In the Kitchen at Gear Acres

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

2020-02-24T00:07:00.000-05:00

Roger loves the whole roasted cooked chickens that you can buy for 5 bucks at Sam's Club, Costco, and Kroger. There is always a lot of small pieces of chicken left over on the carcass after we slice off large pieces for our dinner. So rather than throw it in the trash, I throw the small pieces of chicken into a pot along with whatever else I have in the fridge.

The recipe changes from batch to batch but generally this is the recipe.

Leftover chicken pieces. Pull apart larger pieces so they are spoon size.

2 cartons of chicken broth (I prefer low sodium but you use what you like best)

2 chicken bouillon cubes to pump up the chicken flavor

celery stalks, cut lengthwise and then diced

carrots fresh, cut in diagonal thin slices or use frozen or small can (drain before using)

small can whole kernel corn (drained)

1/2 C frozen peas not can peas. Can peas are too soft

1/2 C frozen lima beans

small can of mushrooms (Roger likes this)

2 cups or 3 handfuls of large size (dumpling) egg noodles

Season to taste. I also add just before serving, a shake or two of dill weed. Also had salt and pepper to taste.

In a large pot pour 1 1/2 cartons of broth (save the 1/2 carton for adding to bowls of soup when you re warm the soup because the noodles will soak up a lot of broth while in the fridge). Add the 2 bouillon cubes and heat at med high.

While the broth comes up to temp add your chicken pieces, carrots, corn, lima beans, peas, celery, even green beans. Once it comes to a boil, turn down the heat to low medium and cover.

Cook your noodles in a large sauce pan. Once they are cooked, drain, and add to the soup. Never add uncooked noodles to your soup because the noodles will absorb all the broth. At this point I add the mushrooms, cover, and turn the heat down to low for 1 hour.

You can adjust this recipe depending on what your family likes and how much soup you are making.

We prefer the large dumpling size noodles but you can also use the smaller egg noodles.

When reheating the soup in individual bowls, add some of the leftover chicken broth if the broth has absorbed into the noodles.

Store in fridge in a covered container so that the noodles do not dry out.

Enjoy

and

always remember

Reuse Repurpose Recycle

Easy Potato Soup Recipe + Bonus Recipe

2020-02-17T02:54:00.000-05:00

This is the easiest and most inexpensive potato soup recipe. I can't remember where I found it but when I run across that info I will add it to this post.

Ingredients

5 medium size yellow potatoes (Yukon Gold)

1 lg can of creamed corn

1 lg can of evaporated milk

1/2 lb of bacon (try to get thick sliced and smoked for added flavor)

1/4 to 1/2 of a sweet onion diced into 1/2 inch cubes

Save 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease

Pre cut your bacon before you fry it. It is much easier and you will get a more uniform size of bacon bits. When the bacon is almost cooked, remove the bits and place on folded paper towel to remove excess grease. Do NOT compress the paper towel to remove all the grease. The grease has flavor. Save 2 tablespoons of the grease.

Peel and wash your potatoes. Cut each potato into 4 pieces to speed up the cooking process.

Add enough cold water to cover your potatoes pieces by 2 inches. Use the pot that you are going to cook your soup in. Cook your potatoes (med to med high) until a fork can easily go into the potato. Do not over cook or your potatoes will fall apart. Drain the water and remove the potatoes to cool so that you can dice them. Cut the potatoes into 3/4 inch cubes once the potatoes have cooled slightly. If you try to cut too soon the potatoes will fall apart.

Into the EMPTY pot that you just used to cook the potatoes, add the evaporated milk, 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease, diced bacon, can of creamed corn, diced onions, and the cubed potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remember that the bacon will already have salt. Better to go lightly with pepper. You can always add more later. Cook for at least 1 hr on low to low medium heat in a COVERED pot.

Tips

I made this without the bacon grease the first time. The first time I really compressed my paper towel to remove all the grease. This caused the soup to hardly have any bacon flavor. The second time that I made the soup I did not compress the paper towel and just let any excess grease to be collected in the paper towel. I also added the 2 tablespoons of bacon grease when I made it the second time. It didn't make the soup greasy but did add a lot of flavor.

Try to use a Vidalia onion if you can find one, if not make sure it is a sweet onion or the onion taste will overpower the potatoes.

I like to dice my ingredients so I could theoretically get a piece of potato, bacon, and onion onto a soup spoon at the same time.

I find that soups always taste better the next day. So either make the soup early in the morning and then put in the fridge until time to rewarm or make it a day ahead of time.

The next time I make it I might add a small can of whole corn to get more of a corn taste.

My husband really liked this soup and I liked how easy it was to make.

We added garlic and herb croutons just before eating.

Enjoy

Below is my sister's potato soup recipe and basically everything that she cooks is good, no wait....really good. She uses apple smoked, thick sliced bacon and oh my goodness is it good. You can see by the recipe that this might have more calories....LOL She also cooks her soup in a crock pot so there is no need to precook your potatoes. My recipe could also work in a crock pot.

My Grandmother's Tuna Salad Recipe

2020-02-15T01:50:00.001-05:00

My paternal grandmother made the best tuna salad and she always served it in a hobnail moonstone bowl. Reminder to self....search the Internet for 'The Bowl'. For years we have been trying to crack the recipe and I think I have finally done it.

My daughter in law came very close in the winter of 2018. But I think that it was just one ingredient off and that one ingredient was Miracle Whip instead of mayo. I always felt like the tuna salads we were making looked too yellow.

My grandmother's philosophy was that there was nothing that couldn't taste better with a little sour cream added. AND if it was something sweet she was of the mind that peanut butter could make it better. Her peanut butter Rice Krispies treats were very tasty.

But back to sour cream, Miracle Whip, and tuna salad. We are a Hellman's household and there isn't a jar of Miracle Whip in the house but one day it dawned on me that Miracle Whip was the cat's meow in the 50-60's. AND Miracle Whip is WHITER than mayo. So last week I tried the recipe again with Miracle Whip and it looks and taste like my grandmother's.

Grandma Brunette's Tuna Salad Recipe

2 cans of chunk tuna in oil NOT water. Must be chunk and in oil, drained (do not rinse).

shell pasta approximately 1 1/2 cups uncooked (the photo shows shell and elbow because I ran out of shell)

celery 2 or 3 stalks sliced lengthwise and then diced into 1/2 inch pieces. Any bigger and you start getting those celery strings caught in your teeth.

1/4 to 1/2 white sweet onion diced into 1/2 inch pieces, must be sweet onion or the onion taste will over power the other ingredients

frozen peas 1/2 to 3/4 cup

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, we always salt lightly

Miracle Whip

sour cream

OPTIONAL dill weed just a dash or two.

Garnish with paprika. She ALWAYS garnished everything with paprika.

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. If you do not rinse the shells they will stack inside each other (been there, done that). Drain and place in a large covered bowl, and put in fridge to get cold.

While cooking the pasta you can dice your celery, onion, and thaw out your peas.

Don't mix together any of the ingredients until everything is cold. Add the drained tuna to the pasta and break apart the chucks into flakes and mix into the pasta. Now add the rest of the ingredients and look for any shells that might be sticking together and separate them.

In a small bowl mix 1/4 cup Miracle Whip, 1/4 cup sour cream, and salt. If you are adding dill weed this is the time to add it to the dressing mix.

Now comes the most important part. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 12 hrs. I have found that if you don't wait, the tuna flavor will be too strong. I don't know why, but it is. Oh and while I am talking about tuna, do not buy tuna in water or tuna pieces. It is tasteless and the pieces are so small that it is more like tuna slime and not tuna flakes.

ENJOY

Pattie Melt on Rye Bread

2014-02-08T22:49:00.000-05:00

I love hamburgers but I don't like home made burgers. I don't know why, maybe it is because the buns are steamed or maybe it's because I've never been able to achieve that nice browning on the outside without the burning my burgers.

So instead of burgers, we have pattie melts. I really don't have a "recipe" but instead have taken a little bit of knowledge from Martha and a little bit from America's Test Kitchen.

This recipe (in the loose sense of the word) makes two half pound pattie melts.

1 lb of good ground beef

1/2 sweet onion sliced very thin

Minced garlic (optional)

Seasonings such as salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder

Butter

Baby Swiss cheese slices cut in half and brought to room temperature. Using room temperature cheese helps the cheese to melt.

Rye bread 4 slices (we like a deli style onion rye)

In a frying pan on medium/high heat, melt 1T of butter, add the sliced onions and minced garlic 1t (optional). Cook until limp and remove from heat and set aside.

Form 2 hamburger patties in the shape of your bread. We prefer bread that is wide so I make my patties in a rectangular shape. Season to taste. Place patties in the frying and lower the heat to medium. Cover. I remove the cover when I start to see juices coming out of the top of the pattie. I use a spoon to remove excess fat from the pan.

I then flip the patties and add the onions back into the pan and cover. I cook until the onions are fully browned and the patties are cook all the way through. If you like your patties a little rarer then remove from the heat sooner.

While the patties are cooking, I butter one side of the slices of bread and place 1/4 of the Swiss cheese on two slice.

Once the patties are cooked, place them on the slice of bread that has the Swiss cheese, top with 1/2 of the cooked onions, add 1/4 of the Swiss cheese to each pattie, and top with a slice of bread with the buttered side facing up.

Wipe the frying pan with a paper towel leaving just a little fat in the pan. Place the assembled patties in the frying pan (covered) for 2 mins or until just golden brown. Flip and repeat the process.

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Jalapeno Popper Pizza

2014-02-06T00:13:00.000-05:00

I can't take credit for this recipe. My sister, who can cook up a storm, made this pizza for her family for the Super Bowl game.

4 slices of cooked bacon chopped into small pieces

2 jalapenos sliced

1 diced shallot

1 ball of store bought pizza dough

1/4 c of corn meal

2 T olive oil

6oz soften cream cheese

1 1/2 c of grated Monteray Jack

Let ball of dough thaw and rise in an oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap.

Butter pizza pan and sprinkle with corn meal.

Spread dough out on the pan.

Spread dough with softened cream cheese.

Fry bacon till crisp. Just before the bacon is done, add the slice peppers and shallots to slightly soften.

Sprinkle bacon, jalapeno pepper slices, and diced shallots over the cream cheese.

Top off with the grated cheese.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes until it is brown and bubbly.

Enjoy.

I believe she got this recipe off of Pinterest but I do not know the original source of the recipe.

Apple Pie

2013-10-19T02:59:00.000-04:00

I know there are a million or two apple pie recipes but I just had to post a photo of the apple pie that I baked using our own apples. This is the first year we have had usable apples and we have been apple eating fools for the last month.

I've made crock pot applesauce three times. Oh my it is sooooo good and so easy to make.

This is my second apple pie and my husband wanted me to make one using brown sugar. Normally, I use white sugar but his grandmother used to make it using brown sugar so I gave it a try.

It was wonderful but then again I've never met a piece of pie that wasn't wonderful.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

2012-10-16T18:28:00.002-04:00

Oh my gosh. This has everything that is good, all in one dessert. Peanut butter, peanuts, pretzels, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, cream cheese, and sour cream. Think Sound of Music....."these are a few of my favorite things." Do I sound like Julie Andrews? You're lucky this is the Internet because I sound nothing like Julie Andrews.

This recipe is from the Taste of Home Cooking School. Basically it is quite easy. The hardest part is mixing the cream cheese and sugar and if you use a stand mixer it isn't a problem at all.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
1/3 cup butter (melted)

Filling:

5 packages of cream cheese (softened)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Topping:

1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

In small bowl combine pretzels and butter. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 10 inch spring form pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

In large bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Mix well. Add eggs, beat on low. Stir in chips. Pour over crust. Return to pan to baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Leave the oven on.

For topping combine in small bowl sour cream, peanut butter, and sugar. Spread over filling. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Bake for 5 minutes longer.

Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run knife around the edge of pan to loosen. Cool one hour. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan before serving. Refrigerate the leftovers.

Ovaltine Black Bottom Banana Bread

2012-10-16T18:26:00.001-04:00

Prep
15 mins

Cook
55 mins

Cool
30 mins

INGREDIENTS:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup OVALTINE Rich Chocolate Mix

DIRECTIONS: PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Spray bottom of 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
COMBINE whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
COMBINE bananas, sugar, butter, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract in large bowl; stir well. Stir in flour mixture just until moistened. Remove 1 cup of batter and place into separate bowl along with Ovaltine; stir until combined.
SPOON Ovaltine mixture into prepared pan; top with remaining banana batter.
BAKE for 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes; transfer to wire rack to cool completely. (Bread can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

Cheeseburger Pizza with Velveeta

2012-01-12T21:45:00.006-05:00

I ran across this recipe in a magazine last week and decided to try it.It's been years since I have purchased Velveeta and now I know why. Velveeta is like crack. First you cut off only one little piece and quickly fold the foil wrapper and place back into the box. Two minutes later your back to cutting off a slightly larger piece and before you know it, you are just leaving the box open and have since dispensed with the foil because it just slows down the process of getting to that glorious smooth processed cheese known as (cue the trumpets) Velveeta.

On to the recipe before my arteries narrow to the point where I cannot get enough blood to operate a keyboard.Spicy Cheeseburger Pizza

I made several changes to accommodate our taste and will note the changes and or additions.

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground beef, cooked and drained (can be done ahead of time)
1/2 lb (8 ozs) of Velveeta cut into cubes
1 pizza crust 12 inches
1 can RO*TEL diced tomatoes & green chilies (I diced 2 fresh Roma tomatoes)
1/4 cup of Hunt's ketchup
1 cup shredded lettuce

I also added grated sharp cheddar cheese (1/2 cup) and some fresh diced sweet white onion.

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Re warm cooked meat in medium skillet and stir in Velveeta cubes, stirring until melted.

Mix RO*TEL and Hunt's ketchup and spread into crust. Top with meat mixture. I smeared the crust with ketchup and then covered with meat mixture and topped with fresh tomatoes, onions, and the additional cheddar.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with fresh lettuce.

Free US Farm Raised Catfish Cookbook

2011-08-05T22:28:00.002-04:00

Free cookbook

BBQ Chicken Pizza with Bacon

2011-07-13T01:33:00.004-04:00

I've been perfecting this recipe for the last couple of months and I think I've finally got it right.

2 cooked chicken breasts shredded
1/4 C thinly sliced white onion
1/2 package of cooked bacon cooled and crumbled (preferably hickory smoked)
1/2 C Bull's Eye BBQ sauce
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese
pizza dough

Roll out the pizza dough and top with 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce. Sprinkle some of the cheese on top of the BBQ sauce. Spread out the shredded chicken, onion, and bacon. Pour remaining BBQ sauce on top of the chicken etc. Top off with the remaining shredded cheese.

Cook at 410-415 degrees for approximately 14 to 16 minutes.

Enjoy.

I have found that the hickory smoked BBQ sauce worked the best because you don't want a tomatoey sauce.

Furmano's Free Recipe Booklet

2011-02-17T13:57:00.002-05:00

http://www.furmanos.com/recipebook.asp

I love these little recipe booklets.

Double Chocolate Carrot Bread

2011-02-02T22:07:00.005-05:00

I found this recipe in the gardening magazine, The Heirloom Gardener. It is a quarterly magazine that I look forward to each season. It's both a great gardening magazine and now a great recipe magazine. I guess I am going to have to try more of their recipes because this bread is moist and very very tasty. The cinnamon and nutmeg gives the chocolate a little kick.Makes two loaves but I'm thinking that you could probably make this into a bundt cake, too.

4 C flour
1/2 C cocoa**
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 C grated carrots
1 1/2 C vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 C milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 C semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter two 8X4 loaf pans.

In a large bowl combine (whisk together) all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine remaining ingredients except for chocolate chips.

Stir carrot mixture into the flour mixture until just blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans to completely cool.

Added 2-5-2011 **I used Dutch processed cocoa.

The recipe called this a bread but really it isn't anything close to a bread or a pound cake. It is a loaf cake that is so moist and delicious that it doesn't even need an icing. I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream to a slice last night and it was just perfect. Next time I make this cake it will be in the form of a bundt cake.

Mr. Food's Recipes for Romance eBook

2011-02-02T21:05:00.004-05:00

Download Mr. Food's Recipes for Romance eBook.

Gotta love that Mr. Food. His eBook includes 30 recipes. Red Velvet cake and Valentine's Day pizza are two of the recipes.

Enjoy!

Free Chocolate Treats eBook

2011-02-01T20:33:00.003-05:00

Go to this site to download an eBook called Chocolate Treats by Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.

Free Sun-Maid Fruit Recipe Booklet

2011-01-31T12:17:00.005-05:00

Visit the Sun-Maid site to either download or request your free recipe booklet.You can choose which booklet you receive if you request that they send the recipe booklet to you. The download is for the Fruit and Sunshine recipe booklet only.

I love these little recipe booklets. They usually yield at least one or two recipes that I try and end up adding to my list of favorites. Best of all they are FREE!!!! Keep your fingers crossed that they send along a coupon, too.

Pork Loin with Classic Coke Slow Cooker Recipe

2010-12-29T23:35:00.003-05:00

My sister told me about this recipe during the family get together on Christmas day. Pork loin and Classic Coke? How does this combination even come about? My sister assured me that this was delicious.....so I had to give it a try.

She was right. The pork loin was sooooo tender and the gravy it made was great, too. Plus and this is a big plus, it was so easy.

Ingredients

I used the half of the pork loin that I froze last month. Weight? No idea.
1 package onion soup mix
1 C Coca-Cola Classic (all recipes I read said not to use diet)
salt and pepper
Kitchen Bouquet

Salt and pepper meat and place in bottom of crock pot.

Add soup mix and Coke.

Cook on low for 8 hrs or high for 4 hours.

Pour liquid from crock pot into a sauce pan.

Skim fat.

Season with salt and pepper and add a dash of Kitchen Bouquet. Bring to a boil.

Remove a cup of juice and add corn starch or flour to thicken. Return liquid to sauce pan and cook until desired consistency is achieved.

Pull pork apart with a fork. Pour gravy over pork and mash potatoes.

Enjoy.

Sorry, no photos. I was too busy eating to take photos....LOL.

Free Recipe Booklet

2010-12-29T11:50:00.002-05:00

Go here to receive a FREE Woman’s Day Healthy Cooking recipe booklet! Add the booklet to your cart and then fill out your mailing information. Please allow 10-12 weeks for delivery.

I find that these little recipe booklets have some very good recipes in them. I make sure I send in for these whenever I run across an offer for a free booklet.

Coconut Macaroon Drop Cookies

2010-12-23T22:26:00.003-05:00

I found this recipe on a coupon saving blog that I regularly read called Cutting Coupons in KC. The blogger said this recipe came from a cook book called Presidential Cookies by Bev Young. This couldn't be the exact recipe Jefferson used since they did not have sweetened and condensed milk back then. The author of the cook book must have used alternate ingredients that are available today.

Macaroon cookies are one of my favorites so I thought I give would them a try.

4 Cups of sweetened flake coconut (14 oz package)
1 Cup sweetened and condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until the edges are lightly brown.

They are currently cooling and smell wonderful. I can not wait to taste these delectable treats.

Update.....They are wonderful tasting.

No Bake Peanut Butter Drop Cookies

2010-12-22T19:43:00.011-05:00

Awhile back I received a free booklet in the mail from Karo. I always send away for these free booklets because sometimes they have the best recipes and this was one of those times.

I've always liked rice krispies treats and these are sorta like them but different.

I, of course, changed up the recipe slightly. I added some peanuts to the recipe and I also used rice chex instead of corn chex cereal.No Bake Peanut Butter Drop Cookies

6 cups rice or corn chex cereal (I also bought the generic brand)
1 cup Karo Light Corn Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter. I used a little crunchy peanut butter to make the 1 1/4 cups.
2/3 cup milk chocolate chips

Pour cereal into a bowl and set aside.

Stir corn syrup and sugar together in a large sauce pan over med/high heat until dissolved and boiling. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until creamy. Add chocolate chips and stir until chips are melted.

Pour mixture over cereal and mix until all pieces are coated.

Drop by heaping spoonful onto waxed paper. I placed them in the fridge for 5 minutes to set up.

Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy.

Rolo Pretzel Turtles

2010-12-18T22:32:00.010-05:00

Today I tried a recipe that I saw in a magazine and it seemed simple enough, with little that could possibly go wrong...just my kind of recipe.

Bag of Rolos
Bag of small salted pretzels
Pecan halves (I ran out of pecans so I made some with walnut halves, cashews, and peanuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place tin foil on a cookie sheet (I tried parchment paper and the tin foil worked better). Lay out pretzels then place an unwrapped Rolo on top. Put cookie tray in the oven for no more than 5 minutes. Do not let the Rolos get too soft.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and place the nuts on top. I found that I barely had to squish (technical term) them because the weight of the nut made it sink into the chocolate and caramel.

I also made some with peanuts placed on the pretzels first, then a Rolo. After I removed them from the oven, I added 2 or 3 more peanuts to the top.
The recipe called for you to let them cool for 1 hour before storing but I found they were still kind of soft after 1 hour. I remedied this by putting them in the fridge for 5 minutes. This seemed to do the trick and I was then able to place them in a sealed container without them sticking to one another.

Very tasty. Next time though, I would sprinkle with coarse sea salt while the Rolos were still soft but tasty none the least. I preferred the salted pecans the best.

For a twist...the next time I am going to cut a date in half (lengthwise), then place a Rolo on top. Place in oven for 5 minutes. Then top with a pecan. If I decide to get out of my pajamas tomorrow...I'll go to the store and get some more pecans and then try this recipe.

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-05-12T16:16:00.008-04:00

What's spring without strawberries?

I found this recipe on a design blog called Southern Hospitality. It's an great tasting easy recipe that uses a box cake mix as the start for a tasty moist treat.

I followed the recipe for the cake portion but tweaked the frosting recipe just a tad.

Cake Recipe

1 box white cake mix
1 3 oz box of strawberry jello
1/2C water
3 T flour
1/2C oil
1C chopped strawberries
4 eggs

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Combine in a large bowl cake mix, flour, jello (dry) mix ingredients. Add water and oil mixing on medium speed. Add 1 egg at a time to the mixture. Mix well. Fold in strawberries until well blended into mixture.

Pour mixture into a greased 9X13 cake dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove and cool cake.
Frosting Recipe

1 stick of butter (room temperature)
1 8oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1C strawberries chopped and sweetened (smash with a fork, let sit in fridge for 1 hour so that a syrup forms)
powdered sugar (I used about 2C, use enough to thicken frosting but do not make frosting stiff)Frost cake. This will make a lot of frosting that is why I cut back on the powder sugar and used no more 2 cups. Originally the recipe called for 5-7 cups. I wanted the strawberry/cream cheese flavor to come through and did not want it to be overly sweet. Place frosted cake in refrigerator so that the frosting can set up before cutting.

Fluffy Strawberry Meringue Pie

2010-04-25T22:34:00.003-04:00

This recipe was demonstrated at the Taste of Home Cooking School that my sister and I attended. It's a rather unique recipe that uses odd ingredients to obtain delicious results.

The pie is great the way it was demonstrated but I am going to tweak this recipe the next time I make it. I'll blog about it when I do.

Fluffy Strawberry Meringue Pie

3 egg whites
1/4 t cream of tartar
1 C sugar
1/2 C crushed saltines (about 12 crackers)
1/2 C chopped pecans
1 t vanilla extract
2 pints fresh strawberries
4 cups of miniature marshmallows
1 carton of frozen whipped topping (thawed)

In a bowl, beat 3 egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, mix on high until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold in crackers, pecans, and vanilla.

Spread onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 10 inch deep dish pie plate. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until meringue is slightly brown. Cool.

Set aside two strawberries for garnish. Slice half of the strawberries, set aside. In a bowl, mash the remaining strawberries.

In a sauce pan combine marshmallows and smashed strawberries. Cook over low heat until marshmallows are melted. Place in refrigerator until partially set.

Fold the sliced strawberries and whipped topping into the marshmallow mixture. Spoon into meringue shell. Garnish with sliced strawberries. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set.

Place all leftovers in refrigerator.

Orange Teriyaki Beef

2010-04-24T23:00:00.003-04:00

This past Thursday my sister and I attended the Taste of Home Cooking School in Midland, Michigan. One of the recipes that the instructor, Dana, demonstrated was Orange Teriyaki Beef. I prepared this dish tonight and was it delicious.
My photograph does not do it justice.

FYI An alternative variation might be to add pea pods (steam before adding) before serving.

Orange Teriyaki Beef

2 T flour
1 Oven bag large size
1/2 C orange juice (I squeezed 2 large oranges)
1/2 C teriyaki sauce (I used low sodium sauce)
1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
3 garlic cloves minced (I used 1 t freeze dried garlic)
1 t grated orange peel
1/2 t crushed red pepper (I omitted this)
2 lbs beef top round roast 1 inch thick (this is a cheap cut, I paid 5 bucks for 1.75 lbs)
Hot cooked rice
1/4 C chopped green onions for garnish

Shake flour in oven bag. Place in a 13x9 baking dish. Add orange juice, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, garlic, orange peel, and crushed red pepper into oven bag. Squeeze bag to blend ingredients. Add beef to bag. Turn bag to coat beef.

Close oven bag with nylon tie. Marinate in fridge for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325. Cut slits in top of oven bag.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until thermometer reads 145. Thinly slice beef. Stir sauce. Serve with sauce over rice. Garnish with green onions.

This was the second Taste of Home Cooking School that my sister and I have attended. The cost is 10 bucks. Not only do you get a gift bag but you might be lucky enough to win one of the many door prizes. My sister and I did not win a thing!!! But the cooking demonstration is well worth the time and $$$$.

Free Jiffy Recipe Booklet

2010-04-06T19:30:00.000-04:00

I love these little recipe booklets that are put out by food manufacturers. Jiffy products are manufactured here in Michigan and their corn bread mix is a favorite here at 'The Gear'.You can get a FREE updated Jiffy Recipe book by going HERE and requesting one.