packet and stir. Turn on low to simmer.

Place oil a large skillet.

Let the oil heat, then place one corn tortilla in the skillet.

After 15 seconds, flip the tortilla over and let it fry another 15 seconds.

Repeat this process with remaining tortillas, adding oil if needed.

Let tortillas drain on paper towels.

Once all tortillas have been toasted, arrange then on cookie sheets.

Spread a thin layer of beans on the tortillas, followed by seasoned beef, and then cheese.

Bake the tortillas at 350 for 20 minutes.

Top with desired toppings, and slice into pizza wedges.

Serve.

Garlic Roll Ups

2011-11-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

1 loaf of frozen bread dough, thawed

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 TBS fresh chopped garlic

2 tsp Italian seasoning

Parmesan cheese

Butter 2 pie plates.

Roll out thawed bread dough until about 9x13 size.

Spread butter and garlic on top of dough.

Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of butter and garlic.

Starting with the long side, roll up dough tightly.

Once rolled up, cut in half.

Cut each half into 8 pieces.

Transfer to buttered pie dish, 8 on each plate.

Cover with clean dish towel and let rise till doubled in size.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese after removing from oven.

Butterscotch Rolled Cookies

2011-10-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

I’ve made these cookies since I was a little girl. They are, I think, the perfect “cut-out” cookie. Not teeth-hurting sweet, with gobs of shortening, and not so spicy like gingerbread. Just the perfect in-between.

Here’s what you need:
2 2/3 cup (or one bag) of granulated brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Make sure you buy granulated brown sugar! It’s quite different from plain.

Mix sugar, salt and butter in a large mixing bowl.
Beat eggs and vanilla into mixture until light and fluffy.
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon, and gradually blend into sugar ingredients.
Chill well. (About an hour at least.)
Roll dough out on well floured surface. Cut into shapes.
Bake on lightly sprayed cookie sheets at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
Yield: 4-8 dozen depending on shapes.

Here’s the glaze I like to use:

Blend until smooth:
3 cups confectioners sugar
2 slightly beaten egg whites
2 TBS melted butter
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Add a little water if you want it thinner (my favorite), or add more sugar for thicker glaze.

Frozen Dinner Roll Pizzas

2011-10-24T04:21:00.001-07:00

A quick, easy dinner.
You need:
Rhodes dinner rolls for individual pizzas
pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese
assorted toppings
olive oil

The Rhodes dinner rolls are in the frozen food section. They only take about an hour to thaw and even quicker if you use the fast thaw method on the back of the package.

Smash then down or roll them out, whatever is easier till you get the desired shape.

I use a generous amount of olive oil on the baking pan…that’s the secret to a good homemade pizza I think. My kids love to make their pizzas themselves. We top with sauce, cheeses and pepperonis.

I bake mine at 400 degrees, maybe 10 or so minutes, middle oven rack.

Apple Bars

2011-10-21T04:30:00.001-07:00

This a nice easy recipe-no mixer! The bars were gone in seconds at my house.
1 cup sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped apple (any kind)

For topping:
1 TBS white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease 9x9 inch pan.
Sift together dry flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup white sugar with a wooden spoon till smooth.
Stir in egg and vanilla.
Blend in flour mixture until just combined, then add apples.
Spread the mixture evenly in pan.
In a small cup stir together sugar and cinnamon for topping and sprinkle evenly over top.
Bake for 25 minutes in oven. Cool in pan and cut into squares.

Great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Best Banana Bread

2011-10-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

3 soft ripe bananas, mushed up
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour

Mix together.
Divide into 2 buttered loaf pans.
Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

Cool and remove from pans.

Chocolate Chip Brownies

2011-10-11T00:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get lazy and instead of making cookies out the chocolate chip dough I just press the dough into a pan and make brownies. I found this excellent recipe that tastes a lot better than my lazy chocolate chip cookie recipe turned bars. I don't know what makes it so different but these are terrific.

1 cup sifted all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 TBS vanilla extract

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients together.

Melt butter. Mix butter and brown sugar. Add beaten egg, and vanilla and blend well.

Add flour mixture, a little at a time, mixing well.

Spread in a square (9x9x2) pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Basic Bread in Bread Maker

2011-10-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

This is a great basic bread recipe:

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups bread flour
2 TBS white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour
1 package of bread machine yeast or 2 1/2 tsp regular yeast

Place the warm water, sugar and yeast in the pan of the bread machine.
Let the yeast dissolve and foam for about 10 minutes.
Add the oil, flour, and salt to the yeast.
Select Basic (or Bread) setting, and press start.

Some Great Slow Cooker Recipes

2011-10-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

Three favorites:

Slow Cooker Chicken Fettucine

Mexican Torte

Tortilla Chili

Easy Pasta Primavera

2011-09-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

3/4 of a 16 oz. box of pasta (I use rotini or ziti)
1/4 cup butter
1 envelope Knorr's vegetable soup mix
1 1/2 teaspoon all purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add pasta. Cook till al dente, and drain.

2. In a saucepan melt butter. Blend Knorr soup mix with flour and milk, and then add to saucepan. Stir. Bring to a soft boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 7-10 minutes. Stir in grated cheese.

3. Toss with cooked pasta and serve.

(This makes enough for all seven of us....I usually serve with a salad and garlic bread.)